text
stringlengths 5
144k
| label
int64 0
9
| id
int64 0
100k
| label_text
stringclasses 10
values |
|---|---|---|---|
Real estate company Zillow Group says that across 35 metro areas lie dramatically different housing markets, as nearly a third of homes lost their value. Photo: Getty
| 3 | 90,600 |
finance
|
Showing the best school spirit possible, Oak Park High School stood by its newly crowned homecoming queen Landon Patterson after protesters from Westboro Baptist Church came out to protest the trans teen days later. Sporting the rainbow colors of the LGBTQ community and carrying signs that read "Long live the queen," Oak Park High School is the perfect example of a school that truly stands by its students.
| 8 | 90,601 |
video
|
Stars of the Hitler-satire 'Look Who's Back' walk the red carpet at the premiere in Berlin. Rollo Ross reports.
| 6 | 90,602 |
entertainment
|
Digicel Group Ltd, the Caribbean telecommunications company that sponsors sprinter Usain Bolt and the West Indies cricket team, has decided to withdraw its plans to go public for now, citing "current conditions, particularly in emerging markets." The company, owned by Irish billionaire Denis O'Brien, was expected to raise as much as $2 billion from its U.S. IPO. The Hamilton, Bermuda-based firm said it has seen a number of IPOs listing at a discount to the expected price range. "This is a less attractive route for us," it said. Last week, all the five companies that made their market debut, including Surgery Partners Inc, Performance Food Group Co and Edge Therapeutics Inc, cut their offer price below the expected price range. With volatility across global markets this year, 46 companies withdrew their IPO plans as of Sept. 30, compared with 38 companies last year, according to Renaissance Capital data. Going forward, some IPO deals may require a 20 percent pricing discount, compared with the benchmark 10-15 percent range, in light of the current volatility, bankers noted at the IFR ECM event held at Thomson Reuters' offices last month. Digicel's balance sheet is very weak, Francis Gaskins, president of research firm IPO Desktop, said. "It's a big company that has been losing money since it started," Gaskins said. "They've been growing subscribers at 2 percent a year." Digicel reported a loss of $157.6 million on revenue of $2.79 billion for the year ended March 31, compared with a profit of $43.5 million on revenue of $2.75 billion a year earlier. ""Their revenue is flat, they are losing money, the company is not growing - it would not be seen as the most attractive of investments," said Jay Ritter, professor of finance, University of Florida. Digicel, however, reiterated that its growth plans remained unchanged and it would be looking at strengthening its interests in data, business solutions, cable TV and broadband. The company provides wireless services to 13.6 million subscribers in 31 markets in the Caribbean and South Pacific regions. Digicel was founded in 2001 in Jamaica by O'Brien, who owns Ireland's most circulated newspaper - The Irish Independent. He also owns four other national newspapers, 13 regional newspapers and two major national radio stations through media group Independent News and Media. (Reporting by Rachel Chitra in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel and Don Sebastian)
| 3 | 90,603 |
finance
|
It does not get much cuter than this unbelievably adorable puppy. This little pitbull, boston terrier mixed hound is standing before a sliding glass door, but the idea of a clear, impenetrable wall, is too much for his tiny dog mind. He cannot understand why his dog parents just stand there, on the other side of the glass door, without coming over. Don't worry buddy, you will be one happy dog family soon enough.
| 8 | 90,604 |
video
|
This won't make Detroit Lions players and fans feel any better about what happened Monday night in Seattle.
| 1 | 90,605 |
sports
|
One woman admitted she cheated on an old boyfriend on "Jimmy Kimmel Live," and that video has gone viral.
| 8 | 90,606 |
video
|
ST. LOUIS Beneath the surface of a St. Louis-area landfill lurk two things that should never meet: a slow-burning fire and a cache of Cold War-era nuclear waste, separated by no more than 1,200 feet. Government officials have quietly adopted an emergency plan in case the smoldering embers ever reach the waste, a potentially "catastrophic event" that could send up a plume of radioactive smoke over a densely populated area near the city's main airport. Although the fire at Bridgeton Landfill has been burning since at least 2010, the plan for a worst-case scenario was developed only a year ago and never publicized until this week, when St. Louis radio station KMOX first obtained a copy. County Executive Steve Stenger cautioned that the plan "is not an indication of any imminent danger." "It is county government's responsibility to protect the health, safety and well-being of all St. Louis County residents," he said in a statement. Landfill operator Republic Services downplayed any risk. Interceptor wells underground structures that capture below-surface gasses and other safeguards are in place to keep the fire and the nuclear waste separate. "County officials and emergency managers have an obligation to plan for various scenarios, even very remote ones," landfill spokesman Russ Knocke said in a statement. The landfill "is safe and intensively monitored." The cause of the fire is unknown. For years, the most immediate concern has been an odor created by the smoldering. Republic Services is spending millions of dollars to ease or eliminate the smell by removing concrete pipes that allowed the odor to escape and installing plastic caps over parts of the landfill. Directly next to Bridgeton Landfill is West Lake Landfill, also owned by Republic Services. The West Lake facility was contaminated with radioactive waste from uranium processing by a St. Louis company known as Mallinckrodt Chemical. The waste was illegally dumped in 1973 and includes material that dates back to the Manhattan Project, which created the first atomic bomb in the 1940s. The Environmental Protection Agency is still deciding how to clean up the waste. The landfill was designated a Superfund site in 1990. The proximity of the two environmental hazards is what worries residents and environmentalists. At the closest point, they are 1,000 to 1,200 feet apart. If the underground fire reaches the waste, "there is a potential for radioactive fallout to be released in the smoke plume and spread throughout the region," according to the disaster plan. The plan calls for evacuations and development of emergency shelters, both in St. Louis County and neighboring St. Charles County. Private and volunteer groups, and perhaps the federal government, would be called upon to help, depending on the severity of the emergency. No reports of illness have been linked to the nuclear waste. But the smell caused by the underground burning is often so foul that Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster sued Republic Services in 2013, alleging negligent management and violation of state environmental laws. The case is scheduled to go to trial in March. Last month, Koster said he was troubled by new reports about the site. One found radiological contamination in trees outside the landfill's perimeter. Another showed evidence that the fire has moved past two rows of interceptor wells and closer to the nuclear waste. Koster said the reports were evidence that Republic Services "does not have this site under control." Republic Services responded by accusing the state of intentionally exacerbating "public angst and confusion." Ed Smith of the Missouri Coalition for the Environment said he would like to see the county become even more involved "to ensure that businesses, schools, hospitals and individuals know how to respond in a possible disaster at the landfill, just like preparing for an earthquake or tornado." Underground smoldering is not unheard of, especially in abandoned coal mines. Common causes include lightning strikes, forest fires and illegal burning of waste. At least 98 underground mine fires in nine states were burning in 2013, according to the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement. Few underground fires can match one in Centralia, Pennsylvania. In 1962, a huge pile of trash in the town dump, near a coal mine, was set on fire, and it has burned beneath the town for more than half a century. Only a few people remain in a community that once had 1,000 residents. ___ This story has been updated to clarify that West Lake Landfill is owned by, instead of operated by, Republic Services
| 5 | 90,607 |
news
|
Cate Blanchett wasted no time in becoming a married woman. The actress reveals she knew 3 days in she'd become Mrs. Andrew Upton.
| 6 | 90,608 |
entertainment
|
The FBI's probe into the security of Hillary Rodham Clinton's e-mail has expanded to include a second private technology company, which said Tuesday it plans to provide the law enforcement agency with data it preserved from Clinton's account. The additional data, provided by Connecticut-based Datto Inc., could open a new avenue for investigators interested in recovering e-mails deleted by the former secretary of state now the Democratic presidential front-runner that have caught the interest of GOP lawmakers. Datto's work on the Clinton e-mail system became public Tuesday when the Republican chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee sent the company a lengthy letter seeking information about the role it and other firms played in managing the Clinton e-mail system. Datto was hired to provide backups for the Clinton e-mail accounts starting in May 2013 by Platte River Networks, the Colorado-based tech firm hired earlier that year by the Clinton family to manage the system after Hillary Clinton concluded her term as secretary. The FBI has been investigating whether classified information may have been improperly stored and transmitted through Clinton's private server. During an interview with ABC News, Hillary Clinton apologized for using a private e-mail server during her time as secretary or state. Here are past statements where the presidential hopeful neglected to take personal responsibility for the controversy. (The Washington Post) Platte River handed over a server to the FBI in August. An official from Datto told The Washington Post on Tuesday about his company's interactions with the federal investigators. "Datto is working with the FBI to provide data in conjunction with its investigation," said Michael Fass, general counsel at Datto. Fass said Datto had received consent to turn over data from the Clintons and from Platte River. A Datto official said the FBI would receive a "node," a piece of hardware the company housed in Pennsylvania that allowed it to store data on its cloud. Brian Fallon, a spokesman for the Clinton campaign, accused Johnson of "ripping a page from the House Benghazi Committee's playbook and mounting his own, taxpayer-funded sham of an investigation with the sole purpose of attacking Hillary Clinton politically." "The Justice Department is already conducting a review concerning the security of her server equipment, and is fully aware of Datto's role in providing services to Platte River Networks. The Justice Department's independent review is led by nonpolitical, career professionals, and Ron Johnson has no business interfering with it for his own partisan ends," he said in a statement. A spokesmen for the FBI did not respond late Tuesday to requests for comment. Peter Carr, a spokesman for the Department of Justice, declined to comment. Catch up on the controversy and read the e-mails View Graphic Catch up on the controversy and read the e-mails It is not clear whether the data provided by Datto includes any material from Clinton's time as secretary of state. Late Tuesday, officials from the two tech firms disagreed about the possibility that years-old e-mails Clinton has deemed personal and deleted could be recovered by the FBI. A Datto official said that investigators may be able to recover the e-mails if the data existed at the time the company was hired in May 2013 and had not been altered since. A spokesman for Platte River, Andy Boian, said his company assumed that Datto would have retained data for only a short period and older e-mails would no longer be available. The role of an additional private firm in maintaining Clinton's e-mail adds yet another wrinkle in an unfolding controversy that has emerged as an issue for Clinton's White House bid. Clinton has turned over thousands of pages of e-mails to the State Department for public release, but some Republican lawmakers have called for the 31,000 deleted e-mails she deemed personal to be recovered. The GOP lawmakers have questioned whether they contained classified or otherwise sensitive national security information. The letter to Datto from Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) cited e-mails and other documents that have been turned over to the committee by Platte River in recent weeks that show a more complicated array of companies involved in managing the Clinton e-mail system than had previously been publicly known. The letter, in requesting additional information, describes a Clinton family entity called Clinton Executive Service, which contracted with Platte River after Hillary Clinton left the State Department. Of particular interest to Johnson, according to his letter, is whether Datto was authorized to store classified information and whether the firm has come under cyberattack. The letter cites some colorful internal e-mails from Platte River that were sent in August as the company's role in the controversy gained widespread attention. In one exchange, a Platte River employee working on the Clinton account discusses with a colleague whether there was a written record of a "directive to cut the backup." The context is not clear, but it suggests there was growing anxiety over how the system was managed and who would be held responsible. At about the time of that exchange, Platte River had been in discussions with Datto about the length of time Clinton e-mail data was preserved and whether copies were saved, according to a person familiar with the discussions. "If we had that email we are golden," the employee wrote. "Starting to think this whole thing really is covering up some shaddy [sic] shit," the employee wrote. Boian, the Platte River spokesman, said he had no idea what the coverup conversation referred to, but he said, "I can tell you emphatically that Platte River Networks does not believe that any cover up has occurred." Spencer S. Hsu contributed to this report.
| 5 | 90,609 |
news
|
Shaq took his singing talents back to his alma mater, Barry University. He and singer Wyclef Jean jumped on the mic at the school's 75th anniversary party for a duet of "My Girl." Check it out.
| 1 | 90,610 |
sports
|
Someone tried to calculate how much money Jim spent to pull all of his pranks on Dwight on "The Office." Gillian Pensavalle (@GillianWithaG) does some fact checking.
| 8 | 90,611 |
video
|
Like we did last year last year, we will take an in-depth look at some of the most talked-about NFL draft prospects from each week. Below, NFL Draft expert Matt Richner covers Week 5 in college football and previews who to watch in Week 6. As the season progresses, we will highlight prospects who are rising up the draft boards along with others who are starting to fall off the radar due to their poor performances. Player of the Week: Ezekiel Elliott (RB, Ohio State ): Elliott was named the MVP of the College Football Playoff National Championship game last year and he led an offense that had three different starting quarterbacks. During the offseason, all of the talk centered around who would be the starting quarterback for the Buckeyes when in reality it doesn't matter who is calling the plays as long as they are giving the ball to Elliott and letting the dominant offensive line pave the way for him. At 6'0" and 225 pounds, Elliott is a rare combination of speed and agility matched with a player whose size allows him to absorb tacklers and bounce right off of them. Last season he rushed for 1,878 yards, an average of 6.9 YPC, and 18 rushing touchdowns. In five games, he has rushed for 729 yards, an average of 7.3 YPC, and eight rushing touchdowns. Indiana's main defensive goal this past weekend was to stop the Buckeyes rushing attack. The Hoosiers brought both safeties into the box and, on most occasions, stacked the box with an eight or nine man defensive fronts. Despite getting shut down on his first couple of carries, Elliott was eventually able to break through the Indiana's wall and have a historic day. He finished with 23 carries for 277 yards with an average of 11.9 YPC and three rushing touchdowns. Elliott had a total of 156 yards after contact, an average of 6.8 yards per carry. Showing versatility of where he can attack, half of his carries were in between the tackles while the rest went outside the tackles. He finished with five broken tackles for the game. Elliott had a tale of two halves in this game. In the first half, he finished with ten attempts for 31 yards. In the second half, he had 13 carries for 243 yards, an 18.7 YPC average and three touchdowns. Elliott's production typically stays consistent throughout the game. For his career he has averaged 7.1 YPC in both the first and second halves of games. He does have 17 rushing touchdowns in the second half of games, compared to eleven in the first half. A three down back, Elliott excels in pass protection. It won't show up in the box score, but he does an excellent job of chip blocking as he releases from the backfield. He is a capable receiver and has the ability to make himself available to the quarterback on checkdowns. The open field speed is what is surprising; bruising tailbacks typically lack the necessary speed to break long, open field runs. During the game this past weekend, Elliott had three touchdown runs of 55 yards or more. He was able to get enough separation and once he hit the second level, he had the speed to break away from the pack of defenders that were on his heels. Scouts will be watching Elliott's ball security; last season he only had one fumble while he has put the ball on the ground twice so far this season. Overall, Elliott is a workhorse tailback who is capable of carrying his team to the national title. Look for Elliott to continue with a Heisman caliber junior season and possibly a first round selection in next year's NFL Draft. Pharoh Cooper (WR, South Carolina ): The lone playmaker for the South Carolina Gamecocks has had few opportunities to showcase his full arsenal of abilities this season due to a lackluster supporting cast. Pharoh Cooper, at 5'11" and 207 pounds, might not be the biggest, fastest, or strongest wideout, but he is one of the most feared wide receivers in college football. Defenses routinely roll coverage over to his side and bracket him with a safety over the top. South Carolina tried to get Cooper the ball in multiple situations, as a quarterback, returner, running back, and as a wide receiver. Last season Cooper averaged over 16 yards-per-reception (YPC), while this season his average has dropped to 12.3 YPC. The drop is due in large part to the fact he has a true freshman quarterback, Lorenzo Nunez, throwing him the ball. Nunez doesn't have a full grasp of the offense and still has a ways to go before he becomes a top quarterback in the SEC. This past weekend against Missouri, Cooper finished with nine receptions for 102 yards, an 11.3 YPC. When the ball is in the air, Cooper is going to come down with it more often than not. On a deep vertical route, Cooper outjumped the defense back and wrested the ball away to come down with a 35 yard reception. Cooper was targeted an average of 6.9 yards past the line of scrimmage. He finished the game with 51 yards-after-the-catch, an average of 5.6 yards per catch. Five of Cooper's receptions were on screen passes. His speed and initial quickness are immediately evident when he gets the ball in his hands. He has the agility to spin out of a would-be tackler's grasp and dive forward for extra yards. Most NFL teams will be looking to slide Cooper inside and into the slot position in the NFL. He could use his speed and short area quickness to his advantage. He might not put up impressive numbers from here on out this season, but he is a solid player who is still able to have an effect on every game throughout this season. Eric Striker (OLB, Oklahoma ): A highly touted safety recruit coming out of high school, Striker was moved to the outside linebacker spot to utilize his speed and quickness as a pass rusher. Last season he led the team with 17 tackles for loss and nine sacks. He has led the Sooners in sacks and tackles for loss during the past two seasons. In what is starting to become a tradition for Eric Striker, he has had a slow start in September and as the calendar turned to October, the sack master has awakened from hibernation. Last season, in the first game in October against TCU, he collected two sacks. Against West Virginia this past weekend, he finished the game with 13 tackles, three tackles for loss, two sacks, and one forced fumble . While he lacks the size of a typical outside linebacker prospect, at 6'0" and 220 pounds, there is no doubt that Striker is a natural pass rusher. He is at his best as a standup pass rusher. When lined up wide to the outside, he is able to pick his spot while utilizing his speed to beat his man into the backfield. His first sack against West Virginia came on a snap-to-sack time of 2.7 seconds. On the second sack, with a snap-to-sack time of 2.68 seconds, he was able to tomahawk chop the ball out of the quarterback's hands resulting in a fumble recovery and touchdown for the Sooners. The issue with Striker is if a lineman or fullback are able to get their hands on him first, his size and lack of strength are readily apparent in his inability to disengage from his block. Opponents have geared their rushing attack to Striker's gap reasonability, knowing they can physically overpower him with a lineman or a fullback. One area in which Striker has improved is his ability to diagnose and react to zone read running plays. On a number of occasions this past weekend, he quickly recognized the play and, with his speed, he was able to track down the ball carrier from the backside. Scouts and NFL front offices will be impressed that a player with Striker's skill set continues to play special teams. It's not very often that you can get an outside linebacker with elite speed and strength playing on special teams. He will most likely be used as a situational pass rusher during his first couple of years in the NFL. Striker is still a bit of a liability in coverage, but has improved in this area of his game. Derrick Henry (RB, Alabama ): Henry is a big, bruising tailback capable of running over opposing tacklers and has become the foundation of a Nick Saban led Alabama Crimson Tide team. Leading the way for Alabama, Derrick Henry is a 6'3" 242 pound beast who won't go down on initial contact. Henry was the backup to current Jacksonville Jaguar, T.J. Yeldon, during the past couple of seasons. This year is his first time as an every game starter and opponents are quickly having second thoughts when trying to take him down to the ground. This season Henry has 570 rushing yards, a 6.1 YPC, nine rushing touchdowns, and one fumble. Against Georgia, who boasts one of the top defensive units in the SEC, Henry produced 149 rushing yards on 26 carries, a 5.7 YPC, and one touchdown . He had a total of 41 yards-after-contact to go along with five broken tackles. Doing most of his damage between the tackles, Henry had 16 rushing attempts between the tackles, resulting in 83 yards, an average of 5.2 per rush. On designed runs to the outside, Henry had ten rushing attempts for 66 yards, an average of 6.6 YPC. One of the more impressive statistical achievements is Henry's ability to wear down defenses throughout the course of a game. For his career, Henry has averaged 5.0 YPC in the first half of games. In the second half, he has averaged 7.9 YPC, almost a three yards per carry difference between the two halves. The game this past weekend was played in a torrential downpour. With few deep vertical passes by both teams, this was a game won in the trenches. Henry had one fumble in the game; he continued to plow through tacklers with only one hand on the football. He will need to learn to keep two hands on the ball as he fights through tackles. One area of weakness for Henry is that he can be tentative when hitting a hole; he doesn't possess the ability to make a cut and quickly get up field. When he gets his shoulders square and is able to run north or south and not sideways, he can run over opponents. Watch for Henry to continue to produce at a high level throughout the season. With Alabama's offense being a run-based offense, 52 percent of Alabama plays have been rushing attempts. Henry should have plenty of opportunities to show scouts his full potential. Who to Watch Next Week: Jacoby Brissett (QB, North Carolina State ): Despite starting his career with a lackluster performance at Florida, Brissett has turned his career around with the N.C. State Wolfpack. This season Brissett has completed 73.2 percent of his passes for 992 yards and has thrown seven touchdowns with and no interceptions. This weekend he will go up against the toughest defensive secondary he has faced yet in Virginia Tech. Tech will be down Kendall Fuller, their All-American corner, but they do have capable reserves and a defensive scheme that could cause Brissett some fits. Corey Coleman (WR, Baylor ): Coleman and the rest of the Baylor offense have been scoring at ease so far this season. Coleman is ranked fourth in the FBS in receiving yards (570) and seventh in YPR (23.8). This weekend the Baylor Bears take on the Kansas Jayhawks, which should be an easy win for Baylor. Coleman could have a historic day with such a dismal secondary that has allowed twelve pass plays of at least 25 yards. Joey Bosa (DE, Ohio State ): After missing the first game of the season due to a violation of team rules, the All-America defensive end and number one ranked player on my big board, has failed to impress so far this season. With only a half a sack registered this season and five tackles for a loss, Bosa is desperate for a big game. He should have a good opportunity against Maryland this weekend, who have allowed 1.2 sacks per game this season. Ohio State has a wide array of pass rushers and play makers on defense. Two young standout sophomores, Tyquan Lewis (DE) and Darron Lee (LB), should see some opportunities as well to make a few plays this weekend. Kareem Hunt (RB, Toledo ): After not being a highly recruited prospect out of high school, Hunt has quickly made a name for himself at Toledo. Last season Hunt rushed for more than 1,600 yards and had 16 rushing touchdowns. This season, Hunt missed the first two games due to a violation of team rules. He played in only one game this season, rushing for 129 yards, a 5.4 YPC average. He missed the game against Ball State last week when a hamstring injury prevented Hunt from seeing any action. He should be ready to play this week according to various media outlets. Toledo will be taking on Kent State, who have one of the toughest defensive units in the country and who are currently ranked 6th in overall defense in the FBS.
| 1 | 90,612 |
sports
|
American Apparel Inc plans to revamp its struggling fashion business under a restructuring plan that would give ownership to the Standard General hedge fund, which rescued RadioShack earlier this year, lawyers said at a hearing on Tuesday. American Apparel Inc, the country's largest "Made in the U.S.A" brand, filed on Monday for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company is saddled by debt, excess inventory and millions of legal liabilities tied to its founder Dov Charney. Known for its sexually charged advertising and tight T-shirts, the retailer is attempting a traditional turnaround under the control of its bondholders, rather than auctioning off assets. "American Apparel is in the early stages of an operating turnaround," the retailer's attorney, Scott Greenberg of Jones Day, told U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Brendan Shannon at a hearing to approve $90 million in financing to pay bills, including wages. Under the plan, other sophisticated hedge funds such as Monarch Alternative Capital, which played a role in movie rental chain Blockbuster's bankruptcy, will also provide $70 million of new capital over the next six months. Liquidity from senior bondholders will help American Apparel hire new talent to boost Internet sales, rebuild its brand and give a fresh look to a product line that rarely changed from season to season, the company said in a court filing. Unlike RadioShack and Blockbuster, whose business model became virtually obsolete, analysts said American Apparel's restructuring could be more rewarding for the hedge funds. "American Apparel is a unique product that can really stand out. People still want to go into stores, feel the fabric and try it on," Burt Flickinger, managing director of retail consultancy Strategic Resource Group, told Reuters on Tuesday. He said the group could have a better chance of bouncing back from bankruptcy than peers like Wet Seal and Cache Inc, which struggled to adjust to changing spending patterns from teens. The retailer said it will keep its California manufacturing base, which could help it get new products into U.S. shops before the December holiday season and compete with fast-fashion brands such as H&M and Inditex's Zara. The company, with $600 million in net sales in 2014, has 8,500 employees worldwide, nearly half of them in Los Angeles. Shares in American Apparel, with a $20.5 million market value, were suspended from trading on Tuesday ahead of their delisting from NYSE MKT. The American Apparel case is in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware, Case No: 15-12055 (Reporting by Tracy Rucinski; Editing by David Gregorio)
| 3 | 90,613 |
finance
|
Stocks lost ground on Tuesday as investors eyed upcoming quarterly reports that are expected to show a dip in corporate earnings. Bobbi Rebell reports.
| 3 | 90,614 |
finance
|
Another religious group has issued another prediction about the end of the world. They promise they've probably got it right this time.
