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OKLAHOMA CITY The actions of some fraternity members at the University of Oklahoma caught engaging in a racist chant are inexcusable, but student members still have due process rights that must be protected, an attorney hired to represent the local chapter said Friday. Stephen Jones, who gained national prominence as the attorney for convicted Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, said members of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity and their parents also are concerned about the students' safety after some received death threats and were physically and verbally assaulted. Jones said he has not been retained to initiate any litigation, but to ensure that the due process rights of members are protected from actions by the university and national chapter. He said there also are some legal questions about the fraternity house that OU President David Boren ordered closed after the release of the video, which showed some members engaging in a racist chant that referenced lynching and said African-Americans would never be allowed to become members. He said the bus on which the students were caught making the chant was one of five charter buses that were taking members to a Founder's Day party at a country club in Oklahoma City on Saturday. "We're talking about one incident with nine seconds of video, on one of five buses," Jones said. Jones said he does not represent two fraternity members who Boren ordered expelled on Tuesday for creating a hostile learning environment after they were identified as leading the chant, but Jones said both young men withdrew from the university on Monday before they were expelled. A spokeswoman for OU would not confirm that, citing student privacy laws. Jones ran unsuccessfully as a Republican for U.S. Senate in 1990 against Boren, who stepped down from his U.S. Senate seat in 1994 to become president of OU. A spokesman for the fraternity's national headquarters said Friday that officials with the Oklahoma chapter have stopped communicating with them. "We have not heard from the Oklahoma chapter," spokesman Brandon Weghorst said. "They have not engaged us since the time the chapter was closed." Weghorst said the national fraternity is moving forward with plans to expel all of the suspended members of the OU chapter, a move that will permanently revoke their membership. Meanwhile, Weghorst said the national fraternity is continuing its investigation into SAE chapters at other universities, but did not provide any updates on those investigations Friday. He confirmed Thursday that investigations were underway into chapters at the University of Texas-Austin and Louisiana Tech University in Ruston. The national SAE fraternity has said some allegations of racism, which it acknowledges, refer to incidents from more than 20 years ago. But the fraternity maintains that none of its official chants are racist and that members of the Oklahoma chapter likely learned the one that was recorded from fellow chapter members. In Boulder, Colorado, the SAE chapter hung a banner this week outside their fraternity house that reads: "Not on our campus. Not in our chapter. Colorado Chi brothers stand against racism or hate of any kind." The University of Washington in Seattle is investigating allegations that members of the SAE chapter there made racial slurs and obscene gestures to black students during a demonstration last month. The UW fraternity chapter's president, Michael Hickey, told the Seattle Times he believes the slurs came from nonmembers. ___ Associated Press writer Teresa Crawford in Chicago contributed to this report.
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Jordan Reid shows how to take advantage of your baby's next nap time by packing in a few beauty treatments in 30 minutes.
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lifestyle
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Bigelow Aerospace is preparing to ship an inflatable space habitat to be tested by NASA at the space station later this year. Robert Bigelow, NASA's William Gerstenmaier, and astronaut George Zamka describe the risks, and Bigelow's plans for the moon.
| 3 | 12,502 |
finance
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FORT MYERS, Fla. The Boston Red Sox have finalized a minor league contract with 19-year-old Cuban infielder Yoan Moncada that includes a $31.5 million signing bonus, easily a record for an international amateur free agent under 23 years old. The Red Sox announced the deal Thursday night and called a news conference for Friday to introduce Moncada. He will be assigned to the team's minor league camp at spring training. Moncada receives $5 million of the signing bonus within 30 days of the contract's approval by Major League Baseball and $2.5 million by Dec. 31, according to contract information obtained by The Associated Press. In 2016, he gets $2.5 million by Jan. 31, $3 million by April 1 and $2.5 million by Oct. 31, and then in both 2017 and 2018 he receives $5 million by Jan. 31 and $3 million by Oct. 31. Because the Red Sox already were over their international signing bonus pool total of $1,881,700 for the period from last July 2 through this June 15, they must pay a 100 percent tax to MLB on the $31.5 million. That money is due by July 30, and according to baseball's collective bargaining agreement the commissioner's office "may use the tax proceeds to further the international development of baseball." In addition, for the signing periods starting on July 2 this summer and in 2016, the Red Sox will be ineligible to give a signing bonus of more than $300,000 to any international players subject to the pool. The previous high signing bonus for an international amateur free agent under 23 was $8.26 million for pitcher Yoan Lopez, who finalized an agreement with Arizona on Jan. 16. The switch-hitting Moncada played two seasons for the top league in Cuba and spent last year at second base. Moncada's agent and the Red Sox reached agreement on the deal on Feb. 23. Moncada had to pass a physical before the contract was completed.
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Incompetence at the Drug Enforcement Agency may be contributing to a shortage of medications such as morphine and the anti-anxiety drug lorazepam. That's the takeaway from a scathing 80-page report from the Government Accountability Office, which blames the DEA for an increasing shortage of prescription drugs that contain controlled substances. Related: When Doctors Have to Play God Over Drug Shortages The DEA is in charge of regulating these drugs because they pose risks for potential addiction and abuse. The agency is required to set quotas that drug manufacturers rely on to know how much they can produce. The problem is that the DEA isn't providing manufacturers with the quotas on time and hasn't for more than a decade, according to the GAO. The auditors said that between 2001 and 2014, the DEA failed to report the quotas to manufacturers on time. The drugmakers say that delayed their production process and often resulted in shortages. According to the GAO, these drug shortages 2009 but still remain far for frequent than they had been prior to 2008. About 70 percent of the 168 shortages reported between January 2001 and June 2018 occurred after 2007, the report said. Most of these shortages lasted for more than a year and involved pain reliever drugs produced by just one manufacturer, the report said. Related: The $1,000 Pill That Could Cripple the VA's Budget On top of the delays, DEA's quotas were riddled with errors. The auditors estimated that at least 44 percent of quota records in 2011 had mistakes, though that figure went down to 10 percent in 2012 when quotas were first reported electronically. Even so, the problems were still serious enough to slow down the production process. What's worse, the GAO said the DEA had no way to know if its own records were accurate. The agency "does not have reasonable assurance that the quotas it sets are in accordance with its requirements," the report said. The DEA blamed the problems on inadequate staffing and resources. Related: Get Ready for a Surge in Costly Specialty Drugs Auditors also blamed a lack of coordination between the DEA and the Federal Drug Administration, which is responsible for keeping record of all drug shortages. The auditors said the agencies are supposed to work together to combat shortages of drugs containing controlled substances. If the FDA determines there's a shortage of a life-supporting or life-sustaining drug with a controlled substance, it can request that the DEA increase the quota. Auditors found that they two agencies haven't even established a "sufficiently collaborative relationship." Far from it. They can't even agree on the definition of a drug shortage. In one example, officials at the DEA criticized the FDA for not investigating or validating information about drug shortages that it posts on its website adding that the FDA "encourages manufacturers to falsely report shortages to obtain additional quota." The FDA, for its part, disputed that claim and said it takes steps to investigate each shortage it posts on its website. Related: We Can Find Consensus on Health Care Cost Reforms "Given such barriers to coordination, DEA and FDA cannot effectively act to prevent or alleviate shortages," the auditors concluded. They added that although the agencies have a "memorandum of understanding" it hasn't been updated since the 1970s. The GAO recommended that the agencies quickly update that memorandum. The Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees both agencies involved, agreed. Separately, the GAO recommended that the DEA develop a policy to better evaluate its quota process in order to prevent so many errors. The DEA, though, disagreed with the GAO's assertion that there is any relationship between DEA processing errors and drug shortages. The agency went on to criticize the GAO for not understanding how quotas are evaluated and said it was unfair to blame the agency for the manufacturer's production failures. Top Reads From the Fiscal Times: If SCOTUS Rules Against Obamacare, Health Care Costs Will Soar This New Poll Shows Why Obamacare Court Ruling Could Be Devastating Doh! Obamacare Website Botches Subsidies for 800,000
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Public bathrooms just seem like a cesspool of contagion. So many people have used them, and you don't know where those people have been or what they've been spreading around. But really, there isn't much reason to be any more grossed out about a public bathroom than about your kitchen or phone or remote control. Bacteria are in bathrooms, but they're also everywhere else Sure, the germs you pick up in the bathroom can make you sick. But so can the bacteria on shopping carts, elevator buttons, restaurant menus, and light switches, which have all been proven to host a whole bunch of bacteria, just like public bathrooms. Basically, there's no scientific reason to avoid public bathrooms over any other place. Yes, they have germs, but they're germs that surround you everywhere pretty much constantly. "Your keyboard at your desk is loaded with bacteria. It doesn't mean it's dangerous," says Dr. Aaron Glatt, an infectious-disease specialist in New York. There's a chance you can get sick from coming into contact with many of these bacteria, and that is concerning. But what makes it dangerous isn't where you pick it up; it's how that bacteria could stay on your hands and then if you don't thoroughly wash your hands maybe get onto your food or into your eyes. These are the bacteria in your average public bathroom Scientists have surveyed the bacterial residents of public bathrooms and found bugs like E. coli (which can cause kidney damage, urinary infections, or stomach problems), staphylococcus (which causes infections), and streptococcus (the culprit behind strep throat), among others. The bugs in bathrooms come from a handful of sources: In particular, skin bacteria run rampant in bathrooms because germs that usually live on the skin can survive for long periods of time on inanimate surfaces. Staph and strep bacteria can be transmitted from skin and are most commonly found in places your hands touch, while gut bacteria are (understandably) most dense on toilets. Floors have more bacteria from soil than other places do and are a sneaky spot from which germs spread. Research has found that some women's purses carried large amounts of bacteria after people had set them down on a publicbathroom floor. How to minimize your contact with bacteria Some of the advice is common sense and known to work for sure: wash your hands. For real. (One recent study found that 10 percent of people don't and 33 percent forgo soap.) When washing your hands, be thorough, says infectious diseases specialist Dr. Lennox Archibald of Malcolm Randall Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Florida. The CDC recommends scrubbing for 20 seconds, making sure to get the backs of your hands, between your fingers, and under your nails. However, when it's time to dry your hands, the research isn't quite in agreement. The handles on paper towel dispensers are among the dirtier places in bathrooms, likely because they're touched frequently by people who haven't scrubbed well enough. That would indicate that you should head to the hand dryer (which Dr. Archibald recommends over paper towels). But new research suggests hand dryers aren't great, either. A 2014 University of Leeds study found the amount of bacteria in the air near jet dryers (the really high-speed units) was 27 times higher than the amount of bacteria in the air when using paper towels. And the air bacteria counts near lower-speed hand dryers were five times higher. The bacteria were also found on many spots on people's bodies after they dried their hands, but mostly the germs from the air landed on their torsos. So it seems like the ideal way to dry off might be to use paper towels from a motion-detected dispenser. If you have to touch a door handle on your way out, it might be worth it to open it with a paper towel, experts say, or you'll risk undoing the work you did washing up. And then wash your hands before you eat. That's the most important thing, not where you got the bacteria, but whether you give it a good chance of making you sick.
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Last month, Bill Simmons called Kyrie Irving polarizing. That might not be the case much longer. Kyrie Irving went nuts last night. He set the franchise record for most points in a single game , which is notable, because LeBron James has spent a lot of time playing for the franchise. He did it in insane fashion , scoring in ways that only a handful of players of his size have ever been able to do at the NBA level. Ever. I'd like to calm down, to say that this is excited hyperbole. Maybe it is, but at this point, well, maybe it's not. This is the second time in 2015 that Irving has scored at least 55 points in a basketball game, and both performances came against very good teams. He hit crazy shots that might not be easily repeated ... except we've seen him repeat these shots. Irving turns 23 later this month. Fans should revel in this. Irving is the payoff (okay, the Cavs got the pick from the Clippers , but it was a tanking move to let Mo Williams go) of tanking. Cleveland drafted him with limited information, as Irving had been hurt for most of his single season at Duke. He has participated in three All-Star games, started in one, and each time there were varying levels of controversy. Did Irving deserve to be in the game? This isn't to say the doubts were wrong, or unfair. Irving's defense came and went early on, and it was clear that he didn't trust his teammates on offense. Then came the summer, when Irving made Team USA over Damian Lillard and John Wall. And then started over Derrick Rose. And then won MVP of the FIBA World Cup over Anthony Davis. Then he got a signature Nike shoe. Much has been given to Irving, and there've been questions about whether he's earned it every step of the way. National writers questioned the plaudits and awards. Cavs fans questioned the plaudits and awards. Again, there was plenty of reason to. I've spent a lot of time defending Irving. I thought the criticisms were a little over the top for a guy that was still so young, had so much room to improve. In the end though, if Irving was going to be vindicated, it would have to be something he earned. He was going to have to put together a consistent, efficient season. He was going to have to show he could be a key contributor on a winner. He was going to have to show he could co-exist in an offensive system and not dribble away the shot clock. He was going to have to make strides defensively. There was no way of settling the debate outside of simply watching Irving grow up. He was either going to do it, make the step into super-stardom, or not. He has the attention of the NBA. When you hit a buzzer beater in San Antonio to force overtime, and then promptly dominate extra time, that's what happens. He's getting the respect of people who cover and obsess over the league. LeBron James is but one admirer. And no one can say he hasn't earned it.
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Have a warm-weather family trip planned for spring break? Lucky you! These fun finds are made with beach (or pool)-side fun in mind, and there's something for every member of the family. From a chic and breezy cover-up for Mom to a first snorkel set for your little Cousteaus-in-training, check out 15 of our favorite picks for sunny destinations this spring. Tommy Bahama Boyfriend Cover-Up Proof that Mom can stay covered up while chasing after the kids, and look chic doing it, thanks to Tommy Bahama ($68). Love this? Follow us on Pinterest. Seaside Sidekicks Sand Cupcake Set Melissa & Doug's sand molds ($15) make seaside "baking" fun. Love this? Follow us on Pinterest. Ergobaby 360 Carrier If you're traveling with an infant, a carrier's a must. The Ergobaby 360 ($160) allows you to wear it four different ways, so your back (or front!) won't have to do all of the heavy lifting. Love this? Follow us on Pinterest. Kids' Speedo Aqua Quest Snorkel Set Pick up Speedo's Aqua Quest Snorkel Set ($22) in neon green, blue, or pink for your underwater explorations. Love this? Follow us on Pinterest. Eddie Bauer Window Roller Shade If you're going on a road trip, window shades ($16) are a must for your backseat riders. Love this? Follow us on Pinterest. Pineapple Baby Bloomers The cutest way to cover a diaper-clad baby booty? With Rikshaw Designs' ruffled pineapple bloomers ($24). Love this? Follow us on Pinterest. Graphic-Print Flip-Flops Kids go through flip-flops at warp speed, so there's no sense in overpaying for them. Old Navy's patterned flip-flops are a steal at $5 and come in a bevy of fun colors and patterns. Love this? Follow us on Pinterest. Mix-Stripe Rashguard One-Piece Protect sensitive little skin from the sun with BabyGap's one-piece rashguard ($25) in crisp navy and blue stripes. Love this? Follow us on Pinterest. Personalized Alligator Beach Towel Pottery Barn Kids has the cutest beach towels, and we're especially enamored with the Nantucket Alligator ($26) for this season! Love this? Follow us on Pinterest. Striped Trunks For Dad Tom & Teddy makes the cutest swim trunks ($95) in boys' and men's sizes - go for a seaside matchy-match with Dad, or just let him do his own thing in this cool pair. Love this? Follow us on Pinterest. A Multifunctional iPad Case You have to wait until May for it to ship, but this brilliant tablet wedge ($28) from Manhattan Toys' Travel + Comfort line does double duty, keeping your tablet safe and packed away or giving it a secure (and comfy) holding place while it's in use. Love this? Follow us on Pinterest. Toddler Neck Pillow Manhattan Toys' Travel + Comfort animal neck pillow ($15, ships end of March) is the perfect size for jet-set toddlers (and how cute is it!?). Love this? Follow us on Pinterest. Spark Shark Fish Hunt Pool Toy Melissa & Doug's fish hunt pool toy ($17) keeps kids entertained in the pool for longer, meaning more time for Mom to relax in the sun (cocktail in hand, preferably). Love this? Follow us on Pinterest. Babiators Aces Now Babiators is accommodating big kids (ages 7-14) with its line of Aces Shades ($30). Love this? Follow us on Pinterest. Floral Swimsuit A feminine, floral swimsuit ($25) with a chic peplum waist is perfect for your beach babe. Love this? Follow us on Pinterest.
| 4 | 12,507 |
lifestyle
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For happiness researchers, you'd think finding the connection between where people live and mental health would be a slam-dunk. Aspen, Colorado has to beat Newark, N.J., right? And you'd probably think that people who relocate, especially those making an informed decision to ditch a high-stress Washington D.C. suburb, for example, for balmy Key West, would be on Cloud Nine. But it turns out that the research on happiness and relocation is actually a little more complicated. And it provides insights that can help you make the right choice before loading up the moving van. A team of researchers, led by Stephan Goetz, Ph.D., a professor of agricultural economics and regional economics at Penn State, studied data from a large telephone survey, including how many days in the previous month people would describe themselves as in poor mental health. Those in the unhappiest places reported an average of 8.3 lousy days per month. (Yowza who wants to be depressed more than three months a year?) And in a surprising finding, people who had recently relocated had more bad days than people who had stayed put. But that doesn't mean that Dorothy was right, and there really is no place like home, Goetz says. "While this suggests that on balance, people who move are less happy, it doesn't take into account people who have moved to improve their situation, versus for example people forced to move because of a company relocation." His data yields plenty of surprising findings for people shopping for a new hometown, a group that gets bigger as people move through midlife, beginning to rise with the empty nest years and peaking as they enter retirement. Here are three key things to keep in mind as you make your decision: Short commutes are crucial. The amount of time people spend driving or commuting to work seems to have a direct influence on the number of unhappy days they have, Goetz says. And the fun-sucking effect is universal, whether people live in cities, suburbs or the country. Suburbs rule. Rural life may sound peaceful, and living in the city offers plenty of entertainment and cultural options. But Goetz was surprised to learn the happiest people tend to live in suburbs. He says that's likely because inner-city life has more stressors while those in rural communities are often commuting much longer distances. "Suburbs let people be close enough to all the amenities of a city and nice aspects of the countryside, without the problems of either." People matter more than place. The researchers also found that people who live in communities they describe as tight-knit are happiest. (If ties are strong, they have plenty of people to lean on when stress arises.) Of course, that doesn't mean you shouldn't move away from your current comfort zones. But it does suggest that wherever you go, it's vital to make sure there are plenty of avenues for finding new friends and social groups. Finally, remember that time is on your side. Goetz says his findings meshed with other psychological research, showing that happiness typically follows a U-shaped curve, with people getting more upbeat as they move through midlife. "When people are in mid-career, worrying about their kids going to college," he says, "they're not that happy. But that changes as they move through their 50s and beyond." MORE: Life Reimagined is your first step in rediscovering what's truly important so you can finally start doing what you really want to. Click here to get started. :
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Doctors in Cape Town say patient has regained all urinary and reproductive functions after ground-breaking operation. South African doctors have confirmed that they performed the world's first successful penis transplant, three months after conducting the ground-breaking operation. The 21-year-old patient had his penis amputated three years ago after a botched circumcision at a traditional initiation ceremony. In a nine-hour operation at the Tygerberg Hospital in Cape Town on December 11 last year, he received his new penis from a deceased donor. "We've proved that it can be done -- we can give someone an organ that is just as good as the one that he had," said Professor Frank Graewe, head of plastic reconstructive surgery at Stellenbosch University. "It was a privilege to be part of this first successful penis transplant in the world." Doctors said the man, whose identity has not been disclosed, has made a full recovery since the operation and had regained all his urinary and reproductive functions. In 2006, a Chinese man had a penis transplant but his doctors removed the organ after two weeks due to "a severe psychological problem of the recipient and his wife".
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The company says it didn't meet their language standards. Review site TripAdvisor took down a user's review of a gastropub in England because it contained phrases like "feminism," "misogynistic," and "International Women's Day." Guardian writer Christina Fowler visited an independent pub called The Bell in Bedfordshire last Sunday. While she had a lovely meal there, Fowler witnessed something that put a foul taste in her mouth. TripAdvisor's banned words list includes "feminism" and "misogynistic." The owner apparently kept giving the waitress unwanted attention: He would "come up behind a waitress... and bite her on the shoulder." She adds, the owner approached the waitress again and slapped her "across the bum with a napkin. She spun around, at which point he pursed his lips and made kissing noises to her." Fowlers notes that it was clear that "she wasn't playing along or laughing, but seemed almost resigned to the attention." When Fowler got home, she conveyed what she believed she had witnessed in a post on TripAdvisor with descriptors like "feminism" and "International Woman's Day," which is the day she had dined. She received a few messages from other members of site supporting her post. Fowler also received a lengthy message from the restaurant's female manager (who referred to herself as a "manageress") saying that Fowler was "bigoted towards an owner who is well respected and loved," adding that next time she shouldn't let "feminist views get in the way of enjoying the food." The review was removed shortly after it was posted because it apparently "had fallen foul" of the company's stance on "political language." When Fowler reposted the review without the aforementioned descriptors, the post was accepted "with no issues." TripAdvisor confirmed to the Guardian that it was only the second version of the review that "met their standards." The makers of the popular Italian hazelnut spread Nutella drummed up controversy earlier this month over its list of banned phrases, too. The company recently launched a campaign in France called "Say It With Nutella' where customers can create a custom image of a jar with a phrase on it. However, users were not allowed to add terms like "lesbian," "Muslim," "obesity," and more. See the edited review below:
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Young charros who participate in wild bull and horse riding, and roping events, watch the competition from atop animal pens, at the National Charros Association arena in Mexico City. Typically charros compete in club and association teams, and this "national charreria" brought together a selection of the top charros from each state. After an eight year gap, the fourth edition of the championship took place from February 26th to March 1, 2015, with teams from 27 Mexican states participating. Teammates struggle to lift a bull off the trapped leg of a charro, during the bull riding event at a charreada in Mexico City. National Charros Association President Manuel Basurto Rojas said: "We in charreria are taking things into our own hands. We have codes, we have rules, for how to treat the animals. On the other hand, there is a lot of danger involved for the men doing these tricks." A charro rides in the arena at the start of a roping event, during a charreada in Mexico City. Charreria is a sport that brings together enthusiasts and competitors of all ages. Charro Francisco Armando Juarez Manzur, 40, who was competing with the Nacional Charros Association team, said he's seen charros as old as 92 riding. But, he says, "There are some tricks like bull riding, the pass of death, and wild mare riding, that are generally for someone younger, because the blows are very hard." Charros prepare a wild bull to run, as a competitor, right, waits to grab the bull's tail and attempt to flip it, in the steer tailing event at a charreada in Mexico City. If a charro fails to grab the bull's tail as it exits the gate, it can be very difficult to capture it and flip it within the distance allowed. A charro looks over his shoulder to see a bull roll after he succeeded in flipping it by its tail as he competes in the steer tailing event at a charreada in Mexico City. Teacher Maria Eugenia Bravo, who was in the sparsely filled stands to watch the charreria competition, said: "The problem is that this is forgotten, and there should be more publicity so that more people can come and watch these events," referring to Mexico's national sport. Charros watch from the sidelines as another charro tries to loop the tail of a running bull around his leg in order to bring it down, during a steer tailing event at a charreada in Mexico City. Riders score points depending on how quickly they can bring down the bull, and additional points are awarded if it rolls after falling. Charros look on as a bull rolls after being brought down in the steer tailing event at a charreada in Mexico City. In the U.S., animal rights groups have criticized some charreria sports, including steer tailing and horse roping, saying they could injure the bulls or wild mares. Charro Fernando Medellin Leal says, "There may be an accident and the rider could be harmed or the animal could be harmed. But what we are looking for is that everything is done with technique, so that the animals are not harmed. We are not under any circumstance intending to mistreat or hurt the bulls." A boy adjusts his cowboy hat as he waits in the front row for the start of a charreada at the National Charros Association arena in Mexico City. Association member Fernando Medellin Leal, who has been participating in charreria for 30 years, says children from charro families are introduced to the sport as early as two or three. "The tradition of charreria is transmitted from grandparents to parents, from parents to sons. Working with horses begins at a very early age." A charro warms up his horse by practicing circles outside the arena during a charreada between teams composed of the best charros from 27 Mexican states in Mexico City. For competitive charros, the sport is an encompassing passion. To excel, they need to dedicate much of their free time to working with their horses and honing their skills in the different disciplines. A charro reins his horse to bring it to a sliding stop from a gallop, during the reining event in which a rider is judged on his horse control skills, including turning and stopping the horse on its hind legs and walking his horse backwards and sideways, during a charreada in Mexico City. "The pairing between a horse and a rider is like we were one piece," said National Charros Association member Fernando Medellin Leal. "There is a total understanding." A charro sits atop his horse as he waits to enter the arena, during a charreada in Mexico City. For National Association team member Fernando Armando Juarez Manzur, who began riding at age two and is now 40, being a charro is both a way of life and an identity. "When one dresses up as a charro in any part of the world, one knows you are a Mexican." A wild horse escapes a charro's lasso during the heeling event, in which a charro must catch the horse's back legs with his rope, at a charreada in Mexico City. National Charros Association President Manuel Basurto Rojas said the animals used for the events are treated and fed well "so that they can withstand." While the Mexican government has recently enacted legislation to ban the use of animals in circuses, similar pressure has not been put on charreria. "Nothing has happened because we have a rule book on how to treat the animals," said Basurto. Charros drink and greet friends as they sit on horseback on the sidelines of a charreada in Mexico City. Although winning is always an honor, said Manuel Basurto Rojas, president of the National Charros Association, the main importance of the infrequent national competitions is really "social harmony." "It's primarily a chance to spend time with all the brotherhood of charreria from the entire Mexican republic." Charro Carlos Maurer, from Puebla, practices his lasso skills ahead of the roping events, during a charreada in Mexico City. In team roping, charros must lasso both the neck and the hind legs of a bull, while in horse roping a charro on foot must capture a wild horse by roping its front legs. Extra points are awarded for rope tricks. A female charra, known as an Amazona and member of an escaramuza, pauses to check her phone near stable buildings at the National Charros Association during a charreada in Mexico City. Escaramuza teams, which gave skill demonstrations at the charreada, hold their own regular competitions in which they are scored for the ability to bring their horses to a quick stop and for the execution of synchronized precision riding formations, including spins, crosses, and side-by-side cantering. Unlike charros, escaramuzas ride side saddle. A charro sits atop his horse as he watches an event during a charreada at the National Charros Association arena in Mexico City. Wearing a charro suit and a hat represents Mexico's history and cultural identity, as well as evokes traditional customs and values, according to National Charros Association President Manuel Basurto Rojas. A stable worker brushes out the tail of a freshly washed charreria horse, after competition, during a charreada in Mexico City. According to National Charros Association member Fernando Medellin Leal, people appreciate charreria because "it's something that identifies us as Mexicans. People enjoy this party because it keeps traditions and cultural values alive such as strength, work, order and respect."
