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KITZBUEHEL, Austria — Hannes Reichelt became the first Austrian winner of the classic Hahnenkamm downhill in eight years on Saturday, beating pre-race favorites Aksel Lund Svindal and Bode Miller. Watched by the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone, Reichelt avoided the mistakes his rivals had made earlier and was loudly cheered by 50,000 spectators when the green light for the fastest time appeared on the time table in the finish area. "This is like dream," said Reichelt, and admitted he had "little tears in my eyes" during the flower ceremony. "Being an Austrian, coming down this course and winning here in front of all these fans, is a huge present," he said. "This is a real highlight of my career. If you win here, you are a legend." Michael Walchhofer was the last Austrian to win in Kitzbuehel in 2006, and Reichelt’s victory will be a big boost to the Austrian men’s team two weeks before the start of the Sochi Olympics. The former "Wunderteam" left Vancouver without a single medal four years ago and is poised to improve next month. The last starter from the top group, Reichelt mastered the 3.5-kilometer Streif course in 2 minutes, 3.38 seconds. Overall World Cup leader Svindal trailed by 0.21 in second, and Miller came 0.34 behind in third. "It’s incredible," Reichelt said. "Before the start I saw the runs of these two guys and I knew it would be hard to beat them." Until 15 minutes before the race, Reichelt wasn’t even sure he was going to start. Suffering from persistent back problem, the 33-year-old Austrian did some free skiing to find out whether he would be able to compete without unbearable pain. "I wasn’t feeling too well yesterday," Reichelt said. "But I don’t want to talk too much about my back problems. If you win a race, it can’t be too bad." Reichelt celebrated his seventh career win but only second in the discipline. Reichelt was also the last Austrian to win a World Cup downhill, in Bormio, Italy, in 2012. By finishing runner-up, Svindal extended his lead in the overall standings to 102 points over second-place Marcel Hirscher of Austria, who doesn’t compete in downhill. Svindal also tops the downhill standings, leading Reichelt by 440-360 points. The Norwegian, who won a super-G here last year, is still chasing his first downhill win at the Streif. "Coming second in Kitzbuehel isn’t too bad for a result," Svindal said. "Bode had a mistake, otherwise he would have been unbeatable. I was happy that I was ahead of him when I finished, but I knew you could be faster. And Hannes showed just that." It was the first downhill podium for Miller in almost two years. The American returned to the circuit this season after sitting out the complete 2012-13 campaign following micro-fracture surgery on his left knee. Miller had dominated the only training session two days ago but had a costly mistake during the race when he came off the race line at the Seidalm section halfway down the course. "Winning training runs doesn’t do it for you," Miller said. "You’ve got to execute on race day. It’s too many times that I’ve made these stupid mistakes that aren’t really forced. They are not forced errors. It’s not on a tough part of the course, it’s just a real basic part. So, it’s pretty heartbreaking." Miller said he picked today’s race as the right time to peak before the Olympics. The American worked closely on his setup with technician Chris Krause, who was Didier Cuche’s serviceman when the Swiss standout won three years in a row from 2010-12. "Today I think was my day," said Miller, who like Svindal is lacking a downhill triumph in Kitzbuehel. "I’ve been skiing well and I had good confidence and knew what I had to do. It’s just execution, and in downhill skiing execution is what matters. " The Hahnenkamm weekend is concluded by two World Cup events Sunday, with a super-G race that also counts as the first portion of a super-combined, followed by one floodlit slalom run.

For the first time, significant numbers of doctors are refusing to take new Medicare patients, saying the government now pays them too little to cover the costs of caring for the elderly. Medicare cut payments to doctors by 5.4 percent this year. The government estimates that under current law, the fees paid for each medical service will be reduced in each of the next three years, for a total decrease of 17 percent from 2002 to 2005. For years, doctors have expressed frustration with Medicare, grumbling about reimbursement and complex federal regulations. But the latest reaction appears to be different. Doctors are acting on their concerns, in ways that could reduce access to care for patients who need it. For example, some doctors are purposely limiting the number of their Medicare patients. The American Academy of Family Physicians says that 17 percent of family doctors are not taking new Medicare patients. Dr. Krotowski said that about 25 percent of his current patients were on Medicare, but that he was not taking any new Medicare patients. The government is continually struggling to control Medicare costs. Total Medicare spending rose 24 percent in the last five years, to $238 billion in 2001, and the Congressional Budget Office predicts that it will grow faster in the next five years, to $310 billion in 2006. Spending for doctors' services accounted for nearly $41 billion of last year's total. Dr. Baretta R. Casey, 48, a family physician in rural Pikeville, Ky., near Ashland, did exactly what the government encouraged doctors to do, setting up practice in an area where doctors were in short supply. Dr. Casey, like many doctors, said the impact of the cut was magnified because many private insurers link their payments to the amounts paid by Medicare. Health policy experts said the cuts could make it more difficult for elderly people to find doctors just as the need increases with the aging of the population. Medicare covers 40 million people, and the number of beneficiaries is expected to double by 2030. Scores of lawmakers have endorsed legislation to increase Medicare payments to doctors, but the outlook for the legislation is unclear. Other health care providers like hospitals, nursing homes and health maintenance organizations -- are also demanding more money. Though Medicare can barely afford all the benefits promised under current law, Congress is seriously considering expansion of the program to add prescription drug benefits. The Bush administration says that any increases in payments to some providers must be offset by cuts in payments to others. Moreover, it says, any new money should go to Medicare beneficiaries, for drug benefits, or to the uninsured, in tax credits to buy private insurance. Dr. Paul E. Buehrens, 50, medical director of a clinic with 22 doctors in Kirkland, Wash., near Seattle, has taken specialized training in geriatrics and was medical director of a nursing home for more than 10 years. But he said the group no longer took new Medicare patients, because the financial losses were unsustainable. Medicare pays his group an average of $60 for an office visit, he said, but the costs average $100: about $70 for rent, utilities, malpractice insurance and salaries and benefits for the staff, plus $30 for the doctor. Medicaid, which provides care for poor people, usually pays less than Medicare. Many doctors refuse to participate in Medicaid. In some poor urban and rural areas, Medicaid recipients have trouble finding doctors. Many H.M.O.'s have left Medicare or curtailed their participation, dropping 2.2 million patients in the last four years, after concluding that the federal payments were inadequate. Medicare patients sometimes seek care at doctor-training programs like one affiliated with the University of Colorado in Fort Collins. Dr. Stephen C. Albrecht, 46, who practices with three other doctors in Olympia, Wash., said he stopped taking new Medicare patients about six months ago. Dr. Michael J. Marcello, a family doctor in Mathews, La., 40 miles from New Orleans, said he had decided not to accept new Medicare patients starting in January, when Medicare payments were cut 5.4 percent. In fact, many doctors report that malpractice premiums have shot up. The St. Paul Companies, one of the nation's largest commercial insurers, raised premiums an average of 27 percent last year. One reason, insurers say, is that they have had to pay out large sums for jury verdicts and settlements of lawsuits. In the past, Dr. Flick said, ''private insurers used to subsidize our Medicare practice,'' but they are no longer willing to do so. ''Private insurers have cut back their reimbursement, so there's less opportunity to use those payments to cover the losses on Medicare patients,'' he said. Dr. Abraham Rogozinski, 47, an orthopedic surgeon in Jacksonville, Fla., said he decided last year not to operate on Medicare patients or see them in his office. ''It was not economically feasible to continue our participation in Medicare,'' he said.

The World Health Organization reported 36 new cases of Ebola in the Congo amid an ongoing outbreak with six cases being reported in children between the ages of two and 17 years old, the Associated Press reports. Why it matters: Children are not normally known to catch the disease. The virus typically effects adults, the AP reports, because of more likely exposure to the virus. However, some children come in contact with the virus when infected adults act as care givers. Few cases have been reported in babies but experts believe the disease can be transmitted through breast milk from caregivers. The response to the ongoing outbreak has been slowed by violence in the region in which it‘s occurring.

Woodlands Pattaya, which operates Woodlands Suites Serviced Residences and Woodlands Hotel & Resort, has recently undertaken extensive renovations to their property in Naklua, north Pattaya. A well known property among travelers, Woodlands Hotel & Resort has been in operation for the past 24 years in the vibrant city and has constantly upgraded and improved its facilities. Latest renovations have seen an upgrade of all Superior rooms with a brighter ambiance, modern furniture, HD TV as well as integrated media hub to meet today’s demand for technology. The Woodlands tropical swimming pool. Woodlands started back in 1988 with 80 rooms and has grown to 2 properties offering a total of 208 rooms catering to diverse market needs from leisure, corporate and long stay residents. A revamped look for the Superior rooms.

Janet Jackson and Daddy Yankee perform 'Made for Now' on 'The Tonight Show' on Aug. 17, 2018 . Janet Jackson and Daddy Yankee performed "Made for Now," their new collaboration, for the very first time on television Friday night (Aug. 18). The pair took their own advice and moved their bodies with the upbeat song on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Fallon welcomed them with an enthusiastic introduction, calling out Jackson's place as a "global icon and one of the best-selling artists of all time." Jackson arrived on her rightful throne before joining Daddy Yankee on the stage's main platform, surrounded by dancers who brought on the party vibe. Jackson marked the occasion by sharing some photos and a video of the performance on Twitter Saturday (Aug. 18).

Dance in McLean: 8 to 11:30 p.m. McLean Country Club, Gray County Road Z, McLean. Music by Blue Denim II. Cover. BYOB. 806-256-5317. Blues Boy Willie: 6:30 p.m. Joe Taco, 7312 Wallace Blvd. No cover. 806-331-8226. Emil Ink: 7:30 p.m. D'Vine Wine, 2600 Wolflin Ave. No cover. 806-467-9463. Mike Fuller: 7:30 p.m. Jake's Bar and Grill, 3130 Soncy Road. No cover. 806-358-2222. Skeletonwitch, Smells like Someone Died, Ashes of the Wake, Atyringency, Another Texas Murder Scene: 8 p.m. The Sorority House, 4901 S. Washington St. Cover. Digital Style, Stereo Filtration, Robot Roll Call, Robot Noise, Cyboplsmic Noice, VJ Mnemonic: 9 p.m. Avenue 10, 616 S.W. Harrison St. 806-444-2637. Neon Party. Tejas Brothers: 9 p.m. Golden Light Cantina, 2906 S.W. Sixth Ave. Cover. 806-374-0097. Mike Chisum & Hollowpoint: 9 p.m. Lowery's Dance Hall and Saloon, 609 Independence St. No cover for women. 806-467-8500. Devil Ridge: 9 p.m. Western Horseman Club, 2501 E. Interstate 40. 806-379-6555. Righteous Vendetta: 10 p.m. EBGB's, 2511 S.W. Sixth Ave. Cover. 806-382-0596. The Flying Elbows: 10 p.m. Skooterz, 4100 Bushland Blvd. Cover $5 for men, free for women. 806-355-6600. Attebury Station: 10 p.m. Hoot's Pub, 2424 Hobbs Road. Cover. 806-358-9560. Professional Wrestling Federation: 7 p.m. WrestlePlex, 2650 Dumas Drive.

Why the special counsel probably won’t subpoena the president. William Yeomans served for 26 years in the Justice Department. He is currently Ronald Goldfarb fellow at the Alliance for Justice. Despite the daily bombardment of shifting and distracting Russia investigation story lines, one that has remained central is the prospect that Robert Mueller will interview Donald Trump. Investigation watchers are atwitter with visions of this heavyweight clash, in which a president who lies shamelessly will face Mueller the truth-seeker and his all-star team with the future of democracy on the line. In reality, everyone should calm down—because it’s not likely to happen, and that’s probably a good thing for the investigation. In the end, Trump will not agree to a voluntary interview. Mueller has the authority to subpoena him to appear before the grand jury, but for a variety of strategic reasons should be reluctant to do so. Most significantly, a subpoena would slow things down. Trump and his allies are now racing to undermine the legitimacy of Mueller’s investigation in the hope of muting the impact of its results. The longer the investigation takes, the more successful Trump’s campaign is likely to be. Mueller, therefore, would be well advised to weigh the burden of the time-consuming and distracting litigation that Trump would launch to block a subpoena against the limited value of Trump’s testimony and move on. Recent weeks have witnessed repeated leaks and speculation about the prospects for a Mueller/Trump sitdown. Trump has said he is eager to talk with Mueller, subject to the advice of his lawyers. His lawyers previously promoted the story that talks to schedule an interview were underway, but more recently word of a split opinion in his legal team has cooled speculation that an interview is imminent. Indeed, any defense attorney worth his fee would advise Trump strongly against submitting voluntarily to an interview with Mueller. The stakes are high. Trump will not be able to bluster his way through an interview with the very smart and well-prepared Mueller team, and false statements to federal investigators – even if not made under oath – can be felonies. Past presidents, including Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, have submitted to questioning by independent and special counsels. Reagan answered questions about the Iran/Contra affair while in office and in two depositions after he left. Clinton resisted sitting down with Ken Starr until the independent counsel obtained a subpoena. They then negotiated to allow Clinton to testify for four hours from the White House with his lawyer present and the grand jury connected by video. George W. Bush answered Patrick Fitzgerald’s questions regarding the leak of Valerie Plame’s CIA identity for more than an hour in the White House. Unlike those presidents, Trump feels no obligation, as head of the executive branch, to support and cooperate with law enforcement. Indeed, he has openly assaulted the FBI, Department of Justice and the very existence of a special counsel investigation. Prior presidents also feared the political damage from appearing uncooperative with law enforcement. Trump has worked furiously to build political support for his resistance to cooperation and appears confident that his base and core supporters in Congress will insulate him from political consequences. So Trump will almost certainly not agree to a voluntary interview. And Mueller—because of the importance of obtaining spontaneous answers, asking follow-up questions and observing the witness’s demeanor—will not agree to anything less than live questioning. Mueller will then have the option of pursuing a grand jury subpoena for Trump’s testimony. Subpoenas should not be issued lightly to presidents. They are busy people with extremely consequential responsibilities, which include protection of the office of the presidency. Preparing for and delivering grand jury testimony is distracting and time-consuming. Moreover, the precedent set by issuing a subpoena could be abused by less scrupulous prosecutors than Mueller to sully a president for political purposes. Precedent favors Mueller’s authority to ask the grand jury to subpoena the president. The Supreme Court rejected Nixon’s challenge to the subpoena issued by Archibald Cox for the Watergate tapes. Their production led directly to Nixon’s resignation. Underlying that decision is the principle that no person, including a president, is above the law and no person’s evidence is beyond the reach of a grand jury. That subpoena, however, sought the production of tapes rather than the president’s live testimony. The Supreme Court also rejected Bill Clinton’s contention that Paula Jones’s civil lawsuit could not proceed while he was in office. That case will make it more difficult for Trump to argue that his presidential responsibilities preclude his testimony. At this stage, Trump likely fits the U.S. Attorney Manual definition of a “target,” as a person against whom there is “substantial evidence linking him or her to the commission of a crime and who, in the judgment of the prosecutor, is a putative defendant.” According to Justice Department policy, a prosecutor may request a subpoena for a target only with the authorization of a high-level supervisor and after considering (1) the importance of the testimony, (2) whether the information can be obtained by other sources and (3) whether the testimony might be protected by privilege. None of these factors strongly supports a Trump interview. It seems unlikely his testimony would advance the investigation significantly. Mueller has substantial information from other sources and from Trump’s intemperate and revealing tweets and public statements. Trump’s contempt for truth could engender false statement crimes, but that possibility alone is not a reason to haul him in. Those crimes can provide important leverage to force cooperation by lesser players, such as George Papadopoulos and Michael Flynn, but without an underlying crime they will not support action against Trump. Despite the Nixon precedent, Trump may assert executive privilege regarding his conversations with aides. And, of course, he can assert the Fifth Amendment in refusing to answer any question that might incriminate him. Although taking the Fifth could be politically embarrassing, grand jury secrecy might prevent the public from learning of it. A prosecutor who does not intend to seek a subpoena should still offer a target the option of a voluntary appearance. Mueller, therefore, consistent with Justice Department practice and in the interest of speedy completion of the investigation, should send Trump an invitation letter, but when Trump refuses to testify, should not ask the grand jury to follow with a subpoena. That’s unlikely to satisfy those rooting for an epic showdown between the prosecutor and the president, but it’s the smart thing for Mueller to do.

means to do it. During this period various activities are carried out in sectors like Transport, Industrial, Agriculture and Household to spread the message on Fuel Conservation. stressed upon need of conservation of oil and gas as our country is not self dependent in case of petroleum products. So, Oil industries along with PCRA should organize such programme in a bigger way for the noble cause to create awareness among all sectors of people about the importance of Oil and Gas conservation. about the conservation and efficient use of petroleum products towards achieving twin objectives of better health & environment and securing availability of Oil & Gas for future generations as well. On this occasion, Shri Debasish Ranasingh Add. Director PCRA along with all the people including school children from various schools who attended the function took pledge to conserve Oil & Gas and propagate the message among other people. Other dignitaries who were on the dias were Shri S. K. Pathak, CGM – GAIL, Odisha, Shri D. Palit, State Head (Retail), BPCL, Shri D. Behura, Chief Regional manager, HPCL.

It’s ironic that Bill O’Reilly — perhaps the most prominent Catholic conservative on American television — was fired the same day he met Pope Francis. The two occupy different intellectual parts of the Catholic Church, and the television personality has made his disdain for some of the pope’s positions known. It’s unlikely that O’Reilly ever got that chance to try to persuade the pope on Wednesday when he briefly shook hands with the pontiff in Rome while on vacation. O’Reilly’s dismissal from Fox News brings an end to his 20-year helm as a de-facto champion of the Religious Right in establishment Republican politics. During his tenure, O’Reilly helped to shepherd the once-fringe right-wing movement into the heart of the GOP by marrying a religious movement with right-wing media. O’Reilly regularly invoked religion as a part of his show and acted as an aggressive right-wing prophet decrying the elitist secular left. Perhaps O’Reilly imagined himself as a modern-day King David, a prophet and psalmist, who with eloquence and persistence, would protect God’s people from the Goliaths of today — most notably the left. For O’Reilly and Fox News, the most damning evidence of this supposed coordinated effort was the Obama White House’s refusal to say “Christmas” on their annual holiday cards, part of a bigger effort by O’Reilly and his allies on the Religious Right to bring the culture wars to the front and center of American politics. O’Reilly tried to distinguish secular progressives as the far left of political ideology. Driving fear of possible persecution, he accused the group of marginalizing people of faith, particularly in positions of political leadership. By pitting the left against religion, O’Reilly was making a clear claim: the Republican Party should be the natural political home for religious Americans. O’Reilly’s religious shtick won him many admirers. In his 2013 New York Times best-selling book “Killing Jesus,” O’Reilly attempted to retell the story of the crucifixion of Jesus in an accessible way for his audience. The Catholic Church claims the Bible was inspired by the Holy Spirit, and likewise O’Reilly claimed his book was as well. But as scholar Candida Moss wrote when the book came out, “The Holy Spirit may have inspired Killing Jesus but he didn’t fact-check it.” Loose facts didn’t matter, as Moss argues, because O’Reilly’s Holy Spirit helped him sell books. By setting himself up as a prophet, O’Reilly knew his audience, knew their values and knew how to appeal to them. King David had a fatal flaw: his sexual misconduct with women. After being confronted by the prophet Nathan, David repented and changed his ways. But according to O’Reilly’s accusers, he was never able to repent and, because of the continued allegations against him, ultimately lost his kingdom. Christopher Hale, a contributor to Fox and a columnist for TIME on faith, is the executive director of Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good and the co-founder of Millennial. He helped lead national Catholic outreach for President Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection.

The Diamond Dawgs will play their first 12 games on the road. STARKVILLE, Miss. (WTVA/MSU Athletics) - With Year Two of the Andy Cannizaro Era swiftly approaching, the Mississippi State head baseball coach, along with Preseason All-Americans Jake Mangum and Konnor Pilkington met with the media on Tuesday afternoon to preview the 2018 season. The Diamond Dawgs have so for been ranked in all six major preseason top 25 polls. MSU is ranked No. 12 by D1 Baseball, No. 13 by Collegiate Baseball, No. 15 by USA Today, No. 17 by NCBWA, No. 23 by Baseball America and No. 25 by Perfect Game.

Hadrien Trudeau is beyond adorable. Want proof? Here, we’ve rounded up some of our favourites, and imagined what he might have been thinking in those big moments. "I will deliver real change...right after Paw Patrol." The youngest Trudeau joined dad for a day of work and was the cutest Prime Minister that Canada has ever seen. "I thought Prince George was going to come!" Hadrien looked rather disappointed to meet Prince Charles during the Canada 150 celebrations. To be fair, Prince George was equally unimpressed to meet Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. "Dad, how could you forget about Alberta?" Or at least we assume that's what caused Hadrien's glum mood on Canada Day. "U2 who?" Hadrien was more into his afternoon snack than the rock band. "I was told Selena was going to be here." Hadrien once again was more into his food than the famous musician he was meeting. Sorry, The Weeknd. "I could sleep for the next 150 years." Hadrien was all tuckered out after a day of celebrating. Despite being in the presence of royalty, the youngest Trudeau got comfy and took a little rest with his bottle. "Sir, you need to put me down." Sophie and Justin brought Hadrien along for a trip to Ireland, where the little guy got a special welcome. "Step back, Dad. I got this." We think we might have a future prime minister on our hands here. "It's time for the Jedi- ahem-this bill to end!" The political force is strong with the youngest Trudeau. "Busted!" Seriously, can Justin bring Hadrien to work every day? Hadrien's seal of approval: a high five! All three of the Trudeau kids got to meet Barack and Michelle Obama - but all eyes were on the adorable toddler. "Is there something on my face?" Who wore it best? Hadrien wanted to dress just like his dad, but we don't think we've ever seen Justin rock a button-down with shorts. "Check out these flowers!" Hadrien and his bouquet tag along to Germany for the G20 Hamburg summit.

