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– A Serbian man is being hailed as a hero after killing—accidentally—a shark that had been terrorizing an Egyptian resort town. Dragan Stevic was black-out drunk when he vanquished the predator that has killed one beachgoer and injured four. He went with friends to the beach after a long night of drinking, announced that he would take a jump off a diving board, and the rest is history, the Macedonian International News Agency reports. "Dragan climbed on the jumping board, told me to hold his beer, and simply ran to jump. There was no time for me to react or to try to stop him, he just went for it," a friend who was there explained. As luck would have it, Stevic landed right on the shark's head—it had likely been lurking in the shallow waters waiting for a new victim—killing it instantly. When he returned to his friends, he complained that he had twisted his ankle because the water "wasn't soft." The kicker: Stevic is currently in the hospital ... for alcohol poisoning. (Update: Apparently you can make up stories about drunken Serbs fatally whacking tourist-eating sharks: This story originated on a site described as the “Serbian Onion,” and it turns out the Macedonian International News Agency has had some factual issues in the past. But we wish it was true.)

Image copyright Twitter Addressing the incident, Mr Trump later tweeted: "Some jerk fraudulently tweeted that his parents said I was a big inspiration to them + pls RT-out of kindness I retweeted. “Can you pls RT for their memory?” Unbeknownst to Trump, however, @Feckhead is “failed comedian” Phil Bradbury, and the image he posted was actually one of convicted serial killers Fred and Rosemary West. Fred West was charged with a dozen murders in Gloucester but killed himself before the trial in 1995. Rosemary was found guilty of 10 counts of murder in November 1995 and is currently serving a life sentence.

– "I guess this teaches you not to be nice or trusting," Donald Trump complained yesterday after he was fooled into retweeting a picture of notorious British serial killers Fred and Rosemary West. The tycoon says he may sue the "jerk" who told him his "parents who passed away always said you were big inspiration" and asked him to retweet the photo in their memory, reports the BBC. Trump quickly deleted the picture of the Wests—who murdered at least 11 young women in the 1970s—but not before the mistake had been widely shared, reports the Independent, which rounds up some of its favorite responses, including a picture of Freddy Krueger with the caption "Please retweet for my brother who has a disfiguring skin condition." (Also getting Trump's goat: Critics who say putting his name in 20-foot-tall illuminated letters on a Chicago skyscraper is a little tacky.)

Those who completed the study at home often admitted to cheating by picking up their phones or a book, and many reported that the six to 15 minutes spent thinking had been unpleasant. “It dawned on us: If people find this so difficult,” Wilson said, “would they prefer negative stimulations to boredom?” He gave them access to a device that would provide a small electrical shock by pressing a button. “Without such training,” they write, “people prefer doing to thinking, even if what they are doing is so unpleasant that they would normally pay to avoid it. In that one, participants were asked to rate the pleasantness or unpleasantness of a number of stimuli, including an electric shock, and then asked how much of $5 they’d pay to experience or not experience each of them again. Photo: Photo: Darren Modricker/Corbis Most people don’t think it’s fun to sit alone with nothing to do but think — it’s part of the reason for obsessive phone-checking during idle moments.

– For a surprising number of people, 15 minutes alone with their thoughts appears to be a psychological ordeal so grueling they would rather give themselves an electric shock. In one of a series of experiments involving leaving people with nothing to do but think, a quarter of women and two-thirds of men left alone for a 15-minute thinking session with no phones or other distractions ended up giving themselves a small shock with a device built around a 9-volt battery, the Washington Post finds. One man—whose data was left out of the study—shocked himself 190 times. "I have no idea what was going on there," the lead researcher says. "For most people, it was more like seven times." The researchers believe men could be more prone to shock themselves because they are more "sensation-seeking." People were given plenty of time to prepare for the thinking session, says the lead researcher, who included the shock device when he realized some people left alone without phones were desperate for distraction. "We weren’t even sure it was worth doing," he says. "I mean, no one was going to shock themselves by choice." The researchers say their work explains why many people seek out mindfulness training, New York notes. "Without such training people prefer doing to thinking, even if what they are doing is so unpleasant that they would normally pay to avoid it," they say. "The untutored mind does not like to be alone with itself."

– The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights is reporting what it calls a "new massacre" near Aleppo. At least 65 people have been found dead, all apparently shot in the head, and all with their arms tied behind their backs, Reuters reports. The death toll could rise as high as 80, the rights group said. It's unclear which faction in the country's ongoing civil war killed them. The incident comes as Syrian rebels scored a major victory today, taking a government intelligence compound in the eastern city of Deir al-Zor after five days of fighting, and freeing at least 11 prisoners held within, the AP reports. The government responded with a series of airstrikes in an attempt to drive the rebels out. According to Reuters, the rebels included fighters from the al-Nusra Front, an Islamist group with ties to al-Qaeda.

Is there a new addition to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge 's household?That appears to be the case, as the couple take a romantic stroll in North Wales just a few days after Kate turned 30 At their countryside surroundings, the two snuggled as they walked along the edge of the sea with a new, four-legged friend trotting with them along the damp sand.There had been reports that William planned to give his bride a puppy for Christmas, and the couple welcomed the New Year playing with some dogs at Kate's family home in Bucklebury, Berkshire.Growing up, William had a black Labrador – named Widgeon – and the devoted pal was regularly seen by his side at shoots and polo matches.While the royals are always big fans – and owners – of black Labradors, the dog by William and Kate's side is most likely a black cocker spaniel.

– The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge reportedly have a new bundle of joy, but it's a bit more furry than the one diehard royal watchers were hoping for. Prince William has given Kate Middleton a Labrador retriever puppy, reports the Mirror, likely for her 30th birthday. “The dog is ever so cute,” a "source" tells the tabloid. “The Duke and Duchess have been seen with it several times and he runs along at their heels. They are constantly in fits of laughter as it tries to catch them up.” The trio has been spotted walking along the beach near their home in Wales, and People has the photographic evidence here. But wait! People thinks the royal canine is no black Lab at all, despite William's having owned one, dubbed Widgeon, while he was growing up. "It'll be a spaniel," a friend says. "The Middletons have always had spaniels. Perhaps Mike and Carole have given them one or it could be one of the family's dogs."

Asteroid 2015 TB145 will safely fly by our planet at just under 1.3 lunar distances, or about 302,000 miles (486,000 kilometers), on Halloween (Oct. 31) at 1 p.m. EDT (10 a.m. PDT, 17:00 UTC). The radar images from Arecibo indicate the object is spherical in shape and approximately 2,000 feet (600 meters) in diameter and completes a rotation about once every five hours. "We found that the object reflects about six percent of the light it receives from the sun," said Vishnu Reddy, a research scientist at the Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, Arizona. "That is similar to fresh asphalt, and while here on Earth we think that is pretty dark, it is brighter than a typical comet which reflects only 3 to 5 percent of the light. That suggests it could be cometary in origin -- but as there is no coma evident, the conclusion is it is a dead comet."

– The "Halloween asteroid" set to make its closest approach to Earth today has turned out to be something spookier: a dead comet. Scientist say object 2015 TB145 looked like an asteroid when it was first spotted a few weeks ago. but closer inspection suggests that it is a comet that has passed the sun so many times that it has lost the layers of ice that would produce a tail, reports the Washington Post, which calls the visitor a "zombie comet." Radar images from the Arecibo observatory in Puerto Rico are also a little unsettling: The data "may indicate that the object might be a dead comet, but in the Arecibo images it appears to have donned a skull costume for its Halloween flyby," a NASA scientist says.

[How St. Hubert’s encounter with a deer inspired the society] The International Order of St. Hubertus, according to its website, is a “true knightly order in the historical tradition.” In 1695, Count Franz Anton von Sporck founded the society in Bohemia, which is in modern-day Czech Republic. More than 400 years after the society for noble hunters was established, members of the Houston chapter and a number from Mexico gathered at the 30,000-acre ranch on the edge of Big Bend. A number of members from Mexico were also part of the ranch festivities that included “three days of organized shoots and ‘gala’ lunches and dinners.” Poindexter told CultureMap Houston that some of the guests dressed in “traditional European shooting attire for the boxed bird shoot competition” and for the shooting of pheasants and chukar, a type of partridge.

– A new detail has emerged in the death of Antonin Scalia: The US Supreme Court justice spent his last hours with members of the International Order of St. Hubertus, a "secretive society of elite hunters," the Washington Post reports. Public records reviewed by the Post revealed that some of the men staying at the Cibolo Creek Ranch when Scalia died there on Feb. 13 are members of the order founded some three centuries ago. Ranch owner John Poindexter, along with Scalia's traveling partner, C. Allen Foster, both hold leadership positions within the order. Scalia's association with the group is unclear. In an email, Poindexter acknowledged that group members have been guests of the ranch, adding, "I am aware of no connection between that organization and Justice Scalia." Private planes connected to two other men who have held leadership positions in the order's Texas chapter landed at the ranch for Valentine's Day weekend, records show. As for Scalia's death, Poindexter told the sheriff that after dinner and a chat, the justice retired for the evening. Poindexter knocked on his door when he didn't show for breakfast; it was then they found Scalia dead in bed. Founded in 1695 in the modern Czech Republic, the International Order of Saint Hubertus (the patron saint of hunters) was a "knightly order," according to its website. Among the group's tenets is promoting "the concept of hunting and fishing as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity." And its motto is "Deum Diligite Animalia Diligentes" or "Honoring God by Honoring His Creatures." (Honoring how? And which creatures? Gawker inquires.) Members drape themselves in green robes and have titles like "grand master" and "protector of the order." Read the whole story here.

Vladimir Putin has promised to help the city's residents vote on a name change after being asked by second world war veteran For more than 300 years, the Russian city of Volgograd was known as Tsaritsyn. It was dubbed Stalingrad in honour of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin for a mere 26 years, but then his successor Nikita Khrushchev dropped that name as part of his campaign to dismantle the personality cult of the former dictator. If the people of Volgograd want to change their city's name to Stalingrad, Russia will respect their choice, President Vladimir Putin said when a war veteran asked about the issue during a D-Day memorial in Normandy. "We will do as the residents [of Volgograd] say," Putin told a crowd of veterans on Friday, Itar-Tass reported. Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin of the Moscow Patriarchate said on Sunday he would not object to a referendum on the city's name change, although he noted a preference for the name "Tsaryn," the city's appellation prior to 1925. "The word Stalingrad already has a life of its own, independent of the name Stalin. It's associated with the victory in a famous battle, with a certain part of our history," Chaplin said, news agency Interfax reported. In 2013 the Volgograd city legislature decided to use the name Stalingrad during the ceremonies dedicated to the anniversary of the Battle of Stalingrad – the event that is believed to have turned the course of the war and led to the defeat of the Nazis. A poll by the independent Levada Centre in 2012 found that 18% of respondents were for renaming the city Stalingrad, but 60% were against the switch.

– The city today called Volgograd, which with 1 million people is one of Russia's largest, has gone through several name changes in its recent past. For more than 300 years it carried on with the name Tsaritsyn, but after it became home to one of history's deadliest battles—2 million lives were lost when the Nazis tried to advance into the Soviet Union during World War II—then-Soviet leader Joseph Stalin decided to name it after himself. That lasted 26 years, at which point Stalin's successor, Nikita Khruschev, renamed the city Volgograd in an attempt to diminish the former dictator's posthumous reach. As if the saga wasn't confusing enough, as of last year the city began changing its name to Stalingrad some six times a year, the Moscow Times points out. Now, a 365-day change could be in reach. In response to an inquiry from a WWII vet on Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested a referendum be held over the question of the city's name. The Guardian reports he promised to help the city see such a referendum take place, but RT notes that his press secretary today insisted that Putin wasn't coming out in support of the former name, but establishing that there's a "procedure" for arriving at such a decision. Only problem is, the locals don't appear to want the name change, at least according to a poll cited by the Guardian that found roughly 75% against it. (A town in Spain recently voted to change its offensive name.)

As so many great entrepreneurial success stories do, the tale of Mike Lindell begins in a crack house. It was the fall of 2008, and the then 47-year-old divorced father of four from the Minneapolis suburbs had run out of crack, again. He had been up for either 14 or 19 days—he swears it was 19 but says 14 because “19 just sounds like I’ve embellished”—trying to save his struggling startup and making regular trips into the city to visit his dealer, Ty. This time, Lindell arrived at Ty’s apartment expecting the typical A-plus service and received a shock instead: The dealer refused his business. Ty wasn’t going to sell him any more crack until he ended his binge. He’d also called the two other dealers Lindell used and ordered them to do the same. “I don’t want any of your people selling him anything until he goes to bed,” Ty told the dealers. When Lindell protested, he cut him off: “Go to bed, Mike.” Many people would be ashamed by this story. Lindell tells it all the time. “I was like, ‘Wow, drug dealers care!’ ” he says. “That’s what it felt like, this incredible intervention.” The moment wasn’t the end of his drug abuse, which started in his 20s when he owned bars and stretched through the early years of MyPillow, the Chaska, Minn., company he founded in 2005 to fulfill his dream of making “the world’s best pillow.” It was, however, his low point. It was when he realized that abusing crack and running a business weren’t compatible in the long term and vowed to get better. He smiles wide, white teeth emerging from under the push-broom mustache familiar to anyone who watches cable TV, and takes out his phone to show me a picture: It’s him, looking wired and wan, like a man who’d been bingeing on drugs for days. Ty took it that night, he says. The story is impossible to confirm; Ty isn’t reachable for comment. But it’s become part of Lindell’s legend, and it will be a pivotal moment in the autobiography he’ll self-publish later this year. He and a friend, actor Stephen Baldwin, plan to turn the book into a movie as part of their new venture, producing inspirational Christian films “that aren’t cheesy,” Lindell says. He says Ty took the photo not just to show him what he looked like—a crazy person spiraling toward death—but also as a memento. “Because he knew my big plans for the future,” he says. “I would always tell these guys that someday I was going to quit crack.” “I was like, ‘Wow, drug dealers care!’ ” Eight-plus years later, Lindell is sober and phenomenally successful. He quit everything—alcohol, powdered cocaine, and crack—after one final party on Jan. 16, 2009, and presides over an empire that’s still growing precipitously. Last year he opened a second factory, saw sales rise from $115 million to $280 million, and almost tripled his workforce, to 1,500. To date he’s sold more than 26 million pillows at $45 and up, a huge number of them directly to consumers who call and order by phone after seeing or hearing one of his inescapable TV and radio ads. On this day in early November, he’s just back from a week in New York, spent celebrating the election of Donald Trump, whom he met at a Minneapolis campaign stop and decided to support, whole hog. He’s spent the morning catching up on business with various employees who cycle in and out. People don’t seem to make appointments. They just know the boss is around and stop by the conference room he uses as an office, hoping to get his attention. “This is my head of IT, Jennifer Pauly,” Lindell says, as a young woman pops in. “She’s a good example of me taking my employees and knowing their skills. I have a house painter in charge of all my maintenance at the factory. Jennifer is self-taught. Did you ever go to school for IT?” “I took some Microsoft classes, but that’s basically it,” she says. “I knew how to run a spreadsheet, and that’s why he trusted me with data.” Lindell laughs loudly. He wears two discreet hearing aids, but everyone says he’s been boisterous forever. “God’s given me a gift to be able to put people in the right position, where their strengths are!” he says. Next, Bob Sohns, his purchasing manager, arrives to ask if Lindell will meet a guy who flew in from Italy to sell him an automated pillow filler. “I’ve known Bob since 1990, but he came on in 2012,” Lindell says. “He was working for NBC Shopping Network, and then he goes, ‘Mike, I think I should come work for The Pillow.’ I said, ‘Sure, what do you want to be?’ ” “That’s very close to the truth,” Sohns says. “What do you do again? Buy stuff? OK. Keep on buying.” (Lindell later met the Italian and ordered his $162,000 pillow stuffer on the spot.) Next, Heather Lueth, Lindell’s oldest daughter, the company’s graphic designer, comes in to talk about the latest e-mail campaigns. MyPillow is, someone at the company told me, more a family forest than a family tree. Lindell’s brother Corey, who invested at one of MyPillow’s lowest points, is now the second-largest shareholder. His job: doing essentially whatever. Today he’s fixing a grandfather clock. Earlier, he hung a flatscreen TV in the lobby shop. Lindell’s niece, Sarah Cronin, is his executive assistant. His brother-in-law, Brian Schmieg, has no title, but is responsible for gathering “concerns” from the factories to present to the boss in regular meetings. Larry Kating, director of manufacturing, calls from the new factory in nearby Shakopee to discuss whether or not to make 30,000 pillows for Costco that the store hasn’t asked for yet. Lindell’s vote: Go for it! “You’re always juggling stuff like that,” he says. He’s an unusual manager, governing largely on instinct and by making seemingly wild gambles that he swears are divinely inspired. “We don’t use PowerPoints,” he says. “I end up getting stuff in prayer.” A worker tags pillows in the new factory in Shakopee. Photographer: Matthew Hintz for Bloomberg Businessweek Lindell radiates energy, as if he did cocaine for so long that his body is forever trapped in a manic state. He’s friendly, animated, and unselfconscious, with the kind of laugh you’d assign to a cartoon woodsman from Minnesota. He’ll fiddle with whatever’s in front of him, which right now is a framed picture of himself with Mike Pence and Trump at the election night victory party. Pence is stone-faced—he could be his own wax dummy. Trump is being Trump, flashing a thumbs-up and smiling like a guy who practices in the mirror. And Lindell—he looks like someone who can’t believe his luck. The autobiography was supposed to be finished last spring, but Lindell can’t decide where to end it, so he’s extending the narrative at least up through the election. “When you read it, you’re going to go, ‘OK, this isn’t real,’ and then you find out it is real,” he says. “This was before even the Trump thing. All my life it’s been like that. The last thing I expected in the world was to end up being involved in a presidential campaign. I’m an ex-crack addict, come on! My book writer just had a pretty great line: ‘From the crack house to the White House!’ ” The pillow came to him in a dream. This was 2003. Lindell owned a pair of successful bars in Carver County, outside Minneapolis, and enjoyed the lifestyle a bit too much. He was, he says, a “very functional drug user” with four kids and a nice house. He helped with homework, took the family on vacation, and was a decent father and husband, other than the fact that he used cocaine. Throughout his life he’d sought the perfect pillow. He never slept well, and things kept happening to worsen the problem. He got sciatica. He was in a bad car accident. He nearly died while skydiving, after nearly dying while motorcycling on his way to skydiving. (He quit both activities the next day.) He got addicted to cocaine. When he did sleep, it was fitful. “That’s one of the problems with cocaine,” he says, seemingly without irony. One morning, after he woke—or maybe he was still up, he can’t recall—he sat at the kitchen table and wrote “MyPillow” over and over until he’d sketched the rough logo for a product that didn’t exist. When his daughter Lizzie came through to get some water and saw him maniacally scribbling the same words over and over like Jack Nicholson in The Shining, she asked what he was doing. “I’m going to invent the best pillow the world has ever seen!” he exclaimed. “It’s going to be called MyPillow!” “Dad, that’s really random,” she said, and went to her room. The only way Lindell was ever happy with a pillow was when he found a way to, in his words, “micro-adjust” an existing one. It would typically be foam; he’d yank and pull the filling apart to break up the inside, then arrange and pile up the torn foam like a mouse building a nest, until it was the right height for his neck. Then he’d sleep. By morning, it would be all messed up again. When Lindell imagined his perfect pillow, it was micro-adjustable but would keep its shape all night. He bought every variety of foam and then asked his two sons to sit on the deck of the house with him and tear the foam into different-size pieces that they’d stuff into prototypes for testing. Day after day they did this, until Lindell settled on a mix of three sizes of foam—a pebble, a dime, and a quarter, roughly. When he stuffed just the right amount of that mixture into a case and shmushed it around to the shape he wanted, it held that shape. It was perfect. Sitting on the deck with his sons and ripping the foam by hand wasn’t a scalable model. He needed a machine to do the tearing. He tried everything, including a wood chipper. Workers sewing up pillows at the factory. Photographer: Matthew Hintz for Bloomberg Businessweek A friend who grew up on a farm suggested a hammermill, an old-timey machine that’s used to grind corn into feed. Lindell couldn’t find one anywhere. Word got around, and an old cribbage buddy called to say he’d spotted a rusty hammermill sitting in a field about a mile from Lindell’s house. Lindell picked it up, rebuilt it as best he could, and sure enough, it worked. Lindell believed this pillow “would change lives.” He made 300 and went in search of buyers, stopping at every big-box retailer in the area. “I said, ‘I have the best pillow ever made. How many would you like?’ ” You can imagine how that went. When someone suggested he try a mall kiosk, Lindell borrowed $12,000 to rent one at Eden Prairie Center for six weeks, starting in the middle of November 2004. He sold his first pillow the first day and it was, he says, “the most amazing feeling.” But he’d priced the product too low. His cost was more than the retail price. Plus, his pillow was too big for standard pillowcases. The kiosk failed. He borrowed more money against the house, and also from friends who weren’t sick of him yet. When desperate, he counted cards at the blackjack table to pay for materials. He was good at it. Eventually, all the casinos within a day’s drive banned him. His focus on the pillow project was the one thing that could override his drug cravings, but only for short periods. And every time something went wrong, he lapsed. Today, Lindell is a devout Christian and prays constantly. He wears a large silver cross around his neck, and his office is filled with Christian iconography, as well as Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band tour posters. Back then he was an opportunist, praying to God only when things were dire: “I said, ‘God, what do I do here?’ ” The day after he closed the kiosk, he got a call from one of the few customers, who declared, “This pillow changed my life!” This enthusiastic buyer ran the Minneapolis Home + Garden Show, one of the largest for home products in the country. He wanted Lindell to have a booth. Lindell took 300 pillows (this time they were a standard size) and sold them all. He also got himself invited to take a spot at the Minnesota State Fair and sold well. This was a revelation. There were dozens of home and garden shows around the country and countless more fairs. “Those are your testing grounds,” he says. A product that works at the fair works, period. For the next few years, this is basically how the company operated. Lindell and a few key salespeople drove around in trucks stuffed full of pillows to sell at fairs. They were all effective, but no one’s pitch—sermon was more like it—moved the merch like Lindell’s. He didn’t give up the drugs. His habit continued, his 20-year marriage broke up, and he lost his house, because he was constantly borrowing money to pay his suppliers. He was barreling toward that moment with Ty, the dealer. Finally, he had one last blowout and quit cold turkey. “I knew if I waited one more day, it would be over,” he says. “I knew I wouldn’t be able to make the best comeback in the history of the U.S.” Days after getting clean, Lindell borrowed $30,000 from the owners of a mulching company and used that to repair relationships with his foam supplier and sewing company. Then he set out to reestablish his primacy on the show circuit, where competitors had been selling MyPillow knockoffs. The big break was an interview in the Minneapolis Star Tribune that ran in the business section in early January 2011. The morning the story hit, MyPillow’s web traffic went crazy. In a single day, the company made more sales than it had in the previous six months. The surge lasted three months. He’d never considered that a newspaper could have such impact. He began designing and placing ads that looked like shorter versions of that original story, right down to the goofy picture of him hugging a pillow. They worked. His story of insomnia, of being unable to find a pillow that fit him specifically, seemed to resonate. Lindell had another hunch: He knew the best way to sell his pillow was to present his story live, as he’d been doing at shows since 2005. He decided to make an infomercial. His friends thought he was nuts. In August 2011 he booked a space in downtown St. Paul with a studio audience. His producer wrote a script, and at the read-through they all agreed it was bad. He sounded stiff. Instead, the producer suggested, he should just talk to the hired host as if they were having a conversation—sell her the pillow the way he sold it at fairs. The spot opened with Lindell, in a satiny blue button-down that’s now his trademark garment, saying, “Don’t change that channel, because the next half-hour is going to change your life.” He just ad-libbed, saying, for instance, that down pillows were “the worst thing that ever happened to America” and that MyPillow was so malleable that “you can fold it up into little balloon animals.” It was unconventional and a little unpolished, but everyone loved it. Lindell was sure it would be a hit, and he flew to New York to persuade his fabric supplier to front him millions of dollars’ worth to prepare for the deluge. “I said, ‘I’m going to go to $100 million!’ ” “He had no credit and wanted $1 million in goods,” recalls the supplier, Leon Brocas. He’s still not sure why, but Lindell was so passionate that “we decided to give him a shot,” Brocas says. Lindell walks through the factory. Photographer: Matthew Hintz for Bloomberg Businessweek Lindell worked similar magic at Federal Foam Technologies, his longtime supplier. He asked two friends to put on suits and travel with him to the Wisconsin headquarters to take his first-ever meeting with Wyman Smith, the company’s president. Prior to that point, Smith says, Lindell was just “a small-potato account.” This time he wanted a lot of foam, on credit. “He made this pitch to me about how he was going to be the biggest pillow maker in the world,” Smith recalls. “He had quite a story, and the other guys never said a word. I found out later he brought them as a prop.” The half-hour infomercial aired for the first time on Oct. 7, 2011, at 3 a.m. on the East Coast. The business “went straight up,” Lindell says. He hired everyone he could find—literally off bar stools sometimes—and put them to work answering phones or sewing on machines that he stuffed into every corner of a local bus garage lent to him by a friend. And he kept spending. He bought every long-form infomercial spot he could find and actually ran out of available slots before running out of money to pay for them. In six months, he grew from 50 to 500 employees and sold almost $100 million in pillows. But Lindell never bothered to figure out his indirect costs. He didn’t really even know what those were. Checks were flying off his desk, more and more of them to pay for the infomercial spots, with no way to know which ones were working and which were just wasted money. But at this point he wasn’t sure who his customers were, so it was hard to know which spots to cut. Federal Foam was concerned enough that Smith dispatched his chief financial officer to see what was going on at Lindell’s bus garage. It took him almost no time to see that, despite propulsive growth, MyPillow’s costs were out of control. Lindell was losing $250,000 a week. What saved the entrepreneur was FedEx. It hadn’t occurred to him to negotiate shipping rates; he just paid retail with a bunch of different shippers. A company rep came in, asked about his costs, and offered him a rate so low he couldn’t believe it. “Wow,” Lindell said. “You can do this?” Overnight, a red number turned black. Around the same time, Telebrands, largest of the “as seen on TV” product distributors, offered to sell MyPillow after meeting Lindell when he threatened to sue the company over its sale of a knockoff. When he lamented to Bala Iyer, Telebrands’ executive vice president and chief operating officer, about how much money he’d wasted on media, Iyer stopped him. “That wasn’t wasted,” he said. “You branded yourself faster than probably any brand in history.” Iyer told Lindell that 80 percent of consumers want to touch and feel a product, even if they’re intrigued by a commercial. “That segment will look for the product at retail,” he said, and he told Lindell he could get MyPillow into Bed Bath & Beyond and Walmart. But Lindell didn’t want to go into Walmart. He had loyal salespeople out working shows. The minute Walmart sells a cheaper version, he said, the original business dies. Not, said Iyer, if you go into Walmart at $59.99. Consider what that would mean to the people selling your pillows for $50 at the county fair. Now they can say, “This costs $60 at Walmart!” Iyer was right: MyPillows sold well from the minute they hit Walmart. In short order, Home Shopping Channel, QVC, and Bed Bath bought into it, too. Today, MyPillow is one of the top five products in the vast Telebrands portfolio and can even be bought at Home Depot and farm and feed stores. (There are also 17 MyPillow retail stores.) “Because of the power of the infomercial,” Lindell says, “all that money was not spent on nothing.” He’d had another dream: MyPillow would be a $1 billion company On a day in November 2014, right before the midterm elections, Lindell was shivering on a tree stand while deer hunting. He was a little down—he’d just gone through a second divorce, and, because he’d taken his eye off the ball, the company was in a sales slump. Suddenly, the phone app that provides real-time sales graphs spiked. He phoned his call center to see what happened. It was a short ad that had just begun to air on Fox News. He shot a deer, then ran to his car and called his media buyer to ask how much Fox he could buy through the end of the year. The answer was $2.1 million. Buy it all, Lindell said. The ads coincided perfectly with the Republican takeover of Congress, branded as a retaking of America. And here was Mike Lindell, a humble American success story, making pillows in American factories. By 2015, MyPillow was growing faster than ever. In January 2016, Lindell announced to his board that he’d had another dream: MyPillow was going to become a billion-dollar company. “I didn’t know the date then,” he says, stepping out of his blue Dodge Ram pickup with green accent stripes outside the loading dock of his new 100,000-square-foot factory. After his nocturnal vision, he’d instructed his manufacturing team to find this location and begin building it out in anticipation of tripling sales. It opened in May. Workers stuff pillows by hand. Photographer: Matthew Hintz for Bloomberg Businessweek Inside, two lines make pillows at a rate of 12 per minute (37,000 per day). They start with a modern version of that original hacked-together hammermill and end with several brand-new machines to automate functions that were, just a few months ago, done by hand. For instance, one assembles boxes; another stuffs two pillows into a plastic bag and seals it (two-for-one being MyPillow’s typical sale). “These are all machines Darren ordered,” Lindell says, striding through the factory. Darren is his son—he helped his dad tear up foam out on the deck. Now he runs this facility. Walking through the factory, Lindell shows off his newest products: a dog bed and a mattress topper. Then he points out a section of the building where returns are handled. Fewer than 3 percent of MyPillow buyers return products, he says, and “less than 1/20th of 1 percent of those return a product twice.” Lindell obsesses over customer satisfaction. If a customer is on hold for more than a few minutes, he gets an alert on his phone. He expects customer e-mails to be answered within minutes, and if a queue builds up, he gets an alert about that, too. He often handles hundreds of minutes of calls per month himself. For years, MyPillow was advertised as the cure for almost every sleep problem as well as many health ailments. Ads boasted that using one could alleviate fibromyalgia, joint pain, and restless leg syndrome, as well as promote delta sleep, the most restorative phase of the sleep cycle. Early last fall, Lindell settled with 10 California district attorneys who sued MyPillow for false advertising, arguing that these claims had no scientific backing. The company denied any wrongdoing but agreed to pay $1 million to settle and to remove those claims from any advertising in California. Lindell actually pulled the claims from all advertising to avoid future suits. The California suit was briefly embarrassing but seems to have had no lingering effects. It certainly hasn’t hurt sales or Lindell’s enthusiasm. He just taped a series of commercial spots to replace one that, he says, “totally flopped” because “I just didn’t have it”—it being the passion necessary to persuade watchers to pay 90-some dollars for two pillows. (There’s a class-action suit pending about MyPillow’s Buy One Get One Free sales tactic—basically, people would like to be able to buy a single pillow for half the price. Lindell has kept the promotion going for so long that earlier this month MyPillow got downgraded overnight from an A to an F by the Better Business Bureau.) The new factory could run faster and soon will, Lindell says. MyPillow could push production up to more than 85,000 pillows a day. To get there, he says, all he needs to do is buy more media. He says that what he calls the “tsunami”—the next boom in sales, the one that will lead to $1 billion—started last fall. The election was just another harbinger. Two women who did merchandising for the Trump campaign have stopped by for a tour and have been tailing our group. They seem in awe of the scale and efficiency here, from an essentially flat and somewhat chaotic-seeming organization ruled by a single outlandish man. What’s the largest sales month you’ve ever had? one asks. “MyPillow is always the biggest we’ve ever been on the day you’re standing here,” Lindell replies.

– You may have seen one of the ubiquitous ads: Mike Lindell makes his personal appeal for you to buy the pillow he literally dreamed up because he could never find one he liked. As Bloomberg reports, plenty of people have done just that, making his MyPillow company wildly successful. Consider that he opened a second factory last year and saw sales jump from $115 million to $280 million. He now employs 1,500 people and has sold more than 26 million pillows, which he insists, to anyone who will listen, are the best ever made. But what makes Lindell's success story so compelling is what the Bloomberg piece calls the "preposterous" nature of it: Lindell, for instance, is a former drug addict who loves to tell the story of how his crack dealer probably saved his life in 2008 by cutting him off after a 19-day binge and ordering him to go to bed. For years, Lindell owned bars and maintained a steady cocaine habit, and the idea to begin making pillows came to him as a kind of vision that found him sketching the company logo over and over before the company even existed. He experimented with various types of foam and ways to manipulate it, and saw his first success hawking pillows at a home and garden show in Minneapolis. Since then, it's been nothing but strong growth over the last decade or so, despite, or because of, a management style that involves "governing largely on instinct and by making seemingly wild gambles that he swears are divinely inspired," writes Josh Dean. “We don’t use PowerPoints,” says Lindell. “I end up getting stuff in prayer.” Click for the full story, which notes that he and pal Stephen Baldwin plan to turn his story into a movie.

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May, sitting below a painting of Britain's first Prime Minister Robert Walpole, signs the official letter to European Council President Donald Tusk, in 10 Downing Street,... (Associated Press) Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May, sitting below a painting of Britain's first Prime Minister Robert Walpole, signs the official letter to European Council President Donald Tusk, in 10 Downing Street, London, Tuesday March 28, 2017, invoking Article 50 of the bloc's key treaty, the formal start of... (Associated Press) LONDON (AP) — Britain is set to formally file for divorce from the European Union Wednesday, walking out on a 44-year relationship, enacting the decision made by U.K. voters in a referendum nine months ago and launching both Britain and the bloc into uncharted territory. Prime Minister Theresa May is due to tell House of Commons at lunchtime that she has invoked Article 50 of the EU's key treaty, the trigger for a two-year countdown to Britain's exit. "It is my fierce determination to get the right deal for every single person in this country," she will say. The divisive decision to leave the EU has given new impetus to the drive for Scottish independence, and undermined the foundations of Northern Ireland's peace settlement. Britain's Treasury chief, Philip Hammond, said that triggering Brexit was "a pivotal moment for Britain," but denied the country was taking a leap in the dark. But crossbench peer Lord Gus O'Donnell, formerly Britain's top civil servant, likened the triggering of Article 50 to being "in a plane being flown by members of the EU and we're about to jump out and we have got a parachute designed by the people flying the plane - and they have designed it in a way to deter anyone else jumping out". The UK government says it wants to carry out both separation and trade talks at the same time, but EU chiefs say the two issues must be handled separately.

