Datasets:

roofdancer

/

presummarized_to_story_multi_news

like 0

Attorneys would not discuss the paperwork in open court and asked Col. James Pohl, the investigating officer serving as judge during the hearing, to close the courtroom to discuss the issue. "The investigating officer will reconvene the meeting at 9 a.m. to hear arguments of the defense motion," he said. Pohl is acting as an investigating officer in an Article 32 hearing that will determine whether Hasan, an Army psychiatrist charged with killing 13 people and wounding dozens of others in a Nov. 5 shooting spree, goes to trial. The Article 32 hearing is the first step in what many legal experts expect will result in a death penalty trial for Hasan. The Army hasn't said whether it would seek the death penalty, but Hasan's lead attorney, retired Army Col. John Galligan, has insisted that's their goal.

– The trial of the Army psychiatrist accused in the Fort Hood shooting rampage may be delayed. A pretrial hearing at the military base's courtroom for Maj. Nidal Hasan was scheduled to begin yesterday, but the defense team asked for a month to "process some paperwork," finds the Austin American Statesman. The judge is considering the request and will rule on it today. The military hearing, known as an Article 32, is the first step in a process experts expect will end in a death penalty trial for Hasan, who is charged with killing 13 people and wounding dozens more, notes the Houston Chronicle. Hasan, paralyzed from the chest down from bullet wounds he received during the rampage, did not speak during the hearing. Several relatives of the victims sat in the courtroom's public viewing area.

Thieves saw through bike-racks, cover the cuts with tape, wait for bikes to be locked to them PC Mark McKay, a police officer in Camberwell, London, tweeted this warning to locals to beware of bike racks that thieves have sawn through and camouflaged with gaffer tape; once the bikes are locked up, the thieves return, remove the tape, and make off with the bikes. Image copyright Sarah King Image caption The cycle rack had been sliced through and then covered with tape to conceal the break A cyclist who had her bike stolen after it was secured to a sabotaged bike rack has warned others about the "cunning" scam.

– London's bike thieves are getting extra crafty. On Friday, a police officer tweeted photos of a bike rack that had been sliced through and then taped back together to hide the cuts from the city's unsuspecting cyclists, per Boing Boing. Sarah King, a councilor for South Camberwell, tells the Evening Standard that she locked her bike to such a rack before a meeting in the London borough on Thursday. She returned to find her bike was missing and figured out the trick when she noticed the tape and gave a push. A police rep says she's never heard of the trick before, notes the Huffington Post, which describes collective online reaction as one of "reluctant admiration." Others are less impressed. "It is appalling that the growing cycling population in the borough are being targeted by these cunning thieves," another local councilor tells the BBC. "The more publicity that can be given to this, the better," a rep for a cycling charity adds. The lesson for cyclists, then: Beware public racks with tape.

A house near Sugar Land after it was hit by a tornado on Monday, Jan. 9, 2011. ( James Nielsen / Chronicle ) A home damaged by a possible tornado in the 15000 block of Turphin Way Monday, Jan. 9, 2012, in Sugar Land. Fences near Sugar Land were hit by a tornado on Monday, Jan. 9, 2011. Nick de la Torre / Houston Chronicle via AP This intersection in Houston, at Buffalo Speedway and Richmond Avenue, saw plenty of heavy rain Monday. A dozen other freeway intersections in the Houston area also saw flooding and rainfall of more than four inches in just a few hours. It was unclear if there were any injuries. The storm cut power to nearly 20,000 utility customers at its peak, and officials reported numerous water rescues of people stranded in homes or cars. FuelFix.com is reporting that areas inside Loop 610 were hardest hit, particularly between Texas 288 and I-45, according to an outage-tracking map updated by CenterPoint every 15 minutes. The deluge from the system closed down a stretch of Texas State Highway 288 for most of the day.

– A deluge of heavy rain, wind, tornadoes, and nickel-sized hail is giving Houston-area residents a major headache today, the Houston Chronicle reports. A fast-moving storm front pummeled the city with winds reaching 60mph and up to 4.5 inches of rain, shutting part of Highway 288 and flooding a dozen other freeway intersections. Apparent twisters ripped roofs off of houses and garages in one residential area and damaged a mall in nearby Texas City, MSNBC reports. No injuries have been reported, but firefighters struggled to rescue people trapped inside cars on flooded roadways, and several Richmond residents were evacuated by boat. About 19,600 Houston-area residents are without power. The area forecast offers a mixed bag, with dry weather rolling in and near-freezing temperatures descending later this week.

Insurance companies “do not discriminate on the basis of race,” James Lynch, chief actuary of the Insurance Information Institute, a trade group, told the researchers. But, he says, “without a car, I can’t get to work, and then I can’t pay my rent.” (Alyssa Schukar, special to ProPublica) It isn’t completely clear why some major auto insurers persist in treating minority neighborhoods differently. Since insurance is regulated primarily by states, he urged consumers to contact their state insurance regulators to ask them to examine the fairness of rate-setting practices. Our analysis examined more than 100,000 premiums charged for liability insurance — the combination of bodily injury and property damage that represents the minimum coverage drivers buy in each of the states. “I’m not surprised” by the findings, said Robert Hunter, director of insurance at the Consumer Federation of America. Asked if the discrepancies could result from an unintended consequence of the formulas used to set rates, Mr. Lynch said, “There is no unfair discrimination, intentional or unintentional.” Because individual insurers do not publicly release their losses on a ZIP code level, the analysis is based on aggregated losses by insurers. The California Department of Insurance dismissed that approach as “flawed,” the report said, saying an individual insurer’s losses in a given area may vary significantly from the industry average. In a call with reporters on Wednesday, Mr. Lynch said the institute had commissioned its own actuarial analysis of ProPublica’s data and determined that the conclusions drawn from the study were “flawed.” The institute did not make its analysis available because it was in draft form, he said, but expected to make it available when the report was completed. ProPublica said that while a given company’s losses could deviate from average losses experienced by insurers, it was “unlikely” that the differences would result in a consistent pattern of higher prices for minority neighborhoods. The insurance industry and some state regulators criticized the report, saying it oversimplified the way companies set rates. More than a dozen states have set limits on insurers’ use of price optimization, expressing concerns that the technique allows insurers to raise premiums on customers who don’t shop around for better rates. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners also set up a committee to investigate redlining. Texas consumer advocate Birny Birnbaum won a rare victory when, through a public-records request, he obtained data collected by the state insurance commission at a zip-code level. ProPublica, an investigative news organization, said it submitted freedom of information requests to all 50 states and the District of Columbia, and just those four said they collected such data. That’s eight times higher than what Illinois insurers have paid out in property damage claims in that zip code — an average of $91.57 per car in the three years ending in 2014, according to data from the state insurance commission. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The federation’s studies did not include insurer payout data, which is “good addition” to the analysis, Mr. Hunter said. Here are some questions and answers about car insurance rates: How can I find more affordable rates on my car insurance?

– Drivers in predominantly black neighborhoods in four states paid an average of 30% more to insure their cars than those in white neighborhoods, a new study finds. While it has long been known that African Americans pay more to keep their cars on the road, the analysis conducted by ProPublica and Consumer Reports questioned the insurance industry's contention that premiums for liability insurance are determined by risk of accidents. After studying premiums and claims paid out in California, Illinois, Texas, and Missouri from 2012 to 2014, the nonprofits found that drivers in minority zip codes paid as much as 30% more than white drivers living in areas with similar risk. ProPublica says the "disparity may amount to a subtler form of redlining," meaning denying services to minorities. In this case, many non-white drivers who need their cars to get to work are struggling to pay sky-high bills. One black driver, Otis Nash, pays $136 more each month than a white man living in an area of Chicago deemed a higher insurance risk. "You just bite the bullet and go with it," Nash says. But California insurance regulators called the report "flawed," and the insurance industry dismissed it as a "weak" oversimplification of the rate-setting process. "There is no unfair discrimination, intentional or unintentional," says James Lynch of the Insurance Information Institute, per the New York Times. But ACLU attorney Rachel Goodman tells ProPublica the findings "fit within a pattern that we see all too often—racial disparities allegedly result from differences in risk, but that justification falls apart when we drill down into the data." (A study found Walmart deliberately runs better stores in white areas.)

When the bill for $28.98 came, it was bad enough that Meyers put a big old zero on the tip line, but it's what he wrote at the bottom of the bill that really pissed Liss off: "P.S. You could stand to loose [sic] a few pounds."

– A crazy story about a waitress getting gipped and insulted by a customer just may have a happy ending: The tale began last weekend when Seattle waitress Victoria Liss collected a bill from a customer who wrote in "0" on the tip line and added, "P.S. You could stand to loose (sic) a few pounds." An outraged Liss uploaded a photo of the bill to her Facebook page and identified him online. (He paid by credit card, making it easy.) Internet revenge ensued, with strangers, friends, and bloggers calling out the customer, Andrew Meyers. Which, of course, led to the wrong Andrew Meyers being pilloried in public. Now, however, yet another Andrew Meyers has come forward to the Stranger to offer Liss a 100% tip on the $29 bill, all in the name of clearing the Andrew Meyers name. The newspaper is putting him in touch with Liss. At the Stir blog, meanwhile, Julie Ryan Evans hopes the real culprit is "shaking in his scummy yuppie shoes."

APS March Meeting 2015 Volume 60, Number 1 Monday–Friday, March 2–6, 2015; San Antonio, Texas Session S48: Focus Session: Physics of Evolutionary and Population Dynamics I 8:00 AM–11:00 AM, Thursday, March 5, 2015 Room: 217C Sponsoring Unit: DBIO Chair: Michel Pleimliung, Virginia Tech University Abstract ID: BAPS.2015.MAR.S48.8 Abstract: S48.00008 : The Statistical Mechanics of Zombies 9:24 AM–9:36 AM Preview Abstract Abstract Authors: Alexander A. Alemi (Cornell University) Matthew Bierbaum (Cornell University) Christopher R. Myers (Cornell University) James P. Sethna (Cornell University) We present results and analysis from a large scale exact stochastic dynamical simulation of a zombie outbreak. All told, the project was an overview of modern epidemiology modeling, starting with differential equations to model a fully connected population, then moving on to lattice-based models, and ending with a full U.S.-scale simulation of an outbreak across the continental U.S.

– If a zombie outbreak were to strike US shores, East Coasters should head west ASAP. That recommendation comes by way of Cornell University researchers, who have modeled the statistical mechanics of, yes, zombies and will present their findings at a meeting of the American Physical Society on March 5 in San Antonio. The researchers used a number of techniques that are used when modeling real diseases, and the abstract ends with this dismal line: "We build up to a full scale simulation of an outbreak in the United States, and discover that for 'realistic' parameters, we are largely doomed." But Phys.Org relays a glimmer of hope by way of Alex Alemi, a grad student involved in the research: He says those who want to remain safe from the undead for as long as they can should head to the northern Rockies. He explains that while books and movies typically show an outbreak touching all corners of the country immediately, "in our attempt to model zombies somewhat realistically, it doesn't seem like this is how it would actually go down." Yes, major cities could be toast within days, but less populated areas could be unaffected for weeks, and the northern Mountain Time Zone could be safe for months. "Given the dynamics of the disease, once the zombies invade more sparsely populated areas, the whole outbreak slows down—there are fewer humans to bite, so you start creating zombies at a slower rate," says Alemi. "I'd love to see a fictional account where most of New York City falls in a day, but upstate New York has a month or so to prepare." (Of course, some people want to be trapped in a room with a zombie.)

“The last email I have from them is from January, 2009,” she said.

– It looks like Fox News was at least two-thirds wrong when they said LL Cool J, Toby Keith, and Jack Welch "will speak to" Sarah Palin "for her inaugural episode of American Stories on April 1st.” Toby Keith has joined LL Cool J in denying that Palin interviewed him, his publicist tells the New York Times, and the network appears to be just recycling an old interview Keith did in 2009. And that's not the least of the bad news for Palin: The former governor isn't the only Palin going rogue, reports Gawker: It seems that Willow, along with some clique known as the Colony Girls, threw themselves a heckuva party last December at a vacant house and caused $20,000 to $30,000 in damage. But mysteriously, after state troopers met with the Palins, only the boys involved are facing charges. Queue the small-town drama.

The blood of Strongsville school teacher Melinda Pleskovic was found on the blade of a knife located in a pickup truck driven by her daughter's fiance, court records show. He is being held in lieu of $1 million bond. The court document filed by Strongsville police investigators is the first true glimpse of how Scullin came to emerge as a suspect in Pleskovic's shooting and stabbing death Oct. 23 inside her Blazing Star home. Chief Fender told reporters that Pleskovic’s husband, Bruce Pleskovic, called 911 that Monday after returning to his home with Scullin to find Melinda on the floor in a pool of blood. Scullin, who lived with Pleskovic, 49, and her husband, was set to marry the couple's daughter just days after the killing. Instead, they spent the day at her funeral where he reportedly served as a pallbearer.

– A 911 caller in Ohio who told the dispatcher "there's a lot of blood" after he came across the body of his future mother-in-law is now being accused of her murder. "Jeffery William Scullin Jr. has been charged with aggravated murder," Strongsville Police Chief Mark Fender told reporters at a Tuesday press conference, which WOIO notes took place eight days after the killing of 49-year-old Melinda Pleskovic. Scullin, 20, was engaged to Pleskovic's daughter and lived in the Pleskovic home. People reports he arrived at the home with Pleskovic's husband, Bruce, on Oct. 23 to find the sixth-grade teacher's body on the kitchen floor in a pool of blood. She'd been shot and stabbed several times. Bruce Pleskovic told a 911 dispatcher there'd been recent break-ins at their home, but cops say he may have thought that based on info fed to him by Scullin. Scullin, who made a separate 911 call, told the dispatcher it didn't look like anyone had broken in. He says he grabbed his own daughter and Pleskovic's son—WKYC notes the 18-year-old has Down syndrome—and went outside without surveying the scene more carefully. Scullin was set to marry Pleskovic's daughter on the Saturday after the slaying, but instead he was said to have served as a pallbearer at her funeral. Per court records cited by WKYC, a knife with Pleskovic's blood was found in Scullin's pickup truck, among other evidence. Scullin is being held on a $1 million bond. (This man killed his mom and two brothers weeks before his planned wedding.)

if we didn’t get it right the first time, we damn well better get it right the second time, and I would tell you right now if I were the Chief of Police, I would reopen this investigation.” In March 2014, Seattle police briefly reexamined the investigation after a cold case detective discovered unseen photographs from the crime scene. The film uses those recordings to reenact Tom’s encounters with Courtney Love and others in Kurt’s inner circle. Not only does the film reveal some supposedly convincing evidence from Grant’s point of view, it also sees former Seattle Police Chief Norm Stamper, who was in office at the time of Cobain’s death, saying he’d reopen the case if he were still Police Chief today.

– Conspiracy theories have long swirled around the 1994 death of Kurt Cobain, but the latest film documentary about the Nirvana frontman has Courtney Love filing cease-and-desist letters and the ex-police chief of Seattle saying he'd reopen the case if he were still in charge, Spin reports. In Soaked in Bleach, a private investigator named Tom Grant says he was hired by Love to find Cobain, who had gone missing, just a few days before his death, per the Consequence of Sound. The movie reportedly offers up convincing evidence from Grant that Cobain didn't kill himself but was murdered, and that Love was the mastermind, Spin notes. The film also features commentary from Norm Stamper, who had just taken over as head of Seattle's police force before Cobain died. While Stamper doesn't come right out and say Love had her husband offed, he does think the movie's allegations warrant a new look. "We should in fact have taken steps to study patterns involved in the behavior of key individuals who had a motive to see Kurt Cobain dead," he says in the movie, per Spin. "If in fact Kurt Cobain was murdered … and it was possible to learn that, shame on us for not doing that." And if he were still chief today, those steps would be taken, Stamper adds: "It's about right and wrong. It's about honor. It's about ethics. If we didn’t get it right the first time, we damn well better get it right the second time, and I would tell you right now if I were the chief of police, I would reopen this investigation." (The Montage of Heck documentary about Cobain has been described as "brilliant" and "uncomfortable.")

LATE NIGHT ON SOCIAL Follow Late Night on Twitter: https://twitter.com/LateNightSeth Like Late Night on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LateNightSeth Find Late Night on Tumblr: http://latenightseth.tumblr.com/ Connect with Late Night on Google+: https://plus.google.com/+LateNightSet... Late Night with Seth Meyers on YouTube features A-list celebrity guests, memorable comedy, and topical monologue jokes.

– Head to the Trump Twitter archive, type in "Rosie," and you can see in scathing detail the online manifestation of the longtime feud between the president and Rosie O'Donnell. But did we ever really know what started it? O'Donnell offered her take Thursday night on Late Night With Seth Meyers, after the host pointed out that Trump had been going after O'Donnell for what seems like forever, per the Daily Beast. "Over a decade," O'Donnell confirmed, before revealing that she believed the brouhaha all started after something she said on TV when she was co-hosting The View. O'Donnell notes that after Tara Conner, Miss USA 2006, was caught engaging in underage drinking and tested positive for cocaine use that year, Trump announced at a presser he would forgive her. Rosie remembers thinking, "What is he, the pimp and she's the prostitute? He's the moral arbiter of 20-year-old behavior now, right?" And so she scoured the internet (she says she went on Wikipedia) and found some "easily accessible" nuggets—including that Trump went "bankrupt four times, that he got all his money from his father, and that he notoriously cheats private contractors out of their money"—and then shared them on The View. And that, she says, is when Trump went "bats--- crazy." O'Donnell and Meyers also dished on the Robert Mueller Russia investigation, with Meyers noting, "I will say that if Trump gets indicted, it would be really great if Mueller let you serve the papers." O'Donnell replied, "I have put in that request by tweet. I'm waiting to hear."

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Nigeria's government is negotiating the release of another 83 of the Chibok schoolgirls taken in a mass abduction two-and-a-half years ago, but more than 100 others appear unwilling to leave their Boko Haram Islamic extremist captors, a community leader said Tuesday. Story highlights Almost 200 girls still held captive by Boko Haram At least 14 parents of the missing girls have died since 2014 kidnapping Abuja, Nigeria (CNN) The 21 Chibok schoolgirls kidnapped and released by terrorist group Boko Haram were reunited with their families amid tearful scenes on Sunday. The girls and their parents were reunited Sunday and are expected to meet with Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday or Wednesday, Bitrus said. An aid worker had told The Associated Press that he had seen the girls on their release and that all but three carried babies.

– Twenty-one Chibok schoolgirls kidnapped in April 2014 by Boko Haram extremists in Nigeria were released last week, and on Sunday, they had what they've been wishing for for more than two years: reunions with their families. It was an emotional scene at a welcome-home ceremony in Nigeria's capital, Abuja, with plenty of tight embraces, singing, and tears of joy, per CNN and the New York Times. One woman even lifted her daughter onto her back and carried her like an infant, CNN notes. "I felt like it was the day that I born her into this world," one ecstatic mother said, per the Times. "I danced and danced and danced." Some of the freed girls held up Bibles at an earlier church service as a sign they were reclaiming their Christianity after being forced by their captors to convert to Islam. But not all the tears at Sunday's ceremony were from happiness. Some attendees at the reunion have daughters who are among the 200 or so still missing—and the stories the returned captives tell is a grim one. They say they were given the option to join up with the militants as their wives and turn to Islam or else be turned into slaves responsible for cooking, cleaning, and other chores; about half chose each option. They often went hungry, and some died in the Sambisa Forest where they were being held. And while the Nigerian government is trying to negotiate to free the other captives, there's been a disturbing development: More than 100 of them seem unwilling to return home, either because they've been radicalized or because they feel shame at marrying their captors and having babies with them, the head of the Chibok Development Association tells the AP.

Was familiar with her story. The youngest victim reported was a 6-year-old being treated at Children's Hospital Colorado, where a total of six victims were taken. Of those, one died and 12 were treated and released. Eight of the patients have been discharged, five victims remain in critical condition and two patients are being prepared for surgery. Ten people died at the scene, and two others died at hospitals, Oates said. "I ran outside and was holding his arm that was shot," Walton said. >a hospital spokesman says that this hospital initially received injured >23 shooting victims. The other five patients survived, including one who is in critical condition with buckshot injuries to the back. > >The hospital is about a five minute drive from the movie theater. 3:50 PM: Patient updates from Denver Health Medical Center Denver Health Medical Center received seven patients from the theatre shooting in Aurora. All patients were treated for gunshot wounds and abrasions to the extremities. She says emergency workers said there could be several more patients. Three victims have since been released, the other three remain in fair condition, hospital officials said. Oates families in four of the five apartments in the complex will be allowed to return briefly this evening to retrieve necessities such as medication, but they will be directed to evacuation centers or other accommodations for the night. His building in the 1600 block of Paris Street and five buildings around it have been evacuated. The Sullivan family was notified at 8 p.m. after they had desperately searched for Alex for more than 14 hours, a release from the family said. "You let your kids go to a late night movie ... you never think something like this would happen," Stevens said. The Defense Department also reported that Holmes is not and never has been a member of the military. Oates said the suspect is believed to have purchased four guns locally in the last two months and bought ammunition and magazines for his weapons over the Internet. Friday, July 20, 2012 10:20 PM: In addition to Jessica Ghawi, two additional victims have been identified: AJ Boik (age unknown at this time) Micayla Medek, 23 Alex Sullivan, 27, was celebrating his birthday the night of the shootings. His family issued the following statement: “The Sullivan family lost a cherished member of their family today. "Alex was smart, funny, and above all loved dearly by his friends and family." We are still trying to process this information and we appreciate that people will respect our privacy. MORE>>> 5:45 PM: Metro area theaters will have increased security this weekend in wake of Aurora shooting. Some of our distaster planning and training served us well.” Denton said the injuries ranged from gunshot wounds to the head, chest and abdomen, along with “substantial wounds to extremities.” 4:29 PM: We have a video interview with a man who shared beers with James Holmes at the Zephyr Lounge in Aurora. Golditch was shot in the neck — under the ear — and the bullet passed through his body. The suspect, later identified as Holmes, allegedly returned through the same door minutes later, clad in black ballistic gear, and opened fire. ABC News and Brian Ross apologize for the mistake, and for disseminating that information before it was properly vetted.” 2:04 PM: A statement from the department of defense reports that one sailors has been injured, along with two airmen at the Aurora theater shooting. The suspected gunman James Eagan Holmes, 24, was in the Arapahoe County Jail and is scheduled for his first court appearance at 8:30 a.m. Monday, according to the chief. 1:42 PM: More information from the Medical Center of Aurora: The hospital has just received three additional patients. Then he walked out of the theater's emergency door unnoticed, investigators said, propping it open. 12:43 PM: Multiple coroner vehicles are arriving at the scene of the Aurora movie theater shooting. Ramos and his sister dragged him as far as they could and were eventually met in the lobby by police officers who took over. With the weapons employed in the shooting — an AR-15 assault-style rifle, a shotgun and a handgun — the gunman could have gotten off as many as 60 rounds a minute, Oates said. A second Glock was found in Holmes' car, but police don't know if it was used in the attack. Oates said investigators are not able to calculate how many shots were fired in the theater but that "lots of bullets fired very quickly." Just as their eyes began to tear up from the smoke, the man fired a shot at the ceiling. He said police also checked for explosives in the parking lot and at the Century 16 theater and secured those areas. We are dealing with that potential threat," Oates said Police were at the Denver-area apartment and had evacuated other residents of the building. Police received multiple calls about the shooting beginning at 12:39 a.m. and arrived within two minutes at the complex, 14300 E. Alameda Ave. Police say the suspect "appeared" at the front of one of the theaters showing "The Dark Knight Rises." Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates said about 7 p.m. on Friday that the last of the 10 bodies in the Century 16 movie complex in Aurora Town Center were removed by 5 p.m. and police hope to have identifications of the victims within the next couple of hours. They were not there last night “We’re not going to get into why (Holmes) did what he did. “This morning, Colorado lost youthful voices,” Romney said. 9:59 AM: We now have a 30-image photo gallery featuring everything from victims being treated on the scene to the suspects apartment and his riot gear to the plethora of police command posts that have been set up. 8:58 AM: Aurora Police are saying that the third floor of James Holmes’ apartment is booby-trapped with sophisticated explosives. 8:22 AM: Governor John Hickenlooper has released a statement. "It is beyond the power of words to fully express our sorrow this morning," Hickenlooper said. The weapons were bought from two local stores of national chains, Gander Mountain Guns and Bass Pro Shop, beginning in May, law enforcement officials told NBC News. Coloradans have a remarkable ability to support one another in times of crisis. This one of those times.” 8:12 AM: Children’s Hospital Colorado has received 6 victims — one child and five adults, ages 18 – 31 — from last night’s shooting at the Aurora movie theater. A total of 15 patients — ranging from 16 to 31 years old — were sent to the medical center, 12 of them with gunshot wounds. KUSA reported that some hospitalized victims were being treated for chemical exposure, related apparently to canister thrown by gunman. It is home to a large Defense Department satellite intelligence operation at Buckley Air Force Base, as well as The Children's Hospital, the University of Colorado Hospital and a future Veterans Affairs hospital. 7:59 AM: Watch the video of our interview with a witness who said the shooter pointed a gun in her face. Jones said when he first saw smoke billowing from the front of the theater, he thought it was a special effect. 7:50 AM: Of the 38 injured, nine are being reported in critical condition at University Hospital in Aurora and two are reported in critical condition at Swedish Medical Center in Englewood. She said one girl was struck in a cheek, and others were wounded in the stomach, including a girl who looked to be around 9 years old. A father has confirmed his 6-year-old daughter was killed. A U.S. Navy sailor who was at the Century 16 theater at the time of the shooting is unaccounted for, the Department of Defense announced Friday afternoon. Also, President Obama will be addressing the shootings at his morning briefing at 9:20 a.m. this morning. The studio has canceled the red carpet premier of 'The Dark Knight Rises' in Paris," The Hollywood Reporter said. She interned for FOX31 for a brief time. 6:26 AM: The new full statement from Mitt Romney addressing the shooting: “Ann and I are deeply saddened by the news of the senseless violence that took the lives of 15 people in Colorado and injured dozens more. Crofter said the gunman appeared lackadaisical, "as calm as can be," and didn't say a word. "Like little explosions going on and shortly after that we heard people screaming," he told the station. Another victim who has been identfied is an aspiring sports journalist Jessica Ghawi. The bodies of the 10 people who died at the theater remain at the scene while police continue to investigate. 5:53 AM: Witness said “it was tear gas” that was used at the theater. Authorities also searched a white car parked behind the movie theater, removing what appeared to be a combat helmet, a duffel bag, an ammunition clip and a vest. Holmes was wearing "full ballistic gear," including a helmet, vest, throat protector, gas mask and black tactical gloves, Oates said. Two others walked in to be treated for tear gas contamination. Reports say that many of the dead are children. When the fire alarm sounded, people began throwing their popcorn and drinks in the air, assuming it was a practical joke, Romero said. 5:31 AM: Police have evacuated residents at the apartment of 17th and Oswego in Aurora, which is expected to be the apartment of the suspect. A comment from a witness on the scene: “They said bullets were flying through the wall.” Then, gesturing to her friend, the witness said, “the girl that was sitting next to her got hit in the jaw.” The bullets coming through the wall into theater 8 came from theater 9, where the majority of the shooting occurred. 5:30 AM: Chief Dan Oats of the Aurora Police just made a few brief comments/ Oates said the suspect in custody “made a statement to us about explosive in his residence, beyond that I have nothing more to say” about the suspect’s motivations. Oates said there's no evidence of any other attackers. We are obviously very concerned about that.” 5:28 AM: The Red Cross is staffing an evacuation center at Gateway High School in Aurora with four mental health workers and a mobile feeding vehicle to help care for about 100 people who were evacuated from the scene. He called the shootings that took place during a screening of the newest Batman movie an "act that defies description." President Barack Obama said he was saddened by the "horrific and tragic shooting," pledging that his administration was "committed to bringing whoever was responsible to justice, ensuring the safety of our people, and caring for those who have been wounded." It has been reported that 10 of those 14 people died inside the theater, with four dying later at area hospitals. A 24-year-old white male is said to have used homemade explosives in the attack. If you suspect you had a loved one at the theater, call 303-739-6000 for more information. This is not an information line, but rather a line to check on possible victims of this shooting. Police are pictured outside of a Century 16 movie theatre where as many as 14 people were killed and many injured at a shooting during the showing of a movie at the in Aurora, Colo., Friday, July 20,... (Associated Press) A police spokesman says the gas mask-wearing suspect arrested in connection with a mass shooting in the Denver suburb of Aurora is a man in his early 20s. Naya Thompson, 21, said the gas spread quickly through the theater and thinks that the gunman may have dropped two canisters. Hayden said at first he thought it was part of a louder movie next door. The suspect was taken into custody, but no name was released. A group of friends are overcome with emotion as they gather outside Gateway High School, Friday July 20, 2012, in Aurora. MULTIMEDIA: Video: Investigation into suspected gunman leads to San Diego.

– The gas mask-wearing suspect arrested in connection with the hellish Aurora, Colorado, movie theater shooting is 24-year-old local resident James Holmes, ABC News reports. The Denver Post reports that police have thus far recovered a gas mask, rifle, handgun, and at least one other weapon; they also evacuated an apartment building tied to Holmes, then began searching it. KDVR reports that the suspect apparently told police the apartment contained explosives. Officers found the suspect near a car behind the theater, reports the AP. A rep for the city's police force said investigators don't believe anyone else was involved, and they don't believe Holmes had terrorist ties. Police have not indicated if there was a motive.