| 8 | 90,615 |
video
|
A model who has accused Bill Cosby of drugging her at the Playboy Mansion in 2008 has sued the comedian for sexual assault. Chloe Goins filed the lawsuit in US district court in Los Angeles on Tuesday, seeking punitive damages for a variety of problems she says she has endured since the incident, including mental anguish, loss of self-esteem and dignity. Cosby's attorney, Marty Singer, did not immediately return an email message seeking comment.
| 6 | 90,616 |
entertainment
|
The Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) labeled a reported rift in the national team camp as just a "misunderstanding." Reports suggested there was a confrontation between Nigeria coach Sunday Oliseh and Lille goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama as the side prepares for its African Nations Championship qualifier against Burkina Faso, as well as a friendly against Cameroon. It was alleged that Enyeama was expelled from the camp in Belgium, but the NFF said on Twitter that the situation had been resolved. "It's true that there was a little misunderstanding in the camp of @NGSuperEagles, but the matter has been resolved. Enyeama remains in camp," the tweet read. There have already been several issues in the Nigerian camp, with six home-based players and a collection of backroom staff having their visas delayed by the Belgian embassy.
| 1 | 90,617 |
sports
|
Louisville campus police now say they are reviewing allegations that a former men's basketball staffer hired escorts to dance and have sex with recruits and players in a dormitory. Katina Powell has alleged in a book released online over the weekend that former Cardinals director of basketball operation Andre McGee paid her $10,000 for dancers to perform 22 shows from 2010-14 at the players' Billy Minardi Hall dormitory. The school reported those allegations to the NCAA and has launched an investigation. ''The University of Louisville Police Department, in consultation with the Louisville Metro Police Department and the Commonwealth's Attorney's Office, is reviewing allegations regarding the men's basketball program,'' University police chief Wayne Hall said Tuesday in a statement. It was the first confirmation that police are looking into the allegations. When contacted last week, a campus police operator said they weren't aware of the book allegations, and it was unclear at that time if an investigation had been launched. Cardinals coach Rick Pitino has said that McGee denied Powell's allegations. In an interview Tuesday with a Louisville radio station, the Hall of Famer also denied knowledge of what took place. ''Until you investigate everything that's said, you don't have the answers to these (questions),'' Pitino told FM 93.9 The Ville, ''and I certainly don't have any answers right now to any of this. I have no idea what went on, what didn't go on, if anything went on.'' McGee left in 2014 and is currently an assistant at Missouri-Kansas City, which has put him on paid leave. He has been unavailable for comment, and his Louisville attorney, Scott Cox, had nothing to add either when contacted by The Associated Press. ''I have no comment about the case at all. Sorry,'' Cox said. Pitino said Saturday that he hasn't read Powell's book titled ''Breaking Cardinal Rules: Basketball and the Escort Queen'' and doesn't plan to. The 104-page book was published by an affiliate of the Indianapolis Business Journal and is scheduled for hardcover release Oct. 12. The woman said that she and three of her daughters, along with other women, danced and stripped for Louisville recruits and players and performed sex acts with them, according to the book. Powell wrote that one daughter was 15 when she began dancing with her mother and her sisters. Powell, 43, also said McGee offered recruits alcohol at those parties. Commonwealth's Attorney Thomas B. Wine said in a statement that those allegations of criminal activity ''cause grave concern to him and the community.'' Wine said his office is consulting with university police and the LMPD's Crimes Against Children Unit. ''If my office receives credible evidence of sexual abuse or other criminal activity involving minor children, we will vigorously prosecute those responsible for those crimes,'' Wine said in the statement. Upon hearing of the allegations, Pitino said he did some investigating on his own before being told by the school's compliance department not to talk to players. But the coach said he talked to other assistants about the allegations and all of them denied knowing of the activities outlined in Powell's book. ''I'm going through 15 people who worked here, and not one person even had a premonition of something wrong,'' Pitino said Friday. ''Not one person living in the dorm had even the slightest premonition. It just doesn't make sense to me.'' Louisville has hired Chuck Smrt of the Compliance Group, which assists schools in NCAA cases, to review the allegations. In the radio interview Tuesday Pitino recalled the challenge of rebuilding in-state rival Kentucky after the program was slapped with NCAA probation in the late 1980s. He noted that the Wildcats fought through the problems, found a solution and eventually became national title contenders and champions in 1996, which wouldn't have been possible if he had focused on the previous problems. Pitino said Louisville's challenge is getting to the bottom of the allegations and finding the truth. ''We've got to find the solutions to what's true and not true,'' Pitino said. ''Right now there's only one person that has the answers, and he's not talking. So the NCAA's got to go in and do their due diligence with other people. And that's none of my business. I believe in the NCAA. ''If we're guilty of something, we're going to own up to it, we're going to find a solution.'' ----- AP freelancer Josh Abner in Louisville contributed to this report.
| 1 | 90,618 |
sports
|
If you're facing retirement in the not-so-distant future and don't have enough money saved, it's time to take action. Statistics vary, but the takeaway doesn't. Most people at the doorstep of retirement are alarmingly low on funds. For example, in 2010, 75% of Americans reaching retirement age had less than $30,000 saved. Another study found the number to be $25,000, and another found that 40% of baby boomers had nothing saved. What used to be "the golden years" will continue to be "the working years" for many because of a lack of savings (see 5 Essential Retirement Savings Accounts ). Is there any way to change that? We asked some retirement planning experts for their take. 1. Retire Later Adam Vega, CFP, wealth manager at United Capital Financial Advisers, says, "I would suggest retiring an extra year later. This allows for an additional year of saving, one less year needed to fund retirement and an additional year to allow compounding interest to remain at work." 2. Get a Part-Time Job Aimee Bennett, a principal at Fagan Business Communications, said: "There's no magic bullet if you don't have enough money to retire. It may mean not retiring as soon as you intended from your current job (see How soon should I start saving for retirement? ). Or it may mean starting an "encore" career or taking a part-time job. This might be something like consulting, tutoring, working part time in an interesting retail job or turning a hobby into a moneymaker. The time to start planning and perhaps start doing it is now." (See Retirement Doesn't Mean You Have To Stop Working .) 3. Make Catch-Up Contributions Ted Jenkin, CFP, co-CEO and founder of oXYGen Financial advises late starters to take full advantage of catch-up contributions if possible. "In 2015, those 50 or older can add an extra $6,000 to their 401(k) for a maximum contribution of $24,000 for the year if it is affordable in your budget. For IRA/Roth IRA accounts, you can catch up an extra $1,000 to get to $6,500 for the yearly contributions." 4. Sell Your Stuff Don't get rid of those priceless family heirlooms, but you may well have a fair number of valuable items from your parents or grandparents or even your own earlier life. Those could hold a lot of value. Bennett says, "For those who are close to making it, it often is possible to generate an extra $1,000 to $2,000 during the year by doing things like cleaning out the house and selling unneeded items on eBay, holding yard sales, redeeming credit card rewards and cutting the budget by forming some new habits from avoiding the morning latte at the coffee shop to washing in cold water." (See Evaluating An Heirloom and How to Value Jewelry Inherited From a Loved One .) Many of our experts talked about strategies that took the "every little bit helps" approach. 5. Know Your Social Security Most people who have worked full time will have no problem qualifying for their full Social Security benefits , but may not know how much they will receive. Use the agency's retirement calculator to estimate your monthly benefit to get started. But there are some other strategies to help maximize your benefits. Jeff Weeks, CFP, principal at ATX Portfolio Advisors suggests a little-known strategy if you work in a profession that offers a 403(b) plan . "If the employer offers a 403(b) plan (non-profits, schools, hospitals, etc.), there is an additional "catch-up" feature if the employee has 15 years of service but hasn't previously contributed. This is in addition to the age 50 "Catch-up" provision." He continues: "To qualify for the 15-years-of-service catch-up (if the employer's plan includes this provision), the employee must have 15 years of service with the same eligible 403(b) employer. The limit on elective deferrals to the participant's 403(b) account may be increased by up to $3,000 in any taxable year (lifetime employer-by-employer limit of $15,000) if the employee has at least 15 years of service with the same employer." Learn more at the IRS website . 6. Social Security Strategy for Couples Weeks offers this idea for married couples. "If a married couple are the same age, a 'File and Suspend' strategy for Social Security (click here for more on this strategy) can lead to more benefits. A higher-earning spouse files for his or her Social Security benefit at full retirement age (66 in 2025), but suspends payments until age 70 in order to max out the ultimate payment. The lower-earning spouse can then take half of his or her partner's benefit, delaying their own until age of 70 as well, which will also maximize those payments." He continue: "This has a lot of moving pieces and scenarios, but in the right situation, it can lead to significantly higher benefits for both spouses. The end result four years of additional income that can be invested and lifetime benefits that are approximately 32% higher than if benefits were taken at 66." 7. Combine HDHP and HSA A high-deductible health plan (HDHP) combined with a health-savings account (HSA) may cut down on your healthcare costs if you are in good health. The drawback is that you will pay more out of pocket for healthcare until you reach the deductible. Weeks says, "Best of all, for 2015 you can put up to $6,650 ($7,650 if you're over the age of 55) into an HSA not only pre-tax, but pre- FICA if it is part of your employer's cafeteria plan . If you don't spend it all during the year, it continues to grow tax-free for your future out-of-pocket medical expenses." 8. Don't Pay Off Your Mortgage Scott Stratton, CFP, founder of Good Life Wealth Management, advises you to not pay off your mortgage under most circumstances. "The thought is that by not having a mortgage, you will have less expenses. That is true, but taking $100,000 or $200,000 out of your portfolio to pay off a 3% or 4% mortgage is likely to be a bad idea in the long run." He says, "Historically, investment portfolios have been able to return much more than 3% or 4% over time. Being house rich and cash poor is a bad idea in retirement. If you do find yourself in that situation, consider a reverse mortgage . But the smarter approach, if you are under-saved for retirement, may be to keep your mortgage in place." (See How Does a Reverse Mortgage Work? ) 9. Don't Take Outsized Risks If you're behind, don't try and make up for it by getting aggressive with your investments. Short-term or day trading , aggressive options strategies, and acting on stock tips aren't likely to help and, in fact, may harm your portfolio. Stratton says, "Some people think that if they swing for the fences, they can make up for lost time. Unfortunately, most of the stories I know about day-trading retirees do not end well. Skip the options courses and stick with a diversified portfolio appropriate for your risk tolerance." 10. Monetize Your Experience You may not have a lot of money, but you probably have a lot of experience. Why not turn that into a business? Joshua E. Self, CFP, senior wealth planner and vice president at Envision Wealth Planning says: "We have helped several clients set up consulting businesses to take advantage of their work experience, either as a side hustle or full-time work. Once they become successful generating revenue (and many of them have made exponentially more consulting than working as an employee), there are a variety of retirement plan options that we have used for tax planning as well as putting a ton of money away for retirement. Some examples would be SEP IRA , Individual 401(k) , or a combo Individual 401(k) plan with a cash balance defined benefit plan." The Bottom Line You may end up having to work longer than you expected, but there are plenty of ways to get more money flowing into your retirement accounts before you retire. Of course, our experts can only offer general information. There may be other strategies specific to your financial situation that could help you even more. Talk to a qualified financial planner to get you moving in the right direction.
| 3 | 90,619 |
finance
|
Caleb Logan Bratayley , the 13-year-old Yotube Star who died suddenly last Thursday, was remembered by friends and family in an emotional memorial on Tuesday evening viewed by thousands online. The service opened with a video of highlights from Caleb's extraordinarily well-documented life, including leading family sing-alongs and interviewing 2016 presidential candidate Carly Fiorina. The memorial, which was streamed live via Facebook and Periscope , was viewed more than 116,000 times within an hour of posting. Tearful remarks from family and friends followed the video tribute but the immediate family's messages were not streamed live. A close family friend named Paula shared stories about Caleb's "very philosophical, emotional and deep" friendship with her daughter Sydney. "Unfortunately, the thought that Sydney and Caleb would end up together is not happening anymore," she said through tears. "I do hope and pray for my daughter that the relationship you have with your future mate is one-eighth as emotionally tied as yours was with Caleb." Won a picture with myself. So I put my arm around me. #awkward A photo posted by Cant Stop Loving Them Potatoes (@iamabakedpotato) on Jul 23, 2015 at 11:58am PDT A cousin named Paige spoke about growing closer to Caleb during several trips she took with the Bratayley family over the past year. "Caleb knew how to light up a room, he was like a little brother to me, he loved life and he enjoyed every little bit even if it was things he didn't necessarily feel like doing he was a trooper," she recalled. A collaborator from Maker Studios recalled his experience traveling around the country with the family for a show called "Bratayley Makes History." "We laughed, we danced, we sang "Yankee Doodle" a lot ," he said. "We ran through fields, we jumped in the water with our clothes on, but most importantly we explored the world together and we had so much fun. It takes a certain curiosity and fearlessness and passion to explore the world, and Caleb exuded this." A photo posted by Cant Stop Loving Them Potatoes (@iamabakedpotato) on Oct 2, 2015 at 5:01am PDT He ended his tribute with what he saw as the family's legacy. "As far as I'm concerned, the Bratayleys have already made history," he said. "Their love for each other and their excitement for life has connected millions of people and the world is a happier place because of them." Caleb was pronounced dead last Thursday after the Anne Arundel County Police Department responded to a medical emergency at the family's Maryland home, authorities told PEOPLE. Caleb's mother, Katie, originally said that her son died of natural causes, but on Monday, his parents revealed that he likely suffered from an undetected medical condition , though they did not elaborate on what that might be. The exact cause and manner of death of the YouTube star is currently being investigated, Bruce Goldfarb, the public information officer of the state medical examiner's office in Baltimore, told PEOPLE. The family decided to livestream a portion of Caleb's memorial in order to allow grieving fans to join in their celebration of the young boy's life. A photo posted by Cant Stop Loving Them Potatoes (@iamabakedpotato) on Jul 23, 2015 at 11:58am PDT "They're trying to create closure for the fans, most of whom are really young," a source close to the family explained to PEOPLE . "It is definitely a more intimate relationship that they have with their fans than traditional celebrities have with theirs." "They've been broadcasting their life for a long time every day for years. It was just a terrible tragedy. They are really good people," the source added.
| 6 | 90,620 |
entertainment
|
Stephenie Meyer has reimagined the characters in "Twilight" for a special 10th anniversary edition.TC Newman (@PurpleTCNewman) has the details.
| 5 | 90,621 |
news
|
Whether you know the difference between a Bimmer and a Beamer, or just want to gawk at Ferrari F1s and classic Corvettes, there are museums around the world that every car lover should add to their must-visit list. Museo Casa Enzo Ferrari, Modena, Italy Modena has become a destination unto itself for lovers of the great Italian ride thanks largely to not one, but two Ferrari museums in the area. In Maranello, the birthplace of Enzo Ferrari, you can take a bus tour inside the Fiorano test track and along the Viale Enzo Ferrari, past production sites and the Ferrari "Cittadella." About 10 minutes away is the Museo Casa Enzo Ferrari, which looks at the man behind the machine, and the Museo dei Motori Ferrari inside the former workshop of Enzo's father. Best of all: The "Museum + Track" ticket lets you take your own car out for a 15-minute track session at the Autodromo di Modena. Follow MSN Autos on Facebook Porsche Museum, Stuttgart, Germany Is it a mandate that all car museums be as sleek as the cars themselves? The Porsche Museum, which opened in 2009, is all sharp angles, supported on three V-shaped columns, while the 80 vehicles inside are all curves. The latest addition to the museum is a new interactive "Porsche Touchwall"; at the end of the tour, visitors can interact with a 40-foot-long installation that covers 90 years of Porsche history. Related Link: Research Porsche Models BMW Plant, Museum, and Welt, Munich, Germany Those who know the difference between a Bimmer and a Beamer* should make a pilgrimage to BMW global HQ at some point in their lives. Just outside Munich is a BMW campus, where a museum that looks like a parked UFO houses vintage cars and new models, and the BMW plant and welt offer guided tours. Related Link: Research BMW Models America's Car Museum, Tacoma, Washington You thought Jay Leno had the ultimate hot rod collection: The late Harold LeMay and his wife, Nancy, once owned a fleet of some 3,000 vintage cars: everything from a Model T to an '83 DeLorean. In 2012, the personal collection became America's Car Museum, a four-story, 165,000-square-foot facility in Tacoma and what's now one of the largest car museums in the world. The Henry Ford Museum, Dearborn, Michigan The Henry Ford Museum is where history buffs and car lovers come together. Located just west of Detroit (the Motor City, naturally), the museum is all about America's past particularly in its premiere exhibition, Driving America. The display features 130 vehicles, including America's first production car from 1865 and one of only six 1931 Bugatti Royales in the world. Round out your visit with a Ford factory tour and a ride in a vintage Model T. Related Link: Research Ford Models Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame, Indianapolis, Indiana he Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame has historically paid tribute to the star cars of the Indy 500, but the museum covers it all: NASCAR, Formula 1, motorcycles; Duesenberg, Mercedes, Ferrari; even dragsters and cars that have broken land-speed records. The site is now a National Historic Landmark and welcomes half a million visitors a year. Mercedes-Benz Plant Tour, Sindelfingen, Germany The tour of Daimler AG's largest car production plant winds from "the press shop, where the first parts are shaped, past the ballet dancing of the robots at the body shop, to the marriage of the vehicle body and powertrain in the assembly areas. In the logistics 'supermarket' you can see how vehicle parts are lined up ready to be transported to the assembly lines, some of them by 'Bertha' and 'Gottlieb,' two driverless transport systems." Couldn't have said it better ourselves. Related Link: Research Mercedes-Benz Models
| 9 | 90,622 |
autos
|
Fox Emma Roberts isn't letting her Hollywood connections define her. This talented 24-year-old has already worked with some of the biggest actors and producers in Hollywood, including James Franco, Wes Craven, Dwayne Johnson, Liam Hemsworth, Jennifer Aniston all on the strength of her performances. Currently, Roberts is holding court as Chanel, the leader of a sorority being stalked by a serial killer on Ryan Murphy's Fox series, "Scream Queens," Tuesdays at 9 p.m. Find out more about the actress and what makes her tick. Here's the fabulous life of Emma Roberts: Emma's parents are Kelly Cunningham and actor Eric Roberts. Despite her mother's desire for her to have "a normal childhood," Emma wanted to follow in her father's and Aunt Julia Roberts' footsteps. WIGS SOURCE Emma's first acting job was in Ted Demme's 2001 drama "Blow" at nine years old. She co-starred with Johnny Depp and Penelope Cruz in the film. New Line Cinema SOURCE From 2004 to 2007, she starred on Nickelodeon's "Unfabulous." She was nominated for a Teen Choice Award and six Young Artist Awards. Nickelodeon SOURCE In 2005, Emma Roberts released her debut album, which also served as the "Unfabulous" soundtrack. Columbia Records, Nick Records SOURCE In 2007, Emma Roberts got to play the iconic girl detective in the movie, "Nancy Drew." Warner Bros. Emma is close to her Aunt Julia Roberts and has spent a lot of time on the sets of her films. Both would find themselves on the large ensemble cast of 2010's "Valentine's Day." Getty Images SOURCE In 2011, Roberts gets her vocal cords in shape on the film "Scream 4." Dimension Films SOURCE She met fiance Evan Peters on the set of "Adult World" in 2012. They would go on to star together on FX's "American Horror Story." Getty Images SOURCE Emma Roberts and Evan Peters broke up in June 2015. But, they reconciled in the fall. Getty Images SOURCE Roberts is the current face of American Eagle Outfitters #AerieREAL campaign, which promotes "no retouching of images and loving your real self." American Eagle SOURCE Roberts was offered the role of Harley Quinn in the movie "Suicide Squad" (2016), but turned it down to star on Ryan Murphy's "Scream Queens" on Fox. Fox SOURCE
| 6 | 90,623 |
entertainment
|
The Seattle Seahawks took a big step towards getting back to the Super Bowl with their win on Monday night . But if they are going to go back for a third-straight shot at the Lombardi Trophy, they will have to overcome a huge disadvantage in terms of travel. During the 2015 season, the Seahawks will have to travel 13,649 miles for their eight road games this season, second only to fellow West Coast team, the San Francisco 49ers (13,904 miles), according to data compiled by Carey.com . At the other end, the Philadelphia Eagles have the easiest travel schedule, with a total of just 3,410 miles to travel for an average of just 426 miles per road game, nearly 1,300 miles fewer than the average road trip for the Seahawks (1,706 miles). Of course, teams on the west coast will always have to travel more. However, it could be worse. The divisional rotation has the Seahawks' NFC West playing against the NFC North and AFC North divisions this season, and not either of the eastern or southern divisions*. Cork Gaines/Business Insider * Each division in the NFL rotates opponents each season. All the teams in a division will play the same 8 common non-division opponents, 4 from a division within their conference and 4 from a division in the opposite conference. Those divisions rotate each season. NOW WATCH: Take the IQ test that every NFL rookie has to take
| 1 | 90,624 |
sports
|
13 Things You Didn't Know About Kale Kale is one of the most popular names on the list of healthy foods and it has been deemed a superfood based on its nutrient profile. Due to high levels of vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients, this green vegetable should be included in your diet. Antioxidant Powerhouse Kale is rich in sulfur, which helps produce glutathione, one of the most important antioxidants in the body. Kale also contains lutein and zeaxanthin, which function as antioxidants in the body and improve eyesight. "This pair of antioxidants combines to increase the amount of pigment in your macula, which means protection from the sun and a lower risk of macular degeneration," said Melissa Walshe, a writer for Guiding Stars , a nutritional guidance program. Better to Eat with Something Else Kale has enough benefits on its own but your body can benefit even more if you pair your kale with other healthy foods. Healthy fats, such as olive oil, avocado, or almond butter can combine with kale to make fat-soluble carotenoids more available to the body. Cancer-Prevention Benefits An article that was published in the journal Cancer Prevention Research noted that kale contains high levels of cancer-preventative properties, such as glucosinolate phytonutrients . This could protect against the development of tumors as well as block enzymes associated with cancer, according to the Cancer Letters journal . Easily Adaptable The best part about kale is that you can incorporate it into a breakfast omelette , a salad for lunch, alongside your fish or chicken for dinner, and you can have kale chips for a snack. Healthy Eyes "Kale is truly a nutritional powerhouse for the eyes because it contains high amounts of lutein and zeaxanthin, antioxidants that are found naturally in the eyes and need to be replenished regularly for good eye-health," said Johanna M. Seddon, MD, ScM, Founding Director of the Ophthalmic Epidemiology and Genetics Service at the New England Eye Center, Tufts Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts. "As a rule, the darker the green, the higher the amount of lutein, and raw kale has the highest content of lutein of any vegetable." Healthy Bones Milk isn't the only thing that contains calcium for strong bones. According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation , kale contains calcium, which aids in bone loss prevention. You will get the same amount of calcium from one cup of kale as you will from one cup of milk. Healthy Brain When it comes to a healthy brain, kale is packed with numerous flavonoids and iron, which reduces the risk of stroke and helps carry oxygen to all of the cells in the body, according to LiveScience . The University of Maryland Medical Center said that the omega-3 fatty acids found in kale can improve brain memory, function, and overall performance. High Fiber Content One cup of kale contains about 10 percent of your daily fiber needs, which will not only keep you fuller longer, but it can help manage diabetes. The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine found that adequate fiber intake can reduce the levels of blood glucose. More Vitamin A Than Any Other Green Above spinach, arugula, and mixed greens, kale has more vitamin A , which is important for immune function and healthy vision. Kale happens to have 133 percent of your daily requirement, so eat up! More Vitamin C Than an Orange If you dislike citrus fruits, such as oranges and grapefruits, get your dose of vitamin C from kale. While oranges have 113 percent of your daily requirement, kale has 134 percent. At just 67 grams, compared to an orange at 131 grams, kale has more than twice the vitamin C . Part of the 'Dirty Dozen' Kale happens to be on the Environmental Working Group's list of the Dirty Dozen most contaminated foods from pesticides. What does this mean? Watch your kale intake by choosing organic over conventionally produced kale and always washing it thoroughly. There Are Different Varieties of Kale Depending on which type of kale you choose, you will receive different benefits. Consider trying everything from lacianto kale, which features blue-green leaves that are sweeter than the curly type, to Redbor kale, which is a dark red color that is also used as a decoration. Weight Management Kale is low-calorie and contains tons of fiber, keeping you fuller longer. Kale also contains magnesium, which helps your body with digestion and managing stress .