– The UK is preparing to say adios, au revoir, and auf wiedersehen to the European Union after 44 years of membership. Prime Minister Theresa May signed a letter Tuesday night invoking Article 50, and the EU received it Wednesday, formally triggering two years of negotiations leading up to Britain's departure from the bloc, the BBC reports. May was expected to address British lawmakers, calling the historic moment a "time for the country to come together" and promising to fight for "the right deal for every person in this country." Pro-Brexit British newspapers including the Sun, which beamed the message "Dover and Out" onto the famous white cliffs, are rejoicing, though others have sounded notes of caution, the AP reports. "We are in a plane being flown by members of the EU and we're about to jump out and we've got a parachute that was designed by the people flying the plane and they designed it in a way to deter anybody else jumping out," says former top civil servant Gus O'Donnell. EU budget commissioner Guenther Oettinger described the letter as "a negative message for Europe as a whole, for the UK especially" and predicted months of difficult negotiations ahead.

Barron, now a Harvard Law School professor, is nominated for a seat on the U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals. But the most vocal criticism has come from Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who announced last week that he would filibuster the nomination after reading the classified memos written by Barron. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) says he has the votes to confirm David Barron, the author of memos justifying drone strikes against American citizens, to the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals. Some Democrats had balked at Barron’s nomination because the Justice Department had refused to make public memos he had authored justifying the lethal drone strike against Anwar al-Awlaki, an American citizen living in Yemen who was suspected of terrorist ties. Those documents, Paul argued, gave no legal rationale for the strikes that killed al Awlaki, a U.S. citizen, without trial or legal representation. The American Civil Liberties Union has weighed in strongly against Barron’s nomination and urged senators not to vote on him until it has researched his writings. In excerpts of his prepared floor remarks released Tuesday, Paul plans to say the legal memos written by Barron “disrespect the Bill of Rights” and he could not support the nomination of any official who “argues that the president has the power to kill Americans not involved in combat.” “I rise today to say that there is no legal precedent for killing American citizens not directly involved in combat and that any nominee who rubber stamps and grants such power to a president is not worthy of being placed one step away from the Supreme Court,” Paul will say on Wednesday. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., has been pushing for public disclosure of Barron's writings and was one of several Democrats who had been refusing to say whether he'd vote for confirmation without it.

– The Obama administration has decided to release a secret memo explaining its justification for killing American citizens in drone strikes overseas, sources tell the AP. The decision comes as the Senate prepares to vote on the nomination of the memo's author, David Barron, to the 1st US Circuit Court of Appeals. GOP Sen. Rand Paul has vowed to filibuster the nomination of the Harvard professor and former Justice Department official, and some Democratic senators have also called for the public release of the document. Paul plans to argue that Barron's memos "disrespect the Bill of Rights" and any official that "argues that the president has the power to kill Americans not involved in combat" is "not worthy of being placed one step away from the Supreme Court," according to prepared remarks released yesterday, Politico reports. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says he definitely has enough votes to confirm Barron, reports the Hill, which notes that Reid only needs a simple majority to quash Paul's filibuster. Democratic opposition to Barron "was just some misunderstanding," Reid told reporters. "Once everything was explained ... most everyone in our caucus was satisfied."

Jessica Alba at today's Microsoft event (Credit: CNET) She's been a presence at tech conferences of late, and today Microsoft brought out actor-turned-entrepreneur Jessica Alba to talk up the virtues of Windows Phone 8, which the company is launching at an event in San Francisco. "People all over the world are about to fall in love with Windows Phone," the Microsoft CEO said. Actress and entrepreneur Jessica Alba was on stage to endorse Windows Phone 8 and its new Kids Corner feature. Hands on: Windows Phone 8 comes of age at last Read: Microsoft dishes more Windows Phone 8 goods Full coverage: Meet Windows 8 It was left to Joe Belfiore, manager of Microsoft's Windows Phone team, to articulate how Windows Phone 8 could leapfrog the well-endowed competition.

– Microsoft officially unveiled Windows Phone 8 yesterday, and it did so with a special celebrity guest: Jessica Alba. Microsoft invited the actress to tout the phone's "Kid's Corner" feature, which allows parents to control what apps kids have access to, touting her as a "great example of the kind of people who we think Windows Phone will appeal to," as a mom and entrepreneur. "This is the best tech crowd I've ever been in front of," Alba said, according to CNET. Alba's presence went along with the overall feel Microsoft was going for, Janet Tu at the Seattle Times observes, namely "fun and cool." "Clearly Microsoft—long associated with work, productivity, and your company's IT department—was trying to reach younger, hip consumers." To that end, here are some of the features the company touted: Steve Ballmer touted it as "the most personal smartphone out there," saying that it "reinvents the smartphone around you." The most notable way it does this: The live tiles that cover the display. Live tiles that don't just open apps, they display realtime data. You can "pin" a live tile of a friend, for instance and see their Facebook or Twitter activity, CNET reports. "The iOS6 home screen is really just a sea of static icons," Windows Phone manager Joe Belfiore said. "It's not people; it's not live data." Microsoft also boasted about its growing apps catalog, which it says now contains 120,000 programs, the Wall Street Journal reports—while noting that it's a far cry from the 700,000 or so Android and iOS apps. They also touted the tight integration between Windows Phone and Microsoft's other products. "If you're one of the hundreds of millions of people who will use Windows 8, there is no better phone for you," Steve Ballmer said. Initial phones will include the HTC Windows Phone 8X, and the Nokia Lumia. Versions of both will be available from Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile, for prices ranging from $99.99 to $199.99.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect the time period during which nine vehicles, including the Volvo XC90, had no crash-related fatalities. Adaptive Cruise Control: Adaptive cruise control, which is already available on many new cars, uses radar and sometimes other sensors to detect vehicles on the road ahead.

– Volvo has just come out with a gutsy move, making what CNN Money is calling a "shocking pledge"—that not a single person will be killed or even seriously injured in a new Volvo car or SUV by 2020. (Not including a driver who does something "really, really stupid," as CNN puts it.) Engineers already have some ground to stand on, given that not a single person has died in the Volvo XC90 over the past four years. And while it's in an elite squad, that model isn't alone—eight others claim the distinction. To reach its goal, Volvo (and other car makers working on similar safety features, including Ford and Tesla) is leaning heavily on autonomous technologies, reports Extreme Tech. Some of the features are run-of-the-mill—think better air bags and restraints—while others are more advanced, including adaptive cruise control, pedestrian and large animal detection, sign reading, and an assist to keep the vehicle between lane lines. "Still, claiming something to be death-proof seems risky," notes the Extreme Tech post. "They said the Titanic was unsinkable, after all." Meanwhile, a review in Automobile Magazine calls the XC90 the "future of luxury transportation" with "crisp" handling and steering that provides "decent feedback." It also notes that Volvo is planning to test its latest autonomy technology on 30 miles of highway in Sweden next year, while the Obama administration recently announced a $4 billion pilot program to study the tech further. (Check out why GM and Lyft are partnering up.)

We first told you about Jennifer Goodall's family when the hospital threatened legal action against her if she didn't comply with birth by cesarean. Jennifer Goodall of Coral Gables was informed in a July 10 letter from the chief financial officer of Bayfront Health Port Charlotte that because she decided to attempt vaginal delivery before agreeing to cesarean surgery in her fourth pregnancy, her prenatal care providers intended to report her to the Department of Children and Family Services, seek a court order to perform surgery, and perform cesarean surgery on her “with or without [her] consent” if she came to the hospital. Goodall delivered her three other children via c-section and now desires to undergo what is commonly known as vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC). "Every woman deserves the right to make choices about their birth and every woman deserves the right to say no if she doesn't want to consent to surgery," said Shannon Mitchell who is a mother of four. “The Florida Supreme Court has said health care providers are protected from liability when they respect and follow the decisions of a competent and informed patient to delay or refuse a proposed treatment, even when there are risks involved,” she said in the NAPW statement.

– Two weeks before she gave birth to her fourth child, a Florida hospital threatened to force a C-section on 29-year-old mom Jennifer Goodall "with or without [her] consent," Jezebel reports. Goodall wanted to try delivering vaginally before agreeing to what would be her fourth cesarean—if it was necessary. But Bayfront Health Port Charlotte also threatened to call the state Department of Children and Families because, the hospital said in a letter to Goodall, a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) could lead to “death or serious injury” to the baby, reports the News Press. "My health care providers have made me fear for my safety and custody of my children. I know I'm not the only one to go through this; I'm speaking out because pregnant women deserve better," Goodall says in a statement. She delivered Friday … by C-section, NBC News reports. The courts didn’t back her up. A federal judge earlier this month sided with the hospital, saying the mom-to-be had no "right to compel a physician or medical facility to perform a medical procedure in the manner she wishes against their best medical judgment.” Though VBACs carry some risk, as many as 80% of women go through them safely; the World Health Organization has criticized the US for its high rate of C-sections. And like any other surgery, opting in or out is a "constitutionally protected right" held up by other courts, a National Advocates for Pregnant Women attorney tells RH Reality Check. “No woman should fear that because she’s pregnant, she can be threatened, coerced, or deprived of her constitutional rights,” she says. (A happier pregnancy story: A woman missing part of her heart managed to defy the odds.)

– Lindsay Lohan, meet your prison neighbor: Alexis Neiers, a member of the “Bling Ring” jailed for burglarizing celebrity homes…including LiLo’s. If that’s not awkward enough, more details from LiLo’s new life behind bars: Despite her celebrity status, she was probably subjected to a strip search as soon as she arrived—former inmate Piper Kerman calls it "the squat and cough" in a Daily Beast column on what LiLo can expect. Upon entering the Lynwood jail, Lindsay would have received a baggie of “generic and cheap quality” toiletries, a former inmate tells People. But anything she had on her when she arrived was taken away—including her copy of The Old Man and the Sea. A source tells Radar her family will order her a replacement copy—inmates can receive books if they come directly from an online retailer. While she waits, she can watch TV shows like I Love Lucy and Wheel of Fortune through the window on her cell door, the former inmate says. She can also take her prescription drugs, including Adderoll and Ambien—sources tell TMZ her prescriptions were being processed yesterday. Her dinner last night was turkey tetrazzini, applesauce, broccoli coleslaw, wheat bread, and milk, TMZ reports. Her first visitor was attorney Shawn Chapman Holley, who tells People Lindsay is “having a difficult time adjusting” and “there were some tears.” Click here for more on what awaits her on the other side...in a mere two weeks.

Sarah and Mark Hall* spent hours giving depositions in the elegant conference room of their obstetrician’s lawyers. Again and again, their doctor’s lawyers asked them the same question while court stenographer sat ready to record their responses. The Halls knew what they had to say—there was no other way their lawsuit could proceed. Yes, they each said, swallowing their repugnance. Had I known that our daughter had a genetic disorder, I would have chosen abortion. In 2010, while Sarah was pregnant with their daughter Ellie*, the couple was in the midst of a tumultuous time. Mark’s mother died suddenly. Compounding the couple’s grief, Mark’s mother’s death left the couple financially and legally responsible for his older sister Jennifer, who, due to an extremely rare configuration of her genome, has special needs. Jennifer lives independently. While she has held jobs for short amounts of time, she has performed unevenly and now collects disability benefits. According to Sarah and Mark, she is 40 and has a developmental age of about 14. Jennifer has intense emotional fluctuations and her behavior can be very challenging. In 2008, Mark, who is non-disabled, discovered through genetic testing that he is a carrier of Jennifer’s syndrome. This means that any children he has might have a typical genome, or they might, like him, be symptom-free carriers. They also, however, might have either Jennifer’s syndrome or Syndrome Z. (This latter syndrome is rare enough to be identifying, so its name has been changed). Mark was told by his geneticist that, given her genomic configuration, Jennifer was unusually verbal, mobile, and independent. If his child were to have Jennifer’s syndrome or Syndrome Z, the child likely would be significantly more cognitively and/or physically disabled. The geneticist also told them there would be a risk to Sarah in carrying a child with either syndrome. (With the caveat that I am not a geneticist, I have searched for data to suggest that Sarah herself would have been at greater risk, and have been unable to find any.) So when Sarah was 16 weeks pregnant, she got an amniocentesis. The geneticist’s report was sent to their obstetrician’s office. Someone from their obstetrician’s office informed the Halls of the results over the phone. Ellie was “just like you,” Mark was told. That is, Ellie was a carrier, but would not be symptomatic. At a time when the rest of their lives were in no small upheaval, this result was a reassurance. After she was born, Ellie developed typically for about six months. She smiled adorably and rolled over on cue. Then her development seemed to slow. She did not sit up, crawl, or walk. Her pediatrician became concerned about the size of Ellie’s head, and told the Halls that it didn’t seem as if Ellie’s brain was growing. The couple brought Ellie to specialist after specialist. Since all her doctors believed the amniocentesis demonstrated Ellie had a typical genome, however, no one suggested the Halls consult a geneticist. The Halls describe that time of doctors, tests, and uncertainty as absolutely harrowing. “I couldn’t think of anything else but what was going on with my daughter,” Mark said. When Ellie was 18 months old, their pediatrician, now at a loss for other explanation, suggested they return to a geneticist. They all received further testing, and the Halls asked the obstetrician’s office for the geneticist’s report on Ellie’s amniocentesis. When Sarah received it, she was floored. “I am not an expert in this. This isn’t my job. But I had read enough about genetics to know what it said,” said Sarah. The results, one simple line in karyotype notation , were clear. Ellie had Syndrome Z. The person who had phoned the Halls had, quite simply, misread the results. Their obstetrician’s office admitted the mistake, and a settlement is being negotiated. Suppose, in the course of caring for you, your doctor makes a mistake. This alone is not enough to sue her. If you sue a healthcare provider for negligence or malpractice, you are required to demonstrate that the mistake the provider made actually caused harm. This is the problem facing the Halls and anyone else who receives a falsely reassuring result on a prenatal test. It’s not like the person who misread the amnio results caused Ellie to have Syndrome Z, nor did she exacerbate Ellie’s symptoms. So, then, what harm is really done? In such cases, it is an established legal precedent in the U.S. that the only harm that can come of a falsely reassuring prenatal test is if the mother would have gotten an abortion had she known. Cindy Shapiro, a medical malpractice defense attorney in California who has no connection to the Hall’s case, said that the only way parents can win a lawsuit for a falsely reassuring prenatal test is to say that they would have had an abortion had they known. “The plaintiffs have to prove the causation aspect,” Shapiro told The Daily Beast. In at least one case , parents had to present a Do Not Resuscitate order they had signed for their son to prove that they really would have terminated the pregnancy. It is a cruel quandary for parents and children alike—even crueler if their child’s disabilities are such that the child can understand what her parents have said about her when she’s older. In the case of a falsely reassuring prenatal test, there are two possibilities for a lawsuit against a health practitioner. The first is what’s known as “wrongful birth” lawsuit. The parents are the plaintiffs in a wrongful birth suit, and they sue for the harm that their child’s existence with disability has caused them. Another kind of suit is called “wrongful life.” That is a suit brought on the behalf of the child, rather than the parents. These suits assert, basically, that the child herself was harmed by the very fact of her own birth. Get The Beast In Your Inbox! Daily Digest Start and finish your day with the top stories from The Daily Beast. Cheat Sheet A speedy, smart summary of all the news you need to know (and nothing you don't). By clicking “Subscribe,” you agree to have read the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Subscribe Thank You! You are now subscribed to the Daily Digest and Cheat Sheet. We will not share your email with anyone for any reason. In one of the first cases to assert wrongful life, 1967’s Gleitman v. Cosgrove in New Jersey, the child plaintiff was intellectually disabled. The mother had had rubella during pregnancy, and was falsely reassured by her doctor that the virus could not result in disability to her fetus. The judge dismissed the child’s suit due to the difficulty, if not incoherence, in determining “the difference between his life with defects against the utter void of nonexistence.” Due to this difficulty, wrongful life suits are only permitted in three states. About half the states in the U.S. permit wrongful birth suits. Opposition to both wrongful birth suits and wrongful life suits comes from an unusually wide array of the political spectrum. Pro-lifers unite with disability advocates in rejecting what wrongful birth and wrongful life suits communicate about people with disabilities: that their lives are not worth living. And worse, that their very existence is actually harmful to themselves or someone else. Parents who bring such suits are routinely vilified. Shapiro told The Daily Beast that wrongful birth and wrongful life cases are incredibly difficult to win for precisely this reason. Her law firm represents health care providers, and has never lost either a wrongful birth or wrongful life suit when a provider has given a falsely reassuring result on a prenatal test. (California is one of the three states that permit wrongful life suits.) Shapiro has discussed cases with juries after trials, and they routinely express their disapproval of the parents for saying such a thing about their own child. What the vilifiers may not realize is just how much the parents do not want to bring such a suit. The Halls sued for wrongful birth, which in their state is the only suit they could bring. They could not sue for emotional distress, damages for which can only be won in a wrongful life suit. It is indeed the case that they would have terminated the pregnancy. Now, however, they adore their daughter. Ellie is a captivating, laughing child with twinkling eyes. She looks uncannily like Mark, with a crop of soft dark curls. She is now three-and-a-half. She walks, albeit a little uneasily, and speaks in two-word sentences. By the standards of Syndrome Z, her developmental progress is remarkable. I too have a child with a genetic syndrome and am all too familiar with the feelings that the Halls have, and that so many of us who are parents of kids with disabilities have. I wouldn’t have asked for this, and goodness knows it’s really rough sometimes. But now that my child is here, I wouldn’t give her up for anything. Isn’t this true not only about children with disabilities, but so many aspects of our lives? Some of what we value the most arises from moments of pain. A Wrongful birth suit is far too blunt a tool to acknowledge such complexities of life. The Halls hate that they said what they did about their daughter. “That’s a shitty thing to say about a person—basically that you don’t deserve to live and breathe on this earth,” Mark explained. Sarah added, “Who wants to say ‘I wish this child wasn’t here’? What kind of mother is going to feel okay saying that?” Of course, many will argue that they had a choice not to sue at all. However, telling them they could have shut up and put up is patently unfair. They are “not litigious people,” as Sarah said, but they felt they had a right to sue. The office should not be able to treat a matter of such importance with such negligence without any redress. Parents who bring wrongful birth suits seem to face a burden faced by no other plaintiffs in medical malpractice cases. Shapiro agreed that, at least in California, if a healthcare provider misses a tumor in an MRI, then the plaintiff does not have to prove that he would have followed a given course of treatment. We are always, of course, free to refuse medical advice, and people regularly refuse treatment for various reasons. But the brain tumor plaintiff does not have to say what he would have done. Shapiro told The Daily Beast that most other cases do not determine what the actual plaintiff would have done, but rather what a “reasonable person” would have done. The burden on plaintiffs in wrongful birth cases “is unique, and is inconsistent with other types of malpractice cases,” she said. The plaintiff in the brain tumor case just has to prove that he would have had a greater than 50 percent chance of survival had the doctor diagnosed it at that MRI, and as a result now has a less than 50 percent chance of survival. The Halls would far rather have sued for emotional distress. The original reasoning behind the inability for parents to sue for emotional distress seems to be that parents of children with disabilities often end up loving their kids anyhow. Of course this is true, but it hardly changes the fact that it can be extremely emotionally distressing to have a child diagnosed with severe disabilities, as those of us who adore our kids with disabilities will recognize all too well. Sarah and Mark certainly have experienced emotional distress. Both of the Halls were working on their dissertations, but neither has finished. Therapies for Ellie take up far too much of their day. They stated repeatedly how lucky they are, and that things are not nearly as bad for them as for so many other people. The intensity of caregiving for Ellie, however, has put a strain on their friendships, professional lives, and marriage. Sarah said with a rueful wittiness, “I now say that I’m broken. Mark comes home and I say, ‘I’m broken right now, and Ellie broke earlier this afternoon. How are you?” Parents of children with disabilities should not face a unique burden to redress their wrongs. Of course, negligence always requires proof of harm caused. Shapiro suggested that the “reasonable person” standard be used in such cases, although then the problem remains that the law still seems to state that someone’s very existence is harmful. The harm should not be the child’s existence, but the parents’ emotional distress or lack of informed consent. No matter which way is chosen, it seems clear that not only do wrongful life and wrongful birth suits communicate a horrible and grossly false message about people with disabilities, they also put a patently unfair burden on parents. *Names have been changed.

– Sarah and Mark Hall (names changed) love their 3-year-old daughter, Ellie. Yet they recently sued for "wrongful birth," testifying that they would have aborted the pregnancy had they known Ellie would be born with a rare genetic disorder. People who file such lawsuits are often vilified, Elizabeth Picciuto explains in the Daily Beast, but they may have no other choice. In the Halls' case, they knew their daughter was at risk for one of two rare disorders, so Sarah had an amniocentesis at 16 weeks. Someone from the obstetrician's office misread the results, and told the Halls that Ellie would be a carrier, but not symptomatic. Instead, she was born with a rare disorder Picciuto will only refer to as "Syndrome Z." In cases like this, couples are left with few options—and in the Halls' case, their only option was to sue for wrongful birth. The healthcare worker didn't cause Ellie's disorder, so in order to win a lawsuit against the provider, the Halls had to prove the error caused harm—that is, they would not have proceeded with the pregnancy had they known the truth, and their lives have been adversely affected since they did proceed. As one expert notes, plaintiffs in other medical malpractice cases don't face quite the same burden; in most cases, all that matters is what a "reasonable person" would have done had they received the correct diagnosis, not what the specific plaintiff would have done. Because of the controversy surrounding wrongful birth lawsuits, they're difficult to win, one medical malpractice defense attorney says, adding that juries frequently say they disapproved of the parents in such cases—perhaps not understanding that the parents had no other path to compensation. "Who wants to say 'I wish this child wasn’t here'?" muses Sarah. In their case, the obstetrician's office admitted the mistake and will settle. Another couple recently filed a wrongful birth lawsuit in Chicago, the Sun-Times reports, claiming they were told their son's ultrasound showed no "fetal abnormalities," but he was born with dwarfism. (Click to read about another couple who was awarded $2.9 million in a wrongful birth suit.)

– After more than 450 years overlooking Scotland's River Dee, Abergeldie Castle is on the verge of being washed away by it. Floodwaters have eaten away the riverbank in recent days and the 16th-century castle is now teetering on the edge, Discovery reports. John Gordon, the Baron of Abergeldie, was forced to flee his ancestral home over the weekend after the river burst its banks and took with it nearly 60 feet of land, leaving the castle just a few feet from the new riverbank, reports the Telegraph. The castle was built around 1550 in Aberdeenshire (per local lore, its dungeon was once occupied by an accused witch) and neighbors the Queen's Balmoral residence. Floods caused by severe weather took many people in the region—including the 76-year-old baron—by surprise. "When the waters came up he had to get out quickly," a neighbor tells the Press and Journal. "The castle is teetering on the brink. God knows what will happen if the Dee rises any further," the neighbor says. "The castle is in imminent danger and John is at his wits' end. It’s not only a home. It’s the heritage, the history." The baron has moved to another house on his estate while he waits to see what happens to the castle, which was left "overhanging a 12-foot drop" as the riverbank continued to erode on Monday, reports the Telegraph. (This potato billionaire's hilltop mansion will soon be gone.)

Jennifer Aniston and Tig Notaro will play the first same-sex couple to occupy the White House in the Netflix TV movie 'First Ladies.' But the streaming network will inaugurate a new power political couple in First Ladies, an original movie to star Jennifer Aniston as the first female president and comedian Tig Notaro (One Mississippi) as her wife. Notaro will also write the series along with Stephanie Allyne, her co-star and writing partner from One Mississippi, which was canceled by Amazon earlier this year. Aniston is also a producer on the project, as is Will Ferrell. Read or Share this story: https://usat.ly/2GvW2Zf

– Jennifer Aniston and Tig Notaro are both headed for the White House in First Ladies, a new Netflix comedy film, reports USA Today. Aniston will play the president and Notaro will play the first lady. The characters, Beverly and Kasey Nicholson, will "prove that behind every great woman... is another great woman," says Netflix. Aniston, Will Ferrell, and Adam McKay have been attached to the project as producers. Notaro will co-write the script with Stephanie Allynne, from One Mississippi, reports CNN. Both stars are busy. Aniston is also working on a TV project with Reese Witherspoon that’s set behind the scenes of a morning news show. Notaro is appearing in a Netflix comedy special that airs May 22.

The Board advises the Director of the National Park Service and the Secretary of the Interior on matters relating to the National Park Service, the National Park System, and programs administered by the National Park Service, including the administration of the Historic Sites, Buildings, and Antiquities Act; the designation of national historic landmarks and national natural landmarks; and the national historic significance of proposed national historic trails.

– "I wish the National Park System and Service well." It's a goodbye, but not just any goodbye: They're parting words from the chair of the National Park System Advisory Board, who was one of nine members to suddenly resign in protest on Monday. The federally chartered board, which had numbered 12, is tasked with advising the secretary of the interior—Ryan Zinke, currently—on matters such as the designation of national historic and natural landmarks. But the Washington Post reports Zinke has declined to meet with them following a May decision to put committees on ice as his team reviews their function. "We understand the complexity of transition but our requests to engage have been ignored," says chair Tony Knowles. Alaska Public Radio reports Knowles saw his board as somewhat singular, however, as it was chartered by Congress in 1935. The Post details other advisory bodies that remain at a standstill, among them two tied to the Bureau of Land Management. A member of one of those bodies, which focuses on the Rocky Mountain region, details some of the topics that are languishing: how to enact a fee bump in the area, and what to do about homelessness on federal lands. The terms of many of the exiting NPS board members were up in May, and Knowles says the desire was to "make a statement as a board as we left what our concerns are." Knowles outlines those concerns to the New York Times: that Zinke "appears to have no interest in continuing the agenda of science, the effect of climate change, pursuing the protection of the ecosystem.”"

Meghan Markle may be the Duchess of Sussex, but she’s hardly a typical princess. While arriving at the Royal Academy of Art in London to view the art exhibit “Oceania” on Tuesday in her first-ever solo outing, Meghan broke protocol in a subtle way. Get push notifications with news, features and more. After shaking hands with one of her hosts for the evening, Meghan casually shut the car door and headed inside. “First time I’ve seen an on-duty princess shut her own car door…” wrote one Twitter user. The Sun‘s royal correspondent Emily Andrews added, “A princess who still takes the time to shut her car door. Well done Meghan!” Can’t get enough of PEOPLE’s Royals coverage? Sign up for our newsletter to get the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more! Watch: Meghan, Duchess of Sussex has arrived @royalacademy for her first solo royal outing — the opening of the Oceania exhibition #royal #meghanmarkle pic.twitter.com/HWSVbuy7RJ — Simon Perry (@SPerryPeoplemag) September 25, 2018 Meghan Markle Samir Hussein/WireImage The move isn’t new for Meghan. In fact, she closed her own car door as a man held the door open for her mother, Doria Ragland, while arriving at Kensington Palace just last week for her first official palace luncheon in celebration of Together: Our Community Cookbook. Watch: Meghan arriving at her lunch to launch the ‘Together’ cookbook — with mother Doria Ragland and Prince Harry 🎥 @Hannah_Furness pic.twitter.com/tdqk7sta8i — Simon Perry (@SPerryPeoplemag) September 20, 2018 Meghan, 37, proved she doesn’t mind helping out on her wedding day, when she pulled a romantic gesture as she and Prince Harry hopped in a Jaguar convertible to head to their evening reception. After Harry, 33, opened the door and helped his bride into the passenger seat, Meghan reached over to make sure his door was unlocked. Markle, who identifies herself as a feminist on the Kensington Palace website, has long been a proponent of gender equality. The Suits actress worked with UN Women and advocated for girls around the world through her contributions to World Vision Canada. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle STEVE PARSONS/AFP/Getty Images Meghan Markle and Prince Harry STEVE PARSONS/AFP/Getty RELATED: The Special Meaning Behind Meghan Markle’s Black Dress for Her First Solo Appearance as a Royal During the evening visit to the Royal Academy, Meghan toured artwork from New Zealand, Fiji, the Kingdom of Tonga and Australia — all of which she and Harry will visit next month — and met the exhibition’s curators and artists, as well as descendants linked to the works displayed.

– All eyes have been on Meghan Markle since her much-hyped nuptials to Prince Harry, with people commenting on what she wears, how they think she feels, and now—how she exits a car. The BBC and People report that the newest member of the royal family arrived Tuesday at London's Royal Academy of Arts to attend an art exhibit and, as is standard, someone opened the car door for her. What's not standard, apparently: that Markle then pushed the door shut behind herself. And the internet reacted, with responses ranging from laudatory—"Well done Meghan!" tweeted Sun columnist Emily Andrews—to sarcastic. "Because I was so inspired by Meghan Markle, as I left the house this morning I shut my own front door," one commenter snarked. An etiquette ace tells the BBC the royals typically have doors opened and shut for them not for "airs and graces," but for security reasons; it seems the person who opened the door in this case then stepped out of Markle's way so she could greet her host, and the duchess decided to just shut the door herself. It seems to not be the first time Markle's auto egress has raised eyebrows: She's believed to have also shut her own car door last week at the launch for a charity cookbook.

In a fiery speech at the United Nations General Assembly in New York Saturday, Ri responded to a string of threats from Mr. Trump throughout the week -- particularly Mr. Trump's threat to "totally destroy" North Korea if the U.S. is "forced to defend itself or its allies." Mr. Trump has said "rocket man" Kim Jong-un, North Korea's leader, is on a "suicide mission," but Ri said "none other than Trump himself is on a suicide mission." "By doing so however, he committed an irreversible mistake of making our rocket's visit to the entire U.S. mainland inevitable all the more." The patrols came after officials and experts said a small earthquake near North Korea’s nuclear test site on Saturday was probably not man-made, easing fears Pyongyang had exploded another nuclear bomb just weeks after its last one. Trump called Kim a “madman” on Friday, a day after Kim dubbed him a “mentally deranged U.S. dotard.” On Saturday, the mudslinging continued with Ri calling Trump “a mentally deranged person full of megalomania and complacency” who is trying to turn the United Nations into a “gangsters’ nest”. Pyongyang conducted its sixth and largest nuclear test on Sept. 3 and has threatened to test a hydrogen bomb over the Pacific. “‘President Evil’ is holding the seat of the U.S. President,” Ri said, warning that Pyongyang was ready to defend itself if the United States showed any sign of conducting a “decapitating operation on our headquarters or military attack against our country”. U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres met with Ri after his speech, and expressed concern over tensions in the North Korean Peninsula, CBS News' Pamela Falk reports, citing a readout of their conversation. North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho’s remarks to the United Nations General Assembly came hours after U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer bombers escorted by fighters flew in international airspace over waters east of North Korea in a show of force the Pentagon said showed the range of military options available to Trump. The U.S. bombers’ flight was the farthest north of the demilitarized zone separating North and South Korea that any U.S. fighter jet or bomber has flown in the 21st century, the Pentagon said. He said sanctions would have no effect on Pyongyang’s resolve to develop its nuclear weapons, with the ultimate goal being “balance of power with the U.S.” Trump announced new U.S. sanctions on Thursday that he said allow targeting of companies and institutions that finance and facilitate trade with North Korea.

– In a move unprecedented in recent years, US Air Force bombers and fighter jets flew into international airspace east of North Korea on Saturday, Reuters reports. The Pentagon says it was the farthest north of the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea the US has flown in the 21st century. “This mission is a demonstration of US resolve and a clear message that the president has many military options to defeat any threat,” Pentagon spokesperson Dana White says. The mission was revealed just before North Korea's Ri Yong Ho addressed the UN. The foreign minister told the UN that North Korea has successfully tested nuclear bombs that can be mounted to ICBMs and that Trump, who he called "president evil," is making a North Korean attack on the US "inevitable," CBS News reports.

There's also an overall recommendation — unchanged from 2010 — to reduce saturated fat intake to less than 10 percent of daily diet, a shift that could, in practice, require limiting intake of red meat. Top administration officials within the U.S. departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services, who were tasked with writing the guidelines, decided not to include some of the recommendations made by a Dietary Guidelines advisory panel that reviewed the latest nutrition science. The Dietary Guidelines provide science-based recommendations on food and nutrition so people can make decisions that may help keep their weight under control, and prevent chronic conditions, like Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease." “The things that you need to be careful about are sodium, that added sugar and saturated fat” Despite heavy lobbying by the food industry, the guidelines — which set the standard for federal food programs such as school lunches and food stamps — also recommend that most people get 2,300 mg of salt a day or less. Here’s more food for thought — almost 9 in 10 Americans get less than the recommended amount of vegetables. With so many choices to make every single day about what to eat and drink, each choice is an opportunity to make a small, healthy change — like replacing refined- flour bread with whole-grain bread. “What exactly is a healthy eating pattern?” A healthy eating pattern: consists of all foods and drinks that a person consumes over time; is adaptable to a person’s taste preferences, culture, traditions, and budget; includes a variety of nutritious foods like vegetables, fruits, grains, low-fat and fat-free dairy, lean meats and other protein foods, and oils; and limits saturated fats, trans fats, added sugars, and sodium.

– You can relax your grip on that cup of java: "Moderate coffee consumption" can be part of a healthy diet, according to new federal dietary guidelines released Thursday. In fact, three to five cups is apparently just fine, notes the Los Angeles Times. The guidelines emphasize veggies, fruits, and whole grains, include the first daily limit for added sugars, and remove a daily limit on cholesterol, reports ABC News. Some highlights: To cut your risk of Type 2 diabetes and heart disease, limit added sugars to less than 10% of your daily calories. That's no more than 12 teaspoons with a 2,000-calorie diet, per NPR. Previous guidelines recommended people consume less than 300 milligrams of cholesterol per day. That recommendation is now gone, with researchers less worried about the effects of eggs and other cholesterol-rich foods. Still, the guidelines suggest we "eat as little dietary cholesterol as possible." The recommendation on sodium stays the same. Those 14 and older should eat no more than 2,300 milligrams per day. Most people consume far more. Don't mix caffeine and alcohol. The combination may make people drink "more alcohol and become more intoxicated than they realize, increasing the risk of alcohol-related adverse events." Though an advisory panel suggested Americans should limit red and processed meats, the guidelines don't go that far. But they do say people should eat more lean meats, eggs, nuts, seeds, and seafood for protein, per NBC News. "Essentially, the new guidelines nudge US nutritional policy toward a traditional Mediterranean diet, which emphasizes consumption of fruits and vegetables, nuts and legumes drenched in such fat sources as olive, nut, canola and soybean oils," writes Melissa Healy of the Times.

