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– Though they should have known what they were in for the moment they hired her, the producers of Lindsay Lohan's upcoming Lifetime movie are reportedly "hysterical" over the actress' recent car crash and exhaustion incident. Sources tell TMZ the producers are particularly worried they may lose their insurance over the car crash, or that Lindsay could face legal issues for lying to police … or that she could simply get into yet more trouble of some other sort, whether car-related or nightclub-related. They're probably also not too happy that LiLo's explanation for her exhaustion ("working 85hours in 4days, and being up all night shooting," she tweeted) ended up getting the working conditions on the set investigated by two Hollywood unions. But Perez Hilton notes that some crew members say Lohan was exaggerating, and absolutely "did not work 85 hours in four days." TMZ points out that this is quite a bit of publicity, however, and that Lifetime could end up quite happy if it boosts the ratings for Liz & Dick. For more, click to listen to the 911 call made over Lohan's exhaustion.

S NEW YORK (Reuters) - Former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn pleaded not guilty on Monday to charges he sexually assaulted a New York hotel maid in a case that cost him his job and a chance at the French presidency. Wearing a dark suit, Strauss-Kahn arrived at the courthouse with his wife, French television journalist Anne Sinclair, walking beside him, arm-in-arm. French politician Dominique Strauss-Kahn had to push through a throng of angry hotel workers shouting "Shame on you" to enter a plea on charges he tried to rape a maid. He is under house arrest on $6 million bail and bond - and Judge Michael Obus warned him to abide by all restrictions set by the court. "When the evidence is in, it will be clear there was no forcible compulsion," defense lawyer Benjamin Brafman told reporters after the hearing, confirming he will contend that any sex with the maid was consensual. But the maid's lawyer, Kenneth Thompson, said the notion that the 32-year-old "hard-working single mother" had consensual sex with Strauss-Kahn was "preposterous." "The victim wants you to know that all of Dominique Strauss-Kahn's power, money and influence throughout the world will not keep the truth about what he did to her in that hotel room from coming out." He was accused of attacking the maid, an African immigrant, a few hours earlier when she came to clean his suite at the luxury Sofitel hotel in Midtown Manhattan, apparently believing it had been vacated. She's standing up for all women and children around the world who have been sexually abused," Thompson said.

– Dominique Strauss-Kahn pleaded not guilty to sexual assault charges today, reports the New York Daily News, which notes that he was joined by his wife and appeared "pale." Should he be convicted on charges of attempted rape, a criminal sex act, sex abuse, forcible touching, and unlawful imprisonment, he could be sentenced to as many as 25 years in prison. To enter Manhattan Supreme Court today, Strauss-Kahn had to push through a crowd of protesting hotel workers shouting, “Shame on you!” His arraignment today kickstarts what could be lengthy legal proceedings, notes Reuters. (In related news, a defense source says there were "irregularities" in Strauss-Kahn's arrest.)

Supporters of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program display a banner as they demonstrate on Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House on Sept. 3, 2017. Sign up for POLITICO Playbook and get the latest news, every morning — in your inbox. “The single most important thing I can do,” Obama told an audience of students in April, is “help in any way I can to prepare the next generation of leadership to take up the baton and to take their own crack at changing the world.” One of a series of tweets Obama sent after the violence in Charlottesville became the most shared tweet of all time, but it was a quote from Nelson Mandela, not an explicit criticism of Trump.

– If his plans to formally kill DACA are announced as expected Tuesday, Trump will face direct criticism from someone who’s been notably silent since he took office: Barack Obama. According to Politico, a source close to the former president says Obama plans to post a statement to Facebook that he will then share on Twitter to his 94 million followers. The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program was launched in 2012 by Obama. During his final press conference as president, Obama said he would not stay silent if the program was threatened, and that he’d be morally compelled to speak out against “efforts to round up kids who have grown up here and for all practical purposes are American kids, and send them someplace else, when they love this country.”

A poll released today found fifty six percent of all voters, including sixty one percent of independents, think that Romney should release twelve years of returns. On ABC’s “This Week,” Will, a long-time conservative commentator and Washington Post columnist, said, “The costs of not releasing the returns are clear, therefore he must have calculated that there are higher costs in releasing them.” At one point, he even played devil’s advocate to Republican consultant Mary Matalin, who was defending Romney. Then give a serious speech on Thursday.” 3. He claims it will help voters trust Romney, especially since he claims there is nothing to see in the returns: “If there’s nothing there, there’s no ‘there’ there, don’t create a ‘there.’ Put out as much information as you can. Steve Schmidt, McCain’s chief strategist in that campaign, said on MSNBC last night that while he didn’t examine Romney’s returns himself, nothing that McCain’s vetters found in them disqualified Romney from consideration. Bain Capital was a firm that I led for 14 or 15 years, and Bain Consulting was an enterprise I led for two years as CEO.

– Scores of prominent Republicans are ratcheting up pressure on Mitt Romney to release his tax returns, notes ThinkProgress, but the candidate tells the National Review that he's not thrilled about giving the Obama camp "more pages to pick through, distort and lie about." (The editors at the conservative site sympathize, but called on him to release them anyway.) At Bloomberg/BusinessWeek, Joshua Green floats a theory that might explain Romney's reticence: Maybe he paid no federal taxes in 2009. How so? Like other uber-rich investors, Romney probably lost a lot of money in the 2008 market collapse. "It’s possible he suffered a large enough capital loss that, carried forward and coupled with his various offshore tax havens," he ended up paying nothing to Uncle Sam in '09. "If true, this would be politically deadly for him," writes Green. At Business Insider, Joe Weisenthal thinks the theory has much merit, though he disagrees that Romney would be "politically dead" if true. Another possibility: Romney made a nice profit in 2008-09, maybe through a fund that bet on the bailouts. That's "100% speculation," admits Weisenthal. But unless Romney releases the actual returns, he can surely expect more of it.

Just in time for Independence Day, WhitePages, the leading provider of contact information for people and businesses in the U.S., reveals the most popular names in the United States that are shared with some of our country’s most patriotic founders. The data shows that John Adams (9,893 people), Robert Morris (7,367 people), and John Hancock (1,616 people), are the top three most common names of our Founding Fathers. Rounding out the top five in the list of the 14 most popular Founding Fathers names are George Washington (1,513 people) and Samuel Adams (1,100 people). “While Florida may have been the 27th state to enter the Union, it is the number one state for patriotic names.” While Betsy Ross may not be a Founding Father, WhitePages included her on the list at number fourteen, with 163 people in the United States sharing the name. The state with the most Betsy Rosses? Again, it’s Florida. The top Founding Father names (along with one Founding Mother), are as follows: 1. According to the company, there are 9,893 individuals with the name John Adams in the United States, and 789 in Florida alone. Florida is a hotspot for patriotic names: It's also home to 587 Robert Morrises, who share a name with the American merchant who served as the superintendent of finance from 1781 to 1784. John Hancock, president of the Second Continental Congress and famous signature-writer: 1,616 4. There are 184 John Hancocks, 133 George Washingtons and 52 Thomas Jeffersons in Texas. Samuel Adams, fourth governor of Massachusetts: 1,100 6. In addition to being home to the most John Adamses and Robert Morrises, Florida also has the most people named Patrick Henry (100) and Betsy Ross (17). Georgia has the most individuals named Samuel Adams, with 75, while 38 Benjamin Franklins and 55 James Madisons call California home. Thomas Jefferson, third president of the United States: 522 9. But few parents who chose the name George Washington or Benjamin Franklin likely did so without considering the namesake. John Witherspoon, signatory of the Declaration of Independence: 309 11. John Jay, second governor of New York and first chief justice of the Supreme Court: 282 12. Alexander Hamilton, first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury: 269 13. California is also home to the most Thomas Paines (20), while New York boasts 25 Alexander Hamiltons and North Carolina is home to 36 John Witherspoons.

– George Washington, America's first president, can claim 1,513 namesakes alive in the US today, according to a new WhitePages analysis, but that actually ranks fourth on the list of most popular Founding Father names. Second president John Adams tops the list with 9,893, while Revolutionary War financier Robert Morris comes in second at 7,367 (perhaps both are a coincidence given John and Robert as well as Adams and Morris are common to begin with). Congressman and famous signature-writer John Hancock, meanwhile, claims a far more modest (but likely more intentional) 1,616 namesakes, ranking a distant third. "It's interesting to note that the top two most common names, John Adams and Robert Morris, are most popular in Florida," says Liz Powell, culture and trend expert from WhitePages, in a news release. "While Florida may have been the 27th state to enter the Union, it is the number one state for patriotic names." Only one name, meanwhile, belongs to a woman (WhitePages admits she wasn't a Founding Father but gave her a spot all the same), and that's seamstress Betsy Ross. She came in 14th on the list of 14 with 163 namesakes. And while several names are probably to be expected (Samuel Adams comes in 5th place, Thomas Jefferson in 8th, and Benjamin Franklin in 9th), Abraham Lincoln's name is rather mysteriously missing. In the realm of more general patriotic names, LiveScience points out that Liberty ranked 532nd as far as girls' baby names go last year; America took the 777th spot. (Click to read about a much more unusual first name.)

"There wasn’t any there there," Clinton confidant Paul Begala said on CNN after the debate. The candidates were asked about the economist Alan Krueger's recent New York Times op-ed suggesting that a $15 minimum wage might be too much. Sanders also lambasted Hillary for accepting millions in contributions from Wall Street. Sanders delivered his case for addressing economic inequality more clearly and more forcefully on Saturday night than in the previous Democratic debate. Clinton under fire for linking her Wall Street donations to 9/11 Minutes after Hillary Clinton referenced 9/11 as part of the reason why she has received significant contributions from Wall Street, people on both sides of the aisle pounced or were, at the very least, left scratching their heads to account for it. Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus called it a "new low" for Clinton, saying in a statement that she "shamefully hid behind the 9/11 terrorist attacks in a bizarre attempt to deflect attention from her ties to her wealthy donors." —Matt Ford Yes, we are at war with radical Islamic terrorism. @HillaryClinton #DemDebate — Andy Grewal (@AndyGrewal) November 15, 2015 "Well, I'm sorry that whoever tweeted that had that impression because I worked closely with New Yorkers after 9/11 for my entire first term to rebuild," Clinton responded. We were attacked in downtown Manhattan where Wall Street is," Clinton said, in response to a comment from Bernie Sanders about her acceptance of campaign cash from Wall Street executives. —Conor Friedersdorf 10:18 pm: And to add to that, I don’t know if there’s been a Twitter question that’s a direct response from something that’s been said during the debate. —Yoni Appelbaum 10:13 pm: Dickerson asks Clinton why criticize Sanders’s gun vote, if Sanders can’t criticize her vote on the Iraq War. It was good for the economy and it was a way to rebuke the terrorists who had attacked our country." —Matt Ford 10:03 pm: What does Bernie think of Hillary’s answer on Wall Street? “Not good enough!” he says. Looks like someone went to politician school.

– The Democratic debate Saturday night opened with a moment of silence in the wake of the Paris terror attacks and remained on the theme for much of the early going. As a result, Hillary Clinton found herself on the defensive from both Bernie Sanders and Martin O'Malley on foreign policy. Sanders in particular criticized the decision to go to war against Iraq, a decision that Clinton supported as a senator. “I would argue that the disastrous invasion of Iraq, something that I strongly opposed, has unraveled the region completely” and has led to the rise of the Islamic State, Sanders said, per the New York Times. He labeled it “one of the worst foreign policy blunders in the modern history of the United States." Clinton, as she has in the past, called her vote in favor of the war a "mistake." In her opening statements on the attacks, Clinton said that ISIS "cannot be contained, it must be defeated," which Politico notes seems to be an attempt to distance herself from President Obama, who just days ago said ISIS was being "contained." She added later, "I don’t think the US has the bulk of the responsibility. I put that on Assad, the Iraqis." O'Malley responded, "This actually is America's fight," but then added, "It cannot be solely America's fight." At another point, O'Malley asserted, “Libya is now a mess. Syria is a mess. Iraq is a mess. Afghanistan is a mess," notes the Atlantic.

– Online genealogical data led authorities to the suspected Golden State Killer. Now it may have identified the "Ramsey Street Rapist" responsible for at least six rapes in Fayetteville, NC, from March 2006 to January 2008, most following apartment break-ins in the area of Ramsey Street. Arrested shirtless at his home in Lindon on Wednesday (a photo shows a swastika tattoo on his chest), Darold Bowden, 43, is due to appear in court at 2:30pm Thursday, reports WRAL. A long list of charges includes 23 counts of forcible rape or forcible sex offense, six counts of first-degree kidnapping, and one count of indecent liberties with a child, stemming from the 2007 rape of a 15-year-old, per WBTV and Fayetteville Observer. "I'm just glad we got the guy finally," says Lt. John Somerindyke. Held on $18.8 million bond, Bowden was identified through Parabon NanoLabs' genetic genealogy testing, which involved searching for relatives of the suspect by comparing crime scene DNA with genealogical data available online. Per the AP, Somerindyke says police then obtained a separate sample of Bowden's DNA, which proved they had the right person. "This individual has been in our community, walking on the streets for the last 10 years, smirking and thinking he got away with it. Well, he didn't," says District Attorney Billy West. Meanwhile, friends and family describe Bowden as a generous heating and air conditioning technician. Despite a lengthy criminal record, "he ain't the type of person to do that," his father tells the Observer. (A cold case rape was recently attributed to this serial rapist.)

"You are my sister, and together wonderful change and more awesome things will happen in this beautiful world we live in." Sometimes, things don't come easy, including our getting pregnant. Each month there are so many prayers, so much disappointment, and so many tears. We would love your prayers also. After Chastain had an exchange about feminism and abortion with Karin Schulz, one of her 1.6 million Instagram followers, on Thursday, a donation of $2,000 in the actress's name appeared in Schulz's GoFundMe account.

– Jessica Chastain celebrated International Women's Day by donating $2,000 to a woman who was apparently in need, reports ABC News. The Molly's Game actor had engaged in an Instagram exchange with Karin Schulz, who said she was short of money for a fertility treatment. The two didn't agree on everything—Shulz is pro-life and Chastain pro-choice—but Chastain said she was moved by her follower's struggle to fund fertility treatments that insurance didn't cover, Bustle reports. "I read about your journey to become a mother and it broke my heart," Chastain wrote on Instagram. Schulz, one of Chastain's 1.6 million Instagram followers, wrote back effusively: "You are my sister, and together wonderful change and more awesome things will happen in this beautiful world we live in."

The former president and first lady are in “advanced negotiations” with Netflix to produce a series of shows exclusively for the streaming service, The New York Times reports. One could see the former president “moderate conversations on topics that dominated his presidency—health care, voting rights, immigration, foreign policy, climate change.” A show featuring Michelle Obama could focus on nutrition, a topic she championed as first lady. Eric Schultz, a senior adviser to Obama, said in a statement Thursday night that the Obamas "have always believed in the power of storytelling to inspire." As they consider their future personal plans, they continue to explore new ways to help others tell and share their stories,” said Eric Schultz, a senior adviser to the former president. The Times report said it’s unclear how much money Netflix is willing to spend on the Obamas, but in the past year the streaming service has been on a big spending spree to lock down some of TV’s most powerful players. Ryan Murphy, the über-producer behind Glee, American Horror Story, American Crime Story and Feud, joined Rhimes at Netflix in February. Netflix says it has more than 117 million subscribers, 55 million of whom are in the United States.

– Trump as president and Obama on TV? It's a role reversal probably no one could have predicted, but it may be one step closer to reality. Per CNN, Obama is in negotiations regarding a "production partnership" with Netflix, in which the former president and Michelle Obama would be involved in creating exclusive content for the streaming service. What that content would be, and how much of it, is still up in the air, though ideas floated include everything from inspirational narratives, Michelle-hosted shows on topics like nutrition, or Barack moderating episodes on hot-button subjects such as health care and immigration. Also unclear is how much the Obamas would earn, though one analyst estimates it could be as much as $500 million, per Newsweek. The move could be an Obama attempt to push back against the misinformation and "manipulation of news" he has complained about in recent months, giving him "an unfiltered method of communication with the public similar to the audiences he already reaches through social media," per the New York Times, which describes the negotiations as "advanced." (Netflix has 118 million subscribers.) What the shows won't be doing, sources say: getting directly combative with either President Trump or conservatives who've been critical of Obama. Netflix would get new original content out of the deal to keep it competitive against HBO, Amazon, Apple, and the broadcast networks, as well as another big name to boast of in its portfolio—not bad for a company that "began by distributing DVDs," the Times notes.

(Barry Wetcher/Warner Bros. via AP) (Associated Press) NEW YORK (AP) — "Ocean's 8," the female-fronted overhaul of the starry "Ocean's" heist franchise, opened with an estimated $41.5 million at the box office, taking the weekend's top spot from the fast-falling "Solo: A Star Wars Story." Jeff Goldstein, head of domestic distribution at Warner Bros., says the strong bow is thanks to counter-programming against “Solo: A Star Wars Story” and “Deadpool 2.” “We exceeded our expectations,” Goldstein said. I’m glad audiences enjoyed it as much as we did.” Women and older moviegoers bolstered numbers. Focus said two thirds of the documentary's audience was under the age of 45. The three previous "Ocean's" films — starring Brad Pitt, George Clooney and Matt Damon, and based on the 1960 original "Ocean's 11," with Frank Sinatra — all debuted with between $36-39 million in the last decade. Related Sandra Bullock Plots a Heist in First 'Ocean's 8' Trailer 'Crazy Rich Asians' Breakout Awkwafina on Stealing Scenes and Why Representation Matters “Ocean’s 8” represents a solid return for its star, Sandra Bullock. Her latest on-screen role was in 2015 with “Our Brand Is Crisis,” which bombed with a $3 million opening and grossed only $7 million worldwide. (Barry Wetcher/Warner Bros. via AP) (Associated Press) This image released by Warner Bros. shows, from foreground left, Sandra Bullock Sarah Paulson, Rihanna, Cate Blanchett and Awkwafina in a scene from "Ocean's 8." The horror thriller "Hereditary," starring Toni Collette, debuted with $13 million, setting a new company record for A24, the indie distributor behind releases like "The Witch" and "Moonlight." The feature-film directing debut of Ari Aster, "Hereditary" has received rave reviews and been hailed as the year's scariest movie since its debut at the Sundance Film Festival. “Hotel Artemis” checked in with a dismal $3.1 million on 2,407 screens. The Global Road release, also starring Sterling K. Brown, Dave Bautista and Charlie Day, flopped with $3.2 million in 2,407 theaters. “Hotel Artemis” represents Foster’s first big screen role since 2013’s “Elysium,” which opened with $29.8 million. The sci-fi drama went on to earn $93 million in North America and $286 worldwide. With “Ocean’s 8” easily nabbing the box office crown, “Solo: A Star Wars Story” secured second place with $15.2 million in its third weekend, bringing its domestic total $176.4 million. In third is “Deadpool 2” with $13.8 million in its fourth frame. Rounding out the top five is the seventh weekend of “Avengers: Infinity War” with $6.9 million. The Focus Features release grossed $470,000 in 29 theaters for a per-theater average of about $16,000. The documentary on the life and legacy of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” host Fred Rogers stirred up positive social media buzz, with audiences sharing how the film spurred them to tears. The film, 99 percent fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, has been acclaimed for its portrait of the man behind "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood."

– Ocean's 8, the female-fronted overhaul of the starry "Ocean's" heist franchise, opened with an estimated $41.5 million at the box office, taking the weekend's top spot from the fast-falling Solo: A Star Wars Story, the AP reports. At a lower price point and in a less fanboy-guarded franchise, Ocean's 8—despite ho-hum reviews—found nothing like the stormy reception than the female-led Ghostbusters reboot did on the same weekend two years ago. Made for approximately $70 million, Ocean's 8 and its cast featuring Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, and Anne Hathaway, set an opening-weekend best for the franchise, not accounting for inflation. The three previous "Ocean's" films—starring Brad Pitt, George Clooney, and Matt Damon, and based on the 1960 original Ocean's 11 with Frank Sinatra—all debuted with between $36-39 million in the last decade. In fact, the weekend's three new wide releases were all female fronted. The horror thriller Hereditary, starring Toni Collette, debuted with $13 million, setting a new company record for A24, the indie distributor behind releases like The Witch and Moonlight. Less successful was Hotel Artemis, starring Jodie Foster. The Global Road release flopped with $3.2 million in 2,407 theaters. The weekend's top five after Ocean's 8 are Solo ($15.2 million), Deadpool 2 ($13.8 million), Hereditary ($13 million), and Avengers: Infinity War ($6.9 million), Variety reports.

Film on bin Laden raid to air just before election SEAL describes Bin Laden's final moments It is unclear what secrets members of SEAL Team Six gave away, but while serving as consultants for the game, they used classified material which had been given to them by the Navy. It was produced by Electronic Arts, which boasts that real commandos, both active duty and retired, help make its games as realistic as possible. Seven members of the secretive Navy SEAL Team 6, including one involved in the mission to... (Associated Press) Four other SEALs are under investigation for similar alleged violations, one official said. The seven who have been punished so far all received letters of reprimand which would kill their chances for promotion. The head of Naval Special Warfare Command, Rear Adm. Sean Pybus, responded to the Bissonnette book by telling his force that "hawking details about a mission" and selling other information about SEAL training and operations puts the force and their families at risk. However, CBS News has learned a group of SEALs has been disciplined for revealing secrets.

– Seven members of SEAL Team Six—one of whom took part in the Osama bin Laden raid—are in trouble because of a video game. The elite troops were paid consultants on Electronic Arts' "Medal of Honor: Warfighter," whose missions include a raid on Somali pirates; the game touts its realism by citing the fact that commandos worked on the project, CBS News reports. The SEALs—who are supposed to avoid publicity—reportedly revealed classified material in the process, and the AP reports that they apparently gave video designers a look at some of the combat equipment specifically designed for their unit. The seven SEALs in question have been sent "letters of reprimand" that kill their chance of promotion, and half of their pay has been cut for two months. (Another four who are no longer on SEAL Team Six are under investigation.) But they're not the only ones in the public eye these days: The commander of the bin Laden raid, Adm. William McRaven, has approved some publicity for the team, including Act of Valor, a film starring actual SEALs.

The diplomat's car was surrounded by unidentified militiamen as he was leaving a Ukrainian naval base after talks with a commander. "But unfortunately it hasn't been possible to bring together the foreign ministers of Ukraine and Russia." 1 of 2 United Nations envoy Robert Serry has agreed to end his mission in Crimea and leave the region after a group of armed men hijacked his car and took him hostage in a coffee shop. The envoy said that he was very happy to leave Crimea and end his mission if it helped de-escalate the situation, according to Mates. A special U.N. envoy cut short his mission in Crimea on Wednesday after being threatened by 10 to 15 armed men and ordered to leave the region, U.N. officials said. Interfax, the Russian news agency, had earlier reported that Serry had been kidnapped by armed men but the claims were refuted by the United Nations. Putin!," and took refuge in a nearby coffee shop.

– UN special envoy Robert Serry suddenly aborted his stay in Crimea today after a run-in with a group of armed men. Gunmen, some in combat fatigues, reportedly surrounded Serry's car after he left a meeting at a Ukrainian naval base unaccompanied by a security detail, USA Today and the International Business Times report. They said they had orders to bring him to the airport. "I refused, I sat in the car. There was kind of a standoff," Serry said. Serry managed to get out of the car and walk to a nearby cafe, where he holed up with ITV News reporter James Mates, as a local militia blocked the entrance. Eventually, Serry agreed to leave the country; according to Mates, he said he was "happy to leave Crimea if it helped deescalate the situation." He got into his car and drove off, as a crowd of protesters chanted, "Putin!" and "Russia!" A UN spokesperson says Serry will "shortly return to Kiev to continue his mission." Ukrainian officials originally characterized the incident to Reuters as a kidnapping. A UN deputy secretary-general soon set the record straight, saying, "He was not kidnapped, but he was seriously threatened. This action should be seriously condemned."

Humpback whales sing increasingly complex songs, but University of Queensland researchers have discovered they may suddenly switch to something simpler, in a ‘cultural revolution’. Males in the eastern Australian population of humpbacks, for example, pick up a new song every few years from the western Australian population at shared feeding grounds or while migrating. “But every few years the songs are replaced – always by something simpler - suggesting there is a limit to the whales’ capacity to learn new material.” Dr Allen said humpback whales provided a good model for cultural learning in animals, as they learned and spread their songs quickly over entire populations and even ocean basins. “This is cultural transmission on a scale comparable to what we find in people,” she said. “By answering these questions in animals, we might be able to clarify why cultural and social development has occurred to such a unique degree in humans.” The study is published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.

– Researchers studying the songs of humpback whales have discovered a quirk of the undersea music: The whales sing the same song for a few years, adding individual embellishments and making it increasingly complex all the while. And then, poof, they switch to a simpler tune and start the cycle over again. In fact, lead researcher Jenny Allen of the University of Queensland refers to this switch as a "cultural revolution" in a UQ news release. So why the abrupt change to a new tune? One theory is that the songs become so complex that the whales reach their limit of being able to learn new material, according to the study in Proceedings of the Royal Society B. The researchers studied 412 song cycles from 95 singing whales over 13 years, per Science. While the whales generally sing the same song, the researchers found that individuals add their own touches, perhaps to help them stand out. (Only the males sing.) Another part of the pattern: Whale populations sometimes pick up a new tune from a different population—such as when eastern Australian humpbacks meet their western counterparts at a common feeding ground. Smithsonian likens this to a game of whale "telephone." But the same pattern follows: The songs begin simple and grow more complex until they're ditched altogether for a new one. (A beached whale provided unfortunate proof of plastic pollution in the sea.)

At first blush, it looked like the inauguration photo comparison all over again. Two images appearing to compare the number of New England Patriots players and staff at recent White House ceremonies rocketed around the Internet Wednesday night, appearing to show a much larger turnout for the event hosted by President Barack Obama in 2015 than President Donald Trump in 2017. It was picked up and reported on by many news organizations, including The New York Times, The Boston Globe, and CNN. A Times tweet of the photos had nearly 35,000 retweets and 48,000 “likes” as of Wednesday night. Patriots' turnout for President Obama in 2015 vs. Patriots' turnout for President Trump today: https://t.co/OxMEOqZonI pic.twitter.com/pLmJWhOw1j — NYT Sports (@NYTSports) April 19, 2017 Advertisement But the devil is in the details. Patriots spokesman Stacey James pointed out shortly after the stories were published that the two photos were not an equal comparison, noting that the 2015 photo included administrative staff, while the 2017 photo didn’t. And there was a valid reason for that, James said. In 2015, the whole Patriots entourage met with the president in a room pictured above the lawn stairs, and then proceeded to file down the stairs for the photo to be taken, James said. “Two years ago, the process was the players and coaches went down, and then the football staff filled in on the stairs,” James said. Advertisement But this year, all the football and administrative staff were seated on the South Lawn: “That’s just what the White House chose to do,” he said. One reason for the smaller group on the risers was likely because the Trump administration wanted to take the players on a tour of the living quarters, but wanted to take a smaller group — just the players and core coaching staff — instead of the whole entourage. In 2015, as soon as the event was over, “we left — that was it,” James said. “This time, there was a tour given to a smaller group.” James said a photo of everyone at the White House associated with the Patriots was taken at around noon Wednesday during a rehearsal for the event. That image was forwarded to the Globe by the Patriots organization: Photo courtesy of the Patriots organization James also said that trying to compare the attendance of 2017 to 2015 was “wrong.” Advertisement “When you win two [Super Bowls] in three years, fewer people go than one in 10 years,” he said, noting that player turnout for the White House ceremonies between 2002 and 2005 decreased steadily. “It’s just the way it goes,” James said. “It’s a long day. It’s a cool thing you do once — maybe you do it twice — but it’s just not necessarily something you choose to do every time. We had people today who were attending funerals, who were sick — it wasn’t political; it’s just life.” This year, several Patriots players said they would not be attending, some specifically citing Trump’s behavior and policies as the reason why. Tom Brady was notably absent from the event, saying earlier in the day he had to attend to “personal family matters.” Danny Amendola received a shoutout from the president during the event, but he was also absent, and later tweeted at the president in a post that has since been deleted: “Thanks for the shout out @realDonaldTrump! in the GYM! Funeral service for my boy Jaimie Carrillo tonight! RIP-JC.” The Patriots photo comparison also comes after widely circulated photos appeared to show smaller crowd sizes for Donald Trump’s inauguration than Barack Obama’s in 2009. The photos prompted White House press secretary Sean Spicer to lash out at news organizations and accuse them of false reporting. Get Ground Game in your inbox: Daily updates and analysis on national politics from James Pindell. Sign Up Thank you for signing up! Sign up for more newsletters here Brian J. White of the Globe staff contributed to this report.