| 7 | 90,625 |
health
|
IRVINE, California -- In a week when the U.S. national team and Mexico are preparing to play one of the most highly anticipated installments of their storied rivalry, the dominant story of the day isn't about the U.S. team or El Tri, but rather about the comments of a retired player and the coach it is widely known he doesn't like. Landon Donovan doesn't like Jurgen Klinsmann, and Klinsmann doesn't like Donovan. This isn't a new development, and there's little reason to believe that had changed at all in the more than a year since the German manager left Donovan off the 2014 U.S. World Cup roster. Not even when they labored through fake smiles and handshakes during Donovan's farewell match for the U.S. almost exactly a year ago, and not even after Donovan was brought in to help coach the U.S. Under-20 World Cup team. The only thing surprising about Donovan's comments this week, telling ESPN FC essentially that Klinsmann should be fired if the U.S. loses to Mexico on Saturday, is the timing. The U.S.-Mexico match was set in stone more than two months ago, but Donovan dropped his bombs just days before the big match, serving up an unneeded distraction for the team he represented for so long, and many players who he called teammates for years. Donovan's comments weren't poorly timed because they might hurt Klinsmann's feelings let's face it, Klinsmann probably laughed at them. No, they were poorly timed because of the distraction it already has turned into for a U.S. team trying to focus on winning a big game. Anything Donovan says about Klinsmann will be perceived as sour grapes for eternity. That doesn't mean Donovan shouldn't be allowed to speak his mind about Klinsmann as long as Klinsmann is coaching the U.S. That said, timing does matter, and there are times when Donovan's blunt commentary will sound even more like the tainted musings of someone with a vendetta. The reality is Donovan's comments wouldn't have elicited the reaction they have if they had been said by pretty much anybody else. Donovan's opinion is a completely reasonable one, and one shared by many. Because it is Donovan, a polarizing figure in American soccer circles at this point, we saw a very emotional reaction, particularly from those U.S. fans who believe Klinsmann is doing a good job. This isn't the first time Donovan's timing let him down. A year ago, almost immediately after the U.S. was eliminated from the World Cup, Donovan stepped up with scathing comments about the team, and basically said Klinsmann mishandled the showpiece tournament. "If you really look at the performances, there were some good performances by guys, some not-so-good performances by guys. As a whole, I think tactically, the team was not set up to succeed," Donovan said of the U.S. World Cup exit in 2014. "They were set up in a way that was opposite from what they've been the past couple years, which is opening up, passing, attacking trying to do that. And the team's been successful that way. Why they decided to switch that in the World Cup, none of us will know." Donovan is in an unenviable position. Throughout his career he has been willing to speak his mind, and his candor is part of the reason he has gained as many admirers as he still has among U.S. fans and journalists. Biting his tongue isn't something Donovan does often, so now here he is, retired and highly sought after for interviews to discuss the national team, and avoiding questions about Klinsmann is probably impossible Donovan hasn't backed down from his statements, and even took to Twitter to defend his right to speak his mind. So I'm not allowed to have an opinion when asked a question? And if I answer truthfully, I'm bitter? https://t.co/6nVlYbYeFu Landon Donovan (@landondonovan) October 6, 2015 There is no denying he did more than enough during his playing career to deserve respect and the right to voice his opinion, but at least in this instance, Donovan should have given a little more thought about the timing of his statements and the distraction it could become to the national team he starred on for so many years.
| 1 | 90,626 |
sports
|
Ghana's government suspended seven out of 12 high court judges on Monday in the wake of allegations of bribery stemming from an investigative film. The documentary, which showed judges accepting bribes through intermediaries, has put Chief Justice Georgina Wood and other judicial figures under pressure to show a forceful public response. "Their suspension follows the establishment of a prima facie case of stated misbehavior against them by the Hon. Lady Chief Justice (Wood)," said a statement from the Judicial Service, announcing a decision by Vice President Kwesi Amissah-Arthur. It comes after 22 circuit judges and magistrates were suspended, and 12 high court judges were placed under investigation, after they were accused of being bought off. Some of the judges accused of wrongdoing have challenged the charges in court, saying their suspension had no legal basis because documents relating to the video that were submitted by the journalist were not made available to them. Many of the cases against the judges and magistrates were outlined in a documentary film. Hundreds of Ghanaians flocked to watch a September 22 public screening in Accra of the incriminating footage shot by the journalist. Some of the judges implicated had tried in vain to block the broadcast. jar/jr (AFP, Reuters)
| 5 | 90,627 |
news
|
This may be the most depressing time of year now that summer's ending and the leaves are falling, but there's still a silver lining to the impending cold weather a lower heating bill than normal. The majority of U.S. households can expect lower heating bills this winter compared with the past two years, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). The decline is due to a combination of warmer expected temperatures and lower fuel costs. Most regions across the nation are projected to have warmer weather this winter, based on forecasts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The Northeast, the Midwest, and the South are all expected to see warmer temperatures, thought the West is projected to have temperatures drop from last year's unusually warm winter. (The NOAA forecasts are incredibly specific, with projections that temperatures will rise 13 percent in the Northeast, 11 percent in the Midwest and 8 percent in the South, while dropping 12 percent in the West.) The EIA estimates that because of these warm temperatures, the average household expenditures for natural gas, heating oil and propane will be 10 percent, 25 percent and 18 percent lower, respectively, than last winter. Even if temperatures are 10 percent colder than what the EIA currently forecasts, the agency says costs will still be down for natural gas (4 percent), heating oil (16 percent) and propane (3 percent).
| 3 | 90,628 |
finance
|
The only negative for the hometown fans of the Edmonton Oilers is that their new era, the one built around 18-year-old rookie Connor McDavid, will begin on the road. McDavid, the No. 1 overall pick and the latest youngster thought to be the next Gretzky, will join his teammates in St. Louis for Thursday's season opener - the most anticipated in many years for the long-suffering Oilers. ''I'm just worried about each and every day here, trying to get better and prove to the coaching staff and management team what I'm all about and making sure I'm earning their trust,'' McDavid said during camp. The 6-foot-1, 190-pound McDavid doesn't have to do anything by himself, of course. Edmonton has piled up talent for years, it's just that the poor results and coaching changes and constant setbacks have taken their toll. The Oilers haven't reached the playoffs in nine years. With McDavid have come changes. Former Hockey Canada president Bob Nicholson was made head of hockey and business operations, and he hired a general manager in Peter Chiarelli who had built the Boston Bruins into a Stanley Cup winner. Chiarelli hired ex-San Jose coach Todd McLellan and overhauled the rest of the coaching staff. McDavid has been paired in the preseason with Taylor Hall on left wing and either Leon Draisaitl or Teddy Purcell on the right. The other top line is expected to be Ryan Nugent-Hopkins with the currently injured Jordan Eberle and Benoit Pouliot. Goaltender Cam Talbot, brought over from the New York Rangers after starring there when Henrik Lundqvist went down, is expected to be the starter. ''We're not going to talk about playoffs here,'' McLellan said, according to Canadian Press. "We're going to talk about foundation.'' With that in mind, some other things to watch in Edmonton: LOWERED EXPECTATIONS: Asked about McDavid, Chiarelli looked to former No. 1 pick John Tavares and recalled a rookie point production in the mid 50s. He predicted 20 goals and 40 points for McDavid this season. ''He could have a real great year but it's a tough league. It's a tough league when you're 18 years old,'' he said. PUMP THE BREAKS: In recent years, the Oilers have been renowned for their aggressiveness in adding first-year players to the roster. With the notable exception of McDavid, that's not going to be the case anymore. ''My default instinct is to have kids play in the minors,'' Chiarelli said when asked if he felt Leon Draisaitl, the third overall pick in the 2014 draft, needed to make the Oilers out of training camp. ''I look at it case by case.'' PUMP THE BREAKS, PART II: The immediate reaction after Edmonton traded the 16th pick in the draft to the New York Islanders for Griffin Reinhart was that the Oilers may have added a young defenseman who could start for them. And perhaps they have. In time. ''We have a lot of defensemen contractually, so we'll see what happens,'' Chiarelli said. DEFENSIVE DEPTH: This group is improving after some awful years. Eric Gryba adds depth. Griffin Reinhart and Darnell Nurse are in the pipeline. Then there is Andrej Sekera, who was signed to a six-year, $33 million offer. ''He's a very smart player, strong player,'' Chiarelli said. ''He can log a lot of minutes. He can defend. He can play your power play, very versatile.'' CAM THE MAN: Chiarelli admitted ''the sample size was small'' when the subject of Cam Talbot came up. In 57 games with the New York Rangers spanning the last two seasons, Talbot compiled a 33-15-5 record with .931 save percentage and 2.00 goals-against average while backing up Henrik Lundqvist. ''I thought he was resilient,'' Chiarelli said. ''I thought he played well, and really didn't panic in his play; didn't overextend himself.'' More than just Talbot's technical play, the way the goaltender was able to accept and absorb outside expectations drew notice from Chiarelli. ''Major market. Major market media. Same applies here in a sense. It's a major hockey market and the media is large and focused on the hockey team.''
| 1 | 90,629 |
sports
|
INCHEON, South Korea Jordan Spieth and Dustin Johnson battled at Chambers Bay in the U.S. Open. They will be partners in South Korea at the Presidents Cup. U.S. captain Jay Haas saved Spieth and Johnson for the anchor match of foursomes Thursday when the Presidents Cup begins at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea. They will face Marc Leishman of Australia and Danny Lee of New Zealand. Lee was born in Seoul before moving as a child. He will be the only Korean-born player to compete in the opening session, the first Presidents Cup held in Asia. Sangmoon Bae, who is returning home and will begin his 21-month mandatory military service after the matches, was held out because his partner, Charl Schwartzel, is still weak from a virus. Spieth won the U.S. Open by one shot when Johnson three-putted from 12 feet on the final hole. Haas said they asked to play together in the Presidents Cup, and it was an easy choice for the captain. "They have been wanting this pairing," Haas said. "And what Jordan wants, Jordan gets right now. So that was our thinking there." Spieth has dominated golf this year with two majors victories, three other PGA Tour wins, a sweep of all the major awards and the No. 1 ranking. He had a successful partnership with Patrick Reed in the Ryder Cup last year by going 2-0-1. Reed is playing with Matt Kuchar on Thursday against Louis Oosthuizen and Branden Grace of South Africa. The last time Johnson was in a team event, the 2012 Ryder Cup, he and Kuchar won both their matches together at Medinah. Haas said a Reed-Spieth pairing is possible later in the week. "Matt is pretty easy to be with," Haas said. "Patrick loves the match play aspect of it and certainly wants Jordan at some time during the course of the matches. But again, we wanted to get Jordan what he wanted here early on, and maybe that can happen down the road." In other opening matches: Adam Scott and Hideki Matsuyama, who went 1-2-1 in all four matches at Muirfield Village two years ago, will lead off against Bubba Watson and J.B. Holmes. Jimmy Walker and Rickie Fowler, 0-1-3 in their partnership at the Ryder Cup last year, face Anirban Lahiri and Thongchai Jaidee. Jason Day and Steven Bowditch put Aussie pride on the line against Phil Mickelson and Zach Johnson. The format has changed this year to eliminate four matches, meaning each team had to sit two players in the opening session for the first time since 2000. Haas sat out his son, Bill Haas, and Chris Kirk. International captain Nick Price's decision was easier because of Schwartzel, who was in bed Wednesday morning during the final day of practice. Asked by the Korean media why he left out Bae, Price said he didn't want to break up any teams. He also stayed away from Day and Spieth being in the same match, even in a team format. Spieth and Day are Nos. 1 and 2 in the world and both won five times this year. "I'm not going to put matchups just because what the media wants, OK? And what the world wants," Price said. "I'm going to put matchups there that I feel is best for our team. That's the most important thing. And I don't think it would be fair to the rest of the team for me to single out one person and say, 'That's who I'm going to play against that person.'" The United States leads the series, 8-1-1, with its only loss coming in 1998 at Australia.
| 1 | 90,630 |
sports
|
TestDriveNow.com Preview of the all-new 2016 Chevrolet Volt by auto critic Steve Hammes. http://testdrivenow.com/2016-chevrolet-volt-first-look/
| 8 | 90,631 |
video
|
St. Louis Rams outside linebacker Alec Ogletree will be sidelined for at least eight weeks after undergoing surgery Tuesday to repair a fractured right fibula. Ogletree, who was injured in Sunday's 24-22 victory over the previously unbeaten Arizona Cardinals, will remain on the team's 53-man roster as the Rams opted not to put him on injured reserve. Fisher re-iterated that Ogletree will be out for at least 8 weeks. Jim Thomas (@jthom1) October 6, 2015 "Surgery went really well this morning," St. Louis coach Jeff Fisher told reporters Tuesday. "We have decided not to use the IR designation at this point. So he'll be a Sunday inactive and out. We'll just kind of see how things go and there's a chance for a return." Ogletree led the Rams in tackles in each of his first two seasons and had recorded 42 through the first four games, including a team-high 10 against the Cardinals. He had two sacks in Week 3 to surpass his total from his first two seasons. "He was on a tear. Personally, he was on as good of a three-game start as I've seen," Rams middle linebacker James Laurinaitis said of Ogletree. "You really saw his raw talent start to come into form."
| 1 | 90,632 |
sports
|
Odell Beckham Jr. made NFL history in Sunday's win over the Bills. But it's what he did before the game that was really impressive.
| 1 | 90,633 |
sports
|
According to a report from The Charlotte Observer , South Carolina officials have reached out to the Carolina Panthers about using Bank of America Stadium as the site for the contest versus LSU this upcoming Saturday. The Panthers are not playing at home this weekend, which would in theory open up the facility for use. However, there are a few logistical problems with the potential to derail the proposed plan. The grass was just recently re-seeded, which coincided with a Carolina away game. If the two collegiate teams play on the field, it may not be a quality playing surface. Secondly, a NASCAR event is occurring this weekend in Charlotte. Hotel rooms may be scarce for those wanting to attend the South Carolina/LSU game (theoretically, if played at this site). This will be a fluid situation, with an outcome potentially appearing within the next few days. ( h/t The Charlotte Observer )
| 1 | 90,634 |
sports
|
The death of a 13-year-old boy who had broadcast much of his life on YouTube prompted an outpouring of grief from his fans, and their curiosity was so intense that his relatives and the authorities were pressed to release further details surrounding how he died. "Due to a large number of inquiries, we can confirm that the juvenile was known as Caleb Logan Bratayley from the popular YouTube episodes 'Bratayley,' " the police in Anne Arundel County, Md., said in a statement about responding to a medical emergency involving the boy on Thursday. The statement also said that the authorities did not suspect foul play in his death, and that the police were no longer investigating. For the authorities, it was a relatively unusual disclosure, but for the 1.7 million people who followed the everyday activities of "Caleb From Bratayley" and his two sisters, on YouTube, it was another update about a family made famous by the edited stylings (and trappings) of vlogger stardom. Sign Up For NYT Now's Morning Briefing Newsletter Caleb's death came at a time when the Bratayleys were growing a mini social Web empire that hinged on the family being constantly accessible, and they kept the content flowing: On various platforms, the family posted hundreds of videos that often showed three laughing children flipping on trampolines, playing with the family dog, modeling new glasses or rolling around in the yard. Under videos posted on Facebook, fans would congregate to discuss the video or ask for more "When are you going to post today's video?" one commenter wrote on Facebook; "can i get a shout out ?????" wrote another. The family was represented by Maker Studios, the digital media company co-owned by Walt Disney. In a statement on Friday, the company said it was "heartbroken at the tragic loss of Caleb from Bratayley," Reuters reported . The news service also reported that his real name was Caleb LeBlanc. The family's online following is devoted. In one case, a fan had used YouTube to post a video edited with text and music to mourn Caleb's death months before he died . After his death, fans posted similar musical tribute videos, but others chose to broadcast their thoughts directly. In the hours following his death, "Bratayley" viewers, many of whom are teenagers, logged on to film themselves and post their reactions. In many cases, the fan videos and comments served as a breeding ground for rumors surrounding the death: In the video below, viewed more than 31,000 times, fans theorized that a hurricane, a heart attack or a panic attack could be the culprit, among other causes. On Monday, a post seeking to dispel some of the questions about his death was sent to some 520,000 followers on the family's Instagram account, which is managed by his mother, Katie: "Caleb's death has raised many questions about how and why this could happen to a seemingly healthy boy. Sadly, tests have confirmed today that Caleb passed away from an undetected medical condition." The outpouring of support, emotion and curiosity has also prompted the family to leave another part of Caleb's death open to fans: His mother said his memorial service would be broadcast live on Facebook and Periscope on Tuesday evening.
| 5 | 90,635 |
news
|
Dear College Football Playoff Selection Committee member, I hope this message finds you well. The last time we spoke, I was writing you from Indianapolis hours after Ohio State's magnificent demolition of Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship Game last December. My message at the time, with an impossible task directly in front of you, was simple: Drop everything and run from it all as fast as you can. As it turns out, including Ohio State in the College Football Playoff was brilliant. Well done. I hope you took a much-deserved victory lap and enjoyed a nice vacation. You earned it. "Generally, we think last year went very well, and we were very pleased with the reaction from fans across the country," selection committee chairman Jeff Long told ESPN.com earlier this offseason. "Our goal, really, is to build upon that success." Things did go shockingly smooth even with some last-minute chaos. Now that college football is back in our lives, I have only one other piece of advice to offer before you unveil your first College Football Playoff standings Tuesday, Nov. 3: Drop everything if you haven't already and run from it all as fast as you can. The season at hand is madness. It's unpredictable. It's strange. It's wildly entertaining from a distance, although soon there will be no boundary between you two. The bedlam is coming, and it will be up to you to separate four teams in a sea of mediocrity and volatility. Forget about separating a top four at this point. How about just one team? Sure, there's a lot of time for things to sort themselves out. Perhaps it will all be sorted nice and neat by Dec. 6, the day the final College Football Playoff standings are released. Perhaps there will be four defined teams and zero controversy to speak of. Perhaps this is all pre-emptive panic with the first standings still weeks away. But given everything we've seen, all the bizarre turns that only seem to be gaining momentum, perhaps it's best you just run regardless. As for the teams on the rise, squads losing ground, the team we penciled right into the playoff and other developments, let's have a look. Arrow Pointing Up Utah: By not playing in Week 5, Utah drastically improved its playoff standing. With four Associated Press Top 10 teams suffering losses, the Utes inched closer to the top while sitting on the couch. It was a good week for a bye. Now, with a week light on major matchups and a prime-time game with Cal on deck Saturday, No. 5 Utah can further assure the masses it belongs in the College Football Playoff conversation. Clemson: Sure, Notre Dame was dealing with a slew of injuries, and the Tigers' monstrous lead nearly came undone. But in beating the Irish 24-22 or better yet, not losing Clemson kept its clean resume intact. The schedule is by no means easy, although the toughest regular-season road game might be against Miami or NC State. As long as the Tigers keep winning, regardless of what happens with the rest of the conference, Clemson will stay in the conversation. Oklahoma: The team that was drastically overhyped heading into last season suddenly looks exceptionally dangerous one year later. Oklahoma's 44-24 victory over a quality West Virginia opponent showcased just how balanced this team has become. There's a legitimate chance that the Sooners will be unbeaten as they head to Baylor on Nov. 14. If that's the case, look out. Arrow Pointing Down Ole Miss: Losing to Florida in spectacular fashion, 38-10, is by no means a deathblow. It's not ideal, but now is the time to lose. There is still time to repair resumes, and the Rebels will have ample opportunities to showcase their worth. Ole Miss draws undefeated Texas A&M and LSU at home in the next six weeks, which will be more than enough to climb back up. The Rebels still have to win those games, though. The room for error is gone. Georgia: On the topic of SEC teams looking completely overwhelmed in Week 5, here's Georgia. The Bulldogs' soggy 38-10 loss to Alabama was incredibly disappointing, and it certainly puts a halt to their College Football Playoff run for the time being. Now, there's no shame in losing to Nick Saban , even at home. It's how Georgia lost looking inept in pretty much every phase that was deeply concerning. Like Ole Miss, there's still time to pick up the pieces. But Georgia best start now. UCLA: Week 5 didn't feel like the time for UCLA's season to take a turn not when the Bruins manhandled Arizona seven days earlier. Arizona State, however, figuratively placed C4 in Jim Mora's mailbox and blew the thing up in the middle of the night. Now, with a defense that has endured a slew of meaningful injuries, the Bruins will have to bounce back. Even with the losses, there's still talent to do just that. But the schedule doesn't get any easier from this point on, which makes things rather tricky. How Will the Committee View Ohio State? How Should We? The parallels to 2014 Florida State are already being drawn , and in many ways, they feel somewhat appropriate in the early going. National championship, check. Loads of NFL talent still on the roster, check. Incredible expectations coming in, check. Unimpressive (but still undefeated) against inferior competition, check. Yes, the invincible Ohio State has looked quite vulnerable. The Buckeyes got 274 yards rushing from running back Ezekiel Elliott against Indiana a Herculean effort to stay unbeaten. And they needed every single yard. Outside of Elliott, the offense really has never looked comfortable. While Cardale Jones will get the brunt of the blame, the offensive line, wide receivers and play-calling have also been spotty. Turnovers have plagued this group, too, as the Buckeyes' 13 giveaways have them tied at No. 117 in the nation. "We're turning the ball over at an alarming rate," Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer told reporters following the 34-27 win. "That's obviously a difference in the game. And at some point, that's going to bite you. We have to fix that." There's still time for Ohio State to repair the broken machine. The committee won't have to put its thoughts on paper for another few weeks, and by then the Buckeyes could look like their bulldozing selves. The talent is there. The defense is still dominant. The dormant giant might finally wake up. Or, maybe it won't. Ohio State will play Maryland, Penn State and Rutgers before the first standings are released. While no game should be considered a sure thing at this point, the timing of these three winnable contests doesn't hurt. If the picture remains hazy and Ohio State's sloppy play continues even in victories the committee will have a difficult time assessing the Buckeyes. But while Ohio State's struggles are noteworthy, there's not exactly a long list of teams passing by it. Is the Playoff Ready to Embrace Non-Power Brands? Year one of the College Football Playoff was a brilliant reality, and the unprecedented television ratings told a tremendous tale. Ohio State, Florida State, Oregon and Alabama four of the nation's most watched and followed programs made up the first postseason tournament. Oh, the money was falling from the sky. What happens, however, when the playoff includes a Utah? Or a Northwestern? Or an Iowa? Or what about a Toledo? The Rockets, with wins over Arkansas and Iowa State, have an opportunity to go undefeated with a schedule that is serviceable enough. If that is the case and the madness plays out accordingly for the teams near the top will they be given a shot? "There's obviously the big brand names out there that carry the weight just by name recognition alone," Utah coach Kyle Whittingham told Heather Dinich of ESPN.com . "For good reason. Those programs have been successful and on the radar for a lot of years, that's why they have a name brand. We just have to keep doing our thing. It all boils down to getting the job done on the field. That is the bottom line." He's right. But that can't eliminate the natural bias that has been building up for decades. With a room full of human beings now picking the playoff a room that has celebrated college football's defined hierarchy for longer than most of us have been alive will the "little guys" truly ever get a fair shake? Maybe it won't come to that. Maybe the power brands will rally and converge Dec. 6, just like they did last year. Or maybe, in such a strange, unpredictable season, the College Football Playoff will welcome a batch of unfamiliar faces to the fold.
| 1 | 90,636 |
sports
|
KFC parent Yum Brands stock plunged Tuesday after it missed Wall Street's earnings and revenue estimates. A key China metric also disappointed. Yum Brands last dropped 18 percent in after-hours trade. (YUM) China same store sales rose just 2 percent. They were expected to be especially strong, at 9.6 percent, as the company recovers from a supplier scandal last year, according to a Consensus Metrix estimate. In a release, CEO Greg Creed said "[T]he pace of recovery in our China Division is below our expectations. Outside of China, our Taco Bell and KFC Divisions continued to sustain their positive sales momentum while Pizza Hut was relatively flat. Given our lower full-year expectations in China, combined with additional foreign exchange impact, we now expect 2015 EPS growth to be well below our target of at least 10%." Adjusted earnings rose to $1 from 87 cents per share in the year-earlier period. Revenue rose to $3.42 billion from $3.35 billion a year ago. Systemwide same store sales at Yum Brands were forecast to rise 3.8 percent. Wall Street expected Yum Brands to deliver adjusted earnings of $1.07 per share on $3.68 billion in revenue, according to a consensus estimate from Thomson Reuters.