( Sean Kilpatrick / THE CANADIAN PRESS ) It may well have been politically unwise for Sophie Grégoire Trudeau to publicly raise her need for more staff to help organize her public engagements in an interview with a Quebec City newspaper this past week. “By speaking openly about the challenges she faces as a working mother of three, she spurs a necessary conversation about the enormous strain on working families, lets other women know it’s okay to speak up when they need help and could even inspire demand for better resources and infrastructure. Even in 2005, when she joined the entertainment program eTalk as a Quebec correspondent, she said she was looking forward to “reporting on Canada’s French and English stars who support social causes and bring about positive change.” Now that she’s in a high-profile position herself, she’s making it her work to bring about change.

– Political gloves are off in Canada after the prime minister's wife, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, said she needs "a team" to help her "serve the people," reports MSN.com. In a French-language interview, the 41-year-old described her difficulty answering charity requests from her dining-room table while juggling family life with her husband, Justin Trudeau, and three children. "I’d love to be everywhere but I can't," she says. "I need help. ... People really lay out their suffering in some of the letters I receive." But in Canada, where there's no official "First Lady" position, some are accusing Grégoire Trudeau of abusing her role while others say critics are insensitive to working mothers or simply don't like the Trudeaus, the Globe & Mail reports. Among the reactions: "It is really the hypocrisy of Mr. Trudeau at this point, always wanting more to do self-promotion, to do vanity trips," a Conservative MP tells the Globe & Mail. "That is where a lot of Canadians would question more [staff]." A lawmaker with the left-wing NDP was no kinder, saying the interview "really speak[s] to a disconnect" about "what Canadian women face on a daily basis." But the Toronto Star notes that past PM's wives have had at least one assistant—as Grégoire Trudeau does—and one, Mila Mulroney, had three. Neil Macdonald argues at the CBC that Canadians just can't stand having a "tall poppy" around. "In Canada, we look at tall poppies and cluck and disapprove and fervently hope somebody takes them down a peg or two," he writes. "Who do they think they are, anyway?" An open letter on Facebook sees pure sexism: "We're supposed to be perfect mothers, wives, friends, employees and citizens, and we're not supposed to admit that we can't do it without a little help," writes Amanda Brennan. On a more practical note, the Prime Minister's office tells the Globe & Mail that it's considering giving Grégoire Trudeau a second assistant.

Tulsa, Oklahoma (CNN) Amid growing scrutiny over whether a 73-year-old volunteer deputy who killed a suspect during a sting operation was qualified to be policing the streets, a new report raises a troubling allegation. So how did the 73-year-old insurance company CEO end up joining a sting operation this month that ended when he pulled out his handgun and killed suspect Eric Harris instead of stunning him with a Taser? The memo did not explicitly say that Bates paid his way into the sheriff's ranks, but the investigation did conclude that he received special treatment The document outlines interviews with several deputies who allege they were pressured by supervisors to falsify training records or provide exceptions to Bates regarding his duties. Tulsa County sheriff's Maj. Shannon Clark denied accusations that Bates had paid to play a cop, describing him as one of many volunteers in the community who have contributed to the agency. "No matter how you cut it up, Deputy Bates met all the criteria on the Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training to be in the role that he was in," Clark said. His donations of equipment to the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office and his friendship with Sheriff Stanley Glanz, they say, have nothing to do with the April 2 shooting. "Based on my past experience, primarily with the task force, and my past training, I believed that Harris might be carrying a gun." "You would think the Sheriff's Office, if in fact there has been no pressure applied, no falsification of records, that they would be forthcoming with these documents," she told CNN's "New Day." They're not armed, they're usually with an armed regular police officer. JUST WATCHED Report: Bates donated cops cars to sheriff's office Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Report: Bates donated cops cars to sheriff's office 01:06 Missing gun certification records Bates was classified as an advanced reserve deputy for the Sheriff's Office. Daniel Bongino, a former Secret Service Agent, said the New York Police Department's auxiliary department is a good example of a program that works. He'd been a reserve deputy since 2008, with 300 hours of training and 1,100 hours of community policing experience, according to the Sheriff's Office. Another deputy, who was charged with Bates' field training, said that he was pressured into certifying the reserve deputy even though he lacked the required training hours. In a statement he made to investigators after the shooting, Bates said the gun he used was his personal weapon, adding that he last qualified at the range in autumn. He also said he'd attended "numerous schools and seminars related to drug investigations and the tactical operations associated with the apprehension of suspects involved in drug trafficking," a five-day homicide investigation school in Dallas and training from Arizona's Maricopa County Sheriff's Office on responding to active shooters. According to the document, one deputy said she was told by the chief deputy to certify that Bates had completed the driving requirements, even though she believed Bates had not done the training. But as Bates faces a second-degree manslaughter charge , analysts say the case raises serious questions about who's policing America's streets, how and why. Deputy: I thought he had a gun Bates' attorney describes the shooting as an "excusable homicide," arguing his client is not guilty of second-degree manslaughter. The lawyer for Harris' family claims Bates wasn't qualified to be on the force, but received preferential treatment because he'd made donations to the agency and was a friend of the sheriff -- an accusation officials deny, saying they stand by his training record. Bates worked for the Tulsa Police Department for a year in the 1960s. It's a controversial claim that hasn't convinced critics of the department, and calls for an independent investigation into the Sheriff's Office and the case are growing. "And I think it's now time for either the Justice Department, perhaps, or every single police department to review this, the deputy status, because we're going to see more and more of this kind of thing, if it isn't happening more than we even know."

– Questions have arisen about how qualified reserve deputy Robert Bates was for the job after he shot and killed Eric Harris in Tulsa, Okla., on April 2, claiming he mistook his firearm for his Taser. Bates' attorney has said his client, charged with second-degree manslaughter in Harris' death, had undergone all required training, CNN reports. Now, however, "multiple" anonymous sources tell the Tulsa World that at least three supervisors were told to falsify the 73-year-old's field training and firearms certification records—and when they refused to do so, they were transferred to other departments. Other discrepancies have also popped up. Bates would have needed 480 hours of field training to qualify as the "advanced reserve" officer he was classified as, but the Tulsa sheriff's office has said he completed just 300 hours, per CNN. Then there's Bates' tenure as a reserve officer: The department says he started in 2008, but Bates has said he started in 2007, CNN notes. And although the Tulsa sheriff told local radio this week that Bates was certified for three weapons, that paperwork has vanished, as has the person who signed off on it, per the World. Regarding the falsification allegations, the department's undersheriff tells the World, "I have absolutely no knowledge of what you are talking about. There aren't any secrets in law enforcement. Zero." The department also sent an email to CNN stating, "Just keep in mind that the Tulsa World reporter cannot validate her sources and claims anonymity which leaves us skeptical that her claims are unsubstantiated and deceptive." Says a Harris family lawyer, per Business Insider: "An officer who is trained would never get these two weapons confused."

Add TSA as an interest to stay up to date on the latest TSA news, video, and analysis from ABC News. / Updated By Tom Costello and Phil Helsel Undercover tests have found Transportation Security Administration screeners failed to detect test weapons at a high rate, according to sources, findings that one Congressional committee chairman called "disturbing." In recent undercover tests of multiple airport security checkpoints by the Department of Homeland Security, inspectors said screeners, their equipment or their procedures failed more than half the time, according to a source familiar with the classified report. "Quite frankly, I think I speak for all of us when I say that we found that briefing disturbing," Committee Chairman Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, said at a hearing following the briefing. The rate of failure was not disclosed at the public meeting, but congressional and government sources with knowledge of the report said it was high. "We take the OIG's findings very seriously and are implementing measures that will improve screening effectiveness at checkpoints," TSA Administrator David Pekoske said in a statement. "We are focused on staying ahead of a dynamic threat to aviation with continued investment in the workforce, enhanced procedures, and new technologies," Pekoske, who was just sworn in this August, said in the statement. Pekoske said that "to invest in the CT technology requires funding above what TSA currently has," but the agency wasn't on the path to CT development at checkpoints when the budget was developed, so the program wasn't reviewed for investment.

– An alarming new report weeks before the busiest air travel days of the year finds that TSA agents at airport checkpoints miss test weapons, explosives, and other contraband items most of the time. During an undercover operation, Department of Homeland Security inspectors "identified vulnerabilities with TSA's screener performance, screening equipment, and associated procedures," DHS says in a statement. While the specific findings are classified, CBS News reports the failure rate is more than 70%, while a source tells ABC News that 80% is "in the ballpark." That means the TSA has only improved slightly from its 95% failure rate in 2015, which led to a host of changes at the agency, including a new training academy for agents. "America's enemies only have to be right once, while we have to be right 100%," said Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, after he was briefed on the "disturbing" report Wednesday, per NBC News. After vowing to adopt eight undisclosed recommendations laid out in the report, TSA administrator David Pekoske responded that CT scan systems used for checked bags would provide a "significant enhancement" at checkpoints. He added, however, that the funding isn't there. "We have the technology and resources to do it but we're not doing it because ... we're paying for a wall," countered Rep. William Keating, a Democrat, who says that $1.28 billion in ticket surcharges is being diverted away from the TSA to pay the national debt.

--Delays and blunts the tax on high-end insurance plans in keeping with the deal Democrats struck with the labor unions. Democrats would make up for some of the lost revenue by increasing the Medicare payroll tax and extending it to capital gains, dividends, interest and other “unearned income” of people with adjusted gross incomes over $250,000 for married couples and $200,000 for individuals. Insurance companies “will do anything to stop this legislation,” she said, asserting, “They have made a fortune off of the misfortune of the American people.” The Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, said the new legislation was “worse than the Senate bill.” Republicans said the new numbers should not provide any comfort to people worried about the deficit. Lowers the reduction in federal Medicaid DSH payments from $18.1 billion to $14.1 billion and advances the reductions to begin in fiscal year 2014. House Democrats said they had reduced the impact of a proposed tax on high-cost employer-sponsored health plans. The new legislation delays and reduces the tax, slashing expected revenues to $32 billion. The new Medicare tax would raise $210 billion over 10 years, more than twice as much as the $87 billion generated by the comparable provision of the Senate bill, according to the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation. Delays the industry fee on sales of brand name pharmaceuticals for use in government health programs by one year to 2011, and increases revenue raised by the fee by $4.8 billion. The bill would provide insurance coverage to most of the uninsured, put new restrictions on insurers and seek to lower rising health care costs.

– The last piece of the puzzle is in place for this weekend's vote on health care reform: The House Rules Committee has posted the reconciliation bill online. Politico has the pdf here. The House is on track for a final vote sometime Sunday afternoon, with Democrats "giddy" over today's CBO analysis saying it would cut budget deficits by $138 billion over 10 years, notes the New York Times. Politico rounds up some changes from the Senate bill: Raises tax credits for middle-income families who buy insurance. Cuts the penalty for not buying insurance from $750 to $695. "Closes the gap in Medicare prescription drug coverage by 2011 and gives seniors who fall into the gap this year a $250 rebate." Covers increased Medicaid costs of all states until 2016.

Watching a mama bear save her cub from a B.C. highway is one claws encounter Ricky Forbes won’t soon forget. Forbes was driving through Kootenay National Park on Saturday afternoon when he saw a young black bear trapped on the road. “We pulled over the car and we could see the cub on the side of the highway. It was screaming,” said Forbes, a driver for TornadoHunter.com. Forbes started filming the cub, which was stuck behind an im-paws-ibly tall concerete barrier. Fortunately, it didn’t take long for the mama bear to poke her head over and rescue her young – after taking the necessary precautions, of course. “It looked like the bear looked both ways first,” said Forbes. In the footage, the mama bear can be seen dipping down and grabbing the cub by its scruff then yanking it over the barrier as another cub pops its head up to peek at the action. The incredible moment has already been picked up by media across North America and even in the U.K.

– A tornado hunter driving through British Columbia's Kootenay National Park stopped to film a bear cub by the side of a highway—and captured the moment its mother hauled it to safety. Ricky Forbes says the bear cub was trapped on the wrong side of a concrete barrier and was screaming as cars went by, CTV reports. The mother bear can be seen looking both ways before pulling the cub up by its neck as another curious cub looks on. "It was a very amazing sight to see," he tells the Telegraph. (In Alaska, another mother bear was apparently trying to protect her cubs when she mauled a jogger, who then walked two miles for help.)

One by one, the infants and children slipped away on Thursday night, their parents watching helplessly as oxygen supplies at the government hospital ran dangerously low. The issue of the unpaid bills for oxygen supply has become a flashpoint in relations between the hospital and the state government, after the suspended hospital chief on Saturday accused state officials of not answering his requests for money. Witnesses described a chaotic scene between 11pm and 2am as medical practitioners and relatives - the tanks running dry - handed out manual resuscitator bags to families in a desperate attempt to save the young patients. Image: Medical staff tending to children at the hospital Parmatma Gautam, whose one-month-old nephew, Roshan, died, said the hospital and authorities were trying to cover up their failure to pay their bills on time. Two more children died Saturday at the Baba Raghav Das Medical College hospital in Gorakhpur, an impoverished area in the eastern part of the state, as authorities scrambled to firm up supplementary supplies and investigate the tragedy. The government of Uttar Pradesh state, run by India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), suspended the head of the state-run BRD Medical College, Rajeev Misra, late on Saturday and ordered an investigation. Hospital officials deny lack of oxygen caused the deaths, saying alternative supplies were found, and blamed many of the deaths instead on encephalitis and unspecified issues related to delivery of the infants. On Sunday, J.P. Nadda, health minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet, visited the hospital in the town of Gorakhpur, 800 km (507 miles) east of New Delhi, accompanied by the state's chief minister, Yogi Adityanath. "The guilty will not be spared," Adityanath said. is responsible & should punish the negligent who caused this tragedy." The controversial monk, who was tapped by the governing Bharatiya Janata Party to head Uttar Pradesh earlier this year, is the longtime head of a large temple there. Adityanath, who had visited the hospital on Aug. 9, said no issue of unpaid bills was brought to his attention and all requests for funds were met promptly. Encephalitis is common in India, especially during the monsoon season, and outbreaks often claim hundreds of lives. Image: A hospital doctor said the cause of death was not lack of oxygen But he said it did not cause the children's deaths as there was a sufficient number of oxygen cylinders to ensure all the youngsters could be treated. Mritunjaya Singh, whose seven-month-old son was at the hospital but was not among the dead, said: "That's the time when the death of the children peaked."

– In a five-day span at a single hospital in India, 60 children have died, 34 of them infants. The rash of deaths, which the Independent reports began last Monday, has led to the suspension of the head of the hospital in Uttar Pradesh state, and it's also spurred a string of questions and finger-pointing. Reuters cites Indian media's take: that some of the deaths were due to a lack of liquid oxygen, with the hospital's supply having been cut off due to unpaid bills. Rajeev Misra oversaw the state-run Baba Raghav Das Medical College Hospital in Gorakhpur before his suspension, and he backs up that assertion, telling the media on Saturday that "I wrote at least three letters" to the government requesting money. A Home Ministry rep was quoted as saying 21 of the deaths were the result of the oxygen shortfall, reports the Washington Post. But other officials and a hospital doctor cited by Sky News say the oxygen supply wasn't a factor. They claim mosquito-borne encephalitis was the cause of 35% of the infant deaths, with the rest being due to unspecified causes. State officials say they were able to bolster the oxygen supply after reaching out to area nursing homes. But parents tell Sky the oxygen supply dried up Thursday night and that parents were offered manual resuscitator bags. The Post obtained documents showing the hospital had been receiving letters regarding unpaid bills for six months, and that nearly $90,000 was owed to a medical supply company. The chief minister of Uttar Pradesh has pledged to get to the bottom of the situation: "We will know whether it was because of an oxygen shortage or due to a lack of proper treatment. Those found guilty will not be spared."

President Vladimir Putin has said he will not put Russian ground forces in Syria, where the civil war has killed 250,000 people. "Essentially, what (al-Assad's) done here is put a piece of paper that he controls to a vote that he controls so that he can try and maintain control," a US State Department spokeswoman said. BRUSSELS/BEIRUT NATO on Tuesday rejected Moscow's explanation that its warplanes had violated alliance member Turkey's air space by mistake and said Russia was sending more ground troops to Syria and building up its naval presence. AIR SPACE VIOLATIONS Disagreement over the air space violations comes as Russia and the west dispute the aims of Moscow's air campaign. A U.S. official told Reuters the incursions had lasted more than a few seconds and described Moscow's assertion that they were an accident as "far-fetched". Stoltenberg said the U.S.-led alliance had not received "any real explanation" from Russia about the incursions. The Turkish military said a further incident took place on Monday when a MIG-29 fighter and Syria-based missile systems "interfered" with eight Turkish F-16 jets patrolling along the Syrian border. The MIG-29 locked its radar onto the Turkish patrol for 4 minutes 30 seconds, and a Syria-based missile system locked onto them for 4 minutes 15 seconds, the Turkish military said. "We also have seen two of them, two violations of Turkish airspace," he said at a news conference. "I will not speculate on the motives ... but this does not look like an accident and we have seen two of them," Stoltenberg said of the air incursions over Turkey's border with Syria at the weekend. "I can confirm that we have seen a substantial build-up of Russian forces in Syria - air forces, air defenses, but also ground troops in connection with the air base they have, and we also see an increased naval presence," Stoltenberg said. U.S.: Russia moved weapons, troops into Syria The Pentagon also is worried about Russia's military activity in Syria. The incidents, which NATO has described as "extremely dangerous" and "unacceptable", underscore the risks of a further escalation of the Syrian civil war, as Russian and U.S. warplanes fly combat missions over the same country for the first time since World War Two. With Russia extending its air strikes to include the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said he was losing patience with Russian violations of his country's air space. The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that Russian strikes in and around Palmyra killed at least 15 ISIS militants and destroyed vehicles, posts and ammunition dumps there. Russian defense ministry sources have been quoted in Russian media as saying about 1,500 Russian servicemen are involved in supporting the air strikes and advising Syria's army. RUSSIAN TANKS Several senior officials in the Middle East told Reuters the Russian air campaign was part of plan that will also involve a ground offensive by Iranian troops, Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas and Syrian government forces against Assad's foes.

– Russia is rapidly stepping up its involvement in Syria, and NATO is worried—especially by Russian violation of Turkish airspace. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters Tuesday that he doesn't believe Moscow's claim that the incursions on a NATO member's airspace were a mistake, reports Reuters. "Intelligence that we have received provides me with reason to say it doesn't look like an accident," Stoltenberg said, per CNN, adding the violation is "more dangerous" in the context of a Russian buildup of forces in Syria involving planes, ground troops, and "a large number of naval assets." The Turkish military says that in addition to incursions over the weekend, an MiG-29 fighter jet that was either Russian or Syrian interfered with eight Turkish jets along the Turkey-Syria border on Monday, placing them under radar lock for several minutes, CNN reports. In Syria, American and Russian planes are now flying combat missions in the same country for the first time since World War II, raising fears that they could end up firing on each other, Reuters notes. On the ground, meanwhile, Syrian government forces backed by Russian planes have launched their first major offensive since Russian airstrikes began last week, the AP reports. Activists say that the "most intense fighting in months" is taking place in the northwestern provinces of Idlib and Hama, where the AP reports there is no ISIS presence, although the al-Qaeda-backed Nusra Front is active, along with US-backed rebel groups. (A top official in Moscow says Russian "volunteers" could appear in the Syrian army.)

Francis, who before he became pope was known as Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio , said a fellow cardinal from Brazil had told him "don't forget the poor" as the votes stacked up in his favor. Story highlights Pope Francis will deliver his first Angelus blessing on Sunday Francis tells journalists he chose his name as pope to reflect a concern for the poor He will meet with Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in a week, the Vatican says Since his election, he has faced questions over his past in Argentina The new pope gave an insight into his choice of the name Francis in an audience with journalists Saturday -- and said how he wished for a church that was both poor and "for the poor." This thought stuck in his mind, Francis said, as it became clear that he had won the two-thirds majority that meant he was the new pontiff. The Vatican rejected the allegations as defamatory and untrue in a news conference Friday. A Vatican spokesman declined to comment on conclave proceedings. JUST WATCHED Hopes for young pope dashed Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Hopes for young pope dashed 02:24 JUST WATCHED What's ahead: Pope Francis' first days Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH What's ahead: Pope Francis' first days 02:07 JUST WATCHED Pope to cardinals: Pass wisdom to young Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Pope to cardinals: Pass wisdom to young 04:28 The media also had an important role to play in explaining the way the church works, he said, which is made more complicated by the role played by faith rather than more worldly or political concerns.

– Pope Francis met with the international media today and shed more light on why he picked the name Francis. As the votes were being counted and it became clear that Jorge Bergoglio would be the next pope, a fellow cardinal from Brazil turned to him and said, "Don't forget the poor," he recalled. "Right away, with regard to the poor, I thought of St. Francis of Assisi, then I thought of war," he said, reports CNN. "Francis loved peace and that is how the name came to me." St. Francis, he added, was a "poor man, a simple man," and the new pope said he wanted a church "for the poor." The Wall Street Journal, meanwhile, speaks to four cardinals who say a four-minute speech by Bergoglio in the runup to voting lifted him from a so-so candidate into front-runner status. "He spoke of the need for catechesis and the need to address the poor," says one, along with "the question of justice and the dignity of the human person." Bergoglio told his fellow cardinals that the church needed to stop navel-gazing at the Vatican and start focusing on social justice in the world outside Rome. Click for more on how his election came to be.

According to the examining attorney, Karen K. Bush, Palin's application is insufficient for two main reasons. That's complete nonsense," he said. Meanwhile she has decided to put her family and her home state on show for the nation in Sarah Palin's Alaska.

– A leading Alaska conservationist calls Sarah Palin's Alaska "a travesty"—and not because it's, well, a reality show starring Sarah Palin. He claims the former guv got too close to protected brown bears in last night's premiere, and says she was "clearly irresponsible." A clip from the premiere shows Palin and hubby Todd having an up-close-and-personal moment with some bears (including, yes, mama bears) while fishing. "It's clear from the video that she violated the guidelines" of Wolverine Creek, says the director of the Alaska Wildlife Alliance. The state's department of fish and game requires people in boats to stay at least 30 feet away from bears. He argues that the clip shows the Palins getting closer than that, thereby "encouraging the violation of important guidelines." A rep from the fish and game department, however, is not convinced they actually violated any guidelines, the Guardian reports, since they did not approach the bears as they were feeding. However, he notes, "Some people may say you shouldn't even try to fish when a bear is in the area and I wouldn't argue with that." Click here to find out how many people tuned in to her show's premiere.

A leader of a group of protesters who arrived in a column of cars, a movement called Auto Maidan, after the name of the square, took the stage and said the opposition should choose one leader, and if it could not, the crowd should march on Parliament. By early evening, at least one police van was burning on a central street in the city, and witnesses said people had been injured, though it was unclear how severely. The US and EU called for an end to the violence and urgent political talks. Late Sunday, Mr. Yatsenyuk, speaking from the stage on the square, said he had received a call from Mr. Yanukovich saying the government was ready for negotiations. Vitali Klitschko, the leader of Punch, a political party, and a former heavyweight boxing champion, told the crowd that he was “announcing a snap presidential election,” though the parliamentary opposition has no legal grounds to force a vote if Mr. Yanukovich does not resign. MOSCOW — A large rally in Kiev, Ukraine, that was called in part to protest a new set of laws cracking down on public protests turned violent on Sunday when men in balaclavas attacked the police with sticks and threw firecrackers and cobblestones at them. Police - who were sheltering behind buses under their riot shields - threw their own thunder flashes and gas canisters to try to force the crowd back. The riot police sprayed from a water cannon, in spite of the freezing temperatures.

– Dozens of protesters and police were injured in Kiev clashes yesterday that came on the heels of new anti-protest laws, the AP reports; a Russian news site puts the number of wounded police at 70. The fighting continued into the night. Protesters used sticks and pipes, hurling large rocks, fireworks, and apparently firebombs at police, the New York Times reports. Police fired back with tear gas and water cannon. Though opposition leaders condemned the violence, they couldn't stop it, the Times notes. Following the clashes, Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovich agreed to negotiations with opposition leaders and protesters, the BBC reports. Today, he said, a government "working group" would meet with opposition leaders and restore peace to the streets. Opposition head Vitali Klitschko, who met with the president, confirmed the plans. "We must use every opportunity to resolve the crisis peacefully," he said, noting the dangers of using force and saying he "didn't rule out the possibility of a civil war." Meanwhile, the unrest continues. Protesters have installed barricades against vehicles set alight, the AP reports, noting audible stun grenades.

– The two adults and three children allegedly shot dead by a 15-year-old boy in New Mexico were the teenager's own family, police say. The victims have been identified as respected local pastor, Greg Griego, his wife Sarah, and their children Zephania, 9; Jael, 5; and Angelina, 2, KOB reports. The couple's son, Nehemiah, has been charged with two counts of murder and three counts of child abuse resulting in death. Police believe the teenager used an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle. Griego was well known in the Albuquerque area for his work with firefighters and for his years as a chaplain at the county jail, the AP reports. "Chaplain Griego was a dedicated professional that passionately served his fellow man and the firefighters of this community," the local fire chief said in a statement. "His calming spirit and gentle nature will be greatly missed."

The only thing it is really specific about—the only thing it needs to be really specific about—is the friends themselves.

– As if news that Party of Five debuted 20 years ago this month doesn't make you feel old enough, Friends is this week hitting the same milestone. And as Willa Paskin writes for Slate, the anniversary is being "greeted with untempered enthusiasm, even for this era of rampant Internet-based nostalgia." That has Paskin asking—and answering—the question of why. As she writes, "it did more than any show to excise the teachable moment from sitcoms for grown-ups." It was sweet, it was fluffy, and it was ... a rare thing. In the 10 years since Rachel, Chandler, et al have left us, it's become apparent that making a "straightforwardly pleasant sitcom, one that 20 million people want to watch and discuss," is actually incredibly difficult. Today's comedies take one of two routes: They make specificity king (Paskin cites Girls and Louie) in the hope of reeling in a small but fervent audience or they go "unbearably broad" in a bid to reel in, well, everyone. But the attempts to do the latter are largely tainted by a "light sheen of anxiety," writes Paskin. "They have to do everything they can, right away, to find an audience." Friends, in contrast, "casually [assumes] it has a claim on your attention even when it has made an entire episode about Ross’s misguided leather pants." At the end of the day, we watch TV for pleasure, and 20 years on, Friends does that "reliably, effortlessly." Click for Paskin's full column.

Design, Setting, and Participants Review of data for measles from 2001 to 2011 and for rubella and CRS from 2004 to 2011 covering the US resident population and international visitors, including disease epidemiology, importation status of cases, molecular epidemiology, adequacy of surveillance, and population immunity as estimated by national vaccination coverage and serologic surveys. In an article published on December 5 by JAMA Pediatrics, CDC’s Mark J. Papania, M.D., M.P.H., and colleagues report that United States measles elimination, announced in 2000, has been sustained through 2011. Dr. Papania and colleagues warn, however, that international importation continues, and that American doctors should suspect measles in children with high fever and rash, “especially when associated with international travel or international visitors,” and should report suspected cases to the local health department. Doctors recommend that children receive their first measles shot at age 1, followed by a second between 4 to 6 years old. Usually there are about 60 cases per year, but 2013 saw a spike in American communities – some 175 cases and counting – virtually all linked to people who brought the infection home after foreign travel. That's about three times the usual number of cases of measles, CDC Director Thomas Frieden said Thursday. About 2.6 million deaths worldwide were attributed to measles until vaccination was available around the globe in the 1980s, the report's authors noted.

– Measles was indeed "eliminated" in the US from 2000 through 2011, per a review of data through that year published in JAMA Pediatrics yesterday. But there's a "but": As CBS News reports, America isn't actually measles-free. Elimination is defined as the "absence of continuous disease transmission for greater than 12 months" (USA Today translates: That means it's not circulating among the general population), but the US still sees about 60 cases a year. This year, however, we've logged at least 175, reports the CDC, and they're almost all tied to people who picked up the infection abroad and brought it home. And according to CDC director Dr. Tom Frieden, all but about 2% of the patients were unvaccinated, reports USA Today. "This isn't the failure of a vaccine; it's the failure to vaccinate," he says. This could end up being the worst year for measles since 1996.

– Teams Obama and Romney will likely be biting their nails come 8:29am tomorrow, as the first of the three remaining pre-election jobs reports are issued. With less than 24 hours to go, some hints of what may come: In what the AP calls an "encouraging sign," a private survey out today shows businesses ramped up hiring in August. Though private-sector jobs were predicted to jump 145,000 last month, the ADP survey noted an increase of 201,000 jobs. But don't get too excited. The Wall Street Journal offers a sobering reminder that ADP has had some huge swings-and-misses lately. It estimated a 176,000-job jump in June; the actual private-sector gain was just 84,000. As such, the Journal doubts projections will change. And what are those projections? An unemployment rate still stuck at 8.3%, and the addition of 125,000 new jobs, per economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires. (The AP puts the forecast at 135,000 jobs, same rate.) In other jobless numbers, 12,000 fewer Americans sought unemployment benefits last week, a possible indication of a job market on the upswing. The four-week average stands at 371,250; a number consistently below 375,000 suggests hiring is strong enough to lower the unemployment rate, explains the AP, though it predicts this most recent data won't affect the August report. Click for one take on why tomorrow's numbers have an unmatched political significance.

The bonds were trading on Friday at 40 cents on the dollar, almost 70 below their 109 redemption price as investors lowered their expectations that payments would be made following Dubai World’s call for a six-month standstill.

– A move today by the government of Dubai to take over its flagship company, Dubai World, caused ripples of panic throughout the region, and translated into a selloff in bank stocks in Europe and Asia. The government also aims to delay payments on $60 billion in debt, a request that caused the price of insuring debt in emerging economies to soar, the Wall Street Journal reports. The opaque nature of the both Dubai World and the emirate’s government itself didn’t help matters, traders tell the Financial Times—which could mean long-term trouble ahead. “In the absence of definitive information it’s hard to see the market treating this as an isolated one-off,” one notes. Nonetheless, a Dubai official called the move a “sensible business decision … (to) ensure long-term commercial success,” and promised more information next week.

Although Rob Ford had been well-documented as a councillor and mayor, little existed on the public record about his older brother Doug, who has emerged as a force in the mayor’s office and across the city. Another brother, Randy, was also involved in the drug trade and was once charged in relation to a drug-related kidnapping. Their sister, Kathy, has been the victim of drug-related gun violence. By nightfall, the public park was a hash drive-thru. Upon being approached, the sources declined to speak if identified, saying they feared the consequences of outing themselves as former users and sellers of illegal drugs. They did, however, speak at length, and in detail. But in the past, he was much less low-key. Whether on his motorcycle or at the helm heel of the family sailboat – The Raymoni – he always went full throttle. When he fought, which was often, it was usually a one-sided affair. "He was a terror," said Leo, another former associate of Doug Ford. Numerous sources identified Randy Ford as former drug dealer, including one who identified himself as former partner, but he and Doug maintained distinctly separate operations. "Doug, being savvy as he was and as business-minded as he was, knew his brother was just too volatile," said "Justin," the street-level dealer who said he was supplied by Doug Ford. The eldest Ford sibling, Kathy, has been subjected to media scrutiny over the years, primarily because she has been linked to a number of bizarre, violent and sensational incidents. Most recently, in January, 2012, her long-time boyfriend, a convicted cocaine and hash dealer named Scott MacIntyre, was charged with threatening to murder the mayor at his Etobicoke home. He eventually pleaded guilty to a lesser offence and was given credit for time served. (In a brief interview with CBC after the alleged death threat, Doug Ford said: “To be honest with you, I really don’t know Scott MacIntyre.” Photographs and video taken on the night of the 2010 election show that Mr. MacIntyre was part of the small group of family members celebrating with the new mayor, his wife, Renata, and Doug.) Ms. Ford's relationship with Mr. MacIntyre is even more perplexing because of an earlier incident: In 2005, he and another man were accused of shooting her in the face during an altercation in her parents' basement. She survived the blast and was rushed to hospital, while Mr. MacIntyre fled in her mother's Jaguar. Crown prosecutors later dropped numerous charges against him, while his co-accused, Michael Patania, pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a handgun. But even before that, there was gunplay – and it was fatal. Seven years earlier, Ms. Ford's lover was fatally shot by her ex-husband, a drug addict named Ennio Stirpe. At his trial, Mr. Stirpe testified that his victim, Michael Kiklas, was a martial artist, which forced him to bring along the shotgun as “an equalizer.” Not mentioned in the press at the time was the fact that Mr. Kiklas was a white supremacist – a group with which Ms. Ford associated in the 1980s. Her friends included Gary MacFarlane, a founding member of the short-lived Canadian chapter of the Ku Klux Klan, as well as the late Wolfgang Droege, perhaps the most notorious white supremacist in Canadian history, a former Klansman told The Globe in an interview. Two other former associates of Ms. Ford confirmed her association with known white supremacists. Among Mr. Droege's numerous criminal endeavours, he also sold cocaine and marijuana, which led to his death in 2005 when he was killed by a customer. Mr. Droege was incarcerated for much of the 1980s in U.S. prisons – both for drug trafficking and for his role in a bizarre plot to overthrow the government of Dominica in the Caribbean. The former Klansman, who agreed to answer questions by e-mail on condition of anonymity, confirmed that Kathy Ford was close to the movement, but he said he couldn't recall meeting any of the Ford brothers. He described hanging out in the Fords' basement and being snubbed by Doug Sr. when Ms. Ford invited him to a party on the family boat. Her father, the former Klansman said, clearly did not approve of his beliefs, while she was engaging and fun but hardly a committed soldier in the race war. "Some people are real 'believers' and know all the history, dates, facts etc… Others just join to piss off their parents, or carry out some other act of personal rebellion," he wrote. “Clearly [Kathy] was the latter camp.” It remains unclear how much Mayor Ford was exposed to his siblings’ escapades and their issues with illegal drugs. He is considerably younger – Doug, the closest, is five years older. But at least one of Doug's closest and oldest friends has become an official adviser to the mayor's office. Several sources have identified David Price as a former participant in Doug Ford's hashish enterprise. Our investigation has been ongoing since late 2011. Mr. McArthur, one of the country’s most respected investigative reporters, began work on this project in late 2011, in an attempt to detail the history of the Fords.

