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Livin' in a hipster's paradise? There's a restaurant opening up near New York University that will only serve food in glass Mason jars to cut down on the environmental impact of plastic. Ancolie: The Glass Jars Concept got its start on Kickstarter where it raised more than double its original $20,000 goal. The entire restaurant is green: Think washable, linen napkins, and totes instead of Styrofoam or plastic carryout containers. The concept was brought to life by French-born owner/chef Chloe Vichot. Vichot isn't messing around: She'll charge you extra for disposable coffee mug if you don't bring your own. But there are some perks to being environmentally friendly. After your meal, you'll be able to take home your glass Mason jars and carryout bags. If you continue to bring back your jar, you'll receive a free meal after 10 visits. Ancolie will be open for healthy and sustainable breakfast, lunch, and snacks this September on West 8 th Street. Now watch: Make-ahead Mason jar salads | 0 | 99,200 | foodanddrink |
I feel like a model from the '90s. | 8 | 99,201 | video |
11 Ways to Avoid Gym Germs 11 Ways to Avoid Gym Germs From weights to exercise balls, locker rooms and cardio machines, your gym is full of bacteria. When it comes to public spaces, especially fitness facilities , it's important to take precaution upon entering, to avoid these harmful germs. One study showed that gym equipment may commonly serve as fomites for the transmission of viruses . *Related: The Top 20 Secrets From People Who Never Get Sick That being said, bring your own towel , yoga mat and water bottle from home. Wipe down machines with disinfectant spray before and after you use them, and never go barefoot in the locker room. Exercise is known for its variety of health benefits , so don't let gym germs get in the way of your health and potentially make you sick . Keep reading for additional ways to avoid gym germs. Don't go barefoot The floor of the gym locker room is full of bacteria. Unless you like stepping in sweat and getting foot fungus, I strongly suggest you wear flip flops in the shower and around the locker room. Tip: Lay a clean towel on the floor while you get dressed to avoid stepping on the floor after you shower. Disinfect equipment Even though most gyms offer paper towels and sanitary spray to wipe down equipment after use , that doesn't mean everyone is doing it. Bring your own disinfectant spray with you to the gym. Wipe down machines before you use them to avoid coming in contact with any harmful bacteria. Then wipe them down after to prevent your germs from spreading to others. Shower after your workout Other than the fact that if you don't shower you will smell bad, the perspiration left behind on your skin allows bacteria to form which can cause breakouts and rashes. Bring a separate bag for your sweaty gym clothes Your sweaty gym clothes are full of germs and gross bacteria. Bring a separate gym bag to put your dirty clothes in. This way, you are not mixing them with your clean clothes, and you are keeping the bag your clean clothes are in germ-free. Tip: If you are looking for a lightweight shirt that resists odor and sweat, check out the pocket tee from Ably Apparel . Don't touch your face Absolutely never touch your face when you are at the gym, this will cause you to spread bacteria to your face which can potentially make you sick. Make sure you wash your hands before you leave the gym. Bring your own workout mat It's great that gyms provide you with equipment such as yoga mats and resistance bands. However, when you think about the amount of people that touched the equipment and spread germs on it, does it really make you want to use it? Bring your own workout mat and portable equipment to the gym to avoid germ exposure. Wash your hands Before you begin your workout head straight to the locker room and wash your hands . Then, after using equipment, wash your hands again. Use Band-Aids and cover up any open wounds Open wounds are susceptible to infections. Avoid getting an infection and transmitting infections by simply covering up your wound before going to the gym . Keep your distance from other people If there are 8 treadmills open at the gym, and only one person is using them, choose the one farthest away. You never know if that person is just getting over an illness , or has any infections. The last thing you want is to catch a drip of their sweat on you. Your best bet is to pick a machine as far away as possible. Get out of your sweaty clothes as soon as possible Hanging out in your sweaty workout clothes calls for infection. Your sweaty yoga pants can lead to a yeast infection, while your sweaty top can cause rashes and bacterial infections . Bring your own water bottle Are you absolutely certain that your gym's water fountain is frequently cleaned and sanitized? Probably not. Bring your own water bottle to avoid coming into contact with any unwanted bacteria. | 7 | 99,202 | health |
You know the type: Whenever you're spending time IRL with a group of buddies, some of them just can't help but check their phones. Heck, maybe you're the rude one in your circle of friends. There's even a word for it: phubbing, or phone snubbing. What's keeping your eyes locked to the screen when there's a whole (non-virtual) world right before your eyes that you're missing out on? Internet addiction, says researchers from the University of Kent. Professor Karen Douglas and Varoth Chotpitayasunondh found that internet addiction, plus a fear of missing out and a lack of self-control , let to phubbing in social situations. The results of the study were published in Computers in Human Behaviour . Not only that, but being a phubber only leads to more phubbing, the study says. The more it happens, the more it's seen as normal behavior. Deep in your heart of hearts, you know this is rude, so put those screens away even if you're reading this on your phone and get back to chatting with the people in front of you. | 4 | 99,203 | lifestyle |
DETROIT (AP) For the first time since last summer, R.A. Dickey won consecutive starts. On a day when Dickey couldn't consistently do anything with his knuckleball, his Toronto teammates scored seven runs in the first five innings Wednesday in a 7-2 victory over the Detroit Tigers. "That was a gift," he said. "I'm not sure I can remember the last time I had that little on the knuckleball, but the guys gave me enough support that I was able to work things out." Dickey (4-6) allowed two runs and nine hits in 5 1/3 innings. Combined with Friday's victory at Boston, he won back-to-back outings for the first time since Aug. 28 against Detroit and Sept. 2 versus Cleveland. "Two runs in 5 1/3 innings isn't great, but it is better than that could have easily gone," he said. "I really had to dig deep into my reservoir of experience today. I was throwing a bunch of curveballs, and I was changing speeds on the knuckleball more than I've ever done just trying to get through the game." Josh Donaldson made that a lot easier. In the first inning, he hit what would have normally been a routine grounder to second, but Ian Kinsler was shifted to the third-base side of the bag, so it went for a single. Donaldson scored on Justin Smoak's homer, then homered and tripled in his next two at-bats. "I'd been working really hard with Jake on taking the inside path to balls against the shift," he said, referring to hitting coach Brook Jacoby. "In the first inning, I got a pitch that I could roll through the gap, and that changed the way they defended me and pitched to me." Kevin Pillar added a two-run triple as Toronto stopped Detroit's five-game winning streak. "That was a nice present a lot of offense," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said on his 55th birthday. "Josh has been scuffling a little, but he's the MVP for a reason. He's one of the elite players in this game." Donaldson needed a double for the cycle, but grounded out in the seventh and was on deck when the Blue Jays made their last out in the ninth. "I think about 10 people reminded me that I only needed a double," Donaldson said. "But getting a hit in the majors is hard enough without trying to hit a double." Jordan Zimmermann (8-3) gave up seven runs and eight hits in 4 2-3 innings including two triples and two homers. He has allowed seven or more runs twice in his last four outings, and his ERA has risen to 3.30 from 1.10 on May 6. "I was pretty bad today," Zimmermann said. "This is a team that takes some big swings, and if you leave stuff over the middle you're going to get hurt." Nick Castellanos hit his 11th homer for the Tigers. Smoak and Castellanos had two-run homers in the first, and Donaldson's three-run homer put Toronto ahead for good in the third. Detroit put runners at the corners with one out when Ezequiel Carrera grounded into a 3-6-2 double play started by Jose Iglesias. Zimmermann couldn't get out of the fifth, when Donaldson and Pillar tripled. Detroit got a runner to third with one out in the seventh, but Jesse Chavez came in to strike out James McCann and Andrew Romine. Detroit also strained two runners in the eighth. TRAINER'S ROOM Blue Jays: SS Troy Tulowitzki (quadriceps) is scheduled to report to extended spring training this weekend. Toronto manager John Gibbons expects him to be activated when eligible Monday. Tigers: CF Cameron Maybin was out of the starting lineup for a second straight day with soreness in his left wrist. Maybin broke the wrist in spring training and has been bothered by occasional pain. Ausmus said after the game that Maybin, who pinch ran on Tuesday, got a cortisone shot on Monday night and is expected to play Friday in New York. DAY OFF Tigers DH Victor Martinez got the day off after going 0 for 3 with three strikeouts for the first time in his big league career. The move also allowed Brad Ausmus to shift Miguel Cabrera to DH. Andrew Romine played first base and Justin Upton got a rare home start in centerfield. UP NEXT Blue Jays: RHP Marcus Stroman (5-2, 4.82 starts Thursday's opener of a four-game series against visiting Baltimore and RHP Tyler Wilson (2-5, 4.39). Tigers: RHP Mike Pelfrey (1-5, 4.76) is to start Friday's series opener at the New York Yankees, who go with LHP CC Sabathia (3-4, 2.58). | 1 | 99,204 | sports |
PITTSBURGH Henry Tucker can still hear the roar, echoing through time. He was walking home from St. Edmund's Academy in 1960 when Bill Mazeroski hit a home run to lift the Pittsburgh Pirates to a World Series championship over the lordly New York Yankees during the dying days of the Eisenhower administration. Tucker was in elementary school then. Now he's a retired real estate agent, eating a late dinner at the end of the bar at the Squirrel Hill Café on Forbes Avenue, not far from where Forbes Field once stood. Tucker, 65, wears a black-and-gold pullover with the word "PENGUINS" in large block letters across his chest. The Pittsburgh Penguins are on the cusp of adding to the full-throated roar of this city's gold-plated sports history. They'll win the Stanley Cup Thursday night if they beat the San Jose Sharks at the Consol Energy Center. And that would make them the first Pittsburgh team to win a major championship at home since Mazeroski's ninth-inning blast over the 406-foot mark in left field on Oct. 13, 1960. "Everyone was honking their horns," Tucker tells USA TODAY Sports. "I'll never forget it." The self-anointed City of Champions boasts three rivers and multitudinous titles. The Pittsburgh Steelers won six Super Bowls at neutral sites. The Pirates won the 1971 and 1979 World Series in Baltimore. And the Penguins won Stanley Cups in Bloomington, Minn., in 1991, in Chicago in 1992 and in Detroit in 2009. That's 11 major championships, and none at home, since Mazeroski put the home in home run. "I've heard the stories about that home run my whole life," Penguins fanatic Jackee Ging says. "Now I'm ready to see history for myself." Ging, 49, owns half of a Penguins season-ticket plan. She gets every other home game in the playoffs. Game 5 is hers. Friends tell her she should sell her seat to pay for next season's plan. Game 5 tickets are going for well over $1,000 and up on the secondary market. That kind of cash is tempting but Ging's mind is made up. "I need to be there," she says. When the Penguins won their first Stanley Cup, Ging and her mother and several friends drove to the airport to greet the team's plane. They got caught in an epic traffic jam and stayed up all night, settling for high fives from the windows of the team bus in the parking lot. And then mother and daughter went straight to 6 a.m. Mass at St. Bernard Church. This time her mother watches games from a hospital bed. She's 91 and broke a hip on Mothers' Day. Ging styles it a lower-body injury, in the binary parlance of NHL coaches. She says these playoffs have been a blessing, helping reduce the stress of her mother's extended hospital stay. The Penguins have a 3-1 series lead. NHL teams are 31-1 in the Stanley Cup Final since 1939 when they hold that position. But Ging remains nervous. The Sharks had the league's best road record this season. "I think it's hard not to get ahead of yourself," Pens defenseman Ian Cole says. "It's easy to start thinking, 'Man, it will be great if we win.' " Captain Sidney Crosby's mission is to make sure the Penguins remember the Cup is not theirs until it is won. "I feel like we're in a good mental state right now," he says. "No one is thinking too far ahead." Joe Starkey, sports talk radio host on 93.7 The Fan, thinks Thursday's game is in the conversation for biggest played in Pittsburgh in the past 50 years, maybe even since the 1960 World Series. "Pittsburgh has won more than most towns," he says, "but people are dying to celebrate on home turf" or home ice. Starkey says old-timers know precisely where they were when Mazeroski's homer soared like a fairy tale. Another such championship moment "has been a long time coming," he says. "This team has captured the city's imagination with the way it plays, which is fast and furious." The Pens clearly captured Bob Friend's imagination. The former Pirates pitcher roots for them to join his 1960 teammates as the most recent champs to win their titles within city limits. "Our generation wasn't brought up on hockey," Friend says, "but then Mario Lemieux and Sidney Crosby came around and you can't help but be a fan." The Pittsburgh Pipers won the American Basketball Association championship in 1968 and the Pittsburgh Triangles the World Team Tennis title in 1975, both at Civic Arena. But Pittsburgh fans tend not to count those teams among the city's major championships. Tattoo artist Garrick Dauberger, 30, has never heard of them. A day after the Pens' Game 4 victory, Rob Pavlik walked into South Side Tattoo and Body Piercing and asked for an indelible penguin. The artwork he chose combines the Pirates' block P with the Steelers' tri-diamond logo and the Pens' pesky penguin. Dauberger spent 2½ hours inking the holy trinity of Pittsburgh sports on the backside of Pavlik's shoulder. Cost: $200. "With everything going on, I thought now was a good time," says Pavlik, who didn't realize the Steel City is without a championship won at home since Mazeroski's mighty swing. Forgive him: He's 22 and even his parents weren't born yet in 1960. Anita Kulig, 59, was alive for that World Series but too young to remember it. She sips from a 16-ounce can of Iron City beer at Casey's Draft House and ponders what a Game 5 victory would mean. "Totally magnificent," she says at last. "I'd just want to drink forever." Casey's is on East Carson Street, where revelers will fill the bars Thursday night. When the Steelers last won a Super Bowl in 2009, celebrants flipped cars and torched couches. Police are gearing up to make sure that doesn't happen this time. The city will enforce a 90-minute window for street celebrations should the Pens win, less if things are out of control. Carson is the calm before the storm: Local TV reporters air live shots from there, like Miami TV reporters on a tranquil beach with a potential hurricane on the way. Clinchy is a ceramic penguin who lives at Excuses Bar and Grill. Patrons kiss Clinchy on the head after Pens' wins. One time, when Clinchy's nose broke, bartender Erin Mohan repaired it with a red pourer from a liquor bottle. Emergency nose job, she says. Also at home behind the bar is a jar of Tang signed by Penguins defenseman Kris Letang. No one dares use it, even to make the drink named for him. Le Tang is a shot of vodka topped with Tang for $3.50. Other specials include the Five Hole (shot of Irish cream with hazelnut and raspberry liqueur and a side of nuts, $3.75) and the Hat Trick (shot of Canadian Club topped off with American honey, $3.50). "We're kind of a Penguin old-time bar," owner George Pantelas says. "And when the season is over, players like to stop in. We've had Sid in the back singing karaoke." Regulars are expected early for Thursday's game. They'll watch on a projection TV in the back room. The projector mounted on the ceiling has a crushed Pabst Blue Ribbon can to hold it steady. They'll listen to the radio broadcast of Penguins play-by-play voice Mike Lange, synced up to the TV. There's a frozen mug on ice for Lange anytime he comes in, with a chip off the bottom of it, like a winger's front tooth. A framed photograph just to the right of the projection screen is serendipitously placed given this chance at hometown history. The autographed black-and-white shot is of Mazeroski joyously running into history as fans run onto the field. That remains the only walk-off homer in World Series Game 7 history. It's immortalized in bronze outside PNC Park, where Mazeroski is captured midstride. The statue is rimmed by the actual section of wall over which the ball sailed, a holy relic in red brick. Penguins fans, take note: Maz, in this forever moment, is heading for … home. As Dorothy Gale of yellow-brick fame could tell you, there's no place like it. Best of the Stanley Cup Final: Penguins vs. Sharks | 1 | 99,205 | sports |
In a humorous television spot that began airing earlier this year, veterans of the LPGA tour offer assistance to younger players who are facing the challenges of playing professional golf. From guidance on where to find player registration it is not in the custodian's closet to unloading gear, taking care of tan lines, picking head covers and opening a locker, the seasoned set lend a helping hand. But notice that there is no supervision offered to the youngsters when it comes to playing inside the ropes. No, the new kids on the block have that covered. Entering Thursday's start of the KPMG Women's PGA Championship a collaboration between the PGA of America, KPMG and the LPGA tour that is the second major of the season the first 14 LPGA tournaments were won by nine players who were 23 or younger. Anna Nordqvist, 28, snapped the streak last week by winning the ShopRite LPGA Classic by one shot over Haru Nomura, 23, who has won twice this season. Two favorites at Sahalee Country Club this week are Lydia Ko, 19, the world No. 1 who has won the last two majors, and Ariya Jutanugarn, 20, who won all three LPGA events in May and is No. 10 in the world. Another favorite is No. 3 Lexi Thompson, 21, who is in her sixth year on the tour. She won her seventh title this year in the Honda LPGA Thailand. In 2011, she became the youngest winner of an LPGA event when she won the Navistar LPGA Classic at 16. A year later, however, Ko broke the record when she won the first of her 12 career titles at 15. "Records are made to be broken. The game is getting younger and younger, and that's really what we want to see out here," Thompson said. "We want to see the game grow even more and have the girls start at a younger age," Or as Ko said, "Age is just a number." Yes, but it's a new age on the LPGA tour, populated with youngsters who started specializing in golf far sooner than their predecessors. Technological progression in equipment, training, video and advancements in nutrition and coaching have sped the process of achievement. A player working with a sports psychologist while still in their teens was unheard of decades ago. And top-notch golf academies and competition in junior golf the world over keep getting better and provide the perfect breeding ground. 'Much more mature' While the tour has been trending younger since the turn of the century, it is now a traveling Romper Room full of big kids who have talent, disciplined games, patience, mature course management skills, strong mental games and textbook swings. "When I want to joke around with them, there are so many jokes I can't tell them," said LPGA tour commissioner Michael Whan, 51. "You can't tell them a joke about M*A*S*H* because they don't know what M*A*S*H* is." Alan Alda and Loretta Swit shouldn't be offended, for the last episode of M*A*S*H* ran in 1983 14 years before Ko was born. That year, by the way, Juli Inkster, who is still a threat to win at 55, won her first LPGA tour title. This year the average age of the winners in the first 14 events was 21.1. In contrast, there were 24 players 22 or older who played in this year's women's NCAA golf championships. Last year the average age of the winner on the LPGA tour was 24.3, five years ago it was 26.1, and 10 years ago it was 28.2. Last year there were 15 events won by players 23 and younger. Five years ago that number was 10. Ten years ago it was six. "I always give a talk at rookie orientation, and I've used the same note cards for seven years," Whan said. "And one of my key points is to say, 'Don't make winning an objective in Year One.' I would tell them that some of the biggest names they can think of didn't win as a rookie. There's a lot to get used to travel, hotels, finding restaurants, courses they've never seen before, just so much stuff. It takes a while to figure that stuff out. "Now the kids come out, and they are ready for all the other aspects of golf. They are just so much more mature. Nothing bothers them. They are just so much more prepared to be successful. ... "To say you can't win as a teenager, that's out. To say you have to gain experience before winning, that's out. The expectation to win at a young age is high now, because they've seen others do it. … So I just have to throw away all my rookie orientation cards." Golf Channel's Jerry Foltz is thrown for a loop when he meets parents of young stars "and I'm well older than they are." For six years he's had a front-row seat to this youth movement as an on-course analyst. "The level of golf the kids are playing at such a young age is not a fad anymore," said Foltz, 53. "I honestly believe if the LPGA didn't have an 18-year-old age requirement to play, we'd have 14- and 15-year-old girls qualifying for the tour." He's especially impressed by Brooke Henderson, who won her lone LPGA tour title last year at 17. This year she has nine top-10s in 14 starts. "Brooke Henderson has a 40-year-old golf mind. She has the poise and class and manners of somebody twice her age," Foltz said. "She treats people incredibly well; she's probably the best interview on tour, and she has that killer instinct you would never guess she has. She is 100% the real deal. She's just one of so many young stars coming from all over the world. They are tremendous young ladies. They are great ambassadors for the game." Singular focus While Morgan Pressel wasn't taken aback when asked to narrate the LPGA commercial on the kids, she did have a chuckle when it was pointed out she is, well, just 28. Then again, she's a 10-year veteran, and she can certainly relate to the adolescents raising trophies. She was 12 when she qualified for the 2001 U.S. Women's Open and 18 when she became the youngest to win a major championship in the modern era. The youngest, that is, until Ko took over that designation when she won last year's Evian Championship. "Sometimes I look at the youngsters and think, 'Wow that was me,'" Pressel said. "It's kind of funny to think about sometimes because I don't feel that old myself. … But what the younger players are doing is pretty impressive. It's just a changing culture … to focus on one sport, whether it's golf or tennis or baseball or basketball or whatever. More kids are becoming more singularly focused on one sport." Stacy Lewis, 31, a former world No.1 and two-time major champion, says it's far tougher to win these days than it was five years ago because of the kids she sees on the first tee. In a practice round this year with Yani Tseng, a former world No.1 who won her first of five majors as a teen in 2008, Lewis was reminded of how tough it is. "(Yani) said, 'Why is Lydia (Ko) so good?' And we talked about it a little while, and I said you get in these modes playing where you can do no wrong, and if you miss a shot you're like, 'OK, I can go get that up-and-down,'" said Lewis, who is No.7 in the world. "You just have a lot of players that are so young that are in that mind-set that they're not scared. "They're not afraid of hitting a bad shot. They're fine trying to drive it 280 down the fairway and they're OK if it's in the rough. You've got these fearless young kids that have changed the game and they've changed the way women play golf." Karen Stupples agreed. The Golf Channel analyst won the 2004 Women's British Open. She played with Ko in the 2010 Australian Open when Ko was 13. That day changed how Stupples, 42, looked at the women's game. "I had been playing pretty well at the time," Stupples said. "I'm about 20, 30 yards longer. She's out there hitting hybrids into greens. And at the end of the day, I signed off for a 70 and she signed off for a 67, and I'm going, 'How in the world did that happen? I've just been beaten by a 13-year-old.' It was impressive. And the kids keep coming. ... "They work on their golf game like women work on their golf game when they got to college. You are advancing the process. Mentally they are more mature. They play fearless golf. When you have younger players winning, you are having fearless golf seen by so many. The kids are a breath of fresh air for the LPGA tour." But they are not sucking the oxygen out of the veterans. Angela Stanford was 25 in 2003 when she won the first of her five LPGA titles. Now 38, she's both inspired and motivated by the youngsters, even if they make her think about her birth certificate. "When Megan Khang and I switched places in a pro-am I remember thinking, 'I'm 20 years older than this girl,'" Stanford said. "These kids come out here, and they're stronger, fitter and mentally a little bit different from previous years. When they get here, they are more of a complete package than it's ever been. It used to be when you got out here, you had to gain some experience, but not any more, apparently." She talks about the differences she sees in the young women playing today. "I certainly didn't look at what I was eating when I was in my teens," she said. "I grew up playing a lot of sports. So whatever fitness I had was from playing the other sports. Once I got to college, that's when we did some specialized training. I didn't know until five years into my LPGA career that I needed a trainer. I didn't know you had to specialize. Now everybody specializes. ... "These kids light it up. But the one thing I love is the game continues to be a challenge for me. Every year there's a new young star, so for me I want to see how long I can stay and compete with them." | 1 | 99,206 | sports |
Former MLB pitcher Curt Schilling joins Doug Gottlieb to discuss the brawl between Manny Machado and Yordano Ventura. | 1 | 99,207 | sports |
Never feel like hitting the gym when it's that time of the month? A new study found that using alternative types of period protection may make a difference in your motivation levels. Our friends at Shape explored the study, and here's what they discovered. When you're on your period, heading to the gym can feel like the worst . And we're totally guilty of using the whole I'm-worried-I-might-leak-in-my-yoga-pants excuse as a reason to stay home and binge on Netflix instead of heading to our regular sweat session. (Find out What Your Period Means for Your Workout Schedule .) But the type of period protection (tampons versus pads versus menstrual cups) you use might make a difference for your gym motivation, according to a new survey from Intima, a Swedish feminine care brand. Intima surveyed over 1,500 women between the ages of 20 and 34 from 40 countries around the world and found that 42 percent of women felt that using a menstrual cup made them more likely to workout during that time of the month. Menstrual cup users also reported an 84 percent increase in confidence and a 73 percent boost in comfort - two things you desperately need when cramps threaten to keep you away from your regular cardio. ( Should You Trade Your Tampons for Menstrual Cups? ) And that's not all they found. Over a quarter of menstrual cup users said their sex lives improved when they switched from tampons, and almost half said they get a better night's sleep than they used to. Sounds good to us! The lifestyle benefits might have something to do with the fact that you can wear a cup for up to 12 hours (as opposed to a tampon's eight-hour max) and therefore don't have to stress as much over potential leaks. Menstrual cup users are also saving big bucks when they switch from tampons. Over 10 years, the average tampon user will spend $700, while maintaining a reusable menstrual cup over a decade will cost you just $40. That's a lot of #treatyoself period brownies you could buy instead. ( Psst... Why Is Everyone So Obsessed with Periods Right Now? ) If you've never tried a menstrual cup before, it might be time to give it a go - at least when you're feeling tempted to skip the gym. Check out more great stories from Shape : Your Fitness Tracker Might Be Miscounting Your Calories Charcoal Ice Cream Is Actually a Thing, but Should You Be Eating It? Are Botox Injections the Latest Weight-Loss Trend? | 7 | 99,208 | health |
Japanese automaker Toyota has kept its crown as the most valuable automaker.Citing a study carried out by Millward Brown, a market research firm that publishes the BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands, a new report from Automotive News Europe has revealed that Toyota's brand value went up by 2 percent to $29.5 billion. Overall, Google and Apple remain the top two most valuable global brands. Peter Walshe, the Global BrandZ director at Millward Brown, told Automotive News Europe that Toyota's value has continued to grow because it constantly increases its value benchmark and continues to emphasize customer service improvements. "From the customer's experience, Toyota is a highly valued brand that continues to innovate," said Walshe. "That is its strength and why it continues to generate such high volumes." The biggest surprise in this year's BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands is Tesla's entry into the top 10 most valuable car makers at tenth place. With a brand value of $4.4 billion, the electric car maker has knocked Lexus out of the top 10. Walshe stated to Automotive News Europe that Tesla's announcement of a more accessible vehicle like the Model 3 has caused people's desire for its cars to grow. Porsche also made the top 10 automakers list and is at ninth place just above Tesla. Walshe pointed out that the German sports car maker has gone back to what it does best, which is make products for a specific niche of consumers while retaining its brand image. Another German automaker, BMW, placed second mainly due to the new 7 Series, the i3 EV, and i8 sports car. BMW's brand value increased 2 percent to 26.8 billion, which is just below Toyota's. Mercedes-Benz, which is in third place, has seen the highest value increase of any automotive brand at 4 percent to $22.7 billion. Improved sales, the introduction of the 2017 E-Class, and a product lineup that appeals well to its target consumer helped Mercedes-Benz gain more value and keep its third place position, according to Walshe. Audi, Honda, and Land Rover all lost value, with Audi seeing the biggest decline of any brand in the top 10. Walshe told Automotive News Europe that Audi's value dropped by 6 percent primarily because of the financial issues that resulted after the Volkswagen Group's emissions scandal. This year, due to the drop in value of some automakers in the top 10, the total value of the top 10 car brands is down by 3 percent to $139.9 billion. Source: Automotive New Europe (Subscription required), BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands | 9 | 99,209 | autos |
U.S. equities climbed higher on Wednesday in another session of relatively quiet trading. Although the gains were modest, it was enough to push large-caps to fresh 2016 highs and push the Dow Jones Industrial Average over the 18,000 level on a closing basis for the first time since April. Once again, there was no specific catalyst for the move; only a continuation of the slow-burn, short-covering melt up of the last few weeks that have capped a three-month consolidation pattern that has capped a three-year sideways crawl for stocks. In the end, the Dow gained 0.4%, the S&P 500 gained 0.3%, the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.3% and the Russell 2000 finished the day with a 0.8% gain. Treasury bonds were stronger, the dollar was weaker, gold rallied 1.3%, and crude oil gained 1.7% on another inventory draw and ongoing focus on Nigerian supply disruptions. 7 Monthly Dividend Stocks to Pay Your Bills Industrial stocks led the way, rising 0.7% as a group, followed by materials, up 0.6%. Energy names were the laggards, down 0.2%, after a standout performance on Tuesday. AK Steel Holding Corporation (NYSE: AKS ) gained 16.8% thanks to an upgrade by analysts at Credit Suisse citing price hikes on stainless products and cost-side improvements. But one gets the feeling that a breakout of volatility is on the verge of breaking out. On the upside, crude oil remains strong as investor confidence swells equity valuations. That's pushed the major averages to within a percentage points of fresh all-time highs. Read more from Anthony Mirhaydari and other top money experts Yet major hurdles loom as well including an ongoing earnings recession, the specter of fresh interest rate hikes, and a contentious U.S. presidential election as potential drags. Plus the fact that, on a number of valuation metrics, stocks have never been more expensive. Moreover, trading over the past week has been driven by the belief that Friday's disappointing payroll report has effectively tabled any chance of a Federal Reserve interest rate hike in June or July. But today's Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey was strong, suggesting the hiring slowdown is more about a lack of qualified and willing workers rather than fewer positions needing to be filled. Job openings rose to 5.788 million for the month, beating the 5.67 million consensus estimate. The job openings rate rose to a new post-recession high of 3.9%. RH Stock: WOW! Restoration Hardware Holdings Inc Is Circling the Drain If so, we should see wage inflation and thus overall inflation start to accelerate. That could pressure the Fed to tighten policy to stay ahead of inflation, strengthen the dollar, weaken commodities including energy, and deepen the drag on corporate earnings. We'll know more when the Fed releases its next policy statement and updates its economic projections and rate hike forecast next Wednesday. Anthony Mirhaydari is founder of the Edge and Edge Pro investment advisory newsletters. A two-week and four-week free trial offer has been extended to MSN Money readers. | 3 | 99,210 | finance |
Students told investigators someone pulled the fire alarm inside the school just before the shooting. | 5 | 99,211 | news |
Any NBA player has the annual salary to support a taste for the finer things in life. And according to new data on player spending habits, most of them aren't afraid to treat themselves, at least to some degree. According to data gathered by the San Francisco Chronicle , a sampling of 50 NBA players' spending habits found that the average player spends about $42,000 per month -- $500,000 per year. The data was compiled by Personal Capital, a firm that manages the wealth and spending of those athletes, and it's pretty interesting stuff. The most common area of spending, for example, was clothing, which drew 11 percent of players' overall spending. That might not seem crazy as a percentage of overall spending, but consider the lump sum that represents: for the average player, that's $55,000 on clothes in a year, more than what the average U.S. middle-class family makes in a year. Automotive was next at 9 percent, followed by travel at 8 percent. Restaurants and charitable giving were tied, at 7 percent. Russell Westbrook drives around in a Lamborghini Aventador! Check Out The Sickest #NBA Cars!: http://t.co/rFRygtnNra pic.twitter.com/K5n4kHBBIT Athletes Luxury™ (@AthletesLux) April 25, 2014 One important note: The figures don't account for certain savings funds, such as pensions and 401(k)s the players have with their companies. It's also a relatively small sample size of all NBA players, so it's hard to hold those figures up as representative of the entire league. Nevertheless, they offer a glimpse into the spending habits of our favorite, filthy rich NBA stars. You can assume the numbers for guys like LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant are much higher. We'll see how those numbers change after the impending salary cap increase floods the league with new player income. Do they make tuxedos out of solid gold? More NBA: -- Shaq Thought Phil Jackson Used Weed For Meditation -- 14 NBA Stars Who Won MVP And Title In Same Season -- Riley Curry Rules Stephen's Emoji App | 1 | 99,212 | sports |
NEW YORK -- An 8-month-old Louisiana girl Wednesday was the 11th baby to succumb to hot cars this year, according to a nonprofit that tracks the statistic. The girl, who family members identified to CBS affiliate WAFB as Raylee Mercer , was the second baby to die in a hot car this week. Authorities in Baton Rouge are investigating. In central New York, the baby son of a police officer died after being left inside a vehicle Monday, when outside temperatures were around 80 degrees, according to The Associated Press. Oneida County sheriff's deputies say Rome, New York, police officer Mark Fanfarillo found 4-month-old Michael inside the vehicle Monday afternoon and called 911. The child was rushed to Rome Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Authorities say Michael was left in his father's vehicle for an "extended period of time." Michael's father, a 10-year veteran of the Rome Police Department, was responsible for watching him at the time. The Oneida County Sheriff's Office is reportedly investigating. The nonprofit National Safety Council said in a statement Wednesday that the 11 hot car deaths so far in 2016 is above average. "These incidents have a common theme - a parent or caretaker becomes distracted and forgets the child in the backseat. It can only take a few minutes for a car's temperature to reach life-threatening levels, and children overheat four times faster than adults," the organization said. "Cracking windows does not help, and dark cars are not necessarily worse than light cars. Although these deaths are common in warm weather states, they occur across the country." No charges have been filed in either case. | 5 | 99,213 | news |
America is home to a sparkling collection of cities perfect for an early summer break. 10 of the best American cities for the start of the summer Summer is finally, almost here. To celebrate the return of the sun and debut your brand new summer wardrobe, why not take a weekend out to visit one of these fine American cities before the summer crowds set in. From the sunny reaches of Puerto Rico to the award-winning markets of Oregon, you never have to go far to find a spot in the sun. Boston, MA With countless parks to laze in and sunny streets to wander, Boston is the perfect Massachusetts location for an early summer break. Its brownstone blocks ooze urban tranquility and good vibes, while June brings a continuous run of food festivals to the city's ever-chic streets. Richmond, VA Adventure enthusiasts will love an early summer escape to Richmond. With the James River and its Belle Island nearby, this city is a haven for swimming, fishing, climbing and mountain biking when the weather starts to warm. Rafters will also find fantastic whitewater conditions. Providence, RI With balmy early summer temperatures, the many parks and river walks of Providence offer an unexpectedly pleasant detour from the usual tourist trail. The home of Brown University is also a great place to take the kids, with zoos, boat tours and other activities to keep them occupied from dawn till dusk. Denver, CO It may be ski central during the winter, but in the summer this city bursts with greenery. Its beautiful botanic gardens are ideal to wander in early summer, while Mount Evans awaits in the near distance to be explored by foot. Portland, OR As the first rays of summer sun hit, you can audibly hear this city breathe a sigh of relief. Oregon is home to some of the best parks in the US, and summer brings with it exceptional farmers markets with fresh, local produce to sample. Salt Lake City, UT With biking and hiking trails through its fantastic canyons, Utah is a hit with lovers of the outdoors. Salt Lake City, with its proximity to the impressive Great Salt Lake, is best visited in early summer, before the temperatures get too punchy. New Orleans, LA This is another place to squeeze in during the early days of balmy summer sun. Any later and the city begins to visibly steam, but the entire season is dedicated to food and drink festivals from all over the world. From the Tales of the Cocktail festival to Oyster Fest, you'll find something to suit your palette. San Diego, CA According to weather experts, this Californian gem has the best weather of any city in America. A trip to celebrate the beginning of summer will therefore consist of exploring the city's fantastic parks and catching some waves along the shoreline. Seattle, WA It may well be known for its constant deluges but the start of summer brings a little respite from the rain. The dry weather provides a fantastic opportunity to wander its farmers' markets - often voted the best in the country - and explore its green-filled streets with the kids. | 2 | 99,214 | travel |