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It may be a tad later than originally anticipated, but YouTube has just added support for 360 degree videos , making the massive video sharing site more useful to owners of VR headsets. Google said it would have the feature ready in "the coming weeks" back in January , and now it's here on a small selection of videos. More are expected as a new crop of 360 degree cameras make their way on sale this year. The appeal of 360 degree videos is that you can look around the scene while they're playing, making action sports videos in particular that much more exciting and interactive. Viewing it on something like Oculus or Google Cardboard lets you simply move your head, as if you were there. You can also view them from YouTube's Android app (which tracks how you're holding the device to change what's on screen), and on YouTube.com. YouTube says it's working to get it on Apple' iOS devices, and on other platforms later. Right now, the number of these types of clips is small, but could increase now that 360 degree camera systems are coming onto the market. That includes Kickstarter phenom Giroptic and its 360cam, which records the action from three different directions , Bublcam (which records from four, 190-degree lenses), and Ricoh's Theta . Google also says it's working to get video shot on IC Real Tech's Allie and Kodak's SP360 to work smoothly. Videos shot on all these cameras need to go through a special upload process , though YouTube says it's working on its uploader so that 360 degree video will be identified automatically. The new feature is YouTube's latest try at expanding how users interact with videos. Last month, it began testing a way to change camera angles during videos , something that requires videomakers to upload and combine multiple clips along the same timeline. This new 360 degree feature is aimed more at action sports rather than concert enthusiasts. Google's also tying it up with Street View so that people can view geotagged 360 degree videos when browsing Google Maps.
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Bruce Beresford-Redman, former producer of the television series "Survivor," has appealed a decision by a Mexican judge who sentenced him to 12 years in prison for murdering his wife in Cancun, his lawyer said on Friday. A judge convicted Beresford-Redman of murdering 41-year-old restaurant owner Monica Burgos while the couple vacationed with their two children at a Cancun resort in April 2010, the attorney general's office of Mexico's Quintana Roo state said late on Thursday. Burgos' body was found in a sewer pipe near the resort, and prosecutors said she appeared to have been strangled. Hotel staff said the couple had a heated argument during their stay. "There is no evidence against Bruce," Beresford-Redman's lawyer, Jaime Cancino, said on Friday, adding that he would take the case to the Supreme Court if necessary. U.S. marshals arrested the producer in Los Angeles in November 2010 and extradited him to Mexico last month. During a July 2011 extradition hearing, prosecutors said Beresford-Redman killed Burgos for insurance money and custody of the children. (Reporting by Isela Serrano; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)
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All A/C units falling out of windows aside, sidestepping what's out to get you is actually pretty simple. And when it comes to delaying your inevitable demise, lifestyle plays a bigger role than genetics do, per research in the Journal of Internal Medicine . Here are the six biggest threats out there and the best ways to fight them. Plus, if you're already doing them, how you can still up your lease on life. 1. HEART DISEASE Heart disease is the No. 1 man-killer out there, responsible for one out of four male deaths, according to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. While everyone knows exercise can help cut your risk, most men don't realize by how much. Being inactive is as risky as smoking a pack a day, says cardiologist James M. Rippe, M.D., founder of the Rippe Lifestyle Institute and professor of biomedical sciences at the University of Central Florida. Already rocking your workouts? Make sure you're hydrating, too. In one American Journal of Epidemiology study, men who drank five glasses of water per day were 54 percent less likely to die from a heart attack than those who drank two or fewer. It may be because water dilutes the blood so it is less likely to clot and make your heart go berserk. 2. CANCER Following close behind, cancer is responsible for 24.1 percent of all male deaths. And, no, cancer isn't just bad luck. "More than 50 percent of cancers have a significant lifestyle factor," Rippe says. In fact, smoking is the leading cause of cancer death in America, says Aaron Clark, D.O., a family-medicine physician at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. Stopped smoking years ago? Try losing some weight, too. Being overweight affects your hormone levels, predisposing you to gastrointestinal and other cancers, Rippe says. Experts believe that within the next 10 years, obesity will replace smoking as the No. 1 cause of cancer deaths in America. 3. UNINTENTIONAL INJURIES Guys seriously need to be more careful. Accidental injuries like those sustained during car crashes are the third leading cause of male deaths, per the CDC. Are you a super-safe driver? You might want to make sure that when you are old and wrinkly, you'll also be a safe walker. Falls take out a lot of old-timers. Start protecting your joints as early as your thirties, says Rippe, who recommends taking a supplement like Osteo Bi-Flex to renew your cartilage and help lubricate joints. Also, most joint problems in men are linked with improperly treated sports injuries, so talk to your doctor about your bad knee, he says. 4. CHRONIC LOWER RESPIRATORY DISEASES By and large, this man-killer (it's responsible for 5.4 percent of deaths among men) equates to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), Rippe says. Also called emphysema and chronic bronchitis, it strikes the lungs and makes it harder and harder to breathe over the years. Other less common causes of chronic lower respiratory diseases are asthma and pulmonary fibrosis. Still not smoking? Even if your air's not filled with smoke, it still might be hurting your lungs. Air pollution can significantly up your risk of breathing problems. In one 2013 Bern University study , researchers found that people who lived on or below their building's 8th floor where air pollution tends to settle were 40 percent more likely to die from respiratory diseases than those who lived on higher floors. 5. STROKE Strokes aren't just your grandpa's problem anymore. Research published in Neurology suggests that up to 15 percent of strokes (which are the fourth-leading cause of male deaths) occur before age 45. The biggest player: high blood pressure, Clark says. If it's over 120/80, talk to your doctor and cut your sodium intake. Already cutting sodium-packed processed foods? Drink more milk, Rippe recommends. Milk is the leading source of potassium in the average American's diet, and adequate potassium levels can help combat sodium's negative effects on blood pressure. Bananas and avocados are pretty packed with potassium too. 6. DIABETES Diabetes is behind 3.1 percent of all male deaths. Meanwhile, 9.3 percent of the U.S. population has diabetes, according to the CDC . But even if you can live with type 2 diabetes, you don't have to. By getting to a healthy weight, you can cut significantly cut your risk. More on MSN 9 effective treatments for mild depression 10 healthy foods you've never heard of • • •
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Irish or not, people typically like to spend St. Paddy's Day drinking beer with friends. But that's not the only way you can wreck your body on March 17. Before donning your favorite kelly-green "Kiss me, I'm Irish" T-shirt, here are some things you should avoid and healthier alternatives that won't make you feel gross the next day. 1. Swigging green beer at the bar. There's no telling what the corner bar is using to color its tap beer. So you're better off doing it yourself to avoid artificial coloring. Megan Madden , R.D., a New York City nutritionist, recommends using wheatgrass powder to do the trick instead. "It will act as a natural dye and concentrated source of vitamins A, C, and E, as well as minerals, including magnesium, iron, and manganese," she says. "Choose a light beer to both save calories and easily turn its pale color the perfect shade of green." 2. Wearing your hottest heels to a parade. This is not the time to wear your sky-high stilettos. Stefano Sinicropi , M.D., a board-certified orthopedic surgeon in Minnesota, says women should keep heels to a maximum of two inches. That's because with all the pushing and shoving that goes on around parades and crowded bars, you're more likely to sprain an ankle if you're in unstable shoes, says Sinicropi. Still craving height? Wedges or platforms are safer options since they're more stable. And don't think that flip-flops are fine. Broken glass can be littered throughout streets and bars, so you want to keep your feet covered up. 3. Bingeing on soda bread. Your family's recipe may not have a ton of sugar in it, but it's probably loaded with unhealthy white flour. New York City-based registered dietitian Alexandra Oppenheimer , R.D., recommends replacing half of it with white-whole-wheat flour to up the fiber content. This way, you'll feel fuller from eating less. Another easy switch is using non-fat plain Greek yogurt instead of sour cream or buttermilk. "Replacing 16 ounces of sour cream with 16 ounces of non-fat Greek yogurt can cut nearly 640 calories, 75 grams of fat, and 52 grams of saturated fat out of the entire loaf while adding nearly 30 grams of protein," she says. 4. Loading up on corned beef. Keep your portion of the salt-cured beef to no more than three ounces (the size of a deck of cards). Oppenheimer suggests making the meal wholesome by steaming the usual sides of cabbage and carrots and dedicating half of your plate to veggies. "You can also replace the potato with brown rice or quinoa to include a whole grain," she says. 5. Digging into sweets. Potato candy may sound like a relatively harmless Irish treat, but Madden warns us not to be fooled by its name. The popular St. Paddy's Day dessert is made with mashed potatoes, peanut butter, and sugar. "This dessert is mostly sugar," she says. "Just a few small pieces pack several hundred calories. Be sure to indulge in just one or two thin slices." More from MSN 7 Things Your Gas Is Trying To Tell You Why You Jerk Awake When You're Falling Asleep And 7 More Uncontrollable Body Quirks, Explained
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Baby boomers with financially independent adult children are more than twice as likely to be retired than peers who are still footing their kids' bills, according to financial research firm Hearts & Wallets . "Parents supporting adult children wonder when or if their kids will ever become independent," Hearst & Wallets co-founder Chris J. Brown said in a statement. "They worry about saving enough to have freedom to enjoy life as they age." The report found that just 21 percent of boomers who are supporting children are fully retired compared to 52 percent of boomer households who have children but don't support them. Boomers supporting adult children comprise eight million households with assets worth nearly $4 trillion. The new findings were drawn from the firm's database , which has collected savings and investment information about more than 30,000 U.S. households over a five-year period. Many Americans, of course, have no intention of ever retiring they enjoy their work and find it intellectually and socially stimulating. Many people of means also continue to lend financial support to their grown children (and grandchildren) because they're able and willing to do so and that support remains unconnected to any retirement decisions. A separate study by LIMRA Secure Retirement Institute in October found that 24 percent of pre-retirees are helping adult children with student loans and college expenses, while 23 percent are giving their kids money for their rent or mortgage payments. More than half of those surveyed said at least one of their adult children lived with them. Supporting adult children may be increasing boomers' stress in addition to keeping them in the workforce, the Hearts & Wallets report found. It said boomers are 25 percent more likely to have financial anxiety, and they're most concerned about being able to save enough for retirement. About a third of all U.S. families have no money set aside for retirement, including one in five people age 55 to 64, according to Federal Reserve data . Top Reads from The Fiscal Times: The 7 Taxes We Hate the Most The Long, Slow Death of Cable Just Reached a Tipping Point 'Irresponsible' Millennials Saving More Than Almost Every Other Group
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Iraqi forces have retaken key sites in Tikrit from Islamic State militants, in the biggest offensive since the militant group's rise last June.
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The web is fading. Not long ago, those were fighting words. In 2010, when WIRED ran a cover story burying the web (while praising the internet), David Pogue, then technology columnist for the New York Times, called it "irresponsible" and "total poppycock." Now, as data continue to pile up showing mobile apps surpassing desktop web (and far surpassing mobile web) as our on-ramps to the internet, saying the web is dying is like saying flip phones have seen better days. True, proclaiming the death of any technology is a tricky business. Mainframes have been dying since 1988. Technologies don't die outright so much as go into eclipse, each new paradigm moving its predecessor from a dominant role to a niche one. Better to think of the web as a bloated monarchy. It's ruled for a good long time, but the mobs at the castle gate waving smartphones are getting louder and harder to ignore. And now they've got something on their side that looks like it just might topple the monarchy for good. Enter the Apple Watch. The Apple Watch marks the next, probably last, step in the downfall of the web. Or more precisely, the downfall of the web as commonly understood: that HTML medium which has spent the last two decades dominating the way we buy, share, search, learn and collaborate. To see why, it's important we take a moment to clarify our terms. Any declaration of the web's decline runs immediately into confusion over what is meant by "the web." So: Web : that interface of markup language that runs in a browser and hides the pipes beneath what the Wall Street Journal's Christopher Mims (in another good piece about the death of the web) calls "that thin veneer of human-readable design on top of the machine babble that constitutes the Internet." Internet : the pipes, the tubes, the vessels the hardware and software infrastructure that ferries digital data from one point to the next and basically makes our economy run. App : those smart, personal, purpose-built units of software we call up from our mobile devices to do just about everything under the sun. For our purposes, I'm excluding web apps apps that launch in the mobile web browser and are generally ignorant of the underlying device for reasons that will become clear. The chief point here is that the "web" and the "internet" are two different things, however much we may conflate them. In the web world, this is a distinction without a difference. Why? Because both the user interface (HTML/web) and the backend data/logic (server/internet) are tightly coupled. But in an app-driven world, that coupling is loosened dramatically. The client-side user interface and the server-side data access and logic are built to operate with a much higher degree of independence from the other. In many ways, apps harken back to the client-server paradigm that predates the web. (Such is the nature of tech evolution: each new thing is really a variation on something past.) To repeat: it's the web that's in decline. The internet ain't going anywhere any time soon. What began the toppling of the web? The mobile app. And the reason is pretty simple: apps deliver a much better user experience. The web is a dumb terminal. That may sound like a cruel judgment on the technologies that have spent the last two decades upending the way we do things, but it's true. A web page or web application knows little more than what you tell it. Sure, there are cookies and other mechanisms for remembering people (and tracking them around the web). But compared to mobile apps, these are primitive frequently annoying instruments for understanding what a user is after. By contrast, consider the mobile app. A good app can recognize where you are, what (or who) you're near, whether you're moving or standing still, which direction you're pointed all without a single input from you. Mobile apps provide an automatic contextual awareness that web applications can only dream about. It's the choice between a dumb terminal and an anticipatory, participatory portable assistant. Mobile apps have other natural advantages. For one, they can work offline. Web access assumes a steady network connection, something that can be hard to come by in a world of tunnels, elevators, air travel and other dead spots. Apps are also small. The modest size of the mobile device screen enforces a kind of productive constraint on app design. The best apps are clean, simple and purposeful. They have to be there's not enough screen real estate for dozens of fields, buttons or other feature-bloat. (This is to say nothing of pop-ups and banners and all the other digital panhandling that has come to define the average web experience, and which the New York Times' Farhad Manjoo points to as another reason for the web's decline.) In other words, mobile devices aren't merely a smaller, more portable screen by which to access web pages. They're an evolution in connection and interaction. While the web is all about discoverability aggregating and orchestrating content sources via its essential paradigm, the hyperlink mobile apps are all about knowing what we want, sometimes even before we know it ourselves. With wearables and other connected "Things," the way apps differ from their web ancestors becomes even more dramatic. Consider some of things happening: Screens can no longer be assumed . They're either absent, or are shrunken to such a degree that interactions must be driven by gestures and environmental clues, rather than the user touching or clicking (to say nothing of typing). As Jeffrey Hammond at Forrester Research writes, these new form apps "must project a digital reality that meshes with physical reality instead of substituting for it." App boundaries are dissolving . Today we understand apps largely as icons on our devices, standalone entities that we open to perform various tasks. But already the boundaries among apps are blurring. Apple's Passbook, for example, aggregates tickets, coupons, boarding passes and other certificates from third-party apps, expanding the footprint of a given app outside its icon. Apps and operating systems are getting cozier . If the boundaries between apps are blurring, so too is the boundary between app and the underlying OS. With iOS 8, Apple made both Touch ID and Apple Pay available to any third-party app. In this way, binding the app to the operating system promises better, more powerful features to app users. (Of course, it also works to bind apps and their developers more closely to Apple.) These change mark an evolution from today's mobile apps, and an even starker break from web applications. If the current mobile app paradigm stretches the legacy web approach beyond what it was intended for; the app paradigm for wearables and other devices will break it permanently. It seems fair to say that many companies still don't perceive apps as a sharp break from the web. There remains a good amount of "making do" porting existing web applications to the smaller screen size and calling it a day. This is unfortunate, but understandable. Not only are apps designed and developed differently from web, they require new means of connecting to backend data, all of which demands skills that today are in much shorter supply than traditional web ones. But with the Apple Watch, such "making do" won't work. The tiny screen size and limited interface options won't allow for merely shrunk-down versions of web applications. The Watch's apps will need to be true apps: things built with an awareness of and commitment to the underlying device capabilities and limitations. Why haven't the wearable devices currently available forced this sea change? Simply put, because they weren't built by Apple. Apple is seldom first to any category, but where it moves it dominates. Early demonstrations a beautiful collaboration of hardware and software, joined to Apple's ecosystem and channel clout suggest another Apple product that will redefine its market. The web won't disappear. Its properties of discoverability and its capacity for aggregating and distributing content will see to that. But it won't be what it's been, the Goliath around which virtually every digital interaction is built. Instead, the web of the near future will function chiefly as a collection of signposts to apps. We'll continue find goods and services via the web, but we'll engage those providers via their apps; their web page will be little more than a billboard for their app. But the internet that will continue to thrive. Rather than an engine for serving HTML pages, it will become a hive of data endpoints (APIs), to be orchestrated as the services that drive our apps. For companies and indie developers alike, the way forward means forgetting the previous decades' assumptions around screen real estate, keyboards, even reliable network connections. The mobile paradigm means APIs, orchestrated into apps that are optimized for the devices they run on. That's the bold new realm ahead.
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PEORIA, Ariz. (AP) The Milwaukee Brewers will have to find a new way to celebrate for the next few spring training games. The team has banned high fives to avoid the spread of pink eye. Catcher Jonathan Lucroy and pitching coach Rick Kranitz became the latest victims Thursday. They will be staying home for 48 hours in hopes of stopping the spread of the annoying and highly contagious malady. ''We've been going through it for a while and it seems like a couple of more show up every day,'' manager Ron Roenicke said. The team won't high five until the outbreak is over. The Brewers play the Mariners Friday afternoon.
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A few years ago, one of my friends at Men's Health stepped on the scale and was horrified by the result. He'd somehow managed to pack 20 pounds of flab onto his previously skinny frame. When he looked into the mirror, he saw a fat guy staring back. He decided to make a change, quick. That day, he gave up his beloved soda. He was only drinking two or three bottles a day, but over the course of six months, he dropped those 20 pounds. It was a small change to his lifestyle -- no big deal, really. And yet, it had a massive impact on his health and his body. My point: Making small decisions each day can result in big-time fat loss.Below are dozens of simple ways to lose weight. Start with one -- today! -- and watch the weight begin to melt away. Trust me, this is going to be easier than you think. 1. Have a clear goal. It should be one that anyone in the world can measure and understand. 2. Drink tea. Research suggests that those who drink tea black, green, or white, as long as it's from real tea versus herbal tea have lower BMIs and less body fat than those who don't consume tea. 3. Eat cayenne pepper. A study published in the British Journal of Nutrition showed that when compared to placebo, capsaicin -- the active ingredient in cayenne-- increased fat burning. 4. Decrease/eliminate processed carbs. They do nothing for you outside of creating a favorable environment for gaining fat. 5. Eat more veggies. They fill you up, without providing many calories. Just avoid the high-calorie dressings. 6. Eat more fruit. No one ever gained weight from eating more fruit. And that includes the so-called "high sugar" fruits like bananas and melons. 7. Lift weights. Heavy weights. Build more muscle, burn more calories. 8. Cut down rest time between sets. This will keep your heart rate elevated causing an increase in calories burned. 9. Do intervals. Study after study after study continues to show intervals are more effective and time efficient than longer activity performed at a lower intensity. 10. Eat more protein. Replacing refined carbohydrates with lean protein will not only help satiate you, but will also increase your metabolism through something called the thermic effect of food. 11. Eat protein more frequently. It's important to also time your intake so you're eating protein regularly throughout the day not just in one lump sum, like most do at dinner. Every meal and snack should include some protein. 12. Supplement with fish oil. A study published in Lipids fed mice diets enhanced EPA and DHA a.k.a. fish oil. The researchers learned that the mice fed diets higher in omega-3 fats had significantly less accumulation of body fat. Other studies have shown similar results. 13. Do full body exercises. Think: squats, deadlifts, chin-ups, and pushups. You'll get more bang for your buck out of each workout. 14. Cycle your carb intake based on your activity level. Sure, carbs are important. But on the days you don't work out, you simply don't need as many compared to the days you exercise hard. Rule of thumb: The more active you are, the more carbs you can eat, and vice versa. 15. Start your meals with a salad. Salad will provide some bulk to help fill you up so that you eat less calories overall. 16. Don't forget the fiber. Think of fiber like a sponge; it absorbs water and makes you feel full. 17. Drink water. Professor Dr. Brenda Davy and her Team from Virginia Tech University found that giving people 2 cups of water before each meal resulted in greater weight loss after 12 weeks. The reason? It helps fill you up. 18. Add beans to your salads. It's a nice way to add some additional fiber, protein, and healthy carbs. 19. Replace one meal a day with a large salad and lean protein. This is a simple way to instantly improve your diet. 20. Keep a food journal. There's no better way to track what you're putting in your mouth. 21. Watch your portions. Avoid the buffet line and never supersize. Instead make sure you're following what the nutrition label recommends for a serving. 22. Switch to calorie-free drinks. All calories count, whether they're liquid or solid. So unless it's low-fat milk, opt for tea or water. Or something I was introduced to in the Netherlands large bunches of mint, lemon and hot water. 23. Weigh yourself. Studies show daily weigh-ins help enhance weight loss efforts. Don't live and die by the number. And of course a scale doesn't decipher between fat and lean body mass, but it can still be of benefit to keep things "in check." 24. Eat whole eggs. Daily. A study published a couple years ago showed that those who ate whole eggs versus a bagel for breakfast ate less at the next meal. A similar study showed eating whole eggs increases HDL (good) cholesterol. 25. Eat breakfast. A review published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that those who eat breakfast are more successful with long-term weight maintenance. Other research has shown the same for weight loss. Grab hardboiled eggs, scrambled eggs, Greek yogurt, a piece of fruit and handful of nuts, or make a smoothie. It doesn't have to be fancy. 26. Eat the bulk of your meals in the A.M. Then eat progressively less throughout the day. A study published in the Journal of Nutrition showed that eating most of your calories earlier in the day positively influences weight changes. 27. To burn more calories, stay upright. This means not sitting in front of a computer, TV, phone, etc all day. Stand and you'll burn more and be more productive. 28. Use the stairs. That's right: Skip the escalator and elevator. This won't make or break success, but every little bit helps. 29. Eat low-energy, dense foods. These are foods that are high in water and lower in calories, such as fruit, veggies, soups, and salads. Studies at Penn State University have showed that the inclusion of these foods helps individuals eat less total calories overall. 30. Don't grocery shop hungry. If you do, you'll buy everything in the aisle instead of sticking to your list. And most of the time, the foods you buy when hungry will the kinds that sabotage your weight loss efforts. 31. Replace side dishes with steamed veggies. Restaurants will often allow you to substitute the fries or chips with steamed veggies. All you have to do is ask. 32. Bake, don't fry. 33. Use the fat-burner in your backyard: your grill. 34. Order dressing on the side. But here's the bigger secret: Dip your fork in dressing, and then in the salad. This saves a ton more dressing than if one was to order it on the side, and the pour the entire cup on the salad anyway. Fewer calories equal less weight. 35. In the airport: Carry your luggage, don't roll it. Again, not a deal breaker in terms of success just another way to increase energy expenditure. 36. Skip the "Venti lattes" and opt for plain coffee. (Or better yet, tea.) Those extra large "designer" coffees can pack a belly-inflating 500 or more calories per serving! 37. Embrace oats. Plain rolled oats will help fill you up more than the high sugar breakfast counterparts. Moreover, 1 serving provides a lot less calories than the sugar coated alternatives. 38. Fidget. A study published in the journal Science showed that those who fidgeted more often for example, changed their posture frequently weighed less than those who didn't. This extra movement was termed NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis). 39. Laugh often. A study presented at the European Congress on Obesity found those who laughed hard for approximately 10 to15 minutes each day burned an additional 10 to 40 calories/day. Multiply that by 365 and those calories can add up! 40. Leave something on your plate at the end of the meal. Every little bit counts. 41. When out to eat, split a meal. The portions are usually big enough to feed a family. 42. Skip dessert. 43. Don't socialize around the food tables at parties. You're more likely to munch mindlessly, even though you may not be hungry. 44. Don't eat your kid's leftovers. Every little bit of food adds up, including what we call "BLTs" (bites, licks and tastes). 45. Keep chips, dips, and other high fat junk foods out of the house. It's not about willpower; it's about being realistic. 46. If you have a dog, take him for a walk. It's better for both him and you than just letting him out the back. (Bonus: He'll love you even more!) 47. If you don't have a pet, offer to walk a neighbor's dog. Make friends; lose weight. 48. Use smaller plates and bowls. There will be less room for you to fill up and it makes less food seems like more. 49. Skip buffets. It's a foregone conclusion: If you don't, you'll feel like you have to get your money's worth and overeat. 50. Slow down. It takes approximately 15 to 20 minutes for your stomach to sense it's full. If you wolf down your food like a starving dog, you'll likely out-eat your hunger.More from Men's Health: The Exercise That Will Fire Your Metabolism 51. Decrease your food intake by 100 calories per day. Theoretically this translates to losing nearly 1 pound per month (1 lb = 3500 calories) with hardly any effort. 52. Buy a pedometer and accumulate at least 10,000 steps each day. 53. When possible, walk or bike to do your errands. 54. Don't buy in bulk. The more that is there, the more that you'll eat. 55. Plan ahead. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. 56. Keep some healthy snacks -- like nuts -- in your glove compartment so you're prepared at all times. 57. Take before pictures. 58. Get new friends. If your friends prefer pizza, wings, nachos and beer on a regular basis, find one's who are like-minded and want to be healthy. Research has suggested that friends enhance (or can hurt) success. 59. Put yourself first. Many people (women in particular) put everyone else ahead of themselves and let their health fall by the side. 60. Remember: It's not all or nothing. If you fall off the bandwagon, jump right back on. Don't let yourself continue to fall until all progress has been lost. 61. Wake up early to exercise. You're more likely to get it done if you don't wait until after work.
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The latest incident of two police officers shot in Ferguson, Missouri, is seen as part of a trend as cops come under fire. Shasta Darlington reports.