The 12 biggest moments of the GOP debate A smaller cast featured harder hits Thursday, as seven top-polling Republican presidential candidates sought to leave a lasting impression with 18 days until voting begins in Iowa. Christie hurls insults at Obama New Jersey Gov. Describing a muscular approach to taking on "radical jihadist terrorists," Rubio said he had a plan for those caught on the battlefield: "A one-way ticket to Guantanamo Bay Cuba, and we are going to find out anything they know." Carson gets apocalyptic Ben Carson criticized Barack Obama for being naive on foreign policy, but in doing so outlined a terrifying scenario in which a nuclear blast takes out America's electric grid while they're also using dirty bombs to attack and using cyber attacks to take down American computer systems. "I mean, just think about a scenario like that. They explode the bomb, we have an electromagnetic pulse. They hit us with a cyberattack simultaneously and dirty bombs," he said. "Can you imagine the chaos that would ensue at that point? He needs to recognize that those kinds of things are in fact an existential threat to us." Cruz takes on the Times Ted Cruz was practically salivating when moderator Maria Bartiromo asked him to respond to The New York Times report that nicked him for failing to disclose a $1 million loan from Goldman Sachs while running for Senate in 2012. Cruz quickly labeled the story a "hit piece" and thrashed the paper -- already a low-hanging conservative foil. The New York Times a few weeks back had a columnist who wrote a column saying, "Anybody But Cruz." Had that actually -- that same columnist wrote a column comparing me to an evil demonic spirit from the move, "It Follows" that jumps apparently from body to body possessing people. So you know the New York Times and I don't have exactly have the warmest of relationships. But it was not on a second filing with FDIC and yes, I made a paperwork error disclosing it on one piece of paper instead of the other. "If that's the best hit the New York Times has got, they better go back to the well," he said. "Since September the constitution hasn’t changed, but the poll numbers have," Cruz said. "I recognize that Donald is dismayed that his poll numbers are falling … but the facts of the law here are clear." At the end of the day, the legal issue is quite straightforward, but I would note that the birther theories that Donald has been relying on -- some of the more extreme ones insist that you must not only be born on U.S. soil, but have two parents born on U.S. soil. He added that if Trump's backers are right, Trump himself wouldn't be eligible because his mother was born in Scotland. Citizenship melee Story Continued Below Ted Cruz unloaded on Donald Trump with his most forceful salvo yet, rejecting any suggestion that he's ineligible to be president because he was born on Canadian soil to an American mother. Trump, playing out a hypothetical, said that he might consider choosing Cruz as his running mate but that Cruz might be sued by Democrats over his citizenship. "On the issue of citizenship, Donald, I’m not going to use your mother’s birth against you," he said. "It is a war that either they win or we win," he said. "I choose him as my vice presidential candidate, and the Democrats sue because we can’t take him along for the ride," he said. CRUZ: And I'll tell you what, Donald, you -- you very kindly just a moment ago offered me the V.P. 3.Trump-Cruz or Cruz-Trump The brawl over citizenship also led to an unusual exchange in which Trump and Cruz each appeared, sarcastically, to offer each other the vice presidential slot on their ticket. (LAUGHTER) I'll tell you what. If this all works out, I'm happy to consider naming you as V.P. So if you happen to be right, you could get the top job at the end of the day." "I don’t like that." Senate squabble Sen. Marco Rubio and Cruz locked horns late in the debate over immigration, with Rubio accusing Cruz of repeatedly changing positions for political expedience, and he didn't stop at immigration issues. CAVUTO: We're back in a moment in Charleston, South Carolina. Cruz replied with a joke — when he's the nominee, Trump can be his vice presidential pick, and if his citizenship theory is right, Trump will become president. Chris Christie has long aimed memorably nasty barbs at the president, and he continued Thursday, calling him a "petulant child" for pursuing executive actions to implement his favored policies. "We are going to kick your rear end out of the white house come this fall," Christie said after pointing out that Democrats have been routed from governorships and lost their majorities in Congress throughout Obama's tenure. New York values Cruz elaborated on his recent Trump dig, accusing the mogul of having "New York values." But everyone understands that the values in New York City are socially liberal or pro-abortion or pro- gay-marriage, focus around money and the media. Riffing on Trump's dig at him -- that not a lot of evangelicals come out of Cuba -- he charged, "Not a lot of conservatives come out of Manhattan." Trump delivered a somber and indignant reply, reminding the audience that New York was watched by the world as it responded to the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. And I have to tell you, that was a very insulting statement that Ted made. Trump countered that he's simply seeking security. And remember this, after Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have had nearly 8 years, we have fewer democracies in the world than we had when they started. (APPLAUSE) BUSH: Donald, Donald -- can I -- I hope you reconsider this, because this policy is a policy that makes it impossible to build the coalition necessary to take out ISIS. "The Kurds are our strongest ally, they’re Muslim." They're Muslim. "I hope you'll reconsider" Jeb Bush jumped in after Trump defended his plan to ban Muslim immigration into the United States, pleading with the GOP poll leader to change his views. We don't have to have refugees come to our country, but all Muslims, seriously? "I want security for this country," he said. We have a serious problem with, as you know, with radical Islam. Trump talks trade and tariffs Donald Trump, facing questions for telling The New York Times that he'd consider a 45 percent tariff on Chinese goods, lashed out at the paper, following Ted Cruz's smackdown of the Times earlier. "It’s the New York Times, they’re always wrong," he said. What I'm saying is this, I'm saying that we do it but if they don't start treating us fairly and stop devaluing and let their currency rise so that our companies can compete and we don't lose all of these millions of jobs that we're losing, I would certainly start taxing goods that come in from China. Then I want to understand, if you don't want a 45 percent tariff, say that wasn't the figure, would you be open -- are you open to slapping a higher tariff on Chinese goods of any sort to go back at them? So the way you do it is you pass a tax plan like the tax plan I've introduced: a simple flat tax, 10 percent for individuals, and a 16 percent business flat tax, you abolish the IRS... (APPLAUSE) ... and here's the critical point, Maria -- the business flat tax enables us to abolish the corporate income tax, the death tax, the Obamacare taxes, the payroll taxes, and they're border-adjustable, so every export pays no taxes whatsoever. CHRISTIE: Well, I'm glad you asked that, Maria. Cruz countered that Reagan economist Art Laffer backed his plan. Bring the money -- the $2 trillion -- back to the United States. When I am president of the United States, I'm going to side with Ronald Regan on this and not Nancy Pelosi and we are not having a vat tax. After Rubio countered again, suggesting Cruz's plan to abolish the IRS would fail, Chris Christie jumped in to remind viewers that the two senators were initially asked to talk about entitlement programs. Rubio said he'd get to entitlements, but Christie cut him off. And the reason -- and the reason... (CROSSTALK) CHRISTIE: ... no, you already had your chance, Marco, and you blew it. "If I'm elected president, I couldn't care less about my company, " he said. “I have Ivanka and Eric and Don sitting there,” he said, gesturing toward his kids in the debate audience. Trump: My kids will run my company Trump talked logistics for transferring control of his company to his kids if he takes the White House. I’m gonna do it for America.” Trump initially suggested the arrangement would constitute a "blind trust," but then noted that might not be the case because they're his children. The CBO says your 2013 immigration bill would have increased green cardholders by another 10 million over 10 years. I saw you on the Senate floor flip your vote on crop insurance because they told you it would help you in Iowa, and last week, we all saw you flip your vote on ethanol in Iowa for the same reason. CRUZ: I'm going to -- he had no fewer than 11 attacks there. "That is not consistent conservatism" Cruz retorted, "I appreciate you dumping your oppo research folder," to which Rubio shot back, "No, it’s your record." Marco stood today, standing on this stage Marco supports legalization and citizenship for 12 million illegals. But he ratcheted up the schoolyard language in the debate.

– A look at some of the lines generating buzz from each of the seven candidates in the prime-time Republican debate, via the Washington Post: Ted Cruz: "Since September the constitution hasn’t changed, but the poll numbers have. I recognize that Donald is dismayed that his poll numbers are falling … but the facts of the law here are clear." (On his eligibility to be president.) Cruz also said, “Well, Maria, thank you for passing on that hit piece on the front page of the New York Times," when asked about this loan story. "You know the nice thing about the mainstream media, they don’t hide their views." Donald Trump: "We rebuilt downtown Manhattan ... everybody in the world loved New York and loved New Yorkers. And I have to tell you, that was a very insulting statement Ted made." After Cruz slammed "New York values" and said, "Not a lot of conservatives come out of Manhattan." Jeb Bush: "If she gets elected, her first 100 days, instead of setting an agenda, she might be going back and forth between the White House and the courthouse. We need to stop that." Referring to Hillary Clinton. Chris Christie: "You already had your chance, Marco, you blew it." (After Rubio talked of other things when asked about entitlements.) Rubio responded, "I'll answer the entitlement question if you'll answer the Common Core question." Christie also said, “I watched story time with Barack Obama [at the State of the Union], and I got to tell you, it sounded like everything in the world was going amazing.” Marco Rubio: He said any "radical jihadist terrorists" captured alive would get "a one-way ticket to Guantanamo Bay Cuba, and we are going to find out everything they know." Ben Carson: "If my mother were secretary of the Treasury, we would not be in a deficit situation." John Kasich: "So look, in foreign policy—in foreign policy, it's strength, but you've got to be cool. You've got to have a clear vision of where you want to go. And I'm going to tell you, that it—I'm going to suggest to you here tonight, that you can't do on the job training." Rubio vs. Cruz: "I saw you on the Senate floor flip your vote on crop insurance," Rubio said of Cruz, per Politico. "That is not consistent conservatism." Cruz responded, "I appreciate you dumping your oppo research folder," and Rubio said, "No, it’s your record."

“I can’t breathe!” He repeats it over and over again, at least nine times audibly. “I’m sorry for your loss,” he said, noting that he was involved “because there is wrongdoing.” That much seems obvious. Garner’s family said he didn’t have any cigarettes on him or in his car at the time of his death. Photo: New York Daily News An NYPD spokesperson would only tell the Daily News that Garner “was being placed in custody, went into cardiac arrest and died.” Internal affairs has launched an investigation, with Garner’s wife saying a detective has been in touch. Records show Garner was due in court in October on three Staten Island cases, including charges of pot possession and possession or selling untaxed cigarettes. Eric Garner, who suffered from chronic asthma, diabetes, and sleep apnea, was about six-foot-four, 400 pounds, the Daily News reports, and had a history of arrests for selling untaxed cigarettes. I told you last time, please just leave me alone.” When the officers move to arrest him, Garner struggles until he’s choked from behind by a man not in uniform, who then pushes Garner’s head into the concrete. At City Hall on Friday, Mr. Bratton said he did not believe that the use of chokeholds by police officers in New York City was a widespread problem, saying this was his “first exposure” to the issue since returning as police commissioner in January. The encounter between Mr. Garner and plainclothes officers, from the 120th Precinct, began after the officers accused Mr. Garner of illegally selling cigarettes, an accusation he was familiar with. “I’m minding my business,” he says when confronted in the deeply disturbing video shot by a neighbor. “Every time you see me you want to mess with me. I’m tired of it. This stops today,” says Garner. The postponement was to allow Mr. de Blasio to spend more time making calls to elected officials, community leaders and members of the clergy, and talking to the police, about Mr. Garner’s death, the mayor’s press secretary, Phil Walzak, said. The police declined to name the officers but said one of them had been on the force for eight years and the other for four years. “My office is working along with the NYPD to do a complete and thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding Mr. Garner's death,” said District Attorney Daniel M. Donovan Jr. in a Friday statement.

– An unarmed Staten Island man died yesterday after police put him in a choke-hold and he shouted "I can't breathe!" at least nine times, New York reports. Eric Garner, 43, a father of six and a grandfather, can be seen in an eyewitness video standing on a street corner when police approached him. "Every time you see me, you're messing with me," said Garner, who stood six-foot-four and weighed over 300 pounds. "I'm tired of it. This stops today. ... Please just leave me alone." But officers moved in, pinning Garner down with a choke-hold and apparently slamming his head against the sidewalk, the Daily News reports. Garner, who suffered from chronic asthma, sleep apnea, and diabetes, was dead within minutes. Police say Garner sold untaxed cigarettes, and had just been seen doing so. Garner was also due in court on three cases, including pot possession and illegal cigarette sales. But according to his wife, Esaw—and a friend of Garner's who shot the video—police really moved in because Garner had broken up a fight. Either way, Mayor Bill de Blasio has vowed a full investigation (the New York Times notes that the NYPD rulebook forbids choke-holds). Meanwhile, Esaw sounds like she's still grasping what just happened. "When I kissed my husband this morning, I never thought it would be for the last time," she said. At the hospital, "I saw him with his eyes wide open and I said, 'Babe, don’t leave me, I need you.' But he was already gone."

Lewis Bennett pleads guilty to manslaughter of newlywed wife while on honeymoon in Bahamas Updated An Australian man whose newlywed wife went missing at sea as the couple sailed off to the Bahamas on a belated honeymoon has pleaded guilty to an involuntary manslaughter charge in a US court. Image copyright PA/Broward Sheriff's Office Image caption Lewis Bennett was given a seven-month jail sentence for smuggling stolen coins A British man who claimed his American wife had disappeared at sea after their catamaran sank off the coast of Cuba has admitted killing her. Her body was never found despite a search. But the engineer — who lived in Florida with ­Isabella and daughter Emelia, two — admitted involuntary manslaughter in a Miami court tonight. Bennett, of Poole, Dorset, faces a maximum eight years in jail when he is sentenced on January 10. It was not until Bennett boarded the life raft that he called for help and reported his wife missing, about 45 minutes after he was awakened. He said he was jolted awake when their craft hit something and that Hellmann was gone when he went outside. Bennett is currently serving a seven-month jail sentence after pleading guilty to transporting the coins. Police bodycam footage shows Lewis Bennett clashing with the sister-in-law and mum of tragic Isabella Hellmann We pay for your stories!

– A British-Australian man who claimed his American wife was lost at sea when their sailing catamaran sank off the coast of Cuba has admitted to killing her. Lewis Bennett, facing a second-degree murder charge, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in Miami on Monday, reports the BBC. Bennett, 41, had been sailing from Cuba to Delray Beach, Fla., with his wife of three months, Isabella Hellmann, when he sent out an SOS call on May 15, 2017. Bennett said he'd been awoken by a jolt of impact to find the boat taking on water and his wife missing. After he escaped on a life raft, however, authorities noted damage to the boat appeared to have been caused from the inside and portholes below the waterline had been opened. Text messages also revealed Hellmann was "afraid to get home," as her husband was "an angry person" who did not "respect her anymore," per the Sun. Though the guilty plea means family members may never know how Hellmann died—a body wasn't found—"the US Attorney's Office and our law enforcement partners hope that the defendant's admission of guilt is a step toward justice for the victim," US Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan says, per ABC Australia. In a statement issued through a lawyer, however, Hellmann's family says "there is nothing that Lewis can do to ease the pain he has caused them by taking Isabella from them." Bennett, who would've inherited Hellmann's apartment and bank accounts, was discovered three hours after the SOS call on a life raft with various belongings, including a tea set and $40,000 in antique coins stolen from a yacht where he'd previously worked. Now serving seven months for transporting the coins, Bennett will face up to eight years in prison at his Jan. 10 sentencing.

(Photo: KING) SEATTLE -- A group of attorneys has filed a class action lawsuit against the Washington State Department of Transportation, claiming the billing process for bridge tolls violates due process. He has a transponder on his car, linked to a credit card to automatically pay his tolls. The total damage by the time he realized what was going on: $3,545. Tom Rose says his son, who just got his first job, had been crossing the 520 bridge every day for work, and neglected to get a Good To Go pass. “It will be anything but the independent process that citizens expect,” she said. When both father and son contacted the WSDOT's Good To Go office, they say they were told they could try to go before an administrative judge, but it probably wouldn't do them any good.

– A Washington state man received a wee shock when he saw his outstanding toll-bridge bill: more than $18,000. His dad, Tom Rose, says the young man was working his first job and crossing the 520 bridge daily without a Good to Go pass—figuring he'd pay later, KING-TV reports. But the Washington State Department of Transportation didn't have the son's right address, so no bill came in the mail. The guy only learned of the $1,360 in tolls and over $16,000 in penalties when trying to sell his car. "He was living hand to mouth," Rose says of his son. "He thought he was picking the lesser of two evils. He could save up and pay for them later." Luckily WSDOT says it's willing to strike a deal on the man's penalties, but there are other cases of high Good to Go bills. In fact, a recent class-action lawsuit claims that Good to Go billing violated due process by not always notifying a driver of her outstanding bills and penalties, notes KING-TV. Other drivers have felt WSDOT's billing wrath and learned they can't complain in local courts, where elected judges might rule in their favor; billing complaints go to a "merciless administrative review set up by the transportation agency itself," writes Danny Westneat in the Seattle Times. As for WSDOT, it has no comment on the lawsuit and says it hasn't been served yet.

Though the Taliban have dismissed Karzai as an American puppet for years, they indicated Tuesday when opening a new political office in Doha, Qatar, that they would be willing to talk with the Afghan leader. Photo The rapid-fire developments Wednesday came a day after the American military formally handed over control of security in all of Afghanistan to Afghan forces, followed hours later with the three sides’ announcement that peace talks would begin in Doha. The Taliban said they intended to use the site to meet with representatives of other countries and the United Nations, to interact with the news media, “improve relations with countries around the world” and, almost as an afterthought, meet “Afghans if there is a need.” They did not mention the Afghan government.

– Taliban insurgents aren't letting up the fight in Afghanistan despite the opening of an office for peace talks. Four American troops were killed in a rocket attack on a convoy near Bagram Air Base just hours after the Taliban office opened its doors in Qatar, the New York Times reports. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, which came as Afghan forces formally took charge of the country's security. In another setback for hopes of stability, President Hamid Karzai announced that the Afghan government was pulling out of talks on a new security deal with the US, the AP reports. The move is believed to be a protest at his government being sidelined by US-Taliban talks, though his official statement said only that the pullout was in response to the "contradiction between acts and the statements made by the United States of America in regard to the peace process."

Despite the issues, many experts say Target's Lilly Pulitzer collection was a success. Target's Thomas said just 1.5 percent of the total Lilly Pulitzer for Target collection was on eBay. For instance, there were sold-out Lilly Pulitzer items selling for at least three times Target's original prices on eBay. In this March 16, 1965 photo, fashion designer Lilly Pulitzer wears her own design and creation of the Lilly shift, in Palm Beach, Fla. Pulitzer, known for her tropical print dresses, died in Florida at 81. Target increased production in anticipation of a sales blowout, but Target shoppers thought the line was too expensive, while well-heeled Neiman Marcus customers didn't think it was high quality.

– Target paired with fashion line Lilly Pulitzer over the weekend to offer a limited collection, and it was a smash success from a retail point of view. Online merchandise sold out within hours, reports AP, while most shoppers at physical stores ended up out of luck. Those in the latter camp shouldn't feel too bad about it, writes fashion critic Robin Givhan at the Washington Post. Lilly Pulitzer is a mass marketer of clothes, not fashion, she writes. And "the clothes are, upon close inspection, not so terribly attractive." In fact, "they are rather unattractive," writes Givhan. "And that is part of their charm. They are not meant to be stylish—that’s so nouveau. The clothes are clubby. Country clubby. One-percent-ish." Remember that the company itself was created by a bored Palm Beach socialite—she died in 2013—and its summer dresses reflect that. "The classic Lilly Pulitzer dress comes in shrill shades of yellow and pink that are vaguely infantilizing. They are clothes that can be shrunk down and worn by 7-year-old girls without changing a single design element—if there were actual design elements to change. But there are not." Those disappointed Target shoppers may be cursing their luck at missing out on bargain prices for what they think is high fashion. But really, they just got swept up in a this-many-people-can't-be-wrong phenomenon. Target again proved it's "a retailing dynamo," writes Givhan. "But what it was selling this time had nothing to do with fashion." Click for her full column.

– It was in early morning darkness that officers scrambled to sort out the chaos at an Albuquerque apartment complex where a couple had reportedly been attacked, the woman bleeding from a head injury and the man with a black eye and wearing blood-stained shorts. The woman told officers her 10-year-old daughter was still inside apartment number 808 from which they had escaped. What the officers didn't know was that the child was already dead, her battered and dismembered body partially wrapped in a blanket and set ablaze. With the fire alarm blaring, they busted in the front door and searched the smoke-filled apartment for Victoria Martens. In the bathroom, the real crime began to come into focus, the AP reports. Investigators took into custody the girl's mother, her boyfriend, and his cousin. The community was left struggling to understand how a blossoming elementary school student who loved swimming and gymnastics could have been the target of such violence. Details of what New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez and law enforcement officials described as an unspeakable crime emerged in a criminal complaint made public Thursday. Police said Victoria was injected with methamphetamine, sexually assaulted, strangled, and stabbed before being dismembered Wednesday—her 10th birthday. The girl's mother, 35-year-old Michelle Martens, her 31-year-old boyfriend, Fabian Gonzales, and his 31-year-old cousin, Jessica Kelley, face charges of child abuse resulting in death, kidnapping, and tampering with evidence. Gonzales and Kelley also face charges of criminal sexual penetration of a minor. Martens told police she met Gonzales online about a month ago and that he drugged the girl so he could calm her down and have sex with her, the complaint says. Per KOB, Martens says Gonzales then strangled the girl and Kelley stabbed her in the chest.

(Mark Wilson/Getty Images) President Trump on Friday kept alive the Iran nuclear deal he detests by waiving sanctions for the third time, but he said he will not grant another reprieve unless the agreement is amended to permanently block a potential pathway for Iran to build nuclear weapons. "Instead, I have outlined two possible paths forward: either fix the deal's disastrous flaws, or the United States will withdraw." The Obama administration suspended those sanctions were suspended in July of 2015 as part of the agreement negotiated with Iran and five other nations that imposed limits on Iran's nuclear program, which experts said had neared nuclear weapons capability. Trump's decision "keeps the deal on life-support for now but puts it on a path toward collapse," said Philip Gordon, a former Obama national security official who advised Obama on the negotiations. In conjunction with the waivers, the Treasury Department placed sanctions on 14 people and entities for alleged offenses unrelated to Iran's nuclear industry. They include an elite Iranian military cyber unit and the head of Iran’s judiciary, Sadeq Larijani, whose brother is the speaker of Iran's parliament. "The designations today politically go to the top of the regime and send a very strong message that the United States is not going to tolerate their continued abuses, continued violations of the rights of their citizens," said an administration official, speaking on the condition of anonymity under rules for briefing reporters. Trump listed his conditions for legislation that would address future U.S. participation and called on European allies "to join with the United States in fixing significant flaws in the deal, countering Iranian aggression, and supporting the Iranian people." "If other nations fail to act during this time, I will terminate our deal with Iran," warned Trump, who will revisit the decision in 120 days. Trump also wants to terminate the phased expiration dates of various limitations placed on Iran's nuclear program. ), the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called Trump's statement an "ultimatum" and said the president is "making negotiations with Europe more difficult by the way he's laying out the conditions." Gordon expressed skepticism that a legislative fix or transatlantic offering can salvage the deal. In a statement, the ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Eliot Engel (D-NY), was skeptical about prospects for a legislative fix. Like it or not, we need to uphold our end of the bargain so that we can hold Iran to its obligations and crack down on the regime’s other destabilizing activities.” Diplomacy Works — a group of former Obama national security officials including former Secretary of State John Kerry and his former chief Iran negotiator, Wendy Sherman — denounced Trump's decision in a statement Friday.

– He called it "the worst deal ever," and on Friday he extended it for the third time during his presidency, the New York Times reports. A senior administration official tells Politico that President Trump once again chose not to reinstate the sanctions that were suspended as part of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. Friday was the deadline to do so. However, Trump apparently warned it would not happen again. “The president makes clear this is the last such waiver he will issue,” an official tells the Washington Post. The next deadline for reinstating the sanctions against Iran is in May, and the official says Trump will do so and remove the US from the nuclear deal at that time unless European allies agree to changes to the deal meant to permanently stop Iran from building nuclear weapons. Those changes include adding "triggers," such as inspections of Iranian facilities, and removing "sunset clauses" that allow Iran to enrich uranium and more. While not reinstating sanctions related to the nuclear deal, Trump did impose new sanctions on 14 Iranian people and organizations in response to recent violence against protesters there.

If one of the best offensive teams in history managed to score any points at all in the last few minutes of the fourth quarter … if Curry didn’t throw a dumb behind-the-back pass out of bounds … if Kyrie Irving had clanged that long jumper instead of knocking it in, then this story probably wouldn’t include the phrase “three-time NBA champ.” James led both teams in the NBA Finals in points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks. Since winner-takes-some is never going to be a thing, those of us who want one of the best players we’ve ever seen to get the respect he deserves have no choice but to hope he gets the bounces he needs to make his résumé unimpeachable. As LeBron said -- he poured his heart and his blood and his tears into this game, against all odds. He came back to his home state of Ohio and won a championship for the most star-crossed sports city in the United States. If he wasn’t before, LeBron James is now, rightfully, a basketball legend. He’s been the best player in basketball for most of the 13 years he’s been in the league—a four-time MVP, a 12-time All-Star, and already the 11th-leading scorer in NBA history by the age of 31. LeBron with one of the biggest blocks you'll ever see pic.twitter.com/vu3UIUIBiH — Kenny Ducey (@KennyDucey) June 20, 2016 • Get SI’s Cleveland Cavaliers NBA Championship package The Cavs captured their first NBA title, and the first for the city of Cleveland in any major sport since the Browns won the NFL championship in 1964. Boy, he’s gonna have it coming to him when some superteam just shellacks him twice and there’s nothing he can do to stop it.

– LeBron James led his Cleveland Cavaliers to a Game 7 win Sunday night to cap an epic championship series, one in which the Cavs became the first team to come back from a 3-1 deficit. Some of the next-morning analysis: If there are any LeBron haters left, it's time to let it go, writes Ben Collins in the Daily Beast. (He counts himself as one of those former haters.) He's "one of the greatest there is. He's up there with Jordan." Josh Levin at Slate explains why this is now true: "If he wasn't before, LeBron James is now, rightfully, a basketball legend." Tim Reynolds of the AP weighs in, too. No more debate: LeBron is the "best player in basketball." Sports Illustrated says this play by James late in the game (a "superhuman" shot block) will be replayed for years. Cleveland native Bert Stratton writes about what the first sports championship in a half-century means for his city at the New York Times. An editorial in the Cleveland Plain Dealer has three words for it: "magic, unbelievable, transformative." A post at Complex says an emotional JR Smith of the Cavs gave one of the most memorable post-game news conferences ever. The video is here. Deadspin highlights the moment Cleveland newscasters learned the Cavs had won while on the air.

Indians are taking the divisive Chief Wahoo logo off their uniforms and caps, starting in 2019. The Associated Press was informed of the decision before an official announcement was planned for Monday by Major League Baseball. After lengthy discussions between team owner Paul Dolan and MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, the Indians are taking the extraordinary step of shelving the big-toothed, smiling, red-faced caricature, which has been used in used in various expressions by the team since 1947. However, the American League team will continue to wear the Wahoo logo on its uniform sleeves and caps in 2018, and the club will still sell merchandise featuring the mascot in Northeast Ohio. They will maintain a local presence for The Chief, meaning they'll still sell merchandise bearing its image. "Major League Baseball is committed to building a culture of diversity and inclusion throughout the game," Manfred said in a statement. "Over the past year, we encouraged dialogue with the Indians organization about the club's use of the Chief Wahoo logo. Their more recent primary logo has been the block C. When they conduct spring training in Goodyear, Ariz., Chief Wahoo is nowhere to be found on their uniforms or advertising. The Indians introduced a block "C'' insignia on some of their caps and have removed signs with the Wahoo logo in and around Progressive Field, the team's downtown ballpark. In response to that court ruling, Manfred said, "We were hoping that case was going to be dismissed. When Manfred awarded the Indians the 2019 All-Star Game, it seemed unlikely that any Cleveland player participating in the Midsummer Classic would be wearing Chief Wahoo on his uniform. Every year, groups of Native Americans and their supporters have protested outside the stadium before the home opener in hopes of not only getting the team to abolish Chief Wahoo but to change the Indians' nickname, which they feel is an offensive depiction of their race.

– Chief Wahoo's days are numbered. The Cleveland Indians will remove the controversial logo of a caricatured Indian brave's face as of the 2019 season, reports the AP. That means the logo, which has been used since 1947 but is today deemed racist by Native American groups and others, will be seen on the team's uniforms for just one more season. However, the team will continue to sell merchandise adorned with Chief Wahoo in northeast Ohio, a decision the AP says was made to keep trademark rules in place. The move came after negotiations with Major League Baseball, which considers the logo inappropriate, reports the New York Times. The issue had come to a head in recent years as the Indians turned into a powerhouse team in the league and thus drew more attention. In fact, the team had been taking steps to limit the logo's exposure in recent years, notes Cleveland.com. For instance, Chief Wahoo is not displayed during the team's spring training camp in Arizona, out of respect for the area's Native American population. (Meanwhile, a similar controversy continues over the Washington Redskins' team name.)

Three high court judges ruled that the twisted and traumatised skeleton found under a council car park should remain in Leicester, and said it was "time for King Richard III to be given a dignified reburial, and finally laid to rest". The case had "unique and exceptional features" and the archeological discovery of the mortal remains of a king of England after 500 years "may fairly be described as 'unprecedented'", the judges said. The alliance, which was set up by the 16th great-nephew of Richard III, who had no direct descendants, favoured reinterment in York Minister, arguing it had been the wish "of the last medieval king of England" who was known as Richard of York. We’re simply doing what the law requires.” In a statement, the Plantagenet Alliance expressed disappointment with the ruling but said it had tried its best to "persuade the decision-makers to reconsider public consultation regarding the final resting place of the last Plantagenet king of England." Leicester Cathedral has already gone to some expense to prepare for a re-interment, tentatively scheduled for spring of next year.

– Richard III's last battle is finally over: The former king of England will be reburied in the city of Leicester, not York, reports the Guardian. The site of his resting place had been the subject of a legal fight ever since archeologists discovered his remains underneath a parking lot in Leicester in 2012. Though initial plans called for him to be reburied in the nearby Leicester Cathedral, a group of far-flung relatives sought to have him reburied in York instead, where he grew up. Today, judges at the Royal Courts of Justice rejected the idea. "We agree that it is time for Richard III to be given a dignified reburial, and finally laid to rest," they wrote. But they found no compelling reason to move him to York. Richard died on the battlefield in 1485, the last English king to do so, notes the Guardian. By the looks of it, he then got unceremoniously dumped into a too-small grave, where he remained for nearly 530 years. The LA Times notes that scholars remain divided over Richard himself: He's either the "bloodthirsty tyrant" as depicted by Shakespeare or "an enlightened ruler" whose reputation got maligned by the Tudor dynasty that succeeded him. Either way, he had a bad case of roundworms when he died.

Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky performed a national service by filibustering the nomination of John O. Brennan to lead the Central Intelligence Agency — an old-fashioned, talk-’til-you-drop filibuster at that.

– Rand Paul's old-fashioned talking filibuster may not derail John Brennan's nomination, but pundits are almost universally praising the Kentucky senator's moxie. Here's what people are saying: "It became clear as the Kentucky Republican talked (and talked) that he was creating a major moment for a party that hasn’t had very many of those since Nov. 6, 2012," writes Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post. The marathon should boost Paul's 2016 prospects; he proved he has "a) a core set of beliefs and b) a willingness to stand up for them. That's a rare thing in modern American politics." "Rand Paul is giving a tutorial on what it means, or should mean, to be a member of the US Senate," writes Peter Beinart at the Daily Beast. Not only is he reviving the old-fashioned filibuster, "he's doing so on a matter of principle, not partisanship." Paul himself said yesterday that he "would be here if it were a Republican president doing this," pointing out that Obama's position mirrored George Bush's. "If only his reasoning matched the showmanship," laments the Wall Street Journal in an editorial today, arguing that Paul was overstating matters; yes, US citizens can be killed on US soil, but only if they're enemy combatants. "If Mr. Paul wants to be taken seriously he needs to do more than pull political stunts that fire up impressionable libertarian kids in their college dorms. He needs to know what he's talking about." But Kevin Williamson at the National Review disagrees. "Our definition of 'enemy combatant' is terrifyingly elastic," he writes. He believes Paul "performed a national service" yesterday. Of course, Williamson would agree; Paul quoted his articles in his speech. It was nice, he writes, "though my experience with senators suggests that they are impervious to argument, reason, evidence, and most other instruments save votes and campaign donations." Even Jon Stewart praised Paul. "He's using the filibuster the way it's meant to be used," Stewart said on the Daily Show. "I can't say I agree with Rand Paul about everything, but as issues go, drone oversight is one certainly worth kicking up a fuss for."

– The "greed is good" money man who everyone loved to hate in the movie Wall Street has turned a new leaf. He's now working for the FBI, reports MSNBC. "Gordon Gekko," aka Michael Douglas, is doing a public service announcement for the FBI cautioning consumers to be alert, warning Wall Streeters to stay on the straight and narrow, and urging snitches to turn in their law-busting buddies. Money-grubbing Gekko ends up in prison for scamming innocent investors. "The movie is fiction, but the problem is real," warns Douglas, who urges that Wall Street baddies be reported at www.fbi.gov.

JASON CERONE/P-R PHOTOIn this scene from the Showtime series "Escape from Dannemora," Eric Lange who plays Lyle Mitchell goes to Sansone's restaurant in Malone to meet his wife, Joyce, but she never shows up. The real Joyce Mitchell was just denied parole again.

– A state board has denied parole to a tailor who played a key role in a prison break that's the subject of a Showtime miniseries being filmed in the northern New York region where it happened. Joyce Mitchell will remain behind bars for at least two more years for passing tools to killers Richard Matt and David Sweat, enabling their escape from the maximum-security Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora in June 2015, per the AP. The subsequent three-week manhunt ended with Matt shot dead and Sweat captured near the Canadian border. Mitchell's lawyer tells the Plattsburgh Press-Republican the parole board denied her release Friday. Patricia Arquette plays Mitchell in Showtime's Escape at Dannemora, being produced by Ben Stiller. Penelope Ann Miller starred as Mitchell in a Lifetime movie that aired in April. (In 2015, Mitchell was sentenced to serve up to seven years on a contraband charge.)

The Jewish campaign treasurer for a Republican candidate in Connecticut is defending a campaign mailer that depicts their Democratic Party opponent in what is being described as the “worst kind of anti-Semitism.” “The full-color, double-sided mailer shows an altered image of Democrat Matt Lesser, who is Jewish, with large, beady eyes, holding fistfuls of hundred-dollar bills. The embrace of racially charged policies and rhetoric by Republicans, from President Trump to candidates across the country, has emboldened white-supremacist groups, and, critics say, raised questions about the party’s intent. There’s also a lead tagline on the other side: “Matt Lesser will take everything you worked for.” It was mailed out to homes in and around Middletown — the district where Lesser is trying to win a Senate seat,” WNPR reported Tuesday. In addition to the hands grabbing $100 bills that were added to the picture, Lesser’s face has been altered with a smile and a crooked look in his eyes, he said. “We do know, though, the feelings that the flier is evoking — the juxtaposition of a Jewish candidate for office and money in this manner — suggests an age-old anti-Semitic trope,” Steve Ginsburg, of the Anti-Defamation League’s Connecticut office, told the Hartford Courant. https://t.co/SlG90OA2S4 pic.twitter.com/vBE5ewKXeM — Amanda Terkel (@aterkel) October 30, 2018 Stuart S. Miller, the academic director of the Center for Judaic Studies and Contemporary Jewish Life at the University of Connecticut, told the newspaper that the ad was “reprehensible, deeply offensive and inexcusable.” “I cannot believe that it is an innocent allusion to a supposedly money-spending Democrat,” he said. The state Republican Party lashed out at those criticizing the campaign mailer. Charamut’s campaign issued an apology to Lesser, the Jewish community and anyone else offended by the mailer, saying in a statement that the mailer was not intended to be anything more than a political statement about Lesser. “I had the opportunity to discuss some of the context of the recent mailer sent by candidate Ed Charamut involving State Representative Matt Lesser,” he said in the statement. “In a race with a Jewish candidate, this image should be recognized as offensive, raising classic anti-Semitic tropes. I personally would not have approved this mailer, and I am grateful that the party did not approve it.

– Just days after the slaying of 11 Jewish congregants at a Pittsburgh synagogue, a GOP candidate for a state Senate seat in Connecticut is accused of sending a mailer using an "age-old anti-Semitic trope." The ad sent out by Ed Charamut includes what the Washington Post calls a "money-grubbing" picture (here) of smiling opponent Matt Lesser, clutching $100 bills with a "crazed look in his eyes." Lesser says the original image of him was altered to add the cash and exaggerate his expression; Charamut's Jewish campaign treasurer concedes Lesser's eyes were tweaked "to look bigger and greedy," per Raw Story. Lesser's reaction when he first heard about the ad: It was "some sort of mistake or misunderstanding." "I did not believe them, because we live in America," he adds. Others say the mailer was offensive, maybe intentionally so. But the 60-year-old GOP candidate insists the mailer was simply meant to draw a "sharp contrast" between his 35-year-old opponent's stance on tax policy and his own. "I reject hate speech in all its forms," he says. Other Republicans back him, with state Senate Chair JR Romano telling the Hartford Courant the hubbub is all "false outrage" perpetuated by Dems. "If you criticize any Democrat for failures and their record, they run into this shield that you're a racist." Romano later walked back those statements, agreeing the mailer was "offensive" after having "conversations with Jewish friends." (Mike Pence is facing his own controversy.)

Nicknamed the "landlords from hell," Kip and Nicole Macy employed tactics "so outlandish and brazen" in attempting to clear their building of renters that "it sounds like the plot of a horror movie," Gascon said. Husband and wife, Kip and Nicole Macy, pleaded guilty to felony charges of residential burglary, stalking and attempted grand theft this week, after terrorizing tenants for years, the San Francisco District Attorney's Office said Wednesday. Gascon recounted the tenant’s shock as he and a friend saw a saw blade emerge through the floorboards, then grabbed a hammer and smashed it. Still not done Over the course of two years, the Macys cut the victims' telephone lines and shut off their electricity, gas and water, court documents say. A month before her husband cut through Morrow's floor, according to authorities, Nicole Macy created an email account in Morrow’s name and sent a message to his attorney, firing him. Prosecutors say the Macys also lashed out at three tenants who shared a unit in the Clementina Street building, gluing their locks, dousing their belongings in ammonia and stealing jewelry and cash. In one, pretending to be one of the victims, she fired the attorney who was representing the victim in a civil case against the Macys. Side trip to Italy After being indicted by a grand jury in early 2009, the couple fled the country. Kip Macy also secured a new passport, but Burke did not know how. They will be formally sentenced in August in a plea deal that will send them to prison for four years and four months.

– A group of San Francisco tenants really earned the right to complain about their landlords: The story of one couple's efforts to evict their tenants between 2006 and 2008 so they could sell the units is "so outlandish and brazen that it sounds like the plot line of a horror movie," says a prosecutor. Kip and Nicole Macy (dubbed the "Landlords from Hell") cut parts of their building's floor joists to "make it collapse," says property manager Ricardo Cartagena. In another attempt to get rid of a tenant, the two used a power saw to cut holes in his living room floor—while he was home, CNN reports. "He actually saw the saw coming up and trying to saw through," says an assistant district attorney. The Macys also stole tenants' belongings; poured ammonia on beds, clothes, and gadgets; cut victims' telephone, power, gas, and water services; sent fraudulent and threatening emails (including one to a lawyer saying "each day a package will arrive with a piece" of his children); and had tenants' windows boarded while they were living there, the Los Angeles Times reports. They've now pleaded guilty to burglary, attempted grand theft, and stalking after fleeing the country in 2009 and being taken into custody last year in Italy. As part of their plea deal they'll be handed four-year, four-month prison sentences.

Leap seconds are governed by the Paris-based International Earth Rotation Service, which this week announced its plan to make June 30, 2015 one second longer. Because Earth's rotation is slowing ever so slightly, we occasionally need to add an extra second to re-sync our super-precise atomic clocks to our planet's rotation. When the last leap second was added in 2012 Mozilla, Reddit, Foursquare, Yelp, LinkedIn, and StumbleUpon all reported crashes and there were problems with the Linux operating system and programmes written in Java. Many computing systems use the Network Time Protocol, or NTP, to keep themselves in sync with the world’s atomic clocks. The measurements are telling us 'Oh, they're slowing down'" The first leap second was added in 1972, and it will be the 26th time it has been added to clocks in history. Advertisement But, perhaps, more frighteningly, if we don't keep adding leap seconds, the primordial link between our notion of a day and the rotation of the Earth could be forever disrupted. The last time we added a leap second in 2012, it wreaked havoc across the Internet. At a conference in Geneva in 2012 delegates argued that precisely timed money transactions could go astray or vehicles could be sent tens of metres out of position if they are a second out in their measurement of time But Britain opposes the change, saying that it would forever break the link between our concept of time and the rising and setting of the Sun. It would also spell the end for Greenwich Mean Time, which is measured by the time at which the Sun crosses the Greenwich Meridian and was adopted in Britain in 1847 Experts also fear that once this link is broken it could never be restored because although the Earth's timekeeping systems are built to accommodate the occasional leap second, adding a leap minute or hour to global time would be virtually impossible.

– The powers that be in the world of time management have decreed that the world needs to gain an extra second this year. More precisely, the folks at the International Earth Rotation Service in Paris have decided to add one second to June 30, 2015, to sync our atomic clocks to the Earth's slowing rotation, reports Phys.org. It's called a "leap second," and this will be the 26th one since the 1970s. The problem is that the last time this happened, in 2012, it caused all kinds of problems for all kinds of websites. "If a computer sees the same second twice in a row, it logically thinks something went very wrong," explains Gizmodo. "There are fixes to this, but they've obviously not been implemented across the board." Google has developed a work-around in which it "gradually adds milliseconds to its system clocks prior to the official arrive of the leap second," reports the Telegraph, though it's not clear whether other sites will follow suit. Meanwhile, the US is pushing for the end of leap seconds altogether, given their potential to wreak havoc with financial transactions, navigation, and communication in general. A decision could come later this year, but opponents such as Britain argue that the move has the hard-to-fathom potential to mess up our notion of telling time by the rising and setting of the sun—eventually our clocks would be noticeably out of whack with the Earth's rotation. "Another possibility," writes Bob Yirka at Phys.org, is "to maintain a dual system, one for technologists, the other for everybody else." (This might be the most precise clock on the planet.)

(AP) — A Massachusetts family is looking for a new preschool for their 4-year-old daughter because her current school has barred use of the term "best friend." WBZ-TV in Boston reported on the Pentucket Workshop Preschool in Georgetown, Mass., where the mother of an enrolled 4-year-old said her daughter was discouraged from using the term. Children who are 4 years old speak from their heart, so they should be able to call kids anything loving - you're my best friend, you're my best pal," Hartwell said.The school explained to Hartwell that "the term best friend can lead other children to feel excluded," and it can "ultimately lead to the formation of cliques and outsiders," and the school encourages "students to have a wider group of friends. I don't know if the right answer is necessarily denying children the ability to use that term," said Dr. Gregory Young, a pediatric psychologist.Hartwell says Julia still says "best friend" at home, but her daughter seems unsure if the term is appropriate since she was told not to use it at school"Even now she goes to say it in a loving way -- 'I'm going to go see my best friend Charlie' or this one or that one -- and she looks at me sideways as she's saying it, and she's checking in with me to see if that language is OK," Hartwell said.Hartwell says her daughter will not be going to school the rest of the year. She’s checking in with me to see if it’s okay.” The school did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But, in a letter to the Hartwells they said, it had been their experience that the use of the term "best friend," even when used in a loving way, can lead some children feeling excluded. If anybody knows of a school with a policy banning kids from having or talking about having a best friend, please let me know.

– A Massachusetts mom isn't too thrilled with the word-ban imposed by her daughter's preschool, the AP reports. Christine Hartwell says her 4-year-old daughter Julia came home unhappy from the Pentucket Workshop Preschool in Georgetown because her teacher said the term "best buddy" was forbidden. "I think it's ridiculous," Hartwell tells WIS-TV. "Children who are four years old speak from their heart, so they should be able to call kids anything loving." The school explained to the Hartwells that the term "best friend ... can lead other children to feel excluded" and "ultimately lead to the formation of cliques and outsiders," per ABC 7. Pentucket hasn't responded to the media, leaving a gap filled by pediatric psychologist Gregory Young: "I think that words are really important and the term 'best' does have an implied meaning to it," he says, "[but] I don't know if the right answer is necessarily denying children the ability to use that term." Media reports in recent years have referred to a "best friend" ban in European and British schools but didn't give any concrete evidence, the Washington Post reports. As for Julia, she seems unnerved by the whole thing: "Even now she goes to say it in a loving way—'I'm going to go see my best friend Charlie' or this one or that one—and she looks at me sideways as she's saying it and she's checking in with me to see if that language is okay," Hartwell says.

Report says air pollution is having a devastating impact on children worldwide, storing up a public health time bomb Poisonous air is having a devastating impact on billions of children around the world, damaging their intelligence and leading to hundreds of thousands of deaths, according to a report from the World Health Organization. The study found that more than 90% of the world’s young people – 1.8 billion children – are breathing toxic air, storing up a public health time bomb for the next generation. The WHO said medical experts in almost every field of children’s health are uncovering new evidence of the scale of the crisis in both rich and poor countries – from low birth weight to poor neurodevelopment, asthma to heart disease. Dr Tedros Adhanom, WHO director general, said: “Polluted air is poisoning millions of children and ruining their lives. This is inexcusable – every child should be able to breathe clean air so they can grow and fulfil their potential.” The findings coincide with the start of the first global conference on air pollution and health in Geneva, including a high-level action day at which nations and cities are expected to make new commitments to cut air pollution. According to the WHO, children are more susceptible to pollution because they breathe more often, taking in more pollutants, and are closer to the ground, which is where some pollutants have higher concentrations. But there are many straightforward ways to reduce emissions of dangerous pollutants," said Dr. Maria Neira, director of the Department of Public Health, Environmental and Social Determinants of Health at the WHO. The study found that 600,000 children die from acute lower respiratory infections caused by dirty air and 93% are exposed to one of the most damaging pollutants – PM2.5. Among low- and middle-income countries, 98% of all children under 5 are exposed to PM2.5 levels above WHO air quality guidelines, the report found. "Air pollution is one of the leading risk factors for the national burden of disease in India," the report states, adding that researchers tracked more than 1,000 women in India throughout pregnancy and found a direct correlation between increased exposure to pollution and premature, underweight babies. Children exposed to excessive pollution may also be at greater risk of chronic conditions such as cardiovascular disease in adulthood. Tedros, writing in the Guardian on Saturday, described air pollution as the “new tobacco”, saying the simple act of breathing is killing 7 million people a year and harming billions more. The WHO’s latest estimates show that air pollution is responsible for one-quarter to one-third of deaths from heart attack, stroke, lung cancer and chronic respiratory disease. Neira said there were “many straightforward ways to reduce emissions of dangerous pollutants ”, including “accelerating the switch to clean cooking and heating fuels and technologies, [and] promoting the use of cleaner transport, energy-efficient housing and urban planning. We are preparing the ground for low-emission power generation, cleaner, safer industrial technologies and better municipal waste management.” Children are breathing dirty air – and parents are being left to fix it | Maria Miller and Ed Miliband Read more Mark Watts, executive director of the C40 Cities group, which represents cities around the world working to tackle the climate crisis and air pollution, said the report was an urgent call to action.

– The World Health Organization is out with some new numbers on air pollution, and the numbers are hard to fathom: In 2016, 600,000 children were estimated to have died from acute lower respiratory infections caused by polluted air, reports CNN. About 1.8 billion children worldwide—that would be 93%—breathe air so toxic that it puts their health, their physical development, and their intelligence at risk, reports the Guardian. In poorer nations, a staggering 98% of children under the age of 5 are exposed to PM2.5, one of the most harmful pollutants, in levels that exceed the WHO's safety guidelines. The pollution isn't always of the outdoor variety: The burning of wood or paraffin for heating, cooking, and light also takes a toll, especially in poorer nations. Pregnant women who breathe such dirty air are more prone to deliver premature and underweight children. Air pollution is the "new tobacco" and is responsible for 7 million premature deaths annually, writes WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in a Guardian op-ed. The report is out on the eve of the group's Global Conference on Air Pollution and Health. More on the risks that air pollution poses on pregnant women.

Several studies published in 2012 by the journal Lancet already that showed 31% of the global population fails to meet the current recommendations for physical activity, with the authors of the study calculating that increasing active time and reducing sitting time in the countries studied could increase life expectancy by 0.20 years. A new study, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine and in which San Jorge University in Zaragoza (Spain) participated, now estimates the proportion of deaths attributable to that 'chair effect' in the population of 54 countries, using data from 2002 to 2011. The team now advise that sedentary behavior should be minimized in order to prevent premature deaths around the world and suggest that strategic national health campaigns, such as bike-sharing systems, could be rolled out by countries to get the population moving more. The results reveal that over 60% of people worldwide spend more than three hours a day sitting down -the average in adults is 4.7 hours/day-, and this is the culprit behind 3.8% of deaths (approximately 433,000 deaths/year). Among the territories studied, there were more deaths in the regions of the Western Pacific, followed by European countries, the Eastern Mediterranean, America and Southeast Asia. Looking at the results by country, the highest rates were found in Lebanon (11.6%), the Netherlands (7.6%) and Denmark (6.9%), while the lowest rates were in Mexico (0.6%), Myanmar (1.3%) and Bhutan (1.6%). Spain falls within the average range with 3.7% of deaths, with Canada and the USA both above the average with 4.7 percent and 4.2 percent of deaths respectively. More movement, fewer deaths The authors calculate that reducing the amount of time we sit by about two hours (i.e., 50%) would mean a 2.3% decrease in mortality (three times less), although it is not possible to confirm whether this is a causal relationship. Even a more modest reduction in sitting time, by 10% or half an hour per day, could have an immediate impact on all causes of mortality (0.6%) in the countries evaluated.

– You might want to sit down for this. On second thought, keep standing. A study published last month in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that sitting for more than three hours per day is responsible for 3.8%—or approximately 433,000—of all deaths worldwide every year. At this point, it's old news that sitting for long periods of time is bad for your health. But who knew it could be this deadly? According to a press release, researchers looked at data collected from 54 countries between 2002 and 2011. They found that more than 60% of the world's population sits for more than three hours per day, with the average being approximately 4.7 hours. The highest amount of sitting-related deaths were in the Western Pacific and parts of Europe, AFP reports. Lebanon and the Netherlands topped the list, while Mexico and Myanmar had the fewest sitting-related deaths. Researchers found that eliminating sitting could increase overall life expectancy by 0.2 years, while reducing daily sitting time by two hours could decrease an individual's mortality by 2.4%. Even sitting for 30 minutes less per day can have a positive impact on mortality. "It is important to minimize sedentary behavior in order to prevent premature deaths around the world," the study's lead author says. (Even some activity can keep death at bay for couch potatoes.)

In fact, the only thing your mouth is good for is being Vladimir Putin’s c–k holster.” The final remark has drawn the internet’s ire, with viewers taking to social media to declare Colbert is homophobic.The hashtag #FireColbert began spreading around Twitter, along with calls for people to boycott sponsors of the late-night show.

– Stephen Colbert has directed plenty of insults at President Trump, but a critic says one delivered during his Late Show monologue on Monday was "disgusting even for him." It's a sentiment being seconded by many. After noting Trump insulted Face the Nation's John Dickerson before abruptly ending an interview with him, Colbert, nearing the end of his monologue, said he felt compelled to throw insults back at Trump, which he then did. "You attract more skinheads than free Rogaine. You have more people marching against you than cancer. You talk like a sign language gorilla who got hit in the head," he said, per Variety. "In fact, the only thing your mouth is good for is being Vladimir Putin's c--- holster." That final comment, which received a roar from the audience, sparked a #FireColbert hashtag on Twitter with users calling it "homophobic." TMZ also called it "a seriously homophobic punchline," while Karl Rove, appearing on Fox News, said it was "obscene, lewd, and shows how out of touch that part of the media is with the rest of America," per Deadline. Others, including among the LGBT community, maintained the comment was not homophobic. Either way, Callum Borchers at the Washington Post says that "by hitting below the belt," Colbert "became the latest liberal to ignore [Michelle] Obama's 'go high' mantra." Colbert and CBS have not commented. (See what Colbert had to say about Bill O'Reilly.)

Now with other recycling options commonplace, the state is working to revamp the program by doubling that refund on bottled and canned water, soda, beer and malt beverages — regardless of what their labels say. Oregon's 1971 Bottle Bill has been replicated in nine other states and the U.S. territory of Guam. Michigan is the only other state with an across-the-board payout as high as 10 cents per bottle, although booze and other large bottles carry a 10-cent payout in California and 15 cents in Maine and Vermont. But as curbside recycling and pickup services were brought on board two decades later — not to mention inflationary effects on the nickel's value — the rates at which Oregonians cashed in their bottles and cans gradually tumbled from 90 percent averages to less than 70 percent of all bottle sales statewide in 2014 and 2015. Oregonians cashed in slightly more than 1 billion bottles and cans in 2015, roughly two-thirds of total sales that year, according to a 2017 report to the Legislature by the state Liquor and Control Commission, which aids distributors in administering program operations. When a retailer buys beverages from a distributor, a deposit is paid to the distributor for each container purchased.

– Ten states have bottle bills, meaning consumers pay a small deposit when they buy drinks in bottles or cans and that deposit is returned to them if they recycle the containers with the state rather than simply throwing them away. Most states pay 5 cents per can or bottle, but starting Saturday, Oregon will become the second state to double that amount to 10 cents, the Hillsboro Tribune reports. (Michigan was the first.) California also pays 10 cents for bottles 24oz or larger, while Maine and Vermont pay 15 cents for liquor bottles. The AP notes that Oregonians who knew the amount was getting bumped higher lined up to do their recycling Saturday.

In total, the $832,735.40 spent on Administrator Pruitt’s security detail during his first quarter as EPA Administrator is nearly double what the two previous Administrators spent on security over that same timeframe; yet, there is no apparent security threat against the Administrator to justify such a security detail or expenditures. In addition, a September 26, 2017 The Washington Post article found that EPA is spending $24,570 to construct a “secure, soundproof communications booth in the office of Administrator Scott Pruitt.” A secure room such as this, typically called a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF), allows someone to communicate privately and without a breach in security. Inspector General U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20460 Dear Inspector General Elkins: We write to request that you conduct an audit of the recent expenditures made by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for Administrator Pruitt’s security that we believe constitute potential waste or abuse of taxpayer dollars. The Environmental Protection Agency is in the process of expanding its security fleet for Administrator Scott Pruitt with the hiring of an additional 12 officers, which moves the total number of agents guarding Pruitt to 30, CNN reported Monday.

– Scott Pruitt's travel, and how he's been traveling, has already come under fire. Now the EPA chief is under the microscope for what CNN calls an "unprecedented level" of protection. That includes the reported hiring of 12 new security officers, which TPM notes would bring the total number keeping tabs on Pruitt to 30. Using public documents, CNN estimates the cost for the entire security team—not counting training, travel, or gear—at $2 million per year, prompting some members of Congress to ask if this is a "potential waste or abuse of taxpayer dollars." The reason, especially considering no other EPA head has ever received 24/7 protection: The EPA is a "lightning rod," and Pruitt is paying the price for it, per the agency's inspector general's office, which says it's investigated more than 70 threats against Pruitt so far. That's "at least … four to five times the number of threats against Mr. Pruitt" than Gina McCarthy, his predecessor under Obama, assistant IG Patrick Sullivan says. Sullivan adds the threats are coming from "both sides of the spectrum": those who think the EPA isn't doing enough to protect the environment, and those who think the agency is overregulating. Pruitt is also said to be getting "security enhancements" at his DC office, including card readers to control access and a soundproof phone booth—which CNN says together will cost more than $40,000, per purchasing and contracting documents. Two Democratic Congress members, Peter DeFazio and Grace Napolitano, have crafted a letter to the IG asking for a look at this spending, which they say is "symptomatic of a troubling culture that appears to have swept through this administration … from the President on down."

The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), an animal advocacy group, hired an undercover investigator to spend the month of April 2012 working at a Wyoming Premium Farms facility in Wheatland, Wyo. Officials are investigating allegations of animal abuse at a Wyoming pig farm after undercover video showed workers kicking pigs and tossing and twirling piglets — incidents that even a co-owner of the farm said looked like major abuses that warranted firings. The Wyoming Livestock Board is investigating Wyoming Premium Farms in Wheatland, Wyo., and Doug DeRouchey, a co-owner and manager of the farm, told NBC affiliate 9NEWS.com that an investigation was under way after the Humane Society of the United States released the video on Tuesday. HSUS identified one pig in its video on whose back, it said, a worker sat and bounced even though the pig had a broken leg. The video also shows hundreds of female pigs confined to "gestation crates" that prohibit them from turning around. The Humane Society said the video was shot over 27 days last month by someone who worked there and alleged the farm was a supplier to Tyson Foods. Wyoming Premium Farms' website states that its facilities "consist of a breeding farm housing over 5,000 sows, a nursery and two finishers with capacity to finish all pigs, feedmill to mix all feed required and a corporate office." He said he could not recall everything she said, but added he definitely would have remembered if anything about animal abuse had come out of her mouth. Tyson Foods spokesman Worth Sparkman emailed a statement to HuffPost, saying the company was "appalled" by the video and denying any connection between the Wyoming farm and the pork processed by Tyson. The food conglomerate denied a direct connection, saying in a statement that: "Tyson Foods does not buy any of the hogs raised on this farm for our pork processing plants. We do have a small, but separate hog buying business that buys aged sows; however, these animals are subsequently sold to other companies and are not used in Tyson’s pork processing business," the statement said. "We've seen the video and we are appalled by the apparent mistreatment of the animals. We do not condone for any reason this kind of mistreatment of animals shown in the video." The National Pork Producers Council hit back on its website, saying, "The FTC complaint is the latest attack by animal-rights activists on America's hog farmers, an assault that seems obviously in response to the U.S. pork industry's strident opposition to congressional legislation that would allow federal bureaucrats to tell farmers how to raise and care for their animals."

– Wyoming officials are investigating alleged animal abuse at a pig farm after a secret video of conditions there was released. In the footage, workers are seen punching, kicking, and jumping on pigs and tossing piglets, reports CBS in Denver. Other pigs have untreated abscesses, notes the Huffington Post. The footage was recorded last month by a spy sent in by the Humane Society, which had been alerted by a whistleblower. “I would anticipate there might be charges,” said an investigator from the Wyoming Livestock Board. A statement from Wyoming Premium Farms said it was investigating the incident and that abuses seen in the video would not be tolerated. "That was just poorly supervised employees," an animal sciences professor who viewed the video told MSNBC. "That's the kind of stuff that goes on with bad management. I've seen it over and over again." Click for more on the story.

The family was heartbroken Wednesday evening when, they say, officials told them the 70-year-old Hagler had been found dead -- one of at least 11 people killed in a wildfire that spread from Great Smoky Mountains National Park into the eastern Tennessee resort city this week. Sevier County Mayor Larry Waters said officials plan to announce Thursday morning when local residents and business owners can return to the city. Hide Caption 9 of 24 Photos: Wildfires scorch the Southeast Officials from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park reported the closing of roads and several trails near Gatlinburg on November 28. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said authorities are checking 70 leads through a hotline set up to track down people said to be missing. More than 14,000 people were evacuated from Gatlinburg on Monday night, and many of them are still nervously awaiting word of when they can get back in the city to see if they still have homes. The flames reached the doorstep of Dollywood, the theme park named after Parton, but the park was spared any significant damage and will reopen Friday. "She was unsettled, and she was scared," Rachel Wood told "New Day" on Thursday. Miller, the Gatlinburg fire chief, said Thursday he has been trying to get his crews to go home when their shifts are done, but most stay at the station, sleeping on the floor. Gatlinburg Mayor Mike Werner said discussions were under way about re-opening the resort city as early as Friday, which would give business owners and residents their first look at the damage in a city that has been closed since Monday night. Trevor Cates, 37, who lost his home in the Gatlinburg area, also lost the church he attends. "The positive thing, obviously, is we have our two kids, our animals, and each other. Werner has spent the better part of two days standing in front of TV cameras saying "everything is going to be OK," all while he lost the home he built himself along with all seven buildings of the condominium business he owned. Parton, whose theme park Dollywood was evacuated during the fire, said her foundation will donate $1,000 a month for six months to the families whose homes were destroyed. We didn't see any partially burned structures." Buddy McLean said he watched Monday from a deserted Gatlinburg street as flames surrounded his 26-acre hotel nestled in the mountains. "The road was on fire and every house was engulfed in flames. Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials have closed all facilities in the park due to the extensive fire activity, and downed trees. Three brothers being treated at a Nashville hospital said they had not heard from their parents since they were separated while fleeing the fiery scene during their vacation.