CLEVELAND Steve Kerr said he was "devastated by the news" of Sean Rooks' death just hours after his former college teammate interviewed with the Knicks on Tuesday about a possible position on Jeff Hornacek's staff. "My son and Sean's son were teammates this year at Cal and all of us who knew Sean are just crushed," Kerr, the Warriors head coach, said prior to Game 3 of the NBA Finals. "It's a horrible loss and we're thinking most about Sean's two kids, Kameron and Khlayla, and hoping they're doing okay. But it's a huge loss." Rooks, 46, reportedly suffered a fatal heart attack late Tuesday while dining in a Philadelphia restaurant. Rooks, an assistant coach with the Philadelphia 76ers the last two years, had spent the afternoon at the Knicks' training center in Westchester, meeting with Hornacek, Knicks president Phil Jackson and general manager Steve Mills. Rooks was considering a job as the head coach of the Sixers D-League affiliate. The Knicks had not offered Rooks a job, but the two sides were discussing a position as an assistant coach where Rooks would work with forwards and centers, including Kristaps Porzingis and Robin Lopez. According to a source, Fisher considered hiring Rooks prior to last season. "We are all saddened and shocked by the passing of Sean Rooks, especially since we had just met with him yesterday about the possibilities of joining our coaching staff," Hornacek said in a statement released by the team. "His ability to work with big players and his passion for coaching were undeniable." Sixers head coach Brett Brown told Philadelphia reporters that he met recently with Rooks to help him prepare for his D-League interview. "When he was offered the position just a few days later, we spoke of the challenges, growth and responsibility that would help him personally move his career forward as a head coach,'' Brown said. "He was genuinely excited by this offer, as well as other job opportunities that were coming his way. "Sean Rooks was a wonderful person with a kind soul who deserved to live longer than he did,'' Brown added. "Sean was with me for two years and helped our young players and coaching staff by sharing his experiences in such an endearing way.'' Rooks played 12 seasons in the NBA for seven teams. He spent the 1999 season playing for the Lakers under head coach Kurt Rambis. Hornacek is in the process of filling out his staff. It has been reported for weeks that Rambis, who served as the interim head coach since February when Fisher was fired, is expected to remain on the bench. That is a potentially risky move for Hornacek because Rambis wasn't popular among the players. Rambis has the backing of Jackson and keeping him on the bench could leave players wondering if Hornacek is simply following Jackson's orders. Fisher worked for more than a year to show the players that he was his own man and not a Jackson puppet. Hornacek will face similar challenges now that he intends to run the triangle and will likely have Rambis on staff. Hornacek is also considering former NBA player Jerry Sichting, his top aide for two-plus seasons with the Phoenix Suns. The fate of the rest of the staff is unclear. Brian Keefe, Josh Longstaff, Rasheed Hazzard and Dave Bliss were all hired by Fisher. Rambis and Jim Cleamons were both hired by Jackson. | 1 | 99,215 | sports |
Audi and BMW stopped importing the wagon versions of their mid-size sedans to America with the advent of the current-generation models. Cadillac ceased production of its wagon completely with the latest CTS. Jaguar has never offered its XF wagon in the United States, and Lexus and the other players in the luxury segment have never even built mid-size wagons. Only the Mercedes-Benz E-class continues to offer a wagon to U.S. buyers. Blame America's unfortunate and somewhat illogical obsession with SUVs and crossovers for this near extinction. Never Gonna Give You Up Volvo, despite the success of its recently introduced XC90, is not ready to give up on the wagon market. That's hardly surprising, as Volvo has been building wagons since the introduction of the Duett in 1953. Wagons have always comprised a big part of Volvo sales; in the early 1970s, the company even built the 1800ES, a wagon version of its only sports car, the P1800. In America, the wagons almost seemed to define the brand. They appealed to drivers who wanted a safe, comfortable, and practical vehicle while displaying unostentatious affluence (another concept that seems to be in terminal decline). Volvo's commitment to this market will be demonstrated by the introduction of the 2018 V90 at some point next year. This is the wagon version of the new S90 luxury sedan that is going on sale this July. The wagon is mechanically identical, which means the same Scalable Product Architecture (SPA) platform with a control-arm front suspension, a multilink setup in back with a transverse leaf spring, and a 115.8-inch wheelbase. The styling and many of the body panels of the S90 also are shared, with the inevitable departures in the roof and aft of the front doors. The key dimensional differences are in length (the wagon is surprisingly shorter by 1.2 inches, due to less rear overhang) and height (the wagon's extended roofline rises higher than the sedan's by 1.3 inches). The V90's additional glass and heavier rear structure add a modest 70 pounds or so to the curb weight, according to Volvo. Dang, It Looks Good While the S90 is handsome, the V90 looks even better, with the elongated greenhouse enhancing the new model's clean sculpting. The taillights extend up into the D-pillars, in keeping with what has become Volvo tradition, and a long character line defines the car's shoulder. The subtle, full-length roof rails have an oval contour to mate with Thule system mounts. Inside, the V90 looks identical to the S90, at least from the back seat forward. The handsome cockpit employs upscale materials and vertical vents called Airblade, and the dash is dominated by Volvo's innovative and intelligent portrait-oriented 9.0-inch touchscreen, which eliminates many buttons and knobs. Under the hood, the V90 shares the S90's powertrain. Entry-level T5 models come with front-wheel drive and a 250-hp version of Volvo's Drive-E 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine, which makes 258 lb-ft of torque. The T6 employs all-wheel drive and adds a supercharger in order to greatly enhance the engine's low-rpm responsiveness while bumping output to 316 horsepower and 295 lb-ft. Both versions use an Aisin-Warner eight-speed automatic transmission that allows for full manual control. Positive Impressions We briefly drove the V90 in Spain, where most of the roads are even smoother than California could boast back in the days when the state still had an adequate highway maintenance budget. The V90 felt comfortable, quiet, refined, and responsive. The T6 we drove had plenty of power and the immediate responsiveness we expect from a supercharged engine. Our only dynamic criticism was the sharp increase in steering effort as you eased the wheel off-center. The hard initial steering makes the car feel heavier and less wieldy than it is. Despite the large open space in the back, there's absolutely no boominess, and we'd rate the V90's cabin to be as quiet as that of the S90. The main value of the wagon, of course, is utility, and the V90 delivers, with about two cubic feet more carrying capacity behind the rear seat than the S90 has in its trunk and an additional 34 cubic feet when you fold the rear seat's backrest. Unfortunately, no rear-facing third-row seat is offered as it has been in previous Volvo wagons. Volvo suggests the XC90 is a better machine for those who need three rows of seating, but that thinking somewhat contradicts the wagon's role as the anti-SUV. Despite this slight loss of purpose, we are delighted that Volvo is continuing its wagon heritage. We don't all have to drive SUVs, you know. Specifications VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, front- or 4-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door hatchback ESTIMATED BASE PRICES: T5, $53,000; T6, $62,000 ENGINE TYPES: turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 16-valve inline-4, 250 hp, 258 lb-ft; supercharged, turbocharged, and intercooled DOHC 16-valve inline-4, 316 hp, 295 lb-ft TRANSMISSION: 8-speed automatic with manual shifting mode DIMENSIONS: Wheelbase: 115.8 in Length: 194.3 in Width: 74.4 in Height: 58.1 in Passenger volume: 93 cu ft Cargo volume: 20 cu ft Curb weight (C/D est): 43504550 lb PERFORMANCE (C/D EST): Zero to 60 mph: 5.36.9 sec Zero to 100 mph: 15.316.4 sec Standing ¼-mile: 14.315.5 sec Top speed: 130 mph FUEL ECONOMY (C/D EST): EPA city/highway: 1922/3033 mpg | 9 | 99,216 | autos |
A little boy was caught on home security cameras entering another person's garage only to hug the homeowner's dog. Homeowner, Hollie Mallet, was reviewing her security video and was surprised. "This little boy loved our dog so much that he just wanted to steal a quick hug," she told Inside Edition. She posted the video on Facebook asking who the child is. Josh does not need to sneak into the garage any longer, as Mallet has invited him to play with Duchess anytime he wants. | 8 | 99,217 | video |
The Roth IRA may very well be the best way to save for retirement. Here's 11 things you should know about Roth IRA's. Original article: http://www.fool.com/retirement/general/2016/05/07/11-fast-facts-about-americas-greatest-retirement-t.aspx | 3 | 99,218 | finance |
The State Department inspector general's report on Hillary Clinton's use of a private email system while secretary of state had members in both parties spinning the facts to score partisan points this election season: Sen. Ron Johnson, the Republican chairman of the homeland security committee, said "you have to assume that our enemies and our adversaries had access to every email that ever went over her private server." But there's no evidence so far that any attempts to hack into Clinton's server were successful. Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff said former Secretary of State Colin Powell, a Republican, "did not respond … to the IG" when asked "to provide whatever emails he retained or to work with the private provider of those emails to provide them." Schiff gets his facts wrong. The IG made no such request, and the IG report noted that Powell told the State Department in 2015 that he did not retain any emails. Johnson, whose committee has been investigating the security of Clinton's email system, and Schiff, who is a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, appeared on the Sunday talk shows three days after the IG report was publicly released on May 26. That report was critical of Clinton's "exclusive reliance on a personal email account to conduct Department business," saying it had been department policy since 2005 that "normal day-to-day operations" must be conducted on government servers. Clinton was secretary of state from January 2009 to February 2013 . Was Clinton's Email System Hacked? On CBS' " Face the Nation ," Johnson a Wisconsin Republican who heads the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs called Clinton's email arrangement "reckless and dangerous." The State Department has said that many of her emails contained classified information including some emails that were higher than "top secret" although none was marked classified at the time the emails were sent and received. Some personal emails sent to Powell and aides to former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice also contained information that retroactively has been classified as "confidential" or "secret." Johnson, May 29: [Y]ou have to assume that our enemies and our adversaries had access to every email that ever went over her private server. Did it affect their actions … as it related to, for example, Vladimir Putin's invasion of Crimea or Eastern Ukraine? What about the negotiations with Iran? What about Assad? The IG report discussed the potential security risk of Clinton's server, but it did not report any security breaches and neither has any other investigative body so far contrary to Johnson's assumption. The senator's office told us he did not say Clinton's emails were hacked. Fair enough. But what evidence is there that Clinton's server may have been successfully hacked and that "every email that ever went over her private server" has been stolen? The IG report said hackers attempted to access Clinton's server on Jan. 9, 2011, but Clinton's technical support adviser shut down the server to deny access. The report also said that Clinton received two phishing email messages on May 13, 2011, that contained suspicious links. The campaign has said the phishing attempts were unsuccessful. In the past, Johnson has expressed concerns that hackers may have accessed Clinton's emails. Johnson sent a letter dated Oct. 5, 2015, to SECNAP Network Security Corp., which Johnson said provided a "threat-monitoring" device for Clinton's network. In that letter, Johnson said that there were attempts to hack into Clinton's server "originating in countries such as China, the Republic of Korea, and Germany," based on emails that the committee obtained as part of its examination of Clinton's email arrangement. Johnson wrote about an example of a cyberattack on Clinton's server that originated from China, but he said it was "detected and prevented." In citing that incident, Johnson asked the security company for more information because "questions remain about whether the private server was vulnerable to cyberattacks" prior to installation of the device. Questions still remain; Johnson's office told us that SECNAP said it could not respond to the senator's questions because it has a nondisclosure agreement with its client, presumably the Clintons. However, the New York Times in March reported that security logs from Clinton's email server were turned over to the FBI, and they showed no evidence of foreign hacking. We may not know whether Clinton's server was compromised until the FBI investigation is completed. In April, FBI Director Jim Comey declined to say when the investigation would be completed, but said he would not set an arbitrary deadline, such as completing it by the July nominating convention. The Powell Comparison On " Fox News Sunday ," Rep. Adam Schiff defended Clinton's decision to set up a private email system, repeatedly trying to draw comparisons to former Secretary of State Colin Powell, a Republican who served under President George W. Bush. Clinton and Powell were the only two secretaries of state who used personal email accounts "on an exclusive basis for day-to-day operations," according to the IG report. Unlike Clinton, Powell didn't use a private server. As the report notes, Powell said on " Meet the Press " on Sept. 6, 2015, that he used a commercial email account. He didn't say which provider, but Powell was a board member of America Online, or AOL, prior to becoming secretary of state. Host Chris Wallace several times sought to prevent Schiff from discussing Powell. At one point, Schiff criticized Wallace after the host noted that Powell agreed to be interviewed by the IG, but Clinton did not. Schiff accused Wallace of failing to mention that Powell "still has not responded to the IG" on some key matters. Schiff, May 29: [Y]ou did not bring up the fact that when Secretary Powell was asked to provide whatever emails he retained or to work with the private provider of those emails to provide them, he did not respond and still has not responded to the IG. You did not bring that up. Schiff twists the facts. First, the IG made no such request. The IG report, however, said that Powell's representative told the State Department in 2015 that he did not retain any work-related emails. So Powell was "asked to provide whatever e-mails he retained," and he responded. The IG report cited an April 2, 2015, letter written by State Department Deputy Assistant Secretary for Global Information Services Margaret Grafeld that said, "In March 2015, former Secretary Powell's representative advised that while former Secretary Powell used a personal email account during his tenure as Secretary of State, he did not retain those emails or make printed copies." Schiff is right that Powell was asked "to work with the private provider of those emails to provide them," but not by the inspector general. Schiff is actually referring to an Oct. 21, 2015, letter sent by Patrick Kennedy, the State Department's under secretary for management, to Powell's principal assistant, Peggy Cifrino, as noted in the IG report. The Office of Inspector General is an independent office within the State Department, and Kennedy is not under the IG's authority. In Kennedy's letter, the State Department encouraged Cifrino to contact the email provider Powell used as secretary of state to see if any work-related emails could be recovered. Powell was secretary of state from 2001 to 2005 , and the email account had been closed for years. The State Department did not specifically direct Powell's office to respond, saying only to forward work-related emails to the department "if you do recover any such emails." "You previously advised, with respect to official emails sent on Secretary Powell's private account during his time in office, that the account he used has been closed for a number of years," Kennedy wrote to Cifrino. "Based on advice we have received from the National Archives and Records Administration, the Department would nevertheless encourage you if you have not already done so to check with the internet service or email provider for the former account to see if it is still possible to retrieve any official emails from Secretary Powell's tenure at the Department. If you do recover any such emails, we would appreciate your forwarding them to the Department." The IG report noted that Powell's office as of May had not responded to the State Department's request not that Powell "still has not responded to the IG," as Schiff said. Clinton and her allies frequently compare Clinton's use of personal email to Powell's use. But the IG report was pointed in drawing key differences between Clinton and past secretaries. It said the rules governing personal email and the use of nongovernment systems were "considerably more detailed and more sophisticated" during Clinton's time in office. "Secretary Clinton's cybersecurity practices accordingly must be evaluated in light of these more comprehensive directives," the report said. https://www.sharethefacts.co/share/68f76d46-cae6-4457-ac3a-e48a10a42f73 https://www.sharethefacts.co/share/a8cfea3b-d51f-4fd3-8e8a-087aea3a13d0 | 5 | 99,219 | news |
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell falsely claimed that "the average person is about $3,000 or $4,000 a year worse off today than when President Obama came to office." Real median personal income under Obama was down about $400 as of 2014, the most recent Census data available. And wages have improved since 2014. A verage hourly earnings adjusted for inflation of all private-sector workers increased 2.6 percent since the end of 2014, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics . That indicates that "today," as McConnell put it, workers are a good bit better off than they were in 2014. McConnell discussed the economy when asked on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" about the political success of businessman Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee (at the 3:17 minute mark). McConnell, May 31: And you know, in today's politics, and people are legitimately unhappy, I mean, the average person is about $3,000 or $4,000 a year worse off today than when President Obama came to office, you can understand the anxiety and the desire for a kind of quick turnaround. To measure income for the "average person" we went to the Census Bureau and reviewed the data for real (inflation adjusted) median personal income. The most recent data ( table P-7 ) show that it was $28,757 in 2014, down $396 from $29,153 in 2008. When we asked McConnell's office where he got his figure of "about $3,000 or $4,000 a year," we were given data for median household income ( table H-8 ) from the Census Bureau. McConnell didn't say "average household;" he said "average person." But he's wrong about average household, too. In fact, by one report, average household income has fully recovered from the 2007 recession. By McConnell's measure, using Census data, there was a decline of $1,656 in median household income (not "$3,000 or $4,000″) as of 2014 (not "today"). According to the Census Bureau, the median household income in 2014 dollars (inflation adjusted) was $55,313 in 2008 and $53,657 in 2014. But that figure of $1,656 is outdated. As we mentioned earlier, average hourly earnings for private-sector workers increased 2.6 percent since the end of 2014, so today the "average person" is doing better now than even 2014. The average household is doing better, too. McConnell's office did not cite this, but there is a more up-to-date source of median household income and that's from Sentier Research , which provides monthly household income figures while the Census Bureau publishes annual figures. In 2012, GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney cited Sentier Research to make the exaggerated claim that the median income in America had fallen by $5,000 under Obama. It was a staple of his stump speech. But, as we wrote at the time , Romney's $5,000 figure dated to the start of the recession in December 2007 more than a year before Obama took office. Sentier Research now shows that median household income has fully recovered from the Great Recession, which officially ended June 2009. In its latest report , Sentier says household median income was $57,243 up $343, or 0.6 percent, from the start of the recession in December 2007. Sentier Research, "Household Income Trends April 2016," May 26, 2016: The April 2016 median income of $57,243 is 2.5 percent higher than the median of $55,859 in June 2009, the end of the recent recession and beginning of the "economic recovery." The April 2016 median is 0.6 percent higher than the median of $56,900 in December 2007, the beginning month of the recession that occurred more than eight years ago. It's time for McConnell to retire this Republican talking point, which was misused in 2012 and flat out wrong in 2016. https://www.sharethefacts.co/share/483f561d-0ec1-4cb4-802e-c631494830f1 | 5 | 99,220 | news |
Sometimes butter fights back The butter knife: It's a simple tool that's gone relatively unchanged for thousands of years. Until recently, that is. Lately, creative minds around the world have been tinkering with the butter knife in an attempt to make its lone function spreading butter a little bit easier. Now, a British-based company believes it has revolutionized the tool. EasiSpread is a heated butter knife that promises to warm the butter to a point where it spreads easily over bread without clumping or ripping the slice, according to The Verge . We're not talking margarine or butter substitutes here. This knife is primed for those bricks of cold butter. "Push the button and within five seconds, the blade heats up and will soften, but not melt the butter," the company website reads . The company plans to launch a Kickstarter campaign on July 1 and is currently offering a 25 percent discount for those who sign up now online . A previous Kickstarter campaign attempted to change the butter-spreading game with a knife-grater combination that supposedly made butter shockingly spreadable. The EasiSpread blade is detachable from the handle designed for easy cleaning and the company plans to offer additional attachments in the future (think heated ice cream scoop). The company has been a finalist in gadget shows and small business competitions. Now Watch Life hack: How to soften butter: | 0 | 99,221 | foodanddrink |
Golf's return to the Olympics this summer might lack some of the game's biggest stars, but when it comes to TV analysts, all the heavy hitters will be there. NBC Sports announced its coverage team for the Games on Golf Channel and both Johnny Miller and Nick Faldo are heading to Rio. Miller's usual booth partner, Dan Hicks, however, will not be by his side. No, the longtime duo didn't have a wardrobe spat. Hicks will be returning to his usual Olympics swimming play-by-play duties. Not a bad gig, either. OLYMPICS FAQ: Everything you need to know about golf in the Olympics Serving as play-by-play men to Johnny and Sir Nick during the men's competition (Aug. 11-14) will be Terry Gannon and Steve Sands. David Feherty will also be part of the coverage (as both an analyst and an on-course reporter), as well as Peter Jacobson, Roger Maltbie, Curt Byrum and Todd Lewis. RELATED: Why Johnny Miller usually does broadcasts in bare feet For the women's event (Aug. 17-20), Gannon and Sands will also do play-by-play. They'll be joined in the 18th tower by Annika Sorenstam and Judy Rankin. Golf Channel's wall-to-wall coverage of the event is fantastic news for golf fans. It means golf-knowledgable people will be handling the broadcast and that viewers will be able to see both tournaments in their entirety. Between Golf Channel and live streaming on NBCOlympics.com and the NBCSports Live Extra app, fans can watch 130(!) hours of live coverage. And now it means we'll get to see/hear more of Miller this summer. We just hope Johnny has been studying up on the grain down there. More from Golf Digest: The Hottest PGA Tour Wives and Girlfriends How Tiger's Swing Has Changed This Weekend's Best Golf Instagrams | 1 | 99,222 | sports |
NEW YORK President Barack Obama opened a determined fence-mending mission Wednesday, hoping to use his popularity among Democrats to unite the party behind Hillary Clinton and draw in Bernie Sanders supporters reluctant to give up after a grueling primary fight. In his first public remarks on the primary since Clinton clinched the nomination, Obama acknowledged the lingering bruised feelings and sought to shower praise on both candidates. He skirted a formal endorsement or a call on Sanders to drop out even as he spoke of the Vermont senator's campaign in the past tense. "It was a healthy thing for the Democratic Party to have a contested primary. And I thought Bernie Sanders brought enormous energy and his new ideas and he pushed the party and challenged them. I thought it made Hillary a better candidate," Obama said during a taping of NBC's "Tonight Show." ''My hope is that over the next couple of weeks we're able to pull things together. " Obama's impending endorsement for Clinton seemed like a fait accompli, as the president traveled to New York for Democratic Party fundraisers. Though the White House kept mum about the timing, all signs pointed to Obama endorsing Clinton on Thursday after the president meets with Sanders in the Oval Office. Democratic leaders hoped the meeting, requested by Sanders, would be a moment of catharsis for the party, sending a signal that even Sanders understands the importance of electing a Democrat in November. Yet it was unclear whether Sanders was ready to follow that script. The Vermont senator emailed supporters saying: "The struggle continues" and vowing to compete in the season's final primary contest next week in the District of Columbia. "Oh, let him make that decision," said Vice President Joe Biden, urging those calling for Sanders' withdrawal to "give him time." Biden was arranging calls with both Sanders and Clinton to discuss the race before making a public endorsement of his own. For the president, who reportedly has been itching to get off the sidelines in the race, the key question is whether voters who helped elect him twice will follow his lead now that he's not on the ballot. There was little reason for overconfidence among Democrats, who haven't seen that powerful coalition of minorities, young people and women reliably show up for candidates not named Obama during the last two mid-term elections. Obama-levels of support and turnout among those groups especially African-Americans and Hispanics would make Trump's path to victory exceedingly narrow. But the yearlong battle between Clinton and Sanders exposed clear rifts: Young people and the most liberal voters fell overwhelmingly in Sanders' camp, while Clinton locked in support among Hispanics and African-Americans. Obama "will be one of the politicians who can help bring the party together by making the progressive case for Hillary Clinton," said former Obama adviser Dan Pfeiffer, who added that the president's most important job in the campaign would be "turning out his voters in November." Trump, meanwhile, was making a fresh pitch to Sanders voters, refusing to concede that the Vermont senator's backers were unlikely to vote for him. In New York, Obama was raising money for Democrats and reaching out to young voters, taping an appearance on the late show hosted by Jimmy Fallon, who's very popular with that key voting group. NBC released an excerpt of the interview, but the full interview will not run until Thursday. White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Obama has deliberately kept in close touch with his supporters even after his last election in 2012 and would be a "particularly influential advocate" for the Democratic nominee. "I would think that would have some influence on those who supported Sen. Sanders in the primary," he said, "but I also suspect that Sen. Sanders is going to have something to say about this as well." For months, Obama has been on the sidelines of the Clinton-Sanders showdown, arguing he didn't want to tip the scales before voters weighed in. As an added benefit, his publicly neutral stance may have helped him retain credibility he'll now need to persuade Sanders' supporters who are deeply skeptical of the Democratic establishment's influence in picking the nominee. In addition to campaign events, Obama is likely to keep up his social media-profile, capitalize on his skill with pop culture interviews and the humor-laced digs at Trump, as he's demonstrated in recent speeches. ___ Lederman reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Alan Fram contributed to this report. ___ Reach Kathleen Hennessey on Twitter at https://twitter.com/khennessey and Josh Lederman at http://twitter.com/joshledermanAP | 5 | 99,223 | news |
A litter of19 puppies just was born at the Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine in Alabama. It's the largest litter ever born at the school. The mother, a 4-year-old African Boerboel named Bailey delivered them via a caesarian section. One little dog did not survive. Bailey, however, didn't break any records. Guinness World Records reports the largest litter was 24 puppies born in 2004. | 8 | 99,224 | video |
NEW YORK (AP) Nike says it ''will continue to partner'' with Maria Sharapova, despite her two-year suspension for failing a drug test. The sportswear giant said in a statement Wednesday: ''We hope to see Maria back on court.'' Sharapova was punished by a three-person Tennis Anti-Doping Program tribunal appointed by the International Tennis Federation, which concluded she took meldonium ''for the purpose of enhancing her performance.'' She had been taking it since 2006. Meldonium was banned as of Jan. 1. Sharapova tested positive at the Australian Open on Jan. 26, and said later she didn't know the substance was newly banned. In March, when Sharapova announced she failed a drug test, Nike said it had ''decided to suspend our relationship with Maria while the investigation continues'' but that it would ''monitor the situation.'' | 1 | 99,225 | sports |
Sunscreen, as important as it is, is confusing . It doesn't have to be, though! Cosmopolitan made picking the best sunscreen for you easy with this chart. Pick what your skin tone, skin type, and activity level is and you'll be protected in no time. This article was originally published as "What's The Best Sunscreen For Me?" in the June 2016 issue of Cosmopolitan . | 4 | 99,226 | lifestyle |
The Obama administration believes that at least 12 detainees released from the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, have launched attacks against U.S. or allied forces in Afghanistan, killing about a half-dozen Americans, according to current and former U.S. officials. In March, a senior Pentagon official made a startling admission to lawmakers when he acknowledged that former Guantanamo inmates were responsible for the deaths of Americans overseas. The official, Paul Lewis, who oversees Guantanamo issues at the Defense Department, provided no details, and the Obama administration has since declined to elaborate publicly on his statement because the intelligence behind it is classified. But The Washington Post has learned additional details about the suspected attacks, including the approximate number of detainees and victims involved and the fact that, while most of the incidents were directed at military personnel, the dead also included one American civilian: a female aid worker who died in Afghanistan in 2008. The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter, declined to give an exact number for Americans killed or wounded in the attacks, saying the figure is classified. Lewis's statement had drawn scrutiny on Capitol Hill, where some lawmakers see the violence against Americans as further evidence that the president's plans for closing the prison are misguided and dangerous. They also describe the administration's unwillingness to release information about the attacks as another instance of its use of high levels of classification to avoid discussion of a politically charged issue that could heighten political opposition to its plans. One U.S. official familiar with the intelligence said that nine of the detainees suspected in the attacks are now dead or in foreign government custody. The official would not specify the exact number of detainees involved but said it was fewer than 15. All of them were released from Guantanamo Bay under the administration of George W. Bush. The official added: "Because many of these incidents were large-scale firefights in a war zone, we cannot always distinguish whether Americans were killed by the former detainees or by others in the same fight." Military and intelligence officials, responding to lawmakers' requests for greater details, have provided lawmakers with a series of classified documents about the suspected attacks. One recent memo from the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), which was sent to the House Foreign Affairs Committee after Lewis's testimony, described the attacks, named the detainees involved and provided information about the victims without giving their names. But lawmakers are prohibited from discussing the contents of that memo because of its high classification level. A similar document provided last month to the office of Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.), a vocal opponent of Obama's Guantanamo policy, was so highly classified that even her staff members with a top-secret clearance level were unable to read it. "There appears to be a consistent and concerted effort by the Administration to prevent Americans from knowing the truth regarding the terrorist activities and affiliations of past and present Guantanamo detainees," Ayotte wrote in a letter to Obama this week, urging him to declassify information about how many U.S. and NATO personnel have been killed by former detainees. Rep. Edward R. Royce (R-Calif.), who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has also written legislation that would require greater transparency surrounding the transfer of Guantanamo detainees. Royce and Ayotte are among the lawmakers who opposed a road map for closing the prison that the White House submitted to Congress earlier this year. That plan would require moving some detainees to U.S. prisons and resettling the rest overseas. "The administration is releasing dangerous terrorists to countries that can't control them, and misleading Congress in the process," Royce said in a statement. "The president should halt detainee transfers immediately and be honest with the American people." Just under 700 detainees have been released from Guantanamo since the prison opened in 2002; 80 inmates remain. Secrecy about the top-security prison, perched on an inaccessible corner of Cuba, is nothing new. The Bush administration for years refused provide a roster of detainees until it was forced to do so in a Freedom of Information Act case in 2006. To this day, reporters have never been able to visit Camp 7, a classified facility that holds 14 high-value detainees, including the five men on trial for organizing the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Both the Bush and Obama administrations have provided only limited information on current and former detainees; most of what the public knows about them comes from defense lawyers or from documents released by WikiLeaks. According to a 2012 report from the House Armed Services Committee, the Defense Intelligence Agency ended the practice of naming some suspected recidivists in 2009 when officials became concerned that it would endanger sources and methods. National Security Council spokesman Myles Caggins said it was difficult to discuss specific cases in detail because the information was classified. "But, again, we are committed to being forthcoming with the American people about our safe and responsible approach to Guantanamo detainee transfers, including about possible detainee re-engagement in terrorist activities," he said. One Republican aide who has reviewed the classified material about the attacks on Americans said the information has been "grossly overclassified." Administration officials say that recidivism rates for released Guantanamo inmates remain far lower than those for federal offenders. According to a recent study , almost half of all federal offenders released in 2005 were "rearrested for a new crime or rearrested for a violation of supervision conditions." Among former Guantanamo detainees, the total number of released detainees who are suspected or confirmed of reengaging is about 30 percent, according to U.S. intelligence. Nearly 21 percent of those released prior to 2009 have reengaged in militancy, officials say, compared with about 4.5 percent of the 158 released by Obama. Human rights activists say the statistics are suspect and cannot be verified because the administration provides almost no information about whom it is counting and why. Most of those suspected of re-engagement are Afghan, reflecting the large numbers of Afghans detained after the Sept. 11 attacks and the ongoing war there. More than 200 Afghan prisoners have been repatriated from the prison. Officials declined to identify the woman killed in Afghanistan in 2008. But there are two female aid workers killed that year who might fit the description. Cydney Mizell, a 50-year-old employee of the Asian Rural Life Development Foundation, was abducted in Kandahar as she drove to work. Her body was never recovered, according to a former colleague who said he was told about a month later that she had died. Another woman, Nicole Dial, 30, a Trinidadian American who worked for the International Rescue Committee, was shot and killed the same year south of Kabul, along with two colleagues. Relatives of Mizell and Dial said they have not been in touch with the FBI for years. Dial's brother said he was unaware of a former Guantanamo detainee being involved in his sister's killing. Mizell's stepmother said she was never told the exact circumstances of her daughter's death or who abducted her. "She was definitely killed," Peggy Mizell said. "I figured she was shot." Julie Tate contributed to this report. | 5 | 99,227 | news |
Manchester United defender Chris Smalling paid tribute to former manager Louis van Gaal on Wednesday for helping him to become a first-choice pick for both club and country. United said farewell to defensive stalwarts Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic prior to Van Gaal's arrival in 2014 and when it came to constructing a new back four, the Dutchman made Smalling a central component. With Smalling a virtual ever-present, United had the joint-best defensive record in the Premier League last season and although Van Gaal was sacked, to be replaced by Jose Mourinho, the England defender remains grateful for his efforts. "It was great working with Louis and getting a good run of games," said Smalling -- memorably misnamed 'Mike' by Van Gaal -- at England's Euro 2016 media centre in Chantilly. "Knowing Louis, he's one that's very tactically aware. Despite the ups and downs of the season, I think on the whole we as a team were very solid. "We didn't concede too many goals throughout the season. That's something he really implemented on us, whereas in a couple of the previous seasons we did concede a lot. "That season he really drilled us from the front right to the back in terms of how we move, how we shift, and that's obviously helped me because that's a large part of my game. "I think a lot of the defence took a lot of credit from that." Smalling, 26, will have a new centre-back partner next season after Mourinho made Ivory Coast international Eric Bailly his first new signing from Villarreal in a reported £30 million (38.4 million euros, $43.7 million) deal. Smalling has played with several United greats during his six years at Old Trafford and cites Ferdinand, capped 81 times by England, as "a big influence". Though relatively inexperienced himself at international level, with 25 caps to his name, the youthful nature of Roy Hodgson's squad makes Smalling something of a senior figure. The former Fulham player is rooming beside his 18-year-old United team-mate Marcus Rashford at England's team hotel and he said that the young striker had been quick to find his feet. "Marcus was lucky enough to know some of them because of some of the younger ages and they're around his age anyway, but to start with it's nice that he's got a couple of familiar faces who he knows," said Smalling, whose side launch their Euro 2016 campaign against Russia in Marseille on Saturday. "Now you can see he's a lot more relaxed. You can see him on the training pitch, he's smiling. Because it's an easy squad to get to know." | 1 | 99,228 | sports |