| 3 | 90,637 |
finance
|
NEW YORK Yankees center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury, who signed a seven-year, $153-million contract before the 2014 season, is not starting Tuesday night's wild-card game against the Astros despite being healthy. Houston is starting left-hander Dallas Keuchel, prompting manager Joe Girardi to start platoon outfielder Chris Young who has seven home runs and a team-leading .972 OPS against lefty pitchers and also outfielder Brett Gardner who, like Ellsbury, is left-handed. "It was something I mulled over for probably two days once I realized who we were going to face in this game today," Girardi said before the game. "We looked at so many different things because we felt like we had to get Chris Young's bat in there against the left-hander, Keuchel. It came down to Gardy's body of work against lefties versus Ellsbury's." Against lefties, Gardner is batting .276 with a .361 on-base percentage and 15 extra-base hits in 200 plate appearances while Ellsbury is batting .253 with a .327 OBP and only seven extra-base hits in 173 plate appearances. For his career, Ellsbury has identical .343 OBPs against lefties and righties but has struggled this season, especially down the stretch. Since the start of September, Ellsbury has batted only .202 with no homers and a .500 OPS against all pitching as a poor finale to his worst season in which he played at least 20 games. "One thing I told Ells, 'You're going to be in this game,'" Girardi said. "He said, 'I'll be ready.'" Given Ellsbury's base running and defensive abilities, he will be a late-game asset but a badly overpriced one. Gardner's $52-million contract is substantial but only a third of Ellsbury's, who was given superstar money. There is some precedent to surprise starters having breakout games in the one-game wild card. In the very first edition in 2012, Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez started backup catcher David Ross over Brian McCann coincidentally now a Yankee and Ross went 3-for-4 with a home run. "Obviously I did what I thought was best," Girardi said. "I knew that I had to make a decision, and this is the decision that I came to. At the end, I'm the one who has to live with it." Houston manager A.J. Hinch had a similar quandary, albeit on a far smaller scale. He opted to start Luis Valbuena at third base over Jed Lowrie, who signed a three-year, $23 million contract in the offseason. Valbuena is on a one-year, $4.2 million contract. "I think the No. 1 priority in my job is to put the team on the field that gives us the best chance to win," Hinch said before the game. "And sometimes, those messages are tough. Sometimes they're set up for you through injury or lack of performance. But yesterday I walked around the field during the workout and I told a couple of guys that weren't on the playoff roster, and some were expected. "Other guys were on the bubble, and those aren't easy. These guys want to compete. Jed took it like a pro, as I would expect him to. The contract that's signed the previous offseason isn't a driving force when it comes to making this decision for me."
| 1 | 90,638 |
sports
|
When you don't have a lot of time but you want to feel the burn in your legs, this three-minute workout is just what you need. Jump Squat With Heel Click Adding a heel click to the squat jump totally engages the muscles on the inside of your upper thighs. Begin with the feet slightly wider than your hips, bend your knees, and, keeping your weight in your heels, squat. Jump up as high as you can and clap your feet together. Land quietly back into a squat. This makes for one rep. Complete as many reps as you can for one minute. Scissor Jacks This dynamic move tones your arms and inner thighs while getting your heart rate up; here's a GIF demonstrating how . Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, and extend your arms straight out to either side with palms facing down. This is the starting position.Jump, and cross your right arm over your left and your right foot over your left. Jump back to the starting position, then cross with the opposite arm and foot. This counts as one rep.Complete as many reps as you can for one minute. Elbow Plank With Leg Lift Adding a leg lift to your side plank tones the inner and outer thigh while challenging your core. The trick to keeping the pelvis high as you lift your top leg is to reach the inner thigh of your bottom leg toward the ceiling. Place your right elbow on the ground. Extend both legs out so that your body is in one straight line and you're balancing on the outside edge of your right foot. Flex both feet if you can, and rest your left hand on your upper hip.Keeping your spine lengthened and your abs engaged, lift your left leg up just higher than your top hip. Then slowly lower it back to your bottom leg.Keep your waist up and lifted, and don't sink into your bottom shoulder. This counts as one rep.Do 30 seconds of reps on each side.
| 7 | 90,639 |
health
|
A section of a new glass-bottomed walkway at Yuntai Mountain Geological Park in Henan Province, China, cracked Monday afternoon, causing the tourists on it to understandably freak out. Lee Dong Hai, a tourist who was on the walkway, posted on the social media site Weibo: "I was almost at the end and suddenly I heard a sound. My foot shook a little. I looked down and I saw that there was a crack in the floor." The walkway is suspended at a height of about 1,080 meters, or 3,543 feet.
| 2 | 90,640 |
travel
|
And she did the Donald Trump impression again!
| 8 | 90,641 |
video
|
Instagram turns five years old today, and the photo sharing app decided to release an official list of the top five popular Instagram accounts to celebrate. Ladies dominated the day, as all five of the accounts are run by women mostly pop stars. The fans of these stars also skew young, with 85 percent of each of the top five's fanbases averaging under 34 years old, according to Reuters . They are also international brands, with 75 percent of their followers coming from outside of the US. Taylor Swift (who you probably already knew was in the countdown), actually has her second-biggest Instagram follow in Indonesia, Reuters reports . But without further ado, here are the big five: 5. Ariana Grande: 44.6 million followers 4. Selena Gomez: 45.9 million followers 3. Beyonce: 47.2 million followers 2. Kim Kardashian: 48.1 million followers 1. Taylor Swift: 49.6 million followers
| 5 | 90,642 |
news
|
An online Christian organization based in Philadelphia warned the world will end Wednesday, the Guardian reported. The apocalyptic prediction comes just one week after the blood moon had people forecasting the end was near. The eBible Fellowship previously predicted the end of the world would be May 21, 2011, but is now certain civilization will be wiped out by fire Wednesday. The fellowship is not a religion, but an online organization that holds meetings once a month. "According to what the Bible is presenting it does appear that Oct. 7 will be the day that God has spoken of, in which the world will pass away," said Chris McCann, the leader and founder of the fellowship, the Guardian reported. "It'll be gone forever. Annihilated." The fellowship's prediction is based on claims made by Christian radio host Harold Camping, who made headlines in 2011 after he told listeners of his radio station in California the world would end on May 21, 2001, the Daily Mail reported. When May 21 came and went without any event, McCann changed his prediction to a day in October 2011. Once again, doomsday never came. However, McCann claimed Camping's original prediction of May 21, 2011, was correct as God's "judgment day," rather than doomsday. McCann's belief is that God had given himself exactly 1,600 days from that date in May 2011 to decide which nonchurchgoers would be saved from end of the world, resulting in a new doomsday date of Oct. 7, 2015. McCann came up with the 1,600-day time period based on a mathematical formula derived by Bible verses and Camping's estimate of when Noah's flood occurred. Wednesday's predicted doomsday comes little more than a week after the blood moon spurred several apocalyptic predictions. Certain religious leaders had said the blood moon could trigger a chain of events that could result in the apocalypse in as little as seven years. The blood moon, which was a lunar eclipse combined with a "super moon," occurred uneventfully on Sept. 27. There are several theories from scientists about when the world might end, with the most accepted theory being that the sun is gradually increasing in temperature and will expand and swallow the planet, which some believe could happen in as little as 7.6 billion years. However, none of those theories results in an Oct. 7 doomsday date.
| 5 | 90,643 |
news
|
Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump on Tuesday reiterated his stance in favor of eminent domain a view not shared by many in his party. "Eminent domain, when it comes to jobs, roads, the public good, I think it's a wonderful thing," Trump told Fox News ' Bret Baier. "You're not taking property. … You're paying a fortune for that property," he said of the process, adding that homeowners can be paid "four, five, six, ten times" their property's value. Trump, a real estate mogul, noted that he's dealt with eminent domain a lot in building developments in New York City. He said the idea that people are forced to sell homes they don't really want to give up is a myth. "Most of the time, they just want money," the businessman said. "These people can go buy a house now that's five times bigger and in a better location." The conservative group Club For Growth has run attack ads on Trump over his support for eminent domain. Trump on Tuesday dismissed those attacks as a result of his refusal to donate to the Club.
| 5 | 90,644 |
news
|
Jennifer Aniston looks for a shower on an airplane. CNN's Jeanne Moos reports on showering at 40,000 feet.
| 2 | 90,645 |
travel
|
Trevor Noah is off to a good start. The Daily Show host is fitting into Jon Stewart's shoes well with this viral segment about the debate over defunding Planned Parenthood. Watch as Noah nails the arguments over Planned Parenthood and gun violence with the best tool possible: humor.
| 8 | 90,646 |
video
|
Stephon Marbury took a shot at Michael Jordan and his famous Air Jordans, saying MJ "has been robbing the hood" and there are "kids dying for shoes."
| 1 | 90,647 |
sports
|
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. (AP) The Minnesota Vikings have traded linebacker Gerald Hodges to the San Francisco 49ers for rookie center Nick Easton and a sixth-round draft pick. Vikings general manager Rick Spielman announced the deal Tuesday. Hodges, a backup outside linebacker in Minnesota's 4-3 scheme his first two seasons, was the starter this season at middle linebacker in the base defense. Rookie Eric Kendricks replaced him in the nickel package, though. Kendricks has developed enough that the Vikings considered Hodges expendable at a position of depth. The Vikings traded a sixth-round pick for guard Jeremiah Sirles, so they got one back. Easton was acquired by the 49ers in a deal with the Baltimore Ravens last month. He was undrafted out of Harvard. --- Online: AP NFL website: http://www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL
| 1 | 90,648 |
sports
|
GAZIANTEP, Turkey The warning from the front lines came by walkie-talkie. An Islamic State artillery position had boomed to the east, signaling that an incoming round was whistling toward Marea, a town on northern Syria's agricultural flatland. "One shell fired!" the voice on the radio said. "Be careful!" Inside the house he shared with his family, Abu Anas Ishara, a rebel fighter defending his hometown, knew the routine. Usually 10 to 15 seconds passed before shells landed and exploded. But Marea had been struck so often that Abu Anas had wearied of it all. He did not seek cover. Nada, his wife, kept feeding their infant daughter, Sidra, delivered by cesarean section five days before. The shell hit the roof of their home. As the couple were enveloped by dust and foul-smelling smoke, Shahad, their 3-year-old daughter, cried out. "Papa!" she screamed. Abu Anas and Nada staggered outside, each carrying a child, all seemingly unharmed. It was the morning of Aug. 21. Their descent into the confusion and scorching pain of a chemical warfare attack had begun. Sign Up For NYT Now's Morning Briefing Newsletter Struck from afar by a blister-agent shell, the family would suffer from an agonizing form of violence that since the 1990s, when the Convention on Chemical Weapons took force in much of the world, had seemed to fade into the past, only to be revived by the Islamic State . Since the spring, the group has used two types of chemical weapons in Iraq and Syria multiple times, according to international arms analysts, victims, local activists and Western officials, joining Syria's government as a party in the conflict that has used chemical weapons. The weapons have included improvised bombs containing chlorine, a toxic industrial chemical that Sunni militants in Iraq have crudely weaponized in vehicle and roadside bombs for roughly a decade, and artillery or mortar projectiles containing a blister agent that appeared this summer after being fired from Islamic State battlefield positions. These projectiles have delivered sulfur mustard , an internationally banned chemical warfare agent, according to American officials familiar with the analysis of soil samples, ordnance and victims' clothing collected after several attacks. Two American officials said items analyzed from the Aug. 21 attack on Marea were among those that confirmed the agent's use. Chlorine and sulfur mustard are typically less lethal than high-explosive ordnance and other common instruments of battlefield violence. But they are difficult to defend against and fundamentally indiscriminate. Moreover, because they are regarded by their victims as poisons that can be carried on air, the outrage and fear surrounding their use lends them potent psychological and political power. The appearance of distinctly different chemical weapons across a long section of Islamic State territory has led private and government analysts to venture that the world's most violent jihadist organization has developed at least a small-scale chemical weapons program, and may have manufactured low-quality blister agent or obtained chemical arms from undeclared or abandoned government stocks. How much chemical warfare capacity the Islamic State has organized, and its militants' ambitions for its use, remain publicly unknown. Often boastful, the group has offered little clear and verifiable insight into its unconventional weapons. But a commonly held view is that it could attack with such weapons again, perhaps in more spectacular fashion. Many chemical attacks to date have been against Syrian rebel or Kurdish militia positions. The attacks on Marea, which began on Aug. 21 and continued intermittently into the next week, were more complicated. Incoming chemical shells sailed past rebel lines and landed in neighborhoods, medical officials and activists in Marea said. Some struck homes. As is common in areas of Syria beset by fighting, most houses in Marea were empty. The town's former residents had abandoned them, choosing the indignities and uncertainties of life as refugees over the dangers and dimming prospects for peace at home. But some homes remained occupied, often by people too proud, too stubborn or too poor to leave, or by families of rebels who stayed to fight. Several dozen of Marea's remaining residents were exposed, many of them mildly, local medical officials said. Abu Anas and Nada, and members of their extended family, agreed to be interviewed about their much heavier exposure on condition that their surnames not be published, because they feared retaliation from the Islamic State. Abu Anas a Syrian former police officer who provided Turkish medical documents and three photo identification cards that showed his full name is a member of the 13th Division, a rebel group that has received support from Turkey and several Arab and Western nations, including the United States. The last word in the name he is known by in Marea Ishara is not a surname; it means "signal," a reference to his duties until the chemical attack as a battlefield spotter and tactical radio specialist. In the minutes after Nada and Abu Anas dashed from their home with their children, the astonishment of being in a small building struck by an artillery shell gave way to relief, then to curiosity. The war in Syria was past familiar. In the bloody years since the uprising began in 2011, the Sunni rebels who organized in Marea had fought Syrian government forces and Shiite militias, then the Islamic State. The town's people had seen many kinds of violence. They had survived crackdowns, tanks, infantry attacks, airstrikes and cluster munitions. Ballistic missiles had slammed down on nearby fields, shaking the earth and heaving towers of soil into the air. Abu Anas had heard of the evidence and allegations of previous chemical use, including of nerve agent and chlorine, by the government of President Bashar al-Assad. He had not suspected the militants of having chemical weapons, too. Something about this shell was different. It hit the roof's slab of reinforced concrete, but only smashed a pear-shape hole a few feet across. It did not explode, as most shells do. The flash of fire, pressure and hot shrapnel, which together can instantly kill people, had not occurred. Instead, Abu Anas said, as the dust fell on him, he felt as if he had been coated in warm sand. Soon an odor filled the home. It smelled, he said, like "rotten eggs or rotten garlic, something rotten." It rose from his clothes, too. Sulfur mustard causes burns that can damage the skin, eyes and respiratory tract. Carcinogenic and extremely toxic, it can also cause invisible internal damage, including to bone marrow, reducing blood-cell production. Heavy exposure can cause death within days. But its effects are not immediate. Symptoms usually appear after an hourslong delay. Nada, too, wondered what had happened. She suffered no early symptoms. After taking shelter with a neighbor, she and her husband returned to the house several times to gather belongings, not realizing the risks. Abu Anas recorded a cellphone video of the broken ceiling and pocked walls, as if they were lucky to be alive. But as hours passed, Nada could not console Sidra, her newborn, though she found no marks or bruises on the child. The baby was falling ill, and Nada did not know why. "I tried to wash her little body," she said. "I washed her face and her body, but she kept crying." In the afternoon, other residents visited and asked to see where the shell had hit. Abu Anas stepped inside again to show them the hole in the ceiling. The stink was so intense it drove him back. "I threw up in the street," he said. By then his eyes were starting to burn. He showered at a neighbor's home, he said. In what he now knows was a mistake, he dressed again in the same clothes. As the afternoon passed the family became unmistakably unwell. Shahad complained of pain in her throat. The baby fell quiet, awake but disturbingly sluggish, almost still. Abu Anas's eyes were searing. Tears ran down his face. He felt nauseated. Abu Anas and Nada gathered the children and set out for help. Late that afternoon, the staff at a field hospital in Marea examined the baby and urged the family to seek better care; an ambulance carried them to a hospital in nearby Tel Rifaat. There, Nada and Abu Anas said, a manager told them that they had been exposed to chemical weapons, and that they needed treatment in Turkey. He ordered the driver to rush them north. By the time the family crossed the border, it was night. At the first hospital, in Kilis, they were given face masks and assessed. Blisters had risen on Sidra, the baby, and were starting to appear on Shahad, who was coughing. The medical staff began decontaminating them, trying to scrub them clean, Abu Anas said. The little girls cried and wailed uncontrollably. Unable to console them or relieve their pain, he felt helpless. The doctors told Nada and Abu Anas their children were very sick, then separated the family and began examining the adults. "They cut my clothes off, so I was naked, and began to spray me" with a pressure washer that forced water through a wide nozzle, Abu Anas said. Doctors found fresh blisters coating part of his upper back, apparently where a chemical agent had soaked through his clothes. Until then, he said, he had not realized he had been burned. But as the water hit him, he felt excruciating pain. He vomited again. Nada's burns were more extensive, spreading over much of her body and limbs. The doctors admitted the children and transferred the couple to a larger hospital in this city, where, over Abu Anas's objections about pain he did not think he could endure, he and his wife were decontaminated a second time. "No one spoke Arabic, but I started to beg them not to wash me again," he said. " 'I have already been washed,' I said, 'I don't want to go through that another time.' " Overcome by exhaustion, by being separated from her children and by painful treatment for intensifying wounds at the hands of people speaking a language she did not know, Nada lost consciousness in the night. When she woke she pleaded to see her baby. The doctors refused, she said, telling her the child was O.K. Nada's symptoms grew worse. Blisters erupted, the surface of her eyes burned, her breathing became raspy. Her husband had been burned less, but he developed a deep, wet cough and struggled to see. They never saw their baby again. For almost two weeks the doctors withheld details of Sidra's condition, Abu Anas and Nada said, as the child slipped from life. She had died on Sept. 4. The hospital staff showed Nada a photograph of her baby, swollen and burned. Much of the child's hair seemed to have been scalded away. "They told me she is dead, and now she is one of the birds in paradise," she said. Nada had carried Sidra for nine months only to lose her within days. The time had been too short, Nada said, even to absorb clear memories of how her daughter looked. "Her eyes were always closed," she said, "as if she didn't want life." On Sept. 7, the hospital released the dead child to two of Abu Anas's brothers, who were driven with the body to a cemetery beside Gaziantep's airport. Sidra was wrapped in a white shroud, a bundle that one of the brothers, Mahmoud, said he held gently on his lap in the car. At the cemetery's mosque, a woman washed the body according to Islamic ritual. No other family members were present. An imam administering another funeral saw the men alone, brought guests from that funeral to their side, and led prayers in Turkish. Sidra's uncles, who speak only Arabic, did not understand them. The two men buried their niece in a shallow grave, roughly two feet long, near the top of a hill overlooking the mosque. It was identified by small concrete markers and a five-digit number. By mid-September, the three survivors' burns had scarred over. Shahad burned across her abdomen, arms, back and legs, but healing was reunited with her parents. The family moved from hospital beds to mattresses on a cramped apartment rented by Nada's father, Adel, an auto mechanic who is also a refugee. Adel said he did not understand why the Islamic State would fire into neighborhoods instead of at places where rebels congregated. "The bases are known, the positions are known," he said. "What was the purpose of targeting a home?" But he spoke of forgiveness, not vengeance. "God will not have mercy on us until we have mercy on each other," he said, over tea, as his son-in-law coughed beside him in one room and the sounds of his daughter's coughs could be heard from the next room. The family had almost no clothing. Their possessions had been contaminated in the attack. Abu Anas had managed to save little more than his cellphone, which he washed in alcohol and dried in the sun. Wincing, weak and short of breath, wearing sunglasses inside as he rested beside a plastic bag of phlegm-soaked tissues, Abu Anas was waiting for space in a Turkish refugee camp. There they would need many more months to heal, he said for burned skin to stop tingling and itching, for breathing to become easy and clear, for eyesight to be restored. Then they might wait out Syria's ceaseless war minus Sidra, struck by chemical weapons before the end of her first week of life. "God loved her," Adel said, and so he took her to spare her more of a suffering that no one should bear.
| 5 | 90,649 |
news
|
Anthony Bourdain gets schooled in Okinawa's most famous export: karate. "Parts Unknown" airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/PT.
| 6 | 90,650 |
entertainment
|
Though AT&T had Wi-Fi calling enabled through much of the iOS 9 beta program this summer, those who upgraded to the final version found that the feature was missing . The reason? It doesn't support teletype services (TTY) for the deaf and hard of hearing very well, which the FCC generally requires of wireless networks. In its place, AT&T wants to deploy real-time text (RTT), which it says is faster, richer, and generally better than TTY a decades-old technology. That roadblock has been cleared now with a waiver granted by the FCC that lets AT&T get around the RTT rule until the end of 2017. (AT&T doesn't yet have a time frame for flipping the switch back on for customers, but it shouldn't take long.) This isn't where the story ends, though: In the process of applying for a waiver AT&T was complaining about T-Mobile and Sprint , both of which launched Wi-Fi calling without an FCC exemption in other words, as AT&T sees it, its competitors were offering their services in violation of FCC rules. It's still challenging them today, too. Says AT&T's Jim Cicconi: We're grateful the FCC has granted AT&T's waiver request so we can begin providing Wi-Fi calling. At the same time we are left scratching our heads as to why the FCC still seems intent on excusing the behavior of T-Mobile and Sprint, who have been offering these services without a waiver for quite some time. Instead of initiating enforcement action against them, or at least opening an investigation, the agency has effectively invited them to now apply for similar waivers and implied that their prior flaunting of FCC rules will be ignored. This is exactly what we meant when our letter spoke of concerns about asymmetric regulation.T Then again, the only thing really stopping AT&T from moving forward before was its own self-regulation in the face of its competitors flouting the rules the FCC hadn't stopped it. Had it felt rebellious, it could've deployed anyway, but the marketing value of calling out T-Mobile's transgressions might be far greater than enabling a feature that lies in a legal gray area.
| 3 | 90,651 |
finance
|
Amanda Gatto and her mother have both battled breast cancer, a disease that claims the lives of more than 40,000 women in the U.S. every year. Last month, Gatto honored her mom by walking in Santa Barbara's AVON 39, a two-day, 39-mile walk that helped raise money to fight breast cancer. Here's Amanda's story, as told to Jillian Kramer. In 2010, I heard the news we all know is possible, but push to the back of our minds: Someone I loved dearly had breast cancer . In my case, it was my mother, then just 46 years old. She found a lump in her breast and went to have it checked without telling anyone, so there was no prepping, no planning what we would do if the tests came back positive. I found out at the same time as my now-husband, Vince, and my brother. "I have breast cancer, but don't worry," Mom said after sitting us down. She was so calm, so "I've got this." I, on the other hand, was freaking out inside. Cancer is a really scary word. After meeting with her doctors, my mom opted to do a lumpectomy, where they cut out the cancer, plus several weeks of radiation. Even through extreme fatigue and sunburn-like burns across her chest, she acted like the treatment was no big deal. She would even drive herself to her radiation appointments. She went every day, Monday through Friday. After six months, she was done with the radiation, and my family breathed a collective sigh of relief. Whew. That's over. Or so we thought. Two years later, I was at my primary care doctor's office for my annual physical, and she found a lump in my breast. "Does that feel funny to you?" she said. I told her I didn't know, because I had never learned to check my breasts, which sounds crazy now. I was only 24 years old, and I naively thought that I was too young to have to worry about it. My doctor knew my family had a history of breast cancer, so she sent me straight for a biopsy. When the results came back, the nurse called me to make an appointment with a surgeon without ever telling me why. The feeling? Total panic. After what seemed like forever but was probably just a few minutes, my doctor called me and said, "You have breast cancer." I tried to stay focused as she was talking, but my mind was spinning. This doesn't happen to women my age , I thought. This was supposed to be one of the most exciting times of my life: Vince had proposed, and with my mom feeling better, we had happily jumped into wedding planning. Cancer? I thought. Now? No. I tried to focus on the positive, like my mother had. I was going to marry the love of my life this cancer would be a minor speed bump. Mom was just as strong getting me through my diagnosis as she had been with her own. She insisted that we keep planning the wedding, which kept me steady. In between trips to the florist and other vendors, we'd go to my oncologist appointments. There was no time to be sad, because I was getting married, and that's what we focused on. When I met with the surgeon, she told me that because of my age and my family's history, she recommended a double mastectomy, followed by chemotherapy. There was the option to do a lumpectomy followed by radiation, just as my mom had done, or a single mastectomy, where they would just take out the breast where the lump had been found, but that wouldn't do as much to eliminate my risk of beating the big C. The decision about whether or not to have my breasts removed was overwhelming. I cried a lot . But my mom was with me, and she calmed me down. She hugged me, and told me it would be OK and we'd get through it together. I thought of how she'd completed her own treatment so quickly and how she had survived. This is what we do , I thought. We beat this. Before I made my decision, I went to see a genetic counselor, who told me I had the BRCA2 gene, a chromosome mutation that causes an increased risk of cancer. That news was the deciding factor in my choice to do a double mastectomy. The surgeon had already told me that because I was only in my twenties, the chances of the cancer coming back were high. And after reviewing the genetic test results, it was very clear to me what I needed to do. I underwent the double mastectomy six weeks before my wedding. Going into the surgery, I was a mess. I was so sad and so scared. It was just weeks before my wedding, and I was getting my breasts chopped off not exactly how I'd pictured the lead up to one of the biggest days of my life. There was one moment of relief when doctors told me that I could wait to do chemotherapy until after the wedding. I know I had much more serious things to worry about than hair . But having the reassurance that I would look like, well, me, walking down the aisle was a small victory. Other people tried to put me at ease, too: I had a dress fitting a week after my surgery, and the women at the store were so good to me, and said they would put padding in my dress so that nobody would be able to tell that I'd had my breasts removed. The wedding was as special and joyful as I had always imagined it would be. There was this feeling: We, my mom and I, had conquered this thing. We were survivors. Then, while Vince and I were on our honeymoon, my mom went to the doctor because she'd been having back pain, and found out that her cancer had returned. This time, it had spread to her bones. I was equal parts shocked and heartbroken, and I also felt guilty. Here I had been, planning my wedding and taking care of myself I hadn't even known my mother had been in pain. She had hidden it from me so that I wouldn't worry, because that's who she is the strongest woman I know. For the next seven months, I would go to the oncologist appointments with my mom, and she would go to my chemotherapy sessions with me. Her prognosis wasn't good her cancer was stage IV, the most serious kind. The cancer was in her bones, her lungs, her liver, her kidneys and there wasn't much doctors could do. I finished my chemotherapy in March of 2013. My mom was moved to hospice care that May. That June, while she was still in hospice, my mom and I had this one really good day. She was up, she wasn't in a lot of pain, and we were talking about having a baking day that weekend. We talked about what we wanted to make banana nut bread and peanut butter and chocolate fudge and I promised to go to the store to get all the ingredients. She was in an upbeat mood (of course), and she wanted to do something she loved with me. She died the next day. After my mom passed away, I told myself that all of that strength she had inside of her was passed on to me, and not just to keep the cancer away, but to propel me forward in all parts of my life. I also knew that in my mom's honor, I had to do something so that other women never have to hear the horrible words: "You have breast cancer." How would I help, though? I wasn't sure at first, but then my husband's cousin walked in the 2013 Avon Walk for Breast Cancer for me and my mom. When she told me about it, I thought, I want to do this . I joined for the first time in 2014. Just before the walk, I felt a small lump on the top of my breast implant. A surgeon cut it out and sent it in for testing, and the results affirmed my worst fear: The cancer had returned. There was an upside, though was lucky it hadn't spread. Now, I see an oncologist every three months to do blood work and a physical exam. It's nerve-wracking, but I know it's what I have to do. Something else I have to do? Keep fighting this terrible disease. This year was my second time completing the AVON39 , and I'm already looking forward to walking in 2016. Part of this is because raising money to help fight cancer is important to me. But another reason why I plan to keep doing walking and fighting is because every step reminds me of my mother. Every step, I know she's with me.