– If yesterday's carefully worded I-am-not-a-crack-addict news conference made for a bleak day for Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, today isn't much better. The respected Globe and Mail is out with an investigative piece on the mayor's family, including brother Doug, a city councilor. It includes paragraphs like this: "What has emerged is a portrait of a family once deeply immersed in the illegal drug scene. All three of the mayor’s older siblings—brother Randy, 51, and sister Kathy, 52, as well as Doug, 48—have had ties to drug traffickers." Doug, in particular, is portrayed as the go-to guy for hash in the city back in the 1980s. One of his associates reportedly was David Price, who now works in the mayor's office under the vague title of "director of logistics and operations." Kathy Ford, meanwhile, was associated with white supremacists in the 1980s and is linked to a slew of headline-making incidents of the wrong kind. In one, her longtime boyfriend, a convicted drug dealer, was charged with threatening to murder the mayor; he also was once accused, along with another man, of shooting Kathy Ford in the face. While many of the events took place years ago, "as mayor, Rob Ford has surrounded himself with people from his past," says the story. The Globe began working on the piece in 2011—well before the recent allegations emerged about the mayor smoking crack on video. In a letter to readers, the paper's editor writes that it would have been "irresponsible" not to publish the story, given the Ford family's huge sway over the city. "Character matters," writes John Stackhouse. Click for the full piece.

(CNN) Former first lady Barbara Bush is in failing health, a source close to the Bush family tells CNN. The source said she is being cared for at her home in Houston and has decided she does not want to go back into the hospital. She has been on oxygen for some time. Her husband, former President George H. W. Bush is with her, as are daughter Doro and sons Marvin and Neil. Her other sons, former President George W. Bush and former Gov. Jeb Bush, have been in and out visiting her the past week. Bush's office released a statement, confirming after a "recent series of hospitalizations," she has decided against seeking additional medical help and will instead focus on "comfort care." "It will not surprise those who know her that Barbara Bush has been a rock in the face of her failing health, worrying not for herself — thanks to her abiding faith — but for others. She is surrounded by a family she adores, and appreciates the many kind messages and especially the prayers she is receiving," the statement continued. Read More

– Barbara Bush is in failing health and won't be seeking further treatment for her illness, said a statement released Sunday. Per the AP, family spokesman Jim McGrath issued the news release saying that following a recent series of hospitalizations and after consulting with her family and doctors, the 92-year-old former first lady has decided not to seek additional medical treatment and will instead focus on comfort care. The release did not elaborate on the nature of Bush's health problems. However, CNN reports that Bush has been hospitalized multiple times in the last year in her battle with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and congestive heart failure. McGrath says Bush appreciates the many kind messages and prayers she's been receiving. "It will not surprise those who know her that Barbara Bush has been a rock in the face of her failing health, worrying not for herself—thanks to her abiding faith—but for others. She is surrounded by a family she adores, and appreciates the many kind messages and especially the prayers she is receiving," the statement read. Barbara Bush has been married to George HW Bush for 73 years. In recent years, it has been her husband's health, not hers, that has made headlines. The 93-year-old 41st president was hospitalized in 2015 following a fall in the family home. In 2017, Bush was hospitalized twice for a recurring case of pneumonia, the first of which kept him away from home over two weeks.

In this Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2016 photo, Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier looks up from his desk in Mandan, N.D. Kirchmeier has led the police response to the Dakota Access oil pipeline protests, and... (Associated Press) In this Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2016 photo, Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier looks up from his desk in Mandan, N.D. Kirchmeier has led the police response to the Dakota Access oil pipeline protests, and shrugs off criticism that that response has been heavy-handed at times, saying that he and his officers... (Associated Press) MANDAN, N.D. (AP) — Don't look for apologies from the North Dakota sheriff leading the response to the Dakota Access oil pipeline protests, especially for the recent — and, in some circles, controversial — action against demonstrators who he believes have become increasingly aggressive. "We are just not going to allow people to become unlawful," said Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier, a veteran of the North Dakota Highway Patrol and National Guard who was elected to his first term as sheriff about two years ago. "It's just not going to happen." More than 525 people from across the country have been arrested during months of protests over the four-state, $3.8 billion pipeline, all here in support of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe that's fighting the project because it believes it threatens drinking water and cultural sites on their nearby reservation. His department's job of policing the protesters — the vast majority who've been camping on federal land that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says it will close in December for safety concerns — has cost the county more than $8 million, even with help from the state Highway Patrol and officers from various states. Their tactics, however, have drawn criticism from Standing Rock's tribal leader as well as protest organizers and celebrities. Standing Rock Sioux Chairman Dave Archambault said he and Kirchmeier have met many times and each meeting has been tense and unproductive. "I don't think aggressive force is necessary and he thinks it's necessary," Archambault said. In the most recent clash between police and protesters, which was near the path of the pipeline and happened last week, officers used tear gas, rubber bullets and large water hoses in freezing weather. Organizers said at least 17 protesters were taken to the hospital, some for hypothermia and one for a serious arm injury, and one officer was injured. Archambault called the confrontation an act of terror against unarmed protesters that was sanctioned by Kirchmeier. "His job is to protect and serve, not to inflict harm and hurt," Archambault said. But Kirchmeier, who has the backing of the state's Republican governor and attorney general, defended officers' actions. He and other authorities said officers were assaulted with rocks, bottles and burning logs. Kirchmeier, a 53-year-old married father, grew up in this county, which has a population of fewer than 30,000 people — about 15 residents per square mile. He retired from the North Dakota Highway Patrol as a captain after 29 years, and had served in the National Guard for four years. The protests are demanding: Kirchmeier hasn't had a day off since August, routinely working more than 12 hours a day. The 34 deputies in his department are pulling similar shifts, he said, even with help from more than 1,200 officers from North Dakota and nine other states. Some officers have been targeted online by protesters, Kirchmeier included. He said someone recently posted the location of his father's grave, which he took as an effort to intimidate. "Social media has been very bad and it has turned out like law enforcement is building the pipeline," he said. "I can't stop the pipeline. My job is to enforce the law." President Barack Obama raised the possibility of rerouting the pipeline earlier this month, and construction on the last remaining large chunk, which is on federal land near the reservation, was halted by the Corps for the time being. But Kelcy Warren, CEO of pipeline developer Energy Transfer Partners, told The Associated Press the company won't do any rerouting. Kirchmeier, like many other of the state's elected officials, blame the Obama administration for not stepping in. "The issue of the pipeline is not going to get solved with protesters and cops looking at each other," Kirchmeier said. "This is bigger and takes way more political clout than what the county has to offer." Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem said Kirchmeier is in "an incredibly difficult position." "He has the responsibility to allow people to lawfully exercise their First Amendment rights and he has the obligation to stop it when there is violence contrary to the law," Stenehjem said. "And now there are a significant number or lawless people and the citizens are worried." Gov. Jack Dalrymple said Kirchmeier "has done a remarkable job dealing with all the issues brought about by these protests. He has been totally professional in what is not a typical law enforcement challenge in North Dakota." With winter looming, the Corps has decided to close the land north of the Cannonball River where the Oceti Sakowin protest encampment have flourished on Dec. 5, also citing the confrontations between protesters and authorities, according to a letter Archambault said he received. "To be clear, this means that no member of the general public, to include Dakota Access pipeline protesters, can be on these Corps lands," the letter provided by the tribe said. The Corps said in a statement Sunday that has "no plans for forcible removal" of protesters and that it "is seeking a peaceful and orderly transition to a safer location." The agency says anyone on the property north of the Cannonball River after Dec. 5 will be trespassing and subject to prosecution. Protest organizers said Saturday that they don't intend to leave or stop their acts of civil disobedience. Kirchmeier said before the Corps' move that North Dakota residents who have grown tired — and increasingly afraid — of the protests are backing law enforcement. "People don't want their livelihoods disrupted," he said. "They are not taking this lightly."

– The US Army Corps of Engineers says it isn't going to force more than 5,000 pipeline protesters off land where they've been camping since August— despite having told them that they need to leave. "The Army Corps of Engineers is seeking a peaceful and orderly transition to a safer location," the agency said in a statement, per Reuters. "This will reduce the risk of harm to people in the encampments caused [by] the harsh North Dakota winter conditions." The agency says it has no plans for "forcible removal" of the protesters when it shuts off access to the area north of North Dakota's Cannonball River on Dec. 5, though Dakota Access Pipeline protesters who remain could be prosecuted for trespassing. Protesters, many of them from the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, say they're going to stay put after the deadline expires. But local Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier, whose officers used a water cannon on protesters amid freezing temperatures last week, tells the AP that he won't tolerate people breaking the law. "It's just not going to happen," he says. Gov. Jack Dalrymple says the federal government should take the lead in evicting protesters, though Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Chairman Dave Archambault II tells the Bismarck Tribune that he believes the feds want to "reduce their liability" and will not act aggressively. (Donald Trump holds stock in the company building the $3.8 billion project.)

The first thing you see is a black and white montage accompanied by an infectious heavy metal soundtrack. A button is pushed, a lever pulled, a needle jumps within a pressure gauge. Then comes a male voice, thick with a Finnish accent: “Welcome to the Hydraulic Press Channel.” Since the beginning of October 2015, Lauri Vuohensilta has been crushing random objects to smithereens, just for the sheer pleasure of it. He’s pulverized a rubber duck, a jawbreaker, various kinds of fruit, a hockey puck, a Barbie, Lego cars and a cable box, among other assorted and strange items. Crushing stuff is all that Vuohensilta does for his YouTube channel, which has gained almost 700,000 subscribers and nearly 51 million total views in just seven months. “It’s been quite a surprise that it’s gotten so big so fast,” he said in a Skype interview with The Washington Post, through a gap-toothed grin. “I thought it would take three years or something like that to get this big.” (Courtesy of Lauri Vuohensilta) Curiously, the video that shot the Hydraulic Press Channel to viral status was not a spectacular crush like a bowling ball, or crushing a hydraulic press with a hydraulic press (appropriately titled “Pressception”). Instead, Vuohensilta’s first viral video proves an age-old myth in a rather startling fashion — paper really can’t be folded in half more than seven times. After folding a normal piece of paper in half five times, Vuohensilta enlists the help of his 100 ton hydraulic press to make the creases a little sharper. He grunts as he bends the little white square a seventh time and pushes it under the press, applying 300 bars of pressure. What happens next is unexpected — the piece of paper shatters. Vuohensilta is just as surprised as we are, exclaiming “what the f–k?” before gently extracting the remnants of the printer paper from beneath the press. It crumbles in his hand, like limestone. About a month ago, “Can you fold paper more than 7 times with hydraulic press,” made its way to the front page of Reddit. Within a day, the video got two million views, and Vuohensilta’s aptly named Hydraulic Press Channel took off. Now, his videos typically gain over a million views within a matter of days, and that paper folding video? Nearly 10 million hits. In his most recent upload, “Crushing deep freezed stuff with hydraulic press,” Vuohensilta incorporates the use of liquid nitrogen to give his crushes a little extra flair and pizzazz. As a rubber-band ball and a remote control turn to dust, Vuohensilta and his wife laugh hysterically in the background. So what is it about this hydraulic press and its crushing power that Vuohensilta and his viewers love so much? Born and raised in Tampere, Finland, Vuohensilta was just like any normal kid — he loved to destroy things. “We would crush smaller rocks with bigger ones and then we would crush toy cars with big rocks and stuff like that,” he said. “I think that most children love to break stuff. I think it’s built inside every person — the need to destroy something.” Jennifer Walker, a psychotherapist and adjunct professor at University of Maine Graduate School of Social Work, had some thoughts on the matter. “Perhaps there’s some sort of adrenaline rush or cathartic release that happens by watching something get destroyed. It makes me think of toddlers who discover they can both build things and knock them down. It’s a very powerful feeling.” Despite the relatability of his videos, Vuohensilta doesn’t seem to have as much of a following in his home country as he does abroad. “I have done 20 interviews for other countries, and just one small local newspaper, nothing at all besides that. So there is absolutely zero media interest right now in Finland for me, I’m not sure how it’s possible.” For example, 17 year old Micaela Peltoniemi from Mäntsälä, Finland, had never heard of the Hydraulic Press Channel until recently. “I asked my friends if they had heard about the channel or if I am just an uncultured swine. Seems like most of the channel’s popularity here in Finland is based on its Finnishness — yes, Finns love when foreigners know anything from their country. For some, including me, the way the guy speaks is the most interesting part. He has unusually strong accent and I find it very cute.” Indeed, Vuohensilta also attributes much of his success to his Finnish brogue. “We [he and his wife] also talked about my accent and how it was going to be very funny thing on top of the press thing,” he said. “There is this channel and they just shoot different guns, and the guy talks in a Russian accent and it’s a very popular gun channel.They have like 5 million subscribers, so I think that the accent is a good bonus for this channel.” Vuohensilta owns a factory that produces building supplies, allowing him to experiment with heavy, destruction worthy machinery and dream about purchasing a brand new hydraulic press. “I am planning to make a 1,000 ton press, where the cylinder diameter would be half a meter. So I am trying to find some sponsors to make it happen because there are quite expensive parts when you are building something like this.” For the “hydraulic press guy,” along with other aspiring YouTube entrepreneurs, support and sponsorship is crucial, and has already yielded some great things. Recognizing his following on YouTube, he said a 3D printer company struck a deal with him and sent him his very own 3D printer. Right now, Vuohensilta wants to use the printer to make more sophisticated safety equipment, but in the future, he wants to use the printer to grow his channel in a unique way. “I am also planning to let people send me earmarks of stuff that they want to be crushed, and then I can just print them out here and crush them and make the video.” While he seems excited to develop an interactive relationship with his viewers, and cater to their crushing needs, Vuohensilta has dream crushes of his own. “I think something really dangerous and explosive,” he said. “I am waiting to crush a very big lithium battery. I am planning to do this for as long as people want to watch these videos. I hope that is very long.” Kate Sensenig, a student at the Hawaii Preparatory Academy, is a freelance writer.

– Lauri Vuohensilta is a competitive Finnish powerlifter and factory owner, but the world will probably remember him for something else entirely: His love of crushing things. That's because the 29-year-old has been filming himself crushing assorted everyday objects in a hydraulic press on his Hydraulic Press Channel on YouTube since October 2015, and since one involving paper made it to the front page of Reddit, he's become a viral sensation with more than 660,000 followers, reports the Washington Post. "Perhaps there’s some sort of adrenaline rush or cathartic release that happens by watching something get destroyed," one psychotherapist muses. "It makes me think of toddlers who discover they can both build things and knock them down. It’s a very powerful feeling." Vuohensilta is a man of few words, and those he speaks are in a thick accent—something he says could well be part of his success. He's barely known in Finland, where his accent is, of course, not a novelty, but he's already done 20 interviews for media outlets in other countries. Quartz, which compiled its own best-hits video that includes the crushing of a cell phone, Barbie doll, pineapple, and more, notes that his proudest achievement so far is that he is the "eighth largest YouTube channel in Finland." He tells Vice that he takes requests for which objects to crush, and otherwise uses whatever is "laying around." But when asked why he likes to crush things, he replies it's "just for fun" and "I am also quite curious to see what happens to different things under the press." (If you want something more relaxing, Snoop Dogg has a nature show.)

Formerly the Pennsylvania Secretary of Health, she said she was "struck by the instability" of the rural hospitals in the state. Because rural communities have more senior citizens and disproportionately high rates of chronic illness and obesity, many people in those areas rely on Medicare and Medicaid, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Under this plan, hospitals can tailor their services to community needs, she said, and would still treat patients with Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance. Since 2010, 83 rural hospitals have closed nationwide and hundreds more are at risk of closing, he added.

– When Barry Gibbs' wife had a heart attack two years ago, the North Carolina man couldn't take her to the hospital in nearby Belhaven—because it had closed. Should he drive her 60 miles east to one town or 70 miles west to another? Neither seemed close enough. But his dilemma isn't unique in a country where 83 rural hospitals have shuttered since 2010 in an ongoing financial crisis, the Guardian reports. The problem: Many rural people have contract jobs without insurance, so hospitals often pay for the neediest, especially in states that rejected the Medicaid expansion under ObamaCare. Now urban hospitals are averaging 6% annual profit and rural hospitals only 2%. And as the former mayor of Belhaven learned, the politics of it can get ugly. Adam O'Neal, who served as mayor for 12 years, staged protest walks when the medical consortium Vidant Health prepared to close the hospital for losing money. "It’s worse than murder," says O’Neal. "Everybody who needs emergency care and is dying is being murdered by Vidant." The consortium did build a $5.9 million multispecialty clinic after closing the hospital, but that left Belmont without all-important emergency care. On the federal level, Sen. Chuck Grassley has introduced a bill to let small, rural hospitals save money by offering only emergency care and transferring other patients, so that's in the pipeline, per UPI. But it's too late for Barry Gibbs, whose wife Portia died on the way to the hospital. He sprinkled her ashes outside his home.

Stephanie Fragoso said she was cited Wednesday during the statewide crackdown. But did you know that applying lip balm while you’re behind the wheel can result in a $200 ticket and points on your driving record? One Las Vegas woman learned the hard way that when the Nevada Highway Patrol says it has zero tolerance for distracted driving, it really means ZERO. Fragoso said when she asked the officer why he pulled her over, he told her it was for putting on makeup. “I said no, I was putting on Chapstick,” Fragoso told The Washington Post. 8 News NOW decided to examine that question after a Las Vegas woman said she received a ticket from a Boulder City police officer for putting on lip balm at a red light. [Those other idiots are the distracted drivers you fear] The incident happened on April 1, and we don’t really blame Fragoso for thinking it was just an elaborate, terrible April Fools’ Day joke. And this week, police in Las Vegas were cracking down: Fragaso said the officer told her that drivers caught with their hands anywhere but on the wheel were liable to be ticketed. “[The ordinance] states that when a person is operating a vehicle they must provide full attention to the driving so that it won’t render that action to be unsafe,” Nevada Highway Patrol trooper Loy Hixson told KLAS. “He said 'it could have been anything; you could have been drinking water, shaving your legs',” said Fragoso. “They may be eating; we've seen women putting on makeup. I have seen men shaving with their electric razors," Hixson said. One time, when I was driving down U.S. 95, I saw a lady watching a movie on her iPad and the iPad was attached to her steering wheel with Velcro.” Okay, so don’t do that.

– Las Vegas resident Stephanie Fragoso swears she's happy that troopers in Nevada are getting tough on distracted drivers, she's just surprised to find herself at the wrong end of a ticket. The 37-year-old tells CBS affiliate KLAS that she got a $200 citation Wednesday for the high crime of applying lip balm at a red light. The trooper who pulled her over as she was leaving the intersection explained that he did so because she was putting on makeup. "I said it was Chapstick,” she recalls, but she still got the ticket. “He was very sorry; he did not want to give it to me,” Fragoso tells the Washington Post. Another trooper tells the TV station that the State Patrol is in the midst of a statewide crackdown: Drivers who don't keep their eyes on the road and their hands on the wheel risk a ticket, period. He cites some extreme examples, including one driver seen watching a movie on an iPad strapped to the steering wheel. In comparison, "dealing with pesky chapped lips at a red light seems harmless enough," writes Abby Phillip at the Post. "Not so." (In Virginia, a fifth-grader made headlines for fighting for her right to use Chapstick at school.)

Published July 08, 2008 GENERAL INFORMATION The US Air Force Special Operations School (USAFSOS) is a primary support unit of the Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), the Air Force component of the US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM). A 22-year military veteran with two master's degrees and a doctorate in administration of higher education, the retired Air Force captain was issued a “Notice of Removal” in May for his “use of cannabidiol (CBD), a Schedule 1 Controlled Substance,” by Lt. Col. Michael S. Lowe, citing a witness who saw Cobbs “smoke your ‘medicine.’” On Aug. 13, Col. Robert A. Masaitis, commander of the 492nd Special Operations Training Group, rejected Cobb’s appeal, informing him: “This action will become a permanent part of your Official Personnel Folder.” Hours before his scheduled termination, Cobbs filed for retirement in order to retain his benefits. At issue in Cobbs' termination is a 1986 executive order by President Ronald Reagan aimed to make federal workplaces drug-free. 7(c), signed by President Reagan in 1986, the “definitions” section defines “illegal drugs” as controlled substances “included in Schedule I or II.” But it adds, “The term ‘illegal drugs’ does not mean the use of a controlled substance pursuant to a valid prescription or other uses authorized by law.” By that standard, says Cobbs, he is guaranteed legal access to CBD, even as a federal employee. Noting Cobbs’ prostate cancer and inflammation, the physician, Dr. Ryan McWhorter of Montgomery, Alabama, indicated in a letter to Masaitis that his office “prescribed CBD oil” for Cobbs, who “purchases this medication from our office only.” McWhorter did not respond to the Herald-Tribune’s request for additional information. Trained as a Chinese Mandarin linguist eavesdropping on enemy chatter in Southeast Asia, he was also an air intelligence officer with the 18th Tactical Fighter Wing in Okinawa, as well an air targets intelligence officer and sensor operations detachment commander in Thailand. Asymmetric warfare courses include crisis response, information operations, psychological warfare, force protection, unconventional warfare, international terrorism, and space operations. USAFSOS COURSES - Dept of Asymetric Warfare Commander's Responsibility Course (Level 3 Pre-Command AT Trng) Dynamics of International Terrorism (Level 1 AT Awareness Trng) Joint Operational Influence Seminar Joint Senior Psychological Operations Course Responsible Officers Course (Level 2 AT Officer Trng) Space Applications for Special Operations Course -Dept of Regional Affairs Asia Pacific Orientation Course Cross-Cultural Communications Course Civil-Military Strategy for Internal Development Latin America Orientation Course Middle East Orientation Course Russia/Eurasia Orientation Course Sub-Saharan Africa Orientation Course South/Central Asia Orientation Course -Dept of Special Operations Contemporary Insurgent Warfare Course Insurgency and Foreign Internal Defense Course Introduction to Special Operations Course Joint Special Operations Air Component Course Joint Special Operations Air Component Commander's Course Joint Search and Rescue Coordinator's Course Mission Commanders Course Special Operations Liaison Element Course Emblem Significance The emblem is symbolic of the School and displays the Air Force colors, Air Force yellow and ultramarine blue. “The use of distance-learning technologies is growing to expand course availability. Video tele-instruction and web-based courses are becoming increasingly important in reaching USAFSOS’ students.” Supervising the conversion of those courses to digital formatting was Cobbs’ job. Cobbs subsequently told a couple of co-workers — one diagnosed with prostate cancer, and another with indications of the disease — about using CBD oil. Cobbs' most recent examination showed his cancer had been contained. The next step for Cobbs is an appeal for a hearing before the Merit Systems Protection Board, which considers grievances lodged by federal employees for unfair termination.

– Henry Cobbs, 77, is a 22-year military veteran who served in Vietnam and retired as an Air Force captain; he has two master's degrees and a doctorate; he's worked extensively in education and and had served as the dean of academics for the Air Force Special Operations School (AFSOS) at Hurlburt Field near Fort Walton Beach, Fla., since 2009. But he was forced out of his job at the elite military training school last month—because he vaped cannabis as part of his treatment for prostate cancer. Cobbs' doctor prescribed cannabidiol (CBD) oil, and Cobbs purchased it from his doctor's office. CBD oil does not contain tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive component of cannabis. In May, Cobbs received a "Notice of Removal" citing his use of a Schedule 1 Controlled Substance; it said that a witness saw Cobbs "smoke your 'medicine.'" He appealed, but the appeal was rejected in August, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune reports. Now Cobbs, whose cancer is in remission, says he will take the fight all the way to the Supreme Court if he has to. "You’re going to make me choose between a job and cancer?" he tells the Northwest Florida Daily News. Despite studies showing CBD has medicinal value, the federal government says it does not, and is therefore illegal. But President Reagan signed the Drug-Free Workplace executive order in 1986, and it states that "the term 'illegal drugs' does not mean the use of a controlled substance pursuant to a valid prescription or other uses authorized by law." But Cobbs does not have a medical marijuana card, and experts question whether doctors can legally prescribe something defined as a Schedule 1 drug. As for the Air Force, a public information officer would only say, "The current state of Federal law is that medicinal use of marijuana and marijuana derivatives is not legal. We will continue to follow the law and expect our employees to do the same. We are committed to providing a drug-free workplace for our employees."

REUTERS/Sergio Moraes RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Rio de Janeiro's governor declared a state of financial emergency Friday and requested federal funds to help fulfill obligations for public services during the Olympics that start Aug. 5. Image copyright AFP Image caption Rio state is responsible for the expansion of the metro for the Olympics In a decree, Mr Dornelles said the state faced "public calamity" that could lead to a "total collapse" in public services, such as security, health and education. The announcement followed this week's visit to Rio by Brazil's Interim President Michel Temer, who said the federal government would ensure all obligations are met for a successful Games. Rio is expecting about 500,000 foreign visitors during the Olympics, which has coincided with Brazil's worst recession since the 1930s and a political crisis that last month led to the suspension of President Dilma Rousseff. "The state's financial emergency in no way delays the delivery of Olympic projects and the promises assumed by the city of Rio," Mayor Eduardo Paes said on Twitter. The local organizing committee for the Games said the state's fiscal situation did not impact its actual running of the Olympics, which relies entirely on private funds. The financial pinch resulted in a 30-percent cut in the state's security budget - just as Rio has seen a jump in homicides and assaults in recent months, raising concerns about safety ahead of the Olympics. The state of Rio expects a budget deficit of over 19 billion reais ($5.56 billion) this year as spending planned before oil prices fell outstrips revenue that is tumbling during Brazil's recession. On Wednesday, Fitch Ratings downgraded Rio's debt rating to 'B-' from 'B+', saying the state was suffering "a fast-deteriorating liquidity position." Since late last year, the state has been forced to delay pension and salary payments and shutter some schools and hospitals, where crucial supplies, including medicines and syringes, are lacking. Brazil is also facing an outbreak of the Zika virus, which has been linked to the birth defect microcephaly in which babies are born with abnormally small heads frequently associated with developmental issues.

– With less than 50 days before the Olympics, the state of Rio de Janeiro officially declared financial emergency while warning of a "serious economic crisis" and looming "public calamity," the BBC reports. According to Reuters, Gov. Francisco Dornelles declared the state of financial emergency Friday, requesting federal funds to keep public services going during the Olympics and to avoid a “total collapse in public security, health, education, transport, and environmental management." Rio is expecting half-a-million visitors when the Olympics start Aug. 5. During the games, the state, which is facing a $5.6 billion budget deficit this year, will be in charge of transportation, policing, and health. And things don't look good on that front. Homicides and assaults are increasing in Rio at the same time the state's security budget was cut by 30%. Rio is already delaying pension and salary payments while closing schools and hospitals. Slate reports teachers have been striking for months, and hospitals are running out of syringes. Plus there's the whole Zika thing. Brazil, as a whole, is in its worst recession in 80 years thanks to low oil prices. And the state chief of staff says Rio is "nearing a social collapse." But despite all that, the Olympics will likely go off without too many hitches. Much of the funding for the games is coming from the Rio de Janeiro city government. “Once the games are over? That’s when the real crisis will set in," according to Slate.

The lone surviving suspect in the bombing attack on the Boston Marathon one week ago is communicating in writing, and could be ready to be questioned by an elite FBI team As Boston prepared to mark with a moment of silence the passing of a week since the terror attack that killed three and wounded at least 176, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was believed to be unable to speak but awake and responding to questions, possibly from medical staff. Tsarnaev, 19, is being treated at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, where he is listed in serious but stable condition, with wounds to the neck and throat area, according to sources. Deval Patrick has asked residents to observe a moment of silence at 2:50 p.m. Monday, the time the first of two bombs exploded near the finish line. Schumer, speaking during an unrelated news conference, said that the federal death penalty law he helped co-author in the 1990s would be "appropriate" in the case of surviving suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. "We have reason to believe, based upon the evidence that was found at that scene -- the explosions, the explosive ordnance that was unexploded and the firepower that they had -- that they were going to attack other individuals," Davis said Sunday on CBS' "Face the Nation." "We must be people of reconciliation -- not revenge," he told about 800 parishioners during a service that honored four killed in last week's marathon bombings and their aftermath. A day-long dragnet for Tsarnaev ended Friday, with police capturing the suspect covered in blood and hiding in a boat in the backyard of a man who called 911 after becoming suspicious of activity on his property. The shot was fired at close range, the source said, suggesting the wound was self-inflicted. Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev was alive and struggling with Watertown police early Friday morning, when his younger brother and alleged co-conspirator drove over him in a stolen SUV, dragging him on the pavement and apparently inflicting the fatal injuries that killed him, said Watertown Police Chief Ed Deveau in a Globe interview. He was also intubated and breathing with the help of a respirator and earlier, officials had said he was not in any condition to be questioned. Authorities believe Tsarnaev may have tried to shoot himself before he was taken into custody Friday night because of the trajectory and location of the bullet wound in his neck, a source familiar with the investigation said Sunday. Residents of greater Boston were told to stay in doors, as police hoped to find and apprehend Tsarnaev alive. Police say he and his older brother placed the deadly bombs, at least one of which was made from a pressure cooker packed with explosives and shrapnel, at the race, killing three and injuring more than 180. Boston Mayor Thomas Menino said at the news conference that authorities are now convinced Tsarnaev and his brother, Tamerlan, who was killed in a shootout with police Friday morning, acted on their own in the bombing. He was identified as Richard H. Donahue Jr., 33, and was at Mount Auburn Hospital in critical but stable condition. “The guy was very lucky that they let him go,” Massachusetts State Police spokesman David Procopio said.

– Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has regained consciousness and has been giving investigators written answers to questions, law enforcement sources tell ABC, though it's unclear if he's actually saying anything useful yet. Sources tell Fox News that he will not be formally charged today. The Boston bombing suspect is listed as in serious but stable condition at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, with neck and throat injuries that prevent him from talking. The shot that injured his throat was fired at close range, sources tell Newsday, and that, combined with the bullet's apparent trajectory, leads investigators to believe that the 19-year-old shot himself in a failed suicide attempt after police discovered his hiding place. The source says Tsarnaev was mouthing curse words as an ambulance rushed him to the hospital, though it's unclear if they were aimed at his doctors, his captors, or himself. Investigators now believe Dzhokhar may have dealt the killing blow to his brother, Tamerlan, the Boston Globe reports. The 26-year-old had apparently run out of bullets and was struggling with police officers trying to handcuff him when his younger brother sped toward them in a stolen SUV, causing officers to scatter and running over the elder brother, who was briefly dragged by the vehicle, Watertown's chief of police says.

Kyodo Two American men were arrested Saturday over the death of a female Irish exchange student in a Shinjuku Ward hotel, Tokyo police said. Nicola Furlong, 21, was found unconscious in an upscale Tokyo hotel room early Thursday morning after attending a Nicki Minaj concert with a 21-year-old female friend. Furlong was later pronounced dead, and an autopsy indicated she may have been strangled, according to the Japan Times. A guest complained about a loud noise coming from one of the rooms around 3:20 a.m. Thursday, and a hotel employee who checked the room found the Irish woman lying unconscious on the floor with the man standing nearby, according to the sources. The two men were charged with indecent assault on the student's 21-year-old female friend, who was in a separate room with the other man, but police suspect they were involved in the student's death, investigative sources said. Furlong was studying at the Takasaki City University of Economics, about 60 miles northwest of Tokyo, as part of a one-year exchange program through Dublin City University.

– One of two American men being held after the suspected homicide of an Irish exchange student in Tokyo has reportedly worked as a dancer for the Black Eyed Peas, Chris Brown, and Jennifer Lopez. James Jamari Blackston, 23, and a 19-year-old musician pal were busted after Nicola Furlong, 21, was found dying in a hotel room. She and a female friend had been invited by the men for drinks to the upscale Keio Plaza Hotel after attending a Nicki Minaj concert, reports ABC News. The men are currently charged with indecent assault on Furlong's friend, who was attacked in a taxi on the way to the hotel while she was in a near-comatose state, officials tell the Japan Times. Investigators believe Furlong was strangled, likely during a sexual assault, Japanese media is reporting. Investigators believe the men either plied the women with alcohol or spiked their drinks before taking them to the hotel, reports the Irish Independent. Furlong was a student at Takasaki City University on a year-long exchange program from Dublin, and was scheduled to return home in a matter of weeks. "We are devastated by the loss of our beautiful daughter," said a statement from her parents. “Nicola was a warm, generous, stunning person who always had time for her family and other people."

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — A white lion on loan from the Siegfried & Roy animal and magic act has died after undergoing a medical procedure at the Toledo Zoo. A zoo veterinarian says in a statement that while there are risks whenever anesthesia is administered, the procedure was necessary for Legend's quality of life. Legend went into cardiac and respiratory arrest after being removed from anesthesia. The Toledo Zoo cannot speculate on a cause of death, but will perform a gross necropsy, an autopsy for animals, and histopathology tests in order to investigate further. Courage, Legend’s 14-year old brother, will continue to reside in the Toledo Zoo’s Tembo Trail.

– A mesmerizing male white lion belonging to Siegfried & Roy died yesterday while undergoing a minor procedure at the Toledo Zoo, where he was on loan, reports the Toledo Blade. Fourteen-year-old Legend was being operated on after displaying signs of lameness in his front left foot; he was stable as vets treated three toenails and an infected nailbed, but went into cardiac and respiratory arrest as he was taken off anesthesia. "Animal deaths are always difficult, but Legend’s is even more so because of its sudden and unexpected nature," says the zoo's chief vet. A necropsy is planned. It's not the first white lion death in recent memory: The AP notes that Wisdom, another male, also died during surgery in 2013. The zoo's remaining white lion is Legend's 14-year-old brother, Courage.