HOST FORGING TIES, DRIVING GROWTH ADIPEC 2016 FAST FACTS 135,000 Gross sqm 162 Conference Sessions 96,374 2,034 25 Attendees Country Pavilions 850+ Expert Speakers Exhibiting Companies 10,009 21 15 Delegates NOCs IOCs WHY ADIPEC? Purchasing Power - Over US $9 billion of contracts were signed during the 4 days of ADIPEC. With 81 of attendees either a decision maker, purchaser or influencer, ADIPEC delivers real business opportunities. Knowledge Exchange - With over 750 speakers from around the world and over 160 sessions, ADIPEC provides one of the most comprehensive conference programmes in the world. International Perspective - 21 NOCs, 15 IOCs and 25 international country pavilions along with 2,000+ exhibiting companies make ADIPEC unrivalled. BOOK YOUR STAND NOW adipec.com/bookastand Supported By Host City City Host Supported By Official Media Official Media Partner Partner Conference Organiser Conference Organiser ADIPEC Organised By By ADIPEC Organised technology The magazine for industry innovators 2/2017 Mad Dog 2.2: Rethinking a major project Semi-skimmed: Downscaled designs for marginal fields The top draw Topsides trend moves to compact equipment Pressure points: A dry-tree proposal for Paleogene E&P Frack checking: Mining data for effective ... and his spirit hovered over the waters technology AgendA experience talks - ingenuity whispers Contents Spotlight Spotlight TOpsides 12 Basic utilities Using floating production to provide onshore services. Spotlight seisMic dRilling 02 17 38 Rig with a view A deep-water drilling tower comes ashore. project review: MAD DoG 2 60 Mixed signal seismic companies look for silver lining. Tech Talk We Stand for Lasting Connections S! U JOIN en & s s i e w en Sch chneid S 9. 9.0 rf 2 - . 25 seldo Düs Your experts for joint welding. More than 2,000 products for joint welding in all conventional arc welding processes are united in a product portfolio that is unique throughout the world. Creating DISTINCTION: Eric van Oort (left) receiving the 2016 Distinguished Member of SPE award from SPE then-president Nathan Meehan (right). Tech Talk Drill instructor As a tenured Lancaster Professor in petroleum engineering at the University of Texas in Austin, E&P veteran Eric van Oort has made a point job based on the objections of one veto-wielding director. But in the process, he and his area of expertise had attracted the attention of a Shell manager. I got a call from a Shell guy in The Hague, van Oort says. He told me, we are on the E&P side and we need a physical chemist to work on this sha tech talk VIRTUAL WORLD: Students get a feel for real world drilling working on the drilling simulator at the University of Texas. to determine how to prevent such overages in future wells, and one recommendation was to trial real-time operations monitoring. In 2002, the company contracted Hallibur tech talk for a drilling professor for six or seven years and had not found a suitable candidate out of 30 or so interviewees. I talked to UT and was fascinated, van Oort says. I got the position and I got full tenure, which was an unusual honour. But I also took a very significant pay cut. Van Oort Spotlight topsides Power to the people 12 UPSTREAM TECHNOLOGY 02 I 2017 FLOATING UTILITIES: Modecs FSRWP is designed to generate between 84 and 1000 MW per day of power and treat between 38,000 and 380,000 cubic metres per day of water. Shown here is a medium size unit equipped with a 240 MW power generation plant plus a desalination plant with a capacity of 200,000 cmd spotlight: topsides A dding water treatment and power generation functions to a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) may be a more economical way to supply water and power than building onshore facilities, according to FPSO specialist Modec. About a decade ago, Modec was participating in spotlight: topsides POTABLE: A rendering of the FSRW depicts the largest option, which could provide up to 380,000 cubic metres of treated water per day. We realised a lot of people dont have access to clean water, they dont have access to power. RIVER READY: The small FSRP will provide 84 to 172 MW spotlight: topsides The jet set Drawing on its experience with jet engines, GE is rolling out a powerful gas turbine that aims to lower costs and save platform space in LNG operations, writes Jennifer Pallanich. A s the energy industry works its way through a sustained low price environment, GE Oil spotlight: topsides REPURPOSING: GE has a record of adapting its jet engines for use in LNG applications, with the aeroderivative turbines LM2500 and LM6000 (above). OFFSHORE ROPES With its new quay side facility, Bexco is able to produce bigger ropes and handle Extra Large Reels to satisfy the need spotlight: topsides TECHNOLOGY TEST: GE will carry out tests of the new turbine at its facility in Massa, Italy. generation would provide around 1.2 million tonnes per annum of LNG output for the facility. Multiple LM9000s could be grouped together to meet additional annual output requirements. On spotlight: topsides All part of the process The recent acquisition of Fjords Processing, the Norwegian wellstream production specialist, expands NOVs technology offerings in a critical business area, writes Russell McCulley. F jords Processing operated independently under that name for only a little spotlight: topsides Fjords delivered an oil separation package and a gas dehydration system, including a triethylene glycol (TEG) regeneration facility, for Statoils Johan Sverdrup development. The NOV acquisition will allow Fjords to make good on some long-held and ambitious goals, Fantoft says. W spotlight: topsides Wellstream Processing unit has been harmonious, Fantoft adds. Fjords Processing people have a lot of important roles in making this happen, he says. I think that demonstrates that NOV has the capability to make sure that when they get companies like us, they rely on people coming spotlight: topsides QUIET PLEASE: An illustration depicts the AdvantageOne system outfitted with twin Caterpillar C32 diesel engines rated at 863 base horsepower each with acoustic sound enclosure for noise reduction. Images: Halliburton Linking data to take Advantage With a focus on integrated comm spotlight: topsides MIX RESULTS: Three engineers in Duncan, Oklahoma, perform a cement mixing test during the technology verification phase of the project. it a step further by ensuring different systems in the completions process, such as the bulk delivery equipment and the liquid additive equipmen spotlight: topsides operations, with non- radioactive density and flow meters. The system also automates certain activities. Now the skid talks to the liquid additive system. It says, this is how fast Im delivering cement downhole, so Im going to automatically meter the amount of liquid additive I IN POSITION: BP says the FPSO is expected to produce up to 130,000 bpd of oil and 220 MMcfd of gas. Start-up imminent for Glen Lyon BP is preparing the newbuild Glen Lyon FPSO for first oil at the Quad 204 project west of Shetland. B P plans to start production at the redeveloped Schiehallion and Lo spotlight: topsides PAYLOAD: The semi-submersible features a truss two-deck topsides and a flexible design with capacity for 1200 metric tons of future equipment in 750 square metres of additional space. Flexible floater A standardised and simplified semi-submersible design could help operators econ spotlight: topsides Weve taken a generic production capacity which we think will satisfy probably 90 of the opportunities out there. Graham Hill, KBR STABLE PLATFORM: The GVA 10000 has a proven, integrated design with low motion characteristics. facility is economic when you put it in place with all spotlight: topsides SHELL STALWART: The Brent D platform. Brent D topsides ready for lift-off As the mammoth Pioneering Spirit construction vessel gears up for its biggest job yet, Russell McCulley talks to key figures in the Brent Delta decommissioning project. A llseas Pioneering Spirit, which the spotlight: topsides ON DECK: A test platform flanked by the Pioneering Spirits lift beams. sensors under the platform will help position the Pioneering Spirits loading arms, a process that will take about four hours. The vessel will ballast up to about 80 of the load, then the fast lift system will project review: MAD DoG 2 Back to the drawing board B P discovered Mad Dog in 1998 and began producing the deep- water Gulf of Mexico field with a spar in 2005. Current estimates of oil in place are 5 billion barrels. Its a world-class field by any kind of measure, says Bill Steel, Mad Dog 2 project Standing tall: The Mad Dog 2 semi-submersible will be moored in about 4500 feet water depth in 2021, with first oil scheduled for later that year. dESign: Initially, the Mad Dog 2 semi-submersible will accommodate up to 14 production wells and eight water injection wells. Focusing on value over volu project review: mad dog 2 focused on simplifying and optimising systems and equipment. We worked with contractors and vendors. They know their businesses, and they have great ideas. We want to make sure the standards we put in place are fit for purpose and dont compromise safety, Steel says. We too project review: mad dog 2 DEPTH RANGE: Wells drilled for Mad Dog 2 will be in water depths of 4500 to 7000 feet, as the field straddles the Sigsby Escarpment. We dont use LoSal simply to get barrels. We also use it to reduce the possibility of scaling later as the reservoir matures. Ahmed Hashmi, BP Project review: mad dog 2 FIRST PLACE: The truss spar serving the Mad Dog field went on stream in 2005. The Mad Dog 2 semisub will be six miles (9.5 kilometres) south-west of the spar. produced close to 200 million barrels from Mad Dog. Phase two calls for up to 14 production wells and eight water A production semi-submersible scaled down to make smaller fields economic at $40 per barrel reflects some of the latest thinking at Exmar Offshore, writes Jennifer Pallanich. NEW DESIGN: The OPTI-micro can handle production of 40,000 barrels per day of oil, 45 million cubic feet per day of gas, and marginal fields SIMPLER SYSTEM: The OPTI-micro has a simple processing facility and retains the features of its OPTI predecessors, such as the flat deck design. semisub design of unnecessary frills because they were not there to begin with, he says. Our start point is a bit different. We havent des marginal fields IN DEEP: The OPTI-EX on location at LLOGs Who Dat development in Mississippi Canyon Block 547. FOLLOW-UP ORDER: LLOGs Delta House FPS on location in Mississippi Canyon Block 254 has been producing since April 2015. was first used at Delta House on the OPTI-11,000 (Upstream Technology Spotlight drilling 38 UPSTREAM TECHNOLOGY 02 I 2017 order How do you sell an innovative offshore drilling system to a sceptical industry? Dutch equipment supplier Huisman found the answer in its own back yard, writes Russell McCulley. T LOOKING UP: The Huisman Innovation Tower is a fully functioning demonstration drilling system installed quayside in spotlight: drilling ROCK ON: A pendulum mechanism allows the tower to sway in order to simulate a drillships movements. HELPING HANDS: The test tower is equipped with two robotic manipulators per rail but can accommodate as many as four per rail. multi-functional manipulators mounted on rails at th spotlight: drilling A Norwegian company aims to make drilling operations safer and more cost-effective with new technology, including an all-electric blowout preventer control system, writes Ole Ketil Helgesen. DRY RUN: ESD has tested prototypes of key equipment including the electrical annular prev spotlight: drilling Non-productive time, testing, and repairs of traditional BOPs cost drillers and operators big money. John Dale, ESD have been drilled under the new regulations. ESDs electrical BOP can make existing drilling vessels capable of operations in much deeper waters, without major modi FLOOR SHOW: On advanced rigs, drillers control the drilling process remotely from the safety of a drillers cabin while monitoring real-time downhole and surface sensor data. spotlight: drilling Helping hands Increasingly sophisticated tools help drillers keep extended reach wells on the straight pat spotlight: drilling At thE READy: Stands of drill pipe on a rig. LONG REAch: Extended reach drilling allows operators to target a formation far from the site required to drill a vertical well. Graphic: Merlin ERD insufficient or highly uncertain. One solution to this lack of information is to drill spotlight: drilling Different tools have different errors. So if you use the same tool every time, the error accumulates in the same axis or direction. If you mix up the tools you can reduce those errors. Neil Armstrong, Merlin ERD enter the formation before picking a casing seat and, more important spotlight: drilling Toughening up to find steerable solutions An upgraded and updated point-the-bit rotary steerable system provides improved lost circulation performance and higher tolerances for drilling in extended-reach and deep-water environments. Jennifer Pallanich investigates. I n a bid to i GeoPilot: Halliburtons latest offering on the Geo-Pilot platform is the Duro RSS. drilling without having to trip out. Other enhancements include an improved RPM and wider operating range along with a self-cleaning reference stabilizer. Flow ports make the assembly self-cleaning and prevent the accu spotlight: drilling Perfecting the perf process A new approach to data optimisation helps operators plan more effective hydraulic fracturing campaigns, without having to go back to the well for more information, writes Jennifer Pallanich. B y some estimates as many as half of the perforation cluster spotlight: DRilliNg design. Data gathered through running additional logs proved uneconomical and delayed well completion. Drill2Frac formed in 2014 to solve that problem. Company co-founder Sridhar Srinivasan says the company took a radical approach to turning drilling data into a format that made spotlight: drilling penetration, weight on bit, torque, standpipe pressure, differential pressure, and revolutions per minute, along with daily drilling reports, end of well reports and any other available data, such as gamma ray, logging while drilling logs, and deviation surveys. Anomalies in the spotlight: drilling WELL VISUALISATION: Drill2Frac uses drilling data to determine the rock characteristics in the reservoir and along the wellbores trajectory. who have tried engineered completions and were not successful were getting data through drilling usually through logging while drilling too spotlight: drilling The brains behind the bit A self-adjusting drillbit began as a clever concept in a company-wide innovation contest. Now its backers say the adaptive smart bit could become an industry standard. Jennifer Pallanich reports. A new adaptive PDC drillbit from Baker Hughes can adjust t spotlight: drilling tESt DRiVE: Baker Hughes new TerrAdapt bit before testing at the BETA facility in Oklahoma (left), and after a run (right). Our future development efforts will be geared towards expanding our smart bit platform. Danielle Fuselier, Baker Hughes method is it is very hard to know wh spotlight: downhole rOunDED lOOk: The teal circles on the PDC bit highlight the area that moves. The ghosted segments indicate the cartridges. automatic adaptive technology is that engineers on the surface cant really know whats going on 10,000 feet downhole, she says. It responds in real time. It spotlight: drilling Moveable feats A new production concept centred on dry tree completions aims to cut drilling and development costs in the high-pressure Paleogene. Rick von Flatern takes a look. H istorically, as the oil and gas industry developed Gulf of Mexico deep- water discoveries, operators spotlight: drilling Appraisal Production System (APS) can reduce the cost and schedule for Paleogene developments by 50 compared with subsea completions tied back to a massive central production facility. The APS, also suited for use with subsea completions, facilitates timely and effective apprais spotlight: drilling Moveable wellbay in moonpool CONFIGURABLE: The moveable moonpool well bay assembly consists of a cart that holds five tensioner sets and is designed to move laterally. The cart may be locked in place during well operations or abandonment. be put on production so that they can avo DETAILS: Scanning electron microscope images at 500x magnification (left) and 2000x magnification (right) of diamond grit used for diamond cutter synthesis. Ice on the bit It is said diamonds are a girls best friend, but they may mean more to the oil industry. Jennifer Pallanich learns about the mat The advances weve made in diamonds in the last couple of decades has completely changed the drilling industry. Mark Freeman, Baker Hughes to an additional suite of patents around novel cutter geometries. The segment is changing so quickly, Freeman notes, that Baker Hughes is introducing improved dia Spotlight seismic The when and where of recovery Talking up the prospects for a struggling marine seismic industry has not yet moved the needle. Andrew McBarnet discusses why. B uried in the Schlumberger 2016 annual report released in January was a statement by chairman and chief executive Paal Kibs MAJOR DEBUT: The Ramform Hyperion heads off to work. the fortunes of the key marine seismic contractors PGS, WesternGeco, Polarcus, CGG and Shearwater GeoServices, the company created from the bankrupt Dolphin Geophysical (Upstream Technology 05/2016) is unlikely to be dramatic. A significant upti spotlight: seismic AT THE READY: Schlumberger chief executive Paal Kibsgaard. Photo: Hampus Lundgren 62 UPSTREAM TECHNOLOGY 02 I 2017 portfolio, with no incentive to add significant reserves. Surprisingly, none of the major players have followed Shells lead in building assets by acquisition. Should GIFTING THE TECHNOLOGY: Contractors are offering bigger spreads and greater efficiency, but not price increases. spotlight: seismic FORWARD LOOKING: PGS chief executive Jon Einar Reinhardsen. commitments through acquisition to delivery of the processed data. It can be a rather fuzzy figure covering spotlight: sEisMiC Norwegian Sea in 3 3D D AM17 is the somewhat prosaic acronym for the single largest 3D survey carried out by any company in Northern Europe. Andrew McBarnet assesses its significance. I t is hard to believe that any part of Norways offshore is considered underexplored. But that is spotlight: seismic AM17 survey area have been nominated by oil companies for the upcoming 24th Norwegian licensing round, which is focusing on frontier areas such as ours where the prospect of major new finds is greatest. At least one company probably agrees with TGS. It is believed that Statoil is spotlight: seismic SMALL AND LIGHT: Each SmartSolo weighs only one kilogram. including battery and spike. W for the win A sensor manufacturer is challenging a crowded land seismic equipment market with what it claims to be a more cost-effective option. Andrew McBarnet records the story so far. T hre spotlight: seismic In my experience, once customers have experienced blind shooting, theres no going back. Gary Wu, Dynamic Technologies advantages. It means that SmartSolo units are deployed unattended over the survey area for the duration of a survey recording. They are then picked up and taken to spotlight: seismic competition: The SmartSolo unit (left) performed well in field trials comparing the technology with a commonly used nodal system. and logistics. SmartSolo is small and light, weighing one kilogram per unit, including battery and spike. It can be easily buried if ground conditions PGS faces titanic challenge spotlight: sEisMiC DISRUPTING THE MARKET: The Ramform Hyperion set to outsize the competition. Massive technology feat or reckless extravagance what are we to make of the PGS Titan-class seismic vessel initiative? Andrew McBarnet asked a man who should know. O n 23 March spotlight: seismic CELEBRATION AHOY: Hyperion gets a send-off from Nagasaki shipyard. its full quota of 12 streamers, repair and maintenance issues may well affect progress of the survey. The Titan-class has the space and capacity for spare streamer storage and onboard repair. In addition, we have spotlight: seismic start its career on industry- funded multi-client projects in the eastern Mediterranean. It is making its debut nearly two years later than scheduled symptomatic of the times, PGS had to negotiate a new delivery time to ease the strain on its finances as the downturn worsened. Ar Tech Talk Seeking sustainability in the UK North Sea A new Aberdeen-based technology development organisation aims to help oil and gas companies get the most out of the UKs offshore reservoirs and to make north-east Scotland a global hub for offshore research and development. Rob Watts talks to the DEMONSTRATION: Guests at the launch of the OGTC hear how its Solution Centres will help find answers to industry technology challenges. could stimulate investment in the north-east of Scotland, anchoring the supply chain there for decades to come while also capturing a growing share of export market tech talk LEARNING CURVE: Attendees at the launch of the OGTC. is assembling at OGTC has credibility and has also historically delivered. I think we are lucky in having the kind of expertise in the team that allows us to understand how the decisions are going to be made, she says. Everyone on the t tech talk BALANCING ACT: Colette Cohen says the OGTCs objectives are also to be aligned with the UKs other oil and gas technology bodies. innovative new technologies that may provide radical solutions. Cohen emphasises that even though OGTC is at an early stage, a good deal of work is under way. Ear completions Progress in the mix O ne of the primary problems in horizontal shales is that the harsh environments in subterranean basins require lighter slurries to prevent breaking down the formation during the cement job. A secondary issue is preventing lost circulation, which occurs when the slurr RIGHT BLEND: NeoCem co-inventor TJ Pisklak prepares a mixture for mechanical properties testing in the Hallibuton Northbelt Laboratory. Field trial Continental Resources had wells in the South Central Oklahoma Oil Province (SCOOP) where they had been unable to consistently get slurries to the desire completions Were not looking at it the same way we did 10 years ago. Its a different approach to building a slurry. liquid form to prevent particles from settling out. It can be prepared at Halliburtons bulk plant and pumped with existing equipment, so the engineer can use familiar equipment. Becau & Bits Bytes Kvaerner scoops Njord A topsides and hull upgrade In a welcome development for a struggling Norwegian oil and gas industry, Kvaerner has been awarded a contract for a complete upgrade of Statoils Njord A platform, writes Russell McCulley. S tatoil and partners in March formally approved Bits & Bytes Brownfield unit G ustoMSC has released a new design in its series of self-propelled cantilever jack-up rigs. The NG-5500X-LD is designed for light drilling and well intervention in mature fields in the southern North Sea, Middle East and South- East Asia, the company says. The rig targe bits & bytes Real-time diagnostics Helping hand QUOTE, UNQUOTE We think that the future of subsea is all-electrical. Luc Riviere, Total. When we started out at Brent we thought that 25 years was a stretch. And here we are over 40 years later. Alistair Hope, Shell. Aberdeen-based Enpro Subsea, with f bits & bYtEs Exchange programme A delegation of senior figures from Mexicos Pemex spent five days in Aberdeen recently on a learning event organised by Subsea UK and the Department of International Trade. The mission included site visits to GE Oil & Gas, Aker Solutions, Hydrasun, Wood Group, BP and HOST FORGING TIES, DRIVING GROWTH ADIPEC 2016 FAST FACTS 135,000 Gross sqm 162 Conference Sessions 96,374 2,034 25 Attendees Country Pavilions 850+ Expert Speakers Exhibiting Companies 10,009 21 15 Delegates NOCs IOCs WHY ADIPEC? Purchasing Power - Over US $9 billion of contracts were signed during Expanding Innovation We simplify subsea infrastructure and energize production. From subsea storage units to active cooling systems, and from revolutionary heated pipe technology to real-time OptiFlexTM monitoring, we reduce CAPEX and safeguard your production with more uptime and simpler operation.

Out Magazine named Evanston resident Jennifer Pritzker one of the 50 “most influential LGBT voices in American culture” on Tuesday. Pritzker, the 63-year-old granddaughter of the Hyatt hotel chain founder, is the first transgender billionaire. She is listed as No. 23 on the list, ranking before people such as actress Ellen Page (no. 29), journalist Don Lemon (no. 27), fashion designer Marc Jacobs (no. 39) and celebrity RuPaul Charles (no. 49). Born James N. Pritzker, the philanthropist and retired army lieutenant colonel publicly announced her decision to change genders in August 2013. Pritzker is currently CEO and president at private wealth management firm Tawani Enterprises. Pritzker graduated from Loyola University of Chicago with a degree in history. In 2003, she founded the Pritzker Military Museum & Library with materials she collected pertaining to military history. The library focuses on research and aims to help the public better understand military history and veterans. In 1995, Pritzker founded the Tawani Foundation, which works to preserve military history and historical sites. The foundation’s mission is to emphasize the importance of the “citizen solider,” preserve historical sites and recognize achievements of military personnel, according to its website. Through her work with the military, Pritzker has received more than 15 awards recognizing nearly 30 years of service. When she retired from the Illinois National Guard, it bestowed on her the honorary status of colonel. Ellen DeGeneres was named the number one most influential LGBT voice by the magazine.

The biggest names on the Kentucky basketball schedule couldn't bring down the undefeated and top-ranked Wildcats. That's because against the best teams, Kentucky has played its best, rising to the occasion each and every time, whether it be in Indianapolis (Kansas) or Chicago (UCLA) or Rupp Arena (Providence, Texas and North Carolina) or the Yum Center (Louisville). On the flip side, Bobby Hurley-coached Buffalo led the Cats 38-33 at the half. Boston University was within two points, 46-44, of Kentucky with 16 minutes to play in Rupp Arena. Columbia led Kentucky 11-0 out of the gate and 34-33 with 15 minutes left. The data hints at an interesting conclusion. If there is a team that can keep Kentucky from an unbeaten regular season — and that's a large "if" — it won't be a recognizable, marquee named outfit. Those are the teams and games the Cats have proven to be more than prepared to play. Instead, the team that upsets Kentucky will be the team that sneaks up on Kentucky, the team that catches the Cats napping, the team that plays out of its minds on the same night Kentucky isn't in the right frame of mind. It's the team UK overlooks. And the SEC has a lot of teams to overlook. During his post-game press conference at the Yum Center, UK Coach John Calipari was using his best public relations skills to pump up the conference's round ball reputation, saying it ranked No. 2 in the RPI. Actually, Real Time RPI has the SEC at No. 3 behind the Big 12 and Big East. Computer wizards Jeff Sagarin and Ken Pomeroy each have the SEC at No. 5. Sagarin has it Big 12, Big East, Big 10, ACC, followed by the SEC. Pomeroy puts the Big 12 first followed by ACC, Big 10, Big East and SEC. The league is not as bad as its detractors would have you believe, including the voters in the AP poll. While the conference has taken some bad losses, other conferences have, as well. Wake Forest lost to Delaware State. Texas Tech lost to Loyola (Illinois). Indiana lost at home to Eastern Washington. Just to name a few. The SEC is the same league, after all, that put three teams in the Sweet 16 last year — Florida, Kentucky and Tennessee. Florida and Tennessee are not as good as they were last season, but there are plenty of conference teams that appear to be improved. South Carolina has a 26-point win over Oklahoma State and a 23-point win over Clemson. Georgia has wins over Colorado and Seton Hall. LSU is the only team to have beaten West Virginia on the road. Arkansas' only two losses were on the road. If Billy Donovan ever gets all his Gators healthy and on the right page, Florida has a chance to be a formidable force by crunch time. The question is, after hearing for so long how bad the SEC supposedly is in basketball, will Kentucky be prepared to play the lesser lights on its schedule? We're not talking the teams at the bottom of the conference who will be overwhelmed by UK's talent, but the teams who might have at least a fighting chance to keep it interesting. "Every game we're someone's Super Bowl," Calipari is fond of saying. "The students will be lined up hours before the game." The longer the streak goes, the bigger the target Kentucky becomes. I go back to something Pikeville Coach Kelly Wells said after the Bears played Kentucky in the season's first exhibition game. "They've got to not get fat and happy," Wells said of the Cats. "They have to be hungry every night." Going by what's happened so far, the team that takes down Kentucky won't be the big name on the big stage. It'll be the prohibitive underdog the Cats take too much for granted.

David L. Carpenter, Kansas CIty, Mo. Gary Lee Priddy, Afton, Okla. Johanna Catherin Smiley, Concordia, Mo. Reuben Roath, Kansas City, Kan. Lloyd J. Beth, Kansas City, Kan. Robert Dean Hardwick, Kansas City, Kan.

And that's that from Turf Moor! We shall see you tomorrow for more Champions League gold. More from Sean Dyche: "It's been an interesting five years and we are still going. It was a tough affair but the end result was what we were all after. "I thought it would be a tight affair. We had to find a balance against their counter-attack. They are a good side. "The goal encapsulated how quick we can press on a turnover of play. Jeff Hendrick was very composed, it was an awkward one and a great finish. "We stay focused on the next game. It's a way that works with the team. We never take anything for granted. I don't need to look at the table, people tell you often enough." More from Rafa Benitez: "Really disappointed. It was a game that could be a draw or one goal from either side. I think we had the game under control. We conceded and we lost. "It was a pity when they scored. In our head we had the substitutes ready and we had to do things quicker. I think we could have drawn or won with a bit of luck. "We have some good things but sometimes we are missing being more precise on the ball and being more clinical." Burnley boss Sean Dyche on Sky Sports: "Very pleased. I said before I'd be surprised if it wasn't a tight game, they have a quality manager who knows how to organise a side. "It's respect to our team when sides come here and are organised and try not to be too expansive. "We tried to mix our play and stay calm on the ball. You still have to probe and find a way of winning a game and we've done that tonight. "It's always good to have a plan on a piece of paper and it doesn't always pan out as you planned it, tonight it did. They had some good chances and we had to counteract that. "It's a very strong start to the season. People have talked about home form but that was written off tonight." On where he takes Burnley from here: "We just keep getting on with it, that's my focus and my team's focus. Generally we take each game as it comes. We keep that clarity of thought." And what if Everton come calling? "I just keep going on with my job." Kyle: Awful game and disappointed to lose as neither side did enough to win it. Terrible advert for Premier League football. Kris Jefferson: Burnley really well drilled, but Newcastle were so so poor in the final third, barely any creativity and no final ball. Thomas Hollern: Burnley level with Liverpool and only three points behind Arsenal and Chelsea. That's pretty good for a so called ''small'' team. Newcastle manager Rafa Benitez: "It was a game we were controlling and we knew that scoring one goal would win it. We made a mistake and we paid for it. "It was two teams who know what to do and little details could make the difference. We had nine attempts in the second half, we thought we could win the game. We were not precise on the ball and we have to improve. "We know our strengths and our weaknesses. We have to improve on everything but I am happy with our work rate." Frank Lopez: As a Toffee, Id love Dyche but he'd be stark raving mad to trade this Burnley into our mess of a squad. Here comes Sean Dyche. 'Margins are tight.' he correctly says. Burnley goal scorer Jeff Hendrick on Sky Sports: "Watching the clips on Newcastle they've been tight and hard to break down. We kept working hard and got the goal in the end. I was just hoping the lad missed the ball and I had an open net then - if I had missed that I think I'd have gone off. "Sean Dyche has us working hard every week and the bare minimum is to give your lot. We've scored some great goals this year and we need to continue that." Burnley have conceded nine goals in 10 games. You can't argue with that. To be able to compete against top-four teams, you have to work out how not to concede. That becomes a set-up. That might lead to not many goals at Turf Moor, but that's how Burnley are managing to pick up points. Burnley midfielder Jack Cork: "We knew they take risks on the ball, they play out and we knew we could nick it from them. That's where the goal came from. "I'm tired now, we work hard and cover some ground. You can see that we are a team evolving. Sean Dyche has been great for me. he's a man who wants hard work and honesty at all times." Rafa Benitez will probably say we 'didn't deserve to lose', but his argument can't be that they deserved to win. You can't expect to get anything from the game when you're so poor. Tonight shows how difficult it is to be a football manager, there was nothing between these two teams. Both sides made a lot of mistakes, but Burnley took their real chance. Sean Dyche trudges off a hero, Rafa trudges away. Three more points for Burnley. Burnley go seventh. Jonjo Shelvey's cross is good, Javier Manquillo flicks it on - over! These types of games can really make your season. Can you get three points when you don't deserve it, or don't play as well? Save! Isaac Hayden whistles in a shot from 20 yards and it's really well saved! Rafa Benitez goes to sit down. Nothing more he can do now. His side have improved ever so slightly since going behind but Dwight Gayle can only head tamely on goal from 16 yards. Fantastic from Ashley Barnes. We know what he's capable of- we haven't seen enough of it tonight.

Tim Burton doesn’t adhere to the rules or regulations that a dark film has to be entirely dark. He gives that glimmer of light that uplifts the audience’s sense of hope and has us rooting for characters. Until recently, the director shifted gears towards putting his twist a couple of properties, which was met with polarizing results. But now the Burton has returned to what he does best, creating wonderfully dark stories with glimmers of hope. Hit the jump for a full review of Frankenweenie. For the most part, Frankenweenie is an extended version of the 1980s short that bares the same name. While the two share the title, the film itself is expands upon that short with the screenplay written by Big Fish scribe John August. So instead of seeing just a short about a boy named Victor trying to revive his dog Sparky by using the power of science, August expanded on that story by giving Victor and Sparky more characters and animals to interact with. Fleshing out a screenplay based on a 30 minute short is no easy task, and August’s screenplay clearly shows that there was some trouble figuring out how to make a short into a full length movie. The first act of Frankenweenie is actually a nice build up towards something clunky and weak. Those first few minutes clearly establish that Victor is no ordinary boy. He doesn’t have many friends, he doesn’t excel in sports, and he attracts the creepy girls. But the precious thing that he holds dear – aside from the love he has for his parents (voiced by Catherine O’Hara and Martin Short) – is the bond he has with his dog Sparky. Sparky is the only one who understands and appreciates Victor. But like his name, Sparky is an active dog who gets into all sorts of trouble, the kind of trouble that eventually leads up to his death. After a period of mourning, Victor finds inspiration through a very controversial teacher, Mr. Rzykruski (Martin Landu), who says that electricity can move the muscles. The boy uses this new found lesson to reanimated his dog. But his fellow classmates learn of Victor’s success to harness electricity to bring life to the dead, and they use it for their own selfish reasons, which has catastrophic results. That first act was a joy to watch on screen. The relationship between Victor and Sparky is the kind that anyone who owns a pet can relate to. However, when the other classmates get in on trying to bring their pets to life, the film somewhat heads downhill. After Victor succeeds in bringing Spark back to life, the film goes through the motions of trying to fill in time. The only highlight in the second act is when Mr. Rzykruski is forced out of town after the people find out that he was the one who put dangerous thoughts into the students’ head. It’s almost Tim Burton’s way of addressing the way inspirational teachers are tied down to the educational rules and restrictions. But Frankenweenie finds new life after flatlining in the second act and storms through the third act like it had nothing to lose. Normally, stop-motion animated films try to avoid sequences involving crowds, but in Frankenweenie, Burton wanted to be bold and daring, and we start to see him push the envelope when we see large crowds running for their lives. To see another film presented in black and white is a rare treat, and it may even get the younger audiences to appreciate the medium. While the story may seem small, the world of New Holland is vast, and is a homage to the Burbank that Burton fondly remembers. The 3D enhances that depth of the city and it surprisingly holds up well during the entire movie. Give credit to Burton for working with a August’s script. Sure it may have had flaws, but August did the best he could with the material he was giving. The spirit of the movie may be Burton’s, but August’s attempts to expand on Victor and Sparky’s story, and put them in a real world, comes off as unnecessary filler. But some how it all worked out, and that is the most important thing for any movie.

The youthful influence on Norwich City’s squad will help in the fight against complacency, believes in-form midfielder Tom Trybull. Academy youngsters Jamal Lewis, Ben Godfrey and Max Aarons have been important players for the Canaries in recent weeks, helping Daniel Farke’s side back to the Championship summit. City are two points clear of nearest rivals Leeds and four ahead of third-placed Sheffield United ahead of a weekend when they take to the pitch first, hosting mid-table Swansea at Carrow Road tonight. “I would say our young lads don’t think so much about it, because of their age,” Trybull said of pressure potentially affecting the Canaries squad during the final 11 matches of the campaign. “They aren’t thinking about what could happen in the future. They are just focused on each and every game and that is what we all have to do. “It makes no sense to look at next season or what will happen in five games time. If we do that, we will have problems. “We are confident but not arrogant and that’s a big difference. We know we have 11 tough games and no game is easy in this competition. The 25-year-old former Werder Bremen midfielder was on the fringes of Farke’s team during the first half of the season but has been a key player since January, starting the last eight matches on the spin. “It wasn’t always easy because at the beginning of the season, I started a few games but then went to the bench,” Trybull continued, speaking to City’s matchday programme. “I was supporting the guys from the bench but as a player, you always want to play. It was not easy during this time but over the last couple of months, I’ve been really happy that I’ve been able to help the team with my performances. “There were not so many reasons why the boss should change anything because it was working very well.

UNDER CONSTRUCTION: A shot from this summer of the space that will soon occupy Heights Taco & Tamale Company. Heights Taco & Tamale Company, the new Tex-Mex restaurant from Yellow Rocket Concepts, the restaurant group behind Big Orange, Local Lime, Lost Fort Brewing and ZAZA, is planning to open February 2015. The restaurant is located at 5805 Kavanaugh Boulevard in the former home of Browning’s. Scott McGehee of Yellow Rocket Concepts has described Heights Taco & Tamale Company as akin to a Tex-Mex restaurant one might find in San Antonio or Austin with a bit of homage to vintage Little Rock Tex-Mex such as Browning’s, Taco Kid and Blue Mesa, a restaurant co-owned by McGehee’s late father, Frank McGehee. McGehee said he expects to get into the Heights’ kitchen next week to begin testing more than 90 recipes. He’ll split his time between that kitchen and the one in Lost Forty Brewing, which is scheduled to hold a soft opening in mid-December.