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Two suspects have been placed under formal investigation by French magistrates for alleged links to the Paris attacks of January, the Paris prosecutors' office said in a statement on Friday. Named only as Amar R., 33, and Said M., 25, the two men had been detained for questioning since Monday along with two other people, a man and a woman, who were released earlier this week, the prosecutors said. In French law, the opening of a formal investigation means that magistrates have grounds for suspicion but does not necessarily mean that a trial will result. Amar R. met in prison and exchanged over 600 text messages with Amedy Coulibaly, one of the perpetrators of the January attacks in which 17 people were killed at French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo and a Jewish supermarket. Said M.'s DNA was found on a taser electroshock weapon retrieved from the Paris foodstore where Coulibaly was killed by French security forces after a siege that claimed the lives of four hostages. (Reporting by Chine Labbe; writing by Michel Rose; editing by Mark John)
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Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) on Friday said an open letter he signed with 46 other GOP Senators should not have been directed to Iran's ruling regime. "I suppose the only regret is who it's addressed to," Johnson said during a Friday breakfast with Bloomberg staff. "But the content of the letter, the fact that it was an open letter, none whatsoever." Republicans sent the divisive message on Monday. It informed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's Supreme Leader, that Congress could ultimately walk away from any deal on Iran's nuclear weapons programs upon review. "This is such an important deal it's a deal that rises to the level of a treaty that really should be evaluated by the American people through their representatives," Johnson added. "That treaty should come to Congress for an up-or-down vote." The GOP is concerned the Obama administration is pursuing a bad deal with Iran over its nuclear production capabilities. The White House has promised it will ease sanctions on Tehran if it slows or stops its quest for nuclear weapons. President Obama on Friday called the Senators' action "close to unprecedented." "I'm embarrassed for them," Obama said in a video posted to YouTube by VICE News Friday. "For them to address a letter to the ayatollah, who they claim is our mortal enemy, and their basic argument to them is, 'Don't deal with our president because you can't trust him to follow through on an agreement,' that's close to unprecedented." Iran is meeting with Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the U.S. in the talks. The two sides are working toward a tentative outline by March 24 and a final bargain by June 30. Both of these deadlines are self-imposed. Johnson is up for reelection this year. He will likely face a tough rematch against former Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.), who is strongly insinuating he will run after leaving his current position at the Department of State. A poll released Wednesday shows voters would heavily favor Feingold if he ran. The automated survey from the Democratic-leaning firm Public Policy Polling found Johnson trails Feingold by 9 percentage points, 41 percent to the Democrat's 50 percent. This story was updated at 11:54 a.m.
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Manuel Pellegrini has described the harmony within his Manchester City squad as "normal" and insisted there was no bust-up between Vincent Kompany and Fernandinho against Liverpool earlier this month. Reports in the media suggested that the relationship between manager Pellegrini and Kompany had soured because the Chilean had sided with Fernandinho over his captain following an argument at halftime of the 2-1 loss at Anfield. Those rumors were quashed by Fernandinho, who stated that he and Kompany were merely discussing the match rather than arguing. And Pellegrini, who left Kompany out of his starting XI for the team that beat Leicester City in the Premier League champions' last outing, was keen to stress that the issue has been overstated. "Inside the dressing room we didn't have any problems," he said ahead of Saturday's match at Burnley. "There was no bust-up and it is not important to talk about it. We don't have any problems with players in the squad. It was a normal thing, it's not important. There is no problem." Pellegrini also once again answered questions on his own future after his agent had suggested a move to Napoli could be on the cards. But the former Malaga boss says he intends to see out at least the rest of his contract. "My future is very easy," he added. "I have a contract here until June 2016 and I will finish my contract here. And if I can extend my contract, I will. When I sign a contract I always try to finish it. If I'm not happy, maybe you try to finish before, but I'm very happy."
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Crunch . That's the sound of glass doing a belly-flop on concrete. A couple of months ago, I heard it for the first time. After a long night of Dungeons & Dragons and bar-hopping, I got to my front door, reached for the keys in my pocket, and instead fumbled a Nexus 5 to the sidewalk. I thought I'd be bummed out but then, a day later, I was fine. The phone still worked, and even though the glass had been shattered, it was totally usable. I even felt morbidly relieved; now that my Nexus had a one-way ticket to the island of misfit toys, I had one less precious object to fret over. Since then I've been ready for a cheap, but competent smartphone one I don't have to worry about and I found it in Motorola's new $149 Moto E. The new Moto E is $20 more than its shockingly cheap predecessor, and this time around it's got LTE, a bigger battery, and a slightly larger screen. It's a small bump up in price, but that's probably okay; it handled streaming shows on Netflix, running Crossy Road and Monopoly , giving me real-time navigation, and everything else I wanted it to do without the sluggish performance I'd expect from a phone this inexpensive. Text on the screen looks a little fuzzy compared to the best displays out there, but I quickly stopped noticing it after a day. The Moto E's camera is its weakest point The E is pleasing to look at and hold. I would even call it beautiful. Its curves and lines are utilitarian but friendly, its 4.5-inch screen rests comfortably in my hand, its weight is balanced, and its design is clean of cruft. There's even a little genius in small details, like the smooth circular depression on the back of the phone with Motorola's logo in it. When I use the phone with one hand, the bottom landing on my pinky, my index finger naturally rests in the nook. It's a pleasing sensation, and it makes my grip feel secure when I'm thumbing a tweet or a text message. You can also customize the phone's look a little bit with swappable colored bands that wrap around its edge. I chose pink. Thankfully, the software is just as clean as the Moto E's appearance. It runs a lightly customized version of Android 5.0 Lollipop, and I mean lightly . It mostly feels like stock Android except for a few unobtrusive Motorola apps and quirks. One of the quirks I unexpectedly found myself loving is Quick Capture: a feature that lets you twist your wrist to open the camera app. Sadly I can't recommend that you ever use the Moto E's camera. The Moto E's camera is its only truly upsetting feature. Sure, there are bad cameras all up and down the Android price range, but the Moto E's camera is actual garbage that belongs in an actual garbage bin. These days that's a huge problem, even for someone like me who doesn't use a ton of apps. The apps I do use often, like Instagram and Snapchat, are all about photos and video. I just don't want to share anything that comes from the Moto E's camera. If you care about the photos you take from your phone, it's a deal-breaker. Sample image taken with the Moto E Still, I could see myself using the Moto E every day as my only smartphone. I've been working at The Verge since 2011, and I've spent a lot of time with smartphone enthusiasts . I've been ribbed by my colleagues on more than one occasion even laughed at for having an unfashionably "old" phone in my pocket. But I guess that just makes me like a lot of people out there unwilling (or more likely, unable) to drop hundreds of dollars on a whim every six months to buy the newest, shiniest smartphone. I think smartphones are marvelous machines, but you'll probably never see me camp in line for the privilege of spending $800 on a new one. I could see using the Moto E every day as my only phone Fortunately, that thrifty instinct doesn't keep me from enjoying everything I love about smartphones anymore. (Well, everything except a decent camera.) The difference between last year's top phone and this year's top phone is a crack in the sidewalk compared to the chasm between, say, the Motorola Q and the first iPhone. In his review of last year's Moto E, Vlad Savov called it "the people's smartphone the smartphone that makes all others look stupidly expensive." The same is true for Motorola's latest attempt, and it's a refreshing counterpoint to the maelstrom of hype that just came out of Mobile World Congress . I didn't grieve for my shattered Nexus 5, but I did agonize for the phone that came before it: an HTC One I bought from T-Mobile at full price in 2013. Last year, a week after its one-year warranty expired, I woke up and found that my One died overnight. It was really upsetting! I couldn't afford to replace it, and I'm still paying T-Mobile $20 a month for a broken phone. It turns out there's a huge emotional gulf between dropping a $180 phone on the ground and losing nearly $600. So the best part about a competent, affordable smartphone like the Moto E? It doesn't control me. I won't worry as much about losing it, or having it stolen, or dropping it on concrete. That peace of mind is something the newest iPhone or Galaxy can't offer.
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news
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Will Ferrell traveled by helicopter to five different stadiums and played for 10 different MLB teams in 1 day
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The Miami Dolphins offense added another weapon on Friday afternoon with the news that the team has reportedly traded linebacker Dannell Ellerbe and a third-round pick to the New Orleans Saints in exchange for wide receiver Kenny Stills, according to ProFootballTalk.com. Stills, 22, was drafted in the fifth round of the 2013 draft out of Oklahoma. He caught 63 passes for 931 yards and three touchdowns last season. He has 95 catches for 1,572 yards and eight touchdowns in two seasons with the Saints. The move, which comes less than 24 hours after Miami inked former Pro Bowl tight end Jordan Cameron to a two-year deal, gives Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill yet another valuable weapon in his suddenly-overflowing arsenal. With a career average of 16.5 yards per catch, Stills should be viewed as a potential deep threat to compliment Miami's current No. 1 receiver, Mike Wallace. In trading Ellerbe, the Dolphins have also cleared a substantial amount of cap space as Stills, whose still working on his rookie deal, only counts $633,613 against the cap next season. Ellerbe, meanwhile, is set to make $8.425 million in 2015 and would likely have been released had Miami not found a trade partner. Ellerbe, 29, suffered a season-ending hip injury in Miami's season opener after recording 101 tackles, two interceptions and one sack in 2013. You can follow Jameson Olive on Twitter @JamesonCoop or email him at [email protected] .
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sports
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"For all the saltiness I get from the whole scheme of tipping, I still wouldn't give it up." The argument against tipping in restaurants with many high-profile chefs announcing they'll ban tipping in favor of offering servers a "living wage" is growing louder. But not all servers are on board. "Redacted" has worked in the hospitality industry for 10 years, at both fine-dining and casual establishments all over the West Coast. He currently works as the lead server at a moderately priced restaurant and bar the kind of establishment Eater would cover in Seattle, Washington, a state where tipped employees make a $9.47 minimum wage (without tip credit) . Redacted also acknowledges he's "lucky" to work for a business that offers "great" health-care coverage, and that voluntarily pays more than the mandated minimum wage. Here is his story: Hello, my name is Redacted and I will be your server tonight. But before I get to our specials and those new craft beers we just got on tap, I think we should have a little talk. There's been a lot of conversation lately about a cultural institution we Americans have followed for the past 100 years, one that is entirely ingrained into the food service business: tipping. Whether you give 20 percent (you rock), 15 percent (come on), 10 percent (I swear it was the kitchen's fault), or nothing at all (I know you didn't forget, asshole), you've spent your whole life dancing this little dance with us. It's a cruel institution created by greedy Depression-era restaurateurs, one that neither customer nor employee comes away from feeling great most of the time. I guarantee that half of the conversations I will have with other servers tonight will be about that jerk at table three that just left me $2.50 on $62.37. But for all the saltiness I get from the whole scheme of tipping, I still wouldn't give it up . In the spirit of transparency, I am going to do something we in the industry absolutely hate to do: I'll tell you how much I'm taking home tonight. If tonight happens to be somewhat busy, I can count on making around $250 in tips. Here's how that breaks down. I consistently sell between $1,200 and $1,400 which is average for my servers over the course of eight hours on the floor and am pretty close to the 18 to 20 percent tip range. (Whether or not quality of service has an influence on tipping is a valid question, but I have a fragile ego, so please don't take this from me.) So I guess I'll just walk right out the door with my $250 and call it a day except for tip-outs. At my place of employment, we don't have a mandatory cut to give out, and because most employers are iffy on the legality of enforced tip-outs, they make "suggestions." But I like my tables bussed and food to come out as quickly as possible, so 10 percent goes to the back-bar, five percent to the host, and 10 percent to the kitchen. This puts me at $187 for the shift , or $32.78 per hour. Not shabby at all but it's in return for exhausting shifts, managing the personalities of servers, hosts, and customers, and it's what I earn after 10 years in the industry. I work about 32 hours per week, mostly weekends, but I have a couple of slow shifts. Including my wages of $12 per hour, $2.53 more than the state minimum, I can count on pulling about $1,000 for the week . Last year I made $42,000, but I was promoted into better shifts over the summer, so $48,000 is my estimated yearly income after taking into consideration slow seasons and time off. Random tidbit: This is about $10K less than the median income in my neighborhood. How does Seattle's looming $15 minimum wage come into play? Seattle's minimum wage is in the process of being raised to $15 per hour across the board. The minimum wage increase is amazing and honestly necessary to combat the high cost of living in this city, but it's not going to affect me anytime soon. I work for a smaller employer, as most servers and bartenders do, and any employer with fewer than 500 employees is classified as a Schedule 2 employer. Here are all the gory details , but in summation, the $15 per hour rate won't apply to these business owners (and thus, most food service employers) for another six years . During much of that time, business owners will be able to count tips towards a portion of that pay (as they do in many other parts of the country). So if I am still in the industry in six more years, I will have received a state-mandated raise of between three and five dollars. Food prices will go up to compensate for restaurant owners' loss of profit, so I can assume I would make more in tips as well but again, this is years away. Head here for Seattle restaurant owners' takes on the upcoming $15 minimum wage. There have been a slew of alternatives proposed that would abolish tipping. Bar Marco in Pittsburgh is now offering its servers a salary of $35,000 per year with benefits and time off, but no tips. Plenty of other restaurateurs have gone down this same path, but I'm not sure what the draw is. I would literally be taking a 27-percent pay cut if I were to take that offer. I don't know what kind of money servers make in Pittsburgh, so this could be an honest and fair deal, but I suspect it would be less than they make now. [Editor's note: Minimum wage for tipped employees in Pennsylvania is $2.83 per hour.] I also understand the push to get a higher percentage of the money paid to our friends in the back of house: the cooks, dishwashers, and other support. That is the whole reason I am tipping them out in the first place, and with their higher base wage, my cooks are getting close to $22 per hour on busy nights. So these restaurateurs want servers to give up a quarter of our income so they can pay our support a better rate (how about $22 per hour?), all so we can have "security." Hmm, I am going to have to check the math on that one. Let's imagine that tipping is outlawed tomorrow, and all bars and restaurants offered salaries that would be comparable to $20-$25 per hour. How would you, as a consumer, notice the change in the coming weeks? Restaurateurs know they'll have to raise prices by 18 to 20 percent to account for the increased wages in place of tips, which means they are going to likely take a hit in sales in the short term. And that awesome bartender down the street and your favorite waitress at the busy barbecue place? They jumped ship. Actually, you notice a lot of new faces in food service, and they all seem to be pretty green. The fact of the matter is that most of us in the industry are not career servers or bartenders. I've worked with doctors and nurses, teachers and students, artists, screenwriters, dancers, lawyers, video game designers, IT guys, and a slew of actors. Seriously, so many actors (I am one of them though I edit, direct, and produce video content as well). This is important, because in my experience, very few people who work front-of-house are looking to make a career of it. Most of us work these jobs because it affords us the time off to pursue our own dreams. The day tipping is abolished and I'm making a guaranteed $20-$25 per hour effectively taking a pay-cut I am going to pick the career path that has room for growth and doesn't require me to run my ass off for eight-hour shifts. And I imagine many in the industry would agree, which would lead to a talent drain across the field. So you'll not only be paying 15 to 20 percent more for your meal (it just won't be an optional tip), but you'll also be getting worse service during it. I'm not suggesting I am irreplaceable; other servers would eventually rise to the challenge and some talent would remain. But there would be a noticeable hit. I would be ecstatic if there was a scenario where tipping can be abolished without crippling our industry; a world where I could make comparable money to what I make now and no longer have to see each customer and table as a commodity (and instead, approach each as a person). In the end, though, it just comes down to economics. The guaranteed non-tipping salary is almost certainly going to be less than servers take home with tipping. And if you're working full-time, it's already legally mandated that your employer offer health coverage (in past jobs I used the extra tip income to offset health insurance costs). The most damning argument, though, is that to change the system would risk a huge talent drain in food service. Why work for $20 per hour with no tips in food service when I can jump careers to a path I'd prefer to work in, where I would make a similar wage? In an ideal world, tipping wouldn't be an institution of necessity, but rather a way to go above and beyond in showing gratitude for service. But until customers are okay paying 15 to 20 percent more for dinner and restaurateurs are willing to pay servers a comparable wage to what we make now, the conversation doesn't seem to be going anywhere.
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foodanddrink
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Fashion Month's bookends, New York and Paris , are each a slog. New York, because it's crammed with too many shows and too many labels that would be better off not investing thousands of dollars into a presentation that no one has any time to see. Paris, because it's the end of the road, and everyone is tired, cranky and eager to complain about the disorganized system in which we work. But Paris is also the most magical of fashion weeks. If New York is (mostly) about the commercial, London about experimentation, and Milan about craftsmanship, Paris is about all of those things and more. It's where everything ends, but also where everything begins. The industry expects a lot from Paris, but did it deliver this season? Well, let's consider: There was Fashion with a capital F. Nicolas Ghesquière delighted at Louis Vuitton , while Phoebe Philo equally attracted and repulsed at Céline . Miuccia Prada brought magic back to Miu Miu and Jonathan Anderson dazzled at Loewe . By the week's end, it was easy to feel inspired. There was showmanship. Karl Lagerfeld's Brasserie Chanel was charming, but Valentino's Zoolander-cast stunt won the week in terms of using something other than clothes to garner attention. There was celebrity. Kanye and Kim may have dominated, but even without them the star quotient was high this week. A celebrity at a fashion show only thrills when she's very special or unexpected, like Michelle Williams at Louis Vuitton or Miranda July at Miu Miu. Great gets. There was desire. Lemaire 's cone-heel mules, Hermès 's mink sweatshirts, Loewe's wide-leg trousers, Céline's coat with half-unbuttoned sleeves. These are the things people are going to want. There was raw emotion. From John Galliano's vulnerable first ready-to-wear collection for Maison Margiela to Rei Kawabuko's thought-provoking, tear-inducing Comme des Garçons show, there was something real on the runway this time around. Drawing from all of that, here's what I think: It's easy to complain about fashion, but it's also easy to believe in it. Because we'll always have Paris. Front page photo: Imaxtree This article was written by Lauren Sherman from Fashionista and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network.
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lifestyle
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Politicians in both parties talk ad nauseam about how they want to "help the middle class," "grow the middle class," or "fight for the middle class." Based just on countless press releases and speeches, it would seem that helping the middle class (or fighting about who's helping the middle class) is the most popular mission in Washington. Purely from a political perspective, that makes plenty of sense as 87 percent of Americans tend to identify themselves as middle class or working class. Very few identify as lower class or upper class, even if they are. Aside from a political sound bite, who is in the so-called middle class? Is there anything that defines the group and differentiates it from others? The answers to those questions are famously fluid, but the American Enterprise Institute this week released a comprehensive survey of survey s looking at what "middle class" means to the public. Related: Why Middle Class Tax Relief Is Taking Center Stage According to the study, the majority of Americans point to wages and income as the biggest factors in determining whether or not someone belongs to the middle class. Those financial factors were followed closely by employment, health insurance and college education. A Pew survey from earlier this year found that about half of Americans identify themselves as middle class and that people on average believe an annual income of $70,000 for a family of four is what it takes to lead a middle class lifestyle in their area. Meanwhile, the nation's median income hovers around $52,000. The Pew survey found that people believe a family of four would need an income of about $150,000 to be considered "wealthy" (try telling that to families living in major metropolitan areas like New York City). The AEI report also offers a detailed look at how American families that identify with the middle class view their lives. While the majority said they were satisfied with their financial situations, they also said that life has gotten worse over the last decade. About 72 percent said they were satisfied with their financial situation, and the majority of respondents said they think it is "very realistic" that they will be able to own a home, pay off their bills and balance work and family time. At the same time, the majority said they are worried they won't have enough to save comfortably for retirement or pay for their children's college education. Since politicians are so interested in helping the middle class, the survey asked respondents what kinds of policies they want their elected officials to pursue. The majority said they would prefer if officials pushed policies to increase overall economic growth to create more jobs rather than policies that make it easier for people to afford things like health care and education on a daily basis. Top Reads From the Fiscal Times: Birthright Citizenship: The New Immigration Scam Iraqi Forces Have ISIS on the Run in Tikrit The Five Big Questions Hillary Left Unanswered
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finance
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FRIDAY, March 13, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- Experts have long assumed that as a man's testosterone level declines, so does his sex life. But a new study suggests the reverse may be true. "Most people in or out of medicine assume that a lowered serum testosterone may cause reduced sexual activity. But our study questions, if not fully refutes, that assumption and suggests it is the other way around," said Dr. David Handelsman, a researcher at the University of Sydney, in New South Wales, Australia. And skyrocketing sales of testosterone supplements are being fueled by that popular assumption, even though it might not be correct, Handelsman added. But one doctor not involved with the study questioned the finding, noting that other lifestyle factors might be affecting testosterone levels as men age. And the study wasn't designed to take those factors into account. In the study, the researchers evaluated more than 1,700 men, age 70 and above, in Sydney. The researchers tested the men at the study's start and then again two years later, when the number of men in the study had dropped to about 1,300. At both visits, the men answered questions about sexual functioning, including how often they were able to get and keep a viable erection, how often they had sexual activity that led to ejaculation, including masturbation and intercourse, and how much desire for sex they had compared to when they were 50. The researchers also measured blood levels of testosterone and other hormones at both visits. They found that a decline in testosterone, although it was less than a 10 percent drop, was linked to decreased sexual activity and desire, but not to fewer erections. "The reduction in sexual function was strongly associated with reduction in serum testosterone [levels] in our study," Handelsman said. However, the decrease was small and other research has shown that it takes a 70 percent or 80 percent drop in testosterone to affect sexual functioning, he added. "So, the effect [of lower testosterone in the study] is too small to cause reduced sexual function, and it must be a cause or an effect, [so] it is mostly likely an effect [of less sexual activity]," Handelsman said. Even so, a cause-and-effect link cannot be claimed with certainty, since the study was observational and only showed an association, he added. However, the common assumption that lower testosterone leads to less sexual desire and activity has "been a major motive for the epidemic increases in testosterone prescribing in the North Americas over recent decades," Handelsman said. Recently, the FDA ordered testosterone supplement makers to include a warning about a possible increased risk of heart attack and stroke with testosterone supplement use. The study findings, Handelsman added, don't deny that giving testosterone at high enough doses does increase sexual activity and interest in both young and older men. He declined to give advice about whether increasing sexual activity of any type might maintain testosterone levels in older men. The study findings were presented recently at the Endocrine Society's annual meeting in San Diego. Studies presented at medical meetings are viewed as preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed medical journal. Dr. Brad Anawalt, an endocrinologist and professor of medicine at the University of Washington in Seattle, took issue with the study, although he called the results interesting. "I think the underlying premise is not right, and not supported by the study," he said. "You simply can't attribute a cause-and-effect relationship in a study like this." However, Anawalt said, "there are data suggesting that increased physical activity does increase serum testosterone." Men who stay sexually active, he said, may also have other sound habits, such as eating better and exercising more. "That may be the relationship we are seeing," he said. "Sexual activity may be a marker for good health habits." Anawalt's advice? "For men out there interested in having good sexual lives and having normal testosterone, if they can maintain better health and be more physically active, they are more likely to have a better sex life." More information To learn more about testosterone supplements and possible risks, visit U.S. Food and Drug Administration .
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health
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South African doctors have successfully performed the world's first penis transplant on a young man who had his organ amputated after a botched circumcision ritual, a hospital said on Friday. The nine-hour transplant, which occurred in December last year, was part of a pilot study by Tygerberg Hospital in Cape Town and the University of Stellenbosch to help scores of initiates who either die or lose their penises in botched circumcisions each year. "This is a very serious situation. For a young man of 18 or 19 years the loss of his penis can be deeply traumatic," said Andre van der Merwe, head of the university's urology unit and who led the operation said in a statement. The young patient had recovered full use of his manhood, doctors said, adding that the procedure could eventually be extended to men who have lost their penises to cancer or as a last resort for severe erectile dysfunction. "There is a greater need in South Africa for this type of procedure than elsewhere in the world, as many young men lose their penises every year due to complications from traditional circumcision," Van der Merwe said. The patient, who is not being named for ethical reasons, was 18 years old when his penis was amputated three years ago after he developed severe complications due to a traditional circumcision as a rite of passage into manhood. Finding a donor organ was one of the major challenges of the study, a statement by the university said. The donor was a deceased person who donated his organs for transplant, doctors said without elaborating. Each year thousands of young men, mainly from the Xhosa tribe in South Africa, have their foreskins removed in traditional rituals, with experts estimating around 250 losing their penises each year to medical complications. Initiates are required to live in special huts away from the community for several weeks, have their heads shaved and smear white clay from head to toe and they move into adulthood. Another nine patients will receive penile transplants as part of the study, doctors said, but it was not clear when the operations could be carried out. (Reporting by Wendell Roelf; Editing by James Macharia)
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news
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Will the best-selling Ford F-150 continue its streak among truck enthusiasts? WSJ's Dan Neil discusses. Photo: Ford
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finance
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Lev and Boston stumble across a brush fire's helpless victim, a baby vervet monkey. They rescue her and get her safely to a sanctuary.
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video
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The Philadelphia Eagles added DeMarco Murray and Ryan Mathews on Thursday. Dan Hellie weighs in on whether this was a good move by the Eagles or just redundant.
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sports
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For more than 40 years, "March madness" was confined to Illinois. The state's high school basketball tournament started in 1908 (Peoria beat Rock Island 48-29) and continued for three decades without a catchphrase. Then in 1939, Henry V. Porter, an Illinois High School Association official, wrote an article for the IHSA magazine. It was titled "March Madness." "A little March madness may complement and contribute to sanity and help keep society on an even keel," he wrote. Three years later, he punctuated his point with a poem, "Basketball Ides of March," which included the lines: "The Madness of March is running. The winged feet fly, the ball sails high. And field goal hunters are gunning." In the 1940s, "March Madness" became the state's nickname for its basketball tournament. Then in 1977, the IHSA made it official, licensing the phrase to companies such as PepsiCo and Wilson Sporting Goods. Other states were permitted to use the name for their tournaments for a $10 fee Porter, who started his career as a teacher and coach at Athens High School in central Illinois, was later inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1960. He died in 1975. (This week, the IHSA announced it had discovered in Porter's personal collection the earliest video of the IHSA boys basketball tournament, including action from the 1932-1936 IHSA State Finals.) His motto remained largely a regional phenomenon for four decades until CBS broadcaster Brent Musburger, a former Chicago newspaper reporter, began using it when referring to the NCAA tournament. The term caught on. But in 1996 the IHSA sued to stop NCAA corporate sponsor GTE from distributing a video game bearing the March Madness title. "Call me a naive country-boy educator, but I thought if I owned the trademark to something I owned the right to it," then-IHSA executive director Dave Fry told the Tribune in May 1996. "But that apparently is not quite so, which is pretty frustrating." Later that year, the IHSA and NCAA hammered out a joint venture called the March Madness Athletic Association, which now holds all trademark rights to the term. So now as college basketball bracket mania arrives again, Douglas Masters, Chicago-based outside counsel for the NCAA, and his associates prowl for uses that infringe on the trademark. The NCAA is in fact a regular customer in front of the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board to swat away unlicensed attempts - Live the Madness, March Radness, Midnight Madness - to use permutations of the name. "It's a little bit of a metaphor," Masters told the Los Angeles Times. "It captures something that resonates with people. It has that kind of power." Basketball Ides of March The gym lights gleam like a beacon beam And a million motors hum In a good will flight on a Friday night; For basketball beckons, "Come!" A sharp-shooting mite is king tonight. The Madness of March is running. The winged feet fly, the ball sails high And field goal hunters are gunning. The colors clash as silk suits flash And race on a shimmering floor. Repressions die, and partisans vie In a goal acclaiming roar. On a Championship Trail toward a holy grail, All fans are birds of a feather. It's fiesta night and cares lie light When the air is full of leather. Since time began, the instincts of man Prove cave and current men kin. On tournament night the sage and the wight Are relatives under the skin. It's festival time, sans reason or rhyme but with nation-wide appeal. In a cyclone of hate, our ship of state Rides high on an even keel. With war nerves tense, the final defense Is the courage, strength and will In a million lives where freedom thrives And liberty lingers still. Now eagles fly and heroes die Beneath some foreign arch Let their sons tread where hate is dead In a happy Madness of March. Henry V. Porter Sources: IHSA, Slate.com, Los Angeles Times
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sports
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Mar 13, 2015; 12:06 PM ET The winning photo from the annual hair freezing contest at Takhini Hot Pools in Yukon is receiving international attention. Here's a look at that one and more.