– It's another Trump-related brouhaha over crowd size. The New York Times set this one off with a tweet of two photos, one showing the New England Patriots visiting Trump at the White House on Wednesday and another showing them visiting President Obama in 2015. The Obama crowd was much bigger. A few hours later, the Patriots took public exception to the tweet with one of their own complaining that the images "lack context." And they have a point: The 2015 photo included players, coaches, and administrative staff. The 2017 photo included players and coaches only—those same staffers were seated in the audience. All of which caught the attention of Trump himself, who tweeted Thursday: "Failing @nytimes, which has been calling me wrong for two years, just got caught in a big lie concerning New England Patriots visit to W.H." It's true that fewer players attended this year's event than in 2015—34 vs. about 50. But a team spokesman says even that comparison is unfair given that it's the team's second Super Bowl win in three years, reports the Boston Globe. It's just human nature that fewer would come this time, he suggested, not politics. However, at least one player skipped because of the president's politics, notes the Washington Post: free safety Devin McCourty. QB Tom Brady also skipped this year, though he cited family reasons, and he skipped in 2015, too. Meanwhile, the Huffington Post notes that his wife, Gisele Bundchen, issued a tweet Wednesday perceived as anti-Trump. It's since been deleted, but it supported an April 29 march in DC against new White House environmental policies. "March for climate, jobs, and justice," it read.

On Sunday, word came that two-time Olympian and U.S. 100-meter recordholder Tyson Gay – a man who joined 10 other athletes in declaring he "competed clean" for a U.S. Anti-Doping Agency program – has admitted to testing positive for a banned substance and has pulled out of the track and field world championships next month in Moscow. Gay, who has been on Adidas' books since 2005, had said on Sunday he had tested positive for a substance he could not identify and that he was pulling out of next month's world championships in Moscow. (Fabrice Coffrini/ AFP/ Getty Images) Add that to the doping mess in Turkish track and field, with doping charges brought against the 2012 women’s Olympic 1,500-meter champion and a two-time European hurdles champion, and the only thing worse for the sport would be if Usain Bolt tested positive. I don’t have anything to say to make this seem like it was a mistake or it was on USADA ’s hands, someone playing games. I don’t have any of those stories.” Contrast that with Asafa Powell, a Jamaican and the fourth-fastest man in history, who also was busted on Sunday. I basically put my trust in someone, and I was let down.” Gay, the 2007 world champion in the 100 and 200 and U.S. record-holder in the 100, would not identify the person in question. And it’s why it so disappointing when, with the regularity of hot days in the summer, news comes that yet another sprinter has tested positive. Here is the argument that Ben Johnson’s coach made when persuading him, as a young runner, to get with the program: “You only cheat if you’re the only one doing it. That’s why we take such pleasure in Usain Bolt’s beautiful loping stride or Tyson Gay’s amazing upright posture and the strain in his neck.

– News that two of the world's top runners—American Tyson Gay and Jamaica's Asafa Powell—have tested positive for banned substances isn't just bad news for the sport. It might be fatal news for the sport, at least in the US, writes Philip Hersh at the Chicago Tribune. Years of positive doping tests going back to the Ben Johnson era had pretty much made track and field a joke before the latest revelations, and this just cements things. How can spectators trust anyone at this point? The benefit of the doubt is gone, and "for track and field, that can only hasten the death of a sport that already is on life support in the United States." Christine Brennan at USA Today has a similar theme, warning that "the steppingstones to oblivion are filling in for the sport." We're nearly at the point where it's a waste of time for spectators. "If you can't trust a simple foot race going on before your eyes, why would you even bother to look?" A little less fatalistic is Nicholson Thompson at the New Yorker, who offers a suggestion to help clean things up. It's time to start punishing not just individual runners but their nations. "Countries can send three athletes to the Olympics in each track and field event," he writes. "What if, after a positive test of a medal winner, they only got to send two the next time?" Drug-testing agencies might add muscle, and peer pressure within the sport might begin to shift against doping. Still, he writes, "that might not be enough." (Meanwhile, Adidas already has suspended ties with Tyson, reports Reuters.)

Charles Richard Ingram III, a seven-year veteran of the US Navy, committed suicide by self-immolation on March 19 in front of the VA Community Based Outpatient Clinic in Northfield, New Jersey. The 51-year-old walked nine miles from his home in Egg Harbor, past an American Legion park and a memorial dedicated to military veterans, before finally stopping a few yards short of the clinic parking lot curb. A bystander attempted to extinguish the fire with blankets as firefighters arrived on the scene. Twenty minutes later, Ingram was airlifted to Temple University Burn Center in Philadelphia, where he died that evening. “I’ve seen people die before with complications associated with minor burns, but he was 100 percent burned,” Northfield Assistant Fire Chief Lauren William Crooks told The Daily Beast. “Gasoline burns extremely hot, so how he survived the short time that he did was in my opinion a little unbelievable, but people react in unpredictable ways to trauma.” Ruck up for Life: US veterans march in Minnesota for comrades that take own lives daily https://t.co/fSbVVdkBNtpic.twitter.com/Z7TGri856m — RT (@RT_com) October 26, 2015 Ingram, a resident of nearby Egg Harbor Township, was survived by a wife and two young children. “Rich,” as he was known to family and friends, served in the Navy from 1985 to 1992, attaining the rank of chief petty officer. The reason why Ingram may have decided to take his own life in such a manner remains unknown. He was at sea throughout Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, serving as chief on the command ship USS La Salle when it became the first American war vessel to arrive at a liberated Ash Shuaybah, Kuwait, in March 1991. VA hospital threw patient files in trash, kept quiet about it http://t.co/qfcVyGBNYApic.twitter.com/BBQ32h7CWD — RT America (@RT_America) August 4, 2015 The Northfield clinic is a branch of the VA Medical Center in Wilmington, Delaware. The VA’s Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs) serve patients in rural or remote locations who may not be able to travel to main hubs as a result of physical disabilities or psychiatric illnesses. Since most of the specialists, including psychiatrists, only see patients at the hub medical centers, CBOCs schedule “telehealth” appointments: closed-circuit “office visit” teleconferences.

– A veteran of the US Navy walked nine miles to a Veterans Affairs clinic in New Jersey earlier this month, poured gasoline on himself, and set himself ablaze. Charles Richard Ingram III, 51, died later on March 19 at a burn center in Philadelphia. "Gasoline burns extremely hot, so how he survived the short time that he did was in my opinion a little unbelievable," says a local fire chief. Self-immolation is often linked to protest, the Daily Beast notes, but attempts to learn more about Ingram's psychological state haven't led to much. Known as "Rich," he's a seven-year veteran who served on the USS La Salle, and was chief on deck when it went to the newly liberated Kuwait on March 12, 1991. After his service, he married Billie Bessler and settled with her in Egg Harbor, NJ, but knocks at their door went unanswered. The Northfield, NJ, clinic where Ingram killed himself is designed to help people in remote or rural areas who live far from population hubs. Because most specialists (psychiatrists included) are in cities, they assist people via teleconference—something Ingram likely did or was planning to do if he was getting psychiatric help, says Police Capt. Paul Newman. Ingram also leaves behind two kids, ages 3 and 5, who were photographed in a local newspaper the day before Ingram's death. A 2015 study says the suicide rate among recent veterans of the US military is roughly 50% more than the civilian rate (29.5 per 100,000 veterans), RT.com reports. Whistleblowers, lawmakers, and veterans have harshly criticized the Department of Veterans Affairs over the degree of care it provides veterans.

Here are 12 things the TSA should stop doing in 2012. Hmmm… pressurized cabin + 7 live flares = no good can come from this.

– Americans love griping about the TSA, and with good reason. The TSA, for instance, pocketed an estimated $376,480 of your loose change in 2010, notes the Huffington Post. But before your blood pressure shoots too high, consider this: TSA officers stopped some crazy and dangerous things from boarding flights this year. On its blog (yes, the TSA has a blog), the much-maligned agency relates the top 10 "good catches" of 2011. Among the notables: A half-ounce of C4 explosives: a passenger flying out of Yuma said he just wanted to show it to his family A .380 pistol: strapped to the ankle of a 76-year-old trying to depart from Detroit; he claims to have forgotten it was there A pink smartphone: it was actually a stun gun, and it didn't make it through LAX A college student's science project: his device, made out of a mints tin and resembling an IED, was harmless, but shut down Omaha's airport all the same Snakes: seven, to be exact, in the pants of a man at the Miami airport Click for the complete list, or click to read about more things about the TSA that annoy.

Photo credit: North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources This urethral syringe was used to treat syphilis, a sexually transmitted disease that can be fatal. Chemical analysis shows that it contained mercury, which was commonly used to treat people with syphilis during the early 18th century. Although mercury may alleviate some of the symptoms taking too much of it can be fatal. Blackbeard, the world's most famous pirate, lost his flagship in 1718 when the ship ran aground on a sandbar in North Carolina. Since then, the excavation project has revealed that the ship contained many medical instruments of the day, hinting that Blackbeard put great effort into keeping his crew healthy. [Photos: The Medical Instruments Found on Blackbeard's Ship] The people on a ship like Blackbeard's would have had to contend with many conditions, including "chronic and periodic illnesses, wounds, amputations, toothaches, burns and other indescribable maladies," Carnes-McNaughton said. Photo credit: North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources This image shows the remains of a clyster pump that was found on Blackbeard's ship. These would have been used to pump fluid into the rectum, allowing it to be absorbed quickly, Carnes-McNaughton said. Archaeologists also found a cast brass mortar and pestle and two sets of nesting weights, devices that would have been used in preparing medicine. Some items were found that could have been used medically or non-medically, Carnes-McNaughton said, including a silver needle and the remains of scissors, which could have been handy during surgeries. Getting medicine But although the captured surgeons had medical equipment, Blackbeard would have still needed a supply of medicine to treat his crew. Photo credit: North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources Follow Live Science @livescience, Facebook & Google+.

– The wreckage of the pirate Blackbeard's ship has yielded some fascinating finds, from swords to cannons. Some of the "treasure," however, offers a look at a very different side of his crew's life. Researchers have discovered an array of medical artifacts on the ship, called the Queen Anne's Revenge, which ran aground off North Carolina in 1718, LiveScience reports. Among them is a urethral syringe that once contained mercury, which was used as a syphilis treatment, researcher Linda Carnes-McNaughton says. That might have caused more problems than it solved. "Eventually, the mercury kills you" if you take too much, Carnes-McNaughton notes. Also discovered were what's left of two devices, known as pump clysters, intended for sending fluid into one's rectum. Researchers plan further investigation to figure out just why the crew needed them. The ship also contained equipment likely used for bloodletting. Sure, Blackbeard might have been vicious, but he did seem to care about health, Carnes-McNaughton explains. When he captured the ship, he let most of its crew go—but not the surgeons. And in a blockade of Charleston, Blackbeard's primary demand was for a medicine chest, the Smithsonian reports. LiveScience has images of the equipment that's been discovered; if you'd like to see Blackbeard's gear up close, some of it is on display in a newly updated exhibit in North Carolina, the Sun Journal reports. (Also found in the wreckage: proof of terror.)

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this piece misidentified the number of study subjects in the small undergraduate study on tongue rolling. However, some people, especially children, cannot roll their tongue when first asked but later learn to do so (Sturtevant 1940). While you may think this myth is harmless, McDonald says he’s received emails from kids who don’t share the tongue-rolling status of their parents. In 1952, Philip Matlock disproved Sturtevant’s findings, demonstrating that seven out of 33 identical twins didn’t share their sibling’s gift. Dizygotic twins were twice as likely to differ in tongue-rolling ability as monozygotic twins (Reedy et al. Despite this, tongue rolling is probably the most commonly used classroom example of a simple genetic trait in humans. “I am embarrassed to see it listed in some current works as an established Mendelian case,” he wrote in 1965 in his book, “A History of Genetics.” Yet, McDonald says, the myth is still taught in science textbooks and classrooms. Don’t be discouraged if you aren’t a member of the tongue-rolling elite — some can train their tongues to obey. No evidence for a genetic basis of tongue rolling or hand clasping. If rolling the tongue was genetic, then identical twins would share the trait. In 1940, the prominent geneticist Alfred Sturtevant published a paper saying the ability to roll one’s tongue is based on a dominant gene.

– For anyone who can still proudly recall one factoid learned in high school biology—that the ability to roll one's tongue is genetic—bad news: You learned it wrong. John McDonald, an evolutionary biologist, is out to debunk what he calls a myth about the genetic roots of tongue-rolling, PBS News reports. He says many of his undergrad students walk into class at the University of Delaware believing the skill is passed down through generations, and you can see why in textbooks like Biology for CXC: "Try rolling your tongue longways into a U-shape," the book reads. "Some people can do this, others can't. Tongue-rolling is caused by a dominant gene which we can call T." Pretty specific, yet untrue, says McDonald. The misinformation began in 1940, when geneticist Alfred Sturtevant wrote that tongue rolling was a genetic trait that relies on one dominant gene. His theory was debunked 12 years later by researcher Philip Matlock, who noted that in seven of 33 pairs of identical twins, one twin could roll his tongue while the other couldn't. (His 1952 paper also noted 65% of the population has a tongue-rolling ability.) That ruled out the dominant gene theory, and Sturtevant later backed down. Yet the belief remains so dominant that McDonald says kids have written him fearing they were adopted because they can't tongue-roll like their parents. Genetics may play some role, however. McDonald points to a 1971 study that found non-identical twins were twice as likely to not share tongue-rolling ability as identical ones, "which is additional evidence that there is some genetic influence." Still, "tongue rolling is not a simple genetic character," he writes at the University of Delaware. "Despite this, tongue rolling is probably the most commonly used classroom example of a simple genetic trait in humans." (Speaking of genetics, you and your spouse may have similar DNA.)

As the College of Cardinals descends on Rome this week to select the world's next pope, most U.S. Catholics want the new pope to be younger, to have new ideas, and to liberalize the church's teachings on issues like birth control, ordaining women, and permitting priests to marry, according to a new poll by CBS News/New York Times. As he becomes the first pope to retire since the Middle Ages, most Catholics - 66 percent - say they would prefer the next Pope to be younger with new ideas, rather than older with more experience. Eric O’Leary, 38, a funeral director in Des Moines who attends Mass weekly, said: “I would like them not to be so quick to condemn people because of their sexual preference or because of abortion, or to refuse priests the right to get married or women to be priests. Asked whether the pope is infallible when he teaches on matters of morality and faith, 40 percent said yes, 46 percent said no, and 14 percent said they did not know. Eighty-three percent of Catholics said they think it's possible to disagree with the pope on issues like these and still be a good Catholic, and 78 percent of American Catholics are more likely to follow their own consciences rather than the pope's teachings (13 percent) on difficult moral issues. When asked which “one thing” they would “most like to see the next pope accomplish,” the most common responses that respondents volunteered were, in order: bring people back to church, modernize the church, unify the church, and do something about sexual abuse. A higher percentage of Catholics said the pope and the Vatican had done a poor job of handling reports of past sexual abuse recently (69 percent) compared with 2010 (55 percent), when the abuse scandal flared in many European countries. Majorities said they wanted to see the next pope maintain the church’s opposition to abortion and the death penalty, even though they themselves were not opposed to them.

– The last pope was installed as a 78-year-old spring chicken who wasn't cool with birth control. This time around, a majority of US Catholics think that should change. A CBS News/New York Times poll finds that 66% of American Catholics want a pope who is "younger with new ideas," compared to 26% who want to stick with someone "older with more experience." And 54% want the new pope to "change to more liberal teachings," compared to 19% who want Benedict's more traditional teachings to be continued and 18% who want someone even more conservative. The poll found that a majority of US Catholics think the church and its bishops and cardinals are out of touch with the modern world and disconnected from modern Catholics. Exactly which issues should the new pope liberalize? A huge number say birth control: 71% think he should OK artificial birth control, and a massive 91% say he should approve of condom use to stop the spread of HIV. Another big number, 69%, say he should allow priests to get married; the same percentage favors allowing women priests; and 62% think gay marriage should be legal. But a majority of respondents still hold traditional views on some matters: 56% think the pope should continue to oppose the death penalty and abortion.

| Getty Exclusive: Leaked GOP Obamacare replacement shrinks subsidies, Medicaid expansion The replacement would be paid for by limiting tax breaks on generous health plans people get at work. But the draft shows that Republicans are sticking closely to previous plans floated by Ryan and Price in crafting their Obamacare repeal package. This includes things like age-based tax credits, a continuous coverage provision instead of an individual mandate, and a significant scaling back of the Medicaid expansion. Right now insurers can only charge the oldest enrollees three times as much as the youngest — that constrains prices for patients in their 50s and 60s. The legislation would take down the foundation of Obamacare, including the unpopular individual mandate, subsidies based on people’s income, and all of the law’s taxes. Republicans have offered other solutions for Medicaid, including a proposal that would allow funds to be distributed through block grants – which may limit funding but gives states more flexibility about what programs to prioritize and which people to cover – or change it to a per-capita allotment system. The key House committees declined to comment on specifics of a draft that will change as the bill moves through the committees. • About two thirds of people prefers status quo over such changes that would limit federal spending while giving states more flexibility to decide who and what to cover.

– House Republicans want to get rid of the Affordable Care Act's subsidies, Medicaid expansion, and individual mandate, according to a leaked draft of a bill to repeal ObamaCare. The bill, which was obtained by Politico, would give money to states to cover some people with pre-existing conditions and replace subsidies with tax credits based on age rather than income. As it stands, people under 30 would get a $2,000 tax credit, while people over 60 would get $4,000. Vox, which has an in-depth explanation of the bill, reports that sets up the possibility that tax credits would mostly benefit richer Americans, who are typically older. But insurance, as laid out in the bill, would overall be better for younger, healthier people than older people. And it would still be possible to refuse coverage to people with pre-existing conditions. House Republicans plan to pay for their healthcare plan by restricting tax breaks on employer health plans. This is a version of ObamaCare's "Cadillac tax," which was opposed by businesses, unions—and Republicans. The draft bill is likely to change as it passes through various committees. Meanwhile, ObamaCare is more popular than it's been in seven years. A survey released Friday shows 48% have a favorable view of the ACA compared to 42% with a negative view, US News reports. That's a sizable turn around from December, when only 43% viewed it favorably and 46% viewed it negatively. According to USA Today, nearly 50% of people polled were worried a family member would lose coverage if the ACA is repealed.

But amid cookie-cutter approbation from celebrities all over America, it was 36-year-old Kim’s tweet of a table of statistics to her 50 million followers highlighting the statistical fallacy of President Trump’s immigration ban, two days after its imposition, that stood head and shoulders above the rest. They had just landed at Los Angeles International when the family—including Kim, Khloe, Kourtney, Kylie, Tyga, Kris, and their children—were forced to stay inside the plane while it was “scoured” by customs and immigration officers, The Sun reports. And speak they did: The post was retweeted almost 200,000 times and the story was picked up by a flood of news outlets, including BuzzFeed, Fox News, and the London Telegraph. After being spoken to by Customs and Border Protection officers, Kim and her family were snapped leaving the plane. Neither Armenia nor Costa Rica are on Trump’s travel ban list, which includes Syria, Lybia, Sudan, Somalia, Iraq, Iran and Yemen. We will not share your email with anyone for any reason.

– Coincidence or no? Three days after Kim Kardashian tweeted apparent criticism of President Trump's "Muslim ban," immigration officials decided to keep up with the Kardashians in the form of searching her family's jet when it landed at LAX, the Daily Beast reports. Kardashian, who had also retweeted others critical of the ban, tweeted a chart Sunday showing the number of Americans killed annually by such things as falling out of bed (737), armed toddlers (21), and being shot by another American (11,737) compared to the number killed annually by Islamic jihadist immigrants (2). Her family was in Costa Rica at the time, and upon their return to Los Angeles early Wednesday, immigration officials "scoured" the plane, per the Sun, which has photos. Later Wednesday, Kardashian was back in New York, testifying before a judge who flew in from France about her robbery case, TMZ reports. (One of the robbers explains how Kim was targeted.)

Abstract Massively parallel collaboration and emergent knowledge generation is described through a large scale survey for archaeological anomalies within ultra-high resolution earth-sensing satellite imagery. Over 10K online volunteers contributed 30K hours (3.4 years), examined 6,000 km2, and generated 2.3 million feature categorizations. Motivated by the search for Genghis Khan's tomb, participants were tasked with finding an archaeological enigma that lacks any historical description of its potential visual appearance. Without a pre-existing reference for validation we turn towards consensus, defined by kernel density estimation, to pool human perception for “out of the ordinary” features across a vast landscape. This consensus served as the training mechanism within a self-evolving feedback loop between a participant and the crowd, essential driving a collective reasoning engine for anomaly detection. The resulting map led a National Geographic expedition to confirm 55 archaeological sites across a vast landscape. A increased ground-truthed accuracy was observed in those participants exposed to the peer feedback loop over those whom worked in isolation, suggesting collective reasoning can emerge within networked groups to outperform the aggregate independent ability of individuals to define the unknown. Citation: Lin AY-M, Huynh A, Lanckriet G, Barrington L (2014) Crowdsourcing the Unknown: The Satellite Search for Genghis Khan. PLoS ONE 9(12): e114046. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0114046 Editor: Michael D. Petraglia, University of Oxford, United Kingdom Received: April 22, 2014; Accepted: September 16, 2014; Published: December 30, 2014 Copyright: © 2014 Lin et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Data Availability: The authors confirm that all data underlying the findings are fully available without restriction. All relevant data have been uploaded to the Harvard Dataverse and can be accessed at https://thedata.harvard.edu/dvn/dv/votk. Funding: This work was funded by National Science Foundation (EAGER ISS-1145291 and HCC IIS-1219138). The funder had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. Introduction Ultra-high resolution satellite imaging enables a new paradigm in global exploration. This study surveys sub-meter resolution satellite imagery of the Mongolian steppe to identify largely undocumented cultural heritage sites across a sparsely populated and undeveloped landscape. With continued advances in sensor technologies, the capabilities and limitations of remote sensing is being determined less by data resolution and more by the methods that analyze the increasingly massive datasets. Overwhelming data volumes have often led to automated analytical approaches. However, in visual analytics automated approaches lack the flexibility and sensitivity of human perception when seeking singular, undefined anomalies. This study therefore utilizes scalable, loosely guided, online volunteer participation to generate human identifications of unknown anomalies within massive volumes of geospatial remote sensing data. The emergence of statistical trends from a large sample of independent inputs highlights the collective human perception of the images' content. Similar to volunteer geographic information networks such as OpenStreetMaps [1], inputs from multiple contributors generate a collective map of local knowledge [2], only in this case the term “local” represents the global base of human visual perception. Turning to the crowd as the “partner of choice” for scalable problem solving is becoming increasingly attractive across broad domains both in science and industry [3], [4]. While many crowdsourcing approaches rely upon gameplay dynamics [5], [6], monetary incentives (e.g., Amazon's Mechanical Turk [7], [8] or [9]) to motivate participation in individual tasks, others utilize the social recognition of charismatic challenges such as space exploration [10] to encourage participation. It has been shown in several of these cases that complex problems, if strategically structured, can be solved by pools of volunteer participants with little to no pre-existing domain knowledge of their analytical challenge [11]. Here we leverage the charismatic challenge of directing a field expedition in search for the tomb of Genghis Khan (Chinggis Khaan) to engage tens of thousands of public volunteers and generate millions of micro-contributions towards an archaeological satellite imagery survey. These contributions aggregate into a collective geospatial map of analytical cross-verifications. In this particular case, since there exists no historical or archaeological record describing the physical appearance of this tomb, we turn towards the crowd not only to tackle the data size challenge of large scale satellite remote sensing, but more importantly to pool human perception and intuition when sifting through the data for anything that looks “out of the ordinary”. This loosely defined search criterium presents a challenge, where a participant's desire for validation or guidance cannot be met with an administrative answer. Thus, we introduce a framework to enable a crowd directed evolution of feature search criteria that mimics crowd reasoning processes in nature. The collective behavior of flocking animals, for example, is enabled through simple decision making and feedback criteria adhered to by the independent agents of that collective [12]. Similar to the vector and spatial referencing data required by individual birds within a flock, our study constructs multi-directional channels of visual reasoning feedback between the individual participant and the crowd. We hope that in this scheme, the collective will guide itself towards an agreement regarding what to look for, essentially facilitating a “collective intelligence” beyond that of individuals whom comprise the collective [13], [14]. We explore this in the case of perceptual reasoning. Discussion We have described a crowd based solution to a satellite imagery remote sensing challenge of both data volume and search target ambiguity. Specifically, we charged an online crowd of volunteer participants with the challenge of finding the tomb of Genghis Khan, an archaeological enigma of unknown characteristics widely believed to be hidden somewhere within the range of our satellite imagery. This is a needle in a haystack problem where the appearance of the needle is unknown. To address this constraint we designed a system where participants actively evolve the collective training base of user feedback with their own inputs. Furthermore, the framework of the system created a resilient and self-validating data source through massively paralleled and constrained user inputs. Thus, we rely upon the emergence of agreement regions from independent tags to guide both the online volunteer community as well as the field archaeological expedition that surveyed anomalies on the ground. The entire data set is distributed in randomly chosen image tile subsets to participants, thus a “global” kernel density estimation approach is introduced to normalize saliency across all image tiles and to create an overall agreement region ranking. This concept could be applied as a distributed voting framework, where overlapping subsets allow for large data sets to be subdivided and parsed among many voters and then recombined into a single collective vote. Of the top 100 accessible locations identified by the crowd, 55 potential archaeological anomalies were verified by the field team, ranging from bronze age to Mongol period in origin. Yet, the question remains: could these results have been obtained just as effectively or more effectively without crowdsourcing? Or more specifically, could a small team of trained archaeologist have found the anomalies quickly by visually scanning the images on their own? After all we did expend 30K hours (3.4 years) of collective human survey effort. Looking first at the data size challenge, we have surveyed a historically significant area of roughly 6,000 km2. This is twice the size of Yosemite National Park, with equally diverse geologies and significantly greater in-accessibility. A ground survey of this detail for the entire range would have been prohibitive. Yet, at 0.5 meter/pixel resolution, a satellite imagery survey of the same area is in itself exhausting. A single archaeologist would have had to scroll through nearly 20,000 screens (assuming 1280×1024 screen resolution) before covering the whole area. But putting the data size challenge aside for a moment, we can observe the crowd's ability to be sensitive yet flexible. We continue to emphasize that very little is known about the likely visual appearance of the search target. Thus, we cannot limit our search criteria to what is traditionally “expected” from the known literature. Here is where the authors believe the power of crowdsourcing lies not only in harnessing parallel networks for scalable analytics, but in forming the collaborative frameworks necessary to cultivate collective reasoning. We depend on the crowd to process and identify the unexpected. Within our framework we observed that when participants were not provided the incremental peer based feedback loop they were statistically less likely to positively identify these anomalies, suggesting a form of collective reasoning has emerged within our participant pool that is variant and potentially more effective than the accumulated independent reasoning of individuals within that pool. Furthermore, while we acknowledge that there may be anomalies that remain undetected, this statistical variance suggests that largely parallel analytics (crowdsourcing) can provide better outcomes than an individual survey. While this study focused on an archaeological survey, there exists a broad range of challenges where scalable human perception networks could be effectively applied. These concepts have been further explored in applications ranging from humanitarian response to search & rescue [28]–[30]. The activities have not only tapped into our connectivity to scale human analytics, but also for the social mobilization of human attention [31], [32]. A recent direct derivative of the effort described here can be seen in Digital Globe Inc.'s “Tomnod” (Mongolian word meaning “big eye”) survey for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, where over 8 million participants surveyed over 1 million km2 of ultra-high resolution satellite imagery for anomalies. The shear mass of participation in this example provides a glimpse of the potential of our networked society. These crowdsourcing activities help us dive into the unknown and extract the unexpected. However, beyond that they present a fundamentally new construct for how we, as a digitally connected society, interact with information. The ability to focus and route networks of human attention at such massive scales, coupled with the functional ability for meaningful micro-contributions at individual scales, presents yet another evolutionary step in our collective ability to reason. Acknowledgments We thank N. Ricklin, S. Har-Noy, K. Stamatiou, and the entire Valley of the Khans (VOTK) project team; S. Bira, and T. Ishdorj of the International Association for Mongol Studies and F. Hiebert of the National Geographic Society for co-leadership in field expeditions; D. Vanoni, K. Ponto, D. Lomas, J. Lewis, V. deSa, F. Kuester, S. Belongie, R. Rao, and E.A. Spencer for critical discussions and contributions; S. Poulton and A. Bucci with National Geographic Digital Media; and the entire Digitaria team. We sincerely thank the National Geographic Society, the Waitt Institute for Discovery, the Digital Globe Foundation (formerly the GeoEye Foundation), and the National Science Foundation.

– If we ultimately uncover Genghis Khan's tomb, we may have outer space and about 10,000 volunteers to thank. As Smithsonian recounts, legend has it that the location of the Mongolian warrior's tomb was safeguarded by soldiers who murdered the tomb builders and were then killed themselves. University of California-San Diego scientist Albert Yu-Min Lin has been on the hunt for this "needle in a haystack," and since 2010, he's had some help: Under his Valley of the Khans Project, volunteers were able to visit a National Geographic website, sift through high-res images of Mongolia taken by orbital satellites, and flag any features they spotted. Except no similar burials have been uncovered in Mongolia, so "the appearance of the needle is undefined." In a paper published Dec. 30 in PLOS One, Lin reports on what was accomplished in the first six months. Some 10,000 volunteers spent 30,000 hours (that's 3.4 years) examining roughly 2,300 square miles (two times Yosemite's size) that had been tiled into 84,183 images. They were asked to tag any feature they spotted as a road, river, modern structure, ancient structure, or other. Participants tagged 2.3 million sites, and the researchers used "consensus, defined by kernel density estimation, to pool human perception" for features with potentially ancient origins. The field team explored 100 of those and positively identified 55 sites with archaeological significance (no Genghis Khan tomb, sadly), including Bronze Age burial mounds. The researchers ask: Could archaeologists have found these themselves? Their answer: A ground search would have been "prohibitive," and a scan of the images would have required an archaeologist to scan through 20,000 screens. (A remarkable tomb was found in Egypt recently.)