| 7 | 90,652 |
health
|
The biggest criticism of the Oklahoma City Thunder over the past few years has been the team's rudimentary offensive sets. That criticism, to a large extent, fell on the shoulders of former head coach Scott Brooks, for better or worse. So step No. 1 for new Thunder coach Billy Donovan: Install a more complex offense based on better passing and spacing. So far for Donovan, so good. "Definitely more space," Russell Westbrook told The Daily Oklahoman . "Guys are in positions where they can score the basketball. The space is especially good for myself and it's also good for guys that shoot the basketball really well, roll to the basket, whatever it is, can use their strengths really well." Donovan himself has seen the changes in the team's ball movement and spacing early in training camp, and has been "really, really happy." "I've said this before: When you're coming in and you're putting new things in, they've had a real open mind," Donovan said. "They're really, really bright in terms of the pace." Donovan has pointed out Westbrook in particular as the quickest learner, claiming Westbrook's basketball IQ is vastly underrated and that he's one of the Thunder's brightest players. As long as those two are on the same page, the Thunder's offense will reach the heights it needs to to relaunch the team into contention.
| 1 | 90,653 |
sports
|
CHARLOTTE, N.C. Jeff Gordon believes his new front tire changer can improve his pit crew and give Hendrick Motorsports some inside information on the competition. Nick Odell, considered one of the best tire changers in NASCAR, was released from Joe Gibbs Racing after the opening race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship. He was immediately pursued by nearly every top Sprint Cup team, and settled on Hendrick Motorsports. Odell made his debut Sunday at Dover with Gordon's crew, and Gordon believed the pit stops were improved. More important, though, is the knowledge Odell allegedly possesses about the air guns being used at JGR. The Gibbs crews have consistently been among the best in the sport, and many have attributed their success to advanced technology in their air guns. Dale Earnhardt Jr. estimated teams are spending $1 million annually to develop the air guns, and Gordon admitted that Hendrick lags behind in its equipment. "I feel like we've been off," Gordon said. "We train guys. We have very talented individuals, but it goes further than that. Now we're starting to see where these pit guns are a crucial part of pit stops. It's something we've been working on, and adding Odell helps us take it to the next level. "He brings a lot of things. He's very, very in tune with all that equipment and was a big part of that at Gibbs." Odell was put on Gordon's car as the four-time champion completes his final season before retirement. Gordon's previous tire changer, Scott Brzozowski, was moved to Earnhardt's car, and both drivers noted improvement in Sunday's pit stops. Kyle Busch said he didn't want to lose Odell, whom he considered "one of my best friends" and acknowledged that Gibbs' work on air guns will eventually be seen at Hendrick. "Certainly being a part of Joe Gibbs Racing and the development work and everything that we've done into those air guns, obviously, Nick was a part of that and knows some of that stuff," Busch said. "I'm sure it'll take six, seven, eight months for those guns to appear, but we'll see them next year, and we'll be competing against them." The signing of Odell brought the total to five Chase teams that have made pit crew changes during the playoffs. In addition to Busch, Gordon and Earnhardt getting new personnel, Martin Truex Jr. and Brad Keselowski also made moves. "You're just always trying to find out where you need more strength and what can make you better," Gordon said. "Track position has become so important. The aerodynamic power and combination we have, it's so difficult to pass once you get the green flag and get strung out."
| 1 | 90,654 |
sports
|
US officials are asking why ISIS appears to be using a large number of Toyota trucks, ABC News reports. US officials are inquiring why ISIS has acquired a large number of Toyota vehicles, ABC News reports. Toyota-made pickup trucks and sport-utility vehicles have been featured prominently in a number of ISIS propaganda videos (like the one below) used in Iraq, Syria, and Libya, according to ABC . Vehicles shown include the Hilux and the Land Cruiser. "ISIS has used these vehicles in order to engage in military-type activities, terror activities, and the like," former US ambassador to the United Nations Mark Wallace told ABC News . "But in nearly every ISIS video, they show a fleet a convoy of Toyota vehicles and that's very concerning to us." Toyota said in a statement to Autoblog that it has a strict policy not to sell vehicles to groups who may use them for paramilitary or terrorist activities, but notes that it can't control if its vehicles are re-sold, stolen, or repurposed after they leave dealerships. (Read the full statement as a press release, below.) "We are committed to complying fully with the laws and regulations of each country or region where we operate, and require our dealers and distributors to do the same," Toyota's statement says. "We are supporting the US Treasury Department's broader inquiry into international supply chains and the flow of capital and goods in the Middle East." The vehicles shown in the ISIS videos are older Toyota models, according to ABC. Hyundais, Mitsubishis, and Isuzus are also depicted, though to a lesser extent. It's possible some of the Toyota vehicles are being smuggled into the region, an Iraqi military spokesman told the network.
| 9 | 90,655 |
autos
|
IRVING, Texas - In his first public comments since signing with the Dallas Cowboys in March, defensive end Greg Hardy spent 10 minutes talking about sacks, fatherhood and even Tom Brady's wife. Almost any subject except the reason he served a four-game suspension for violating the league's personal conduct policy. Striking a jovial and confident tone, Hardy expressed gratitude to the Cowboys for signing him following his arrest on domestic-abuse charges stemming from an incident with a former girlfriend in spring 2014. He said he hopes he comes out "guns blazing" when the Cowboys host the New England Patriots on Sunday. A two-month NFL probe concluded that Hardy used physical force against his ex-girlfriend "in at least four instances" during the altercation on May 13, 2014, including one "which caused her to land on a futon that was covered with at least four semi-automatic riles." When asked what he would say to those who think he should not be on the team because of his off-field transgressions, Hardy said, "God bless you. That's the message." In July 2014, Hardy was found guilty of assaulting his ex-girlfriend, Nicole Holder, and threatening to kill her. He appealed the judge's ruling and asked for a jury trial. On Feb. 9, prosecutors in North Carolina said charges would be dropped because Holder could not be found. The Cowboys signed Hardy to a one-year contract in March. An initial 10-game NFL suspension was then reduced to four games in July. Asked specifically about the decision, Hardy said, "I don't remember the decision. Check with Mr. (Roger) Goodell and my lawyer, though." What he learned most about himself through the ordeal, Hardy said, was that he's a "really good pass rusher when I put my mind to it." His central concerns now, he said, are winning and getting sacks, adding that, "I'm really good at that." Hardy, 27, played just one game during the 2014 season, spending most of the season on the NFL commissioner's exempt list. In his past 32 games, dating to the start of the 2012 season, the 6-foot-5, 280-pound Hardy collected 27 sacks while playing for the Carolina Panthers. He called the last two seasons "a blur." And he disagreed that it marked a difficult period in his life, calling it instead "the most awesome period of my life, man. I'm a Dallas Cowboy. Dream come true." Asked about any remorse, Hardy said he was sorry that he couldn't be around for his teammates the first four weeks of the season. For the injury-riddled Cowboys, who are already without stars Tony Romo and Dez Bryant, Hardy is a welcomed addition. "The timing is great," defensive tackle Tyrone Crawford said of Hardy's return. Hardy said this season is not a referendum on his character, saying "it's all about football. That's what they paid me for." Asked if he is the right kind of guy for the organization, Hardy said, "I consider myself a guy. And coming here and meeting these kinds of people definitely are directing me towards being a whole another person that I didn't think I could be." Hardy said he views the matchup with Brady "the same way I did the last time I saw him. Hopefully on the ground." Hardy correctly recalled sacking Brady once during the Panthers' 24-20 victory over the Patriots in 2013. "I love seeing Tom Brady," Hardy said. "He's cool as crap. Have you seen his wife? I hope she comes to the game, I hope her sister comes to the game, all her friends come to the game." A reporter asked if Hardy also looks forward to playing teams such as the Jacksonville Jaguars, and whether he finds their quarterback Blake Bortles' significant other attractive. "Is she?" Hardy said. "This kind of information is important. That's how I select my Pro Bowls."
| 1 | 90,656 |
sports
|
Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA (NWC.OL) hopes to sell one-way tickets to Europe for $69 as early as 2017 by flying from U.S. airports that have low fees, Chief Executive Officer Bjørn Kjos said in an interview Tuesday. Europe's third-largest budget airline is considering flights to Edinburgh and Bergen, Norway from U.S. airports that have little to no international service today, such as New York's Westchester County Airport and Connecticut's Bradley International Airport, just north of Hartford, Kjos said. Average prices on such routes are likely to be closer to $300 round trip, Kjos said, compared with many of Norwegian's fares that run more than $500 today because of higher fees levied by busier airports. The potential plans are part of Norwegian's broader move to cut prices and take share from traditional flag carriers that dominate trans-Atlantic flying. While airlines such as Deutsche Lufthansa AG (LHAG.DE) offer travelers hundreds of destinations via connections in airport hubs, Norwegian is aiming to make nonstop service to small cities that straddle the Atlantic more common, which keeps costs low. "I think you will see a lot to that effect within five years' time," Kjos said. "What will happen to (Lufthansa) when everyone starts to fly direct?" Norwegian has 100 737 MAX jets from Boeing Co (BA.N) on order and expects to receive five in 2017. These planes are equipped to traverse the Atlantic but are smaller than most jets that currently do so, making them a better size for international flights to cities such as Birmingham in Britain, Kjos said. Regulators will have to agree to set up customs stations at U.S. regional airports to handle international traffic, although Kjos said he is confident this can be arranged. Norwegian is not the only airline to market cheap fares across the Atlantic. Iceland's Wow Air recently offered one-way fares between Boston and Paris for $99. Lufthansa's low-cost subsidiary Eurowings is also starting cheap long-haul flights. Kjos downplayed the competitive threat of Eurowings, saying, "I don't believe in their being able to operate low cost with a Boeing 767," in part because the widebody planes save less fuel and have smaller range than planes such as Boeing Dreamliners in Norwegian's fleet. Norwegian separately reported Tuesday that it filled 96 percent of long-haul plane seats in September, helping the airline post better-than-expected results. (Reporting by Jeffrey Dastin; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
| 3 | 90,657 |
finance
|
The best MLB teams that failed to win the World Series 1906 Chicago Cubs The 1906 Cubs had a whopping .763 win percentage, going 116-36 during the regular season but lost in six games in the World Series. Notable players on the team included Hall of Famers Mordecai Brown, Johnny Evers and Frank Chance. 1931 Philadelphia Athletics Going for their third consecutive World Series win, the Athletics lost in seven games to the Cardinals. Connie Mack's team had the most wins of their three-year run (107), featuring legends such as Lefty Grove, Jimmie Foxx and Al Simmons. 1942 New York Yankees Looking to repeat and win their sixth World Series in seven seasons, the Yankees were defeated by the Cardinals in five games in the World Series. New York had 103 wins, with a lineup that featured Joe DiMaggio, Phil Rizzuto, Joe Gordon and Charlie Keller. 1946 Boston Red Sox The '46 Red Sox went from 71 wins the previous season to 104 wins before losing in seven games in the World Series. The team had huge offensive seasons from Ted Williams and Johnny Pesky. 1954 Cleveland Indians The Indians won 111 games with a .721 winning percentage during the regular season, but were swept by the New York Giants in the World Series. Hall of Famers Early Wynn, Bob Feller, Bob Lemon and Larry Doby paced Cleveland. 1962 Los Angeles Dodgers The '62 Dodgers won 102 games with great seasons from Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax, but they tied the San Francisco Giants after 162 games, and lost a 1-game playoff to miss the World Series. 1962 San Francisco Giants After beating the Dodgers in a 1-game playoff to win the NL pennant, the Giants lost the Yankees in seven games in the World Series. San Francisco's lineup was stacked, featuring huge years from Willie Mays, Orlando Cepeda, Felipe Alou and a young Willie McCovey off the bench. 1970 Cincinnati Reds After winning 102 games during the regular season, the Reds fell in the World Series to the Orioles in seven games. The Reds featured three hitters with 30-plus homers (Johnny Bench, Tony Perez, Lee May) along with Pete Rose. 1977 Philadelphia Phillies The Phils were swept in the NLCS in 1976, but came back the following year with an identical 101 victories. This time they fell in four games in the best-of-five series to the Dodgers despite a Cy Young year from Steve Carlton and huge offensive seasons from Mike Schmidt, Greg Luzinski and Richie Hebner. 1979 Baltimore Orioles After winning 102 games during the regular season, the O's lost to the Pirates in the World Series. Their impressive rotation featured Mike Flanagan, Jim Palmer and Dennis Martinez, along with a lineup that had Ken Singleton, Eddie Murray and Gary Roenicke. 1988 New York Mets With much of the same core that won the 1986 World Series, the Mets won 100 games during the regular season in 1988 but lost in the NLCS. No one in the rotation had an ERA higher than 3.25, led by a 2.22 ERA from David Cone. Darryl Strawberry finished second in the MVP voting after hitting 39 home runs. 1990 Oakland Athletics Making it to their third consecutive World Series, the A's were heavily favored after winning 103 games during the regular season. They lost to the Reds in four games despite an incredible lineup that featured Rickey Henderson, Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco. The pitching staff featured Dave Stewart and Bob Welch as starters and Dennis Eckersley at closer. 1993 Atlanta Braves In the third season of the Braves' incredible '90's run,, the team won 103 games but lost in the NLCS to the rival Phillies. The incredible rotation of Greg Maddux, John Smoltz, Tom Glavine and Steve Avery wasn't enough. The team also featured David Justice and Ron Gant combining to hit 76 home runs. 1994 Montreal Expos One of the great what-ifs, the Expos led the NL with a 74-40 record until the MLB strike wiped out the season. The impressive rotation featured a 22-year-old Pedro Martinez, while the lineup was getting big years out of Larry Walker, Moises Alou, Wil Cordero and a very young Cliff Floyd. 1995 Cleveland Indians One of the great lineups of the modern era, the Indians lost to the Braves in the World Series after winning 100 games in the regular season. The team had five 20-plus home runs hitters, including 50 homers from Albert Belle, 31 home runs from Manny Ramirez and 25 from Jim Thome. 1996 Atlanta Braves After winning the World Series in 1995, the Braves arguably had a better team in 1996 after winning 96 games during the regular season. They lost in the World Series despite a regular season in which John Smoltz, Greg Maddux and Tom Maddux produced sub-3.00 ERAs, and the team saw big offensive outputs from Chipper Jones, Fred McGriff, Ryan Klesko and Marquis Grissom. 1998 Houston Astros The Astros went all-in during for the 1998 season, trading key prospects for Randy Johnson. The lineup was loaded with Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio, Moises Alou, Derek Bell and Carl Everett, but the team lost in the NLDS after winning 102 games during the regular season. 2000 San Francisco Giants The Giants hit the cover off the ball in 2000, featuring three players with an OPS above 1.000 (Barry Bonds, Jeff Kent, Ellis Burks). The team scored 925 runs during the regular season and won 97 games, but were a quick out in the playoffs. 2001 Seattle Mariners The M's broke the wins record with 116 wins during the regular season, helped by a huge rookie season from Ichiro Suzuki and great offensive contributions from Edgar Martinez, Bret Boone, John Olerud and Mike Cameron. They disappointed in the playoffs, losing in the ALCS to the Yanks in five games. 2001 New York Yankees 2001 was an emotional year for the Yankees with the events of 9/11, but the team looked destined to win the World Series. They lost in seven games to a stacked Diamondbacks squad in a memorable World Series despite a team that featured Roger Clemens, Mariano Rivera, Derek Jeter and Bernie Williams. 2002 Oakland Athletics The Moneyball A's won 103 games during the regular season with the Big Three of Tim Hudson, Barry Zito and Mark Mulder, along with a lineup that got huge years out of Eric Chavez and Miguel Tejada. They proceeded to lose a heartbreaking ALDS to the Twins. 2004 New York Yankees The Yankees had their third straight season of more than 100 wins, and were also ousted in the playoffs all of those years. After 30-plus homers from Gary Sheffield, Alex Rodriguez and Hideki Matsui during the season, New York was sitting pretty at 3-0 vs. Boston in the ALCS. Then Dave Roberts stole second base, the Red Sox won four straight, and the rest is history. 2004 St. Louis Cardinals Despite winning 105 games during the regular season, the Cardinals fell to the Red Sox juggernaut in four games. The team featured huge offensive seasons from Albert Pujols, Jim Edmonds and Scott Rolen. 2011 Philadelphia Phillies The final year of Philadelphia's great run, the Phils won 102 games during the regular season before losing in five games to Chris Carpenter and the Cardinals in an incredible NLDS. The rotation was one of the best in recent memory with Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels and Roy Oswalt. 2012 Washington Nationals The Nats had a breakout year in 2012, winning the NL East with 98 wins and a strong pitching staff that featured Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez and Jordan Zimmermann, along with a strong lineup featuring six players with at least 17 home runs. Washington lost a heartbreaking NLDS to the Cardinals after holding a late-game lead vs. St. Louis in Game 5.
| 1 | 90,658 |
sports
|
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- First, Kevin Harvick embarrassed the field with a dominating victory at Dover. Then his victory celebration made some of his competitors wonder if the reigning Sprint Cup champion had something to hide. Many believe Harvick backed his car into the wall during his celebratory burnout perhaps in an intentional attempt to create damage to his Chevrolet that would limit NASCAR's ability to do a proper post-race inspection. Harvick on Tuesday denied any knowledge of hitting the wall. "I did?" he asked. "I didn't even know." When told that a conspiracy was potentially brewing -- and growing on social media -- Harvick seemed unconcerned and chalked it up as competition doing "what they're supposed to do -- they're supposed to try and create commotion." "I don't actually remember hitting the wall," he said. "I remember the tires blowing out, but I don't know if I actually hit the wall. These things are hard to win and I enjoy celebrating, and I'm going to burn the tires off for sure." Brad Keselowski said Tuesday it was "absolutely" common for drivers to intentionally damage their cars after a race. Denny Hamlin called on NASCAR to figure out a way to keep cars intact for the technical inspection that occurs after a car is returned to North Carolina for a thorough review at the research and development center. "You don't want to discredit anyone's win because what he did was really, really impressive," Hamlin said. "But all the other competitors, whoever doesn't win each week wants to make sure they're on a level playing field with whoever did win. Going forward, I would like to see some kind of way of insuring our cars all stay intact for the R&D Center. Because right now, the R&D Center is kind of a moot point if guys tear up their cars." Harvick led 581 laps in the first three Chase races, but he crashed in the opener at Chicago and ran out of gas while headed to the win at New Hampshire. It backed him into a must-win situation at Dover, a track where he had never before won a Cup race. He dominated the race Sunday and easily grabbed the win he needed to advance into the second round of the Chase. Kyle Busch declined -- sort of -- to speculate on Harvick's intent during his victory celebration, saying with an exaggerated eye roll, "Sometimes when you're in a burnout and you're in the smoke, you can't see where you're at." But Keselowski said intentionally damaging the car is common and he has done it himself. NASCAR inspects several cars at the race track following a race, while three or so are brought back to North Carolina for a more detailed inspection. "The cars aren't tech'd the same way at the track as they can be tech'd at the R&D Center," Keselowski said. "It's been going on for a long time. But I'm not making any accusations. I've definitely blown tires out. I think every driver has done things to do some kind of damage to their car."
| 1 | 90,659 |
sports
|
The Paul George saga continues, this time on a positive note. After suggesting that he wasn't "cut out" to play power forward after the Indiana Pacers' first preseason games, many began to wonder if George's displeasure with playing up a position would be an issue this season. But now George is adjusting his tune after speaking with coach Frank Vogel and team president Larry Bird, a conversation he believes was helpful. "Yeah, we talked about it," George told the Indianapolis Star . "Just going over what was the plan going forward. "I mean, there was clarification on what we're (doing) going forward. That's what it was, just clarification." George was pressed to explain what that "clarification" was, and said, "We're going to still stick with it, see how it works." His explanation for being OK with the move was simple: "I'm a part of this team." Though this may seem like inconsequential comments, it's good news for the Pacers faithful. George is the key to any success the team may have this season, and he has to be on board with team's style of play and overall direction. If he and Vogel and Bird are clashing all season, the Pacers will struggle to even make the playoffs, let alone acheive their goal of nabbing home-court advantage. It remains to be seen just how much George will play power forward. The Pacers have plenty of solid frontcourt options to choose from -- Ian Mahinmi, Jordan Hill, Myles Turner, Lavoy Allen -- so it's not as if George needs to play a bulk of the game at the 4. But in the right matchups -- against other small-ball units or slow big men who aren't offensive threats -- he can be lethal at the position. In the meantime, Vogel hopes to have an open communication line with George, listening and valuing his superstar's feedback. "He knows the big picture, we're all on the same page," Vogel said. "I don't have any problem with him speaking his mind. As long as he's communicating with me, too. Which he is."