Caroline Kennedy, the new U.S. ambassador to Japan and daughter of slain President John F. Kennedy, leaves for Japan on Thursday to begin her work to strengthen the critical bond between the U.S. and the Asian nation. Kennedy, the late president's daughter, signed her appointment papers Tuesday during a private ceremony with Secretary of State John F. Kerry in Washington and is expected to take up her new post in Tokyo this month.

– Caroline Kennedy is the US ambassador to Japan following a swearing-in ceremony at the State department yesterday. After John Kerry administered the oath, the new ambassador, the secretary of state, and others headed to the Japanese ambassador's residence for a reception, the Washington Post reports. "My husband and I and my children are so excited to be going to Japan," Kennedy told reporters, per the AP. "We look forward to meeting as many people as we can, to making new friends, visiting, and studying the history and culture of this beautiful country that is such a strong partner to the United States," she said. Making new friends shouldn't be difficult, the Los Angeles Times points out: Kennedy's father remains popular in the country. The JFK Club Japan meets twice a year, and it's not the only Kennedy fan club. Caroline Kennedy heads to Japan tomorrow, the AP notes.

Monday night marked the first ever The Daily Show with Trevor Noah with Jon Stewart. It was what host Noah admitted as a monumental moment, but Stewart did not find himself back at the iconic desk for just any reason — he was there to show his support for the Zadroga Act, which provides compensation and medical funds to 9/11 first responders. A young man returns to call for congressional action on a 9/11 bill. pic.twitter.com/sGDtBuzrNp — Sandra Gonzalez (@TheSandraG) December 8, 2015 Kenny Specht, the founder of the New York City Firefighter Brotherhood Foundation, who was on that original panel, explained that two of the empty chairs belonged to people with illnesses, whose conditions he could not legally comment on.

– Comedian Jon Stewart has returned to the Daily Show, where he made a push to renew a law that provides health benefits for first responders who became ill after the 9/11 attacks. On the Daily Show With Trevor Noah Monday night, Stewart, as a field correspondent for a segment, urged, badgered, and exhorted Congress, especially Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, to pass the Zadroga Act. The law expired Oct. 1 but has enough funding to last another year. Proponents of the law are seeking its permanent extension, but some Republicans have opposed that, saying they want a chance to periodically review it and make sure it's operating soundly. Stewart told Noah that he wasn't there to take his show back, but Stewart told him he was back because he had an issue he wanted people to pay attention to and that he "realized he didn't have a show anymore," the Wrap reports. Stewart, who devoted a show to the issue in 2010, said that from his experiences, "the only [conclusion] that I can draw is the people from Congress are not as good a people as the people who are first responders." He had a panel of four first responders on the 2010 show and welcomed one of them, firefighter Kenny Specht, back to the show Monday night, Mashable reports. Three chairs were left empty because two members of the 2010 panel are now too ill to appear and one has died. (Stewart will be returning to TV longer-term under a production deal with HBO.)

(Source: Dorian Reyna) SAN ANTONIO, TX (KSAT/CNN) - Four baboons were on the run in Texas and the challenge of getting them back to a research facility they escaped from was caught on camera. The priority for the staff was "was ensuring the baboon was not hurt by traffic". Image copyright AFP/Getty Image caption There are about 1,100 baboons at the research facility Officials at Texas research centre have made changes to the enclosures after four baboons leapt to freedom.

– Animal researchers saw the 55-pound barrel as an "enrichment tool." Baboons, to whom it was given, apparently saw only a means for escape. Indeed, four baboons briefly escaped the Texas Biomedical Research Institute Saturday after propping a barrel against a wall of their open-air enclosure and using it to hop to the other side, per the San Antonio Express-News. "One of the baboons said, 'I am going to try to make this leap,' and jumped on top of the wall and out," the Washington Post quotes an official as saying. In what he calls "typical monkey see, monkey do" behavior, three other baboons followed suit. The animals didn't have long to enjoy their freedom, though: One returned to the enclosure on its own, while the others were tracked down within 30 minutes. Two were captured near a tree line, but one reached a nearby road. A video shared by ABC News shows researchers chasing a baboon as cars whiz by. A passerby tells KSAT she saw "four guys clapping at the bushes. I just went about driving and then all of a sudden this brown big mass pops out." Luckily the escaped baboons are doing well, and they weren't involved in any infectious disease research at the institute, where new vaccines and medicines are developed. But the barrels, which were to help the baboons mimic foraging behavior, will be removed to prevent future escapes. Noting the facility has housed baboons for more than 50 years—it currently has 1,100—a rep says "this was truly a unique incident," per the BBC.

Close video Eric Holder: 'Wholesale change' needed in Ferguson police department Eric Holder talks about the report of a deal being worked out that would remove the Ferguson police chief and Officer Darren Wilson, who fatally shot Michael Brown. Since he became attorney general in 2009, the Justice Department has opened more than 20 such investigations and issued strong rebukes of departments in Cleveland and Albuquerque, accusing them of excessive force and unwarranted shootings. The Justice Department is conducting a civil rights investigation into the shooting death of teenager Michael Brown Jr., as well as the entire department for allegations of past discriminatory practices. Ferguson Mayor James Knowles III denied plans for Jackson to resign, telling the St. Louis Post-Dispatch via text that “He’s stayed strong with us till this point. Don’t see that changing.” Knowles also said that the city had not been asked by federal officials to contemplate dismantling the police force. “The reality is, I’ve been briefed all along on this matter,” he said at a news conference recently.

– Black drivers in Ferguson, Mo., are pulled over much more for traffic stops than white drivers—and this imbalance is the crux of a forthcoming and damning Justice Department report, the New York Times reports. The nearly finished findings, according to law enforcement officials who say they've been briefed on it, are expected to show how systematic discriminatory actions helped stoke tensions in the period before Michael Brown's shooting death last summer by officer Darren Wilson. The report is also said to suggest that ticket fines are used to keep the city's budget in line, the Times notes. If those issued a ticket can't pay it, they can keep going to jail for the unpaid fees, which has proven lucrative for the city: "Fines and public safety" are Ferguson's second-largest revenue source (sales tax is the first), per the Times. Although blacks in Ferguson only make up 63% of the population, they were involved in 86% of the city's 2013 traffic stops, per Missouri AG info cited by the Times. And the search rate for blacks after a stop was twice that of whites during that time period, though whites were significantly more likely to have "contraband." Mayor James Knowles III has already taken umbrage with the alleged findings and for recent statements by AG Eric Holder, who said in October that "wholesale change" was needed in the Ferguson PD. "How come they haven't told us there is something that needs to be changed as they found it?" Knowles told the Times last week. "Why have they allowed whatever they think is happening to continue to happen for six months if that's the case?" Also said to be included in the report: a racist joke believed to have been emailed among city officials, law enforcement officials tell the Times.

Highest-grossing film per year [ edit ] Most acclaimed films of the decade [ edit ] According to They Shoot Pictures, Don't They?, a site which numerically calculates reception among critics, the most acclaimed films of the 2000s are: According to Metacritic, which analysed many of the notable 'best films of the decade' lists to compile the results, the top twenty films most often and most notably included in these lists are As well as this, the ten films released in the 2000s which got the highest average critic scores according to Metacritic are List of films [ edit ] See also [ edit ] References [ edit ] I appreciate the ludicrous vanity but it has some bearing on the above.) The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (New Line; 2003) $1,119,110,941 2. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (Disney; 2006) $1,066,179,725 3. The Dark Knight (Warner Bros.; 2008) $1,001,921,825 4. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Warner Bros.; 2001) $974,733,550 5. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (Disney; 2007) $960,996,492 6. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Warner Bros.; 2007) $938,212,738 7. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Warner Bros.; 2009) $929,022,922 8. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (New Line; 2002) $925,282,504 9. Shrek 2 (DreamWorks; 2004) $919,838,758 10. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Warner Bros.; 2005) $895,921,036 11. Spider-Man 3 (Columbia; 2007) $890,871,626 12. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Warner Bros.; 2002) $878,643,482 13. Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (20th Century Fox; 2009) $878,615,229 14. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (New Line; 2001) $870,761,744 15. Other popular CGI films include Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Monsters, Inc. and Ratatouille. Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (20th Century Fox; 2005) $848,754,768 17. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (Paramount; 2009) $833,229,011 18. Spider-Man (Columbia; 2002) $821,708,551 19. Shrek the Third (DreamWorks; 2007) $798,958,162 20. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Warner Bros.; 2004) $795,634,069 21. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (Paramount; 2008) $786,636,033 22. Spider-Man 2 (Columbia; 2004) $783,766,341 23. The Da Vinci Code (Sony/Columbia; 2006) $758,239,851 24. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Disney; 2005) $745,011,272 25. The Matrix Reloaded (Warner Bros.; 2003) $742,128,461 26. Transformers *DreamWorks/Paramount; 2007) $709,709,780 27. Ice Age: The Meltdown (20th Century Fox; 2006) $655,388,158 28. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (Disney; 2003) $654,264,015 29. Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (20th Century Fox; 2002) $649,398,328 30. Kung Fu Panda (DreamWorks; 2008) $631,736,484 31. The Incredibles (Disney/Pixar; 2004) $631,442,092 32. Hancock (Columbia; 2008) $624,386,746 33. Ratatouille (Disney/Pixar; 2007) $623,707,397 34. The Passion of the Christ (Newmarket; 2004) $611,899,420 35. Mamma Mia! Meet the Fockers (Universal; 2004) $516,642,939 (Also this. Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (DreamWorks; 2008) $603,900,344 37. Casino Royale (MGM/Columbia; 2006) $594,239,066 38. War of the Worlds (DreamWorks/Paramount; 2005) $591,745,540 39. Quantum of Solace (MGM/Columbia; 2008) $586,090,727 40. I Am Legend (Warner Bros.; 2007) $585,349,010 41. Iron Man (Paramount; 2008) $585,133,287 42. Night at the Museum (20th Century Fox; 2006) $574,480,450 43.

– Thanks to a Wikipedia contributor who put together a list of the 50 highest-grossing films of the decade, it’s easy to see Hollywood’s—and, apparently, America’s—obsession with rehashing old material. As The Wrap points out, only nine aren't sequels or adaptations, and you have to reach No. 15 before finding an original. Gawker says "only five are not terrible." The first 15: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King: $1.12 billion Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest: $1.07 billion The Dark Knight: $1 billion Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone: $974.7 million Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End: $960.9 million Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: $938.2 million Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: $929 million The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers: $925.3 million Shrek 2: $919.9 million Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: $895.9 million Spider-Man 3: $890.9 million Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: $878.6 million Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs: $878.6 million The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring: $870.8 million Finding Nemo: $864.6 million For the complete list, click the link at right.

– Violent protests continued across the Arab world today and claimed at least seven lives, three of them near the US embassy in Sudan's capital city, NBC News reports. Security officers in Khartoum fired tear gas at about 5,000 angry demonstrators, who were also protesting at nearby British and German embassies. In other developments: Two demonstrators were killed and at least 29 injured outside the US embassy in Tunisia, where angry crowds gathered after setting fire to the American School. At least one person died and 25 others were hurt in the Lebanese city of Tripoli, where protesters torched and ransacked a KFC and a Hardee's restaurant, NBC News reports. Demonstrations there were timed to concur with a 3-day visit by Pope Benedict XVI, according to Lebanese officials. A protester died of birdshot wounds during a battle with police near Cairo's US embassy. He was the first Egyptian fatality during the riots. A large demonstration is underway outside the BMCI bank in Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania, Huffington Post reports. The White House has asked YouTube to review—but not remove—the anti-Muslim video that apparently sparked the rioting, the Washington Post reports. Administration officials asked "them to review whether it violates their terms of use," said a National Security Council spokesman. (YouTube has already removed the video in protesting countries.) See our earlier roundups on the protests, including a no-fly zone in Benghazi and Marines arriving in Yemen.

An artificial pancreas developed by Boston researchers shows considerable promise to dramatically change the treatment of type 1 diabetes, potentially enabling 2 million Americans to eat what they want without counting carbohydrates or calculating insulin injections, researchers announced Sunday. Investigators from Massachusetts General Hospital and Boston University developed the experimental device, which consists of an automated pump that releases the hormones insulin and glucagon and a glucose monitoring system controlled by an iPhone app. "The bionic pancreas system reduced the average blood glucose to levels that have been shown to dramatically reduce the risk of diabetic complications," said co-first author Steven Russell, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital. “They went on a diabetes vacation, eating ice cream, candy bars, and other things they normally wouldn’t eat — like taking out a new sports car and seeing what it can do.” In a new study published online in the New England Journal of Medicine, the researchers found that 52 adults and teens who used the mobile system for five days had healthier blood sugar levels compared to when they used standard treatments that required them to check their own blood sugar levels and determine how much insulin to inject via a pump device. "The performance of our system in both adults and adolescents exceeded our expectations under very challenging real-world conditions," said Ed Damiano, Ph.D., the paper's senior author, an associate professor of biomedical engineering at Boston University and the parent of a son with type 1 diabetes. “It’s taking diabetes management to its ultimate potential and unburdens people with type 1 diabetes from thinking about all the things that go into managing diabetes every day of their lives.” Damiano, whose 15-year-old son developed type 1 diabetes during his first year of life, said he wakes up two to three times a night to check his son’s blood sugar to prevent it from falling to a dangerously low level, called hypoglycemia, which can cause seizures, a coma, and sometimes even death. The research found that adult patients with type 1 diabetes who used the experimental device had lower blood sugar levels overall than the control group while also spending 67 percent less time in a state of hypoglycemia. "With promising results such as these, we plan to support larger multicenter trials of the artificial pancreas in the near future," said Guillermo Arreaza-Rubín, M.D., the project officer for artificial pancreas studies funded by the NIH's National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). Despite using an insulin pump and continuous glucose monitoring device, which many diabetes experts consider to be gold standard therapies, the Newburyport teen said he has never been able to achieve the kind of blood sugar control that he had while using the bionic pancreas. A bionic pancreas - like the one used in these studies - would function more like an automated thermostat, automatically monitoring blood glucose and delivering insulin or glucagon when needed to keep glucose within the normal range. The iPhone app determines how much insulin to dispense — to make high blood sugar levels decrease — and how much of the hormone glucagon to dispense to make blood sugar levels rise; it also learns over time how to adjust the release of the two hormones based on input from the monitoring system. “I think it’s an important step forward, but it’s going to be quite challenging to see whether this device can function safely and effectively without close supervision,” said Dr. Howard Wolpert, director of the institute for technology translation at the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston, who reviewed the paper before publication.

– While you were using your iPhone to browse Facebook and read Newser, a group of researchers was modifying an iPhone 4S to be used as a portable artificial pancreas—and in a recent trial, the device successfully regulated the blood sugar levels of people with Type 1 diabetes. About a third of people with Type 1 diabetes, which is typically diagnosed in childhood, use an insulin pump to regulate their blood sugar rather than giving themselves insulin injections. But unlike those pumps, the bionic pancreas adjusts both insulin and glucagon, a hormone that works with insulin to regulate blood sugar, automatically, the New York Times reports. It performed better than a regular pump for both adults and adolescents, according to the press release. The device is comprised of more than just the iPhone: The patient has a sensor implanted under the skin near the abdomen, which sends readings of blood glucose levels to the attached phone. The phone then calculates and sends the correct dosage of insulin and glucagon through attached pumps and tubes every five minutes. Patients can also enter information about meals before they eat, and the phone will calculate and deliver the correct dose. Twice-daily finger pricks are still required, with the blood sugar readings entered into the phone. Adult participants had about 37% fewer incidents during which low blood glucose levels required intervention—incidents that can be dangerous in the moment as well as cause health complications down the line—and the device could even allow patients to eat what they want, the Boston Globe notes. (During the trial, participants "went on a diabetes vacation, eating ice cream, candy bars, and other things they normally wouldn’t eat," explains the lead researcher.) It could be available by 2017, but larger trials are the next step.

PARIS — A suspect linked to the Nov. 13 Paris attackers was found with surveillance footage of a high-ranking Belgian nuclear official, the Belgian authorities acknowledged on Thursday, raising fears that the Islamic State is trying to obtain radioactive material for a terrorist attack. The existence of the footage, which the police in Belgium seized on Nov. 30, was confirmed by Thierry Werts, a spokesman for Belgium’s federal prosecutor, after being reported in the Belgian daily newspaper La Dernière Heure.

– Footage found in the possession of a man arrested after the Paris terror attacks may point to a plot involving radioactive material. Authorities say a 10-hour surveillance video seized from Mohamed Bakkali on Nov. 30 shows the home of a senior Belgian nuclear official who has access to secure areas of the Belgian Nuclear Research Center in Mol, report the Wall Street Journal and New York Times. The purpose of the footage, whose existence was confirmed this week, isn't clear. A rep for Belgium's federal prosecutor says "there is no element that says that this was to perpetrate an attack." But some suggest it may have been groundwork for a plan to abduct the official to gain access to material needed to create a dirty bomb—basically a normal bomb but with "radiological material strapped to it," an expert tells the Times. Belgium's interior minister says government officials who watched the undated footage—apparently shot from a camera placed in nearby bushes, reports AFP—found there was a threat "to the person in question, but not the nuclear facilities." Sebastien Berg, a rep for Belgium's Federal Agency for Nuclear Control, however, says authorities had "concrete indications that showed that the terrorists involved in the Paris attacks had the intention to do something involving one of our four nuclear sites," the others being two power plants and a producer of medical isotopes. Berg says workers at the Mol facility had been advised to be extra watchful, but that no extra security staff was put in place.

A single-page March 22, 1950 memo by Guy Hottel, special agent in charge of the Washington Field Office, regarding UFOs is the most viewed document in the FBI Vault , our online repository of public records. The so-called Hottel memo was first released in the late 1970s under the Freedom of Information Act, but it's been viewed nearly a million times since 2011, when the FBI launched an online database of public records called the Vault. Dated March 22, 1950, the memo was addressed to FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover and written by Guy Hottel, then head of the Bureau's field office in Washington, D.C. Hottel was reporting what an Air Force investigator said that someone else told him about the crashed saucers. Credit: FBI View full size image The FBI says its most viewed public record is a memo from 1950 recounting a strange story someone told an agent about three "flying saucers" that were allegedly recovered in New Mexico. The following details of the report have perhaps fueled the hopes of those who want to believe: "They [the saucers] were described as being circular in shape with raised centers, approximately 50 feet in diameter. Each one was occupied by three bodies of human shape but only three feet tall, dressed in metallic cloth of a very fine texture. Each body was bandaged in a manner similar to the blackout suits used by speed fliers and test pilots.” After relaying an informant’s claim that the saucers had been found because the government’s “high-powered radar” in the area had interfered with “the controlling mechanism of the saucers,” the memo ends simply by saying that “[n]o further evaluation was attempted” concerning the matter by the FBI agent. Bureau officials also say there is no reason to believe that the story has anything to do with the infamous 1947 Roswell crash in New Mexico. For a few years after the Roswell incident, Director Hoover did order his agents—at the request of the Air Force—to verify any UFO sightings. That practice ended in July 1950, four months after the Hottel memo, suggesting that our Washington Field Office didn’t think enough of that flying saucer story to look into it. For the record, FBI officials said in a statement on Monday (March 25) that the Hottel memo "does not prove the existence of UFOs; it is simply a second- or third-hand claim that we never investigated."

– Of the 6,700 documents that the FBI has posted publicly at its Vault since 2011, the most popular of them all is ... a 1950 memo on UFOs, reports Live Science. In the so-called Hottel memo, an agent recounts that someone reported seeing three "flying saucers" that crashed in New Mexico, with three apparent dead aliens in each. The agent didn't seem to take it very seriously, concluding that "no further evaluation was attempted." The memo has been publicly available since the 1970s, but with the launch of the Vault, the one-page memo went viral and has since then received nearly 1 million hits. The FBI again takes pains to point out "the Hottel memo does not prove the existence of UFOs," in its own writeup on the popularity of the document. "It is simply a second- or third-hand claim that we never investigated," possibly the result of a tall tale floating around at the time. "Sorry, no smoking gun on UFOs."

The Escambia County Sheriff's Office has reported that the stand off with William "Billy" Boyette, 41, and his accomplice Mary Barbara Craig Rice, 37, of Milton, Florida inside of the West Point Motel in Georgia has ended. Escambia County Sheriff's Office The Escambia County, Florida, Sheriff's Office said Boyette was also suspected of shooting a woman, later identified as Kayla Crocker, during a home invasion in Pensacola. Deputies in Florida responded to a citizen tip Tuesday afternoon and found Boyette and Rice holed up at the West Point Motel in West Point, Ga., along with a car that was stolen Monday morning from Kayla Crocker's home in Pensacola, Fla. Crocker, 28, was shot and died Tuesday afternoon at an area hospital. Smith with Troup County Sheriff's Office, police made multiple attempts to contact Boyette and Rice inside the hotel with no luck. John Broz While a SWAT team was preparing to storm the West Point Motel, Rice came out and surrendered, the Troup County Sheriff's Office said in a statement posted to Facebook. A clerk at the motel told deputies that Rice checked into the motel Monday night under her own name. Eddins went on to say that the other suspect, Boyette, had pleaded guilty to aggravated assault charges in Santa Rosa County in 2003 and served a stint in jail. Boyette was suspected of murdering Alicia Greer and Jacqueline Moore in Milton, Florida, and Peggy Broz, whose car Boyette is believed to have stolen, in Lillian, Alabama. Boyette and Rice are are then thought to have killed Peggy Broz at her Lillian, Ala., home the morning of Feb. 3 in order to steal her vehicle. Baldwin County (Ala.) Sheriff’s Office information officer Anthony Lowery confirmed that a warrant for capital murder had been issued for Boyette and Rice for the ambush and killing of Broz. BCSO investigators have determined that Rice was with William "Billy" Boyette, 41, when they shot and killed Broz during the early morning hours of Friday (Feb. 3). Lowery said BCSO has found no other connection between the suspects and the victim other than the fact she had a vehicle they wanted. In a press conference at the Santa Rosa county sheriff's office Tuesday morning, Sheriff Bob Johnson said a warrant for accessory after the fact to capital murder has been issued for Rice, who Johnson says is a "willing participant." State Attorney Bill Eddins said Rice faces charges of accessory after the fact to capital murder in the Milton double homicide, and charges are still pending in the attack on Crocker.

– A fugitive murder suspect who vowed he wouldn't be taken alive killed himself after being cornered at a Georgia motel Tuesday, police say. William "Billy" Boyette died of what police say was a self-inflicted gunshot wound moments after alleged accomplice Mary Rice surrendered at a motel in West Point, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Cops believe the pair murdered Alicia Greer and Jacqueline Moore at a motel in Milton, Fla., on Jan. 31 before killing Peggy Broz in Lillian, Ala., on Feb. 3 to steal her car. A fourth victim, Kayla Crocker, was shot in Pensacola, Fla., on Monday and died from her injuries on Tuesday, USA Today reports. Rice has been charged with robbery and first-degree murder. Police say they found the pair and that a standoff at the Motel West Point began after they received a tip from a citizen who spotted Crocker's car outside the motel at 2:30pm. The vehicle was stolen after a home invasion in which Crocker was fatally wounded but her 2-year-old son was left unharmed, AL.com reports. Boyette was confirmed dead and Rice was arrested at around 6:15pm. Boyette was in a relationship with Greer, but police say there was no known connection between him or Rice and any of the other three victims. "There is nothing to make sense of this. He needed a car, and he did not care 'cause he's an evil person," Broz's father-in-law tells NBC News.

People vs. Dr. Conrad Murray MJ's Security Guard: Murray Had Me Remove Vials People vs. Dr. Conrad Murray -- Michael Jackson's Security Guard Alberto Alvarez Testifies Alberto Alvarez -- Michael Jackson's Security Guard Testifies Updated 9/29/11 at 8:48 AM 's security guard-- the man who called 911 the morning MJ died -- just took the stand, claiming Murray asked him to remove several vials of Propofol before he called an ambulance.Alvarez claims he quickly arrived at the scene on June 25th, 2009 -- and saw Murray performing one-handed chest compressions on MJ, who was still in the bed. Full coverage of Conrad Murray's trial Alvarez said Murray grabbed a handful of vials and told him, “Here, put these in a bag.” The doctor also asked him to remove an intravenous drip bag containing “a milky white substance” -- a description consistent with the surgical anesthetic propofol. Alvarez, testifying for the prosecution, said Murray then pointed toward an IV stand by Jackson's bed and told him to grab one of the saline bags hanging there and take it away. Alvarez claims there were two saline bags on the IV stand, but Murray cared only about the one that contained a vial with a "milky white substance. Prosecutors say the milky substance was the surgical anesthetic propofol, which authorities have deemed to be the principal cause of Jackson's death on June 25, 2009. Michael Jackson’s doctor tried to revive him with a substandard version of CPR, performing chest compressions intermittently with one hand while the singer lay on a mattress, a security guard testified Thursday.

– Today's testimony in the Conrad Murray trial doesn't exactly speak to his skills as a doctor. One of Michael Jackson's security guards said that when he entered the singer's room, he saw Murray performing a shoddy version of CPR—using only one hand, intermittently, reports the Los Angeles Times. Murray told him that Jackson was in bad shape and needed to get to a hospital, even as he temporarily halted CPR, grabbed a "handful" of vials, and said, "Here, put these in a bag.” The guard, Alberto Alvarez, said he was also asked to grab a saline bag containing "a milky white substance." It was only after Alvarez helped put away vials and bags that Murray told him to call 911, notes TMZ. At one point, Jackson children Paris and Prince entered the room and Paris screamed. "Don't let them see their dad that way," Murray told Alvarez, who ushered them from the room. Yesterday, another security guard said he entered the room about the same time, notes Reuters. "Paris was on the ground balled-up crying and Prince, he was just standing there, he had a real shocked—just slowly crying—look on his face," said Faheem Muhammad. He quoted Murray as saying, "Does anybody know CPR?"

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced new steps to reverse the decline of the Monarch butterfly, including efforts to restore more than 200,000 acres of habitat along the Interstate 35 corridor from Texas to Minnesota. (Reuters) Threatened animals like elephants, porpoises and lions grab all the headlines, but what’s happening to monarch butterflies is nothing short of a massacre. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service summed it up in just one grim statistic on Monday: Since 1990, about 970 million have vanished. It happened as farmers and homeowners sprayed herbicides on milkweed plants, which serve as the butterflies’ nursery, food source and home. In an attempt to counter two decades of destruction, the Fish and Wildlife Service launched a partnership with two private conservation groups, the National Wildlife Federation and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, to basically grow milkweed like crazy in the hopes of saving the monarchs. A monarch caterpillar rests on a leaf at the Northeast Regional Office in Massachusetts. (Maddie List/USFWS) Monarch butterflies are a keystone species that once fluttered throughout the United States by the billions. They alighted from Mexico to Canada each spring on a trek that required six generations of the insect to complete. Afterward, young monarchs about the quarter of the weight of a dime, that know nothing about the flight pattern through the United States, not to mention Mexico, fly back, resting, birthing and dining on milkweed. Only about 30 million remain. The extinction of certain butterfly species is not unheard of. The blueberry-colored Xerces blue disappeared from San Francisco years ago, and recently Fish and Wildlife announced that two subspecies — the rockland skipper and Zestos in South Florida — haven’t been seen since 2004 and are probably extinct. On top of that, pesticide use has also caused a collapse of other pollinators — wasps, beetles and especially honeybees. Fish and Wildlife is reviewing a petition filed by the Center for Biological Diversity to list monarch butterflies as an endangered species that requires special protection to survive. The agency is studying whether that’s necessary and also trying to do more to help restore the population. The agency is providing $2 million for on the ground conservation projects. As part of an agreement, the federation will help raise awareness about the need for milkweed, provide seeds to anyone willing to plant it and to plant the seeds in open space — roadsides, parks, forests and patio flower boxes, to name a few places. Another $1.2 million will go to the foundation as seed money to generate a larger fundraising match from private organizations. Yosemite National Park offers protection to the milkweed plant, which is important to the survival of the "charismatic" monarch butterfly. (National Park Service/Yosemite Conservancy via YouTube) Fish and Wildlife will chip in to plant milkweed seeds in refuges and other areas it controls to create 200,000 acres of habitat along the Interstate 35 corridor from Texas to Minnesota, where 50 percent of monarchs migrate. Fish and Wildlife will encourage other federal and state agencies to do the same on public lands and is working with the governments of Mexico and Canada to help restore the iconic butterfly. The monarch butterfly’s round trip to and from Mexico takes it past a killing field of agriculture. But farmers aren’t entirely to blame for the insect’s decline, said Dan Ashe, director of Fish and Wildlife. “We’ve all been responsible. We are the consumers of agricultural products. I eat corn. American farmers are not the enemy. Can they be part of the solution? Yes,” Ashe said. “It’s not about this wonderful, mystical creature,” Ashe said. “It’s about us.” A monarch perches on a sunflower in Lacreek National Wildlife Refuge in South Dakota. (Tom Koerner/USFWS) U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) underscored that point in her remarks during the announcement of the partnership at the National Press Club in Washington. Her mother, a second-grade teacher, was wild about monarch butterflies, Klobuchar said, so much so that she dressed as one each year to call attention to their return flight home. Her mother carried a sign, Klobuchar said, “Mexico or bust.” “This is something that means a lot to my family,” the senator said. “My mother would want me to do this.” Klobuchar said her role is to help the foundation bring private partners to the effort and help the Fish and Wildlife Service however she can to persuade public entities to get involved. Minnesota, she said, has a monarch festival each year. Collin O’Mara, president of the National Wildlife Federation, said momentum is building. Charlotte and St. Louis, he said, are two cities that declared themselves as sanctuaries for monarchs. A monarch drys its wings after hatching from its chrysalis. (Joanna Gilkeson/USFWS) O’Mara said homeowners can do the same. The federation makes milkweed seeds available to people who want to plant them in gardens. O’Mara said there are milkweed plants at his home, and at his mother’s home, and they often see monarch butterflies climbing on them. But if the new effort generates widespread interest, the federation might find it hard to keep up with demand. Not enough seeds are available, and not just any seed can survive anywhere. Milkweed seeds grow everywhere in the United States, but they grow better when adapted to local conditions, he said. “I have a 3-year-old whose eyes pop wide open” when she sees monarchs crawling on leaves in their back yard, O’Mara said. “This is one of those keystone species. These are things that don’t make headlines, but they are indicators that something bigger is happening.” More in Energy & Environment: Following a record hot year, science panel recommends cautious research on climate Your home is full of devices that never turn off. And they’re costing you a lot of money This fish lived in peace for 70 million years. Then it met the Army Corps of Engineers The next energy revolution won’t be in wind or solar. It will be in our brains The best idea in a long time: Covering parking lots with solar panels They thrived for millions of years. Now, there are only 1,100

– Just two decades ago, there were about a billion monarch butterflies; today, there are only some 30 million of the creatures that Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota calls "the most iconic butterfly in North America." The trouble starts when the butterflies are caterpillars whose only food is milkweed, which has been decimated as people try to wipe out weeds, National Geographic reports. The good news for the creatures is that the US government is on their side: yesterday, the Fish and Wildlife Service announced plans to set aside $3.2 million to save them. Officials will work to bring back milkweed in breeding hotspots like Texas, Oklahoma, and the Midwest, including 200,000 acres stretching from Texas to Minnesota along Interstate 35; half of monarchs migrate through the area during an incredible trip from Mexico to Canada, the Washington Post reports. Another part of the effort requires kids' help: some 750 "schoolyard habitats and pollinator gardens" will be created, a press release reports. Meanwhile, FWS is considering a petition calling for the classification of the butterflies as endangered. "We can save the monarch butterfly in North America, but only if we act quickly and together," says Fish and Wildlife Service director Dan Ashe. (Scientists were recently amazed by the creatures' origins.)

Halliburton in spotlight in gulf spill probe Investigators look at the company’s role in cementing the deepwater drill hole in the Gulf of Mexico. The oil well spewing crude into the Gulf of Mexico didn't have a remote-control shut-off switch used in two other major oil-producing nations as last-resort protection against underwater spills. When wells do surge out of control, the primary shut-off systems almost always work. Another possibility is that one of them did push the button, but it didn't work. "For that to happen, at least three redundant fail-safe mechanisms on and below the rig had to either fail to operate or not have been properly installed." A 2007 study by the U.S. Minerals Management Service found that cementing was the single most-important factor in 18 of 39 well blowouts in the Gulf of Mexico over a 14-year period. In its statement, the company said: "Halliburton originated oilfield cementing and leads the world in effective, efficient delivery of zonal isolation and engineering for the life of the well, conducting thousands of successful well-cementing jobs each year."

– The scope of the Gulf oil spill is far from clear, but the finger-pointing is already under way, and a lot of fingers ought to be aiming at Dick Cheney, Alex Pareene blogs for Salon. Connecting the dots that begin with a Wall Street Journal exposé, we learn that Cheney's highly classified energy task force was responsible for the fact "that the oil well didn't have a remote-control shut-off switch," Pareene writes, "a thing that it seems every single offshore drilling rig should have." "The former Dark Lord of the Naval Observatory" is no rookie at covering his tracks, but the follow-up argument is a no-brainer: "Halliburton is involved, too! The Los Angeles Times reports that BP contracted Dick Cheney's old company to cement the deepwater drill hole." In short, Pareene writes, "Thanks, Dick. Nice work."

North Korea on Wednesday marked the third anniversary of the death of former leader Kim Jong Il, ending a traditional period of mourning and setting the stage for his son Kim Jong Un to further entrench himself as the country’s unchallenged leader. Trains, ships and cars sounded their horns and masses of North Koreans fell silent for three minutes as they bowed toward the mausoleum in Pyongyang where Kim Jong Il and his father, "eternal president" Kim Il Sung, lie in state. Though the commemorations were relatively low-key, the passing of the third year since Kim Jong Il’s death is significant in that it marked the end of the customary Korean three-year mourning period after the passing of a parent. Jon Chol Jin / Associated Press North Koreans gather Dec. 16 at Mansu Hill, where the statues of the late leaders Kim Il Sung, and Kim Jong Il tower over them North Koreans gather Dec. 16 at Mansu Hill, where the statues of the late leaders Kim Il Sung, and Kim Jong Il tower over them (Jon Chol Jin / Associated Press) Kim Jong Il was well known in the West for his eccentricities, including his bouffant hairstyle, high-heeled shoes and huge film collection. As leader, Kim Jong Un has adopted a style more similar to that of his grandfather, North Korea founding leader Kim Il Sung, who carried himself in a more public, outgoing manner. A number of sources familiar with the Russia-North Korea relationship said Moscow had extended an invitation to Kim Jong Un to visit next May, when ceremonies are planned to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. The newspaper quoted unnamed sources who said that the invitation had been conveyed to Kim through Choe Ryong Hae, a senior North Korean official who last month met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. For Russia's part, having Kim Jong Un visit during a ceremony attended by other foreign dignitaries would allow Moscow to fend off the criticism that would surely arise from those nations which have poor relations with North Korea if it invited the North Korean leader for a separate trip.