Normal Community remained on top of the Big Twelve Conference, Normal West solidified a playoff berth and Bloomington led wire-to-wire in Friday night’s high school football action. Bloomington senior quarterback Griffin Moore ran for two touchdowns and passed for over 200 yards and two more scores while the Purple Raider defense played well enough against Peoria Notre Dame’s potent Wing-T offense to take a convincing 56-28 victory at Fred Carlton Field. The Raiders scored first on a 12-yard run by Holden Snyder and never trailed, leading 34-14 at thalftime and by a 49-28 margin entering the fourth quarter. Ben Wright made a big defensive play in the first quarter, stripping Irish running back Blaine Stanton of the ball and then running 70 yards for Bloomington’s second touchdown of the game. Drew Crooks added a nifty 42-yard run for a score in the third and sophomore Trey Jenkins gave the offense a lift down the stretch with seven carries for 47 yards and a touchdown. Moore’s touchdown passes were 60 yards to Diontay Griffin, his seventh TD of the season, and a 17-yard play to Ivan Smith. Mauliek Johnson finished with five catches for 47 yards. Bloomington improves to 5-2 and 4-2 in the Big Twelve Conference and travels to Peoria next week. Peoria Notre Dame falls to 4-3. The visiting Wildcats were led by 173 yards and two touchdown on 9-of-18 passing by Carson Camp, as Davion McQuarter carried 17 times for 115 yards and two touchdowns and Cole Hernandez caught five passes for 101 yards. The Wildcats led 20-0 at halftime. Normal West (6-1, 5-1 Big Twelve) clinched a playoff spot with the victory. The host Ironmen led 22-8 at halftime and kept the Vikings off the scoreboard in the second half. Daylen Boddie completed 12-of-17 passes for 235 yards and one touchdown with one interception to lead Normal Community (6-1, 6-0). The Ironmen clinched their 23rd straight playoff appearance with the win. Reece Seidl led the Saints (0-7) with 184 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 29 carries. Liam Brady recorded two catches but both were for scores of 18 and 55 yards. Rantoul (2-5) put the game out of reach on a 60-yard touchdown run by quarterback Angelo Brown. U-High (1-6) turned the ball over on its first three drives without getting a first down, but settled down in the second half. Pioneers quarterback Dawson Brooks was 17-of-33 with 181 yards and two touchdowns plus one interception, and ran 14 times for 64 yards. Glenwood (7-0) finished with 421 rushing yards. The Sages (7-0) pulled away with two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, including an interception return for a score. Pontiac (6-1) trailed 14-0 at halftime cut the deficit to 21-14 before Monticello scored three straight touchdowns to seal the win and break the tie at the top of the Illini Prairie Conference. Illinois at Rutgers, 11 a.m. Wisconsin Lutheran at Eureka, 4 p.m.

BOTTOM THE was inspected by the City of Fort Worth on April 5, 2018. The “Restaurant” at BOTTOM THE was inspected on April 5, 2018. -3 points Proper Cold Holding temperature(41°F/45°F) Fish/seafood is not being held at 34F or below. -1 point No evidence of insect contamination, rodent/other animals Outer openings(Back Door) not protected against the entry of insects and rodents. The back door was proped open and there was no screen. BOTTOM THE was inspected by the City of Fort Worth on Jan. 3, 2018. The “Restaurant” at BOTTOM THE was inspected on Jan. 3, 2018. -1 point Environmental Contamination Food is not protected from contamination. Some food in the walk in cooler was covered. Clean pans and cutting boards were being stored on a bottom shelf in the dish room close to the machine This area exposes the clean dishes to possible contamination. -1 point Non-food contact surfaces clean Nonfood-contact surfaces of equipment have an accumulation of dust, dirt, food residue, and other debris. The handles and doors of the microwaves in the kitchen were sticky to the touch and had a build up of residue. -1 point Other Violations Permit/License and inspection report sign not posted for public view. -1 point Utensils, equipment, & linens Cleaned and sanitized equipment, utensils, laundered linens, and single-service or single-use articles are not properly stored in a clean, dry location, where they are not exposed to splash, dust, or other contamination, at least 6 inches above the floor. Clean pans and cutting boards were being stored on a bottom shelf in the dish room close to the machine This area exposes the clean dishes to possible contamination. BOTTOM THE was inspected by the City of Fort Worth on Sept. 28, 2017. Inspectors reviewed two areas, which got an average score of 97/100 per area. The “Lounge” at BOTTOM THE was inspected on Sept. 28, 2017. The “Restaurant” at BOTTOM THE was inspected on Sept. 28, 2017. -2 points Proper Date Marking & Disposition The potentially hazardous food that is located in the cold storage units has been refrigerated for more than 24 hours and is not marked with the day of preparation, day that it is opened or the date which the food shall be consumed by. Cheese and diced tomatoes located in the reach in cooler are not date marked. -1 point Garbage & Refuse properly disposed; facilities maintained Outside receptacles are not covered. BOTTOM THE was inspected by the City of Fort Worth on May 31, 2017. The “Restaurant” at BOTTOM THE was inspected on May 31, 2017. After 26 points were deducted for code violations, the area earned a C letter grade. -3 points Food Contact Surfaces & Returnables Food contact surface is not clean to sight or touch was not cleaned before use or storage. OBSERVED DIRTY KNIVES STORED ON THE MAGNETIC STRIP. -2 points Food & Non-food Contact Surfaces Food Contact Surface is not cleanable. OBSERVED DAMAGED SURFACE ON GRILL. -1 point No evidence of insect contamination, rodent/other animals Pests are not being controlled in the food establishment. OBSERVED FRUIT FLIES/GNATS THROUGHOUT FOOD ESTABLISHMENT. -1 point Non-food contact surfaces clean Non-food contact surface is not constructed of a corrosion-resistant, nonabsorbent, and smooth material. OBSERVED DAMAGED SEALS/GASKETS ON THE REACHIN COOLER DOOR IN GRILL AREA Nonfood-contact surfaces of FREEZER AND PREP COOLERS have an accumulation of dust, dirt, food residue, and other debris. -1 point Personal Cleanliness/eating, drinking or tobacco use Improper Hygiene-Eating, Drinking, Smoking, Other(or Evidence of eating, drinking, or smoking) EVIDENCE OF EMPLOYEE DRINKING IN KITCHEN. -1 point Physical facilities installed, maintained, & clean Floors/walls/ceilings are not clean. WALLS ARE NOT CLEAN IN THE KITCHEN. Damaged floor/wall/ceiling surfaces. OBSERVED MISSING AND DAMAGED TILES IN WASHWARE AREA. Improperly constructed wall and floor junctures OBSERVED DAMAGED FLOOR AND WALL JUNCTURES IN KITCHEN UNDER 3-COMPARTMENT SINK, IN GRILL AREA, AND WAREWASHING AREA. MOP improperly stored. -1 point Service sink provided/Toilet Facilities Adequate Plumbing system not maintained in good repair. OBSERVED LEAK FROM FAUCET OF SERVICE SINK IN WASHWARE AREA. -1 point Wiping Cloths; properly used & stored Containers of chemical sanitizing solutions are not stored off the floor and/or are not being used in a manner that prevents contamination. BOTTOM THE was inspected by the City of Fort Worth on Jan. 13, 2017. Inspectors reviewed two areas, which got an average score of 88.5/100 per area. The “Lounge” at BOTTOM THE was inspected on Jan. 13, 2017. -3 points Food Contact Surfaces & Returnables Food contact surface is not clean to sight or touch was not cleaned before use or storage. Soda guns are dirty with black and grey foreign material. Ice machine is dirty with black foreign material. -2 points Adequate handwashing facilities: Accessible & supplied, used Handwashing Facilities-Inadequate Hand Cleaning Material/Inadequate Hand Drying Provisions Provide hand soap at the hand sink in the bar area. -2 points PIC, demonstration of knowledge, perfrom dutied, & CFM Certified food protection manager not employeed by facility or available, FW card not available. Expired food manager card. -1 point Non-food contact surfaces clean Nonfood-contact surfaces of equipment have an accumulation of dust, dirt, food residue, and other debris. The inside of the coolers are dirty. The “Restaurant” at BOTTOM THE was inspected on Jan. 13, 2017. -3 points Food Contact Surfaces & Returnables Food contact surface is not clean to sight or touch was not cleaned before use or storage. Microwave is dirty with food debris. Can opener is dirty with food debris. -1 point Environmental Contamination Food is not properly stored or is stored in prohibited areas. Bucket of fries stored on the ground in the walkin cooler. -1 point Physical facilities installed, maintained, & clean Damaged floor/wall/ceiling surfaces. Damaged floor in the prep sink/dishwasher area. Floors/walls/ceilings are not clean. Walls are dirty in the dishwasher area. Remove seal and replace. BOTTOM THE was inspected by the City of Fort Worth on Sept. 15, 2016. The “Restaurant” at BOTTOM THE was inspected on Sept. 15, 2016. -3 points Food/ice approved source; food in good condition, safe Hush puppy mix and enchilidas both date marked 9/7/16 exceed the 7 day rule. -3 points No bare hand contact or approved alternate method followed Food employees are handling ready-to-eat food with their bare hands and/or not limiting bare hand contact with other foods. Observed employee hand parsely and lemon bare handed while garnishing a customers plate. -2 points Food Establishment Permit(Current, Valid, & Posted) Permit not current/valid/posted Must post current permit for restaurant and bar in a visible location. -2 points Food & Non-food Contact Surfaces Chipped and broken food containers must be replaced. Flour and bread crumb containers. -1 point Non-food contact surfaces clean Nonfood-contact surfaces of equipment have an accumulation of dust, dirt, food residue, and other debris. Clean sides and insides of reach in refrigerators of all food debris. -1 point Physical facilities installed, maintained, & clean Floors/walls/ceilings are not clean. 3-compartment sink and dishwasher area. Damaged floor/wall/ceiling surfaces. Damaged floor tiles in dishwasher area. BOTTOM THE was inspected by the City of Fort Worth on May 5, 2016. Inspectors reviewed two areas, which got an average score of 100/100 per area. The “Lounge” at BOTTOM THE was inspected on May 5, 2016. -4 points 8. Good Hygienic Practices (Eating/Drinking/Smoking/Other) Unwrapped straws are being handled with bare hands. -3 points 25. Food Contact Surfaces-Cleaned/Sanitized/Good Repair The soda guns located in the bar has/have adhering foreign material. The ice machine located in the bar has/have adhering foreign material. N/A Floors, Walls and Ceilings - GRP TFER 229.167(p)(2)(A) - Page 106. Wall surfaces in the seal of 4-compartment sink to wall are not clean . The “Restaurant” at BOTTOM THE was inspected on May 5, 2016. -5 points 3. Hot Holding Temperature The cooked potatoes and corn is in/on the stove top at a temperature of 90°F and is not being maintained at 135 °F or above. -4 points 8. Good Hygienic Practices (Eating/Drinking/Smoking/Other) Handling unwrapped straws with bare hands. -3 points 23. Sewage/Wastewater Disposal System, Proper Disposal Wastewater/sewage is leaking/flowing from 3-compartment sink area and back door area. Observed water leaking from 3-compartment sink flowing to back door area. -3 points 24. Thermometers Provided/Accurate/Properly Calibrated The reach in cooler in the front prep area did not have a readily available and visible thermometer. -3 points 25. Food Contact Surfaces-Cleaned/Sanitized/Good Repair The soda noozles located in the front server station has/have adhering foreign material. The cutting boards located in the dish storage area is/are cracked, chipped, bent or broken and cannot be properly cleaned and sanitized. The flour, sugar and cornmeal, dry mix batter storage containers located in the back food prep area is/are cracked, chipped, bent or broken and cannot be properly cleaned and sanitized. N/A Floors, Walls and Ceilings - GRP TFER 229.167(p)(1) - Page 106. Floor surfaces in the dishwasher area are damaged. TFER 229.167(p)(1) - Page 106. Floor surfaces in the 3-compartment sink and back door area are damaged.

Mariah Carey’s spending habits are out of control and it’s all said to be because of her boyfriend, Bryan Tanaka. The couple has been dating for well over a year now, but just recently, things started to change in the singer’s household following the firing of her manager, Stella Bulochnikov. It’s alleged by Life & Style that Tanaka took over the responsibilities as Mariah Carey’s manager, and that’s despite the fact that he has absolutely no training or experience in handling the career of iconic stars such as the diva herself. Aside from allegedly making a huge sum of money every single week, Bryan is reportedly splashing tens of thousands on Christmas gifts from Mariah Carey’s pockets, to the point where it’s beginning to worry the people around the singer. Bryan is clueless when it comes to money and often doesn’t even know what he’s buying when he makes the purchase for a costly item, the outlet continues to stress, meaning that Mariah Carey’s bank account is in jeopardy. The insider goes on to say that the money Bryan is helping himself to is really starting to become something that Mariah Carey needs to take better care of, but from how things have been going, it doesn’t seem as if she’s all that bothered by what’s going on around her. It’s long been reported that Bryan has allegedly been helping himself to Mariah Carey’s millions, and with the rumor being that the “Heartbreaker” singer is now splashing tends of thousands to have her beau take on the position as her manager, it’s bound to affect her career drastically. Stella, Mariah Carey’s former manager, was said to have been fired over her differences she shared with Bryan Tanaka — the two simply didn’t get along, resulting in Bulochnikov to eventually be fired from her position. Prior to leaving, Stella had inked multiple deals for Mariah Carey, including an extension to return to her Las Vegas residency next year with a deal that stands in the eight-figure ballpark, sources reveal. Mariah Carey has yet to address rumors concerning her relationship to Bryan and how it’s supposedly affecting her financially.

Ireland announces it will expel an Israeli diplomat over forged passports in the January assassination of a Hamas terrorist in Dubai. Ireland has joined the European Union bandwagon of blaming Israel for the Dubai assassination of a top Hamas terrorist and announced it will expel an Israeli diplomat in retaliation for the alleged use of its country's passports last January. International media are reporting that the diplomat is an agent with Israel's global intelligence agency, the Mossad. A second EU nation, Britain, expelled two Israeli diplomats over the operation in March. The January 19 assassination of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, one of the founders of the Hamas military wing, Izz a-Din al-Qassam, was blamed on the Mossad. However, as is consistent with government policy, Jerusalem refused to confirm or deny the involvement of the agency in the murder, which was carried out in a posh Dubai hotel. Mabhouh was assassinated on the eve of a scheduled meeting allegedly to arrange an Iranian arms deal for the Hamas terrorist organization in Gaza. He was considered a key figure in the smuggling of missiles from Iran to the region. He was also responsible for the kidnappings of IDF soldiers Ilan Sa'adon and Avi Sasportas more than 20 years ago. Irish officials announced Tuesday that investigators had reached “the inescapable conclusion that an Israeli government agency was responsible” for the slaying. However, Irish Foreign Minister Micheal Martin added that the diplomat who was to be expelled was not specifically being blamed for forging the passports. According to Dubai police, 32 fake passports were used in the operation, including eight that pictured fictional Irish citizens. Other countries whose passports were involved included Australia, Britain, France and Germany. Fallout from the operation continues throughout the European Union. Polish authorities meanwhile arrested Israeli citizen Uri Brodsky on June 4 in connection with the operation. According to a report published by the Der Spiegel weekly, Brodsky was picked up by German authorities on an international warrant issued by Germany. He was charged with assisting one of the 30-plus members of the hit squad to obtain a foreign passport. Nearly three weeks ago, Australia expelled the head of the Mossad office on the continent nation, saying four of its passports had been “deliberately counterfeited and cloned for use” by the agency. Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said in a statement that investigators had proved “beyond doubt” that Israel had been involved in the operation in which its passports had been used. “This is not what we expect from a nation with whom we have had such a close, friendly and supportive relationship,” Smith complained, adding however that Australia “remains a firm friend of Israel” nevertheless.

These photos, taken by Father Browne SJ show a glimpse of what things were like before the ship went down. The last photo of the Titanic taken by Father Francis Browne. A boy plays aboard the deck of the Titanic. The bedroom in the Browne suite aboard the Titanic, which would have been elegant in any location. Members of the Titanic crew pose with lifejackets. Ladies disembark from the tender "America" onto the Titanic. A Queenstown vendor sells irish lace aboard the Titanic. Passengers from steerage settle on deck aboard the Titanic. The gymnaisum aboard the Titanic -- well equipped for passenger recreation. A U.S. doctor inspects passenger's eyes aboard the doomed ship. Waiting for job possibly transferring mail.

The Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) is a relatively small agency that works with the labor-management community of the federal government. As such, it is largely unknown outside of this community and is of particular importance to the unions representing federal employees. The FLRA has previously indicated its intent to close two regional offices—one in Dallas and one in Boston. The announcement of the closure of the Dallas office is in the Federal Register of September 13, 2018. As a result, there are also changes to the geographical jurisdictions of the Atlanta, Chicago, and Denver Regional Directors for the FLRA. The Federal Register announcement will be effective on September 21, 2018. Today’s announcement also amends regulations listing the current addresses and describing the geographic jurisdictions of the Federal Labor Relations Authority, General Counsel of the Federal Labor Relations Authority, and the Federal Service Impasses Panel. These changes reflect the closing of the Dallas Regional Office and changes to the geographical jurisdictions of the Atlanta, Chicago, and Denver Regional Directors. Most of the FLRA’s budget goes for employee compensation and benefit costs and rent for office space. The FLRA Chairman notes in a letter to Congress (included in the Federal Register announcement) that about 90% of the agency’s budget is spent on these costs. Closing the Dallas office will impact seven FLRA employees. Another nine employees would be impacted by closing the Boston regional office which is not included in this announcement. All of the impacted employees will be offered reassignment within the agency either at FLRA headquarters or in another regional office. As part of the changes, the FLRA is also reassigning jurisdiction for South Dakota from the Denver Regional Director to the Chicago Regional Director. [I]t is important to note that technology has changed significantly since the agency opened its doors in 1979, providing the ability to easily transact business virtually through electronic means. As such, it is no longer as crucial or cost-effective as it was in 1979 for the FLRA to have regional offices and employees in as many geographic locations. Proximity to another regional office. He also stated that the decision is “a crying shame” and “the mind reels” at the decision.

Eureka succeeds where others have failed. Earlier this week, I wrote about an episode of Psych, explaining just how disappointed I was that a show that prides itself on details would have, to me, a glaring continuity error. I went on to argue about how "when I watch a mystery and notice little things that don't make sense, I have to be able to trust that the writers and producers have made things not make sense on purpose — that there is a reason for the inconsistencies." Last night's episode of Eureka actually provides a perfect example of exactly what I'm talking about. At one point in the episode, Henry Deacon is sitting in a lab monitoring an experiment, and he decides that in a small window on his computer monitor he is going to watch some wrestling. The scene ends with Henry sitting having the small TV tuner window open on his screen. It is a small moment, but one that I perked up immediately at, especially in light of my Psych article. The action of watching wrestling is completely uncharacteristic for Henry, particularly when he has a job to do. Are the writers of the episode simply being sloppy about introducing a new facet to Henry's personality, or is there something deeper at work? I assumed that there was, in fact, something deeply wrong with Henry and not with the writing of the episode. I gave Eureka the benefit of the doubt. Happily, a few minutes later the episode returned to Henry and his television watching, though now he was completely ignoring the experiment in order to watch TV. Something was in fact deeply wrong with Henry and, as it turned out, the rest of the town of Eureka. The show had in fact put forward an odd moment, something to jar the viewer, and had done it on purpose. It is true the Eureka always has odd logical leaps in its solutions to mysteries. There are things that don't make sense, that can't make sense, that never will make sense, but in its initial setup of the problem in this episode, people losing their intelligence, the first inklings of trouble were well presented. So, while the end of the episode was a little too fortuitous and silly (I do not wish to belabor the ending because it involves much explanation into some of the peculiarities of the show and an overly in-depth recap of the plot), the writers of the episode were clever in revealing the problem. The first time there was an idea of a problem presented on screen it was a small, nothing little moment, something that could very easily have been overlooked. Yet, an astute viewer (or myself) is rewarded for paying attention to the show, its characters, and the "normal" events that take place in the town. And, that's exactly how it should be.

BOYNE CITY - The Northern Michigan Holiness Camp Meeting Association will hold its annual camp meeting 6 p.m. Sunday, June 12 and 19, and 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday, June 13-18. There will be vacation Bible school each evening Monday through Friday for children ages 4-11 years. A time of refreshment provided by area churches will follow each service. The Rev. Jack French will be the featured evangelist. The Rev. French had conducted more than450 local church revival/evangelistic campaigns in 20 various denominations and associations, has served as a speaker for youth camps and retreats and has been interim pastor for four missionary churches. He has served as a spaeker for Promise Keepers Wake-Up Rally - Northern Michigan. Larry Leckrone and Tamla Leckrone will be providing the music ministry. Larry Leckrone is an ordained elder, preacher, singer and trumpet player. The Northern Michigan Holiness Camp Association's camp building is located on North Park Street in Boyne City, just five blocks north of the Dairy Queen. For further information, contact the Church of the Nazarene in Charlevoix, 547-5711. CROSS VILLAGE - Gail Selvala of Cross Village will conduct the 9:30 a.m. Sunday, June 12, service at Redpath Memorial Church in Cross Village. Following the service, Marge Edwards Becker will host a coffee at her Good Hart home. All are welcome. HARBOR SPRINGS - Free food and entertainment are part of the first "Welcome Back, Harbor Springs" event being offered from 11 a.m-1 p.m. Saturday, June 11, in Zorn Park. Area clergy came up with the idea as a way to make summer guests know they are welcome, both to the community and in fellowship in the area churches. The idea was passed back to their respective churches, which chose what activities they would like to share with the public. Among activities planned are hot dogs and chili from the Lutheran Church "Holy Smokers;" dessert by the United Methodist Women; children's activities including a skit by Harbor Light; a puppet show by Stutsmanville; and a bell choir performance by Holy Childhood Catholic Church. A flyer listing the service times and special events at the churches will be available to those attending the event. For information, call the Rev. Kathy Cadarette of the Harbor Springs United Methodist Church at 526-2414. Petoskey United Methodist Church will celebrate worship with one combined service at 10 a.m. Sunday, June 12, in honor of the high school and college graduates. Music for the morning will include a chancel choir under the direction of Jerry Westerman, accompanied by organist, Gertrude Fairbairn, and a praise band under the direction of Michelle Snyder-Mitchum. There will be no Sunday school this week. Pastor James Mitchum will deliver the morning message, "If at First You Don't Succeed, Try, Try, Again," based on Scripture from the II Timothy 4:6-13. Many Bible studies, men's groups, women's groups, prayer groups, live satellite conferences, and more are currently in session. The spring/summer classes and events brochure is now available. The summer worship schedule begins on June19. To find out more about these and the many other ministries available through the church, contact the church office at 347-2733 to request the classes and events brochure or visit the Web site at www.petoskeyumc.org. Petoskey United Methodist Church is located at 1804 East Mitchell St. Christ Lutheran Church, 1250 Boyne Avenue, Boyne City, holds services every Sunday at 8 a.m. and 10:30 a.m., with nursery provided at both services. Pastor Ken Bernthal's sermon topic for June 12 will be "On Eagles Wings."Sunday School will be held at 9:15 a.m., with Bible class at 9:30 a.m. Following the close of the second service a reception for graduates and new members will be held in the parish hall at 11:30 a.m. At 6:30 p.m. Monday, June 13, a board of youth meeting will be held, followed by a Sunday school teacher's meeting and an elder's meeting at 7 p.m. A council meeting will convene at 8 p.m. Tuesday evening at 6:30 p.m. is softball night. At 6 a.m.on Thursday the men's group meets, followed by a Bible class at 10 a.m. The worship committee meeting will be held at 8:30 a.m. Saturday morning. Vacation Bible school is coming up July 17-21. BAY SHORE - First Presbyterian Church of Bay Shore's pastor, Ward Potts, will bring the message "The First Principles: Repentance From Dead Works" at 9 a.m. Sunday, June 12. The scripture reading and text will be Hebrews 5:12 to 6:3. Following the service, there will be an adult dialogue time discussing the sermon and Bible study, concluding at 11 am. The church is located on U.S. 31 in Bay Shore, midway between Petoskey and Charlevoix.

While Mathisen’s professional dreams came true last June — Mathisen, Zastryzny’s former catcher at Calallen High School, was taken 69th overall in the 2012 draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates — Zastrzyny took his biggest step toward joining his buddy on the next level on Thursday night. The 6-foot-3, 193-pound Zastryzny was taken 41st overall in the Major League Baseball draft by the Chicago Cubs. Zastryzny, rated the No. 76 prospect in this year’s draft and the fifth-best college lefty by Baseball America, has the option of returning to Missouri for his senior year, should he fail to agree to a deal with the Cubs. Zastryzny, however, made it pretty clear on Friday that he’s prepared to live out his dream. “Whatever I’m worth, that’s what I want,” Zastryzny said, referring to his contract negotiations. “I don’t want a bunch of money from a team that I don’t deserve. If the Cubs treat me fairly and everything goes well, I should be signed within a week. If they do their part and we do ours, I’ll be gone and I will be a professional baseball player. Zastryzny, 21, posted a 2-9 record and 3.38 ERA this season for the Tigers, but often received little run support, as the Tigers averaged just 21/2runs per game in his starts. Those struggles were a major reason why Missouri finished 18-32 in its first year in the Southeastern Conference. However, Zastryzny said he would not change anything about his college career, and was complimentary of MU coach Tim Jamieson, who just completed his 19th season as the Tigers’ head coach. Zastryzny credits the coaching staff for helping develop his pitching arsenal, which includes an 86-88 mph fastball with tailing action, a harder 94-95 mph fastball, a change-up (which he calls his best pitch) and a promising slider he just started working on six months ago. “Some days it’s inconsistent, but it can be a plus pitch, and I’m going to get it there,” Zastryzny said of his slider. Zastryzny also credited the staff for teaching him the mental side of the game, like how to channel his energy and keep his composure on the mound. Should he choose to go pro, Zastryzny would clearly be missed in Columbia, but Jamieson could have another potential ace lined up if he receives a stroke of good fortune. Hazelwood West star and Missouri signee Devin Williams was taken No. 54 overall on Thursday by the Milwaukee Brewers, but it remains unclear whether the hard-throwing right-hander, who stands 6-feet-3 and weighs 165 pounds, will sign with the Brewers or go to college. Zastryzny said he’s spoken to Williams in the past, and would do so again if Williams sought his counsel. Zastryzny pointed to himself as proof that Williams could go to college and still achieve his big league dreams somewhere down the line. Because he has, it appears Zastryzny, who grew up a Houston Astros fan, will likely have to learn an allegiance to a new professional team, which is just fine with him.

Seagram’s chief Edgar Bronfman and the World Jewish Congress slapped the organization’s disgraced former chairman Israel Singer with two separate lawsuits last week, claiming he’s ignored a state attorney general’s order to return over $500,000 in loans. The WJC also called for the AG to reopen his investigation into Singer, who was fired from the organization in March 2007. A 2006 investigation by the state Attorney General’s Office revealed Singer had transferred $1.2 million into a private European bank account. Singer was also accused of misappropriating $300,000 for personal credit card purchases, life insurance payments for his family and undocumented vacation and sick leave, according to the AG’s probe. The AG did not press criminal charges in exchange for drastic reforms in WJC accounting policies; the WJC defended Singer originally.