| 1 | 90,660 |
sports
|
TORONTO (AP) -- After he acquired Josh Donaldson last winter, Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos was concerned that his new third baseman might try to swing for the fences too much in his new hitter-friendly home. He'd seen the slugger's average dip by nearly 50 points in 2014, even as his home runs total ticked up. Turns out Anthopoulos had nothing to worry about. In a season that's sure to attract attention from AL MVP voters, Donaldson gave the Blue Jays both abundant power and ample on-base ability. ''We knew he had power,'' Anthopoulos said Tuesday as the AL East champion Blue Jays readied for Thursday's AL Division Series opener against Texas with a light workout. ''I was more curious about could he get the average back up and not get caught up in coming to the Rogers Centre and trying to hit home runs. That was what was so great about his year is he got his average back up again, he was a complete hitter, and he still didn't lose anything in the power department,'' he said. Donaldson's 41 home runs were both a team-high and career-high. He easily outpaced his previous best of 29, set when he played half his games in Oakland's spacious ballpark. He also hit .297, tops among Toronto's everyday players. Donaldson led the league with 123 RBIs, scored a majors-best 122 runs and also hit 41 doubles. ''You look at the year he's had, he's got a chance to win that MVP,'' appreciative manager John Gibbons said. Donaldson, who got clearance from Gibbons to skip Tuesday's workout, opened the season batting for Toronto but moved up into the second spot after just eight games. He went 4 for 5 with three RBIs his first night there, cementing his place in the upper third of Toronto's unconventional lineup of sluggers, with Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion right behind him. ''Your two-hole guy used to be a guy who could bunt, control the bat, move the runners, do all the little things,'' Blue Jays hitting coach Brook Jacoby said. ''The game is kind of changing and evolving. The guys you put up top are going to come around and bat more, they're going to have more opportunity to do things.'' Donaldson, Bautista and Encarnacion combined for 120 homers, the most by any trio of players in Toronto history. Their booming bats powered an attack that led baseball with 891 runs, 230 homers, 852 RBIs and 570 walks. ''I'm extremely happy that I don't have to face them because I get to watch them hit every day and it's a scary lineup,'' right-hander Marco Estrada said. ''There's been a few games where we're down by eight runs, I'm looking around and guys are like, `It's all right, we've got them, we've got them.' Next thing you know, we're up 10-8. It's been incredible watching these guys. There's no giving up in them. They don't quit and it's awesome.'' The Blue Jays were the only team in the majors to break the 800-run mark this season. They outscored the Yankees, baseball's second-most prolific offense, by 127 runs. That's the eighth-biggest gap in history, according to STATS. ''We've scored a lot of runs,'' Gibbons said. ''It's really what this team is.'' The Blue Jays expect their high-octane offense to keep pumping out runs in the playoffs, but they're ready to diversify, too. Gibbons said speedy outfielders Ezequiel Carrera and Dalton Pompey will both be on his postseason roster, if only to provide pinch-running options in late-game situations. ''We did talk about having a little bit more speed because we have some guys that might be a little slow,'' Anthopoulos said. Shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, who played in two of the final three regular season games after sitting out nearly three weeks with a broken left shoulder blade, said he's feeling good and ready for his first taste of the playoffs since 2009, when his Colorado Rockies won the NL wild card but lost the division series to Philadelphia in four games. ''I'm not pain-free, there's some soreness in there,'' Tulowitzki said of his shoulder. ''That's to be expected, but that doesn't mean I can't play.'' Gibbons said Tulowitzki, who batted leadoff in his first several weeks with Toronto, will likely return to the fifth spot when the division series begins on Thursday afternoon. ''He looked pretty good in those two games,'' Gibbons said. ''His timing was better than I thought it was going to be. He looked like he didn't miss a whole lot.'' With left-hander David Price already confirmed as Game 1 starter, the Blue Jays said Tuesday that right-hander Marcus Stroman will get Game 2, with Estrada slated to start Game 3 and knuckleballer R.A. Dickey in line for Game 4, if necessary.
| 1 | 90,661 |
sports
|
Don't believe the latest rumors claiming that Victoria and David Beckham are heading to splitsville. The last thing the singer turned fashion designer is worried about is rumors surrounding her marriage. The former spice girl said "I have never listen to, or commented on, the rumors about any aspect of my life. I am blessed to have a wonderful husband and beautiful, healthy, happy children." The fashionable Brit further added that while she does spend time apart from her husband at times, thanks to their grueling schedules, there's absolutely no trouble in paradise. Mrs. Beckham added "David and I have nothing to prove. We love each other, look out for each other and are strong as both partners and parents."
| 8 | 90,662 |
video
|
President Obama on Tuesday said he manned the phones to push an expansive Asia-Pacific trade deal across the finish line. Obama said he talked to prime ministers and presidents as well as U.S. businesses and environmental groups to explain the importance of completing the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a major piece of his economic policy and pivot to the Pacific Rim. "At the very end, you always have a few things that you've just got to get over the hump," Obama said during a Marketplace interview. The next step is to get the TPP text published for public scrutiny. "Now our goal is to make sure that everybody here in the United States is informed about it," he said. Earlier in the day, Obama made his first sales pitch since TPP's Monday completion, touting the deal's benefits and expressing confidence that Congress would ultimately pass the agreement that is aimed at raising the bar on trade rules in the region. The president touted that the deal cuts 18,000 tariffs on U.S. exports and would strengthen environmental and labor standards in the 11 other countries including Japan, Mexico and Canada that have joined the United States in the deal. Without the TPP, China, which isn't part of the agreement, would wind up setting rules in the region. Instead, with TPP, China's reformers could move forward with a stronger hand that shows how better trade policies generate economic growth. "If they see that all their neighbors are operating a high level, then I am confident that they will adapt to the rules that we've set up, as opposed to us adapting or being locked out of these markets because they've set rules that advantage the old style of doing business," Obama said. Congress will have several months to examine the deal which lawmakers can't amend or filibuster before taking votes sometime early next year. Between now and then, Obama and his trade team will have their hands full walking lawmakers through the agreement and convincing them to support it. "The more I'm out there making that case, but more importantly, the more individual farmers, individual ranchers, individual manufacturers who are selling goods in these markets are able the make the case," Obama told Brownfield Ag News on Tuesday in a separate interview. "That ultimately is going to be what sways Congress." The president acknowledged that while the TPP doesn't make up for job losses created by past trade deals like the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the United States must look forward. "I can't make up for all the problems that happened in the past, but I can make sure that what I'm doing now is good for American manufacturing, good for American workers, good for American farmers," he told Brownfield Ag News. He argued that mistakes of the past provide no reason to shirk away from the United States taking the lead in expanding global trade in the future. "What we can't do is think that somehow if we draw a moat around this country that we're going to be able to avoid globalization and technology, because frankly when you look at job loss and lost leverage, automation and technology has probably contributed more than trade has to that problem," Obama said in the Marketplace interview. "The anxieties are real, the concerns are real, but the prescription is not for us to try to look backward. The prescription here is for us to look forward, and that's what this trade deal does."
| 5 | 90,663 |
news
|
Five games into the season and Mississippi State ranks 11th in the SEC in rushing after finishing 2014 ranked behind only Georgia and Auburn in yards gained on the ground. So what's missing from the offense? The obvious answer is running back Josh Robinson, who left school early and took his 1,200 yards of production with him. Considering Dak Prescott currently leads the team in rushing, it's safe to say no running back has yet to set up and seize the job to this point. I don't know that one's jumped out or one's fallen behind," head coach Dan Mullen recently said of his running backs. "I don't know if anyone is ahead or fallen behind. All those guys, we're going to keep playing them." Junior Ashton Shumpert was given the initial opportunity to replace Robinson and has 145 yards on 36 carries, while fellow junior Brandon Holloway has done more with less, as he has 139 yards on only 23 carries. Mississippi State's passing offense has played well thus far, currently ranked third in the league, but Mullen fears becoming to one-dimensional on offense. "I want to be balanced. If you look throughout the years, I want to be balanced," Mullen said. "There are years when we run more than we throw. Sometimes that' s personnel or game situation. "In the end, an ideal day is 50-50 run-pass, 40-something points and 500 yards with a pretty even balance between the two. You'll be feeling pretty good about the offense when that happens." MORE NEWS: Want stories delivered to you? Sign up for our College Football newsletters.
| 1 | 90,664 |
sports
|
Brazil coach Dunga is aware of the difficulties World Cup qualifying will pose as his team prepare to face Chile on Thursday. The South American powerhouses do battle in Santiago, looking to make winning starts to qualifying in CONMEBOL. While both are expected to advance as two of the top four that gain automatic places at Russia 2018, a loss would leave them with work to do. Dunga has made a late change to his squad, with injured Liverpool star Philippe Coutinho replaced by Kaka. Dunga knows how tough qualifying will be for his team, who come into their meeting with Chile on the back of two straight wins. "You have to respect the opinion of each, but Brazil has quality players," he told Globo. "We work at it, we trust in our work. On the classification, it has always been difficult." Dunga added: "It's a great opportunity for all of us." The Brazil boss has been under pressure since Brazil's disappointing Copa America campaign, which saw the team eliminated in the quarterfinals. Making things more difficult for Dunga, he will be without Barcelona star Neymar for the opening two qualifiers because of suspension. He will need Hulk in particular to step up in the 23-year-old's absence. Brazil holds an incredible head-to-head record against Chile, winning 49 of the 70 meetings between the nations, but they face a confident Chile, fresh from a Copa America success and a friendly win over Paraguay. Jorge Sampaoli has an in-form Alexis Sanchez leading the line in front of what will be a vocal home crowd.
| 1 | 90,665 |
sports
|
Look out for these up and coming coffee roasters. The U.S. has emerged as a leader in specialty coffee thanks to the growing number of discerning, quality-minded customers looking beyond latte art. Customers want to know from where beans are sourced, how they are roasted, and the nuanced flavor profiles to expect in the cup. In fact, there's a coterie of home brewers eager to replicate the cafe experience at home, flaunting professional-grade setups and demanding beans to match. Luckily for the true coffee sophsticate, small-batch roasters have the legroom to innovate on roasting techniques and to experiment liberally with taste. The smaller guys are often more transparent about the suppliers with which they work, so each cup of coffee can be enjoyed guilt-free. Below, 14 small-scale roasters to watch. BERKELEY, CA Supersonic Coffee Co. Location: Web Only The Supersonic team is a superpowered troupe of coffee's most valuable players, with John Laird (Verve Coffee Roasters, Pacific Bay Coffee, Brian W. Jones ( Dear Coffee, I Love You blogger), and Björg Brend Laird (co-organizer of Nordic Barista Cup) at the helm. Under their tutelage, this Bay Area roaster quickly rose to the top of coffee critics' lists. Their commitment to sourcing the best coffees in the world from top suppliers such as Nordic Approach and Red Fox Coffee Merchants has gotten them in front of industry stalwarts like Sprudge and Barista Magazine . Currently, Supersonic is operating out of an industrial space in Berkeley, but their beans are for sale online. Stay tuned because while Supersonic is still in its infancy, the company has some exciting things brewing, including a retail Bay Area-based coffee bar to come. Photo: Facebook BOZEMAN, MT Little Red Wagon Coffee Roasters Location: 507 Bond St., Suite A, Bozeman, MT In the mountain town of Bozeman, Montana, Little Red Wagon Coffee Roasters is the little roastery that could (and does.) The operation was born from owner Natalie Van Dusen's inspiring motorcycle trip in Colombia, where she learned how to roast coffee from a local farmer. Thus began her hobby-turned-3rd wave roastery. Now, Little Red Wagon keeps the coffee-drinking wayfarers caffeinated with products like the GEO freshly packed single-serving pour-overs and on-the-go brewing equipment. Little Red Wagon also has a mobile espresso bar, which travels through Bozeman, delivering their seasonal coffees to you. Photo: Little Red Wagon Coffee Roasters Brooklyn, NY Devoción Location: Multiple Locations Brooklyn's got the coffee thing down with the rise of local roasters and superb cafes. But Devoción offers both a beautiful, serene backdrop for coffee drinking and perfectly roasted beans. Though the company has been around since 2006 founded by Steven Sutton in Colombia its Williamsburg outpost (the first location is in Bogotá) is only a year old and already attracting fanatics with its farm-fresh Colombian coffee. Beans arrive mean and green, and are roasted to perfection every week onsite. With high-profiled clients like New York's Del Posto on their roster, expect to see a lot more from Devoción in the coming year. Photo: Facebook Lofted Coffee Location: Multiple Locations In the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn, there's been an influx of local businesses setting up shop in underutilized loft spaces. But none do it better than Lofted Coffee, the brainchild of college buddies Tobin Polk and Lance Schnorenberg. What started as an empty loft filled with a few sleeping bags and a 1-kb sample roaster is now a growing enterprise on the verge of taking on some of Brooklyn's top players. Some of the city's trendiest cafes are picking up on Lofted's carefully-procured and beautifully-roasted beans, like Budin, Culture Espresso, Dear Bushwick and more. Lofted has come a long way, but the journey's not over yet. Tobin and Lance will be taking their first coffee sourcing trip to Huila, Colombia in January. Photo: Lofted Coffee CLEVELAND, OH Rising Star Coffee Roasters Location: Multiple Locations Always ahead of the game, Rising Star Coffee Roasters has made important strides in putting Ohio on the coffee map. The conscientious team behind Rising Star has championed "Relationship Coffee," forging strong connections with suppliers, baristas, and production workers to ensure quality and fair wages, never buying beans from anonymous producers. This year, they sourced their Guatemala Finca Candelaria from the Zeleya family in Guatemala, who they've worked with for many years. As for taste, Rising Star believe in roast profiles that neither slant too dark or too light and have fine-tuned their coffees to land on the sweet spot in between. And that whole pour-over craze? Rising Star is onto the next best thing batch brewing , which is the one-button automated brewing that has taken a backseat to those 10-minute long pour overs in recent years. Thanks to Rising Star, Cleveland definitely rocks. Photo: Rising Star FT.LAUDERDALE, FL Argyle Coffe Roasters Location: 722 N. Andrews Ave. #B, Ft.Lauderland, FL Argyle Coffee, spearheaded by Manuel Carrera and Amy Miller, has gone from a home operation into a major player in the Ft. Lauderdale coffee scene. Since their official launch in 2014, Argyle has successfully fostered partnerships with cafes and restaurants like Novel Tea and Foxy Browns, supplying them with custom in-house roasts. Argyle has even collaborated with breweries like Due South Brewing Company where their coffee helps give the Ole Espresso Porter its coffee-scented goodness. Next up on Manuel and Amy's to-do list is to develop more specialty coffee education programs in the region, which at the moment, can use them. Glenn Scott HADDON TOWNSHIP, NJ Royal Mile Coffee Roasters Location: 101 White Horse Pike, Haddon Township, NJ Though Royal Mile borrows its name from a street in Edinburgh, Scotland, it's based in Haddon Township, New Jersey. This mom-and-pop roaster is the long-awaited answer to South Jersey's coffee wasteland. Back in 2013, owners Jess and Jamie Blanchard started Royal Mile from the ground up, combining their digital advertising and marketing expertises to reach coffee drinkers online. This approach worked and has even caught the attention of retailers like Whole Foods. Even so, their operation remains mighty but humble. They continue roasting beans in a Diedrich, a custom built Huky 500, as well as at Pulley Collective, a roasting facility built for local small-batch roasters across the water in Brooklyn. Photo: Royal Mile JERSEY CITY, NJ Modcup Coffee Location: 479 Palisade Ave., Jersey City, NJ Everyone's been abuzz about Jersey City's burgeoning food scene. A high-quality cup of joe has also become readily available, thanks to Modcup Coffee. Since it debuted in 2013, Modcup has set the (coffee) bar high. They refuse to brew or sell roasted coffee past 18 days after the roast date. Unlike other local cafes and roasters, Modcup also shies away from darker roasts, preferring to retain the beans' wild, exotic flavors. This is reason enough for founders Travas Clifton and Justin Hicks to maintain a close relationship with their supplier, Colombia's La Palma y El Tucan, a farm that yields the area's most unique-tasting coffees which they sell at their Jersey City cafe and roastery. Photo: Facebook LAKEWOOD, CO Sweet Bloom Coffee Roasters Location: 1619 Reed St., Lakewood, CO Drive 10 minutes west of Downtown Denver to Lakewood, Colorado where Sweet Bloom roasts beans in a 25-lbs San Franciscan for topnotch coffee. Founded by 12-year coffee industry veterans Andy and Laurel Sprenger, Sweet Bloom has received national and international awards for its roasting and brewing techniques. In fact, a number of last year's World Barista Competition challengers chose to brew Sweet Bloom's beans. Making the award winning stuff at home? Andy who is a a certified Q-grader (aka a coffee sommelier) suggests using a $15 ceramic #2 Melitta brewer for Sweet Bloom's light, bright roasts. Seems like a pretty good deal for luxury in a cup. Photo: Joel Bear PASO ROBLES, CA Spearhead Coffee Location: 619 12th St., Palso Robles, CA There's more to Paso Robles than just wine there's Spearhead Coffee, a cafe and roastery in one that opened mid-January of this year. It's the first of its kind in this popular culinary destination, providing visitors and locals their much-needed caffeine fix. Founders Jeremy Sizemore, Matthew Klomp, and Joseph Geradis spent nine months laboriously transforming the downtown Paso Robles location into a space that's worth seeing in person. The cafe/roastery is replete with a warm, rustic interior built mostly out of repurposed wood. It's where cafe-goers can go relax, sip on a Miel Spearhead's signature honey cinnamon latte and watch the beans roast right in the in front of them. Photo: Facebook PORTLAND, OR Roseline Coffee Roasters Location: 800 SE 10th Ave., Portland, OR Behind every stellar coffee shop is a superb roaster. And Roseline Coffee is currently the preferred roaster for some of the West Coast's most prominent cafes like Portland's Good Coffee and Los Angeles' Go Get Em Tiger. Owner/seasoned barista Marty Lopes, who has tasted and roasted thousands of coffees, understands true quality and where it comes from. His nuanced experimentation with a variety of global coffees and roast profiles help to show off the subtleties of terroir. One could say that Roseline is made for the barista, or an aspiring one. Photo: Roseline Coffee SAN FRANCISCO, CA Andytown Coffee Roasters Location: 3655 Lawton St., San Francsico, CA San Francisco has garnered a reputation for being a tech-bro, yippie hub filled with sleek coffee shops teeming with fancy brewing tools and indie records. Since its launch, Andytown Coffee Roasters has set out to be something different. This Outer Sunset fave grew from a desire to serve amazing, fresh coffee roasted in-house, and home-baked Irish soda bread in a cozy space. The husband and wife team consists of Michael McCrory (who's from Belfast, hence the soda bread) and Lauren Crabbe and they have turned their dreams of homey, Irish bliss into a 580-square foot storefront that's a cafe, roastery, and home away from home, all in one. Photo: Peter Cochrane TULSA, OK Topéca Coffee Roasters Location: Multiple Locations Topéca Coffee Roasters has what other roasteries can only dream of two farms in El Salvador where beans are grown, milled, and roasted. Descending from a long lineage of coffee producers, the family-owned operation has thoughtfully created a seed-to-cup business, ensuring quality, transparency, and sustainability from seed to cup. And with their many ventures including a second roastery in Tulsa, two cafes, bakery, and a craft-coffee and cocktail bar (and more on the horizon), Topéca offers unlimited ways for customers and baristas to enjoy their unique product. Photo: Topéca Coffee Tuscon, AZ Presta Coffee Roasters Location: Multiple Locations When Curtis Zimmerman was unsuccessful in his search for decent coffee at St. Mary's hospital in Tucson, Arizona, where his wife was working, he decided to take matters into his own hands. He launched Stella Java, the hospital's first (and probably only) pop-up coffee cart selling top-shelf espresso drinks. This bizarre marriage of scrubs and grounds worked so well that it has since grown into two cafes and Presta, his roastery located in one of the them. With the lobby brew days behind him, Zimmerman is able to source beans directly from Colombia, Ethiopia and other growing regions. He also continues to create community-driven coffee programs, from Tuesday morning cuppings at the roastery, where Presta's 120 PSI espresso blend can be sampled, to latte art throw downs. Suffice to say, Presta has always been doing things a little differently from the rest. Photo: Presta
| 0 | 90,666 |
foodanddrink
|
Bombardier (BBDb.TO) has approached European planemaker Airbus (AIR.PA) about selling a majority stake in the Canadian company's CSeries jet in order to shore up its depleted balance sheet, people familiar with the matter said. Under a proposed tie-up, Airbus would help Bombardier complete development of the troubled aircraft in exchange for a controlling stake in the program, effectively ending Bombardier's independent efforts to break into the 100- to 160-seat airplane market dominated by Airbus and Boeing (BA.N). Significant hurdles would need to be cleared before Airbus took up the surprise offer to invest in its smaller competitor. "There are ongoing discussions, but they are still exploratory ones. Neither management has made a decision," said one of the sources, who asked not to be identified given the sensitivity of the matter, as did the other sources. Another source called the contacts "serious," but cautioned that it "would be an extremely complicated structure to set up." If a deal is reached, Airbus would fund the final phase of development of the CSeries, an all-new, medium-haul, carbon-composite jet due to enter service next year, according to two sources. The deal would involve a minimal amount of cash up front, they said. In return, Airbus would receive a controlling stake in the aircraft - which is years late and billions over budget - and a share in its revenue, although details are still being worked out. The firms would probably form a separate board for the CSeries and sign a strategic agreement to jointly market the plane, if a deal was reached, sources said. Airbus and Bombardier declined comment. "We have no comment on rumors about other companies, but we are always monitoring developments in our industry," Rainer Ohler, head of communications at Airbus Group, said. Bombardier spokeswoman Isabelle Rondeau said the company would not "comment on rumors." Until recently, Bombardier had been reluctant to offer a majority stake in its main aircraft development program, but the company's weakened balanced sheet has forced the Beaudoin family that controls the board to consider all options, said one source, who asked not to be named as they were not authorized to speak publicly. (Additional reporting by Allison Martell and Euan Rocha in Toronto and Arno Schuetze in Frankfurt; Editing by Amran Abocar)
| 3 | 90,667 |
finance
|
U.S. equities mostly moved lower on Tuesday in a relatively quiet session as traders await the start of the third-quarter earnings season with Alcoa (NYSE:AA) reporting after the close on Thursday. After the biggest five-day rally for stocks of the year, the bulls cooled their heels a little. In the end, the Dow Jones Industrial Average went up 0.1%, the S&P 500 dropped a modest 0.4%, the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.7% and the Russell 2000 lost 0.7% on the day. Commodities were higher, with gold adding 0.8%, and crude oil up 5.2% to $48.69 a barrel on geopolitical rumblings in Syria. Treasury bonds were a bit firmer, however. Energy led the way thanks to the rise in oil, adding 2.2% at the sector level. Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) added 1.4%, while Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) added 3.5%. Healthcare stocks were the laggards, losing 2.3% as a group, as biotechs were hit hard. The 10 Best Stocks in the S&P 500 Through Q3 The Biotech iShares (NASDAQ:IBB) lost 3.6% on increased scrutiny of high drug prices. The Wall Street Journa l reported Tuesday that companies in the sector are relying on steady increases in the cost of older drugs something that will only fan the flames and increase political focus on this area. DuPont (NYSE:DD) gained 7.7% after its CEO unexpectedly resigned, raising breakup speculation. Pepsi (NYSE:PEP) gained 1.3% on an earnings beat and guidance raise. The Container Store (NYSE:TCS) lost 18.6% on a slight earnings miss on weaker profit margins, as analysts remain concerned about profitability and weak store traffic. On the economic front, the International Monetary Fund cut its 2015 and 2016 global growth expectations from 3.3% and 3.8% to 3.1% and 3.6%, respectively, on a worsening outlook for emerging market countries. They cited a rising risk of more slowdown in China risking a "hard landing" scenario. The U.S. trade balance is already feeling the pressure from these dynamics, with the trade deficit rising 15.6% to $48.3 billion in September. Exports fell 2% to their lowest level since October 2012. All eyes are now turning to the start of the Q3 reporting season, with Factset predicting S&P 500 earnings will fall 5.1% potentially the first back-to-back quarterly earnings decline since 2009. After the close today, both Yum Brands (NYSE:YUM) and Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) were hit hard, down 16% and 11% respectively in after hours trading. YUM reported weaker-than-expected earnings and revenue, cut its forward guidance and warned that sales in China were slowing. ADBE, too, cut its fiscal 2016 guidance. Expect more of this as the reporting season moves on, with low commodity prices, weakness in China and the drag from a strong dollar set to weigh again. Anthony Mirhaydari is founder of the Edge and Edge Pro investment advisory newsletters. A two-week and four-week free trial offer has been extended to MSN Money readers. More From InvestorPlace 5 Dividend Stocks You're Better Off Avoiding 10 Biotech Stocks to Watch in Q4 5 Stocks to Sell for October The post Stocks Move Back in the Red Ahead of Earnings appeared first on InvestorPlace .