– It's Korean tradition to mourn a parent's death for three years, and today North Korea reached a similar milestone marking the passing of Kim Jong Il in 2011, the Los Angeles Times reports. The country completed its mourning period with three minutes of silence—though it was also noted with the honking of car, ship, and train horns, the Telegraph reports. Meanwhile, residents placed flowers under statues of the former leader and his father, Kim Il Sung. "The end of the three-year mourning period can be used as a chance for Kim Jong Un to change the (governing) system and more thoroughly consolidate his power," says an expert in South Korea. Recent days have seen stories in state media celebrating the younger Kim's achievements thus far. As a leader, he has behaved more like his grandfather than his father, the Times notes: He's often seen in public with his wife, marking a contrast to his father's reclusive nature. It's even possible that he could travel abroad for the first time since becoming leader. He was recently invited to Russia for a celebration of the defeat of the Nazis next year, insiders tell Japan's Asahi Shimbun. Kim, however, would seemingly rather visit at a time when no other foreign leaders were in Moscow, the paper notes.

Two festival-goers told NBC Chicago they saw the man throw himself under Pharaoh’s Fury, a large popular boat-shaped ride that was swings back and forth. The ride was moving with approximately 25 people on board at the time. Shipley said the man was struck three times as the ride swung back and forth before the operator was able to stop it. The DuPage County coroner's office was called to the scene in Knoch Park near downtown, where the man was found about 3 p.m. unresponsive and not breathing, Naperville police Sgt. His death was an intentional act, according to police, and there was no foul play or ride malfunction reported.

– Horror at Ribfest: A man was killed by a carnival ride at the Naperville, Ill., festival yesterday and police say it looks like suicide, the Daily Herald reports. Witnesses tell NBC they saw the man in his 20s jump in front of the Pharaoh's Fury—a boat-shaped ride that had around 25 people on board—and he was hit several times as it swung back and forth, leaving a "gruesome" scene. "It was not a ride malfunction and it doesn't look like it was accidental," a police spokesman tells the Herald. "It's a sad situation." Officials say most of the carnival, and the rest of Ribfest, remained open as normal. (A bullet train passenger in Japan picked a horrific suicide method earlier this week.)

– Santa Claus has been chosen to represent the people of North Pole. The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports that a man whose legal name is Santa Claus won a write-in campaign for an open City Council seat in the 2,200-person Alaska town. He began campaigning in his red velvet suit just two weeks before the election, in which he received 58 votes and a seat on the six-person council. No official candidates had filed for the two open council positions. Claus—who was living in Nevada when he changed his name from Thomas O'Connor a decade ago—tells Reuters that he's an advocate for programs that help at-risk children and that state lawmakers tend to pay attention when they get a call from "Santa Claus from North Pole."

– Before they can tuck into their freeze-dried turkey dinners, two American astronauts are going to have to venture out on a spacewalk to fix a faulty pump that has shut down part of the International Space Station's cooling system. The Christmas Day spacewalk is one of three that NASA has scheduled over the next week to carry out the repairs, which have delayed the launch of a private cargo spacecraft, Space.com reports. The problem started last week, when the fault forced the station to close down one of its two ammonia cooling systems, reports Voice of America. The six-member station crew—the two Americans plus three Russians and a Japanese astronaut—is not in any danger; the shutdown has halted a lot of research and if a problem arises with the second cooling system before the first one is fixed, the crew could be forced to return to Earth early.

BERLIN — A widening child sexual abuse inquiry in Europe has landed at the doorstep of Pope Benedict XVI , as a senior church official acknowledged Friday that a German archdiocese made “serious mistakes” in handling an abuse case while the pope served as its archbishop. "It's rather clear that in the last days, there have been those who have tried, with a certain aggressive persistence, in Regensburg and Munich, to look for elements to personally involve the Holy Father in the matter of abuses," Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said he had no comment beyond the statement by the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising, which he said showed the “nonresponsibility” of the pope in the matter. Mayer's abuse allegations, published Saturday, are the first that overlap with the tenure of the pontiff's brother Georg Ratzinger, who led group from 1964 to 1994. "There is no 100 percent protection against sexual abuse, because we can never rule out the failure or misdoing of individuals, but we want to apply ourselves 100 percent to prevent it from happening again," said the General Vicar of the archdiocese, Prelate Peter Beer.

– A day after high-level Catholic officials admitted that "serious mistakes" were made in handling a sex abuse case in the German diocese where Pope Benedict XVI was then archbishop, the Vatican came out swinging in defense of the embattled pontiff. Benedict, as the Vatican's cardinal in charge of sex-abuse policy, "showed wisdom and firmness in handling these cases," a spokesman tells the AP. Some "have tried to personally involve the Holy Father in the matter of abuses," said a Vatican spokesman. "For any objective observer, it's clear that these efforts have failed." But the New York Times notes that a storm is swirling: “The cases are growing every day,” says one German lawyer. And the outcome jeopardizes “Benedict’s central project for the ‘re-Christianization’ of Christendom,” says one biographer. “But if the root itself is seen as rotten, then his influence will be badly compromised.”

I don’t hang around with the guys. I'm just not really that into it that much anyway." He recalls that he cried "about six or seven times" during "The Help," and, walked out of "Straw Dogs" because he did not like the rape scene. In a new interview with Men's Journal, Wahlberg says that world history would have been different had he not made a fortuitous decision to fly to Toronto a week early and thus avoid boarding one of the planes out of Boston that crashed into the World Trade Center on September 11th. There would have been a lot of blood in that first-class cabin and then me saying, ‘OK, we’re going to land somewhere safely, don’t worry.’” On how he feels about his older daughter going on her first date “I’m not going to think about that right now.

– Men's Journal has a profile of Mark Wahlberg in its February issue, and one quote in particular is generating some buzz: He says that if he were on one of the 9/11 planes that hit the World Trade Center, things would have been different: "If I was on that plane with my kids, it wouldn’t have went down like it did. There would have been a lot of blood in that first-class cabin and then me saying, 'OK, we’re going to land somewhere safely, don’t worry.'" TMZ ran the quote by the widow of Flight 93 victim Thomas Burnett, who isn't happy about what she sees as "grandstanding": "I think hindsight is 20/20 and it's insignificant to say what you would have done if you weren't there," says Deena Burnett-Bailey. (For the record, Wahlberg apparently wasn't talking about the Pennsylvania flight, but one of the two out of Boston that hit the WTC. He's given the matter a lot of thought because he had been scheduled to fly from Boston to LA that week but changed his plans late, notes the Huffington Post.) Update: Wahlberg offered a mea culpa via TMZ for his "irresponsible" comments: "I deeply apologize to the families of the victims that my answer came off as insensitive," he said. "It was certainly not my intention."

Mel Gibson's Hot New 'Friend' Has 'F' Me Written All Over EXCLUSIVE has a brand new female companion -- she's hot ... she's foreign ... and she came thiiis close to showing her vagina in a modeling campaign for a company called "F Me" jeans.The pretty lady -- who accompanied Mel to The Grove in L.A. this past weekend -- is... an aspiring musician who moved to the U.S. from Italy back in 2007.Mel and Nadia have been spending a lot of time together recently ... they even went to a sushi dinner earlier this month.Of course, we all know Mel loves aspiring foreign musicians ... but we're told Mel and Nadia are NOT in a serious dating relationship.Too bad ... 'cause Nadia showed off the goods during a campaign for "F Me" jeans last year ... a company that makes clothing featuring a waistline that plunges dangerously close to the female reproductive organs.

– Mel Gibson has been spotted around Hollywood with a young, attractive aspiring musician who's not from around here—no, not Oksana Grigorieva. New galpal Nadia Lanfranconi does resemble Oksana, though, the New York Post notes, but she's from Italy, not Russia. Gibson denies the two are romantically involved, but he was seen giving her a shoulder massage at a restaurant over the weekend. TMZ notes that Lanfranconi, who moved to the US in 2007, did a modeling campaign for "F Me" jeans last year. (The classily-named pants feature an extremely low waistline.) Fox News adds that Lanfranconi also models in magazines, plays small musical gigs, and is releasing an album.

To order presentation-ready copies for distribution to your colleagues, clients or customers, use the Order Reprints tool at the bottom of any article or visit www.djreprints.com News Corp. is contemplating the launch of a national cable sports network in the U.S., according to a person familiar with the matter, putting it head to head with Walt Disney Co.'s ESPN. With a national network, Fox would join Comcast Corp. (CMCSA)’s NBC Sports Network and CBS Corp. (CBS)’s CBS Sports Network in taking on the dominant ESPN. News Corp. last year secured rights to the Pac-12 Conference and Big-12 Conference games and owns 20 regional sports networks. ESPN, for example, costs cable and satellite operators more than $5 a month per subscriber, according to industry consulting firm SNL Kagan. -- Joe Flint RELATED: Dodgers sale could mean bigger cable bills Magic Johnson-led group to buy Dodgers Burning questions after Dodgers sale Photo: The Bengals battle the Texans. In addition to Fox Sports Net regional channels and Fuel, News Corp. owns motor-sport network Speed, available in 78 million homes, the Fox Soccer Channel, the Big Ten Network, a partnership with the college sports conference, and Fox College Sports, consisting of Pacific, Central and Atlantic regional networks. News Corp's Fox Sports unit is already a major player in television sports. If another channel emerges and drives bills even higher, there could be renewed calls that high-priced sports channels should be sold as separate packages instead of being bundled into basic cable service. A Fox Sports spokesman declined to comment on the renewed speculation about a national sports channel, but people familiar with the matter said there are no immediate plans and dismissed a report in Bloomberg that said the new channel could be launched as soon as late 2012.

– Rupert Murdoch's News Corp is looking at launching a national sports channel to rival ESPN, reports Bloomberg. It quotes one insider as saying the owner of Fox News could pull the trigger late this year. The Wall Street Journal, which is owned by Murdoch, quotes an anonymous source (maybe one with an Australian accent?) as saying the company has been seriously kicking around the idea for several months. One difference with the Bloomberg report: The Journal says it would not launch this year. Both reports say News Corp would probably take an existing channel, such as the action-sports network Fuel TV, and convert it into the national channel. The company already has a major player in the field in Fox Sports, but the new channel would be considerably bigger in scope. At the Los Angeles Times, a skeptical Joe Flint says News Corp has been making noises about such a channel for more than a decade, and "there is no guarantee that such an effort will get off the ground."

Please enable Javascript to watch this video A woman accused of illegally entering the Thousand Oaks home of a man she went on multiple dates with was arrested Sunday after firefighters used jackhammers to partially dismantle a brick chimney she had become trapped inside. A 28-year-old woman rescued from a chimney at a Thousand Oaks home was allegedly trying to break into the home of a man she had met online.Residents in the 1900 block of Woodside Drive reported hearing the sound of a woman crying in the area at about 5:45 a.m. Deputies found Genoveva Nunez-Figueroa trapped inside the chimney.Ventura County Fire Department and Urban Search and Rescue members had to dismantle the chimney in order to get Nunez-Figueroa out. She was later identified as Genoveva Nunez-Figueroa, a 30-year-old Thousand Oaks resident, and arrested for allegedly illegally entering a residence and providing false information to a peace officer, the VCSD stated in a news release. He said he had met Nunez-Figueroa online and went on a few dates with her, but had recently ended the relationship.This is the second time Nunez-Figueroa was found on his roof.

– Here's a tip for would-be home invaders: You might want to consider attempting to break in via a window or a door ... instead of, say, the chimney. Authorities say that's the route Genoveva Nunez-Figueroa decided to take early yesterday in Thousand Oaks, Calif., and things went very wrong, KTLA reports. Deputies responded to a 5:45am call reporting that the woman, variously reported as 28 or 30 years old, had been stuck in the chimney for two to three hours; neighbors called after hearing her screams, according to CBS LA. Firefighters used jackhammers to partially dismantle the chimney and lubricated the flue with dish soap before lifting Nunez-Figueroa out. What was she doing in there in the first place? Well, it's not clear, but she'd gone on six dates with the homeowner—who wasn't home at the time—after meeting him online, and he says he'd recently ended the relationship. The Sheriff's Department says her "intent was unclear." Whatever she was trying to do, this wasn't her first time: The homeowner also saw her on his roof two weeks ago and called the cops, but she fled, ABC30 reports. This time around, she was arrested after being removed from the chimney at 8:22am; she was also taken to a local hospital for evaluation. She had been stuck about 8 feet from the top and was conscious during the rescue. Her current condition isn't known, but she faces charges of illegally entering a residence and providing false information to a peace officer. The homeowner says he's learned a valuable lesson: "Before you have somebody come in your house, really check them out," he says. "Having someone in your chimney is like kind of a weird thing you wouldn't expect to come home to." (Another kind of weird thing you wouldn't expect to come home to: a box full of cocaine, heroin, and meth you didn't order.)

Although Mr. Hammond said that Apple’s App Store was outpacing opponents in both the number of applications available for download and the amount of revenue generated for developers, he said Apple’s announcement was a “pre-emptive strike.” “Google has done a better job at leveling the playing field for independent developers, and that matters,” he said. The company said on Thursday that it would relax its rules on how software developers can build applications for its iPhone and iPad. The news bumped shares of Adobe up more than 12 percent to close at $32.86. Omar Hamoui, the former chief executive of AdMob who is now the vice president for product management at Google, said in a blog post that the changes were “great news for everyone in the mobile community.” “Apple’s new terms will keep in-app advertising on the iPhone open to many different mobile ad competitors and enable advertising solutions that operate across a wide range of platforms,” he added. Apple on Thursday also published its app-review guidelines for the first time, addressing a longstanding complaint by developers about the lack of clarity in the process. For example, Apple says that “apps that are not very useful or do not provide any lasting entertainment value may be rejected.” Even so, software developers, many of whom have expressed frustration about the app review process, said the company’s newfound candor came as a relief. App development for Android could heat up with the introduction in coming months of several Android tablet computers that will rival the iPad. “Apple is concerned enough about the shifting tide towards Android that it feels it has to loosen restrictions to keep developers on its side,” said Jeffrey S. Hammond, an analyst at Forrester Research. Forrester's Mr. Hammond said some developers also are starting to develop apps for the Android Market first, so they can start making money immediately while they wait for the App Store version of the app to go through Apple's approval process.

– Apple has done a U-turn and scrapped restrictions introduced earlier this year on what tools developers can use to build applications for the iPhone and iPad. Developers will now be allowed to use tools based on Adobe's Flash, and restrictions on other programming languages have been lifted, the Wall Street Journal reports. Shares in Adobe jumped after the news, though iPhone and iPad users still won't be able to access Flash-based content on the Internet. Apple also addressed concerns that the application approval process is too secretive by releasing, for the first time, a list of guidelines developers should follow to avoid rejection. Analysts say the company's new-found openness appears to be a move to avoid giving an edge to the competition. "Apple is concerned enough about the shifting tide toward Android that it feels it has to loosen restrictions to keep developers on its side,” an analyst at Forrester Research tells the New York Times.

According to a network spokesman, the caber “has reached the difficult decision not to order a third season of Lopez Tonight. We are proud to have partnered with George Lopez, who is an immensely talented comedian and entertainer. TBS has valued its partnership with George and appreciates all of his work on behalf of the network, both on and off the air.” This Thursday’s episode of Lopez Tonight will be its last. The show struggled to gain viewers in a competitive landscape, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

– George Lopez is out of the talk-show business as of this week. TBS has abruptly canceled his Lopez Tonight, and the final show will air tomorrow night, reports TV Line. The decision not to order a third season comes after TBS moved the show to midnight last November to follow Conan O'Brien. Lopez Tonight continued to struggle in the ratings, however. Click for more.

Story highlights Colorado 5-year-old attacked by mountain lion The boy is reported in fair condition (CNN) A 5-year-old boy is recovering in a Denver hospital after being attacked by a mountain lion, officials said. The boy's mother told police he had been playing in the front yard with his older brother when she heard screaming and ran outside to find a mountain lion on him, the Pitkin Sheriff's Department said in a news release. A man called 911 dispatchers to report that his son had been attacked by a mountain lion and he was driving to the Aspen Valley Hospital, police said in a statement. Colorado Parks & Wildlife The boy, whose name has not been released, sustained injuries to his face, head and neck, police said. He has been transferred in fair condition to a hospital in Denver, according to officials with Aspen Valley Hospital. The boy’s condition was unknown, though Pitkin County Undersheriff Ron Ryan said that as of about 9:15 p.m., he remained at Aspen Valley Hospital with injuries to his head and neck. His mother, who sustained minor injuries to her hand and legs, was "treated and released in good condition," according to Aspen Valley Hospital spokeswoman Jenny Dyche. Deputies then drove to the family’s residence on Lower River Road downvalley of Woody Creek and located the mountain lion under some trees in the yard, he said. Sheriff's deputies and a U.S. Forest Service officer located a mountain lion in the same area where the mother said the attack took place and put the animal down, the sheriff's department said.

– A Colorado mom whose 5-year-old son was being attacked by a mountain lion leapt into action Friday, fighting off the animal and potentially saving the boy's life, NBC News reports. The boy was playing with his older brother in their yard about 10 miles outside of Aspen when his mother heard screaming. She ran outside to see a mountain lion attacking her young son. According to a police statement quoted by CNN, the boy's mom "physically removed her son from the mountain lion." The boy was rushed to the hospital, where he is in fair condition with injuries to his head, face, and neck. His mom suffered minor injuries to her hands and legs. Pitkin County sheriff's deputies and a US Forest Service officer found the mountain lion under some trees in the family's yard and killed it, the Aspen Times reports. “Since it was still there, it was either injured or very ill, so they dispatched it,” Undersheriff Ron Ryan says. They were also looking for a second mountain lion spotted in the area on Friday. Experts say it's rare to even see a mountain lion in Colorado, let alone be attacked by one. Not even a dozen people have been killed by mountain lions over the past 100 years in North America.

The effort got a big boost from Speaker Paul Ryan Paul Davis RyanRomney writes new chapter in his like-hate relationship with Trump Romney warns Republicans about Trump Ocasio-Cortez, Khanna to oppose Pelosi-backed rules package MORE (R-Wis.) on Thursday when he said he wasn’t yet ready to back Trump, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee. Trump would need to unify the Republican Party to get his vote.

– If you're a conservative with political ambitions—and, ideally, with a few hundred million dollars burning a hole in your pocket—now is the time to get in touch with the #NeverTrump movement. Anti-Donald Trump conservative activists have stepped up their efforts to find a third-party alternative, but they'll have to file their paperwork in Texas by May 9 to get on the ballot, with deadlines in other states following soon, the Hill reports. Possibilities include former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson, the Libertarian Party's 2012 nominee, and Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse, who called for an alternative to Trump and Clinton in a Facebook post Thursday. Rick Perry had also been mentioned, but he earned the scorn of Trump foes on Thursday when he dismissed the idea as "quixotic," endorsed Trump, and said he would be open to becoming his running mate, reports USA Today. Conservative blogger Erick Erickson has taken a leading role in the search for a Trump alternative and plans to hold talks with like-minded conservatives in the days to come, CNN reports. "It's an uphill climb, everybody recognizes that, regardless of the route we go, but there are a lot of Republican donors sitting on the sidelines who would rather fund a third party than fund Donald Trump," he tells the Hill. He says campaign finance experts believe a third-party bid would cost at least $250 million. Trump meanwhile, has a different suggestion for a third-party candidate. "Bernie Sanders has been treated terribly by the Democrats—both with delegates & otherwise," he tweeted Thursday. "He should show them, & run as an Independent." (Paul Ryan says he's "just not ready" to support Trump.)

Obama, who attracted a crowd of 200,000 adoring fans when he last passed through in 2008 during his first campaign for the presidency, remains popular in Germany. He held talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel and gave a speech at the Brandenburg Gate in which he unveiled a proposal for new talks with Russia on slashing nuclear arms arsenals. (Photo: Michael Kappeler, AP) Story Highlights President Obama called for a reduction in nuclear stockpiles Obama addressed a crowd of 6,000 invited guests at Brandenburg Gate European attitudes toward Obama have shifted BERLIN — With the iconic Brandenburg Gate at his back, President Obama urged Berliners in a speech Wednesday to embrace the common values that bind America and Germany, and to carry forth the spirit of freedom that defines the once-divided city. But analysts say plans to create a free-trade zone between the United States and European Union are a sign that he is focusing more on Europe. Obama spent much of his speech Wednesday leaning on Kennedy’s “Ich bin ein Berliner” speech given 50 years ago next week, as he laid out a vision in which the United States and Germany “pursue peace and justice not only for our countries, but for all mankind.” While remaining “vigilant” about terror threats, “we must move beyond the mindset of perpetual war,” Obama said, echoing the philosophy he laid out last month in his speech on counterterrorism in the post-post-9/11 era. “We may not live in fear of nuclear annihilation — but as long as nuclear weapons exist, we are not truly safe.” Text Size - + reset Obama in Germany, Belfast Play Slideshow He said the United States is now looking to do more to reduce that threat. The loudest cheers came when Obama vowed to close the Guantanamo Bay terrorist prison, a move that many Europeans have been waiting for since Obama took office. Obama’s proposal, which would bring that number down to about 1,000, comes as tensions between the United States and Russia over Syria have been on stark display — most recently on Monday, as Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered a cold joint statement at the G8 summit, and appeared to make little progress on the issue. Obama defended the program during a joint press conference with Chancellor Merkel earlier in the day, saying the initiative had saved lives. For we are not only citizens of America or Germany, we are citizens of the world,” Obama said, drawing on John F. Kennedy’s 1963 speech on the west side of the the city, in which he called on Berliners to look ahead to “the day of peace with justice” and to the rest of mankind. President Barack Obama called Wednesday for “peace with justice” as he proposed reducing U.S. nuclear arsenals by as much as one-third in a wide-ranging call for action delivered on the eastern side of Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate. “I intend to seek negotiated cuts with Russia to move beyond Cold War nuclear postures” and to work with NATO allies for “bold reductions in Europe.” “We can forge a new international framework for peaceful nuclear power, reject the nuclear weaponization that North Korea and Iran may be seeking,” he added.

– Five years after he addressed a huge crowd in Berlin as a presidential candidate—and 50 years after John F. Kennedy proclaimed "Ich bin ein Berliner"—President Obama gave an address at the iconic Brandenburg Gate today, calling for a major reduction in nuclear warheads. "We may not live in fear of nuclear annihilation—but as long as nuclear weapons exist, we are not truly safe," Obama declared, according to Politico. He said the US could still defend itself with one third fewer nuclear weapons, and said he intended to negotiate a cut to that level with Russia. That would mean taking the arsenals down to about 1,000 warheads each. Officials tell the Wall Street Journal that the cuts may take place under a new treaty, to follow 2010's New START pact, but the White House will also consider reciprocal reductions without a treaty. Obama also spent plenty of time in the speech endearing himself to the crowd before him (which USA Today notes was limited to 6,000 invited guests), with frequent jokes and stirring references to the city's history. "I am proud to stand here and pay tribute to the past from the East side of the Brandenburg," he said. Of course, hanging over everything was the NSA spying issue. At a joint press conference earlier, Merkel said she and Obama had held "long and intensive" talks about it, while Obama offered assurances that the US wasn't "rifling through the ordinary emails of German citizens ... or anybody else."

Police say a four-door Tesla was found demolished. They said when the 2016 Telsa crossed the steep incline leading up to the railway tracks just north of Huronia Road it became airborne and crashed 100 feet away onto the street. Police say the impact of the crash forced the vehicle to skid across the roadway and hit a tree in a nearby school parking lot. According to police, the driver and passenger were taken to a local hospital to be treated for minor injuries. Police say the 46-year-old man was driving at a high rate of speed on Little Avenue in Barrie just after 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday. He is scheduled to appear in the Barrie Court of Justice on Oct. 1.

– A Canadian man discovered his Tesla could fly, the downside being that it's now "demolished." With a security camera observing, the scene unfolded shortly after 8:30pm Tuesday in Barrie, 70 miles north of Toronto, reports CTV News. Police say a 46-year-old man driving a 2016 four-door Tesla sped over an incline approaching railway tracks and went airborne before crashing 100 feet away in the opposite lane. Per Global News, the car then skidded into a school parking lot, where it hit a tree. The driver, charged with dangerous driving, was taken to a hospital with minor injuries, along with a passenger. "It may look 'cool' and like something from out of the movies, but in reality the action of this driver put many lives at risk, including his own," reads a tweet from Barrie Police. The video shared Wednesday has more than 650,000 views.

The survey found that 61 percent of Americans back the death penalty, down from 64 percent last year, the lowest since 1972 when the Supreme Court ruled on Furman v. Georgia, which lead to a moratorium on capital punishment for several years. Support climbed to its highest levels from the mid-1980s through the mid-1990s, including the all-time high of 80% who favored the death penalty in 1994. The Oct. 6-9 poll was conducted shortly after the execution of Troy Davis in Georgia, which generated widespread protests and extensive news coverage. Less Than Half Say Death Penalty Not Imposed Often Enough This year, 40% of Americans say the death penalty is not imposed often enough, the lowest such percentage since May 2001, when Gallup first asked this question. Meanwhile, 25 percent said the death penalty is used “too often,” and 27 percent said it is used “about the right amount.” The survey also indicates that Americans feel less confident that the death penalty is applied fairly than they have in recent years, with 52 percent saying they think the punishment is used fairly, down from 58 percent last year. Republicans and independents who lean Republican are far more likely to approve of the death penalty — 73 percent of them said they approve, compared with 46 percent of Democrats and independents who lean Democrat. More men also expressed stronger support for capital punishment, with 64 percent of men saying they approve of the method while 57 of females said the same.

– A full 61% of Americans back the death penalty, but even so, support is at a 39-year low. A new Gallup poll finds that support is down from 64% last year, and is at its lowest level since a brief moratorium on capital punishment began in 1972 with the Supreme Court ruling on Furman v. Georgia. The news comes on the heels of an exoneration last night, when DNA evidence freed a Texas man. The poll also found that 52% think the death penalty is applied fairly, down from last year’s 58%. One-quarter of those polled said the death penalty is imposed “too often,” while 27% believe it is used “about the right amount” and 40% said it should be imposed more often. That 40% also represents the lowest level since Gallup began asking the question in 2001. Men, Republicans, and right-leaning independents were all more likely to support the death penalty. Support for capital punishment hit an all-time high of 80% in 1994, Politico notes. In other death penalty news, find out which state wants to bring back firing squads.

– Lions are on the verge of extinction in West Africa, a stunning new survey has concluded, after years of harrowing treks in search of them. When researchers started their search in 2005, the lions, a distinct species from their east and south African brethren, were believed to inhabit 21 protected areas. But as the team searched those areas, they encountered "aggressive poachers, and, in some countries, rebel groups"—but almost no signs of lions, Scientific American reports. In the end, they concluded that lions still live in just four of the protected zones, and that there were likely only around 400 of them left, including just 250 adults. These lions are desperately spread out as well, with roughly one per 1,000 square kilometers, but there is evidence of successful breeding in all four areas. "We finally know where lions remain," the program's coordinator said, "and where we need to invest our efforts to save them." In other depressing big cat news: An 18-month-old lion was found hanging dead from the roof of his cage at the Surabaya City Zoo in Indonesia, officials announced today. The lion, named Michael, had gotten his head stuck in the steel cables used to open and close the cage, the AFP reports via Raw Story. The Surabaya zoo is notorious for its frequent animal deaths; the lion is the second in the past three days, the Jakarta Globe reports. Police stopped two men loading what they assumed was a human corpse into an SUV in Wenzhou, China yesterday, only to discover that the tarp-wrapped corpse actually belonged to a Siberian tiger, one of the most endangered species on Earth, the New York Times reports. The two men fled, but another man who was still inside the SUV was apprehended.

Senator Elizabeth Warren embraced the Black Lives Matter protest movement in a forceful speech in Boston on Sunday, calling on police departments to train their officers in the de-escalation of violence and to outfit them with body cameras. The full-throated defense of the movement contrasted with comments from other national politicians, whose remarks on Black Lives Matter have ranged from cautious to missing the point — like when Martin O'Malley said that "all lives matter." "To fight for their lives." She traces racial economic inequality, citing inequities in the housing system, as well as decrying restrictions to voting rights. He said that he was "never, ever afraid. Warren, speaking at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate, emphasized that most police officers serve honorably. The senator spoke of a history of subpar wages for black people and redlining in the housing market. "Economic justice is not — and has never been — sufficient to ensure racial justice. “Owning a home won’t stop someone from burning a cross on the front lawn. Admission to a school won’t prevent a beating on the sidewalk outside," Warren declared. "The tools of oppression were woven together, and the civil rights struggle was fought against that oppression wherever it was found — against violence, against the denial of voting rights and against economic injustice." Warren, in her speech, positioned the protest as an heir to the civil rights movement. [Black Lives Matter movement finds influencing 2016 contest a challenge] Born out of the unrest in Ferguson, Mo., after the police shooting of Michael Brown last summer, the current protest movement has upended the efforts of Democratic presidential candidates to reach out to black voters. Advertisement “We have seen sickening videos of unarmed, black Americans cut down by bullets, choked to death while gasping for air — their lives ended by those who are sworn to protect them,” she said. “Peaceful, unarmed protesters have been beaten. Journalists have been jailed. And, in some cities, white vigilantes with weapons freely walk the streets.” The speech, a high-profile endorsement of the anti-police-brutality movement by one of the nation’s most prominent politicians, combined Warren’s signature concern with economic inequality with a treatise on the damaging effects of racism. "And it’s not just about law enforcement either. Just look to the terrorism this summer at Emanuel AME Church [in Charleston, S.C.]. We must be honest: Fifty years after John Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. spoke out, violence against African Americans has not disappeared. But the topics of police violence and reform have yet to gain significant traction in the Republican primary. says black Americans still face violence, economic injustice and restrictions to voting rights. Admission to school won’t prevent a beating on the sidewalk outside.” But Martin Luther King Jr., she noted, once wrote that he’d learned “the inseparable twin of racial injustice was economic injustice.” Warren spoke of a growing wealth gap between white and black families and a complaint filed by the National Fair Housing Alliance against real estate agents in Mississippi, alleging they consistently steered white families away from interracial neighborhoods and black families away from well-to-do areas. But none of us can ignore what is happening in this country. Not when our black friends, family, neighbors literally fear dying in the streets." “Listen to the brave, powerful voices of today’s new generation of civil rights leaders. Incredible voices,” she said. [Why Hillary Clinton and her rivals are struggling to grasp Black Lives Matter] At times, Warren's speech read as if it could have been authored by the activists themselves — unyielding in its criticism of police violence and even invoking the phrase "hands up, don't shoot," a Ferguson rallying cry that conservatives have attacked as a lie because the Justice Department concluded that Michael Brown's hands were most likely not up in the air when he was shot and killed by Darren Wilson. “This is the reality that all of us must confront, as uncomfortable and as ugly as that reality may be. called for broad policing reform — including de-escalation training and body cameras for all police officers — and likened the current Black Lives Matter movement to the civil rights movement that won black Americans the right to vote in the 1960s. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) speaks about raising wages during the forum AFL-CIO National Summit (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) "It is a tragedy when any American cannot trust those who have sworn to protect and serve," Warren said. Warren said Sunday “pervasive and persistent distrust” of police in black communities “is not based on myths.” It is “grounded in the reality of unjustified violence,” she said. It is grounded in the reality of unjustified violence." The activists have called for a host of police reform measures, including body cameras, de-escalation training, special prosecutors in cases of police killings and a review of police union contracts.

– On Sunday, Elizabeth Warren gave what the Washington Post is calling "the speech that Black Lives Matter activists have been waiting for." Speaking at the Edward Kennedy Institute in Boston, Warren compared the Black Lives Matter movement to the 1960s civil rights movement and called for all police officers to wear body cameras and be trained on how to de-escalate potentially violent situations, the Boston Globe reports. "It is a tragedy when any American cannot trust those who have sworn to protect and serve," she said. "This pervasive and persistent distrust isn’t based on myths. It is grounded in the reality of unjustified violence." Vox calls the speech a "full-throated defense of the movement," one that stands in contrast to how other candidates have handled the issue. "We’ve seen sickening videos of unarmed, black Americans cut down by bullets, choked to death while gasping for air—their lives ended by those who are sworn to protect them," said Warren. "Peaceful, unarmed protesters have been beaten. Journalists have been jailed. And, in some cities, white vigilantes with weapons freely walk the streets." She also discussed economic inequality as it relates to racism, pointing out the widening wealth gap between black and white families. Activists praised the speech: "Warren, better than any political leader I've yet heard, understands the protests as a matter of life or death—that the American dream has been sustained by an intentional violence and that the uprisings have been the result of years of lived trauma," says one. (Will this fire up those Biden-Warren rumors?)

The department expects thousands of drug offenders currently serving time to be eligible for reduced sentences under the new clemency guidelines and it will prepare to review an influx of applications, Holder said in a video address. (Photo: Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images) WASHINGTON — Thousands of federal offenders could become eligible for clemency consideration by President Obama under new guidelines set to be released later this week by the Justice Department. The effort is part of a larger strategy to reduce the bloated federal prison population and reverse past sentencing policies that doomed many offenders, including thousands of non-violent drug offenders, to disproportionately long terms. Congress should act immediately to reduce the draconian federal mandatory minimum sentences that condemn thousands to decades behind bars for non-violent drug offenses.'' "The president wants to make sure that everyone has a fair shot into the clemency system, and he has asked the Department of Justice to set up a process aimed at ensuring that anyone who has a good case for commutation has their application seen and evaluated thoroughly," Carney said. White House spokesman Jay Carney said at a press briefing on Monday that President Barack Obama asked the Department of Justice to widen the clemency guidelines.