– Gatlinburg Mayor Mike Werner has been the voice of calm while the Tennessee city battled a 15,000-acre wildfire that killed at least seven people before it was put out with help from some much-needed rain. That didn't change Thursday as he noted cleanup efforts are now underway and suggested 14,000 evacuated residents could return to the area as soon as Friday. But Werner knows well what those residents might find: His home and seven condominium buildings he owns burned to the ground. "I really can't dwell on it that much," he tells the AP. "I think of others that have lost theirs, and it keeps my mind off of our problems." Gatlinburg's fire chief adds several firefighters also lost their homes, but are still working "to take care of everybody else." A National Park Service rep says the fire began on a trail 10 miles south of Gatlinburg and was "human caused," though she offered no other details, reports CNN. As it spread, the fire destroyed more than 700 buildings in Sevier County, including 300 in Gatlinburg. Many other people are missing and officials fear the death toll will rise as they are now moving from house to house to survey damage. Though Dollywood in neighboring Pigeon Forge escaped major damage, Tennessee native Dolly Parton says her foundation will donate $1,000 per month for six months to survivors who lost their homes. "We want to provide a hand up to those families who have lost everything … so that they can get back on their feet," Parton says, per BuzzFeed.

Ireland is considering an investigation into what the government called a "deeply disturbing" discovery of an unmarked graveyard at a former home run by the Bon Secours Sister where 796 children died between 1925 and 1961.

– This week's news that at least 796 Irish babies were buried in a septic tank on the property of a home for unwed mothers sometime between 1925 and 1961 was not the first time the presence of a mass grave there had been hinted at. The New York Times reports that word of the bodies first emerged in 1975 by way of two 12-year-old boys who were playing at the site and reported that their look into a hole in a concrete slab revealed a space "filled to the brim with bones." So why did it take four decades and a determined historian to expose what may have happened at the mother-and-baby home in Tuam, County Galway? Locals apparently wrote off the remains as remnants from a workhouse that pre-dated the home, or even a relic of the 1840s famine. Though the Washington Post earlier reported an investigation was under way, the Times indicates that's not the case: Police yesterday said in a statement, "There is no suggestion of any impropriety and there is no ... investigation. Also, there is no confirmation from any source that there are between 750 and 800 bodies present." (NBC News reports that historian Catherine Corless found only a single record of one of the children in question being buried at a cemetery.) Still, the police are being urged to open an inquiry, as is the government, with politicians clamoring for an investigation, reports the Irish Times. The one group that could possibly shed light on the situation—the Sisters of Bon Secours, which ran the home—has yet to issue a comment. Reuters reports that Ireland's Roman Catholic Church has instructed the nuns to assist with any investigation that might occur. Click for more on the story.

– The GOP debate on Fox News tonight proved to be Trump-centric as he and his nine rivals—Jeb Bush, Scott Walker, Mike Huckabee, Ben Carson, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Rand Paul, Chris Christie, and John Kasich—tried to emerge from the pack. (As Carly Fiorina did in the early debate.) In fact, Trump fielded the very first question, and it was a doozy. When all the candidates were asked if anyone was unwilling to pledge support to the eventual nominee and to rule out a run as an independent, only Trump raised his hand. “I will not make the pledge at this time,” he said. Other highlights, via CNN, the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post: Christie vs Paul: After Paul said, “I want to collect more records from terrorists, but less records from innocent Americans. ... I’m proud of standing for the Bill of Rights, and I will continue to," Christie responded, "That's a completely ridiculous answer. ... How are you supposed to know? ... When you’re sitting in a subcommittee blowing hot air, then you can say things like that.” Bush on political dynasties: "I'm going to have to earn this." And on the Iraq war: “Knowing what we know now with faulty intelligence … it was a mistake. I wouldn’t have gone in.” CNN's David Chalian: "Nothing about tonight's debate indicated that Jeb Bush is in the driver's seat of this campaign. He seemed much more like a passenger—and at times a nervous and unsure one at that." Paul vs Trump: "He buys and sells politicians of all stripes. He’s already hedging his bet on the Clintons," said Paul. Trump responded that he's given money to Paul, too. Kasich: “Donald Trump's hitting a nerve in this country, he really is. ... For people to want to just tune him out, they’re making a mistake." He also gave an impassioned answer about his support of gay marriage, here. Writes Nicholas Confessore at the New York Times: "I think Kasich has been extremely effective up there. Lots of confidence, talks like a real person, and so far has successfully defended his biggest vulnerability--the Medicaid expansion under Obamacare." Rubio: “How is Hillary going to lecture me about living paycheck to paycheck? I was raised paycheck to paycheck." Rubio generally won praise tonight for his answers. Trump on political correctness: "I think the big problem this country has is being politically correct. I’ve been challenged by so many people and I don’t, frankly, have time for total political correctness. And to be honest with you, this country doesn’t have time, either." Carson: He said Hillary Clinton "counts on the fact that people are uninformed." At another point, he thanked the moderator for a question and added, "I wasn't sure I was going to get to talk again." Cruz: “It’s not a question of stupidity. It’s that they don’t want to enforce the immigration laws,” he said of unnamed GOP colleagues. Mostly though, Cruz had a surprisingly quiet night. Walker: “Every section of the world that Hillary Clinton touched is more messed up today than it was." He also said Iran and ISIS were "tied together." Huckabee: "The military is not a social experiment," he said in discussing gender diversity and LGBT benefits. "The purpose of the military is to kill people and break things." Christie on New Jersey's financial trouble: "If you think it’s bad now, you should’ve seen it when I got there."

Subway Says They Received Only One 'Serious' Complaint as Jared Fogle Investigation Concludes After the completion of their investigation into convicted sex offender Jared Fogle Subway announced that they found only one "serious" complaint against the former company spokesman, PEOPLE can confirm.According to a statement from Subway, their investigation included an "extensive review" of over a million comments sent to the customer relations team. The company's statement said that while the complaint "expressed concerns about Mr. Fogle," it included "nothing that implied anything about sexual behavior or criminal activity involving Mr. Fogle." Nevertheless, the company said it regrets the complaint was "not properly escalated or acted upon," according to the statement. "It is important to note that the investigation found no further evidence of any other complaints of any kind regarding Mr. Fogle that were submitted to or shared with SUBWAY," the statement said. "The statement continued, wishing victims and their families the company's "deepest sympathies".While Subway reports only one complaint, a former company franchisee claimed that she told the company about Fogle's sexual interest in children as early as 2008, but officials did nothing.The chain restaurant has denied being aware of the claims.Since allegations against Fogle surfaced, the 38-year-old has accepted a plea deal and will serve at least five years in prison, as well as paying $1.4 million in restitution and registering as a sex offender.

– Subway says it received a "serious" complaint about Jared Fogle years ago and failed to do much about it—but it didn't involve "anything about sexual behavior or criminal activity." A company spokeswoman says the complaint was received in 2011 from Rochelle Herman-Walrond, the informant who provided the FBI with evidence that will send Fogle to prison for years on child porn and underage sex charges, the AP reports. It's not clear what the complaint involved but in a statement, Subway said the company regrets that it was "not properly escalated or acted upon." Subway says the 2011 complaint was the only complaint it found about its former pitchman in a thorough review of more than a million customer comments, as well as "all available documents, and interviews with past and present Company and Franchisee Advertising Fund employees and management," People reports. A former franchisee in Florida, however, says she made a complaint to the executive in charge of Subway's advertising in 2008 when Fogle started telling her about his sexual interest in minors. Her lawyer says she also spoke to a regional Subway exec about Fogle after the inappropriate comments began, reports the AP. (A rare sniffer dog helped build the case against Fogle.)

Worries about Cape dolphin strandings PROVINCETOWN — Marine mammal experts predict the mass stranding of common dolphins along the Cape Cod Bay coastline could continue for many days, given new sightings Monday. In the past five days, about 40 to 50 dolphins have been reported stranded over 25 miles of coastline from Dennis to Wellfleet, said Katie Moore, marine mammal rescue director for the International Fund for Animal Welfare in Yarmouthport. Moore said this year's series of dolphins stranded on beaches reminded her of the 2005-2006 winter, when dolphins beached themselves over a 40-day period. The animals, which tend to get stuck on the bay side of the hook-shaped Cape Cod, are assessed by rescuers and then taken to deeper water on the ocean side and released. Strandings typically happen from January to April, but the pattern this year is unlike past years, when just one dolphin or a group would be found on a single beach, she said. The last mass stranding on Cape Cod, when there was more than a month of activity, occurred in the winter of 2005 and 2006, Moore said.

– Volunteers in Cape Cod are scrambling to deal with an unusual spate of dolphin strandings. A solitary dolphin was found stranded last Thursday and dozens more followed in the days after. Nineteen were treated and released but eight others couldn't be saved, and another 32 washed ashore already dead, MSNBC reports. Some 75 other dolphins have been spotted behaving erratically in Provincetown harbor and may be close to beaching themselves, the Cape Cod Times reports. The International Fund for Animal Welfare's rescue director say she has only ever seen one other season with such a high number of dolphin strandings. "It feels like stranding after stranding after stranding," she says. "It's definitely out of the ordinary."

“The NRA and Donald Trump are calling for Second Amendment supporters to protect their constitutional right to self defense by defeating Hillary Clinton at the ballot box,” Baker said. He warned of Clinton’s ability to pick Supreme Court justices if she wins, saying there would be “nothing you can do, folks.” (The Washington Post) At a rally in Wilmington, N.C., Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said rival Hillary Clinton wants to “essentially” abolish the Second Amendment. He paused, then softly offered a postscript: “Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is, I don’t know.” The denouncements came swiftly from Clinton’s campaign and her allies — and from outside politics. Finally, Trump, his aides and his supporters lash out at the media, accusing journalists of twisting his words or missing the joke. “It was just off-the-cuff talking.” And Keri Malkin, 49, said she didn’t “hear it that way at all,” suggesting that the insinuation that the comment was a threat against Clinton was engineered by her supporters. And this year, they will be voting in record numbers, and it won’t be for Hillary Clinton, it will be for Donald Trump.” National Rifle Association spokeswoman Jennifer Baker called the uproar over Trump’s remarks a “distraction created by the dishonest media.” “The NRA represents law-abiding gun owners and we support lawful behavior,” she wrote in an email. A person seeking to be the president of the United States should not suggest violence in any way.” Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut, where the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting took place in Newtown in 2012, went further in a tweet: “Don’t treat this as a political misstep. “It’s an assassination threat, seriously upping the possibility of a national tragedy & crisis.” Trump has made concerted efforts to counter such concerns; Monday, he delivered an economic policy address in Detroit that many anxious Republicans had hoped would reset a campaign that had flailed for more than a week after Trump’s attacks on the Muslim American family of a U.S. Army captain killed in Iraq. Trump spokesman Jason Miller released a statement just moments after the comment, swatting down the idea that the mogul was doing anything other than encouraging political action. Trump was introduced by Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor, who brought up the case of Shahram Amiri, an Iranian nuclear scientist executed for spying for the US. It certainly put him at great risk, even if they didn’t find them, and it shows you that when the director of the FBI said she was extremely careless, he was being kind.” But Giuliani repeatedly waved away chants of “Lock her up!” from the crowd. I don’t believe that’s at all what he meant.” But Sessions acknowledged: “It may have been awkwardly phrased.” Trump said later in reply to Sean Hannity on Fox News that he was referring to the political movement around the Second Amendment. Even reporters have told me – I mean give me a break.” Trump has been striving to show more discipline on the campaign trail after a string of gaffes in recent weeks. “This is simple — what Trump is saying is dangerous,” Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook said in a statement. “Hillary wants to abolish, essentially abolish, the second amendment,” said Trump, eliciting boos from the crowd. He told supporters on Tuesday: “I guess there’s a scenario in which this president could pick five supreme court justices, and if you pick two that are left, left, left, it’s going to be a disaster for our country.” The NRA had endorsed him early, he added. The official NRA Twitter feed compared Trump’s remarks to a 2008 comment from then-Senator Joseph Biden, who said “If [Obama] tries to fool with my Beretta, he’s got a problem,” and asked “Was Joe Biden…suggesting violence here?” Katie Pavlich, a prominent conservative writer who spoke at this year’s NRA annual meeting, also slammed the media’s coverage of Trump’s remarks, tweeting: “Media totally exposed itself (again) today by assuming Second Amendment supporters are assassins instead of voters.” But she added: “That said Trump is reason Trump has no credibility/isn’t given the benefit of the doubt when actually misunderstood.” She was referencing Trump’s remark in January that “I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose voters.” Pavlich wrote: “I’m not defending Trump or his comments, I’m defending Second Amendment supporters.” The supreme court has become a central election issue since the death earlier this year of Justice Antonin Scalia, a conservative who has not yet been replaced. Trump’s tweets speak for themselves,” said Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks.

– Donald Trump's campaign is once again on damage control, this time over remarks that critics say hinted at Hillary Clinton's assassination. His comment that "Second Amendment people" could "maybe" do something about Clinton picking Supreme Court justices if she wins was widely condemned Tuesday, though he insisted that he had been talking about the "strong, powerful" gun lobby using their political force, not their guns. "There can be no other interpretation," he told Fox News Tuesday night. "I mean, give me a break." A round-up of reactions: "The NRA and Donald Trump are calling for Second Amendment supporters to protect their constitutional right to self defense by defeating Hillary Clinton at the ballot box," NRA spokeswoman Jennifer Baker tells the Guardian, calling the controversy a "distraction created by the dishonest media." "Don't treat this as a political misstep. It's an assassination threat, seriously upping the possibility of a national tragedy & crisis," tweeted Connecticut's Sen. Chris Murphy, who is a strong proponent of gun control. Paul Ryan, speaking at his victory party in Wisconsin, said he hadn't heard the remarks, Politico reports. "I've been a little busy," he said. "It sounds like a joke gone bad. You should never joke about that. I hope he clears it up quickly." Trump "makes death threats because he's a pathetic coward who can’t handle the fact that he’s losing to a girl," tweeted Elizabeth Warren. "Nobody who is seeking a leadership position—especially the presidency, the leadership of the country—should do anything to countenance violence, and that’s what he was saying," said Tim Kaine. "It seems like every single day the national press latches on to some other issue about my running mate," said Mike Pence. "But you know what they’re not talking about? Anything having to do with Hillary Clinton." The Secret Service tweeted that it "is aware of the comments made earlier this afternoon." Former CIA director Michael Hayden told CNN: "Well, let me say, if someone had have said that outside the hall he’d be in the back of a police wagon now with the Secret Service questioning him." The New York Times notes that Trump's remarks were condemned from across the political spectrum, with conservative writer John Podhoretz criticizing him for suggesting that Second Amendment supporters were "potential assassins." The Washington Post notes that the latest uproar has followed a very familiar pattern of attention-getting expressions, followed by outrage, followed by Trump lashing out at the media—and the cycle appears "to be taking a toll among the electorate overall."

Last month, the FBI director, James Comey, told an audience: “I put a piece of tape over the camera because I saw somebody smarter than I am had a piece of tape over their camera.” The corporate swag company Idea Stage Promotions describes its Webcam Cover 1.0 as “the HOTTEST PROMOTIONAL ITEM on the market today”. If you’re really paranoid and want to completely kill the omnidirectional microphone, you’d actually need to do some computer surgery.

– It was meant solely to be a celebratory post by Mark Zuckerberg about Instagram reaching the milestone of 500 million users. But as CNET reports, the Internet was far more interested in what Zuckerberg revealed inadvertently: His laptop is in the background, and it shows that Zuckerberg puts a piece of tape over its camera as an apparent security measure—to ward off hackers who might gain control of it remotely to spy on him. A Twitter user named Chris Olson seemed to be the first to spot it, tweeting on Tuesday that Zuckerberg also tapes over his microphone jack and uses a rather obscure email client from Mozilla called Thunderbird. (Some think it's actually a Cisco VPN client.) Reaction: Gizmodo: "Of course, it’s not insane that one of the most powerful people in the world is paranoid about being watched—but Zuckerberg better hope the legions of users his company is depending on for live video content don’t take a lesson from his book." New York Times: “Covering the camera is a very common security measure,” a security expert tells the newspaper. “If you were to walk around a security conference, you would have an easier time counting devices that don’t have something over the camera.” Fusion: Covering the camera is a wise idea. But "putting tape over your microphone jack is not going to be effective in making your computer hacker-proof. That’s just going to keep someone from plugging their headphones into your machine. If Olson is wrong, and Zuck has in fact put tape over the mic holes, though, that will muffle the computer’s hearing ability, per a test conducted in our office." NPR: The Zuckerberg story is prompting outlets to re-run this quote from FBI chief James Comey in April: “I put a piece of tape—I have obviously a laptop, personal laptop—I put a piece of tape over the camera. Because I saw somebody smarter than I am had a piece of tape over their camera.” Also prior to the Zuckerberg story, the Guardian looked into the growing popularity of the idea. The Electronic Frontier Foundation even sells camera-covering stickers.

Every day, the Venkateswara Temple staff fills giant vats with human hair, and for a long time, its staff burned thousands of pounds of hair—a noxious process that produces toxic gases like ammonia and was eventually banned by the Indian government in the 1990s. Over the next few days trucks will deliver the hair to the distributors, where the alchemy of transforming human waste into a luxury product takes place. Human hair contains all sorts of secretions, including sweat and blood, plus food particles, lice, and the coconut oil many Indians use as a conditioner. Put 21 tons of the stuff in a room blooming with mildew and fungus and the stench is overpowering. Together they will return to their village bearing a symbol of humility and devotion that all will recognize. "Venkateswara will be pleased." The process is incredibly labor intensive. Locks of Love asks for donations because hair is so expensive that many patients can’t afford thousand dollar wigs. The Secret Life of Hair The market for human hair has always been a mechanism for getting hair from people in poor areas to those who need or want it in wealthier ones. Mo Hefnawy says he knows a young woman whom wig makers flew out from Indiana and paid $1,500 for her hair, which they made into an $8,000 wig. Africa also bucks global trends: despite the prevalence of poverty in many countries, Africa is an importer of hair. Projects like My Nappy Roots and Good Hair have explored the efforts that black people, especially women, go through to style their hair, and in particularly the time and expense of straightening their curly hair—often with the help of hair extensions. The temple administrators have used the proceeds on gold wall panelling for the temple, but they say they primarily spend the money on charitable endeavors like feeding the needy and running hospitals. We do know that collecting hair is a large, decentralized undertaking that employs tens of thousands of people in India alone. No one can say exactly how often, but hair is not always sold willingly. Press has reported on husbands who receive $10 for their wives’ hair. "The hair business is unlike any other," says Vijay, who owns a hair-exporting house called Shabanesa, and like many South Indians goes by a single name. "In any other business, buying a commodity is easy; it's the selling it to retailers that is difficult. Here it's all reversed. It's simple to sell hair, just difficult to buy it."

– In the US, women and girls sometimes donate their hair to groups that make wigs—think Locks of Love—not because hair is hard to come by but because it is so expensive. But many also buy wigs and extensions made of real human hair—and chances are good that hair comes from countries like India and China, where women sell their long locks out of necessity. It's a dirty business, reports Alex Mayyasi for Priceonomics, both literally and figuratively. In India, for instance, sites like the Venkateswara Temple do quite a business selling hair (though they say they donate the proceeds to charities) because it is customary for pilgrims who visit the temple to have their heads shaved. Most are unaware their hair is sold. The workers who then sort through the discarded locks must contend with blood from the quickly-shaved scalps, lice, and more, and the factories reek. As Scott Carney wrote in his 2010 report for Mother Jones, "Put 21 tons of the stuff in a room blooming with mildew and fungus and the stench is overpowering." Most say hair from India is the best; Mayyasi writes that Indian pilgrims typically haven't performed damaging treatments on their hair, "but its most valuable attribute is that it closely resembles caucasian hair." There's a dark side to the trade, and not just the flow of hair from poor women giving up their long locks for wealthy buyers. There are stories of men beating and holding down women to shave their heads for money. Wigs made of real hair can easily cost thousands of dollars, though synthetic hair—which just doesn't look as natural and can't be styled—continues to improve and is far less expensive, so it may only be a matter of time before the market for the real thing dwindles considerably. (Lady Gaga says she wears wigs to cover up her pain.)

The discovery of stone tools at the site shows a style that has been associated elsewhere... (Associated Press) This image provided by the Sharma Centre for Heritage Education, India in January 2018 shows a sample of artifacts from the Middle Palaeolithic era found at the Attirampakkam archaeological site in southern... (Associated Press) NEW YORK (AP) — Just a week after scientists reported evidence that our species left Africa earlier than we thought, another discovery is suggesting the date might be pushed back further. This tool style has also been attributed to Neanderthals and possibly other species. But scientists in India recently discovered thousands of stone tools made with Levallois technique, dating back to 385,000 years ago. So it's impossible to say whether the tools were made by Homo sapiens or some evolutionary cousin, say researchers who reported the finding Wednesday in the journal Nature . It's not clear how much the tool development reflects arrival of populations or ideas from outside India, versus being more of a local development, said one author, Shanti Pappu of the Sharma Centre for Heritage Education in Chennai, India. The country has few well-studied archaeological sites and only one fossil find from this period, from a forerunner of Homo sapiens that was associated with the earlier style of tool-making, Petraglia said. "This is a marvelous discovery," says Michael Petraglia, at the Max Planck Institute for The Science of Human History, who also had no role in the recent research. The authors think it could have been modern humans, Homo sapiens, who moved out of Africa much earlier than currently believed, and brought this technology with them. Instead, he said, he believes one of our evolutionary cousins in India developed the tool style independently of outside influence.

– Just a week after scientists reported evidence that our species left Africa earlier than we thought, another discovery is suggesting the date might be pushed back further. Homo sapiens arose in Africa at least 300,000 years ago and left to colonize the globe. Scientists think there were several dispersals from Africa, not all equally successful. Last week's report of a human jaw showed some members of our species had reached Israel by 177,000 to 194,000 years ago. Now comes a discovery in India of stone tools, showing a style that has been associated elsewhere with our species. They were fashioned from 385,000 years ago to 172,000 years ago, showing evidence of continuity and development over that time. That starting point is a lot earlier than scientists generally think Homo sapiens left Africa. This tool style has also been attributed to Neanderthals and possibly other species. So it's impossible to say whether the tools were made by Homo sapiens or some evolutionary cousin, say researchers who reported the finding Wednesday in the journal Nature. "We are very cautious on this point" because no human fossils were found with the tools, several authors added in a statement, per the AP. Michael Petraglia, an archaeologist who specializes in human evolution in Asia but didn't participate in the work, said he did not think the tools show that our species had left Africa so long ago. "I simply don't buy it." Instead, he said, he believes one of our evolutionary cousins in India developed the tool style independently. "It's a whodunit, and we don't have the answer," a paleoanthropologist not involved with the study tells NPR.

Will make health care more affordable/control costs/lower costs 10 “Because it makes health insurance affordable for people without insurance.�? TWITTER FIGHT: Obamacare deadline brings out the tweets The hiccup came as the Obama administration and its allies made a last-minute push to persuade Americans to enroll in health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. Country/people will be better off generally 7 “It makes health care better for Americans.�? Opposed to individual mandate/ Unconstitutional 17 “Don’t think it’s right to penalize people who don’t have health care.�?

– As the clock ticked toward ObamaCare's midnight deadline, a second round of glitches hit HealthCare.gov today, this time blocking new users from applying. The site is now back up and running, Politico reports, but its "virtual waiting room was triggered," and the Obama administration reported that as many as 100,000 users at a time were on the site. HealthCare.gov had earlier gone down for maintenance for several hours beginning around 3am ET, with Health and Human Services officials ascribing the outage to a software bug. More last-minute tidbits: We are a nation of procrastinators: Last night, HHS revealed that the site saw 2 million visits over the weekend, and that the ObamaCare call center fielded 2.5 million calls in the last week—compared to 2.4 million for all of February, reports USA Today. Joe Biden is trying to help: By appealing to America's youth via an appearance on Rachael Ray's show today. Today's deadline isn't truly a deadline: As previously reported, would-be enrollees who begin but don't complete the process by today will be granted an extension. The penalty threat: The Wall Street Journal clarifies the specifics: a $95 fine or 1% of your income, whichever is greater. It estimates a couple with two kids bringing in $100,000 a year would pony up about $800—when paying 2014 taxes, which will happen in 2015. The unaware: The Journal points out a Kaiser Health Tracking Poll that this week determined 60% of uninsured Americans aren't aware of today's deadline.

But the nature of his talent has never been more apparent than during the last two years when, beginning with his legendary interview with David Letterman, the clean-shaven two-time Oscar nominee committed himself wholly to making every public appearance a painstaking portrait of an emotional breakdown. I sort-of expected the just-released trailer for Joaquin Phoenix’s Crazy Lost Year documentary “I’m Still Here” to clear things up a bit. It’s the best evidence yet that the actor—with the help of his brother-in-law Casey Affleck—was pulling a full-on Andy Kaufman on the American public. “Life’s a journey that goes round and round,” the mystic says, “and the end is closest to the beginning.” Shepard Fairey said the new movie convinced him that Phoenix is “definitely a brilliant and troubled mystery.” Whatever that means.

– The enigma that's wrapped in the riddle that is actor Joaquin Phoenix is beginning to unravel ... or maybe not. Film of his apparent months-long nervous breakdown, shot by brother-in-law Casey Affleck, is about to hit theaters, and it's proof that the mysterious personality disorder he displayed was all an enormous practical joke, crows Daily Beast writer Gina Piccalo. A preview of the film I'm Still Here: The Lost World of Joaquin circulating on the Internet is so deadpan that's it's "ridiculous" and further evidence that Joaquin "has been pulling one over on the public," she notes. Still ... the work is "bizarre," admits Piccalo, and everyone connected to the film is still "keeping mum" (except for two female staffers who are suing Affleck for sex harassment). The Baltimore Sun calls the trailer a "whirling dervish of confusion," and the Los Angeles Times is perplexed, and "not entirely sure whether the film is a joke." Like Joaquin, the "entire thing is kind of a blur," the paper adds.

Kimberly Stewart Is Pregnant With Benicio Del Toro's Baby Email This and Kimberly Stewart are the latest pair to get swept up in the Hollywood baby boom. Benicio is the father and is very supportive," his rep confirms to PEOPLE in a statement. Although they are not a couple, they are looking forward to the arrival of the baby." "Kimberly is pregnant.

– Kimberly Stewart has starred as herself in the E! True Hollywood Story episode of "The Hilton Sisters." So it makes total sense that she's carrying the baby of a fellow actor ... Oscar-winner Benicio del Toro. Yes, you read that right. The 31-year-old daughter of Rod Stewart isn't in a relationship with the 44-year-old, but a source tells People del Toro "is supportive and both are very excited." Click for more on who each has been linked to in the past.

Police Scotland has launched an investigation into a new Glasgow nightclub following complaints from clubbers that its girl’s toilet housed a two way mirror. Punters are asked to part with as much as £800 to access one of two ‘smoke and mirrors’ booths inside the venue to ogle female patrons. The resulting fracas forced the Shimmy Club to issue a statement on Facebook saying: “The Shimmy Club’s two-way mirror is a design feature created as a bit of fun, an interactive feature which we hoped would act as a talking point for people visiting The Shimmy. The vast majority of people who have visited the club have taken it as such. “God help us when they find out that we have buried vibrators into sections of the dancefloor...............” This failed to appease many, including Kirsty Cunningham who responded: “The most cringe-worthy bit of PR I've witnessed in years!! To the people comparing a two-way mirror (which faces exclusively into the ladies bathroom) to a unisex wash area, you sound like idiots. The signage provided to inform girls of this is barely noticeable and, realistically, after a few drinks how often do people pay attention to all the little notices dotted around a club?”

– Be careful if you're a woman at Glasgow's Shimmy Club and find yourself having to use the restroom: It's installed with a two-way mirror, and clubgoers who want a look are charged as much as $1,200 to peep in. After complaints, Scotland's police force launched an investigation into the nightclub, the Drum reports. The club isn't denying anything; it released a statement on Facebook calling the mirror "a bit of fun," "a talking point," and "a unique idea," and pointing out that signs in the bathroom warn patrons about the mirror. But one commenter who responded claimed those signs are "barely noticeable."

In the stressful aftermath of the assault, which included coercion from the player's friend – "Don't do anything you would regret," the friend texted Seeberg – Seeberg took an overdosed of depression and anxiety medication and died eight days later. Some Manti Te'o Twitter jokes were instant classics; no one decent can make jokes about a girl who killed herself after being told, “Don’t do anything you would regret," and “Messing with Notre Dame football is a bad idea," according to Melinda Henneberger's reporting. In other words, it's not just the players who are banding together around their brothers whether they're rapists or not; it's the adults around them who are turning a blind eye because they consider other things are more important. (Here’s how: A longtime ND donor I interviewed said a top university official told him straight up that Lizzy had been sexually aggressive with the player rather than the other way around: “She was all over the boy.”) Though 13 Seebergs went to Notre Dame and Saint Mary’s before Lizzy, her family is sitting this season out, of course.

– Notre Dame is sticking by Manti Te'o, taking him at his word that he was a victim and not a perpetrator of the non-existent girlfriend hoax. The school promises its own investigation into this "cruel game." But where was this outrage, this determination to get to the truth, in the case of Lizzy Seeberg, wonders observers such as Amanda Marcotte at Slate, Irin Carmon at Salon, and Katie Rogers at the Guardian. Seeberg was a Notre Dame freshman who committed suicide after accusing a football player there of sexual assault. She had been warned by another player not to make trouble because "messing with Notre Dame football is a bad idea," according to reporter Melinda Henneberger, who wrote about it in the Washington Post last month. What's more, Henneberger says another girl got raped by a different player but declined to report it after receiving a "hailstorm" of threatening texts from his teammates. No player has been charged, and the school showed little interest in either case, she writes. Ditto for police and the media. "Notre Dame has already scheduled press conferences and hired an outside investigator to deal with the Te’o situation, two things that never happened for Seeberg," writes Marcotte at Slate. "Beautiful, selfless, perfect woman does not exist? Now that's a story. The horrors faced by women trying to find justice for sexual violence? Sorry, ladies, that's just boring old everyday life." Read her full post here.