The Most Thrilling Places to Swim With Sharks The Most Thrilling Places to Swim With Sharks Many people are scared of swimming in shark infested beaches , and for good reason. Sharks have sharp teeth, frightening eyes and can be deadly . The word "shark!" alone usually sends people into panic. But, for the adrenaline seekers , who have no fear, there are places in the world where you can literally swim with the sharks. *Related: The World's Deadliest Sharks Swimming with the sharks is an experience like no other. These deadly creatures are actually unique and spectacular animals. They have an incredible sense of smell, they live very long lives and for the most part, they are just trying to mind their own business… that is unless you antagonize them. Visit the places on this list for an up close and personal shark encounter. Go cage diving and view Great White Sharks, snorkeling with lemon sharks or scuba diving into the deep blue sea. Adrenaline lovers - this is an adventure you will definitely want to add to your bucket list . Isla de Guadalupe, Mexico Isla Guadalupe has become a favorite destination among Great White diving enthusiasts . It is known as one of the top spots in the world for cage diving. Fun Fact: Guadalupe white sharks have been seen on shows like Shark Week and National Geographic's Great Migrations. Gansbaai, South Africa Check out Great Whites and Bull Sharks deep in the sea on a shark cave diving experience in Gansbaai. A typical excursion lasts about 3-5 hours, which is more than enough time to experience shark sightings . Visitors say the best time of the year to go is from June to September. Click here to see a variety of tours to choose from. Osprey Reef, Australia According to Dive The World , Osprey Reef is known as one of the premier Great Barrier Reef dive liveaboard destinations, both for the visibility that it offers and the big fish action. Capture a glimpse of the variety of marine life and get up close and personal with sharks . Expect to see silky sharks, grey reef sharks and maybe even silvertips and hammerheads. Bonus: The northern Great Barrier Reef is a year-round diving destination. Farallon Islands, California The Farallon Islands are located in San Francisco, California the only major metropolitan city in the world to host a population of white sharks, according to greatwhiteadventures.com . Expeditions are held from late September through November. Monad Shoal, Philippines This world famous dive site is well known for their Thresher Sharks; it is the only place in the world you can encounter them every day. The best time to see them is in the morning. Dive in the Visayan Sea with Big Fish Expeditions for a once in a life time experience. You have the opportunity to do up to 20 dives throughout the week and experience exotic species and a variety of marine life , amongst the sharks. Galapagos Islands Some of the most incredible wildlife in the world can be found on the Galapagos Islands . "For the fourth year in a row, Galapagos is rated the #1 best overall dive destination in the world by Rodale's Scuba Diving Magazine's 2001 "Readers' Choice Awards"!! 100% of the survey respondents that had been to Galapagos said they would go back," according to Shark Diving International . False Bay, South Africa False Bay is well known for its sightings of whales and sharks. Go Great White Shark Breaching and cage diving all in one trip. Peak season is from mid-May through mid-September. Look out for Great White Sharks , Whale Sharks and Tiger Sharks. Neptune Islands, South Australia South Australia is the only place in Australia where you can get up close and personal with a Great White Shark . According to National Parks South Australia , "the sharks are protected in South Australia, and the crystal clear waters of the Neptune Islands Group (Ron and Valerie Taylor) Marine Park are one of the best spots to see them in their natural habitat." Check out one of these three tours: Adventure Bay Charters, Calypso Star Charters and Rodney Fox Shark Expeditions. Stewart Island, New Zealand Steward Island is one of the largest islands in New Zealand . It has a small population and a variety of wilderness. If you're looking for the experience of a lifetime, go cage diving with Great White Sharks. Tiger Beach, Bahamas Explore the deep sea on a Tiger Shark cage dive in the Bahamas. See Tiger Sharks, lemons and other shark species up close. Sharks are guaranteed to be seen from dawn until dusk. Enjoy six nights accommodation aboard the Dolphin dream and five days of unlimited shark diving with Big Fish Expeditions . | 2 | 99,229 | travel |
Montreal Canadiens legend Guy Lafleur isn't a fan of wild playoff beards. In an interview with the Montreal Gazette , the 64-year-old Hockey Hall of Famer said that he's not a fan of long beards like the ones worn by San Jose Sharks' Brent Bruns or Joe Thornton. "I think it's a disgrace for hockey. I hate it. It's not a good image for the NHL," said Lafleur. "I don't mind a guy wearing a beard, but to his belly … enough is enough. The team's managers should put their foot down. "They can't see the puck," Lafleur added with a laugh. "That's why they're struggling." That's a weird stance to take. He's pro-beard, but not pro-crazy beard? Personally, I think the beards Burns and Thornton have are incredible and add some personality to the Stanley Cup playoffs. Lafleur being the old, crusty man that the is, is making some seriously asinine comments. People who wear long beards are a disgrace? A manager should put their foot down? There are much more pressing issues than someone's beard length. The NHL doesn't operate like the New York Yankees. There's no facial hair policy, especially in the NHL playoffs where beards reign supreme and are even encouraged. It's one of the best parts of the postseason. Burns keeping up the look in the regular season is a bonus if anything. Honestly, Lafleur is being a jerk with his remarks. It's a great image for the NHL. Beards are rad. Long beards are more rad. Lafleur is a hockey legend, but that doesn't mean he's always right. In this case, he's very, very wrong. | 1 | 99,230 | sports |
CLEVELAND When the Golden State Warriors won it all a year ago, there was a scary sense in NBA circles that this would become the new norm. There was, most agreed, some potential for a dynasty here. Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green all budding stars in their prime each had contracts that weren't expiring anytime soon. Coach Steve Kerr had proven adept at pulling all the right strings. And when the time came to make sure their core stayed put, Joe Lacob and the rest of the Warriors' ownership group had made it clear at every turn that they'd pay up. But as the past few weeks have shown, it's not quite that simple. After the 73-win regular season that had the Warriors looking so far ahead of the pack, the Oklahoma City Thunder shattered that air of invincibility with a Western Conference Finals slugfest. The margin of error, the basketball world could see, wasn't quite what we may have believed. Then came the NBA Finals rematch with the Cleveland Cavaliers, a one-sided series that has reaffirmed yet again that the Warriors need more than the Curry-Thompson-Green trio to remain at this elite level in the years to come. Backup point guard Shaun Livingston was the unofficial MVP of Game 1, scoring 20 points while super subs like Andre Iguodala and veteran speedster Leandro Barbosa played pivotal roles. Role players were huge yet again in Game 2, when big man Andrew Bogut put a lid on the rim early on and so many of "the others," as TNT analyst Charles Barkley always refers to the non-superstars, turned in key performances. There's a reason the team motto is "Strength in Numbers," but it won't be easy for the Warriors to live up to that mantra after this season. For all the talk of how free-agent-to-be Kevin Durant might leave Oklahoma City and come the Warriors' way this summer, the overlooked part in the discussion about the defending champions is how they have eight players who are set to be free agents. All it takes is a few wrong moves, and perhaps some altered team chemistry, and this dominant group could be on the decline. Say what you will about restricted-free-agent-to-be Harrison Barnes, who is sure to command huge dollars on the open market with the league's salary cap about to spike from $70 million to $92 million, but he's a productive puzzle piece on an all-time team. Backup big man Festus Ezeli (also restricted) is a puzzle in his own right, especially when one considers the impact of starting center Andrew Bogut in the Finals and his desire for an extension this summer that he has long since made public. Barbosa, the 33-year-old who scored 21 points in 29 minutes through the first two games, is an unrestricted free agent. Big man Marreese Speights, whose scoring punch off the bench (7.1 points and 11.1 minutes per game) was such a luxury during the regular season, is also an unrestricted free agent. Ditto for center Anderson Varejao, who came their way midseason and had a few memorable postseason moments. Veteran small forward Brandon Rush, who was the starter during an early season stretch in which the Warriors went 13-2 while Barnes recovered from an ankle injury, is also unrestricted. Ian Clark (promising young shooting guard who scored 21 points against the Dallas Mavericks on Dec. 30) and James McAdoo (a 23-year-old forward who came through their D-League system) are both restricted free agents. These are all questions to be answered next month as the Warriors' repeat effort remains the priority for now. But the future, and the degree to which it's promising, is more unclear than you might think. | 1 | 99,231 | sports |
Think of the oddest place you can actually stay in; it's probably on this list Unique Places Around the World to Stay for Summer Traveling allows you to get to know many new places and cultures. Consider making the experience even more authentic by staying in a treehouse , igloo, overwater bungalow or a castle instead of a traditional hotel. The unique places on the following list vary by country, price, and accommodations, some of which can be described as "bizarre." There is something for everyone from active adventurers and off the beaten path enthusiasts. Scottish Brochs, Scotland Unique to Scotland, historic brochs are huge drystone towers, largely dating from around 100 BC to 100 AD (during the Roman invasion of Britain), according to VisitScotland.com . Most of the prehistoric brochs in the country are now in ruins . Modern reincarnations have been built where people can stay on vacations . They have superb drystone walls, floor to ceiling windows and bright, spacious interiors. A Covered Sheep Wagon, Wyoming If you want to take a break from the concrete jungle in the city and spend some time in the country, make it unique by staying at a covered sheep wagon. It will hardly get more rural than this and you can rent it on Airbnb . Experience the old Wild West for a few days. It has a bed, stove and lighting. Propeller Island City Lodge, Germany This mobile hotel will have you reconsider every piece of furniture you have in your home. There are rooms where the beds are coffins; the bath is in a huge plastic bag; a king-size bed is cut into two single ones with a guillotine; the floor in one room is slanted so it looks like the bed is in the air; one room is actually upside down (the furniture is suspended). Das Park Hotel, Linz, Austria Have you ever thought you could actually sleep in concrete sewage pipes? The Das Park Hotel in Linz cleaned up a few and renovated them, offering the unique opportunity to sleep on the banks of Danube, which is one of the world's best rivers for cruises . The windows on the top allow for the perfect stargazing experience . Ariau Amazon Towers, Manaus, Brazil Staying in towers set up high among Amazon tree tops for a few days, waking up to the sound of impressive birds and animals is a great way to relax and reconnect with nature . You will have your own terrace with an incredible view of the largest tropical forest in the world, renowned for its immense biodiversity. You can also find swimming pools, bars and pathways set up among the tree tops. Barn Loft, California There are several barns in California you can rent on Airbnb. Some are bigger than others and have different accommodations . You can find one with a deck, horse-drawn carriages, or near ranches in the state. A popular barn loft is the " Love Nest " in Morongo Valley. The place has a "Draft Horse Saloon," typical for the Wild West. Hobbit Motel, New Zealand You don't have to be a Lord of the Rings fan to enjoy a hobbit home . You can see a pig or a donkey on the roof in the morning. That's quite common and amusing. As a plus, you get to see the Billy Black Kiwi Culture show to learn about the local way of life . The motel also has a plane, boat, and train carriage where people can spend the night. The Hobbits is close to the Waitomo Caves, offering an amazing view across the hillside. Silo Cottage, Tyringham, Massachusetts Talking about an original place to stay! This former sculpting studio can be rented out on Airbnb . It's like literally staying in a tree with lots of windows, surrounded by a rustic landscape. Bonus: The cottage comes with four acres of green heaven walking paths , ponds, lakes, stone bridges as well as stone bench seating area with a chimney that can be used. Relais Castel Porrona, Italy This 12th century castle in the historic village of Porrona in Tuscany is like a small heaven on earth . Enjoy rolling hills of sunflower fields, olive trees and vineyards. The Castel Porrona has a fully-equipment kitchen in every room so you can cook your own meals if you want. You can also go horseback riding, play tennis or relax in the pool and sauna. Castell de Cardona, Spain Staying at Castell de Cardona is literally like traveling back to the Middle Ages. The fortress was built in 800 AD and still stands high atop a promontory and watches over the picturesque village of Cardona. The décor, fosses, towers and walls still have gothic elements. The castle hotel, one of the most incredible in the world , has 53 guest rooms. The estate is attached to the famous Church of Sant Vicenç and Minyona Tower, both built in the 11th century. The views of the rolling hills and Cardona are a real gift every morning. The Manta Resort, Pemba Island How does waking up in a room set up in an aquamarine-hued bubble surrounded by fish and water sound like? The Manta Resort 's most famous accommodation has three levels, one of which is under sea level . You will sleep there. Huge windows will allow you to literally sleep surrounded by trumpet fish, manta ray and octopus. Hang Nga, Vietnam The Hang Nga guesthouse has been nicknamed the Crazy House because is its unique design and architecture. It resembles fairytale home built on twisted trees in the jungle. Look at it from afar and you may think you are in Alice s Wonderland with giant mushrooms, spider webs and caves . The rooms, connected by ladders, bridges and tunnels, look like you re in the middle of the wilderness surrounded by animals. Intercontinental Le Moana, Bora Bora A holiday there is a tropical vacation of a lifetime. Chic overwater bungalows stretch out over the lagoon, with the summits of Otemanu and Pahia rising up in the distance. With white sand and- turquoise waters all around you, leaving this beautiful island will be difficult. Misool Eco Eco Resort, Indonesia The resort is quiet and remote, literally nestled among unpopulated islands . The overwater cabanas have hammocks and steps leading right into the water, allowing for the experience of snorkeling off your private deck. Misool Eco Resort is an exclusive dive resort . The center, also built on stilts, offers three dives a day. Koza Cave Hotel, Goreme, Turkey Have you ever spent the night in a cave ? It can be a very cool (literally) experience in the summer . The ancient cave dwellings were restored using reclaimed stone, wood and iron. All rooms have air-conditioning and WiFi. Hot air balloon flights, quad-bike tours and horseback riding are popular activities. Cuevas el Abanico, Granada, Spain Enjoy the unique experience of staying in an authentic cave in the Sacromonte, a hill next to the Albaicín which is the old Arabic quarter of Granada. The region is known for its caves, many of which have been turned into guesthouses. You can see authentic flamenco performances which maintain their original, indigenous color and character. The iconic palace Alhambra is a quick walk away. Palacio de Sal, Uyuni, Bolivia If you've stayed at a hotel made of ice , it's time to visit one made of salt. Palacio de Sal is built on the world's largest salt flat. Even the furniture in the hotel is made of salt. The rooms at Palacio de Sal look like igloos build with salt blocks. All the rooms have a private bathroom, hot and cold water and central or electric heating. Transparent Bubble Tree, France You won't get any privacy here but you will feel like you're one with nature because you are literally sleeping outside . Stargazers will really appreciate it anywhere you turn you see clear dark skies. Such bubble pods have been set up all over France and are becoming popular in Switzerland as well. Kakslauttanen Hotel and Igloo Village, Finland Glass igloos, log cabins and extraordinary views…who would not want to stay in this igloo village? They were designed so visitors can enjoy the Northern Lights in their full glory but sleeping there is an amazing experience even if you don't catch them. You can stay in a snow igloo if you feel that's a more authentic experience. You can go on a husky and reindeer safari in the winter. Boarding an icebreaker cruise is also popular. Nomad's ger, Mongolia Living a Nomadic life in rural Mongolia for a week can be a challenge. Hiking , biking, rafting , and kayaking are often involved. You'll get to see where Genghis Khan set out to conquer the world. You'll live in a Nomad's ger , and ride horses while learning archery and garment-making skills. You may have to get up early to help your hosts with chores like milking the cows and making your own dairy products for breakfast. TreeHotel in Harads, Sweden This tree house hotel is among the most famous in the world because of it futuristic and high-tech design. One of the houses, the Mirror Cube, reflects the surrounding trees. You may be under it and not actually notice a tree house above your head. Talking about blending…Another tree house is a cabin and a third looks like a huge bird s nest. Free Spirit Spheres in Vancouver Island, British Columbia Each of the three spheres is made from wood. They literally hang in the air attached to supporting trees with a synthetic rope. The epic tree houses are available to book all year-round, which is not the case with many others. The spheres look like a yacht from the inside. In fact, they are built based on a sailboat construction. Stairways hang from a tree much like a sailboat shroud hangs from the mast. You can feel the spheres move "like a gentle rocking" when the wind blows. | 2 | 99,232 | travel |
If you've been following the details surrounding Amber Heard and Johnny Depp's divorce , you'll know the situation is very emotionally charged. Shortly after the news was announced , Amber came forward with allegations of domestic abuse, and Johnny Depp released a statement counteracting the claims . As tension increased, Johnny's daugther, Lily-Rose Depp, spoke out in defense of her father, and his ex Vanessa Paradis shared similar sentiments . On Wednesday, Io Tillett Wright, a friend of the former couple, penned a chilling account of the alleged domestic abuse , and revealed she made the first 911 call that brought the police into the situation. The intense essay goes on to discuss the public's noted tendency to blame victims and side with alleged perpetrators; it makes it that much harder for battered women to come forward. If you don't want to read to essay in full - which, frankly, you should - we've pulled out a handful of poignant quotes below. "I witnessed firsthand the absolutely baffling mental pretzel that an abused person puts themselves into , trying to balance the desire to protect their aggressor, with the knowledge that their swollen face is unacceptable." "The bottom, unequivocal line is, nothing she ever could have said or done deserves what she describes as him dragging her up the stairs by the hair, punching her in the back of the head, choking her until she almost passed out, and smashing his forehead into her nose until it almost broke." "We say domestic violence is bad, we condemn it. But as a culture, we create the most fertile breeding ground for it to thrive." "The cycle of abuse is perpetuated by every person who asserts that the victim more likely punched themselves rather than addressing the very real evidence of violence in front of them." "Right now, every battered woman in the world is watching this media circus, internalizing the message that when they come forward for help, when they break the cycle, they will be called a gold digger, a cheater, and be accused of having faked it all for attention . "Your searching for an explanation for why he would have hit her sends the clear message that there CAN be a reason why someone hits their spouse." "It doesn't matter what was said between the two lovers, it doesn't matter if the romance was coming to an end, because nothing warrants that response . No person, ever, should suffer violence at the hands of the person they love." "I watched a woman with a broken spirit go on national television the next night, covered in makeup, smiling through a bloody lip, who nearly jumped out of her seat when someone casually put a hand on her shoulder because she didn't know what was coming ." "Because I realized that as long as I was protecting the abuser from consequences , I was enabling the abuse and I could no longer partake." "Whether we loved him or not has nothing to do with it. When it comes to violence, 'love' is no longer part of the equation ." | 4 | 99,233 | lifestyle |
Donald Trump ridiculed it, saying it was the only thing Hillary Clinton had going for her candidacy. On Tuesday as she made history, she opted to play it proudly. In the race for the White House, Clinton is playing the "woman card." "If America is going to lead, we need to learn from the women of the world who have blazed new paths" -- from the start of her Brooklyn victory event Tuesday, when she claimed the Democratic presidential nomination, Clinton set the tone. Clinton is now putting history at the heart of her campaign: 96 years after women earned the national right to vote in the United States, she has made history as the first woman to run for the US presidency as the candidate of a major party. And in five months, she hopes to become America's first female commander-in-chief. Once again, she has shattered a glass ceiling -- a term used to describe the invisible barriers faced by women in the workplace, who are a rare sight in the highest ranks of the corporate world, nonprofit world or in government. During her first White House bid, which she lost in 2008 to Barack Obama, the former first lady, senator and secretary of state sometimes hesitated when confronting the sensitive issue. But this time around, times have changed -- and she's facing a different kind of opponent. "Rarely do we see a presidential candidate who is so willing to engage in sexist rhetoric," Jennifer Lawless, an expert on women in politics at American University in Washington, said of Trump. "Trump's comments are unusual -- and so over the top -- that they provide an excellent opportunity for Hillary Clinton to respond in a multifaceted way." For Christopher Borick, a professor of political science at Muhlenberg College, "once the Sanders excitement fades and many of his supporters start to fear the possibility of Trump, the woman card could be an important means by which to build excitement for her candidacy." Clinton knows that her Republican adversary has dismal approval ratings among women voters, and she wants to maximize that advantage. "When Donald Trump... calls women 'pigs' -- it goes against everything we stand for. Because we want an America where everyone is treated with respect and where their work is valued," Clinton said Tuesday before an enthusiastic crowd. - 'You can be anything... including president' - According to a recent Gallup poll, 70 percent of American women have an unfavorable opinion of Trump, a figure that has consistently risen over the course of the last nine months. And since 1980, without any break in the trend, American women have proportionally voted more often than men in presidential elections. In 2012, 53 percent of voters were women. Both Obama and Bill Clinton earned wide support from women in their election wins, and Hillary should also largely benefit from the gender gap in November. But Borick noted: "Given her major weaknesses among white males, she will need the gap to be at least as big as it has been in the last 25 years and in all likelihood even larger if she is to prevail." Clinton has strong arguments on her side. According to an annual Gallup poll, she has been -- 20 times since 1993 -- the woman most admired by Americans, a record. Some in Washington are raising the possibility that Clinton could choose a female running mate. But is America ready for an all-woman presidential ticket? "I think at some point. Maybe this time, maybe in the future," Clinton told ABC News in an interview taped moments before her victory speech Tuesday night and aired on Wednesday. The former first lady now just must find a way to galvanize young female voters who overwhelmingly supported her rival Bernie Sanders and his "political revolution." "I do think the historic nature of her nomination will eventually start to reach the younger cohort of women voters and pay dividends in November," Borick said. "But she will have to build out this message more thoroughly through the campaign this fall." Those voters, most of whom were born well after the struggles of women showcased in the Clinton campaign video, may not place the same importance on the historic nature of Clinton's candidacy. For now, Clinton is hammering home her belief that a win in November would have a huge impact on America, well beyond the world of politics. "I think it will make a very big difference for a father or a mother to be able to look at their daughter, just like they can look at their son, and say, 'You can be anything that you want to be in this country, including president of the United States'," she said. | 5 | 99,234 | news |
Who's more to blame for Tuesday's brawl between the Orioles and the Royals: Yordano Ventura or Manny Machado? #120Talk | 1 | 99,235 | sports |
It's time to shut up the voice in your head that keeps begging for the wrong foods. These expert strategies will give you the power! 25 Ways to Turn Off the Chatter in Your Head About Food By Lauren Brown West-Rosenthal It's time to shut up the voice in your head that keeps begging for the wrong foods. Food you can't live without it, so how do you stop obsessing over it? We know how that internal conversation goes: I want a cookie, but I'm trying to eliminate processed sugar. Would one cookie really hurt? I'll eat salad for the next three days to make up for it… It's like your brain just locks in on a craving and overtakes your thoughts until you give in and then you can't stop beating yourself up for going there. It's a vicious cycle that leads to unhealthy choices and even more noise over the guilt and shame. But here's the deal you have the power to quiet those negative thoughts. Once you learn to rewire your brain and recognize your triggers, those blaring thoughts will simmer down to a whisper and eventually completely disappear so you can stay on track and make decisions about food that you can feel good about. Here are 25 surefire ways to quiet down the voice tempting you and to keep your diet on track! Check 'em out and then be sure to try out these 15 Easy Ways to Reset Your Diet for if you fall off the wagon. 1. Walk It Off Get out of the kitchen and go outside for a walk (or a jog) and get your mind refocused on something besides food. "Exercise has also been associated with reduced food cravings," says Josh York, founder and CEO of GYMGUYZ. "Perceived hunger may stem from boredom, so going for a walk or jog can help distract and entertain the mind." And psst! Don't miss these 30 Tips for When You're Walking for Weight Loss ! 2. Chug a Glass of Water with Lemon If you're dehydrated, your mind may think it's hungry but it's actually thirsty. "Before grabbing a bag of chips or cookies, reach for a cold glass of water to see if that decreases the urge to eat," says York. "Adding lemon provides nutrients, aids digestion, and the fruit contains pectin fiber, which assists in fighting hunger cravings." 3. Eat a Slice of Watermelon If you must eat something, go for a slice of watermelon. "It contains more than 90 percent water, which can contribute to a feeling of fullness," says York. "In addition, the fiber in watermelon helps slow digestion and also promotes satiety." Bonus: Watermelon is super trendy right now! 4. Phone a Friend Before those negative thoughts get any louder, pick up the phone and call someone you trust. "I call this the Hotline Call," says Dr. Cali Estes, Founder of The Addictions Coach. "Call one 'go-to friend' who will talk you off the ledge of eating junk. This person will remind you why Pop Tarts are not a breakfast food and bikini season is right around the corner." 5. Have Sex When your cravings are controlling you, grab your spouse, significant other, or friend-with-benefits and get busy! "It sounds odd, but sex boosts dopamine and serotonin and will occupy your brain for 20 minutes the time you need to readjust your thinking pattern and release all those feel good chemicals into your body in lieu of the bad foods," says Dr. Estes. If you're not really in the mood, then get some inspiration from these 25 Ways to Improve Your Sex Life Now . 6. Stop and Stare To stop negative internal dialogue and the feelings of anxiety that come along with it, pick a spot on the wall to stare at. And then follow clinical hypnotist Margo Drucker's instructions: "Loosen your jaw and let your tongue relax," she says. "Slowly begin to expand your peripheral vision to include all the space around the spot. Then, expand your vision out to the sides, up to the ceiling and down to the floor. Always keeping your eyes on that spot. Expand it even more, so much so that you can imagine becoming aware of the space behind you. This will immediately put a stop to that internal chatter or anxious feeling. The beautiful thing about it is that it can be done anywhere, anytime. You can even use the forehead of the person you're talking to as your focal point. It's that simple." 7. Take Down The Voices In Your Head "Close your eyes and listen to the voice for a moment," says Drucker. "What direction is it coming from? Hear it from the opposite side. Hear it from way off in the distance. Hear it in a different voice like Minnie Mouse. Play it a few times in that new voice slow, fast, then five times slower than before. Open your eyes. Try to hear it again. Notice how it's different?" 8. Yell and Clap It Out Combining physical actions with loud verbal cues can quite literally tell those negative voices to scram. "When trying to turn off the 'chatter' in your head about food, combine loud positive verbal messages with physical reinforcement," says Derek Mikulski, BS, CSCS, CPT and founder of ActivMotion®. "This can be something as simple as clapping your hands hard while at the same time yelling, 'Stop!' out loud. The noise of your voice combined with the physical contact between your hands and the stern message will engage different decision-making areas of your brain and help turn off that chatter!" Makes us wonder if all those shouting, indoor cycling enthusiasts are onto something... 9. Clean Out Your Fridge Truth be told, if you don't have sugar and refined foods at your disposal, then it's a lot harder to give into your cravings. "Getting rid of sugar gets rid of cravings for sweets and carbs because let's be honest that little voice in your head is not calling for grilled salmon and veggies!" says Jacqui Justice, Nutrition Director at NY Health and Wellness. "Replacing nutrient deficient food with nutrient dense food like lean, clean protein, antioxidant and fiber-rich veggies and low-sugar fruits and good fats will help to balance your hunger hormones and take your mind off food especially mindless snacking, which is generally the biggest issue." 10. Replace Your Scale with Tight Jeans "Twice a week, first thing in the morning, try on a slightly tight pair of jeans. This is way more motivating than the scale and more effective at keeping you headed towards your goal," suggests Justice. "In my experience, the scale whether you lose, gain, or stay the same tends to throw you off track. If you lose, you think 'I deserve a treat.' If you gain or stay the same, you think, 'I'm doing all this work for nothing.' But whether you made progress or not, trying on your jeans serves to keep you on track because it's more 'real' than just looking at numbers on a scale. And it's way more accurate!" Still stepping on the scale and wanting to know what's up? Check out these 21 Reasons You Gained Weight This Week . 11. Drop to The Floor Here's a challenge for you: The next time you're tempted to give into those misleading thoughts, get your blood flowing and do push-ups even if you drop right there in front of the fridge. "Every time I feel like I need a snack or want to open the fridge for something, I do ten push-ups instead," says Jenna Wolfe, fitness guru and author of Thinner in 30. "There are days when I knock out 100 push-ups while avoiding the extra calories at the same time!" 12. Predict the Future If you were to make the bad choice your brain is so forcefully encouraging, imagine yourself three or four hours later. "Ask yourself how would you'll feel physically, mentally, and physiologically," says Monica Auslander, Registered Dietician and founder of Essence Nutrition. "Ask yourself how your energy levels will change. Do you think you'll be satisfied? If you skip your workout, how will you feel later or tomorrow?" Taking the time to think through a bad decision before you act on it and imagine its impact will help you from ever even going there. 13. Add In Some Fat When your mind starts spiraling and demanding a slice (or three) of pizza, ask yourself if you are getting enough healthy fat during each of your three main meals? "Fat helps to satiate and satisfy," explains Laura Cipullo, RD, CEDRD, and author of Women's Health Body Clock Diet. "It slows the absorption of simple carbohydrates and thus keeps you fuller, longer. Fats mixed with proteins and carbs also prevent a roller coaster in blood sugar that would have otherwise caused you to think you were hungry. You weren't actually hungry, your blood sugar was dropping and you misinterpreted this for the need to eat." If you're not totally sure what we mean by healthy fats, then read up on these 20 Healthy Fats to Make You Thin . 14. Check the Clock The next time those voices creep up on you, check what time it is. "If it is the 3 to 4 p.m. hours, recognize this is when your cortisol is slumbering and likely making you feel tired," says Cipullo. "Instead of reaching for a sugar fix, get sunlight, movement and a snack with either carb and fat or carb and protein; the mixed macronutrient snacks are blood sugar friendly. And the light helps to sync you with nature's circadian rhythm and the movement helps to increase your feel good hormones while oxygenating your blood." 15. Ask Yourself If You're Truly Hungry Your battle often boils down to a simple question: Are you really hungry? "Ask yourself if you would eat a whole plate of broccoli instead of whatever you're craving," says Wolfe. "If the answer is no, you're not really hungry." But you do need to figure out why you think you're hungry. "It's more likely that you're experiencing an emotional stressor that's triggering your thoughts of food and your desire to eat," offers Robert G. Silverman, a nutritionist and diplomate with the American Clinical Board of Nutrition. "Are you tired, upset, depressed, lonely, anxious, in pain? Are you just bored? Simply recognizing that you're experiencing an emotion lets you shut down that inner eat-junky-food-now voice." 16. Find Your Mantra Mind over matter sounds cliché, but it can work wonders when trying to get those overbearing voices to stop leading you astray on your diet. Find your mantra; it can be something as simple as "This may be tough, but I'm tougher." Say that louder than the chatter in your head. "Sometimes, realizing that you're stronger than you think can be enough to convince yourself to put down that extra slice of pizza," says York. "Repeating whichever mantra works for you is a good way to show yourself that food isn't what you're looking for to be satisfied." We recommend any of these 12 Inspiring Yoga Mantras to Change Your Life . 17. Weigh the Pros and Cons If you're debating whether or not you should skip the workout or eat those fries, take a few moments and jot down the pros and cons of your choice. "Writing down your thoughts before making a poor decision gives you the opportunity to mindfully consider the consequences of your actions," explains York. "In other words, 'If I skip my workout, I'll probably feel guilty and regret it but if I get it done, I'll feel great!'" Journaling is one of the 30 Fascinating Weight Loss Tricks You Haven't Tried that we recommend at Eat This, Not That! 18. Stimulate Both Sides of Your Brain "Grab a ball or anything that will fit in one hand such as keys, a pen, or a water bottle, and think of that thing that's causing you anxiety. When you feel that anxiety somewhere in your body, rate it from one to ten," recommends Drucker. "Pass the ball back and forth, from one hand to the other, crossing the center of your body, so you're stimulating both hemispheres of the brain. For the quickest results, keep one hand in front of you as the other swings out to the side each time you pass the ball. Do this for one minute. Stop. Take a deep breath. You might notice the anxiety has vanished. This is because by stimulating both sides of the brain, you're spreading blood and electrical impulses throughout the brain and this floods that cluster of neurons and diffuses it. Now, think of that same thing again and see how much anxiety you can manage to call up, and rate it again on the 10 to 1 scale. Repeat until the anxiety has disappeared." 19. Visualize Yourself Reaching a Tough Fitness Goal If you have a goal in mind running a 5k, hiking a mountain, or fitting into an outfit that's currently too tight envision yourself accomplishing that goal. "Eating a donut instead of a grapefruit for breakfast may seem rewarding in the moment, but thinking of the long term goals that are set can usually provide a healthier perspective," says York. "And anyone knows that running, hiking, or feeling confident in a new outfit is much trickier after eating a donut." 20. Cross Items Off Your To-Do List "Quiet the snack chatter in your head by knocking off an item or two from your to-do list," recommends Wolfe. "Getting stuff accomplished can be as satisfying as snacking." And it can even burn calories too! We recommend grabbing a garbage bag and cross-checking your pantry with these 25 Awful Ingredients Everyone Still Uses But Shouldn't! 21. Dress Like You're Hitting the Gym When the chatter is too loud, just put on your workout clothes and lace up your sneakers. "Even if working out seems like too much effort, looking the part can at least reduce the urge to eat," says York. "Putting on workout gear can create a shift in mindset, and requires leaving the kitchen where most temptation resides." 22. Get Your Zzzs Are you sleeping at least seven to nine hours every night? If not, make it a priority to get to bed earlier because lack of sleep can affect your cravings and number on the scale. "Individuals with less than seven to nine hours of sleep are likely to eat an extra 250 calories per day!" says Cipullo. Can't Sleep? Avoid These 20 Foods That Keep You Up at Night 23. Plan Ahead Silverman has his patients make it part of their routine to write down and commit to all their meals and snacks for the day including any treats in advance. Once it's written down, there's no going back. "That way you know exactly what you'll be eating and when," he says. "This helps you block out unwanted thoughts about eating." 24. Double Check Your Blood Sugar That inner voice as trying as it may be can sometimes really be trying to tell you something is going on with your body that you need a doctor to check on. "A strong desire for low-quality carbohydrates is a common symptom of blood sugar problems that can signal pre-diabetes or even diabetes," says Silverman. "Eating these carbs shoots your blood sugar up higher than normal. And then because you're not handling your blood sugar well, it then drops too low. That makes you feel tired, shaky, and hungry especially for more carbs. You eat them and feel better, but you've also started the sugar roller coaster again. If you think this might be a cause of why you're constantly craving unhealthy foods, check in with your doctor. Blood sugar issues almost always respond really well to simple diet and lifestyle changes." 25. Give Yourself a Break We're human and it's okay to give yourself a break. in fact, letting yourself have an off day is key to getting your brain to let up on the negative suggestions. "Don't deprive yourself. It's okay to take a cheat day once a week," says Dave Colina, certified CrossFit trainer, Krav Maga instructor and founder of formula O2. "Rewards are important, but in moderation. If you happen to give into the inner chatter, don't beat yourself up; just learn from it and adjust your habits accordingly." You can even give yourself a break and still be extra-smart about it with these 20 Cheat Meal Tips for Weight Loss Success . | 7 | 99,236 | health |