| 3 | 90,668 |
finance
|
Hillary Clinton supporters think they've finally found a way to put Bernie Sanders on defense: gun control. Throughout her presidential campaign, Clinton has sought to highlight her support for gun control, seizing on an opportunity to appeal to progressives on perhaps the one issue where she is to the left of her rival Sanders. In doing so, Clinton allies have pushed a narrative that as a member of the House of Representatives, Sanders voted against the Brady Handgun Violence Protection Act in 1993, a bill that laid the foundation for the current national background check system. Clinton allies and top Democratic strategists say it's an issue that could hurt the Vermont Independent senator. "He's going to have to evolve on this issue, because he's not where Americans, including Democrats, are," said one Democratic strategist. Sanders has run a strong campaign against Clinton so far and is polling ahead of the former secretary of State in New Hampshire. An NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll found Sanders with a 14-point lead in the Granite State over Clinton, while the RealClearPolitics average of polls finds he is 11 points ahead. The self-proclaimed Democratic socialist has championed left-wing causes and sought to push Clinton to the left on both economic and foreign policy issues. Sanders backs the Iran nuclear deal and wants to pull U.S. troops out of Afghanistan. In general, he's said the U.S. should focus less on international conflict and more on the nation's middle class. He's an opponent of Obama's trade deals, would increase the minimum wage to $15 per hour and institute higher taxes on estates and Wall Street. He'd also make college and university tuition free, require that employers provide 12 weeks of paid family leave and break up the big banks. But on gun control, Sanders sounds a bit more like a centrist or even a Republican. While he backed a 2013 Senate bill imposing tougher background checks for gun sales, he has repeatedly downplayed the need for gun control. He voted against the Brady Bill as a House member, and more recently voted in favor of 2005 legislation that shielded gun manufacturers from the threat of lawsuits. This record creates opportunities for Clinton, who is looking to tamp down enthusiasm on the left for Sanders. Days after nine people were killed by a lone gunman at an Oregon community college, Clinton touted new proposals for gun reform on the stump in Iowa where her lead over Sanders has narrowed significantly since the beginning of summer. She said her proposal would strengthen the federal background check system and that she could use executive orders to enforce it. "This is not just stuff that happens," Clinton said, alluding to Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush's remarks following the Oregon shootings. "We let it happen." Sanders last week called for a "comprehensive approach" to dealing with gun violence. He said the nation must focus more on preventing "guns from being used by people who should not have them," including through reforms to the mental health system and toning down "the incredibly high level of gratuitous violence which permeates our media." "The shouting at each other must end. The hard work of developing good policy must begin," Sanders said hours after the Oregon shooting. Clinton allies believe the mixed Sanders record will leave liberals guessing about his real position. "What does he say to progressives now?" one Clinton ally said. "This obviously looks good on her and leaves progressives wondering what he really stands for." Cal Jillson, a professor of political science at Southern Methodist University, said gun control is an issue where Sanders is "out of position." "It's a valuable opportunity to satisfy some of the people romantically engaged with Bernie," Jillson said. "And anything that makes him uncomfortable is welcome to the Clinton campaign, which is so uncomfortable so much of the time." Some leaders of liberal groups are also praising Clinton on the issue. Charles Chamberlain, executive director at the liberal Democracy For America (DFA), said that it was "fantastic to see Secretary Clinton a little bit out front of Senator Sanders on gun policy." If Clinton can emerge from the primary as the Democratic nominee, some observers think gun control could fade as an issue in the general election as she seeks to win over independents in addition to the Democratic base. "She'll have to moderate" her position in a general election, Jillson said. "I think it'll be a less visible part of her agenda and her campaign talking points." Clinton allies, however, say gun control is an issue the Democratic front-runner feels strongly about and an issue that she'll continue to discuss past the primary and into a general election. Democratic strategist Steve Elmendorf, a Clinton supporter who has lobbied for gun control in the past, thinks Sanders could be hurt on the issue. "So far, I haven't seen him give a good answer to it," he says. Elmendorf argues that there's no danger to Clinton talking about the issue in the general election. "I think the whole issue of gun safety has changed for obvious reasons, and intensity is increasing on the program safety side, and it's an issue with women in states that matter," he said. Updated at 8:33 p.m.
| 5 | 90,669 |
news
|
When they were in college in 1961, Janice and Prentiss fell in love. It all happened fast but they knew they wanted to be together forever. They got engaged and wanted to be married! But Janice's father had other plans. He forbid the two from seeing each other or he would cut off her tuition. There, in college, they ended their relationship. They both went on to live their lives separately. Though they never lost the love for each other they both married other people. But fate wouldn't let those last. Years later, Tom found the newspaper clipping from their engagement in his mother's belongings. Janice found the same clipping in her mother's things. They both kept it. Unlike Janice's father, their mothers knew they should be together. This was a beautiful, clear sign they were meant for each other. Decades after they parted, they ran into each other and the rest is history. They never stopped thinking about or loving each other. Now both age 71, 50 years after they met, they finally got married. Like the famous saying goes, "It's better late than never!" They weren't wasting any more years, they are going to make the most of their time together. "We are so happy. Our marriage is perfect. Of course we have few years to live it, but it will be perfect," Janice explains of their new life together. Get more feel good video clips at http://www.hooplaha.com Like us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/hooplaha Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/hooplaha
| 8 | 90,670 |
video
|
Former National Security Agency contractor faces up to 30 years in prison
| 5 | 90,671 |
news
|
He's been kicked out by his wife and has nowhere else to go.
| 8 | 90,672 |
video
|
This debate short is part of a series co-produced by Intelligence Squared and Newsy.
| 3 | 90,673 |
finance
|
TOPEKA, Kan. The U.S. Supreme Court is preparing to consider reinstating death sentences for two brothers convicted in the notorious slayings of four people in Kansas, capital cases that roiled the state's politics and have prompted calls to remake its judiciary. The nation's highest court planned Wednesday to hear the cases of Jonathan and Reginald Carr, sentenced to lethal injection for the killings in Wichita in December 2000. The justices also scheduled arguments in the case of Sidney Gleason, sentenced to die for the 2004 murder of a Great Bend woman and her boyfriend after she witnessed a robbery. The Kansas Supreme Court overturned the death sentences in all three cases last year, and Attorney General Derek Schmidt's office appealed. Kansas reinstated capital punishment in 1994 but has yet to execute any convicted murderers since then because the state's highest court hasn't upheld any death sentence. The state's last executions were hangings, in 1965. Conservative Republicans dominate state politics, but six of the court's seven justices were appointed by Democratic or moderate GOP governors, leading to criticism that it leans to the left and has shown it simply opposes capital punishment. The decisions overturning the Carrs' sentences prompted a campaign by victims' family members that came close to removing two justices last year, an effort endorsed by both GOP Gov. Sam Brownback and the state Republican Party's chairman. The brothers were sentenced to die for fatally shooting a woman and three men a snow-covered field. They were also convicted of breaking into a home, first forcing the victims to have sex with each other and ordering them to withdraw money from ATMs. A second woman also was in the field and survived, providing eyewitness testimony. Defense attorneys argued unsuccessfully that the brothers couldn't get a fair trial in Wichita and objected to them having a single, capital-sentencing trial, saying they disagreed about who was most responsible for the crimes. The Kansas justices said the brothers should have had separate sentencing trials. The Carrs remain in prison. "We, unfortunately, are here in Washington for this trip because of the incorrect decisions made," Amy James, the girlfriend of Brad Heyka, one of the Carrs' victims, said in a phone interview after traveling to the nation's capital Tuesday with seven other victims' family members to watch the arguments. "We're here because we care and want to see justice." James has been the spokeswoman of a victims' group, Kansans for Justice, which formed weeks before the November 2014 election to persuade voters to oust Kansas Supreme Court Justices Lee Johnson and Eric Rosen. Governors appoint the justices, but voters decide every six years whether to retain them. Johnson and Rosen were part of the 6-1 majority overturning the Carrs' death sentences and received less than 53 percent of the vote the lowest percentages since Kansas adopted its current system in 1960. Four other justices in the majority face potential retention votes in November 2016. James said her group hasn't decided yet whether it will campaign against the four justices, but state GOP Chairman Kelly Arnold said he would endorse voting against their retention. Brownback, a conservative who took office in 2011, has made only one appointment to the court so far. He narrowly won re-election last year and broadcast television ads late in his campaign that criticized "liberal judges" and referenced the Carrs' cases. "When courts repeatedly create law rather than following the law, the governor believes the judiciary should be accountable to the public for those decisions," Brownback spokeswoman Eileen Hawley said in an emailed statement Tuesday. The Kansas Bar Association worries about voters basing their decisions about retaining a justice based on rulings in one case or a few, said Jordan Yochim, its executive director. "It's also important to recognize that the (state) Supreme Court was not ruling on the ugliness of the crime," he said. "You want your courts to be fair and impartial." ___ Follow John Hanna on Twitter at https://twitter.com/apjdhanna .
| 5 | 90,674 |
news
|
Fall fashion is always so chic...and this year, it's no different. So get excited because, from head to toe, we're bringing you Lauren Conrad's biggest style tips for this season. Start wrapping yourself up in LC's fashion advice here!
| 4 | 90,675 |
lifestyle
|
Funny Celeb Photos for October 2015 A slimmer Adele just saw the ghost of diets past. Kelly Osbourne is the Phantom of the Opera! Miley Cyrus takes hide and seek to another level. Just in case this whole music thing doesn't work out, Justin Bieber practices being a traffic guide. Always good to have a backup plan. That look Jessica Biel has when Justin Timberlake backs that thang up into her. Carrie Underwood sees the infamous Naked Cowboy while performing in New York City. Cara Delevingne's hat must be scratch and sniff. Kourtney Kardashian looked at a 3-D stereogram for hours, and now her eyes are stuck. Ricky Martin goes all out when he does the "Carlton Dance." Russell Brand must have water in his ear. After splitting with Josh Murray earlier this year, this is the closest Andi Dorfman has been to another boo. Producer Daniel Hammond's fashion icon: Pee-Wee Herman. When Jack Black sees a McRib in a photographer's hands, he really NEEDS that McRib in his hands. Kate Winslet, on hand to promote " Steve Jobs ," just found out Michael Fassbender uses a PC. That one time Wiz Khalifa was promised water and was given tequila instead… When she's not trying to #FreeTheNipple, Miley Cyrus is trying to get pollinated. We're going to buy Lady Gaga a compass for Christmas. Over here, dear! Vin Diesel hits that falsetto note every. single. time. Replace the "H" on that hat with an "M" and comedian Sam Simmons is a real-life Mario! Save the princess, Sam, save the princess! You can literally count how many fans Miguel had at his Manchester, England, concert. When will Gwen Stefani learn to stop using a paint bucket as a pillow? Noel Gallagher and Chris Martin play a game of "No, you have it." "No, I want you to have it." "I insist." "No, I insist." This is not what Josh Berger had in mind when he requested an Uber. These days, Flo Rida takes his fashion advice from the Richter Scale. Chardonnay? You had Renee Zelwegger at hello. With those eyes, Morgan Freeman might see dead people! Most people take showers or baths, but Kelly Ripa has different bathing habits #ShoweredWithKisses. Amber Heard, what are you looking at? Is it a bird, or a plane, or Superman? No, it's just Edward Scissorhands. Gerard Butler doesn't play around when he wants a fresh seaweed salad! That moment when Bai Ling's dentist begins counting dollar signs. Derek Hough needs to tune his guitar. Kelsey Grammer brings an interesting weight to his water aerobics class. It's a little hard to tell where the shoes end and Cristiano Ronaldo's tan begins. Okay, who farted around Mariah Carey? You are NOT her hero! Chris Martin is ballin'! Alessandra Ambrosio can't figure out when shot glasses got so small. Shots, shots, shots, shots, shots! Paris Hilton is trying to get a HANDle on her sunglasses situation. Simon Cowell only has eyes for... He'll huff, and he'll puff, and he'll Orlando Bloom your house down. We like to call this image "Gigi Hadid in Gigi Hiding." Jared Leto will now be known by a new stage name: Miley Cyrus' Twin. What do you think the evil voices in Allison Holker's head are saying to her? Rachael Taylor be like, this is how I roll. Rihanna makes her way through the land of no tailors. Kate Winslet is handing out free hugs. Any takers? We're fairly certain that Matthew McConaughey has been cast as a chipmunk businessman in his next film. Chace Crawford: "I wanna play. I wanna play. Throw me the football! Throw me the football!" Ronda Rousey's closet was all tapped out of better clothing. Selena Gomez: selfie game, uh, strong? Rob Lowe takes wet T-shirt contests seriously! Sun's out, guns out! Right, Rosario Dawson? Laverne Cox is about to hunt down the person operating that darned drone that keeps distracting her! The next conversation between Ciara and Russell Wilson is gonna go like this: "You may have your team, Russell, but I've got my own train gang." Kat Graham describes how tall you have to be to ride this ride. Amanda Seyfried participates in a friendly game of Simon Says... "Simon says, grab the heel of your shoe… Now smirk!" The one and only time Prince Harry has ever been able to judge Prince William. Savor this moment. Gerard Depardieu's head sometimes doubles as a paint-by-numbers canvas. Shia LaBeouf and Vin Diesel participate in a fierce stare off. Our money is on Vin. Nick Jonas... Hard to tell if he's balancing his mic stand or if he's got a little captain in him . Kendrick Lamar be like, "Can you ear what I'm singing about?"
| 6 | 90,676 |
entertainment
|
Basketball player Neal Walk will be best remembered as the all-time leading rebounder and highest-drafted player in University of Florida history, selected No. 2 in the 1969 NBA Draft behind Lew Alcindor, who later became legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Expansion teams Milwaukee and Phoenix had flipped a coin to see who would get the first pick. Milwaukee won, and got Alcindor. The Suns got Walk, a 1965 Miami Beach High grad who was a master storyteller, a gentle spiritual soul, and, like Alcindor, wound up changing his name. Walk died Sunday in Phoenix at the age of 67. The 6-10 former Suns center had been wheelchair-bound since 1988, when he was left paralyzed from the waist down after complications from surgery to remove a benign tumor from his spine. He had been in poor health over the past year, and infections overtook his body. Those who knew Walk best remember him as a late bloomer on the court, a humble kid who grew up playing sports at Crespi Park, Fairway Park and North Shore Park. He was born in Cleveland in 1948 and his parents, Al and Sylvia, moved the family to Miami Beach when he was 7. He went on to star for the Hi-Tides in the mid-1960s on a state semifinalist team of mostly Jewish players who sometimes endured opposing fans throwing pennies, stale bagels and anti-Semitic barbs at them. Edward Steinfeldt, a high school teammate of Walk's and friend of 55 years, remembered particularly hostile games in Key West and one that ended in a brawl against a Hialeah High team that featured eventual football star Ted Hendricks. NBA star Rick Barry, then a UM player, was at the game and helped break up the fight. Walk wound up getting recruited to UF by Norm Sloan, and in his junior year led the NCAA with 19.8 rebounds and 26.5 points. He was one of the first Gators to make it to the NBA. "Neal was extremely humble, never egotistical about his success in basketball,'' Steinfeldt said. "And when his spinal surgery went bad and he was paralyzed, he never, ever complained. This is a former 6-10 NBA player who could no longer use his lower body, and he said, 'This is what the situation is, so I will now live in wheelchair and resume my life.' '' A 1966 Sports Illustrated article about the surprising success of the Gators basketball team, read: "Walk, only 18 and just beginning to reach his potential - he did not even start till his senior year at Miami Beach High - adds not only speed and aggressiveness to the Gator forecourt, but a little glitter of The Beach as well. A close examination of the team's gray traveling slacks shows that only Walk's are without cuffs. "The kid's gonna need a lot of it," says his father, Al Walk, rubbing his thumb over the tips of his fingers to make the classic sign for cash. "He's a regular fashion plate. He wants the $50 shoes, the custom-mades. He's got to have the fedora, the cuffs off the pants. He better make it in the pros to keep himself dressed the way he wants.'' In the early-1970s, Walk became a vegetarian, experimented with drugs, and his career took a detour. The Suns traded him to the New Orleans Jazz in 1974, and he wound up playing in Italy and Israel. In 1980, he had a spiritual awakening on the Caribbean island of Sint Eustatius and legally changed his name to Joshua Hawk. The Suns eventually hired him to work in community relations. Walk was inducted into the Miami Beach High Hall of Fame, was honored as a "Gator Great,'' had his UF jersey number, 41, retired in 1997, and was named to the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2006. Walk is survived by his wife, Georgia Hawk, and a brother, Warren Walk. He will be cremated and there will be a celebration of his life in Phoenix, and another in Miami Beach in November, when many of his friends will be in town for the 50th reunion of the Miami Beach High Class of '65. Michelle Kaufman: 305-376-3438, @kaufsports
| 1 | 90,677 |
sports
|
10 years after "Twilight" was first published, author Stephanie Meyer is swapping Bella and Edward's genders in "Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined."
| 8 | 90,678 |
video
|
PYONGYANG, North Korea While North Korea prepares a big show to mark the 70th anniversary of the ruling Workers' Party, the daily struggles of life outside the capital such as finding clean running water and putting nutritious food on the table year-round pose a harsh, but largely unseen, contrast to the grand celebrations the world will see Oct. 10. North Korea's anniversary spectacle promises to be world-class. Masses of citizens will be mobilized to march, chant and hold up placards on cue to create huge images praising the party and leader Kim Jong Un. To make sure Pyongyang looks its best, extensive construction projects have considerably prettied up the capital, which is far and away the most developed city in North Korea and is even relatively comfortable for the increasingly affluent segment of its populace. But life in the provinces, and particularly in rural areas, is quite a different story. Ahead of the arrival of the hordes of visitors, dignitaries and foreign journalists who are now beginning to descend on Pyongyang for the celebrations, an Associated Press Television News crew was allowed to join the Red Cross on a visit to one of those communities in Sinyang County, which is just 150 kilometers (100 miles) from Pyongyang but takes three hours to reach by car on mostly unpaved roads. Instead of the new high-rise apartments and bicycle lanes that have been put up in Pyongyang for the party anniversary, the people there are now just beginning to enjoy a far more fundamental improvement in their lives disease-free running water. The area is still recovering from serious flooding and landslides from 2006 to 2013 that caused many deaths and destroyed homes and basic infrastructure roads, bridges and the water distribution system. Seeing a dire need, the Red Cross got involved in 2013 with projects to re-establish a clean water system for 10,000 people in Sinyang and small-scale food processing facilities, which help people to make the most of what they can grow and reduce the amount of time and labor they used to have put in to get the food to the table. Simple greenhouses set up with Red Cross support mean the local community can now produce vegetables all year round. Though hunger is uncommon in Pyongyang, where the population is far better off than elsewhere, the only vegetable available in winter to many people in the country's hardscrabble rural areas is pickled kimchi. "People's hygiene and awareness has improved and the most important thing is that water-borne disease has been reduced," said local Red Cross chairman Ri Won U. "Before it used be 35 percent of disease cases, now it's less than 5 percent." Chris Staines, the head of the International Red Cross in Pyongyang, said Red Cross projects aim to help people in the simplest and most effective ways which he said is crucial in places like Sinyang because of the area's cold and harsh winters. But even with the Red Cross support, a great deal of work remains to be done. The population of Sinyang County is 58,000, but just 15,000 have benefited from the Red Cross efforts so far. At the end of the trip to Sinyang, the Red Cross which is hoping to expand its projects further visited one of the areas where its help has not yet arrived. There, an old woman sat outside her home scraping corn off recently harvested cobs. The dry corn will be ground into flour to make food. In the North Korean countryside, this is a common sight. Everything must be done by hand, from the fields to the home. In Pyongyang, meanwhile, residents have been spending much of their time over the past few months practicing their mass routines, which will likely culminate in a torchlight event on Pyongyang's Kim Il Sung Square. And though the city was lit brightly Tuesday night, Pyongyang's residents have also had to make some sacrifices. In the run-up to the anniversary, power for civilian use, always a scarce commodity in the North, had been diverted to priority, anniversary-related projects. Further hinting at what's in store come Saturday and at North Korea's political priorities fighter jets blazed through the skies of the capital Tuesday in preparation for what is expected to be a major military parade on the morning of the anniversary day. Based on North Korean rhetoric in recent weeks, analysts had thought there was a possibility of a more provocative display: a rocket launch, aimed at placing a satellite in orbit, that the U.N. and U.S. would consider an illegal test of long-range missile technology. U.S. observers and the South Korean defense ministry, however, now view a pre-anniversary launch as unlikely.
| 5 | 90,679 |
news
|
PORTLAND, Ore. The deadly shooting last week at an Oregon community college has an eerie parallel with the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School that killed 20 pupils and six adult staff members in 2012. Like Adam Lanza, the gunman in the Connecticut massacre, Christopher Harper-Mercer was living a mostly solitary life with a mom who shared his fascination with firearms. Both stories illustrate the struggles parents face caring for a deeply troubled child, struggles that can inadvertently lead to a volatile outcome made easier by ready access to weaponry. "When you begin to bring guns into the home environment where you have that dangerous cocktail of behavior, that's pretty unbelievable," said Mary Ellen O'Toole, a former FBI profiler who directs George Mason University's forensic science program. Harper-Mercer bears similarities to other school shooters: a young male focused on mass lethality and carrying out the killings in a military-like mission destined to end in the killer's own death, O'Toole said. He was a loner in his 20s like James Holmes, who killed 12 people in a cinema in Aurora, Colorado, in 2012; Jared Loughner, who seriously wounded Rep. Gabby Giffords and killed six in Tucson, Arizona, in 2011; and Elliot Rodger, who killed six people near the University of California, Santa Barbara, campus last year. Like Rodger, he left behind a note that complained about not having a girlfriend. But the comparison to Lanza extends to the relationships both shooters had with their mothers and guns. Both women were long-time gun enthusiasts, not uncommon in many parts of America where gun ownership is prevalent and encouraged. The two mothers amassed weapons and took their sons to shooting ranges, according to the investigation into the Sandy Hook shooting and the Daily Breeze newspaper in Torrance, California, where Harper lived for years with her son. It's easy to judge them in hindsight, but deeply strained and complicated relationships often lead to bad or desperate parental decisions with tragic consequences, said psychologist Peter Langman, author of two books on school shooters. Many troubled young people are so impaired they're incapable of living on their own. "In some cases, (parents) don't recognize there's a problem," Langman said. "In other cases, they're aware of their child's mental health issues, but they don't see any evidence of violence, so they don't see any reason not to take their kid target shooting." Parents may also use guns to bond with a mentally troubled, isolated child who is obsessed with weapons and violence, he said. Laurel Harper's online postings don't indicate she knew her son had violent tendencies, but it is clear she relished her weapons. Investigators found eight guns in the apartment she shared with her son near the North Umpqua River and another six at the school where he killed eight students and a professor before killing himself last week. She wrote enthusiastically about assault rifles and pistols and derided gun-control efforts in "lame states," in a three-year-old posting on Yahoo! Answers that is linked to an email address associated with her. "I keep two full mags in my Glock case," she wrote. "No one will be 'dropping' by my house uninvited." Harper could not be located for comment and has not returned messages left by The Associated Press at her home. The nurse, who moved to rural Oregon with her son from the Los Angeles area two years ago, speaks frankly in the postings about her son's Asperger's syndrome, a mild form of autism. Investigators said she told them he had mental health issues. Social profiles linked to her son suggested he tracked other mass shootings and was fascinated by the Irish Republican Army. Neighbors in the Los Angeles-area suburb of Torrance, where the mother and son lived before moving to Oregon, recalled him as uncommunicative, having child-like tantrums and loud fights with his mother, who was overprotective of him. Adam Lanza's mother Nancy Lanza also struggled with her son, who had developmental issues from early childhood, according to a report released last November by the Connecticut Office of the Child Advocate. The report said Lanza's mother, like Harper-Mercer's, was doting. She attempted to eliminate disruptions to Adam Lanza's life "entirely through hypervigilance and management of his symptoms." In emails to her son, she wrote she loved him and wanted him to be happy, according to the report. But Nancy Lanza isolated her son from the world. And while she sought some treatment for him, she rejected other help and was in denial about her son's illness. The teen became increasingly preoccupied with mass murder and engaged in a cyber-community of mass murder enthusiasts. Before the shooting, he lived in virtual social isolation, spent months in his bedroom with the windows blacked out, and communicated with his mother only through email. The report says access to assault weapons with high capacity magazines "did play a major role" in the Sandy Hook massacre, alongside inadequate and uncoordinated mental health services and Adam Lanza's extreme preoccupation with violence. His mother, it notes, "seemed unaware of any potential detrimental impact of providing unfettered access to firearms." While most young men who commit mass shootings show evidence of mental problems, the vast majority of mentally ill people aren't violent. Liz Long, an instructor at the College of Western Idaho, understands what Harper was up against. Her then-13-year-old son, who suffered from mental illness, pulled a knife on her and threatened to kill her and himself. Long said services for severely mentally troubled children are inadequate, and insurance carriers often won't pay them. Before getting diagnosed and treated for bipolar disorder, her son was misdiagnosed multiple times and she struggled to find residential treatment for him. "From a mom's perspective, we end up living in shame and silence," said Long, who wrote a book about her experiences. "You're basically hiding, because you're isolated." Police have not announced a motive for Harper-Mercer's deadly rampage. That is likely to be based on what they recovered from the note he left behind and what his mother has revealed. Investigators in the Sandy Hook shooting were never sure what drove Adam Lanza to kill. He destroyed his computer and his mother was his first victim.