– Thousands of nonviolent drug offenders now serving long sentences in federal prisons could receive clemency from President Obama under a major Department of Justice overhaul. Attorney General Eric Holder announced yesterday that "a larger field of eligible individuals" will be eligible for clemency under new guidelines and the administration is preparing for a flood of requests, reports USA Today, which notes that the move is part of a broader effort to reduce the federal prison population and correct past sentencing disparities. Holder said the White House is seeking "justice, fairness, and proportionality for deserving individuals who do not pose a threat to public safety." Holder hinted that those eligible will include inmates sentenced for crack cocaine offenses before a 2010 law reduced what was called a racist disparity, reports Reuters. "There are still too many people in federal prison who were sentenced under the old regime and who, as a result, will have to spend far more time in prison than they would if sentenced today for exactly the same crime," he said. White House spokesman Jay Carney said he didn't want to speculate on how many inmates will qualify for clemency, but there is a "process in place that reflects the president's belief that everyone should have a fair shot under the system for consideration.''

Aaron Hernandez Attacks Inmate At Bristol County Jail Aaron Hernandez -- ATTACKS INMATE at Bristol County Jail EXCLUSIVE ATTACKED another inmate at Bristol County Jail earlier today ... and we're told he beat the guy up pretty good ... sources tellSources tell us the former New England Patriots tight end -- who is usually segregated from the general population -- was allowed to take a walk in an isolated hallway ... but somehow came into contact with another inmate.We're told Hernandez recognized the other inmate and launched into an attack -- beating the other man up pretty badly.Sources tell us ... Hernandez and the other man had been beefing all day long.

– Apparently "behind bars" does not translate to "staying out of trouble" when one is Aaron Hernandez: Sources tell TMZ the former New England Patriot beat up a fellow inmate at Bristol County Jail yesterday. The sources say the two had been at odds all day (according to Radar, the other man had been "bullying" Hernandez since he was imprisoned on murder charges in June) and that Hernandez—who is typically kept separated out of concern that other inmates might target him—was for some reason allowed to walk down a hallway, where he caught sight of the other inmate and allegedly attacked him. The sheriff confirms there was a fight, but says neither inmate was seriously injured. The incident is under investigation.

Hawaii residents prepared for what could be the first hurricane to hit the state in more than 20 years as weather officials said... (Associated Press) Shonna Snodgrass of Stafford, Va., left and Gwen Johnson of Sacramento, Calif. show the "shaka" or hang-loose sign while enjoying the sun on Waikiki beach in Honolulu on Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2014. (AP) HONOLULU — The first hurricane expected to hit Hawaii in 22 years weakened slightly Thursday as its outer edges began to bring rain and wind to the Big Island, while residents and tourists prepared for a possible one-two punch as another major storm lined up behind it in the Pacific. Meanwhile, Hurricane Julio strengthened early Thursday into a Category 2 storm but was forecast to pass just north of the islands sometime Sunday morning. Neil Abercrombie said the state is prepared for the back-to-back storms, noting the National Guard is at the ready and state and local governments were closing offices, schools and transit services across Hawaii. Abercrombie —who is running for re-election in a tight Democratic primary — said the election is expected to move forward as planned as of Wednesday afternoon. Travelers got their first word of disrupted plans Thursday, when commuter airline Island Air said it was canceling some afternoon flights between the islands and shutting down all operations Friday. Hurricane Iselle was expected to bring heavy rains, winds gusting up to 85 mph and flooding in some areas, but officials said the Big Island’s mountainous region and size should help break apart and weaken the storm as it passed on to Maui and Oahu late Thursday and early Friday. "What ended up happening is the storm has resurged just enough to keep its hurricane strength," said Mike Cantin, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. Hawaii has been directly hit by hurricanes only three times since 1950, though the region has had 147 tropical cyclones over that time. Hawaiian Airlines waived reservation change fees and fare differences for passengers who needed to alter their plans Thursday and Friday, while some travelers remained optimistic. “We’ll be posting, of course, notifications about the shelter openings with officers on the beat,” he said. Governor Neil Abercrombie said that emergency crews and response teams were “fully prepared” for heavy rains, fierce winds and flash floods. “It will work out as it’s supposed to.” Some residents, meanwhile, are voting early in the primary elections that include congressional and gubernatorial races. “When they do come across those individuals, we’ll be notifying them of the impending hurricane and what shelters are open.” The Salvation Army released a written statement Wednesday that they’re “prepared to respond with community assistance as needed on the major Hawaiian Islands.” “The public is encouraged to help in advance by supporting emergency disaster services efforts via monetary donations via our website …,” said Major Mark Gilden, Salvation Army’s Hawaiian & Pacific Island Division’s business secretary. “Everybody’s heeding the warnings — staying at home and staying indoors.” Education officials said public schools on the Big Island, Maui, Molokai and Lanai will be closed Thursday. It didn't... (Associated Press) Shoppers stock up on cases of bottled water and other supplies in preparation for a hurricane and tropical storm heading toward Hawaii at the Iwilei Costco in Honolulu on Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2014.

– Tag-team hurricanes Iselle and Julio will thrash Hawaii in a one-two punch that starts tonight—the first time in 22 years the islands have been directly hit. Category 1 Iselle is expected to maintain 85 mph winds when it makes landfall on the Big Island tonight. It’s "not a major hurricane, but definitely enough to blow things around," a meteorologist tells the AP; up to 8 inches of rain is expected. Iselle should weaken as it passes through the island's volcanic terrain into tomorrow morning. Just behind Iselle, Julio is a bit fiercer Category 2, with winds estimated at 100 mph; it'll pick up speed before weakening tonight and hit Sunday as a tropical storm, reports NBC News. The last hurricane to hit Hawaii was Iniki in 1992, which killed six people. Vacations are being disrupted by the storms. Island Air has canceled flights to Maui and Lanai, the Washington Post reports. Hawaiian Airlines will decide today whether to follow suit, adds the Hawaii Tribune-Herald; on the ground, state parks are closed and beachgoers are enjoying the last shreds of nice weather. One Boston resident booked his two-week Maui and Big Island vacation last year and has been eagerly watching weather reports. "We're all optimists, so we'll make the best of it," he tells the AP. Weather officials had warned this season would be an active one in the region, with up to seven tropical storms—probably due in no small part to El Nino.

But if you just want to carry the burden with you all the time, tonight would never happen.” 1 of 26 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad × The Chicago Cubs win World Series View Photos The Chicago Cubs won their first title since 1908 with a riveting, 8-7, 10-inning victory over the Cleveland Indians in the seventh and final game at Progressive Field. The Chicago Cubs are World Series champions at long last, winning their first Fall Classic in 108 years Hide Caption 1 of 93 Photos: World Series 2016: Cubs vs. Indians The Chicago Cubs celebrate in the locker room. Hide Caption 4 of 93 Photos: World Series 2016: Cubs vs. Indians Bill Murray reacts on the field after the Cubs won. Hide Caption 5 of 93 Photos: World Series 2016: Cubs vs. Indians Anthony Rizzo of the Cubs celebrates with Jason Heyward after scoring a run in the tenth inning of Game 7. Hide Caption 9 of 93 Photos: World Series 2016: Cubs vs. Indians Rajai Davis of the Indians celebrates after hitting a two-run homer during the eighth inning to tie the Game 7 at 6-6. Hide Caption 13 of 93 Photos: World Series 2016: Cubs vs. Indians Jason Kipnis and Carlos Santana of the Cleveland Indians celebrate after scoring runs on a wild pitch during the fifth inning in Game 7. Hide Caption 19 of 93 Photos: World Series 2016: Cubs vs. Indians Kyle Hendricks of the Cubs throws during the first inning of Game 7. Hide Caption 24 of 93 Photos: World Series 2016: Cubs vs. Indians Aroldis Chapman of the Cubs races Francisco Lindor of the Indians to the bag during the seventh inning in Game 6. Hide Caption 27 of 93 Photos: World Series 2016: Cubs vs. Indians Jose Ramirez of the Indians makes a catch in the fifth inning in Game 6. Hide Caption 29 of 93 Photos: World Series 2016: Cubs vs. Indians Indians fans congregate outside Progressive Field during game 6. Hide Caption 31 of 93 Photos: World Series 2016: Cubs vs. Indians Ben Zobrist of the Cubs collides with the Indians' Roberto Perez in the first inning of Game 6. Hide Caption 36 of 93 Photos: World Series 2016: Cubs vs. Indians Fans celebrate after the Chicago Cubs win in Game 5. Hide Caption 40 of 93 Photos: World Series 2016: Cubs vs. Indians The Cubs' Kris Bryant, left, celebrates with Ben Zobrist after hitting a home run during the fourth inning of Game 5. They then slipped into the Cubs clubhouse, where the hitters who were due up the next inning were meeting. Hide Caption 76 of 93 Photos: World Series 2016: Cubs vs. Indians Anthony Rizzo of the Cubs celebrates scoring a run on an RBI single hit by Kyle Schwarber (not pictured) during the third inning in Game 2. Kyle Schwarber, who didn’t even know he’d be playing in the World Series two weeks ago after blowing out his knee in April, led off the 10th with a single. Hide Caption 84 of 93 Photos: World Series 2016: Cubs vs. Indians Cubs catcher David Ross falls after catching a pop fly by Cleveland's Lonnie Chisenhall in Game 1. Hide Caption 86 of 93 Photos: World Series 2016: Cubs vs. Indians Cleveland outfielder Rajai Davis catches a ball hit by the Cubs' Willson Contreras in Game 1.

– It was, as Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post writes, "nothing short of one of the most thrilling baseball games ever played." And in the aftermath of the Cubs' World Series victory, players are talking about a late pep talk from quiet outfielder Jason Heyward. He called a players-only meeting during a rain delay after the ninth, when the Cubs were reeling after blowing a late three-run lead, reports CNN. "He spoke up and said, 'This is about your teammates,'" recalls catcher David Ross, per USA Today. "These are your brothers here, fight for your brothers, lift them up." Several players were moved to tears, including Game 6 star Addison Russell, notes a post at Knuckleball. Heyward himself explains that it was a "venting thing" for him. "I just had to let them know that I loved them. I had to let them know that we had 113 wins because we had overcome every bit of adversity that we've had thrown at us to this point. We needed 114 wins, and I told them everybody in this room could go out and get this 114th." They did, in the very next inning. Heyward has taken flak this year over the perception that he hasn't lived up to his $184 million contract on the field. In fact, he went just 3-for-15 during the World Series. But at a key moment, "Jason Heyward led the way," said teammate Kris Bryant.

Newly released emails from the 2016 presidential campaign... (Associated Press) WASHINGTON (AP) — Newly released emails from the 2016 presidential campaign appear to show political operative Roger Stone presenting himself as a WikiLeaks insider to Steve Bannon, who was at the heart of then-candidate Donald Trump's run for president. In an interview on Wednesday, Mr. Stone insisted he did nothing more than “posture, bluff, hype,” based on WikiLeaks’ Twitter feed and miscellaneous tips. This is called “politics.” It’s not illegal. The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of The Daily Caller. This article is based on interviews with people familiar with the Russia investigation and the inner workings of the Trump campaign, as well as a review of hundreds of text messages and emails that Mr. Stone exchanged over months with several associates, including Randy Credico, a New York comedian, former radio host and left-wing activist whom Mr. Stone has repeatedly identified as his source about WikiLeaks. ———- Forwarded message ——— From: Roger Stone < Date: Tue, Oct 4, 2016 at 9:47 AM Subject: Re: To: Steve Bannon < > Fear. Roger stone _________________________ The source of Assange’s Security Concerns came from Credico On March 9, 2018, I wrote on Stone Cold Truth: When Assange made no disclosures on October 1st, Alex Jones was among those publicly m*therfucking Assange for losing his nerve. He thinks they are going to kill him and the London police are standing done. More importantly my prediction of “a load every week going forward” is based on Assange’s own public announcement hours before-that there would be weekly releases going through and beyond the election and not any communication with Wikileaks or Assange. WikiLeaks proceeded to dribble out the Podesta emails a thousand or so a day until Election Day.

– Newly released emails from the 2016 presidential campaign appear to show political operative Roger Stone presenting himself as a WikiLeaks insider to Steve Bannon, who was at the heart of then-candidate Donald Trump's run for president. The emails, published Thursday by the New York Times, touch on a central question of special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation: Did Stone have advance knowledge of WikiLeaks' plans to release hacked material damaging to Hillary Clinton? Stone says no, and the emails don't provide a definitive answer to that question. But the correspondence suggests Stone wanted Bannon to see him as plugged in to WikiLeaks as it was planning to publish documents that would upend the campaign. US intelligence agencies have concluded Russian agents were the source of info released by WikiLeaks during the 2016 campaign. Mueller's team questioned Bannon last month about his exchanges with Stone, a source says. Bannon's interview was with prosecutors, though other people close to Stone have been called before a grand jury to discuss his ties to WikiLeaks. The source said Bannon and other top campaign officials were skeptical of Stone and his claims about having insight into WikiLeaks' efforts. Stone, who confirmed the emails' authenticity, denies being a conduit to WikiLeaks. "What I am guilty of is using publicly available information and a solid tip to bluff, posture, hype, and punk Democrats on Twitter. This is called 'politics.' It's not illegal," he said Thursday in a Daily Caller op-ed. Stone tells the AP: "I had no advanced notice of the source or content or the exact timing of the release of the WikiLeaks disclosures." (Stone thinks he knows who wrote the now infamous anonymous Times op-ed.)

Story highlights Kenyan officials said Ikrima helped recruit Kenyans into Al-Shabaab The raid was led by members of SEAL Team Six, the unit that killed Osama bin Laden The SEALs withdrew because they came under fire, a U.S. official says Al-Shabaab has claimed responsibility for last month's Kenya mall attack A pre-dawn raid by elite U.S. forces in southern Somalia, in the heart of territory controlled by the al Qaeda subsidiary Al-Shabaab, targeted an Al-Shabaab commander connected to one of the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings, a senior Obama administration official said Sunday. The suspected foreign fighter commander is named Ikrima, a Kenyan of Somali origin about whom little is known. The official said Ikrima is associated with two now-deceased al Qaeda operatives who played roles in the 1998 bombing of the U.S. embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, and the 2002 attacks on a hotel and airline in Mombasa, also in Kenya. A recent Kenyan intelligence report alleged that Ikrima was behind several foiled terror conspiracies against targets in Kenya between 2011 and 2013. The most recent was a plot to attack Mandera Airport in Kenya's North Eastern province in April. Kenyan officials said last year that Ikrima had a significant role in recruiting and training Kenyans in Al-Shabaab. He is thought to have been a close associate of Saleh Ali Nabhan, a fellow Kenyan and senior al Qaeda operative in east Africa, who was killed by U.S. forces in 2009 in Somalia. He is thought to have been a close associate of the Saleh Ali Nabhan, a fellow Kenyan and senior al Qaeda operative in east Africa, who was believed to have been connected to the embassy attacks. (Ali Nabhan was killed by U.S. forces in 2009 in Somalia.) Ikrima also appears to be close to Al-Shabaab leader Mukhtar Abu Zubayr, who also goes by Ahmed Abdi Godane. 51 photos: Photos: Kenya mall attack 51 photos: Photos: Kenya mall attack Kenya mall attack – Relatives of Johnny Mutinda Musango, 48, weep after identifying his body at the city morgue in Nairobi, Kenya, on Tuesday, September 24. Musango was one of the victims of the Westgate Mall hostage siege. Kenyan security forces were still combing the mall on the fourth day of the siege by al Qaeda-linked terrorists. Hide Caption 1 of 51 51 photos: Photos: Kenya mall attack Kenya mall attack – Ann Gakii reacts at the Nairobi City Mortuary after identifying the body of her father, who was killed in the mall attack on Saturday. Hide Caption 2 of 51 51 photos: Photos: Kenya mall attack Kenya mall attack – A Kenyan soldier runs through a corridor on an upper floor at the Westgate Shopping Mall in Nairobi, Kenya, on September 24, shortly before an explosion was heard. Sounds of heavy gunfire erupted from the mall Tuesday, even as authorities said they had the building under their control. But four days after Al-Shabaab terrorists stormed the swanky mall, several gunmen -- including snipers -- were still inside, two senior officials said. Hide Caption 3 of 51 51 photos: Photos: Kenya mall attack Kenya mall attack – Kenyan Defense Forces walk near the mall on Monday, September 23. Hide Caption 4 of 51 51 photos: Photos: Kenya mall attack Kenya mall attack – Kenyan Defense Forces leave the mall on September 23. Hide Caption 5 of 51 51 photos: Photos: Kenya mall attack Kenya mall attack – Stephen, center, is comforted by relatives as he waits for the post mortem exam of his father, who was killed in Saturday's attack at the mall. Hide Caption 6 of 51 51 photos: Photos: Kenya mall attack Kenya mall attack – A Kenyan police officer guards the entrance of a building near the mall on September 23. Hide Caption 7 of 51 51 photos: Photos: Kenya mall attack Kenya mall attack – A Kenyan security officer takes cover as gunfire and explosions are heard from the mall on September 23. Hide Caption 8 of 51 51 photos: Photos: Kenya mall attack Kenya mall attack – Heavy smoke rises from the Westgate Shopping Mall on September 23. Hide Caption 9 of 51 51 photos: Photos: Kenya mall attack Kenya mall attack – Medics take cover behind a tree as gunfire and explosions are heard from the Westgate Mall on September 23. Hide Caption 10 of 51 51 photos: Photos: Kenya mall attack Kenya mall attack – A Kenyan police security officer runs for cover as heavy smoke rises from the mall on September 23. Hide Caption 11 of 51 51 photos: Photos: Kenya mall attack Kenya mall attack – A paramedic runs for cover outside the mall on September 23. Hide Caption 12 of 51 51 photos: Photos: Kenya mall attack Kenya mall attack – People run for cover outside the mall after heavy shooting started on September 23. Hide Caption 13 of 51 51 photos: Photos: Kenya mall attack Kenya mall attack – Kenyan security forces crouch behind a wall outside the mall on September 23. Hide Caption 14 of 51 51 photos: Photos: Kenya mall attack Kenya mall attack – Soldiers take cover after gunfire near the mall on September 23. Hide Caption 15 of 51 51 photos: Photos: Kenya mall attack Kenya mall attack – Kenyan paramilitary police officers patrol the area near the mall on Sunday, September 22. Hide Caption 16 of 51 51 photos: Photos: Kenya mall attack Kenya mall attack – Soldiers from the Kenya Defense Forces arrive outside the Westgate Mall on September 22. Hide Caption 17 of 51 51 photos: Photos: Kenya mall attack Kenya mall attack – A woman shields a baby as a soldier stands guard inside the Westgate Mall on Saturday, September 21. Hide Caption 18 of 51 51 photos: Photos: Kenya mall attack Kenya mall attack – A rescue worker helps a child outside the mall. Hide Caption 19 of 51 51 photos: Photos: Kenya mall attack Kenya mall attack – People who had been hiding inside the mall during the gunfire flee the scene. Hide Caption 20 of 51 51 photos: Photos: Kenya mall attack Kenya mall attack – An armed official takes a shooting position inside the mall. Hide Caption 21 of 51 51 photos: Photos: Kenya mall attack Kenya mall attack – An armed official crouches on September 21. Hide Caption 22 of 51 51 photos: Photos: Kenya mall attack Hide Caption 23 of 51 51 photos: Photos: Kenya mall attack Kenya mall attack – Bodies lie on the ground inside the mall. Hide Caption 24 of 51 51 photos: Photos: Kenya mall attack Kenya mall attack – Men help a wounded woman outside the mall. Hide Caption 25 of 51 51 photos: Photos: Kenya mall attack Kenya mall attack – Officials carry an injured man in the mall. Hide Caption 26 of 51 51 photos: Photos: Kenya mall attack Kenya mall attack – Soldiers move up stairs inside the Westgate Mall. Hide Caption 27 of 51 51 photos: Photos: Kenya mall attack Kenya mall attack – Armed police leave after entering the mall. At least one suspect has been killed, a government official said. Police have said another suspected gunman has been detained at a Nairobi hospital. Hide Caption 28 of 51 51 photos: Photos: Kenya mall attack Kenya mall attack – Armed police take cover behind escalators as smoke fills the air. Witnesses say tear gas was thrown in the corridors. Hide Caption 29 of 51 51 photos: Photos: Kenya mall attack Kenya mall attack – A woman who had been hiding during the attack runs for cover after armed police enter the mall. Hide Caption 30 of 51 51 photos: Photos: Kenya mall attack Kenya mall attack – A body is seen on the floor inside the smoke-filled four-story mall. Hide Caption 31 of 51 51 photos: Photos: Kenya mall attack Kenya mall attack – An injured person is helped on arrival at the Aga Khan Hospital in Nairobi after the attack at the upscale mall. Hide Caption 32 of 51 51 photos: Photos: Kenya mall attack Kenya mall attack – A soldier directs people up a stairway inside the Westgate on September 21. Hide Caption 33 of 51 51 photos: Photos: Kenya mall attack Kenya mall attack – An injured man is wheeled into the Aga Khan Hospital in Nairobi. Hide Caption 34 of 51 51 photos: Photos: Kenya mall attack Kenya mall attack – People run from the Westgate Mall. Hide Caption 35 of 51 51 photos: Photos: Kenya mall attack Kenya mall attack – A Kenyan woman is helped to safety after the masked gunmen stormed the upscale mall and sprayed gunfire on shoppers and staff. Hide Caption 36 of 51 51 photos: Photos: Kenya mall attack Kenya mall attack – Crowds gather outside the upscale shopping mall. The interior ministry urges Kenyans to keep off the roads near the mall so police can ensure everyone inside has been evacuated to safety. Hide Caption 37 of 51 51 photos: Photos: Kenya mall attack Kenya mall attack – A policeman carries a baby to safety. Authorities said multiple shooters were at the scene. Hide Caption 38 of 51 51 photos: Photos: Kenya mall attack Kenya mall attack – Bodies lie outside the shopping mall. Hide Caption 39 of 51 51 photos: Photos: Kenya mall attack Kenya mall attack – A security officer helps a wounded woman outside. Hide Caption 40 of 51 51 photos: Photos: Kenya mall attack Kenya mall attack – Elaine Dang of San Diego is helped to safety after the attack. The military asked local media not to televise anything live because the gunmen are watching the screens in the mall. Hide Caption 41 of 51 51 photos: Photos: Kenya mall attack Kenya mall attack – Paramedics treat an injured man outside the mall. Hide Caption 42 of 51 51 photos: Photos: Kenya mall attack Kenya mall attack – Medical personnel carry a body away. Hide Caption 43 of 51 51 photos: Photos: Kenya mall attack Kenya mall attack – A body lies outside the mall. Gunmen shot people outside the mall as they entered it Hide Caption 44 of 51 51 photos: Photos: Kenya mall attack Kenya mall attack – A woman is pulled by a shopping cart to an ambulance. Hide Caption 45 of 51 51 photos: Photos: Kenya mall attack Kenya mall attack – A wounded man is escorted outside the mall. Hide Caption 46 of 51 51 photos: Photos: Kenya mall attack Kenya mall attack – A police officer carries a baby as people keep low and run to safety. Crowds dashed down the streets as soldiers in military fatigues, guns cocked, crawled under cars to get closer to the mall. Hide Caption 47 of 51 51 photos: Photos: Kenya mall attack Kenya mall attack – People run away from the scene. Hide Caption 48 of 51 51 photos: Photos: Kenya mall attack Kenya mall attack – Armed Kenyan forces take position to secure the area around the shopping mall as ambulances move in to carry the injured. Hide Caption 49 of 51 51 photos: Photos: Kenya mall attack Kenya mall attack – A woman reacts after she is rescued from the mall. Hide Caption 50 of 51 51 photos: Photos: Kenya mall attack Kenya mall attack – A couple flee the area. As night fell, authorities said they had cornered the gunmen in the mall. Hide Caption 51 of 51 JUST WATCHED Navy SEALs raid Somali town Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Navy SEALs raid Somali town 01:09 JUST WATCHED Video shows gunmen inside Kenya mall Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Video shows gunmen inside Kenya mall 00:42 How the raid happened U.S. Navy SEAL members traveled by sea to reach the coastal villa frequented by top Al-Shabaab commanders, storming the house early Saturday. Until Sunday, no U.S. official disclosed the target of the raid. The SEALs' mission didn't go as planned, however. The U.S. commandos encountered heavy fire and had to withdraw, not knowing whether their target was dead or alive. Al-Shabaab is the U.S.-designated terrorist group that claimed responsibility for last month's siege on a Kenyan shopping mall that killed 67 people. Residents of the port city of Barawe said the home belonged to Al-Shabaab leader Mukhtar Abu Zubayr, also known as Ahmed Abdi Godane. An Al-Shabaab spokesman had said Godane was the target of the attack. The group said one of its fighters was killed in the attack. No SEAL members were killed or hurt, a U.S. official said. It was one of two raids carried out by elite U.S. forces in Africa on Saturday against targets connected to the 1998 embassy bombing in Nairobi. The other was an operation in Tripoli, Libya, by the U.S. Army Delta Force against Abu Anas al Libi, indicted in the United States for helping to plan the Nairobi embassy attack. Delta Force members captured al Libi, who will eventually be taken to New York to face federal charges. In the 2002 attacks, three suicide bombers detonated a car bomb outside the Israeli-owned Paradise Hotel in Mombasa, killing the bombers as well as 12 Kenyans and three Israelis. The same morning, a missile attack unsuccessfully targeted an Israeli airliner taking off from Mombasa's airport. Al Qaeda claimed responsibility for both Mombasa attacks. U.S. forces strike in Libya, Somalia, capture al Qaeda operative 'Most wanted terrorist' al Libi nabbed in native Libya Witness accounts Residents of the port city of Barawe said about a dozen "foreign forces" went from a nearby warship to a smaller, faster boat before jumping onto the Somali mainland. Before long, the sounds of heavy gunfire and several large explosions echoed across the city, locals said. After coming under fire, the U.S. forces -- members of the Navy special forces unit known as SEAL Team Six, the same unit that killed Osama bin Laden in 2011 -- made a "prudent decision" to pull back, a senior U.S. official said. Barawe "is a main center, if not the center" for Al-Shabaab, said Matt Bryden, the former head of the U.N. Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea. "It's a big source of revenue for them. It allows for trade," said Bryden, now the director of a Kenya-based think tank, Sahan Research. They "fully control the town" and hold large exercises on the beach, including target practice and even sack races. Once a tourist destination, the city is now an important port for charcoal, a common fuel in Somalia, Bryden said. That makes it a revenue source for the jihadists, with the charcoal trade bringing in as much as $25 million a year to Al-Shabaab, the United Nations estimated in July. Al-Shabaab's growing menace Al-Shabaab, designated a terrorist organization by the United States, has a relationship with al Qaeda that goes back several years. Last year, the two groups effectively merged, said CNN national security analyst Peter Bergen. Bergen: How Al-Shabaab picks its targets Al-Shabaab hopes to turn Somalia into a fundamentalist Islamic state but has launched attacks in other countries as well. In 2010, Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for two suicide bombings carried out in Kampala, Uganda, amid crowds of soccer fans watching televised screenings of the World Cup final. The bombings left 74 people dead. The group said at the time the attacks were retaliation for Ugandan participation in the African Union Mission in Somalia, known as AMISOM. One AMISOM goal is to support Somali government forces in cracking down on Al-Shabaab. Al-Shabaab has also mounted many smaller attacks against targets in Kenya, hurling hand grenades into nightclubs, restaurants and schools. The group has also kidnapped tourists and aid workers. Its attack on the Westgate mall in Kenya on September 21 killed at least 67 people. Al-Shabaab said the attack was retaliation for Kenya's involvement in the African Union effort against the group. In recent months, Al-Shabaab's haven in south-central Somalia has been been increasingly squeezed as Kenyan forces fight the group from the south and African Union forces come down from Mogadishu, the Somali capital.

– In this weekend's raid in Somalia, Navy SEALs were after an al-Shabab leader named Abdulkadir Mohamed Abdulkadir, who had plotted foiled attacks targeting Kenya's parliament and the UN office in Nairobi, according to a Kenyan intelligence document obtained by the AP. Abdulkadir, who is also known as Ikrima, is a Kenyan of Somali origin, CNN reports. He is also reportedly linked to a pair of al-Qaeda figures involved in the 1998 bombing of the US embassy in Nairobi, as well as attacks four years later in the Kenyan city of Mombasa. Navy SEAL Team Six members arrived for Saturday's raid by sea, but when they ran into extensive gunfire, they made what one official calls a "prudent decision" to leave—though they didn't know whether Abdulkadir had survived. None of the SEALs were injured during the attack on the home of al-Shabab leader Mukhtar Abu Zubayr; al-Shabab says one of its fighters was killed in the raid, says a former UN official.

Austrian mountain police officer Bernhard Magritzer said the man's father had alerted German police after his son had not returned from his climb last Saturday and he could not reach him on his mobile phone - which, the father said, was unusual. The man has not been identified due to Austrian privacy laws. Winter-like conditions and a danger of avalanches made the rescue attempt dangerous on the Dachstein, 90 kilometers (55 miles) south east of Salzburg. It is the second highest mountain in the Northern Limestone Alps. Police found the alpinist's car near a lake below the mountain late on Wednesday night. The trapped man was able to make a call from his mobile phone but the signal broke off after a few seconds. "My colleague heard someone breathing heavily and reacted in the right way," Magritzer said. The rescue service switched communications to text messages and the man was able to explain his situation and give an exact location. "We would not have found him otherwise," Magritzer said. A three-hour search at 2,050 meters altitude in the middle of the night followed. At about 4 a.m. the man was rescued from his 30-meter-deep hole and flown by emergency helicopter to the Wels clinic where he was reported to have only slight injuries to a shoulder and ankle. The Dachstein's northern glaciers Thirty years ago - same time, same place Austrian television had on Wednesday evening shown a program about the 1985 rescue of a US soldier who was also found alive, also in November, but after 19 days on the Dachstein. He had broken his leg two days into his climb over a glacier. Kenneth Cichowich from Buffalo NY, who was deputy chief of staff for logistics at the US Army European headquarters in Heidelberg, West Germany at the time, gave credit to his mountain survival training. He spent six days eating snow before he was rescued by two men lowered from a helicopter who asked his name. "Then they said: 'You're the man we're looking for,'" Cichowich said at the time. "I was never so happy or so surprised." jm/kms (AP, dpa)

– Austrian emergency teams have rescued a German mountaineer who spent five days in a deep glacier crevice after slipping. Officials say the man was found in the 100-foot-deep gap Thursday after he succeeded in making an emergency call from his cellphone following numerous failed attempts because of poor reception, the AP reports. The man had been reported missing by his father Saturday on the rugged Dachstein range southeast of the city of Salzburg. State broadcaster ORF cites an alpine rescue official as saying the man is only "relatively lightly hurt" considering the drop, with shoulder and foot injuries. Deutsche Welle, which notes the poor weather and risk of avalanches made rescuers' efforts more difficult, documents how police first found the man's car near a lake at the foot of the mountain Wednesday night. He'd been trying to make calls from his phone, and finally one call went through, though only for a few seconds. A quick-thinking member of the rescue team switched communications over to texting, at which point the man was able to relay to them where he was. "We would not have found him otherwise," another rescuer says. The man was flown by helicopter to a nearby hospital after the early morning rescue. He's not being identified due to Austrian privacy laws.

Authority members are prohibited from lobbying on any issue. Until Jindal began his attempts to gut it in order to kill its lawsuit against oil companies, 4 of its 9 members routinely served on working groups associated with the National Academies of Science and the like, while other board members were engineers who built things. The suit argues that the loss of wetlands outside east bank levees caused by the energy companies has reduced the effectiveness of the levees to protect interior areas from hurricane storm surges. True, some companies have made contributions to restoration or local levee districts worth millions of dollars, but that amount is trivial compared to the tens of billions of dollars of damage the industry inflicted. “So what they have contributed so far is between 1/100th and 1/10th of a penny on the dollar for their liability. Barry’s name was not submitted to Jindal for reappointment to the levee authority in October after Jindal made clear he would not be chosen because of his role in proposing the suit. Deposed Southeast Flood Protection Authority East vice president John Barry on Tuesday announced the creation of Restore Louisiana Now, a nonprofit organization that will lobby on behalf of a controversial lawsuit filed by the authority in July against 97 oil, gas and pipeline companies that seeks to get them to repair damage to wetlands or compensate the authority for damage that can’t be repaired, with the money to be used for levee improvements. By then, the threat presented by land loss was well-known, state laws required that areas damaged by the energy industry be “restored to the pre-existing conditions” and Governor David Treen had tried and failed to pay for fixing the problem with a new Coastal Wetlands Environmental Levy on the oil and gas industry. “The oil, gas and pipeline industries -- those companies haven’t done any of those things,” Barry said. In 2006, looking at the severe land loss in the Barataria and Terrebonne basins, a study by the state’s Department of Natural Resources attributed an astonishing 76 percent of land loss to “oil and gas exploration and drilling.” What has the industry done since 2006, when the state blamed it for 76 percent of the problem in those basins? “I think that’s a pretty good deal for the industry. Jindal is unable to remove members of the authority whose terms have not expired under a provision that is aimed at removing the board from politics by assuring that no governor can replace all its members. And he wants state legislators to recognize the industry’s liability. “What it really comes down to is the most basic conservative American values, what parents are supposed to teach their kids,” Barry said of the organization's support for the lawsuit. More importantly, I think it’s a pretty terrible deal for people living in the affected areas, people whose lives are threatened by land loss, whose risk increases every single day.” He spoke at a news conference at the Blue Crab Restaurant on Lakeshore Drive in New Orleans. They argue that such suits also make it more difficult to work with oil and gas companies in repairing wetlands. During the news conference, Barry also released the results of a poll of residents of Louisiana’s coastal parishes, stretching from Lake Charles to Baton Rouge to New Orleans, that he said supported the lawsuit. The political independence of these two regional flood protection authorities relies hugely on their status as political subdivisions. Bobby Jindal and Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority Chairman Garret Graves, Jindal's coastal adviser, attacked the suit as soon as it was filed in July, contending that it would disrupt the state’s plans to sue the federal government for wetlands damages caused by the Army Corps of Engineers’ management of the Mississippi River, and that it also would conflict with projects proposed as part of the state’s $50 billion, 50-year coastal restoration and protection Master Plan. The message of these lawsuits is simple; obey the law, keep your word and fix what you broke. The poll conducted by Silas Lee & Associates of New Orleans found that by a margin of more than 3 to 1, respondents didn’t want the Legislature to intervene to stop the levee authority lawsuit, that nearly two-thirds had little or no confidence that the oil and gas companies would voluntarily restore wetlands to their original condition, and that by more than 25 to 1, residents expect oil and gas companies who dredged and drilled in wetlands to pay for their restoration.