SUNNYVALE, Calif. - Yahoo ( YHOO ) is hoping to sell most of its technology patents as part of a purge that also could culminate in the sale of its Internet operations. More than 3,000 patents that have already been issued or are under approval review are on the auction block. The Sunnyvale, California, company says it hasn't set a minimum bid for the patent portfolio that it calls "Excalibur." Analysts have estimated that Yahoo Inc.'s patents are worth more than $1 billion. Yahoo says it intends to retain more than 2,000 other patents that have been issued or awaiting approval in the U.S. and abroad. The patent auction comes at the same time that Yahoo is weighing offers for Internet operations that include its email service and digital sports, finance and news sections. | 3 | 99,237 | finance |
The bummer about laws is they apply to everyone, even adorable little kids. A young camper learned this the hard way after waltzing out of California's Kings Canyon National Park with illegal contraband in the form of a Giant Sequoia cone. The park published a photograph of the returned cone along with an apology note on Facebook last week, explaining why the removal of plants from the federal park's premises is prohibited . In the note, the young and penitent criminal explains how the cone was taken from beneath the General Grant Tree , a 3,000-year-old sequoia that rises 267 feet high. "To whom it may concern," reads the note in the stricken script of a young hand. "I took a pine cone out of the forest and I wanted to return it. I hope it will be placed near the General Grant tree because that is where I took it." "I am sorry for my decision," the writer concludes. "Thank you." Scotch-taped to the note, left anonymous by the remorseful rule-breaker, is a beautiful Sequoia cone. | 5 | 99,238 | news |
Donald Trump claimed that a federal judge presiding over a civil lawsuit against the defunct Trump University is a "member of a club or society very strongly pro-Mexican." That's an inaccurate description of a group for Latino lawyers and law students in San Diego. "We have no pro-Mexico agenda," said Luis Osuna , president of the San Diego La Raza Lawyers Association. "We are here to help Latino law students and lawyers." Trump has said that U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel , who was born in Indiana to Mexican immigrants, is biased against Trump partly because the presumptive GOP presidential nominee's immigration proposals include building a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico. On top of that, Trump told John Dickerson, host of CBS' " Face the Nation ," that Curiel belongs to a group that is "very strongly pro-Mexican." Trump, June 5: He's a member of a club or society, very strongly pro-Mexican, which is all fine. But I say he's got bias. I want to build a wall. I'm going to build a wall. Trump made a similar claim about Curiel's affiliations during an interview with CNN "State of the Union" anchor Jake Tapper. Tapper, June 5: So, no Mexican judge could ever be involved in a case that involves you? Trump: Well, no, he is a member of a society where very pro-Mexico. And that's fine. It's all fine. But it's not accurate to call the San Diego La Raza Lawyers Association "very pro-Mexico" or "very strongly pro-Mexican." The lawyers association "was formed with a desire to effect change in San Diego by representing the interests of the Latino community, identifying issues which involved the Latino community, and advocating for those issues," according to its website . It was incorporated as a 501(c)(6) organization in 1979, and in 2005, it formed the San Diego La Raza Lawyers Association Scholarship Fund for Latino students. The group lists the following goals under its mission statement : • Increase the overall number of Latinos in the legal profession. • Encourage and support Latino and Latina judicial candidates to apply to the bench • Advocate for the promotion and retention of Latino and Latina attorneys and judicial officers. • Improve the professional skills of our members through our certified MCLE programs. • Provide for the professional and social interaction among our members and other organized bar associations. • Improve the delivery and access of legal services to the county's Spanish speaking community. • Provide role models and mentoring to Latino youth through direct interaction with students and school districts. • Strongly advocate positions on judicial, economic and social issues to political leaders and state and local bar associations that impact the Latino community. The San Diego group is one of more than a dozen affiliates of the California La Raza Lawyers Association , and both are affiliated with the Hispanic National Bar Association . Curiel, on a 2011 judicial questionnaire to become a federal judge, listed the Hispanic National Bar Association and La Raza Lawyers of San Diego among the groups that he belongs to. But some Trump supporters have confused the San Diego legal group with the National Council of La Raza, a Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization that supports "comprehensive immigration reform," including a path to U.S. citizenship for undocumented immigrants. Osuna, the SDLRLA president, said the two groups are separate. "The only connection we have is that we provide services to the Latino community," he said. "We are not affiliated in any other way." The lawyers association, on its website , does list the National Council of La Raza as a resource for the Latino community. However, Osuna said that organizations listed there simply provide services not available through the San Diego group. When Fox News' Bill O'Reilly asked Trump if he regretted making an issue of Curiel's Mexican heritage, Trump said that he brought it up because he was asked. O'Reilly, June 6: OK. So wouldn't it have been better then if you didn't bring up the Mexican thing at all and just said what you said here tonight because, look, you're being sued, I understand we did analysis of your lawsuit's history and you win most of your lawsuits. You are a big guy. Guys are going to come after you. You know that. So wouldn't it have been better if you just said, look, I don't think I have been treated fairly, here's what we have, and let the Mexican thing alone? Trump: Well, the question was asked to me, you know, I mean, all these times, every time I go. I want to talk about how lousy the economy is. I want to talk about how badly we are doing against ISIS. How badly we are doing on the border. But every time I go onto a show all they want to talk about is Trump University. But Trump has been suggesting since at least February that Curiel's background might make him less than impartial. At a campaign rally in Arkansas, Trump said: Trump, Feb. 27: There is a hostility to me from the judge, tremendous hostility, beyond belief. I believe he happens to be Spanish, which is fine. He is Hispanic, which is fine. And we haven't asked for recusal, which we may do. But we have a judge who's very hostile. The next day, in an interview with "Fox News Sunday" anchor Chris Wallace, Trump suggested that Curiel "has been extremely hostile" to him because of Trump's position on border security. Trump, Feb. 28: I think the judge has been extremely hostile to me. I think it has to do with perhaps the fact that I'm very, very strong on the border. Very, very strong on the border. And he has been extremely hostile to me. Trump brought it up more recently in a campaign speech in San Diego on May 27. He called Curiel "a hater of Donald Trump" and said that he "happens to be, we believe, Mexican, which is great." Now, Trump, says that his comments about Curiel were "misconstrued." In a written statement , Trump said: Trump, June 7: It is unfortunate that my comments have been misconstrued as a categorical attack against people of Mexican heritage. I am friends with and employ thousands of people of Mexican and Hispanic descent. The American justice system relies on fair and impartial judges. All judges should be held to that standard. I do not feel that one's heritage makes them incapable of being impartial, but, based on the rulings that I have received in the Trump University civil case, I feel justified in questioning whether I am receiving a fair trial. Trump is free to question whether he is receiving a fair trial. But he now says that he does not "feel that one's heritage makes them incapable of being impartial" when the record shows otherwise. He not only questioned Curiel's impartiality because of his "Mexican heritage," but he also told Dickerson on "Face the Nation" that a Muslim judge may not be impartial, either, given Trump's call to ban Muslims from entering the U.S. Dickerson, June 5 : My question is, if it were a Muslim judge, would you also feel like they wouldn't be able to treat you fairly because of that policy of yours? Trump: It's possible, yes. Yes. That would be possible, absolutely. Trump says in his statement that he will not comment any further on the Trump University lawsuit. | 5 | 99,239 | news |
Suitcases that are merely meant to store your clothes and shoes are a thing of the past. Today's new suitcases are packed with perks to help you stay connected on the go. There's a reason more and more companies are jumping on the smart luggage trend: It's what every 21st century traveler needs and wants. From suitcases with built-in scooters and chargers, to zipper-free cases, to sections that help overpackers squeeze more in, your luggage can finally keep up, whether you've got ambitious adventures abroad or intense business trips. Click through to see five of our favorites and find the one that matches your travel style. For the time-conscious traveler Jaden Smith knows what's up. Will Smith's son uses Micro's hybrid suitcase-scooter when he travels, and we can see the appeal. Zip through your terminal on the kickboard (it's TSA compliant, so no worries there), then fold it up to fit in the plane's overhead bin. Micro Luggage Scooter Suitcase, $300, available on microluggage.com . The steerable scooter portion of the suitcase means it's easy to pull stuff out (and put things inside) your luggage while it's standing upright no more laying your luggage flat on the ground and exposing the contents to everyone at your gate. There's also a padded section for your laptop. For the stylish traveler Execs from Louis Vuitton and Tumi collaborated to create the brand-new luxe luggage line Arlo Skye. The super lightweight carry-on (available in metallic Champagne and silver, as well as black) is more expensive, but is definitely worth the splurge. Below the handle is a built-in charger for your devices, and… Arlo Skye Carry-On, $495, available for pre-order on arloskye.com . …zippers are a thing of the past. The suitcase has a one-touch open and close frame with locks for even greater security. For the business traveler Bluesmart's carry-on covers all your bases, from when you're packing at home to your arrival at the airport. The case includes a digital scale so you can make sure you avoid extra fees, as well as a built-in battery charger. Bluesmart One, $449, available on bluesmart.com . You can use Bluesmart's accompanying app to track your suitcase via GPS so that you know where it is at all times. You can also lock your case remotely in case you forget to do so when you check it. For the constant traveler Raden's pretty pastel cases come with two built-in chargers to make sure your devices stay fully charged at all times. With the case's app, you can track your luggage and check out how much it weighs. Raden The A22 Carry, $295, available on raden.com . You can also use Raden's app to enter your travel itinerary and stay on top of details about your flight and the place you're headed. You can look at the weather, track TSA security wait-times, and find out how long it will take you to get from your hostel to the airport in real time. For the always-packs-too-much traveler Away's case offers the basics at their best. The light, polycarbonate case has a compression system to help you pack more, without taking up more space. It also includes a very useful removable laundry bag. Away The Carry-On, $225, available on awaytravel.com . And a built-in charger with USB ports means you'll never have to clamor for one of the few charging stations at your gate. | 2 | 99,240 | travel |
Women's menstrual cycles do more than keep them out of work on days the cramps and pain are hard to manage they keep women from being considered in clinical medicine, too. There are an almost equal amount of men and women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields, but when it comes to research studies and trials, something gets lost in translation. The medical science discovered in the past century has been largely based on men, something emergency medicine doctor Alyson McGregor dug into for a 2014 TED Talk . One of her references was a report from the Government Accountability Office which showed that side effects in women were the cause of 80 percent of drug withdrawals. Given the lengthy timetable of drug making, it's disheartening to hear women aren't considered until years after the fact. So the recent editorial published in The British Journal of Sports Medicine, which McGregor helped write, didn't exactly come as a shock: In 1,382 sports and exercise medicine studies conducted between 2011 and 2013, women only represented 39 percent of the roughly six million participants. The reason being the fluctuating levels of estrogen and progesterone during menstrual cycles. A woman exercises in front of a screen displaying puzzles and games as part of a full mind and body workout at the Fit Rooms on July 18, 2007 in London, England. Chris Jackson/Getty Images Historically, the authors wrote, women were excluded from research to avoid potential complications certain scientific methods might pose to unborn fetuses, especially if they wanted to participate in drug trials. A woman's hormones on her period were also taken into consideration so as not to skew results of certain studies. The practice may be well-intentioned, but it still frustrates editorial author Georgie Bruinvels, a graduate student in the University College London's Division of Surgery and Interventional Science. There's a massive gap in knowledge and understanding, she told Medical Daily. "There's nothing out there." In researchers' eyes, the hormone factor turns women into an extra physiological variable, alongside body fat and VO2max the maximum amount of oxygen an individual can use during an intense workout. It's hypothesized that these variables affect performance and, in the case of women, produce less meaningful results. But these are just hypotheses, Bruinvels said. As time passed, these types of studies began to include women in the follicular phase of their menstrual cycle, when their hormone levels are lowest. This helped scientists minimize the possibly complicating effects of hormones on the study results. And yet, making this minimal effort still "leaves much ambiguity around how such hormones may influence the unique physiological processes in women, from blood pressure to substrate metabolism," the authors wrote. They cited a previous report that found an estimated 41 percent of exercising women believe their menstrual cycle has a negative impact on performance but without any women enrolled in related studies, there's little evidence as to why. A Turkish study of 241 elite athletes supports this idea: Researchers found that nearly three out of four women said their cycle made them feel crappy during a workout. However, according to Shape , regular exercise helps some women relieve period pain , improving mood, fatigue, and their quality of sleep. Again, researchers can't explain these underlying mechanisms of pain increase and reduction if male studies are the only ones forging forward. With regard to menstrual cycles in general, Bruinvels, whose graduate work focuses on iron metabolism and heavy menstrual bleeding , says there's still "such a taboo." She added that people remain hesitant to talk about periods and blood, even though they're part of a natural process. So far her research shows we need a better understand of female physiology, so that we can define the positive and negative effects menstrual cycles have on athletic performance. Bruinvels said there needs to be greater awareness, and just a general appreciation that this is an issue in the first place. Source: Bruinvels G, Burden RJ, McGregor AJ, et al. Sports, Exercise, and the Menstrual Cycle: Where Is the Research? British Journal of Sports Medicine. 2016. | 7 | 99,241 | health |
When it comes to mental health disorders, presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump has everything backwards. His rhetoric isn't just stigmatizing, it's also factually incorrect. In one primary debate, Trump perpetuated the myth that those who are mentally ill are more likely to act violently. "I feel that the gun-free zones and, you know, when you say that, that's target practice for the sickos and for the mentally ill ," he said at the time. "They look around for gun-free zones." And after two Virginia journalists were killed last August, Trump was quick to blame mental illness -- not a lack of gun laws -- for the tragedy. He told CNN that it shouldn't be difficult for "sane people" to have access to guns. He also said those who knew the shooter from the incident most likely thought he should be institutionalized. " This isn't a gun problem, this is a mental problem ," Trump said. "It's not a question of laws, it's really the people." Trump, like so many others , incorrectly correlates mental illness with volatile behavior toward others when that's hardly the case. Studies show that people with mental health issues are more likely to be victims of a violent crime than to perpetrate one. Data also suggests that only 3 to 5 percent of violent acts can be attributed to an individual with a serious mental illness. But it's not just gun control over which Trump marginalizes individuals with a mental health disorder. He shamed and fired a candidate on his reality show "The Apprentice" back in 2004 for exhibiting mental health issues , as chronicled by The Daily Beast. He also seemingly mocked former candidate Ted Cruz's wife, Heidi Cruz, for an episode of depression . And his Twitter narrative reveals that mental health issues, in his mind, are fodder for schoolyard taunting: " @11phenomenon : #LyingTed blames @realDonaldTrump for so many things I am starting to think he is having a mental health crisis." Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 25, 2016 I don't want to hit Crazy Bernie Sanders too hard yet because I love watching what he is doing to Crooked Hillary. His time will come! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 11, 2016 Failing host @glennbeck , a mental basketcase, loves SUPERPACS - in other words, he wants your politicians totally controlled by lobbyists! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 29, 2015 Phrases like the ones Trump uses, such as "crazy" and "basket case," contribute to misconceptions about mental health and can lead to dangerous consequences. Medical support is the most effective way to manage and resolve mental health disorders, but research shows stigma can prevent people with mental illness from seeking treatment . Nearly one in five American adults will experience a mental health issue in a given year. That includes a huge portion of Trump's supporters -- and an even greater group when looking at the national population. Trump's dialogue is completely damaging to many of the people he's hoping to govern. People with mental illness go to work, they take their kids to baseball practice and they head to their polling places to vote. Most importantly, they can -- and do -- live healthy, fulfilling and productive lives. But based on the way he talks about those individuals, Trump doesn't see it that way. Does that sound like a person fit for the Oval Office? | 5 | 99,242 | news |
Do These Things to Lower Your Risk for Breast Cancer Do These Things to Lower Your Risk for Breast Cancer If breast cancer runs in your family, or you have previously been diagnosed with breast cancer and overcame it, you may be wondering if there is anything you can do to prevent it . Although family history can't be changed, if you make some lifestyle changes you may be able to lower your risk. According to breastcancer.org , the risks for breast cancer include age, family history, genetics, personal history of breast cancer, radiation to chest or face before age 30, race/ethnicity, being overweight and breastfeeding history, just to name a few. If you want to lower your risk for breast cancer, take care of your health . Exercise more , quit smoking, control your weight , sleep more and go outside to reap the benefits of vitamin D . Continue reading for more things you can do to lower your risk for breast cancer. Participate in physical activity Whether you like to workout at the gym, play sports, hike, bike or swim staying physically active will help you maintain a healthy weight , which in turn, may help prevent breast cancer. Avoid exposure to radiation Some research has suggested there may be a link between breast cancer and radiation exposure . This includes x-rays, CT scans and PET scans. Limit alcohol consumption Studies have shown that consuming alcoholic beverages increases the risk of hormone-receptor-positive breast cancer. According to cancer.org , "research has shown that women who have 2 to 5 alcoholic drinks daily have a higher risk of breast cancer than women who drink only 1 drink a day or not at all." Limit alcoholic drinks to no more than one per day. Don't smoke Smoking has been liked to a higher risk of breast cancer in younger, premenopausal women, according to breastcancer.org . Research has also shown there may be a link between breast cancer risk in postmenopausal women and heavy second-hand smoke exposure. Get some sun Studies have shown that low levels of vitamin D have been associated with a higher risk for breast cancer. "Vitamin D may play a role in controlling normal breast cell growth and may be able to stop breast cancer cells from growing," says breastcancer.org . Breastfeed Research has shown that breastfeeding for one year or more lowers the risk of breast cancer. Lack of sleep Lack of sleep causes a disruption in the body's biological clock. A 2012 study suggests that women may develop more aggressive breast cancer if they chronically lack sleep ( cancercenter.com ). Researchers asked 101 recently diagnosed breast cancer patients about the amount of sleep they averaged two years before diagnosis. They found, post-menopausal women who slept fewer hours had an increased likelihood of cancer recurrence. *See: 20 Things You Shouldn't Do Before Bed Stand up more "In an American Cancer Society study, women who spent 6 hours or more a day sitting outside of work had a 10% greater risk for invasive breast cancer compared with women who sat less than 3 hours a day, and an increased risk for other cancer types as well," according to cancer.org . *See: How to Get Moving at Work Avoid post-menopausal hormones Studies have shown that post-menopausal hormones can increase the risk of some diseases while lowering the risk for others. Both estrogen only hormones and estrogen-plus-progestin hormones increase the risk for breast cancer. If you are concerned about the risks, it may be wise to speak with your doctor. | 7 | 99,243 | health |
PALO ALTO, Calif. -- Brock Turner, the ex-Stanford swimmer convicted of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman , lied about his history of drinking and drug use when he portrayed himself in a statement to probation officials as an "inexperienced drinker and party goer," prosecutors contended in a sentencing memo. Turner is serving a six-month jail sentence for three counts of sexual assault, but can be released in as soon as three months. He faced a maximum of 14 years in jail and Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky's sentence has led to widespread outcry and a campaign to recall him . Turner has also come under fire for the statement, obtained by CBS News, in which he blames his behavior on alcohol and the "college lifestyle." In the statement, he also implies he hadn't had experience with partying and drinking prior to the sex assault. "Coming from a small town in Ohio, I had never really experienced celebrating or partying that involved alcohol," he said in the statement. In the memo, however, prosecutors point to cell phone evidence they say proves otherwise. In a search of Turner's cell phone, prosecutors say they found photos of Turner smoking a pipe and a Dec. 27, 2014 video of Turner smoking a bong and drinking out of a liquor bottle immediately after. Watch: Former Stanford swimmer expressed remorse over sexual assault They say texts also point to drug use, including a Dec. 18, 2014 message in which he asks a friend, "Do you think I could buy some wax so we could do some dabs?" referring to a highly concentrated form of marijuana. Other text messages referenced smoking, buying and sharing "weed" and trying to find a "hook up" to buy acid both while Turner was in high school and at Stanford, the memo says. On Dec. 24, 2014, according to the memo, Turner received a message from a friend that read, "I've got a hankerin for a good acid trip when we get back." Prosecutors say Turner replied: "I'm down for sure." The memo says he responded to a friend bragging about "candyflippin" - referring to taking LSD and MDMA together - by saying, "I gotta [expletive] try that. I've heard it's awesome." Watch: Victim faces attacker, reads emotional letter The memo says on June 3, 2014 Turner's sister asked him via text, "Did you rage last night?" To which Turner replied, "Yeah kind of. It was hard to find a place to drink. But when we finally did we could only drink for like an hour an a half." Prosecutors say the records show Turner was already an experienced drinker in high school, had routinely smoked marijuana and experimented with hard drugs including LSD, despite his statement. The memo goes on to blast Turner for blaming his "predatory and repulsive" actions on "drinking, peer pressure and college culture." In a letter that has since gone viral, the victim in the case calls on Turner to take responsibility for his actions, saying, "assault is not an accident." | 5 | 99,244 | news |
The Cubs defeated the Phillies 8-1 on Wednesday. Kris Bryant and Ben Zobrist went yard, John Lackey threw seven scoreless innings and Vincent Velasquez left the game after just two pitches. | 1 | 99,245 | sports |
United Nations human rights investigators say Eritrean officials have committed crimes against humanity, including torture, rape, murder and enslaving hundreds of thousands of people. Rough Cut (no reporter narration). | 5 | 99,246 | news |
While Jordan Spieth battles with his Big 3 brethren on the course, he's blown past them (for now) when it comes to earning money. Spieth checks in at No. 9 on Forbes' new list of highest-paid athletes, which was released on Wednesday. In fact, Spieth holds two distinctions on the list, which combines on-field/course earnings with endorsements. He is both the youngest athlete in the top 100 and he also is the biggest mover, vaulting all the way from No. 85 last year. According to Forbes , Spieth has made $52.8 million (That $10 million bonus for winning the FedEx Cup didn't hurt) over the past 12 months. However, he is still not first among golfers. That honor goes to Phil Mickelson, who happens to be the oldest golfer on the list. Mickelson, who will turn 46 later this month, barely edged Spieth at $52.9 million. Earlier this year, the Golf Digest 50 ranking had Spieth slightly ahead of Mickelson. Either way, they both make a LOT of money. RELATED: Golfers recall their first tournament paychecks Tiger Woods also still makes a lot of money -- just not nearly as much as he once did. After being passed by Mickelson on this list last year for the first time as a pro, Woods fell out of the top 10 for the first time this year. The 14-time major champ still checks in at No. 12 on the list at $45.3 million. Two soccer stars, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, are No. 1 and No. 2 on the list, earning $88 million and $81.4 million, respectively. LeBron James is third at $77.2 million. Spieth's fellow Big 3 members, Rory McIlroy and Jason Day, round out golf's five-man list to make the top 100. McIlroy is No. 17 ($42.6 million), while Day is tied for 69th with Spieth's Under Armour bud Stephen Curry ($23.6 million). As was the case with Spieth this year after a 2015 in which he won two majors, we can expect Day to climb this list next year when he cashes in on his recent dominant run. More from Golf Digest: The Hottest PGA Tour Wives and Girlfriends How Tiger's Swing Has Changed This Weekend's Best Golf Instagrams | 1 | 99,247 | sports |
Kolmanskop was once full of life. The former diamond mining town, located in the Namib desert in the south of Namibia, was home to over 1,000 people. They had a ballroom, a hospital, and a bowling alley among other amenities, but by 1954, it was completely abandoned. Kolmanskop was once full of life . The former diamond mining town, located in the Namib desert in the south of Namibia, was home to over 1,000 people. They had a ballroom, a hospital, and a bowling alley among other amenities, but by 1954, it was completely abandoned . Australian photographer Emma McEvoy visited what's left of the town in November 2015 and took stunning photos of the empty homes filled with sand in her series " Sandcastles ." Keep scrolling to see inside the ghost town. "From the outside, the buildings actually look rather unremarkable," McEvoy tells Tech Insider in an email. "They blend into the bleak and barren landscape." But she explains that once you get inside the homes, the walls are vibrant and colorful. "The wallpaper is different in each room and the contrast of these incredibly colorful, old, peeling wallpapers and the sand is so surreal," she says. McEvoy was worried there would be footprints in the sand from other visitors, but a wind storm a few days before her visit left it looking untouched. Tourists and photographers who wish to visit the town must obtain permits beforehand. Even then, the town is only open for a few hours a day to tourists, but photographers wishing to visit after hours can do so with the proper permit. McEvoy tells TI that when she tried to get a permit, the office was closed. She had to find another way in. "[I] had to sneak in to capture the images in the beautiful golden light at dawn and dusk all on my own," she tells TI. Her favorite image is of the blue room. But she says her favorite moment was "the feeling of having the entire town to myself." McEvoy danced around the rooms in a white lace dress to create self-portraits, like this one. The worn homes are located in what was once a diamond mining town started by Germans in the early 1900s, so the architecture resembles that of Europe. It's hard to believe people once lived in these homes. McEvoy tells TI that she was unsure whether she was going to turn the photos into a series, until she arrived in Kolmanskop. "As soon as I stepped foot in there, I was so overcome with emotion, I knew I had to do something more with it," she says. McEvoy first learned about the abandoned mining town in an online article over five years ago, she tells TI. After that, she added the location to her travel bucket list. McEvoy found an abandoned home back in Australia to house her photography exhibit about Kolmanskop. She even filled the home with 9 tons of sand to fit with the theme of her exhibit. "Having a pop-up exhibition in a house due to be demolished tied in really well with my whole concept around the impermanence of everything," she tells TI. The homes in Kolmanskop are being reclaimed by the earth as the sand moves in. Though the footsteps of visitors may vanish, the beauty of Kolmanskop will long be remembered through McEvoy's photos. | 2 | 99,248 | travel |
Scientists of the United States made groundbreaking history in 2003 when the Human Genome Project was completed. They told the world exactly what the genetic makeup of the human body was for the first time in history. But there are still unknown oddities to the inner workings of humans. And one of those is the unfortunate case of the autoimmune disease , a situation that develops when your immune system doesn't recognize your body's own healthy cells and decides to attack them. One of the body's main lines of defense against autoimmune diseases is a diverse world of microbes living on and inside the body, called the microbiome . Bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and viruses are responsible for helping us complete tasks like digesting food and coagulating blood. But possibly the most important role played by the microbiome is regulating the immune system. When this community of microbes is interrupted for any number of reasons, the system gets thrown off and people start to have problems with autoimmune diseases. Two prevalent autoimmune diseases are Type 1 diabetes and celiac disease. According to the CDC , the number of newly diagnosed diabetes cases jumped from 537,000 cases a year in 1991 to a roaring 1,437,000 cases in 2014. A study in The American Journal of Gastroenterology on celiac disease reported an increase of the disease from 5.2 per 100,000 individuals in 1990 to 19.1 per 100,000 individuals in 2011. This climbing rate is much higher than it has been historically. Scientists know that autoimmune diseases appear to be passed in families, not only by DNA inheritance, but also by inheriting the family's microbiome. A Cell Press study done by the University of Helsinki found that a person's microbiome starts in utero and it is strongly influenced by exposures at birth, which have long-term physiological effects. Breastfeeding also influences a child's microbiome from the start, so if your mother has a diverse microbiome herself, you are more likely to be protected from the onset of autoimmune diseases. Early microbiome development is a key to determining susceptibility to or protection from diseases later in life. A child's immune system is pretty much completely developed by the time they are 3 years old, so early introduction to a diverse set of microbes is especially important. Another big player in this diversity is geography. This same study , comparing children in Finland to children in Russia, showed that Finnish children develop disease more frequently due to different microbes in the environment and what their body is expecting to fight off. One in 120 children in the country develop Type 1 diabetes before turning 15 years of age. Due to a nongenetic component of being affected by autoimmune diseases, only 3%-7% of those at risk of cell destruction actually develop Type 1 diabetes. While not quite as significant as geography and breastfeeding, diet is also an important factor . Researchers have seen that diet has the ability to influence immune disorders by influencing the composition of commensal bacteria and altering intestinal microbiota. A study conducted by researchers at Yale and MIT has shown that fatty, salty, sugary, and fast foods are promoters of autoimmune diseases. In a world driven by convenience and quick options, these foods are exactly the ones that are becoming more popular every day. Decreased microbial diversity is a hallmark of obesity, which is on the rise due to consumption of these foods. Another University of Florida study found that bacteria producing more fatty acids lead to a higher case of Type 1 diabetes. Failure to develop a critical level of diversity in the gut microbiota leads to an increased chance of immune disorders, such as Type 1 diabetes and other diseases. One option that may help is eating lots of dietary fiber. Bacteria eat this, so if you keep them happy they will provide your body with nutrients that line your gut and help overall health. Fiber from some vegetables, like garlic, hurt the bad bacteria in the gut and leave the good ones, helping to shape an individual's microbiome. However, some fiber from whole grains can cause inflammation, leading to more problems, so it's important to know what's good and what's not. The mysterious microbiome is just the latest in biological systems that scientists are learning to understand more. With an ever-changing culture and environment, it can be tough to get a good grasp on the necessary steps needed to fight off infection. Some may think that coddling their child away from the public and bacteria may be saving them, but it actually looks like the exact opposite is turning out to be true. NOW WATCH: Scientifically proven ways to make someone fall in love with you | 7 | 99,249 | health |