A sophomore boy brought a rifle and a handgun to Freeman High School just as classes were starting Wednesday morning, killing one student and seriously injuring three others, according to witnesses and investigators. Sharpe, a sophomore, rode the bus to school with two guns stashed in his duffel bag, witnesses said. He allegedly shot sophomore Sam Strahan in the head and wounded three girls before the school custodian stopped him. I looked to my right, and there was a boy and he was shot in the head.” Ian Moser, 14, was at his locker when he heard three shots. Authorities did not name the shooter, but Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich said at an afternoon news conference that the sole suspect was being held in the county’s juvenile detention center. The carnage was cut short by a jammed gun and a school custodian who tackled and disarmed him. He had just stepped into his math class when he heard what he thought was a balloon popping. Students rushed into the classroom, including Emma Nees. Sharpe didn’t kill anyone else, but not for lack of intent. “He said, ‘Barratt, put on these gloves,’” Moland said. I didn’t even know if I was applying pressure correctly.” Moland said he’s known Strahan and Sharpe for several years, and he believed the two were friends. who was close to his father, said Jennifer Guenther, a long-time friend of Strahan’s sister. Sharpe carried a duffel bag that apparently contained an AR-15 rifle and a handgun. Elliette Clark, 16, was in her math classroom when she heard gunshots in the hall. We need to figure out what’s going on in society that children think they need to take weapons to deal with the issues they’re facing.” It began and ended in the hallway outside of the biology room on the school’s second floor just before first period. “We had no clue what was going on.” But the shots kept coming, first stoking confusion, then driving chaos. “We saw three people sprinting.” Some 30 minutes later, school officials and sheriff’s deputies evacuated Marshall and his fellow students. Sam’s father, Scott Strahan, died unexpectedly on June 18 when he was crushed beneath a motor home he was working on. In a series of notes several weeks ago, he told them he planned to do “something stupid.” Just after 10 a.m. Wednesday, his promise was kept and a community was left with a dead son, daughters in the care of trauma surgeons and scores of others grappling with the tough questions that inevitably follow school shootings. And by the time most of Spokane had heard about the events at Freeman, he was in the back seat of a patrol car.

– Ami Strahan lost her husband on Father's Day when a motor home he was working on fell atop him. Less than three months later, she'd also lose her son. Sam Strahan was shot in the head shortly after 10am Wednesday by a schoolmate at Freeman High School in Spokane County, Wash., possibly as the sophomore tried to stop the shooter, reports the Spokesman-Review. Caleb Sharpe, whom a friend says had recently become interested in school shooting documentaries, had been seen carrying a duffel bag on the bus to school, per the Review. Once inside the building, he allegedly pulled an AR-15 rifle from within, the Review reports. When it jammed, he withdrew a handgun, witnesses say. According to one account, Sharpe shot into the ceiling, then killed Strahan as he tried to intervene. "His face was completely passive," a student says of Sharpe, who reportedly fired shots down a hallway. Three females were hit—including one in the back and one in the abdomen—before a custodian tackled Sharpe, witnesses say. Those injured are in stable condition, while Sharpe is now in a juvenile detention center. The teen—who showed off guns on his YouTube channel, archived here—had warned friends in a series of notes, passed to a counselor, that he planned to do "something stupid," per the Review. Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich describes the motive for the shooting as "a bullying type of situation." As for Strahan, "he gave everything to protect those who are in harm's way" and "that's how he'll be remembered," Knezovich tells the Washington Post.

Watch today’s C-SPAN interview followed by the relevant portion of Fang’s 2010 interview with Issa: News Corp.’s alleged violations of American law, including the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, are within the investigative jurisdiction of the House Oversight Committee, which is charged with investigating matters in the interest of the American people.

– Darrell Issa has long promised to use his House oversight panel to investigate the Obama administration, and the White House has served up two hanging fastballs for him: Solyndra and LightSquared. The chair of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee told C-SPAN today that he intends to investigate the administration's ties to both, reports the Hill. "I want to see when the president and his cronies are picking winners and losers ... it wasn't because there were large contributions given to them." The White House is accused of speeding up loans to Solyndra, a green-tech company that went bankrupt last month. LightSquared is a wireless startup whose technology apparently interferes with military GPS, and an Air Force general says the White House pressured him to downplay that in testimony. The two companies have "strong ties" to Democratic donors, notes Business Insider. "This is another reason that crony capitalism … is dangerous, because they're going to pick winners that they ideologically, or in some cases because they support their candidacy, want to see win," said Issa. (On the crony front, ThinkProgress still wants to know why Issa won't go after Rupert Murdoch.)

___ 11:45 a.m. A big earnings gain from Apple is sending the Dow Jones industrial average above 22,000 points for the first time, but otherwise stocks are mostly lower. The S&P 500, another widely-followed index, is market-cap weighted, meaning that an equal percentage change in any of its components will have the same effect on the index’s value, regardless of stock price.

– The Dow eclipsed 22,000 for the first time in its 121-year history on Wednesday, helped to the mark soon after the opening bell by a strong earnings report from Apple. The index fell below the mark at points during the day but closed in milestone territory at 22,016, per the AP. (The S&P 500 ticked up incrementally to 2,477 and the Nasdaq ticked down a smidge to 6,362.) The Dow's record has prompted a flood of commentary and factoids. Examples: Biggest gainer: Since March 1, shares of Boeing had contributed 380 points to the Dow as of Wednesday morning, more than any other company and ahead of McDonald's (171), UnitedHealth (166), Caterpillar (99), and 3M (91), per CNBC. The biggest detractor? IBM had the largest loss over the same span, 251 points. Dollar's role: As the Dow has risen, the US dollar has declined, losing about 10% of its value against major world currencies. The New York Times explores how the two are related, as does USA Today, which notes that a weak dollar helps big companies that do business abroad because their products are more affordable in foreign currencies. Trump's start: The Dow's close above 22,000 means that it has risen 20% in the 183 trading days since Election Day, per the Wall Street Journal. For a new president, that's second only to George HW Bush (171 days) and ahead of Barack Obama (537), George W. Bush (1,626), and Bill Clinton (308). Hold the applause: At MarketWatch, Rex Nutting argues that the cheerleading over the Dow's rise is overblown, given that most Americans don't own very many shares. The rise helps the richest Americans, while the young in particular are out of luck. "I bought my first shares for my retirement account back in the 1970s, so I've benefited from the incredible gains since then," he writes. "But my children are buying high, not low." Warning signs: At MoneyWatch, Anthony Mirhaydari is worried about weak economic fundamentals in regard to personal income growth, manufacturing, US auto sales, consumer sentiment, and more. As for this current surge: "Enjoy it while it lasts." Why the rise? President Trump has been touting the surging Dow for a while now, and a post at Barron's suggests he's due some of the credit. He and the GOP "have campaigned on business-friendly policies such as a lower corporate tax rate and softer regulations," writes Nicholas Jasinski. "If successfully implemented, investors believe that corporate earnings will increase." Also at play: low unemployment, low interest rates, and the aforementioned weak dollar.

MANILA — President Rodrigo Duterte, the Philippine strongman who has earned a reputation for dirty tactics and language, was criticized on Monday for having boasted that he had ordered soldiers to shoot female communist guerrillas in the genitals. Thousands dead: the Philippine president, the death squad allegations and a brutal drugs war Read more “‘There’s a new order coming from the mayor, ‘We will not kill you. We will just shoot you in the vagina.’ ” Mr. Duterte made the remarks in a speech to former rebels last week, but the comments went largely unreported because he was speaking in his native Visayan language.

– In addition to saying he "should have been first" to assault a "beautiful" rape victim, Rodrigo Duterte once told soldiers he'd protect them if they raped women. His misogynistic rhetoric only continued with comments last week, drawing outrage even as a spokesman claims the Philippine president shouldn't be taken literally, per Reuters. In a Feb. 7 speech now gaining attention, Duterte said he'd ordered soldiers to shoot female Maoist rebels while mayor of Davao City—only the order was a bit more specific than that, reports the New York Times. "Tell the soldiers, 'There's a new order … We will not kill you. We will just shoot you in the vagina,'" Duterte said. The women would be "useless" without vaginas, he added, though "vagina" was erased from the official transcript of the speech delivered to 200 former communist soldiers, per the Guardian. Calling Duterte "the epitome of misogyny and fascism," Emmi de Jesus of the Gabriela Women's Party says the comment "takes state terrorism against women and the people to a whole new level." Carlos H. Conde of Human Rights Watch adds it "encourages state forces to commit sexual violence during armed conflict." But spokesman Harry Roque suggests Duterte was only joking and says he views women's welfare as a priority. "Sometimes, these feminists are really a bit [overreacting]. I mean, that's funny. Come on. Just laugh," he said, per the Guardian. The outlet notes Duterte also discussed women after the International Criminal Court began investigating him for crimes against humanity last week, noting he didn't mind being imprisoned if it meant conjugal visits by more than one woman. (More on the investigation here.)

And as in other states that have voted in the Republican presidential nominating contests, the economy is the top issue for primary voters today, and electability remains the most important candidate quality. The issue was significant in other Southern states as well: 79 percent of Oklahoma primary voters called it important, as did 77 percent of Tennessee voters. The seven states holding primaries today are: Georgia, Massachusetts, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Vermont and Virginia. Electability matters the most in Georgia, where 46 percent said it was the most important quality; the next most important quality in Georgia was having the right experience, which 20 percent called the most important. In earlier primaries, with the exception of South Carolina, Mr. Romney did best with voters who were looking for a candidate who can defeat President Obama. The exit polls were conducted by Edison Research for a consortium of the television networks and The Associated Press and included in-person interviews with voters as they were leaving polling places across the state and telephone interviews with early and absentee voters.

– Super Tuesday voters handed victories to three different candidates, but Republicans in all 10 states shared similar concerns, exit polls found. The economy was the number one issue in every state. Despite the recent focus on social issues, few voters names abortion as their chief concern, and there was little evidence of a gender gap in what issue voters considered important, the New York Times finds. As in earlier primaries, Mitt Romney enjoyed the support of wealthier voters, while evangelicals and voters who consider themselves very conservative leaned toward Rick Santorum. Ron Paul did well among voters under 30. Gas prices were an important factor for a majority of voters, especially in the South, where 81% called it a major issue, according to CBS. Newt Gingrich—who labeled Romney the candidate of high-priced gas—won the state by a big margin.

Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK — The Little Rock Municipal Airport Commission voted unanimously today to rename Little Rock National Airport in honor of former President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Just minutes after the commission meeting, which attracted an overflow crowd of supporters and opponents of the name change, airport receptionists began welcoming callers to the Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport. "We are grateful for this honor and for all that the people of Arkansas have done for us. And we look forward to many happy landings at the airport in the years ahead.” The seven-member commission said it would not rename the airport’s runways and aeronautical operations, which will continue to be known as Adams Field. “The Clintons continue to have a major impact on our state and our local economy, and we believe renaming our airport in their honor is a fitting way to recognize their service and their position in Arkansas and our nation’s history,” Commission Chairman Jim Dailey said in a news release. The initial phase of the project began in early 2011 and is expected to be completed in February 2013 at a cost of $67 million, with a second phase occurring over the next several years. The only former presidents since 1960 without airports bearing their names are Richard Nixon, George W. Bush and Lyndon B. Johnson.

– Little Rock is paying tribute to the Clintons by renaming the city airport in their honor, reports the Arkansas News. Once the FAA signs off on the switch, the Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport will be in business. Airport receptionists already have begun using the new name, notes the AP. The official airport designation will remain LIT. "We are grateful for this honor and for all that the people of Arkansas have done for us," said the Clintons in a statement. "And we look forward to many happy landings at the airport in the years ahead."

Selection bias But these studies relied on comparisons between babies born to different families, leading some people to suspect that other factors – such as income level – could be affecting the result. Colen’s study is also rare for its look at health and education benefits of infant feeding practices for children age 4 to 14 years, beyond the more typical investigation of breast-feeding’s effects on infants and toddlers. Colen analyzed three samples: 8,237 children, 7,319 siblings and 1,773 “discordant” sibling pairs, or children from 665 surveyed families in which at least one child was breast-fed and at least one other child was bottle-fed. The study measured 11 outcomes that are common to other studies of breast-feeding’s effects: body mass index (BMI), obesity, asthma, hyperactivity, parental attachment (secure emotional relationships between parents and child) and behavior compliance, as well as scores predicting academic achievement in vocabulary, reading recognition, math ability, intelligence and scholastic competence. Breast is still best, says Colen, but the findings suggest that health systems should put less effort into promoting breastfeeding and more into other ways to help poorer households, she says.

– Breastfeeding doesn't produce the long-term benefits it's purported to, a new Ohio State University study has concluded, calling into question loads of previous research. Most older studies suffer from selection bias, lead author Cynthia Colen argues, because wealthier, better educated moms are more likely to breastfeed. Colen's research avoided that by focusing on sibling pairs in which one child was breastfed and another wasn't. The result? Breastfeeding had no effect on 10 out of 11 long-term health and well-being outcomes, and for the 11th—asthma—it actually increased risk. "I'm not saying breast-feeding is not beneficial," Colen says. But if it doesn't improve long-term outcomes, "we really need to focus on other things" that do, like maternity leave policies and subsidized day care. Colen's study doesn't examine, or attempt to contradict, previous work showing short-term immunity boosts against chest and gut infections for infants, the New Scientist explains. One breastfeeding advocate argued that the study is flawed, complaining for instance that babies fed with a mix of breast milk and formula were counted as breastfed.

The Rolling Stones Rolling Stones confirm they will play Cuba at Easter ‘Historic’ concert will open door for other bands to perform in the country, according to communist party newspaper Granma The Rolling Stones perform in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in February. The free concert will take place at the Ciudad Deportiva de la Habana and will be the first open air concert in the country by a British Rock Band. This once-in-a-lifetime concert event follows the band’s America Latina Ole tour, which is currently receiving rave reviews, playing to huge audiences in stadiums in Santiago, Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Rio De Janeiro, São Paulo and Porto Alegre with Lima, Bogotá and Mexico City following next week. The Rolling Stones said: “We have performed in many special places during our long career but this show in Havana is going to be a landmark event for us, and, we hope, for all our friends in Cuba too.” This historical concert will no doubt have Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Ronnie Wood mesmerizing a new audience of fans with a set packed full of classic Stones hits as well as special gems from their million selling albums. The news was announced in the country’s official newspaper Granma, which said the concert would be “a historic moment that will open the doors for other great bands to arrive in Havana”.

– Cuba could soon become a concert destination. The Rolling Stones will play a free show there on Friday, March 25 (Easter weekend), the band announced. The performance at Havana's Ciudad Deportiva de la Habana sports complex will be the country's first open-air concert by a British rock band—and the Guardian reports that Cuba's official newspaper, Granma, called the show "historic" and said it would "open the doors for other great bands to arrive in Havana." The news comes on the heels of President Obama announcing he'll visit Cuba this month.

Court of Appeal judges in London have stuck two fingers up to Nestle's attempts to trademark the shape of its famous four-fingered KitKat bar. The European court of justice had previously found that the four-fingered shape, breaking apart with a snap, was not distinctive enough to merit a trademark and that such a designation would not comply with European law. “Nestlé is disappointed by the court of appeal judgment and is considering its next steps,” said the spokesperson. “KitKat is much loved around the world and its four-finger shape is well known by consumers. Nestlé’s four-finger shape has been granted trademark registration in many countries of the world, for instance Germany, France, Australia, South Africa and Canada, further protecting it from imitations.” Following the appeal ruling, a Mondelēz spokesperson said: “As we have previously stated, we do not believe the shape of the KitKat bar should be protected as a trademark in the UK.” The case turned on whether a the product’s shapewas sufficiently distinctive to the brand to prevent any other manufacturer using a similar format. “They might simply regard the shape as a characteristic of products of that kind or they might find it brings to mind the product and brand name with which they have become familiar. In 2004, Cadbury attempted to trademark the shade of purple it uses for its Dairy Milk bars, registering Pantone 2685C in a move that was initially successful before the court of appeal backed Nestlé challenge in 2013. The first KitKat-type bar was sold in Britain by Rowntree in 1935, when it was called Chocolate Crisp, and the shape has changed little since then. Image caption Norway's "Kvikk Lunsj" looks similar to the KitKat and is available in some parts of the UK A spokesperson for Nestle said the company is weighing up its options. Its case was not helped by the existence of a similar Norwegian bar, called Kvikk Lunsj, which means "quick lunch" and has been around since 1937.

– Nestle may find itself muttering "give me a break," but perhaps with an expletive tossed in at the end. The company on Wednesday lost its latest attempt to trademark its four-finger chocolate bar shape in the UK, in what has been a 7-year battle. The Guardian reports that after months of deliberation, a three-judge appeals panel explained in 16,000 words that the KitKat shape is not a "badge of origin" and has "no inherent distinctiveness." Ouch. The global confectionery has been fighting its rival Mondelez, the US owner of Cadbury, on the issue since 2010. The BBC reports that the two have gone at it over other would-be trademarks, calling out Cadbury's failed attempt in 2013 to register the shade of purple used in its Dairy Milk packaging (Pantone 2685C, for the curious). Shapes can in fact be trademarked if proven distinctive enough (think Coca-Cola's bottle, or, on the candy front, Toblerone's "zigzag prism" bar), but it's often a slog, and a long one at that. An intellectual property lawyer explains what's at stake in cases like these: Trademarks "confer monopoly rights, so I can see entirely why Nestle thought ... let’s register it, because we can stop anyone from producing a bar in four fingers." And they aren't the only ones to produce such a bar; the similarly-shaped Norwegian bar Kvikk Lunsj, which means "quick lunch," has been around since 1937—nearly as long as KitKat. Nestle could try to get its case in front of the UK supreme court. (In other food news, a new Pepsi flavor isn't wowing soda fans.)

Story highlights "What I want to avoid is some kind of political gotcha or blame game," Clinton says "I take this very personally," she says Diplomats need security but "can't hang out behind walls," she adds Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday tried to douse a political firestorm over the deadly assault on a U.S. diplomatic mission in Libya, saying she's responsible for the security of American diplomatic outposts. Clinton sat for an interview with the Journal last Wednesday and there was no embargo preventing the paper from publishing any part of it, a State Department spokesman told The Huffington Post While the interview may have been conducted as part of an upcoming profile of Clinton, it's common for news organizations to extract timely material for a news story. "I'm in charge of the State Department's 60,000-plus people all over the world, 275 posts. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she takes responsibility for security at the American diplomatic outpost in Benghazi, Libya, where Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans died in an attack last month. She has also in some instances prodded other countries to step up their defense of other U.S. posts abroad, particularly those subjected to demonstrations around that time. While Clinton's statement was news to most of the world, it apparently wasn't to the Wall Street Journal.

– With the White House facing pressure over security before the 9/11 Benghazi attack, Hillary Clinton has taken the blame. "I take responsibility," she said in a CNN interview last night in addressing the consulate strike that killed US Ambassador Chris Stevens. "I want to avoid some kind of political gotcha," she added. President Obama has been under fire since Joe Biden said in the VP debate that the administration knew nothing of requests to boost security at the Benghazi mission. State Department employees contradicted Biden, and the White House explained that the vice president didn't know about the requests because they were handled by the State Department. Clinton made her remarks yesterday on a diplomatic trip to Peru, her first since the Libya attack, the AP reports. But Clinton had actually taken responsibility for the security problems in an interview with the Wall Street Journal last Wednesday—but the Journal didn't publish her comments until last night, despite the fact that there was no embargo keeping it from doing so, the Huffington Post reports. "I take responsibility," Clinton said in that interview. "I'm the Secretary of State with 60,000-plus employees around the world." It's odd that the Journal held the comments, writes Michael Calderone for HuffPo, especially considering Clinton made them on the day of a congressional hearing on Benghazi security.

Yemeni business owners who operate corner bodegas and neighborhood delis... (Associated Press) NEW YORK (AP) — Hundreds of ethnic Yemeni business owners who operate New York City corner bodegas and neighborhood delis closed shop Thursday in protest of President Donald Trump's travel ban on people from seven Muslim-majority countries. A sign posted on the closed doors of a deli owned by Haron Zokari, a Yemeni immigrant, alert customers that the store will close because of a protest against President Donald Trump's travel ban, Thursday,... (Associated Press) A sign posted on the closed doors of a deli owned by Haron Zokari, a Yemeni immigrant, alert customers that the store will close because of a protest against President Donald Trump's travel ban, Thursday, Feb. 2, 2017, in New York. The protests followed the decision by Trump’s administration to put a four-month hold on letting refugees into the United States and to temporarily bar travelers from Yemen, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan and Somalia. The order, which is being challenged in U.S. courts, left some travelers stranded and others held at airports on arrival. Golden Deli, a Yemeni-owned bodega in Manhattan, was swelling with customers who picked up early lunches before it closed. The 36-year-old married father of four said the point of the protest was to say, "We are part of this community. They know we are human beings just like them," he said.

– Ethnic Yemeni business owners who operate New York City corner bodegas and neighborhood delis closed shop in more than 1,000 locations Thursday in protest of President Donald Trump's travel ban on people from Yemen and six other Muslim-majority countries. The shops were locked at noon and remained shuttered until 8pm, the AP reports. The Yemeni-run small businesses are a part of many New Yorkers' daily lives, said Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams. As night fell, a raucous but orderly crowd of at least 1,000 people, including many of the shopkeepers, filled a plaza in Brooklyn to protest the travel ban that has caused travelers to be detained, sent back from the US, or stranded in other countries. Haron Zokari closed his Manhattan deli at noon. He said his wife and baby are stuck in Yemen after almost completing a four-year green-card process. "We are trying to stay strong," he told the AP. "There's people there who are refugees and who are starving and running for their lives, so thank God we don't have it as bad as they do." At the Golden Deli in Manhattan, a customer told Reuters he was disappointed he couldn't get his usual pastrami and Swiss sandwich, but that he supports the protest. "This is like the best deli out here," he said. "Trump is a jerk." (More than 1,000 State Department officials have signed a memo protesting the travel ban.)

Kelsey Osborne and her kids, Madyson and Ryker (Photo: Kelsey Osborne) GOODING - It's a topic that has sparked debate across the nation over the last few years - legalizing marijuana. (KBOI photo) Kelsey Osborne and the Idaho Mom’s for Marijuana group rallied outside of the Department of Health and Welfare in Boise Thursday afternoon, calling for medical marijuana reform. Last month, Kelsey Osborne, a Gooding mother of two, had her children taken from her after she gave her daughter a smoothie with marijuana in it as an attempt to stop her seizures. "I didn't ever think it would come down to this, but it did," Osborne told KTVB. "It tore me apart,” Osborne said, choking back tears. It all started in early October when her daughter, Madyson, was suffering from seizures and hallucinations after coming off a prescription anti-psychotic medication. "They would stop and come back, stop and come back with the hallucinations and everything else," Osborne said. She was charged with misdemeanor injury to a child, and has pleaded not guilty. Osborne said she did what she thought was right as a mother; she made Madyson a smoothie with marijuana butter. Tom Shanahan, spokesman for the Department of Health and Welfare, responded to the protesters, saying CPS simply follows the laws currently in place. "Even in states that have legalized it it's not legal to give to children," said Shanahan. The one they use for epilepsy doesn’t have THC, it doesn’t appear to have any kind of brain development issues. Recreational marijuana does cause that so it’s not safe for these children.” Meanwhile Osborne says she will continue trying to get her children back, who are currently with staying with their father. "It's something that I'm going to fight for and I'm not going to give up until I have them back home where they have been begging me to be," Osborne said. "It's a totally different substance and I think people confuse that," he said.

– A 3-year-old Gooding, Idaho, girl tested positive for pot at her pediatrician's office on Oct. 5, and mom Kelsey Osborne was the reason why. The 23-year-old lost custody of her two kids because of it. Now, she's fighting back. Osborne describes the smoothie she made for daughter Madyson—a drink that contained a tablespoon of marijuana-infused butter—as a "last resort," reports KTVB. She says Madyson suffers from seizures, and that the October ones were particularly bad: "They would stop and come back, stop and come back," with hallucinations and vomiting. The girl was also in the midst of withdrawing from Risperdal, which is used to treat schizophrenia and bi-polar disorder (it's unclear why Madyson was prescribed the medication), and Osborne says the pot stopped it all within 30 minutes. Problem is, "marijuana is illegal, period," says a rep with the state's Department of Health and Welfare. Indeed, Osborne was charged with misdemeanor injury to a child; she has pleaded not guilty. Medical marijuana isn't legal in the state, and in those places where children with epilepsy are permitted to partake in pot, they use cannabidiol oil, which is free of THC. The Twin Falls Times-News says Osborne couldn't get the oil, and so resorted to using butter that she prepared herself. KBOI reports Madyson and brother Ryker, 2, are currently with Osborne's ex-husband; she is allowed supervised visitation. On Thursday, she teamed up with Idaho Moms for Marijuana outside the Department of Health and Welfare in protest. "I won't stop [fighting to get them back]," she says. "If it takes me two years, then it's going to take me two years." (This mom's pot tea was problematic.)

In this photo taken Thursday Feb. 14, 2013 a police officer holds a gun that was allegedly used in the shooting of Reeva Steenkamp, the girlfriend of Olympian athlete Oscar Pistorius, at the Boschkop... (Associated Press) Oscar Pistorius, centre, is led from the Boschkop police station east of Pretoria, en route to court, Friday Feb. 15, 2012. Updated: Feb. 15, 2013 at 8:00 a.m. EST South African prosecutors on Friday formally charged “Blade Runner” Oscar Pistorius with shooting and killing his model girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, in the early hours of Valentine’s Day. The magistrate delayed Pistorius' bail hearing until next Tuesday and Wednesday and ruled that the 26-year-old Pistorius would be held at a Pretoria police station until then.

– Covering his face, South African runner Oscar Pistorius arrived at a Pretoria court today via police car, the BBC reports. After being charged with one count of murder, he was in tears; prosecutors are making a case that the crime was premeditated, the AP notes. The court pushed Pistorius' bail hearing to next week in the case that found his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, dead in his home. In the meantime, Pistorius will stay in the police station. Pistorius is doing "very well, obviously emotional, but fine," his lawyer says. Meanwhile, a forensic team is set to continue an investigation of his house as more details emerge in the case. After reports yesterday suggested Pistorious mistook Steenkamp for an intruder, local media is now suggesting he shot her four times through the bathroom door, Sky News reports. Time cites local reports suggesting that police were first called to the Pistorius home shortly after midnight by neighbors who heard a loud argument. Then they were called back after the shooting, just two hours later.

– The gossip media is abuzz with a nice story for once, thanks to Humans of New York. The website offered a story yesterday from a New York taxi driver, who recalled a time he initially declined to take a passenger because he needed to go too far and the driver's shift had just ended. But he changed his mind and called the guy back; when he got in, he was "all animated, and he's talking about all these things. But he's got his cap pulled down way over his eyes, so I can't see who it is. But pretty soon I start to recognize his voice." It was Tom Hanks, and at a red light, the driver turned to him and yelled, "WILSON!" Cast Away-style. Hanks liked that, the driver says, and started calling the cabbie "Mr. Ferrari" because he was wearing a Ferrari hat and shirt. They took a photo together, and over the next few weeks, the driver happened to pick up other passengers who knew Hanks. He told each of them, "Tell Mr. Hanks that Mr. Ferrari says 'hello,'" the cabbie says. One of the passengers eventually texted the driver to let him know Hanks had invited him to see him in Lucky Guy on Broadway. The driver and his date even got to go backstage, and when Hanks walked into his dressing room to see them there, he screamed, "Mr. Ferrari!" (For more fun, click to watch Tom Hanks dancing to "This Is How We Do It.")

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the U.S. ambassador to Israel argued heatedly during a meeting about U.S. and Israeli strategy in confronting Iran, according to a U.S. lawmaker who was present.

– Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu clashed angrily with the American ambassador to Israel over US policy on Iran, according to a lawmaker who was present at the late August meeting. "It was very, very clear that the Israelis had lost their patience with the administration" over its failure to clarify what state the Iranian nuclear program would need to reach to trigger a US attack, says Mike Rogers, the Republican chair of the House Intelligence Committee. Rogers describes the meeting as "very tense," with "elevated" exchanges between Netanyahu and US Ambassador Dan Shapiro, the Washington Post reports. "Right now the Israelis don't believe that this administration is serious when they say all options are on the table, and more importantly neither do the Iranians," Rogers says. "That's why [Iran's] program is progressing." Shapiro, however, describes that depiction of the meeting as "silly" and says the talk was "friendly and professional," reports Reuters. Israel's Defense Minister Ehud Barak, meanwhile, hinted yesterday that he believes the US would join an attack on Iran, reports the Jerusalem Post. America's "intelligence-sharing and military support for Israel is extraordinary in its depth and its comprehensiveness, and I’m convinced that it will continue to be that way in every future test," he said after a meeting with US military officials.