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video
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The Eagles, Saints, and Colts have all dominated the headlines so far. Dan Hellie weighs in on which team is winning the offseason with their moves.
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sports
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The 12 Best U.S. Running Trails There's running, and then there's trail running. Both involve the same activity, but only one can guarantee the promise of stunning scenery and the opportunity for a relaxing retreat into the wild. Whatever type of terrain you like best for your off-road adventures, there's a trail out there that fits your oh-so-specific style, and with the help of a few experts we rounded up a list of the very best. Our panel of top trail runners includes: Nancy Hobbs: Founder and Executive Director of the American Trail Running Association, co-author of The Ultimate Guide to Trail Running, and chairperson for the Mountain Ultra Trail Council. An avid trail runner since the late 80s, Hobbs has long served as one of the sport's leading pioneers. Joe Grant: An elite trail and mountain ultra-runner and the founder of Alpine Works; a venue that he uses to provide "avenues and inspiration for people to explore wild places on foot," as well as coaching programs for ultra-distance mountain and trail running events. Meghan M. Hicks: The Senior Editor at iRunFar.com and a contributing editor at Trail Runner magazine. Hicks frequently competes in trail and ultramarathon-distance running races and is a self-described adventurer whose perfect day would consist of "an adventure run in a genuine wilderness." She blogs at meghanmhicks.com. Nick Clark: A well-recognized elite mountain runner from Fort Collins, Colo. Who blogs at irunmountains.blogspot.com. Liza Howard: A competitive ultra-runner and mother of one from San Antonio, Texas. Howard is a field instructor for the National Outdoor Leadership School and an instructor at the Wilderness Medicine Institute of NOLS. She blogs at lizahoward.com. The following 12 trails are a compilation of our panel's top picks. Grinnell Glacier Trail, Montana Located in Montana's Glacier National Park, Hicks says this route covers about 7.6 miles out and back. The trail's first two miles are mostly flat but past that point runners can expect a gradual incline up to the end. "From bighorn sheep to bears, lots of wildlife sightings are possible in addition to the gorgeous turquoise blue ice of the glacier itself," says Hicks. Oh yeah, and be sure to follow safety instructions. Hicks says this hike travels through grizzly-bear habitat. Superior Hiking Trail, Minnesota Hick's describes this trail as "true Midwestern wilderness." The entire route stretches over 296 miles and offers everything from cliffs and hills to forest wildlife. "It's not uncommon to see moose or to hear Timberwolves howl," says Hicks. "The views of Lake Superior are so lovely," she adds. Longs Peak Keyhole Route, Colorado Grant says this trail's Keyhole Route, starting at the East trailhead, is the standard and most accessible path up the mountain. "The trail climbs a couple thousand feet to tree line before working its way north west to Granite Pass," he says. "There is a cut off trail west before the pass for the Chasm Lake trail which is a nice alternative route if you're not feeling up to going all the way to the summit of Longs Peak, but still want amazing views of the Diamond and Chasm Lake." A route he describes as long and strenuous, Grant says that once past Granite Pass the trail heads into the Boulder Fields which features challenging third class terrain. You'll then run through The Narrows and The Homestretch just before reaching the summit at 14,255 feet. He warns that runners should pay attention to the weather before heading out on this trail and advises an early start in order to avoid lightning storms. Needles District, Canyonland National Park, Utah "It's hard to pick one trail or route in this spider web of singletrack , but any hike through the red needles and fins of sandstone is worth it," says Hicks. "Whatever route you choose, make sure it includes visits to the grassy expanse of Chesler Park and the tight squeeze of the Joint Trail." She recommends that runners in search of an extended adventure should add in the out-and-back trail to Druid Arch. White Mountains, New Hampshire "What's great about the Whites is the variety of routes," says Hobbs. "Rocks, creeks, slick footing in spots, trees, roots, vistas, elevation changes… It's truly magical." What's more, runners conquering extra-long distances have the option to stay in one of the mountain's overnight huts. "Some iconic traverses incorporating some of the high points in the Whites can make for a fun, long grind on a summer day," adds Hobbs. Barr Trail, Colorado Hobbs says this is the most notable and widely used trail in the Colorado Springs area. At 11.8 miles long and with an ascent of 7,900 feet, the route, which finishes at an altitude of 14,115 feet at Pikes Peak, is challenging and vigorous. For other enticing (and less arduous) options in the area, Hobbs also recommends checking out Monument Valley, Stratton Open Space, Red Rock Canyon Open Space, Palmer Park, Cheyenne Mountain State Park, and the Mueller State Park. South and North Kaibab Trail, Grand Canyon, Arizona The reason Clark loves this route is simple: for a rim-to-rim run of the Grand Canyon, he says this is as classic as it gets. A favorite for Hobbs too, she says it includes a variety of terrain, ecosystem and elevation changes, and different distance routes with opportunities for runners to run point-to-point, out-and-back or round trip. "What's not to like about running in one of the most scenic spots in the world?" she says. Dipsea Trail, California Part of California's East Bay Trail System, the Dipsea Trail is about 9.5 miles round trip and on clear days offers views of the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco Bay, and Mt. Tamalpais. Hobbs describes the route, which is host to three different trail races throughout the year, as incredible. For the most part, this trail is accessible year-round but Hobbs warns runners to beware of "mud season" during the winter which sometimes creates unsafe conditions. Alyeska Mountain Trails, Alaska Hobbs recommends the Aleyska Mountain trails because their proximity to the Aleyska Ski Resort makes them easily accessible and the routes here offer grand views of the Chugach Mountains. But easy access doesn't mean runners shouldn't be prepared for rugged, backcountry terrain and wildlife encounters. Before attempting these trails, Hobbs recommends that runners learn about bears and moose and what to do when running in the remote areas. Berry Picker Trail, Colorado Hobbs says that this trail is great for a short distance up Vail Mountain. About 3 miles long, the Berry Picker is a winding single-track route that connects with many other trails on the mountain. "The wildflowers in the late summer are incredible and the leaves changing in the fall are spectacular," says Hobbs. Plus, hungry runners will be happy to find a restaurant at the top and the Vail Recreation District hosts a series of races here from May to September. Vermont Long Trail, Vermont Clark calls this gnarly trail "quintessentially New England." The oldest thru-trail in the country, it covers 270 miles and is one of Clark's favorite multi-day options. But runners beware: according to Clark this route "serves up quite a beating." Government Canyon State Natural Area, Texas Located in the Texas Hill Country on the north side of San Antonio, Howard named this rugged range of land for its rocky, single track routes surrounded by a forest landscape full of live oak, ash juniper, and mountain laurel.
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The Cowboys decided not to wait for Adrian Peterson. With the free-agent market getting drained of running backs more by the day, the only team left willing to wait for Peterson might be the Vikings. And now they can afford to be patient. Peterson met earlier this week with two of the Vikings owners and general manager Rick Spielman, and there are conflicting reports that he'll meet with team officials again soon. If they do, it will be the third get-together between them since a federal court lifted his suspension and opened the door for him to be dealt. IYER: DeMarco Murray perfect Kelly's plan | Team-by-team deals | Hardy reportedly drawing interest But the door appears to be swinging shut. It might have been just an easy shortcut to assume Peterson was on his way to the Cowboys, considering it was his home-state, he'd had the infamous phone conversation with Jerry Jones and they were about to lose their centerpiece running back to free agency. Instead, the Cowboys' signing of Darren McFadden on Friday sent a signal that likely steers Peterson somewhere else. McFadden signed for … quite a bit less than the $12.75 million Peterson is due in 2015, and nothing close to the $8.4 million reported average salary the Eagles gave DeMarco Murray . MORE: Saints snag C.J, Spiller | Murray fantasy implications | About those regional draft combines ... If the Cowboys were not willing to give Murray the kind of money the Eagles did, and brought in the injury risk that is the 27-year-old McFadden at less than half of Peterson's salary, then it's increasingly hard to envision them seriously considering Peterson as an option. The rest of the NFL certainly doesn't want to spend nearly $13 million on any back this year, even on Peterson. The Seahawks didn't reach that figure to keep Marshawn Lynch, one of their own, last week. The Bills didn't get close when they acquired LeSean McCoy from Philadelphia and gave him a new deal. The Raiders and Jaguars both have enough cap space to add Peterson, are still in need of lead backs, and showed interest in Murray before the Eagles grabbed him. Whether they make a run at Peterson, and at what price, remains to be seen. Depending on how long it takes for the Vikings situation to be resolved, neither team is in a rush to show its hand. Meanwhile, while its always possible teams are overhyping it for their own purposes, the incoming running back class is getting higher and higher marks as the draft approaches. Every team with running back needs is dangling that as an option, and the Cowboys and Vikings (as well as the Raiders and Jaguars) would be crazy to do anything different. As every day goes by, it's shaping up to be the Vikings or nothing for Peterson, at least for what he's supposed to make this season. That can't make Peterson happy. Nelson Peterson, the running back's father, told the St. Paul Pioneer Press on Thursday that "nothing was resolved" in this week's meeting, adding, "Everything remains the same.'' It's changed since then, though. And who Peterson plays for has less of a chance of changing.
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WASHINGTON Members of Congress who are demanding Hillary Rodham Clinton's emails are largely exempt from such scrutiny themselves. Congress makes its own rules, and has never subjected itself to open records laws that force agencies such as the State Department to maintain records and turn them over to the public when asked. There's also no requirement for members of Congress to use official email accounts, or to retain, archive or store their emails, while in office or after. That's in contrast to the White House and the rest of the executive branch. Official emails there are supposed to be retained, though the controversy over Clinton's use of a personal email account while secretary of state has exposed vague and inconsistent requirements from one agency to another. But if the rules at federal agencies are unclear, at least there are rules. On Capitol Hill, there are almost none. That means that the same House Republicans who are subpoenaing Clinton's emails as part of their inquiry into the Benghazi, Libya, attacks are not required to retain emails of their own for future inspection by anyone. "Members of Congress can burn everything when they're finished if they want," said John Wonderlich, policy director at the Sunlight Foundation, which advocates for government transparency. "They have discretion." That might appear to be a double standard, but members of Congress mostly don't see it that way. And, perhaps surprisingly, open government advocates are largely unconcerned. They agree it makes sense for Congress to be treated differently from the executive branch, although there are certain private proceedings they would like to see made public, such as some reports generated by the Congressional Research Service. For the most part, lawmakers say, Congress already operates in a much more open fashion than the other branches of the federal government. Most congressional proceedings are conducted in open session, sometimes widely broadcast, and lawmakers are accountable to the voters at election time. Some argue that requiring members of Congress to make their correspondence public could chill their ability to communicate freely with constituents who might not want their views or requests widely exposed. "I don't want to sound like we're separating ourselves from other groups, but there is a reason that you protect constituent correspondence, so it's a little different kettle of fish," said Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz. A provision in the Constitution known as the "speech or debate" clause provides members of Congress with immunity for their legislative acts and has been generally interpreted to give them broad control over their records, although it's been challenged in court during recent corruption investigations. Additionally, because executive branch agencies are bound by the Freedom of Information Act, correspondence between a lawmaker and, say, the Interior Department can be accessed by the public. The exemptions Congress grants itself aren't just about records. Lawmakers have spared themselves from many other laws that cover the rest of society, including those governing workplace health and safety, civil rights and discrimination. When Republicans took control of Congress in 1994 they sought to eliminate the perception that lawmakers played by different rules. They announced, as Item 1 in their "Contract with America," plans to require that all laws that apply to the rest of the country apply to Congress, too. The concept was enshrined in the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995. But issues like open records weren't covered. The controversy over Clinton's emails has drawn plenty of attention on Capitol Hill. Some has been contentious, such as House Republicans signaling plans to expand their Benghazi inquiry. Then there are a few senators who have been pressed to admit or perhaps boast that they rarely if ever use email. Yet there's little sign the flap will prompt much self-reflection or change on Capitol Hill. Lawmakers and aides in both parties say there's been no such talk. A spokesman for Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., who is spearheading the hunt for Clinton's emails as head of the Benghazi inquiry committee, indicated the congressman has no interest in changing the rules on lawmakers' emails, including his own. "There is a difference between the executive branch, which has the tremendous power to enforce laws, and the legislative branch," said spokesman Jamal Ware, adding elections every two years put the House closer to the people and subject to greater scrutiny. Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut said in response to a question on the matter: "I'm ready to be bound by the same disclosure requirements that apply to other branches of the government." But he added, "I haven't heard anything about it until your question." ___ Follow Erica Werner on Twitter at https://twitter.com/ericawerner
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Spaniard Adrian Otaegui went on a birdie blitz Friday to shoot an eight-under 62 and take a two-stroke Tshwane Open halfway lead. The 22-year-old made nine birdies, including five in a row from the eighth, and his lone blemish was a bogey five at the final hole. He completed his round long before the second round was temporarily halted by stormy, late-afternoon weather. Otaegui, who opened with a 67 Thursday to trail the pacesetters by four shots, tops the Pretoria Country Club leaderboard on 11-under 129. He is two shots ahead of South African Merrick Bremner, who carded a second-round 66. South Africans Trevor Fisher Jnr (66) and Keith Horne (67), Englishman David Horsey (69) and Italian Edoardo Molinari (66) are on 132. The Spaniard, seeking his maiden European Tour triumph, birdied two, three, eight and nine on the outward nine. More birdies followed at 10, 11, 12, 14 and 16 and he came tantalisingly close to another at 17 before completing his round with a bogey five. Otaegui, ranked 403rd in the world and a professional since 2011, confessed to being unaware he was scoring so well. "I was playing well and sinking putts -- that is all I was thinking about. I did not realise I made five consecutive birdies. "My best golf comes when I think as little as possible. This was one of those rounds." Otaegui was unperturbed by the bogey finish. "It is a tough par four and normally a par five," he said. Second-ranked Bremner, another golfer hunting a first European Tour title, experienced mixed fortunes with seven birdies and three bogeys. Defending champion Englishman Ross Fisher (67) and South African Dawie van der Walt (69), winner of the maiden Tshwane Open in 2013, are seven strokes behind Otaegui. Europe 2016 Ryder Cup captain Darren Clarke from Northern Ireland fired a 67, a four-shot improvement on his opening round, to be nine shots off the pace.
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Chris Pratt sold coupons door-to-door.
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Fifteen miles outside Yosemite Valley, a beeping iPhone alarm awakened Alex Honnold at 4 a.m. in the white Ford Econoline van that he has called home for the last seven years. Honnold, who is 29 and one of the two or three best rock climbers on earth, sat up on his cheap foam mattress and switched on his headlamp in the darkness. The nearby Merced River made a soft rushing sound, and crickets hummed in the grass in the dry heat of June. Honnold rolled back his van's sliding side door to greet his ponytailed friend David Allfrey, who was also 29, emerging just then from an old VW camper van parked 10 feet away. Honnold could afford to buy a decent home, if that interested him. But living in a van a custom-outfitted van, in his case, with a kitchenette and cabinets full of energy bars and climbing equipment represents freedom. It also represents a commitment to the nomadic climber's ideal of the "dirtbag," the purist so devoted to climbing that he avoids any entanglement that might interfere, stretching every penny from one climbing area to the next. Honnold, who graduated from high school with a 4.6 grade-point average and who has big ears and wide-set brown eyes "cow eyes," his mother calls them has been the king of the dirtbags for the last decade. When he's not climbing overseas in places like Patagonia, France or Morocco, he lives an endless road trip through the Southwestern desert, Yosemite Valley, British Columbia and points between. Along the way, he has turned himself into the greatest living free-soloist, meaning that he climbs without ropes, alone. Unroped climbing is, of course, the oldest kind, but ropes and hardware can provide such a reliable safety net that nearly all climbers now use them. This is typically done in pairs, with one climber tied to each end of the rope, moving one at a time. Upward progress is made in one of two ways. The first, developed in the Saxony region of Germany in the 19th century, is known as free-climbing. This involves using only natural handholds and footholds on the rock itself, while securing the rope to the cliff with various kinds of hardware to protect against any fall. The second style, known as aid-climbing, emerged in the early 20th century as a means of ascending cliffs too sheer for free-climbing. A lead aid-climber ascends by attaching hardware to the rock every few feet, connecting stirrups to that hardware and standing in those stirrups. But using gear slows progress. A roped pair, taking turns climbing and fussing with all that equipment, might spend six hours on a climb that a free-soloist floats up in 30 minutes focusing purely on the pleasure of movement, the tactile sensation of hands on rock. Free-soloing also carries the mystique of self-reliance in the face of extreme risk: On cliffs where even elite climbers employ complicated rope systems, the free-soloist wears only shorts, a T-shirt, a pair of climbing shoes and a bag of gymnast's chalk to keep the hands dry. Honnold has free-soloed the longest, most challenging climbs ever, including the 2,500-foot northwest face of Half Dome in Yosemite Valley, where some of the handholds are so small that no average climber could cling for an instant, roped or otherwise. Most peculiar of all, even to elite rock climbers, Honnold does this without apparent fear, as if falling were not possible. When Honnold does climb with others, he often teams up with specialists in other disciplines, combining their unique skill sets to shatter speed records on the world's greatest cliffs. Allfrey, for example, is one of the fastest aid-climbers. They were headed, that morning last summer, for El Capitan, a flat-topped cliff about 3,000 feet tall and a mile wide that is considered the Mount Everest of rock climbing, with roughly 2,000 people ascending each year. More than 100 separate climbing routes have been established on El Capitan, each starting on the floor of Yosemite Valley and following various cracks and crevices to the top. El Capitan is so sheer and steep that even the easiest of these routes qualify, for advanced recreational climbers, as petrifying and magnificent once-in-a-lifetime adventures. More than two decades ago, when I climbed regularly, I trained for three years as do men and women all over the world to prepare for El Capitan. Twice, I climbed with a partner about a third of the way up, only to retreat in terror, as is common among those ascending for the first time. In the summer of 1992, with two partners, I finally overcame my fear. We hauled supplies by rope and pulley, slept on tiny ledges and made it to the top in five days. On each of the four mornings before I met up with Honnold and Allfrey, they climbed El Capitan from bottom to top before lunch, taking a different route each time. They set speed records on three of those routes, passing dozens of startled slow-moving climbers. They did this roped together, with Allfrey in the lead on aid-climbing sections, moving like a frantic construction worker hammering his way up a skyscraper, and with Honnold sprinting up any terrain he could free-climb. Honnold so rarely attached his rope to the cliff that he risked long falls. Now, before dawn, Honnold stuffed rope, carabiners and other equipment into a backpack while taking bites of yogurt and granola, preparing for his fifth El Capitan route in five days. To no one in particular he said, "I'm really not that into my breakfast." He and Allfrey had two more routes planned for the two days ahead, hoping to climb seven El Capitan routes in seven days and set a record that would elicit, from nearly every other climber on earth, a mixture of exhilaration, bewilderment and envy. The pair got into Honnold's van and drove up the unlit highway through the dark evergreen forest. A ring-tailed cat ran across the road, then a fox. El Capitan came into view as a huge jet-black void in the blue-black sky. Little pinpricks of light stars in a granite night emanated from the headlamps of people waking up on high ledges, midway through private epics. Honnold and Allfrey parked among a half-dozen vans and pickups with camper shells. For Allfrey, who has a long-term girlfriend and planned to begin nursing school in the fall, completing the seven routes would probably be the crowning achievement of his brilliant climbing career. For Honnold, it would simply be another in a long list of climbing accomplishments and could also serve as a scouting trip toward what is perhaps the greatest unclaimed brass ring in all of rock climbing: the first-ever free-solo of El Capitan. As the two walked into the forest, they passed directly under the most plausible route for a ropeless ascent: Freerider, a sideways ocean of polished rock so immense that should a free-soloist slip somewhere up high, he might fall for as long as 14 seconds before impact. Honnold estimates that he has climbed Freerider, with a rope, 10 times memorizing every move toward a someday free-solo. That morning, however, Honnold and Allfrey were headed to a route called Lurking Fear. Allfrey dropped his backpack and strapped on his harness. "Dude, do you think you're going to find out you have some kind of superpower?" he asked Honnold. "Like, remember on those old X-Men comic cards, they'd have bar graphs on the back showing what all their powers are? Like strength and agility and all these X-Men qualities? You're going to realize you can actually move things with your brain." Honnold looked up at a silent portaledge a suspended cot upon which two climbers slept, high on the cliff. He whispered sweetly, "Wake up, sleepyheads." Then he and Allfrey were gone, scampering into the sky like winged monkeys storming a castle. Elite climbers, like athletes in any sport, establish reputations by outdoing those who have gone before. For centuries, that meant becoming the first person to reach a particular summit by any route at all, using any equipment necessary. The first ascent of El Capitan occurred in 1958 along the so-called Nose route, which runs up the middle of the wall. Rotating team members, led by a road-crew supervisor and avid rock climber named Warren Harding, spent 45 days over 18 months commuting up and down thousands of feet of rope, and they made nearly all upward progress through aid-climbing, hammering hundreds of steel spikes and bolts into the rock. In the years that followed, ambitious climbers explored every square foot of the cliff, establishing the hundred-plus routes that are now recognized typically in far less time, but always relying on aid-climbing. Today's elite climbers focus on setting speed records as Honnold and Allfrey were doing and also on making the first free-climbing ascents of old aid-climbing routes. In 1993, for example, a 5-foot-2 woman named Lynn Hill did this on the Nose, squeezing her fingertips into thin cracks to hold on where the world's most powerful male climbers had resorted to aid-climbing. Tommy Caldwell's free-climb of the Dawn Wall route this January, the first ever, falls squarely in this tradition using ropes and hardware to create a safety net while clinging to natural handholds that seemed too small for the previous generation. At one level, free-soloing can be seen as the most extreme expression of the same progression: One generation aid-climbs a route, the next climbs it in record time, the next free-climbs it, then it's time for someone to climb it without ropes. But free-soloing is so much more dangerous and frightening, even to highly experienced climbers, that a vast majority want no part of it. Climbers know that fear itself can cause a climber to panic on the side of a cliff. To get a sense of the experience, try a thought experiment: Picture hanging from a pull-up bar in a playground, with your toes inches off the ground, and feel the calm security of your grip. Now imagine standing on the edge of a skyscraper with that same pull-up bar suspended at eye level two feet in front of you. Lean forward to grab that bar and let your feet swing free, so that you're hanging by your hands. Look down. How's your grip now? Even if you have perfect confidence in your climbing ability and perfect emotional control in the face of danger, as Honnold appears to, most climbers fear the unexpected: the handhold that suddenly breaks, the bird that erupts from a hidden nest. I was once 50 feet up a Yosemite cliff when thousands of biting ants poured out of the rock to attack my bare arms and legs. Free-soloists also die with alarming regularity. As a result, many climbers frown on climbing ropeless as a kind of aberration. Caldwell, who is probably the world's greatest free-climber, has said that the only time he ever considered free-soloing was in the winter of 2007, during a painful time in his marriage, which has since ended. He briefly set his sights on free-soloing El Capitan but quickly decided against it. Writing about that time, he expressed a long-held judgment that free-soloing was "selfish, reckless and stupid. . . . I always gagged when I heard self-righteous soloists talking about a 'spiritual journey' or saying, 'It's not about cheating death, it's about living.' . . . That's crap. They just wanted to look like badasses, and were willing to risk hurting everyone who loved them." From the time Honnold was very young, he climbed everything he could trees, furniture, walls. "He was a terrible child to raise," says his mother, Dierdre Wolownick, a professor of French, Spanish and English as a second language at American River University in Sacramento. "I was always terrified he was going to fall." Wolownick says she thinks her son was born with a preternatural capacity for single-minded focus so much so that Honnold does not remember much of his childhood. "I've thought about that a lot, as a parent," she says. "Alex noticed what he wanted a handhold on a wall, but not where we were or what we did that summer." If Honnold had been born 20 years earlier, before the proliferation of climbing gyms, he probably wouldn't have found the sport until adulthood, if at all. Instead, he grew up in the 1990s among the first generation of American climbers to have almost unlimited access to good training facilities, a phenomenon that has produced startling leaps in climbing skill. Wolownick first took Honnold to a rock-climbing gym when he was 5, only to have him scale 40 feet when she turned her back. By 10, he was climbing at a gym many times a week, usually with his father, Charles Honnold, whom Honnold describes as "quiet and bookish." Gym-climbing requires one person to manage the rope while the other person climbs. Honnold's father provided this service "for, like, a million hours," Honnold says, "and he drove me all over the state every weekend for competitions. He was super supportive. It's really too bad that he never got to see what it's all turned into for me." By 16, Honnold could do a one-finger pull-up; by 18, he was among the top competitive gym-climbers in the United States, though he had done virtually no climbing outdoors. Honnold graduated from high school in 2003, and he left home to study civil engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. On the day before he moved in, his maternal grandfather died; hours later, Honnold learned that his father was leaving home, ending his parents' marriage. He began to skip classes, climbing small boulders in local parks. The next summer, Honnold traveled to Georgia to compete in the youth division of the National Climbing Championships. He finished second among the nation's top 300 climbers, securing a slot at the World Youth Championships in Scotland. Honnold was back home in Sacramento visiting his mother when his father, who was 55, died of a heart attack in an airport. A couple of months later, Honnold took 39th place in Scotland and asked his mother for permission not to return to college. She agreed. "He knew it was what he needed," she says. Honnold lived at home that fall, in his childhood bedroom, occasionally climbing nearby cliffs. That winter, he took his father's snowshoes and tried to hike up Mount Tallac in the High Sierra. There were no witnesses, but Honnold thinks he fell down steep ice and snow and struck his head on rocks. "I was pretty badly concussed," he says. Wolownick recalls getting a phone call "It was Alex saying: 'Mom, where am I? Why am I covered with blood?' " Honnold recuperated for several months at home "playing video games and eating cookie dough, like a dropout," he says. Then he borrowed the family minivan (not his current Ford) and began to drive between climbing areas. He climbed with partners now and then but mostly spent time by himself and free-soloed first on easy routes and then, as his confidence grew, on steadily more difficult terrain. Honnold lived this way for two years, continuing to study climbing history and the rarefied lineage of great free-soloists past, a grand total of three people over 30 years. First, in the 1970s, there was John Bachar, who posted a public notice that said, "I will give $10,000 to anyone who follows me for one full day" (no one did). Then, in the 1980s, Peter Croft made a one-day ascent of Yosemite's Astroman and the Rostrum that at the time was the hardest free-solo ever done. By the early 2000s, when Honnold first climbed in Yosemite, the top practitioner was Dean Potter, who had pioneered a hybrid climbing form on Half Dome, free-soloing immense stretches while employing rope to get through a few treacherous patches. In 2006, Honnold began methodically repeating the most famous free-solos of all these men, starting with Astroman (1,100 feet) and the Rostrum (800 feet). Each