A brawl between students has been reported in the courtyard at Arsenal Tech High School on Indianapolis east side. Arsenal Tech students returning to school Friday will be greeted by an increased police presence after a brawl involving as many as 10 people Thursday afternoon erupted into a scene of confusion, screams and pepper spray among the hundreds of other students watching the fight as officers responded. Initial reports received by police indicated that the brawl may have involved up to 300 students, but the fight itself involved far fewer people, authorities said. In the end, officials with Indianapolis Public Schools said that eight students were injured, including three who were taken to hospitals. One student hyperventilated, another had a hand injury and a third student injured an ankle. A total of 13 students were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct, according to IPS. No weapons were involved, authorities said. Students said the fight started inside the cafeteria before spilling out into the school's courtyard. Large crowds of students gathered around the fight outside, some taking cellphone video. IPS officials confirmed Thursday night that both IPS Police and Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers used pepper spray on students. "Out of concern for student safety and an urgent need to get control of the crowd, pepper spray was dispersed," said Carrie Cline Black, spokesperson for the school district. "We trust that our law enforcement (officers) know what to do, when to do it and how to do it." IMPD did not respond to IndyStar requests for more information. At least 40 public-safety vehicles were at the scene. Jakob Kelley, a senior at the school, said he could see what was happening from his classroom window. “I saw a bunch of paddy wagons loading kids," he said. "Some kids got handcuffed. A lot of people got maced. When I went to the bathroom there were kids cleaning their faces." He said even bystanders got pepper sprayed. Francisca Morales, who was waiting outside the school in a minivan with her mother, said her sister who attends the school, Rosario Alejo, was upset. Freshman Ricki Slater said additional altercations ensued once the students gathered outside. Slater said she was hit with the pepper spray. Once the fight ended and the crowds dispersed, Arsenal Tech began to dismiss the students for the day. IMPD officers initially told parents to pick up their students at nearby Harshman Middle School. But no IPS official was at the middle school, and when the school began to let its own students out, IMPD directed Arsenal Tech parents to the Arsenal Tech entrance on Oriental Street. The disturbance shut down streets in the neighborhood for at least a half-mile surrounding the school, which is at 1500 E. Michigan St. on the east side. Anna Light, Slater's mother, said she wasn’t able to pick her daughter up for hours. During that time she said she was at the campus trying to find out where her daughter was. She said she was frustrated because no one managing the scene could answer her questions. “You have parents asking questions they can’t answer,” she said. Light said she never received any communication from IPS. Light also took issue with how the officers responded. Another mother, Keona McMiller, told IndyStar in a phone interview that her son, a 17-year-old junior, and her daughter, a 15-year-old sophomore, were arrested on preliminary charges of disorderly conduct. She said police told her that her children did not obey officers’ orders to move. McMiller said her children, who were together, were talking to her via FaceTime at around 1 p.m., but the phone was smacked out of her son's hand. Then she heard her son say he had gotten pepper-sprayed. McMiller left her job and rushed to the school, she said. Parents at the scene were told they couldn’t come into the school, McMiller said. Expecting her kids to be taken home on the bus, McMiller went back to work. But when her children weren’t dropped off at home, she went back to the school to find out where they were. McMiller called IPS police, who directed her to Arsenal Tech, but no one answered the phone, she said. She said she finally learned of their whereabouts when she went to the Marion County juvenile detention center and spoke to a police officer. “I still haven’t seen my children," she said Thursday evening. "I haven’t seen them since they left for school." Another parent, Sharnetta Stewart, came to pick up her son like she does every day but couldn’t get through and said she started getting nervous. She didn’t know what was going on and never received any communication from the school or IPS. Cline Black said that communication wasn't "as timely as we would have liked" but that the school's principal wanted communication with parents to come from him. Because he was involved in managing the situation at the school, that wasn't possible until later in the day. Ensuring student safety and securing the campus was everyone's first priority, she said. The district also wanted to make sure it had accurate information to share and a plan for students' safe return before communicating with parents Thursday evening, Cline Black said. "This was a learning experience," she said. "We are extremely proud of our principal and staff for the way they handled the situation and worked with law enforcement to take care of students and get them safely home." In addition to increased security, the IPS Crisis Response Team, a group of counselors and social workers, will be on site. The school will also employ staggered lunch and dismissal schedules.

Arizona Football will host ASU this Saturday in what is the closest thing to a playoff game. If the Wildcats win the Territorial Cup Game, they'll be bowl eligible, and their season will be extended by at least three weeks. A Wildcats loss, and it is the final game for this year's seniors. "This is a huge week for the city of Tucson," said senior wide receiver Tony Ellison. "They're the team up north, and we have to beat them. There's a lot of hype around this game. It's my senior season, and I'd like to put the Block A on one more time." Arizona State is already bowl eligible, and will be playing for a more prestigious game. The home team has won the past five games, including ASU's victory in Tempe last year. There are two new coaches to the rivalry with Herm Edwards and Arizona's Kevin Sumlin. "It's the fun part of it, when you get a rivalry game like this," said Edwards. "We have the Cup and we're trying to keep the Cup." "I talked to people here in town, and learned how important it is to bring the Cup back," said Sumlin. "You get a real good sense of the intensity level that's coming." Arizona running back J.J. Taylor is fourth in the nation with 169.4 all-purpose yards per game. The Sun Devils feature wide receiver N'Keal Harry, a likely first round NFL draft pick. The Wildcats lead the all-time series 49-41-1. The game is considered the nation's oldest rivalry. This year's contest kicks off at 1:30.

Love Island star Montana cried as she revealed she didn't reply to the final text message he sent. Montana Brown broke down in tears on the This Morning as she spoke about the last text she received from friend Mike Thalassitis . The reality star cried as she admitted to blaming herself for not replying to a message he had sent her two days earlier. Love Island star Mike Thalassitis , 26, was found hanged in a North London park, police confirmed yesterday. Appearing on This Morning today, Montana said that she had his family's blessing to appear on the ITV daytime show. Asked how she found out about Mike's death, she revealed that she had found out in the pub, the Mirror reports . "One of my friends texted me 'I don't know whether this is true, but Mike has taken his life'," she told hosts Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield. "I tried to call him and his phone went straight to answer phone." Montana revealed that she had received a text from Mike two days before his death. "I'm kind of kicking myself but he texted me and I didn't actually reply because I'm really bad with my phone," Montana said. "And I think you overthink everything you do and I just wish I'd replied." Asked what Mike had said, Montana tearfully said: "He just said 'How's it going girl, how are you' and I didn't reply." Earlier, a devastated Montana opened up about Mike's "struggling" back in November last year. "When he was going through a really rough time I was checking up on him every day," she said, explaining that Mike was seeing a therapist. "He just wanted someone to tell him how to get out of this dark place." Montana explained that the "work wasn't coming in" for Mike, that he had a "massive tax bill" and he wanted to be his own boss but didn't know how. But she said things were "on the up" for Mike, with him planning trips with friends and set to open a cafe. Revealing she spoke to his dad yesterday, Montana said that his family was as "shocked as she was". "There was no reason for him to do that and I don't know whether it was a spur of the moment," she said. Montana also insisted that Mike had liked his 'Muggy Mike' moniker. "I see people online saying don't call him that and he liked it," she said. The Metropolitan Police confirmed Mike had been found in Edmonton, North London. Mike, who was affectionately known as "muggy", during his time on Love Island back in 2017, was said to have been in a dark place in recent months. "At this early stage, the death is not being treated as suspicious. The man's next of kin have been informed. A file will be prepared for the coroner." He was said to be devastated after the loss of his grandmother. Mike had moved in his with the 94-year-old nan to become her full time carer. His friends and co-stars have since paid tribute to Mike. Sam Thompson has told people not to judge others as he paid tribute to friend Mike Thalassitis in a heartbreaking statement. Actress Sheridan Smith has said that the tragic death of Mike should be a "massive wake up call".

Alexandre de Juniac, director general of the International Air Transport Association, called on UK and EU to find a solution that brings certainty to airlines planning growth to meet travel demand. Victor Besa / The National. A forecast of five million extra flight seats between the UK and European Union in 2019 is at risk if Britain leaves the bloc without a deal, the International Air Transport Association warned. A no-deal Brexit scenario will cap additional UK-EU flights this year, which could lead to higher prices for travellers and uncertainty for airlines, the airlines' trade body said in a statement on Wednesday. "In the small window remaining before Brexit it is imperative that the EU and UK prioritise finding a solution that brings certainty to airlines planning growth to meet demand and to travellers planning business trips and family holidays,” Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s director general and CEO. IATA estimates that up to 5 million extra seats are scheduled for 2019 compared to 2018 between UK and EU to meet travel demand, many of which will fall in the peak summer season when families book holidays, and this growth is at risk without a Brexit agreement. Measures to continue operating UK-EU flights for a year based on traffic levels of 2018 do not take into account the additional growth forecast for 2019 and therefore flights will be cancelled or delayed once traffic exceeds the 2018 levels, Mr de Juniac told reporters in Dubai last week. With less than two months before Britain is set to leave the EU on March 29, a no-deal Brexit is looking more likely. The European Commission earlier said it adopted a proposal for regulation to ensure basic air services between the UK and EU for 12 months. "That current flight levels will be protected even with a hard Brexit is an important assurance. But with two months left until Britain leaves the EU, airlines still do not know exactly what kind of Brexit they should be planning for," Mr de Juniac said. "There is legal and commercial uncertainty over how the Commission’s plan to cap flight numbers will work."

Sussex Cricket are delighted to announce that Michael Yardy has accepted the position of Under-17 Head Coach for the 2016 season. Former Sussex captain Yardy, who retired from professional cricket at the end of last season after spending two decades with the club, will oversee four ECB One-Day Cup matches, and four ECB three-day Championship matches with the Under-17 side. He will also coach within the Sussex Academy programme, as well as mentoring a number of the Academy’s players throughout the year. Yardy is currently completing his second year of a Sports Psychology degree at Chichester University, and will also develop his coaching skills at Hurstpierpoint College, looking after their first XI and talented young players. Sussex’s new Director of Cricket Keith Greenfield said, “I’ve been looking to get Yards into our coaching structure as soon as it became clear he was going to retire from playing. “This is absolutely fantastic news for our elite young players and our development pathway. He represents everything that is good within Sussex Cricket and his experiences and expertise in all formats is invaluable. Sussex Under-17’s begin their ECB One-Day Cup matches at the Blackstone Academy Ground against Middlesex on Monday 2nd May (11am). The three-day Championship gets underway when Sussex take on Kent at Polo Farm in Canterbury from July 5th.

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced Oct. 11 that two U.S. Marines missing in action from World War II, have been accounted for and are being returned to their families for burial with full military honors. U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Henry S. White, 23, of Kansas City, Mo., and Staff Sgt. Thomas L. Meek, 19, of Lisbon, La., will be buried as a group in a single casketrepresenting the two servicemen, on Oct. 18, at Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C. On July 21, 1943, White and Meek were crew members of an SBD-4 Dauntless dive-bomber that departed Turtle Bay Airfield on Espiritu Santo Island, New Hebrides, on a night training mission and failed to return. During the training mission, the aircraft was reported as crashed on a coral cliff on nearby Mavea Island. In September 1947, a U.S. Army Graves Registration Service team investigated the crash on Mavea Island, but recovered no remains. In 2012, a JPAC team excavated the crash site on Mavea Island, Republic of Vanuatu, and recovered the remains of White and Meek and non-biological evidence amid the aircraft wreckage, which included U.S. and Australian coins dating to 1942 and earlier, U.S. military captain’s bars, and a military identification tag that correlates to Meek by name and service number. What was found at the crash site, along with the remains, correlate circumstantially to White and Meek, however, no individual identifications were possible. There are more than 400,000 American service members that were killed during WWII, and the remains of more than 73,000 were never recovered or identified.

Among the factors behind Walker's defeat: a massive Dane County vote and decline in support from independents. An eight-year reign of Republican dominance and political muscle in this state came to an end Tuesday when Democrat Tony Evers defeated GOP Gov. Scott Walker, the central figure in Wisconsin politics for more than a decade. On a night when Democrats retook the U.S. House and both parties piled up striking wins and equally striking losses, voters in Wisconsin turned the page on one of the nation's best-known and most polarizing governors. They did so by a very small margin, when a late tally of absentee ballots from Milwaukee County put the race out of reach for Walker. In the other marquee race in Wisconsin, Democratic U.S. Senate incumbent Tammy Baldwin won her own re-election bid handily against Republican Leah Vukmir. The most arresting features of Evers' win and Walker's loss were massive Democratic landslides in Dane and Milwaukee counties, the two big blue bastions that delivered far higher margins for Democrats than they did four years earlier. Democrats won Dane County in the 2014 governor's race by some 102,000 votes; they won the county Tuesday by more than 150,000 votes and 50 points. Democrats won Milwaukee County by just under 100,000 votes in the 2014 governor's race; they won it by almost 140,000 votes in the 2018 race for governor, based on unofficial returns. Turnout in Wisconsin was remarkable across the state: more than 2.6 million people voted, far more than in any past midterm, more than in the 2012 recall election, and equal to roughly 59 percent of the state's voting-age population. That is more than the turnout rate that many states achieved in the 2016 presidential race. Across the nation, voters delivered their midterm verdicts Tuesday on a president they elected two years ago, Donald Trump, and his party's control of Congress. It was a good night for Democrats nationally, but it fell short of their highest hopes and was punctuated by some major disappointments. It was not a tsunami. Democrats captured the U.S. House. They lost ground in the Senate in a year when many contests were fought on very Republican turf. They made inroads in races for governor but failed to capture huge contests in Florida and Ohio. The results around the country appeared to reflect growing geographic and demographic divides, between metropolitan and rural, and voters with and without college degrees. Walker's contest was one of the most closely watched nationally, featuring a one-time national star of the party, whose bid for the presidency shot out of the gate in 2015 before it was eclipsed by Trump. Exit polls showed Walker lost ground with at least two key groups of voters compared with his 2014 re-election victory. One was independents. Walker had won independents in each of his three statewide victories, including the recall, by margins ranging from 9 to 14 points. But in the 2018 exit poll, he was trailing among independents by 7 points. A second group was college graduates. Walker won voters with college degrees by 1 point in 2014, according to the exit poll that year. He was losing them by 13 points this year. Walker was winning men and losing women by high single digits, according to the exit poll — which is a smaller gender gap than in 2014 when Walker defeated Democrat Mary Burke. Walker won the great majority of the state's counties. But his margins were smaller this time in the suburban base counties outside Milwaukee, such as Waukesha. The exit poll suggested that roughly equal numbers of Republicans and Democrats voted. This was a midterm election fight waged in a strong economy but also a shrill, overheated and bitter political climate, generating huge turnouts in many places. In Wisconsin, a state Trump had carried by less than a percentage point in 2016, Baldwin cruised to a commanding victory over Vukmir in the Senate contest, piling up landslides in the state's bluest places while also winning a number of counties carried by Trump in 2016. Democrats failed in their bid to pick up two U.S. House seats in Wisconsin, but the Republican makeup of both districts — the 1st represented by House Speaker Paul Ryan and the 6th represented by Glen Grothman — made a partisan change unlikely. The brightest story for Democrats nationally was the takeover of the U.S. House, a final setback to Ryan, the Wisconsin lawmaker who is retiring after 20 years in Washington. At the same time, Democrats lost at least three Senate incumbents in states carried easily by Trump in 2016. Baldwin’s Senate victory followed a very powerful historical pattern. Incumbent senators in the opposition party — the party that doesn’t occupy the White House — don't often lose. It hasn’t happened in Wisconsin in 56 years. These senators enjoy the upside of incumbency — money, name recognition, political experience and skills — without the downside, which is the baggage of being in power. Baldwin easily outspent Vukmir, but she was also the target of lots of early attack ads. She won Tuesday by a bigger margin — around 10 points — than other recent U.S. Senate victors in this evenly divided state. She ran hard on the Democrats' biggest weapon in 2018 — the issue of health care. She also effectively mixed in populist themes (like "Buy American") and parochial issues, like dairy. According to the exit poll, among white voters, Baldwin won women with college degrees by 33 points while losing men without college degrees by 13. Similar gender and education gaps surfaced in races across the country. In the governor's race, among white voters, Walker lost college women by 21 points but won non-college men (a much larger group) by 20. When Wisconsin elected Republican Ron Johnson and Baldwin in consecutive elections in 2010 and 2012, it gave the state the "oddest" political odd couple in the Senate, with Johnson well to the right and Baldwin well to the left of most of their peers. That might have seemed like a fluke. But now Wisconsin has re-elected each of them.

Party holiday company G&T Weekends was founded in 2014 after friends Gillian Scatliff and Tess Stokes (G and T - geddit?)organised a 60-person break for pals in the Peak District. Now they run all-inclusive party weekends in fancy houses around the world: next up are a New Year’s break in an Icelandic lodge and an Easter adventure in a Moroccan villa. The holidays are pitched at those “in limbo between the hard partying years of your early 20s and the serious couples trips of your late 30s”. It’s like booking a holiday home with a big group of (rather well-off) mates but not knowing who’s going to be there – which is obviously a risk. Cue: lots of drinking. The drill for each weekend is relatively similar: big-group catered meals (these were actually pretty great), parties each evening and activities in the day, with plenty of free time to explore the area, or go for a walk with a bottle of champagne, or just sit down and drink a bottle of champagne – it’s your holiday, after all. On my weekend, activities included horse riding and French cooking. Because of its roots as an extension of its founders’ social scene (they’re from Canada and Australia) the bulk of the guests that weekend were expats. Best for: people who like good food, lots and lots of drink and have a twang to their accent. From airstream caravans at Croatian music festivals to party villas in Ibiza, Rude Leisure Group has upbeat accommodation in Europe covered. The company began running ski chalets in Morzine, and for those looking for a house party atmosphere on the slopes, the Rude Lodge is a safe bet. With room for 37 people, the budget B&B was previously owned by one Madame Laury, a dancer at the Moulin Rouge, who had a reputation for running legendary parties at the lodge. Her spirit has been kept alive in its latest incarnation: Le Paradis club - a popular and “wild” nightlife spot for locals and visitors - is beneath the lodge, sp guests definitely won’t need to worry about the walk home. It has a range of twin and dorm rooms, all en-suite, and a cafe and bar serving snacks and drinks, and aterrace overlooking the town’s river which is ideal for après ski. As for skiing (this is, after all, the main reason to come here), the Super Morzine lift is just 600 metres away. Best for: late-night ski junkies who think hitting the slopes is the best cure for a hangover. As festive getaways go, a two-week trip to India is a pretty epic one. But if you have the cash to buy your way out of the stress and miserable weather of the holiday period, Wild Frontiers has the tour for you. Its Alternative Christmas in India is a small-group tour through Rajasthan’s best-known sites, followed by five days at the luxurious Castle Bijaipur, where guests can enjoy yoga, horse riding and, on Christmas Day, poolside champagne. On New Year’s Eve, entertainment by snake charmers and fire eaters will spice up the cocktails. Best for: sociable culture vultures who want to share a toast with others escaping a family Christmas. Want a taste of life on a yacht? Sail Week Croatia explores the Dalmatia coast, with a personal skipper sailing the boat from island to island and – perhaps more importantly – party to party. Book just a bed on a boat sleeping 8-10, or book the entire yacht for a group of friends. Depending on the departure date, up to 10 boatloads of revellers set sail together, stopping at the same spots for parties and at clubs each night. The company says guests should consider their yacht a “floating hotel” for a week of “Party. Sail. Repeat”. Best for: anyone looking for fun in the sun (and those who don’t get seasick). If you want to roll into one of Europe’s biggest festivals with a big group of partygoers, Busabout, which specialises in driving backpackers around the continent, has it covered. The company runs a lively hop-on-hop-off bus service which gives independent travellers cheap, flexible travel between 46 of Europe’s most popular destinations. Trips can then be customised with various festival packages, which Busabout also organises. It’s possible to book just for one festival, such as Hungary’s huge Sziget festival or Benicassim in Spain, so revellers can party – and explore the surrounding area – with a crew of new companions. Best for: backpacking revellers looking for budget fun.

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The Russia conclusion in particular ought to be good news to all Americans. Mr. Mueller spent two years and the vast resources of the FBI and Justice Department to search for “collusion.” He found ample evidence that Russia did try to influence the election. But he found that no one in the Trump campaign “coordinated with the Russian government in these efforts, despite multiple offers from Russian-affiliated individuals to assist the Trump campaign,” Mr. Barr wrote. This lifts the cloud over the 2016 election that authoritarians like Vladimir Putin hope to promote with their meddling in democracies. It means no Trump officials abetted the hack into Democratic emails, and no Trump officials conspired with WikiLeaks (Roger Stone’s fantasies aside). The conclusion should restore a measure of public confidence in our political system and the integrity of U.S. elections. Imagine the political crisis had Mr. Mueller found the opposite? The end of the collusion illusion should also cause the media to do some soul-searching about rushes to judgment. For two years, with the help of ex-Obama officials, they spun anecdotes of contacts between Russians and Trump campaign advisers into a conspiracy. With few exceptions they went well beyond First Amendment oversight into anti-Trump advocacy. But it was always odd that those individual Russia-Trump contacts never added up to anything or went anywhere, which is why we warned about waiting for the facts. Long before Special Counsel Robert Mueller finished his investigation, the public record was littered with detail—from indictments and investigative reports and the president’s comments and his son’s inbox—showing that the Trump campaign had worked knowingly and in tandem with the Russian government to win the 2016 election. Notwithstanding Barr’s heroic, lawyerly effort to create a sense that Mueller has exonerated Trump, the letter he delivered to Congress on Sunday is nearly silent on all of these questions, and actually suggests that the report’s contents are deeply damaging to the president. On close reading, Barr’s putative summary of the Mueller report clears Trump of only the most narrowly drawn accusations, which nobody was making. So, apparently, we already knew collusion happened we were just waiting to see if Mueller would bring charges. Also according to Beutler, nobody was making the charge that the Trump campaign was colluding with the Russians to win the 2016 election. This doesn’t really make any sense but it doesn’t have to really. This is just a sad refrain of “Don’t stop believin’, hold on to that feeling” for Democrats who cannot bring themselves to face the truth. Collusion is a hell of a drug but going cold turkey is going to be tough for a lot of people who did not see this coming. Van Jones said Democrats need time to grieve, but what a lot of them need is the rhetorical equivalent of methadone: Something to keep them going now that there aren’t going to be any more “Boom” stories to inject into their veins. Fortunately, they have plenty of people in the left-media eager to provide them with that.

About 2.6 percent of married male troops divorced last year, marking no change to the rate since 2013, while the rate among female service members slightly climbed from 6.2 percent in 2015 to 6.6 percent in 2016. The military divorce rate is calculated by comparing the number of troops listed as married in the Pentagon's personnel system at the beginning of the fiscal year with the number who report divorces over the year. The information is managed and compiled by the Defense Manpower Data Center. The overall divorce rate was 3.1 percent, barely changed from 3 percent in 2015. Experts prefer to analyze the divorce rates of male and female troops separately because they vary so greatly. "For the men, it's quite stable," said Benjamin Karney, a researcher with RAND Corp. who has studied military divorce. "But for the women, this wasn't a great year. You see a notable increase in every active-duty service, and you see the end of what had been a yearly decline in the Army." The largest changes came among female enlisted troops, who have traditionally shown rates more than double that of their male counterparts. For example, 2.8 of male enlisted soldiers divorced over 2016, compared to 8 percent of female enlisted soldiers. The only service to see an overall divorce increase in 2016 was the Marine Corps. All categories of male and female Marines experienced an increase, with a jump from 2.3 percent to 2.8 percent among male Marines, and from 6.4 percent to 7.7 percent among women. That change, Karney said, could indicate something negative is pressuring marriages in the Marine Corps. "When you see a trend that appears for the men and the women, that suggests something real is happening there," he said. The divorce rate among military personnel and the total U.S. divorce rate cannot be easily compared because they are not measured the same way. The total U.S. divorce rate, which is measured per 1,000 residents and does not factor in five states including California, sat at 3.2 percent in 2014, the latest year for which information is available. Pentagon officials said the rates are a reminder of the sacrifice of military life. "Military families are unique and make tremendous sacrifices on behalf of their loved ones in uniform. Strong relationships are important to our readiness, and the Defense Department provides a wide range of support for our troops and their family members," Army Lt. Col. Myles Caggins, a Pentagon spokesman, said in a statement. "At times, the military life brings the joys of promotions, stress of deployments, and adventure of travel; along each step of the journey, military family members are a bedrock of support and encouragement. We value them." Karney cautioned against using the divorce rates to judge the effectiveness of military marriage support programs offered by the Pentagon. Instead, he said, other factors such as the economy and counseling offered outside the military must also be examined. "These data are an inadequate way of evaluating the support," he said.

July 27 - Hundreds of Germans called on their government to offer political asylum to Edward Snowden, the man accused of revealing critical details about the U.S.'s surveillance program. Deborah Gembara reports. TV AND WEB RESTRICTIONS~** **~ In Germany, support for Edward Snowden. Thousands gathered in Berlin and Frankfurt to call on their leaders to offer him safe haven. SOUNDBITE: Member Of The Union Of Associations For Victims Of Communist Violence (Uokg), Ronald Brauckmann saying: "Mr Snowden has fought for human rights and this is a reason to get asylum in a democratic country like Germany." The demos were also a chance to weigh in on the U.S.'s surveillance operation (Various of people with "Stop Watching us" sign) Officials confirmed last month that they have two secret programs -- Prism and Tempora, which mine data from Google, Facebook and Skype. Snowden is seen as a hero to many here for his role in revealing the operation's existence. SOUNDBITE: Protest Organiser, Steffen Aumueller aaying: "We are demonstrating against Prism and Tempora and solidarity with whistleblowers like Edward Snowden or Bradley Manning and we want that they become free and they will be protected by our government." This week, Snowden sought temporary asylum in Russia and Moscow says it refused to extradite him.

With several options available to manage your investments, it's time to stop carrying out frequent transactions by yourself. Arvind was at his wit's end trying to be systematic with all his investments. Writing cheques and doing the paper work frequently to manage his mutual funds investments, recurring deposits, insurance and even savings account was quite a hassle for him. For Arvind and others of his ilk, there are enough avenues, fortunately, to put their investments on ‘autopilot' as it were, with just a minimal set of procedures to be followed. Welcome to the world of channelling cash flows even while factoring in different market conditions and ensuring apportioning of funds is done to ensure sound returns. While the SIP is the common investment mode for periodic mutual fund investments, there are also variants such as Flexi-SIP, VIP that take into account market conditions too. Dealing with recurring deposits and savings bank accounts too can be hands-free affairs, what with ‘flexi' options and sweep accounts offering attractive options. Here we look into these aspects and explain how decision making is active without taking too much of your time with the investing procedure too being fairly simple. Once you have made an informed choice on the funds and schemes that you would like to invest in, the toughest part is over! If you want to start a systematic investment plan (SIP) with a monthly or quarterly instalments, all you need to do is to give an ECS (electronic clearing service) or a direct debit instruction to your bank to deduct a sum regularly on a given day of the month. Even here, your distributor would take your signature on the forms, take it to your bank and have it approved. This is irrespective of whether the distributor is offline such as a Bajaj Capital or an online one such as Fundsindia.com. So your monthly outflows to these funds happen seamlessly without needing your intervention. But if you want to invest more if have a higher cash inflow during some months say after you receive your bonus or quarterly incentives, you can opt for a Flexi-SIP. So when you fill your application itself, you can specify a regular sum and a maximum sum for a month which is to be deducted. So you can go online and just increase the amount invested during a bountiful month. This can also be a decent strategy during months where markets fall quite a bit and you would like to invest more at lower levels. If your risk appetite is low, and you would like to withdraw a certain amount every month from your funds, you can opt for a systematic withdrawal plan. Again, you can also take recourse to a systematic transfer plan to move investments from say a debt scheme to an equity scheme and vice-versa during volatile markets and even between equity schemes depending on the risk that you are willing to take. There are also newer methods of investing such as VIP (value averaging investment plan). Here you will invest a minimal nominal amount periodically, say every month. You can specify a maximum amount which can be invested when the markets tank, but there will also be months where there will be no debit from your account due to a heavy surge in markets which can make buying expensive at those levels. As an illustration, this method allows you to invest Rs 1,000, Rs 10,000 during a big fall in markets, Rs 5,000 in a ‘normal' climbing month and nothing when indices touch their peaks. All this can be preset, so even though your investments are earning smart returns, you don't sweat trying to time the market or track actively. Not just mutual funds, even your savings bank account can be made to earn higher than normal returns. So if you opt for a ‘sweep' account which most banks offer, any sum in excess of a minimum level is moved to a linked deposit account. This provides both liquidity as you can still withdraw amounts and also higher returns. Recurring deposits too have come in with different versions offering flexibility to step up or maintain your instalments and all you have to do is to give ECS or standing instructions to move amounts to your RD account. So you can just sit back and put your equity and debt investments on self-driven mode. The only caveat of course is that you should manage your monthly cash flows optimally and carefully so there are enough funds on the day of the scheduled electronic transfer.

2013 NAB Show attendees peruse Schiebel’s Camcopter S-100.The 2013 NAB Show, held in Las Vegas in April, focused on 4K, ultra HD production and the cloud, which were far removed from the “next big thing” feel of the 2012 show and its theme of stereoscopic production, broadcast and home theater consumption. In addition, the 3-D oriented exhibits and sessions at the 2012 show were nearly extinct at the 2013 show. In addition to 4K, UHD monitors, switchers, recorders, scalers and codecs on display in the Central Hall, that venue was full of light-emitting diode lighting suppliers, and several choices for small, point-of-view HD/2K cameras, as well as small remote-control helicopters on which to fly them. One mild surprise in the camera department was Blackmagic Design’s “Pocket Cinema Camera” which is equipped with a super 16 mm sensor that accommodates interchangeable four-thirds lenses. The less glamorous area of wireless video acquisition also saw some improved implementations such as the Verizon 4G “dongle” for JVC’s GY-HM650 (revision 2.0) camcorder and updates to Dejero Labs’ LIVE+ platform. The primary thrust of the Military and Government Summit sessions concerned the benefits cloud environments provide to military, medical and government records systems, with an emphasis on cost savings, rapid access, remote access and security or rights management. Of particular interest were sessions relating to multimedia consumption, workflow, access control and management of the rapidly increasing amounts of media produced by government agencies such as those missions are to provide homeland security and defense. During case study presentations, John Delay, Harris Corp.’s director of new media and government strategy, estimated the military alone produced hundreds of terabytes per day of motion imagery that needed to be processed and distributed in near realtime to users in locations that span the globe. During the past two years, high-resolution, motion imagery increased by as much as 12 times, and that growth rate, or higher, is expected to continue over the next five years, according to Delay. Because of the need to meet the volume of media, the transition of government media operations to cloud architectures is being conducted in a phased manner, Delay said. Phase 1 has been underway for the past five years, and it involves the transition of the client-server model for media ingest, asset and storage management to a virtual machine “enterprise” computing architecture, he said. Phase 2 has been ongoing for the past 18 months, and it involves creating a motion-imagery cloud and transitioning the enterprise architecture, processes and workflows to a cloud implementation, according to Delay. Phase 3 will involve transitioning from a single cloud to a collection of distributed motion-imagery clouds to reduce latency to near real time between creation and consumption across a global stage with full security and access control, he said.