At the CNN debate in Miami, GOP candidates sparred over immigration, social security, how to talk about Muslims and more. That contrast was not so stark on Thursday, and Kasich consequently did not have a big breakthrough moment. * Ted Cruz: The Texas senator succeeded, at times during the debate, in making it seem as though it was a one-on-one race between him and Trump. Sen. Marco Rubio Marco RubioRubio: 'I have no reaction’ to Bannon hire NFL players visit DC for dialogue on race Insurers brace for ObamaCare upheaval MORE (Fla.) Rubio entered this debate on the ropes. Policy wonks will also have derived some satisfaction from the evening, which featured substantive discussions about a wide range of issues, foreign and domestic, from Social Security and veterans’ affairs to trade agreements and relations with Cuba. Caption The four remaining candidates debated in Miami, five days before the winner-take-all GOP primary in Florida on March 15. Carlo Allegri/Reuters Buy Photo Wait 1 second to continue. The question, as always with Trump, is whether he lacks engagement on policy matters at all. MIXED Sen. Ted Cruz Ted CruzCruz, Marla Maples, Tommy Hilfiger all seen at Trump Tower Supreme Court now in Trump’s hands The conservative case against filibuster reform MORE (Texas) Cruz can take satisfaction from the fact that he is clearly the biggest threat to Trump’s quest for the nomination. Cruz at one point highlighted that he was only about 100 delegates behind the front-runner and that he had beaten him in a number of states. Trump shot back immediately: “He’s always saying, ‘I’m the only one that beat Donald in six contests, and I beat him.’ But I beat him in 13 contests. Generally, Cruz turned in what's likely to be Thursday's most effective performance. Marco Rubio – Rubio got off virtually every memorable line of the night, including “I don’t care about being politically correct, I just want to be correct on this issue.” He also embarrassingly exposed Trump’s lack of basic knowledge about foreign policy, especially with respect to Cuba. Cruz delivered a cutting description of Trump’s foreign policy philosophy as, “China bad, Muslims bad.” It was an entirely different approach by Trump’s opponents, and response by the New York billionaire.

– After the escalating pattern of hostilities over the previous 11 GOP debates, the 12th offered what seemed like the strangest spectacle yet: four Republican candidates calmly discussing the issues, with nary a mention of bodily parts or functions. Marco Rubio was widely seen as having turned in the best performance, though the lack of any standout moments from rivals left the relatively subdued Donald Trump in the best position at the end of the night. Here's what commentators are saying about the candidates: Donald Trump. He pursued a strategy common to front-runners: "play not to lose, avoid mistakes or eruptions, and force the opposition to change the dynamic," writes Dan Balz at the Washington Post. He didn't really seem to know what he was talking about most of the time, Balz notes, but that hasn't been a problem for him before. Mark Halperin at Bloomberg also declares Trump—"the luckiest front-runner"—the winner, mainly because the three underdogs largely left him alone and failed to score big moments of their own. Marco Rubio. The Florida senator was "poised, confident, and knowledgeable" on his home turf, writes Chris Cillizza at the Washington Post, who credits him for avoiding attacks on Trump and for "performing extremely well when the chips were down," even though it's probably too late to save his campaign. Ted Cruz. This was a good but not good enough performance from Cruz, according to Niall Stanage at the Hill, who considers Trump and Rubio the winners. His debating "was proficient, as it almost always is, but he delivered no moments spectacular enough to derail the Trump train," he writes. Leon Wolf at RedState, however, calls Cruz the winner simply because the debate left him on course to become Trump's sole opponent. Wolf gives Cruz bonus points because "on several occasions, he demonstrated that he knew what he was talking about, and that Donald Trump did not." John Kasich. The Ohio governor had some excellent lines and turned in a competent performance, but not one likely to catapult him to the GOP nomination. Last week, Kasich emerged as "the adult in the room during a childish debate that for all intents and purposes devolved into a middle-school food fight," writes Andrew Tobias at Cleveland.com, but he failed to stand out during Thursday's more well-mannered affair. Click for some of the debate's best lines.

– At times the losing team is accused of choking. This time ESPN announcer Chris Fowler admits he choked, literally, during yesterday's Pinstripe Bowl, the AP reports. Fowler tweeted that he was choking on a chicken sandwich at halftime when fellow broadcaster Jesse Palmer gave him the Heimlich maneuver. "Never before needed a Heimlich at halftime. (Or any time)!" he posted. "Thanks Jesse Palmer! He saved me from death by dry chicken sandwich. Really." He soon added that it was "not bad to have a quick-thinking, ex-NFL player around" in a time of need.

It's the Kennedy Space Center countdown clock, familiar in hundreds of launch pictures, and on Monday, it was removed. For 40 years, the clock has been a silent witness to history -- well, almost silent. A new clock, looking just like the old one but with fancy graphics and electronics, will be in place for next week's big Orion test launch. "To keep it going, or parts which we have to make ourselves is just not practical," said George Diller, NASA Public Information Specialist) The numerals are made of old fashioned 40-watt light bulbs similar to the kind once used in refrigerators. "It was getting to be very labor-intensive and we're not able to continue to maintain it for every launch." More Watch this report The clock first made its appearance in the heady days of Apollo, for Apollo 12 in November 1969. Launch Complex 39 -- where the Apollo moon missions and space shuttle flights left the earth -- is being rebuilt for giant new rockets, both public and private. Workers hauled it away in three sections Monday but the plan is to refurbish it and move it down the road to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, where space shuttle Atlantis now lives as a museum piece.

– After London's Big Ben, NASA says its Kennedy Space Center countdown clock was the world's most watched. Not anymore: It was taken down yesterday, WESH reports. The clock, with 336 40-watt light bulbs, has been around since November 1969, when it ticked away the seconds until the launch of Apollo 12, WCSC reports. But all those hundreds of bulbs have to be changed from time to time, and the clock requires checking before "every launch," says the man who has been in charge of the device for all but five of its 45 years. Its motors are kept cool with fans, its electronics have weathered storms, and it was corroded by salty air, MyFox Tampa Bay reports. These days, "to keep it going, or (use) parts which we have to make ourselves, is just not practical," a NASA rep says. Fortunately, the replacement version looks the same as its predecessor, just with modernized electronics. The old clock will make its new home at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, WESH notes, while the new one will be ready for an Orion launch next week.

– An animal welfare officer in Oregon is getting attention after her body-worn camera captured her rescuing a baby deer. The Eugene Police Department on Thursday made public a video and photo of Officer Shawni McLaughlin freeing a terrified fawn that got stuck in a backyard fence, the AP reports. In the video, McLaughlin wraps the fawn's head in a towel and lifts it from between two narrow fence posts as she gently talks to the deer. The fawn lies on the ground for a few seconds after being freed, apparently not aware it can walk. McLaughlin pets it before it springs up and runs away. An open sore can be seen on the fawn's left hip.

Splash News Online Pierce Brosnan is returning to work following the death of his daughter , Charlotte, from ovarian cancer.The actor was seen on set Tuesday shooting action scenes in Belgrade, Serbia, for the upcoming film November Man, a spy thriller based on the novels by Bill Granger.According to a press release, the movie follows an ex-CIA operative who is brought back in on a dangerous mission, pitted against his former pupil in a deadly game involving CIA and Russian officials.Brosnan, 60, reportedly left the set to be with his daughter during her final days. Charlotte, who was 41, passed away in London on June 28."Charlotte fought her cancer with grace and humanity, courage and dignity," Brosnan, who lost his wife and Charlotte's mother to the same disease in 1991, said in a statement. "Our hearts are heavy with the loss of our beautiful dear girl. We pray for her and that the cure for this wretched disease will be close at hand soon," the actor continues. "We thank everyone for their heartfelt condolences."

– A bit of joyful news in the wake of Pierce Brosnan's daughter's death: She quietly married her boyfriend two weeks beforehand. Brosnan walked Charlotte, 42, down the aisle; her daughter Isabella, 15, was a bridesmaid. "It wasn’t a day to be sad," an attendee tells the Sun. "Alex [Smith, the groom] and Pierce were smiling broadly." Pierce Brosnan is already back to work, People reports. He was spotted in Serbia yesterday shooting scenes for spy thriller November Man.

FRANKFURT/NEW YORK (Reuters) - T-Mobile USA, which plans to merge with MetroPCS, will have to overcome technology hurdles to be able to take on bigger rivals Verizon Wireless, AT&T Inc and Sprint Nextel Corp. Signage for a T-Mobile store is pictured in downtown Los Angeles, California in this August 31, 2011, file photo. The agreement to combine the U.S. wireless businesses into one company will give Deutsche Telekom a 74 percent stake, and MetroPCS shareholders will retain the rest, the companies announced today, following a Bloomberg News report about the talks yesterday. While Sprint Chief Executive Officer Dan Hesse has said the third-largest U.S. mobile-phone carrier will play a role in industry consolidation, Stifel Financial Corp. says a tie-up between MetroPCS and T-Mobile USA will limit Sprint’s takeover options. Sprint’s best remaining option to better compete with larger rivals AT&T Inc. (T) and Verizon Wireless may be to buy Leap Wireless (LEAP) International Inc., according to Wall Street Access. Deutsche Telekom said cost synergies from the combined company would have a net present value of $6 billion to $7 billion and, after 2017 synergies, would be worth $1.2 billion to $1.5 billion annually. T-Mobile USA, the fourth-largest U.S. carrier, is seeking to stem client losses and gain scale to better compete in a market dominated by AT&T and Verizon Wireless, the joint venture between Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) and Vodafone Group Plc. The carrier is in need of its own deal to bolster its subscriber base after the $36 billion takeover of Nextel Communications Inc. in 2005 left the company with incompatible networks, a shrinking customer base and five years of net losses. MetroPCS shares, which rose 18 percent on Tuesday on reports that a deal was in the works, fell 9.8 percent to $12.24 as the reality of the challenges took hold. Bob Toevs, a spokesman for Englewood, Colorado-based Dish, declined to comment. T-Mobile USA parent Deutsche Telekom has been looking for a Plan B for the No.4 U.S. wireless network since its $39 billion attempt to sell T-Mobile USA to AT&T collapsed in late 2011 because of opposition from antitrust regulators. Analysts say the deal, which awaits regulatory and shareholder approval, might force Sprint to put in a rival bid because it badly needs to grow its user base to continue to compete with Verizon and AT&T.

– Deutsche Telekom, the parent company of T-Mobile USA, has agreed to a merger with the smaller MetroPCS Communications, a move that inches the two struggling competitors closer to industry leaders Verizon and AT&T, reports Reuters. The company will retain the name T-Mobile, and Deutsche will hold 74% of the new business. The new company will now have 42.5 million subscribers—still a far cry from AT&T's 105 million and Verizon's 94 million. It's also trailing the No. 3 in the market, Sprint, which now finds itself in a tough position, reports Bloomberg. Sprint's CEO has said that the company was looking to take part in "industry consolidation," but with the new merger, there isn't much left for Sprint to gobble up. The move "pushes them into a corner," says one analyst. “You can’t be an orphan in this industry. You’ve got to try and save a place at the table, and there’s going to be some movement here.”

"It is important to make sure that very graphic photos of somebody who was shot in the head are not floating around as an incitement to additional violence or as a propaganda tool," said the president. We don’t trot out this stuff as trophies," Obama told CBS News, according to White House spokesman Jay Carney. / CBS In explaining his choice not to release the photo, Mr. Obama said that "we don't need to spike the football." And I think that, given the graphic nature of these photos, it would create some national security risk," the president said, according to Carney's account. The White House had been weighing the release of a photo, in part to offer proof that bin Laden was killed during a raid on his compound early Monday. "We've analyzed them and there's no question that it's bin Laden." Bin Laden had about 500 euros sewn into his clothes when he was killed and had phone numbers on him when he was killed, U.S. officials said, a possible indication that bin Laden was ready to flee the compound on short notice. Asked about his response to some people in Pakistan saying the United States was lying about having killed bin Laden, Obama said: "The truth is that we were monitoring worldwide reaction. "The evidence collected leaves no doubt that Osama bin Laden is dead." "Certainly there is no doubt among al Qaeda members that he is dead. So we don't think that a photograph in and of itself is going to make any difference." "There are going to be some folks who deny it," he added. TRANSCRIPT: Obama discusses decision not to release images on "60 Minutes" Asked about the decision Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Carney said "there are obviously arguments to be made on either side." "Obviously I've seen those photographs," he said. He said it applied to "all visual evidence" of bin Laden's death, including video of his burial at sea. Bin Laden news gives Obama 11-point approval bump Bush declines Obama invitation to ground zero Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-SC, called the decision a "mistake." / CBS News "The whole purpose of sending our soldiers into the compound, rather than an aerial bombardment, was to obtain indisputable proof of bin Laden's death," he said. Palin to Obama: Stop pussyfooting, release photo Osama bin Laden had cash, phone numbers sewn in clothes White House changes story: Bin Laden unarmed Cables: U.S. near bin Laden in '08, didn't know it Republican House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers said earlier in the day that the Obama administration should not release the gruesome post- mortem images, saying it could complicate the job for American troops overseas. "Conspiracy theorists around the world will just claim the photos are doctored anyway," Rogers told CBS News, "and there is a real risk that releasing the photos will only serve to inflame public opinion in the Middle East." President Barack Obama has decided not to release photographs of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden's body, the White House said Wednesday. The decision comes a day after CIA director Leon Panetta said that a photo proving the death of bin Laden "would be presented to the public," but the comment quickly drew a response from the White House saying no decision has yet been made. "I've had it described to me and it does sound very gruesome," he said.

– President Obama has decided not to release grisly photos of Osama bin Laden's body. Obama himself tells Steve Kroft of his decision in a 60 Minutes interview to air Sunday, reports CBS News. Excerpts will be out later today. The decision—NBC reported it earlier today—comes after CIA chief Leon Panetta suggested an image would be out soon. But the White House apparently decided that the potential backlash would outweigh the benefits of offering definitive proof of the killing. Hillary Clinton and Robert Gates had argued against the release.

North Korea fired a ballistic... (Associated Press) SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — In a first, North Korea on Tuesday fired a midrange ballistic missile designed to carry a nuclear payload that flew over Japan and splashed into the northern Pacific Ocean, officials said. The South Korean military was analyzing whether North Korea had launched a Hwasong-12, a new intermediate-range missile that it recently threatened to fire into waters near Guam, which hosts a major U.S. military base that the North considers a threat. The launch is also another rebuke to Trump, who suggested last week that his tough approach to North Korea, which included threats to unleash "fire and fury," meant leader Kim Jong Un "is starting to respect us." All options are on the table.” [North Korea’s latest launch designed to cause maximum mayhem, minimal blowback] Despite the grave warning, Trump’s statement was notably measured in contrast to his response to previous tests of ballistic missile launches by North Korea. The Japanese prime minister’s office said Shinzo Abe and Trump talked by phone for 40 minutes after the launch, agreeing that they should increase pressure on North Korea. Tokyo said there was no reported damage from the missile, which Japan's NHK TV said separated into three parts. (Reuters) Still, this launch, coming after North Korea last month launched two intercontinental ballistic missiles theoretically capable of reaching the U.S. mainland, underscore both Kim's defiance of the international community and his determination to press ahead with his missile program.

– North Korea's provocative new missile launch has prompted an early morning warning from President Trump in which he says that "all options are on the table." Trump doesn't offer specifics but chastises Pyongyang for launching a ballistic missile that flew over Japan. "The world has received North Korea’s latest message loud and clear: this regime has signaled its contempt for its neighbors, for all members of the United Nations, and for minimum standards of acceptable international behavior," said the presidential statement, per the Washington Post. In its coverage for the North's test launch, the New York Times characterized Pyongyang's move as a "direct challenge" to Trump, who said last week that the North was "starting to respect us" after Trump began talking tough. Trump spoke with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday night, and afterward Abe told reporters that Japan and the US were "completely matched" in their stances and would discuss ways to increase international pressure on the North. Pyongyang has twice before fired missiles over Japan, in 1998 and in 2009, but it said afterward that those missiles were carrying satellites. The AP reports that the latest launch involved a midrange ballistic missile, which is "unambiguously" for military purposes, unlike the two earlier missile launches.

The flight on Monday, Nov. 14, 2016 flew from Sea-Tac Airport to Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C. (Photo: KOMO News) SEA-TAC AIRPORT, Wash - Alaska Airlines made history on Monday with the first commercial flight that used renewable, alternative jet fuel made from forest residuals. The biofuel remains much more expensive than regular jet fuel derived from oil. An Alaska Airlines flight from Seattle to Washington, D.C., on Monday morning was powered with a jet-fuel blend containing 20 percent renewable biofuel made from Pacific Northwest forest residuals — the limbs and branches that remain after the harvesting of managed forests. "[It is] the first commercial airline flight to be powered by certified, sustainable, bio-jet fuel, produced from wood and other wood materials that are the result of timber harvesting on managed forest lands," said NARA executive director Ralph Cavaleri Cavalier, who is also the Vice President for Research at WSU. The airline said that replacing 20 percent of its entire fuel supply at Sea-Tac Airport with the same fuel would reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by about 142,000 metric tons of CO2 per year.

– On Monday, an Alaska Airlines jet flew into the history books as the first commercial flight to use a "renewable, alternative jet fuel made from forest residuals," as KOMO News puts it. In other words: Tree limbs and branches, the byproducts of the timber harvest that typically would have been burned as waste, made up some of the fuel that powered the Boeing 737 along its journey from Seattle's Sea-Tac Airport to Washington DC's Reagan National. "The jet fuel itself is 20% blend of petroleum and renewables," says a representative of biofuel company Gevo, which was involved in the project. "This is the future of being able to reduce our greenhouse gas footprint." The project, which used wood from local tribal lands and private forest operations, began five years ago. Washington State University and the Northwest Advanced Renewables Alliance worked on it with a $40 million federal grant from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture. The jet fuel containing wood products is rated as equivalent to regular jet fuel, the Seattle Times reports. If all of Alaska Airlines' planes at Sea-Tac saw 20% of their fuel replaced with the biofuel, it would reduce carbon emissions equal to those produced by 30,000 cars per year, but more funding is needed before the fuel can be used regularly because it's currently more expensive than jet fuel.

Supporters of Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev celebrate his victory in the presidential elections in Baku, Azerbaijan, Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2013. Azerbaijan election: the pre-determined president Protests against the government have been stifled Continue reading the main story Related Stories Azerbaijan elects a president on Wednesday in what human rights organisations say is a stifling atmosphere of intimidation. Azerbaijan’s president won a third five-year term by... (Associated Press) On Tuesday, a day before the voting began, the smartphone app of the Central Election Commission released results showing President Ilham Aliyev, whose family has been at the helm of the Caspian Sea nation for four decades, winning 73 percent of the vote. As of this writing, Azerbaijan's election authorities say they've counted 80 percent of the ballots, with Aliyev winning just under 85 percent of the vote so far. Contenders The main competition to Ilham Aliyev comes from former MP Professor Jamil Hasanli, a candidate from the National Council opposition bloc. The commission apologized for the early result, saying Thursday it had been only a test at one polling station conducted by the software developer. A spokesman for the ruling New Azerbaijan Party, Aydin Mirzazadeh, dismisses these allegations, saying that every vote for another candidate is a vote against the government, and Azerbaijan's Central Election Committee (CEC) boasts of pluralism.

– Voting for the next president of Azerbaijan wasn't supposed to start until yesterday—but the day before, results were already amazingly posted on a Central Election Commission smartphone app. The app said incumbent president Ilham Aliyev was winning with 73% of the vote, continuing his family's decades-long reign (the Washington Post has a screenshot). The early results were quickly removed, and when actual voting commenced, the commission said Aliyev had managed 85% of the vote, compared to the runner-up's 6%. The election was never actually expected to be free or fair, the Post notes. Today, the commission apologized for the advance result, claiming it was spurred by software testing. But runner-up Jamil Hasanli wasn't satisfied. "This election doesn't reflect the people's will," he said. Outside observers cited a deeply flawed voting process, including "limitations on the freedoms of expression, assembly, and association that didn't guarantee a level playing field for candidates," the AP reports. Political activists in the country have been falsely imprisoned, says Human Rights Watch; and an analyst says fake candidates ganged up on Hasanli during debates, the BBC reports. Officials fear "post-election disorder," monitors say, following anti-corruption riots earlier this year.

Boeing employees were conducting a test of a system designed to prevent fires when smoke began filling the back of the cabin of the next-generation 787 Dreamliner, according to the company. A company spokeswoman said there was one minor injury during the evacuation. Boeing said data from the aircraft was being taken to Seattle—the center of the company's commercial aircraft operations—for analysis. The 42 people aboard evacuated using the plane's emergency slides, Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Lynn Lunsford said. (CNN) -- An electrical fire on board a Boeing Dreamliner caused the plane to lose primary electrical power during a test flight Tuesday, the company said. According to the flight-tracking website FlightAware.com, the Dreamliner had departed Yuma, Ariz., at 7:42 a.m. Mountain Standard Time. It was expected to land in Laredo sometime on Tuesday afternoon after a flight of several hours testing the Dreamliner's nitrogen-generation system, a new safety measure designed to reduce the risk of fire in the plane's fuel tanks. The state-of-the-art 787, which is made largely of carbon-fiber composite material, depends heavily on its vast and complex electrical system. The test Dreamliner jet is painted in the color scheme of Japan's All Nippon Airways Co., the first customer for the new airliner, though the test jet isn't slated for delivery to the airline. Boeing says it still intends to deliver the first 787-08 Dreamliner to ANA Airlines in the middle of the first quarter of next year.

– Is the Boeing 787 cursed? Boeing today announced that it will ground its entire test fleet of the long-delayed Dreamliner, after a fire forced one to make an emergency landing yesterday. The plane was making its final approach to Laredo, Texas, when the crew reported smoke in the cabin, possibly from the rear electronics bay, the Wall Street Journal reports. The 42-member crew wound up evacuating via the jet’s emergency slides, as ground crews rushed in to extinguish the flames. “Until we understand the event, we’re not going to schedule any new flights,” a Boeing spokeswoman told CNN. The problem may have been with the electronics, or it might have involved its Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines, which have encountered a series of problems both in test flights, and in Rolls-Royce’s testing facilities. (Rolls-Royce has been having a tough couple of days; click here for more.)

FILE - This May 13, 2013 file photo shows O.J. Simpson's lawyers submitted a supersized appeal to the Nevada Supreme Court, seeking the former football star's release from prison and a new trial in his 2007 Las Vegas armed-robbery case. Simpson, 66, is serving nine to 33 years in a northern Nevada prison after being found guilty of leading a group of armed men in a September 2007 confrontation with two sports memorabilia dealers at a Las Vegas casino hotel. Inmate #1027820 has had a “positive record,” the Nevada Board of Parole Commissioners said in July, which included his participation in parole programs. The high court must approve the longer version, which it has done in the past in other cases. The appeal has more than 30 appendices to it, the Supreme Court’s website shows. In her ruling, Bell said the evidence was overwhelming against Simpson and that there was no indication that it was a close verdict. Following his Hall of Fame professional football career, Simpson became one of the most popular former athletes in America, regularly hawking products in humorous TV commercials or starring in movies, such as “The Naked Gun.” That is, until Simpson was acquitted by a Los Angeles jury in 1995 of the 1994 deaths of his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and Ronald Goldman in what was dubbed “the trial of the century.” Testimony at the May hearing revealed that most of the items taken in the 2007 robbery were found to be the football player’s. ___ Find Ken Ritter on Twitter: http://twitter.com/krttr

– OJ Simpson is seeking a new trial, arguing that the notoriety from his 1995 murder acquittal tainted his 2008 trial for a robbery in Las Vegas. His lawyers have filed an appeal with the Nevada Supreme Court, but it runs a mammoth 19,993 words and has more than 30 appendices; the AP points out that's 43% longer than the court's established word limit. It's not clear whether it will be accepted, though the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports the court has made such exceptions in the past. Simpson is serving nine to 33 years at the Lovelock Correctional Center in northern Nevada for his part in the armed robbery of two sports memorabilia dealers, but he argues that he was simply recovering his own property. He will not be eligible for parole until late 2017. The state's board of parole commissioners says Inmate #1027820 has had a "positive record," reports the Review-Journal. (He was, however, told off for stealing cookies last fall.)

Abrams made the comments in a Friday... (Associated Press) ATLANTA (AP) — Democrat Stacey Abrams ended 10 days of post-election drama in Georgia's closely watched and even more closely contested race for governor Friday, acknowledging Republican Brian Kemp as the victor while defiantly refusing to concede to the man she blamed for "gross mismanagement" of a bitterly fought election. “I acknowledge that former Secretary of State Brian Kemp will be certified as the victor in the 2018 gubernatorial election, but to watch an elected official who claims to represent the people in this state baldly pin his hopes for election on the suppression of the people’s democratic right to vote has been truly appalling,” Abrams said. Kemp declared himself governor-elect the next day and stepped down as Georgia's secretary of state, though thousands of absentee and provisional ballots remained uncounted. But Abrams also criticized Kemp's handling of the election as secretary of state and said her speech was not a normal concession of a fair election to an opponent. But my assessment is the law currently allows no further viable remedy.” Abrams’ speech, her first public remarks since election night, came during a news conference called with less than two hours’ notice. Instead, she announced that she was bowing out of the race knowing that the interim Secretary of State was poised to certify election results declaring Republican Brian Kemp the winner. Since the Nov. 6 election, Abrams and her campaign argued that Kemp, through negligence or indirect moves as secretary of state, worked to suppress the vote for Abrams throughout the state. Putting her campaign to rest, Abrams said she would continue to speak out about how Kemp carried out the election and push for changes. She accused Kemp of using the secretary of state's office to aggressively purge the rolls of inactive voters, enforce an "exact match" policy for checking voters' identities that left thousands of registrations in limbo and other measures to tile the outcome in his favor. “The campaign is over and Kemp’s focus is on building a safer, stronger future for Georgia families. Kemp also built his reputation as secretary of state on being a voter-fraud hardliner. Since Election Day her campaign fought on, insisting efforts to suppress turnout had left thousands of ballots uncounted that otherwise could erode Kemp's lead and force a runoff election. Stacey Abrams fought brilliantly and hard - she will have a terrific political future!

– It's over in Georgia: Stacey Abrams called a press conference Friday to acknowledge that Republican Brian Kemp will be the state's next governor, reports Politico. But Abrams made clear that she thinks Kemp, who oversaw the election as secretary of state, is guilty of foul play. "To watch an elected official who claims to represent the people in this state baldly pin his hopes for election on the suppression of the people’s democratic right to vote has been truly appalling,” Abrams said, per the Atlanta Journal Constitution. “So, let’s be clear," she said. "This is not a speech of concession. Because concession means to acknowledge an action is right, true or proper. As a woman of conscience and faith, I cannot concede that. But my assessment is the law currently allows no further viable remedy.” Abrams, who had been vying to become the nation's first black female governor, accused Kemp of "gross mismanagement" of the election, per the AP. Still, she said she would pray for his success. Kemp, for his part, praised his opponent's "passion, hard work, and commitment to public service."

The incident happened at the Northeast Atlanta Health and Rehabilitation in 2014, but the video was recently released as part of a lawsuit filed by the family. In November, the Brookhaven Police Department launched a criminal investigation into 89-year-old James Dempsey’s death after an 11Alive Investigation uncovered hidden camera video and court depositions of nursing home staff who responded to the World War II veteran. This is why one is charged with murder In the video deposition, Nuckles originally told Dempsey family attorney Mike Prieto that she rushed to Dempsey's room when a nurse told her that he had stopped breathing. Sign up for the daily Speed Feed Newsletter Sign up for the daily Speed Feed Newsletter Something went wrong. This email will be delivered to your inbox once a day in the morning. Thank you for signing up for the Speed Feed Newsletter. Footage later showed apparent laughter in the room. Submit Prieto: “From the time you came in, you took over doing chest compressions…correct?” Nuckles : “Yes.” Prieto: “Until the time paramedics arrive, you were giving CPR continuously?” Nuckles : “Yes.” The video, however, shows no one doing CPR when Nuckles entered the room. She also did not immediately start doing CPR. “It was very instrumental…because there was information in the news report that you guys aired that our detectives had not seen yet,” said Gurley. “I was just basing everything on what I normally do.” The video shows the veteran calling for help six times before he goes unconscious while gasping for air. State records show nursing home staff found Dempsey unresponsive at 5:28 am. It took almost an hour for the staff to call 911 at 6:25a.m. ANOTHER INVESTIGATION: Army veteran freezes to death after being released from VA hospital When a different nurse does respond, she fails to check any of his vital signs. Nuckles says she would have reprimanded the nurse for the way she responded to Dempsey. She called the video “sick.” ►OTHER INVESTIGATIONS: Diagnosing Discrimination: Widespread discrimination uncovered at CDC When nurses had difficulty getting Dempsey's oxygen machine operational during, you can hear Nuckles and others laughing. Submit PHOTOS: How a senior care facility failed Mr. Dempsey (story continues below) PHOTOS: How a senior care facility failed Mr. Dempsey Wanda Nuckles of Buford, also a former nurse, is charged with depriving an elder person of essential Services, while Mable Turman, a certified nurse assistant from College Park, is charged with neglect to an elder person. “I can’t even remember all that, as you can see.” Dempsey’s family reached a settlement with the nursing home. In a prepared statement, a spokesperson wrote they were “saddened by the events, which occurred more than three years ago.” The letter also notes it has “new leadership and the leadership team and the staff have worked very diligently to improve quality care and the quality of life for our residents….The facility recently was deficiency-free during our recent annual inspection conducted by the Georgia Department of Health on May 25, 2017.” ►OTHER INVESTIGATIONS: Selling Girls: Sex traffickers are targeting America's children The nursing facility was made aware of the video in November 2015, but according to state inspection reports, the nursing home did not fire the nurses until 10 months later. According to the Georgia Board of Nursing, Nuckles and another nurse seen in the video surrendered their licenses in September 2017 – about three years after the incident. CHECK NURSING HOMES: Click here to see nursing home inspection reports Do you have a story you want to tell? Contact 11Alive Investigator Andy Pierotti.