route is so steep and unrelenting with so few places to rest that it requires extreme grip strength and muscular endurance. Astroman also has a terrifying "squeeze chimney," a slot big enough for a climber to slip his entire body inside and so narrow that he cannot turn his head. To move upward, he must wriggle and writhe, always at risk of slipping. Honnold practiced these routes with ropes a half-dozen times. He finally free-soloed them in September 2007, passing astonished roped climbers, who then spread the word. The next spring, Honnold drove to Zion National Park, the site of a 1,200-foot sandstone buttress split by a finger-width crack, which Croft had climbed only with a rope. Honnold's ropeless ascent was considered the most difficult free-solo to date. Five months later, Honnold surpassed Potter and guaranteed his own place in climbing history when he free-soloed the northwest face of Half Dome. The hardest move on that ascent the "crux," in climber parlance comes just below the summit, within earshot of the many hikers and tourists who reach the top every day using an easy route from the east. With his fingers pressed flat against the smooth face, Honnold raised his right foot and set the sole of his shoe against a faint divot in the cliff. Then, with tenuous balance, he stood up on that foot, very, very slowly, hoping the sticky shoe rubber would adhere. A gust of wind could have blown him off. The index finger of his left hand, he says, was inches from a metal ring attached to an old piece of hardware stuck into the cliff. He found his eyes fixated on it, hoping he could grab it if he slipped. "What was crazy for me is that I could hear all these people talking, hundreds of tourists," he says. "I was like, This is hard-core." When I asked Honnold's mother how she tolerated her son's climbing life, she told me that at some point she realized that she couldn't live with worrying all the time. "Alex is the only one on the planet who knows what Alex can do, and I've had to learn to just trust that." A 26-minute documentary, released in 2010, about the Half Dome ascent called "Alone on the Wall" helped Honnold build a career as a professional climber. His corporate sponsors include the North Face, and he has starred in commercials for Dewar's and Citibank. He made a promotional video for Stride Health, in which he free-soloed a seven-story building in San Francisco in exchange for medical insurance. People began asking for his autograph, including young women, occasionally on their breasts. ("Actually, that only happened twice," Honnold says, blushing. "And both were really nice. I also got asked to sign a really nice stomach once.") "Alone on the Wall" also led to Honnold's most serious relationship. "She was my first fan," Honnold told me. "She'd seen the film, and she posted, like, one line on my Facebook, and I was like, Oh, my God! There's a cute chick talking to me! I posted back a smiley face, and then she did a winky face, and it was game on." (They have since broken up.) Even in Yosemite Valley, where rangers and bus drivers have traditionally treated rock-climbing culture as an unwelcome annoyance, Honnold has become a crossover hero. As he and Allfrey climbed their seventh and final El Capitan route that week in June, I heard the driver of an open-air tour bus, passing below, tell his passengers to look up, where Honnold and Allfrey were about 3,000 feet from the ground, climbing a route called the Triple Direct. As the two neared the top, I joined Allfrey's parents and girlfriend in the meadow below. Through binoculars, we could see the shirtless Honnold continuously karate-chopping his hands into the crack and kicking his feet in below. A 200-foot rope attached him to Allfrey, but as usual, there was so little hardware connecting the rope to the cliff that had he slipped, he would have fallen perhaps 150 feet with gruesome consequences before the rope caught him. Soon the pair stood at the top of the cliff, and a cheer went up among the onlookers. Allfrey's mother began to prepare a celebratory picnic, setting out Tupperware containers of pasta salad. A well-wishing stranger presented her with a bottle of chilled Champagne. Not long after, Honnold and Allfrey strolled out of the forest to a round of applause. They dropped their packs, stripped off their shirts in the blazing sunshine, revealing pale, wiry torsos, and then waded into the icy-cold Merced River to rinse off the accumulated dust. After a swim, they sat on the Allfreys' picnic blanket. Allfrey's mother poured Champagne for everyone but Honnold he doesn't drink. Allfrey's father presented Honnold with a congratulatory gift: a grocery bag holding four packages of one of his favorite foods, Pepperidge Farm soft-baked cookies. Allfrey and Honnold's time on the Triple Direct that day set yet another speed record, and Allfrey was giddy with pride and relief. Honnold, though, was frustrated that they hadn't gone faster still. At one point during the climb, Honnold said, he forgot about his day pack, left it attached to some hardware and had to backtrack to get it. Allfrey laughed in disbelief. "That only cost us like 15 minutes!" "No, it was two punk songs," Honnold said. "Punk's a good way to measure time." Allfrey shook his head and said, grinning, "I'm actually pretty psyched we just did seven El Cap routes in seven days and broke the old speed record on our last route by an hour." "All I'm saying is our time wasn't even close to what's objectively possible," Honnold replied. Three days later , I met Honnold in Berkeley near the University of California campus. He looked like an impoverished graduate student, wearing shorts and a faded T-shirt and locking a single-speed bicycle to a parking meter. Strolling among students and faculty members on a quiet footpath between manicured lawns, Honnold pointed to the six-story Life Sciences Addition and told me that not long ago he free-soloed it at night, passing windows behind which people toiled at computers. "I'm not nostalgic for my glory days in college," Honnold said. "It was lame for me. Probably because I had no friends." At Doe Memorial Library, a neoclassical pile of white granite blocks that look as if quarried from Yosemite, Honnold walked around to a secluded alcove. With no mental preparation, he placed his fingertips on the top edge of one of those blocks. He pulled up, reached for another edge a few feet higher and kept going free-soloing. Ten feet, 20, 30 Honnold entered death-fall territory with the same casual deliberateness that someone might apply to arranging knickknacks in a bedroom. The world's greatest climbers struggle to make sense of this mysterious sang-froid. "Most of us think dying is a really serious, scary thing, but I don't think Alex does," says Caldwell, who has climbed extensively with Honnold and considers him a close friend. "He's wired a little differently from everybody else. The risk excites him, and he knows it's super badass, but he doesn't allow himself to go beyond that in his mind. The other great free-soloists always talk about this conversation with death. Alex is like, 'I'm not going to fall, it's no big deal.' That's what makes him so good." Even Dean Potter, an openly spiritual man who describes free-soloing as part of a personal art form that includes base jumping, finds Honnold difficult to understand. "Alex is like Spock," Potter told me. "I freak out at the top of solos and scream like, super emotional. Then I'm wasted emotionally for months. Alex just does it and walks away and does another." Honnold doesn't like this kind of talk; he insists that he worked hard to develop his self-control, and he grows prickly at any suggestion that he is unlike other people. "Before Dean solos something, he has to, like, slaughter a goat and fly with the ravens," Honnold joked, as if Potter drew on magical aid to see him through danger. "I don't want to slaughter a goat and fly with the ravens. I just want to climb." At Berkeley, I watched Honnold scramble out of sight onto the library roof. I heard him talking to somebody, and then he free-soloed all that long way back to the ground. He said a man had popped his head out of a window and said: "Don't do that! Get down! These are offices, and you're going to scare the librarians!" Then a younger man appeared with a walkie-talkie. He said to Honnold: "You can't do that here. If you're going to do that, go somewhere else, O.K.?" Chastened and blushing again, Honnold walked away. In November, Clif Bar, a major sponsor of Honnold and Potter, said it would no longer support them because of discomfort with their extreme risk-taking. Honnold responded with an Op-Ed article in this newspaper , accepting the company's decision but declaring his intention to keep free-soloing. "If I have a particular gift, it's a mental one," he wrote. "The ability to keep it together where others might freak out. . . . Whether or not we're sponsored, the mountains are calling, and we must go." Two months later, Tommy Caldwell's Dawn Wall free-climb in which he was roped up and securely protected, risk kept to a bare minimum received international media attention and was widely hailed as the hardest rock climb ever done. I spoke to Honnold by telephone shortly afterward and asked how he thought about his free-soloing heroes nowadays. Honnold pointed out that Bachar, the original Yosemite free-soloist, remained bitterly committed to purist forms of climbing, even after he fathered a son. Bachar free-soloed until 2009, when he fell to his death from an easy climb near his home in Mammoth Lakes, Calif. Honnold claimed to feel much greater admiration for Peter Croft, "a happily married man" whose "eyes still light up like a child's when he talks about climbing," although he does it mostly with ropes these days. But when I called Honnold on another occasion, he was lying in the meadow below El Capitan, looking up. "I feel kind of directionless," he said. "Like, what's my Dawn Wall?" I asked if a free-solo of El Capitan was still on his mind. Honnold admitted that it was the final unclimbed item on his private shortlist of dream free-solos. In 2013, he spent eight days at El Sendero Luminoso, in the desert of northern Mexico, dangling from ropes, memorizing hundreds of discrete movement sequences on tiny holds, before free-soloing it in January last year. This winter, Honnold free-soloed the second route on his list: Romantic Warrior, a 1,000-foot climb up a remote cliff in the southern Sierra Nevada, which had been free-soloed only once, in 2005, by a climber named Michael Reardon, who died two years later when he climbed without ropes down an Irish sea cliff and was swept away by a wave. The third challenge was University Wall, a notoriously difficult climb just north of Vancouver, a route that Peter Croft was the first to free-climb but never climbed without a rope. A young, up-and-coming free-soloist named Marc-Andre Leclerc, who lives near University Wall, was getting good enough to free-solo it. Honnold, who had been eyeing it for years, seized that prize for himself on his most recent trip last August. But El Capitan is substantially bigger than any of these climbs, and it presents unique logistical challenges. The hardest part is 2,000 feet up, in a feature known as the Teflon Corner. "Anything called the Teflon Corner is not sweet for free-soloing," Honnold said. He told me that he would consider an El Capitan free-solo only in the autumn, when the summer heat fades, the rock cools and Teflon Corner becomes less slippery. But the days are short then, and Honnold would still want to climb the Teflon Corner before the sun hit it; that would require starting well before dawn and free-soloing perhaps a thousand feet in the dark. If he decided to do it, he would need to spend days or even weeks roped up, climbing the Teflon Corner dozens of times in advance, mastering every move. Meanwhile, the world would be watching. "That would be so much pressure," he told me. "All my friends would be texting me, like: 'What are you doing? Don't be stupid!' Then some random guy would see me in the grocery store and be like, 'When are you going to free-solo it?' " Sign up for our newsletter to get the best of The New York Times Magazine delivered to your inbox every week. Correction: March 13, 2015 This article has been revised to reflect the following correction: An earlier version of a picture caption with this article misspelled part of the name of an area in Mexico with popular climbing routes. It is El Potrero Chico, not El Portrero Chico.
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news
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Demand for Ford's new 2015 F-150 pickup truck has been "outstanding" and now the company is beefing up production to keep up, said Joe Hinrichs, Ford's president of the Americas. The high demand is why Ford is excited to be putting its Kansas City plant online to increase production, he added. F-150s have sat on dealership lots for an average of just 12 days in January and 18 days in February, before being sold, he says. Both marks are far better than the industry average. Fleet customers such as governments and corporations that buy vehicles in bulk will have to wait, however, because fleet production is not yet up to speed, Hinrichs said. Sales of the F-150 should be much stronger in the second half of 2015 once production and supply catch up to demand. Hinrichs says the low price of gasoline isn't hurting truck sales, although fuel efficiency is one of the F-150's selling points. Fuel efficiency is still one of the bigger focus points for consumers, Hinrichs said. According to ALG, a division of TrueCar , the F-150 will have a higher residual value -- that's the projected market value at the end of a vehicle's lease -- than both the Dodge Ram and the Chevrolet Silverado because of the F-150's class-leading fuel efficiency for gasoline engines, he said. The fuel efficiency comes from Ford's decision to use lighter aluminum for the body rather than steel. The moves shaves off roughly 700 pounds, which not only increases fuel efficiency but boosts the truck's performance, he noted. Ford's looking for a strong year of sales from the new truck. The F-150 has been the No. 1 selling truck in the U.S. for 38 straight years and the top-selling vehicle in the U.S. for 33 straight years. "We don't intend to lose those crowns in 2015," Hinrichs concluded.
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finance
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NEW YORK Oil prices have further to drop with few signs of slowing production in the U.S., according to a global energy agency. The International Energy Agency, a watchdog group based in Paris that represents the world's main oil-importing nations, said in its monthly report Friday that the recent stabilization in oil prices is "precarious." "Behind the facade of stability, the rebalancing triggered by the price collapse has yet to run its course," it said. That may be playing out right now. Oil prices tumbled 10 percent this week, including a 5 percent drop Friday. The IEA cautioned that risks of oil supply disruptions are growing. Low prices could raise the risk of social disruption in some countries dependent on oil, the agency said, and the ongoing conflict in Iraq and Libya hasn't slowed down. Drillers are cutting back on spending and taking production offline because of plunging prices. On Friday, oilfield services company Baker Hughes said that the number of rigs exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. fell by another 67 this week to 1,125. More than half the rigs taken off line were in Texas. That hasn't stemmed the glut of oil that is now nearing full capacity at U.S. storage sites. The U.S. supply of oil has reached levels not seen in at least 80 years, according to the Energy Department. The growth in stored oil might be slowed this spring as refineries idled for maintenance start production again, but it won't stop it, according to the IEA report Friday. That is setting oil and gasoline prices up for another steep fall. The price of oil fell $2.21 Friday to close at $44.84 per barrel in New York. Prices were more than double that at this time last year.
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finance
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CNBC's Diana Olick Spring tracks spring housing demand and the lack of supply. A look at what future home buyers can expect.
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finance
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IRVING, Texas (AP) A person with knowledge of the deal says the Dallas Cowboys have agreed to a contract with Darren McFadden a day after losing NFL rushing champ DeMarco Murray to NFC East rival Philadelphia. McFadden had seven mostly disappointing seasons in Oakland after the Raiders drafted him fourth overall in 2008. The person spoke on condition of anonymity Friday because the Cowboys had yet to announce the deal. Contract terms weren't immediately available. Murray signed a five-year deal Thursday with the Eagles worth $42 million, with $21 million guaranteed. Dallas owner Jerry Jones said the salary cap prevented the Cowboys from going that high. The 27-year-old McFadden has 4,247 career yards, with career highs of 1,157 yards and seven touchdowns in 2010. --- AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL
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sports
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Whether you prefer pumpkin, apple, or chocolate, you probably agree that pie is already amazing. But it can be made even better by carefully engineering the eating experience. Enjoying food is much more than just taste ; sound, smell, sight and texture all play integral roles in how much we enjoy a given food. Popular Science talked with Charles Spence , a professor of experimental psychology at Somerville College in England, who studies the psychology and sensory experience of eating. Create mystery When you order a piece of pizza, you can appraise its taste based on its appearance. But pie with crust covering the filling is not so straightforward. "To the extent that we eat with our eyes, there's a kind of reveal that happens when you cut into a pie," Spence says. You can build the suspense by waiting to cut into the pie, then expose its filling right before it's time to eat it, so both your brain and your mouth say, "Wow, that's good!" at the same time. Maximize the smell 80-90 percent of what we experience as taste and flavor comes from the nose, Spence says. So a steaming-hot piece of pie delivered to a waiting diner isn't just getting cold, it's losing some of its flavor potency. Spence is working with a few food service companies about ways to preserve food's aroma so that people get the full flavor experience when they eat it. Pies have a built-in aroma-saver: their covering of crust. It's rude to point Human brains are hardwired to react emotionally to shapes and angles round is good, sharp is bad. In a recent research study, Spence found that diners like triangular foods more if the point is served pointing away from them. Thus, although it's hardly traditional, serving a piece of pie crust-first would make the experience more enjoyable. Add some crunch Spence has spent years recording food sounds, so he knows the importance of a sonic element to an enjoyable eating experience. With a mushy filling and soft, flaky crust, pie is usually silent. But audible crunch, especially in contrast with softness, is very pleasurable for eaters "That's why pâté is served with toast," Spence says. To give pie a crunch, add crunchy candy to pie crust, or sprinkle it on top.
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news
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Dropping in green food coloring (with a dash of propylene glycol and parabens) won't do your beer or your health any favors. But if you insist on drinking green beer this St. Patrick's Day, consider these five natural and truly peculiar ways to enjoy a shamrock-shaded beer. Spirulina Pond scum stars in Spirulina Wit, a Belgian-style wheat beer by Freetail Brewing Company in San Antonio. They dreamt up the drink after a brewer started taking powdered spirulina blue-green algae known for its high concentration of aquatic protein as a dietary supplement. "There's an almost radioactive-looking green hue to it," says Scott Metzger, founder and CEO of Freetail Brewing Co. Customers loved Spirulina Wit for its semi-sweet, "vegetable-y type fruit" flavor, Metzger says. "People say all the time, 'Oh, so this is healthy?' We're like, 'Well, it's still beer. It didn't, like, turn into a protein shake by putting spirulina in it.'" It's on tap at the brewery, starting on St. Patrick's Day and through the summer. Other beers brewed with spirulina didn't go over so well. Back in 2005, Dogfish Head unveiled the Verdi Verdi Good, which poured a clear emerald green and fizzled. "We brewed this beer once," the company writes on its site. "Turns out it wasn't at the top of our list of successes!" The brew is now retired. "It was the only naturally green beer at that time," says Sam Calagione, president and founder of Dogfish Head. But from the way he describes it, the flavor "earthy and tasting like a pond" didn't land it a permanent spot on the tap rotation.' Squid Ink Darren Robinson, inventor of beer styles at the Australian beer company Doctor's Orders Brewing , wanted to create a funky-colored beer with an even funkier ingredient squid ink, the green-black, iron-rich stuff the cephalopods squirt when they're escaping. Cephalopod Black Berliner Weisse was born. Squid ink didn't affect the taste, Robinson says, but it did make color uniformity nearly impossible. The batches ranged from "radioactive green" to "dirty paint-water grey," he says. Apart from alienating a few vegan venues, it was a huge hit. Did he ever consider just adding a few drops of food coloring? "That goes against everything I'm doing with beer," he says. "That would just be cheating…and it wouldn't have been the success it was." Matcha Green Tea Clover-green matcha tea leaves finely ground into a powder, then whipped into hot water has 137 times the famous catechin antioxidants found in regular green tea, one study shows. Add it to beer, and you've got a matcha made in heaven. Rocket News 24 swears by the stuf f: "All it takes is about a half teaspoon of matcha powder dissolved in a half-glass of warm water," they write. Fill the rest with beer, they explain, and "the matcha even fluffs up the beer foam for a beverage with a rich, velvety head that borders on physically impossible to stop drinking." Chlorophyll Desiree Winans, creator of the natural health blog Modern Hippie , felt out of place in the sea of green beers when in Chicago for St. Patrick's Day a few years ago. "I sort of was resentful for not being able to partake in the green beers," she says. "But I'm not going to drink it if I don't know what's in it." So she brought along a vial of chlorophyll to organically jerry-rig a green beer. Five to ten drops will do it and chlorophyll, she swears, doesn't even have a flavor. Wheatgrass It's packed with chlorophyll, sure, but will hops make freshly-mowed-lawn-tasting wheatgrass easier to swallow? Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales in Ann Arbor partnered with a local farm to make a Wheatgrass IPA . The results were, well, better than you'd think. "Very abrasive bitter finish that lingers, but you get used to it rather quickly," writes one reviewer. You can make your own, says Organic Authority , by spiking a beer with a tablespoon of wheatgrass juice.
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news
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3D printing is coming to your kitchen with PancakeBot. It's a machine that makes pancakes based on computer images you create. Brett Larson has the delicious details.
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foodanddrink
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It's easy to get caught up in matters of the heart. And by "matters of the heart," I mean "all that messy, human, unrequited love bullshit." When you're in the middle of it, like the eye of a "why didn't he text back yet" tornado, it's tough to see things for what they are. Here are the most commonly misinterpreted reasons a guy doesn't want to settle down with you. 1. You think: "The timing just isn't right." The real reason: Would you ever turn down a promotion at work because you want to wait longer until another promotion comes along? Would you turn down a steak dinner because you'd rather eat in an hour? Has there ever really been a "bad" time to drink water, something your body needs to survive? Yeah, sure, hypothetically there's a bad time for all these things, but my point is, if something is good, you'll make it work, but you might not go out of your way for something OK. If someone offers to take you out for a $200 steak dinner, you're going to bust your ass to get there. If someone offers you a few slices of pizza, you might not be so inclined. If "the timing is bad," it's because he thinks you're pizza. 2. You think: "He's working a lot and doesn't have time for me." The real reason: This might be the case, but there's "working a lot" where he doesn't really text you during the week, then there's "working a lot" where you don't hear from him at all for a month. The second one is bad. He's prioritizing a lot of things (read: pretty much everything) over you, because he doesn't see you as an important part of his life. 3. You think: "He was badly hurt in his last relationship." The real reason: Maybe, but just because you burned the roof of your mouth with some hot soup doesn't mean you stop eating food. Yeah, a bad breakup is going to put anyone on the defensive, but it doesn't turn you into a heartless ice creature. If he's generally avoiding you, it's because he doesn't want to see you that badly. 4. You think: "This relationship is too good and it scares him." The real reason: No one walks away from something too good except for in the movies when some gruff hitman with a heart of gold is like, "I CAN'T BE NEAR YOU, I'M TOO DANGEROUS!" You know what people are scared of? Kind of OK but really comfortable, like a Venus flytrap of cuddling. He's not scared of loving you too much, he's scared of falling into a relationship that's comfortable, but not great. 5. You think: "He's been in a lot of LTRs and he's not sure if he's ready to jump back into something right now." The real reason: Relationships are scary, especially if you've been burned by one in the past. But that doesn't change the fact that if you think someone is The One, you can still work past it. If he's adverse to getting into a serious relationship, it's because he thinks you're The Three or even The Eight. 6. You think: "He likes how things are, but he's not sure if it's possible to take it to another level." The real reason: There are three levels, but people tend to overcomplicate things. The three levels are: Not fucking. Fucking. Into each other. If he doesn't want to "take it to the next level" that just means "I like having sex with you but I never, ever want to hear about your day." There's nothing wrong with that; just don't lie to yourself about it. 7. You think: "He doesn't deserve me." The real reason: The only people that don't deserve love are serial killers and pedophiles. Declaring that you're better than someone else is a ridiculous defense mechanism. As long as someone didn't treat you poorly, ranking yourself above them is just mean. He didn't want to date you, so you shouldn't want to date him. He didn't like you as much as you liked him. That's all that happened. It's OK, and you're both good people. 8. You think: "He doesn't think he can give me what I need." The real reason: Relationships aren't like getting a dog, where he's like, "Oh, shit. I can't go on vacation with my buddies because if I'm gone for more than a day, my girlfriend will take a shit in the kitchen." The only reason he can't give you what you need is if you need a relationship and he doesn't. There's nothing wrong with emotionless sex, but don't make excuses or hope he's going to change his mind. He won't. He probably knows that's the case, but he also doesn't want to turn down sex. 9. You think: "He just wants to see how it goes ... if it happens, it happens." The real reason: "Taking it slow" basically means "I think you're OK unless someone else comes along. It's like renting an apartment versus tying up all your money in a condo. 1 0. You think: "I can change him." The real reason: Everyone's job as half of a relationship (or a third, or a fourth ... shout-out to the polys) is to support the other person, not tinker around with them until they're a totally different person. Thinking along those lines is desperate: It means you're just happy to find someone that likes you, but you don't really like them enough. Follow Frank on Twitter.
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lifestyle
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The family of a woman who died in a crash later blamed on a faulty General Motors Co (GM.N) ignition switch has settled a civil lawsuit against the automaker, ending litigation that helped bring to light the company's decade-long delay in recalling millions of defective vehicles. Lawyers for the parents of Brooke Melton disclosed the settlement on Friday, but did not reveal details of the agreement. GM declined to comment on Friday. The Melton family was represented by Lance Cooper of the Cooper Firm of Marietta, Georgia, and the Beasley Allen firm of Montgomery, Alabama. The Melton family settled a civil action against GM for $5 million in September 2013. But last year, the family filed a second lawsuit in Georgia state court, alleging that GM knew more about the defect linked to Brooke Melton's death than it had disclosed in the prior case, and had committed fraud in the original proceedings. "One of the most important issues for the Meltons was accountability," lawyer Lance Cooper said in a statement Friday. Brooke Melton, 29, died in a March 2010 accident in Paulding County, Georgia, when the ignition switch of her 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt slipped out of the "on" position, and she ran into another vehicle. During his investigation of the case, Cooper discovered that GM had changed the design of the ignition switch used in Cobalts after complaints that it could be inadvertently bumped out of the "run" position into an "accessory" or "off" position. GM lawyers agreed to settle the original case in September 2013 for $5 million soon after Cooper presented his findings to GM lawyers. It was not until early 2014 that GM ordered the first recalls of 2003-2011 compact cars equipped with defective switches, and disclosed that company officials had known for years of the problems. The disclosures touched off a furor that led to a series of congressional hearings, and probes by federal highway safety regulators and the U.S. Department of Justice. GM paid $35 million in civil fines in connection with the delayed recalls, and still faces a federal criminal probe. As of March 6, Kenneth Feinberg, the lawyer running a compensation fund GM established last year, has tied 64 deaths and 108 injuries to accidents involving cars equipped with the defective switches. (Editing by Matthew Lewis)
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autos
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Stars attend the Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty Gala Salma Hayek attends the Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty Fashion Gala at the V&A in London on March 12, 2015. David and Victoria Beckham attend the Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty Fashion Gala at the V&A in London on March 12, 2015. Victoria Beckham attends the Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty Fashion Gala at the V&A in London on March 12, 2015. Victoria Beckham attends the Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty Fashion Gala at the V&A in London on March 12, 2015. Kate Moss and Jamie Hince attend the Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty Fashion Gala at the V&A in London on March 12, 2015. Naomi Campbell attends the Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty Fashion Gala at the V&A in London on March 12, 2015. Colin Firth and Livia Giuggioli attend the Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty Fashion Gala at the V&A in London on March 12, 2015. Dianna Agron attends the Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty Fashion Gala at the V&A in London on March 12, 2015. Laura Carmichael attends the Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty Fashion Gala at the V&A in London on March 12, 2015. Cressida Bonas attends the Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty Fashion Gala at the V&A in London on March 12, 2015. Eva Herzigova attends the Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty Fashion Gala at the V&A in London on March 12, 2015. FKA Twigs attends the Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty Fashion Gala at the V&A in London on March 12, 2015. FKA Twigs attends the Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty Fashion Gala at the V&A in London on March 12, 2015. Naomie Harris attends the Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty Fashion Gala at the V&A in London on March 12, 2015.