The Thermomix looks like an oversized blender, but it actually does a whole lot more than just blend. It also chops, stirs, or whips whatever you put into it. It boils liquids. There's a scale inside for preparing weight-measure recipes. It can steam vegetables, cook bacon, and make yogurt. Got an hour? Make a risotto inside the thing, or even (yep) a quiche. There are millions of these in kitchens around the world, but now the Thermomix is finally coming to the US. It can really do anything, and you really want one. $1,300. "A solar-powered bike lock that connects to your phone via Bluetooth and enables a ride-sharing network" sounds at first like an only slightly wonky CES Mad Lib. But it checks out. The Ellipse from Lattis can alert you if someone's tampering with the lock, charges itself every time you leave it outside, and can even remind you where you left your Schwinn this morning. And it will let Lattis create a city-wide bike network, where every tree and street sign counts as a perfect place to leave your vehicle. This lock's not new, but it's real now. The charming wood Mission Computers built by an engineering team from Red Hat keep things simple. The open-source Endless OS draws inspiration from mobile platforms and offer a user interface anyone can master quickly. The little Linux boxes, designed for beginners and emerging markets, are coming to America. The Mini will run $130, and the bigger One $250. The OS is proprietary, but its office apps are compatible with Microsoft Office and the Endless app store hosts 1,000 or so titles. One day at CES is enough to make you long for this clever folding Bluetooth keyboard. The Kanex MultiSync is about the size of a big billfold, so it fits nicely in your pocket or purse. Yet somehow the chiclet-style keys offer good spacing and pleasant travel. You’ll find it waaay more comfy than a smartphone screen for banging out emails and liveblogs, and it costs just $50. Need more proof that cheap Android phones are getting insanely good? We present Exhibit A: This unlocked $180 handset from Coolpad. The Conjer (pronounced “conjure”) sports an attractive metal case, a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner, dual SIM slots, and 3 gigs of RAM. Still not convinced? Check out the 8-megapixel selfie cam and 13-megapixel main shooter. The lightweight skin borrows a few aesthetic elements from iOS, including a swipe-from-bottom system tray. You can get one beginning January 19. Surely someone can come up with a practical purpose, and perhaps several, for the Flir Duo, a drone-compatible thermal imaging camera. But who has time for practical when you’re talking about a $1,000 camera that provides Predator-like vision from 1,500 feet? The Dup also sports a 2-megapixel conventional camera, if you somehow get bored of seeing the world through heat-colored lenses. Now that Snap's Spectacles have made face-mounted cameras totally on fleek, we thought CES might be full of new gadget glasses. But the best one we've seen so far is from a company that's been doing this for a while. The Vuzix Blade 3000 are the first consumer-friendly product from a company that's been making head-mounted displays for businesses. The Blades look like boxy Oakleys, but they connect to your phone and bring your screen right up in front of your face. Long-term, it's a full augmented reality system. Right now, it's a perfect way to look at Instagram without looking down. The clickety-clack kings at Das Keyboard have a new mechanical keyboard that's not only loaded with the company's own Gamma Zulu switches, but can also connect to various web services. The LEDs under the keys light up different colors based on whatever criteria you set. Incoming emails or Twitter mentions make certain keys glow. Other keys glow different colors based on what the temperature is outside. Program it yourself with IFTTT, Zapier, and Das's own API. The 5Q is available for pre-order for $229. A laptop typically offers two interfaces: Your mouse and your keyboard. The sleek AirBar from Neonode ($99) offers a third: the screen. Magnets affix the AirBar just above the hinge on any 13-inch MacBook Air and projects an invisible light field over the screen, effectively making it a touchscreen. You have the best of two devices: you can pinch, zoom, and swipe like a smartphone or tablet, but type and click, too. The great promise of Alexa, Google Home, and the hoards of other voice-activated devices on display at CES is you can do whatever you need to do without ever looking at a screen. Issue is, when it come to communicating certain types of information (any type of list, really), audio as an interface often falls short. The Rokid Alien, an egg-shaped smart home hub, solves for this with a screen that displays information related to your request. For now, it's best at showing things like time, weather, and recognition of a voice request. Peering into the future, it's not hard to see how something like the Alien can blend visual, audio, and artificial intelligence to make a far more compelling—and useful—interface. It's day two of CES, the giant consumer tech show happening here in Las Vegas. We saw a bunch of cool gadgets yesterday, and we've tracked down even more today. Our wallets are begging us not to act on all the impulses we're feeling right now. If you love beautiful and compelling tech, proceed with caution.

MANCHESTER City manager Roberto Mancini insists he can deal with Craig Bellamy’s feisty personality - as he has worked with the best in the game. While Mancini denied a report of a serious rift with the player he admitted he had an argument with the Wales striker. Bellamy could in fact come into contention against Liverpool on Sunday after being been sidelined with a knee injury. Mancini said: “I have worked with players who won the Champions League and the World Cup. “They had the right attitude and that is very important. So I have no problem with Craig. Mancini said they had a difference of opinion about the way the player’s injury was being managed. He will now monitor Bellamy’s fitness over the weekend and the Welshman could yet be ready for the Eastlands clash. According to the report, Mancini screamed at Bellamy after the player refused a request to train on Thursday with one of the manager’s Italian staff. Mancini apparently then told him not to come back from three months. Mancini added: “Today Craig is here, working with the physio. It was the same yesterday. “These things (an argument) can happen in a job. I don’t have problems with Craig. “I spoke with him in the office and read that I shouted at him. But I didn’t. We just spoke face-to-face and the matter was solved. Mancini will be without Patrick Vieira who he will serve a three-game ban. Carlos Tevez, who has remained in Argentina due to a family matter, is also absent while there are fears Martin Petrov could be sidelined for up to four weeks with a knee injury. Team (from): Given, Taylor, Richards, Zabaleta, Onuoha, Toure, Lescott, Boyata, Garrido, Sylvinho, Bridge, Wright-Phillips, Ireland, Barry, De Jong, Ibrahim, Johnson, Bellamy, Adebayor.

Religion professor T. David Gordon says Muzak has shaped singing in church. In his new book, Why Johnny Can't Sing Hymns (P & R Publishing), T. David Gordon argues that modern worship choruses have trumped hymns in many congregations because for decades, we have been inundated with pop music—to the point that many of us don't know better. If you eat nothing but Big Macs, Gordon says, you will never appreciate a filet mignon. A professor of religion at Grove City College, Gordon takes a media ecology approach, which he describes as the study of "the social and individual human consequences when a new medium is introduced to a culture." Regarding church music, Gordon says, media ecologists should ask how music, "once a participatory thing, became a passive thing. What happens when people who used to sing folk music around the house are now surrounded by Muzak? How does that alter our sensibilities of music?" In the context of the church's "worship wars," Gordon's views may seem controversial and certainly will not stop the feuding. While not everyone will agree with him, his arguments can take the discussion about church music to a deeper, richer place. Christianity Today senior associate editor Mark Moring recently spoke with Gordon. The media ecology approach brings a new perspective to the worship wars. The wars are still going partly because none of the ways by which people tried to explain the wars were sticking. I think media ecology allows us to better understand the division. You could not explain the change [from traditional hymns to praise-and-worship songs] on either theological grounds or aesthetic grounds. So I started asking, On what grounds could we explain it?

Pocono Mountain Regional Police said they were on patrol at 1:03 p.m. Wednesday when they stopped a vehicle with an expired inspection sticker on Route 115, near Interstate Exxon, in Tunkhannock Township. Police said they found the driver, Erik Funk, 21, of Cresco, was wanted in Fort Drum, N.Y., for deserting the U.S. Army. Funk was taken to Monroe County Correctional Facility to await the Army's arrival.

A three-year-old has miraculously survived a fall from a seventh floor window in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, a local police spokesman said Tuesday. According to the parents, the child fell from the kitchen window. When the parents woke up, they could not find the boy. Glancing out the window, the father saw him lying on the roof of an adjoining shop on the first floor," the spokesman said. He said that although the child was seriously injured, he somehow remained alive and was hospitalized in intensive care. Prosecutors are investigating the case.

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — Championship rivals Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel are already looking forward to fighting each other for a fifth Formula One title next year. With Hamilton wrapping up this year’s title two races ago, the pressure is off this week at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Both are projecting to 2018, where the four-time champions get back to the serious business of trying to catch Argentine great Juan Manuel Fangio on five titles. Only Michael Schumacher with seven titles has won more than Fangio, who drove in F1 from 1950-58. Some may come to revere Hamilton like that in time. He has won 62 races — second only to Schumacher’s 91 — and holds the record for pole positions with 72. The 32-year-old British driver has won three of the past four titles — losing to Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg in 2016 — and was at the peak of his powers this season. After trailing Vettel at the halfway point, he pulled away after the summer break and leads the German driver by 43 points. Hamilton is arguably the fiercest competitor around and is already thinking about how Vettel plans to turn the tables. “Whatever weakness Sebastian had, he’ll work on those over the winter. No one’s perfect, even I have things to work on,” Hamilton said, without a trace of irony. “He’s going to raise the bar next year and I’ll have to as well, otherwise things won’t be the same. Considering how poor Ferrari was in 2016, this year can still be viewed as a success with Vettel winning five races compared to none last year. Vettel joked that winning the title in 2018 will be “a walk in the park” if Ferrari improves by the same amount, then took a more serious view of the situation. He accepted that he ultimately fell short because “Lewis made less mistakes” than he did. Poised to regain the championship lead, he crashed out of the Singapore GP from pole position back in September — turning the tide in Hamilton’s favour. Reliability issues plagued Ferrari at the next two races. He started last and finished fourth at the Malaysian GP and then qualified third before retiring from the Japanese GP. In June, the rivals were embroiled in their most heated clash at the Azerbaijan GP in Baku. Vettel drove alongside Hamilton’s Mercedes as they waited behind the safety car for the restart, and was adjudged to have deliberately nudged the side of him. Tempers frayed and barbs were exchanged. Vettel initially denied it was deliberate but subsequently apologized for dangerous driving. That incident genuinely threatened to spoil their healthy rivalry, but they joke about it now. Asked on Thursday what their highlight of the season was, both drivers — sitting next to each other — laughed easily when Baku was suggested. Referring to the upcoming end-of-season F1 awards, Vettel put himself forward for three.

A lot of people were expecting some really big things to happen in 2015, and most of them did not happen. But what did happen? It is my contention that a global financial crisis began during the second half of 2015, and it threatens to greatly accelerate as we enter 2016. During the last six months of the year that just ended, financial markets all over the planet crashed, trillions of dollars of global wealth was wiped out, and some of the largest economies in the world plunged into recession. Here in the United States, 2015 was the worst year for stocks since 2008, nearly 70 percent of all investors lost money last year, and it is being projected that the final numbers will show that close to 1,000 hedge funds permanently shut down within the last 12 months. This is what the early stages of a financial crisis look like, and the worst is yet to come. If we were entering another 2008-style crisis, we would expect to see junk bonds crashing. When financial trouble starts, it usually doesn’t start with the biggest and strongest companies. Instead, it usually starts percolating on the periphery. And right now bonds of firms that are considered to be on the risky side of things are rapidly losing value. In the chart below, you can see that a high yield bond ETF that I track very closely known as JNK started crashing in the middle of 2008. This crash began to unfold before the horrific crash of stocks in the fall. Investors that saw junk bonds crashing in advance and pulled their money out of stocks in time saved an enormous amount of money. In 2015, Third Avenue Management shocked Wall Street when they froze withdrawals from a 788 million dollar mutual fund that was highly focused on junk bonds. Investors that couldn’t get their money out began to panic, and other mutual funds now find themselves under siege. If junk bonds continue to crash, this will just be the beginning of the carnage. One of the big reasons why junk bonds are crashing is because of the crash in the price of oil. Over the past 18 months, the price of oil has plummeted from $108 a barrel to $37 a barrel. Why can’t people see the parallels? Crashes are happening all around us, and yet so many of the “experts” seem completely blind to what is going on. Things are unfolding just as we would expect they would during the initial stages of a new global financial crisis. Of course nobody can forget what happened to China. The Chinese have the second largest economy on the globe, and news about their economic slowdown in making headlines almost every single day now. And there is plenty more that we could talk about. European stocks just had their second worst December ever, and Japanese stocks are down about 500 points in early trading as I write this article. Here in the United States, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Dow Transports, the S&P 500 and the Russell 2000 all had their worst years since 2008. As I mentionedthe other day, 674 hedge funds shut down during the first nine months of 2015, and it is being projected that the final total for the year will be up around 1000. But we aren’t hearing much about this financial carnage on the news yet, are we? Many people that I talk to still think that “nothing is happening”, but don’t you dare say that to Warren Buffett. He lost 7.8 billion dollars in 2015. How would you feel if you lost 7.8 billion dollars in a single year? The truth, of course, is that signs of financial chaos are erupting all around us. Corporate profits are plunging, the bond distress ratio just hit the highest level that we have seen since the last financial crisis, and corporate debt defaults have risen to the highest level that we have seen in about seven years. Do you notice a theme? So many things that have not happened in six or seven years are now happening again. History may not repeat, but it sure does rhyme, and it astounds me that more people cannot see that 2015/2016 is looking eerily similar to a replay of 2008/2009. A big reason for this is the ongoing decline of the middle class. In 2015, we learned that middle class Americans now make up a minority of the population for the first time ever. But if you go back to 1971, 61 percent of all Americans lived in middle class households. Meanwhile, the share of the income pie that the middle class takes home has also continued to shrink. In 1970, the middle class brought home approximately 62 percent of all income. Today, that number has fallen to just 43 percent. As the middle class is systematically destroyed, the number of Americans living in poverty just continues to grow. And those that often suffer the most are the children. It may be hard for you to believe, but the number of homeless children in the U.S. has increased by 60 percent over the past six years. How in the world can anyone dare to claim that “things are getting better”? Anyone that says that should be ashamed of themselves. We are in the midst of a long-term economic collapse that is now accelerating once again. Anyone that tries to tell you that “things are getting better” and that 2016 is going to be a better year than 2015 is simply not being honest with you. A new global financial crisis erupted during the last six months of 2015, and this new financial crisis is going to intensify throughout the early months of 2016. Financial institutions will begin falling like dominoes, and this will result in a great credit crunch around the world. Businesses will fail, unemployment will skyrocket and millions will suddenly be faced with economic despair. By the time it is all said and done, this new financial crisis will be even worse than what we experienced back in 2008, and the suffering that we will see around the world will be off the charts. So does that mean that I am down about this year? Not at all. In fact, my wife and I are greatly looking forward to 2016. In the midst of all the chaos and darkness, there will be great opportunities to do good and to make a difference. What a great shaking comes, people go looking for answers. And I think that this will be a year when millions of people start to understand that our politicians and the mainstream media are not telling them the truth. Yes, great challenges are coming. But now is not a time to dig a hole and try to hide from the world. Instead, this will be a time for those that have prepared in advance to love others, help others and show them the truth. Are you ready to be a light during the dark times that are coming?

In near perfect conditions a few of the die-hard golfers shot some good scores, but the conversation on the veranda afterwards was dominated by three very experienced medical professionals. Not that anything professional came out of their mouths! Let’s just say a number of the so called experienced males were ‘given direction’ and possibly some advice on their longevity! Iggy Honan pinched the chocolates on the night from Greg Cook (runner-up), while Scottie Elleway and Tommy Gillings also had good rounds. Meanwhile back to the medical professionals; Who knew we had an Uber service in Cleve? Seems these ladies of the night are prone to one too many champers and then call Uber Bonney? I hear Baker Boy Fitzy is looking for some coaching, so when you’re next in getting your sausage rolls don’t be afraid to tell him where he’s going wrong. The accurate ones this week were Greg Cook on three and Daniel Bastian on five. Scores: I. Honan 21, G. Cook 20, T. Gillings 19, S. Elleway 18, D. Cummings 16, D. Turnbull 16, T. Mason 13, S. Edwards 13, D. Bastian 13, N. Fitzgerald 12, A. Clements 11, T. Weddell 11. In near perfect conditions a few of the die-hard golfers shot some good scores, but the conversation on the veranda afterwards was dominated by three very experienced medical professionals. Not that anything professional came out of their mouths! Let’s just say a number of the so called experienced males were ‘given direction’ and possibly some advice on their longevity! Iggy Honan pinched the chocolates on the night from Greg Cook (runner-up), while Scottie Elleway and Tommy Gillings also had good rounds. Meanwhile back to the medical professionals; Who knew we had an Uber service in Cleve? Seems these ladies of the night are prone to one too many champers and then call Uber Bonney? I hear Baker Boy Fitzy is looking for some coaching, so when you’re next in getting your sausage rolls don’t be afraid to tell him where he’s going wrong. The accurate ones this week were Greg Cook on three and Daniel Bastian on five. I. Honan 21, G. Cook 20, T. Gillings 19, S. Elleway 18, D. Cummings 16, D. Turnbull 16, T. Mason 13, S. Edwards 13, D. Bastian 13, N. Fitzgerald 12, A. Clements 11, T. Weddell 11.

C.J. Anderson emerged as the Rams’ leading rusher during the NFC Championship Game against the Saints and the journeyman running back has made a huge impact for L.A. since signing with the team late in the season. What’s the best Anderson-related prop bet for Super Bowl 53? With injuries ravaging their running back depth, the Rams signed Anderson on December 18. He made a big play in Week 16 against the Cardinals, rushing for 167 yards and a touchdown in the Rams’ 31-9 victory. He followed up that performance by rushing for 123 yards, 22 receiving yards and a rushing touchdown in a 48-32 win against the 49ers. In 11 games (nine with the Panthers and two with the Rams), Anderson finished with 403 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 67 carries, good for a 6.0 yards-per-carry average. With Gurley clearly not 100%, Anderson has made a significant impact for the Rams this postseason, rushing 39 times for 167 yards and two touchdowns. Gurley sat for most of the NFC title game against the Saints and Anderson wound up leading the Rams in rushing for 44 yards on 16 carries. Without knowing if Gurley’s knee will be strong enough to take on a full work load, it’s challenging to project Anderson’s usage in Super Bowl 53. That said, working on the premise that oddsmakers inflated Anderson’s prop bets given how he has become a feel-good story leading up to the Super Bowl, I’m taking the under on his rushing attempts and rushing yards. For as good as Anderson has been, Gurley is still the focal point of Sean McVay’s offense. If they’re going to upend the Patriots, Gurley will need to play a significant role in the win.

A widely-used tangible product like oil, precious and industrial metals, and agricultural goods that are traded on the cash market or a futures exchange. commodity. InvestorGuide.com. WebFinance, Inc. http://www.investorguide.com/definition/commodity.html (access:April 18, 2019).

Each Thursday morning in Nuevo Arenal there is a gathering of Gringos at Berta’s restaurant, Las Delicias at 8 a.m. for “ The Gringo Breakfast.” It is open to anyone, Gringo and Tico alike, and provides an opportunity to catch up on what’s happening with everybody around town. Usually 20-30 folks attend, but increasing numbers of visitors, mostly people interested in what the area has to offer for retirement, have been dropping by. What delights the resident Gringo crowd the most is the question, “What is there to do around here for retired folks?” This inquiry triggers such an avalanche of options that a printed handout is being considered. It’s amusing to watch the wide eyed look of amazement on the faces of people who, if they’re taking notes can hardly write fast enough. The best advice is saved for last and that is to buy the latest edition of “Living Abroad in Costa Rica” or a book similarly designed to provide information about the myriad details involved in living a country with different cultural heritage, language, and laws, etc. It’s too complex to get it all in at a single breakfast meeting, but a few people still are inclined to make decisions especially about purchasing property without taking time to become informed. The allure of Costa Rica’s “pura vida” must be tempered with reality. The Volcano Brewing Company, a microbrewery at the Tilawa Hotel has a new name: The Lake Arenal Brewing Company. The same owner and same brewmeister will continue to provide one of the best tasting brews available in Costa Rica. Chef Marco of Café Macadamia will be in charge of the restaurant at Tilawa. Its new name has yet to be determined, but people familiar with Marco’s culinary capabilities will be delighted. The Arenal Garden Club visited Guia’s farm located on the Guatuso Road on Oct. 7at 2 p.m. His knack for integrating agriculture with animal husbandry is well known and enables him to live virtually independent of commercial markets. The local Bridge Club is also active and continues to meet at Tropical Iguana Bar and Grill every Wednesday at 1 p.m. Experienced players and beginners are always welcome.

NEW YORK Interpublic Group shares fell sharply in unusually heavy trading today after the company disclosed a complicated new credit arrangement yesterday following the market’s close. IPG’s beleaguered stock closed at $9, off nearly 5.6 percent on volume of 29.1 million shares, nearly 10 times the average daily volume. During the day, the stock dipped to $8.86, down 2.4 percent from the company’s 52-week low of $9.08. Under the credit plan, IPG will enter into an agreement with a special-purpose entity called ELF Special Financing Ltd. for an offering of three-year notes and warrants. The total size of the offering is $526 million, with a 15 percent over-allotment option. The offering will relieve the company of some of its restrictive bank covenants, with the potential dilution amount also relatively low and able to be eliminated by cash settlement, according to Merrill Lynch analyst Lauren Rich Fine.

Signature homes is a Custom home builder ready to sit down with you to plan out and build the home of your dreams. This floor plan will be 1,541 sq. ft. of living space. 4 bedroom 2 full baths single story home. Signature homes offers shutters, ceiling fans through out the home, 10'-12' ft. ceilings in living space, Pre-wire for surround sound, phone, cable and alarm system. Granite counter tops in the kitchen and bathrooms, undermount sinks. All homes will include GE stainless steel kitchen appliances.

A request to the Chinese government by U.S. diplomats to help crack down on North Korean hacking underlines the important role the country plays in keeping the dictatorship online. North Korea relies on China for Internet connectivity, partially due to long-standing ties between the two nations and partly because it has few options. North Korea borders just three countries: South Korea, with which it is still technically at war, Russia and China. The Chinese Internet is well developed and the Russian border is far from Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, making China a good choice. A connection from China Unicom into the country first appeared in late 2010. Until then, North Korea had no full-time connection to the Internet—just an email service that relayed messages every hour or so. The country was brought online by Star, a joint venture between the Korea Posts and Telecommunications Co. and Thailand’s Loxley Pacific. It provides connectivity to a handful of websites in Pyongyang and those lucky enough to be permitted Internet access: foreigners in the country, senior students at elite universities, scientists and a handful of others. Usage is understood to be closely monitored. And that’s it. There are no other known Internet connections. A second connection was previously available via Intelsat, an international satellite operator, but it appears to be out of use at present. So it’s tempting to think that with tighter control of that connection to China, a lot of malicious activity could be stopped. However, it’s unclear whether that link was used at all in cyberattacks that are blamed on North Korea. The country operates a number of software programming ventures in other countries and is suspected of basing cyberattackers overseas too. The Chinese city of Shenyang, close to the border with North Korea, is thought to be home to one such office and that would have a domestic Chinese Internet connection. Hackers are accused of routing traffic through servers in other countries, further complicating the task. Asked on Monday about the reports of a U.S request to China for help, a State Department spokeswoman confirmed that the U.S. has asked for China’s assistance, but didn’t offer additional details. “I would say on this or other issues, we have affirmed that malicious cyberactivity like this attack can pose a risk to international peace and security, so we’ll keep having the conversation with them,” the spokeswoman, Marie Harf, said at a briefing. Away from the Internet, North Korea’s other telecom links are just as meagre. The country doesn’t permit its citizens to make or receive international telephone calls. Calls to businesses in Pyongyang are typically routed through an operator, who must connect callers to the parties they are trying to reach. Direct dialling is almost impossible. Much of North Korea’s telephone capacity is believed to travel via China or via satellite. The Pyongyang Earth Station opened in 1985 with a connection to Intersputnik, a satellite operator that connected mainly Soviet-bloc nations. In 1991, North Korea joined Intelsat and began using a satellite link to connect to countries like Japan, which in the past had been served by a shortwave radio telephony link. It’s 32-meter dish can easily be seen in satellite pictures of the site and is believed to still be in use today. The country’s state-run TV channel, Korean Central Television, is also broadcast from the country to viewers in Asia via a Thai-owned satellite.

Google and Nokia: Enemies or friends? Google and Nokia this week announced a search partnership, surprising some who thought the two are at war with one another. So is this just another example of industry "coopetition?" Or are these two companies truly making friends? Just when they appeared to be embarking on a major battle over mobile platforms, the news broke from 3GSM in Barcelona this week that Google and Nokia are teaming up together on search. The seeming contradictions in the relationship between the two giants in their respective fields are stirring a good deal of consternation among many observers, both professional and amateur, as reflected in jottings from the blogosphere. Sparking the debate was a press announcement issued this week from 3GSM that Google's search engine is now going to be integrated with the Nokia search application, starting with high-end models that include the N96, N78, 6210 Navigator and 6220 Classic, and then extending into other models. Taking note of the announcement, several bloggers have juxtaposed the search partnership against an article published in BusinessWeek this week. "The partnership seems to lie in stark contrast to the article," writes M. G. Siegler, in his blog on VentureBeat. The BusinessWeek article "discusses [how] Nokia's new phones [are] meant to rival Google's entry into the mobile market, as Google is working with other manufacturers on phones running the Android mobile platform," wrote the VentureBeat blogger. But is there a real discrepancy here, or are Google and Nokia just showing the kind of "coopetition" that has long marked relationships between firms such as Microsoft and Novell, or Sony and Toshiba, where two vendors partner in one market while competing against each other elsewhere? Sun and IBM, for instance, have teamed up in areas such as Java and Linux, while competing against each other with their servers, technical workstations, and traditional Unix operating systems. From that perspective, Google and Nokia could be seen as collaborating on search, while competing on other aspects of mobile platforms. On the other hand, it could also be that today's press release was designed with the intention of genuinely announcing that the search partnership signals an effort by these two companies to get along better. For its part, Google can certainly stand to set up some fresh partnerships in the mobile community, with Microsoft now acting aggressively in setting up its own mobile partnerships and acquisitions, while at the same time trying to buy Yahoo. To Google, Nokia might now look like an increasingly valuable ally, having announced also this week it's spearheading the development of a worldwide mobile advertising network, in a partnership with Sprint and with the cooperation of about 70 mobile content providers. But any direct benefits to Nokia of its Google pact are less clear at this time, with some critics contending that Yahoo Go is actually better suited to mobile searches than Google's search tool. It's also quite possible, though, that the search partnership was going to happen anyway, and that the two companies decided they might as well take advantage of it to paint a happier public face on their relationship, emphasize any previous instances of collaboration, and reduce public and media perceptions that they're at war with one another. The last line of their joint press release states, "The collaboration announced today builds on previous cooperation between Nokia and Google," pointing out that Google search was previously available on Nokia's Internet tablets and that the Nokia N95 8GB was the first mobile device to give full support to Google's YouTube service.