From condiments to alcohol, most of us haven't got a clue how long we should really be keeping our food. From condiments to alcohol, most of us haven't got a clue how long we should really be keeping our food. But despite them still being edible, you'll be surprised at just how quickly, or how long, it takes many of our essentials to start to deteriorate. Here we round up the recommended lifespans of some of our most popular foods according to stilltasty.com. Mayonnaise Surprisingly, mayonnaise doesn't have much of a shelf life either, and should only be kept for two months if it's stored in the pantry or three months in the fridge. Due to its egg and vinegar content, it's likely to start developing an off odor and alter in appearance after this. Tomato sauce That's right one of the world's most used condiments should only be kept for one month in the cupboard in order to retain its flavor and texture. Otherwise, you can store it in the fridge for six months. But if you only use it every so often, it's recommended to buy a smaller portion and make your way through it quicker to avoid a nasty acidic taste. Canned soup Many of us like to hoard canned soup in our cupboards for winter days, sick days, or for just for rations. But little do we know, those tins of tomato, mushroom or chicken soup don't stay fresh forever. They have a shelf life of up to five years, but start to deteriorate after two. Canned tomatoes Canned tomatoes can sit comfortably next to canned soup in our cupboards for ages. While we might go through them quickly, we also have a habit of hoarding them, especially as they're so cheap. But after 18 months, they are likely to have lost a lot of flavor and freshness, so try not to hoard them for too long. Chocolate If you've been hoarding old Easter eggs or boxes of chocolates for longer than a year, it's time to throw them away. Packaged chocolate candy bars will start to deteriorate after 12 months in the pantry, fridge or freezer, so treat yourself to a binge if your cupboards have been full of candy for a bit too long! Peanut butter If you love peanut butter, the chances are it won't last longer than a couple of weeks. But, be sure to use it up sooner rather than later as it's no good after about three to four months in the fridge. BBQ sauce BBQ sauce is just as vulnerable as ketchup, and will only retain its best quality for about a month, so be sure to keep it in the fridge and not leave it hanging around for too long. Bananas The shelf life of bananas is usually quite obvious as the skin will rapidly change color when it becomes inedible. But typically, bananas will last for around two to five days, or until they are ripe. Keep them in the fridge and they'll last for up to seven days. Feta When packaged in brine, feta cheese can last up to three months in the fridge. But it needs to be fully covered in order to preserve it and prevent it from mould. Eggs Eggs can be kept in the fridge for up to three to five weeks as long as they are still uncooked and in their shell. But if you decide to boil them and don't get around to eating them straight away, you'll want to bin them after a week (if you can put up with the smell for that long!). Sausages Sausages are great once they're cooked, but they really don't have much of a shelf-life before that. One to two days is the longest you should keep uncooked sausages in the fridge to avoid any unnecessary illness, but they'll be fine after two months in the freezer. Pepper We probably don't ever think about how long our black pepper has been in the cupboards, but it's best to keep it no longer than three years in a cool, dark place in order to retain its flavor. Milk Milk will often last one week longer than its sell-by date, or three months in the freezer. But to maximize shelf-life, you should try to keep milk in the main body of the fridge, rather than in the door to avoid the temperature being too warm. Butter If it's continuously refrigerated, butter will usually keep for about one month after this date, but be sure to keep it in the same main body as milk if you want to keep it fresh. Parmesan Like most cheese, if it's stored properly, parmesan cheese can last longer than its use-by date on the package. But you'll have to be sure to keep it in tight packaging in the fridge to avoid any nasty smells when you open the fridge door. Chicken Chicken is probably the food we all worry about the most, and it's obviously important we know exactly what is safe and what isn't. But before we even think about cooking it, we should always be aware that raw chicken will only last for one to two days in the fridge. Stick it in the freezer and you've got it for nine months, or cook it, and you can keep it in the fridge for three to four days. Fish Much like white meat, fish also needs to be used up as quickly as possible. If you're keeping cod raw, you should only store it for one to two days, but once you've cooked it, you can store it in the fridge for a couple of days longer. Alternatively, it's got a lifespan of about 3 months in the freezer. Takeout food Along with chicken, takeout food is a bit dubious, and we're never quite sure how long it's safe to keep it for. But to be on the safe side, takeout should only be kept in the fridge for about three days, or freeze it and keep it for up to four months. Chili powder Like most herbs and spices, chili powder is only good for about three months before it starts to lose its flavor and dry up, so use it as soon as you can to get the most out of its heat! Apples How long you can keep apples for very much depends on how you store them. To keep them fresher for longer, pop them in the fridge. When kept cool, they can last for three to four weeks, but kept at room temperature they'll only last for one to three days. Olive oil Olive oil is a cupboard essential and fortunately will keep for around four years - although it's impressive if you don't need to use it up by then. Asparagus Keeping raw asparagus in the fridge will keep them fresh for around three to four days. But if you decide to freeze them, they'll last for up to 18 months. Brocolli Much like asparagus and other green vegetables, broccoli will last for three to five days in the fridge, but up to a year and a half in the freezer if you want to save it for a later date. Garlic With the likes of garlic puree and pre-chopped garlic, it's a lot easier for us to avoid the dreaded task of cleaning a garlic crusher. But for those of us who prefer it fresh, keeping garlic bulbs for more than five months is a bit of a no-go the ideal storing time is three months. French fries Frozen French fries are a freezer essential for days when we are feeling a bit lazy or just fancy something a bit more indulgent. But it is recommended to eat them within 10-12 months, so try not to leave it too long until you treat yourself! Hashbrowns A crucial part of the perfect hangover breakfast, hash browns are as important for your freezer as French fries. But, the same rules apply you'll probably want to think about getting a new batch in if they've been in there for over 12 months. Bacon An unopened pack of bacon should still be fine to eat one week after the use-by date. But once you've broken into the packet, you'll need to keep it in the fridge and eat within 7-10 days. Avocados This famous superfood has a mind of its own. We never know what we're likely to find under the skin, and unfortunately, a lot of us will have wasted many an avocado just finding out. But typically, avos will last for around four to seven days, or until they're ripe. Once ripe, they've only got three to five days left in them. Kumara/Sweet potatoes You can keep sweet potatoes at room temperature for 5-7 days, but the best way to store them is in the fridge where they'll last slightly longer and retain their freshness… and they'll obviously still taste great. Carrots Carrots, however, are one type of veg that will last for much longer. Typically, if you keep carrots in the pantry, they'll still be just as fresh and crunchy for up to four weeks, but freeze them and they'll be safe to eat for up to 18 months. Cheese You can keep cheese in the fridge for up to 6 months if it's kept in its packet, but once it's opened, it will lose its freshness by about 3-4 weeks. Make sure you keep it in an air-tight package to avoid it growing any mould too quickly. Soy sauce Although it's not a regular in everyone's kitchen, soy sauce is a key ingredient in many oriental dishes and fortunately will keep for three years, so it's ready to hand when you need it. Balsamic dressing This staple salad dressing will last for five years where it is opened or unopened. But for the best quality, it's recommended to only keep it for about three years. Spirits Spirits keep forever woohoo! But it s a matter of quality, not safety, so keep it bottled up in a cool, dry room to keep it fresh. Assuming proper storage conditions, a bottle of rum has an indefinite shelf life, even after it has been opened. Honey Honey is one of the only food types that will keep indefinitely. This was proven when archaeologists discovered ancient honey in the Egyptian pyramids, and it was still entirely edible. It will crystalize over time, but all it takes is a little heat and it will melt back to the right consistency. | 0 | 99,250 | foodanddrink |
Johnny Manziel still has designs on playing in the NFL this season, according to his lawyer, Jim Darnell. " His immediate plans are to start getting ready for football ," said Darnell, per Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com. "We're working on it." It sure has looked like Manziel's immediate plans of late have involved booze and partying , but maybe that's just our warped perspective. Per Fowler, Manziel's family is seeing the same thing we're all seeing, however. "This is a crisis," the friend said. "I hope someone kicks the s out of the kid and forces him to get right." First off, nobody can force Manziel to "get right." Secondly, before Manziel can think about playing football, he's got a couple of other major issues to consider, the most important being his upcoming legal battle against ex-girlfriend Colleen Crowley . Manziel's lawyer has made it clear they will be fighting the misdemeanor assault charges levied against him by a Dallas grand jury. If he loses that battle, Manziel could face up to a year in jail . Per Fowler, Manziel has a status hearing for this charge on June 24. Even if he escapes legal punishment, the NFL will likely have something to say about Manziel's conduct since the end of last season. He is likely facing a suspension at some point. Regardless of what happens on both of those fronts, it seems highly unlikely that any NFL team would be desperate enough to sign Manziel to its squad. He appears to have lost significant weight since last season, likely due to all his partying. He also has a proven track record to this point of bringing drama wherever he goes. Still, Manziel's lawyer insists his client is making every effort to get back on the field. If not this year, then they're shooting for a comeback bid in 2017. We won't hold our breath. | 1 | 99,251 | sports |
Imagine ordering a ton of bricks. That's 400 red paving bricks weighing five pounds apiece. You know, the bricks that made Indianapolis famous. They're yours. Now, do you want your ton of bricks dumped on you all at once? Or would you rather have one brick handed to you at a time? The manual-transmission 2016 ATS-V sedan is Cadillac's one-brick-at-a-time performance machine. Sometimes it's about feeling that kiln-hardened clay in your hand as you set the brick in place and build something magnificent with it. At other times, it's about bouncing that heft in your hand for a moment just before chucking the brick through a window and running like hell. With 464 horsepower from its 3.6-liter twin-turbocharged V-6, this is one of the world's great brick-delivery systems. And it excels at running like hell. Three-Pedal Performance The stir-it-yourself transmission in this ATS-V sedan is no mystery box. It's the Tremec TR-6060 six-speed, an evolution of the T-56 that has been used in various Camaros, Vipers, and Mustangs for almost a quarter-century. All the demons were chased out of this gearbox decades ago, and it has been refined to the point that its shifts are intuitive. That is, if your intuition triggers some seriously beefy muscular reflexes. Cadillac has optimized the TR-6060 by adding both active rev-matching logic and no-lift shifting. The rev-matching feature blips the throttle when it anticipates a downshift to make the shift change smoother, while the no-lift feature facilitates upshifts without making the driver lay off the go juice. Both technologies work well, keeping the engine in the meatiest part of its torque production even if the doofus driver couldn't stab it with a steak knife. A pair of switches, located aft of the shifter, control the three modes in which the ATS-V will operate: Touring, Sport, and Track. One switch has an arrow pointing up, the other an arrow pointing down. Why one switch couldn't handle this task is a mystery, but whatever. In Touring mode, the engine idles almost silently and rises into a slight vibrating contralto as it runs through the gears. It's never loud, but there is an engaging resonant note to the exhaust. The ride is compliant without being mushy, and the steering is easygoing. In Sport and Track modes, the steering takes deliberate effort, the suspension stiffens significantly, and the exhaust is louder and more vivid but still falls well short of our aural expectations (both the C63's bombastic V-8 and the M3/M4's ripping inline-six are far better). Sport mode is fun. Track mode makes the ATS-V feel as if it's in hot pursuit of a Trans-Am title. The ATS-V's twin-turbo V-6 is a sibling to the normally aspirated 3.6-liter V-6 that General Motors uses in everything from the Chevrolet Colorado pickup to the livery-spec Cadillac XTS that picked you up at the airport. But its closest relative is the twin-turbo 3.6 in the larger CTS Vsport sedan. In the CTS Vsport, it's rated at 420 horsepower, but in the ATS-V it gets titanium connecting rods and new turbos, among other changes, and is tuned to deliver 464 horses. That's 39 horsepower more than a BMW M3's 3.0-liter twin-turbo straight-six but 39 hp behind the 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8 in the Mercedes-AMG C63 S. That's a nicely symmetrical splitting of differences. High-Level Mechanical Intimacy Most ATS-Vs will be delivered with the eight-speed automatic, as was the ATS-V in our most recent comparison test against the BMW M3 and the Mercedes-AMG C63 S. But while the manual has two fewer gears, it uses an aggressive 3.73:1 final-drive ratio compared with the automatic's set of 2.85:1 gears. Both fifth and sixth in the manual are overdrive ratios, but second, third, and fourth (a direct 1:1 ratio) thrive with this short gearset not so much in absolute performance but in being almost ludicrously entertaining. The manual transmission creates a more direct connection between driver and car. You can feel torque surging up through the shifter in your hand, and you know the precise moment when the clutch engages through the pedal as your toes rise with it. This is high-level mechanical intimacy. So we asked it to dance. On the right California mountain road, second gear alone could earn a Golden Globe nomination. Even in the calm Touring mode, the tail will drift a bit and then tuck in before the traction- and stability-control systems abruptly engage. In Sport mode, the traction control is moderated a bit and is less intrusive. The most fun in cornering is to be had in Sport mode with the traction control turned off, when the rear 275/35ZR-18 Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires will sweep out heroically, bite down at the apex, and slingshot the ATS-V onward. Watch out for the rev limiter. Lose sight of the tach and run out to the 6500-rpm fuel cutoff, and the V-6 snaps off emphatically. And it will spin the needle up there quickly, delivering fresh gobs of torque right up until the computer sends out its self-preservation S.O.S. If you stay mindful of the revs, however after all, the torque peak of 445 lb-ft arrives at 3500 rpm it's all Six Flags over Cadillac. Keeping this in mind, know that our testing shows that the ATS-V is quicker with the automatic transmission. Using its paddle shifters, the automatic ATS-V sedan ran to 60 mph in only 3.9 seconds and slaughtered the quarter-mile in 12.1 at a ripping 122 mph. This manual model needed 4.2 seconds to reach 60 mph and 12.5 to complete the quarter-mile at 117 mph. If absolute performance is the ultimate decider, go for the trigger-shifted automatic. Aside from the styling and interior volume, there's nothing here that distinguishes the sedan from the ATS-V manual coupe we tested; it, too, hit 60 mph in 4.2 seconds. While the stick brings additional amusement, what's best about the ATS-V remains its spectacularly well-tuned chassis, which is enhanced with magnetorheological dampers. With the best initial turn-in bite of any sports sedan, it's great when hustling at speed and a blast on a tight, narrow road, where one-quarter throttle is enough to entertain. The steering is so good and so satisfying in its feedback that merely commuting can be the highlight of your day. CUE the Piper and Pay the Price The EPA rates the ATS-V manual at 17 mpg in the city (1 mpg better than the automatic) and 23 mpg on the highway (1 mpg worse). Driven aggressively to extract maximum yuks, the Caddy slurped premium fuel at a rate of 15 mpg in our care. What holds back the ATS-V, no matter what the transmission, is its dinky rear seat, the often frustrating CUE infotainment interface, and some lack of cohesion in design elements (for instance, switchgear and gauges that we associate with family sedans more than a luxury-brand sports model). The ATS-V's performance puts it tantalizingly close to the best in class, but the manual transmission likely isn't enough to get it past both the M3 and the C63 S AMG in another comparison test. For those who'd prefer to shift for themselves, though, the only other choice is the BMW (Alfa Romeo's Giulia Quadrifoglio also will offer a manual when it goes on sale). The brilliant Recaro front seats are a deal at their $2300 option price, but the $5000 carbon-fiber package might better be skipped, considering the vulnerability of the front splitter. Maybe after some acclimation it would become an ingrained habit to use the forward-facing camera to avoid scrapes, but the ATS-V would be just as entertaining without the worry. As it is, our Vector Blue Metallic test car's option load inflated the total chit from its $61,460 base price to $75,900. Cadillacs have never been cheap, and neither is this one, although it should be noted that the German alternatives are easily optioned into the mid-$80K range and even beyond $90,000 if you lack self-discipline. The ATS-V's seamless performance is in stark contrast to the seam-busting slamfest that is its radical big brother, the CTS-V, which starts at $84,990. With its 640-hp 6.2-liter supercharged V-8, the CTS-V is the Cadillac for those who prefer getting their ton of bricks delivered all at once. The choice is yours. Specifications >VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door sedan PRICE AS TESTED: $75,900 (base price: $61,460) ENGINE TYPE: twin-turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 24-valve V-6, aluminum block and heads, direct fuel injection Displacement: 217 cu in, 3564 cc Power: 464 hp @ 5850 rpm Torque: 445 lb-ft @ 3500 rpm TRANSMISSION: 6-speed manual DIMENSIONS: Wheelbase: 109.3 in Length: 184.0 in Width: 71.3 in Height: 55.7 in Passenger volume: 84 cu ft Cargo volume: 10 cu ft Curb weight: 3809 lb C/D TEST RESULTS: Zero to 60 mph: 4.2 sec Zero to 100 mph: 9.6 sec Zero to 130 mph: 16.1 sec Zero to 150 mph: 23.2 sec Rolling start, 5 60 mph: 5.3 sec Top gear, 30 50 mph: 9.8 sec Top gear, 50 70 mph: 7.1 sec Standing ¼-mile: 12.5 sec @ 117 mph Top speed (drag limited, mfr's claim): 189 mph Braking, 70 0 mph: 163 ft Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.99 g FUEL ECONOMY: EPA city/highway driving: 17/23 mpg C/D observed: 15 mpg | 9 | 99,252 | autos |
LONDON (AP) Scientists say most antidepressants don't work for children or teenagers with major depression, some may be unsafe, and the quality of evidence about these drugs is so bad the researchers cannot be sure if any are truly effective or safe. In the biggest analysis yet conducted of previously published studies, researchers studied 14 antidepressants and found only one drug that seemed to be useful. "We now have a hierarchy of pharmaceutical treatments and the only one that is better than placebo and other drugs is Prozac," said Dr. Andrea Cipriani of the University of Oxford, one of the study authors. He said psychological treatment such as behavioral therapy should be tried before prescribing drugs, echoing the recommendations of some current guidelines. Cipriani and colleagues analyzed 34 drug trials that included more than 5,000 patients. Of those, 22 studies were paid for by pharmaceutical companies. The scientists called the quality of the evidence in the research they studied "very low" so low that they said their findings weren't enough to change how patients are treated. The authors cautioned that their results were based on flawed trials and that they couldn't figure out whether or not the drugs were truly effective or gauge the impact of serious side effects. Still, the review was enough to call into question the vast majority of medications used to treat young people with depression. "There is little reason to think that any antidepressant is better than nothing for young people," wrote Jon Jureidini of the University of Adelaide in Australia in an accompanying commentary. Among findings on individual drugs, the researchers found that Sensoval was less effective than seven other antidepressants and a placebo and that Tofranil, Effexor and Cymbalta led to the worst side effects. When compared to five other drugs and a placebo, Effexor was linked to a risk of increased suicide attempts and suicidal thoughts. The new study was published online Wednesday in the journal Lancet . Even with all of the limitations the authors highlight in the study, Cipriani said doctors shouldn't shy away from prescribing antidepressants if children need them. "We have an effective tool," he said of Prozac. "There is also a risk of not prescribing drugs to patients who really need them," he said. Major depression affects about 3 percent of children aged six to 12 years and about 6 percent of teenagers aged 13 to 18. Doctors have sometimes been wary of prescribing antidepressants for young patients because some medications can be harmful to their developing brains. | 7 | 99,253 | health |
NEW YORK/WASHINGTON, June 8 (Reuters) - U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren will soon endorse presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and, while not currently interested in serving as her running mate, has not ruled it out, several sources close to Warren told Reuters. Advisers to Warren, a fiery critic of Wall Street and a popular figure among progressive Democrats, have been in close contact with Clinton's campaign team and the conversations have increased in frequency in recent weeks, the sources said. Warren, 66, represents her home state of Massachusetts in the U.S. Senate. The sources said that foremost in her thinking is how best to help the Democratic Party defeat the presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump in the Nov. 8 presidential election and advance issues such as income inequality which top Warren's agenda. An endorsement of Clinton could come within a week or two, one of the sources said. Clinton has been appealing for Democratic Party unity. On Twitter over the weekend, Warren echoed that call and emphasized the importance of the party coming together to beat Trump. "Get ready, Donald," she tweeted. "We're coming." Warren has stayed neutral in the Democratic primary race, notably remaining the only woman senator not throwing her support behind the first woman presidential nominee of a major political party. Were she to join the Clinton ticket, she could help energize progressives and win over supporters of Clinton's rival Bernie Sanders, a democratic socialist U.S. senator from Vermont. Sanders' calls for reining in Wall Street and breaking up big banks dovetail with Warren's views. Warren, a former special adviser in the Obama administration for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, has been one of the Democrats' most effective Trump critics. An ongoing feud with Trump gained steam on social media with a series of posts in which she labeled the celebrity businessman racist, sexist and xenophobic and said she was going to fight to make sure his "toxic stew of hatred and insecurity never reaches the White House." Warren joined Clinton late last month in criticizing Trump for rooting for the 2008 financial crisis and delivered a 10-minute invective on the subject at an annual Washington gala two weeks ago. "What kind of a man roots for people to get thrown out of their house? I'll tell you exactly what kind of man does that," Warren said. "It is a man who cares about no one but himself - a small insecure money-grubber who doesn't care who gets hurt so long as he makes a profit off it." Trump has ridiculed Warren by calling her Pocahontas in a mocking reference to her having said in the past that she had Native American ancestry. Pocahontas was a famous Native American in early colonial Virginia. (Additional reporting by Megan Cassella and Amanda Becker in Washington; Editing by Amran Abocar and Howard Goller) | 5 | 99,254 | news |
Fans lined up around the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville on Wednesday to pick up free tickets to Muhammad Ali's upcoming funeral. While some wanted tickets to honor the late boxer, others were apparently just trying to make a buck. The Associated Press reported Wednesday that some people are willing to pay as much as $25 for tickets to Ali's funeral. Tickets to the funeral were given out on a first come, first serve basis outside the Yum! Center on Wednesday. Thousands left and were unable to get tickets. Ali family spokesperson Bob Gunnell was not happy when he heard that people were attempting to sell the funeral tickets, saying that Ali wanted the funeral to be a free event. "I'm personally disgusted and amazed that someone would try to profit off of Muhammad Ali's memorial service," he said. Those who are attempting to sell the tickets have gone mostly quiet when asked about their decision to sell the tickets. One seller hung up on a reporter when they asked how much the ticket was going to be sold for. The funeral has become a highly-regarded event. Outside of Ali's name-recognition, former president Bill Clinton will eulogize Ali. | 5 | 99,255 | news |
There's something for everyone in this collection of apps and games for all tastes. Essential apps Get essential apps TV and movie apps Get TV and movie apps Music apps Get music apps Social apps Get social apps News apps Get news apps Sports apps Get sports apps Weather apps Get weather apps Shopping apps Get shopping apps Photo apps Get photo apps Travel apps Get travel apps Fitness apps Get fitness apps Cooking apps Get cooking apps Money apps Get money apps Productivity apps Get productivity apps Security apps Get security apps Toolbox apps Get toolbox apps Essential games Play essential games Classic games Play classic games Card games Play card games Casino games Play casino games Throwback games Play throwback games Puzzle games Play puzzle games Beautiful games Play beautiful games Hidden object games Play hidden object games Mystery games Play mystery games Strategy games Play strategy games Racing games Play racing games Action games Play action games War games Play war games Word games Play word games Food games Play food games Animal games Play animal games | 6 | 99,256 | entertainment |
In a recent speech, President Obama criticized Republicans for making claims about the economy and health care that are "not supported by the facts." But Obama resorted to some spin of his own. Obama said "America's economy is not just better than it was eight years ago it is the strongest, most durable economy in the world." Actually, China's economy grew by an estimated 6.9 percent in 2015 more than double the U.S. rate. Obama also claimed that "we've seen the first sustained manufacturing growth since the 1990s." But manufacturing employment has declined by 35,000 in 2016, and it's still down 2.2 percent from when Obama took office. Obama said family health insurance premiums are "$2,600 less" on average than they would have been "if premiums had kept on going up at the pace before Obamacare." There has been a decade-long slowdown in the growth of employer-sponsored health care premiums, and how much of it is attributable to the health care law is in dispute. The president gave his economic address June 1 at Concord Community High School in Elkhart, Indiana. He criticized Republicans for opposing his economic agenda and for being "anti-government, anti-immigrant, anti-trade, and, let's face it, it's anti-change." 'Strongest' Economy? Obama said one of his main points was this: "America's economy is not just better than it was eight years ago it is the strongest, most durable economy in the world." But the U.S. economy isn't the "strongest" based on annual growth of gross domestic product. U.S. GDP grew by an estimated 2.5 percent in 2015, according to a January 2016 report from the World Bank. That was better than Europe, as a whole, which grew only 1.5 percent, and better than Japan, which was almost flat at 0.8 percent. The U.S. economy also performed better than Latin America's developing one, which actually had negative growth last year. However, the U.S. economy didn't have the "strongest" growth. The World Bank estimated that China's economy grew by 6.9 percent in 2015. That's more than two times better than the United States. China's GDP growth last year was a decline from its 7.7 percent growth in 2013 and its 7.3 percent growth in 2014. The developing economies of East Asia and the Pacific collectively grew 6.4 percent in 2015, according to World Bank estimates. Manufacturing Gains Obama also claimed that "we've seen the first sustained manufacturing growth since the 1990s." But that depends on the time period used to measure growth. It's true that U.S. manufacturing employment has rebounded by 7.3 percent since plunging to a post-World War II low in February 2010. But the fact is that manufacturing employment, at nearly 12.3 million in May, was still 2.2 percent below where it was when Obama took office. Plus, it remains 10.6 percent below where it was at the start of the Great Recession in December 2007. The manufacturing sector's growth hasn't been "sustained" lately, either. Manufacturing employment was down by 35,000 through the first five months of 2016, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Obama on Obamacare On health care, Obama exaggerated when he suggested that the Affordable Care Act is responsible for keeping employer-sponsored health insurance premiums low, and he wasn't telling the full story when he said the average increase for subsidized health plans on the exchange is just $4 a month. Obama, June 1 : Today, the average family's health insurance premium is $2,600 less than it would have been if premiums had kept on going up at the pace before Obamacare. That is accurate, but it leaves the false impression that the Affordable Care Act aka, Obamacare is the reason for slow growth in premiums. There are "a variety of causes," including the Affordable Care Act, for the slow growth in health care costs, according to Jason Furman, chairman of the president's Council of Economic Advisers. The $2,600 figure comes from Furman, who did an analysis last year of premiums based on data from the Kaiser Family Foundation's annual surveys of employer-sponsored health plans. Furman links to the Kaiser report , which notes that the slowdown in health insurance premiums dates to 2005 five years before the Affordable Care Act was signed into law. "Since 2005, premiums have grown an average of 5 percent each year, compared to 11 percent annually between 1999 and 2005," the Kaiser report said. What are the reasons for the slow growth? In an Oct. 7, 2015, speech, Furman said "the recent slow growth in health care costs has a variety of causes." Furman listed some of them: the recession and its aftermath, private-sector efforts to control health care costs "even before the recession hit and the Affordable Care Act was enacted," and the Affordable Care Act. He said the law's reductions in Medicare spending are having a "spillover effect" on overall health care spending, and he credited the law as "a major reason" for slow growth. But there is disagreement on how much credit, if any, the Affordable Care Act deserves for slower growth in health care costs and, in turn, premiums. Drew Altman, president of the Kaiser Family Foundation, said at a health care forum last year that there is "widespread agreement" that the slowdown in health care cost increases is "due to both the sluggish economy and changes in the health care system." But, he added, "There's far less agreement about the role of the ACA, about the role of the Affordable Care Act, or frankly whether it's played any role at all." (His remarks come at the 6:40 mark.) Obama also rejected criticism that health insurance premiums are skyrocketing for those who buy plans on the health care exchanges set up by the Affordable Care Act. Obama, June 1 : For the millions of Americans who buy on HealthCare.gov, they get tax credits to help them pay for it. The average price increase this year has been four bucks a month. There hasn't been a double-digit percentage hike four bucks a month. The $4 per month increase is the average for those who received tax credits to buy a health plan on the exchanges. As we have written before, the Department of Health and Human Services reported in April that 85 percent of those buying a plan on the HealthCare.gov marketplaces in 2016 qualified for tax credits and saw a jump in premiums of 4 percent or $4 per month on average. The average premium increase for all HealthCare.gov consumers was 8 percent in 2016. And those, of course, are averages. The Kaiser Family Foundation did an analysis in October of premium changes for the second-lowest cost silver marketplace plans in major cities in 50 states and the District of Columbia. It found that the percentage change before tax credits ranged from a 10.6 percent decrease in Seattle to a 38.4 percent increase in Nashville, Tennessee, with average double-digit increases in 22 of the major cities. The average increase was 10.1 percent before tax credits. After accounting for tax credits, there were only two cities that had average increases in the double digits Phoenix and Minneapolis and 45 had seen reductions in the average premiums. https://www.sharethefacts.co/share/45b90715-62af-4a18-83ff-62b0e5bf5231 https://www.sharethefacts.co/share/0b30a9a3-7067-43e4-ae92-447a56d1e06a https://www.sharethefacts.co/share/736143ea-f6c0-414d-84bd-67514b59b2fa | 5 | 99,257 | news |
Hillary Clinton said that she "read" that Donald Trump "said he wants to … abolish the VA." But Clinton distorted the facts, as CNN's Jake Tapper explains in this week's fact-checking video . The Clinton campaign said that her claim was based on a May 12 Wall Street Journal article that said Trump's campaign co-chair and chief policy adviser indicated that "the presumptive GOP presidential nominee would likely push VA health care toward privatization and might move for it to become more of an insurance provider like Medicare rather than an integrated hospital system." But that doesn't necessarily mean that Trump "wants to … abolish the VA." The Journal article quoted the same policy adviser as saying that "there are a lot of VA facilities that are being run very well" and that Trump doesn't "want to take away the veterans hospitals and the things that are working well." In fact, at a campaign rally in December, Trump said "I don't want to get rid of it" when talking about the Department of Veterans Affairs and its health care system. This latest video is part of our ongoing collaboration with CNN's "State of the Union." Past videos are available at CNN.com and FactCheck.org . | 5 | 99,258 | news |
In promoting his energy plan, Donald Trump made two false claims: Trump said wind farms in the U.S. "kill more than 1 million birds a year." Reliable data are scarce, but current mean estimates range from 20,000 to 573,000 bird deaths per year. While discussing the number of eagles that are killed by wind turbines, Trump said that "if you shoot an eagle … they want to put you in jail for five years." Actually, the maximum penalty is a one-year imprisonment. On May 26, Trump held a press conference and then gave a speech in Bismarck, North Dakota, where he unveiled what he called an "America First" energy plan. In his press conference, Trump said he is "into all types of energy," but he singled out wind energy as "a problem" because it kills eagles. In his speech, he also spoke generally about birds that are killed by wind farms. Trump, May 26: The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against seven North Dakota oil companies for the deaths of 28 birds while the administration fast-tracked wind projects that kill more than 1 million birds a year. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service , "collisions with wind turbines and associated infrastructure (e.g., transmission lines and towers)" pose a threat to wildlife migratory birds and eagles in particular. But Trump exaggerates the number of bird deaths due to wind farms, and fails to mention that fossil-fuel plants kill far more birds per year than wind farms. As for the North Dakota lawsuit, Trump is correct that seven oil companies were charged for violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act . The lawsuit stems from the deaths of 28 birds found in oil waste pits from May 6, 2011, to June 20, 2011. According to the Associated Press , Slawson Exploration Company Inc. "accounted for the bulk of the 28 dead birds discovered by federal wildlife officials." Under a plea agreement, Slawson paid "$12,000 or $1,000 per bird to the nonprofit National Fish and Wildlife Foundation," reported AP. When Birds Collide Scientific studies have come up with a wide range of mean estimates concerning bird mortality due to wind farms from 20,000 to 573,000 bird deaths per year . But no study has estimated that wind farms presently kill 1 million birds a year, as Trump claimed. To start, the Fish and Wildlife Service "estimates that wind turbines may kill a half a million birds a year." K. Shawn Smallwood, an ornithologist who studies the impacts of wind farms on birds, also published a study in the journal Wildlife Society Bulletin in 2013 that estimated 573,000 bird fatalities per year, which included 83,000 raptor fatalities. This was when the country's capacity for wind energy production was at 51,630 megawatts (MW), he writes in his paper. However, Smallwood told us by email that these estimates may be old. Since "the last estimates were published, wind energy capacity has increased considerably," he said. At the end of 2015, the total U.S. installed wind capacity was 73,992 MW, according to the American Wind Energy Association . In a 2013 paper published in Biological Conservation , Scott Loss and colleagues also write, "The total amount of bird collision mortality at U.S. wind facilities will likely increase with increased wind energy development in the coming decades." That paper estimates that the number of bird casualties from wind farms could rise to around 1.4 million per year if the Department of Energy meets its goal to have 20 percent of total U.S. electricity generated from wind power by 2030. But only 4.7 percent of U.S. electricity generation came from wind in 2015. Smallwood told us that "so as far as I'm aware no such estimate [of 1 million bird deaths] exists" today. In his claim, Trump also misleadingly compared bird deaths at oil drilling operations with those at wind farms. A 2012 Bureau of Land Management memo states that "oil field production skim pits and centralized oilfield wastewater disposal facilities kill an estimated 500,000 to 1,000,000 birds annually." This suggests oil production alone (i.e. not including the production of coal or gas) can kill the same, if not more, birds per year than wind farms in the U.S. Even still, there are greater threats to birds than energy production, including cats and buildings. A 2013 Nature study by Loss and others estimated that "free-ranging domestic cats kill 1.3 4.0 billion birds" in the U.S. annually. But the researchers added, "Un-owned cats, as opposed to owned pets, cause the majority of this mortality." In another study published in the journal The Condor in 2014, Loss and colleagues also estimated "that between 365 [million] and 988 million birds … are killed annually by building collisions in the U.S., with roughly 56% of mortality at low-rises, 44% at residences, and In short, Trump was misleading at best and wrong at worst when he said, "The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against seven North Dakota oil companies for the deaths of 28 birds while the Administration fast-tracked wind projects that kill more than 1 million birds a year." No studies estimate 1 million bird deaths per year due to wind farms today, and research suggests oil production kills the same, if not more, birds per year than wind farms. Nevertheless, cats remain birds' greatest threat. Threats to Eagles At the press conference held before his energy speech, Trump also claimed "if you go to various places in California, wind is killing all of the eagles. You know, if you shoot an eagle … they want to put you in jail for five years. And yet the windmills are killing hundreds and hundreds of eagles … they're killing them by the hundreds and nothing happens." Trump's claim about the penalty for shooting a bald eagle is false. According to the Fish and Wildlife Service , the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act prohibits "the take, possession, sale, purchase, barter, offer to sell, purchase or barter, transport, export or import, of any bald or golden eagle, alive or dead, including any part, nest, or egg, unless allowed by permit." A "take" includes the act shooting, poisoning, wounding and killing an eagle. FWS states that "civil penalties for violating provisions of the Act" are "a maximum fine of $5,000 or one year imprisonment with $10,000 or not more than two years in prison for a second conviction." That means first-time violators are likely to serve little or no time in jail. For example, in 2009 the State Journal-Register reported that Jerry Kronable, a resident of Illinois, violated "the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and was ordered to pay a $5,000 fine, serve one year of probation and forfeit the rifle he used to shoot the eagle." Also in 2009, Jesse Barresse, a resident of Florida, was sentenced to six months in federal prison, a year of supervised release and a $500 fine for intentionally shooting and killing a bald eagle. Likewise, in Alaska in 2000, Richard Hart pleaded guilty to shooting and killing a bald eagle. He was sentenced with two years of probation, a $1,500 fine, 150 hours of community service and alcohol abuse counseling. He also had to give up his hunting privileges for one year and forfeit the rifle he used to shoot the eagle. But what about his claim that wind turbines "are killing hundreds and hundreds of eagles"? We reached out to Trump's office to ask if he was referring to eagles killed by wind farms nationwide or just in California, but we have yet to hear back. If Trump means the number of eagles killed by wind turbines per year in California, we refer you to an item by our friends at PolitiFact. They reported that the "best estimate is that about 100 golden eagles die each year from collisions with wind turbine blades [in California]. The data are not perfect, but the people most concerned about the welfare of the eagles do not go along with Trump's figure." Researchers have even less reliable estimates of the number of eagles killed by wind farms nationwide. Joel E. Pagel, a raptor ecologist at the Fish and Wildlife Service, and others counted "a minimum of 85 eagle mortalities at 32 wind energy facilities in 10 states during 1997 through 30 June 2012." But the group also writes in its 2013 Journal of Raptor Research paper that the findings "likely underestimate, perhaps substantially, the number of eagles killed at wind facilities in the United States." This underestimation is due to the fact that "assessments of eagle mortality at commercial-scale and/or private wind energy facilities are either seldom conducted or in some cases not made available for public review," the authors argue. Pagel and colleagues' study didn't include eagle deaths at the Altamount Pass Wind Resource Area in California, for which there are better data. At the APWRA, Smallwood estimated 67 golden eagle deaths per year in a study published in the Journal of Wildlife Management in 2010. But he also told Politifact that the estimate should be much lower today because old turbines were "replaced by larger turbines that are being more carefully sited to reduce eagle fatalities." According to the FWS , "Eagles appear to be particularly susceptible" to colliding with wind turbines, compared with other birds. Why? "Many of the areas that are promising sources of wind energy unfortunately also overlap with eagle habitats, and eagles are at risk because their senses tend to be focused upon the ground as they look for prey, rather than staring ahead to see spinning blades," reported National Geographic . Trump falsely claimed shooting an eagle leads to five years in prison. The penalty is a maximum fine of $5,000 or one year imprisonment for the first offense. Trump also misleadingly said that wind turbines "are killing hundreds and hundreds of eagles." It's possible, but scientists don't have good estimates for eagle deaths at wind farms across the U.S. because of underreporting and a lack of access to data. Editor's Note: SciCheck is made possible by a grant from the Stanton Foundation. https://www.sharethefacts.co/share/74c7a064-bfc1-4796-95b9-ceb607dc46a9 https://www.sharethefacts.co/share/e2c3c601-64ad-4976-92e8-8ec59f82acb2 | 5 | 99,259 | news |