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entertainment
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In the world of air travel, Southwest Airlines is the best option for vacationing on a budget. Offering low ticket fares, free choice seating, and friendly air crews, the Texas-based airline has found its way into the hearts of frequent flyers nationwide. While the airline's prices are already low, there are still additional ways to save money while traveling Southwest . . . and we've done all the digging for you. When it comes to air travel hacks, look no further. Buy online: The airline offers its lowest fares online, through the company website. Click to save: Southwest's Click 'N Save program allows you to customize your home airports, then receive notifications whenever a new deal is available based on those preferences. This will help you determine the absolute best time to book your flights. Get rewarded: The Rapid Rewards program allows you to accumulate points with every flight, hotel stay, and travel experience; the points can then be exchanged for more flights or other prizes. Compare airports: If you're able to fly out of multiple airports (SFO or OAK, LAX or BUR, etc.) when traveling, don't forget to price-check each applicable location. Collect while you eat: The Rapid Rewards Dining program allows you to earn points by eating at your favorite restaurants, so it could benefit you if you're a big fan of dining out. Check for special offers: On the Southwest webpage, there is a page labeled "Special Offers." Within this area, you can find cheap flights and discounted airfare. Use your right to refunds: Southwest policy helps prevent early bookers from being punished, thanks to its flight credit allowances. If you book a trip only for the ticket prices to drop a few weeks later, you can rebook your reservation and receive a refund in the form of flight credit. Save extra with plastic: Some credit cards offer incentives to travelers, so be sure to check with your bank before booking your trip. The Chase Rapid Rewards card will also ensure you free drink tickets on occasion! Drink on the holidays: According to one Quora user , there is a list of holidays on your seat-back card that notes when alcoholic drinks are free to flyers. Father's Day , Southwest's birthday, and other holidays are included! Know your airport: At some airports, Southwest flights will de-board from the front and back. Research ahead of time, because you might want to sit closer to the tail of the aircraft! Do in-flight reading: Southwest's publication, Southwest: The Magazine , often includes coupons for restaurants and local parking garages. Check your baggage: One of the few airlines that still allows free baggage checking, Southwest grants two checked luggage items per customer. Try to limit yourself to two checked bags and two carry-ons, though, because additional baggage costs $75 per item.
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Much of Wall Street had been looking for the U.S. economy this year to exceed 3 percent annualized growth for the first time since the Great Recession. One Federal Reserve indicator, though, shows that assumption could be in serious jeopardy. The Atlanta Fed each week publishes a rolling update of its gross domestic product projection for the quarter. Not so long ago, the GDP Now indicator , as it is called, was at least within shouting distance of Street expectations. However, a recent batch of weak economic data with the notable exception of the monthly nonfarm payrolls report has the indicator flashing danger signs. Citigroup's economic surprise index, for instance, has hit its lowest level since July 2012. (The index measures how the data fare against expectations.) The most recent GDP Now print, updated Thursday, puts first-quarter GDP growth at just 0.6 percent. That's a sharp decline from the 1.2 percent expectation from just last week and well off the 1.9 percent projected in early February. The trend is significant in that the Federal Open Market Committee the central bank's policy making arm is expected later this year to start increasing its target short-term interest rate. The FOMC is likely to deliver the first hint of a rate hike at its meeting next week when the word "patient" could be dropped from the policy statement it issues. With annualized GDP now less likely to hit Wall Street expectations, the Fed may be pushed to rethink its rate intentions. "Why some at the Fed are becoming so vocal over the imminent need of a rate hike is a bit surprising given the sharp Q1 slowdown we are seeing and inflation that is flat as a pancake," David Rosenberg, chief economist and strategist at Gluskin Sheff, said in his daily note Friday. "Maybe (Fed Chair) Janet Yellen has to come out and ... outweigh FRB regional presidents who choose to air their own individual policy views to the media." In February, the Philadelphia Fed put GDP estimates at 3 percent for the first quarter and 3.2 percent for all of 2015, numbers that the recent data suggest will be hard to hit. The U.S. grew at a 2.4 percent rate in 2014 and 2.2 percent in 2013. One of the main problems has been consumer spending: Retail sales numbers have been awful since the 2014 holiday season, with consumers electing to put their substantial savings at the gas pump in their pockets rather than at shopping centers. That has occurred even as household worth grew to $82.9 trillion in the fourth quarter, according to data released Thursday. One significant caveat with the Atlanta Fed tracking is that the data set only goes back to the 2011, and by the branch's own reckoning carries a significant margin of error 0.68 percentage points that the central bank officials say is improving with time and gets better closer to the release date. The Bureau of Economic Analysis will issue its advanced reading on first-quarter GDP on April 29. However, the Atlanta Fed reading, while the lowest of the bunch, reflects the general trend of economic outlooks at least for the first quarter. Earlier this week, Barclays cut its first-quarter estimate from 1.8 percent to 1.5 percent due to weaker-than-expected retail sales data for February. Moody's Analytics recently reduced its view from 2.2 percent to 1.7 percent, Rosenberg sees 1 percent growth, Bank of America Merrill Lynch on Friday reduced its projection to 1.9 percent, and Credit Suisse, also on Friday, slashed its projection from 2.5 percent to 1.7 percent. "I have been bullish in recent years over the U.S. economic backdrop and remain bullish, but it must be acknowledged in this business of assessing probabilities and managing risk, that my confidence level in this view has diminished somewhat in recent months," Rosenberg wrote.
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There is some upsetting news out of the Fresno State community: Victor E. Bulldog II, the school's mascot, suddenly passed away on Thursday. The school said the Bulldog died from anaphylactic shock -- an aggressive allergic reaction -- after getting stung by a bee. Victor E. Bulldog II would have turned 3 years old in April. "Victor E. attended hundreds of Fresno State events," Fresno State senior associate athletic director Paul Ladwig said in a statement . "Everywhere he went, he attracted fans of all ages and was a loving face of Fresno State Athletics." Said Fresno veterinarian Dr. Kelly Weaver, who donated the dog to the school: "His unexpected passing has left a huge hole in the hearts of all who loved him. Victor E. loved people, loved attending Fresno State events and was larger than life when it came to being around big crowds. All of us will miss him tremendously." Rest in peace, Victor E. Hope there's lots of fun doggies wherever you are. Teddy Mitrosilis works in content production at FOX Sports Digital. Follow him on Twitter @TMitrosilis and email him at [email protected].
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SAN SIMEON, Calif. (AP) For some movie buffs, showing Orson Welles' acclaimed film "Citizen Kane" at Hearst Castle is like having a screening of "Star Wars" on the Death Star. Fifty film fans will have the opportunity to watch Welles' 1941 groundbreaking film partly based on the late William Randolph Hearst at the media tycoon's own private theater at Hearst Castle, a concession the magnate would probably not have made. The screening Friday with a price tag of $1,000 is part of the San Luis Obispo Film Festival and it will include an exclusive tour of the estate, which is now a state park, and a reception in the mansion's patio overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It will benefit the nonprofit Friends of Hearst Castle, a preservation group. Welles' cinema classic was shown before in the Hearst Castle, but this will be the first time the film is screened in the opulent, 50-seat theater at the hilltop estate. Great-grandson Stephen Hearst, the vice president and general manager of Hearst Corp.'s Western Properties, gave his blessing to the festival to screen the film. He said he won't attend the screening but that he sees it as an opportunity to show the differences between great-grandfather and Charles Foster Kane, the character played by Welles. "My logic back then was very simple, this was an opportunity to clarify the record, to draw the distinction between the fictional character of Charlie Kane and his gloomy Xanadu and WR Hearst and his beautiful architectural masterpiece at the top of the hill at San Simeon," Stephen Hearst said. William Randolph Hearst sought to derail the movie, which portrayed the rise and fall of an obsessively controlling media mogul, but the film went on to win an Academy Award in 1942 and is now considered one of the greatest American films. The film, a searing critique of a newspaper magnate, never mentions his Hearst but the similarities to his life are many. The screening, which will be hosted by Ben Mankiewicz, the grandson of Herman Mankiewicz, who co-wrote the "Citizen Kane" screenplay, will be an opportunity to draw the distinctions between William Randolph Hearst's life and Welles' fiction, Stephen Hearst said. Hearst Castle director Mary Levkoff will address the audience at the beginning and at the end of the film and highlight those differences, he said. "I view it as clarifying the record, and showing what an extraordinary human being WR was and what he accomplished in his life," Stephen Hearst said.
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If you consider risky sexual behavior a nonissue, remember this: Over one million people around the world acquire a sexually transmitted disease (STD) every day. Superdrug Online Doctor combined data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) to create a comprehensive look at STD prevalence across space and time. Prevalence of sexually transmitted infections across space and time. onlinedoctor.superdrug.com "We often hear the words herpes, gonorrhea, and chlamydia in a comedic context, but anyone who has an STD knows it's no laughing matter," Superdrug explained. "It's something you may have to live with for the rest of your life. It's scary. It's embarrassing. It's often confusing. But if you're one of those people, you're not alone. Not even close." Prevalence of sexually transmitted infections across space and time. onlinedoctor.superdrug.com Here in the United States, the Dictrict of Columbia (D.C.), and surrounding states, including Delaware, Maryland, and West Virginia, account for the highest rates of new STD cases. In fact, health officials in D.C. said the area's HIV rates are even higher than most West African nations. Southern states, such as Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia, also have higher STD rates compared to most areas of the country. Prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases across space and time. onlinedoctor.superdrug.com Across the pond, it appears Europeans have been able to keep overall incidence of STDs relatively low. Since 1980, European rates of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis have remained stagnant. Out of all European countries, Iceland ranks No. 1 on top five lists for chlamydia, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C infection rates. Prevalence of sexually transmitted infections across space and time. onlinedoctor.superdrug.com
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Pope Francis on Friday marked the second anniversary of his election by declaring a jubilee year that will be interpreted as a powerful signal of his commitment to reforming the Church. The extraordinary holy year, dedicated to the theme of mercy, has been called to celebrate the 50th anniversary of a groundbreaking Vatican council that transformed how the Church related to the modern world, most notably ending the obligation for religious services to be conducted in Latin. The jubilee year will begin on December 8 and run until November 20, 2016. December 8 is one of the holiest dates in the Catholic calender as the Feast of the Immaculate Conception and is also the date on which the Vatican II council closed in 1965. Speaking in St Peter's cathedral, the 78-year-old pontiff described the year's start date as being "of great significance, for it impels the Church to continue the work begun at Vatican II." Vatican II is considered to be one of the defining moments in the history of the Catholic church -- the point at which the clerical hierarchy accepted that some centuries-old ways of thinking and acting had to be jettisoned if the institution was to remain relevant as the sixties began to swing. - A divided Church - Fifty years later, the Church is facing a similar set of dilemmas and is beset by divisions over how to respond to them and close the gap between what it officially preaches and how many of its followers actually live their lives in the early 21st Century. Deep divisions over how the Church should relate to homosexual, divorced and co-habiting believers were aired at an inconclusive, sometimes rancorous, synod of bishops in October-November 2014. They will be revisited when senior clerics re-assemble in Vatican City this October. Francis, the first pope to hail from Latin America, is regarded by most of the world as having been a huge success in his two years at the helm of the Church. His easy charm, decisive approach to issues such as paedophile priests and his pleas for a more merciful and worldly approach on questions like homosexuality and divorce have endeared him to a much broader public than his conservative, dour predecessor Benedict XVI could reach. But he has not endeared himself to everyone within the Church. The forces of passive resistance and inertia are holding up his efforts to reform the Vatican's bureaucracy and his tendency to speak his mind has caused concern amongst conservative theologians. They fear his populism may provide cover for an edging away from long-established doctrinal stances, especially on the issues at the centre of the synods on the family. - A pope in a hurry - The decision to announce the jubilee may reflect Francis's apparent belief that he is not destined to spend a long time in St Peter's. "I have a feeling my pontificate will be brief," he told Mexico's Televisa channel in an interview to mark his anniversary. "Four or five years, I don't know. Two years have already gone by. "It is a vague feeling I have that the Lord chose me for a short mission. I am always open to that possibility." Francis has hinted in the past that he could emulate his predecessor Benedict XVI, who became the first pope to resign in seven centuries when he stepped down in February 2013. Intriguingly, when asked if he liked being pope, Francis replied: "I don't not like it," before expanding on his dislike of travelling and his fondness for the comforts and familiarity of home. Despite that, Francis insisted he did not feel lonely in the top job, although he did confess to sometimes longing for the anonymity enjoyed as the parish priest he once was. One thing he would really like is to be able to go out of the Vatican one day without being recognised and "go and eat a pizza," he said.
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Marcus Mariota had his pro day on Thursday and has received mixed reviews about his performance. Our guys weigh in on what they thought of his pro day.
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The series finale of Glee is sneaking up on us, and it's time to take a look at everything the show has given us. From that unforgettable Journey cover in the first episode to Lea Michele's version of "Let It Go," there are so many fantastic musical moments. Here are some of our favorites!
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What: Shares of Disney broke into the triple digits for the first time last month, on the back of a rally that pushed the stock up by 13%, according to S&P Capital IQ data. So what: Shareholders were treated to a blockbuster first-quarter earnings report on Feb. 3 that included 23% profit growth and a 55% spike in operating cash flow. Disney's consumer goods division, which carries the highest profit margin of any of its business segments, posted a 46% jump as Frozen -themed merchandise dominated the holiday shopping season. The results capped a record earnings year for the House of Mouse -- its fourth in a row. Now what: Investors have good reason to expect another record outing in 2015 and more gains over the years ahead. Disney has a packed slate of movie premieres on the calendar, highlighted by Star Wars: Episode VII launching in December. Management also just announced a second installment in the Frozen franchise that includes the same cast and creative team from the original animated film. Meanwhile, Disney's massive new park in Shanghai is set to boost theme park revenue starting in spring 2016. Disney's broadcast media business could have the toughest time this year as a drop in advertising spending threatens to pinch profits. Investors can already see evidence of that trend in last quarter's results. The media unit improved profit by just 3%, compared to over 20% for each of Disney's other segments: parks and resorts, consumer products, studio entertainment, and interactive. But as a long-term shareholder, I'm not too concerned with that soft advertising market. Disney's diverse revenue stream and wide-ranging growth opportunities provide plenty of cushion to offset weak results in any one area of its business. 1 great stock to buy for 2015 and beyond 2015 is shaping up to be another great year for stocks. But if you want to make sure that 2015 is your best investing year ever, you need to know where to start. That's why The Motley Fool's chief investment officer just published a brand-new research report that reveals his top stock for the year ahead. To get the full story on this year's stock -- completely free -- simply click here . The article Why Walt Disney Co Stock Jumped 13% in February originally appeared on Fool.com. Demitrios Kalogeropoulos owns shares of Walt Disney. The Motley Fool recommends Walt Disney. The Motley Fool owns shares of Walt Disney. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days . We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . Copyright © 1995 - 2015 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
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Over the last several years, federal regulators have swatted automakers as diverse as General Motors (GM) , Toyota (7203.T-JP) , Honda (7267.T-JP) and BMW (BMW-DE) with hefty fines for failing to act quickly after discovering safety defects. But experts warn that consumers also shoulder some of the blame, and say owners may need to face sanctions should they fail to make needed recall repairs. Honda this week announced plans for a national ad campaign aimed at convincing owners of millions of vehicles equipped with potentially defective airbags to bring them in for repairs. Last year, GM offered incentives such as free oil changes to improve the response rate after recalling 2.6 million vehicles equipped with faulty ignition switches. Both problems have been linked to a number of fatalities and serious injuries, yet millions of Honda and GM owners have yet to respond, whether to their original recall notices or to news headlines. That's not unusual. According to CarFax, a vehicle data tracking service, there are tens of millions of cars, trucks and crossovers on American highways with at least one recall-related defect that hasn't been fixed. "The response rate is too low," said Clarence Ditlow, director of the Center for Automotive safety. "These are deadly defects. There needs to be action or people will die." The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration sets strict rules requiring an automaker to quickly notify regulators when a vehicle defect is discovered. The agency then presses manufacturers to take every step possible to notify owners, encouraging them to come to dealers for free repairs. Yet a 2011 audit by the General Accounting Office of NHTSA recalls found less than 70 percent of vehicles were eventually repaired. The response rate varied widely, depending on the type of defect with a low of about 45 percent for vehicle speed control systems, such as cruise control, to around 80 percent for recalls involving defective wheels or tires. Why the low response rate, especially when repairs would be made at no charge to the owner? Some GM and Honda owners claim they have tried to schedule a dealer appointment, only to find out the necessary replacement parts weren't available. But owners of nearly 40 percent, or 1 million, of the vehicles covered by the GM ignition switch recall had not even checked in with a dealer six months after the service action was first announced in February 2014. More from The Detroit Bureau: Is your auto job about to be automated out of existence? The 10 most collectible cars of 2015 Automakers struggle to address privacy in era of high-tech cars There has been a slow ramp-up of production for replacement airbags, but Honda says it was forced to take drastic measures because it has so far only fixed 1.1 million of the 8 million defective airbag systems targeted in the U.S. The Japanese maker also noted it has not been able to locate 17,809 owners. That's a particularly serious problem when dealing with the recall of older vehicles. GM initially said its spring 2014 ignition switch service action covered 2.6 million products. It later reduced that number to reflect vehicles that had been scrapped. But it also admitted it couldn't find tens of thousands of owners. "It's a smart move," Joan Claybrook, a former NHTSA Administrator and ongoing auto safety critic, says of Honda's new recall ad campaign. "It's what companies should do. I wish more would do that." But while frequently critical of the auto industry's safety record, Claybrook also says consumers need to be held responsible. Last summer, CarFax estimated 36 million unrepaired vehicles were still being driven, a figure it said was growing rapidly. Last year's total of 64 million vehicles targeted by recalls was about twice the previous high set in 2004. Even if a relatively high 70 percent of owners took action during what some call "the year of the recall," perhaps 19 million more vehicles are now rolling around with potentially deadly defects. "People have a responsibility for getting their cars fixed," contends Claybrook. Earlier this month, U.S. Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) introduced legislation that would force states to notify owners about recalls and, in turn, require motorists to complete repairs, in most cases, before the vehicles could be registered. Even a shortage of replacement parts would qualify for just a 60-day delay. There has been some opposition, but the proposal also has created some unusual allies, including the Center for Auto Safety, the Consumer Federation of America and Honda Motor Co. Honda's North American Executive Vice President Rick Schostek says, "We believe the process of vehicle registration is a logical point to require an additional check for any open safety recalls in order to ensure that repairs are completed." Automakers have been forced to tighten up on safety after some embarrassing, and sometimes deadly, lapses in recent years. But industry experts say that unless consumers make sure their cars are repaired, when needed, there will continue to be far too many unjustified crashes, injuries and deaths.
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BOCA RATON, Fla. The interior of Irvin Rosenfeld's Toyota 4Runner reeks of marijuana. A tin stuffed with hundreds of joints lies in the trunk, and a bag full of them is stored in the door pocket. On a recent weekday, the 62-year-old stockbroker stopped at a red light and took a drag. His exhale filled the cabin with smoke. It was his fourth joint that day. It wasn't yet lunchtime. "This car has 80,000 miles on it," Rosenfeld announced between puffs, stray ash landing softly on the battered towel he drapes over his pleated brown trousers and red tie. "I haven't gotten into one accident." Rosenfeld would smoke five or six more joints by day's end. In between, he would trade tens of thousands of dollars in stocks. Some days, the broker moves millions around, pausing occasionally to steal drags of marijuana from the smokeless vapor pen that tides him over indoors. Clients have given their blessing to his 10-joint-a-day habit. So has the Drug Enforcement Administration. The federal agency at the forefront of the war on drugs is normally unyielding in its view that marijuana has no valid medical use. But it not only gives permission to Rosenfeld to light up any place cigarettes are allowed, but it also acts as his dealer. Rosenfeld gets that special treatment because he has a rare bone disorder that gives him a lot of pain. He is one of only two people in the nation still actively involved in a federal program that supplies marijuana free to patients suffering from certain diseases. The government harvests infrequently and Rosenfeld's current stash came out of the ground six years ago. Not exactly prime bud. But good enough that in three decades he has consumed about 216 pounds hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth to ease his pain. "I am getting my money's worth out of my taxes, that's for sure," he said. "I am one of the few people in this country who never complains about paying them." The program started in 1976 when Robert Randall of Florida convinced a court that pot was essential to treating his glaucoma. Rather than open the door to patients growing their own marijuana, drug officials chose to supply it to Randall. Rosenfeld was the next to secure the same deal, and 11 more patients would trickle in, including the other patient the government still supplies, Elvy Musikka, an Oregonian with glaucoma. A doctor authorized by the government to treat Rosenfeld with marijuana writes his prescriptions and gives him regular check-ups. The pot comes from a farm in Mississippi run by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which periodically sends the weed by FedEx to Rosenfeld's pharmacy. The marijuana is rolled tightly into joints that are freeze-dried and packed 300 to a container. The joints come with 14 pages of instructions on how to properly rehydrate them most of which Rosenfeld ignores. Instead, he unrolls them, moistens their contents in plastic bags lined with wet paper towels and later rolls them back into joints. After Rosenfeld received his first shipment, he recalled, he saw a commercial in which FedEx boasted, "We ship anything." He pointed to the bag of federal pot he was holding and told his wife, Debbie, "That's a true statement." In the early 1990s, the Food and Drug Administration ruled that scores of AIDS patients should be given access to the program. Thousands might have signed up, but the administration of President George H.W. Bush changed the policy and halted the program. Since then, the government has avoided keeping track of Rosenfeld's pot smoking. "The government was never comfortable with this program," said Rick Doblin, executive director of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, a Santa Cruz, Calif.-based group that is lobbying to change federal restrictions that have pushed most major medical marijuana research abroad. "They are just waiting for all the people in it to die. ... They purposely are not gathering data," Doblin said. Federal officials said patient privacy laws prohibited them from discussing whether they monitor Rosenfeld and Musikka. Rosenfeld says the drug relieves pain that is otherwise so intense that he can sit or walk for only short stretches. Because so few studies have been done on the medical effects of pot, no one can say for certain why it works for him. Nor do researchers understand why he never seems stoned. A neurologist who treated Rosenfeld for six years, Juan Sanchez-Ramos, attributes it to a tolerance created from so much smoking, along with the low potency of government pot. "Whenever he came to my office, he wasn't out of it or spacey," said Sanchez-Ramos, who has Rosenfeld's permission to discuss his case. "He was like your prototypical stockbroker." The 10-page federal protocol Rosenfeld carries with him designates that he may smoke marijuana with impunity. It says he can drive so long as he is not intoxicated. These days, Rosenfeld no longer stands out for using pot to treat an ailment. About 1 million Americans do so in 23 states and the District of Columbia, which allow at least the medical use of marijuana. The federal government's long-standing consent to Rosenfeld's drug use has attracted renewed attention as Congress softens its opposition to marijuana and a growing number of doctors denounce drug policies that prevent research aimed at turning pot into a properly controlled pharmaceutical. Rosenfeld goes about his day like any other Floridian except for the marijuana. He plays in a softball league. He doesn't light up until the other players are enjoying their postgame beer. He donates his time to an organization that teaches disabled kids how to sail. He doesn't smoke around children and waits until he drives away to puff on a joint. He travels cross-country. He carries a note when he flies that directs airline security to ignore the cache of pot in his luggage. Being in so rare a category does sometimes lead to problems in this state, where pot is banned altogether. Rosenfeld recalls a recent run-in with DEA agents based in the office park where he worked. "I was resting in my car at lunchtime, having my usual two joints, and all of a sudden there is pounding on all four windows," Rosenfeld said. "I opened my eyes and the car was surrounded. One big guy puts a gold badge against the window and announced I was under arrest." Rosenfeld told them they were mistaken. They told him they were the DEA. "I said, 'Great. You should be familiar with my program!'" Rosenfeld said. It got weirder for the agents when Rosenfeld pulled out his bag of joints with the prescription on it, and then walked around to the back of his car to show them the tin can stuffed with marijuana. Along with it, he handed over a yellowing copy of Newsweek magazine. Bill Clinton's sexual harassment accuser, Paula Jones, was on the cover. Tucked inside the issue was a story about Rosenfeld. Rosenfeld jokes that he is resented at work because he won't share his marijuana stash, but one person who is not eager to sample it is Debbie Rosenfeld. Over the years, she developed an allergy to cannabis. Ultimately, living together became untenable for the couple. They separated. Every one of Irvin Rosenfeld's 250 clients at the investment firm Newbridge Securities knows he's a pot smoker, he said. He brings it up by asking them whether they know anybody who has taken on the federal government and won. He tells them he has, and promises to use that same gumption in making them money. "If you like the idea of that, I say, then use me as your stockbroker," Rosenfeld said. "If you don't like the idea of me using 10 cannabis cigarettes a day for my bone disorder, then fine, have a great life." The owners of Newbridge declined to be interviewed and in the past asked Rosenfeld not to reveal where he worked. A few months ago the firm launched a fund that invests exclusively in medical marijuana businesses and appointed Rosenfeld an adviser to it. Since then, Newbridge's reservations about being linked to Rosenfeld disappeared. Before Rosenfeld headed back into his office to make afternoon trades, he sat on a plush leather couch in a common area drawing hits from his vapor pen while cradling the open canister crammed with joints. Buttoned-down colleagues shuffled by. Not one of them did a double take.