The 40th anniversary of the Six-Day War, June 5-10, was the occasion for a flurry of media retrospectives. Less attention will be given to a related anniversary: June 19, 1967, when the Israelis first offered to give back most of the land that had come under their control during that conflict. It is historically rare - if not unprecedented - for a nation to relinquish territory paid for with blood in a defensive war. So there was hope that this bold land-for-peace proposal might lead to Arab-Israeli detente. But at a summit held in Khartoum the following September, Israel's Arab neighbors declared the "three nos": no to recognition of Israel, no to negotiations with Israel, no to peace with Israel. A state of war against Israel, Egyptian President Gamel Abdel Nasser said, had been "in effect since 1948," the moment modern Israel was born amid the carnage of World War II, on lands ruled by the Ottoman Turks for most of the past four centuries. It would continue, he and the other leaders in Khartoum implied, until Israel was destroyed. Nasser was the primary instigator of the 1967 war, as historian Michael Oren has demonstrated using Arab sources. One example: Salah al-Hadidi, the chief justice in the court proceedings against officers held accountable for Egypt's defeat, stated unambiguously: "Egypt's political leadership called Israel to war. It clearly provoked Israel and forced it into a confrontation." Nasser did this by blockading Israeli shipping, itself an act of war. He also ordered U.N. peacekeepers out of the Sinai, along Israel's western border where they had been posted after the 1956 war. He then moved 100,000 Egyptian troops and armor into the Sinai. On May 30, 1967, Nasser declared: "The armies of Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon are poised on the borders of Israel ... while standing behind us are the armies of Iraq, Algeria, Kuwait, Sudan and the whole Arab nation. This act will astound the world. Today they will know that the Arabs are arranged for battle, the critical hour has arrived." According to the BBC - ever tendentious where Israel is concerned - all this amounted merely to Nasser "risking" war. The BBC added that Nasser's motives "are still debated." Heaven knows why. Nasser said candidly that the grievance he intended to address was the "existence of Israel." He promised that the war would result in "Israel's destruction." Cairo radio declared Israel would be "liquidated." Syrian dictator Hafiz al-Assad - father of Syria's current dictator, Bashar al-Assad - vowed "a battle of annihilation." Iraqi President Abdul Rahman Aref said the opportunity must be seized "to wipe Israel off the map ... to wipe out the ignominy which has been with us since 1948." Ahmed Shukairy, a representative of the then-3-year-old Palestine Liberation Organization, was asked what would happen to Israelis after the war. "I estimate that none of them will survive," he said. In response, Israel struck fast and hard. Fighting was intense, but within six days Israel had not only prevailed, it had gained what many military analysts called defensible borders for the first time. Nevertheless, as noted, the Israelis were willing, even eager, to give up most of what they had gained for a sheet of paper with the word "peace" written on it. "We speak not as conquerors, but as partners," Israeli Prime Minister Levi Eshkol said hopefully. Eventually, Israel did trade land - the vast Sinai Peninsula - to Egypt in return for a cold peace. And two summers ago, Israel withdrew from Gaza. Palestinian leaders had an opportunity to make Gaza bloom as it never had under occupation - with new homes and schools, farms and factories. Had they done that, Israel today almost certainly would be relinquishing most of the West Bank as well. Instead, Gaza is now more violent and squalid than ever, a place from which missiles are fired daily at villages inside Israel. A National Public Radio report on the war's anniversary acknowledged the fact that "Israel no longer occupies the Sinai or Gaza," but added this spin: that Israel's "continued hold over the other territories has stymied efforts to bring a comprehensive peace to the Middle East." No, the obvious if politically unfashionable truth is that what stymies peace today is what stymied peace 40 years ago: the refusal of Arab and Muslim rulers to tolerate a neighbor that is not ruled by Arabs or Muslims; their refusal to accept the idea of self-determination for the Jewish people within their ancient homeland.

“3 Women” at the Landing features works by Lenore Tawney, Tanya Aguiñiga and Loie Hollowell, who are all invested in something of a “women’s aesthetic.” Dating to the early days of feminist art, this approach is exemplified by strong, symmetrical, abstract forms, references to the body, and craft practices such as weaving and sewing. This exhibition hews to these tenets so closely it might make your ovaries ache — in a good way. The legacy of feminist art, it seems, is more than secure. The standout works actually date from the 1970s. Tawney, who passed away in 2007, began weaving and drawing in the 1950s and was a friend and contemporary of Agnes Martin. The delicate, wavering lines of Tawney’s elongated, free-hanging textiles and intimate, moon-like drawings reflect that aesthetic kinship. The works possess an understated elegance that obliterates the line between art and craft. Works by Hollowell and Aguiñiga are from the present but hark to the ’70s. Hollowell’s modestly scaled paintings are all color variations on the same form: a tiny, sinuously curved central nodule from which thick, interlocking lines in bright gradations emerge. They are obviously indebted to the hard-edged works of Judy Chicago and Miriam Schapiro, perhaps too much so. Aguiñiga’s contribution is an array of fleshy forms, many dotted or covered with hair, suspended on rope hammocks. The forms are whimsical, grotesque and thoroughly surreal, like indeterminate body parts crudely butchered and strung up like hams. Despite their debt to artists like Louise Bourgeois and Senga Nengudi, the works possess a creepy charm all their own.

My relationship with my husband is deeper than I ever knew. Author Elizabeth Gilbert said, "A soul mate's purpose is to shake you up, tear apart your ego a little bit, show you your obstacles and addictions, break your heart open so new light can get in, make you so desperate and out of control that you have to transform your life, then introduce you to your spiritual master..." In western society, we are still programmed to dream of that fairy tale relationship and happy ever after. Unfortunately, most of us eventually wake up to the reality that it’s a heavy burden to place on someone else to make us happy. That old cliché, you have to love yourself before someone else can love you, is not only good advice but absolutely true. In my own relationship history, instead of connecting with my soulmates, my karma kicked in. Yep, there’s something called a "karmic relationship." What is a karmic relationship? Amanda Linette Meder nailed it! She said that "a karmic relationship is a romantic bond that is formed with someone in your soul group and it's a relationship designed to heal past life lessons and pain. Karmic relationships are the type of soul mate relationships that no one wants, but everyone has. They’re generally challenging to say the least, and heartbreaking, to be more clear." My own relationship has definitely had its ups and downs. Married to a fiery, artistic Latino, bickering and power struggles are not unfamiliar territory for us. He has a vision of what I should be doing with my time, career and interests, that doesn't exactly include my passion for the woo-woo…the esoteric. I have a vision of him keeping his ideas to himself. But beneath it all, we do have a deep love, trust, and understanding. Yes, I have a partner to go through life with that I know will be by my side through the good and the bad, but still…the power struggles that I mentioned have had me wondering if there’s something deeper here between us; something that happened in other lifetimes; something to do with karma. So, in 2014, I decided to investigate that very idea and sought out someone who could possibly give me that answer: a psychic channeler. What is a psychic channeling? The practice of psychic channeling is a means of communicating with a consciousness that is not in human form by allowing that consciousness to express itself through the channel. This practice has been around for millennia. Channelers, also sometimes known as psychic mediums, often use what is called "spirit guides", friendly spirits who give them knowledge and help them on their spiritual journeys. So once I was ready, I met with a psychic channeler named Grace Cavanaugh, who is a channel for a collective of twelve otherworldly entities called Osairah. Osairah is a family of light, which means that there are thousands of them. They are a collective group for higher consciousness — souls and beings — many of whom have incarnated and many who haven’t. What happens during a pyshic channeling session? Before we began, Grace lit a couple of candles and sat across from me in a comfy armchair. She explained that Osairah would come in and give me a greeting and a message, and then I was free to ask my questions. The session would be recorded, so there was no need to take notes. My excitement surged, and I felt giddy. Grace closed her eyes and took several long deep breaths. "Greetings to you, dear one. We are that one known as O-sai-rah. In fact, we are overjoyed in this moment for all the excitement we are recognizing. We say to you that life in your third-dimensional reality is not always the smooth line you’d like it to be. Ha! We are connected to you from what you would understand to be seventh-dimensional energies, fifth-dimensional energies, eleventh-dimensional energies, and ninth dimensional energies. Many thousands of lifetimes you have had dear one and not only on this planet. We come from what you would consider the future of your life and and what you would consider our past, so we are merging on your third dimensional reality in this way because there is the access point, there is the convergence." Osairah continued to talk about frequencies, and then they opened up to my questions. "Osairah," I asked the entities visiting Grace. "Can you take a look at my previous timelines with my husband Adolfo? We have an intense love and passion for each other, but equally intense power struggles. Always the caretaker, Adolfo often treats me more like his rebellious daughter than his wife. I am curious what past life karma we need to clear this time around?" "Yes, we see many lifetimes with Adolfo. We see five previous lifetimes that are important to this lifetime. You have been brother and sister, mother-son, and lovers. There is a very strong theme in connection to this lifetime. You were in what you would know as the country called Ireland. You were a young girl of twelve and you had been sold from your family. This was a very difficult lifetime; there are many purposes for it, though. We recognize that lifetime as a very painful time in history; there were many human beings that were sold into slavery. You were actually bought by him. He was seventeen years older than you. We see the painfulness of this lifetime. There are many conflicting energies of emotions, in that life time with him in which you carried seventh-dimensional energy light codes; you were in a sense very radiant, and even in the atrocity of it all, you were a beautiful being, and that was seen. He paid handsomely, you could say, for you. [...] Even though he knew on some level the way about the whole thing was wrong, he granted you to have more of an equal partnership as you grew older, because of the light that you carried. There is a thread — or we often refer to it as a channel-antenna — that connects to this lifetime and your relationship dynamic now. There are those factors that are being healed and literally dissipated by the actions you will take this day forward." Before closing the session, Osairah also shared information about my frequencies, many lifetimes in other dimensions and on other planets, as well as career stuff that I was curious about. How my life changed after finding out I was in a karmic relationship. The session totally blew me away. Of course, I knew that Adolfo would think this was complete hogwash. But honestly, I thought (and still think!) this explanation is a huge possibility. That certainly made sense that in this life, Adolfo would be taking the role of running things, my advisor and my protector, a spillover from previous timelines. But what actions could I take going forward that would heal us? That would take time to be determined. On the drive home, I let what had just transpired sink in. If this was real — and I believed that it was — how could I worry about, get upset, or doubt anything again? Knowing that I had lived thousands of lifetimes and that there are more to come, on other dimensions, gave me a sense of calm. There is no rush to get everything done because apparently the saying, "you only live once" requires the phrase "in this dimensional frequency." We actually have all of eternity to play out each and every scenario. On the other hand, a lifetime is too precious to waste, and I would like to get my relationship with Adolfo right in this go round. Self-help books, articles, counselor, and coaches certainly have their value, but having the opportunity to speak directly with otherworldly entities that can see my cosmic timelines and which ones are affecting my life now, was invaluable. I vowed to be more compassionate regarding my beloved’s concerns, quirks, and deeper issues he carries. There is a deep love there, and after all, we are all working out our karmic kinks! Marla Martenson is a matchmaker, author, & Reiki practitioner. She helps people connect with their soulmate through self-love and healing. To join like-minded people and discover how to truly love yourself, the real secret to finding love, join Marla’s Facebook group, Love Yourself, Love Your Life. And read more about Marla’s spiritual adventures in her memoir, The Buddha Made Me Do It, A Field Guide To EnLITEnment.

THELMA Edwards and her dear old chaps of the Cowcaddens (Letters, April 13) have certainly brought your pages alive with the “buzz of the bunnet”. News host Jon Snow's remark that he had "never seen so many white people in one place" is being investigated by Ofcom. Hill snow, sleet, showers and gales are expected for parts of the country on Wednesday as the chilly snap keeps hold. A look back at the most eye-opening scenes in the first seven seasons of the epic fantasy drama. Jim Smith loves being the only stand-up farmer on the comedy circuit. But there's one thing he loves more, being back on the farm with his yows, the single mothers he has made into social media stars.

A mission based out of Texarkana is serving the community one child at a time. The woman at the center of it all said her sights are set on transforming of the foster care system in the surrounding states. For brothers only a year a part, their favorite pastime is a little friendly competition. Whether that be on the basketball, through a dance-off, or joking with one another, they both agree they are each other’s best friend. Ethan remains hopeful that the bond he has with his brother and sister will never be broken by distance. “It's very important because you need to be with your siblings to have fun with them and love them,” said Ethan. “It's exciting,” Jonathan, 9, said as he waited for his first opportunity to put on a cooking apron at New York Pizza & Pasta Tyler. For this child of the foster system, cooking is something he doesn’t get to do often. “It makes me feel like a new kid,” said Jonathan. Raymon, 13, isn't just fascinated by animals, he sees them much like himself. "Because some might be abused and they may need help, so I want to help them out," said Raymon. Ahead of Adoption Awareness month in November, an East Texas teen is shedding light on the importance of the self-less act of adoption. She shared her own story of triumph over tragedy at the R4 Adoption Match Event in Canton Saturday. Six-year-old Benjamin is a kindergartner with a passion for life.“I wish I had another family with mom, dad, sister, brothers, all those kind of things,” said Benjamin. For children who are unexpectedly placed in protective care, the clothes on their backs may be the only thing they have to wear for weeks to come. “They were taken in the middle of the night, I got them at 12:30 in the morning,” said the assistant director of Legacy Closet Veronica McGee. For Landen life is about creating and learning. Roy, 10, has a love for all things outdoors, but his true passion is his brothers. "It just felt like it was meant to be, like he was meant to be in our lives," said Alto Kindergarten teacher and new mother Liz Trotty. For a young teen named Shyden, he's anything but shy. He's a 13-year-old with a clear vision of what he wants to be when he grows up. "I want to be the storm tracker," said Shyden. "I'm going to be a weather anchor and a news anchor!" The only thing missing is a family to support him. For Alex, 15, every day is an adventure. "He's just such a good boy," said Alex's foster mother Yvonne Dixon. "I got him when he was 7 years old." Dixon's role as Alex's caretaker has been especially important for his health. To say 7-year-old Nathan always sees the brighter side would only be scratching the surface. What began at an elementary school birthday party, ended in the making of a family. There is a big need for therapeutic foster families in East Texas for foster children with medical needs. Caitlin is looking for a forever family to show her the Gift of Love. Noah is looking for the Gift of Love and wants more than anything to find a family that loves to be on the go. Leighton is looking for the Gift of Love. The month of April is Child Abuse Awareness Month. Several organizations are doing their part to help our youngest victims in all sorts of ways. Every day child victims of physical and sexual abuse come through the doors of the Children's Advocacy Center of Smith County. The non-profit serves children ages birth through 17 who have been victims of physical and/or sexual abuse, witnessed a violent crime or been exposed to community violence. This 12 year old is a sweet and vivacious child. Her red hair, freckles, and sweet smile are hard to overlook. These three siblings had a great afternoon bouncing off the floor, walls and every thing else at iJump.

Today, apart from threats to her life, Dalvi has six FIRs registered against her — in Mumbai, Thane and Malegaon. “How should I drink this now?” A few minutes later, she finally managed to slip in the straw through her face-veil to take a long sip inside a restaurant in south Mumbai. Shirin Dalvi, 46, had never worn a burqa till about two weeks ago when she was the Mumbai bureau chief of the Urdu daily Avadhnama. But all that changed on January 17, when Avadhnama published an image of Charlie Hebdo’s ‘Je Suis Charlie’ cover the week after the terror attack in Paris. While the world hailed the French magazine for going ahead with that special edition, Dalvi’s world crashed around her. On January 19, she lost her job. Nine days later, she was booked and arrested by Thane police “for outraging religious feelings” with “malicious intent” under Section 295 A of the IPC. Today, apart from threats to her life, Dalvi has six FIRs registered against her — in Mumbai, Thane and Malegaon. And, as she struggled to finish that glass of lime juice, she revealed that she hadn’t been with her two teenaged children for two weeks now, except for a few hours as she surrendered in Mumbra and got bail from a Thane court. “It was a clear news story. If you write about the terror attack on Charlie Hebdo, you also need to publish a relevant picture with it. That image has been printed in the Indian media in several places, but I am being singled out,” Dalvi told The Indian Express. Avadhnama’s six other editions, all in Uttar Pradesh, didn’t publish that image — they remain open — but the furore after the Mumbai edition of January 17 hit the stands was immediate. Complaints were registered at numerous police stations in the city, including J J Marg, Nagpada and N M Joshi Marg. Many of those are now being probed together at the N M Joshi Marg station. On January 18, Avadhnama published an apology written by Dalvi on the front page. But that didn’t help. A day later, Avadhnama’s Mumbai edition was shut down and all its 15 employees sacked. In a statement on behalf of Taqdees Fatima, owner of the Avadhnama title, Waqar Rizvi said Fatima had no links with the Mumbai edition which was run by a separate entity. “The Mumbai edition has no direct link with our edition except the title. The editor, publisher and printers are totally different and… (are) responsible for the contents,” Rizvi said. Dalvi’s trauma, meanwhile, had just begun. After receiving bail on a deposit of Rs 10,000 in the FIR filed in Mumbra, Dalvi’s interim bail plea in another will be heard by Bombay High Court on Wednesday. The rest await. “Why am I being harassed even after publishing a front-page apology?” she asked. “Facing the community again has become a great concern for me as there is still a lot of unrest. I have avoided showing my face in Muslim-populated pockets. I have not gone back to my house (in Mumbra) since the protest started,” she added. Dalvi is now “passing time” at the homes of friends in Mumbai, and hasn’t even been able to speak to her children on the eve of their exams. “Our house has been locked since the trouble began. Both my daughter and son are living with relatives. They haven’t been able to get their books, and they haven’t attended college in the last two weeks,” she said. Then, there are the threats. “My children have my old phone and they told me that someone has been sending messages through WhatsApp, saying “Maafi nahin milegi (You won’t get forgiveness),” she said. Dalvi has also been facing allegations from her former colleagues at Avadhnama that she had courted controversy for “publicity”. “She said we should be broad-minded and try something new,” said a former colleague, who did not wish to be named. Dalvi denied the allegation, saying it was “not true”. “I did not anticipate such a backlash and even after tendering an apology on January 18 in the paper, cases continue to get registered against me,” she said. Dalvi also questioned the credibility of those behind the multiple FIRs lodged against her, saying they had “no real legitimacy in the Muslim community”. “When organisations such as Raza Academy and Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind were satisfied with my apology, I do not understand why these letterhead organisations are hounding me. Their only agenda is to harass a woman editor,” she said.

(ABC 6 News) - A very unpleasant situation unfolded in Olmsted County Court Thursday morning. According to Olmsted County Attorney Mark Ostrem, Malik Johnson was in Courtroom 1 when he smeared his own feces on his own face. Ostrem says the courtroom was immediately shut down. He describes the incident as "unprecedented". He says Johnson had previously been convicted on several charges and is serving time in the Oak Park Heights Prison, which is Minnesota's most secure prison. The County Attorney says he was brought back to Rochester to face a new charge involving the assault of a detention deputy in Rochester. Ostrem says a mental health evaluation has been ordered for Johnson. He says Courtroom 1 was eventually cleaned up and reopened later the same day.

Cougars of the future: Dallas-area children (Michelle Houston, left, and Patrick Williams, center) gaze at memorabilia in the Athletics Alumni Center sports museum Monday. With four months left until Election Day, the race for Texas governor may be tighter than some anticipated. It appears that 57 percent of us are gripped with fear that the Fourth of July could turn apocalyptic. With the surfacing of the new "Osama Bin Laden: Revisited" tape, which assures us he still lives, one wonders when this demonic threat will end. When we will go back to living "normally," back to before the "endless-hours-of- waiting-in-airport-security-lines?" This movie is an over-inflated, hyperbolic, grotesquely long Sprint commercial, with less flavor and appeal than its heroes' outfits. Cougar right-handed pitcher Brad Sullivan lifted Team USA to a 6-1 win in the opener of the 31st annual USA versus Japan Collegiate All-Star series Friday in Aberdeen, Md.

Rather than sticking to pre-defined PR lines, Xbox boss Phil Spencer really takes the executive rigamarole out of his interactions with the public. More than once we've seen and heard Spencer say and do things that shows he's really on the same level as gamers, and now he's actually delivered some level-headed responses to Xbox LIVE disruptions. When a huge global service like Xbox LIVE is down, it prevents millions of users from playing their games on their off hours or even watching Netflix. Interruptions are a big deal especially during the holiday season when users are downloading day-one updates, firmware updates, or trying to play online-only games like Destiny. Phil Spencer knows that downtime is a huge inconcenience, and even went so far as to say that it makes Xbox gamers actively distrust Microsoft. Yesterday Xbox LIVE was down for quite some time on the Xbox One. When an everyday fan asked Spencer what was wrong with Xbox LIVE, he opened up and actually answered: "We are on the issue, apologies. We know the issue and what the fix is, shouldn't be too long," Spencer said, adding in the following: "We have to earn [your] trust, each day, and I know service disruptions hurts that trust." @DiegoSa806 We have to earn the trust, each day, and I know service disruptions hurts that trust. The Xbox LIVE service is marginally more reputable in stability than Sony's PlayStation Network. The PS Network has been knocked offline by DDOS hacks on many occasions, not to mention the infamous 2011 hack which exposed millions of users private data. While Sony arguably has one of the worst online services (in terms of stability) the company doesn't deliver wholehearted and real responses like Spencer does. All we seem to get is PR-speak, acknowledgement and sorries from execs, and maybe a free token or PS cash for our trouble. Phil Spencer's words are right on the money. The service being offline can measure from a minor inconvenience to a huge let down, especially on Christmas day or that one day of the month you had scheduled to do Destiny's The Taken King raid. The blame lies in the service provider's court, especially in an age where gamers have to pay an extra $40-50 a year just to play their online games. Let's hope Microsoft beefs up their server infrastructure to prepare for the holiday season. With all of the Xbox One bundles flying around there's likely to be many more Xbox players joining the ranks. If the past is any indicator we can expect the PlayStation Network to be down for a full week or so in the holidays.

The decision to no longer hold weddings in Morden Park House has been put on hold. The site of Merton's register office, the Grade 2 listed building was recently restored using £1.8 million worth of funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund. But plans to scrap those services and move the "I do's" to the Civic Centre were on the cards as a way for the council to "save money." “Unfortunately, it's increasingly clear the registry office is losing significant sums of council taxpayers' money," Councillor Mark Allison, cabinet member for finance said. "So we have suggested moving out the services we provide there from 2021, so that the much-loved building can be put to other uses." Documents attached to the plans said that the closure would have saved the council £78,000 in that year. But that decision will be reviewed following a recommendation from the cross-party scrutiny panel to revisit the proposal. Councillor Nick McLean, who was at the scrutiny meeting, said: "It was clear that Labour didn’t have a clue about how important Morden Park House is to this community, and had no idea about the amount of money the registry office generates. Councillor David Williams, shadow cabinet ,ember for finance, echoed those sentiments. “We said from the start that this would not save any money and would harm Merton," he said. But time may still be called on the register office, as the proposal is now on the agenda to be discussed by the Cabinet on February 18. "The scrutiny commission have asked us to reconsider as they wanted to see more financial details, and we are happy to put the proposal on hold until they have had a good chance to look at them, including analysis on the panel’s suggestion that we should charge considerably more for services like weddings to help reduce the losses," Mr Allison added.

GOLDEN, Colo. (AP) � Prosecutors say a teenager who allegedly confessed to killing a 10-year-old Colorado girl and attacking a runner also sexually assaulted the girl. Seventeen-year-old Austin Sigg was charged as an adult with 17 counts in both cases yesterday. They include four murder charges. Sigg didn't speak during the brief court hearing in Golden and didn't look at his six relatives in the courtroom that included his mother, Mindy Sigg. His relatives sat silently as the charges were read, unlike the hearing last week where Sigg's mother sobbed audibly. Eight relatives of Jessica Ridgeway, of Westminster, also watched the proceedings, including her mother. Each wore purple, Jessica's favorite color. In charging documents, prosecutors said Sigg acted alone in kidnapping, robbing and sexually assaulting Jessica. The robbery charge involved Jessica's backpack and water bottle, which were found in another suburb three days after she disappeared while walking to school Oct. 5. Police arrested Sigg on Oct. 23 after his mother told The Associated Press that she called police and her son turned himself in. Jessica lived on a quiet street about a mile from where Sigg lived with his mother. The subdivision features an elementary school, a high school, small parks, greenbelts, open space and a lake. Sigg is being held without bond at a youth correctional facility. The charges filed were four counts of murder, two counts of kidnapping, sexual assault on a child and robbery in Jessica's abduction and slaying as well as attempted murder, attempted sexual assault, and attempted second degree kidnapping in the attack on the runner. Prosecutors also charged Sigg with six counts of crime of violence. "There's DNA evidence, and the evidence is overwhelming," prosecutor Hal Sargent said at a hearing last week. Police said the runner reported being grabbed from behind by a man who placed a rag with a chemical smell over her mouth.

If the remote hasn't been programmed from the factory with the correct OFF IR code for that receiver then you can't add it. A Logitech Harmony universal remote would operate both plus all you other IR controlled gear. How do I hook up DirecTV to my new Vizio smart tv? Can I use my directv receiver with a vizio smart tv?

Nonprofits of all sizes need to plan how they will respond to the national emergency recently declared by President Obama in the wake of increasing H1N1 outbreaks across the nation. What will your nonprofit do if your employees become sick? Do your nonprofit's culture and its sick leave policy encourage employees to stay home when ill? Or do these create pressure for employees to come to work sick, possibly threatening the health of other employees or even clients? Not only is H1N1 preparation and communication a concern for the well being of your employees and clients, it is also a risk management issue. There already have been well-publicized suits against employers by families whose loved ones contracted flu at the workplace and subsequently died. You should educate your entire staff on how to recognize flu symptoms and ensure you have precautions in place such as appropriate policies, hand sanitizers, e-mail reminders and the like. The Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia maintain vigilance in their approach to prevention of illness throughout the Georgia operation's eight offices, 6,700 volunteers and more than 18,000 girl scouts. Marketing and Communications Officer Debbie Caballero says they watch for symptoms in girls attending the programs and contact parents and send the girls home if necessary. They also take precaution concerning where they hold their meetings. The State of Georgia mandate that health departments must work on flu preparedness initiatives was discussed by Dr. Paula Reynolds, executive director of Safety Net Planning Council. Chatham County Safety Net agencies and organizations have been able to collaborate on how personnel across the county can be leveraged to handle workloads in the event of a health crisis among employees, as well as to respond to increased community need. Their office also is admonishing agencies and health care providers to practice what they preach regarding preventive measures. Robin Wingate, executive director of the Savannah Chapter of the Red Cross, says Red Cross provides continual training and education on preventive measures for staff. They also have instituted an illness policy that discourages employees from trying to tough it out by coming to work sick. The National Council of Nonprofits is helping nonprofits with these issues via an online H1N1 Preparation Toolkit that covers such items as sample sick leave policies, ways to educate your employees about the H1N1 virus and how to combat the flu. Suggested action steps and a flu vaccine locator are even provided. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a Communication Toolkit for businesses that includes employee and employer fact sheets, a workplace poster, template for letters to employees and more. Rick Cohen, director of administration and operations for the National Council, suggests that nonprofits also need to plan for how operations will continue if key workers are out sick with the flu, in case of health-related issues or other natural disasters. A link from the National Council of Nonprofits Web site will take you to pandemicflu.gov and a 35-point business continuity checklist you'll find useful for planning how your nonprofit's services can continue if many key employees are out. The checklist can be downloaded and also is available in Spanish. Bill Oakley, CEO of Goodwill Industries of the Coastal Empire, says Goodwill has continuity of service plans in place. They also regularly communicate with staff about disease-prevention procedures such as routine hand washing, how to cough and "social distancing" when in close quarters with others. The coastal Goodwill operation includes 600 employees in Georgia and South Carolina and so far, Oakley said, they have not been impacted by the swine flu. This week, there were reports of several schools across the nation closing temporarily as more students contract the H1N1 virus. It's past time for your nonprofit to prepare for this expanding situation. Sarah Todd is regional manager for the Georgia Center for Nonprofits, Georgia's association that supports and strengthens nonprofits throughout the state. She can be reached at st@gcn.org or 912-234-9688.

Brett Winterble, a host on Newsmax TV, has found a sudden, but totally unfounded concern for the rights of Hindus. He makes the utterly bizarre and false argument that the Green New Deal would kill every cow in the world and this would constitute an anti-Hindu hate crime. He said this with a straight face. How do we know we’re doing the right thing to manage the climate? We don’t know until we do it. And by then we’ve wrecked our economy and killed all the cows. Somebody tell me how the Indians are supposed to do this. How are people in the subcontinent of India supposed to handle the cows? They’re sacred animals in the Hindu tradition, what are we supposed to do with the cows over there? You guys want to commit an anti-Hindu hate crime? Good luck. As for me, I’ll stick with the science. *scratches head* How does a policy that applies only to the United States, and has no provision whatsoever for killing cows here or anywhere else, lead to the killing of every cow in India? I have no idea. Nor does Winterble, I’m quite sure. This is so ridiculous as to be utterly moronic. In other words, about par for the course in Trumpworld.