Grab your crew and your phone, because planning a group getaway on Airbnb just got a whole lot easier. At this year's OpenAir , Airbnb's annual tech conference, VP of engineering Mike Curtis announced several all-new features. Most notable is an enhancement to the wish list feature that will allow groups of users to collaborate on trip ideas, communicate and share comments about future trips, and even vote on potential destinations. According to Airbnb , "Collaborative Wish Lists make trip planning easier, more fun, and more personal by bringing more people into the planning process and helping groups to make plans faster." It's a more interactive offering than we've seen, and one that will come in handy just in time for peak summer-travel season. The company also announced that it will be rolling out new multi-party reviews. As any Airbnb user knows, part of what makes the system work is the host-and-guest review process. In the past, when groups of people stayed together in an Airbnb home, hosts could only review the individual traveler who booked the listing. Now, host reviews will apply to all guests in a group. That helps travelers gain credibility within the Airbnb community, even if they're not the ones who booked it personally. The last major announcement pertains to Airbnb's business travel-booking service, which will soon allow employees to book stays on behalf of other employees. But let's face it: Now that it's summer, business travel is the last thing on our minds. Booking a vacation in one of these places is the first. | 2 | 99,260 | travel |
Twitter is getting ugly over the care of Mayte Lara, a teenage girl who tweeted about graduating with a 4.5 GPA from Crockett High School in Austin and receiving a full scholarship to the University of Texas while being an undocumented immigrant. Now, she's been driven from the social media site , and people are being total ****s. Screenshot via Twitter/BroBible Granted, it wasn't the smartest move. But almost immediately after she tweeted about her successes, people began to respond in anger, pointing out that many American citizens are saddled with college debt. There are certainly points to be made, but the attacks are unnecessarily cruel, with some going so far as to attack her body. Even BroBible called her an "idiot." Doing Image search 4 #MayteLara the ILLEGAL who STOLE EDUCATIONAL BENEFITS FROM AMERICANS. #PROSECUTE then #DEPORT ' pic.twitter.com/KpioNLPxXH Violet Weed (@geekiestwoman) June 6, 2016 BTW, your legs are s**t. #MayteLara https://t.co/qD1VamGxwK Van der Muchbetterer (@MuchBetterer) June 6, 2016 @maytelara29 tuition paid by 🇺🇸 taxpayers. But, keep waving the Mexican flag in our faces. Stay classy, illegal. pic.twitter.com/7YXORjP0mj American So Woke (@AmericanSoWoke) June 6, 2016 However, many are also coming to her defense, arguing that it's not her fault if she's undocumented, and what she accomplished is still incredibly impressive. And also, this is not the biggest problem we have at the moment. That some are more concerned about #MayteLara getting deported than a convicted rapist getting a slap on the wrist is disgusting. Moisés Chiullán (@moiseschiu) June 7, 2016 Lastly, #MayteLara you are an inspiration. Your journey at The University of Texas hasn't started yet & you're already changing the world.🤘🏼 Maira Flores (@maira_flores) June 6, 2016 Ultimately, the issue is bigger than one student. Immigration and the path to citizenship in America is complicated, to say the least, and the reasons people have for entering America without documentation are many, whether it's to stay with family, escape poverty or violence, or find work. And, with the federal DREAM Act failing to pass on numerous occasions, many teens who may be safe under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program are still not provided a path to citizenship or other documentation. Maybe she shouldn't have been so forthcoming about her immigration status. But also, maybe, a teenager shouldn't be attacked for being proud of her accomplishments in the face of serious hardships. | 5 | 99,261 | news |
Before going too far and saying any shade-tree mechanic can lock lug nuts onto a wheel, remember this: NASCAR goes nowhere near a sturdy oak. And NASCAR tools are a lot more expensive than the set you use, bubba. Seriously, can you afford a $2,500 impact wrench? MORE: Jeff Gordon, man in a glass house That said, it's worth asking, shall we say, the $2,500 question: Why can't the wheel guys get lug nuts tightened to specifications? Whatever the reason, NASCAR this week nailed the hide of a fourth crew chief to its wall, while also pocketing another $20K fine, for failure to have all five lug nuts tightened to all four wheels of Sprint Cup cars. The rogue's gallery expanded Wednesday to include Chad Johnston, pit boss for Kyle Larson of Chip Ganassi Racing. MORE: Latest penalty | Pocono results | Next: Michigan The other skins belong to Adam Stevens (Kyle Busch's chief), Tony Gibson (Kurt Busch) and Randall Burnett (AJ Allmendinger). No, the chiefs weren't the guys handling the guns. And maybe that's what NASCAR really needs to do: Fine and suspend the guys most responsible for not getting 20 lug nuts done right. Hold on, that's not a call to punish the guilty. After all, blessed are the wrench men , because … well, they do a dirty job under pressure. These guys during a pit stop haul a 16-pound pneumatic tool that delivers up to 1,450 foot-pounds of torque and removes five nuts in about a second . Sometimes for four wheels, sometimes two. And they bend their knees a lot. Still, that's their most important function during a pit stop. If you have one job to do, some wise old grease monkey once said, do it right. OK, so who is the culprit here? The chief who is responsible for the crew? The wrench man whose one job it is to remove and install lug nuts? NASCAR, which changed its rules and ordered enforcement of something it disregarded for two years? Tony Stewart, whose criticism of NASCAR got him fined but resulted in the rule change? How about all of the above? How about none of the above? NASCAR announced the lug nut rule and gave teams leeway to teach crewmen the right technique. The rule went into effect May 1 before the race at Kansas. On May 21 at the Sprint All-Star Race, lug nuts were checked at the entrance to pit road during stops after the first two segments. Joey Logano couldn't enter victory lane until his car was checked. It was a Draconian display. NASCAR pit officials aren't being equipped with cattle prods or torque wrenches, however, so it's up to the wrench men to perform. Under race pressure. Perfectly. Yes, an impact wrench might fail. Nobody expected a nickel-and-dime part like a rear seal to fail on Jimmie Johnson's car last season with a Chase berth on the line. Nobody could duplicate how a 10-cent piece lodged behind Martin Truex Jr.'s wheel at Kansas. Stewart was right in speaking out about NASCAR's lax attention to safety wrought by an improperly tightened, if not missing, lug nut. NASCAR was right in addressing that safety concern (but not in telling Smoke, basically, you're right, thanks but pay up). Now it's a matter of crew members and bosses rehearsing their pit ballet and making sure, pluperfect sure, 20 lug nuts are put in cars to required tightness. Get 'er done. | 1 | 99,262 | sports |
The first of an expected 2,000 troops from regional military powerhouse Chad began arriving in neighbouring Niger Wednesday, where Boko Haram insurgents inflicted heavy losses in the town of Bosso last week, a local security source said. Chad is a leading member of a multi-national force fighting the Nigeria-based Islamist fighters who have extended their attacks to neighbouring countries from their base in northern Nigeria. "The first Chadian soldiers have already arrived in Bosso on board around 30 heavily-armed all-terrain vehicles," the source said. A Chadian military source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the troops will "search everywhere for Boko Haram". The planned offensive comes after Boko Haram on Friday attacked a military post in Bosso in Niger's Diffa region, killing 26 soldiers including two from neighbouring Nigeria, in one of its deadliest attacks in Niger that sent tens of thousands fleeing. A total of 55 insurgents were killed in the fighting and "many" injured, according to Niger authorities. On Tuesday, witnesses near Bosso said Boko Haram remained in control of the town though the Niger government had said the previous day that "Bosso was totally under control." In the regional capital, Diffa, some 140 kilometres (87 miles) to the west, teacher Ari Issa said he had seen many fighter planes. Local radio Anfani said "military planes are coming and going between Lake Chad and Diffa airport". There was no immediate confirmation from the Chadian army. Last year, Chad dispatched soldiers to Nigeria, Niger and Cameroon to fight Boko Haram. The multi-national force includes the four countries. - '50,000 displaced' - Some 50,000 people have fled the Bosso area, UN refugee agency (UNHCR) spokesman Adrian Edwards said Tuesday. Boko Haram's seven-year insurgency has left at least 20,000 people dead in Nigeria and made more than 2.6 million homeless, leading to calls for more support within the region. The UNHCR said most of those fleeing the violence in Bosso had walked to Toumour, some 30 kilometres to the west. In Abidjan on Wednesday, the medical charity Doctors Without Borders called for urgent help for those displaced in Bosso, saying they were short of water and food as well as medicine. A local journalist working with Radio Anfani told AFP earlier this week that on Tuesday he was sheltering in Toumour with no food, along with many others who had fled the violence. "The Boko Haram gunmen stayed in Bosso from 6:30 pm (1730 GMT) on Friday to 3:00 am on Saturday, burning the military barracks, police facilities and local administration office before looting shops and carting away food supplies," he said. He said the gunmen used heavy artillery which allowed them to overrun the town's garrison. "They came in large numbers shouting 'Allahu Akbar' (God is greatest)," he said. | 5 | 99,263 | news |
When you first go gluten-free, it's usually your baking that takes the hardest hit. How can you convert a beautiful layer cake to gluten-free and still expect it to be good? Believe it or not, there are some easy recipe hacks that allow you to nix the gluten and still keep your baked goods delicious. Almost all recipes can be altered to be gluten-free. Give these tips and swaps a try. 1. Swap the flour Substitute all-purpose gluten-free flour in place of all-purpose regular flour at a ratio of 1:1. Try Bob's Red Mill all-purpose gluten-free flour . If you are baking items such as cakes and/or breads, add 1 teaspoon of xanthan gum. Coconut-veggie Fried Brown Rice is a Healthier Spin on Takeout 2. Eliminate the flour Try omitting the flour altogether. If you are craving peanut butter cookies, for example, try this simple recipe without the flour. Simple gluten-free peanut butter cookie recipe Yields 6 8 Ingredients: 1 cup peanut butter 1 cup sugar 1 2 eggs (depending on how moist you want them to be) Directions: Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Blend the ingredients, and place the dough on a cookie sheet. Bake for about 10 minutes. 3. Create a gluten-free flour mixture In place of flour in a recipe, try this combination. 3 parts white or brown rice flour 2 parts potato starch 1 part tapioca flour/starch 1 teaspoon xanthan gum for every 1-1/2 cups flour mixture No-bake Chocolate-almond Butter Cups Are Ridiculously Easy to Make 4. Consider arrowroot powder Arrowroot powder can be used in place of xanthan gum if you are having a hard time finding the latter. As a general rule, use 1/2 teaspoon of arrowroot powder for each cup of wheat flour called for in any recipe. Note: Round up if the recipe calls for a partial cup. Baked Ziti Gets a Gluten-free Makeover Thanks to Quinoa Pasta 5. Experiment with ingredients Other ingredients in the recipe may need to be adjusted when trying new flours and flour combinations. For example, use 2-1/2 teaspoons of baking powder for every cup of flour used in a recipe. Some flours may be a bit drier, so you may have to add additional liquid ingredients, such as water or oil, depending on what the recipe calls for. Before you go, check out our slideshow below: Updated by Sarah Long on 2/6/17 | 0 | 99,264 | foodanddrink |
[Question]Brooks and Dunn, "My Maria": Sweet Maria the sunlight surely hurts my eyes…[/Question] [Answer]I'm a lonely dreamer on the sea[/Answer] [Answer-Correct]I'm a lonely dreamer on a highway[/Answer-Correct] [Answer]I'm a dreamer sailing on the sea[/Answer] [Answer]Gypsy lady you're a miracle[/Answer] [Trivia]This song by Brooks and Dunn won a Grammy for Best Country Performance by a Duo or a Group with Vocal in 1997.[/Trivia] [Question]Shania Twain, "You're Still the One": Look how far we've come, my baby...[/Question] [Answer]We knew we'd get there someday[/Answer] [Answer]Looks like we made it[/Answer] [Answer-Correct]We mighta took the long way[/Answer-Correct] [Answer]I'm so glad we made it[/Answer] [Trivia]This Shania Twain song won the Grammy for the Best Country Song in 1999.[/Trivia] [Question]Faith Hill, "This Kiss": It's the way you love me…[/Question] [Answer]It's that pivotal moment[/Answer] [Answer]It's perpetual bliss[/Answer] [Answer-Correct]It's a feeling like this[/Answer-Correct] [Answer]It's centrifugal motion[/Answer] [Trivia]Hill's song reached No. 1 on the US and Canadian country charts.[/Trivia] [Question]Tim McGraw, "I Like It I Love It": But I won her that teddy bear....[/Question] [Answer]Sugar-pie, honey, darlin', and dear[/Answer] [Answer]Play a game all year[/Answer] [Answer]Keep away all fears[/Answer] [Answer-Correct]She's got me saying[/Answer-Correct] [Trivia]This song stayed at the top of the charts for five straight weeks.[/Trivia] [Question]Garth Brooks, "She's Gonna Make It": She seemed to sail right through…[/Question] [Answer-Correct]Those dark clouds forming[/Answer-Correct] [Answer]She's just dealing with the pain[/Answer] [Answer]In a haze of pain[/Answer] [Answer]You know it's driving him insane [/Answer] [Trivia]This Brooks song peaked at no. 2 on the U.S. country singles chart after its release in 1998.[/Trivia] [Question]Reba McEntire, "Is There Life Out There": She thought she'd done some living…[/Question] [Answer]She thought she was ready[/Answer] [Answer-Correct]But now she's just wonderin'[/Answer-Correct] [Answer]She's always lived for tomorrow[/Answer] [Answer]She's dyin' to try something foolish[/Answer] [Trivia]McEntire sang this song all the way to winning the Academy of Country Music Award for Video of the Year.[/Trivia] [Question]Little Texas, "God Blessed Texas": Been with some beautiful girls…[/Question] [Answer-Correct]After all I've witnessed[/Answer-Correct] [Answer]If you wanna see heaven[/Answer] [Answer]I've been around the world[/Answer] [Answer]Some really beautiful girls[/Answer] [Trivia]The 1993 song is played at many sports venues, including Dallas Cowboys and Texas Rangers games.[/Trivia] [Question]Vince Gill, "Look at Us": After all that we've been through…[/Question] [Answer-Correct]Look at us[/Answer-Correct] [Answer]If you want to see[/Answer] [Answer]I am so in love with you[/Answer] [Answer]After all these years together[/Answer] [Trivia]This hit was released in 1991, and reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles and Tracks chart.[/Trivia] [Question]Deana Carter, "Strawberry Wine": One restless summer we found love growing wild…[/Question] [Answer-Correct]On the banks of the river[/Answer-Correct] [Answer]Like strawberry wine[/Answer] [Answer]My first taste of love[/Answer] [Answer]I still remember[/Answer] [Trivia]Carter released this song in 1996 as a lead-off single from Carter's debut album.[/Trivia] [Question]Patty Loveless, "I Try to Think About Elvis": I try to think about palm trees…[/Question] [Answer]I try to think about high heels[/Answer] [Answer]I try to contemplate[/Answer] [Answer-Correct]Fig leaves[/Answer-Correct] [Answer]New clothes[/Answer] [Trivia]Loveless released this song in 1994 as the first single from her album "When Fallen Angels Fly."[/Trivia] [Question]Randy Travis, "Better Class of Losers": I am going back to the folks that I used to know..[/Question] [Answer]People I loved[/Answer] [Answer-Correct]Where everyone is what they seem[/Answer-Correct] [Answer]Folks that I loved[/Answer] [Answer]Where everyone is perfect[/Answer] [Trivia]This song, both recorded and co-written by Travis, peaked at number 2 in the U.S. and Canada.[/Trivia] [Question]Clay Walker, "Hypnotize the Moon": Ain't it strange how forever changed...[/Question] [Answer]Once I held her close[/Answer] [Answer]Then and there I knew[/Answer] [Answer]With just one touch[/Answer] [Answer-Correct]With just one look[/Answer-Correct] [Trivia]Walker released this song in 1995.[/Trivia] [Question]"Check Yes Or No": A pink dress, a matching bow and her pony tail...[/Question] [Answer]Next day I chased her[/Answer] [Answer]Across the monkey bars[/Answer] [Answer]She looks damn pretty[/Answer] [Answer-Correct]She kissed me[/Answer-Correct] [Trivia]This hit won Single of the Year and the Single Record of the Year from the Country Music Association.[/Trivia] [End] [/End] | 6 | 99,265 | entertainment |
WASHINGTON With the Democratic primary behind her, Hillary Clinton said she now plans to put Republican Donald Trump's economic record and agenda at the center of her campaign, calling his ideas "deeply misguided" and "dangerously incoherent." In an interview Wednesday, Mrs. Clinton said she would deliver an economic speech soon contrasting Mr. Trump's record and policies with her own, modeled after a foreign-policy speech she gave last week. In that speech, she offered a robust and often biting critique of the presumptive Republican nominee's stances on global affairs, charging he was "temperamentally unfit" to serve as commander-in-chief. Mr. Trump is hardly shrinking from the fight. He promised Tuesday night to deliver a "major speech" as early as Monday laying out the case for how Mrs. Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, have perfected what he called the "politics of personal enrichment." With the general election now effectively under way, the exchanges left no doubt that the next five months will be particularly bitter and divisive as both candidates strive to patch up divisions within their own parties while asserting the other shouldn't be president. For her own part, Mrs. Clinton promised in the interview to put forth a middle-class tax-cut plan, which she said would be a "critical" part of the case she makes to voters. She wouldn't say whether she supports bipartisan efforts to overhaul the corporate tax code by lowering rates and eliminating some tax breaks, but she promised more details in the weeks ahead. The interview came a day after the former first lady, senator and secretary of state made history as the first woman to capture the nomination of a major political party. She plans to travel to Ohio and Pennsylvania next week, two states where some analysts have predicted that Mr. Trump's brand of economic populism will resonate, particularly with white, working-class men. Mrs. Clinton said she was also working to unify Democrats. She spoke to rival Bernie Sanders on Tuesday evening and said she would continue making the case to his supporters that there is more that unites than divides them. Mr. Sanders, a Vermont senator, during the long primary campaign repeatedly hit Mrs. Clinton for her ties to Wall Street, including donations from employees of big banks and paid speeches. Asked if she would consider including people who have worked on Wall Street in her economic team, she said the question was premature but that she wasn't ruling it out. "I'm not ruling in, I'm not ruling out," she said. "I will always look for the best people when and if that opportunity arises, and I think there's a lot of people around the country, not just in one place in our country, with the kind of experience that would be useful." Facing an unconventional opponent in an unpredictable year, Mrs. Clinton said she will have to work to explain her economic policy replete with targeted tax cuts and hard-to-understand provisions such as one that would "claw back" tax breaks for companies that outsource jobs. But she also expressed confidence that voters are open to the sort of policy detail she revels in and will choose her brand of wonkery over Mr. Trump's blunt vows to "make America great again." Her economic address will come later this month, an aide said, but the candidate offered an unsparing preview on Wednesday, pointing to Mr. Trump's plan for large tax cuts, trade threats and his suggestion that the U.S. might opt to default on its debt. "It's not hard to see how a Trump presidency could actually lead to a serious global economic crisis," she said. A Trump spokeswoman didn't respond to a request for comment. On the economy, Mr. Trump has aimed his campaign squarely at voters' deep economic anxiety eight years after the recession hit. For instance, the number of jobs added monthly has slipped in recent months, and fell to just 38,000 in May, the lowest number since 2010. Mr. Trump paints his policies with broad brushes, railing against trade agreements and immigration, promising to create jobs and deliver huge across-the-board tax cuts. "We are going to have fantastic trade deals," he said Tuesday evening. "We're going to start making money and bringing in jobs." Mrs. Clinton's style could hardly be more different. Over the course of the primary, she announced 53 different policy proposals totaling 201 pages, an aide said. She would use the tax code to deter short-term investing, encourage companies to share profits with their workers and ease burdens on the middle class through targeted credits. The open question is whether this raft of ideas is too subtle for an anxious electorate, where many voters have lost confidence in the political system's ability to improve their lives. "While he may have some catchy sound bites, his statements on the economy are dangerously incoherent. They are deeply misguided and they reflect an individual who is temperamentally unfit to manage the American economy," she said. Polling suggests she has a tough task. While she is seen by voters as better able to handle foreign policy, on economic issues, Mr. Trump opens the general election with the edge, Wall Street Journal/NBC News polling last month found. Asked about four economic issues, voters rated Mr. Trump as better equipped to handle three: dealing with Wall Street, trade and the economy overall. Mrs. Clinton drew the stronger marks only on which candidate could best look out for the middle class. Voters feeling the most economic distress are more likely to gravitate to Mr. Trump. Of voters who said they were still feeling "a lot" of effects from the recession, 56% favored Mr. Trump for president, and 26% backed Mrs. Clinton, the Journal/NBC News polling in May found. Write to Laura Meckler at laura.meckler@wsj.com | 5 | 99,266 | news |
There's no denying that autonomous cars are developing at a rapid pace. For starters, automakers and tech companies continue to spend millions of dollars in the technology. Lawmakers are doing the best they can to quickly come up with reasonable regulations and consumers are getting more comfortable with surrendering the wheel to robots . These are just some of the reasons why IHS Automotive predicts there will be over 21 million autonomous vehicles on roads globally by the year 2035. In the shorter term, IHS Automotive says total global sales of autonomous vehicles should reach 600,000 units by the end of 2025. After that, the autonomous tech is expected to grow substantially to a whopping 21 million by 2035. IHS Automotive cites the rapid pace at which automakers and tech companies are investing in self-driving technology. Google, for example, recently announced it will build a new self-driving technology development center outside of Detroit, Mich., while Uber is expanding its autonomous testing facility in Pittsburgh, Pa. And almost every major automaker is furiously working to stay ahead of the autonomous game, with some claiming to have fully-autonomous vehicles ready to sell by 2020. Meanwhile, state and federal lawmakers in the U.S. face persistent pressure from automakers and tech companies to author self-driving regulations sooner rather than later . That said, IHS Automotive expects the U.S. to overcome regulatory obstacles quicker than other countries, which should make America the first country to offer self-driving cars to the public. The study predicts 4.5 million autonomous vehicles will be on U.S. roads by 2035. China is expected to sell 5.7 million self-driving cars by 2035, while Western Europe should have 1.2 million units out by that time. Source: IHS Automotive Follow MSN Autos on Facebook | 9 | 99,267 | autos |
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NISQUALLY REACH, Wash. It was here before anyone made a map and called this corner of it the Pacific Northwest. "To me," said David McCloskey, waving an aging hand toward tidelands formed millenniums ago, "it's an energy field." McCloskey, a retired sociology and ecology professor who has spent a lifetime exploring the region's mountain ranges and waterways, was standing here near the southernmost stretch of Puget Sound. He was trying to explain not just the view in front of him, but all of Cascadia, an elusive realm he helped conceive decades ago that stretches from Northern California to the coast of British Columbia, and deep into the imagination. The idea of a separate land in the top corner of the country rose and faded over the years, a blend of science, environmentalism and a fuzzy sense of otherness that served as a counterpoint to the ceaseless commercial growth of Seattle, its once-quieter capital. Some called it New Age hokum. Others said it represented a true "Ecotopia," maybe even a last redoubt against the worst effects of climate change. Yet now, as the region booms with newcomers drawn to its technology economy, Cascadia's distinctiveness has become both indisputably clear and darkly complicated. Its very existence is threatened with what scientists say is a strong likelihood that, sooner or later, it will be faced with the largest earthquake ever recorded in the United States. On Tuesday, as many as 20,000 people across Washington, Oregon, California and Idaho, mainly federal employees, began a four-day exercise called "Cascadia Rising" a trial run at responding to a massive magnitude-9.0 quake on the Cascadia Subduction Zone off the northwest coast near here, and the tsunami that would inevitably accompany it. Scientists have established that the fault in the Cascadia zone caused a megaquake in 1700, before the region's written history, and they say one day maybe next week, maybe next century it will cause another. The death toll could reach 10,000 and leave much of the region without power, clean water or essential services. Forty years ago, when McCloskey began teaching at Seattle University, plate tectonics were just beginning to be understood. Now the Juan de Fuca plate, just off the coast, has become a rising geologic star or perhaps a sinking one. Seismologists say the plate is slowly creeping beneath the North American plate, creating the dynamic about which scientists are now so concerned. Awareness of the potential threat peaked recently with a Pulitzer Prize-winning article in the New Yorker magazine, published last year, that described a worst-case scenario in vivid detail. The increased attention has made clear that, while the Northwest may feel like a haven from much of the country's other environmental woes it could be a comfortable destination for people fleeing hotter, drier parts of the West as a result of climate change, for example it is on very shaky ground. "It's earthquake season every single day of the year," said Kenneth Murphy, the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Northwest operations. Rebekah Paci-Green, who was born and raised in the Seattle suburbs, said that after the New Yorker article was published, "I had … friends writing me and saying 'Is this really a good idea for you to live there?" Paci-Green, 41, understands the risks as well as anyone. She is the director of the Resilience Institute at Western Washington University in Bellingham and the lead author of a document that outlines the scenario on which emergency workers base the exercise. She called it "a pretty extreme look at a pretty extreme event." Odds are high that whatever megaquake does strike will not have such severe consequences as the worst predictions, Paci-Green said. A megaquake will not be "Hollywood-style catastrophic in the Puget Sound," she said, though she is careful to add: "It's really important for emergency managers to be planning for a worst-case scenario." For those wondering whether Cascadia means an ideal place to live, or a potential disaster zone, she says: "You have to have risk and benefit in focus at the same time." That aligns very much with what McCloskey says. While he is unhappy that, for some people, Cascadia has suddenly become shorthand for death and destruction, McCloskey welcomes having more people recognize the power of the "energy field" of Cascadia. "This is part of the long process of getting grounded here in the ongoing life of the wider, deeper place," he wrote in an email. That picked up on a point he made back at Nisqually Reach, where he had traveled as part of a research trip to better understand the glacial forces that shaped the region. "It's always about getting grounded in the backyard, where you are, all the way up to the planet and back," he said. "The integral life of the place as a whole on all of these levels, in depth, unfolding through time, including culture, that's what we're after. That's what gives us a new story." Last year, McCloskey, who is 69, fulfilled a longtime goal to complete a detailed map of the region he loves. Titled "Cascadia, A Great Green Land" and drafted with the help of a private mapping company, it employs sophisticated cartographic technologies that document features ranging from the Juan de Fuca plate to the ice fields that helped form the mountains and sound and the evergreens that still blanket much of it. He has also helped create an annual Cascadia Day. Working with the group Cascadia Now, which was formed to carry on his vision, McCloskey chose May 18 for the day of celebration because that is the date Mount St. Helens erupted in 1980. The group calls it "a visceral reminder of the dynamism of our region." The main event in Seattle, which included food and bands playing deep into the night, was held in an out-of-the-way warehouse in the shadow of Interstate 5, just south of downtown. As traffic roared overhead, Andrew Nichols and Tanner Colvin sipped craft beer while they sold patches, flags and other memorabilia bearing the Cascadia flag blue, white and green stripes behind a single Douglas fir tree. Colvin, 24, is from Montana, "the eastern fringe" of Cascadia, as he put it. "I have a fascination with regionality," he said, "with a sense of community beyond borders." Nichols, 26, agreed. "It transcends petty differences like gender or race or politics," he said. "It's a culture that is bred out of the environment we grew up in, but everyone who wants to call it home can call it home." But what about the Big One, the megaquake. How did that fit into the vision? "Nature is spectacular and magnificent here," Nichols said, "but it can also turn on you." Colvin leaned in. "And I'm cool with that," he said. "We're basically unified by what can destroy us." | 5 | 99,269 | news |
Good English is a small-time band from Oakwood, Ohio, three sisters with a garage rock vibe. In Brooklyn, this week, they became pariahs. The women have found themselves at the center of a debate about sexual assault after a pre-sentencing letter written to a judge a few months ago by one of the sisters, Leslie Rasmussen, involving the case of a Stanford University student who was convicted of sexually assaulting an intoxicated woman, was made public. Ms. Rasmussen, in her letter, described the student, Brock Allen Turner, as a childhood friend and an elementary school classmate, and defended him. In rapid succession, Good English has been dropped from several Brooklyn venues where they were scheduled to play, as well as the Northside Festival, a weeklong music festival that began on Monday. Other festivals have also announced that the band will no longer be performing. Sign Up For NYT Now's Morning Briefing Newsletter "When people choose to defend something, then I think they should be held accountable for it," said Daniel Stedman, a founder of the Northside Media Group, which runs the Brooklyn festival. After Mr. Turner's sentencing last week, Mr. Stedman said he found himself moved to tears as he read the graphic courtroom statement from the woman Mr. Turner sexually assaulted. It has been widely distributed since, describing the attack and what followed. "How does the average person who is really upset and troubled about the Brock story, how does somebody participate in that, making right of a wrong?" Mr. Stedman said. "We are really just one tiny, infinitesimal part of that puzzle, but I think it was a no-brainer for us." In her letter, Ms. Rasmussen, 20, says that there was a distinction between rape and Mr. Turner's case, and suggested that alcohol was to blame for his actions. Mr. Turner, 20, a top-rated Stanford swimmer, was found by two passers-by, partially clothed behind a trash bin on campus, on top of the 23-year-old woman, who was incapacitated by alcohol, according to the authorities. The passers-by stopped the assault and held Mr. Turner down as he tried to flee. "I don't think it's fair to base the fate of the next ten + years of his life on the decision of a girl who doesn't remember anything but the amount she drank to press charges against him," Ms. Rasmussen, who plays drums in the band, wrote. "But where do we draw the line and stop worrying about being politically correct every second of the day and see that rape on campus isn't always because people are rapists." Mr. Turner was convicted of three counts of felony sexual assault for the attack, which took place in January 2015. This week the judge in the case, Aaron Persky of Superior Court in Santa Clara County, Calif., came under withering criticism from the public for the sentence he imposed: six months in jail and probation. Ms. Rasmussen's letter was part of a package of character letters sent to the judge on behalf of Mr. Brock before his sentencing, a standard practice in which people seek to influence a sentencing decision by sharing their experiences of the defendant. His father also sent a letter that had an even more explosive effect when it was made public this week; he said that the episode had affected his son's appetite and that, in particular, he no longer enjoyed rib-eye steaks. Following the firestorm her letter provoked, Ms. Rasmussen said that her words were being twisted and that she was being unfairly stigmatized. "This appeal has now provided an opportunity for people to misconstrue my ideas into a distortion that suggests I sympathize with sex offenses and those who commit them or that I blame the victim involved," she said in a statement. Ms. Rasmussen also believed that the letter to the judge was private. But a spokesman for the court said she was wrong such letters, like most documents entered into the court, are a matter of public record. Within hours of Ms. Rasmussen's letter being made public by New York magazine, Good English was removed from a roster of Brooklyn venues where they were scheduled to perform in the coming days, including Rock Shop in Gowanus, Industry City Distillery in Greenwood, Gold Sounds in Bushwick, and Bar Matchless in Greenpoint. "We don't want to be affiliated with anyone that's going to try to victim-blame or even just downplay rape," said Larry Hyland, an owner of Bar Matchless. Mr. Hyland said he had received over 50 emails and posts on the bar's Facebook page demanding that the band's show be canceled. Some of the messages, he said, included threats to confront the band members if they did perform. "We didn't cancel the show because of censorship," he said, adding that while he disagreed with the content of Ms. Rasmussen's letter, he understood the impulse to want to help a childhood friend. "I wanted to avoid an unsafe environment." On Tuesday, the Dayton Music Art and Film Festival near the band's hometown announced that it, too, was removing the band from its September lineup. "Such actions should not be defended, friend or not," the festival wrote on its Facebook page . On Wednesday, Behind the Curtains Media, the public relations firm that represented Good English, dropped them from its client roster. In her statement, Ms. Rasmussen attributed the fallout from her initial letter not to what she wrote, but to "the overzealous nature of social media." In particular, she lamented the "uproar of judgment and hatred unleashed on me" and the effect it was having on her musical aspirations. | 5 | 99,270 | news |
It took Courtney Baker 15 months to write the letter she sent to the doctor who told her to abort her baby because she has Down's Syndrome. Paula Vasan (@paulavasan) has the details. | 8 | 99,271 | video |
PHOENIX If I had to pick one word to describe Muhammad Ali, it would be loyal. In his remarkable 74 years in a world he made laugh, cheer, think and cry, it's a trait he never wavered from. "The Champ" never forgot his roots in his hometown of Louisville, where both he and I were born and first met in 1966. And he publicly even proudly fostered a relationship with his adopted town of Phoenix, where we reconnected after he moved here in 2005. In the last 50 years, our paths crisscrossed until his death last Friday in the desert. But it all started in Louisville. My father, Larry Boeck, was a sportswriter for the Louisville Courier-Journal when he started covering a young, fresh talent named Cassius Marcellus Clay, who was making noise in the ring as an up-and-coming fighter in the late 1950s in the Golden Gloves program. By 1964, that brash kid was the reigning world heavyweight champion. "The Louisville Lip," he was called. My father covered that first title fight against Sonny Liston, and then the second Liston fight in Lewiston, Maine, in 1965 the so-called "phantom punch'' first-round knockout. By then, Clay had the sport's attention. When he announced he was joining the Muslim faith as Muhammad Ali, he grabbed the world's attention. In early 1966 the cheering suddenly stopped when he refused to join the Army during the Vietnam War on religious grounds. He was denounced in much of the national media and no longer the hometown hero. In the summer of 1966, the Courier-Journal assigned my father to write a magazine profile of Ali, in which he retraced Ali's early years and then sat down with him at his parents' new home in Buechel, a Louisville suburb, and talked about his religion and his stance on the Selective Service, among other things, in a first-person piece. He trusted my father, who was there from the beginning, so much so that he allowed him, and him alone, to call him Cassius. Once, when Ali visited the newspaper for an interview with my father, former Courier-Journal colleague Earl Cox recalled in a years-later column that, upon arriving, Ali announced to the sports staff, "Laree, you is the onliest one who can call me Cassius!" The cover headline on the magazine piece: "My Friend Cassius.'' I was 18 that summer and my father invited me along for the day-long interview. We made stops at Ali's old haunts, including his Grand Avenue neighborhood where he grew up in the West End. There, he ran into Leonard Tucker, who owned a grocery store two blocks from Ali's childhood home. At one stop, Mile Park, a local race track, I was alone with Ali for several minutes while my father set up a meeting with some of the jockeys who had fought in the Golden Gloves with "The Champ." Ali turned to me and started shadow boxing, throwing those quick jabs he was noted for. I froze. "Here's the punch that floored Liston in Maine," he announced. Later that day, he stopped the car we were all piled into in the middle of the expansive main street in town, Broadway. He got out, raised his arms and proclaimed himself "The Greatest'' for the millionth time. Bystanders watched in amazement. My father died in 1972 and "The Champ" called my mother to offer condolences. That's loyalty. So is this. In 1978, I was a sportswriter at the Rochester (N.Y) Democrat & Chronicle when Ali made a visit to the Special Olympics held in town. He was surrounded by an entourage and trailed by a dozen or so members of the news media hoping to get an interview. We were told none would be allowed. So as we followed Ali across the campus at Brockport State, where the Games were being held, I yelled out, "Champ, my name is Greg Boeck Larry Boeck's son!'' He suddenly whipped around. He didn't recognize me but said, "You are Larry Boeck's son? What do you need?'' That led to a one-on-one, 20-minute, sit-down interview in a classroom with "The Champ." Fast forward to 1999, I was at USA TODAY then. The newspaper named Ali the greatest athlete of the 20th century and I came home to Louisville to retrace those steps my father and I took in 1966 with Ali. I tracked down Tucker, then 88. He recalled the day a package arrived at his store in the mid 1970s. Inside was a can of "Muhammad Ali's Champion Brand Shoe Polish'' sent by Ali himself. During my trip home, Ali was inducted into the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame. I went to the ceremony, where I caught up with his brother Rahaman Ali, born Rudy Clay. (Ironic fact: Rahaman lived in an apartment on Muhammad Ali Boulevard in downtown.) I ran into Ali at the ceremony and reintroduced myself. I shook his hand and showed him a copy of the magazine story my father had written 33 years earlier. Although his hands trembled and his voice shook with a barely audible whimper after years of battling Parkinson's disease, his eyes steeled right into mine. He drew me close and said, "He was a special friend.'' Then I asked him if he remembered that day in his old hometown. "Yes,'' he said, then added, "I'm coming back, too." He's back home now. But he left his mark in Phoenix before he returned to Louisville this week where he will be buried in Cave Hill Cemetery on Friday. Ali arrived in Phoenix with his wife Lonnie, a childhood friend and his fourth wife, in 2005, and quickly became more like a citizen than a celebrity. He was spotted everywhere from Phoenix Suns games where players lined up to meet him and I was lucky enough to have a picture taken with him, to barber shops. His friend, Jimmy Walker, frequently brought him to St. Vincent De Paul, a homeless shelter, and I watched Ali surprise kids at Walker's Bikes For Kids charity Christmas celebration, where "The Champ" presented each kid with a bike. In 2011, he surprised the Milwaukee Brewers with a visit to their spring training site in Maryvale. I was there leading a group of students covering the team for the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel as a teacher at Arizona State's Cronkite School of Journalism when Ali showed up. I cornered Lonnie and asked if she could do an interview with my students. She happily agreed. After the interview, Ali, sitting in the passenger seat in his car, signaled for the students to join him in the car, where pictures were taken with each one. That's loyalty. His greatest gift to Phoenix was lending his name to Walker's Celebrity Fight Night, which has raised $118 million in the past 20 years. I ran into "The Champ" at Fight Night several times. I always said hello and mentioned "Larry Boeck'' to remind him. His eyes always lit up. He never forgot. Nor will I. GALLERY: MUHAMMAD ALI THROUGH THE YEARS | 1 | 99,272 | sports |