I think the first film has that one great set piece, and I think the stuff with the raptors is fine, but not particularly amazing. It feels in some ways like this film has been bubbling around inside co-writer/director Colin Trevorrow ever since the 16-year-old him saw the first film in the theater. There is no single human lead here; instead, they've created just enough of an excuse to get Gray (Ty Simpkins) and Zach (Nick Robinson) into the park while Owen (Chris Pratt) and Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) try to head off a crisis situation created in equal parts by Hoskins (Vincent D'Onofrio) and the twisted work of Masrani (Irrfan Khan) and Dr. Henry Wu (B.D. Either go to have fun or don't go at all. There are all sorts of great gags and beats as the dinosaurs rip hell out of this park. This actually feels like the first of the films where there are enough threads left unresolved to pick this story up without remaking the first film again. The production was directed, clumsily, by Colin Trevorrow, from a remarkably incoherent script credited to Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, Derek Connolly and Mr. Trevorrow. Over at the Guardian, meanwhile, Claire has scored a not-great 5/10 on the site's "Sexismometer" -- markedly higher than murderous super-dino Indominus Rex (scoring a 1/10) but lower, at least, than Judy Greer's character Karen (8/10), who apparently spends the majority of the film sobbing over a phone. It is bigger and meaner and louder than its precursors, and it does exactly what it was bred to do. "Jurassic World" opens in theaters everywhere on Friday.

– The latest, long-awaited installment in the Jurassic Park saga is here. This time, characters played by Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard watch as the genetically-modified dinosaur Indominus rex is unleashed on the park; destruction, of course, is inevitable. Here's what critics are saying: "You can't experience first love twice," writes Kenneth Turan at the Los Angeles Times. "Despite the best efforts of director Colin Trevorrow, Jurassic World's story of Indominus rex on the loose, while certainly acceptable, doesn't have the same impact as the initial film." That being said, the moviemakers "have done as well as they could," Turan writes, and Pratt's "combination of physicality, charisma, and attitude prove hard to resist." Brian Truitt is awed by the "zoo of phenomenal creations that rivals the original's impressive array of ancient animals." While he says Jurassic World is "a monster step up from the two disappointing previous sequels," it’s "sorely missing the heart and inherent wonder of the classic first film," he writes at USA Today. Still, it holds "enough dino-mite action to stave off excitement extinction." Audiences will flock to the film regardless of what he writes, but Joe Morgenstern writes it anyway: "Something should be said about the film's cheesiness—it doesn't even look good, though it sounds grand—and the shoddiness of its workmanship." Pratt offers an easy charm, but he's "no match for the crude filmmaking or the stupid plot that keeps him running around in a constant state of artificial animation," he writes at the Wall Street Journal. His vote: Don't waste your money. Writing for the New York Post, Kyle Smith's opinion couldn't be more different: "Motorcycle, Chris Pratt, sprinting dinosaurs: If you require more than that out of a movie, you're being unreasonable." He says Pratt, combined with the film's "brilliant special effects … make the first Jurassic movie since 2001 nearly as much fun as the stellar first two." There are strong, quiet moments and great action scenes. "The worst you can say about the movie is that it sticks to a highly potent formula." Click for more reviews or find out why some accuse the film of sexism.

Bennett plays at Link Year Prep and has committed to playing next season at Kent State. Please enable Javascript to watch this video KENT, Ohio - Kent State University has become the first university in the country to sign a student with autism to play division one sports. Kalin Bennett, a 6' 10" Little Rock Arkansas native, has signed a letter of intent to play with the Golden Flashes after playing high school basketball for Little Rock Christian Academy and, most recently, for Link Year Prep in Branson, Missouri. He is expected to be enrolled at Kent in the summer of 2019. In online videos he said he would like to use his opportunity to inspire others. "If they want to be in video design, computer science or art, or whatever they want to do. Gina Campana, the Assistant Director of Assessment and Research for the University's Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion did talk directly with Bennett and his mother during their selection process.

– Kalin Bennett is 6-foot-10, weighs 300 pounds, and has proven to be a force on the basketball court throughout his high school playing days in Little Rock, Ark. No surprise, then, that he's signed a letter of intent to play Division I basketball with Kent State. But as Cleveland.com reports, Bennett stands out for one more reason: He has autism. In fact, Bennett is the first autistic student-athlete to sign on for a team sport of any kind on the Division I level, according to the NCAA. The 18-year-old, who didn't start talking until age 7, says he hopes to be a role model. "I want to make an impact not just on the court, but with kids that are struggling with the same things I am," he tells the newspaper. "I want to let them know, hey, if I can do this, you can do it, too." (See an interview with him here.) Bennett will live in a dorm, though his mother is moving to Kent, Ohio, to be closer to him and help with the transition. The university is known for its support of autistic students, including an initiative to pair each one with a non-autistic student, notes Fox 8 Cleveland. (Brain scans might help with earlier diagnoses.)

An Ohio man thought he was doing the right thing earlier this week when he broke into a woman’s car on a warm day to rescue her two dogs — but the police didn’t see it the same way. After breaking into a woman’s car with a hammer in a Walmart parking lot on Saturday, Richard Hill was cited for criminal damaging, according to multiple reports. In a Facebook post shared on Saturday, Hill wrote that the incident occurred after he “noticed 2 dogs,” one of which appeared to be “maybe 2-3 months old,” that were “locked in a car with it being 79° at that time.” While he went on to claim that the older dog was “jumping around” and setting off a car alarm, the younger dog was “just laying there not moving.” “One of the bystanders called [the Parma, Ohio] police,” he continued, adding that while the bystander said that the authorities were “in [sic] route,” he decided to break into the car anyway because “I felt they needed out right then and there.” He also claimed that the dogs had been inside the car for “at least” 30 minutes. Stock photo of a dog in a car Getty Images However, according to surveillance video, the dogs were only left alone in the car for four minutes before bystanders called the police at 4:08 p.m., reported Cleveland.com. Two minutes later, Hill was seen smashing the windows, while the authorities arrived at 4:12 p.m. Additionally, authorities told the outlet that the owner of the pets — who was not cited — returned to the car after spending about 14 minutes inside the store. Sergeant Dan Ciryak went on to tell that outlet that while “we believe his heart may have been in the right place, he should have waited a little more.” “He knew the police were coming. I don’t know what his sense of urgency was,” he added. The Parma Police did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment. RELATED: What You Need to Know About the New California Law that Makes it Legal to Smash a Car’s Window to Save an Animal Trapped Inside Ohio passed legislation in 2016 protecting Good Samaritans rescuing pets or minors from hot cars. Despite the citation, Hill told the outlet that he had no regrets about his actions. Hill has a court date schedule for Aug. 15, where he plans on fighting the citation, according to the Associated Press.

– An Ohio man who smashed a window to save two dogs left in a hot car received a citation for criminal damage from police officers who turned up minutes later. Richard Hill says he saw the dogs in a car in the parking lot of the Parma, Ohio, Walmart on Saturday, People reports. He says that after noticing the younger of the two dogs, a puppy, wasn't moving, he smashed the window with a hammer he retrieved from his truck, even though another witness alerted by the older dog jumping around had already called police. "I felt they needed out right then and there," Hill says. In a Facebook post, he says it was around 79 degrees at the time and he believed the dogs had been in the car for around 30 minutes. Police, however, say the dogs had only been left in the car for around six minutes when Hill broke the window. "We believe his heart may have been in the right place, but he should have waited a little more," Sgt. Dan Ciryak tells Cleveland.com. "He knew the police were coming. I don't know what his sense of urgency was." The vehicle's owner emerged from the store after around 14 minutes and did not receive a citation. Hill, who says he thought he was protected under the state's "Hot Car" law, plans to fight his citation in court. He says he would do the same thing again in a similar situation, though he would take video to protect himself and prove that the vehicle's sunroof wasn't open, as police are claiming. "I just wanted to help [the] dogs. That’s all," he tells ABC.

– Expect to see a lot less of Sean Spicer. Sources tell Politico the White House press secretary will see his public role scaled way back after President Trump returns from his first foreign trip as president. They say Trump has come to "dread" Spicer's daily press briefings, which often get combative, and has told aides he no longer wants Spicer to be the one "publicly defending and explaining" his message, as Politico notes. No formal plan is yet in place, and sources say Trump's mind is not yet made up, but that he's considering downsizing Spicer's role in the public eye and may also undertake a shakeup of the entire communications team. The New York Daily News points out that Trump suggested last week on Fox he should do the press briefings himself every other week. Spicer will likely no longer do the daily on-camera press briefing, and sources say the administration is looking to do fewer on-camera briefings overall. A senior White House official tells Politico that deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders will likely be seen behind the podium more often, but Spicer will hold onto a senior administration role. Spicer himself has said that he'd prefer not to be behind the podium as much, but Politico points out that amid a growing number of scandals plaguing the Trump administration, the president is increasingly using the communications department as a scapegoat, complaining about how the team has responded to the scandals. As for the idea of Fox News anchor Kim Guilfoyle taking over for Spicer, though, Politico's sources shoot down those rumors.

Earlier this month, Gingrich said on CNN's "The Situation Room" that his role at the convention will make him more than visible in Tampa.

– Newt Gingrich exited the race for the GOP nomination on May 2, but it took him another three and a half months to let go of his 142 delegates. The former GOP candidate released his delegates last night via a letter posted to his website, reports the AP. And though CNN notes that he had, on more than one occasion, vowed to hang in there right up until the convention began, he is now urging those delegates to back the Romney-Ryan ticket. "It is time now for all Republicans to come together in common purpose to defeat President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden," he wrote, going on to release all delegates "bound or pledged" to him. "At the same time, I call upon them and all Americans committed to a safer and more prosperous American future to join Callista and me in strongly supporting the Romney-Ryan ticket. Together, we can and will defeat Barack Obama in November."

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Prof Julian Dowdeswell: "Sea-ice conditions mean we cannot guarantee to get where we want to" A scientific expedition will next year try to find the Endurance, the ill-fated ship of Antarctic explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton. Locating the shipwreck is not the primary goal of the expedition; the major objective is to visit and study the Larsen C Ice Shelf, which last July calved one of the biggest icebergs ever recorded in Antarctica. An expedition led by the British Antarctic Survey tried to get close to Larsen C earlier this year and was thwarted by the marine floes. The Larsen C research expedition is led by British Antarctic Survey and involves scientists from the following research institutes: University of Aberdeen, University of Newcastle, Natural History Museum, University of Ghent, University of Southampton, Alfred Wegener Institute in Germany, Senckenberg Research Institute and Museum in Germany, University of Gothenburg in Sweden and Museums Victoria in Australia. Image copyright OCEAN INFINITY Image caption Ocean Infinity's technology is currently looking for missing airliner MH370 The 45-day expedition will operate from the SA Agulhas II, a modern polar research vessel. On Monday, a British-led team announced it was setting out to find the wreck of Endurance, thought to be at rest nearly two miles beneath the Larsen C Ice Shelf in the Weddell Sea. Dr Katrin Linse and colleagues have teamed up with the Alfred Wegener Institute in Germany to visit in 2019 on their research vessel the RV Polarstern.

– Sir Ernest Shackleton's doomed ship slumbers beneath nearly 10,000 feet of water—and a group of scientists now hopes to find it. The BBC reports on the planned January 2019 mission, whose true intention is to study the Antarctic's Larsen C Ice Shelf. But its position near the Endurance's final recorded location in the Weddell Sea proves too tempting to ignore. The plan, says lead researcher Julian Dowdeswell, is to take the autonomous underwater vehicles that will be used in their examination of Larsen C and send them under the ice in the area where the Endurance was thought to have gone down in 1915. The AUVs' echo sounders will map the seafloor, searching for anything anomalous—assuming things don't go south. The BBC notes that a February 2018 mission to the Larsen C failed. The British Antarctic Survey behind it explains the sea ice its ship encountered was up to 16 feet thick, and in 24 hours they made it just 5 miles, with more than 250 to go. The Times of London reports Dowdeswell and his team will sail on the SA Agulhas II, a Polar Class 5 ship that can break ice roughly 3 feet thick. That's not good enough, says American shipwreck hunter David Mearns, who also covets the Endurance and thinks a Polar Class 3 ship is needed. "Whatever ship you have, it's possible it won't get there," Dowdeswell allows. "It could be a better or worse sea ice year." Shackleton's survival story is legendary: After abandoning ship, he and his crew survived on ice floes for five months; five days at sea in lifeboats brought them to Elephant Island, and Shackleton and a few others then set off on a 720-nautical-mile voyage to South Georgia, per the Telegraph. (This Antarctic explorer turned back—too late.)

Alex Trebek, the host of “Jeopardy!” since 1984, stoked speculation on Monday that he could retire when his contract expires in 2020, telling a TMZ host that his chances of staying longer were “50-50, and a little less.” The absence of Mr. Trebek, 78, would fundamentally alter the lightning-fast trivia show, which relies on his steady delivery to keep the pace humming. “I mentioned to our producer not so long ago that the fellow that does play-by-play for the Los Angeles Kings – they should consider him,” Trebek said referring to Alex Faust. Incredibly honored & humbled @ Jeopardy Alex Trebek 1) knows who I am 2) thinks I'd be a great host of my fave game show ever that I grew up watching w/ my family & still watch w/ my own kids (who saw him say this & now think I'm a genius) # Dying http://www.tmz.com/2018/07/30/alex-trebek-jeopardy-replacement-alex-faust-kings-hockey/ … via @ TMZ

– Who is a beloved host of a long-running game show considering retirement? The answer is Alex Trebek, host of Jeopardy! since 1984. The Canadian-born host's latest contract expires in 2020, when he will be 80. He told TMZ's Harvey Levin on Fox's OBJECTified on Monday that the chances of him sticking around after 2020 are "50/50, and a little less," the New York Times reports. Trebek also named two possible replacements, both of whom were surprised but thrilled to hear that the famously unflappable host considered them to be worthy successors, Fox News reports. "i mentioned to our producer not so long ago that the fellow that does play-by-play for the Los Angeles Kings—they should consider him," Trebek said, referring to Alex Faust, who tweeted that he was "flattered by Mr. Trebek's kind words," and thrilled to learn the host is a Kings fan. Trebek also said: "There is an attorney, Laura Coates. She's African-American and she appears on some of the cable news shows from time to time." Coates tweeted that she was "incredibly honored and humbled" that Trebek not only knows who she is, but thinks she'd be a "great host of my fave game show ever." Andy Saunders, who runs a Jeopardy! fan site, tells the Times that while it will be hard for anyone to replace Trebek, his choice would be Anderson Cooper. (Trebek took time off early this year to recuperate from brain surgery.)

How do other people deal with the torrent of information that pours down on us all? To find out, we regularly reach out to well-informed people to learn more about their media diets. TechCrunch is a good place to get breaking tech news or Silicon Valley rumors, so I check that frequently to see what they’re up to. Second, I turn on MSNBC because there's nothing like a good belly laugh to start your day, then Fox News, to make sure Obama hasn't issued an executive order banning it yet. Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments or send an email to the author at ufriedman at theatlantic dot com. You can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire.

– That Atlantic's "What I Read" feature is typically a straight-forward literary affair, with big names rattling off the newspapers, websites, magazines, and TV shows that keep them informed (with a little Girl With the Dragon Tattoo thrown in). Ann Coulter's recitation of her media diet, however, is downright hilarious. Highlights: On television: "All my TVs are on MSNBC all day so that I can listen while I'm cooking, dusting, cleaning my guns, polishing my Reagan busts, marinating veal chops, autographing copies of my new book Demonic, correcting errors in Maureen Dowd's columns, etc., etc." Where CNN fits in: "I only go to CNN if MSNBC, Fox, TV Land, WGN, TBS, USA, Bravo, HGTV and BBC America are in commercials. It doesn't happen very often, but when it does, boy, do I appreciate having CNN." On her subscriptions: "In addition to my beloved Treason Times," aka, the New York Times, "I subscribe to Human Events and Newsmax. I also get hundreds of pictures of Rep. Anthony Weiner's penis every day. I don't even remember subscribing to it." On social media: "I'm on Twitter. It's the only way to follow me and not get your ass beat by my bodyguard." Click for the entire piece, which include an explanation of the valuable safety tips she's picked up by watching true-crime shows.

Burger King is in advanced talks to buy Tim Hortons, a Canadian chain of coffee-and-doughnut shops, for more than $8 billion, in what would be the largest-ever acquisition of a restaurant chain. He said it likely wouldn’t change his view of the company’s Canadian appeal, and regardless, he tends to stop in just because it’s convenient. I’d probably go more often to Second Cup.” Marketing experts say there may be some risk for the brand if Tim Hortons forms a large new company (it would be the third-largest fast food company in the world), but they note it prospered between 1995 and 2006, when it was owned by U.S.-based burger chain Wendy’s. Burger King is in talks to buy Tim Hortons in hopes of creating a new, publicly traded company... (Associated Press) The corporate headquarters of the new company will be in Canada, a move that may help Burger King lower its taxes. “But there are many other markets where Burger King plays where there isn’t this saturation of coffee outlets.” Photo In a statement, Tim Hortons said that its talks with Burger King were being driven by “the potential to leverage Burger King’s worldwide footprint and experience in global development to accelerate Tim Hortons growth in international markets.” That sounds remarkably similar to what Tim Hortons hoped for when it was taken over by Wendy’s International in 1996. “I mean, the coffee’s not even all that great here, let’s be honest.” Miriam, who comes in every day (and preferred not to give a last name), wasn’t happy about the prospect of Tim Horton’s becoming a global giant.

– Burger King is confirming an $11 billion buy of Canada's iconic Tim Hortons coffee chain that will create Earth's third-biggest fast-food company and settle its headquarters in Canada—where corporate tax rates are conveniently around 26%, compared to a basic rate of 35% in the US. The merger looks like a "tax inversion" play, an analyst tells the CBC, explaining that when an American firm merges with a Canadian one, it can sometimes "technically set up [its] headquarters in Canada, even though you still keep everybody in the United States. It's almost like a mailing address more than anything else." Burger King will still run its business from Miami, notes the AP. But there could be a lot more than tax savings to the deal, the New York Times reports. The merger would give Tim Hortons huge opportunities for overseas expansion and would boost Burger King's coffee and breakfast offerings; the combined chain would have 18,000 locations. Tim Hortons was owned by Wendy's for years, until 2006, but some Canadians worry that the new deal will end up diluting the chain's Canadian-ness. "You know, Tim's is already pretty corporate," a customer at a Toronto outlet tells the Toronto Star. "But it still does have that nice Canadian vibe."

(Photo: Screenshot) When Emily Mueller posed with a swarm of honeybees in an August maternity shoot, it took no time before everyone around the world was buzzing about the photos.

– An Ohio mom whose photos from her maternity shoot went viral over the summer shared sad news online this weekend: The baby she'd been carrying, a little boy she and her husband named Emersyn Jacob, died in utero, reports the Cincinnati Enquirer. Emily Mueller, who runs a honeybee rescue service and has three kids ages 1 to 10, had posed with 20,000 bees swarming around her pregnant belly, prompting alarmed reactions from viewers. But Mueller tells the Times Reporter the bees had nothing to do with her fourth child's death, which she announced on Facebook on Sunday. "It is with the most deepening sadness I share that our sweet Emersyn Jacob was born an angel yesterday," she wrote. In a separate post, Mueller documents how she and her husband, Ryan, had found out about the stillbirth, which she believes may have been caused by a hereditary blood-clotting issue. She explains that after being distracted by preparations for the baby's arrival, she suddenly realized last week—just days before her due date—she hadn't felt much movement lately. She couldn't find the baby's heartbeat with her home fetal heart monitor, so she went to the doctor the next day, where her worst fears were confirmed. "Your baby has passed," the attending doctor told her. She talks about the "unfathomable" pain of that news, as well as having to give birth to her deceased son. But she also thanks the staff who helped her family, and a local nonprofit that assists bereaved parents. The group arranged for keepsake items and a photo session with the baby. "For one day we got to give [Emersyn] all of us and to do important things that mattered," Mueller writes. She posted a photo of her husband holding Emersyn's hand, as well as one showing the baby in a bee-adorned outfit, with the simple caption: "Our little beekeeper." (A stillbirth story that led to help for others.)

Paige Wiser was the TV critic at the Chicago Sun-Times. According to the Chicago Tribune: Wiser, 40, said she brought her two young children to the show Friday at Rosemont's Allstate Arena with the approval of an editor who told her "cute kids' reaction would be more than welcome" in the story. only after her editor said she could bring her 7-year-old daughter and 6-year-old son to the show. When her daughter became ill and began throwing up into a cotton-candy bag, Wiser said she decided to leave halfway through the concert and take her children home. Years later Smith was fired from her job as a columnist for the Boston Globe for fabricating interviews and information.

– Paige Wiser lost the job she’d held for 17 years at the Chicago Sun-Times … and all because of a vomiting child. Wiser was fired as the paper’s TV critic because her "Glee Live!" concert review, published Sunday but since pulled from the website, described a song that wasn’t performed and another Wiser didn’t see. She explains, and apologizes, as recounted by the Chicago Tribune and Time Out Chicago: She brought her two young kids with her to Friday’s show, but left after her son fell off a chair and her daughter started throwing up into a cotton-candy bag—just 13 songs into the concert. She got commentary on the encore, which she didn’t see, from information on previous shows. "I'd like to think it wouldn't have been part of my thought process if it hadn't been 1am and I was just trying to get the story done," said Wiser. "Trying to do this with the kids and a three-hour commute, and when every editor wants something different, let’s just say it’s become a very strange place. And because there’s not a lot of people with kids at the paper, I’m a little sensitive about coming across like I can’t do it because of my kids.” Gawker is having fun with it.

– The Grammys are off and running, with AC/DC opening the show with a performance and host LL Cool J skipping the full monologue to instead hand the stage over to Taylor Swift, who presented the first award. Best New Artist went to Sam Smith, who kept his acceptance speech blissfully short. Check back—we'll keep you updated throughout the night. Another performance, of course, by Ariana Grande, followed by Jessie J and Tom Jones dueting on "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'." The duo then presented Best Pop Solo Performance to Pharrell Williams for "Happy." The producers are apparently not messing around—Williams got played off the stage after, by one Twitter user's estimation, 15 seconds. After Dierks Bentley introduced Miranda Lambert for a performance, Best Pop Vocal Album went to In the Lonely Hour by Sam Smith. He again managed to keep things short and sweet enough to avoid getting played off. Kanye West performed, singing (with Auto-Tune) the entire time with not a rap in sight. Then a bunch of dancers dressed as, apparently, bulls took the stage for a Madonna performance, which would explain her red carpet outfit. Best Rock Album was presented to Beck for Morning Phase. He got played off. Best R&B Performance went to Beyonce for "Drunk in Love," featuring hubby Jay Z. She was, of course, not played off, though she did keep things pretty short. After an Ed Sheeran-John Mayer performance, Jeff Lynne's ELO performed (and got Paul McCartney up dancing and singing along in the audience). And then it was time for the unholy union of Adam Levine and Gwen Stefani performing a Maroon 5 song. Oh, you thought there might be another award right about now? No. Instead, Hozier performed "Take Me to Church," joined by Annie Lennox. Then a Jonas brother and the "All About That Bass" lady presented Best Country Album to Platinum by Miranda Lambert. And then, yes, another performance: Pharrell Williams' "Happy," with a strangely ominous intro. Then it was time for a prerecorded message from President Obama, calling for an end to violence against women and girls, followed by an impassioned speech by domestic violence survivor and activist Brooke Axtell and a performance of "By the Grace of God" from Katy Perry. Thanks to what was apparently a very, very long Target commercial, the world then watched Imagine Dragons perform from somewhere in Las Vegas (i.e., not the Grammy stage). Back at the Grammys, Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett performed a duet. Hey, look, it's LL Cool J! The host made a triumphant return to the stage to introduce Usher's performance of a Stevie Wonder tribute. Then, yes, another performance (Eric Church, "Give Me Back My Hometown"). It had been approximately 44 minutes since the last award was handed out. But instead of handing out another one, Brandy Clark performed, followed by a collaboration: Rihanna, Kanye West (still singing instead of rapping, but this time apparently sans Auto-Tune), and Paul McCartney. Closing in on an hour with no actual awards being given out, Taylor Swift presented Sam Smith performing with Mary J. Blige, which was followed by yet another performance (Latin rock star Juanes singing "Juntos"). Finally, an hour and seven minutes later, another award: Prince presented Album of the Year to Beck for Morning Phase. Beck got played off again. (And apparently almost got Kanyed by Kanye.) Shia LaBeouf, for some reason, took the stage to introduce a very confusing performance of Sia's "Chandelier," apparently featuring Kristen Wiig and interpretive dance. Song of the Year then went to—surprise, surprise—Sam Smith for "Stay With Me." Chris Martin and Beck teamed up for a performance, then Record of the Year went to, yes, Sam Smith again for "Stay With Me." He thanked his ex for breaking his heart "because you got me four Grammys." It's worth mentioning that pretty much every other commercial is Matthew McConaughey hawking Lincoln cars. After the "In Memoriam" segment, as the official end time of 11:30pm neared and it became increasingly unclear whether there were actual awards remaining to be handed out or whether viewers were just waiting for more Grammy officials to talk about copyright law, Twitter began to wonder if the show will actually go until midnight. No, there were no more awards to be handed out. Gwyneth Paltrow introduced her "beautiful friend" Beyonce singing a hymn, John Legend and Common performed "Glory," and the Grammys ended, with absolutely no farewell words from LL Cool J, nine minutes past schedule. Click for the best moments from the Grammys or scandals that have rocked the Grammys.

Two widely used neonicotinoids — a class of insecticide — appear to significantly harm honeybee colonies over the winter, particularly colder winters, according to a new study from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH). The study replicated a 2012 finding from the same research group that found a link between low doses of imidacloprid and Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), in which bees abandon their hives over the winter and eventually die. A new study from Harvard implicates two neonicotinoid pesticides, imidacloprid and clothianidin, in the ongoing plague of honeybee Colony Collapse Disorder. "One of the defining symptomatic observations of CCD colonies is the emptiness of hives in which the amount of dead bees found inside the hives do not account for the total numbers of bees present prior to winter when they were alive," states the report, published May 9 in the Bulletin of Insectology. The exact mechanism behind these collapses remains dauntingly unclear, but they have been linked with pathogen infestation, malnutrition, and pesticide exposure. The finding may point to "the impairment of honey bee neurological functions, specifically memory, cognition, or behavior, as the results from the chronic sublethal neonicotinoid exposure," suggest the authors. The two chemicals, imidacloprid and clothianidin, both block insects' central nervous systems, killing them by paralysis. Lu and his co-authors from the Worcester County Beekeepers Association studied the health of 18 bee colonies in three locations in central Massachusetts from October 2012 through April 2013. Beginning in January 2013, bee populations in the control colonies began to increase as expected, but populations in the neonicotinoid-treated hives continued to decline. Only one of the control colonies was lost — thousands of dead bees were found inside the hive — with what appeared to be symptoms of a common intestinal parasite called Nosema ceranae.

– A new Harvard study adds more evidence to the theory that insecticides are the main culprit in the disappearance of honeybees, reports the Christian Science Monitor. Researchers found that bees in Massachusetts exposed to a common class of insecticides known as neonicotinoids suffered significant drops in numbers over the winter compared with bees who had no such exposure. In the study, only six of 12 colonies exposed to the chemicals imidacloprid and clothianidin survived the winter. Of six non-exposed colonies, all but one made it. Imidacloprid is the world's No. 1 pesticide and has been registered in the US since 1994, says the Monitor. "We demonstrated that neonicotinoids are highly likely to be responsible for triggering 'colony collapse disorder' in honeybee hives that were healthy prior to the arrival of winter," says one of the Harvard researchers, as quoted in the Guardian. The scientists speculate that the chemicals impair the bees' neurological functions, causing them to first abandon their colonies and then die. Based on comparisons with a previous study, the researchers also think that particularly harsh winters can worsen the effects of CCD, reports the Harvard Gazette.