Qatar plans to invest $500mn in Lebanese government bonds to support Lebanon's economy, HE the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said Monday. The decision was made after a meeting between the His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and Lebanese President Michel Aoun in Beirut on Sunday. The Amir was in Lebanese capital to attend the Arab Economic and Social Development Summit. In a statement to Qatar News Agency, Sheikh Mohamed said the move would strengthen the Lebanese economy, adding that Qatar has always been committed to supporting Lebanese people in light of the great challenges they face. He also said that the decision stems from the profound fraternal ties between the two brotherly countries, stressing Qatar's firm commitment to the Arab brothers, no matter how the circumstances change. "We wish stability and prosperity for the Lebanese republic and the Lebanese people, and that the Lebanese economy will recover. The region needs a strong and prosperous Lebanon," Mohamed bin Abdulrahman said in the statement. During their meeting in Beirut, the Amir and Aoun reviewed co-operation between the two brotherly countries and means of promoting them. The Arab summit was overshadowed by political rifts. Many Arab heads of state pulled out at the last minute. In addition to the attendance of the Amir, Mauritania’s President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz was also present. “The Qataris are trying to promote a reconciliatory spirit around the region and reconfigure relationships following the siege,” Rami Khouri, a political analyst and fellow at Harvard Kennedy School told Al Jazeera. Amine Kammourieh, a Lebanese political analyst, said the “Amir’s attendance broke the siege imposed on the summit (by Arab leaders), saving it at the last minute”.

The Port City, Wilmington, North Carolina, welcomed U.S. Navy Sailors to town during the annual Azalea Festival, coinciding the event with Navy Week in the city April 1-7. Navy Weeks play a vital role in connecting the American public with Sailors, assets and Navy equipment. The weeklong engagement introduces the local communities who do not have frequent visibility of the Navy, with an understand why having a strong Navy is so invaluable to our country. Both residents and Sailors interacted in an estimated 75 community outreach events providing the opportunity to meet Sailors firsthand with a visible awareness the mission, capabilities and importance of the U.S. Navy.

"The first thing is that I think we've hit Peak AR-15" "Rise Armament, out of Broken Arrow, OK, is one of the many relatively small, relatively new companies making AR-based rifles in what had been a burgeoning market" Is The Uproar Over 3D-Printed Guns Overblown? We have finally settled the home defense firearm question. Again. FACT CHECK: Are More People Killed By ‘Hammers And Fists’ Than AR-15s?

The Duke of Sussex made a solo appearance Wednesday, heading out to the Y.M.C.A. South Ealing, in West London, where most headlines centered, not surprisingly given his impending fatherhood, on his interactions with a 3-month old baby named Naz. Meanwhile, Harry also got his Center Stage on, showing off his ballet moves to a group of young students. When a five-year-old explained the “ballet challenge” to Harry, for which children try to balance by standing on one leg with a disc on their head, Harry decided to give it a shot, as well. Our only gripe is that the corresponding post on the newly-created @sussexroyal Instagram account, recapping the visit, does not include a shot of Harry in ballet pose (though the children are featured). We do get a very heart-warming photograph, however, of Harry and Naz in deep conversation.

Dietz passed away of a heart attack early December 24th, 2018 while on vacation with his family in Vancouver, BC. Dietz was born to Anna and Henry Nicolay November 28, 1950 in Dotzlar, Germany. His step brothers Walter and Eric Herrmann and his parents crossed the ocean to become Canadians in 1952. Dietz primarily grew up in Edmonton, Alberta, where he attended school, went to U of A in Computer Sciences and ultimately started and ran several businesses. Dietz was a husband to June (Nielsen) Nicolay for over 40 years and father to Christian Nicolay. He leaves behind many who called him family and a friend. Dietz and his family moved to Kelowna in 1996. Dietz and June quickly started a Computer Software company whose main product is distrib-u-tec Software, which still services Food Distributors, Packers and Processers across North America with ERP Computer Software and Services. Dietz was an avid sailor and raced in the BC Sailing program on the Okanagan Lake for 12 years. He took up drumming at age 59 and facilitated a weekly music jam out of his music studio for many musical friends for over a decade. Dietz also designed and built many projects around his property and enjoyed the upper mission where the deer roam and children play. People who have been blessed to know him, will tell you he was a character, who had a strong sense of justice and how things should be. He never did something half way. Generous, loyal and kind, he will be missed as a husband, father and friend. There will be a Celebration of Life on Sunday February 10th at the Kelowna Yacht Club, 1370 Water Street, Kelowna, BC from 2:00 P.M. to 5:00 P.M. There will be a program and opportunity to meet with others who wish to honor Dietz. To honor the generous and kind heart of Dietz Nicolay who was always the quiet force and facilitator behind us, let's pay it forward. In lieu of other gifts, please consider making a financial gift to the Okanagan Symphony Youth Orchestra (OSYO) Mentorship Fund. Your gift of mentorship will empower a young budding musician. Financial gifts will be matched dollar for dollar up to $6,000 by the Nicolay Family. To give online, please go to https://okanagansymphony.com/product/osyo-mentorship-fund/ or you may mail or drop off a cheque to Okanagan Symphony Orchestra, 865 Bernard Avenue, Kelowna, BC V1Y 6P6 and please note OSYO Mentorship Fund in the subject line."

The Next Web was out and about at IBC in Amsterdam this past week, and we caught up with some of the key movers and shakers from the digital media space. One of these companies was The Associated Press (AP), who you’ve no doubt encountered before, even if you don’t know it. The AP was founded way back in 1846, and today it’s one of the largest news agencies in the world – it claims that its news reaches more than half the world’s population, in some form or another. AP was among the first news agencies to launch a live video news service, way back in 2003, covering the invasion of Iraq, in real-time. Today, around 200 broadcasters use it as a live video source, tapping AP’s coverage to bring news and analysis to their own viewers. Recent events available live have included the London Olympics, the Syrian civil war and the Norway trial of Anders Breivik. Then last week, the AP rolled out its new Video Hub service. This launched in beta back in April, offering global news, entertainment, SNTV (sports) and lifestyle videos, with curators selecting and promoting breaking news content alongside key footage from the AP’s archives. And as of last week, it also includes its live news service, as the agency looks to tempt more media companies on board. The AP Video Hub is designed specifically with digital publishers in mind. Indeed, one of its first customers is the UK’s Daily Telegraph, which will tap the round-the-clock live news stream for breaking news events, which is in line with developments we’re seeing elsewhere in the ‘traditional’ newspaper market. The Wall Street Journal, for example, is placing a bigger focus on the moving image – back in May it saw 19.7m video streams, a three-fold increase since the start of the year, while The New York Times recently relaunched a larger online video player, featuring a new design and better navigation. During our interview with David Hoad, Director of Global Video at the AP, we asked him about its new Video Hub, its partnership with citizen journalism video platform Bambuser, the evolution of video at The AP and, importantly, why we’re seeing a rise in traditional print-based media outlets taking to the video realm. Check out our interview with David Hoad in full here.

We the people made our Constitution and have the right to amend it. Section 1. The second article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed. Section 2. The transportation or importation into any State, Territory, or possession of the United States for delivery or use therein of arms, in violation of the laws thereof, is hereby prohibited. I grew up in a Western nation often cited by advocates of gun control as a possible model for the United States. However, while I came to Cornell naïvely believing that defenders of the Second Amendment are of the irrational type who cling to their Bibles as tightly as they do to their weapons, living in this country has since moderated my liberal haughtiness.

BOSTON - Boston Bruins General Manager Don Sweeney announced today, January 1, that the team has assigned forward Peter Cehlarik to Providence. Cehlarik, 22, has missed the last 16 games due to a lower body injury suffered in the team's game vs. Pittsburgh on November 24. He has one goal and one assist for two points in five games with Boston this season. He has three goals and three assists for six points in six games with Providence. The 6-foot-2, 202-pound Zilina, Slovakia native was originally selected by Boston in the third round (90th overall) of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.

The announcement coming Friday in New York about the newest International Olympic Committee global sponsor should be a big part of helping the U.S. Olympic Committee resolve its ongoing problems with the IOC over global sponsorship money. The new sponsor is Dow Chemical, according to sources familiar with the negotiations. And the USOC apparently will forgo its contractual share -- some $20 million -- of the Dow deal as a peace offering to the IOC.

Entertainment Model goes into labour hours after runway. News English backpacker makes shocking claims about a Woolgoolga farm. Opinion The debt was 60 billion dollars when Anna Bligh left. Parenting Head of first twin baby already out by the time paramedics arrived.

Most of the Dow components have reported, and these companies fell short of expectations. Most of the 30 stocks in the Dow Jones Industrials (DJINDICES:^DJI) have reported their first-quarter earnings results. Overall, the positive surprises have outnumbered the negative ones, with the general assessment of the season having been favorable. But a few stocks haven't been able to match the expectations that investors put on them. Let's take a closer look at five companies that missed their earnings expectations. Any time a company's profit quadruples from year-ago levels, you'd think it'd be cause for celebration. But for Bank of America, it wasn't quite enough, as the bank missed estimates by $0.02 per share. Yet on the whole, there was a lot of good news for B of A. First-lien mortgage activity was up sharply, its global investment banking division performed well, and it has managed to put some big litigation risks as well as nonperforming assets behind it. With the foresight to give up on boosting its dividend in favor of getting itself even stronger from a capital standpoint, B of A's disappointment seems like a short-term issue. Caterpillar served up a double-whammy for investors, missing earnings estimates by $0.07 per share and cutting its full-year 2013 guidance by a full $1 per share. The big problem for the company was its mining equipment business, which has struggled in light of slowing conditions in China and elsewhere around the world. If anything, Caterpilllar's problems in mining are likely to get worse before they get better, as the big plunge in gold prices came in April after the first quarter had ended. Unless gold rebounds very quickly, expect further trouble from Caterpillar in the second quarter and beyond. IBM sent the Dow plunging on the day after it reported earnings, missing expectations by a nickel per share despite posting a 3% increase in net income for the quarter. Sales fell 5% from the year-ago quarter, as orders from the U.S. and Chinese governments were particularly weak. The question looking forward is whether IBM's claim that some large orders that didn't close in time to get included in the first-quarter results end up coming in during the second quarter. With the company still projecting solid earnings for the year, IBM's disappointment seems overblown at this point, although it's critical for the company to execute better on its strategy in the highly competitive space. The fast-food giant missed expectations both for revenue and for earnings, producing less than 1% greater sales and a 2.4% gain in net income. Comparable-store sales fell in the U.S., Europe, and the Asia-Pacific/Middle East/Africa region, and McDonald's said it expected weakness to persist in April as well. With the ongoing avian flu scare in China, the second quarter could have more of the same for McDonald's. Eventually, the company will have to find new ways to bolster its international growth, where its best overall prospects are. Faster expansion will likely prove important as McDonald's fills out its global footprint and stands up to fast-growing peers. Pfizer failed to impress investors, posting a 7% drop in earnings-per-share and a 12% decline in sales for the quarter. The company continues to struggle in the aftermath of major patent expirations like Lipitor, with the need to come up with new blockbusters to replace lost revenue. What scared investors was that Pfizer cut its guidance for the rest of the year by $0.06 per share. Unfortunately, the reality check for investors is that it'll take time for the pharma giant to get its promising drug candidates through its pipeline, and so patience will be necessary in this and in future quarters. Just because a stock falls short in a single quarter doesn't mean it's doomed to future failure. But it does mean you should pay closer attention to the stock going forward in order to avoid getting surprised a second time.

Combined lots are now 2 acres nestled on the south slope of Mummy Mountain, and create a magical setting. Imagine relaxing on your patio sitting high on Mummy Mountain and enjoying 180 degree views of the valley. Full on breath-taking views of Camelback Mountain, lights all the way to downtown Phoenix and east to the Superstition Mountains. It doesn't get any better than this. Tucked away and private, yet with easy, quick access to Phoenix Airport, restaurants and shopping. Architectural plans by renowned architect, Bing Hu. are available with property purchase. Be sure and watch Bing's video. Property is 2 acres with all utilities including sewer at lot edge.

Members of the American Legion 4th District congratulate the winners of its high school oratorical contest held Jan. 6 at Western Nevada College. Douglas High School senior Lea Gifford will compete against five other students Feb. 10 in Henderson at the American Legion Department of Nevada Oratorical Contest. Gifford took first place in the American Legion 4th District's high school oratorical contest held Jan. 6 at Western Nevada College. She has participated in debate since she was a freshman four years ago. Gifford took first-place in humorous interpretation for Douglas High School in September during the Northern Nevada Forensics League 2017-18 season opening tournament in Elko. She finished third last spring in the at the Nevada Poetry Out Loud state finals. The winner of the state contest will vie for thousands of dollars in scholarships at the national contest to be held in Indianapolis, Ind. The national winner will walk away with $18,000, with $16,000 going to the second place finisher and $14,000 to the third. The money is good toward a college of the students' choice. The Legion congratulated this year's contestants, including second place finisher Sara Miller of Fernley High School, about their knowledge of the U.S. Constitution. High school students are encouraged to see their counselor or local American Legion post at the school year for information about how to participate.

Gasoline crack spreads grew in Q2, driven by record gasoline demand and increased diesel demand. Citi’s Faisel Khan upgraded the rating on Tesoro Corporation (NYSE: TSO) from Neutral to Buy, while lowering the price target from $92.50 to $92.00, following the recent pullback in the stock. Khan cautioned that despite the growth in crack spreads, there continues to be material headwinds for refiners due to higher RIN costs and increased gasoline inventories. Although distillates have been performing better in recent times, the gains have been offset by lower secondary product prices and rising crude prices. “Gasoline cracks remain the key driver for refiners’ results for the remainder of 2016. Despite record gasoline demand, inventories are high on a seasonally adjusted basis,” Khan mentioned. For Q2, Khan expects the company to report a quarter-on-quarter improvement in margins, although significantly below the prior estimates. Tesoro’s capture is expected to have been impacted by narrowing contango and differentials. “Following a few strong quarters, we expect marketing margins to return to normalized levels, accounting for seasonality and a sharp movement in crude prices, partially offset by gains from rising RIN costs,” the analyst said. Did you like this article? Could it have been improved? Please email feedback@benzinga.com with the story link to let us know!

THIS gutsy young Aussie shared his bucket-list dream of cliff jumping in the Mediterranean. Next thing he knew, he was on his way to Italy to leap from a 25m drop. Brisbane's Matthew David Johnson had his travel dream turned into a reality by Contiki tours - which organised a film crew to capture his experience on the Amalfi Coast. A DAREDEVIL Aussie has had his dream of diving into the Mediterranean become a reality in a breathtaking clifftop stunt at Capri on the Amalfi Coast. Matthew David Johnson was chosen by Contiki as part of their Legends campaign, to have his cliff jumping ambitions realised in grand style. The 28-year-old grew up in Brisbane where he and his brother used to jump off bridges for fun but “never anything high”. He said the opportunity to “push himself” with the 25-metre Capri cliff jump was too good to pass up. “As soon as my feet left the ground my mind just went absolutely blank,” said Mr Johnson, who moved to London in 2012. “It was such an incredible feeling. When you swim to the surface and pop your head out of the water and everyone is cheering — it’s such a buzz.” As part of the stunt, Mr Johnson got to work with Devin Graham’s Super Tramp team, which travels the world filming extreme human feats. Mr Johnson said it was an inspiration to meet Devin. “Even in Italy he had kids and adults coming up to him all the time, wanting to speak to him and get his autograph,” he said. “I felt like I was hanging out with a Hollywood celebrity.” Despite filming the stunts, Mr Graham has not been tempted to fling himself off a cliff. “I am scared of cliff jumping personally,” he said.

The Count did it . . . AND WALL-E is here! Fall’s winding down, which means . . .

Trying to figure out which of these bikes or scooters to buy? Compare the Yamaha Fazer 25 Vs KTM RC 200 on CarAndBike to make an informed buying decision as to which bike to buy in 2019. This comparison has been carried out on the basis of prices, engine specifications, mileage, and features of these two-wheelers. The ex-showroom, New Delhi price of the KTM RC 200 starts at ₹ 1.86 Lakh. On the other hand, the price of the base version of the Yamaha Fazer 25 starts at ₹ 1.38 Lakh and goes up to ₹ 1.57 Lakh for top-end model. As for the claimed fuel efficiency, the KTM RC 200 base engine returns 35 kmpl. The Yamaha Fazer 25 base engine returns 43 kmpl. In the powertrain department, the KTM RC 200 gets a 199 cc that produces 25 bhp peak power. The Yamaha Fazer 25 comes in a 249 cc that produces 20 bhp peak power.

A California woman has been charged with providing inside information on public companies, including Nvidia Corp. and Marvell Technology Group Ltd., in connection with an ongoing investigation by federal prosecutors in New York, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday. According to a criminal complaint unsealed Wednesday, Winifred Jiau allegedly was paid more than $200,000 between 2006 and December 2008 for providing inside information to portfolio managers at hedge funds, including data on financial earnings of public companies, through a California "expert-network" firm. The hedge hunds then traded on the information, prosecutors said.

Kayci Dickerson knew early on that she would never pay rent. Dickerson, who grew up in St. Rose, watched as her friends cycled in and out of apartments in the city and suburbs. They spent way too much money on lackluster places, she thought. They dealt with absentee landlords. “It seemed like they were trapped,” Dickerson said. She chose another route. She stayed with her parents and worked, at one point holding down two jobs as a Walgreens manager and TSA officer. She picked up extra hours and weekends whenever she could. She socked away one salary, and spent frugally with the other. At 29, she purchased her first home, a new-build, three-bedroom ranch home in a quiet Marrero development. It was tough, but it was important to her. For a long time, homeownership has been seen as a rite of passage after getting married. That was the case for Dickerson’s parents. Many of her friends expect the same. That didn’t sit right with Dickerson. If you can buy a home by yourself, she asked, why wait? Dickerson’s story isn’t conventional, but it’s increasingly common, and nowhere more so than in New Orleans. Single women are now the country’s second largest group of homebuyers, buying up property at twice the rate of single men, according to data from the National Association of Realtors. That’s due in part to millennial women buying their first homes. But young Baby Boomer women are even more apt to jump into the market solo. In 2018, one in four buyers ages 54 to 63 were women, NAR reports. In the New Orleans metro area, according to a recent LendingTree analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data, 27 percent of owner-occupied homes were owned by single women, the highest rate in the nation. That was nearly double the share of owner-occupied homes owned by men. There’s a lot to unpack behind that number, including the large number of New Orleans households led by single mothers and Louisiana’s sky-high incarceration rate, which has had a profound effect on black men and black communities. But for those like Delisha Boyd, the real estate agent who helped Dickerson and dozens of other women find homes in the area, it also reflects a cultural shift. Today’s young women were taught as girls to be independent, stand their ground and make their own financial decisions, she said. And that’s exactly what they’re doing. Boyd said the shift is motivating older women, too. “They’re going out there and they’re investing in themselves,” Boyd said. Married couples remain the driving force in the country’s housing market, making up 63 percent of all buyers in 2018. That compared with 18 percent for single women, and 9 percent for single men. The reason for the coupling gap? Buying power. Two incomes are better than one, especially when trying to land a loan for a house. Experts note that’s what makes the rise in single female homeownership so intriguing. “Women are being very aggressive and resourceful,” said Amy Batiste, CEO of Neighborhood Housing Services of New Orleans, which provides homeownership education and credit counseling at its Freret Street office. American women are attending college and earning degrees at a faster rate than American men, and they’re waiting longer to get married and have children, factors that support a rise in single female homeownership. Still, women, on average, earn less than men. The Institute for Women’s Policy Research estimates women working full-time, year-round bring home about 80.5 cents for every dollar earned by male counterparts. It’s even worse in Louisiana where women earn on average just 69 cents for every dollar men make, the worst pay gap in the nation. In general, it takes single women longer to save for a down payment. And they have tighter budgets when it comes time to shop. A 2018 Zillow analysis found women on average could afford 39 percent of U.S. homes, while single men earned enough to afford 52 percent of homes. That compared with 82 percent of homes considered affordable for married or partnered couples. Batiste said being able to afford a down payment and closing costs is a major hurdle for the buyers her nonprofit serves. Of the 546 new clients it helped in 2018, about 88 percent were female head of households, Batiste said. Only 7 percent were married. Batiste said women, in general, may be coming to the table with less cash, but they’re prioritizing homeownership, doing their homework and finding ways to stretch their spending power. “They’re taking control of their own money,” Batiste said. Jamie Allen, 36, was bartending when she started looking for a house in May 2014. Allen, who moved to New Orleans in 2008, wanted out of the Bywater, rising rents and lousy landlords. She had paid off her college loans and had a healthy nest egg built up from a previous job in clothing design. “I definitely knew I could afford it,” Allen said. The banks were less certain. She said it took “a lot of letters” and a 25 percent down payment to edge her closer to a loan. The bank agreed to finance her after her parents co-signed the loan for her 900-square-foot cottage in the 7th Ward. Allen said the added stress was worth it. Her monthly mortgage payment is $750, well below what she paid to rent an apartment. Having control of your housing is priceless, she added. “It was one of the best decisions I’ve made,” Allen said. Still, a down payment can be daunting, particularly for self-employed women. Caitlin Waugh, 36, sat on the fence for years before she purchased her three-bedroom house near St. Bernard Avenue and Galvez Street in June 2018. As a self-employed artist, lenders were skeptical of her income. She knew about first-time homebuyer loans with minimum down payments as low as 3 percent. Even so, she wanted make sure she had enough saved. Her savings got a boost last year when she received two small family inheritances. The money was enough to bump her up to a 20 percent down payment, she said. She also received plenty of antique furniture to fill her home. “It really made it so much easier,” Waugh said. On a recent afternoon, Waugh surveyed her 2,500-square-foot home and listed the work she’s completed, from repairing sagging floor joists to fixing termite damage. She recently added a second bathroom. She wants to replace the chain link fencing and upgrade the windows. “Buying a house feels like more of a commitment than marriage does, honestly,” Waugh joked, noting she and a previous partner had considered buying a home together. Financially, it was a better decision for her to take the step on her own, she said. Waugh is glad she did. She’s spending less money on housing, she said. She has a studio in the house and rents the small apartment on the lower story to a friend for extra income. And she gets to make an old home new. New Orleans’ demographics play a big role in the local rate of female homeownership. Half of New Orleans households with children are led by single women, the same amount as households led by married couples, according to the Louisiana Association of United Ways annual ALICE report. That is roughly double the national rate. At Neighborhood Housing Services, Batiste said the customer base has skewed female for all of its 40-year history. She noted women — single or coupled — tend to drive purchasing decisions and marshal resources, whether it’s getting help for kids in school, clipping grocery coupons or learning how to buy a home. What’s different today? Women see more women like them working in real estate and finance, Batiste said. Loan products are also evolving. Batiste said lenders are adjusting to the gig economy, where shifting careers and holding multiple jobs is common, and pension plans are extinct. Certain loans no longer use a credit score as a barometer of financial health. City and state programs offer forgivable loans to help first-time homebuyers bridge funding gaps. Platforms like HomeFundIt help users crowdfund a down payment. “It just opens up the avenue for people to buy homes who may have in other cases waited until they got married,” said Boyd, the real estate agent. Speaking by phone recently, Boyd ran down a list of homebuyer programs her clients have used. The city’s soft second mortgage program has been a boon, especially for women, she said. The program provides forgivable loans up to $35,000 to help qualified first-time buyers cover a down payment. The loans are granted on a sliding scale based on income. The city of Kenner and the state run similar programs. Boyd recalls one case in particular. The woman, recently divorced with two teenage children, kept telling Boyd a down payment was out of reach for her. She was in tears when she closed on her Gentilly home with the help of a soft second loan, Boyd said. The risk takers span all ages. Cynthia Pichon, 56, purchased her first home in Algiers in 2015. She had previously co-owned a home with her second husband, but got divorced in 2013. This was her first time buying by herself. She remembers feeling scared. “I didn’t want to bite off more than I could chew,” said Pichon, who works as a perioperative nurse. Pichon attended a first-time homebuyer class. She trimmed her spending and worked on improving her credit score. When it came time to buy, she narrowed her search to homes under $180,000 even though she qualified for more. Pichon purchased a small home off General De Gaulle Drive after about five days of looking. “I knew what I needed and what I wanted,” Pichon said. Pichon sold the Algiers home in August 2017 and upgraded later that year to a two-story home in Slidell with four bedrooms and a large backyard for gardening. In a neighboring subdivision, Pichon’s sister, Dee Molden, 52, is busy putting her personal touch on her first home, which she also purchased in November 2018. Two years ago, Molden “made a promise to myself” that she would buy her own home after living in apartments following her divorce. Outstanding student loans had hurt her credit score, but she focused on rebuilding her credit and saving, managing to put away $50,000 in five years. Molden, who owns a salon in New Orleans East, said she was still turned down by several lenders before getting approval. It was frustrating, but she stuck with it, encouraged by Pichon and others, she said. Signs point toward the number of single women entering the housing market continuing to grow. Women are also living longer. In 2017, the life expectancy for U.S. women was 81.1, five years longer than men, according to National Center for Health Statistics. Allen said a handful of her friends have bought homes in New Orleans. Many of her friends find buying a home less intimidating than marriage, she said. In Marrero, Dickerson is slowly filling her new home with furniture. She just bought a new sofa and a bed for herself. She loves her quiet neighborhood with its rows of neat lawns. Her mortgage is manageable, though she’s still thrifty. Just months after closing last September, the government shutdown left her without a paycheck for weeks. She was able to rely on her savings. Her advice for women thinking of buying? Save, save, save, and have confidence.

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What will a genetic test actually tell me? At most, that you carry a DNA variant that, according to research, is associated with a higher risk of a disease. For the rare clotting disorder hereditary thrombophilia, for instance, the report will say that you do or do not carry a variant called Factor V Leiden in the F5 gene and a variant called Prothrombin G20210A in the F2 gene. 23andMe is still fine-tuning the reports, but its tests will also tell you how the presence (or absence) of variants affects the risk of getting a disease during your lifetime. If there’s enough science to quantify that, the report will specify a percentage, like “your risk is 3 percent.” If not, it will just say there’s an (unspecified) increased risk. Of course, you can also look it up. For Alzheimer’s, carrying two copies of the ApoE4 variant (one from each parent), as 1 to 2 percent of the population does, raises the lifetime risk of the disease to as much as 87 percent, for instance, compared to about 9 percent in the general population. What diseases can 23andMe tell me about? This month, late-onset Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, the clotting disorder alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, and Gaucher disease. The company might soon also offer testing for genetic variants linked to factor XI deficiency (excessive bleeding), celiac disease, anemia-causing G6PD deficiency, the movement disorder early-onset primary dystonia, and the blood illness hereditary hemochromatosis. READ NEXT: A genomics pioneer is selling a full DNA analysis for $1,400. Is it worth it? Will the test tell me if I’m doomed to get one of these terrible disorders? No. None of the genetic variants that 23andMe tests for is what’s called “fully penetrant,” meaning that 100 percent of those who carry the variant develop the disease. By not “fully,” we mean really not fully, as in the risk might be measured in the single-digit percentages. “It’s important for people to know that even if they have a mutation in the genes [associated with Parkinson’s that 23andMe will test for], by and large they won’t get Parkinson’s disease,” said James Beck, chief scientific officer of the Parkinson’s Foundation. The N370S variant in the GBA gene, for instance, triples the risk of Parkinson’s, Beck said, but with a baseline risk of 0.3 percent that means about a 1 percent risk. Do these tests work better for some ethnic groups than others? Geneticists have studied more people of European descent than other groups, so they have more data on white people. 23andMe knows this, so its reports will include warnings such as that the test results are “most relevant for people of European descent” (for Alzheimer’s), “. . . for people of European, Ashkenazi Jewish, and North African Berber descent” (for Parkinson’s), and “. . . for people of Ashkenazi Jewish descent” (Factor XI Deficiency). With Alzheimer’s, the effect of the ApoE4 variant is weaker in African-Americans, for instance. Do I need a doctor to do this? Not at all; this is a direct-to-consumer product. Patient empowerment, you own your DNA, and all that. Is 23andMe my only option? Not if you’re willing to go through a physician or genetic counselor, who can order genetic tests from any of the companies, from large ones like Quest Diagnostics and Lab Corp. to small ones that sell them. That will usually cost more than 23andMe’s $199, however. If I’m told I do not have any of the genetic variants associated with these diseases, I can breathe easy, right? No. Genes account for most of the risk of developing rare disorders like Factor XI Deficiency (three variants in one gene, F11, are linked to excessive bleeding after accidents or surgery). But especially for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, most of the risk is either non-genetic or from genes in addition to the ones 23andMe tests for. “Even if you test negative for all known [disease] genes, your risk for that disease may still be increased based on your family history,”said Mary Freivogel, president of the National Society of Genetic Counselors. “A negative 23andMe test might provide false assurance.” The company will therefore warn customers that the Parkinson’s test, for instance, “does not describe a person’s overall risk of developing” the disease. Does the meaning of the test depend on whether anyone in my family has the disease? Yes, and this is what experts most fault 23andMe for. “My concern is that they’re giving the same report to patients with and without a family history of a particular disease,” said Freivogel. For some diseases, she said, the chance that a disease-linked gene will lead to the disease is greater if the disease runs in the family. That sort of analysis is what genetic counselors provide. This sounds like a good way to freak people out, no? 23andMe is aware of that possibility. Before customers opt to know whether they carry either of two genetic variants that raise a person’s risk of Parkinson’s, or of one variant that increases the risk of Alzheimer’s, 23andMe therefore requires them to read additional information. It warns that tests of these genes “are about serious diseases that may not currently have an effective treatment or cure,” and that people who “have ever been diagnosed with anxiety or depression” may experience “emotional difficulty” as a result of the report. Might genetic variants not picked up by the tests increase or decrease my risk of acquiring these diseases? Definitely. That’s why many expert groups recommend against testing for ApoE4, hemochromatosis, and others. The American College of Medical Genetics warns that because Alzheimer’s develops in the absence of ApoE4 and because many people with ApoE4 “seem to escape disease,” it does not recommend testing for the variant. Did I pass a bad gene to my kids? As with any gene, it depends on whether you have two copies or one. If two copies, your children inherited it. If one, they have a 50-50 chance of doing so. Will 23andMe or other companies begin testing for the risk of other conditions? This is an expanding market. Illumina has a pilot program for this, as does Invitae. This article is reproduced with permission from STAT. It was first published on April 7, 2017. Find the original story here.