BOSTON A shooting near a Boston high school has left a 17-year-old student dead and three other people injured. Shots rang out Wednesday afternoon near Jeremiah Burke High School in the city's Dorchester neighborhood. The Boston Globe reports (http://bit.ly/1VMWK9t) that two of the injured people were teens and the third was a woman, whose leg was grazed by a bullet. Officials haven't said whether all the teenage victims were students. Burke and two nearby schools were put on lockdown after the shooting. No one was allowed inside the buildings, and students were not allowed to leave. Police are still searching for the shooter. ___ Information from: The Boston Globe, http://www.bostonglobe.com | 5 | 99,273 | news |
Anheuser-Busch InBev , Molson Coors and Constellation Brands should be purchased because there is massive consolidation in the beer industry, says TheStreet's Jim Cramer. He said he knows firsthand because people are demanding more and more beer at his bar in Brooklyn. Cramer says being a beer distributor right now is one of the most lucrative opportunities around. And if he had to choose a beer to drink, Cramer said he prefers Coors Light and Corona Light. | 3 | 99,274 | finance |
A promised showdown between the chief executives of German luxury car maker Daimler and ride-sharing firm Uber, Silicon Valley's most valuable private company, turned into more of a wary courtship when the two met publicly on Wednesday. Daimler Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche and Uber Chief Executive Travis Kalanick were interviewed together on stage at Axel Springer NOAH, a two-day conference in Berlin of venture capitalists and technology companies. Both ruled out the prospect of one taking over the other and denied a German magazine report in March that Uber was considering ordering up to 100,000 cars from the automaker. They sought common ground in many of their comments, while taking good-natured jabs at one another as inevitable competitors. "Cars are not going away soon and companies like Uber are not going to be making them," Uber's Kalanick said. Zetsche said he had met Kalanick several times and described him as a "frenemy", which he defined as a combination of friend and enemy, before joking "We call that marriage in German." Turning more serious, the Daimler executive said: "We are competitors, of course. There might be many areas where we are competitors in the future," but added they were also friends. The rise of car-sharing is widely seen as a long-term threat to individual car ownership by many potential drivers, reducing long-term demand for new cars from automakers. Daimler has responded by investing in a variety of new car-sharing and connected car businesses that potentially compete with Uber. With this month's announcement of a $3.5 billion investment in Uber by a Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund and a partnership deal with automaker Toyota Motor Corp which also included an investment stake for an undisclosed amount, Uber's private market valuation has soared. At $62.5 billion, the car-sharing firm is now potentially worth more than the stock market capitalizations of automakers BMW, GM and Honda and close to those of VW, Daimler and Ford. Toyota, the world's most valuable car maker is worth around $172 billion at current stock prices. When asked whether Daimler would consider taking a stake in Uber, Zetsche said his company only makes strategic investments it controls, while Kalanick said he would not be interested in Daimler taking a "dominant" position in Uber. JUSTIFY YOUR VALUATION: DAIMLER CEO In one of the testier moments, Zetsche asked Kalanick to justify how Uber was worth roughly as much as Daimler's $70 billion stock market capitalization, despite being a seven-year old company that has never produced a profit. Kalanick repeated recent comments that Uber is profitable in at least 200 cities it operates in, but is investing heavily in markets like China: "In the developed markets we are profitable, in the developing markets, we are massively unprofitable." Uber entered its 467th city in Accra, Ghana, this week. An on-stage interviewer asked him whether his investors ever ask him when he plans to become profitable. Kalanick acknowledged that, yes, "sometimes investors ask". The Uber chief said it was largely a matter of entering enough cities, for long enough, to generate the volume of usage of its online taxi and car-sharing services to turn a profit. Kalanick, who earlier this year in a TV interview ruled out seeking a public stock market listing for his company this year, reiterated that "We are going to IPO as late as possible." The moderator demanded to know how many years before Uber would hold an initial public offering. Kalanick replied: "It is going to be somewhere between one year and 10," appearing to reopen the door to a possible IPO as early as next year. The two executives were both asked whether Uber had ordered 100,000 self-driving cars from Daimler, as Manager Magazin reported in March. Reuters later confirmed that Uber had sounded out automakers, according to an auto industry source. Travis denied this, saying: "I have not signed a $10 billion cheque to buy 100,000 S-Classes" referring to Daimler's flagship car model. Zetsche quickly followed by saying, "No, I can't" confirm the report that Uber was considering the massive order. Asked about his on-going legal battles with local regulators in Germany, Kalanick said he often reminds European regulators when he meets with them that the same legal issues came up previously in the United States and were eventually settled. A state court in Germany ruled Uber's alternative taxi service using non-professional drivers illegal last year. "I am very patient here in Germany," Travis said. Kalanick and Zetsche initially were chauffeured up to the stage in a bright yellow Trabi, a vintage four-door sedan that was once the most popular car made in the former East Germany. "I have got to get a couple of those cars on the system," Kalanick said of the idea of supplying Trabis to Uber drivers to transport local passengers. (Additional reporting by Nadine Schimroszik, editing by David Evans) | 3 | 99,275 | finance |
CHICAGO Many tech start-ups are in the business of making themselves successful. But some entrepreneurs have set up businesses with the express mission of training others to be successful in the tech sector. Several of those start-ups have dedicated themselves to creating programs, incubators or accelerators to train blacks and Hispanics for tech jobs. Their efforts are coming at a time when Silicon Valley has increasingly been scrutinized for its lack of diversity. But instead of leaving it to the tech giants to solve the problem alone, some see their own connections as a way to address the issue. From NewME in California to Blue1647 in Illinois, entrepreneurs are cultivating talent within the groups that have been underrepresented at established tech companies. Data from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey shows that there are more black and Hispanic students graduating with computer science degrees than there are working at tech jobs , despite campus recruitment efforts from companies like Google. Founders of these start-ups say tech companies have to try new ways of seeking out talent. With the guiding hand of these programs, many alumni have gone on to secure tech internships and jobs or form their own start-ups. Angela Benton, founder of NewME, an accelerator for entrepreneurs of different backgrounds, said she faced skepticism about whether her business model was possible. Instead, Silicon Valley influencers encouraged her to scour elite institutions to find minority entrepreneurs to help. "I spent almost a year in Silicon Valley meeting with people, getting advice on our business model. They all wanted me to play it safe," said Ms. Benton, who was a teenage mother and went from graphic design to helping start B20 , a black tech innovators site, in 2007. "I don't come from that background." Ms. Benton said she discovered that some of the most talented entrepreneurs weren't aiming to create the next billion-dollar start-up. Rather, the entrepreneurs of color were content to begin a company worth a few million dollars. Over five years, the NewME accelerator has helped businesses raise more than $20 million in venture capital funding. It offers one-week programs and has more than 20,000 members so far. Many established accelerators and start-up incubators tend to be in regions and cities dominated by existing tech or business firms. For the new entrepreneurs, a key to success is setting up in underserved areas. Emile Cambry Jr., the founder of the nonprofit tech incubator Blue1647, chose to open its first location in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood, a primarily Hispanic neighborhood southwest of the city's bustling downtown. The classes are not for dabblers. The company developed its curriculum to train students in Java, Ruby and other computer languages. It also provides a shared work space for entrepreneurs and connects students with internships, jobs and networking opportunities. Since its founding in 2013, the nonprofit has expanded to Chicago's Roseland neighborhood, as well as St. Louis and Compton, Calif. A low-income area of Austin, Tex., is next. Some alumni have interned at Google, Answers.com and other tech companies, while others have started their own businesses or landed tech jobs, Mr. Cambry said. The organization has trained more than 2,400 youth s and adults in its sequential classes or 12-week boot camps, the majority of whom identify as black or Hispanic. Even with tech backing, many of these ventures initially faced hurdles, like raising money or finding the best way to publicize community outreach. Kenneth Watkins, chief strategy officer at Blue1647, said he noticed that the Hispanic girls shone the most at the group's internship accelerator programs, but there weren't enough organizations catering to their specific needs, like bilingual skills. So in 2014, he started Latina Girls Code, which also offers training in 3-D printing and creating wearable tech. The program has only trained 83 Latinas, most of whom are third-generation, in HTML, CSS, Javascript and other programming languages. But working with overlooked communities comes with unexpected challenges. For example, Mr. Watkins noticed that Chicago workshop locations discouraged some students and their families from participating because some feared being targeted by immigration officials or the police while traveling to the city. "We now have to do an Aurora thing and a Joliet thing we have to do two different events, because they just can't travel but so far," he said. To expand, the founders of such ventures realize that collaborating with investors and tech companies like Microsoft, Apple and Google brings in more resources for their programs. Doing so takes networking in tech circles and reaching out to companies who aim to diversify their staff and directly asking for their support, Mr. Watkins said. For him, it meant going to meet-ups and emphasizing to tech giants that supporting his organization could help close the diversity gap. "A lot of people like what you do until you start asking for money. Then it becomes quiet," Mr. Watkins said. "You really have to have people in those positions who can really be advocates." In addition to supporting NewME, Google has worked with ventures like Code2040 and Manos Accelerator through Google for Entrepreneurs , which financially supports community start-up programs. That initiative is separate from its diversity team, Roya Soleimani, a Google spokeswoman, said in an email, adding that the company had increased the number of universities from which it recruits. She said the company continued to search for "people who can bring new perspectives and life experiences to our teams." She pointed to a Google blog post from June 1, 2015, reporting that 2 percent of Google employees were black and 3 percent were Hispanic. Some of the most successful graduates of the start-ups would never have considered careers in technology. Nehemiah Bishop, a Chicago South Side native who earned his accounting degree at the University of Illinois-Chicago, "slept in hotels and lived in vans at one point" in his life, but he received help from his brother and others to finish college. An accounting internship made him realize that it wasn't the field he wanted to pursue. He enrolled in Blue1647's HTML, CSS and JavaScript class and a Ruby on Rails class, which helped him land a Google internship. He was hired as an industrial engineer at UPS in May. "At Blue1647, when you come in to take a basic coding class, to get help with a start-up or to just come in for help with your homework, you come in to a family environment," Mr. Bishop said. The incubator provides "that extra help of guidance from individuals that look like you, individuals that care for you as much as your parents care for you and who believe in you without a doubt." Many of these ventures say that to really make a difference, more collaborations with established tech companies are necessary. Dominic Liddell, founder of Tech While Black , a Chicago nonprofit organization that provides job and networking opportunities for black designers and developers, said he still faced an uphill battle in reaching out. The group has secured GitHub, Code Climate and other software companies for sponsors, but he has hired a business development manager to build more relationships. The nonprofit was founded in 2014 and has helped more than 1,300 members through workshops and meet-ups. "There's enough out there for everybody to eat," Mr. Liddell said. "If we stay in our neighborhoods instead of moving out, we get the jobs and go back and hire from our neighborhoods and train from our neighborhoods, then we have a better outlook over all." | 3 | 99,276 | finance |
Group B takes center stage today as Brazil plays a historic game against Haiti and Peru look to secure a Quarterfinal berth after only two matches at the expense of Ecuador. This is your Sounder at Heart Gamethread and How to Watch Brazil (FIFA Rank 7) v Haiti (74) Brazil drew their opener 0-0 with Ecuador only after a fortuitous out of bounds call kept Brazil from giving up an embarrassing own goal, they will be looking to use this game to get back on track after a rough start. Orlando boasts a large Brazilian community and Kaka plays for Orlando City thus after disappointing attendance in the first two games in Orlando (17,155 and 13,466 out of capacity 60,219, the second of which was played in a tropical storm) this should be a raucous pro-Brazil crowd. This is the biggest game in modern memory for the Haiti National Team, they have not qualified for the World Cup since 1974 where they finished 15th out of 16 teams, and a nation that has rallied behind their team since the earthquake that devastated the country in 2010 will be watching in unprecedented numbers. Haiti plays a very solid defensive style and will look to steal a goal on the counter, with Brazil struggling to create chances with a makeshift lineup that might be the key to a historic upset. Note: Mark Geiger is assigned as the center referee for this game, look for Mr. Geiger to provide a talking point or two. Ecuador (13) v Peru (48) Ecuador comes in with confidence after dominating much of the game against Brazil in their opener. With Brazil eventually expected to turn it around and get results against Peru and Haiti, this match is essentially to see who will advance from Group B. Group B is matched up with the USMNT's Group A, so this game will have a big impact to see who will play in the Quarterfinals and likely play the USMNT if they can get a result against Paraguay on Saturday. Peru earned a 1-0 win in Seattle on Saturday against Haiti. While Peru have struggled in CONMEBOL's World Cup Qualifying they have finished 3rd in the last two Copa America's . This was supposed to be a rebuilding squad for Peru with management turning over the defense and a good portion of the roster to a youth movement. With a win against Ecuador, they will exceed all expectations and advance to the Quarterfinals with a game to play. Note: This match has been scheduled for the lesser distributed Fox Sports 2, immediately signalling that it will probably be the most entertaining match of the round. How to Watch: Brazil v Haiti Monday, 4:30 PM Location: Camping World Stadium, Orlando, Florida TV: FS1, UniMas and Univision Deportes Streaming: Fox Sports Go and Univision Deportes Ecuador v Peru Monday, 7 PM Location: University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Arizona TV: FS2, UniMas and Univision Deportes Streaming: Fox Sports Go and Univision Deportes This is your Sounder at Heart Copa America Day 6 Gamethread. Watch with us. | 1 | 99,277 | sports |
The Broncos and Von Miller are reportedly in lengthy talks concerning a contract extension. | 1 | 99,278 | sports |
LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE, Calif. A bear took advantage of the suburban amenities for most of the day in the foothills northeast of Los Angeles before wandering back into the wilderness. The bear was spotted wandering among homes in La Canada Flintridge on Wednesday morning, and at one point, the critter took a dip in a backyard pool. Los Angeles station KNBC-TV reports that the bear has a tag, indicating it's been caught and released previously. Early in the evening, as authorities watched it closely, it climbed down from a tree and returned to the wild. | 5 | 99,279 | news |
PITTSBURGH Tomas Hertl neither participated in practice nor took a skate on his own Wednesday, putting the forward's status for Game 5 in doubt. Sharks coach Peter DeBoer stuck to his mantra since Hertl suffered a lower-body injury in overtime of Game 2, stating he's "day-to-day." "It's been tough," defenseman Paul Martin said. "He's been on our top line for a reason. When you talk about puck possession, he's able to hang on to the puck down low, and with ( Joe Pavelski and Joe Thornton ), they've really found some chemistry this year. They've found ways to put the team on their backs at times." Hertl scored the team's only power-play goal in the series in Game 1, and was regarded as San Jose's best forward during a 3-2 overtime loss in Game 2 when he got tangled in an awkward fall with Pittsburgh's Patric Hornqvist in sudden death. "I've got no update on his condition," said forward Tommy Wingels , one of Hertl's closest friends on the team. "He's in here to help the guys, he's doing everything he can. Tomas is Tomas regardless if he has a good game, bad game, he's hurt or if it's in the middle of the summer. He's got that big smile on his face." San Jose has plugged Melker Karlsson into Hertl's spot alongside Thornton and Pavelski. Karlsson was there again at practice Wednesday. DeBoer has also opted to play Logan Couture with Thornton and Pavelski at times during the last two games. "He's going to try to do everything he can to play," Pavelski said of Hertl. "This is the time of year you want to be playing." View from the Pens: Pittsburgh wasn't getting lured into thoughts of hoisting the Stanley Cup for a fourth time in franchise history, try as reporters might Wednesday. "You know you're going to get your opponent's very best," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "We know that. We're going to have to have our very best in order to get the result we want. Our players are well aware of that." Briefly: Penguins right wing Nick Bonino did not practice, but Sullivan termed it "a maintenance day" for the shock-blocking forward. … San Jose will be playing its 112th game of the season, counting preseason, regular season and playoffs games. … The Sharks are 11-17 all-time in elimination games, and 1-0 this year (Game 7 vs. Nashville). They are 15-16 in Game 5s, helped by going 3-0 this spring. Two Game 5 wins have come on the road (at Los Angeles and St. Louis). Chronicle staff writer Susan Slusser contributed to this report. Ross McKeon is a freelance writer. twitter: @rossmckeon | 1 | 99,280 | sports |
If the man behind Dita Von Teese's never-a-hair-out-place coif is to be trusted, the secret to great hair has been right there all along. And by right there, I mean lubricating our Monday night Bachelor marathons. Yes, ladies, it's red wine. But bad news: Olivia Pope's hair doesn't look perfect because she's guzzling a "Bordeux that'll bring tears to your eyes" on the reg, because it's not a matter of drinking it. You have to apply it straight to the hair according to celebrity hairstylist John Blaine, whose new haircare line, Vine de la Vie was created solely on this belief. And before you cry gimmick , trust that there is the science to back it up. Wine isn't just for drinking, it's for your hair too! Our products contain wine extract, that leave your hair feeling soft, sexy and smooth. #VineDeLaVie A photo posted by Vine de.la Vie (@vinede.lavie) on May 27, 2016 at 5:15pm PDT The brand's signature wine extract contains active polyphenols, which in the medical world combat all sorts of conditions, from cancer to inflammation. For hair in disrepair, it provides similar aid-healing damage, boosting strength, detoxifying, and neutralizing the oxidation process. Translation: It's going to give you the softest, strongest, and least-brassy hair ever. Blaine's range ($35-$45) currently offers a shampoo, conditioner, mask, styling elixir, and serum, each housed in a boudoir-ready black or burgundy bottle. And for the record: You cannot get the same results by pouring some cabernet into your existing hair supply. Nice try, though. One pump goes a long way! Our oR Daily Conditioner is a weightless super power, that elevates color and maximizes volume. #VineDeLaVie A video posted by Vine de.la Vie (@vinede.lavie) on May 24, 2016 at 5:18pm PDT Follow Marie Claire on Facebook for the latest celeb news, beauty tips, fascinating reads, livestream video, and more. | 4 | 99,281 | lifestyle |
There was a highly recognizable face taking part in Argentina's training in Chicago on Wednesday as Lionel Messi returned to the field. After missing Argentina's 2-1 win over Chile in its Copa America opener, Messi appears ready to return to action Friday against Panama. Both Messi and Manchester City star Sergio Aguero were held out of the starting lineup against Chile, but one or both could rejoin the squad as the tournament continues. If Messi does indeed return to the field, Chicago soccer fans will be in for another treat having already watched the USA demolish Costa Rica 4-0 on Tuesday. As soon as Tuesday, Messi was training by himself, away from the rest of the Argentina squad as he continued to recover from a nagging back injury. But his progression puts him on the right path toward starting Friday. | 1 | 99,282 | sports |
Larry Boeck was a longtime sports journalist for the Louisville Courier-Journal who covered Muhammad Ali for years. He died in 1972. Here is an excerpt from a profile Boeck wrote in 1966. Some people say that my friend Cassius Clay is an arrogant, overbearing young man. They don't like his Muslim religion, and they don't like the things the heavyweight champ has said about the war in Vietnam and about his Selective Service status. They say my friend hates white men. Well, if he does, he's color blind. In a tape-recorded interview during a recent visit home to Louisville he talked about these things. He explained that the vanity he once spouted was "show biz, trickery" a way to get a shot at the title the title he is to defend again on Saturday. The Muslims preach racial segregation; their leader descries white men as "white devils." Cassius says: "If total integration would make them happy, the whites as well as the blacks, I would totally integrate. If total separation, every man with his own, would make them happy, I'll do that. Whatever it takes to make people happy, where they won't be shooting and hiding in the bushes and blowing each other up and killing each other, rioting. But I don't think total integration can work." Here's what he says about hate: "I treat everybody right. I haven't done nothing you could find to show I hate nobody. Hate will run you crazy, going around hating everybody. I don't have time to hate…" If my friend, whom some people call the Louisville Lip, pays any more than lip service to the "white devil" tenet, it's news to me. If he does he ought to find me particularly loathful, for I once told him that the Muslim campaign to establish a nation of its own merely ducks the civil-rights issue. This was about three years ago, shortly after Cassius Clay had defeated Sonny Liston and become champion, Muslim and Muhammad Ali. "You're an underrated fighter and you'll be champion for a long time," I told Clay then. "As effective as you are in the ring, I feel you're as equally ineffective out of it because you aren't fighting for the Negro." Clay objected. "My religion teaches our people should be with their own," he said. "Then the Muslims simply are sweeping the whole civil-rights issue under the rug," I countered. "I am fighting!" he said. "I'm fighting for the black man, not the Negro. There ain't no such thing as Negro. I am a black man, and I am fighting for the black man and his right to own his own land and raise his own food and live his own life with his own people on that land." Since then I have often thought about that conversation, especially now that Clay has provoked politicians, writers and certain "patriotic" groups with his ill-timed "I ain't mad at the Viet Congs" when he was classified 1-A in the draft. Perhaps Clay should have kept his mouth shut, but to me that's hardly the point. Professionally he has been chased out of the country and must fight abroad because of his remarks. His exercise of free speech has proved mighty costly. Conversely, when I freely condemned several Muslim tenets he did not retaliate. He did not ban me from his fight camps or cold-shoulder me. Indeed, he went out of his way to be helpful. Perhaps Clay is more democratic than some of his detractors. Unless, as I said, he's color blind and hasn't noticed that I am white that so is Bill Faversham. When Faversham, one-time adviser for the Louisville Sponsoring Group which got Clay started in the professional ranks, had a severe heart attack, the champion drove all night from Chicago to visit him in a Louisville hospital. Clay sometimes makes it difficult to peer into this corner of his personality. Yet if this controversial and complex young man is to be understood, his life must be studied. The champ doesn't smoke, drink or gamble. Furthermore, he is generous. Having read that he gave a hospital bed to a needy child, I chided him for not having told me about it. It turned out that the story had come from a neighbor's telephone tip and that Cassius would have preferred that no one "had the story." Clay's friends and he has more than his critize realize also point out that, unlike some past champs, Cassius isn't a thug. He doesn't get into barroom brawls or go three rounds a week with police. (He does frequently pick up traffic tickets.) He doesn't beat up old men and he doesn't throw rocks through windows. What he has done, of course, is to draw criticism for his offbeat behavior. These are some examples. He began his professional career with braggadocio, describing himself as "the greatest" and "beautiful," and in other ways strutting about like a pugilistic peacock. This miffed some people. It enchanted others who saw it as a sports charade. And it befuddled most, who wondered whether Clay was the greatest leg-puller or the most colossal egotist of all time. He joined the Black Muslim sect. This alienated many fans, even some who enjoyed his "I am the greatest" ranting. He sought deferment from Selective Service as a conscientious objector. This and later remarks on the subject got his scheduled title fight with Ernie Terrell kicked out of Chicago and eventually the United States. As a result, he fought George Chuvalo in Toronto and Henry Cooper in London. Saturday, he is scheduled to fight Brian London in London. In September, he is to fight German Karl Mildenberger in Frankfurt, Germany. It was in Toronto after one of his road workouts, that Clay asked me about certain senators' criticism of Vietnam policy, and wondered why they hadn't become targets of public wrath, as he had. "Well, champ, when you speak, you do so as the world's heavyweight champion," I began. "You are a big man in sports." "Aren't U.S. senators big men in the world, too?" asked Clay. "Yes, they are, but when they criticize it's different. It really wasn't smart of you to talk about the war as you did with reporters. "Well, aren't all those college professors and kids smart?" he persisted. "Not all of them," I said. It wasn't a real answer, and try as I have since that day in Toronto, I still haven't come up with one. The champ visits some old haunts on Every now and then, Clay feels the need to return home and visit old haunts. One gets the feeling he still pinches himself to determine if everything else isn't a dream. Returning to the old neighborhoods in Louisville's West End where he lived in a ghetto-like environment seems to recharge his sense of fulfillment. I picked him up on a hot, sultry day at his parents' home ear Buechel and he headed toward the West End insisting on driving my car. He loves to drive fast and almost recklessly. Before touring his old neighborhoods, he wanted first to buy some training equipment at a downtown store heavy shoes and dungarees. He looked first at some motor scooters and boats. "I always wanted a boat," he said. I stopped at a golf club display and asked the champ why he never took up golf. "You're big, strong and well coordinated," I said. "Golf would be great recreation for you and you'd be good at it." "Golf? No, sir. You lose too much money playing golf." He undoubtedly remembered the way former champion Joe Louis, a golf devotee, was taken financially on the links by sharpies. I reminded Clay a guy could play golf and not bet. He wasn't impressed. Louisville's West Side While Clay shipped, some people turned their heads in disbelief. Could this be the heavyweight champ? It was. Some folks nudged people they were with, pointing out Clay. Others, less self-conscious, asked for autographs. One of these was B.G. Smith, principal of Mary T. Talbert Elementary School at Eighth and Kentucky. "We've got a Head Start program at our school this summer and the children would die if they found out I got your autograph and didn't have you come out to see them," said Smith. "Will you come over for a short visit? It's just a few blocks from here." "I run to everybody else's city and country," answered Clay. "I might as well my own." At the school toddlers and older kids mobbed him. Clay affectionately picked up little, pigtailed girls and hugged and kissed them. Next he went to Miles Park and looked up jockeys Mike, Bobby and R.L. Cook, three former Golden Gloves champions with whom Clay had campaigned as an amateur. In the jockey quarters, he asked Bobby, "You ever been broke up (injured)?" he asked. Bobby said that he had. "You gonna quit?" asked Clay. Bobby, taken by surprise, said, "Goodness, no." "Mmmm, hmmph!" snorted Clay, picking up a baseball glove and starting to play pitch and catch with a couple of riders. Soon tired of the game, he got behind the wheel and headed for the old Clay homestead at 3634 Greenwood. Kids in the neighborhood shouted, "Here comes Cassius!" Happy and beaming, Clay jumped out of the car, cuddled the kids, and talked to old neighbors. "How's Rudy?" asked an old friend, referring to Clay's brother. "He's got married on me," answered Clay, laughing. "You should have stayed married," said a woman. "Do you good be married." "I'm gonna get me one soon," said Clay. The next stop was Chickasaw Park, where as an amateur he ran to get in shape. Then he was off toward Grand Street, another former Clay home. At 3227 Grand he spotted an old woman, sitting on her small front porch and rocking. Again Clay bounced out of the car, calling to me, "Come on, I got somebody I want you to meet. She got a story to tell." Mrs. Mabel Ralston came off the porch to greet Clay. "Want your grass cut today?" asked Clay, grinning happily. "Here's where I used to make all my money," he said. Mrs. Ralston, a cheerful woman with infectious good humor, laughed. "Cassius and his brother Rudy used to cut my grass to make money," she explained. "Who's doing it now?" asked Clay. "A little boy down the block who lost an arm," she replied. "I've got to give him something to do." "Rudy and me used to cut your grass, front and back, for $1," Clay recalled. "Yes, and complain about it," said Mrs. Ralston. "I'd stand in the kitchen and hear you and Rudy talk in the back yard, and you'd tell your brother, 'Rudy, we should be gettin' more than $1 with the high cost of living going up.'" Clay chuckled and headed for Leonard's Kentucky Food Store at 3533 Hale. It is owned by Leonard Tucker, a white man. Clay stood out front and shoted. Tucker came out in a white apron. Clay greeted him warmly. "I've been here 32 years," said Tucker, "and the Clays have always traded with me. Cassius would run from home to here when his mother wanted something. And he'd run back. Always ran, never walked, even to school." "And I'd cut right through here," said Clay. The next stop was Gordon Drugs, 32nd and Greenwood. Clay went in and ordered a grape soda. "I got to get a soda," he said. "Brings back memories. I'd run and get hot and tired. Drain the whole soda in one swallow. Look here," he added, pointing at the bottle's label. "Same make as I got as a kid." And so went his tour, meeting new friends, rehashing old times with old friends. Too soon it was over and we headed back to Buechel. "They won't realize that they saw me until tomorrow," he said playfully. "I can't brag around these folks. Don't go good. The gals, they just come up, real cool like, and say, 'How do you do?' "Next day, they say, real wide-eyed, 'That was the champ!'" He flopped wearily in a chair in the living room of his parent's home. "Man, I'm tired! I'm done in!" he moaned. Which is something he'd never say on camera. But here he as home. Off camera. Relaxed. Happy. But he was eager to take off again for New York, London, Frankfurt. GALLERY: MUHAMMAD ALI THROUGH THE YEARS | 1 | 99,283 | sports |
[OPINION: The views expressed by columnists are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Investopedia. ] Summer is just around the bend, and if you haven't purchased tickets yet, it's time. For the best prices on domestic flights, book a month ahead; for trips abroad, you need at least 45 days in advance. Where to go? Here are some ideas for cheap or cheaper destinations in the U.S. and around the world. Not all are bargains from all departure cities, so compare fares to see what works for you in terms of the options with the most competitive rates. Very Competitive Cities Boston, Dallas and Denver are long-time cheap destinations from many departure cities, thanks to lots of low-cost airline competition. Recent deals we've seen include Boston to Dallas from $84 one-way on JetBlue. All three cities offer numerous attractions, such as Boston's Freedom Trail, Dallas' Arboretum and Botanical Garden, and Denver's magnificent Rocky Mountain scenery. Newcomers to the Cheap List Chicago and Seattle are becoming increasingly competitive, and both are fun cities. Check out Chicago's Navy Pier on Lake Michigan and gape at Seattle's kitschy, but must-see, Space Needle. Recent deals include Los Angeles to Seattle from $69 one-way on Alaska Airlines. Cheap for Now Houston and Washington, D.C., have both dropped in price lately as seen in Southwest's late-summer-through-fall sale that features a flight from Houston to D.C. for $79 one-way. Get a taste of the Old West in Houston and shop 'til you drop in those high-end stores, or stroll the Mall in the nation's capital to visit the monuments including the monumental Smithsonian (there are actually several Smithsonian museums). Cheaper Destinations Outside the U.S. Always-a-good-deal Dublin now vies with Oslo and Stockholm to win the "cheapstakes." Scandinavia has dropped in price, thanks largely to efforts by discounters such as Wow Air (see How to Fly to Europe for $100 (Maybe) and Norwegian Shuttle. Paris is looking good, too; maybe, the City of Light isn't exactly cheap but it's generally the best bargain of the Big Three (London and Rome being the other two). Other International Deals Depending on where you fly from, deals can be had on flights to Vancouver as well as increasing number of Caribbean spots; Southwest's new routes from Houston to Cancun and Costa Rica have helped. If You Can't Find a Bargain... Some ways to find the best deals even if you're shopping late (and last-minute fares are almost always expensive). 1. Plan to fly midweek or Saturday: The cheapest days to fly for domestic trips are usually Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday. Generally midweek (and midweekend) dates are cheaper for international flights, too, but this can vary. 2. Add a stop: Some long-haul flights are much cheaper if you forego the non-stop for a connecting route. Price out both and see if the difference is worth the inconvenience. It often can be. 3. Set airfare alerts: If you're flexible on travel dates, set an airfare alert. Many sites have such a tool including my own; deals to your destination of choice will be detected and delivered directly to you. Tip: If you see something wonderful, book it without delay. You're not the only one setting alerts. 4. Look for hub-to-hub deals: If you are open to a non-long-haul vacation, look at fares between two big hubs with lots of airline competition that are a 90-minute flight apart (or less). Such hops are less likely to see big fare fluctuations and this is also true during holiday periods. Examples include Los Angeles San Francisco, Boston New York and Dallas Houston. Rick Seaney is the CEO and cofounder of FareCompare | 2 | 99,284 | travel |