In the continued debate on whether the daily fantasy sports industry would benefit from some form of regulation the two major players in DFS (FanDuel and DraftKings) both had issues this week showing why regulation may be beneficial for DFS players. Early reports from others indicate that he was sent the file after roster lock of lineups on FanDuel. As DFS Report put it: If this sort of information is stored in advance like this who is to say that the data isn’t available to someone 5 minutes before kickoff of games or 10 minutes before the kickoff or even an hour before the initial kickoff. My point is if the data can be accessed in advance then it is not hard to see it could easily be accessed at other points in advance even before the tournament is live. If Ethan is the only one with access to this data at DraftKings how valuable is it for him to be able to use it on a site like FanDuel? This would mean that at least one other DraftKings employee had to access the data and then give it to Ethan. Off the top of my head I can list four pieces of data that would be extremely valuable to all DFS players that only site employees currently have access to: -Understanding of Player pricing algorithms and all data points that go into determining salaries – Win/Loss records and how individual DFS players are actually performing – Info regarding what is really winning each type of contest and the lineup construction that goes into it – Player ownership information The original story could have just as easily been about Matt Boccio who works in Product Operations at FanDuel. Now even before this situation was brought to light that DraftKings employees had access to pre locked percentage owned for players, it could be argued that employees of one site who participate in DFS on another site have valuable data and information available to them that the general public does not have. Again this is the case because we have absolutely no policing, absolutely no way of verifying any of the information that can be accessed by employees. It is extremely unsettling and worrisome that not only can a mistake like this happen but that some people even have access to this information in the first place. But with no transparency for the industry in place, similar situations like this could easily occur. In fact he took 2nd place in the biggest GPP on FanDuel for $350,000. With the story changing, red flags are already being raised as far as who has access to the data and at what point in time. I may have focused too much on Ethan’s win and not enough on the discussion of all site employees having access to valuable information. The FSTA itself makes it clear that the body isn’t meant to serve as an enforcement apparatus. Official statements from key stakeholders DraftKings, FanDuel, and the Fantasy Sports Trade Association Here is a complete timeline of responses from DraftKings, FanDuel, and the FSTA. We have reached out and discussed this matter with them.” Policymakers How does access to ownership data provide an edge? Ownership percentage is one piece of the puzzle that can be useful in skillfully setting DFS lineups, especially in guaranteed prize pool contests. Now before it can be argued that DraftKings data isn’t relevant to FanDuel data I took a look at the team that Ethan constructed to finish 2nd and put in the FanDuel ownership and then the DraftKings milly maker ownership and the percentages are incredibly close. Because of the massive number of entries in the biggest contests at DraftKings and FanDuel — hundreds of thousands — it’s usually difficult to win a contest with a lot of players that are commonly owned. DraftKings has categorically denied that Haskell had access at a time that would have impacted his entry in the FanDuel contest in question: DraftKings has put out a new statement insisting its employee locked in his FanDuel lineup before seeing the data. pic.twitter.com/rLuFzJLzVG — Daniel Roberts (@readDanwrite) October 6, 2015 RotoGrinders founder Cal Spears reported that Haskell did not have access to the data before setting his lineup at FanDuel. Here is his post from the RG thread, which included an update from Saturday: There is a narrative running on Twitter that Ethan had access to this data before lineups locked and used it to play on Fanduel. There is plenty of merit in a debate about site employees playing on different sites, but we need to base that debate in reality. According to a Rotogrinders forum thread, RG member colinwdrew pointed out that an article was posted on the DraftKings playbook at 2:30 PM which showed player percentage owned for the DraftKings Millionaire Maker for week 3 NFL. Spears said he also confirmed with DraftKings co-founder Matt Kalish that the data that Haskell had access to was issued too late to be of use at FanDuel.

– Two big fantasy sports companies are in damage-control mode after an employee leaked vital data and won big bucks in the same week—stirring fears of corruption in a multibillion-dollar industry, the New York Times reports. Ethan Haskell, who works at DraftKings, admits he mistakenly released information about player lineups that could be used to gain the upper hand in fantasy sports games. He then managed to win $350,000 playing at the site FanDuel. Many employees at such companies also play the games, so if they have crucial data ahead of time, well, you get the idea. "The scary thing is that nothing appears to be in place to stop any employee from obtaining data that is not available to the [everyday] player," writes Ben Brown at DFS Report. "That is what has to change." (Brown also broke the story at DFS Report.) Now industry analysts and lawmakers are talking about regulating fantasy sports. "If the industry is unwilling to undertake these reforms voluntarily, it will be imposed on them involuntarily," says a sports and gambling lawyer. The companies are allowed to operate under a 2006 federal law that bans online gambling but considers fantasy games contests of skill rather than chance. Yet "if they had to justify themselves at a hearing they wouldn't be able to," says Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. of New Jersey. DraftKings and FanDuel, which told workers to stop playing games for now, say that "nothing is more important ... than the integrity of the games." There's no evidence of abuse, they add, but they still "plan to work with the entire fantasy sports industry on this specific issue." (See a breakdown of the facts at Legal Sports Report.)

Police in New Zealand revealed on Sunday they had found a body which they believe to be missing British backpacker, Grace Millane in woodland on the outskirts of Auckland. The 26-year-old stared at the ground while a judge addressed him during the brief appearance at the Auckland District Court. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern apologises to family of murdered British tourist Grace Millane Updated New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has apologised to the family of murdered British tourist Grace Millane on behalf of the country. "From the Kiwis I have spoken to, there is this overwhelming sense of hurt and shame that this has happened in our country, a place that prides itself on our hospitality on our manakitanga [kindness, generosity, support and respect], especially to those who are visiting our shores. “On behalf of New Zealand, I want to apologise to Grace’s family. key points: Jacinda Ardern tells Millane family "your daughter was supposed to be safe" A 26-year-old man accused of the killing appeared in court on Monday The accused man's name cannot be published because of suppression orders During a post-cabinet address in Wellington, Ms Ardern said: "I cannot imagine the grief of her family and what they will be experiencing and feeling right now. Detective Inspector Scott Beard said she met a man for a couple of hours in the evening before surveillance cameras showed them entering the CityLife hotel about 9:40pm. Police said a 26-year-old man seen with Ms Millane on the night of her disappearance has been charged with murder. Ms Millane's father, David Millane, travelled to New Zealand last week after his daughter vanished, and Judge Evangelos Thomas addressed him and other family members. “All of us hope that justice for Grace is fair and swift and ultimately brings you some peace,” he said at the outset of the hearing,” Judge Thomas said. During the appearance, Judge Evangelos Thomas addressed members of Millane’s family, saying: “All of us hope that justice for Grace is fair, swift and ultimately brings you some peace.” “I don’t know what we can say to you at this time — your grief must be desperate,” he said. Police believe Ms Millane's body was taken to the area in a rental car that was later left in the town of Taupo.

– New Zealand's prime minister made an emotional apology Monday to the family of a British tourist who was murdered in New Zealand. Grace Millane, 22, graduated from college and then started in Peru what was supposed to be a yearlong trip around the world. She traveled from there to New Zealand on Nov. 20, but she disappeared on Dec. 1; her family became concerned when they didn't hear from her on her birthday the following day. A week after she was last seen, police detained a 26-year-old man believed to have been seen with Millane on Dec. 1; he has since been charged with murder. On Sunday, authorities found a body they believe to be Millane. "Your daughter was supposed to be safe here," Jacinda Ardern said during a post-Cabinet address, per ABC.net. "From the Kiwis I have spoken to, there is this overwhelming sense of hurt and shame that this has happened in our country, a place that prides itself on our hospitality, on our manakitanga," she continued, using a word referring to kindness, generosity, support, and respect, "especially to those who are visiting our shores." Millane's father traveled to New Zealand last week to assist with the search. News.com.au has a detailed timeline of Grace Millane's time in New Zealand; she was last seen on surveillance footage on Dec. 1 spending time with a man and ultimately entering a hotel with him around 9:40pm. She had told friends at her hostel that she was meeting up with a friend. Police believe a car that was rented on the morning of Dec. 2. was used to transport her body to a forested area. (A security guard is suspected in the murder of a US tourist in Costa Rica.)

Passengers rest on the floor as their flights have been canceled at Edinburgh Airport in Edinburgh, Scotland Tuesday, May 24, 2011. Ash from the Grimsvotn volcano already forced President Barack Obama to shorten a visit to Ireland, and has raised fears of a repeat of huge travel disruptions in Europe last year when ash from the Eyjafjalljokull volcano stranded millions of passengers. They say procedures have been improved since then and the cloud is currently not expected to move over continental Europe. The British Civil Aviation Authority said strong winds over Scotland was making it hard to predict the direction in which the ash would move, but air traffic controllers said it would reach airports in Scotland, northern England and Northern Ireland on Tuesday afternoon. A number of airlines are choosing not to fly through Scottish airspace on Tuesday: British Airways is not operating any flights between London and Scotland until 1400 BST KLM cancelled flights to and from Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh, as well as some to Newcastle EasyJet cancelled flights to and from Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness and Aberdeen scheduled for between 0500 and 0900 BST Flybe cancelled flights to and from Aberdeen and Inverness Aer Lingus cancelled a number of its flights between the Republic of Ireland and Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen Glasgow-based Loganair has cancelled 36 flights.

– The volcanic ash cloud drifting from Iceland toward Europe has already caused more than 250 flights to be canceled, and that number could rise to 500, according to the European air traffic agency. Clouds have already affected Iceland and Scotland and could reach northern Europe within 48 hours, the Wall Street Journal reports. Northern Ireland, northern England, Scotland, and parts of Scandinavia could be affected. Even so, the groundings are not expected to reach the level they did after last year’s Eyjafjalljokull eruption. Although President Obama was forced to shorten his visit to Ireland due to the ash cloud, the AP reports that an official does not expect the rest of his European tour to be affected. Meanwhile, crazy airline Ryanair (remember this?) called on air traffic controllers today to reopen airspace over Scotland, since the company did a verification flight and believes it is safe. The BBC has a list of airlines that have canceled flights, and notes that service is expected to be mostly back to normal by tomorrow.

Beijing defeated its rival Almaty in Kazakhstan by 44 votes to 40, with one IOC member abstaining. Beijing will host the 2022 Winter Olympics, becoming the first city to hold a Summer Games and a Winter Games, after beating Almaty, Kazakhstan, in an International Olympic Committee members vote Friday in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. “We are honoured and humbled by the International Olympic Committee’s decision to award Beijing the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games,” Beijing’s bid committee said in a statement. “Just as with the Beijing 2008 Summer Games, the Olympic family has put its faith in Beijing again to deliver the athlete-centred, sustainable and economical Games we have promised,” the Beijing bid committee said in a statement. “This will be a memorable event at the foot of the Great Wall for the whole Olympic family, the athletes and the spectators that will further enhance the tremendous potential to grow winter sports in our country, in Asia and around the world.” Beijing, site of the 2008 Olympics, plans to spread 2022 Olympic events across three clusters over 100 miles and use the Bird’s Nest stadium for Opening and Closing Ceremonies, as it did seven years ago. “The Chinese people are looking forward to this opportunity. Beijing mayor Wang Anshun said there’s a $130 billion plan to enhance air quality for a “clean energy future.” The bid’s venue plan spreads across some 100 miles, but Wang said a not-yet-finished high-speed train would take riders from venue to venue in as little as 20 minutes (and as much as 50 minutes, a promo video said last year). Chinese officials have also dismissed concerns over a dearth of natural snowfall in the region around Beijing. “Real snow, real winter ambience, real winter Games,” boasted a promotional video for Almaty 2022. “China is a longtime friend and partner of the Olympic movement,” said China Olympic Committee vice president Yu Zaiqing, also an IOC vice president. “Beijing 2022 will build on its existing snow-making capability to supplement natural snow fall.” Nor was the lack of a winter sports culture in China an issue. We hope you will trust us now.” The Beijing team said hosting the Winter Games would encourage 300 million Chinese to participate in ice and snow sports, building a foundation for the future of the world’s most populous nation. “I live close to the Bird’s Nest stadium and the Water Cube and see many people visiting both venues every day,” he said.

– It's almost like pollution-free countries don't have a shot anymore: The choice for the 2022 Winter Olympics came down to China vs. Kazakhstan, and China was today awarded the games, which Xi Jinping vowed would be "fantastic, extraordinary, and excellent," reports the Guardian. The Beijing Games would "boost exchanges and mutual understanding between the Chinese and other civilizations of the world," Xi noted before the win, presumably in a way not seen since it hosted the Summer Games in 2008. Left out in the cold by today's IOC announcement in Kuala Lumpur was Almaty, Kazakhstan. It was a tight race, notes NBC News, with Beijing receiving 44 votes to Almaty's 40 in the secret vote, making Beijing the only city to have been handed summer and winter games. The jockeying appeared to take on a hint of third grade, with Almaty noting that Beijing isn't exactly known for scads of what might be considered a key component of a winter Games: snow, which China pledged to manufacture if need be. "Keeping it real" was Almaty's slogan, with a promo video promising "Real snow, real winter ambiance, real winter games." Meanwhile, the victor says it will split the 2022 Games between the cities of Zhangjiakou, Yanqing, and Beijing itself, which NBC News describes as "three clusters over 100 miles." And again partying like it was 2008, the Chinese capital literally promised to clean up its pollution problem. One element of recycling: China says it will again use Bird's Nest Stadium, from its 2008 Games, for opening and closing ceremonies.

1 of 31 Full Screen Autoplay Close July 13, 2015 Skip Ad × Police and demonstrators clash in Central Athens View Photos Hours after police and demonstrators clashed in central Athens, Greek lawmakers early Thursday morning approved austerity measures that were overwhelmingly rejected by their citizens just days ago Caption Hours after police and demonstrators clashed in central Athens, Greek lawmakers early Thursday morning approved austerity measures that were overwhelmingly rejected by their citizens just days ago. As lawmakers hurled insults at one another ahead of the vote, anti-austerity protesters and riot police traded molotov cocktails and tear gas outside Greece’s neoclassical Parliament building, the worst such confrontation in years. Greece has a tentative rescue deal, but relief that it is not falling out of the euro is unlikely... (Associated Press) Members of the Communist-affiliated PAME labor union march during an anti-austerity rally in Athens, Wednesday, July 15, 2015. Greece has a tentative rescue deal, but relief that it is not falling out of the euro is unlikely to last long:... (Associated Press) Greece's Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras votes during a parliament meeting in Athens, Thursday, July 16, 2015. Greece's Parliament has approved an austerity bill demanded by bailout creditors, despite a... (Associated Press) Greece's Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras attends a meeting with lawmakers of Syriza governing party at the Greek Parliament in Athens, Wednesday, July 15, 2015. Greece has a tentative rescue deal, but relief that it is not falling out of... (Associated Press) Riot police try to avoid petrol bombs thrown by anti-austerity protesters during clashes in Athens, Wednesday, July 15, 2015. Greece has a tentative rescue deal, but relief that it is not falling out... (Associated Press) Greece's Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, right, and Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos react as they attend a parliament meeting in Athens, Thursday, July 16, 2015. The bill, which imposes sweeping tax hikes and spending cuts, was approved with 229 votes in favor, 64 against and six abstentions — and with the support of three pro-European opposition parties. The package passed with 229 votes in favor in the 300-seat chamber but 38 Syriza lawmakers abstained or voted against the government, including former Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis and the current Energy Minister Panagiotis Lafazanis, Deputy Labour Minister Dimitris Stratoulis and speaker of parliament Zoe Constantopoulou. Greeks voted overwhelmingly to reject those proposals. "I must tell you, that Monday morning at 9:30, it was the most difficult day of my life. Thursday's vote came after more than two weeks of capital controls, with Greek banks and the stock exchange shut since June 29 and ATM cash withdrawals limited to 60 euros per day. It faces a Monday deadline to repay 4.2 billion euros ($4.6 billion) to the European Central Bank, and is also in arrears on 2 billion euros to the IMF. European finance ministers, meanwhile, need to figure out a mechanism to provide Greece with enough emergency funding to cover its debts for the next several weeks while details of the bailout agreement are being negotiated.

– Greece keeps inching toward its convoluted bailout: Lawmakers have approved an austerity package demanded by European creditors, reports Reuters. This time, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras endorsed them, despite having championed a referendum that shot down a similar package less than two weeks ago. He had to face down a revolt in his own party, and his former finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, was among the 38 dissenters, reports AP. One major hurdle remains, reports the New York Times. The International Monetary Fund said yesterday that it makes little sense to give Greece yet another loan without substantial debt relief—perhaps even a 30-year grace period, notes the Washington Post. Germany and other nations strenuously object to that, but the IMF position is increasing pressure on them to bend, "providing some hope to Greeks that they will have a new ally in debt talks," says the Times.

"It was absolutely disgusting what he was doing."

– Two weeks ago, the Huffington Post announced it would append an editor's note to the end of its stories about Donald Trump that defines him as "a serial liar, rampant xenophobe, racist, misogynist, birther and bully," among other things. With Trump's Tuesday night win in New Hampshire, it turned the end note into a blazing red homepage headline: "NH Goes Racist Sexist Xenophobic." The story page elaborates: "A Racist, Sexist Demagogue Just Won The New Hampshire Primary" reads its headline. The lengthy article recounts the events of the evening, framing them as a "stunning turn of events for a party that vowed just four years ago to be more inclusive to minorities after failing to unseat President Barack Obama in the bitter 2012 election. What the GOP got instead is a xenophobic demagogue who's insulted pretty much everyone and even earned the endorsement of white supremacists." What Arianna Huffington had to say, via Twitter: "Our @ huffingtonpost splash says it all # NewHampshirePrimary."

It was all too easy to confuse Andy Griffith the actor with Sheriff Andy Taylor, his most famous character from "The Andy Griffith Show." Griffith, whose homespun mix of humor and wisdom made "The... (Associated Press) FILE - This Nov. 9, 2005 file photo shows President Bush presenting the Presidential Medal of Freedom to actor Andy Griffith in the East Room of the White House. Griffith, whose homespun mix of humor and wisdom made... (Associated Press) After all, Griffith set his namesake show in a make-believe town based on his hometown of Mount Airy, N.C., and played his "aw, shucks" persona to such perfection that viewers easily believed the character and the man were one. Previous Story Dare County Sheriff Doug Doughtie confirms to WITN News that an ambulance went to Andy Griffith's home at 7 a.m. this morning. "Mr. Griffith passed away this morning at his home peacefully and has been laid to rest on his beloved Roanoke Island," Doughtie told The Associated Press, reading from a family statement. In the coastal town of Manteo, Griffith protected his privacy with help from a circle of friends who revealed little to nothing about him. Strangers who asked where Griffith lived would receive circular directions that took them to the beach, said William Ivey Long, the Tony Award-winning costume designer whose parents were friends with Griffith and his first wife, Barbara. He described his friend as the symbol of North Carolina. Griffith's signature role "put heavy pressure on him because everyone felt like he was their best friend," Fincannon said. With great grace, he handled the constant barrage of people wanting to talk to Andy Taylor," Fincannon said. In a 2007 interview with The Associated Press, Griffith said he wasn't as wise as the sheriff, nor as nice. He described himself as having the qualities of one of his last roles, that of the cranky diner owner in "Waitress," and also of his most manipulative character, from the 1957 movie "A Face in the Crowd." "But I guess you could say I created Andy Taylor," he said. "Andy Taylor's the best part of my mind. "He is the love of my life, my constant companion, my partner, and my best friend. That led to his first national television exposure on "The Ed Sullivan Show" in 1954 and the stage and screen versions of "No Time for Sergeants," a production that cast Griffith as Will Stockdale, an over-eager young hillbilly who, as a draftee in the Air Force, overwhelms the military with his rosy attitude. He was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts Hall of Fame in 1992 and in 2005, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, one of the country's highest civilian honors. His television series resumed in 1986 with "Matlock," which aired through 1995. His television career slowed down in the 1970s but resumed in 1986 with "Matlock," a light-hearted legal drama in which Griffith played a cagey Harvard-educated, Southern-bred attorney with a leisurely law practice in Atlanta. Decked out in his seersucker suit in a steamy courtroom (air conditioning would have spoiled the mood), Matlock could toy with a witness and tease out a confession like a folksy Perry Mason. This character _ law-abiding, fatherly and lovable _ was like a latter-day homage to Sheriff Andy Taylor, updated with silver hair and a shingle. Mayberry, a fictional North Carolina village said to be modeled on Griffith's own hometown of Mount Airy, was so beloved that it practically became a synonym for any community that was too innocent and trusting for real life. In 2007, Griffith said "The Andy Griffith Show," which initially aired from 1960 to 1968, had never really left and was seen somewhere in the world every day. Almost 20 years later, a reunion movie titled "Return to Mayberry" was the top-rated TV movie of the 1985-86 season. Griffith set the show in the fictional town of Mayberry, N.C., where Sheriff Taylor was the dutiful nephew who ate pickles that tasted like kerosene because they were made by his loving Aunt Bee, played by the late Frances Bavier. Griffith, who died Tuesday at 86 at his North Carolina home, played a sage widower named Andy Taylor who offered gentle guidance to son Opie, played by little Ron Howard, who grew up to become an Oscar-winning director. Don Knotts, who died in 2006, was the goofy Deputy Barney Fife, while Jim Nabors joined the show as Gomer Pyle, the cornpone gas pumper. George Lindsey, who played the beanie-wearing Goober, died in May. Griffith and Knotts had become friends while performing in "No Time for Sergeants," and remained so until Knotts' death in 2006 at 81. Knotts' widow, Francey Yarborough Knotts, said in a statement Griffith was in good spirits when she spoke with him June 1, his birthday. "Don and I loved Andy very much," she said in a statement. "Andy and Don had a great friendship and a great creative partnership. Throughout their lives, they continued to have fun together and discuss the art of comedy and acting." "The Andy Griffith Show" was a loving portrait of the town where few grew up but many wished they did _ a place where all foibles are forgiven and friendships are forever. After all, Griffith's Mayberry was a place where the sheriff didn't carry a gun, the local drunk locked himself in jail and even the villains who passed through were changed by their stay. "What made `The Andy Griffith Show' work was Andy Griffith himself - the fact that he was of this dirt and had such deep respect for the people and places of his childhood," said Craig Fincannon, who runs a casting agency in Wilmington and met Griffith in 1974. A character on the show "might be broadly eccentric, but the character had an ethical and moral base that allowed us to laugh with them and not at them," he said. "And Andy Griffith's the reason for that." The show became one of only three series in TV history to bow out at the top of the ratings (The others were "I Love Lucy" and "Seinfeld."). Griffith said he decided to end it "because I thought it was slipping, and I didn't want it to go down further." When asked in 2007 to name his favorite episodes, the ones atop Griffith's list were the shows that emphasized Knotts' character. "The second episode that we shot I knew Don should be funny and I should play straight for him," Griffith said. "That opened up the whole series because I could play straight for everybody else. And I didn't have to be funny. I just let them be funny." Griffith's generosity toward his cast mates paid off richly for those fellow actors, particularly Knotts. Sheriff Taylor was ever-indulgent with the twitchy, bug-eyed Deputy Fife, and loved joshing with him just for good sport. The result was five supporting-actor Emmys for Knotts. "What are the state police gonna think when they get here and find we got an empty jail?" rants Barney in one episode, worried about appearances, as always. "They're gonna think this is just a hick town where nothing ever happens!" "Well, now," Taylor says calmly, "you got to admit: That's about the size of it. Griffith's skill at playing a lovable rube was first established on a comedic monologue titled "What It Was, Was Football," about a bumpkin attending a college football game. In the 1957 drama "A Face in the Crowd," Griffith starred as Larry "Lonesome" Rhodes, a local jailbird and amateur singer who becomes a philosopher on national television. As his influence rises, his drinking, womanizing and lust for power are hidden by his handlers. "Mr. Griffith plays him with thunderous vigor," The New York Times wrote. The Washington Post said Griffith "seems to have one of those personalities that sets film blazing." Griffith said director Elia Kazan led him through his role, and it was all a bit overwhelming for someone with, as he put it, just "one little acting course in college." More recently, Griffith won a Grammy in 1997 for his album of gospel music "I Love to Tell the Story _ 25 Timeless Hymns." In 2007, he appeared in a critically acclaimed independent film, "Waitress," playing Joe, the boss at the diner. The next year, he appeared in Brad Paisley's awarding-winning music video "Waitin' on a Woman." Griffith stepped back into his Sheriff Taylor role in 2008 when he appeared in a pro-Barack Obama campaign video directed by Howard and featuring the former child star chatting with Griffith and other former TV colleagues. Griffith was born June 1, 1926, and as a child sang and played slide trombone in the band at Grace Moravian Church. He studied at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and for a time contemplated a career in the ministry. His first job out of college was an English teacher at Goldsboro High School. The 86-year-old Griffith lives on Roanoke Island, not far from the Lost Colony, a play he performed in right after high school. He and his first wife, Barbara Edwards, had two children, Sam, who died in 1996, and Dixie. His second wife was Solica Cassuto. Both marriages ended in divorce. A family statement says the actor died with his wife Cindi at his side. Griffith also suffered over the years with Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare neurological disorder that can cause sudden paralysis. And regardless of where that career took him, he always came back to North Carolina and spent his final years here." He had suffered a heart attack and underwent quadruple bypass surgery in 2000.

– Television icon Andy Griffith has died at age 86. A local sheriff in North Carolina confirmed the news today via a family statement: "Mr. Griffith passed away this morning at his home peacefully and has been laid to rest on his beloved Roanoke Island," reports AP. It's not clear whether "laid to rest" meant his burial already had occurred, notes WITN. Griffith, of course, gained icon status as the sheriff of Mayberry in the Andy Griffith Show. In later years, he returned to TV in Matlock. "His love of creating, the joy he took in it whether it was drama or comedy or his music, was inspiring to grow up around," said Ron Howard, who got his start as Opie. "The spirit he created on the set of The Andy Griffith Show was joyful and professional all at once. It was an amazing environment."

South Korea’s National Assembly overwhelmingly passed the law which cut the maximum weekly work hours to 52, down from 68. Large businesses hiring more than 300 workers will be subject to it beginning July, while implementation will be delayed to July 2021 for businesses with less than 50 workers. Slashing working hours was among the main election pledges of President Moon Jae-in, which he said will improve quality of life as well as help create jobs. According to an estimate by the Korea Economic Research Institute, businesses will pay an additional 12.1 trillion won annually to maintain current production while cutting the working hours.

– South Korea's maximum workweek, which had been called "inhumanely long" at 68 hours, has been cut to 52. President Moon Jae-in had vowed to cut the workweek during his campaign; also this year, he oversaw a 16% minimum-wage increase. South Korea's National Assembly passed the workweek law, which takes effect in July for large companies and will later be applied to smaller companies. Companies with fewer than 50 employees won't need to comply until July 2021. In addition to improving quality of life and creating more jobs, lawmakers hope the move will boost the country's birthrate. A "workaholic culture" became the norm in South Korea when the economy started booming in the 1980s, the Guardian reports, and the birthrate fell fast. Last year, it hit record lows. The country's gender equality and family minister has blamed the long work hours for the country's aging population. But businesses opposed the move to reduce work hours, which could cost them an additional $11 billion per year to maintain productivity levels, the Korea Times reports. South Koreans work around 400 hours more per year than those in the UK and Australia.

Fans have long put Dio's true birth date as the summer of 1942, and numerous reports of Dio's death have cited his age as 67. Dio, the metal god who... (Associated Press) Dio revealed last summer that he was suffering from stomach cancer shortly after wrapping up a tour in Atlantic City, N.J., with the latest incarnation of Black Sabbath, under the name Heaven And Hell. "Today my heart is broken," Wendy Dio wrote on the singer's site, adding he died at 7:45 a.m. "Many, many friends and family were able to say their private goodbyes before he peacefully passed away. "Ronnie knew how much he was loved by all," Wendy Dio continued. "We so appreciate the love and support that you have all given us ... Please know he loved you all and his music will live on forever." Earlier this year, the artist announced that a planned European tour with his band Heaven & Hell would have to be canceled due to his declining health. "Wendy, my doctors and I have worked so hard to make it happen for all of you, the ones we care so much about, that this setback could be devastating, but we will not let it be," he said in a statement. Dio then replaced legendary vocalist Ozzy Osbourne in Black Sabbath in 1980 with the critically acclaimed album "Heaven And Hell," considered by many critics to be one of the finest heavy metal albums of all time.

– Ronnie James Dio, the legendary heavy metal singer who replaced Ozzy Osbourne as Black Sabbath's frontman, died today. He was 61 or 67, according to the LA Times, and suffered from stomach cancer. "Many, many friends and family were able to say their private good-byes before he peacefully passed away," his wife, Wendy, said in a statement. "Ronnie knew how much he was loved by all." Dio recorded with Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio, and Heaven & Hell during a 35-plus year career that saw him become a revered figure in the heavy metal community. "He possessed one of the greatest voices in all of heavy metal, and had a heart to match it," Twisted Sister guitarist Jay Jay French told the AP. "He was the nicest, classiest person you would ever want to meet.""

He wrote 3,000 [love songs] to Shams, the prophet Muhammad and God.

– In a podcast with Rap Radar, JAY-Z opened up about how he and Beyonce settled on the names Rumi and Sir for their new twins. The first honors a poet and the second honors some baby attitude. “Rumi is our favorite poet, so it was for our daughter,” said JAY-Z, per US Weekly. He's referring to the 13th-century Persian poet Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi, and the uninitiated can dig into the this BBC story explaining why Rumi is perhaps the "most popular poet in the US." As for Sir, well, that's a little more subjective. “Sir was like, man, come out the gate," says JAY-Z. "He carries himself like that. He just came out, like, Sir.”

Woman ........................................................... 51% Man ................................................................. 49% Q2 Who do you think was more responsible for the poor response to Hurricane Katrina: George W. Bush or Barack Obama?

– Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans more than three years before President Obama took office—but even so, 29% of Louisiana Republicans say in a new poll that they think Obama was more to blame than then-President George W. Bush for the poor federal response to the disaster. Another 44% say they aren't sure which president is more responsible. Just 28% said Bush was more to blame than Obama—who was, at the time, a freshman US senator in Illinois. The survey was taken by Public Policy Polling, which, Talking Points Memo points out, leans left.

A Wisconsin jury was in its second day of deliberations on Tuesday, in a rare case in which a gun dealer was accused of the illegal sale of a weapon that was then used to shoot two police officers. The lawsuit in Wisconsin is believed to be only the second such case to reach a jury in 10 years, following a case in Alaska in the summer which found in favour of the gun shop. The officers' attorney, Patrick Dunphy, said Norberg was "overwhelmed with emotion" by the verdict, while Kunisch, who suffered from brain damage in the shooting, was stoic — as he was for all of the trial. He was recorded on surveillance video pointing to a semi-automatic pistol in a display case and saying, “That’s the one I want,” Milwaukee county circuit court heard during the three-week trial. It's unclear if that trial will go ahead, Dunphy said. A federal law passed in 2005 to protect the firearms industry against being sued by shooting victims, amid strong lobbying by the National Rifle Association, means lawsuits against gun companies usually struggle to get far. Such crimes included the shooting of several Milwaukee police officers, the newspaper reported, but secrecy laws protected the shop’s identity and a change of ownership within the same family and a tweak of its title to Badger Outdoors helped wipe out previous law violations. Badger Guns, a seller on the outskirts of Milwaukee, “failed miserably” to protect the public when it allowed a 21-year-old to buy a gun on behalf of a friend who was underage and had accompanied him to the store, the jury heard in closing arguments on Monday. Collins came to Badger Guns on that day to buy a gun for Julius Burton, who was too young to buy a handgun from a store. Dunphy laid out what he called telltale signs of a straw buy: Burton was in the store and pointed to the gun he wanted; Collins initially marked that he was not the buyer of the gun on the form, but was allowed to change that — and also change his address; Collins and Burton left the store to get more cash to pay for the gun; Collins didn't present an ID when he picked up the gun. Patrick Dunphy, the officers’ attorney, told the court in closing arguments on Monday that Badger Guns had “failed miserably” to protect the public and that store clerk Donald Flora and shop owner Adam Allan had made a sale that “frankly reeked with doubt”. Burton is serving 80 years while Collins already finished his two years in federal prison.

– It could be the biggest blow to the gun industry in years, and it came not from the White House, but from a jury in Milwaukee. On Tuesday, Badger Guns was ordered to pay $6 million to two police officers who were shot in the face with a handgun bought at the store, NBC News reports. The badly injured officers sued the gun shop for negligence. The jury agreed that the store had been extremely negligent when it sold the firearm to a 21-year-old man who was buying it in a "straw purchase" for underage friend Julius Burton, who used it to shoot the officers, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. The evidence included video of Burton pointing to the gun and saying, "That's the one I want," the Guardian reports. The ATF has described the Milwaukee store as one of America's top sellers of guns used in crimes, and 537 of its weapons were found at crime scenes in 2005 alone, NBC notes. The case is only the second one of its kind to go to trial since the passage of a 2005 law shielding gun dealers from such lawsuits, the Journal Sentinel reports; a gun store in Alaska won the previous case. The closely watched case could have major implications nationwide, but the officers' attorney tells the Journal Sentinel that he was out to represent his clients, not send a message. "Will it change the way things are done around the country? Time will tell," he says. (President Obama is looking into tightening a gun control rule.)

BOSTON (AP) — Former U.S. Sen. Edward W. Brooke, a liberal Republican who became the first black in U.S. history to win popular election to the Senate, died Saturday. He was 95. Brooke died of natural causes at his Coral Gables, Florida, home, said Ralph Neas, Brooke’s former chief counsel. Brooke was surrounded by his family. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below Brooke was elected to the Senate in 1966, becoming the first black to sit in that branch from any state since Reconstruction and one of nine blacks who have ever served there — including Barack Obama. After Obama’s presidential election in 2008, Brooke told The Associated Press he was ‘‘thankful to God’’ that he had lived to witness the historic accomplishment. Senator elected after reconstruction, Ed Brooke stood at the forefront of the battle for civil rights and economic fairness.’’ A Republican in a largely Democratic state, Brooke was one of Massachusetts’ most popular political figures during most of his 12 years in the Senate. Brooke earned his reputation as a Senate liberal in part by becoming the first Republican senator to publicly urge President Richard Nixon to resign. He helped lead the forces in favor of the Equal Rights Amendment and was a defender of school busing to achieve racial integration, a bitterly divisive issue in Boston. He also lent his name to the Brooke amendment to the federal housing act, passed in 1969, which limited to 25 percent the amount of income a family must pay for rent in public housing. Deval Patrick, the state’s first black governor, said: ‘‘I have lost a friend and mentor.’’ Secretary of State John Kerry, a former U.S. senator from Massachusetts, said Brooke showed ‘‘remarkable political courage.’’ Late in his second term, Brooke divorced his wife of 31 years, Remigia, in a stormy proceeding that attracted national attention. Repercussions from the case spurred an investigation into his personal finances by the Senate Ethics Committee and a probe by the state welfare department and ultimately cost him the 1978 election. He was defeated by Democrat Rep. Paul E. Tsongas. Tsongas’ widow, U.S. Rep. Nikki Tsongas, said Saturday that Brooke’s career was ‘‘as courageous as it was historic.’’ In a Boston Globe interview in 2000, Brooke recalled the pain of losing his bid for a third term. ‘‘It was just a divorce case. It was never about my work in the Senate. There was never a charge that I committed a crime, or even nearly committed a crime,’’ Brooke said. In 2008, pioneering newswoman Barbara Walters said she had an affair with the then-married Brooke in the 1970s, but it ended before he lost the 1978 election. She called him ‘‘exciting’’ and ‘‘brilliant.’’ Brooke received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in a White House ceremony in 2004. And the president was on hand in October 2009 when Brooke was presented with the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest award Congress has to honor civilians. When Brooke received the congressional honor in Washington later in the year, he cited the issues facing Congress — health care, the economy and the wars overseas — and called on lawmakers to put their partisan differences aside. "We've got to get together," Brooke said, turning his eyes to Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. ‘‘We have no alternative. There’s nothing left. It’s time for politics to be put aside on the back burner.’’ As Brooke sought the Senate seat in 1966, profiles in the national media reminded readers that he had won office handily in a state where blacks made up just 2 percent of the population — the state that had also given the nation its only Roman Catholic president, John F. Kennedy. He beat Democrat Endicott Peabody, a former governor who also supported civil rights, by a 3-to-2 margin despite predictions of a ‘‘white backlash’’ against him. Commenting on Brooke’s election and other developments that day, Martin Luther King Jr. said that ‘‘despite appeals to bigotry of an intensity and vulgarity never before witnessed in the North, millions of white voters remained unshaken in their commitment to decency.’’ Brooke had parlayed his probes of local corruption into a successful run for state attorney general in 1962 when he became the highest ranking black elected official in the nation. He won re-election as attorney general in 1964 even though Democrats dominated other races, commenting later: "I won by 797,510 votes. Somewhat aloof from the civil rights movement of the 1960s, especially the militant wing, he said blacks had to win allies, not fight adversaries. But he also said of civil rights leaders: ‘‘Thank God we have them. But everyone has to do it in the best way he can.’’ He had refused to endorse Sen. Barry Goldwater for president in 1964, commenting later, ‘‘You can’t say the Negro left the Republican Party; the Negro feels he was evicted from the Republican Party.’’ The son of a Veterans Administration lawyer, Brooke was raised in a middle-class black section of Washington, attending segregated schools through his graduation from Howard University in 1941.

– The first African American elected to the US Senate has died at age 95. Edward Brooke, a Massachusetts Republican, died of natural causes in Florida, the AP reports. He was elected in 1966 and served two terms as a highly popular politician. That came after he became the first African American attorney general of any state, the Boston Globe reports. As a senator, Brooke championed issues including the Equal Rights Amendment and a push for racial integration via busing in Boston, and he was the first GOP senator to call for Richard Nixon's resignation. In 2009, he received the Congressional Gold Medal and called for bipartisanship in Washington. When Brooke was elected, no African American had served in the Senate since Reconstruction, when senators were chosen by legislators—not elected by popular vote. His victory by nearly 500,000 votes came despite being a Republican in a Democratic state, the New York Times notes, describing him as a centrist. In a 1966 book, he wondered about Republicans: "Where are our plans for a New Deal or a Great Society?" His period in office was not without controversy, the AP notes; he faced a Senate Ethics Committee probe into his personal finances and lost the next election. More recently, describing President Obama's election victory, he said: "I'm not that surprised that he was able to pull it off. But I am thankful to God to live to see this happen."

Image copyright iStock Image caption File photo of a King Cobra, the world's longest venomous snake In 2016, a story was published in Thai media - and later in several UK tabloids - naming Mr Hussin as a Thai man who'd married a snake, believing it to be his "reincarnated girlfriend". Image copyright Abu Zarin Husin Image caption Abu Zarin Hussin takes a selfie with one of his snakes A Malaysian man who became famous for his snake-handling skills has died after being bitten by a cobra. His pictures once gathered the attention of international media, who claimed he had married a 10-foot cobra because it resembled his dead girlfriend. Meanwhile, former Temerloh fire and rescue station volunteer fireman Mohd Ikhwan Hafizi Ali, 30, said he will not forget the times when Abu Zarin and him used to enter rubber estates to track down the cobras. "He showed the proper techniques and equipments to handle the snakes. Abu Zarin's talent in handling snakes even found him a spot at the quarter finals of television program Asia's Got Talent.

– Just a few days after being bitten by a cobra, Malaysia's famous "Snake Whisperer" has died. The Star and Free Malaysia Today report that 33-year-old firefighter Abu Zarin Hussin was attacked by the snake earlier this week in Betong while trying to catch it, and he was rushed to two different hospitals over the past several days, finally succumbing to his injuries in the ICU of the Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Hospital on Friday. Hussin, who the BBC says kept four snakes at home, had become both a local and international celebrity for his snake-handling acumen, which he used to train fellow firefighters so that they could respond to calls about snake sightings. Under Hussin's tutelage, firefighters learned how to ID different types of snakes, with a particular eye for the poisonous ones, as well as the most humane ways to capture them. Newsweek explains how Hussin shot to international fame in 2016 when overseas tabloids mistakenly used his picture for a story on a man who reportedly married his pet snake. An interview in the Star noted Hussin, who began his hobby in 2007, got his inspiration from his snake-charmer dad. "Before I joined the [fire department], I was afraid of snakes and would avoid them," he said. "But ... now [I] practice with [my father]." Hussin had been bitten a few times before, with one incident in 2015 even sending him into a two-day coma. But he couldn't stay away from the slithery reptiles, and he even took his act to Asia's Got Talent. A zookeeper tells the New Straits Times how, after he was bit by a snake in 2012, he met Hussin and struck up an instant friendship. "I have lost a daring and genuine friend," he says. (This man posed with a rattler, then got bit.)

Suspects, including two brothers, pleaded not guilty to charges at hearing following death of Daphne Caruana Galizia Three Maltese men have been charged for the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia, the investigative journalist who was killed by a car bomb last month. Investigators said George Degiorgio, known as Ic-Ciniz, is believed to have sent the fatal SMS after allegedly being given the go-ahead from his brother Alfred, known as il-Fulu, who was staking out the Caruana Galizia residence in Bidnija. Sources said Alfred Degiorgio acted as a spotter in the environs of Bidnija to monitor Caruana Galizia’s movements.

– Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia's life ended via a bomb and a text message sent from sea, sources with knowledge of the investigation say. A man is suspected of placing the TNT bomb beneath the driver's seat of Galizia's car in the early hours of Oct. 16, per the sources, who share the alleged chain of events: Alfred Degiorgio, 53, then kept watch on Galizia's Bidnija home, finally calling his brother at 3pm, reports Malta Today. George Degiorgio, 55, who was reportedly at sea on his boat, then sent an SMS message to an electronic device with a SIM card that was attached to the bomb. It detonated, killing Galizia, whose son described finding her body parts scattered about the street. The brothers and a third man believed to have acted as a lookout have now been charged with murder, organized crime, and criminal use of explosives, report the Guardian and the Times of Malta. All three pleaded not guilty Tuesday. The men were among 10 suspects arrested on Monday. The seven others have since been released on bail, including Adrian Agius and his brother. Malta Today explains Galizia previously wrote about Agius, who was co-director of a supermarket chain that was caught up in a fraud scandal a few years ago.

In her second career marathon race, Sarah Sellers wasn't listed as one of the elite runners. “I think I’m going to wake up and this will be a dream,” Sellers said after the race. Story highlights Monday's race was Sarah Sellers' second marathon Her second-place finish is tops by a Utah native (CNN) Desiree Linden made history at this year's Boston Marathon as the first American woman to win the storied race since 1985. The combination of the wind and rain made conditions difficult, and it was the coldest Boston Marathon in 30 years. Still, Sellers crossed the finish line in 2:44:04, a little more than 4 minutes behind Linden's time (2:39:54), qualifying for the US Olympic trials. “But if you would have told me she was second at Boston, I would have said no way.” Sellers was in disbelief herself when she called her coach Monday, Pilkington said. “It’s rare for something like this to happen.

– That an American female won the Boston Marathon for the first time since 1985 made headlines, but it's the woman who came in second who is grabbing them now. Eyes are shifting to Sarah Sellers, who finished 4 minutes and 10 seconds behind winner Desiree Linden with a time of 2 hours, 44 minutes, 4 seconds. But while Linden is a two-time Olympian, Sellers is a virtual unknown: A promising track career in college hit an early end due to a broken foot her junior year, reports the Salt Lake Tribune. She had only run one marathon prior, in Utah in September, in order to qualify for Boston. The 26-year-old has no sponsors, and did much of her training starting at 4am, before heading to her full-time job as a nurse anesthetist in Tucson, Arizona. CNN picks up this tweet from Kit Fox of Runners World as a sign of just how unexpected her win was: The first question she was asked in a post-race news conference was "Please introduce yourself. Tell us who you are." Sellers logs about 85 miles a week, and still relies on Weber State track coach Paul Pilkington for advice. She now walks away with $75,000 in prize money, which she says she and her husband will put toward their student debt. As for that first marathon in Huntsville, Utah, she didn't just win it: She set a course record.

WELLINGTON | WELLINGTON (Reuters) - Thousands of New Zealanders took to the country's streets on Monday to protest against possible plans to move production of Peter Jackson's "Hobbit" movies overseas. The Time Warner division said last week it would seek film locations outside New Zealand, a move that economists said could cost the country up to $1.5 billion. The unions have backed down, and industry analysts believe Warner Bros. will use the Hobbit crisis to extract financial incentives when executives meet a high-powered delegation led by Prime Minister John Key on Tuesday. The three Lord of the Rings movies, which were all filmed in New Zealand, earned billions of dollars at the box office. Just to be safe, a reported 2,000 to 3,000 people gathered in the capital of Wellington, while other cities such as Auckland and earthquake-ravaged Christchurch hosted similar rallies. Oscar-winning technician Richard Taylor, whose Weta Workshop handled many of the special effects for "Lord of the Rings," told Wellington protesters he hoped "The Hobbit" would still be made in New Zealand. "The alternative is just too bleak to consider," he said. Taylor also read a letter from Peter Jackson thanking people for their support. "This is where Middle Earth was born and this is where it will stay," Jackson said in the letter.

– Thousands of protesters took to the streets across New Zealand today to protest Warner Bros.’ threats to move the filming of the Hobbit out of the country. Rallies were held in Wellington, Auckland, and Christchurch among others, according to the BBC, with protesters holding signs like, “New Zealand IS Middle Earth” and “We Love Hobbits.” The rallies coincide both with New Zealand’s Labor Day and a Warner Bros. meeting in the country to decide the film’s fate. The studio first raised the possibility of shooting elsewhere after a dispute with various acting unions last month. The unions have since dropped their demands, but executives say they might move anyway. “I'd love to tell you it's a done deal, but we're a long way away from being a done deal,” said New Zealand’s Prime Minister, according to Reuters. Were the Hobbit to shoot elsewhere, New Zealand's economy could lose as much as $1.5 billion.

Belgium is issuing a new euro coin to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo -- one of the most painful defeats in French military history.

– History buffs—and tourists with money to spend—will be swarming on Waterloo, Belgium, next week to mark the 200th anniversary of Napoleon's famous last battle. The nearby town of Braine-l’Alleud isn't too thrilled about it, however. As the Wall Street Journal reports, the Battle of Waterloo didn't actually take place in Waterloo. A Belgian historian's research shows that three of the key fights were in Braine-l’Alleud and two more were in Plancenoit—but because a duke filed his dispatch from his headquarters in Waterloo, that name has gotten all the glory. “Nobody will ever call it the ‘Battle of Braine-l’Alleud.’ That would be completely ridiculous, and that’s not our goal at all,” says the town’s mayor. "But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to correct errors that were made.” Among other things, the town is suing Michelin over a tour guide that it says doesn't give Braine-l’Alleud its due. This isn't the only Waterloo-related disagreement related to the anniversary. Belgium has minted coins worth 2.50 euros to commemorate the defeat of the French emperor, and France is a little miffed. First, it blocked Belgium from issuing coins worth 2 euros that would be legal tender throughout the EU, a move that meant 180,000 coins had to be melted down, reports CNN. But then "Belgium resorted to a cunning ruse de guerre to outflank the French," reports the Financial Times. Taking advantage of an obscure clause, it minted the non-standard 2.50 coin, which can be used only in Belgium itself. (The first full skeleton from the Battle of Waterloo has been identified as that of a German hunchback.)

Don Emmert / AFP / Getty Images file A 1729 Stradivarius known as the Solomon, Ex-Lambert A 300-year-old Stradivarius worth millions of dollars was stolen from a concert violinist by thieves who shot the musician with an electric stun gun just after he had performed with the instrument in suburban Milwaukee, police said on Tuesday. In a 2008 feature on the violin, Chicago violin dealer Stefan Hersh said the Lipinski violin was comparable in value to another Strad that sold for more than $3.5 million in a 2006 auction. "This violin is very valuable, but very valuable to a very small population," Flynn said in a news conference carried by ABC affiliate WISN on its website. "This is not something that can be easily sold for even a fraction of its monetary value." Though police have not ruled out that the robbery was a random street crime, they are working with investigators with the FBI's art crimes team based in Quantico, Va., which specializes in high-end art thefts, and have notified Interpol, the International Criminal Police Organization, Flynn said. Milwaukee Orchestra president Mark Niehaus said rare instruments such as the stolen Stradivarius are in circulation because they "need to be played to live on."

– One of the most valuable instruments in the world was stolen Monday by a robber who used a stun gun on the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra's concertmaster in a parking lot before making off his with his priceless Stradivarius violin. "The artistic heritage of Milwaukee was assaulted and robbed last night," the city's police chief told reporters, estimating the 300-year-old instrument's value in the "high seven figures," reports the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. The Lipinski Stradivarius, which was on indefinite loan from its anonymous owners, is wildly valuable only to a "tiny slice of the art world," the police chief says. "It can't be easily sold for even a fraction of its value." Police haven't ruled out the theft being a random street robbery, but they suspect it may have been stolen to order and are working with the FBI's art crimes unit. The orchestra's president says rare instruments like the Stradivarius, one of only around 600 in existence, are still in circulation because they "need to be played to live on," NBC reports.

Story highlights A total of 47 bodies have been exhumed from two mass graves Iraqis find mass graves inside presidential palace compound in Tikrit ISIS claimed to have executed 1,700 Iraqi soldiers captured outside Camp Speicher Tikrit, Iraq (CNN) Mass graves believed to hold Iraqi soldiers have been discovered in newly liberated Tikrit. Until now we found at least 20 bodies.

– In June, ISIS did the barbaric: slaughtered scores of soldiers at a base on the outskirts of Tikrit. With the city newly liberated, Iraqi forensic teams have now begun the grim process of excavating suspected mass graves thought to contain some of the 1,700 soldiers ISIS claims to have killed at Camp Speicher. The AP cites an official with the country's Human Rights Ministry who says eight sites within the complex of presidential palaces are being worked on; Reuters puts the number of suspected mass graves at 12. Another official yesterday told Reuters that "initial indications show indisputably" that a handful of bodies recovered yesterday are those of Speicher victims, though DNA testing will be carried out to confirm this. The AP notes that one clip aired on Iraqi state TV showed unearthed skeletal remains still wearing combat boots. A CNN reporter on the scene describes decomposed bodies with their hands still tied together. In making its claim, ISIS released photos showing soldiers being led to trenches and then facedown in them before and after their execution. Other videos showed masked gunmen bringing the soldiers to a bloodstained concrete river waterfront, shooting them in the head, and tossing them into the Tigris. Previous reports have stated that if the number of dead is indeed 1,700, the massacre would rank as by far the largest atrocity in the country in more than a decade.

“The thing about not having any responsibilities is that you can say irresponsible things,” Axelrod said on ABC’s “This Week.” “And the speaker avails himself of that opportunity all the time.” Axelrod said that the military commanders on the ground believed that an apology was appropriate and necessary given the circumstances. “He didn’t have any issues to attack me on so he had to go after me on something as silly as that.” Read more about: Mitt Romney, Ron Paul, Rand Paul

– Today's talk show theme: Pile on Rush Limbaugh. The conservative talk show host took a bipartisan drubbing worthy of a gold-stuffed piñata, reports Politico, as both sides lambasted his slut comment and subsequent apology. A sampling: Debbie Wasserman Schultz: "I know he apologized, but forgive me if I doubt his sincerity, given that he lost at least six advertisers. Rush Limbaugh said he was trying to be humorous. I don’t know any woman in America … that thinks that being called a slut is funny.” Ron Paul: “I don’t think he’s very apologetic, I think he’s doing it because people were taking their advertisements off his program." Newt Gingrich: "He made a mistake, and I think he did the right thing," in apologizing. Eric Cantor: “I don’t condone that type of language in any arena, including the political arena. It was insulting, and Rush has said as much." Elsewhere on your Sunday dial, it was the parlor game of guess-the-vice-presidential nominee and the usual back-and-forth: Cantor on a Romney-Cantor ticket: "I am not open to that. This is about Mitt Romney and making sure that he is put into office." Paul on a Romney-Rand Paul ticket: "I think the media has fed on that because they keep saying ‘Is there a deal, is there a deal?’ Obviously not. He wouldn’t do it, I wouldn’t’ do it.” Gingrich on President Obama's apology over the Koran burnings: "He has apologized so many times around so many countries. It is frankly embarrassing to have a president who thinks that apologizing for the United States is a good policy. I think the commander in chief has an obligation to step up and say, ‘I am proud of our troops.' ” David Axelrod on Gingrich's criticism: “The thing about not having any responsibilities is that you can say irresponsible things. And the speaker avails himself of that opportunity all the time.”

(Chih-Wei Huang) After over a century of being confused for another species of snail, Aegista diversifamilia finally gets its place in the limelight. Aegista subchinensis was first described in 1884 and was thought to be widely distributed in Taiwan. This new classification separates A. diversifamilia from A. subchinensis, a similar land snail discovered in 1884. They confirmed that what was thought to be A. subchinensis from eastern Taiwan was in fact a new species, which they named as A. diversifamilia. Co-author Yen-Chang Lee of Academia Sinica in Taipei said in a statement that he named the snail in honor of the diverse forms that a human family can take. "When we were preparing the manuscript," Dr. Lee explains, "it was a period when Taiwan and many other countries and states were struggling for the recognition of same-sex marriage rights. He and his team thought it fitting to use the snail -- which is a hermaphrodite, possessing sex characteristics associated with both male and female animals -- to support the cause. "They represent the diversity of sex orientation in the animal kingdom," he said in his statement. Subchinensis was thought to exist in two populations on either side of a mountain range and a river, but the snails on the eastern side were larger in shell size and flatter in shell shape.

– Scientists in Taiwan snuck in a nod to gay marriage when they named a snail that was newly identified on the island. The mollusks, which are hermaphrodites and thus possess both male and female reproductive organs, have for years been mistaken for A. subchinensis, a closely related land snail discovered in 1884. So when scientists had the opportunity to rename it recently, reports the BBC, they opted for Aegista diversifamilia—a term that means a "diversity of family types"—in a nod to "the diversity of sex orientation in the animal kingdom," one researcher said in a statement. "When we were preparing the manuscript, it was a period when Taiwan and many other countries and states were struggling for recognition of same-sex marriage rights," he added. It wasn't until scientists studied the genes of the snails found on both sides of Taiwan's Central Mountain Range that it was discovered they're not just distinct geographic populations with different features (the snails on the east side have larger, flatter shells and more closely resemble an altogether different species in Japan), but they are distinct species as well, reports the Washington Post. (Homo sapiens, meanwhile, have been roasting and feasting on snails for millennia.)

A spokesman for the former... (Associated Press) FILE- In this Nov. 5, 2017, file photo, former president George H.W. Bush was hospitalized Sunday in Maine after he experienced low blood pressure and fatigue, a spokesman said. He said Bush would spend at least a few days in the hospital for observation. Bush, who has a form of Parkinson's disease and a history of pneumonia and other infections, was hospitalized in Houston on April 22, the day after his wife's funeral, for an infection. The former president recovered from his health problems enough to return to his family's vacation spot on the coast of Maine on May 20. Bush, also a former vice president and head of the CIA, has visited Walker's Point every summer since his childhood, except when he was serving as a Navy pilot in World War II. President @GeorgeHWBush was taken to Southern Maine Health Care (@SMHCHealth) today after experiencing low blood pressure and fatigue. Just after 2 p.m., Jim McGrath, a spokesman for the 93-year-old Bush, said he was awake, alert and not in any discomfort. On Saturday, the elder Bush attended a pancake breakfast at an American Legion post in Kennebunkport. He had been scheduled to attend a Memorial Day parade in the town Monday. Bush, who has a form of Parkinson’s disease and a history of pneumonia and other infections, uses a wheelchair and an electric scooter for mobility. He has been hospitalized several times in recent years for respiratory problems. Coming about a month after the death of his wife, Barbara, of 73 years, the family said the 41st president was eager to return to the family compound on Walker's Point.

– George HW Bush has been hospitalized for the second time since the death of wife Barbara Bush last month. The 93-year-old former president was taken to a hospital in Maine after suffering low blood pressure and fatigue, reports USA Today. Spokesman Jim McGrath says Bush is not experiencing any discomfort but will probably remain in Southern Maine Health Care in Biddeford for a few days for observation. Bush, who was hospitalized in Texas the day after his wife's funeral and was treated for a blood infection for 13 days, arrived in Maine for the summer last week, the AP reports. He has spent every summer at the family compound apart from the years of his WWII service. On Saturday, he joined fellow veterans for a pancake breakfast at the American Legion in Kennebunkport.

Lambert's Cafe, the Sikeston-based restaurant chain proudly known as the "Home of Throwed Rolls," featuring servers who lob dinner rolls across the dining hall to guests, is being sued for a roll-related injury. The suit was filed yesterday against the Sikeston restaurant by University City-based attorney William Meehan on behalf of a guy gal named Troy Tucker. The suit was filed Tuesday by a man named Troy Tucker who claims he “sustained a lacerated cornea with a vitreous detachment and all head, neck, eyes and vision were severely damaged” after being hit by a dinner roll during a visit in September of 2014. The practice of throwing rolls is deemed a "defective condition" of Lambert's, and the suit claims that the restaurant knew (or should have known) about the danger of this practice. Tucker now seeks an award of at least $25,000 to pay for her medical bills and legal fees. The restaurant's "carelessness and negligence" has already caused expenses totaling $10,000, the suit alleges, and who knows what future medical costs may emerge from the assault of the freshly baked bread. But we have to wonder how much of a case Tucker has. Johnny Fugitt of the River Front Times points out in a blog entry that Tucker may not have much of a case, considering that back in June, Slugger and the Kansas City Royals were deemed to have not been at fault after a thrown hot dog hit a man in the face and tore his retina. Fugitt said in that case the “baseball rule” was referenced, and that by voluntarily entering a baseball stadium the victim assumed some responsibility for personal awareness. He points out that “Home of Throwed Rolls” is posted all over, which could mean Lambert’s diners assume they are putting themselves at risk of being hit by a flying roll, upon entering the establishment. After talking to the plaintiff's lawyer, however, the television station reports that Troy Tucker is actually a woman.

– How much liability does an establishment known as the "Home of Throwed Rolls" have when the bread starts flying and things allegedly go wrong? That may be for a jury to decide after a woman filed suit against Missouri-based restaurant chain Lambert's Cafe on Tuesday, claiming one of the restaurant's signature "throwed rolls" left her with permanent eye damage. According to FOX 4, Lambert's Cafe's gimmick is that its servers throw dinner rolls across the room to diners. A lawyer for Troy Tucker claims she was hit in the face with one of those rolls while visiting the restaurant with her Bible group in September 2014, KFVS reports. According to FOX 4, Tucker is seeking $25,000 to cover medical bills and legal fees. She claims the roll lacerated her cornea and left her with impaired vision. While the lawsuit states the restaurant should have known the roll-throwing exposed diners to danger, the River Front Times questions how solid Tucker's case is, and points to this: In June, the Kansas City Royals were found not at fault after a fan was hit in the face by a hot dog thrown by the team mascot. The jury found the man "assumed some personal responsibility" by entering the stadium. The GM of Lambert's Cafe tells KFVS this isn't the first time a customer has wanted a payout after being hit with one of the signature rolls, and the restaurant has paid medical expenses via its insurance in the past.