– Nurses fired after a video appeared to show them ignoring a World War II veteran's calls for help before his death at a Georgia nursing home are now facing criminal charges, including a murder charge in one case. A grand jury on Tuesday indicted former licensed nurse Loyce Pickquet Agyeman on charges of felony murder, neglect to an elder person, and concealing a death following a police investigation triggered by 11Alive's airing of hidden camera footage from inside Northeast Atlanta Health and Rehabilitation. It showed Agyeman, former licensed nurse Wanda Nuckles, and nursing assistant Mable Turman inside the room of 89-year-old James Dempsey, who fell unconscious and ultimately died on Feb 27, 2014, after repeatedly calling for help while struggling to breathe. The footage—from a camera set up by family members who reached a settlement with the nursing home, per Law & Crime—showed staff laughing as they tried to start an oxygen machine. It also conflicted with a video deposition in which Nuckles claimed she'd given Dempsey CPR continuously until paramedics arrived. Staff didn't call 911 for almost an hour, 11Alive previously reported. Also indicted Tuesday, Nuckles is charged with depriving an elder person of essential services and concealing a death, while Turman—who remains certified—is charged with neglect and concealing a death. Arrest warrants for all three have been issued, per the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, though it's not clear if they are yet in custody. A trial date is pending.

The indictment was handed up in Albemarle County because the statement was made at the magistrate's office located in the Albemarle Charlottesville Regional Jail, which is in the county.

– The organizer of August's deadly Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville has been indicted on a felony perjury charge stemming from a January incident that previously landed him with an assault conviction. In a sworn statement on Jan. 23, Jason Kessler told a magistrate he was assaulted by Charlottesville resident James Taylor on the city's Downtown Mall while collecting signatures for a petition to oust a city councillor, according to court records. Kessler said Taylor "grabbed the petition and my arm, violently shaking to separate the two" and screamed an obscenity while "making contact with his face to mine," reports CBS19. Kessler added he "punched the attacker in self-defense," per the Daily Progress. However, prosecutors later said a video proved Kessler was lying; Taylor said at the time that "I was literally holding a cup of coffee." Kessler pleaded guilty to assault, received a 30-day suspended sentence, and was ordered to perform 50 hours of community service, while the complaint against Taylor was dismissed. "I'll admit that what I did was not legal," Kessler said in April, per the Daily Progress. "I was having a bad day. I've never done anything like this before and it will never happen again." Still, an Albemarle County grand jury issued an indictment for Kessler on Monday and an arrest warrant was issued by 3pm Tuesday. It's not clear if Kessler is in custody. Meanwhile in Charlottesville, the city council voted unanimously Monday to rename a section of 4th Street as Heather Heyer Way in honor of the counterprotester who was killed by a driver at the Unite the Right rally, reports WHSV.

Following discussion of this matter with editors, Joe has been suspended while we review the matter. This is true for all POLITICO journalists, including an experienced and well-respected voice like Joe Williams.

– Politico has suspended White House correspondent Joe Williams following his implication that Mitt Romney is only at ease among "white folks." Williams told Martin Bashir on MSNBC yesterday that Romney is "very, very comfortable ... with people who are like him," Thus he can be "awkward" in town hall meetings, but "when he comes on Fox and Friends, they're like him, they're white folks who are very much relaxed in their own company." Daily Intel points out that a Romney penis joke Williams made on Twitter only added fuel to the fire. And so Politico responded. Williams' comments "fell short of our standards for fairness and judgment in an especially unfortunate way," Politico bosses wrote in a staff memo. "An unacceptable number of Joe Williams' public statements on cable and Twitter have called into question his commitment to this responsibility," they noted. "Following discussion of this matter with editors, Joe has been suspended while we review the matter."

Story highlights The vice president is taking the lead on the Hill in hopes of helping to reshape the narrative Pence repeatedly emphasized to reporters that Trump's decision was the right one (CNN) Vice President Mike Pence on Wednesday praised President Donald Trump's decision to fire FBI Director James Comey and insisted the decision wasn't due to the ongoing probe into alleged ties between Trump's campaign and Russia. "As has been stated repeatedly and the President has been told, he's not under investigation," Pence told reporters on Capitol Hill.

– Vice President Mike Pence said Wednesday that President Trump's firing of James Comey had nothing to do with the fact that the former FBI director was in charge of the bureau's investigation into whether Trump's campaign team colluded with Russia to interfere with the 2016 US presidential election, CNN reports. "As has been stated repeatedly and the president has been told, he's not under investigation," Pence said in response to a question from NBC News' Kristen Welker. "There is no evidence of collusion between our campaign and any Russian officials." He didn't elaborate on the actual reasons for Comey's firing, but did say Trump was simply looking out for "the best interest of the American people," the Hill reports. (Mitch McConnell says there will be no special prosecutor appointed to investigate Russian tampering.)

BRIAN WILLIAMS, anchor: She was the first woman to serve as dean of Harvard law school and the first woman solicitor general , the government 's lawyer at the Supreme Court . Today the president praised her legal mind. But her tenure included controversy; she enforced a long-standing anti-discrimination policy there, blocking military recruiters from the law school because of the Pentagon 's ban on gays in the military . Senate Republicans pressed Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan Wednesday on her lack of judicial experience and her support for a policy that once banned military recruiters from some college campuses in her first appearance on Capitol Hill since her nomination earlier this week. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) said he was worried Kagan might be a "rubber stamp" for the policies of the Obama administration.

– President Obama plans to nominate Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court to replace John Paul Stevens tomorrow, MSNBC reports and numerous other sources comfirm. Should Kagan, 50, be confirmed, the high court would have three female justices for the first time. Her nomination marks the first time in 38 years that a Supreme Court nominee was not a sitting judge, notes the Washington Post. Kagan, the first female solicitor general, was confirmed to that post last year by a 61-31 vote, but the path to the high court is likely to be considerably rockier.

Kim Kardashian Vienna Ball Insulted Me With Kanye 'Black Face' Kim Kardashian -- Vienna Ball Insulted Me With Kanye 'Black Face' EXCLUSIVE stormed out of the hoity-toity Vienna Ball after some white dude working the event came up to her in black face, pretending to beKim was paid $500K to be the guest of, an Austrian businessman who has a long history of paying starlets half-a-mil to be his arm candy at the Vienna Annual Opera Ball.Lugner just did an interview trashing Kim for not sticking to the program, saying, "Kim is annoying me.

– Kim Kardashian was the latest celebrity paid ($500,000, in this case) to escort Austrian businessman Richard Lugner to the Vienna Opera Ball last night, but the evening didn't exactly go as planned. Sources tell TMZ Kardashian was posing for pictures with Lugner when a worker approached her in blackface, pretending to be Kanye West. She stayed at the ball, but then another man asked her to dance—and when she tried to decline, the guy told her the orchestra should play "N-----s in Vienna" for them to dance to, and she stormed out of the event. Prior to the ball, Lugner complained to reporters that "Kim is annoying me, because she's not sticking to the program," Radar reports. Hours after Kardashian arrived in Vienna, with mom Kris Jenner and daughter North West in tow, Lugner says she stood him up to go film scenes for Keeping Up With the Kardashians. "The guest should be with me and not anywhere else that is not agreed upon," said 81-year-old Lugner. But Kardashian had her own complaints, sources say: She claims Lugner grabbed her aggressively and was attempting to get alone with her. At least Kardashian showed up for the escort gig: In 2010, Lindsay Lohan bailed.

What once appeared to be the killing of an officer in the line of duty turned out to be "a carefully staged suicide," George Filenko, Lake County Major Crimes Task Force commander, said Wednesday. Lake County Major Crime Task Force spokesman Chris Covelli said that once a major crimes task force investigation starts, it's understood that individual departments will pick up the cost of the employees they send to work on it. Fox Lake police on Wednesday said Gliniewicz’s death was a “carefully staged suicide.” Gliniewicz had been stealing and laundering thousands of dollars from the police department’s youth auxiliary program for personal purchases, the department said. Gilbert R. Boucher II | Staff Photographer Once hailed a hero cop, Fox Lake police Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz was exposed by authorities Wednesday as an embezzler who tried to make his death look like murder to deceive investigators. “Personally, this is the first time as a police officer that I’m ashamed by the actions of a member of law enforcement.” As a leader in the police “explorer” program, Gliniewicz had extensive experience mocking up crime scenes to train aspiring cops, and officials say he used those skills to throw police off the trail of his deception. While the loss of a father and husband has devastated the Gliniewicz family—as well as his fellow officers at the Fox Lake Police Department—the new information provided by authorities may be even more painful to consider. The backups arrived about 8 a.m. and a few minutes later found Gliniewicz dead. "I'm looking forward to continuing the great post that Lt. Gliniewicz did establish and maintain all these years," he said. "It's important for us to take the time we need to get that done," Keller said.

– The Illinois cop found shot to death in September, setting off a statewide manhunt for three suspects he had told dispatchers he was chasing, actually orchestrated a "carefully staged suicide," George Filenko, the commander of the Lake County Major Crimes Task Force, said in a press conference Wednesday, CNN reports. That confirmed earlier reports that Joe Gliniewicz had killed himself, but what emerged at the presser was more shocking: that Gliniewicz had taken his own life after committing criminal acts, the AP notes. "Gliniewicz committed the ultimate betrayal to the citizens he served and the entire law enforcement community," Filenko said, per the Daily Beast, adding that the police officer had "intentionally left a staged trail of police equipment at the crime scene." Filenko tells the Daily Herald that the popular officer known as "GI Joe" stole and laundered somewhere in "the five figures" from the department's Explorer program—a training program for youth interested in a career in law enforcement—using it "as his personal bank account." Gliniewicz allegedly used the funds for gym memberships, travel, his mortgage, and adult websites. What helped crack the case: electronic messages deleted from his work and personal cellphones, Filenko adds. There were questions about Gliniewicz's death almost from the start, including that the fatal bullet had come from his own gun, as well as an initial refusal by the coroner to rule out suicide or an accident, CNN and the Daily Beast note. Now Filenko may have to walk back angry statements he made about the coroner—as well as justify the estimated $300,000 price tag for the manhunt.

Devon Webb and Angelo Passerin, both from Whitecourt, Alta., were on vacation riding through the Renshaw area near McBride, B.C., on March 22, 2013. Webb's sister Sarah and father Dave were also there. Webb was an experienced snowmobiler, according to a written decision by B.C. Supreme Court judgment, Passerin stopped to help Sarah after she got stuck on a side hill. The next morning they headed north of McBride to snowmobile the Mount Renshaw area. The judgment said neither he nor Sarah Webb heard it coming and that warning shouts from friends had not a "hope in hell" of being heard, either. 'Freak accident' Devon Webb, riding at half speed "some distance" behind his sister and Passerin, had lost control of his snowmobile after running into an unexpected snowdrift. The rider-less snowmobile went over a 100-foot cliff, climbed out of a 20-foot powdered ravine and raced at full throttle for one to one-and-a-half kilometres until it struck Passerin, Dley said. Safety cord wasn't attached Devon Webb's snowmobile, a 2012 Ski Doo 800, was outfitted with a number of safety features including a tether cord. His testimony was so unreliable that I cannot accept his assertion that he had attached the tether cord to his clothing." Warnings that had been on the snowmobile when Webb first got it reminded riders to check the safety features before each trip. "I accept the evidence, that if the tether cord had been affixed to Mr. Webb’s clothing, his fall from the machine would have likely caused the cap to pull off the post, thereby shutting off the engine. Webb argued that if he was found liable for the crash, Passerin should be found just as liable considering he had drank the night before and during lunch. Passerin is entitled to costs, but his lawyer said it will be complicated to figure out just how much.

– A fun day snowmobiling in British Columbia left one man with "horrific" injuries and another liable for them after he was thrown off his snowmobile and the vehicle kept going, slamming into one of his companions. InfoTel News reports that Devon Webb, Angelo Passerin, and about eight others were snowmobiling after lunch in McBride on March 22, 2013, when Webb's sister, Sarah, became stuck in the snow, per a lawsuit filed by Passerin. Passerin saw her waving for help and went to assist, when suddenly a riderless snowmobile came out of nowhere and struck him down. It turned out Devon Webb had been thrown from his snowmobile, which then "traveled over a 100-foot cliff, climbed out of a 20-foot powdered ravine, and raced at full throttle for [0.6 to 0.9 miles] until it struck Mr. Passerin," the suit notes. It only stopped after slamming into Sarah Webb's snowmobile. The crash left Passerin with broken leg bones and vertebrae, a brain injury, and a limp now with him for life, the CBC reports. Webb was found liable because he wasn't wearing the tethered safety cord that should be hooked to each rider's clothing; if the rider falls off, the cord, attached to a cap on the snowmobile, yanks off the cap, which shuts the vehicle off. Supreme Court Justice Dev Dley found Webb had neglected to put his tether on, bucking precautions that would've kept his friend safe. Although Webb tried to argue that Passerin had been drinking—the latter had a vodka cranberry with his lunch, while Webb had consumed no alcohol—the judge found "no evidence" Passerin was impaired to the point where he could've avoided being hit by the runaway snowmobile. Both Passerin and Sarah Webb said they hadn't heard the snowmobile coming.

Meet 18-Year-Old Cole Carman, One of the First Transgender Teens to Freeze Eggs Before Transitioning Related Video: Transgender Teen Gets Her Own Reality Show Courtesy Cole Carman An 18-year-old from northern California has become one of the first transgender teenagers to freeze his eggs so he can have biological children later in life, his doctor says.Cole Carman, formerly known as Nicole, has undergone a double mastectomy and was about to start testosterone treatment in January when his doctor asked if he wanted to freeze his eggs first. “I’ve always known I wanted to have kids of my own, so when my endocrinologist talked to me about it, it was a no-brainer,” Carman told Yahoo Parenting. "[After] they told me that, I didn't [start testosterone treatment] and I did some research on the egg retrieving process," Carman told PEOPLE. “The paperwork will be finalized in September,” he said.

– An 18-year-old San Francisco-area transgender teen may be the first to have had eggs harvested prior to transition. Having decided last year to go from Nicole to Cole Carman, the teen decided to harvest his eggs first so it would be easier to have his own biological children down the road. "I've always known I wanted to have kids of my own, so ... it was a no-brainer," he tells Yahoo Parenting. Typically these procedures are performed when trans males are in their 30s, already transitioned, and decide to halt their testosterone so that they can be biologically related to their kids, says Dr. Aimee Eyvazzadeh, who performed the successful procedure on Carman. But post-transition is far more challenging: "After years of testosterone therapy, their ovaries would shut down and would not reawaken to create any viable eggs, or the eggs would be low quality." Carman's parents, who adopted their only child when he was just 5 weeks old and know how hard it can be to conceive, funded the procedure themselves, paying $13,000 to have the eggs harvested in May. "I didn't really hesitate at all simply because Cole has always been mature in his thinking and I knew this was something that was really important to him," his mother tells People. Carman has reportedly been thinking about his gender, as well as what it means to be trans, since he was 12, and Eyvazzadeh says she wanted to help "from the minute" they met. "I could tell that he was mature, he knew exactly what he wanted and this was self-directed," she says. "It's not something you do on a whim." (Caitlyn Jenner is shocking some of her trans friends with her politics.)

North Korea walked away from those talks in 2009 and has said future disarmament talks are out off the table. North Korea’s outburst against South Korea on Friday was the latest installment of a verbal barrage it started after the Security Council on Tuesday adopted a resolution condemning a Dec. 12 rocket launching by the North. "We do not hide that a variety of satellites and long-range rockets which will be launched by the DPRK one after another and a nuclear test of higher level which will be carried out by it in the upcoming all-out action, a new phase of the anti-U.S. struggle that has lasted century after century, will target against the U.S., the sworn enemy of the Korean people," the commission said, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. “ ‘Sanctions’ mean a war and a declaration of war against us.” The United Nations resolution was the fifth against the North for its rocket and nuclear programs since 1993. North Korea framed the warning, including a threat to stage a third nuclear test, as a deterrent to what it called American hostility and efforts to isolate the country. SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea turned its anger on South Korea on Friday, warning the South Koreans they could suffer “physical countermeasures” for any enforcement of the tightened international sanctions meant to stop its ballistic missile and nuclear weapons activities. The resolution called the launching a violation of earlier United Nations resolutions banning it from testing ballistic missile technology, and called for tightening sanctions against the country.

– Yesterday the US was the target of North Korean warnings; today, Pyongyang is focused on its southern neighbor, threatening to attack if South Korea backs UN sanctions against it. "If the puppet group of traitors takes a direct part in the UN 'sanctions,' the DPRK will take strong physical countermeasures against it," said the North. "'Sanctions' mean a war and a declaration of war against us." The new president-elect of South Korea, Park Geun-hye, will still seek a dialogue with Pyongyang, the AP reports—but the North's latest threats put her in a tight spot, the New York Times notes. Talks are "a gradual process based on mutual trust and respect, which can begin with keeping promises," says a rep for Park, adding that the North's "nuclear ambitions and further provocations against the South will not be tolerated."

– A man accused of impersonating a police officer had the bad luck to pull over an actual police officer, reports WUSA-TV. An off-duty cop in Dumfries, Va., says he pulled over when the Crown Vic behind him turned a spotlight on his car about 1am yesterday. When the Crown Vic pulled up alongside, the real officer identified himself as such, and the Crown Vic then sped away. The officer followed, and the driver and his passenger soon abandoned the Crown Vic and fled on foot. The car was traced to Shawn Robinson, 27, of Alexandria, who later turned himself in, reports insidenova.com. Sound familiar? Something similar happened in Florida.

AMSTERDAM (AP) — Dutch police who found 350,000 euros ($400,000) hidden inside a washing machine have detained a man on suspicion of — what else? — money laundering. Police said in a statement Thursday that officers were checking a house in western Amsterdam on Monday for unregistered residents when they found the valuable laundry load. A photo displayed on the police website showed bundles of bank notes, mainly 20- and 50-euro bills, crammed into the drum. The officers also found a money-counting machine, a gun and several cell phones. The 24-year-old suspect's name was not released, in line with Dutch privacy rules.

– Maybe someone figured that a washing machine would be the last literal place that cops would check when sussing out a money-laundering scheme, but that someone may have placed the wrong bet. The AP and CNN report a 24-year-old man has been arrested in the Netherlands after police descended on an address in western Amsterdam during a raid seeking out unregistered residents. Inside this particular home, which municipal records showed was uninhabited, authorities found nearly $400,000, in primarily 20- and 50-euro notes, stuffed into the washing machine. The resident check was part of a probe into "housing fraud, money laundering, and other [signs] of crime," a police news release said, via CNN. Also found on site: a few cellphones, a money-counting device, and a firearm. And also the suspect, who hasn't yet been identified. (Authorities in Massachusetts found $20 million—yes, $20 million—in cash under a mattress.)

"It's OK to pretend that you don’t understand, even if you might understand a little bit, get them to explain it to you to make sure they understand," Francis said.

– A new Snapchat geolocation function released last week may be dishing out more personal information than users were counting on. The company announced Wednesday that once activated, Snap Map places a location Bitmoji on the new map feature for anyone on a user’s friends list to see. But according to the Verge, locations update whenever the app is opened, meaning friends can track users’ whereabouts more often than they may realize. Writer Dani Deahl tested out how much information she could gather via the map by observing a friend’s Bitmoji. Within minutes, she was able to guess her friend’s address, which she hadn’t previously known. “That’s so creepy!” her friend said after Deahl called to confirm the address, adding, “I wouldn’t want people to see where I am at all times.” The map function is opt-in and users can go into a “ghost mode” to turn it off, but a social media expert told ABC 15 that parents should make sure their children understand how it all works: “It's OK to pretend that you don’t understand, even if you might understand a little bit, get them to explain it to you to make sure they understand.” Meanwhile, the Telegraph reports that police in the UK have already issued warnings to parents on the dangers of location sharing, echoed by UK Safer Internet Centre, which cautions that the new feature "can allow people to build up a picture of where you live, go to school, and spend your time.” The Verge writes that to opt out, new Snapchat users should choose ghost mode, and those who already opted in can switch to ghost mode in the map's settings to disable the location feature.

Reaction to Osama bin Laden’s killing was mixed in the Muslim world, including in Pakistan, where former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf said that the United States should not have executed a mission within his country’s borders. But Umm Mohammed, a veiled woman, said she hoped news of bin Laden's death was a lie. Osama Bin Laden will no longer be able to bring terror and murder and mayhem to the world." Iranian Foreign Ministry The Islamic Republic of Iran hopes that the death of Osama bin Laden will put an end to war and the killing of innocent people and restore peace to their region, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency. “Talib, come to your country and stop the fighting and leave the weapon that the foreigners have put on your shoulders.” In Iran, foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said that the United States has “no excuse” for continuing its military involvement in the Middle East now that bin Laden has been killed. Ismail Haniyeh, prime minister for the Hamas government in Gaza The prime minister condemned the killing, describing bin Laden as a Muslim "mujahid" or holy warrior. While Hamas and other radical groups and individuals spoke out against the killing of bin Laden, the Al Qaeda leader’s image in the Muslim world has been in decline in the last few years, a Pew Research Group survey released Monday shows. A victory of good against evil, of justice against malignancy. It is a victory of the free and democratic world." MIXED MESSAGES In the West Bank city of Ramallah, the PA's view on the death of the mastermind of the September 11, 2001 attacks was shared by Ahmed Saleh, a 58-year-old retiree. In a statement, the Pakistani foreign ministry celebrated bin Laden’s death as “a major setback to terrorist organizations around the world.” Over the border in Afghanistan, President Hamid Karzai on Monday urged the Taliban not to seek retaliation. This operation was conducted by the U.S. forces in accordance with declared U.S. policy that Osama bin Laden will be eliminated in a direct action by the U.S. forces, wherever found in the world," the ministry said. The Pakistani government should have been kept in the loop.” Text Size - + reset POLITICO 44 Though President Barack Obama did refer to Pakistani help in his remarks Sunday night, there was no mention of involvement in Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari’s statement, which said that Zadari was notified of bin Laden’s killing with a phone call from Obama.

– Reaction to Osama bin Laden's death is pouring in from around the world—and not everybody's cheering, Reuters reports: Hamas: “We condemn the assassination and the killing of an Arab holy warrior,” said Ismail Haniyeh, the group’s leader in the Gaza Strip. “We regard this as a continuation of the American policy based on oppression and the shedding of Muslim and Arab blood.” Pervez Musharraf: Pakistan’s former president said the US had violated “our sovereignty” by carrying out the mission, Politico reports. “The Pakistani government should have been kept in the loop.” Still, the country’s foreign ministry applauded the killing. The Vatican: "In front of the death of man, a Christian never rejoices but rather reflects on the grave responsibility of each one in front of God and men," said a spokesman, according to CNN. He did acknowledge that bin Laden spread "division and hatred." Civilians in Ramallah, in the West Bank, offered mixed views. One woman hoped the news was false: “God willing, he will continue to conquer the West,” she said. Another Palestinian called the killing “a very criminal act.” But others approved: “His heinous actions were exploited to allow hostile policies toward the Arabs and Muslims,” one says.

Here's a look back at some of Walters's most memorable interviews on The View: The Time She Made a Future President Blush President Barack Obama has appeared on The View several times (his joint appearance with the First Lady was a major "get" for Walters's daytime show), but one of his earliest pit stops on the show — when he was still a senator — had Walters gushing over his good looks. ABC Photo Archive Barbara Walters spoke to "Superman" actor Christopher Reeve at his upstate New York home on Sept. 7, 2002 for an interview that aired on ABC. In the interview, Cruise said he had no regrets about his much-publicized couch-jumping incident on "The Oprah Winfrey Show." It was the first time Chavez had been interviewed by an American television journalist since he called President George W. Bush "the devil" in a 2006 speech before the U.N. General Assembly. Lou Rocco/ABC Barbara Walters interviewed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in 2011, his first interview with an American journalist since the uprising in Syria began almost a year prior.

– When Barbara Walters signs off from The View today, it will mark her farewell to television—at least as a regular—after a 50-year career. For a woman who started out hawking dog food on camera to one that reeled in the most viewers of any single news program ever (that would be the almost 50 million who watched her interview Monica Lewinsky in 1999), her career has been a long and remarkable one. As the New York Times puts it, "it's hard to imagine a single newscaster again holding so much sway over the culture"—which shows both Walters' pull as well as the changing media landscape. It may be goodbye, but we'll always have the interviews. Here are five of her more notable ones, courtesy of ABC News. Monica Lewinsky: The former White House intern broke her silence on her affair with President Bill Clinton in an interview that aired March 4, 1999. Fidel Castro: In an interview that aired June 9, 1977, Walters talked to Cuban President Fidel Castro as the pair crossed the Bay of Pigs. Vladimir Putin: Walters sat down with Putin in an interview airing November 7, 2001, marking the Russian president's first chat with an American journalist since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Tom Cruise: Everyone remembers Cruise's couch-jumping on The Oprah Winfrey Show, but he explained his bizarre behavior to Walters in 2005; he said he had no regrets. Bashar al-Assad: In 2011 Walters nabbed the Syrian president's first interview with a US journalist after the Syrian uprising began, in which he denied ordering a deadly crackdown on protesters. Click here for more of her best interviews ... or here for some of her worst.

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Two top financial regulators said Tuesday they aren't sure yet what caused the stock market's dizzying May 6 plunge and partial recovery, but they don't believe any one event created it. At issue is the Dow Jones Industrial Average drop of nearly 1,000 points last Thursday - a fall of roughly $1 trillion in market value -- much of it in a matter of minutes, before recovering to a 348-point loss for the session. Both Mary Schapiro, Securities and Exchange Commission chairwoman, and Gary Gensler, Commodity Futures Trading Commission chairman, refuted speculation that a trader might have made a so-called "fat finger" error that contributed to the stock market plunge. "Neither our review nor reviews by the relevant exchanges and market participants have uncovered such an error [fat-finger] trade," said Schapiro at a Capitol Hill hearing on the stock plunge and a subsequent investigations into the matter by the SEC and Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The two agencies plan to provide preliminary findings on what caused the stock plunge next week. Some observers have speculated that a "fat finger" error may have taken place, in which a trader enters an order for billions of shares rather than an intended order for millions. Gensler also said Tuesday in testimony that the agency's staff review "produced no evidence" indicating that a "fat finger" was the catalyst. The SEC and the CFTC have reached a preliminary agreement with securities exchanges to create a unified stock-by-stock circuit breaker for all exchanges -- including electronic exchanges -- to halt trades or slow down the pace of trading during a massive market downturn, according to people familiar with the discussions. Read about preliminary agreement. "With our children, we tell them to take a time-out when they act up," said Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-Ala. "I think we are establishing a procedure similar to that with our markets when they do lapse into what happened last Thursday." Both Schapiro and Gensler argued they have enough statutory authority to create circuit breakers across-the-board for exchanges. However, Gensler said legislation under consideration on Capitol Hill that would bring the over-the-counter derivatives market out of the dark onto transparent clearinghouses and exchanges would make it easier for the CFTC and SEC to determine the cause of future plunges. "The reform [Congress] is moving in with the over-the-counter derivatives market will give us a greater understanding," Gensler said. "This review will enable us to have information about equities and futures market but not the over-the-counter derivatives market which may have played a role as well." What didn't cause the plunge? Schapiro refuted speculation that an exceptionally large order in shares of Procter & Gamble Co. /quotes/zigman/238894/delayed/quotes/nls/pg PG -0.34% , part of the Dow Jones Industrial Average /quotes/zigman/627449/realtime DJIA -0.28% , helped trigger the market decline. She also rebutted assertions on Wall Street that the drop may have been caused by hackers or terrorist activities. "We have not identified any info consistent with computer hacker or terrorist activity," Schapiro said. Lawmakers also squabbled over whether high frequency trading contributed to the market plunge. Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., indicated he might support a minute tax on high frequency trades in the U.S. to limit their activities in the U.S. "If most of the U.S. markets were insulated from high frequency trading, that's where most investors would want to go," Sherman said.

– Those hoping for a simple answer to what caused last week's stock market collapse—a typo caused by a so-called "fat finger" trading error, for instance, or maybe a malicious hacker—will be disappointed with the testimony of federal regulators today on Capitol Hill. While they simply don't know yet what caused the freefall, they're pretty sure it wasn't triggered by any single event such as those, reports MarketWatch. The SEC's Mary Schapiro and commodities trading chief Gary Gensler promised to provide preliminary—emphasis on the preliminary—findings next week. Schapiro said SEC investigators have issued supboenas, though she didn't say to whom. One area of possible inquiry, notes Bloomberg: Traders who tried to take advantage of the chaos by purposely driving down stocks. Regulators also are looking at activity in something called the S&P 500 E-Mini futures contract, which the New York Times describes as "by far the largest stock index futures contract"—and sounds infinitely more complicated than fat fingers.

– Mystery solved: Scientists say they've finally figured out why Old Faithful erupts with super-hot water and steam about every 90 minutes, Our Amazing Planet reports. Seismic records show that under the Yellowstone geyser, a large egg-shaped chamber is connected to the mouth of Old Faithful by a sort of pipe. After every eruption, water levels rise in the chamber and send steam bubbles into the conduit—which creates a "bubble trap" that leads to the eventual steam explosion. What's the big deal? The finding helps discredit an old idea that large geysers are fed by long, narrow tubes (Our Amazing Planet describes Old Faithful's "plumbing [as] more like a bagpipe than a flute"). Researchers made a similar finding earlier this year in Russia, where geysers are also fed by caverns that create bubble traps. Another neat fact: Scientists were able to map Old Faithful's cavern with seismic records because gas bubbles create tremors when they pop. And there's good news for those eager to visit it: Sequestration forced the park to postpone its annual snow-plowing efforts, pushing the opening date to April 26; but the Billings Gazette reports that the road to Old Faithful opened Friday, due to a happy combination of good weather, less snow than expected, and help from the state's Department of Transportation.