– A Louisiana historian wants oil and gas companies to help restore state wetlands that are vanishing by the day—but politicians are fighting him tooth and nail, the New York Times Magazine reports. John Barry, a gritty ex-weightlifter who writes US history books, watches in horror as Louisiana wetlands recede (and the Gulf of Mexico advances) by about a football field per hour. Dams and levees are partly to blame, as are tens of thousands of wells carved by oil and gas companies. The industry even admits to causing 36% of southeastern Louisiana's wetlands loss. A plan supported by scientists and industry to repair the land would cost about $50 billion, $20 billion of which can be paid by BP Deepwater Horizon oil-spill lawsuits. Barry believes oil-and-gas should pay at least $18 billion of the rest—or 36% of the total. But oil-and-gas wants taxpayers to foot that bill, so Barry fought back. In an ambitious move, the regional levee board of which Barry was a member filed the biggest environmental lawsuit in US history against the oil and gas companies that affected the wetlands. "The reality is that our case is overwhelming," says Barry, adding that the companies "violated the terms of their contract. They broke the law!" Most of the companies had, in fact, used permits that demanded any environmental damage be repaired. But the state legislature—which critics say is deeply influenced by oil-and-gas—argued that no laws had been broken, and passed a bill that crippled or perhaps killed the lawsuit before it reached a courtroom. Gov. Bobby Jindal then signed the bill into law. Barry has started a nonprofit to keep the suit alive, and tells the Times-Picayune that "it really comes down to is the most basic conservative American values. It’s keep your word, obey the law, and take responsibility for your actions."

According to the book, Mrs. Obama replied: "It's hell. I can’t stand it!’ Details of the private conversation, which took place at the White House during an official visit by Nicolas Sarkozy last March, emerged in Carla And The Ambitious. However, a spokesman at the French Embassy in Washington, Emmanuel Lenain, told CBS News that Bruni was not involved in writing the book.

– Just in time for election season, a story Michelle Obama can't possibly be happy to see: In a new book, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy claims Obama told her that being first lady is "hell. I can't stand it!" (The White House and the French Embassy in Washington deny that Obama said any such thing, the AP reports.) Carla and the Ambitious, which was reportedly written in collaboration with the French first lady, is "wildly indiscreet," the Daily Mail reports; the French Embassy says Bruni-Sarkozy "distances herself completely" from the book, out tomorrow. Another book, an unauthorized biography of Bruni-Sarkozy, details the apparently chilly relationship between the first ladies, alleging Bruni-Sarkozy sees Obama as a rival. Michelle is "the only one in (Carla's) eyes able to challenge her for the title of the world's sexiest and most glamorous first lady," Besma Lahouri claims in Carla: A Secret Life. For more scandalous tell-all revelations about Bruni-Sarkozy, click here.

Heart abnormalities linked to immersion pulmonary edema were present in a greater-than-expected proportion of triathletes who died during the competition's swim portion, according to a study led by researchers at Duke Health. They found that 58 people died while training or during competitions, including 42 who died during the swim portion. Researchers examined autopsy reports on 23 of the 42 deaths. The proportion of individuals with LVH exceeded the prevalence in the general triathlete population. The researchers at Duke University Medical Center and the University of Iowa tracked triathlon deaths in the United States and Canada from October 2008 to November 2015. While IPE can occur in healthy individuals, Moon said its onset is often seen in those with left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), a condition where the heart muscle becomes thickened or heart mass increases. In a series of deaths occurring during the swim portion of triathlon events, a high proportion of autopsies demonstrated cardiac anomalies, in particular left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). He recommended that potential triathletes and their health-care providers be aware of the known connection between LVH and the potential risk of immersion pulmonary edema. 11 Although IPO usually occurs in healthy individuals without an obvious predisposing factor, many victims have left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), hypertension and other cardiovascular comorbidities—potential markers of susceptibility. The triathlon is a sequence of consecutive races consisting of a sequence of swim (750–3800 m), bicycle (13–112 km) and foot (5–42 km) races. As in all competitive sports, there is a modest sudden death rate, which has been estimated at 1.5 per 100 000 participants, 1 in sanctioned triathlon events, two to three times greater than the marathon rate. Specifically, the 16 triathletes who died from unclear causes had higher measures of heart wall thickness. Four men had significant coronary artery disease, defined as blood vessels that were narrowed by more than 70 percent. Richard Moon, M.D., the study's first author and a professor of anesthesiology and medicine at the Duke University School of Medicine, said he and co-investigators reviewed the autopsy reports to identify whether conditions were present that may have made the athletes susceptible to immersion pulmonary edema (IPE, in the study abbreviated as IPO based on the Greek spelling of oedema). Another man experienced a tear in his renal artery, causing him to hemorrhage; another died when his aortic artery tore open. A man aged 68 years was known to have coronary stents; his death was presumed to have been due to coronary disease and a full autopsy was not performed. Of the 23 records the researchers were able to secure, 19 belonged to men and four belonged to women. (They didn't compare the swimming deaths to the biking and running deaths because there were very few fatalities from those other portions of the race, and many of the deaths that did occur were the result of car collisions.) Elite athletes often have larger hearts than their sedentary counterparts because they work the muscle harder, but this so-called "athlete's heart" is usually not as pronounced as what was seen in the triathletes who died, the researchers reported Aug. 29 in the journal BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine. LV thickness in athlete's heart very rarely exceeds 13 mm.39 ,40 In contrast, in the current series, a pathological cause of enlarged hearts was more prevalent, including extreme values of septal thickness and estimated LV mass (figure 1), significantly beyond the range expected from hypertrophy due to athlete's heart.36 ,39 ,41 Thus, diastolic filling properties were more likely to be abnormal. While it cannot be definitively concluded that IPE was the cause of the triathlete deaths during swimming, Moon said the autopsy reports demonstrate a plausible link. Although this degree of stenosis is not conventionally considered to be critical, the true degree of narrowing could have been underestimated at autopsy.

– Researchers believe they may know why so many people die during triathlons compared to other races, such as marathons. Approximately 1.5 people die out of every 100,000 who participate in a triathlon—which includes running, biking, and swimming portions, LiveScience reports. That's two to three times the death rate for marathon participants. According to a study published Monday in BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine, more than 72% of triathlon deaths looked at by researchers happened in the water during the swimming portion of the race. And researchers believe the culprit is something called immersion pulmonary edema, or IPE. IPE occurs when a person quickly gets into water, especially cold water. That causes the body to take blood from the arms, legs, and other extremities and move it toward the core. This changes the body's internal pressure and may force fluids from the blood into the lungs. This can cause people to experience confusion and difficulty breathing, sometimes to the point of death, according to a press release. A number of triathletes who died for no discernible reason had significantly enlarged hearts, even to a greater degree than other athletes. Researchers say this condition—left ventricular hypertrophy—is a risk factor for IPE. Researchers conclude future triathletes should be checked for the condition before participating in or training for a race. (A boy with cerebral palsy inspires in triathlon finish.)

Warmbier, whose parents say has been in a coma while serving... (Associated Press) SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea said Thursday it released an American university student over "humanitarian" reasons in its first official comment since he was returned to his home state of Ohio in a coma. The family of Otto Warmbier said Wednesday they are "adjusting to a different reality" following their son's return from North Korea, where he was "brutalized" by his captors and held for more than a year in a coma -- the cause of which is still unknown. On Thursday, North Korea said that it had released Warmbier “on humanitarian grounds.” The University of Virginia student’s father, Fred Warmbier, said at an earlier news conference that his son had been “brutalized and terrorized” by the North Korean government. FILE PHOTO - Otto Frederick Warmbier, a University of Virginia student who has been detained in North Korea since early January, attends a news conference in Pyongyang, North Korea, in this photo released by Kyodo February 29, 2016. On Thursday, the State Department said that its special envoy on North Korea, Joseph Yun, who negotiated Warmbier’s release during a visit to the country this week, had also met with three other U.S. citizens being held in North Korea.

– North Korea has issued its first official comment since releasing Otto Warmbier, but it's not one that clears up the biggest questions. "Warmbier, who had been in hard labor, was sent back home on June 13, 2017, on humanitarian grounds according to the adjudication made on the same day by the Central Court" of North Korea, reads the entirety of the report from the state-run Korean Central News Agency, per the AP. Nothing further was said regarding how the release came to be negotiated or how Warmbier ended up in a coma. Pyongyang has claimed the 22-year-old contracted botulism and took a sleeping pill before falling into a coma immediately after his March 2016 trial, but at least one doctor disputes that. More: The Washington Post does have some further details regarding the release: It reports that after finally being informed of Warmbier's health, State Department Special Representative for North Korea Joseph Yun helped facilitate his removal from the country. The Post has more on the reaction to Warmbier's homecoming from those in his hometown of Wyoming, Ohio, population 8,400, and more about Warmbier himself: a salutatorian, homecoming king, and soccer team captain who was attending the University of Virginia on a "prestigious scholarship" awarded to "intellectually curious" students. As for what befell Warmbier, his parents may shine a light on that. Reuters reports Fred and Cindy Warmbier will "detail his mistreatment" during a Thursday morning press conference at their son's former high school. Fred Warmbier did speak with Tucker Carlson on Wednesday, in an interview that will air Thursday at 8pm EDT on Fox News. We're "adjusting to a different reality," he says. "Otto is not in great shape right now ... [he] has been terrorized and brutalized for 18 months by a pariah regime in North Korea." As for what the brutality was, the New York Times cites an unnamed senior US official who says Warmbier was beaten. "The mystery is why," as the Times puts it. By its count, 16 Americans have been held by the country in the past 21 years, and they've typically been abused psychologically, not physically, though there have been exceptions (Robert Park, detained in 2009, says North Korean women used a club to beat his genitals). The feeling seems to be that North Korea is wary of further tarnishing the world's perception of its human rights record.

Over the last several days, House Republican leaders repeatedly defended the bill, the product of a bipartisan compromise last week less than two hours before the government would have shut down. “Listen, this bill is not perfect. And it can’t be forgotten that Thursday’s votes came about only after lawmakers were chastened last week by walking to the precipice of an unprecedented wartime shutdown of the government. Thursday’s vote was the precursor to an expected vote on Friday in the House on a budget blueprint for the next fiscal year that will call for a sea change in the structures of the giant Medicare and Medicaid entitlement programs, a measure almost certainly dead on arrival in the Democrat-controlled Senate. Those Republicans who voted against the measure — perhaps further egged on by Mr. Obama’s speech on Wednesday in which he laid out a long-term budget framework that differed in almost every substantive way from Mr. Ryan’s — said they simply wanted more cuts.

– The shutdown showdown is over, at least until the fall. The House and Senate today passed a measure to fund the government through September, the end of the 2011 fiscal year. The bill passed 260-167 in the House on a bipartisan vote, required because 59 Republicans broke ranks and voted against it, reports Politico. It then cleared the Senate, 81-19, and headed to President Obama's desk for his signature. As agreed upon in last week's down-to-the-wire negotiations, it calls for $38 billion in spending cuts, notes the New York Times. John Boehner: “Is it perfect? No. I’d be the first to admit it’s flawed. But welcome to divided government.” Democratic whip Steny Hoyer: “The priorities that we have agreed to in this resolution are not my priorities. But we have reached an agreement.”

While much of the country was knocking back Bud Lights and licking Doritos cheese off their (or others' ) fingers in preparation for the Super Bowl, hundreds of churches across the country were celebrating Porn Sunday. Surely your eyeballs came to a screeching halt upon seeing church and porn mentioned in the same sentence, and that's the basic strategy behind XXXChurch.com, the self-declared "#1 Christian porn site" -- to shock you to attention with its young, fashionable leaders who preach irreverently about the sex industry. This latest stunt saw the premiere of a 45-minute video starring five NFL players speaking out against pornography. With his disheveled hair and penchant for plaid, Craig Gross looks like a PBR-swilling commitment-phobic hipster, but the ministry's 35-year-old founder is in fact married with two children. This seeming dissonance is increasingly common among young Christian activists who are breaking away from and even criticizing the traditional religious establishment. (Consider Annie Lobert, founder of Hookers for Jesus, whom I profiled late last year.) These young, hip religious types are not only sermonizing about sex but also immersing themselves in the very environments that they are preaching against. Gross and his team man a booth every year at the AVN Adult Entertainment Expo in Las Vegas, handing out T-shirts and Bibles that read, "Jesus Loves Porn Stars." He went on the road with the infamous adult film actor Ron Jeremy to do a series of debates on college campuses about the industry. Two and a half years ago he uprooted his family and moved from Michigan to Sin City. I spoke to Gross shortly after he returned home from Dallas, where he rooted for the Green Bay Packers, about his beef with the traditional church, visiting brothels, the importance of sex education and being pals with a porn legend. Tell me about Porn Sunday. Why peg it to the Super Bowl? We felt doing it on Super Bowl Sunday gave us the best chance to reach the biggest audience. We also happen to have relationships with guys in the NFL. The problem is that churches don't want to talk about this issue. I was joking earlier this week, saying that if we were to talk about any subject other than pornography with the NFL players that we got (Jon Kitna, Josh McCown, Miles McPherson, Matt Hasselbeck and Eric Boles) we'd have thousands of churches participating. It's an issue that people want to run from. What was the aim of the event, exactly? Our goal ministry-wise is to raise awareness that [pornography addiction] is an issue in our society and to help stop people from going down this road and, for those who already have, to recover. When I got to [Dallas], a bunch of Steelers were at the strip club and that's expected, that's covered on TMZ, but here we've got some players that are actually saying, "Here's what I do on the road to have integrity, to remain accountable." Why focus on pornography and the sex industry? A lot of people want to give me other causes to promote, but when I created this website nine years ago it wasn't for any purpose other than to help people struggling with an issue that we saw no one talking about, and we really felt that the best way to address it would be online. I never thought, "I'm gonna quit my job and this is going to be the only thing I do," but I've stayed in this because I realized so many people are affected by this and hurt by this. Marriages are broken apart. This is a big issue. You're part of the recent emergence of hip, young religious people -- like former prostitute Annie Lobert of Hookers for Jesus and ex-stripper Harmony Dust of Treasures Ministry -- who are irreverently talking about the sex industry. Why are we seeing this right now? I think, in general, beyond the sex industry stuff there are a lot of nonprofits coming to the surface. The church is good at doing what is expected and not doing much else outside of the box. So when we created this website, the thought was, "We're gonna be in a space that nobody else has tried," and that's where we've had a lot of success. I don't see the church being as relevant on issues, and so there are a lot of younger people who are using the Internet, social media and other nontraditional methods, and we're having huge successes because we're doing things differently. What has the reaction been like from the Christian establishment? When we started we had more criticism than we do now. Churches are still our biggest critics, though. I think people don't like some of our methods or terminology or how we do things, but we've gotten more and more support from church leaders over the years. We're not gonna be everybody's best friend inside the church. Even though our events are getting huge exposure, [we don't get] a lot of accolades for what we're doing. No one wants to touch this topic. Do you do any sort of sex education outreach, STD prevention? We're actually rolling out a project next about everything from abstinence to safe sex. It's a comic book done by a guy I met in the sex industry, which is crazy, but we kind of figured out some things that we could agree on. So you support comprehensive sex education? Yeah, I think we've gotta talk about it. I think a lot of religious groups have a problem even when people give out condoms. I mean, I don't want people to have sex, but if they do, might as well be protected. I'm not gonna be that overly religious person who says, "Don't hand out condoms." You moved to Las Vegas a couple of years ago -- how come? We felt like we could develop more of an outreach to people inside the industry. We do the porn shows all over the world, but in Vegas we're targeting the sex industry specifically. We're doing a lot of stuff inside strip clubs and brothels. You've really gone into the belly of the beast, surrounding yourself with porn stars, pornographers, strippers. Are you worried about temptation? I think there's temptation everywhere. We're not dumb when we go about these things. Me personally, I don't go into strip clubs; we have a team of women who do that. I've been to brothels and I've been to porn shows, but there's nothing sexy at all about a brothel, in the back where these girls live. At a porn show, it's a convention, you're just talking to people. A strip club's a different story; I'm not gonna hang out there. One of my biggest frustrations with the church is that so many people think, "Surely you can't go there. What good could you do at a strip club?" All the church is after, it seems, are results and attendance. It's, "When are people going to quit their lifestyle and come to Jesus?" I wish it was that simple, but it's not. What we've done is say, "Hey, we're gonna go to where people are at." That takes patience, it takes time, it takes trust. So you're interested in targeting people on both sides of the industry, both the consumers and the sex workers. The reason why we're interested in helping both is, I think, they're basically the same. The conflict runs between both sides. The [consumers] who are struggling are saying, "Hey, I don't want to do this, but I find myself doing it anyways." The people that are in the industry -- from Ron Jeremy down to some no-name porn star -- they don't want to do this, they'd rather do something else, but they're conflicted because this is what they know. After your cross-country tour together, you consider Ron Jeremy a friend, right? Yeah, we're good friends. What have you learned from spending time with him? I just kind of learned what I could do better in our relationship. Everyone I meet around Ron wants Ron for something -- an appearance, his name. They all just take. And I just see this guy, he's got nothing else to give you, and I never want to be that person in the relationship where you just take. We've continued to just show up in his world and ask nothing in return.

– When it comes to teen sex, "we need to be paying attention to the Netherlands," writes Tracy Clark-Flory on Salon. Unlike American parents who typically demonize pre-marital sex, Dutch parents commonly allow their teenagers—male and female alike—to have sleepovers with significant others, a new study finds. Even so, when it comes to birth rates, American teens had eight times as many births as their Dutch counterparts in 2007—"and the Netherlands generally whoops on the states in terms of STD rates, too," Clark-Flory writes. "It's no coincidence that the country has also secured easy access (for both teens and adults) to contraceptives and other sexual health care," she continues. If American parents could be more accepting of their children's budding sexuality, perhaps fewer teens would "sneak out of the house to have sex in the backseat of a car." And Clark-Flory's admittedly atypical experience as an American teen was filled with many such sleepovers, allowing her to engage "in playful exploration in my childhood bedroom with my first love—and my parents were right across the hall the whole time. I had no sense that sex was a naughty or shameful act. And you know what? I consistently used condoms, I was on birth control pills and I insisted that both of us were tested for STDs."

– Someone other than the devil may be dancing tonight, and Nancy Grace might have to play nice with judges for a change now that she's signed on to Dancing With the Stars. She met with her partner in Atlanta this week for the first time, causing TMZ to speculate that "this could be another Kate Gosselin situation" where Grace practices in Atlanta to host her show and dances once a week in LA. The rest of the cast, per Deadline: David Arquette Ron Artest, Los Angeles Laker Chaz Bono Elisabetta Canalis, George Clooney ex Kristin Cavallari of The Hills Rob Kardashian Carson Kressley of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy Ricki Lake JR Martinez, soap opera actor Chynna Phillips, former member of Wilson Phillips and Baldwin brother wife Hope Solo, soccer player

At present, little is known about the assailant, other than the fact that an Islamic flag was shown in the cafe window, leading some to suspect that the incident may be a terrorist attack. Nearby offices were evacuated and police asked people to remain indoors and away from open windows.

– An unknown number of hostages are being held at a chocolate shop and cafe in Sydney in what Prime Minister Tony Abbott says may be a politically motivated incident. Authorities say they're still working to find out how many people are being held in the Lindt Chocolat Cafe, where five hostages were seen running from the building after being captive for seven hours, the Sydney Morning Herald reports. Three men who ran from a fire exit were followed by two women, apparently cafe employees, who ran into the arms of police. Earlier, hostages could be seen holding up what appears to be an Islamic flag. Police say they believe there are no more than 30 hostages in the cafe and as far as they know, nobody has been harmed. It's not clear whether there's more than one gunman involved. Hundreds of police officers have locked down part of the city's central business district and police presence has been massively boosted in other Australian cities. The police commissioner for New South Wales says the situation is tightly contained and officers are trying to resolve the situation peacefully, the Guardian reports. He did not confirm or deny reports that radio host Ray Hadley had spoken to a hostage acting under instructions from a gunman. Abbott said at a press conference that Australians should go about their lives as normal but stay alert, the BBC reports. "I can think of almost nothing more distressing, more terrifying than to be caught up in such a situation, and our hearts go out to these people," he said. Uber, meanwhile, now says it's offering free rides out of central Sydney. At the start of the hostage crisis, the company quadrupled its prices to a minimum $100 Australian, saying "demand is off the charts," Mashable reports.

– A woman who's modeled for Valentino, Versace, and Victoria's Secret is suing a Hilton hotel in California, claiming she was "massacred" by bedbugs. Brazilian model Sabrina Jales St. Pierre says she had a severe reaction to bedbug bites that required medical attention and affected her ability to model while staying at Palm Desert Embassy Suites two years ago. Attorney Brian Virag, who secured in October a $546,000 jury verdict over bedbugs at a Hilton Garden Inn, says the bites "covering pretty much her entire body" were among the worst he's seen. Jales St. Pierre was "embarrassed, ashamed, and humiliated" but had to keep working, he says, per the Palm Springs Desert Sun, adding "she still experiences psychological trauma" and is seeking monetary and punitive damages. Photos shared as part of the lawsuit, at least one of which includes a dated newspaper, show large red welts covering the model's shoulder, back, and legs, per the Los Angeles Times. Describing the site of the 2016 incident as "an independently owned and managed franchise property," Hilton directed questions to Embassy Suites. The general manager of the Palm Desert location essentially accuses Jales St. Pierre of lying. The hotel agreed to dry-clean her clothes after she complained, but officials and an outside pest-control company investigated and found no evidence of a bedbug infestation, Carlos Mendoza tells the Desert Sun. "We did all the proper protocols," he says. "Now we have to go through the lawsuit to defend the reputation of the hotel." (This family won $1.6 million over bedbugs.)

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Karen Hadaway and Nicola Fellows disappeared while out playing A convicted paedophile has been found guilty of murdering two schoolgirls who were found strangled and sexually assaulted near Brighton 32 years ago. Russell Bishop had been accused of sexually assaulting and strangling Karen Hadaway and Nicola Fellows in October 1986 in woods about half a mile from Moulsecoomb, the area of Brighton where both girls lived. Image copyright PA Image caption The Babes in the Wood case still affects people in the city After Bishop's conviction, Nigel Pilkington, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said the verdicts marked the end of a long fight for justice by the families, praising their "remarkable resilience". “Time stood still for us in 1986. To us, them beautiful girls will always be nine years old. Image copyright BBC News Image caption Bishop was found guilty exactly 31 years on from his first acquittal Afterwards, Karen's mother Michelle Hadaway described Bishop as an "evil monster". Speaking outside the Old Bailey, she said: "What people like Bishop inflict on the families of their victims is a living death. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Barrie Fellows, who has epilepsy, says his daughter Nicola was always there for him The Fellows family said in a statement that the two families had been "united in grief", and while the verdicts did not bring the girls back, other children were now safe from Bishop. Photograph: Sussex police/PA After demonstrating that there was new and compelling evidence against Bishop in the form of scientific material, the prosecution had shown the jury how he attempted to conceal his crimes through lies, said the Crown Prosecution Service. A retrial was made possible after Bishop’s 1987 acquittal on the same charges was quashed at the court of appealin light of new evidence. Bishop, who was not present to hear he was being convicted on the 31st anniversary of his original acquittal, will be required to appear when he is sentenced on Tuesday after the eight-week trial. The DNA came from a blue Pinto sweatshirt that was initially identified as belonging to Bishop by his former partner Jennifer Johnson, who then denied it in the first trial. She was not called by the prosecution in the second trial but another of Bishop’s former partners said he had been violent towards Johnson. But we will wait to see if police make a decision to investigate,” he added. However, Bishop spotted the two nine-year-olds playing in the park near their home at around dusk on 9 October 1986 and seized his opportunity, the prosecution said. But he described details of the murder scene which only the killer could have known, jurors were told. Bishop had returned to live in the Brighton area after his acquittal, but less than three years later, in February 1990, committed offences involving the attempted murder, kidnapping and indecent assault of a seven-year-old girl in the Whitehawk area of the city. On 10 October, he had joined the search for Nicola and Karen, claiming his dog was a trained tracker, and was nearby when two teenagers spotted the girls' bodies. Calling Bishop a "wicked" paedophile, Det Supt Riley said the murder case was one of the most "high-profile and complex" in Sussex Police history and one that still affected people in the city. "We have never forgotten or given up," he said.

– Nothing can bring back Karen Hadaway and Nicola Fellows, 9-year-old girls murdered in the UK in 1986. "But we know that other children are now safe from the hands of Russell Bishop," family members said Monday as the 52-year-old convicted pedophile was found guilty of sexually assaulting and strangling the schoolgirls in a wooded area half a mile from their Brighton neighborhood on Oct. 9, 1986. Based on what prosecutors described as a "one-in-a-billion" DNA match linking a discarded sweatshirt to Bishop, the girls, and the murder scene, the convictions came exactly 31 years after Bishop's acquittal on the same charges, reports the Guardian. An ex-girlfriend had initially said the sweatshirt found discarded along Bishop's route home in Brighton belonged to him, but she denied that claim in court in 1987. "Certainly, if she had not changed her story, it might have been a wholly different thing," a prosecutor tells the Telegraph, raising the possibility of a perjury investigation. Not only was Bishop's DNA found on Karen's left forearm, but dried paint on the sweatshirt matched flakes found on her shirt and Nicola's neck, according to prosecutors. They described Bishop attacking the girls at a park around dusk, though defense attorneys instead suggested the involvement of Nicola's father, who was brought to tears during the trial. Afterward, the family had harsh words for their daughter's killer, serving life for the 1990 attempted murder, kidnapping, and indecent assault of a 7-year-old girl, per the BBC: "He is a monster. A predatory pedophile. Russell Bishop truly is evil personified." He'll be sentenced Tuesday. (A podcast might've helped solve a 1982 murder.)

UPPER DARBY >> Serial robbers preying on cabbies and women in late June have been identified as two teenage girls who will be charged as adults, police said. A 35-year-old cab driver, employed with Get A Cab, was dispatched to the 100 block of Glendale Road to pick up a fare at 9:30 p.m. June 19. He handed over $90.” Police were searching for the bandits in the cab driver holdups when the duo allegedly attacked and robbed two women, ages 52 and 86, visiting from Ecuador on June 23 on Kent Road. Police arrested two teen girls accused of robbing two cab drivers, a mother and daughter visiting their family from Ecuador, and a Domino's Pizza. "Cab driver arrives, starts a conversation, next thing you know he's got a gun to his head," Chitwood said.

– "You could write a book" about Kemonie McKee and Syniah Martinez, a Philly-area police official tells the Philadelphia Inquirer, but the story about the two teen girls wouldn't exactly be a fairy tale. Instead, McKee, 16, and Martinez, 17, pulled off "some very heinous, nasty crimes," Upper Darby Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood says, and they've now been charged as adults for the armed robberies of two taxi drivers, which took place just hours apart June 19 in Upper Darby, CBS Philly reports. In the cab crimes, which are said to have taken place at gunpoint (though Chitwood notes the teens say it was just a BB gun), police say the girls made off with a grand total of $100 from one taxi, $80 from the second. The girls are also accused of robbing two women from Ecuador, identified by NBC Philadelphia as a mother and daughter, at gunpoint on June 23 in Upper Darby. The teens have been charged with aggravated assault and related offenses in all three cases. In the Ecuador case, $900 and a cellphone were taken from the 86-year-old and 52-year-old tourists, who were also assaulted. The girls are also suspected of the carjacking robberies of two Philly pizza delivery drivers. Martinez's 11-year-old sister, meanwhile, suffered a broken arm when one of the getaway cars that she was riding in crashed, Chitwood tells the Delaware County Daily Times. While cops seek out a male adult they think was involved in planning the crimes and possibly serving as the getaway driver, they note a somewhat happy ending: Two anonymous locals came forward with $1,000 for each of the Ecuadorian women. "They felt bad ... people would come here from another country and be victims of a robbery," Chitwood tells CBS. (A teen pimped out other teens.)

The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium said Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2017, that Colo, the oldest known gorilla... (Associated Press) COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The world's first gorilla born in a zoo, a female named Colo who became the oldest known living gorilla in the U.S., has died at age 60, the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium said Tuesday. She surpassed the usual life expectancy of captive gorillas by two decades. "Colo touched the hearts of generations of people who came to see her and those that cared for her over her long lifetime," zoo president Tom Stalf said in a statement. "She was an ambassador for gorillas and inspired people to learn more about the critically endangered species and motivated them to protect gorillas in their native habitat." Story highlights Colo turned 60 on December 22, extending the oldest gorilla record She was a great-great grandmother (CNN) There's been another gorilla death at a zoo in Ohio. Colo was the oldest gorilla ever on record and the first to be born in human care.

– On Monday, Colo the gorilla was seen by visitors to Ohio's Columbus Zoo toting around a baseball cap—a favorite item of hers, the AP reports. On Tuesday, the oldest gorilla ever recorded died in her sleep, less than a month after her 60th birthday. According to CNN, Colo, the first gorilla born in human care, lived 20 years longer than an average gorilla. In a Facebook post, zoo CEO Tom Stalf says Colo "touched the hearts of generations of people." Colo had recently had a malignant tumor removed but was believed to be doing well. A cause of death is yet to be determined. The zoo plans to cremate her and bury her remains. Colo leaves behind three children, 16 grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren, and three great-great-grandchildren.

Asian American Populations The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) defines "Asians" as people having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam. According to the US Census Bureau, on the 2010 Census, the Asian population category includes people who indicated their race(s) as “Asian” or reported entries such as “Asian Indian,” “Chinese,” “Filipino,” “Korean,” “Japanese,” and “Vietnamese” or provided other detailed Asian responses.

– Asian-American groups recently filed a federal complaint against Harvard, claiming the university holds Asian applicants to higher standards. But while that complaint is pending, the Boston Globe reports that breaking the "bamboo ceiling" is a thriving business, with coaches often advising applicants to appear, well … "less Asian," according to the director of NYC's Ivy Coach. Asians only make up about 5% of the US population, but, for example, 21% of Princeton's Class of 2018 is Asian-American, while Harvard's is 20%. But complaints focus on the many more qualified Asian-Americans who are being rejected because of what James Chen, founder of Asian Advantage College Consulting, calls "the Asian penalty." Coaches, therefore, focus on "deemphasiz[ing] the Asianness," as Chen says, to set them apart within their own demographic. Tips include trying different musical instruments (musical theater gets a thumbs-up over piano) and more physical sports like football. Chen also warns about immigrant tales in the application essay—"Don't talk about your family coming from Vietnam with $2 in a rickety boat," he tells the Globe—and says don't be a "grade grubber": "Schools don't want students who care too much about their grades. They want kids who love learning." Harvard's general counsel replies: "A class that is diverse on multiple dimensions, including on race, transforms the educational experience of students from every background." And an Asian-American professor adds, "I'm not sure that people really get that so many students of all races get rejected." (So why does that "Asian-American students are smarter" stereotype exist?)

DONETSK, Ukraine — After Ukraine’s new president, Petro O. Poroshenko, told reporters in Kiev on Wednesday that he might soon order a temporary, unilateral cease-fire as part of a broader 14-point peace plan, it took all of several seconds for pro-Russian militants to rule it out. Speaking to students at a military institute in Kiev, Poroshenko outlined a 14-step plan, including an amnesty for separatist fighters who lay down arms, and tighter controls over Ukraine's border with Russia. The Russian government has called repeatedly for Ukraine to stop its military crackdown on the separatists but has also insisted that it does not control, or speak for, the separatists. Moscow has grudgingly acknowledged Poroshenko as Ukraine’s new elected leader, but tensions are still high, exacerbated by Russia’s decision to cut off gas supplies to Ukraine after the two sides failed to agree a regime for pricing and the settlement of Ukraine’s debts. Denis Pushilin, one of the leaders of the political wing of the Donetsk People’s Republic, said in television appearances in Moscow that he thought it was “pointless,” suggesting that it was the latest trick by Kiev to subdue the fighters. Mr. Poroshenko’s discussion of the peace plan followed a phone call late Tuesday with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, in which both sides said the cease-fire was a main topic. The Kremlin also said Putin had expressed his concern to Poroshenko over the deaths of two journalists for Russian state television, who were killed in shelling as Ukrainian forces fought pro-Russian separatists near the eastern city of Luhansk.

– Ukraine's new president talked to Vladimir Putin last night, and today, Petro Poroshenko appears ready for a ceasefire, the New York Times reports. Poroshenko says he'll order the unilateral move once the border is secure; he believes "all illegal military units" will follow suit, per Russian and Ukrainian reports. During their call, "the presidents of Ukraine and Russia discussed a number of priority measures to be taken for a sustainable ceasefire, and the effective ways of monitoring it," Ukraine says in a statement. The ceasefire could come within "hours or days," a Ukrainian presidential rep tells the BBC. Poroshenko today told graduating students that a "brief" agreement would give "Russian mercenaries" a chance to leave the country. He discussed a 14-step plan involving amnesty for separatist fighters, Reuters reports. "The plan will start with my order for a unilateral ceasefire," he said. "Immediately after this, we need very quickly to get support for the peace plan ... from all participants." Russia's foreign minister has previously suggested that separatists would likely halt violence given an end to Ukraine's military action, the Times notes.