WASHINGTON | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Expert Global Solutions, the world's largest debt collection agency, has agreed to pay a $3.2 million civil penalty and stop harassing and abusing debtors by engaging in practices such as calling them multiple times a day, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission said on Tuesday. Three subsidiaries were also involved in the settlement: NCO Financial Systems, Inc., ALW Sourcing, LLC, and Transworld Systems Inc. Company employees would continue to call people even after being told that they had reached the wrong person, that the consumer being contacted did not owe the debt or that the debtor did not live in that home, according to a complaint filed on Monday in federal court in Texas. They added, "We believe that the quality of our consumer interaction is best-in-class in our industry today, and have worked hard over the past several years to help ensure compliance and fair treatment of consumers on all of our points of contact." In this proposed order with the FTC, "whenever a consumer disputes the validity or the amount of the debt, the defendants must either close the account and end collection efforts, or suspend collection until they have conducted a reasonable investigation and verified that their information about the debt is accurate and complete," the commission said. The defendants also are required to record at least 75 percent of their debt collection calls beginning one year after the date of the order, and retain the recordings for 90 days after they are made. Read More About What to Know Before, After a Balance Transfer Expert Global Solutions and its subsidiaries, based in Texas, has more than 32,000 employees and revenue in 2011 of more than $1.2 billion. The companies operate in Canada, Barbados, India, the Philippines and Panama as well as the United States.

– It's a little solace perhaps for people besieged by phone calls morning, noon, and night by debt-collection firm Expert Global Solutions: The company agreed to pay the FTC a $3.2 million fine and ease up on the harassment of debtors, reports Reuters. It's the biggest such fine ever levied on a third-party debt collector. "They called after being asked to stop; after they promised to stop; early in the morning; late at night; at people's workplaces—when they knew the employers prohibited the calls," writes an FTC official. Those types of tactics aren't just annoying, they're illegal under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the FTC Act, reports ABC News. Among the changes: The company and its subsidiaries will stop calling people if the debt is being disputed, at least until an investigation takes place. The company also has to record 75% of its calls and keep the recordings for at least three months. (Being a debt collector can be a lucrative job.)

CHARLESTON, S.C. — Mitt Romney remains the clear front-runner in South Carolina, but the intensity of Newt Gingrich’s support places him within striking distance going into Saturday’s Republican primary. Mitt Romney holds a 10-point lead over former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, according to a new NBC News/Marist poll of the GOP contest in that state. But a day after Monday night’s Republican debate – where Gingrich’s performance was considered strong and Romney’s uneven – the poll also shows the former speaker gaining considerable ground on the GOP frontrunner. Text Size - + reset Newt surges in POLITICO Poll See Also Pollster analysis: S.C. likely to defy conventional wisdom Texas Congressman Ron Paul trails with 11 percent, followed by former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum at 10 percent and Texas Gov. 3 and 4 and Perry out of the mix,” said Ed Goeas, a Republican pollster whose firm, the Tarrance Group, conducted the survey on Tuesday and Wednesday. Gingrich has momentum: When voters are asked to volunteer the name of the candidate they plan to vote for without being prompted by a list of names to choose from, Romney’s lead over Gingrich slips to 31 percent to 29 percent. Among Tea Party supporters on Monday, Romney edged Gingrich, 35 percent to 27 percent. Among those who say they will “definitely” support their candidate of choice, the two are essentially tied, with Romney at 23 percent and Gingrich at 22 percent. While Gingrich gained ground on Romney the day after the GOP debate, his poll position in South Carolina has declined markedly since December, when he led the former Massachusetts governor in the NBC News/Marist poll, 42 percent to 23 percent. Among those who claim they’ve watched all or almost all of the 16 debates so far, 48 percent support Gingrich compared with 22 percent who back Romney.

– Newt Gingrich is so close to Mitt Romney in South Carolina that an upset win is within the realm of possibility, according to a couple of new polls. Politico's numbers have Romney still leading the field with 37%, but Gingrich is close behind at 30%. Both are well ahead of their rivals; Ron Paul and Rick Santorum are battling for fourth with just 11% and 10% respectively, and Rick Perry barely registers with 4%. "You really have a two-man race," says the pollster who ran the survey. An NBC poll reveals a similar trend; it has Romney up by 10 points, with 34% to Gingrich's 24%, but that represents a whopping 5-point overnight jump for Gingrich following Monday's debate. Conservatives and evangelical Christians especially flocked to the former speaker after that performance. Both polls also reveal that Gingrich's attacks on Romney's Bain Capital tenure haven't hit home; 70% told Politico that Bain wouldn't influence their vote, and 48% told NBC the attacks were unfair.

The building in which Adolf Hitler was born will be turned into a museum memorializing the crimes and victims of the German dictator, under a plan currently being discussed by Austrian authorities. Since the end of World War II, the building has been variously a bank, workshop, library, school and home for the disabled Now, the Austrian interior ministry is supporting a private initiative by historian Andreas Maislinger to renovate the former pub into a "House of Responsibility." The interior ministry has rented the large pale yellow house where the future Nazi leader was born since 1972 and variously sublet it to a technical institute and an aid organisation. In 2000, he submitted a plan to establish what he calls a "House of Responsibility" at the site. Alois and Klara Hitler moved out of the inn shortly after Adolf's birth, but the building has remained a place of pilgrimage for neo-Nazis from across Europe. The building was bought by Nazi party secretary Martin Bormann after the 1938 Anschluss, in which Austria was absorbed into Greater Germany and converted into a Nazi cultural center.

– A home's history can really make or break its marketability. Such is the case with what would otherwise be prime real estate in Austria's Braunau am Inn, a town near the German border. This house marks the spot where Adolf Hitler was born on April 20, 1889; it was an inn at the time, and though he only lived there briefly as a baby before his family relocated, the 8,610-square-foot building that rents for nearly $5,820 a month has gone unoccupied since 2011, much to the displeasure of the country's interior ministry. The ministry has rented it from the home's private owner (Haaretz reports it does so to keep it from being used by neo-Nazis) since 1972 and sublets it, reports AFP. Hitler's personal secretary, Martin Bormann, purchased the building in 1938 in the hopes of eventually fashioning it into a monument to the führer, der Spiegel reports. A gate marked with Bormann's initials is the final lingering Nazi-era item present at the location, which Hitler visited a single time during his reign. Neo-Nazis gather there much more frequently: each year on Hitler's birthday. The owners who sold the building in 1938 repurchased it in 1952, with the interior ministry stepping in two decades later. The Local reports that the owner has apparently been quite particular, quashing potential plans that would see a community college or migrant center occupy it. The owner has apparently also nixed a proposal by historian Andreas Maislinger that it be made into a "House of Responsibility." AFP reports the ministry is trying to hand off the location to another ministry and is hopeful it will get a response by year's end. (Meanwhile, a new report says Hitler took crystal meth.)

While no public announcement is expected today, those with knowledge of the investigation believe the loose ends now deal with Jackson’s wife, former Alderman Sandi Jackson, and whether or not she is ultimately charged. (Published Friday, Feb. 8, 2013) Just last month his wife also resigned from her elected position as Chicago’s 7th Ward alderman, however her role in the alleged misuse of campaign funds still may land her in legal trouble. Federal sources cautioned, however, authorities were still weighing whether charges are warranted in Sandi Jackson’s case. For years, Sandi Jackson was paid nearly $5,000 a month from her husband’s campaign fund through her consulting firm, J. Donatella & Associates. Cub” Banks; dining later were Ryne “Ryno” Sandberg and his family.

– Jesse Jackson Jr. has struck a deal on federal charges that he used campaign contributions for personal expenses, reports NBC Chicago. He will have to repay hundreds of thousands of dollars, but the big question is whether Jackson is headed to jail. NBC says it's up to a federal judge, but the Chicago Sun-Times says the deal involves at least some time in a federal prison. Also unclear is whether Jackson's wife will face penalties. Jackson resigned from Congress a few months ago amid the inquiry and his battle with bipolar disorder.

A young U.S. resident, driven by what he said was a desire to protect his Canadian girlfriend, used an air mattress to float across the St. Croix River in southeastern Maine and illegally enter New Brunswick late Wednesday, a Crown prosecutor says. Twenty-five-year-old John Bennett told police he had earlier tried to cross the border at Calais, Maine, but customs officers denied him entry because he was facing mischief charges in the U.S., lawyer Peter Thorn said Thursday. Thorn said the provincial court in Saint John, N.B., was told Bennett purchased an air mattress at the local Walmart, inflated it and later used a wooden board to paddle across to an area near Ledge Road, southeast of St. Stephen, N.B. As he floated along the river, he was spotted by a local resident who called the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, said Peter Thorn, a lawyer representing the public prosecution service of Canada. However, a local resident spotted the man, and he was later arrested by the RCMP and charged with failing to appear at the border crossing as required by the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. Bennett, who has no fixed address but is believed to reside in Calais, Maine, was sentenced to two months in jail in Canada, after which he will be returned to the United States. While this was the first time he had heard of someone making the crossing by air mattress, Thorn had had other cases where people had crossed the border by swimming or crossing the railway bridge. I think that’s part of it.” Others delighted in the idea of floating along the tidal river, said Thorn, such as the judge who told the accused in court, “Pardon the pun, but it seems to me you wanted to get there, come hell or high water.”

– As the judge put it, “Pardon the pun, but it seems to me you wanted to get there, come hell or high water.” That was apparently the case for an American nabbed while crossing illegally into Canada on an air mattress, CBC reports. Officials say John Bennett, 25, was busted last week after he washed up on shore in New Brunswick and was spotted by a local resident. "He was wet and carrying his boots," said prosecutor Peter Thorn. Bennett told Royal Canadian Mounted Police that he had tried to cross the border at Calais, Maine, the normal way, but was denied entry after a background check turned up criminal mischief charges pending in the US, the Guardian reports. He said he had to get to the town of St. Stephen to protect his pregnant girlfriend from a violent ex-boyfriend. So he bought an inflatable mattress at a Walmart in Maine, used a wooden board as a paddle and headed out on the St. Croix River. “He, in his mind, thought he needed to do what needed to be done to get over there to see her and ensure that she was OK,” Thorn said, adding that there has been no word yet from the "so-called fiancee’s side." Bennett pleaded guilty on Thursday to illegally crossing the border, and a judge sentenced him to two months in jail—but not before noting the unusual nature of the case. Even the prosecutor said the "gallant" act has tugged on heartstrings. "I sense that there’s this element of a Romeo-Juliet type of thing," he said. (These distracted Canadians accidentally crossed the border while playing you-know-what.)

The prosecution didn't even get a chance to read out the charges. The Munich court handling the historic trial of neo-Nazi Beate Zschäpe on Monday adjourned proceedings until May 14 after her lawyers accused the presiding judge of being biased because he had ordered them to be frisked for weapons before entering the courtroom. The chairman of the Turkish Community in Germany, Kenan Kolat, said the defendants should get life in prison. Critics have accused authorities of turning a blind eye to the crimes of right-wing extremists, the BBC's Steve Evans reports from Munich. Some 500 police officers were deployed outside the courthouse -- where several hundred demonstrators, some waving the Turkish flag, demanded that justice finally be done, 13 years after the first victim, Simsek, was murdered in cold blood. Zschäpe, 38, dubbed the "Nazi bride" in the German media, is believed to be the sole surviving member of the National Socialist Undergroundterrorist group that claimed responsibility in 2011 for murdering nine immigrants, eight of them of Turkish descent and one Greek man, as well as a German policewoman between 2000 and 2007. The other two members, Uwe Mundlos and Uwe Böhnhardt, committed suicide in November 2011 after a botched bank robbery. An earlier start date had been set for the trial, but it was delayed for weeks amid a dispute about the seat allocations, as Turkish media were not guaranteed places.

– Beate Zschaepe, the last surviving member of a Neo-Nazi trio accused of 10 murders between 2000 and 2007, goes on trial today in Munich, in a case that is riveting Germany. Zschaepe is charged in the killings of eight Turkish immigrants, a Greek immigrant, and a German police officer, but for years police believed the execution-style murders were connected to Turkish organized crime, the BBC reports. In reality, prosecutors say, Zschaepe and the other members of the National Socialist Underground were trying to instill fear in immigrants in an attempt to drive them out of Germany. The plot finally came to light in November 2011, when the other two alleged members of the NSU, Uwe Mundlos, 38, and Uwe Boenhardt, 34, apparently killed themselves after a bank robbery gone wrong; police then discovered the gun used in the 10 murders and Zschaepe surrendered. The 38-year-old now faces life in prison; she is also accused of involvement in armed robberies, arson, and two bomb attacks. Four men are also standing trial, accused of helping the NSU. Today's opening drew anti-racism protesters outside the courthouse; German authorities have been accused of institutional racism and of being "blind" to right-wing extremism, der Spiegel reports, and the case has sparked debate about Germany's attitude toward immigrants. The trial could go on for more than a year, the New York Times adds. Neo-Nazis including Zschaepe were just last month found to be communicating from prison via secret code.

President Obama promised Wednesday to lead a national discussion about gun control after the deadly mass shootings last week in Colorado, wading into the gun issue more extensively than at any other time in his presidency. In his speech, Obama declared gun violence a national tragedy that reaches beyond mass shootings such as those in Aurora and in Tucson — where six people were killed and 13 wounded, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, in a January 2011 attack — and into the lives of innocent people struck down by criminals every day. Although he reiterated his commitment to uphold gun owners’ Second Amendment rights to responsibly bear arms, he blamed Congress for inaction on what he called common-sense restrictions to keep guns out of the hands of criminals. But Obama told the National Urban League here that he believes a lot of gun owners would agree that “AK-47s belong in the hands of soldiers,” not civilians on American streets. “I don’t happen to believe that America needs new gun laws. The president called the Aurora massacre an “extraordinarily heartbreaking tragedy.” But, he added, talk of reforming gun laws after similar mass shootings has too often been “defeated by politics and by lobbying and eventually by the pull of our collective attention elsewhere.” Obama’s speech seemed sure to intensify the debate on gun control.

– In the wake of the Aurora shootings, President Obama yesterday went further into the issue of gun control than he ever has, Politico reports. Speaking in New Orleans, Obama promised there would be a national conversation on the issue. Specifically, he declared support for background checks on gun buyers and better enforcement of gun laws, and said that "AK-47s belong in the hands of soldiers," not criminals—which could imply future support for an assault-weapons ban similar to one that expired in 2004, the Washington Post notes. The move is somewhat unexpected, since just this week White House press secretary Jay Carney implied Obama would not wade into the issue of new gun legislation, thanks in part to Congressional opposition. But yesterday, Obama said gun reform has too often been “defeated by politics and by lobbying and eventually by the pull of our collective attention elsewhere.” Also yesterday, Mitt Romney reiterated his position that stricter gun laws would not have made a difference in Aurora. “A lot of what this young man did was clearly against the law, but the fact that it was against the law did not prevent it from happening,” Romney told NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams.

Tech Community Grieves Over The Death Of White House Tech Advisor Jake Brewer Jake Brewer, an avid cyclist and a senior policy advisor to U.S. Chief Technology Officer Megan Smith, passed away during a charity bike ride this weekend. “We set out to recruit the best of the best to join their government and help us harness the power of technology and data to innovate new solutions for the 21st century. Brewer worked on several tech initiatives and recently on the White House Demo Day. Brewer, 34, of Alexandria, died Saturday afternoon when his bicycle went out of control at a sharp curve while on a two-day, 150-mile bike ride to cure cancer, the Washington Post reported.

– President Obama has lost one of his top technology advisers—and Jake Brewer's colleagues say the world has lost a good man with great ideas. The 34-year-old senior policy adviser to the Office of the Chief Technology Officer was killed on Saturday when his bike went out of control during a cycling event in Maryland to raise money for a cancer charity, the Washington Post reports. In a statement tweeted by the White House, President Obama said he was "heartbroken" by the tragic loss. "Simply put, Jake was one of the best," he said. "Armed with a brilliant mind, a big heart, and an insatiable desire to give back, Jake devoted his life to empowering people and making government work better for them." Police say Brewer was pronounced dead at the scene after being hit by an oncoming vehicle during the Ride to Conquer Cancer, the New York Daily News reports. He worked in several key roles at Change.org before joining the Obama administration, where he worked on initiatives that included last month's White House Demo Day for tech entrepreneurs, reports TechCrunch. He had a 2-year-old daughter and his wife, Mary Katharine Ham, is pregnant with their second child, the Daily News reports. "I lost part of my heart and the father of my sweet babies. I don't have to tell most of you how wonderful he was. It was self-evident," she wrote in a moving Instagram post. "I will strive and pray not to feel I was cheated of many years with him, but cherish the gift of the years I had. ... Please pray that he can see us and we'll all make him proud. God, I love him."

Central American girls, who are traveling with a caravan of Central American migrants, play in the patio of the Viña de Cristo shelter while their parents organize accommodations for the night in Tijuana,... (Associated Press) Central American girls, who are traveling with a caravan of Central American migrants, play in the patio of the Viña de Cristo shelter while their parents organize accommodations for the night in Tijuana, Mexico, Wednesday, April 25, 2018. The caravan of mainly Central American migrants are planning... (Associated Press) TIJUANA, Mexico (AP) — About 130 Central Americans, mostly women and children, have arrived at the U.S. border with Mexico in a "caravan" of asylum-seeking immigrants that has drawn the fury of President Donald Trump. Two busloads arrived late Tuesday in the Mexican border city of Tijuana at two migrant shelters just steps from one of the most fortified stretches of border separating the U.S. from Mexico. They joined another 50 or so who arrived in Tijuana over the last week or two. Four more busloads of about 200 Central Americans — mostly women and children but including some men — were expected to arrive in Tijuana Wednesday, said Alex Mensing, project coordinator for Pueblos Sin Fronteras, which is organizing the effort. U.S. lawyers planned to lead clinics later this week on U.S. asylum law to tell the immigrants what to expect when they seek asylum. The first groups plan to try to enter the U.S. on Sunday at San Diego's border crossing. Trump and senior aides have portrayed the caravans and the asylum seekers as evidence of a dysfunctional border and a serious threat. The president tweeted this week that he has issued orders "not to let these large Caravans of people into our Country. It is a disgrace." The caravans have been a fairly common tactic for years among advocacy groups to bring attention to Central American citizens seeking asylum in the U.S. to escape political persecution or criminal threats from gangs. But the latest one drew more attention because Trump's attention from almost the moment it began March 25 in the Mexican city of Tapachula, near the Guatemalan border. And while it slowly traveled across Mexico. Trump used it as an example to try to win more support for his planned border wall — even though the asylum-seekers plan to turn themselves in to border inspectors. Taxi driver Jovanne Torres from El Salvador said Wednesday after arriving in Tijuana Tuesday that Trump's attacks on the caravan makes him doubt whether he'll succeed in getting asylum for himself, his wife and his daughters ages 4 and 10 months — but he still plans to try. Torres, 37, said he fled his hometown near the country's capital of San Salvador and joined the caravan days after a gang threatened to kill him and his wife when he refused to give a free ride to a gang member. He thinks he could be killed if he goes home and decided against seeking asylum in Mexico because he wants to join relatives in Houston. "Trump's words have made it difficult for us," he said. This caravan's numbers pale compared to the roughly 200,000 people who were arrested at the border in Texas' Rio Grande Valley during the spring of 2014 during the administration of President Barack Obama, many of them Central American women and children. Thousands of Haitians seeking to enter the U.S. turned themselves in to U.S. border inspectors at the Tijuana-San Diego border crossing, the nation's busiest. U.S. Customs and Border Protection has space to hold about 300 people at the crossing, said Pete Flores, director of the agency's San Diego field office. It turns them over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to determine if they should be held long-term of if they can be released while their cases are pending, often wearing ankle monitors that track their movements. The San Diego border crossing was so overwhelmed by Haitians in 2016 that U.S. officials worked with their Mexican counterparts to create a ticketing system that let the Haitians in over time. Some waited their turn in Tijuana more than five weeks. More recently, asylum seekers have had to wait at most only a few hours, never overnight, Flores said. If asylum-seekers make it through initial screenings with asylum officers by establishing "credible fear" of being returned to their homelands, they are allowed in and face what can be lengthy proceedings before U.S. immigration judges. Ginger Jacobs, a San Diego immigration attorney who helped Haitians seeking entry to the U.S. in 2016, said Trump's concerns about a rush of Central Americans seeking asylum were "completely overblown." "I don't see this caravan thing being a big deal," she said. "I see it as something the port will be able to handle competently and professionally." Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, in a message apparently aimed at asylum seekers, said Wednesday that anyone who makes false claims to immigration authorities is subject to criminal prosecution. The same goes for anyone who assists or coaches immigrants on making false claims. Nielsen's threat is consistent with the administration's narrative of widespread "asylum fraud" and claims that asylum-seekers are coached on what to tell U.S. authorities. The secretary also said asylum seekers in the caravan should seek protection in the first safe country they reach, including Mexico. U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said he may assign additional immigration judges to handle caravan cases. The Juventud 2000 migrant shelter, on the edge of Tijuana's red-light district, is filled with dome-shaped tents to accommodate more than 200 arrivals. Its director, Jose Maria Garcia Luca, said two previous caravans in May and November of last year had about 100 people each. Those who sought asylum reported no significant delays entering the U.S. "This is nothing like the Haitians," Garcia Luca said. "That was chaos."

– About 130 Central Americans, mostly women and kids, have arrived at the US-Mexico border in a "caravan" of asylum-seeking immigrants that has drawn the fury of President Trump. Two busloads arrived late Tuesday in the Mexican border city of Tijuana at two migrant shelters just steps from one of the most fortified stretches of border, per the AP. They joined another 50 or so who arrived in Tijuana over the last week or two. Four more busloads of about 200 Central Americans—mostly women and children but including some men—also were expected to arrive in Tijuana, says a coordinator for Pueblo Sin Fronteras, which is organizing the effort. US lawyers planned to lead clinics later this week on US asylum law to tell the immigrants what to expect when they seek asylum. The first groups plan to try to enter the US on Sunday at San Diego's border crossing. US Customs and Border Protection has space to hold about 300 people at the crossing, says the director of the agency's San Diego field office. If asylum seekers make it through initial screenings with asylum officers by establishing "credible fear" of being returned to their homelands, they're allowed in and face what can be lengthy proceedings before US immigration judges, often wearing ankle monitors to track their movements. Trump and senior aides have portrayed the caravans and the asylum-seekers as evidence of a dysfunctional border and a serious threat. Taxi driver Jovanne Torres, who says he fled his hometown in El Salvador after a gang threatened to kill him and his wife, says Trump's attacks make him doubt whether he'll get asylum for himself, his wife, and his young daughters, but he still plans to try. "Trump's words have made it difficult for us," he says.

According to ProPublica, the Obama administration is briefing that Barack Obama was bin Laden's the "top target" (no surprise there) while "military chiefs like the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the defense secretary" were also major scalps. A counterterrorism official said: "There is a note indicating that the vice president is not an important target because that position has less weight." The magazine, called Inspire, "apparently discussed using a tractor or farm vehicle in an attack outfitted with blades or swords as a fearsome killing machine," the official said.

– Osama bin Laden wanted to assassinate President Obama—but Joe Biden? No point in bothering with him, the al-Qaeda leader told his followers. Amongst bin Laden’s records, “there is a note indicating that the vice president is not an important target because that position has less weight,” a US official told ProPublica. Who else was important? "Military chiefs like the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the defense secretary, top military people." Writing for the Telegraph, Toby Harnden notes that to be fair, "the al-Qaeda leader tied the comment to the constitutional weakness of the vice-presidency rather than the antics of the garrulous current occupant." But, he quips, "one does suspect that bin Laden might have rather liked to have got Dick Cheney."

Days after the 90th Academy Awards telecast aired in March to record-low viewership, Disney-ABC Television Group executives met with leaders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to convey a message: You are facing irrelevance. "The Academy recognized that implementing any new award nine months into the year creates challenges for films that have already been released," it said in statement. “There has been a wide range of reactions to the introduction of a new award, and we recognize the need for further discussion with our members,” Dawn Hudson, the academy’s chief executive, said in a statement.

– And the winner is … not the new Oscars category. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced a slew of changes last month to its annual awards show, among them a new "outstanding achievement in popular film" category meant to reward films perhaps not critically acclaimed but still able to draw big crowds. Not many details on voting or eligibility came with the announcement, but it was enough to cause an outcry, and that outcry has made an impact. Per the Hollywood Reporter, the academy said Thursday the new category will be postponed and won't debut at the 91st awards show on Feb. 24 so it can "examine and seek additional input." The group said in a statement that "the Academy recognized that implementing any new award nine months into the year creates challenges for films that have already been released," the BBC reports. But it wasn't just the timing that rankled some. The announcement met resistance from detractors who said hit movies that are also critically acclaimed—chief among them Black Panther—could lose steam for a best picture award if they were also thrown into the "popular" film category. Advocates for the move say it would spur more of the general public to watch the awards show, which has seen a nearly 40% viewership decline over the past four years. The New York Times' sources say that at a Tuesday night meeting of the academy's 54-member board, Laura Dern was steadfast in her opposition to the new category; Steven Spielberg, who is described as a board member with "enormous influence," was reportedly "uncomfortable with plans to introduce [it] at the coming Oscars."

Stern unveiled on April 25th, 1983 excerpts from more than 60 notebooks purportedly written by the Nazi leader in a supposed world exclusive, but a few days later the diaries were found to be forgeries. It has been 30 years since Germany's Stern magazine ran what it thought was the scoop of the century, stunning the world with the claim that it had found Adolf Hitler's diaries. The reporter who unearthed them, Gerd Heidemann, acquired 62 volumes for 9.3 million deutsche marks ($6.1 million) from Konrad Kujau, an antiques dealer and painter. There was a lot of envy and schadenfreude involved," he told the newspaper Bild in an interview published on Tuesday. Contacted by SPIEGEL ONLINE on Tuesday, Heidemann declined to comment, saying he has an exclusive contract to talk only to Bild this week. The diaries had been written by Kujau, who said he'd acquired them from a contact in then-communist East Germany. Heidemann always maintained that he was fooled by Kujau, who spent three years in jail for his fraud and who thrived after his release, becoming a media celebrity with regular appearances on chat shows where he would display his signature-forging skills. While writing the diaries, Kujau drew on his own knowledge, on history books and his impressions of what it must have been like to be a dictator. Kujau's Hitler wrote this passage about his girlfriend Eva Braun, for example: "I've really got to have a serious talk with Eva. She thinks that a man who leads Germany can take as much time as he wants for private matters," wrote Kujau's Hitler. An entry dated June 1935 reads: "Eva now has two dogs, so she won't get bored." One entry during the 1936 Berlin Olympics reads: "Eva wants to come to the Games in Berlin, have had tickets delivered to her and her girlfriends. Hope my stomach cramps don't return during the Games."

– Botched exclusives are clearly not a 21st-century invention: Germany's Stern magazine stepped in it big time in 1983, when it published passages from Hitler's never-before-seen diaries. Except the 62 notebooks, which the magazine paid about $6 million for in today's dollars, were fakes. Konrad Kujau, the forger behind them, got a jail sentence; on Tuesday, some of the notebooks got a final home, reports the New York Times. Stern turned its volumes over to the country's Federal Archives, honoring the 30-year time frame in which state documents are to be made accessible to the public—even though these documents turned out to be more a part of media history than Nazi history. The Local notes that not all the diaries had been in Stern's possession; Paris' Cartier Foundation has some, for instance, and will retain them. Quirky side note No. 1: Experts from the Federal Archives were among those to ultimately determine that the notebooks were fakes. Among the giveaways: The ink, paper, and glue they were made with were dated to the postwar period. And No. 2: Earlier this month, the reporter who "found" the diaries requested he get them back, per a clause in his contract with the magazine. Der Speigel notes that Gerd Heidemann, who was convicted of embezzlement over the price he charged the magazine for the diaries, has always asserted Kujau fooled him.