BEIJING (Reuters) - Beijing is to raise the thresholds for issuing its highest air pollution warnings, the state news agency Xinhua reported on Sunday (Feb 21), two months after acrid smog triggered the city's first ever "red alerts". In future, the highest alert will only be issued when the daily average air quality index (AQI) is forecast to exceed 500 for a day, 300 for two days in a row or 200 for four days, Xinhua reported, citing Beijing's environmental protection bureau. At present, a red alert is issued when the AQI is forecast to exceed 200, a level the United States deems "very unhealthy", for at least three days. Schools were closed and outdoor construction work was suspended when thick smog prompted Beijing to issued its first red alert last December. The new criteria take effect at the end of March and are designed to standardise pollution alerts across Beijing, the neighbouring port city of Tianjin and four cities in the surrounding Hebei province, Xinhua reported. Liu Wei, deputy head of the emergency response office at the environmental protection bureau, said this would in effect tighten the pollution controls for the outlying regions, according to Xinhua. Pollution is a sensitive topic in China, with thousands of protests sparked every year by concerns about environmental degradation. Environmental officials admit that China is unlikely to meet the air quality standards set by the state until at least 2030. Beijing, one of China's most polluted cities, last month announced it would close 2,500 small highly-polluting firms this year. It also plans to develop a network of ventilation"corridors" to help disperse smog, Xinhua reported on Sunday.

The Supreme Court on Thursday opened wide new avenues for big-moneyed interests to pour money into politics in a decision that could have a major influence on the 2010 midterm elections and President Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign. The long-awaited 5-4 decision overruled all or parts of two prior rulings by the court that allowed governments to restrict corporations and unions from spending their general funds on ads expressly urging a candidate’s election or defeat. But the decision upheld disclosure requirements for groups like the one that brought the case. The decision, handed down in a special session of the court, is generally expected to boost Republicans more than Democrats, because corporations and corporate-backed outside groups tend to align with conservatives and also often have access to more money than unions or liberal outside groups. “No sufficient governmental interest justifies limits on the political speech of nonprofit or for-profit corporation,” Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote for the majority. “It is a major victory for big oil, Wall Street banks, health insurance companies and the other powerful interests that marshal their power every day in Washington to drown out the voices of everyday Americans,” the president said. “This ruling gives the special interests and their lobbyists even more power in Washington—while undermining the influence of average Americans who make small contributions to support their preferred candidates." The case stems from a lawsuit against the Federal Election Commission brought by an obscure conservative group called Citizens United. It alleged that its free speech rights were violated when the FEC moved to block it from using corporate cash to promote and air "Hillary: The Movie," a feature-length movie harshly critical of then-Sen. Hillary Clinton – the current secretary of state – during her 2008 campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination. The FEC asserted that the movie expressly opposed Clinton’s election and therefore was subject to campaign laws that bar the use of corporate cash to air election ads, and require donor disclosure. Citizens United disagreed and sued. Lower courts sided with the FEC, and the Supreme Court first heard the case in March. But in June, instead of coming back with a ruling, Chief Justice John Roberts asked the parties to return for a rare re-argument of the case — with a much broader focus. Instead of merely arguing whether federal election laws should have applied to “Hillary: The Movie,” Roberts asked the parties to argue whether the court should reverse rulings in two prior cases upholding the government’s ability to limit corporate and union election spending. The court divided along ideological lines on the decision with Justice Anthony Kennedy casting the deciding vote and writing the majority opinion. He was joined by Roberts and fellow conservative justices Samuel Alito and Antonin Scalia. Another conservative justice, Clarence Thomas, filed a separate opinion that mostly concurred with the majority, but made the case for going even further by striking down disclosure requirements. The dissent was written by Justice John Paul Stevens, who was joined by liberal justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer and Sonia Sotomayor. The decision reverses a 1990 ruling by the court that allowed the government to bar corporations and unions from spending general treasury funds on ads expressly urging a candidate’s election or defeat. And it overruled part of a 2003 decision that upheld restrictions on independent corporate expenditures enacted the preceding year in the seminal campaign finance overhaul act known as McCain-Feingold.

His 32-year tenure in Minnesota was third longest in major league history. Stelmaszek, who oversaw the bullpen, organized spring training, tutored the catchers and kept generations of Twins players entertained with his droll and biting sense of humor, died Monday of pancreatic cancer in Chicago. Stelmaszek, the longest-serving uniformed employee in Twins history, was 69. Oh, he could be unique. Before being promoted to the majors by Johnny Goryl in 1981, Stelmaszek was assigned to manage the Twins’ Class A team at Wisconsin Rapids, where he made it his mission to turn raw rookies into future big leaguers by whatever means possible. One day during batting practice, after a rash of bobbled grounders, Stelmaszek ordered his infielders to lie down in the dirt. “He made us take ground balls on our stomachs. We lied down, and he hit rockets at us,” recalled Kent Hrbek, who went on to a Twins Hall of Fame career. “He wanted us to see how the ball was spinning, to get a frog’s-eye view of what was going on. Rick Stelmaszek tipped his cap to the fans at Target Field on Opening Day. That competence is what kept Stelmaszek on the Twins’ coaching staff, even as the manager’s job changed. Billy Gardner kept him on when he took over for Goryl in 1981, and Stelmaszek worked for Ray Miller, Tom Kelly and Ron Gardenhire, too, before being fired in a coaching shakeup after the 2012 season. The 32-year run was the third longest of any coach with one team in MLB history. But his role as a tension-breaker, a consensus-builder, was even more valuable, Twins players said. Stelmaszek had a knack, largely with humor, for making teammates closer and the daily grind of baseball less arduous. They relaxed off the field, too. For several seasons, particularly during card games in the back of airplanes, Twins players would pipe in an altered version of Jim Croce’s “Bad Bad Leroy Brown,” Guardado said, whose main character, like Stelmaszek, was from the south side of Chicago. Stelmaszek was a catcher at Mendel Catholic High in Chicago when he was drafted in the 11th round in 1967 by the Washington Senators. It took him only four seasons, during which he frequently faced Kelly in minor-league games, to work his way to the majors. He appeared in 60 games over three major-league seasons, for the Senators, Rangers, Angels and Cubs, but batted just .170 for his career, with one home run. In 1978, after five more minor-league seasons, he retired and turned to coaching, helping the Twins in the instructional league before being appointed manager at Wisconsin Rapids. After being named 1980 Midwest League Manager of the Year, he was promoted to Minnesota, where he helped coach world champions in 1987 and 1991. Stelmaszek was diagnosed with cancer in December 2016, and threw out the first pitch, with Guardado catching, on Opening Day last April. He was also honored during the 30th anniversary celebration of the Twins’ 1987 title team in August, and last week, the Twins announced that Stelmaszek would receive the Herb Carneal Lifetime Achievement Award in January. He is survived by his wife, Kathy, and son, Michael, and legions of friends around baseball. One friend in particular — Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett — died in 2006.

Almost a year ago, during an April bond hearing for Paul Miller, the 66-year-old Flagler Beach retiree who faces a second-degree murder charge for shooting his neighbor to death across a plastic fence separating the two men’s properties, Miller’s attorney let slip that she might invoke a Stand Your Ground defense for her client. “Obviously it’s going to be up to the court and the jury whether or not that was justifiable use of force, and under Stand Your Ground,” Milissa Moore-Stens, the defense attorney handling the bond hearing, said at the time. Moore-Stens has since been elected Flagler County Judge. The case was her then-partner’s, Doug Williams, who subsequently did not speak of his strategy, neither denying nor affirming that Stand Your Ground would be invoked. Monday morning in a hearing before Flagler County Circuit Judge J. David Walsh, Williams made it official: he is filing a Stand Your Ground motion on behalf of Miller, and it will be done soon, because Miller’s trial is scheduled for later this month. Two outcomes are possible: Walsh could grant the motion, which means that he would accept the argument that Miller shot his neighbor in self-defense. Miller would be immune from prosecution. But the court case would not necessarily be over. The prosecution could appeal the judge’s decision to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeal. Alternately, the judge could reject the Stand Your Ground motion, the case would proceed to trial, and it will be up to a jury to decide Miller’s fate. Two recent Florida examples are instructive. In early November, a circuit judge in Orlando ruled against granting a stand your ground motion in the case of Timothy Davis Sr., a retired cop who’d shot his 22-year-old son after Davis said he’d been severely beaten. There was surveillance video of the shooting, showing the cop retrieving a gun from a car and shooting, which convinced the judge that the shooting was not justified under the law. There is no video in Miller’s case. There is only a 911 call Miller himself placed. He describes in matter-of-fact and colloquially foul terms how he shot his neighbor. The same November day, a circuit judge in Collier County granted a stand your ground motion filed in the defense of Gonzalo Venegas, a 47-year-old construction worker who stabbed and killed fellow-worker Oscar Quintero, 41, as the two worked on the Collier County Courthouse Annex. The case was messy from the start: sheriff’s detectives had continued to question Venegas even after he’d requested a lawyer, so several statements he made about the alleged murder weapon were thrown out. The prosecution claimed that that fatally damaged its case. As the case returned to court with limited evidence, the judge was compelled to grant the motion. The prosecution’s case, in other words, had to be unassailable on procedural grounds well before it might have gotten to a jury for it to withstand the scrutiny of stand your ground. That will very likely be the case with Paul Miller’s prosecution. But it may just as well suggest that absent a stronger, classical defense by his attorney—on self-defense grounds, which are not readily evident from the facts so far revealed—going the way of stand your ground may be a tactical maneuver to test the prosecution’s vulnerabilities. Miller shot Dana Mulhall, 52, last March 14 as the two men argued across Miller’s fence about Miller’s barking dogs. The two houses are at 1336 and 1340 South Flagler Avenue. Mulhall was not armed. Miller claims he thought Mulhall was armed, because according to Miller (and what Miller told cops when he was first questioned) Mulhall told him that he had a gun “too,” though Miller claims he never told Mulhall he had a gun. Miller says Mulhall reached behind his back, at which point Miller shot him with a 9mm pistol, and did so five times, “even after the victim attempted to retreat,” by Miller’s own description to cops. Miller’s defense is arguing that Mulhall was the primary aggressor. But Miller’s arrest report, his own description of the moments that led to the shooting (he left his porch and went toward the fence, which Mulhall never crossed), his demeanor in the 911 recording and some of the evidence so far presented by the prosecution at a bond hearing—that two witnesses who heard the men argue, but did not see the shooting, never heard Mulhall threaten Miller—may make it very difficult for the defense to build a credible stand your ground case. So do the forensics of the shooting itself: four of the five bullets that struck Mulhall did so as Mulhall was fleeing. Two were in his back. Mulhall died near the stoop of his front door, well away from where the argument had taken place. Tactical procedures may then come in play. One of those tactical moves was in play today: Miller’s defense is requesting an interpreter—for Miller. He is an American, his mother tongue is American English, from Tennessee. He has a Tennessee drawl, though not the sort of drawl that would sound foreign to any Southerner, or anyone familiar with the Southern accent. The linguist, approved by Walsh at the rate of $200 an hour, would literally interpret Miller’s dialect as he spoke it in the 911 tape, for example, which is one of the central pieces of evidence for both sides. Both prosecution and defense are already jockeying over the meaning of Miller’s words and demeanor in the call, and will likely parse every word, intonation and inflection as the case moves forward. The mere use of an interpreter, when English is the language being used (and when the 911 operator at no point had difficulties understanding Miller’s words, though Miller himself appeared slightly confused about the whereabouts of the gun during the call) suggests that the defense’s cultivation of reasonable doubt over the murder charge will focus in part on sowing uncertainty about the meaning of Miller’s own words, since they are among the prosecution’s strongest evidence against him. The case is developing as the nation wrestles with the consequences of gun violence, the rights of individuals to be armed—and, in states like Florida, to use their weapons—and the limits of gun control. Florida is the first state to enact a stand your ground law, which expanded the Castle Doctrine. The Castle Doctrine is a common law principle that would allow an individual to use deadly force in defense of person, when bodily threatened on one’s own property. But the castle doctrine entails a series of conditions that rigorously restrict allowable use of deadly force to particular circumstances, including an actual intrusion into one’s property, followed by clear intent to do harm. In Miller’s case, and according to Miller’s own original description of the events of March 14, 2012, Miller had heard Mulhall complain about Miller’s dogs across the fence, and use obscenities, while Miller was in his garage. Mulhall had then gone into his house. Miller went to his own house, retrieved the gun, and came back out to the porch, where he sat, as if waiting, Mulhall reemerged and an argument ensued. Miller then left his porch and approached the fence to face Mulhall, who at no point had done more than yell and, according to Miller, cuss, while also seizing on the fence (it’s on Miller’s property) and shaking it. But the prosecution will likely point out that Mulhall immediately let go of the fence when Miller told him to (according to Miller). And at no point was Mulhall on Miller’s property. Miller has one more pre-trial hearing on Wednesday. So, let me get this right. He’s invoking “stand your ground” after shooting someone during a verbal argument when there was a fence separating them? What’s next? Using “stand your ground” as a justification to shoot into someone’s house? What a joke..Shame on the defense attorney for even attempting to invoke an act that was clearly set for someone who feel as though they or their families lives are in danger. It is false claims such as this that get those rights taken away and cause innocent people to be harmed or put in a situation to have to defend their freedom for taken action on real criminals. This guy was an angry old man with choices and he made the wrong ones. For goodness sake a man lost his life over a barking dog..a older woman lost her husband because her neighbor would not keep his barking mutts quite. This obviously was not the first complaint. He could have been considerate and purchased a bark collar or invested in some training. Instead he was angry at the man barking back at his dogs..no one wants to hear your barking mutt. Fix the problem and the whistle would have stopped. Better get a picture of that dog you loved so much so you can have it as a reminder of how stupid you are as you spend the rest of your miserable life behind bars away from the beautiful beach life you once had. Well since the law is “out there”, I guess it’s within his rights to try and use it. Just sayin’! No guarantee that a jury will buy it though. Wasen’t the victim shot in his back? That alone should prevail over any “Stand y/Ground BS”. That is just plain human target shooting!. How does shooting a retreating opponent in the back equate to standing your ground? This guy should go to jail for the rest of his life! Clearly, he ran away in a threatening manner. To confidential I believe you are correct Dana was running away when he was shot according to what I remember so sad for him. I seem to recall a local deputy shot some guy in the back (buttock) a few years back up on the interstate. I can’t remember either of their names though. The murderer must stay in jail for life. This is such a disgusting, horrible case. Where I live everyone gets along, walks their Dogs, lots of bowww- wows barking and we have solid values. Miller is a deranged, pathetic soul. He killed a Man!! He is the epitome of the worst of the South. He truly shames bright, good hearted geniune SOUTHERNERS. Umm, Stand Your Ground? Geeze, is one shot not enough when the other side is not shooting? What kind of legal standpoint is this? I wish he would had not shot so many times so Dana could Stand his Ground and testify for himself.. I doubt his use of Stand Your Ground will be successful. The fact that an idiot tries to use a law, doesn’t mean it’s a bad law. Go to the state gov site and read the law. It’s actually a very good one. There is no legal stand point for Stand your Ground here. This man is toast and deserves to be. He lost his temper and killed somebody. He cannot live in society. Here again, consider the possibility that if a gun were not so handy this argument would have likely been handled in a way that would not have caused this horrible tragedy. A terrible, terrible situation for all involved. . . and their families and loved ones. New devices are on the market that create an annoying sound (for dogs’ hearing only) when dogs bark. . . even at your neighbor’s home. The cost is about $40 at Pet Smart. Something like that could have prevented this whole situation. . . how very, very sad! What ever happened to a warning shot in the air if your afraid of attack? Even a snake rattles at you to warn you to back off. This guy didn’t have the ethics of a rattlesnake! This was murder plain and simple. Warning shots in the air are extremely dangerous, as the bullet must return to earth per the laws of gravity, and this can be a goodly distance away from the incident. Innocent persons have been severely wounded or killed by them. Just as one example, look at the havoc caused by the wanton firing of guns in the air in Detroit on July 4th and other days as a form of celebration(?). I’m pretty sure it would have been safer for Dana Mulhall. Please do not allow this man to get away with this MURDER. Dana was my cousin and had a life and a family. He moved to Florida because years ago he had suffered a severe back injury and the cold damp weather in Maine was excruciating. Now he is sadly missed by all of us and a large family prays for justice for him. Dana may or may not have been yelling at this man, but he didn’t deserve this consequence and neither does his family. This has been a nightmare. I do not pitty this man. It is pure ignorance that keeps him from being able to speak without an interpreter but ignorance is not an excuse for a cold blooded, pre-meditated murder. This family will only find peace when this man is behind bars forever. I can not find forgiveness for a coward who shoots a man in the back and then says its the mans fault.

What Of That Odd NYT Ad? Just how much money is Paul Kuntzler, president of Miller Reporting Company, prepared to spend to make sure Washington Post chairman Donald Graham returns his copy of an A&E documentary about John Kennedy? $334,318, apparently. According to the New York Times media kit, that’s the cost of the delightfully crazy ad Kuntzler published in the A-section of yesterday’s New York Times. A single page ad that falls under the category of an “Advocacy/Cause and Appeal/Political/Philanthropy” sets you back $167,157. The cost doubles when you need two pages to explain why WashPo company’s honcho is a mooch.

Toshiba’s Satellite P50t boasts two important firsts: It’s the first laptop to feature a 4K display, and it’s the first to be Technicolor Color Certified. You likely have at least a passing familiarity with 4K video, but I would argue that the latter claim to fame—which you might never have heard of—deserves more praise. It’s easy to go gaga over the Satellite P50t’s display, which boasts a resolution of 3840x2160 pixels. The laptop is outfitted with a 15.6-inch screen, which means it offers an eye-popping pixel density of 282 ppi. But don’t buy this laptop in anticipation of watching your favorite movies and TV shows in glorious 4K—there is almost no content available in that format right now. Yes, Netflix is streaming House of Cards in 4K, and the company plans to stream Breaking Bad episodes at the same resolution later this year. But Netflix recommends having a broadband connection of at least 25 Mbps to get it. I don’t know about you, but my ISP tops out at about half that rate. Toshiba’s Satellite P50t-BST2N01 is the first laptop to come equipped with a 4K (3840x2160) display. And it’s every bit as beautiful as you’d expect. The Blu-ray format, meanwhile, will need to be overhauled before it can be used to distribute 4K movies. No one expects that to happen before the end of 2014. And the P50t is equipped with a DVD burner, not a Blu-ray player, so you can forget about the computer upscaling Blu-ray playback from 1080p to 4K. Even if it could, the P50t’s battery will give up the ghost long before the credits roll on longer films. In our grueling battery-rundown test, Toshiba’s machine crapped out in just 1 hour and 52 minutes. So let’s turn our attention to the Satellite P50t’s other first: The first laptop to be Technicolor Color Certified. You’ve probably seen the Technicolor brand in the credits of many films. The company did pioneering work in color film processes in the early days of Hollywood, and it has provided technical services to the motion-picture industry for decades. Technicolor developed the Technicolor Color Certified specification as a means to guarantee the color you see on a consumer computer or mobile display is accurate, without needing to whip out a colorimeter or other pricey hardware. The spec focuses on three use cases: Entertainment, e-commerce, and consumer content creation. Chroma Tune, developed by Portrait Displays, lets you choose from five color spaces. You can also configure it to change color space when you switch applications. In the entertainment space, Technicolor Color Certified guarantees that the colors you see on your display when you’re watching a movie or video are exactly what the director and the cinematographer intended. When it comes to e-commerce, the spec ensures that the color of the items you buy from online retailers will match what you saw online when you placed your order, eliminating unpleasant surprises when you open the box when it arrives in the mail. And when you’re producing your own content, you can be certain that the photos and videos you shoot will look the same on your computer as they do in your camera. As Technicolor VP, Technology Licensing Ed Thompson explained in a recent briefing: “The benefit to the consumer is to provide an accurate color experience. The real goal of the program is to match the color format of the content to the display capability of the monitor.” Technicolor partnered with software developer Portrait Displays to achieve this goal. Portrait’s software talks to the computer’s graphics and display hardware to automatically control color settings and adjust color gamut. But you can’t simply install the software to get Technicolor certification. Representative samples of the LCD panels each OEM decides to use are calibrated at the factory, and the data needed to tune that panel to comply with the spec is loaded into the software that’s delivered to the OEM. Toshiba provides both gigabit ethernet and 802.11ac wireless networking options. You’re not limited to using the Technicolor color space. Using Portrait Displays’ Chroma Tune app, you can switch between Technicolor and a “cool” color space for working with productivity apps, for instance. Chroma Tune also has a “warm” color space, one that fits the Rec. 709 standard developed for HDTV), and “full” color space. You can also assign color spaces to particular applications, so that your computer automatically switches to the desired color space when you launch a given program. Put these two technologies together and you get an absolutely gorgeous display. The 4K demo footage Toshiba preloaded on the machine looks amazing, as do games—when you turn the resolution down to 1920x1080 to get a playable frame rate, that is. At that res, the P50t delivered BioShock Infinite at 37.4 frames per second. There’s just one major shortcoming: Glare. There are times when the Satellite P50t’s screen looks like a 15.6-inch mirror. The problem is particularly acute with nighttime scenes. This is a common shortcoming with color touchscreens, but it’s one you should be aware of. Games look great on the Satellite P50t’s display, but don’t try playing AAA titles at its native resolution. Toshiba stubbornly insists on providing only HDMI video outputs on its laptops, which leads to another shortcoming. Should you decide to connect the P50t to an external 4K monitor, you’ll be limited to a maximum refresh rate of 30Hz. That’s not a big problem if you’re going to watch a movie in your home theater, but your eyes will dry up and fall out if you spend much time trying to edit photos or video at an external 4K monitor’s maximum resolution. Had Toshiba’s engineers used DisplayPort or even HDMI 2.0, this wouldn’t be a problem as both those standards can deliver 4K video at 60Hz refresh rates. Most of the rest of the P50t’s specs are impressive: The machine is powered by Intel’s Core i7-4700HQ processor, augmented by 16GB of DDR3/1600 memory. And it has a discrete graphics processor in the form of an AMD Radeon R9 M265X, which taps 2GB of its own GDDR5 memory. Toshiba includes gigabit ethernet and an Intel Dual-band Intel Wireless-AC 7260 adapter, so you can take full advantage of your 802.11ac router’s excellent streaming capabilities. All four of the Satellite P50t’s USB ports are USB 3.0, and there’s an SD memory card reader in front. Although its key travel is very short, the backlit island-style keyboard felt great under my fingers. The size of the display left plenty of room for a numeric keypad on the right-hand side, but I found the 1/4-size arrow keys beneath the shift key and the equally small function keys in the top row to be annoying. The Satellite’s keyboard is mostly great, but the tiny arrow and function keys are a bit of a bummer. In terms of overall performance, The Satellite P50t trailed HP’s work-oriented ZBook 15 Mobile Workstation (powered by a Core i7-4800MQ and a 1TB, 7200 rpm hard drive) and Dell’s entertainment-focused XPS 15 (driven by a Core i7-4702Q and a 512GB SSD). But the Toshiba clobbered Dell’s Inspiron 7537. While all four machines are outfitted with Core i7 processors, the Dell’s Core i7-4500U is only a dual core and that PC is equipped with a 5400 rpm mechanical hard drive. The Toshiba is equipped with a 1TB hybrid hard drive (a 1TB 5400 rpm hard drive augmented by 8GB of solid-state memory). The HP has a mechanical drive, too, but it spins its platters at 7200 rpm. The XPS 15, meanwhile, comes with a 512GB SSD, and SSDs have an outsized impact on our benchmarks. The Toshiba’s WorldBench score would be even higher if it had an SSD instead of a hybrid hard drive. Is it just too early for 4K? The Toshiba Satellite P50t delivers the highest resolution of any laptop you can buy today. But you won’t want to play games at its native resolution, and there’s almost no entertainment content to watch on its beautiful screen. It’s an awesome tool for digital content creators, provided you can get by with its 15.6-inch panel. No one will want to use it with an external 4K display at a refresh rate of 30Hz. The day will come when 4K movies are as common as 1080p video is today. Until then, dropping $1800 for a Toshiba Satellite P50t buys bragging rights and a color-accurate display more than anything else. This is one beautiful laptop, but with 4K content so hard to come by, you might be paying for more technology than you can actually use.

Entrance to the downtown Minneapolis Macy's store. Suzanne Kapner at The Wall Street Journal says, “Analysts generally expect the recently completed holiday season to be a strong one for U.S. retailers, helped by higher wages, lower gas prices and rising employment. The National Retail Federation, for instance, expects retail sales increased 3.6%, more than the 3% gain of a year ago. But much of the growth has come online. Mastercard SpendingPulse estimated that e-commerce spending jumped 19% during the holidays, compared with an overall 4% increase in retail spending. On Wednesday, Kohl’s warned that holiday results were weak, saying comparable sales declined 2.1% in the months of November and December from a year ago. The chain, which operates 1,100 stores, lowered its profit targets for the current year.” Maybe if they had stayed open on Christmas? Let’s see if Mr. Gray likes this one any better. Riham Feshir and Jon Collins at MPR report, “A new judge has been assigned to the case of the St. Anthony police officer charged in the fatal shooting of Philando Castile last summer. Judge William Leary III will preside over the trial of officer Jeronimo Yanez, who faces a second-degree manslaughter charge for shooting and killing Castile during a traffic stop in Falcon Heights on July 6. Yanez is also charged with two felonies for dangerous discharge of a firearm during the incident. Yanez hasn’t yet entered a plea in the case. But defense attorney Earl Gray said his team doesn’t have a problem with Leary serving as judge.” Oh, so we’re off to a better start. Elsewhere in litigation, MPR’s Brandt Williams writes, “Attorneys for Allen ‘Lance’ Scarsella, the man accused of shooting five people protesting the fatal police shooting of Jamar Clark, argued that prosecutors shouldn’t be allowed to use a video of Scarsella at the protest site days before the shooting as evidence. The spat was one of several pretrial motions discussed at a hearing on Wednesday. Most measures were accepted by both the prosecution and defense — including one to bar witnesses or spectators from wearing Black Lives Matter or Jamar Clark T-shirts or buttons in the courtroom.” Don’t forget that “jury of his peers” business. Today in protecting and serving. The AP story says, “A Kenosha [Wisconsin] police officer has been released from jail after he was charged with attacking a man he says was seeing his wife. A criminal complaint says that while on duty, Officer Kendal West attacked the man outside Kenosha Hospital Sunday where he worked as a physician, punched him several times and accelerated his squad car toward him. The complaint says West’s wife had served divorce papers on him earlier that day.” Couldn’t he just have fined the guy for expired tabs or something? Submitted by Pat Berg on 01/05/2017 - 08:02 am. Well, at least Judge Leary is white. That will probably allay some of Mr. Gray’s concerns . . . . . . Submitted by Pat Terry on 01/05/2017 - 10:03 am. Leary is a solid, experienced judge. This will be handled fairly, at least as far as the judge is concerned. Submitted by Pat Berg on 01/05/2017 - 10:26 am. I’m sure he is, as are – I hope – any of the judges available to preside over any of these cases. Submitted by Pat Terry on 01/05/2017 - 12:04 pm. There a plenty of judges that I would not give the same recommendation. Submitted by Greg Kapphahn on 01/05/2017 - 08:08 am. I can’t help but suspect that the recent problems of sexual aggression and assault in the U of M, Minneapolis, football program are NOT unique to that program. and pretending that nothing happened. and chalk up the reprehensible behavior of his players to a “boys will be boys” mentality. might make them less effective on the field.