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INDIAN WELLS, Calif. (AP) Serena Williams is back at Indian Wells for the first time in 14 years, and the world's top-ranked women's player is in a forgiving mood. She's stayed away from the BNP Paribas Open since winning the 2001 title as a 19-year-old, getting booed by the fans for what happened a day earlier, when she was to play older sister Venus in a semifinal and Venus withdrew because of injury 20 minutes before the start. She will play Monica Niculescu of Romania in a second-round match Friday night. "I'm looking forward to stepping out on center court and letting the whole world know that it doesn't matter what you face, if it's something that wasn't right, hurt you, hurt your family, you can just come out and be strong and say, `I'm still going to be here, I'm still going to survive and I'm still going to be the best person I can be,'" Williams said Thursday. Williams is 14-1 with two titles to her credit in three previous appearances in the desert. In early matches Friday, No. 3 seed Simona Halep beat qualifier Dana Gavrilova 2-6, 6-1, 6-2 and No. 8 Ekaterina Makarova beat Elena Vesnina 6-4, 6-0. Williams' match was one of nine involving Americans, with three advancing early on in 90-degree heat, unusual for this time of year. Sloane Stephens upset 13th-seeded Angelique Kerber 7-6 (8), 6-2 in second-round play. On the men's side, Donald Young and Steve Johnson advanced to the second round in straight sets. Young defeated Pablo Carreno Busta 6-3, 6-4 and Johnson beat Marcel Granollers 6-2, 6-3. Losing were Alison Riske, who was beaten 6-3, 6-1 by seventh-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska, and Sam Querrey, who lost to Sergiy Stakhovsky 6-2, 4-6, 6-2. Williams' return was welcomed by tournament officials, although the event had hardly stagnated in her absence. It is one of the best attended outside of the four Grand Slam events, with close to 450,000 expected through the gates during the two weeks. Nike took out a full-page color ad on the back of the Los Angeles Times sports section Friday, featuring Williams' hand with her distinctive nail art tossing up a ball. It read, "At age 19 I was dealt the hardest serve of my career. A serve that I didn't know how to handle. One that I thought time would take care of. That 18 major titles could easily put away. I've finally figured out there is no way I can return that serve if I'm not facing it." Caroline Wozniacki, one of Williams' closest friends in tennis, is among several players glad to see her back. "It's a big step for her and I'm sure she's going to handle it great," Wozniacki said. Venus Williams hasn't changed her mind about boycotting Indian Wells, although she and the sisters' parents are supportive of Serena's return. In 2001, her father Richard said he heard racial taunts from the crowd, and there was speculation that he dictated which sister would win their meetings. Now 33, Serena said it wasn't one thing in particular that brought her back to the tournament that she had vowed she would never play again. Her decision was partly based on wanting to raise awareness for Equal Justice Initiative, a nonprofit organization that provides legal representation to indigent defendants and prisoners who have been denied fair treatment in the legal system. "A lot of things that have been happening lately definitely played a part in the whole picture," she said. "I thought it was really good timing, not just for me but for Americans in general, to step up and say that we as Americans can do better. We can be better, and we are better."
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Why not add another body? The New Orleans Saints have agreed to a contract with ex-Buffalo Bills running back CJ Spiller, according to a report from ESPN's Adam Schefter. Spiller joins a backfield that already includes Mark Ingram and Khiry Robinson. Spiller showed flashes of brilliance during his five years with the Bills after landing in Buffalo and the No. 9 overall pick of the 2010 NFL Draft. His best season came in 2012 when he rushed for 1,244 yards; caught 43 passes for another 459 yards and scored 8 total touchdowns. However, that was the only season that he reached the 1,000-yard rushing plateau. The Saints were the 20th-ranked rushing team in the NFL last season. The addition of Spiller gives the team a solid trio of options.
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CHICAGO (AP) -- Sam Dekker scored 17 points, Frank Kaminsky added 16 points and 12 rebounds and No. 6 Wisconsin beat Michigan 71-60 in the Big Ten tournament quarterfinals Friday. Dekker and Kaminsky, the Big Ten Player of the Year, combined to score all their team's points in a decisive 9-2 run that broke a 54-all tie late in the second half. The top-seeded Badgers (29-3) opened the tournament on a winning note and will meet Penn State or Purdue in the semifinals on Saturday. Zak Irvin led Michigan (16-16) with 21 points and 11 rebounds. Ricky Doyle scored 12 and Spike Albrecht added 10 points for the Wolverines, who lost despite shooting 52 percent and committing just five turnovers. Wisconsin, which beat Michigan in overtime in January, simply got all it could handle. The Badgers closed the first half on an 18-4 run to take a five-point lead, but the Spartans hung in until the closing minutes. Back-to-back layups by Kaminsky with about five minutes left put the Badgers ahead for good. He also made a big play after Doyle scored for Michigan, diving for a loose rebound to keep the possession alive. That led to a 3 by Dekker to make it 61-56 with 3:42 left. Irvin then turned the ball over. Dekker made two free throws to push the lead to seven with 2:27 left after rebounding his own missed jumper, and the Badgers hung on from there. The way the first half ended, it looked like Wisconsin might run away with this one. Michigan, which jumped on Illinois early in Thursday's win, was leading 22-13 with 8:11 remaining after Albrecht pulled up for a 3-pointer. But Wisconsin took over after that. Dekker started the big run with a dunk and layup, and Bronson Koenig nailed back-to-back 3s to make it 31-26 in the closing minute, drawing big cheers from the Badgers' fans. Kaminsky had eight points and eight rebounds in the first half. Dekker scored eight, including six during that run. The Spartans got 10 points each from Albrecht and Irvin, and the teams combined for just five fouls in the first 20 minutes. TIP INS Michigan: G Derrick Walton Jr. was in uniform but did not play. He has been sidelined since Jan. 24 because of a left toe/foot injury Wisconsin: This is the fourth time the Badgers are the No. 1 seed. UP NEXT Michigan: Postseason to be determined. Wisconsin: Plays Penn State or Purdue in Saturday's Big Ten tourney semifinals.
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BROOKHAVEN, Miss. (AP) When Donna Davis opened her door shortly after midnight, what she saw reminded her of a scene out of a horror movie. A mother and two children, a boy and a girl, were covered in blood after being shot in their home across the road. Someone kept saying, "'We've been hit,'" Davis said, awakened by a pounding on the doors. There was so much blood, she said, that she thought they had been hit by a car early Friday. "The little boy, he was half under the porch like he was trying to hide from someone. He was screaming for help," she said, pointing to wooden steps leading to the door of her trailer home. At one point, said Davis' mother-in-law, Linda Davis, the boy reached up to his face and said, "Oh, half my ear is gone." Police said a man living in the house owned by the woman, Victoria Sims, and her husband, Jermaine Sims, shot them both and their three children. Jermaine Sims, 31, and a 9-year-old daughter died. Victoria Sims, 29, and their 6-year-old son and 14-year-old daughter survived but were in critical condition, Capt. Clint Earls said. Police did not release the children's names. Victoria and the two other children who survived had crossed a usually busy two-lane highway to seek help, Donna Davis said. "It was like out of a horror movie," she said. "I still see that little girl's face in my mind." Jimmy Lyons, 32, is accused of shooting the family, Earls said. He added that Lyons faces two counts of murder and three of aggravated assault. Lyons was being held in a county jail. It was not known if he had an attorney. Earls said Jermaine Sims and Lyons had argued, but he did not know what the argument was about. Earls said there don't appear to have been any witnesses. "The only thing we are waiting on is getting some of the victims in well-enough health to where they can shed some light on what caused the incident to erupt," Earls said. The shootings took place in an area about a mile south of downtown Brookhaven: inside city limits but rural in nature, where large yards are studded with pine trees. Donna and John Davis and their 10-year-old daughter, Heaven, live in a white-and-beige trailer home across the highway and about 100 yards away from the Sims' brown, wood-frame home. John Davis' mother, Linda Davis, lives next door in a small cream-colored house. Police said a call about 12:20 a.m. Friday brought police to the Davises' homes, where they found Victoria Sims and two children outside, wounded. Inside the Sims' home they found Jermaine Sims and the 9-year-old, both shot, and Lyons, uninjured. Jermaine Sims and the daughter died later at a hospital. The Davises said they often saw the children getting on and off the school bus or riding bicycles in the yard, but did not know their neighbors. John Davis said the boy's wounds included cuts on his face, as if he'd been attacked with a knife. Donna Davis said that, while they waited for an ambulance, she hugged the girl to keep her warm. "She kept saying, 'I want my mama,'" Donna Davis said. ___ Associated Press Writer Bill Fuller contributed to this report.
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By Steve DelVecchio Rick Pitino was very disappointed after Louisville was bounced from the ACC Tournament on Thursday at the hands of a 70-60 loss to North Carolina, so he decided to take it out on a student reporter. Before opening things up for questions, Pitino said in his opening remarks that the Cardinals "went cold" when North Carolina switched to zone defense. When student reporter Derek Brightwell of the Louisville Cardinal asked Pitino why his team is struggling so much against the zone, salty Rick went off on him. "Well, you obviously see, if you're from the Louisville Cardinal, that we're not a great shooting team so that's a pretty silly question to ask," Pitino barked. "You watched the game, didn't you? So you don't have to be an X and O genius to figure that one out, do you?" [ see video here ] Brightwell was a good sport about it after the press conference, taking to Twitter to comment on the experience. What was so unreasonable about that question? Even if Louisville is struggling against the zone because they are a poor shooting team, how does Pitino plan to fix it? You don't just head into the NCAA Tournament accepting that your team is ineffective against the zone and leave it at that. Perhaps Brightwell could have asked Pitino what adjustments he plans to make to prevent that, but Pitino knew exactly what he meant. Pitino can be entertaining during postgame press conferences when he drops gems like this , but that was uncalled for.
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Lena Dunham praises Kathy Griffin for standing up against E!'s Fashion Police, and "saying enough is enough to intolerance of all kinds on television."
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Without the controversy surrounding his name, Greg Hardy may have been one of the biggest Day 1 signings during free agency, but it looks like he may find a home sooner rather than later. Drew Rosenhaus, Hardy's agent, said Friday at least six teams are after the Pro Bowl defensive end. MORE: Team-by-team free agency deals | Cowboys pull McFadden from bargain bin "It's a very positive situation," Rosenhaus said, via ESPN.com . "While we're waiting to hear from the league, we're working through it, and it has been very encouraging." Hardy remains on the commissioner's exempt list after the Panthers decided not to re-sign the 26-year-old. Rosenhaus said he expects a multi-year deal for Hardy. Hardy missed all but one game last season after Carolina placed him on the exempt list while he faced domestic violence charges. The team still paid Hardy his full $13.1 million salary. Charges were dropped against Hardy on Feb. 9 after his accuser failed to cooperate with the district attorney's office and reached a financial settlement with Hardy. Hardy is seeking immediate reinstatement by the league, but could still face a suspension under the NFL personal conduct code.
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There widespread speculation that Putin is unwell because he hasn't been seen in public for a week, and has cancelled scheduled foreign trips and meetings. Sean Dowling (@seandowlingtv) has more details.
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NEWARK, Ill. A convicted sex offender who had been on the run for two months was found in a hidden room that he apparently built at his wife's home in northern Illinois. Shawn Lipsey, 40, was convicted in November of six counts of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child and two counts of indecent solicitation of a child. He was released on bail but failed to appear at a January sentencing hearing, The (Aurora) Beacon-News reported (http://trib.in/1CcNlja ). Officers took him into custody following a raid by a SWAT unit on Tuesday, after receiving a tip that he was at his wife's home in Newark, about 50 miles southwest of Chicago. "It was wild," said Kendall County sheriff's Deputy Bryan Harl. "Lipsey was located in the home, hiding in a specially constructed room. He made a fake wall, and it had hinges. He was hiding behind it." The room looked lived-in, Harl said. Deputies don't know how long Lipsey had been hiding there. "Once we located him, Lipsey surrendered and was taken into custody," Harl said. "There was no resistance. There was no fighting." The team looking for him included officers from the Kendall County Sheriff's Office, the county's Cooperative Assistance Team and U.S. marshals. ___ Information from: The Beacon-News, http://beaconnews.chicagotribune.com/
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At first, his hands just felt a little numb. Cole Bardreau had gone headfirst into the corner boards after he simultaneously got pushed from behind and hit a rut in the ice at Houston Field House in Troy, N.Y., home of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Engineers. Bardreau, a sophomore for the Cornell Big Red in this Jan. 19, 2013, game knew he was hurt, but had no clue that a vertebra had broken two different places in his neck and he was in extreme danger of being paralyzed. The injury came only two games after he returned from the World Junior Championships where he and Flyers prospect Shayne Gostisbehere won gold for the USA. "I thought it was my chest like a bruised sternum or maybe a concussion," Bardreau said in a phone interview. "Obviously if I knew that I had a C-7 fracture, I wouldn't have jeopardized that by playing the rest of the game. It was something that I thought I could play through and it was gonna go away." The 5-10, 194-pound New Hampshire native finished the game, broken neck and all, and two days later told Cornell's staff that his neck still hurt, so they took him for a precautionary X-ray. "I went in with my book bag on like it was a normal day," Bardreau said, "and I came out in an ambulance. It was pretty scary." Hard to believe that a little more than two years later, Bardreau is not only fully recovered and playing hockey again, but signed a two-year entry-level contract with the Flyers Thursday. The center, who turns 22 in July and says he plays like Tampa Bay's Ryan Callahan, nearly never walked again. "I can't remember the doctor's exact words right now, but he basically said I was actually really close (to being paralyzed)," Bardreau said. "It was a unique case that I took to several doctors and no one agreed on a time frame for a recovery for playing." Eventually Bardreau found a doctor in Rochester who took the case to a conference and found a similar case in Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Steve Smith, who broke his neck in a game when he was playing for Utah in college and similarly didn't know until two days later. "Crazy as it was, he was one of my favorite football players," Bardreau said. "I grew up in North Carolina when he was playing for the Panthers. I really liked him." Just like Smith, Bardreau spent three months post-surgery in a stiff neck brace with no lifting weights allowed. Slowly but surely he worked his way back into a normal routine and played 26 games last season as an alternate captain for the Big Red. This season he played in 30, notching five goals and 17 assists. The Boston Bruins and Detroit Red Wings wanted him, teams he attended prospect camps with last summer, but instead he decided on the Flyers after the Big Red season wrapped up in the first round of the ECAC playoffs. "The biggest thing was that as a player they want me to play the same way I see myself playing," Bardreau said. "Sometimes going to the next level it can be different. Someone might see themselves as a goal-scorer when their team doesn't see them in that role, so I think just the role they had is the role I want to play. That was huge for me." After taking in the Flyers-Dallas Stars game Tuesday, meeting the coaching staff and checking out the practice facility in Voorhees, N.J., Bardreau also saw the Lehigh Valley Phantoms' digs in Allentown, Pa. He'll get to know that building well soon, as he will join Gostisbehere and Co. next week for the remainder of the season on an amateur tryout. First he'll touch base with his professors at Cornell and find a way to graduate on time with his major in applied economics and management. Bardreau isn't a flashy goal-scorer, instead a gritty center, a self-proclaimed "in-your-face guy that will compete and work hard every shift." He had no idea that the Flyers' reputation was built on that same mentality. "I didn't know much about them," Bardreau said. "That's another thing, too. They seem to pride themselves on their hard-working mentality and that's something I pride myself on as well." Dave Isaac writes for the (Cherry Hill, N.J.) Courier-Post
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WASHINGTON Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas, promised in January when the Republicans took back the majority that they would do things differently, allowing amendments from both sides and generally operating in a bipartisan fashion. So when the Senate began debate this week on his seemingly non-controversial, bipartisan legislation to combat human trafficking, the Texan was expecting it to easily clear the chamber. Instead, his bill, the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act became a lightning rod as Democrats suddenly did an about-face, closed ranks and accused Republicans of sneaking in an anti-abortion provision. Republicans angrily denied it and accused the Democrats of failing to read the bill, which had been posted for two months. The result, in what was supposed to be a new era of cooperation, has been more gridlock, with some sharp, personal accusations thrown in. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., filed a procedural vote that is expected to take place Tuesday that he hopes will break the stalemate. "That's really what I find so baffling is what has been a uniquely bipartisan effort has now turned into a partisan filibuster, and I, frankly, am perplexed by that," Cornyn said Thursday. "Maybe we'll have some folks come out and explain why they're filibustering this bill they voted for in the Judiciary Committee. We got a unanimous vote in the Judiciary Committee." Cornyn, a former Texas Supreme Court judge, had worked closely with Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., a former prosecutor, to develop the bill. Supported by 13 Democratic co-sponsors and 18 Republicans in addition to Cornyn, the bill would encourage law enforcement to pursue traffickers, who usually exploit underage girls, and create a $30 million fund to help victims from fines imposed on traffickers. The bill was unanimously approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee in February and was poised for quick Senate approval. "All of a sudden, at the 11th hour, there's an objection," said Cornyn. On the second day of Senate consideration, Democrats realized that the bill included a provision known as the Hyde Amendment stating that none of the funds in the bill could be used for abortions. The provision is a mainstay of all appropriations bills dating back to 1976 and specifies that taxpayer monies cannot be used for abortions. While Republicans pointed out that the language had been in the bill since it was introduced in January, incensed Democrats said that Republican aides had deceived their Democratic counterparts. Furthermore, they said it expanded the Hyde Amendment by extending it to fines, not taxpayer funding, and to a five-year authorization instead of a yearly appropriation bill. "I tell you something, there is one advantage to being around here a long time," said four-term Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., who is retiring next year. "You have the sense of what used to be decent around here when your word was your word and your bond was your bond." Democrats contended that Republicans told them in emails that the bill was unchanged from one last year that did not include the Hyde language except for minor fixes. For their part, Republicans ridiculed Democrats for not having read the bill, which is only 68 pages long. "I don't believe the Democrats didn't read the legislation," said Cornyn. "I think this is more about politics." Neither side, for now, intends to budge. Democrats want the abortion provision stripped from the bill before voting on it and Republicans want Democrats to vote to remove it as part of the bill, a tactical advantage that favors Republicans. As for all the partisan bickering, Cornyn said, "We've tried to change things."
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We all know that in the fairy tale, Cinderella wears glass slippers, but actress Lily James is looking for slightly more comfortable and no less stunning heels. Here she tries several designer pairs. Watch to see which will be fit for a princess.
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Carly Rae Jepsen is at it again with her new hit single, "I Really Like You," but what is Tom Hanks really doing in the music video? YouTube personality Kingsley joined Becca Frucht to count down their favorite trends from the web this week on Top That! Catch up on everything from Ryan Gosling's sweet dance moves to a Tinder fairy tale that tugs at your heartstrings.
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There was a time many moons ago when Dale Earnhardt Jr. once ruled Phoenix International Raceway. Actually, he ruled PIR twice. The years were 2003 and 2004 when Earnhardt, still a relative newcomer to NASCAR's top series, was competing for Dale Earnhardt Inc. -- the organization his legendary father founded. Driving the No. 8 red Budweiser Chevrolet, the Kannapolis, North Carolina native scored back-to-back wins at PIR in the fall of '03 and '04. Eleven years later, he's still searching for his third Phoenix victory. In 20 races since last hoisting the winner's trophy at PIR, Earnhardt Jr. has been wildly inconsistent at the 1-mile desert track -- sometimes running near the front and sometimes struggling for a spot in the top 10. But through the various highs and lows, he hasn't been back to Victory Lane in the Valley of the Sun. To put the length of Earnhardt's Phoenix drought into perspective, consider all that has happened since his most recent triumph here in the fall of '04: • PIR added a second annual Sprint Cup date (in 2005) • Junior left DEI for Hendrick Motorsports (2008) • PIR was reconfigured with progressive banking, a wider frontstretch and a tighter "kink" in the backstretch (2011) What does all this mean? Not only has it been a long time since Earnhardt conquered PIR; he has yet to do so on the current layout, which now features progressive 10-11 degree banking in turns 1 and 2, and progressive 8-9 degree banking in turns 3 and 4. Needless to say, NASCAR's most popular driver is itching to change all that in Sunday's CampingWorld.com 500 (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX). "Phoenix, the shape of the track's unlike anything else," said the driver of the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. "You go to a lot of tracks and you feel like you see some of the same things at a lot of different racetracks, especially the mile-and-a-halves -- they're all kind of very similar. "But nothing's like Phoenix. Nothing has the dogleg on the backstraightaway and the banking and all that stuff with variable banking." Especially tricky is that turns 1 and 2 are extremely sharp while turns 3 and 4 are long and sweeping. Thus, a different approach is required to successfully navigate the different ends of the track. "Turns 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 are so different from each other, so it's a fun challenge for the crew chiefs and the teams to try to set a car up to get around all those different corners and different styles of banking," Earnhardt said. "And the track was recently paved, so it's a real challenge to pass, which can be fun, but as the track's aged over the last couple years it's gotten more enjoyable and more fun to sort of set up how you drive the corners, but it's a challenge. "The tire there is super, super hard, really slick and can get out from under you really easy, so you've got to be really careful -- you have to respect the racetrack quite a bit." The good news for Earnhardt is that he and his No. 88 team led by first-year crew chief Greg Ives come into the weekend on a roll, having finished no worse than fourth in the season's first three races. Although he began 2014 with similarly impressive results, Earnhardt believes his team is actually much stronger now than a year ago when it opened the season with a win in the Daytona 500, followed by second-place finishes at Phoenix and Las Vegas. "We finished first, second, second last year, but we did that on luck," Earnhardt said on this week's "Dale Jr. Download" on Dirty Mo Radio. "We ran about eighth or ninth all race long last year at Vegas and worked around with strategy and got up there and finished second. "This time, we raced up there. So you can see the cars are better, and I think that our team's really in good shape." Despite starting out the year with three newcomers to his six-man over-the-wall crew, Earnhardt has been particularly pleased with the team's performance on pit road. "We're having some good, consistent stops," he said on Dirty Mo Radio. "We've got a lot of new guys on that team, and they're a good job. They seem to be jelling really well together, and I'm ready to get 'em drunk after a win. I'm ready to win one." Possibly as soon as this weekend.
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World cycling's governing body, the UCI, on Friday announced a number of measures to reinforce its anti-doping drive. The announcement comes in the wake of an independent commission's accusations on Monday that leading figures in the UCI protected Lance Armstrong and other drug cheats to protect the sport's reputation. The Cycling Independent Reform Commission (CIRC) also said doping remains widespread and called on the International Cycling Union (UCI) to implement widespread changes. "I am absolutely determined to use the CIRC's report to ensure that cycling continues the process of fully regaining the trust of fans, broadcasters and all the riders who compete clean," said UCI President Brian Cookson. The Englishman said an internal task force would be established to ensure a raft of recommendations are followed up. These included, Cookson said, insisting that key roles in teams, such as sports directors and doctors, were filled by people fulfilling a "fit-and-proper-persons requirement". UCI will work with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and other experts "to analyse new substances and trends, to assess what should be added to the prohibited or monitored lists" There will also be a commitment to work with WADA to "improve the speed of athlete biological passport cases". Other recommendations included a more targeted approach to anti-doping, closer collaboration with National Anti-Doping Agencies (NADOs), the re-launch of the whistleblower programme and the order of night-time testing where it is believed "necessary and proportionate". The developments helped "show the absolute commitment I and my UCI colleagues have to ensure riders win clean and that the minority who choose to cheat are caught and face severe sanctions after fair and fast disciplinary proceedings in full respect of due process," Cookson said. "They also demonstrate that the UCI is now a very different organisation compared to even a few years ago and that we make sure lessons are learnt and mistakes not repeated. "As I predicted, the CIRC report made for uncomfortable reading but it is imperative that we do not shy away from tough decisions. We will continue to focus on rebuilding trust in our great sport that touches the lives of millions of people across the world, and I appeal to everyone in the sport to take their responsibilities at this pivotal moment." CIRC was set up following allegations of corruption to cover up Armstrong's drug failures, and was particularly damning of past presidents Hein Verbruggen and Pat McQuaid. Armstrong, who defeated cancer to go on and win seven straight Tour de France races from 1999 to 2005, was stripped of his titles in 2012 and banned from the sport for life. The fallen US cycling hero, 43, now admits to having taken banned substances.
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Lily James, Kate Mara, and Solange Knowles all get an F on this week's Fashion Offenders hosted by Wonderwall's Kirby Kristen.
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Discussing the bearish story for the crude market, with Keith Kelly, TFS Energy managing director. He says the crude oil storage issue is slightly overdone.
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While earlier rumors suggested that the new 2016 Cadillac CT6 would feature an aluminum chassis, the automaker has announced the architecture will also be comprised of 13 different materials in various sections of the structure. "This is the rocket science of automobile construction and manufacturing today," said Cadillac President Johan de Nysschen in a release. "With the CT6 , we used high-strength aluminum and high-strength steels; lightweight chassis components; we integrate aluminum and steel where it makes sense; we eliminate every gram of mass possible, while achieving world-class performance." Aluminum is said to be used in 64 percent of the new CT6 sedan's body structure including all exterior panels. The lower structure features 13 complex high-pressure die cast pieces as well as aluminum sheets and extrusions. Steel close-out panels are used on the vehicle underbody and are said to reduce noise with less sound deadening material. Cadillac says the mix of materials saves 198 pounds versus a comparable steel structure. Additionally, high-strength steel is used in construction with high-strength aluminum to reinforce the body structure. This technique is said to form a safety cage around the passenger compartment. High-strength steel is also used in the B-pillar for strength as well as better ergonomics and visibility. The material has the added benefit of reducing outside noise. High-strength aluminum and steel are used for front and side impact zones, while a high-strength aluminum bar is used at the rear of the structure. "The structure of the CT6 is one of the most-advanced body systems we've ever produced," said Travis Hester, Cadillac CT6 executive chief engineer. "The innovation surrounding our joining techniques have [sic] enabled us to create a vehicle structure with the highest torsional rigidity of any Cadillac while achieving one of the most mass-efficient vehicles in the segment." Earlier this year, the automaker said the 2016 Cadillac CT6 sedan's chassis would be assembled by robots and lasers to handle the advanced manufacturing process required to construct a chassis from different materials. The automaker claims there are 21 patents pending for these new processes. Other manufacturing techniques include aluminum spot welds, steel spot welds, flow drill screws, self-piercing rivets, laser welding, aluminum arc welding, and structural adhesive. More details on the 2016 Cadillac CT6 will be revealed during its debut at the 2015 New York auto show. Production of the new flagship will begin late this year at GM's Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant. Source: GM Cadillac CTS pricing and specifications
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The worlds of television's favorite Edwardian era aristocracy and the real-life modern British Monarchy collided as the Duchess of Cambridge stopped by the West London set of 'Downton Abbey.' Jen Markham (@jenmarkham) has the story.