Elan Gale, a producer on ABC's 'The Bachelor' got into a fight with a fellow passenger on a flight on Thanksgiving Day and detailed the argument on Twitter. Gale sends a nasty note to the woman causing a disturbance on the flight. A woman on here is very upset because she has Thanksgiving plans. She is the only one obviously. Praying for her — elan gale (@theyearofelan) November 28, 2013 A flight attendant tried to calm her down, which was apparently the wrong move. The male flight attendant refused to deliver the "gift," so Gale handed it over himself. I'm looking forward to seeing my family too." She responded "This isn't about you" — elan gale (@theyearofelan) November 28, 2013 "Today is Thanksgiving! I'm sorry for your family that they should have to deal with you. She wants them to know she wants to have dinner with her family," he added. She has been muttering "about DAMN time" and I can hear her breathing from 5 rows back — elan gale (@theyearofelan) November 28, 2013 After several more posts, and by now up in the air, Gale decided to send the woman a glass of red wine along with a note. That's when the note-passing war began. He sent her a glass of wine and later two vodka nips with this note: I sent the lady a glass of wine and a note pic.twitter.com/GttnmQI25P — elan gale (@theyearofelan) November 28, 2013 This was not well received by the woman, Diane. She sent Gale this response, pitying the family who has to "deal" with him: Gale retaliated with yet another note and escalated the language: My response to "Diane" in 7A pic.twitter.com/cRN2togLdq — elan gale (@theyearofelan) November 28, 2013 Diane replied, noting its inappropriate nature: Gale responded again with a vulgar comment: My final (I think) note to Diane in 7A pic.twitter.com/SLrOug9U4d — elan gale (@theyearofelan) November 28, 2013 When the plane landed, Gale waited for Diane to get off the plane and held out a final note. She walked right up to me and slapped me immediately in the face — elan gale (@theyearofelan) November 28, 2013 Diane may have ended up missing her connecting flight because she smacked him, while Gale was able to board his. A gate agent detained Diane and asked Gale if he wanted her to be arrested. He asked me if I wanted to have the airport police come over — elan gale (@theyearofelan) November 28, 2013 The final note he handed her read: "Look me up online. He then had one last message, which read: "Diane, allow me to introduce myself. Gale launches into a profanity-laced response to one of Diane’s nasty replies. And maybe next time you'll be nice to people who are just trying to help" — elan gale (@theyearofelan) November 28, 2013 Yesterday afternoon, Gale wrote a blog post explaining why he felt the need to pick a fight with Diane. "I don’t care what’s going on with you: Don’t be rude to people who are doing their job," he wrote on Tumblr. The 30-year-old Gale got his start as a producer on the reality shows ‘Cookin’ with Coolio’ and ‘Coolio’s Rules.’ (theyearofelan via Tiwtter) "Dear Lady in 7A, It has come to my attention that today is your 'Thanksgiving!' If you’re not, you’re a jerk, and that’s the bottom line ... Be nice everyday, but if you see a man or a woman working on a holiday you better respect that they would like to be with their family too."

– Ah, the spirit of the season: The producer of ABC's Bachelor and Bachelorette apparently engaged in a bitter note-passing war with a woman who complained about their flight being delayed, Business Insider reports via BuzzFeed. "Today is Thanksgiving!" she cried, according to producer Elan Gale's Twitter feed. "I'm supposed to be with my family. NOT with you people I barely know!" Miffed, Gale sent her a glass of wine (and later two vodkas) with a note saying, "Hopefully if you drink it, you won't be able to use your mouth to talk! Love, Elan." Well, the notes got worse from there. A few excerpts, courtesy of photos on Gale's feed: Diane to Elan: "The wine wasn't funny. The vodka wasn't funny; you're an awful person with no compassion. I'm sorry for your family that they should have to deal with you." Elan to Diane: "Thank you for your lovely note. The person who lacks compassion is you. ... Next time you're in a bad mood, stay home." (This note suggests that she eat something we'd rather not mention.) Diane to Elan: "This is inappropriate beyond belief. I will be speaking to the authorities when we land." Gale claims that after they landed he tried to give her yet another note, and she slapped his face. Gale declined to have her arrested but later said he was "overjoyed" to hear she'd missed her connecting flight, the Daily News reports. Gale later posted a blog admitting that he can seem abrasive or harsh, "but what I've never done is be unkind to a person in a service position. My first job was in a video store."

Photo Advertisement Continue reading the main story WARREN, Mich. — A sweeping internal investigation of General Motors released on Thursday condemned the company for its decade-long failure to fix a deadly safety defect, one that led to “devastating consequences,” including at least 13 deaths. Close General Motors Co. Chief Executive Officer Mary Barra speaks during an employee town... Read More Close Open Source: General Motors, Steve Fecht General Motors Co. Chief Executive Officer Mary Barra speaks during an employee town hall meeting to reveal the findings of the company’s internal investigation into delays around the recall of 2.59 million small cars linked to at least 13 deaths is being telecast to all of the company’s operations around the world, including factories. “I was deeply saddened and disturbed as I read the report.” Yet the report cleared Ms. Barra and her top lieutenants, like Michael Millikin, the general counsel, of any wrongdoing in the long-delayed recall. Senator Richard Blumenthal, however, called Valukas’s findings “the best report money can buy” and said it “absolves upper management, denies deliberate wrongdoing and dismisses corporate culpability.” Lance Cooper, a lawyer for crash victims, said the report can help draw out more details in civil cases. “It absolves upper management, denies deliberate wrongdoing and dismisses corporate culpability.” Mr. Valukas’s three-month investigation included a review of millions of documents and interviews with at least 230 people, many of whom were employees directly involved in G.M.’s failure to fix a faulty ignition switch that could cause vehicles to lose power and deactivate air bags. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Since February, G.M. has recalled 2.6 million Chevrolet Cobalts and other small cars to fix the defect, which the company so far links to 13 deaths and 54 accidents. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Those dismissed also included two safety executives, Gay Kent and Carmen Benavides, as well as two midlevel engineers, Raymond DeGiorgio and Gary Altman, both of whom had previously been suspended for neglecting to address the switch problem in its early stages. But at Thursday's news conference, she still left some questions unanswered, including why GM redesigned the flawed ignition switch but failed to follow normal procedures of assigning a new part number. The officials overseeing the potential fixes and investigations did not set timetables, and did not demand action.” December Delay The report even noted that in December last year, GM’s recall committee deferred a decision to recall vehicles for another six weeks in order to gather more information “in part because the presentation provided to them failed to alert them to fatalities.” Outside attorneys warned the automaker as early as 2011 that failing to recall Cobalts could become a large liability, the report said. Barra also announced a compensation program for victims and their families to be administered by Kenneth Feinberg, who ran similar funds for victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the 2010 BP oil spill. “I won’t be letting GM leadership, or federal regulators, escape accountability for these tragedies,” said Senator Claire McCaskill, who presided over an April 2 hearing in which Barra declined to answer many specific questions about what happened because the Valukas report wasn’t complete.

– General Motors is firing 15 people in connection with its deadly ignition switch scandal, but none of the heads rolling are those of senior executives. CEO Mary Barra today unveiled the results of the company's internal probe, and said that it found no evidence of an intentional cover-up of the defect, or of wrongdoing by the company's senior executives, the New York Times reports. Instead, Barra blamed the failure to report the flaw on bureaucratic issues and individual lower-level employees; she called the report "brutally tough and deeply troubling," notes the AP. Among those being fired are engineer Ray DeGiorgio (more on him here), and program engineering manager Gary Altman, Bloomberg reports. "From start to finish, the Cobalt saga was riddled with tragedy," Barra said. The probe backed up her assertion that she personally was unaware of the flaw until January. Before Barra even spoke some were criticizing the probe for shielding senior executives. "How do you truly fix a culture of carelessness and cover-up without cutting the head off the snake?" one lawyer representing ignition switch victims asked, according to Reuters.

Just days after Ashley Judd's bombshell admission in her new book that she was sexually abused as a child, her mother Naomi Judd reveals she too was abused, RadarOnline.com reports.While on 'The View' to promote her upcoming reality series, 'The Judds,' the country singer recalled the day two years ago that she first voiced what happened. PHOTOS: Stars Who Look Like Other Stars “I never told a single soul until about two years ago we were sitting at our kitchen table with our therapist…and he asked me what was your first memory?” the Judd matriarch remembered. “And I said ‘well, it was being sexually abused is my first memory.’ PHOTOS: The Name Game - Celebs Who've Changed Their Names “He said, ‘why didn’t you tell your mother?’ and then I fell apart because I realized I didn’t trust my mother.” The youngest of the Judd siblings, Ashley, released her controversial memoir this week, All That Is Bitter & Sweet, detailing a childhood filled with abandonment, sexual abuse and uncertainty. : “The reason I didn’t tell anybody is that I grew up in a family of secrets…I realize now and I give my mother a break, but I didn’t trust my mother…” Naomi actually told Wynonna two years ago: “She told me on the tour…and I was really was a little resentful that the cameras were on because it’s such a personal thing, but I think we’re willing to step out on faith and hope that it helps someone else to tell someone because there is a lot of shame and secrecy and it shows that everyone in our family that this is affecting us and to watch out for the next generation.” PHOTOS: Stars Who Have Battled Eating Disorders In fact, all three famous family members were victims of abuse – and Wynnona even talked about how she’s coping: “I discussed it in my book…I haven’t faced him yet and I’m a work in progress…we’re a work in progress."

– Ashley Judd recently revealed in her memoir that she was sexually abused as a child—and now mother Naomi says the same thing happened to her, Radar reports. Yesterday on The View, Naomi says that she first revealed the abuse to her therapist two years ago, when he asked about her first memory. "And I said 'well, it was being sexually abused.'" She didn't tell anyone because "I didn’t trust my mother ... I grew up in a family of secrets." Click for more, including Wynonna's response.

Strikes and protests aimed at disrupting the retail giant Walmart during next week's Black Friday sales events began on Thursday with walk-outs at a number of stores and the promise of more actions in the lead-up to what is traditionally the busiest shopping day of the year. The group, which is not a union but has close ties with the labour movement, is seeking to protest what it says is low pay, too few hours and retaliation by managers against workers who speak out. The company said at the time that its decision was prompted by the union wanting to change how the store operated. The union-backed groups OUR Walmart and Making Change at Wal-Mart, and a watchdog group Corporate Action Network, are calling on the nation's largest employer to end what they call retaliation against employees who speak out for better pay, fair schedules and affordable health care. A Wal-Mart spokeswoman said the number of workers who are raising concerns is very small and don't represent the views of the vast majority of its workforce of 1.3 million. But the Black Friday protests are only one of several areas of controversy to hit Walmart in recent months. An NFI spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment but the firm has said previously that it adheres to all legal labour standards.

– Workers at a number of Walmart stores walked out yesterday, in the first salvo of a larger series of strikes planned in response to the retailing giant's plan to begin its Black Friday festivities on Thanksgiving. At least 30 workers at six Seattle-area stores went on strike yesterday, the Guardian reports. That may not sound like much, but organizers expect 1,000 separate protests to occur on Black Friday, they tell CNN Money. The Black-Friday protest comes on the heels of a string of strikes last month, and another strike remains ongoing at part of Walmart's warehouse supply chain in California. Workers are upset about a host of issues, including low pay, too few hours, and alleged retaliation against workers who speak their minds. Walmart says the strikers represent a tiny portion of its 1.3 million-strong workforce, but labor experts say the protest could still prove significant. "Their campaign in front of stores could discourage shoppers," one points out.

President Donald Trump asserted in a tweet last week: "Terrible! Just found out that Obama had my 'wires tapped' in Trump Tower just before the victory. This is McCarthyism!"

– The House Intelligence Committee is asking the Trump administration for evidence that the phones at Trump Tower were tapped during the campaign as its namesake has charged. The request was reinforced Sunday by Sen. John McCain who says the president must either come up with the evidence or retract his claim. "I think the president has one of two choices: either retract or to provide the information that the American people deserve, because, if his predecessor violated the law, President Obama violated the law, we have got a serious issue here, to say the least," McCain said, per the AP. President Trump asserted in a tweet last week: "Terrible! Just found out that Obama had my 'wires tapped' in Trump Tower just before the victory." He continued the allegation against former President Obama in other tweets but offered no evidence. "If the allegation is left out there, it undermines the confidence the American people have in the entire way that the government does business," McCain said Sunday, per the Washington Post. The request for evidence by Monday was made in a letter sent to the Justice Department by the House committee chairman, Rep. Devin Nunes, and the panel's ranking Democrat, Rep. Adam Schiff, a senior congressional aide says,

The Gambia's ex-ruler, Yahya Jammeh, plundered the state coffers in his final weeks in power, stealing millions of dollars and shipping out luxury vehicles by cargo plane, according to an aide to new president Adama Barrow. Jammeh, who ruled the small West African country for 22 years, flew into exile late on Saturday to Equatorial Guinea. Jammeh, who refused to accept defeat to opposition challenger Adama Barrow in a December election, flew out of Banjul late on Saturday en route to Equatorial Guinea as the regional force was poised to remove him. OPINION: The Gambia - A lesson for African dictators On Sunday, hundreds of Banjul residents cheered a military force by ECOWAS, the West African regional bloc, as it entered the capital to provide security and allow Barrow, who has been in neighbouring Senegal for more than a week, to return and take power. Hundreds of Banjul residents assembled outside State House as darkness fell after soldiers, who deployed on Sunday to secure the country, moved in to secure the compound. Mr Fatty told reporters in the Senegalese capital Dakar that The Gambia was in financial distress. “According to information we received, there is no money in the coffers,” he said. “It’s what we have been told, but the day we actually take office, we will clarify all of it.” In a news conference later in the day, Barrow advisor Mai Ahmad Fatty said 500 million dalasis ($11.45 million) had been withdrawn by Jammeh in the past two weeks. Image copyright Reuters Image caption Adama Barrow, centre, says he intends to investigate allegations of human rights abuses during Mr Jammeh's time in office Mr Fatty said officials at The Gambia's main airport had been told not to let any of Mr Jammeh's belongings leave the country. Equatorial Guinea does not recognise the International Criminal Court (ICC) and has weak civil society and opposition groups, reducing the chances of the government coming under pressure to hand over Mr Jammeh to either the ICC or Mr Barrow's government for prosecution. In it, they pledged, among other things, to protect Jammeh’s rights “as a citizen, a party leader and a former Head of State,” to prevent the seizure of property belonging to him and his allies, and to ensure he can eventually return to Gambia. The declaration also said Jammeh's exile was "temporary" and that he reserved the right to return to the Gambia at the time of his choosing. But amid growing controversy over the assurances offered to Jammeh to guarantee his departure, Barrow adviser Mai Fatty said the new administration had discovered that millions of dollars had recently been stolen. Barrow, who says he plans to establish a commission to investigate alleged human rights abuses by Jammeh's regime, denied that the former ruler had been offered immunity from prosecution in exchange for leaving the country. 'No legislative measures' The regional military operation was first launched late on Thursday after Barrow was sworn in as president at Gambia's embassy in Senegal, but it was halted hours later to give Jammeh one last chance to leave peacefully.

– Defeated Gambian leader Yahya Jammeh flew into exile in Equatorial Guinea over the weekend, giving his country's political crisis a peaceful end but apparently taking much of the country's wealth with him. A spokesman for President Adama Barrow says it appears Jammeh, who ruled the West African nation for 22 years, looted the nation's coffers in his final weeks in power, leaving the country in "financial distress," the BBC reports. The Washington Post quotes a rep for new president Adama Barrow as alleging Jammeh stole $11.4 million over the last two weeks. Luxury cars and other items were seen being loaded onto a cargo plane the night Jammeh flew out of the country. Jammeh, who refused to accept the results of December's election until troops from other West African countries stepped in, left the country under what critics are calling an overly generous deal that promises "no seizure of his assets, no witch-hunts, and he can be back to the country at any time," Al Jazeera reports. Despite the apparent looting, people outside the State House in the capital, Banjul, celebrated and took selfies with Senegalese troops as they secured the area. "We are free," 35-year-old food seller Isatou Toure tells Reuters. "Everyone is so happy that man is gone."

KANSAS CITY, Mo | KANSAS CITY, Mo (Reuters) - The Missouri attorney general filed a federal lawsuit on Tuesday asking a judge to stop the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' plans to detonate the levee at Birds Point on the Mississippi River. About 100 people have already agreed to voluntarily evacuate Cairo, which is at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, according to Cairo Fire Department Captain Brandon Manker. Attorney General Chris Koster said the Corps, which manages the river, is preparing to intentionally breach the levee in hopes of keeping Cairo, Illinois, from flooding. The Mississippi, running only about three feet over flood at St. Louis, reaches progressively higher levels on river gauges the closer it gets to the swollen Ohio. Areas around Poplar Bluff, Mo., where the Black River breached a levee, received 16 inches over the past five days, according to the National Weather Service. In Missouri's Stoddard and Scott counties, northwest of Mississippi County, swollen drainage channels have broken through levees in two places, one near Bell City and another near Perkins, said Dale Moreland, Stoddard County emergency spokesman.

– The Midwest is keeping a nervous eye on its levees—and now on the courts as well. Missouri's attorney general today filed suit in federal court to prevent the Army Corps of Engineers from blowing up a levee on the Mississippi River, reports Reuters. The corps is preparing to detonate the levee in southern Missouri to relieve river pressure and prevent massive flooding in populated areas downstream, specifically Cairo, Illinois. The problem is that strategy would flood 130,000 acres of farmland in Missouri, and the state has questioned the corps' legal authority to go ahead with the plan. "I don't want one person in the corps to make decision ... without even seeing the area," AG Chris Koster tells Fox News. "We need to make sure flooding all these acres of farmland is the only option." The corps, meanwhile, postponed its final decision on the plan until tomorrow, notes the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

A mother who appealed her prison sentence after being convicted of killing her disabled daughter has... A mother who appealed her prison sentence after being convicted of killing her disabled daughter has been found dead in an apparent suicide in Schaumburg. Those fears have been renewed now that Cook County Judge Joel Greenblatt, who imposed the original sentence, orderedLiltz to surrender Monday to Cook County Jail, from which she will be transferred to a state prison. When he sentenced her, Greenblatt said she deserved prison time. It was a crime.” She served a few months but, in an unusual move, was granted bond by appellate court judges, allowing her to receive the medical care her lawyer argued was lacking in prison. Liltz exhausted the possibilities of getting relief through the courts when the Illinois Supreme Court in October declined to consider the appeal of her sentence. Liltz adopted Courtney when she was 5 years old, and supporters say Liltz was a caring and conscientious single mother who provided 24-hour care to her daughter, who had cerebral palsy and was unable to walk or feed herself. She adopted and raised her daughter despite those obstacles, but when her cancer worsened, she gave her daughter an overdose of pills through her feeding tube, killing her.

– The Chicago Tribune described it as a "highly unusual move": An Illinois woman was granted bond by appellate court judges last year after beginning a four-year prison term related to the death of her severely disabled adult daughter. Now, just days before Bonnie Liltz was to report back to prison, she apparently took her own life. Liltz pleaded guilty in May 2016 to involuntary manslaughter, claiming she was worried about what would happen to Courtney, 28, if Liltz's own health issues killed her; NBC Chicago reports she had ovarian cancer at age 18, and it caused serious and lingering intestinal issues. "I felt the only place she would be safe would be in heaven with me," she told the court. She spent 70 days in prison but was released after her lawyer argued she wasn't receiving the proper medical care. But Liltz, 57, was ordered to surrender Monday after the state Supreme Court decided not to take up her case; she was found dead Saturday. The Tribune reports police were called to the apartment—the same one where Liltz put powder from broken-up medicine capsules into Courtney's feeding tubes, then into her own wine in an apparent suicide attempt—by concerned family members. "It's a tragic, tragic end," says her attorney, Tom Glasgow, who adds that she did leave a note. "She just didn't want to die in prison." Police say there is no sign of foul play, but an investigation is ongoing. Though they haven't released details, Glasgow said she overdosed on pills, per WGN. Liltz's mother, Gladys, says her daughter got what she wanted: "She's at peace now, in heaven with her daughter." Read more on the case here.

Biles, USA Gymnastics' biggest star, quote-tweeted Bono's post from last month that was critical of Nike in the wake of the apparel company's advertising campaign featuring NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick. As critics pledged to boycott Nike products, Ms. Bono shared a photo of herself using a marker to black out the Nike logo on her golf cleats. "I regret the post and respect everyone's views & fundamental right to express them," Bono tweeted. "This doesn't reflect how I will approach my position @USAGym I will do everything I can to help build, w/ the community, an open, safe & positive environment." Simone Biles, who won four gold medals and a bronze at the 2016 Olympics and who will compete for the United States in this year’s world championships, resurfaced the tweet with a critical post of her own on Saturday.

– USA Gymnastics is trying to get past months of scandal—but as of Saturday, their house is still rocking. The organization's appointment of Mary Bono as interim president and CEO landed with a shockwave when gold medalist Simone Biles reacted in disbelief: "*Mouth drop* ... don't worry, it's not like we needed a smarter usa gymnastics president or any sponsors or anything," she tweets. Her message links to a now-deleted tweet from Bono criticizing Nike's ad campaign with NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, ESPN reports. A photo showed Bono, a former GOP congresswoman, blacking out the Nike logo on her golf cleats with a marker. Bono responded about five hours after Biles' criticism: "I regret the post and respect everyone's views & fundamental right to express them," Bono tweets. "This doesn't reflect how I will approach my position @USAGym I will do everything I can to help build, w/ the community, an open, safe & positive environment." Bono's appointment was designed to help USA Gymnastics get past the sexual-abuse scandal involving national team doctor Lawrence Nassar, and by extension, the leadership of past president Steve Penny. But now they've got a new problem: As a father of four children in USA Gymnastics tells the New York Times, "After everything that's happened, this is what they do?"

The photos show Castro examining a newspaper report on their release. (Photo: Estudios Revolucion via epa) Amid rumors Fidel Castro is in declining health or may have already died, Cuba's Communist Party newspaper Granma published the first photos in months of the aging former Cuban leader. The article, titled "Fidel is one of a kind" and published late Monday, includes a gallery of more than 20 pictures of the 88-year-old Castro speaking with Randy Perdomo García, the head of the Federation of University Students at the University of Havana. Perdomo says the two men discussed the release of three Cuban intelligence agents as part of the Dec. 17 declaration by Cuba and the United States that they would move to re-establish full diplomatic relations. The student leader says Castro said that he is keeping abreast of the news and performing daily exercises, and he engaged Perdomo in a wide-ranging discussion of topics including international politics, agriculture, astronomy, and even Namibia's donation of animals to Cuba's National Zoo. Cuba has published the first photos of Fidel Castro in five months,... (Associated Press) A screenshot of Cuba's website Cubadebate shows a photo of Fidel Castro with the head of the main Cuban student union Randy Perdomo Garcia in Havana, Cuba, Tuesday Feb. 3, 2015. Cuba has published the... (Associated Press) Nearly two dozen images were published virtually simultaneously on the websites of Cuba's main state media outlets around midnight Monday.

– Fidel Castro is apparently spending his retirement convincing people he's alive: After his silence when the US and Cuba reopened relations spawned rumors about his failing health or even death, he belatedly penned a Jan. 26 letter, AFP reports. Now Cuban state media has released more than 20 photos that show the ex-leader meeting with university student Randy Perdomo Garcia, who wrote for the Communist Party newspaper Granma that Castro was "full of life" during the Jan. 23 visit, the AP reports. Perdomo says he met with the 88-year-old revolutionary for more than three hours at Castro's home, during which they chatted about astronomy, world issues, and Castro's exercise routine, USA Today reports. The photos, which show Castro hunched over but "animated," per Reuters, are the first official pictures of him since August.

For treating Ebola, "you would need to come up with how much you should give, how long, and what's a safe infusion rate," said Dr. Michael Kurilla, director of BioDefense at the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

– As the Ebola outbreak reaches apocalyptic proportions, an experimental method to help fight the virus is emerging: injecting victims with the blood of survivors. American Dr. Kent Brantly underwent the procedure in July, though it isn't clear if it improved his condition. Yet with vaccines only just beginning human trials and untested supplies dwindling, thousands of survivors carrying antibodies could save lives. Their blood would first need to be tested for diseases, and the antibodies would need to be measured. Overall, however, "this is something that's fairly simple to do," a doctor who helped discover Ebola tells the AP. The technique is one of several being discussed at a World Health Organization meeting in Geneva, and blood regulators suggest the method be studied. "You would need to come up with how much you should give, how long, and what's a safe infusion rate," a director at the US National Institutes of Health says. "If you know what the potency of the serum is, you could theoretically help the body clear Ebola out of [the] cells before it can do too much damage." Meanwhile, as early testing of a vaccine began this week, Johnson & Johnson says it will fast-track a vaccine targeting the strain in West Africa and begin human clinical trials early next year, Reuters reports.

FILE - In this June 17, 2017 file photo, Bill Cosby arrives for his sexual assault trial at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa. Cosby will organize a series of town hall meetings to help... (Associated Press) FILE - In this June 17, 2017 file photo, Bill Cosby arrives for his sexual assault trial at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa. Cosby will organize a series of town hall meetings to help educate young people about problems their misbehavior could create, a spokesman for Cosby said Thursday,... (Associated Press) PITTSBURGH (AP) — A juror in Bill Cosby's sexual assault trial said Thursday that some jurors were concerned that prosecutors waited 10 years to charge him, expressing suspicion that politics had played a role in the case. "When you ask for help on your resume, on your resignation letter, which she did, and he, Mr. Cosby, invites her to his home and she arrives in a bare midriff with incense and bath salts, that's a question," said the juror, appearing to lump several meetings between Cosby and Constand into one. What the heck?” The juror, who spoke with the Inquirer and Daily News at his home on the condition of anonymity, would not say whether he wanted to convict or acquit Cosby. The juror who discussed the case Thursday said that at one point deep into deliberations, there had been a 10-2 vote to convict Cosby of drugging and sexually assaulting Constand, but that three panel members later changed their votes and wanted to acquit him. "From my point of view it was right up the middle: Young and old, black and white, men and women," the juror said. He said he thought the jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict because the language describing the charges – three counts of aggravated indecent assault stemming from an incident in 2004 – was confusing and “too legal.” Jurors struggled over terms such as reckless and severely impaired while debating whether Cosby drugged and molested Constand without her consent, he said. Constand denies that encounter ever occurred.​ Still, the juror’s impression seemed to echo the trial defense Cosby’s lawyers sought to present: that Constand, then a 31-year-old Temple University employee, was in or seeking a romantic relationship with the then-66-year-old entertainer and world-famous university trustee. In reality, prosecutors reopened the investigation in 2015 after the public release of a deposition that Cosby gave in 2005 and 2006 as part of accuser Andrea Constand's lawsuit against him — testimony that hadn't been offered when another district attorney passed on the case in early 2005. Cosby, he said, seemed more truthful in his deposition, in which he acknowledged giving pills to Constand before their sexual encounter. "I think they created this whole thing, a case that was settled in '05, and we had to bring it up again in '17 with no new evidence," the juror said. Some 60 women have come forward to say Cosby sexually violated them, all but destroying his nice-guy image, but the statute of limitations for prosecution had run out in nearly every case. But in the end, he said, “the jury was stalled on everything.” Cosby, 79, “has paid dearly” already for the allegations against him, the juror said, because his career has been destroyed. The juror who spoke to the AP questioned the long delay in bringing charges against the TV star, suggesting that "no new evidence from '05 to now has showed up, no stained clothing, no smoking gun, nothing." But the juror who spoke to CNN said that would just be a "waste of money" because he thought another jury would have the same problem coming to a conclusion as well.

– Another Bill Cosby juror has spoken out anonymously, telling the Philadelphia Inquirer that votes were split "up the middle: young and old, black and white, men and women." He blamed that on the language to describe the charges being confusing and "too legal," saying jurors debated terms like "reckless" and "severely impaired." When they asked to review testimony during deliberations, "we were trying to match the testimony up with the charges," he said. "Everybody’s interpretation of those words was something different." As for his own vote, he wouldn't say what it was, but he did mention he did not find accuser Andrea Constand believable. "She was well-coached," he said of Constand’s testimony. "Let’s face it: She went up to his house with a bare midriff and incense and bath salts. What the heck?" He added that she should have gone to Cosby's home "dressed properly" and she should have "left the incense [a gift for Cosby] in the store." CNN, CBS, and the AP also have new interviews with an anonymous juror or jurors, and while it's not clear whether it's the same one, the sentiments expressed were similar. "When you ask for help on your resume, on your resignation letter, which she did, and he, Mr. Cosby, invites her to his home and she arrives in a bare midriff with incense and bath salts, that's a question," said the juror the AP spoke to. (Cosby plans to lecture on sex assault.)

Courtesy of TIGHAR (Dec 11) -- A tiny piece of bone could unlock the mystery of what happened to Amelia Earhart, the pilot who vanished somewhere over the Pacific Ocean 73 years ago.The fragment, believed to be from a human finger, was found on Nikumaroro, an uninhabited island in the southwest Pacific, Discovery News reported Researchers investigating Earhart's disappearance found the fragment of bone in June 2009 along with pieces of a pocketknife, prewar American bottles and makeup from a woman's compact.At first they thought the bone was from a turtle. "After 22 years of rigorous research and 10 grueling expeditions, we can say that all of the evidence we have found on Nikumaroro is consistent with the hypothesis that Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan, landed and eventually died there as castaways," Ric Gillespie, executive director of the International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery, told Discovery.Earhart was the first woman to fly across the Atlantic solo and became an icon of the active woman. Further investigation showed it could very well be human.

– After 22 years of investigations, researchers may have found one of Amelia Earhart’s bones. The tiny bone fragment, discovered on an uninhabited southwest Pacific island, was at first thought to be from a turtle. Researchers now believe it could be human, Discovery News reports. “All of the evidence we have found on Nikumaroro is consistent with the hypothesis that Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan, landed and eventually died there as castaways," says the director of the recovery group. Click here for more, including what the bone was found with.