JetBlue flight attendant Steven Slater emerges from jail, basks in new status as celebrity Heckman for News JetBlue flight attendant Steven Slater after being released from jail in the Bronx on Tuesday night. If you were on JetBlue Flight 1052, or if you know the passenger who fought with the feisty flight attendant, we'd love to hear from you. Email rschapiro@nydailynews.com. Fired-up flight attendant Steven Slater was walking on air as he emerged from jail Tuesday night as a folk hero. "I knew there was a brouhaha about this, but while I was on the inside I didn't realize how much attention it got," said Slater, wearing the same T-shirt and plaid shorts he had on when arrested a day earlier. "I think something about this resonated with people. The outpouring of support is very appreciated. I'm overwhelmed, very thankful," Slater said after being released from the Vernon C. Bain Center in Hunts Point, the Bronx, after posting $2,500 bail. Slater, 38, was transformed into a folk hero after he cursed out a nasty passenger over a plane intercom, grabbed some beer and fled down an emergency slide at Kennedy Airport Sunday. "It's been a good time," a beaming Slater said, as employees leaving the lockup shouted, "You're a hero" and "You're a celebrity." Relishing in his cult status, Slater even joked about his short stay in the slammer. "I feel tired, I feel about how I did when that suitcase fell on me."Then he pointed to cuts and bruises on his forehead that he called "aviation-related." But Slater's flight to freedom hit a little turbulence. Freaked out by the media horde following his livery car, Slater's driver returned him to the jail after a 10-minute ride. "The food was just too good," Slater deadpanned about why he returned. A lot of people agree that Slater didn't commit a crime, and that includes his mother, his lawyer - and about half the world. "I can understand why he snapped. I would have snapped, too," Diane Slater said Tuesday after her son pleaded not guilty to criminal charges. "I think he just had a very small meltdown, and I think he deserved to be able to have that meltdown." And she isn't the only one. "I lost patience after a female passenger had an argument with another passenger and then opened the bin door, hitting me on the head without apologizing," Slater told cops. In his announcement to passengers on the flight out of Pittsburgh, Slater referred to the woman as "the f-----g a--hole that told me to f--k off." He then declared, "I've had it. That's it," witnesses said. Slater's Legal Aid lawyer, Howard Turman, said his client was trying to defuse a testy situation when the passenger, who has not been identified, started giving him hell after the plane landed. "He was trying to do his best in providing safety and you have rudeness and lack of courtesy among the traveling public," Turman said. "The woman was outraged and cursed him out a great deal. At that point, I think, he just wanted to avoid conflict with her." Through his lawyer, Slater pleaded not guilty to criminal mischief, reckless endangerment and trespassing charges. Authorities said Slater endangered jetBlue employees under the aircraft when he activated the emergency slide, which costs more than $25,000 to replace. JetBlue suspended Slater even as Facebook fans began raising money for his legal defense and demanding he get his job back. He has quickly become a global sensation. MySpace photos of him posing on planes - one with a Bud Light in his hand - hit the Internet. His ex-wife, married to him in the '90s, also came out of the woodwork. In the leafy Thousand Oaks, Calif., neighborhood where Slater grew up and his mother still lives, neighbors were shocked by his newfound notoriety. "I've never seen any display of that kind of conduct before, so I have to believe to some extent there must have been some severe provocation," said Ron Franz, who lives across the street. ndillon@nydailynews.com With Matthew Lysiak, Alison Gendar and Rocco Parascandola

– New folk hero flight attendant Steven Slater emerged from a New York City jail yesterday grateful for the outpouring of public support, while his proud cancer-battling mom said her boy "deserved" a meltdown. "Something about this resonated with people," Slater said as he left jail a day after his freakout on a JetBlue airline when a rude passenger cursed at him. "The outpouring of support is very appreciated. I'm overwhelmed, very thankful." As he left Hunts Point jail after posting a $2500 bail, employees shouted: "You're a hero" and "You're a celebrity." His mom, Diane Slater, meanwhile, defended her off-the-rail boy. "I can understand why he snapped. I would have snapped, too," she told the New York Daily News. "I think he just had a very small meltdown, and I think he deserved to be able to have that meltdown." Slater has pleaded not guilty to criminal mischief, reckless endangerment and trespassing charges filed after he reportedly swore at the nasty flyer over the plane's PA system, then deployed the plane emergency chute to make a speedy getaway. "Free Steven Slater" Facebook fans are raising money for his defense.

Excavation of two quarries in Wales by a UCL-led team of archaeologists and geologists has confirmed they are sources of Stonehenge’s ‘bluestones’– and shed light on how they were quarried and transported. New research by the team published today in Antiquity presents detailed evidence of prehistoric quarrying in the Preseli hills in Pembrokeshire, helping to answer long-standing questions about why, when and how Stonehenge was built. The team of scientists includes researchers from UCL, University of Manchester, Bournemouth University, University of Southampton, University of Leicester, Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales, and Dyfed Archaeological Trust. The very large standing stones at Stonehenge are of ‘sarsen’, a local sandstone, but the smaller ones, known as ‘bluestones’, come from the Preseli hills in the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. Geologists have known since the 1920s that the bluestones were brought to Stonehenge from somewhere in the Preseli Hills, but only now has there been collaboration with archaeologists to locate and excavate the actual quarries from which they came. Director of the project, Professor Mike Parker Pearson (UCL Institute of Archaeology), said: “This has been a wonderful opportunity for geologists and archaeologists to work together. The geologists have been able to lead us to the actual outcrops where Stonehenge’s stones were extracted.” The Stonehenge bluestones are of volcanic and igneous rocks, the most common of which are called dolerite and rhyolite. Dr Richard Bevins (Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales) and Dr Rob Ixer (UCL and University of Leicester) have identified the outcrop of Carn Goedog as the main source of Stonehenge’s ‘spotted dolerite’ bluestones and the outcrop of Craig Rhos-y-felin as a source for one of the ‘rhyolite’ bluestones. The research published today details excavations at Craig Rhos-y-felin specifically. The special formation of the rock, which forms natural pillars at these outcrops, allowed the prehistoric quarry-workers to detach each megalith (standing stone) with a minimum of effort. “They only had to insert wooden wedges into the cracks between the pillars and then let the Welsh rain do the rest by swelling the wood to ease each pillar off the rock face” said Dr Josh Pollard (University of Southampton). “The quarry-workers then lowered the thin pillars onto platforms of earth and stone, a sort of ‘loading bay’ from where the huge stones could be dragged away along trackways leading out of each quarry.” Professor Colin Richards (University of Manchester), an expert in Neolithic quarries, said: “The two outcrops are really impressive – they may well have had special significance for prehistoric people. When we saw them for the first time, we knew immediately that we had found the source.” Radiocarbon-dating of burnt hazelnuts and charcoal from the quarry-workers’ camp fires reveals that there were several occurrences of megalith-quarrying at these outcrops. Stonehenge was built during the Neolithic period, between 4,000 to 5,000 years ago. Both of the quarries in Preseli were exploited in the Neolithic, and Craig Rhos-y-felin was also quarried in the Bronze Age, around 4,000 years ago. “We have dates of around 3400 BC for Craig Rhos-y-felin and 3200 BC for Carn Goedog, which is intriguing because the bluestones didn’t get put up at Stonehenge until around 2900 BC” said Professor Parker Pearson. “It could have taken those Neolithic stone-draggers nearly 500 years to get them to Stonehenge, but that’s pretty improbable in my view. It’s more likely that the stones were first used in a local monument, somewhere near the quarries, that was then dismantled and dragged off to Wiltshire.” Professor Kate Welham (Bournemouth University) thinks that the ruins of any dismantled monument are likely to lie somewhere between the two megalith quarries. She said: “We’ve been conducting geophysical surveys, trial excavations and aerial photographic analysis throughout the area and we think we have the most likely spot. The results are very promising – we may find something big in 2016.” The megalith quarries are on the north side of the Preseli hills, and this location undermines previous theories about how the bluestones were transported from Wales to Stonehenge. Previous writers have often suggested that bluestones were taken southwards from the hills to Milford Haven and then floated on boats or rafts, but this now seems unlikely. “The only logical direction for the bluestones to go was to the north then either by sea around St David’s Head or eastwards overland through the valleys along the route that is now the A40” said Professor Parker Pearson. “Personally I think that the overland route is more likely. Each of the 80 monoliths weighed less than 2 tons, so teams of people or oxen could have managed this. We know from examples in India and elsewhere in Asia that single stones this size can even be carried on wooden lattices by groups of 60 – they didn’t even have to drag them if they didn’t want to.” Phil Bennett, Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority’s Culture and Heritage Manager, said: “This project is making a wonderful contribution to our knowledge of the National Park’s importance in prehistory.” The new discoveries may also help to understand why Stonehenge was built. Parker Pearson and his team believe that the bluestones were erected at Stonehenge around 2900 BC, long before the giant sarsens were put up around 2500 BC. “Stonehenge was a Welsh monument from its very beginning. If we can find the original monument in Wales from which it was built, we will finally be able to solve the mystery of why Stonehenge was built and why some of its stones were brought so far”, said Professor Parker Pearson. Further excavations are planned for 2016. Craig Rhos-y-felin: a Welsh bluestone megalith quarry for Stonehenge’ is published in the journal Antiquity on Monday 7th December 2015. Links Image Excavations at Craig Rhos-y-felin (Courtesy of Adam Stanford © Aerial-Cam Ltd) Media contact Siobhan Pipa Tel: +44 (0)20 7679 9041 Email: s.pipa [at] ucl.ac.uk

– Researchers in London think they have solved one of the most enduring mysteries of Stonehenge: How did a bunch of prehistoric Britons haul massive stones from a quarry in Wales to the site of the monument more than 100 miles? "The answer," per the Telegraph, "is surprisingly simple." By mounting a giant stone on a wooden sleigh and dragging it along a track of timbers, a team from University College London found that just 10 people were able to move a more than 2,000-pound stone at a rate of about 1mph. “We were expecting to need at least 15 people to move the stone so to find we could do it with 10 was quite interesting,” doctoral student Barney Harris tells the Telegraph. The rocks in question, the ones at the center of the monument known as bluestones, were quarried in Preseli hills in Pembrokeshire, Wales, according to a separate study last year. They were laid at Stonehenge, some 140 miles away in Wiltshire, around 2400 BC, according to Seeker.com. The larger stones around the perimeter, called sarsens, are local sandstone and were laid during a second phase of construction about 500 years later. The sleigh-and-track method, if that's what Stonehenge's architects used, is not unique, Harris tells the Telegraph. “We know that pre-industrialized societies like the Maram Naga in India still use this kind of sledge to construct huge stone monuments, he says, adding that the Japanese are known to have used similar sleighs thousands of years ago. Could oxen have been used to pull the stones along the track? "Oxen are quite belligerent and difficult to control," Harris says. "This experiment shows that humans could have carried out the task fairly easily." (A century ago, Cecil Chubb bought Stonehenge on a whim.)

In a study published June 2016 in the Journal of Neuroimmune Pharmacology, researchers found that mice that had previously demonstrated poor spatial memory learned to navigate a maze in less than half the time after taking cinnamon orally for a month, even when the location of the exit was changed with each test. A previous trial by the same research group found that cinnamon protected brain proteins and neurons that have been shown to deteriorate in Parkinson’s disease. How It Works According to researchers, the mechanism behind cinnamon’s brain-enhancing influence is sodium benzoate—a chemical our body extracts from cinnamon when metabolized by the liver. "This would be one of the safest and the easiest approaches to convert poor learners to good learners," said Kalipada Pahan, PhD, the lead researcher of the study and the Floyd A. Davis Professor of Neurology at Rush. "Although both types of cinnamon are metabolized into sodium benzoate, we have seen that Ceylon cinnamon is much more pure than Chinese cinnamon, as the latter contains coumarin, a hepatotoxic (liver damaging) molecule," Pahan said.

– Scientists say they've discovered "one of the safest and the easiest approaches to convert poor learners to good learners." And all you have to do is eat cinnamon. Researchers at Rush University Medical Center say that feeding cinnamon to mice with a poor learning ability turned them into a bunch of brainiacs by transforming the part of the brain that controls memory. Previous research has found poor learners have less of a protein vital to memory and learning, known as CREB, and more of a protein known as GABRA5 in the hippocampus. However, poor-learning mice showed increased CREB and decreased GABRA5 after a month of daily cinnamon doses, study author Kalipada Pahan explains in a release. Essentially, the body converts cinnamon into sodium benzoate, which promotes healthy neurons, reports the Epoch Times. The mice were then able to navigate a maze in half the time it took them before, even though the exit moved with each test. The ability was similar to that of so-called good-learning mice. Mice who were given cinnamon but were already good learners, however, didn't exhibit any change. "We have successfully used cinnamon to reverse biochemical, cellular, and anatomical changes that occur in the brains of mice with poor learning," says Pahan, adding "if these results are replicated in poor learning students, it would be a remarkable advance." Interestingly, Pahan notes cinnamon is superior to straight doses of sodium benzoate because the chemical is slowly released from cinnamon but is "quickly excreted out through the urine" when taken on its own. (This doesn't mean you should take the cinnamon challenge.)

The Daily Caller reported late last night that they obtained an exclusive first look at Richard Miniter's forthcoming book Leading From Behind: The Reluctant President and the Advisors Who Decide for Him, which contains the "bombshell" allegation (sourced to a single anonymous official) that in the first three months of 2011, President Obama thrice canceled the mission to kill Osama bin Laden. According to the New Yorker, in late 2010 President Obama ordered Defense Secretary Leon Panetta to "begin exploring options for a military strike" against the compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan where Bin Laden was thought to be hiding, and that planning began in February 2011. Panetta contacted Vice-Admiral Bill McRaven, the SEAL in charge of JSOC . Traditionally, the Army has dominated the special-operations community, but in recent years the SEAL s have become a more prominent presence; McRaven’s boss at the time of the raid, Eric Olson—the head of Special Operations Command, or SOCOM —is a Navy admiral who used to be a commander of DEVGRU . In January, 2011, McRaven asked a JSOC official named Brian, who had previously been a DEVGRU deputy commander, to present a raid plan. The next month, Brian, who has the all-American look of a high-school quarterback, moved into an unmarked office on the first floor of the C.I.A.’s printing plant, in Langley, Virginia. Brian covered the walls of the office with topographical maps and satellite images of the Abbottabad compound. He and half a dozen JSOC officers were formally attached to the Pakistan/Afghanistan department of the C.I.A.’s Counterterrorism Center, but in practice they operated on their own. A senior counterterrorism official who visited the JSOC redoubt described it as an enclave of unusual secrecy and discretion. “Everything they were working on was closely held,” the official said. Obama convened his national security team in mid-March to review the "possible courses of action" devised by "Brian" and his team, at which point Obama ordered Admiral William McRaven, commander of the U.S. Special Operations Command, to begin planning the raid on Bin Laden's compound. Most were variations of either a JSOC raid or an airstrike. Some versions included coöperating with the Pakistani military; some did not. Obama decided against informing or working with Pakistan. “There was a real lack of confidence that the Pakistanis could keep this secret for more than a nanosecond,” a senior adviser to the President told me. At the end of the meeting, Obama instructed McRaven to proceed with planning the raid. Brian invited James, the commander of DEVGRU ’s Red Squadron, and Mark, the master chief petty officer, to join him at C.I.A. headquarters. They spent the next two and a half weeks considering ways to get inside bin Laden’s house. One option entailed flying helicopters to a spot outside Abbottabad and letting the team sneak into the city on foot. The risk of detection was high, however, and the SEAL s would be tired by a long run to the compound. The planners had contemplated tunnelling in--or, at least, the possibility that bin Laden might tunnel out. But images provided by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency showed that there was standing water in the vicinity, suggesting that the compound sat in a flood basin. The water table was probably just below the surface, making tunnels highly unlikely. Eventually, the planners agreed that it made the most sense to fly directly into the compound. “Special operations is about doing what’s not expected, and probably the least expected thing here was that a helicopter would come in, drop guys on the roof, and land in the yard,” the special-operations officer said. That plan was delivered to the president on March 29, and the SEAL team began training for the operation on April 10. The President’s military advisers were divided. Some supported a raid, some an airstrike, and others wanted to hold off until the intelligence improved. Robert Gates, the Secretary of Defense, was one of the most outspoken opponents of a helicopter assault. Gates reminded his colleagues that he had been in the Situation Room of the Carter White House when military officials presented Eagle Claw -- the 1980 Delta Force operation that aimed at rescuing American hostages in Tehran but resulted in a disastrous collision in the Iranian desert, killing eight American soldiers. “They said that was a pretty good idea, too,” Gates warned. He and General James Cartwright, the vice-chairman of the Joint Chiefs, favored an airstrike by B-2 Spirit bombers. That option would avoid the risk of having American boots on the ground in Pakistan. But the Air Force then calculated that a payload of thirty-two smart bombs, each weighing two thousand pounds, would be required to penetrate thirty feet below ground, insuring that any bunkers would collapse. “That much ordnance going off would be the equivalent of an earthquake,” Cartwright told me. The prospect of flattening a Pakistani city made Obama pause. He shelved the B-2 option and directed McRaven to start rehearsing the raid. "Read in" is intel-speak for being briefed on sensitive technical details, such as flight paths and radio frequencies. In the months after the raid, the media have frequently suggested that the Abbottabad operation was as challenging as Operation Eagle Claw and the “Black Hawk Down” incident, but the senior Defense Department official told me that “this was not one of three missions. “You’re not going to hide the fact that it’s a helicopter,” the special-operations officer said.

– President Obama took such a cautious approach to killing Osama bin Laden that he actually canceled the mission three times at the urging of advisor Valerie Jarrett, according to an upcoming book. In Leading From Behind: The Reluctant President and the Advisors Who Decide for Him, author Richard Miniter writes that Obama even delayed the mission the day before May 2, 2011, when Navy SEALs finally carried it out, the Daily Caller reports. “President Obama’s greatest success was actually his greatest failure,” says Miniter. But the White House is calling Miniter's version of events "an utter fabrication," reports Politico. "It's seems pretty clear that Mr. Miniter doesn't know what he's talking about," said a White House rep. And a report at Media Matters notes that Miniter's version doesn't jibe with the New Yorker's "deep dive" into the bin Laden raid.

“The Internet is an amazing opportunity, socially. We have this opportunity to mature and learn, which is the essence of being on earth — to being the closest person we can be to our actual, real, truest self,” she said ahead of her surprise appearance at the Code Conference today. “But the Internet also allows us the opportunity to project outward our hatred, our jealousy. It’s culturally acceptable to be an anonymous commenter. It’s culturally acceptable to say, ‘I’m just going to take all of my internal pain and externalize it anonymously.’” Does this mean Gwyneth actually reads the thousands of posts written about her each week? “It’s taken me a long time to get to the point where I can see these things and not take it as a personal affront and a hurt. I see myself as a chalkboard or a whiteboard or a screen, and someone is just putting up their own projection on it,” she said. Paltrow, who specifically slammed Facebook for its "foundation of objectification," didn't go into many details about the online abuse she herself has taken. They have an internal object, and they’re putting it on me. I kind of look at it as, ‘Wow this is an interesting social experiment.’ You’re talking about a blind stranger having feelings about you. “You come across [online comments] about yourself and about your friends, and it’s a very dehumanizing thing. It can only be projection.” The experience of reading about herself online over the years is analogous to what it’s like for veterans of war, she reportedly said. “My hope is, as we get out of it, we’ll reach the next level of conscience.” So, the next time you’re about to leave an anonymous, caps-lock comment on a Kim Kardashian photo post, imagine a mini-Gwyneth on your shoulder, drinking a mini-kale smoothie, shaking her head. Paltrow said she thinks about how her children will grow up in an online world, and wonders: "Perhaps the Internet has been brought to us as a test of our own emotional evolution." Though the Goop team won’t disclose specific details, Paltrow said her e-commerce business is profitable, and that the “open rate” (meaning subscribers that actually open Goop emails) for the Goop newsletter, which reaches people in 120 different countries, is more than double the industry average. I finally have been able to find the self-confidence that I really can do this, and I’m doing it.” Paltrow said she was initially hesitant about speaking at the Code Conference, where she would be onstage among tech CEOs.

– Gwyneth Paltrow ... tech expert? The actress spoke at the Code Conference yesterday, rubbing elbows with tech CEOs, thanks to her Web business, Goop. Before her surprise appearance, she talked to re/code (the tech news site hosting the conference, Vanity Fair notes) about Goop (it's profitable, though she won't give exact numbers, and the "open rate" for her newsletter emails is more than double the industry average), but she also spoke quite a bit about mean online commenters on the Internet. One quote that's getting her some negative attention: "You come across [online comments] about yourself and about your friends, and it’s a very dehumanizing thing. It’s almost like how, in war, you go through this bloody, dehumanizing thing, and then something is defined out of it. My hope is, as we get out of it, we’ll reach the next level of conscience." The quote, of course, led to headlines like "Gwyneth Paltrow: Celebrities Who Have Dealt with Mean Internet Comments Are Almost Like War Veterans." (Even re/code acknowledged that Paltrow "compared the experience of living through vitriolic Internet commenters to surviving a war.") NBC News notes that her actual speech focused on the same themes, but her comparison there wasn't as dramatic: She said reading mean comments was like having "the scabs from your high-school wounds being ripped off on a daily basis." (Paltrow's last ill-advised comment had to do with working moms.)

Shearer, who co-wrote the soundtrack to the film, filed suit in the Central District Court of California on Tuesday over the alleged underpayment of music royalties. Shearer, who also voices Simpsons characters as Mr Burns and Ned Flanders, said he, Reiner and the film and band's other creators - Christopher Guest and Michael McKean - had "poured themselves into nurturing and perfecting the paean to rock loudness that has entertained so many people". Shearer alleges that Vivendi, which acquired the film in 1989, engaged in fraud to hide revenues. “It is stunning that after all this time, two cinema releases, all the various home-video format releases, all the records and CDs, and all the band-themed merchandise still widely available worldwide, the only people who haven’t shared Spinal Tap’s success are those who formed the band and created the film in the first place.” Harry Shearer (@theharryshearer) I’m going up against @vivendi and @studiocanal to ensure #fairplayfairpay for the movie #SpinalTap - #fairnessrocks pic.twitter.com/fTG23OMbsW This is Spinal Tap was created by Shearer, Christopher Guest, who went on to co-write and direct dog competition mockumentary Best in Show, Rob Reiner and Michael McKean. The legal complaint alleges that between 1989 and 2006, Vivendi reported that the total income from soundtrack music sales was just $98. And in addition, it claims Vivendi reported that the four creators’ share of total worldwide merchandising income between 1984 and 2006 was $81. CANNES, France — Harry Shearer is suing Vivendi’s Universal Music Group and Studiocanal for $125 million for allegedly fraudulent accounting of the music revenues from Rob Reiner’s 1984 film “This is Spinal Tap.” Shearer, who co-created and starred in the classic mockumentary, is seeking $125 million in compensatory and punitive damages. Vivendi's UK representative declined to comment when asked to do so by the BBC News website.

– One of the makers of This Is Spinal Tap is suing entertainment group Vivendi, claiming the company is hiding millions from those who made the film possible. Harry Shearer—perhaps better known as the guy who voices dozens of Simpsons characters—co-created the 1984 film along with Rob Reiner, Michael McKean, and Christopher Guest and also co-wrote its soundtrack and starred as bassist Derek Smalls, reports Variety. He claims the four creators were promised 40% of net receipts from all sources of revenue, but he accuses Vivendi—which acquired the rights to the film in 1989—of a "concerted and fraudulent campaign to hide, or grossly underreport, the film's revenues in order to avoid its profit participation obligations," per the Guardian. In particular, Shearer, who is seeking $125 million, says Vivendi claimed just $98 from soundtrack sales between 1989 and 2006, and $81 from global merchandising income from 1984 to 2006. Vivendi has "failed and refused, and continues to fail and refuse, to provide [Shearer] with proper and accurate accountings reflecting the amount of revenues," reads the complaint filed at the Central District Court of California on Monday. "The only people who haven't shared Spinal Tap's success are those who formed the band and created the film in the first place," adds Shearer, noting his suit is "on behalf of all creators of popular films whose talent has not been fairly remunerated." Vivendi declined to comment, per the BBC.

Image 2 of 30 Smoke from a Chevron Oil refinery fire fills the sky above Richmond Calif, Monday August 6, 2012. Image 4 of 30 Plumes of smoke emanate from the Chevron oil refinery on Monday, August 6, 2012 in Richmond, Calif. Photo: Beck Diefenbach, Special To The Chronicle Plumes of smoke emanate from the Chevron oil refinery on Monday,... The fire blazed for hours after it erupted at the refinery in a densely populated industrial suburb east of San Francisco. Image 30 of 30 Fire at Chevron refinery in Richmond 1 / 30 Back to Gallery gallery_thumbs_close|article-gallery-3767221|article-gallery-3767221|0 gallery_overlay_close|article-gallery-3767221|article-gallery-3767221|0 Thousands of East Bay residents were ordered to stay in their homes with the windows and doors closed Monday night after a series of explosions and fires tore through Chevron's Richmond refinery. "I heard a big boom ... then the alarms started going off," 23-year-old local resident Daniela Rodriguez told the Contra Costa Times. 4 crude unit, the only one at the plant, at 6:15 p.m. shortly after a leak was discovered, Chevron said. Shortly after the crew evacuated the area, the diesel ignited, said Nigel Hearne, manager of the refinery. No fatalities All workers had been accounted for and no fatalities were reported, but one employee was treated at an on-site clinic for burns to his wrist, the San Francisco Chronicle said. Kaiser's Richmond Medical Center said several dozen people came to the emergency room Monday night complaining of shortness of breath, but none was seriously ill. Julius Bailey, 21, who lives on Barrett Avenue in Richmond, blocks away from the refinery, was at the hospital wearing a face mask. "They told me I'm not going to die, but it sure feels pretty serious," 21-year-old Richmond resident Julius Bailey told the Chronicle after seeing a doctor for respiratory complaints at Kaiser’s Richmond Medical Center. BART closed the Richmond, El Cerrito del Norte and El Cerrito Plaza stations at about 7 p.m., and shut down service between Richmond and El Cerrito and Richmond and North Berkeley about 30 minutes later. The region also has few immediate alternative supply sources. "When I heard the booms, I was scared and hid because I thought it was grenades," said Dai'lonie Fuller, 12. But it has stirred controversy among local residents concerned about the environmental impacts and local politicians often seeking more tax revenues. "The wind never blows that smoke to Marin County, now does it?" He said some units were still operating, but gave no details.

– Explosions tore through a Chevron oil refinery as it erupted in flames yesterday, driving toll takers from the Richmond Bridge and San Francisco Bay Area residents indoors. At least two fires were triggered when a diesel leak exploded at the Richmond refinery, one of the largest in the nation, reports the San Francisco Chronicle. There were no fatalities and no one was seriously injured. The plant was evacuated after workers spotted the leak. Minutes after the explosions, plant alarms alerted nearby residents to stay indoors with doors and windows shut to avoid breathing toxins in the air. Residents in all of Contra Costa County in the East Bay were being told to stay inside as hazmat trucks drove through streets taking air samples. Health officials, concerned about fumes from crude oil and diesel fuel, said that so far the winds seem to be carrying most of the smoke skyward. Dozens of people complaining about breathing problems headed to local emergency rooms. One patient with a burning throat and sore, itchy eyes, told the Chronicle: "They told me I'm not going to die, but it sure feels pretty serious." The fire was contained late last night as a crew of 60 firefighters battled the blaze with nitrogen and steam to keep it cool, but Chevron officials offered no estimate as to when the fire would be extinguished, NBC reports. The 1,200-worker refinery is Northern California's largest, the third biggest in the state, and is capable of processing more than 242,000 barrels of oil a day.

Los Angeles police are seeking two men in connection with the slaying of a 19-year-old Canadian woman who was stabbed to death in 1969, just a few miles from the most infamous of the Manson family killings. A week after the fifth estate released a sketch of Jean commissioned by the program, the LAPD today released another sketch of him by a different artist. The drawings show how the men might have looked in 1969, when the body of the then-unidentified woman — stabbed 150 times in the upper torso and neck — was discovered by a child on Mulholland Drive, not far from the Benedict Canyon home where actress Sharon Tate and four others had been stabbed to death a few months earlier, in August 1969. Handout An undated photo of Reet Jurvetson An undated photo of Reet Jurvetson (Handout) She describes the young woman as adventurous but naive, part of an Estonian refugee family who fled to Canada during World War II. Based on the memories of Jurvetson's sister and best friend, postcards had said only that she was living in a nice apartment. "Dear Mom and Dad, the weather is nice… I go frequently to the beach," wrote 19-year-old Reet Jurvetson in a postcard to her parents in Montreal, on Oct. 31, 1969. The building, on Melrose Avenue, used to be the Paramount Hotel, but it was demolished in 1989 and replaced with a new structure. (Jurvetson family) The LAPD is appealing to anyone who may have stayed in the apartment building to come forward if they have any memory of Jurvetson or the friend she was staying with — Jean, who police now call a "person of interest."

– The Los Angeles Police Department has released sketches of two men considered persons of interest in a 47-year-old murder possibly connected to the Manson family, the Los Angeles Times reports. According to People, Reet Jurvetson, 19, flew from Canada to LA in 1969 to see a man named Jean she met in a Montreal coffee shop. Weeks later, she was dead—stabbed 150 times. Jurvetson's body was found on Mulholland Drive, near where Sharon Tate and four others had been stabbed to death by the Manson family a few months earlier. One Manson prosecutor believes Jurvetson was killed because she witnessed another killing, but no solid evidence has ever tied her death to the Manson family. Jurvetson's family never filed a missing persons report, figuring she had started a new life in the US, and Jurvetson wasn't even identified until last April. Earlier this summer, a friend from Montreal called the LAPD. She remembered seeing Jurvetson with a man named Jean—and a second man named Jean—at a coffee shop. She helped police develop a sketch of the Jeans, who may have been roommates, and now detectives are looking for the pair. One LAPD investigator calls Jean "the best lead we have." Police also got another lead recently when they discovered where Jurvetson had been living in Hollywood before her death, CBC reports. While the apartment building has since been demolished, investigators are looking for anyone who used to live there. (The youngest member of the Manson family lost her bid for parole this summer.)