(Bloomberg) -- Vodafone Group Plc is adding pay-TV to its operations in New Zealand, taking a controlling stake in a new telecommunications and media company formed with Sky Network Television Ltd. Sky will issue new shares to Vodafone at NZ$5.40 ($3.82) per share, 21 percent more than the stock's last closing price, and pay NZ$1.25 billion in cash, according to a statement Thursday. Vodafone will have a 51 percent interest in the combined group, which will have an enterprise value of NZ$3.44 billion. The deal brings together New Zealand's No.1 cell phone provider, with more than 2.35 million mobile connections, and a pay-TV operator with 830,000 subscribers. The new company, which will be a unit of Vodafone, is forecasting pro-forma revenue of NZ$2.9 billion and underlying pre-tax earnings of NZ$786 million in the year to June 30, 2017, according to the statement. "The merger brings together Sky's leading sports and entertainment content with our extensive mobile and fixed networks," Vodafone NZ Chief Executive Officer Russell Stanners said in the statement. The deal will "better serve New Zealanders as demand for packaged television, internet and telecoms services increases." Sky has entered a loan facility with Vodafone for up to NZ$1.8 billion to fund the cash part of the deal and repay existing debts. Stanners will be CEO of the combined group, while Sky Chairman Peter Macourt will be its chairman. Sky was advised by Citigroup, while Deutsche Bank AG and Deutsche Craigs advised Vodafone. To contact the reporter on this story: Edward Johnson in Sydney at ejohnson28@bloomberg.net. To contact the editors responsible for this story: Edward Johnson at ejohnson28@bloomberg.net, Tim Smith ©2016 Bloomberg L.P. | 3 | 99,285 | finance |
In the weeks leading up to Wednesday's fifth annual celebration of LGBT members of the Department of Defense, advocates speculated that Defense Secretary Ash Carter might use the forum to issue a decision finally on overturning an existing ban forbidding transgender people from serving openly in uniform. But Carter, who promised in July 2015 to have an analysis of the issue complete within six months, was not in attendance. And, further frustrating the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, a special working group hand-picked by the defense secretary to study the practical effects of changing the policy has yet to produce its conclusions. "This is vitally important," says Matthew F. Thorn, executive director of the LGBT veterans advocacy group OutServe-SLDN. He cites the conclusion of a 2014 report from UCLA'S Williams Institute that estimates there are roughly 15,500 transgender service members on active duty in the armed forces, in the National Guard and in the reserves. "Any American who wants to serve our armed forces should be able to do so, authentically, openly, regardless of gender identity," Thorn says. "It's long overdue that we give those individuals an opportunity to serve honestly about who they are." Long an advocate for inclusion in the ranks, Carter was supposed to preside over Wednesday's event, but a spokesman says he was called to the White House for a last-minute meeting instead. Sources familiar with the working group's activities, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, say there are no objections among participants to overturning the ban, aligned with Carter's mandate that they presume transgender people can serve openly . The process has, however, been plagued by practical considerations. Concerns remain over how to determine whether a service member who undergoes a gender transition remains fit for service, and when they would return to their units, for example, or, in certain cases, how those requiring medication would be able to access it in war zones and other austere environments where the military operates. Some politicians have expressed concerns about overturning the restriction Wisconsin governor and former Republican presidential hopeful Scott Walker said last year he outright wouldn't lift the ban , and Duncan Hunter, a Republican congressman from California and a Marine veteran, told Politico earlier this year, "the reason the military is there is not to be a transgender, corporate organization," in a rebuke of the military's decision to overturn the Marines' request that women remain excluded from combat jobs. General opposition to lifting the ban has been largely muted and excluded from the congressional debate, unlike earlier criticism of proposals to repealing the don't ask, don't tell policy. In remarks at Wednesday's ceremony, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus dismissed as "flawed logic" any argument that policies of inclusion would erode America's ability to fight wars. "That's a suggestion that's not only an insult to the professionalism of our armed forces, but it undermines our core values as service men and women, and as Americans," he said. Other officials working for LGBT rights are frustrated by delays for what they see as a relatively simple decision. "In the year 2016 it should be obvious this kind of discrimination has no place in our military, it has no place in our country," says Rep. David Cicilline. The Rhode Island Democrat, who is himself openly gay, is co-chairman of the congressional LGBT Equality Caucus. Cicilline is troubled by an upward trend of violence and discrimination against transgender people in general in recent years. The Human Rights Campaign reported an increase in crimes against transgender people by 13 percent in 2014, despite overall violence against LGBT people dropping 32 percent. The number of transgender people murdered in 2015 reached a historic high ,w i t h f emale minorities within this community as the most frequent victims. A change to military policy would alter national attitudes toward transgender people, Cicilline says. "Once this policy is changed and members of the transgender community are serving openly in our military, I think it's a way to help change people's attitudes about this community, and showing that every single person is entitled to dignity and respect," Cicilline says. The Pentagon appears close to making a decision, with a spokesman saying Monday that Carter's decision would come shortly. "There has been progress in terms of trying to consider how to move forward here and resolve this issue in the fashion that he first outlined several months ago," Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said Monday, when asked about the policy. "There have been significant conversations within the building on that front. And we expect the secretary, as he said recently, to be able to announce something soon." Navy Secretary Mabus emphasized Wednesday the importance of removing all gender and sexuality-based restrictions on service members, now that gays and lesbians can serve openly and women are allowed to serve in previously restricted combat jobs . "If a person qualifies in every way for service, how can we possibly say how can we possibly say they cannot share in the honor of defending their country because of who they love, or the shape or color of their skin?" Mabus said. "We cannot, and should not." There are 65,000 current LGBT members of the military, he said, and over a million LGBT veterans. Among them is Kirstin Beck , the retired Navy SEAL formerly known as Chris, who became one of the most highly publicized service members who came out as transgender. She served in Afghanistan, Iraq and Bosnia before the need to live as what she considered her true identity forced her to leave the Navy in 2011. Advocates expect the Pentagon will try to have a final decision on the policy before the end of June to coincide with LGBT Pride Month. President Barack Obama officially proclaimed the month a chance to "celebrate how far we have come and reaffirm our steadfast belief in the equal dignity of all Americans." Copyright 2016 U.S. News & World Report | 5 | 99,286 | news |
Our friends at Sports Illustrated ranked the top brawls in MLB history, including Nolan Ryan vs Robin Ventura. | 1 | 99,287 | sports |
FLOYD, N.Y. Three Ohio residents have been charged with assaulting a central New York prison guard who was burned by an exploding package left at his mailbox, police said Wednesday. Oneida County Sheriff Robert Maciol said the May 29 attack was intended to stop the 53-year-old victim from reporting an elder care scam against his mother in Ohio. Maciol said it wasn't related to Alan Dobransky's work as a state corrections officer at the Marcy Correctional Facility. The sheriff said Dobransky suspected one of the accused, 58-year-old Cindy Shields of Conneaut, Ohio, stole money from his mother when she was the elderly woman's caretaker for four years. Also charged were 58-year-old Keith Seppi and his wife, 63-year-old Donna Seppi, also Conneaut residents. Police said Keith Seppi is Shields' brother-in-law. The three were arrested Tuesday at their homes in Ohio and charged with first-degree assault. All three are in Oneida County Sheriff's Office custody. It couldn't be determined if they have lawyers to comment for them. Dobransky remains hospitalized in critical condition with burns over 50 percent of his body. | 5 | 99,288 | news |
Muslim prayers over the body of Muhammad Ali will be witnessed worldwide Thursday, offering a window into a religion many outsiders know little about, but have come to scorn. About 14,000 people are expected for the service Thursday in Louisville, Ky., which will be broadcast on TV and streamed live online. Organizers say the service, or Jenazah prayer, is open to all, but meant especially as a chance for Muslims to say goodbye to a man considered a hero of the faith. U.S. Muslims hope the service for the Kentucky native will help underscore that Islam, so much under attack in recent months, is fully part of American life, "What's going to unfold is a very traditional Islamic Jenazah prayer, but it will not in any way preclude people of other faiths to stand in solidarity with the Muslims," said Timothy Gianotti, an Islamic scholar at the University of Waterloo, Canada, who has worked for years with the Ali family to plan the funeral. "That is exactly what Muhammad wanted." Ali, who died Friday at 74, famously joined the Nation of Islam, the black separatist religious movement, as a young athlete, then embraced mainstream Islam years later, becoming a global representative of the faith and an inspiration to other Muslims. In addition to the traditional funeral prayers Thursday, an interfaith memorial service is planned for Friday, which will include representatives of several religions, including Jews and Christians. Muslim organizations are asking mosques around the country to participate by saying a special prayer for Ali this week. The memorials are taking place after a burst of assaults on U.S. mosques and Muslims following the Islamic extremist attacks last year in Paris and San Bernardino, California, and anti-Muslim rhetoric in the presidential election. Organizers of Ali's memorials say the events are not meant to be political. Still, many Muslim leaders say they are glad for the chance to highlight positive aspects of the religion through the example of the boxing champ. "One of the most loved, one of the most recognized persons in the world happens to be a Muslim everyone is coming from all over to celebrate this Muslim's death," said Imam Abdullah El-Amin, founder of the Muslim Center in Detroit, who will attend the prayer service. "They will see the true nature of the religion and the way that Muslims the majority of Muslims live." Muslims typically bury their dead within 24 hours, but the timeline is not a strict obligation, and accommodations are often made, either to follow local customs or, in the case of a public figure like Ali, provide time for dignitaries and others to travel to the service. The world-famous athlete died in Arizona, and time was needed to transport his body to Louisville, Gianotti said. "Islam is about accommodating culture," said Imam Mohamed Magid of the All Dulles Area Muslim Society, or ADAMS, one of the largest mosque communities in the greater Washington, D.C., area, who will attend the Louisville services. "The most important thing is that the prayer will be done correctly." Gianotti said in a phone interview that he and three others two Phoenix-area Muslims and Imam Zaid Shakir, a prominent U.S. Muslim scholar who will lead Thursday's prayers washed, anointed and wrapped Ali's body within a day of his death. The body is typically wrapped in three pieces of simple fabric. "The idea is to remind those who are still alive that when you came to life, you were completely money-less and you will leave money-less. What matters is if you live a simple life or do good," said Imam Yahya Hendi, the Muslim chaplain at Georgetown University and a specialist in Islamic studies. As is customary, the prayers Thursday will be said over the body, which in this case will be in a coffin facing Mecca. The Jenazah service lasts only a few minutes, with people customarily standing in lines, divided by gender, as they recite the prayers. At Ali's service, Muslims lining up to join the recitation will be separated by gender, but the wider audience will not, Gianotti said. The service includes four recitations of "Allahu Akbar" or "God is Great," with silent prayers in between of a reading from the first chapter of the Quran, a blessing for Abraham, a general prayer for the well-being and forgiveness of the deceased for the next life, and a prayer for everyone at the funeral, Hendi said. Shakir will lead the service at Freedom Hall, which he said in a phone interview will include a recitation from the Quran, a talk by an American Muslim scholar and some other remarks. Ali is far from the first major Muslim leaders to be publicly mourned in the United States. When Malcolm X was assassinated in 1965, at least 14,000 people filed through the public viewing of the body, according to estimates at the time, while several thousand more lined the streets for his Islamic funeral, which was broadcast on TV. Organizers distributed a booklet at the service explaining the Muslim ritual, according to a report by the Boston Globe. His widow, Betty Shabbazz, died in 1997 and was mourned in a funeral at a New York mosque and a memorial service at Riverside Church that drew dignitaries, including a representative from the White House, among the thousands of mourners. A much smaller funeral was held in 2008 in suburban Chicago for Imam W.D. Mohammed, considered one of the most important Muslim leaders in North America for bringing thousands of blacks out of the Nation of Islam into mainstream Islam. Still, none had the global stature of Ali, nor access to the technology that will bring his Jenazah service to a worldwide audience. "I think just the significance of Muhammad Ali, of what he represented, the sacrifices he made, the stands that he took, the grace with which he accepted his illness all of these things and many, many more magnified his stature to such an extent that the community loves him," said Shakir, who has worked with the Ali family for years. Ali planned the services to reflect his desire that "people come together and have an opportunity to appreciate the love and the peace and the unity that can be generated by a single great soul." | 5 | 99,289 | news |
Religious pilgrims are flocking to the Louisville's Islamic Center to honor the late boxing champ, Muhammad Ali. Muslim leaders say Ali was not only a champion of helping the needy, but also a defender of the faith. (June 8th) | 8 | 99,290 | video |
HONOLULU An off-duty Honolulu Police Department officer was arrested on suspicion of first-degree sexual assault, authorities said Wednesday, marking the latest trouble for the embattled agency. Police said they found Officer Jessie Laconsay on Oahu's North Shore and he was taken to a hospital for non-life threatening injuries after his arrest. "Sadly, it's a continuation of incidents and problems and crimes involving our county law enforcement officers, and it seems like the Honolulu Police Department needs a change in leadership," said state Sen. Will Espero, a Democrat. "It's quite appalling." Phone calls seeking comment from the department and the union that represents its officers were not immediately returned. In recent months, a grand jury began looking into allegations of civil rights abuses and corruption within the agency. The department also came under scrutiny this year when Honolulu Police Chief Louis Kealoha sought to promote a major who had been arrested in 1994 for domestic violence. The major later declined the promotion. Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell recently appointed an attorney involved in anti-domestic violence work to serve on the Honolulu Police Commission. Loretta Ann Sheehan, the appointee, said she intends to work toward improving public confidence in the department. | 5 | 99,291 | news |
The judge who gave a six-month jail term to the former Stanford University swimmer convicted of sexually assaulting an unconscious young woman has received a string of death threats after the sentence was widely condemned as too lenient, court officials said on Wednesday. Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky has come under withering nationwide criticism and faces a recall effort for the sentence he imposed last week on 20-year-old Brock Allen Turner for the January 2015 attack. Prosecutors had asked that Turner be put behind bars for six years. "Because of all the Brock Turner stuff, people are acting poorly," Gary Goodman, supervising attorney for the Santa Clara County Public Defender's office. "They don't like the sentence." Goodman said the threats have prompted the county sheriff's office to increase its security presence at the courthouse. The uproar over the sentence, fueled in part by the victim's harrowing letter in which she detailed the assault in graphic terms, is part of growing outrage over sexual assault on U.S. college campuses. The furor has also led to threats of another kind as a group of self-styled witches set up a Facebook page named "The Hexing of Brock Turner." Because Persky ran unopposed for re-election, he did not appear on the ballot for Tuesday's primary election, but could still face a write-in candidate in November, county officials said. A Stanford University law professor, Michele Dauber, has begun a formal effort to recall Persky in an election next year and said she expected her campaign to gather the needed signatures. "What we need to do is replace Judge Persky with a judge who understands sexual violence against young women and wants to keep them safe on college campuses," Dauber said. The law professor said she was "appalled," however, that Persky was receiving death threats, saying she too had received them for speaking out on behalf of the victim. The outcry over Turner's sentence has also prompted several online petitions seeking his removal. And the furor prompted a North Carolina pastor to write a widely circulated "open letter" to Turner's father, Dan Turner, in which he criticizes the father for seeking leniency from the judge in a much-derided missive that discussed his son's favorite foods and other memories. "To be honest, I don't give a damn and if his victim was your daughter I'm quite sure you wouldn't either," John Pavlovitz wrote. (Editing by Matthew Lewis) | 5 | 99,292 | news |
PARIS Security forces have staged nearly 30 drills in cities across France, preparing for bombs, chemical weapons and even drone attacks. Police reinforcements will be brought to Paris from around the country. Some 13,000 private security guards have been hired nationwide. Yet there are still worries that terrorist groups will disrupt the European Championship soccer tournament, or Euro 2016, a monthlong tournament involving 24 national teams from across Europe that begins Friday, with a total of 51 matches to be played in 10 cities around the country. Arriving after a year in which France was hit by two major terrorist attacks, and after strikes in Brussels in March, the long-scheduled event has crystallized the seemingly permanent security fears Europeans must live with day to day in their determination to carry on with life as usual. It has also brought into sharp contrast the challenge for Western countries dealing with terrorism: Even if governments take all possible steps to protect their citizens, there is no longer such a thing as zero risk, unless people are willing to alter much that is intrinsic to the pleasures of an open, modern society. "We must say the truth to the French people: 0 percent precautions means 100 percent risk, but 100 percent precautions does not mean 0 percent risk," Bernard Cazeneuve, the interior minister, said in late May. At a forum last week, Mr. Cazeneuve was categorical: "I cannot guarantee that we will not have a confrontation with terrorists." Nevertheless, about 2.5 million people are expected to descend on France for the tournament, even if the American and British governments have effectively warned their citizens to stay away, calling the crowded sports events, as well as transport hubs and bars, "potential targets for terrorist attacks." The biggest targets, both foreign and French security officials fear, could be the planned outdoor "fan zones." More than 90,000 spectators could gather on the Champ de Mars, in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower in Paris; at least 80,000 on the white sand beach, the Plage du Prado, in Marseille; and 20,000 on the central Place Bellecour in Lyon, among other places. In Paris, Marseille, Bordeaux and St.-Denis, these zones will be open almost every night when there is a Euro 2016 match anywhere in the country, so that fans can keep up with the action on giant screens. In Paris, the police fear they will be so overstretched that they have asked the government to close the zones for some matches. So far, the government has demurred, even while conceding the risks. The threat is by no means idle. The first suicide bombers to explode themselves on the night of the Nov. 13 attacks last year did so at the Stade de France, just outside Paris, where French and German players were on the soccer pitch and President François Hollande was in attendance. Sporting events have long attracted terrorists, with 168 attacks linked to sports between 1972 and 2004, according to Richard Walton, the former head of the counterterrorism command for the Metropolitan Police in London. The most recent suggestion that the Islamic State had its eye on Euro 2016 matches came from Mohamed Abrini, one of the suspects arrested in connection with the attacks in Paris and Brussels. He said that the group intended to target France during the tournament. It was not certain whether Mr. Abrini meant a Euro 2016 event would be specifically targeted or simply that an attack would be timed to coincide with the games. Either way, a strike would almost certainly cast a pall on, if not derail, the tournament. Counterterrorism and security officials compared the current security challenge to securing the 2012 London Olympics or Times Square in New York on New Year's Eve, but doing so for a longer period of time and in many more cities. "Two things are at stake: France's image and security," said Pascal Boniface, the director of the Institute for International and Strategic Relations in Paris, which recently held a forum on the challenges facing France as it hosts the tournament. "If there is a problem with security, the country's image will be affected," he said. The converse, however, is also true, he said: There could be a huge payoff for France if the tournament concludes safely. "We are candidates for the 2024 Olympic Games and, in terms of organization, of security, the Euro is an oral admission exam for the Olympics," Mr. Boniface said of the tournament. In some respects, France is gambling not just on the present, but on the future, since tourism represents 9 percent of the country's gross domestic product, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council. It was the sector most shaken after the Nov. 13 attacks that killed 130 people in and near Paris. Although there are no specific threats so far, according to France's Interior Ministry, all the available information points to a daunting level of risk. On the eve of the matches, security forces are reassessing each public space the stadiums, public transport and, most of all, the outdoor fan zones to ensure access for emergency services. The housing facilities for the 24 national soccer teams are also drawing close attention from law enforcement officials, a concern ever since the 1972 terrorist attacks in Munich against Israel's Olympic team. In addition to the potential for bombs, the police and special police forces have prepared for the possibility, however unlikely, they say, of an airborne attack from a civilian drone, which could theoretically drop an explosive or release a chemical substance. A more likely scenario, they fear, is a repeat of the kind of attack staged in November at the Bataclan concert hall in Paris, where 90 people were gunned down by attackers wearing suicide vests. Another concern is the possibility of lone-wolf attacks by a single individual, which the Islamic State has urged its followers to carry out. "The Islamic State and other groups, A.Q.A.P., also use bombs, but there's a preference for these kinds of shooting rampages," said Henry Wilkinson, the director of intelligence analysis for the Risk Advisory Group, a British company carrying out security assessments for Euro 2016. A.Q.A.P. refers to Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, which operates in Yemen. Even with all the practice, there is still work to be done, said several security experts. "The problem we have is coordination," said Olivier Duran, a spokesman for the union that represents private security agents, of whom 13,000 will be helping provide security for the games. One concern is that in the effort to avoid long lines at the entrances to the stadiums and fan zones, the private security guards will be forced to move so rapidly that, at the most crowded venues, it could be difficult for them to do thorough searches, Mr. Duran said. Even more worrisome is that in the event of an attack, the private security agents do not have radios or any other means of communicating with the police, and vice versa. The French are still "beginners" in communication, Mr. Duran said. "The English are much more advanced; the Spanish are very advanced. We are the prehistoric era in terms of direct lines of contact, in communication, and the battle will be fought on that ground." Philippe Juvin, the chief of emergency services at the Pompidou Hospital in central Paris, which handled many casualties from the November attacks, complained last week that he had yet to be briefed on logistics for the hospital's emergency medical workers. Yet French officials insist they have tried to take every precaution and have made clear that they will not bow to fear. Nor would they consider moving the tournament to a less-vulnerable country. Doing so would be "meeting the terrorists' will," Mr. Cazeneuve, the interior minister, said. "We will never do that." | 1 | 99,293 | sports |
It's amazing how a stylish accessory can turn a room from average to chic - all you need are the right pieces. A cozy throw and a cute pillow can quickly transform a couch, while a couple candles will do the trick for your coffee table. But who said decorating requires breaking the bank? We've found some of the prettiest home decor that you'll love, all under $100. Take a look at the 30 must-have pieces ahead and try to restrain yourself from splurging on it all. It's amazing how a stylish accessory can turn a room from average to chic - all you need are the right pieces. A cozy throw and a cute pillow can quickly transform a couch, while a couple candles will do the trick for your coffee table. But who said decorating requires breaking the bank? We've found some of the prettiest home decor that you'll love, all under $100. Take a look at the 30 must-have pieces ahead and try to restrain yourself from splurging on it all. Urban Outfitters Plum & Bow Faux Fur Pillow ($49) Jay Import 19" Alligator Tray w/ Handles, Gold ($55) Anthropologie Kiri Wood Hanging Planter ($68) Gift Boutique Prisma Jewelry Stand ($25) Gift Boutique Creme de la Creme Tray ($35) Dot & Bo Ampersand Marquee ($78) Rab Labs Gift Boutique RABLABS Pedra Coasters ($75) Serena & Lily Ciao Bath Mat ($48) Pols Potten Gold Glazed Porcelain Pineapple ($79) Anthropologie Daventon Desk Collection ($16) Lifestyle Brands 2'x3' Gordon Faux Sheepskin Rug ($89) Assembly Home Get Naked Bath Mat ($39) Anthropologie Agneta Shower Curtain ($88) Urban Outfitters Mod Metal Planter ($10) Magical Thinking Vashti Dreamcatcher ($99) Anthropologie Planetarium Terrarium ($78) Jonathan Adler Pop Champagne Candle ($42) Urban Outfitters White Cord Globe String Lights ($28) Magical Thinking Valentine Throw Blanket ($69) Marlton End Table Gold - ThresholdTM ($99.99) Kate Spade Happy Hour Glitter Coaster Set ($40) Hanging Metal Planter ($16) Magical Thinking Menagerie Medallion Tapestry ($49) Anthropologie Casimira Desk Accessories ($18) Tripod Plant Stand ($29) Magical Thinking Good Vibes Pillow ($39) Horchow Khan Mauve Faux-Fur Pillow ($125) Plum & Bow Connected Stripe Rag Rug ($24) Anthropologie Caged Bulb String Lights ($58) Gift Boutique Chez Elle Booze Decanter ($50) | 4 | 99,294 | lifestyle |
A window at San Jose City Hall was damaged by gunfire early Wednesday morning, police said. Officers responded to the building at the corner of Sixth and Santa Clara streets around 6:30 a.m., said Officer Albert Morales, a San Jose police spokesman. When police arrived, they confirmed a bullet hit the window. No injuries were reported. Morales said the shooting occurred between 1:30 a.m. and 2 a.m. and that no suspects were identified. "It's concerning to us. We take it seriously," said city spokesman David Vossbrink. The city hall has 24-hour security patrol but no one reported hearing gunshots in the middle of the night, Vossbrink said. Officials recovered security footage that will be used in the investigation. The shooting came just days days after San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo and police department officials were criticized by presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump and his supporters after violence erupted outside Thursday's Trump rally in San Jose. Trump went on Twitter and Facebook to accuse Liccardo of doing "a terrible job of ordering the protection of innocent people." Vossbrink said there was no credible evidence that the City Hall shooting was related to violence at the Trump rally. San Jose police released the identities of four teenagers arrested outside the rally on Tuesday. Trump referred to protesters at the event as "thugs" and "illegals." Liccardo condemned the violence on Twitter, while noting such behavior was not uncommon at Trump events. "It is regrettable that this has become a pattern for cities hosting Mr. Trump across the nation," Liccardo tweeted. Jenna Lyons is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jlyons@sfchronicle.com Twitter: JennaJourno | 5 | 99,295 | news |
Yusuf Ibrahim, a tomato farmer in Kano, Nigeria, has lost almost 90 percent of his crop this year to Tuta absoluta. That prices for the fruit are 15 times higher than before the outbreak of the pest is little consolation; he can't afford to plant the corn and rice he normally does after harvesting tomatoes. Since arriving from South America via Spain in 2008, Tuta absoluta, also known as the tomato-leaf miner, has spread across at least 15 African countries. The moth that's about the size of a headphone jack landed in Nigeria, the continent's biggest economy, in 2015. The main tomato-producing region's government declared a state of emergency, and the Africa's richest man, Aliko Dangote, had to halt output at a $20 million processing plant due to lack of supply. "The farmlands look abandoned, dry but with wilted plants," Ibrahim said on June 6. "After harvesting tomatoes, most farmers go for maize or rice farming on the same land, but most of the land isn't being used because of losses. The don't have enough to go for another round." The fruit is used to enhance staple starch dishes across the continent, including jollof rice in the west and as a sauce poured over a stiff, corn-based porridge in South Africa. Africa exported almost $800 million of tomatoes in 2015, or about 10 percent of the world's total, according to the Geneva-based International Trade Center. The continent produced $6.9 billion of the fruit in 2013, the Food and Agriculture Organization estimates. Tuta absoluta broke out in Zambia last month, raising the threat of infestation in surrounding countries. While the pest is yet to be detected in South Africa, the risk rises as it spreads, Jan Hendrik Venter, a plant health early-warnings scientist at the nation's Agriculture Ministry, said by e-mail. "Tuta has the potential to effectively eliminate tomato from the agricultural cycle," Richard Hopkins, head of pest behavior at the London-based University of Greenwich's Natural Resources Institute, said by e-mail. Tuta absoluta kills plants and damages fruit as the moths lay eggs, which hatch into caterpillars that burrow into leaves and stems, according to pest-management company Koppert BV. It can develop pesticide resistance in one season. It's an alien species, so few natural predators exist outside South America. It does best in warm climates, and Africa offers ideal conditions for it to produce as many as 12 generations annually, with each female laying an average 260 eggs. It also preys on potatoes, eggplants, peppers and tobacco. For tomato farmers, this can mean losing their entire crop, Koppert said. Shortages and soaring prices ensue, hurting consumers already struggling with inflation after El Nino-induced droughts. Mannir Usman is one of the few sellers at Kano's Sharada market who's been able to secure supplies, though they're much smaller and 20 times the price. They came from Gboko, more than 500 kilometers (311 miles) to the south, where the pest is yet to arrive. Cause Havoc "This is going to cause havoc but nobody cares until it hits," said Shakir Al-Zaidi, managing director at Russell IPM, a U.K.-based pest-management company that's been fighting Tuta absoluta for 10 years. Farmers usually increase the amount and frequency of pesticide applications after an outbreak, said Rangaswamy Muniappan, director of integrated pest management at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University's Office of International Research, Education, and Development in Blacksburg, Virginia. Growers in developing countries often use formulations banned elsewhere because it's all that's available, increasing risks of cancer and damage to the nervous systems of consumers, he said. Using more expensive pesticides also raises production costs, he said by phone. Spanish farmers spent 450 euros ($512) more per hectare of tomato when the country in 2006 became the first outside South America to be invaded. Managing the pest cost farmers an extra $500 million annually once it spreads globally, Muniappan said. Since arriving in Europe, Tuta absoluta spread throughout the Mediterranean and north Africa. The Sahara desert created a buffer zone, but when it got to Senegal and Sudan in 2012, its move to surrounding nations was rapid. Asia too is under threat, with the tomato-leaf miners invading India in 2014, and expected to arrive in Nepal and Bangladesh this year. It spreads through infected seedlings, contaminated fruit or reused crates and boxes. Pesticide Resistance Farmers have tried controlling Tuta by rotating pesticides so the insects don't get the chance to develop resistance, and by using pheromone traps, where scents mimicking a female ready to mate attract males, which then stick to glue-covered paper. While helpful to detect the arrival of Tuta absoluta, the devices are "totally useless" as a mass trapping method because they catch a few dozen out of thousands of moths, Al-Zaidi said. He recommends a combined solution of farmer education, and applying the metarhizium anisopliae fungus to the soil which kills the insects in their pupal stages. Trials in Tanzania last year showed this to be effective, and Russell IPM is selling the fungus commercially there. Next month, Al-Zaidi will demonstrate it in Nigeria. There are no side effects to humans, he said. "It will not go away but we need learn how live with it and how to keep it under control," Al-Zaidi said. To contact the reporters on this story: Matthew Hill in Lusaka at mhill58@bloomberg.net, Mustapha Muhammad in Kano at mmuhammad10@bloomberg.net. To contact the editors responsible for this story: Antony Sguazzin at asguazzin@bloomberg.net, Ana Monteiro ©2016 Bloomberg L.P. | 3 | 99,296 | finance |
Valencia CF, the 93-year-old Spanish soccer club, now has an e-sports team. The announcement, made yesterday at Valencia's Mestalla Stadium, marks yet another high-profile entrance in the competitive gaming space. Valencia joins other European soccer clubs like FC Schalke and West Ham United , and potential titles include Rocket League, FIFA , and Hearthstone . It may surprise quite a few people to know that soccer teams are getting involved with competitive gaming. But e-sports is a fast-growing market with huge profit potential. More traditional sports teams are scooping up either free agents in the e-sports world to form squads or acquiring already-established teams to compete in tournaments. The move also raises awareness of the traditional Valencia brand among those viewers and fans who may be more inclined to watch a League of Legends match instead of an on-field showdown with Real Madrid. Valencia's official press release puts it quite succinctly: eSports has quickly become a multimillion euro industry and Valencia once again has shown themselves to be on the cutting edge by setting up a team that will fly the club colours around the world. The phenomenon has made a dramatic impact in Asia and eSports professionals in countries like South Korea are treated similarly to La Liga stars in Spain. Arenas are packed out by spectators, and also with the help of major sponsorship deals, the industry generates thousands of millions each year. | 5 | 99,297 | news |
If you've ever taken medication for depression, you've probably heard that trial and error is the only way to figure out whether antidepressants work for you. But because it can take weeks to feel out a new drug's effects, this approach is like an insanely high-stakes game that lasts forever - and it doesn't help that only about half of all depressed patients respond positively to commonly prescribed antidepressants. An alternative approach could eliminate the risk of wasting time and money on drugs that don't work, and it could expedite your recovery, according to a new study recently published in The International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology. It's a simple blood test that can predict whether standard antidepressants will make you feel more like yourself, and this is before you start taking the meds. In the study, researchers assessed 142 depressed people's responses to conventional antidepressants and tested their blood for certain markers of inflammation. When they compared the results, they found that people with low levels of inflammation as per their blood tests were the only ones who responded to the drugs. This doesn't mean that people who have higher levels of inflammation won't respond at all. It just means that they'll get better faster from a combination of antidepressants and anti-inflammatory drugs - which have been shown to work well in tandem despite some potential side effects - or alternative therapies. More research is needed before blood testing becomes a matter of course in treating depression - a condition that affects more than 15 million adults a year, according to recent stats - but until scientists get to it, ask your doctor about a blood test if you're suffering from depression and can't seem to catch a break with whatever she's prescribing. There's hope! | 7 | 99,298 | health |
With both oil inventories falling and natural gas running hot, Jim Cramer was taken aback by the staggering moves in energy in the past few months. Suddenly oil is trading above $50 and gas is approaching $2.50. Do they make sense? "Yes, even as this new level of pricing is more bullish than I thought possible, and I was a pretty lonely bull back when oil traded in the $30s," the "Mad Money" host said. Cramer attributed the rally to the shortfalls of the big Canadian oil shutdown caused by wildfires, and a pickup in gasoline consumption from driving more. Third, the dreaded increase in oil drilling that many expected would happen when crude tipped $50 hasn't happened. More important, are the severe supply constraints occurring in both Libya and Nigeria. Chinese production has also fallen hard, even as Chinese auto purchases have increased. Autos represent one-third of all the oil use in China. Read more from Jim Cramer and other top money experts It is the combination of better demand in the U.S. and China, and dwindling supply that has driven crude higher. That is, until the U.S. begins to produce more oil. As for natural gas, Cramer attributed the move to the weather. The rally has given natural gas producers like Cabot, Range Resources and Chesapeake a chance to keep their head above water. There has also been a steep decline in coal as a fuel around the world. Cramer knows that stocks like Freeport-McMoRan, Chesapeake Energy, Halliburton, National Oilwell Varco and Dover look pretty attractive right now. "All of these stocks represent bargains if oil goes to $60 and natural gas climbs to $3," Cramer said. Ultimately, the fuel rally makes sense to Cramer, as higher demand and falling supply is generating better pricing. "Watch the rig count, though. That is what stands between $50 and $60 oil, and right here all of these reach stocks need crude to rally to the upper extreme to justify their moves," Cramer said. Otherwise, it may be best to stay with the stronger names. Questions for Cramer? Call Cramer: 1-800-743-CNBC Questions, comments, suggestions for the "Mad Money" website? madcap@cnbc.com | 3 | 99,299 | finance |
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