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The Patriots re-signed Devin McCourty, but have now lost both starting corners in free agency, Darrelle Revis to the Jets and Brandon Browner to the Saints. Should the Pats be worried?
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South African doctors announced Friday that they had performed the world's first successful penis transplant, three months after the ground-breaking operation. The 21-year-old patient had his penis amputated three years ago after a botched circumcision at a traditional initiation ceremony. In a nine-hour operation at the Tygerberg Hospital in Cape Town, he received his new penis from a deceased donor, whose family were praised by doctors. "We've proved that it can be done -- we can give someone an organ that is just as good as the one that he had," said Professor Frank Graewe, head of plastic reconstructive surgery at Stellenbosch University. "It was a privilege to be part of this first successful penis transplant in the world." Doctors say the man, whose identity has not been disclosed, has made a full recovery since the operation on December 11 and has regained all urinary and reproductive functions. "Our goal was that he would be fully functional at two years and we are very surprised by his rapid recovery," said Professor Andre van der Merwe, head of Stellenbosch's urology division. In 2006, a Chinese man had a penis transplant but his doctors removed the organ after two weeks due to "a severe psychological problem of the recipient and his wife". Scores of South African teenage boys and young men have their penises amputated each year after botched circumcisions during rite-of-passage ceremonies. "There is a greater need in South Africa for this type of procedure than elsewhere in the world," Van der Merwe said in a statement. - Dangerous rituals - African teenagers from some ethnic groups spend about a month in secluded bush or mountain regions as part of their initiation to manhood. The experience includes circumcision as well as lessons on masculine courage and discipline. A commission last year found 486 boys had died at the winter initiation schools between 2008 and 2013, with a major cause being complications such as infection after circumcision. "For a young man of 18 or 19 years, the loss of his penis can be deeply traumatic," said Van der Merwe. "He doesn't necessarily have the psychological capability to process this. There are even reports of suicide among these young men." Van der Merwe described the anonymous donor and his family as "the heroes" of the story. "They saved the lives of many people because they donated the heart, lungs, kidneys, liver, skin, corneas and then the penis," he said. The South African team included three senior doctors, transplant coordinators, anaesthetists, theatre nurses, a psychologist and an ethicist. Surgeons from Stellenbosch University and Tygerberg Hospital had searched extensively for a suitable donor as part of a pilot study to develop penis transplants in Africa. Some techniques were developed from the first facial transplant in France in 2005. They now plan to perform nine more similar operations. South Africa has long been a pioneer of transplant surgery. In 1967, Chris Barnard performed the world's first heart transplant at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town. The Chinese man who rejected his new penis in 2006 received his transplant after parents of a brain-dead man agreed to donate their son's organ.
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ST. LOUIS (AP) Momentarily, the Nick at the microphone in St. Louis was not who everyone expected. The St. Louis Rams agreed to terms with defensive tackle Nick Fairley on a one-year free agent deal, bringing in Fairley to a news conference as a brief surprise before introducing new quarterback Nick Foles. ''We all know why we're here,'' Rams coach Jeff Fisher began. `'This is a special time for you to get an opportunity to meet Nick. So let's bring Nick in.' Into the auditorium packed mostly with Rams employees and assistant coaches walked Fairley, not Foles. ''How you all doing?'' Fairley asked. ''Nick Fairley needs to go upstairs and sign his contract, he'll be available to you later,'' Fisher added. ''Now we want to introduce you to the other Nick.'' And Foles, no joke, walked in to what certainly had to be an awkward situation. Foles sat between Fisher and general manager Les Snead. Fisher and Snead tried to explain why Sam Bradford had become expendable in the trade with Philadelphia for Foles. Fisher said Bradford would probably not have been back even if he'd agreed to a pay cut. Snead referred to the Bradford situation as a ''quarterback conundrum'' and Fisher said he thought the 6-foot-6 Foles was a good fit for the offense. Foles threw 27 touchdown passes with two interceptions in 2013, and was 9-4 as the starter. ''2013 was just so impressive, what he was able to do, all the throws,'' Fisher said. ''He loves to put it down the field.'' Foles said he's ''180 percent'' recovered from a broken collarbone that sidelined him the last half of 2014. ''I feel at home and I'm thankful for the opportunity to be here,'' Foles said. ''As a young player you always want to play for your first team, but I'm thankful I'm here, I'm excited to be here, and I'm ready to get to work.'' Bradford is entering the final year of a six-year, $78 million deal he signed after the Rams drafted him first overall in 2010. His base salary for next season is $13 million and his cap number is $16.58 million. ''It was an issue, and it was an issue that was addressed for quite some time, and it was not an issue with respect to the transaction as far as they were concerned,'' Fisher said. Bradford missed all last season after reinjuring his surgically repaired left knee in the preseason. He missed the last nine games in 2013 after injuring the knee the first time. Fisher said he met with Bradford on Tuesday morning, not long before the trade, and told him the Rams had been talking with the Eagles. ''He wanted to know what was going on,'' Fisher said. ''I just told him the truth, and then two hours later things really accelerated.'' At every news conference since the season ended, Fisher said Bradford would be his quarterback next season. At the combine, Snead said ''deleting'' Bradford wasn't the answer. ''When coach Fish says he was his quarterback, that was true, because at that moment there was no trade,'' Snead said. ''And there was definitely no one like Nick coming into the building.'' The Rams also added Case Keenum, who was on their practice squad much of last season. They reacquired Keenum from Houston for a seventh-round pick in 2016. ''We have a different room right now, it's a fresh start,'' Fisher said. ''Case was important to us, that we were able to get that done as well.'' Fairley fills an opening in the defensive line rotation after the Rams released tackle Kendall Langford. --- AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL
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Net neutrality advocates are taking to the skies over Austin, Texas, this weekend to hit Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) for his opposition to net neutrality. A plane dragging a 1,500-square-foot banner reading "Don't be an enemy of the Internet, Sen. Ted Cruz," will fly above the Texas capital on Friday and Saturday afternoons, while the South by Southwest festival goes on down below. Cruz has been one of Congress's most vocal critics of federal net neutrality regulations, which attempt to ensure that Internet service providers such as Comcast and Time Warner Cable treat all online traffic equally. Last year , he called it "ObamaCare for the Internet." The banner-toting plane is being launched by Demand Progress, Fight for the Future and Free Press, which all lobbied vigorously in support of tough net neutrality rules over the last year. In February, the three groups flew a similar banner above Comcast's headquarters in Philadelphia, while using the popular online meme Grumpy Cat to protest the cable giant's opposition to new regulations. "Our banner is an Internet-backed reminder to Cruz and all politicians that if you stand against net neutrality, you are standing against the Internet," Demand Progress executive director David Segal said in a statement. Last month, the Federal Communications Commission imposed the toughest Internet regulations the U.S. has ever seen by regulating the Web like a public utility. Groups like Free Press, Demand Progress and Fight for the Future, among others, were critical in getting the agency's three Democrats to embrace those rules, and helped to drive about 4 million public comments to the FCC over the last year far more than it had ever seen before.
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Uber Inc said on Friday it struck a deal with Chinese automaker BYD Co Ltd to test a fleet of electric cars for its drivers. The test program, which kicked off a few weeks ago in Chicago and could eventually expand to other cities, is the Silicon Valley startup's first attempt to focus on an electric vehicle, said Uber spokeswoman Lauren Altmin."We've seen interest in the program already from current and potential Chicago partners (drivers)," Altmin said. Uber, which allows users to summon rides on their smartphones, originally started with a luxury town-car service but in many cities has added UberX, a low frills service with nonprofessional drivers using personal cars. The BYD offering is aimed at those drivers. The electric car is part of Uber's program to help drivers buy or lease new or used cars. The BYD e6 vehicles are available through Green Wheels USA, a Chicago car dealership that focuses on electric and hybrid cars and also builds EV charging stations. About 25 BYD vehicles are currently being used by Uber drivers in Chicago, and the hope is to bring that number to a couple of hundred by the end of the year, according to Doug Snower, Green Wheels' president. Uber began talking to BYD and Green Wheels late last year, Altmin said. For BYD the deal with Uber could be a step toward the long-held goal of selling its cars to U.S. consumers. The company, whose name stands for "build your dream", is a major automaker in China, but its e6 vehicle has thus far only been used in pilot programs in the United States. Nissan Motor Co Ltd and Tesla Motors Inc are better known in the United States for their electric cars, the Leaf and the Model S. Uber would not comment on why it had picked a company with a relatively unknown brand. The e6 is larger than many other electric cars, however, and is being used in London by chauffer service Thriev. BYD gained Warren Buffett's backing in 2009 and announced plans to sell its e6 electric car in the United States the following year. Since then, BYD's U.S. business has focused mainly on electric buses for public transportation. BYD publicized the program on its Facebook page but declined to comment on the deal with Uber. The Facebook post, which has a picture of the vehicle, says the e6 has a 186 mile range on a single charge. It also says financing is available from BYD-approved lenders. Green Wheels is offering several options to drivers interested in the e6. The most popular program, Snower said, allows an Uber driver to pay $200 a week to use an e6 for his or her driving shift. The vehicle is then returned to a Green Wheels lot, where it is charged until it is used again. Drivers can also enter into a more traditional lease or a lease-to-own program, Snower said. (Reporting By Nichola Groom; editing by Andrew Hay)
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Running back DeAngelo Williams, the Carolina Panthers' career rushing leader, signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers on Friday. "Excited about signing with the Steelers!" tweeted Williams, who was released by the Panthers on Tuesday. "Trust me when I say that I've got a LOT of gas left in the tank." Williams, 31, figures to back up Le'Veon Bell, the AFC's leading rusher in 2014 with 1,361 yards. Williams is Carolina's all-time leader with 6,846 rushing yards, 1,432 rushing attempts, 46 rushing touchdowns and 18 games with 100 or more rushing yards. Injuries limited Williams to six games for Carolina in 2014. Williams rushed for 219 yards on 62 carries and totaled five receptions for 44 yards. Williams played in two postseason games, rushing for 30 yards on six carries and recording two catches for two yards.
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Three New York residents accused of offering support to Islamic State jihadists fighting in Syria and Iraq pleaded not guilty to terrorism charges on Friday during a court appearance following their arrest last month. Uzbekistan nationals Abdurasul Hasanovich Juraboev, 24 and Abror Habibov, 30, together with Kazakhstan citizen Akhror Saidakhmetov, 19, are charged with offering support to a foreign terrorist organization. They face up to 15 years in prison if found guilty. FBI agents arrested Saidakhmetov at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport on February 25 as he attempted to board a flight to Istanbul en route to Syria. Juraboev, who had bought a ticket for a flight to Turkey due to leave in March, was detained at his home in Brooklyn while Habibov was arrested in Jacksonville, Florida and accused of paying for Saidakhmetov's trip. Appearing before judge William Kuntz in federal court in Brooklyn on Friday, all three pleaded not guilty, a spokesman told AFP. Prosecutors said Juraboev came to the attention of authorities after posting a message online last August offering to kill President Barack Obama if ordered to do so by IS, which has taken control of large swathes of Iraq and Syria. The court hearing came against a backdrop of mounting concern amongst Western governments over the rising number of foreign fighters travelling to Syria through Turkey to join extremist groups. US intelligence officials warned in February that more than 20,000 volunteers from around the world, including more than 150 Americans, had gone to Syria to link up with extremists. Nicholas Rasmussen, director of the National Counter-Terrorism Center, said the rate of travel to Syria was "unprecedented" and exceeds the number of militant supporters who went anywhere else, such as Afghanistan or Pakistan, in the last 20 years.
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PALM HARBOR, Fla. (AP) Adam Scott packed up his bags and headed to the next tournament, a common sight except for one tiny detail. This was only Friday. Scott missed four putts inside 5 feet in the second round and shot a 4-over 75 to miss the cut at the Valspar Championship, ending the longest active streak on the PGA Tour. Scott had gone 45 straight PGA Tour events -- and 57 events worldwide -- without missing a cut. "It had to happen eventually," he said. Even so, Scott raised his cap and scratched his head when asked the last time he had a weekend off at a golf tournament. He finally remembered the Byron Nelson Championship in May 2012. Scott used a conventional putter for the second straight week after having used a long putter anchored to his chest the previous four years, including his Masters victory. He tied for fourth in his 2015 debut -- and his debut with a short putter -- last week at Doral. "It was pretty scrappy out there," Scott said. "Some loose shots, and some loose lag putts and some loose short putts. There's not many courses we play you can get away with that. I've got to tighten it up a little bit. Overall, I feel pretty good. There's a lot of good stuff in there." Scott said no one should be surprised if he used the long putter at Augusta National, adding with a smile that "it's nice to have options." But he wasn't alarmed that he ranked No. 141 out of 144 players at Innisbrook in the key putting statistic. "I feel fine with it," he said. "It can happen. You can miss some short ones. Obviously, it's not what you want and there's no excuse. But there's a couple of things I'd like to make an adjustment with on different greens, different green speeds." He used the long putter in practice this week, and said it helps as a training aid. "I see myself practicing with it forever," he said. Scott couldn't help but smile when he suggested one problem he faced this week at Innisbrook. He was a little tired, even though he had a three-month break. His wife gave birth to their first child, and he is in the middle of six weeks away from home. "If you can blame fatigue after a layoff, in fairness, I feel like I've crammed more into my last month than I have in a year," he said. "With the birth, spending nine days at home with a newborn, coming over and practicing and play in an event, all in three weeks ... I feel like a lot has happened. I've been certainly sleeping soundly this week. I think it's just getting back adjusted to everything." Scott came up just 97 starts short of matching the consecutive cut record held by Tiger Woods from 1998 to 2005. "Just missed it," he said with a heavy dose of sarcasm. He missed the cut, but the Australian didn't miss a single autograph request for the next 15 minutes as he worked his way along a rail fence, signing Masters flags, golf balls and taking a half-dozen selfies with fans. The active cut streak on tour now belongs to Steve Stricker at 35. Stricker has not played since the PGA Championship last August.
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DALLAS (AP) The deaths of three people who developed a foodborne illness linked to some Blue Bell ice cream products have prompted the Texas icon's first product recall in its 108-year history. Five people, in all, developed listeriosis in Kansas after eating products from one production line at the Blue Bell creamery in Brenham, Texas, according to a statement Friday from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The FDA says listeria bacteria were found in samples of Blue Bell Chocolate Chip Country Cookies, Great Divide Bars, Sour Pop Green Apple Bars, Cotton Candy Bars, Scoops, Vanilla Stick Slices, Almond Bars and No Sugar Added Moo Bars. Blue Bell says its regular Moo Bars were untainted, as were its half gallons, quarts, pints, cups, three-gallon ice cream and take-home frozen snack novelties. According to a Friday statement from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, all five of the people sickened were receiving treatment for unrelated health issues at the same Kansas hospital before developing listeriosis, "a finding that strongly suggests their infections (with listeria bacteria) were acquired in the hospital," the CDC said. Of those five, information was available from four on what foods they had eaten in the month before the infection. All four had consumed milkshakes made with a single-serving Blue Bell ice cream product called "Scoops" while in the hospital, the CDC said. "Scoops," as well as the other suspect Blue Bell items, are mostly food service items and not produced for retail, said Paul Kruse, CEO of the Brenham creamery. The CDC said the listeria isolated from specimens taken from four of the five patients at Via Christi St. Francis hospital in Wichita, Kansas, matched strains from Blue Bell products obtained this year in South Carolina and Texas. The five patients became ill with listeriosis during their hospitalizations for unrelated causes between December 2013 and January 2015, said hospital spokeswoman Maria Loving. "Via Christi was not aware of any listeria contamination in the Blue Bell Creameries ice cream products and immediately removed all Blue Bell Creameries products from all Via Christi locations once the potential contamination was discovered," Loving said in a statement Friday to The Associated Press. Via Christi has eight hospitals in Kansas and Oklahoma. Blue Bell handles all of its own distribution and customer service, Kruse said, so it moved to pull suspect products from shelves, as soon as it was alerted to the South Carolina contamination Feb. 13. Kruse did not suspect handling of those products after they left the Central Texas creamery. "The only time it can be contaminated is at the time of production," he said. That contamination has been traced to a machine that extrudes the ice cream into forms and onto cookies, and that machine remains off line, he said. All products now on store and institution shelves are safe, Kruse said. However, "Contaminated ice cream products may still be in the freezers of consumers, institutions, and retailers, given that these products can have a shelf life of up to 2 years," the CDC statement said. CDC recommends that consumers do not eat products that Blue Bell Creameries removed from the market, and institutions and retailers should not serve or sell them. Listeriosis is a life-threatening infection caused by eating food contaminated with bacteria called Listeria monocytogenes, the CDC said. The disease primarily affects pregnant women and their newborns, older adults, and people with immune systems weakened by cancer, cancer treatments, or other serious conditions. A person with listeriosis usually has fever and muscle aches, sometimes preceded by diarrhea or other gastrointestinal symptoms. Almost everyone who is diagnosed with listeriosis has invasive infection, meaning the bacteria spread from their intestines to the blood, causing bloodstream infection, or to the central nervous system, causing meningitis. Although people can sometimes develop listeriosis up to two months after eating contaminated food, symptoms usually start within several days. Listeriosis is treated with antibiotics, the CDC said. ___ Clayton contributed from Topeka, Kansas. Associated Press writer Mary Clare Jalonick in Washington also contributed to this report.
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Monaco gave themselves a massive boost ahead of their Champions League clash at home against Arsenal with a convincing 3-0 victory over nine-men Bastia in Ligue 1 on Friday as Guingamp won 2-1 at Nice. The Principality side, who have a game in hand, are sitting fourth three points behind third-place Marseille, who take on leaders Lyon on Sunday in the Stade Velodrome. An Anthony Martial double along with a first-half goal from Brazilian Matheus Carvalho went a long way to consoling Leonardo Jardim's side who were dumped out of the League Cup by the Corsicans last month. Bastia fell apart, showing early signs of fatigue after being reduced to nine-men when Drissa Diakite and Giovanni Sio saw red on both sides of the break. "It was the perfect evening," said Jardim. "We needed to win to prepare for Arsenal. The team are now confident which is very important for us. "We had a great match with lots of chances. The Bastia of the League Cup were much more aggressive. "After the first sending off it was easier for us. We're just three point off the podium, but now I'll be focusing on Arsenal." Monaco, who stunned Arsenal 3-1 in their Champions League last 16 first leg tie at the Emirates, play the English side at home on Tuesday. And they set the scene in their Louis II Stadium as Martial bagged his third goal of the season after 22 minutes. Layvin Kurzawa failed to convert a penalty 10 minutes later but Carvalho added a second one just before the break. The young Brazilian turned passer in the second half when he served Martial in the box allowing the French forward to double his tally six minutes after the break. Bastia coach Ghislain Printant admitted they were outplayed. "They were largely better than us. At nine we were finished. "I hope that they play like that on Tuesday. They belong in the top three in the championship." In the other match of the night, Nice failed to win for the seventh time in a row as Christophe Mandanne scored a double in a 2-1 win by visiting Guingamp. Guingamp are tenth with Nice fighting the drop zone five place below. The top three will be in action on Sunday as second-placed Paris Saint-Germain turn their attention back to domestic duties after advancing to the Champions League quarter-finals. Just a point behind Lyon, the Parisians travel to Bordeaux.
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The Pittsburgh Steelers re-signed QB Ben Roethlisberger for an additional five years. To see more Steelers videos download the Steelers DeskSite.
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PALM HARBOR, Fla. (AP) Brendon de Jonge rolled in a pair of long putts on his way to a 2-under 69 and the 36-hole lead Friday in the Valspar Championship. Based on the holes remaining, he is halfway home to his first PGA Tour title. Considering how many players are still in the mix -- essentially everyone who made the cut -- the weekend might feel even longer. Only seven shots separated de Jonge from the players who made the cut on the number, the first time the first-to-worst gap has been that small since the 2011 British Open at Royal St. George's. "Obviously, gives you a good chance for the weekend," de Jonge said. He was at 6-under 136, the highest score to lead after 36 holes at Innisbrook in six years. De Jonge said that after he finished his round in the morning, uncertain how hard the wind would blow and who might get hot with the putter. The wind died, no one could sustain a great round without a few mistakes and he had the 36-hole lead for the fourth time in his career. But not by much. Jordan Spieth made a birdie putt from the fringe on the 18th for a 4-under 67 to match the best score of the round. Henrik Stenson, playing the Copperhead course for the first time and apparently enjoying it, made eagle on his first hole and wound up with a 70. They were one shot behind, along with Ryan Moore (68), Kevin Streelman (69) and Derek Ernst (70). Ernst, who had only one round in the 60s this year, ran off five straight birdies around the turn to reach 8-under par until he started missing greens, missing putts and making bogeys to fall one shot behind de Jonge. "Starting the day if you told me I would have shot 1 under I would have been very happy with it," Ernst said. Lucas Glover had a 69 and joined Moore and Streelman as the only players to break 70s for both rounds. He was two shots behind, along with Sean O'Hair (72), Ricky Barnes (72) and Ian Poulter (70). Poulter hasn't been to Innisbrook since 2010, and he was asked what had kept him away. "Because I'm a buffoon," Poulter said. "I mean, stupid. This golf course I can compete on because it's fiddly, it's position off the tee, small greens, need to chip it well, good pace putting when you're above the hole. All those things I do well." Poulter recalls the greens being sloppy the last time he played, and so he instructed his caddie to never allow him to return. Seven holes into his pro-am round, he said he told his caddie, "What the ... was I doing not being here?" Justin Thomas (72) and Vijay Singh (70) were in the group at 3-under 139, with Luke Donald (68), Matt Kuchar (70) and Patrick Reed (68) among those four behind. Adam Scott is about the only guy who doesn't have a chance because he didn't make the cut. Scott missed four putts from inside 5 feet on his way to a 75 and missed the cut by three shots. It's the first time he had the weekend off at a golf tournament since the 2012 Byron Nelson Championship. What makes Innisbrook so mysterious is that players are irritated by the shots they left out on the course, only to realize they're not in bad shape. Such was the case of Stenson, who made a 25-foot eagle on his opening hole, a 20-foot birdie putt on his final hole and nothing but pars and two bogeys in between. "I didn't get it close enough to give myself too many birdies," Stenson said. "All in all, pretty pleased." Spieth rammed in a 20-foot birdie on the third hole that he said left a ball mark on the back of the cup. So that was a good break. He made a 30-foot birdie on No. 6 and rolled it in from 18 feet on the final hole. That was enough to put him in the final group, even if he's not sure how he got there. "This is one of those random places where you feel like you should have shot better than you did, but you're not out of it," he said. "You can make birdies. The problem is there is trouble around every corner." There was even trouble in the fairway. Early in the round, Charley Hoffman stopped when he saw a 10-foot alligator walking across the third fairway. "We weren't going anywhere fast," Hoffman said. "And neither were we." DIVOTS: Jonathan Byrd made a hole-in-one on the par-3 15th hole, but he ended up missing the cut for the time in 12 trips to Innisbrook. ... Ernie Els snapped an iron across a pine tree trying to play a shot on the 16th hole. He recovered fine, except for a three-putt from 6 feet for double bogey. He missed the cut.
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Quarterback Marcus Mariota will reportedly visit with the Buccaneers on Monday. Could the Buccaneers be leaning towards drafting Mariota over Jameis Winston? #120Talk
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The second time proved the charm for the Minnesota Vikings in landing wide receiver receiver Mike Wallace. After Wallace declined Minnesota's six-year, $76 million offer two years ago to ink a five-year, $60 million deal with the Miami Dolphins, Wallace was traded Friday along with Miami's seventh-round pick to the Vikings in exchange for Minnesota's fifth-round pick. The teams announced the trade on Friday night. "We thank Mike for his contributions to the team over the last two seasons," Dolphins general manager Dennis Hickey said in a statement. "We wish him the best in the Minnesota." Wallace, who became expendable when the Dolphins acquired former New Orleans Saints receiver Kenny Stills earlier Friday, has been a disappointment in South Florida, failing to surpass 1,000 receiving yards since leaving the Pittsburgh Steelers as the big catch in the 2013 free-agent class. The speed receiver failed to click on the deep ball with quarterback Ryan Tannehill in their two-year partnership. Wallace caught 57 passes for 862 yards last season with 10 touchdowns. But the writing was on the wall for his departure after coach Joe Phillbin benched Wallace in the second half of the Dolphins' regular-season finale against the New York Jets following a sideline blowup. Wallace gives second-year Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater the speed receiver he lacked to take the top off of defenses in Norv Turner's vertical-tilt offense. The move helped the Dolphins clear cap space after signing defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh to a six-year, $114 million deal earlier in free agency - Wallace's cap hit was $9.9 million this year.
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SAN FRANCISCO J.C.X. Simon one of the so-called "Zebra Killers" convicted of multiple murders of white San Franciscans in the 1970s has died, prison officials said Friday. Simon, 69, was pronounced dead at San Quentin prison at 11:59 p.m. Thursday after being found unresponsive in his cell, Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation officials said. The cause of death is unknown pending the results of an autopsy. Simon entered the prison system on March 30, 1976, to serve a life sentence with the possibility of parole. He was convicted in San Francisco County of two counts of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and assault with a deadly weapon. He and three other men who were also sentenced to life terms were convicted after what was described at the time as "San Francisco's longest criminal trial," with 174 witnesses testifying. A total of 14 people were killed and at least seven wounded. The suspects were all black and young, and the search for perpetrators unleashed a dragnet that pulled in many innocent men for questioning. U.S. District Judge Alfonso Zirpoli halted the wholesale questioning of blacks in the racial slayings. In a case brought by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the American Civil Liberties Union, Zirpoli ruled that although the stops might be "logical and practical," they constituted illegal "deprivation of another's constitutional rights." The random killings of whites occurred between 1973 and 1976. The suspects were named for the police channel used to try to identify and capture them. The trial relied on testimony from Anthony C. Harris, who allegedly participated in the "hunts" for white victims and turned against the others. Harris testified that the men were an offshoot of the Fruit of Islam called the Death Angels. According to a December 1975 Los Angeles Times report, the Death Angels had a plan to "run all the whites out of San Francisco" and establish the city as the Death Angels headquarters. The slain victims ranged in age from 15 to 87. They did not know one another, nor did those who were wounded. Still serving life sentences with the possibility of parole are: Larry Green, 63, incarcerated at California State Prison-Solano in Vacaville; Manuel Moore, 70, at Ironwood State Prison in Blythe; and Jessie Lee Cooks, 70, at Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego.
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