Though a few angiosperms (the scientific name for flowering plants) around today occur in the water, most live on land, and it has been generally assumed that these types of plants evolved on terra firma before radiating back out into the water, says Indiana University paleobotanist David Dilcher. A paper published August 17 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has identified the oldest flowering plant found to date, an aquatic species fossilized in deposits in modern-day Spain. "This discovery raises significant questions about the early evolutionary history of flowering plants, as well as the role of these plants in the evolution of other plant and animal life," said Dilcher, an emeritus professor in the IU Bloomington College of Arts and Sciences' Department of Geological Sciences. Fossils of the plant were first discovered more than 100 years ago in the limestone deposits of the Iberian Range in central Spain and in the Montsec Range of the Pyrenees, near the country's border with France. Credit: Oscar Sanisidro He also asserted that the fossils used in the study were "poorly understood and even misinterpreted" during previous analyses. See all of the best photos of the week in these slideshows This study helps “to unravel the evolutionary and ecological events that accompanied the rise of flowering plants to global prominence,” writes Donald Les, a University of Connecticut expert in plant evolution who was not involved in the study, in a commentary in the same journal. The age of the plant at 125 million to 130 million years is based upon comparisons to other fossils in the same area, notably the freshwater algae charophytes, which places Montsechia in the Barremian age of the early Cretaceous period, making this flowering plant a contemporary of dinosaurs such as the brachiosaurus and iguanodon.

– The world's oldest known flower dating back 130 million years is an aquatic species called Montsechia found fossilized in limestone deposits in Spain. But it wouldn't necessarily be recognized as a flower today, given it didn't boast petals or nectar-producing structures. "The fruit contains a single seed"—thus making it an angiosperm, or flowering plant—"which is borne upside down," says Indiana University paleobotanist David Dilcher, who with colleagues reports these findings in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The plant thrived in freshwater lakes in what are now Spain's mountainous regions, and while Phys.org reports that the fossils were first discovered more than 100 years ago, the ones used in this study were "poorly understood and even misinterpreted" when analyzed at earlier points, Dilcher says. One way to spread seed—which in angiosperms is typically done by getting other animals (think bees) or elements (think wind) to carry pollen to other members of the same species—is through water currents. In fact today's descendants of Montsechia, called Ceratophyllum, are found in lakes on every continent, and they behave similarly. "Flowers are all about sex,” Dilcher tells Newsweek. "Right at the start [of angiosperm evolution], this was another method that flowering plants were using for their genetic exchange." Whether Montsechia is the world's oldest flower has yet to be determined, but it is the oldest flower we have found to date, suggesting that angiosperms have their earliest roots in water instead of on land. (Michigan officials are warning about a plant that can blind you.)

The bodies of two boys, thought to be as young as 12, were discovered in the undercarriage of a Ghana Airways flight from Accra in 2002. "It's amazing he survived that." Others stowing away in wheel wells have died, including a 16-year-old killed after stowing away aboard a flight from Charlotte, N.C., to Boston in 2010 and a man who fell onto a suburban London street as a flight from Angola began its descent in 2012.

– A 16-year-old boy who stowed away in the wheel well of a plane after a fight with his family is incredibly lucky to be alive after the California-to-Hawaii flight, authorities say. The boy made it through the five-hour flight unharmed yesterday despite freezing temperatures at 38,000 feet and a lack of oxygen, the AP reports. An FBI spokesman says the boy was apparently unconscious for most of the flight and he was taken into custody after being found wandering around the grounds of the airport in a disoriented state. Security footage from the San Jose airport shows the boy hopping a fence before he climbed into the wheel well of the Hawaiian Airlines Boeing 767, the FBI says. "Our primary concern now is for the well-being of the boy, who is exceptionally lucky to have survived," an airline spokeswoman says. The boy, who has not been charged with any crime, is now in the hands of Hawaii Child Protective Services officials, reports Hawaii News Now. The BBC in 2012 noted that Dr. Stephen Veronneau, with the FAA, had documented 96 cases since 1947 of someone stowing away in a plane's wheel well; more than 75% of the cases ended in a fatality.

Kim reportedly "stressed that the protracted showdown with the U.S. imperialists has reached its final phase and it is the time for the DPRK to demonstrate its mettle to the U.S., which is testing its will in defiance of its warning." Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Missiles fired during US-South Korea drills serve as warning to North Korea The US and South Korea have held a ballistic missile drill, after North Korea tested a long-range missile experts believe may reach Alaska. A report in its state media Wednesday described leader Kim as "feasting his eyes" on the ICBM, which was said to be capable of carrying a large nuclear warhead, before its launch. The missile test is a direct challenge to U.S. President Donald Trump, who has vowed to prevent North Korea from being able to hit the United States with a nuclear missile. A public TV screen broadcasts a local TV news showing what was said to be the launch of a Hwasong-14 intercontinental ballistic missile, ICBM, aired by North Korea's KRT on July 4, 2017, in Tokyo Wednesday,... (Associated Press) SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un vowed his nation would "demonstrate its mettle to the U.S." and never put its weapons programs up for negotiations a day after test-launching its first intercontinental ballistic missile. "With a broad smile on his face," Kim urged his scientists to "frequently send big and small 'gift packages' to the Yankees," an apparent reference to continuing the stream of nuclear and missile tests Kim has ordered since taking power in late 2011. Yesterday, an announcement on North Korean state television claimed the missile was capable of hitting "anywhere in the world".

– North Korea's first successful launch of an ICBM has shocked the world—and caused some gloating in Pyongyang. North Korea's KCNA news agency quoted Kim Jong Un as saying "American bastards would be not very happy with this gift sent on the July 4 anniversary," the Guardian reports. The agency said Kim, who has vowed not to give up the country's nuclear program, urged his nuclear scientists to "frequently send big and small 'gift packages' to the Yankees." According to KCNA, the missile North Korea launched Tuesday is capable of carrying a large nuclear warhead. The latest: The US and South Korea responded to the launch with a joint ballistic missile exercise in the Sea of Japan on Tuesday, reports the BBC. The two countries warned that "self-restraint" was "all that separated armistice and war." The US vowed to take tougher measures on North Korea, with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson calling for global action, reports Reuters. "All nations should publicly demonstrate to North Korea that there are consequences to their pursuit of nuclear weapons," he said. The United Nations Security Council will hold a meeting on the issue Wednesday. The New York Times looks at the different options President Trump can proceed with, and finds that they are "few and risky." One option that China and Russia agree on involves Pyongyang suspending its nuclear weapons program in return for the US suspending joint military exercises with South Korea. The launch of an ICBM has long been seen as a "red line," though analysts believe Pyongyang may still be years away from having long-range nuclear capability, the AP reports. Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, a former commanding officer of the British Armed Forces Joint Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear Regiment, says "in capability of missile terms and delivery, it is a major step up and they seem to be making progress week-on-week," but "actually marrying the warhead to the missile is probably the biggest challenge, which they appear not to have progressed on." The Los Angeles Times reports that the ICBM launch wasn't a huge surprise for some analysts, who observed that North Korea had two mysterious launch failures at the same facility last fall. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation looks at just how far the North Korean ICBM could go. Experts believe Alaska and possibly some America's Pacific bases are now in range, as is northern Australia.

– The Obama administration is creating an expanded network of drone bases in Africa, which officials say will help the US target Islamic militants in Somalia and Yemen. A new drone base is being built in Ethiopia, and the US is already deploying drones over Somalia and Yemen from its base in Djibouti, reports the Washington Post. A drone base in the Seychelles will be used to target Islamic militant groups, as well as pirates that plague the Indian Ocean island nation. Reaper drones deployed from the Seychelles—but controlled from bases in the US—can be configured for both surveillance and strike missions, say officials, who warn that militant groups in Africa are showing a new level of co-operation among themselves. "We do not know enough about the leaders of the al-Qaeda affiliates in Africa," a senior US official tells the Wall Street Journal. "Is there a guy out there saying, 'I am the future of al Qaeda?' Who is the next Osama bin Laden?"

Culture And Criticism In Slight Defense Of Miss Utah USA, A Little Bit, With Reservations i i itoggle caption Ethan Miller/Getty Images Ethan Miller/Getty Images Look, Miss Utah USA, Marissa Powell, gave a pretty unimpressive answer to a question about income inequality at the Miss USA pageant. When asked what the wage gap between men and women says about society, Powell said it could be related to education and figuring out how to create jobs. Marissa Powell, Miss Utah USA, made headlines nationwide after her rambling, incoherent response to a question asked by reality TV star NeNe Leakes.

– Miss Utah got to go on the Today show this morning for a second crack at the question that she flubbed at the recent Miss USA pageant. This time around, Marissa Powell gave a far more polished response, which KSL.com has in more detail. Good for her, but the next time this happens to a pageant contestant, and it surely will, just remember that these questions test not intelligence but the "ability to generate cow patties on demand," writes Linda Holmes at NPR. Holmes breaks down the original question—"A recent report shows that in 40% of American families with children, women are the primary earners, yet they continue to earn less than men. What does this say about society?"—and finds it to be simultaneously "dumb" and "impossible to answer." She's studied family and gender issues for years and has no idea how she would have responded. Powell could have blathered some vapid answer, but as long as she did so smoothly, it would have drawn no attention. "She's not in the news for being dumb; she's in the news for being bad at spontaneous but convincing balderdash manufacturing." Click for the full column.

– The "core four" original members of the Grateful Dead are reuniting for a three-day 50th anniversary show in Chicago, and let's just say people really, really want to see it. The farewell show, appropriately titled Fare Thee Well, sold out, but tickets are being sold on the secondary market for as much as $116,000 each. Even the least-expensive tickets are around $1,350, Billboard reports, and CNN notes that some of those have an obstructed view. Soldier Field, where the July 3-5 event is being held, seats about 70,000; the original ticket prices ranged from $59.50 to $199.50 per day. Phish frontman Trey Anastasio will be taking over for the late Jerry Garcia.

Snoozing Fan Claims ESPN Defamed Him BRONX, N.Y. (CN) - A baseball fan who dozed off during a Yankee-Red Sox game sued the Yankees, ESPN and its announcers for defamation, claiming they broadcast photos of him asleep in his chair, calling him "fatty, unintelligent, [and] stupid." Andrew Robert Rector sued Major League Baseball Advanced Media, ESPN New York, the New York Yankees, and ESPN announcers Dan Shulman and John Kruk, in Bronx County Supreme Court. He demands $10 million in damages for defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Rector claims he was filmed, and defamed, at the April 13 game between the Yankees and Red Sox, at Yankee Stadium. "In the course of watching the game plaintiff napped and this opened unending verbal crusade against the napping plaintiff," the complaint states. ESPN focused its cameras on him, Rector says, and then "Announcers like Dan Shulman and John Kruck unleashed avalanche of disparaging words against the person of and concerning the plaintiff. These words, include but not limited to 'stupor, fatty, unintelligent, stupid' knowing and intending the same to be heard and listened to by millions of people all over the world ..." The writing style of the lawsuit is idiosyncratic. Quotations in this article are as in the complaint. It states: "The defendant Major league Baseball continually repeated these vituperative utterances against the plaintiff on the major league baseball web site the next day. These words and its insinuations presented the plaintiff as symbol of anything but failure. "The defendant MLB.Com continued the onslaught to a point of comparing the plaintiff to someone of a confused state of mind, disgusted disgruntled and unintelligent and probably intellectually bankrupt individual. "Nothing triggered all these assertions only that the plaintiff briefly slept off while watching the great game something or circumstance any one can easily found them self. "John Krock in his verbal attack insinuated that the plaintiff is individual that know neither history nor understood the beauty or rivalry between Boston Red Sox and New York Yankee. "These unmitigated verbal onslaughts crossed the line between reporting on sport and abuse against the plaintiff without reasonable cause or restraint ..." Rector claims the commentary and photos showed him in a false light, damaged his reputation, and the fact that he was napping was not an issue of legitimate public concern. He claims that the defendants "negligently or maliciously published false, defamatory statement of fact about the plaintiff, a private individual. The false statements include but are not limited to: "Plaintiff is unintelligent and stupid individual. "Plaintiff is not worthy to be fan of the New York Yankee. "Plaintiff is a fatty cow that need two seats at all time and represent symbol of failure. "Plaintiff is a confused disgusted and socially bankrupt individual. "Plaintiff is confused individual that neither understands nor knows anything about history and the meaning of rivalry between Red Sox and New York Yankee. "Plaintiff is so stupid that he cannot differentiate between his house and public place by snoozing throughout the fourth inning of the Yankee game." Rector seeks compensatory and exemplary damages. He is represented by Valentine Okwara, of Jamaica, N.Y.

– There's no napping in baseball. When 26-year-old Yankees fan Andrew Rector fell asleep during a game against the Red Sox on April 13, an ESPN cameraman lingered on his snoozing face and two announcers launched into a diatribe that included the words "stupor, stupid, fatty, and unintelligent"—that according to a $10 million lawsuit Rector filed last Thursday against the Yankees, Major League Baseball, ESPN, and the two announcers, John Kruk and Dan Shulman, claiming defamation and "intentional infliction of emotional distress," reports Courthouse News Service. The New York Times points out that Shulman and Kruk said no such words in the clip (Shulman did, however, call him "oblivious"), though it's unclear whether they commented on the 4th-inning nap later. Rector's complaint is filled with misspellings and odd turns of phrases (Courthouse News calls the writing style "idiosyncratic"). An example, from paragraph 14, published on The Smoking Gun: "John Kruck [sic] in his verbal attack insinuated that the plaintiff is an individual that know neither history nor understood the beauty or rivalry between Boston Red Sox and New York Yankee." In his suit, Rector argues that the defendants presented false facts about him, including, "Plaintiff is not worthy to be fan of the New York Yankee," and, more colorfully, "Plaintiff is a fatty cow that need two seats at all time and represent symbol of failure." Rector's mother tells the Times the aftermath has been so bad he's had to miss work. (Another colorful NYC suit: A man in May sued for every penny on Earth, and then some.)

“While he’s complaining about only making $174,000, his constituents are struggling to put food on the table, keep a roof over their head or find a job.” “And by the way, did I mention? They’re shooting at us. There is law-enforcement security in this room right now, and why is that?” Southerland said Wednesday, according to The Tallahassee Democrat. Southerland reportedly painted his salary as small compensation considering he had to cut ties with his family business and that, he said, there’s no free health insurance. “If you think this job pays too much, with those kinds of risks and cutting me off from my family business, I’ll just tell you: This job don’t mean that much to me. I had a good life in Panama City,” Southerland said, according to the newspaper.

– A freshman GOP rep from Florida is taking some heat after suggesting his salary isn't worth the dangers of his job in the wake of Gabrielle Giffords' shooting, the loss of income from his family business, and the lack of free health care. “They’re shooting at us. There is law-enforcement security in this room right now, and why is that?” Rep. Steve Southerland asked a town hall meeting Wednesday, according to the Tallahassee Democrat. “If you think this job pays too much, with those kinds of risks, I’ll just tell you: This job don’t mean that much to me. I had a good life in Panama City.” Democrats are inviting him to go back there, with the DCCC pointing out that Southerland makes four times what a police officer in his district makes. “It’s unbelievable how far out of touch Rep. Steve Southerland is with Florida families if he thinks his $174,000 salary is not so much,” said a Democratic spokesman. Southerland tells Politico that his words were taken out of context and clarified that his job in Congress is “one of the greatest honors of my life.”

Tim Heim, one of the homeowners with a failing foundation and president of the Connecticut Coalition for Crumbling Basements, said he is satisfied with the first round of results. "We produce our concrete using sand, water, granite stone, Type I/II cement and standard industrial admixtures and use the exact same materials for our residential, commercial, and government work - the latter two of which are rigorously tested and inspected prior to and during installation. Pyrrhotite is a naturally occurring iron sulfide mineral that reacts with oxygen and deteriorates over time. "Although [the] investigation will continue into the fall, we believe there is now sufficient evidence to conclude that significant levels of the mineral pyrrhotite in stone aggregate used in the production of concrete is a substantial contributing factor to the crumbling foundations," state Attorney General George Jepsen said in a written statement. I feel bad for the families who had their home built last year and used this same concrete." Mottes' concrete has been cited in lawsuits filed by homeowners with faulty foundations. "We continue to believe this is an issue of improper installation and not materials — findings which were proven in our only Connecticut court case involving a failed foundation … and we have always cooperated with the state and will continue to do so in the hope of finding sustainable and meaningful solutions for the homeowners and future homeowners," Patton said in a written statement.

– Around 1995, Linda and Robert Tofolowsky noticed the walls of the basement in their Connecticut home cracking. Their foundation had developed severe fissures, and they soon discovered other homes in the area with the same issue. Their insurance claim was denied, they got no help from the town or the state, and they lost their lawsuit against JJ Mottes, the company that installed the concrete for the foundation. In a 2001 complaint the couple filed with the Consumer Protection Department, Linda wrote that the issue needed to be made public "so that maybe someone else will not lose their biggest investment, their home." The couple ended up being just the first of hundreds of homeowners in the state whose foundations are crumbling, causing their houses to slowly collapse. "When you’re told your home is now worthless and your biggest investment is now worthless, it’s devastating," one such homeowner tells the New York Times. As the Times points out, state officials were warned about the problem by more than just the Tofolowskys in the early 2000s, and in 2003, lawmakers met with the CPD, representatives from the attorney general's office, and homeowners about the issue—but did nothing. In July 2015, WVIT did an investigative report on the foundations, prompting state officials to open an inquiry. They recently announced that the problem is at least partially caused by high levels of pyrrhotite (a mineral that can cause swelling and cracking when mixed with water) from aggregate in a local quarry used in JJ Mottes' concrete, the Hartford Courant reported last month; a spokesperson for JJ Mottes blames contractors who improperly added water to wet concrete so it would pour faster. Officials are taking steps to help homeowners, but none of those steps do much to subsidize their costs, and WVIT notes that insurance companies are only settling with some homeowners and only after "long legal battles."

In a... (Associated Press) FILE - In this May 17, 2014 file photo, Kurt Busch, left, walks with his girlfriend, Patricia Driscoll, after arriving for the NASCAR Sprint All-Star auto race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord,... (Associated Press) Driver Kurt Busch, left, gives his girlfriend Ashley Van Metre a kiss before getting in his car during qualifying for the Daytona 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series auto race at Daytona International Speedway,... (Associated Press) Busch was suspended by NASCAR indefinitely Friday after a judge said the 2004 former champion almost surely choked and beat a former girlfriend last fall and there was a "substantial likelihood" of more domestic violence from him in the future. Earlier Friday it was ruled that Busch smashed his ex-girlfriend Patricia Driscoll's head against his motor home wall Sept. 26 at Dover International Speedway, according to the conclusions of a Kent County (Del.) family court commissioner who granted Driscoll's request for a protective order Monday. "Given the serious nature of the findings and conclusions made by the Commissioner of the Family Court of the State of Delaware, NASCAR has indefinitely suspended driver Kurt Busch, effective immediately," NASCAR said in a statement. He will not be allowed to race nor participate in any NASCAR activities until further notice," the e-mailed release said. "Kurt Busch and his Stewart-Haas Racing team are fully aware of our position and why this decision was made. We will continue to respect the process and timetable of the authorities involved." Busch on Friday night filed paperwork for an appeal on his suspension, which will be heard at noon ET Saturday in Daytona, NASCAR spokesman David Higdon said. Rusty Hardin, Busch's attorney, requested the Delaware Attorney General's Office to investigate separate allegations that Driscoll had tampered with witnesses. "We assure everyone, including NASCAR, that this action against Mr. Busch will turn out to be a travesty of justice, apparent to all, as this story continues to unfold," Hardin said in the e-mailed statement. "It is important for everyone to remember that the commissioner's report has to do with a civil, family law matter and no criminal charges have been filed against Mr. Busch," Hardin said. "We ask everyone's patience as this case continues in the court of law and are confident that when the truth is known Mr. Busch will be fully vindicated and back in the driver's seat," Busch attorney Rusty Hardin said in a statement, adding the assault allegation has led to "a travesty of justice" that will become clear as Busch continues to defend himself. Chairman Brian France had maintained the series would let the process play out before ruling on Busch's eligibility — and the series came down hard in finding that he committed actions detrimental to stock car racing and broke the series' behavioral rules. "For victims of domestic violence there are no victories," she said. "My only hope is that the pain and trauma I suffered through this process will help other victims find their voice. "Unfortunately we live in a culture where stories like mine are often swept under the rug out of fear and with the knowledge that for every person who shows empathy many more will seek to disparage the victim. It is bad enough to endure the actual physical abuse, but the verbal attacks that follow when a victim speaks up are sometimes just as painful." O'Donnell, who resigned his spot on the board of Driscoll's Armed Forces Foundation late last year, disputed comments from Driscoll that indicated that other women in the NASCAR industry have been abused by others in the NASCAR community. Smith replaced SHR driver/co-owner Tony Stewart at Watkins Glen last August, the day after Stewart's sprint car struck and killed Kevin Ward Jr. at Canandaigua Motorsports Park. The next steps are to develop a thorough process and policies that reenforce the organization's position it took today: Domestic violence will not be tolerated in NASCAR." Travis Kvapil, who qualified second for Friday night's Truck Series race, was arrested and charged with assault of his wife in 2013. "Today NASCAR took an important step and deserves to be commended. A short time after the suspension was announced, on the glass outside of Busch's garage stall at Daytona, someone had scrawled in black marker "#41 Ray Rice," a reference to the former Baltimore Ravens running back whose own case of domestic violence dominated much of last year. Team co-owner Gene Haas hand-picked Busch to drive a car paid for out of pocket by Haas because the machine tool manufacturer wanted to see a driver take his company to victory lane. 41 Chevrolet. In an e-mail, a spokesman said they had no comment on the court opinion or Busch's suspension. He was suspended in 2012 by NASCAR for threatening a reporter, and parked for the final two races of the 2005 season by Roush-Fenway Racing after he was pulled over by police in Arizona. "The Court finds by a preponderance of the evidence that, on September 26, 2014, Respondent [Busch] committed an act of domestic violence against Petitioner [Driscoll] by manually strangling her by placing his left hand on her throat, while placing his right hand on her chin and face and smashing her head into the wall of his motor home," commissioner David Jones wrote in his findings and conclusions. Although an appeal can be heard as early as Saturday, Stewart-Haas Racing has already decided to use Regan Smith in the Daytona 500. Jones said the incident was "likely situational in nature" where the "stressors of the situation" overwhelmed Busch's ability to "cope and control his tendency to act out violently in response to stress and frustration, causing him to 'snap' and assault" Driscoll. They claim that multiple witnesses have come forward since the hearing's conclusion and provided information that contradicts versions of the events, and asked Jones to delay his opinion until ruling on his motion. "We are confident that if the Commissioner agrees to hear newly available evidence that contradicts the testimony of Ms. Driscoll, he will be able understand the actions of that night as well as Ms. Driscoll's character and motivations and reconsider his judgment" Hardin said in Friday's statement. Busch's attorneys said that Driscoll had repeatedly lied on the stand and committed perjury. "Our newly available evidence will make it clear that much more of her testimony was untruthful and was purposefully kept from the Commissioner by Ms. Driscoll's attempts to intimidate and threaten witnesses." Driscoll characterized Busch, the 2004 Cup champion, as battling alcoholism and depression leading up to the alleged assault. Busch testified he was afraid of Driscoll, whom he believed was a trained assassin because of the stories and photos she had shared with him. Busch opted to get his side of the story out in court over two days of Delaware family court hearings in December and two more days in January. Busch, the 2004 NASCAR champion, has 25 career wins but only one since 2011. It came last year, his first season with SHR, the team that helped resurrect his career.

– One of NASCAR's biggest races runs tomorrow, but one of NASCAR's biggest names will not be there when the Daytona 500 begins. The sport suspended Kurt Busch indefinitely yesterday over allegations that he beat and choked his then-girlfriend last fall, reports ESPN. The move came after a Family Court judge in Delaware concluded that Busch likely abused Patricia Driscoll, "manually strangling" her and causing her head to slam against a wall. What's more, he wrote that there was a "substantial likelihood" of more domestic violence from Busch. The judge cited Busch's "propensity to lose control of his behavior and act out violently in response to stressful, disappointing and/or frustrating situations involving his racing," reports the News Journal. The ruling didn't come in a criminal trial but in a civil proceeding in which the judge awarded Driscoll an order of protection from Busch. He has denied the allegations and is appealing the NASCAR suspension. The alleged assault remains the subject of a separate criminal investigation, reports AP. (At a court hearing last month, Busch said Driscoll is a trained assassin.)

The instrument-rated Florida pilot found the theories and countertheories mooted on outlets like CNN “almost disturbing.” (I’ve appeared on CNN to discuss Flight 370, but I’ll try not to take Goodfellow’s remarks personally.) “I tend to look for a more simple explanation,” he writes in a Google Plus post that was republished on Wired. For me the loss of transponders and communications makes perfect sense if a fire. Thanks to Google earth I spotted Langkawi in about 30 seconds, zoomed in and saw how long the runway was and I just instinctively knew this pilot knew this airport. “I just instinctively knew this pilot knew this airport.” He knew what the lost pilot and co-pilot had been thinking when they made that turn, and it was something he’d thought himself, while behind the yoke of an aircraft, many times before. He was confronted by some major event onboard that made him make that immediate turn back to the closest safe airport. Also a look at the age and number of cycles on those nose tires might give us a good clue too. Always in our head. What I think happened is that they were overcome by smoke and the plane just continued on the heading probably on George (autopilot) until either fuel exhaustion or fire destroyed the control surfaces and it crashed. This pilot, as I say, was a hero struggling with an impossible situation trying to get that plane to Langkawi. … Smart pilot. Just didn’t have time.” Goodfellow’s posting may be the most (first?) For one thing, while it’s true that MH370 did turn toward Langkawi and wound up overflying it, whoever was at the controls continued to maneuver after that point as well, turning sharply right at VAMPI waypoint, then left again at GIVAL.

– A veteran pilot's theory about what happened to Flight 370 dazzled the Internet yesterday, but aviation writer Jeff Wise is poking holes in it today at Slate. If you missed it, pilot Chris Goodfellow speculated at Google Plus that a fire aboard the missing Malaysian jet caused its disappearance. The pilots went off course deliberately to reach the nearest airport—on the island of Langkawi—but the smoke got to them before they could land, and the plane kept flying on its own over the ocean until it crashed. A world desperate for answers soaked it up, but Wise says the theory doesn't hold up when other facts about Flight 370 are considered. Specifically: "While it’s true that MH370 did turn toward Langkawi and wound up overflying it, whoever was at the controls continued to maneuver after that point as well," writes Wise. One subsequent waypoint picked up a sharp right turn and another a left turn. "Such vigorous navigating would have been impossible for unconscious men." A final electronic ping picked up from the plane put it on one of two paths, one over central Asia as far as Kazakhstan and the other out over the Indian Ocean. "As MH370 flew from its original course toward Langkawi, it was headed toward neither," writes Wise. "Without human intervention—which would go against Goodfellow’s theory—it simply could not have reached the position we know it attained" at 8:11am on March 8, the time of that last ping. The bottom line is that "Goodfellow's theory falls apart," writes Wise. Click for his full column. Or to read about how files are missing from the senior pilot's flight-simulator system.

Photo by Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images During the public debate over health care in 2009 and 2010, no matter how tightly you may have shut your door, there was one piece of information it was impossible to avoid: the president's promise that if you liked your doctor and your health care plan you would be able to keep it. If you like your health-care plan, you’ll be able to keep your health-care plan, period. No one will take it away, no matter what.” — President Obama, speech to the American Medical Association, June 15, 2009 (as the health-care law was being written.) When the president said if you like your insurance plan you can keep it, what he meant was you can keep it if he likes it. He explained to an aide: “If someone attacks us, it isn’t a foreign war, is it?” When his own son questioned his honesty, FDR replied: “If I don’t say I hate war, then people are going to think I don’t hate war. One of them is this NBC News story, which reports that “millions of Americans are getting or are about to get cancellation letters for their health insurance under Obamacare, say experts, and the Obama administration has known that for at least three years.” Critics of the law are right to ask whether it is having an adverse impact on these millions of Americans. The most famous presidential lies have to do with misconduct (Richard Nixon’s “I am not a crook” or Bill Clinton’s “I did not have sexual relations”) or war. After Obama made his speech before the AMA, the Associated Press ran a smart analysis — “Promises, Promises: Obama’s Health Plan Guarantee” — that demonstrated how it would be all but impossible for the president to keep that pledge. The list includes: ambulatory patient services; emergency services; hospitalization; maternity and newborn care; mental health and substance use disorder services, including behavioral health treatment; prescription drugs; rehabilitative and habilitative services and devices; laboratory services; preventive and wellness services and chronic disease management; and pediatric services, including oral and vision care. “These estimates assume that the policies that terminate are replaced by new individual policies, and that these new policies are not, by definition, grandfathered,” the rules noted. It’s a subset of a larger Republican refusal to have an actual debate about the law’s tradeoffs — one in which the law’s benefits for millions of Americans are also reckoned with in a serious way. The matter at issue here only affects the 5 percent of the population that buys health care in the individual market, compared to the 80 percent who get health care through their companies.

– The Washington Post's Fact Checker blog does its thing with President Obama's much-criticized claim that "if you like your health care plan, you will be able to keep your health care plan, period." The verdict? Four Pinocchios, which happens to be the max. Though he might have been forgiven for such a grand proclamation while the bill was still being drafted, the president continued to make the claim even once the law had been signed and its potential impact on insurance plans was clear, writes Glenn Kessler. Further, the law's design purposefully quashes "substandard" plans that the Americans on them certainly might like, in no small part because they can be cheap. So Kessler amends the president's infamous line: "If you like your health care plan, you’ll be able to keep your health care plan—if we deem it to be adequate." Other pundits are also weighing in: What Obama "meant was you can keep it if he likes it," echoes Holman Jenkins in the Wall Street Journal. The bottom line, for Jenkins: "He wants you to pay for coverage you'll never use (mental-health services, cancer wigs, fertility treatments, Viagra) so the money can be spent on somebody else." "The GOP outrage about Americans supposedly 'losing' coverage is largely just more of the same old misdirection," writes Greg Sargent in the Washington Post. "It’s a subset of a larger Republican refusal to have an actual debate about the law’s tradeoffs—one in which the law’s benefits for millions of Americans are also reckoned with in a serious way." Jonah Goldberg says Obama's statement "looks like the biggest lie about domestic policy ever uttered by a US president." The question, writes Goldberg at National Review Online, is whether "he was simply 'playing to win' and therefore lying on purpose" or whether he actually believed his own spin. "The president's message about his signature law has always been: It gets better, I promise," writes John Dickerson at Slate. "That was always an uphill battle. The benefits of the law were strung out over time, making it harder for people to recognize a payoff. 'Trust me' claims clash with people's mistrust of politicians and government programs."