| 5 | 90,680 |
news
|
Early 90's basketball fans rejoice! Two-thirds of Run TMC are together again. Since Chris Mullin was hired at St. John's, there have been rumors of a reported reunion with his former Golden State Warriors teammate Mitch Richmond. Those rumors were confirmed as fact on Tuesday afternoon when St. John's announced Richmond would be joining the program as a special assistant. Chris Mullin adds fellow @Hoophall inductee, 2-time Olympian & 6-time @NBA All-Star Mitch Richmond to #SJUBB staff pic.twitter.com/Y6BptAUzPU St. John's BBall (@StJohnsBBall) October 6, 2015 Richmond and Mullin played together on the Warriors for three seasons and, along with Tim Hardaway, made up the famed "Run TMC" high-powered offense. Richmond and Mullin are also both enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
| 1 | 90,681 |
sports
|
Stephan Savoia/AP Scandal has hit the daily fantasy sports world and now questions are being raised as to what information employees at sites like DraftKings and FanDuel have access to and if they are using that data to win money at rival sites. The scandal broke when the New York Times reported that one DraftKings employee had admitted to "inadvertently releasing data before the start of the third week of N.F.L. games." That employee won $350,000 at FanDuel the same week. DraftKings later issued a statement saying it had conducted a "thorough investigation" and found that "this employee could not have used the information in question to make decisions about his FanDuel lineup." But this still has left doubts in the minds of many as to what the employees know and when they know it. But one things is clear, whether they have insider information or not, DraftKings employees have been very successful playing daily fantasy sports at FanDuel. On ESPN's "Outside the Lines," Darren Rovell reported that a FanDuel spokesperson had provided data on how much money DraftKings employees had won at FanDuel. "Their data shows that Draft Kings employees have won 0.3% of the money [won at at the site]," Rovell said. "FanDuel has given out in prizes, close to $2 billion, according to my calculations." If DraftKings employees have indeed won 0.3% of nearly $2 billion, that would be close to $6 million won. Rovell put the number at "less than $10 million." What is not known is if that is net winnings accounting for losses also or just the gross winnings. That is a big difference, but it also would seem that either number is significant. According to research by Sports Business Daily , over one 3-month stretch, 91% of the player profits at DraftKings and FanDuel were won by just 1.3% of the players. There are still plenty of unknowns in the daily fantasy sports industry and that is the biggest problem. More transparency is needed and without regulation, it is not clear when that will arrive. We have reached out to DraftKings and FanDuel for comment. NOW WATCH: Fantasy sports employees may be cheating the competition
| 1 | 90,682 |
sports
|
Artworks depicting Russian President Vladimir Putin as various famous personalities - from Alexander of Macedon to Batman- are shown at the "Putin Universe" exhibition in Moscow open ahead of Russia's President 63rd birthday on October 7.
| 5 | 90,683 |
news
|
Filing an ethics complaint against Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy over the House Benghazi committee an idea making the rounds among Capitol Hill Democrats could ease some pressure on Hillary Rodham Clinton. But proving McCarthy ran afoul of House rules will likely take a lot more than his Sept. 29 comments on Fox News including witnesses or documents that back up Democrats' repeated assertions that the 17-month Benghazi probe is little more than a GOP attempt to smear the Democratic Party's presidential front-runner. The legal question in such cases "goes to the heart of kind of the inseparability of political and official" said Dan Schwager, the former staff director of the House Ethics Committee who departed in 2013 for the D.C. offices of Miles & Stockbridge PC, explaining it's "murky area." Further complicating the matter is the timing of the race to succeed John A Boehner as speaker a race in which McCarthy is the overwhelming favorite . Rules state the committee shall not accept any complaint submitted within 60 days prior to an election in which the subject of the complaint is running. Asked if the impending vote for speaker qualifies, committee spokesman declined to comment on the record. Schwager said proving a violation of the law requires showing the political purpose was "very explicit, and it would probably have to exclude any legitimate function." If investigators found a member sent an email stating, "I want to propose this bill because I know corporation Y will donate $10,000 to whoever sponsors a bill like this," the violation would be clear. But an email stating, this bill is needed and corporate donations could follow, is not enough. "You probably shouldn't take that into account," Schwager said, but it's not enough to prove explicitly political purposes. In his now-infamous interview with Fox host Sean Hannity, McCarthy boasted that the House Benghazi panel had dinged the Clinton campaign. "Everybody thought Hillary Clinton was unbeatable, right?" he said. "But we put together a Benghazi special committee. A select committee. What are her numbers today? Her numbers are dropping. Why? Because she's untrustable. But no one would have known that any of that had happened had we not fought to make that happen." Asked last week if McCarthy broke the rules, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, the ranking Democrat on the panel probing the 2012 attacks in Libya, deferred to 10 colleagues who sit on the House Ethics Committee. "I have no jurisdiction," the 10-term Maryland lawmaker said on Oct. 1. "It's up to them." Though McCarthy has walked back from his initial suggestion, Democrats have continued to hammer the duration of the investigation and the price tag: $4.5 million, according to Cummings. Clinton is scheduled to appear before the panel on Oct. 22. If a rank-and-file Democrat did file a complaint, there is no requirement that the ethics committee publicly disclose it. First, it would be up to Chairman Charlie Dent, R-Pa., and ranking member Linda T. Sánchez, D-Calif., to jointly determine if the information submitted constitutes a complaint. Amid reports of Democrats mulling those options, McCarthy's press office again sought to clarify Tuesday that the investigation has nothing to do with politics. "The mission of the Select Committee on Benghazi is to find the truth Period. The integrity of Chairman Gowdy, the Committee and the work they've accomplished is beyond reproach," McCarthy said in a statement.. "The serious questions Secretary Clinton faces are due entirely to her own decision to put classified information at risk and endanger our national security."
| 5 | 90,684 |
news
|
Sorry, Ben your ex-girlfriend says the most impressive thing she's ever done is cheat on you without you knowing. Except now you know. And so does the entire world, or at least whoever watched Jimmy Kimmel Live on Monday night including the NHL player she indirectly claimed to have slept with. And by indirectly, we mean naming the team the guy plays for and providing his initials (the Tampa Bay Lightning and T.J.). Those two tidbits alone were enough for the cameraman to guess Tyler Johnson considering he's the only player with those initials to ever play for the Lightning, as Sports Illustrated so kindly pointed out . Johnson, however, denied knowing the woman or why she said that: Comment from Tyler Johnson regarding woman who alleged she cheated on her boyfriend with him during segment on Jimmy Kimmel show last night Erik Erlendsson (@erlendssonTBO) October 6, 2015 "I have no idea who she is or why what was said was said. People can talk but (that) doesn't mean it's true.'' - Johnson #tblightning Erik Erlendsson (@erlendssonTBO) October 6, 2015 [h/t Sports Illustrated ]
| 1 | 90,685 |
sports
|
According to Variety, Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner have quietly listed their Pacific Palisades estate for an eye-watering $45,000,000.
| 6 | 90,686 |
entertainment
|
Mayor de Blasio had a secret lunch with U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders last month, City Hall confirmed. De Blasio and Sanders who is vying with the mayor's old boss Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination for president met for the private powwow in New York, City Hall press secretary Karen Hinton said. The meeting between the two Progressives was first reported by the Wall Street Journal. It was not listed on the mayor's public schedule. Speaking on CBS 880 radio Tuesday, de Blasio said Sanders initiated the get-together. "Of course I'm going to respond to that request," he said. "I think he's a very impressive person." Although he has declined to endorse his old boss Clinton saying he needs to know more on her positions he did say Tuesday that he has a "ton of respect for her." De Blasio said he was "very impressed" with the Democratic field for the White House, but balked when asked whether Vice President Biden should enter the race. "I think the candidates we have now are sufficient," he said. De Blasio has said he wants all of the candidates to come to a presidential forum he's hosting in the battleground state of Iowa to discuss their ideas.
| 5 | 90,687 |
news
|
The New Orleans Saints were staring a 30-yard field goal in the face at the end of Week 4 against the Dallas Cowboys. The opportunity to grab their first win of the season was on the foot of kicker Zach Hocker, but he nailed it right off the left upright. While the Saints went on to win the game on the second play of overtime, thanks to an 80-yard touchdown pass from Drew Brees to C.J. Spiller, it seems that the team may not be happy with Hocker. According to Alex Marvez of FOX Sports , the Saints are planning to hold kicker tryouts this week. Source tells @NFLonFOX that @saints planning kicker tryouts this week after @ZHocker18 missed late 30-yard FG vs @dallascowboys on Sunday Alex Marvez (@alexmarvez) October 5, 2015 Obviously, that doesn't bode well for Hocker, as he won't get much of an opportunity to fight for his job at this point. If the Saints choose to move on, then that's pretty much a wrap. This is definitely a situation worth monitoring moving towards Week 5.
| 1 | 90,688 |
sports
|
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) -- The New Jersey Devils will retire the No. 30 jersey of goaltender Martin Brodeur. The Devils announced Tuesday they also will erect a statue of their longtime goaltender during ceremonies at the game on Feb. 9 against the Edmonton Oilers. Brodeur played 21 seasons for New Jersey, leading the Devils to three Stanley Cup titles and winning the Vezina Trophy four times as the NHL's top goalie. Brodeur retired last season after playing seven games with the St. Louis Blues, where he now serves as an assistant general manager. He left the game with NHL records for games played (1,266), wins (691) and shutouts (125). In his last season in New Jersey, Brodeur compiled a 19-14-16 record with a .901 save percentage and 2.51 goals against average in 39 games.
| 1 | 90,689 |
sports
|
HONOLULU In between the two-a-days, coaches meetings and other basketball-centric activities that Byron Scott has been focused on during this 10-day Hawaiian training camp, the Lakers coach (who has made it clear that he's not much for luaus, hula dancing or swimming) took a few minutes to chat with USA TODAY Sports. The entire interview can be heard on our latest "A to Z" podcast , but below are his quick takes on a few topical matters relating to his team and others around the Association. Scott is always an honest and insightful interview as I see it, perhaps because he's a hybrid of sorts between experienced coach (three head coaching jobs in 14 seasons) and media empathizer (after all, he has been a television analyst for ABC/ESPN and Time Warner Cable SportsNet). Byron on whether he could ever see Kobe Bryant playing for another NBA team (After New York Knicks' president Phil Jackson raised the possibility , Bryant who will be a free agent next summer and isn't sure yet whether he'll retire told Yahoo! Sports that he has no interest in playing for any NBA team other than the Lakers). "I can't see it. I mean I can't see it. I really can't," he said. "I think just like Magic Johnson, even MJ (Michael Jordan), who went to Washington (after two years out of the game at the age of 37), but still when you think of MJ you think of the Chicago Bulls. When I think of Kobe, I don't care what happens, I think everybody will always think of him as a Laker and one of the greatest Lakers to ever play the game." Byron on the storylines that he sees as the most compelling entering the 2015-16 season "I think San Antonio, that storyline of getting LaMarcus (Aldridge) and David West (via free agency) and some of those guys, they have kind of reloaded and it's almost like for that one more last hurrah to see if they can pull it off one more year. "Another storyline that I think is going to be very interesting is Golden State. When a coach goes out for a length of time ( Steve Kerr is out indefinitely because of back problem ), and I don't think anybody knows what that length of time is going to be, obviously he had a hell of an effect with those guys on that team. And not to have him for the start of the season and maybe half the season, you never know what it's going to be right now with the back. I think that's a very interesting storyline. "Now they kind of sustained their first injury, so to speak, so you kind of wonder how they're going to react to not having their leader there. I think the Clippers are an interesting story, with the crap that went on this summer with DeAndre and, you know, wanting the ball more and all this stuff, it's going to be interesting how that all kind of (plays out)." On the Lakers-driven talk that they could push for a playoff spot in the brutal Western Conference… "Best case scenario is definitely playoffs. We go into every season thinking championship, and sometimes I know that might be unrealistic, but that's just how we think. And when I say 'we,' it's me and (general manager) Mitch (Kupchak) and (part owner and executive vice president of basketball operations) Jim (Buss) and (part owner and president) Jeanie (Buss) and Kobe. That's how we kind of go into every season. These young guys, they don't know all about that right now. But I think yeah, realistically, do we think we have a shot at the playoffs? Absolutely. What do we have to do to get there? We've got to have some guys play some big-time basketball this year, and that happens to be some of our young guys, and then we have to be a little lucky. We have to stay healthy. And if we can do that, then we'll see what happens."
| 1 | 90,690 |
sports
|
Some shots of the Apollo missions are iconic, like the ones of Neil Armstrong taking "one small step for man" and planting the American flag on the moon's surface. But you've probably never seen this shadow selfie taken by one of the astronauts on Apollo 11 back in 1965. Or this selfie by astronaut Donn F. Eisele during the Apollo 7 mission. Not every NASA photo taken of its Apollo missions makes it to the press and therefore, to the public because, well, there are tens of thousands of them. But thanks to Kipp Teague, a space enthusiast and the founder of Project Apollo Archive , they can now be easily accessed on the popular photo-sharing site Flickr in one giant collection. Since 1999, Teague has been collecting images from NASA's archives of its missions to the moon during the 1960s and '70s. While the photos on the website have usually been slightly edited, this latest collection has been posted in all its original, un-Photoshopped glory. So far, the Flickr page has more than 11,000 photos, and Teague plans to upload a total of 13,000, he told BBC . All the photos were taken using Hasselblad cameras, which according to Wired, is the camera used to shoot some of the most iconic Apollo photos. Nestled among stunning images of Earth from the moon, intriguing photos of the moon's surface, and revealing pictures from within the spacecraft are candid self-portraits revelatory in a different, distinctly human, way. The collection might make you wish NASA 's Instagram was around in the 60 's and 70's. It would include awe-inspiring photos, sure, but also an astronaut shaving, someone's space boots. But the archive is amazing to browse now just the same. Teague's Flickr page has more than 20,000 followers, and his Facebook page has gotten 31,000 likes at the time of this writing. Here's a sampling from the collection:
| 5 | 90,691 |
news
|
Nineteen years ago, Tiger Woods won the first of 79 PGA Tour events. At the 1996 Las Vegas Invitational, a 20-year-old Woods defeated Davis Love III in a playoff after shooting a final-round 64. He had turned pro earlier that summer and opened September with a hot streak. In the three weeks leading up to tournament, Woods finished 11th, T5 and T3. He pocketed $297,000 for the win and rode the momentum into a historic Masters victory the following season. The fist-pumping, club-twirling Tiger is a thing of the past, having aged heavily in the last two decades. What else on the Tour has changed since Tiger's first win? Let's take a look. Major Winners Masters: Nick Faldo (Augusta National) U.S. Open: Steve Jones (Oakland Hills) British Open: Tom Lehman (Royal Lytham & St. Annes) PGA Championship: Mark Brooks (Valhalla Golf Club) No. 1 Ranked Player Greg Norman. The Shark was in the midst of a historic run atop the rankings. He took the No. 1 spot from Nick Price in June of 1995 and held on for almost two full years before ceding the top position to Tom Lehman in April of 1997 for all of one week. Norman would regain the top rank for two months before, guess who!? Tiger Woods took it from him for the first of his 11 runs as the world No. 1. NEWSLETTERS: Sign up to get the latest golf news in your inbox Tiger's World Ranking Entering the Las Vegas Invitational, Woods was ranked 221st in the World Rankings. After his win, he vaulted to 75th. Fast-forward to 2015, and Woods had tumbled down to 331st, his lowest year-end rank since 1995. Purses Woods didn't crack $300,000 for his maiden victory. In comparison, Ben Martin won the 2015 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open (the same tournament as Tiger) and won $1.12 million. Jim Furyk won almost 50 percent of Woods' earnings after withdrawing from the Tour Championship and claiming his 30th place winnings in the FedEx Cup playoffs. Jordan Spieth's Age When Tiger had won his first event, Spieth had just turned 3 years old. Now, the 22-year-old has two major wins and is the heir apparent to Tiger. For vintage Tiger highlights, check out the recap of his first win below.
| 1 | 90,692 |
sports
|
Most cases of CRE, a drug-resistant and deadly group of bacteria, were associated with prior hospitalizations and discharge to long-term care settings. Relative to other health care-associated infections, the overall incidence of illnesses caused by Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) was relatively low in the United States during the period of 2012 through 2013, a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study indicated. CRE infections are a worldwide menace. With limited treatment options, infections caused by these organisms often lead to death, so they are commonly referred to as "killer bacteria." Infections usually occur in hospitals, nursing homes, and other health care settings, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Generally, people in good health are not at risk from these bacteria commonly transferred through touch. It is believed CRE spreads when a doctor touches first an infected patient and then another uninfected patient. These bacteria also contaminate the surfaces of medical instruments and hospital furniture, yet it's unclear how long they live. To better understand these bacteria, a team of researchers from the CDC in Atlanta conducted an active surveillance of these deadly bacteria in seven metropolitan areas in Colorado, Georgia, Maryland, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, and Oregon. The total population in the participating areas under surveillance was an estimated 13.2 million in 2013. Nightmare Bacteria Dr. Alexander J. Kallen and his colleagues examined cases of CRE recovered from sterile-site or urine cultures during 2012-2013. After identifying the specific strains, the research team performed an analysis. "During this two-year surveillance period, 599 incident CRE cases were reported across seven emerging infectious program sites, resulting in an overall crude incidence of 2.93 per 100 000 population," wrote the authors. The average age of the patients was 66 years old. Death occurred in 51 cases (9 percent). Most cases (75 percent) occurred in people with prior hospitalizations or indwelling devices, such as urinary catheter or a central venous catheter (73 percent). About 56 percent of admitted cases resulted in a discharge to a long-term care setting. The estimate of 2.98 per 100,000 people, the researchers say, is substantially lower than incidence rates for other infections associated with health care exposures, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (25.1 per 100,000), invasive candidiasis (13.3 to 26.2 per 100,000), and Clostridium difficile (147.2 per 100,000). "The frequency with which individuals with CRE are transferred between facilities emphasizes the need for regional control efforts in all the facilities," noted the researchers. Source: Guy AY, Bulens SN, Mu Y, et al. Epidemiology of Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae in 7 US Communities, 2012-2013. JAMA. 2015.
| 7 | 90,693 |
health
|
Students from four District of Columbia schools helped the first lady with Tuesday's fall harvest. Afterward, some of the produce went into a chicken vegetable salad they ate for lunch. (Oct. 6)
| 8 | 90,694 |
video
|
Authorities say the former personal assistant to Bronson Arroyo stole the Dodgers pitcher's yacht from a private club in Tampa, Fla., then sold the vessel for just $22,000. Anthony Acosta, 38, has been charged with grand theft and forgery, the Miami Herald reported . MORE: Most heinous crimes connected to athletes | Get to know this year's Dodgers According to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Acosta is accused of stealing the vessel valued at $167,000 out of the yacht club and sold it to Concept Boats yard in Opa-locka in 2013, giving a fake bill of sale with Arroyo's forged signature to the yard owner's father. The boat's new owner was shocked to see there was a $100,000 lien on the vessel. He demanded his money back from Acosta, who ignored him. Arroyo, who had been away playing for the Reds, was then contacted about the sale. Arroyo paid off the lien, then reported the theft to police. Arroyo hired Acosta to maintain the yacht when it was purchased in 2006 while the pitcher was away playing. In 2012, Arroyo fired Acosta, gave him a "generous severance package" and told him "not to contact him again" after Arroyo alleged Acosta had a prescription drug problem, according to a warrant filed by FDLE. Acosta had previously tried to scam Arroyo in 2013 by saying he noticed the boat was sinking in the harbor and that several thousand dollars would be needed for the repairs, the Herald reported. Arroyo refused, which led to the theft, according to the report.
| 1 | 90,695 |
sports
|
A lot of college football programs celebrate recruiting classes ranked highly by various recruiting publications and services. At TCU, they celebrate recruits who perform on Saturdays. The No. 2 Horned Frogs have never been a magnet for five- and four-star recruits to carry on their high school stardom. Gary Patterson's operation has simply targeted athletes it believes will fit its system, often regardless of position, and excel. So it should come as little surprise that lightly recruited receiver KaVontae Turpin on was named the Big 12 Player of the Week. The true freshman destroyed the Texas Longhorns' defense for four touchdowns in TCU's 50-7 romp over Texas. The four touchdown catches were the most by a freshman in Big 12 history and it tied for the most in a game by an FBS player this season. In all, the 5-foot-9, 152-pounder out of Monroe, La., had six catches for 138 yards. He added two carries for 14 yards, a 4-yard punt return and a 26-yard kickoff return to finish with 182 all-purpose yards. Texas, whose offense stagnated throughout and didn't get into the end zone until the fourth-quarter clock read 5:14, would have loved to have had a playmaker like that on their side. Too bad they never recruited Turpin. But it's finds like Turpin that have made TCU a national power and can keep it that way when injuries bite. For a second consecutive week, the Frogs were without Kolby Listenbee, a top receiver along with Josh Doctson. And starting reciever Ty Slanina was lost for the season with an injury in the previous game at Texas Tech. Listenbee's status for Saturday's game at Kansas State remains uncertain. If he's out, TCU feels confident it has enough weapons to keep defenses from loading up on Doctson, who leads the nation with 42 catches for 722 yards and eight touchdowns. "It goes hand-in-hand," Patterson told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram . "The better the players across the board, the less people can overload the coverages. Turpin is now the team's second-leading receiver with 14 catches for 245 yards and six touchdowns. Sophomore Desmon White is now third with 12 catches for 162 yards. MORE NEWS: Want stories delivered to you? Sign up for our College Football newsletters.
| 1 | 90,696 |
sports
|
NEW YORK (AP) -- A year ago, no one could've pictured this. Yet here they were, Dallas Keuchel and the Houston Astros, soaking in champagne, merrily posing for a victory shot on the mound at Yankee Stadium. After all that losing, this was one October win to remember. Pitching on three days' rest for the first time in his career, Keuchel baffled New York for six innings of three-hit ball. Colby Rasmus and Carlos Gomez homered, and the Astros beat the Yankees 3-0 Tuesday night in the American League wild-card game. BOX SCORE: ASTROS 3, YANKEES 0 "Nobody really gave us anything at the start of the year. And I don't think anybody gave us a shot at the end of the year," said Keuchel, the AL's only 20-game winner. The orange-clad Astros, who secured their spot in this winner-take-all game on the last day of the regular season, advanced to the Division Series against the defending AL champion Royals starting Thursday night in Kansas City. Aggressive from the start in their initial playoff appearance as an AL club -- and first since being swept by the White Sox in the 2005 World Series -- the Astros came out swinging against Masahiro Tanaka in front of a revved-up Bronx crowd. Rasmus sent Tanaka's first pitch of the second inning soaring into deep right field. Gomez, who only had five plate appearances after missing nearly two weeks with a strained chest muscle in mid-September, connected on the first offering of the fourth. "That really settled me down, and that's who we are," Keuchel said. "We hit a lot of home runs, pitch well and play defense." AL hits leader Jose Altuve had an RBI single off All-Star reliever Dellin Betances in the seventh. Reliever Tony Sipp walked one, and Will Harris and Luke Gregerson were each perfect for an inning to finish the three-hitter. The boos from the 50,113 stunned fans in the crowd grew with each out as Gregerson closed for a save. The Astros raced to an area between first and second after Brian McCann grounded out to end it and jumped up and down in a big scrum. As he was coming off the field, Keuchel pumped his fists toward a group of cheering Astros supporters in orange shirts -- a few in big black beards -- behind the visiting dugout. It was a celebration a few years in the making, a raucous 30-minute party in the visiting clubhouse that carried onto the field. The Astros had averaged 104 losses in their previous four seasons. "Now we get to go to Kansas City. It's going to be some grind-it-out baseball," Rasmus said. "We have to come in there the way we came in tonight. It's going to be fun." In a matchup of teams that surprised many by building big division leads and then wasting them, the upstart Astros, just two years removed from a 111-loss season, looked the more comfortable team in the October limelight. They clowned around during pregame introductions, and stayed loose the whole game. The Yankees lost six of seven to close the regular season. Then before working out Monday, they learned CC Sabathia was checking into an alcohol rehab facility and would miss the postseason. Despite all the talk of a playoff reset for the struggling lineup, New York went bust against a new nemesis in its first postseason game of the post-Derek Jeter era. "Just didn't get it done," manager Joe Girardi said. Fans taunted the 27-year-old Keuchel the moment he walked to the outfield for warmups. Then he toyed with the Yankees from the first batter, striking out Brett Gardner looking. "It's hard not to get up for a game like this," Keuchel said of pitching on short rest. "I've worked so hard the last four years in the big leagues, especially with rebuilding with our team. I knew if we had a shot, I was going to give everything I possibly could." Gardner, McCann, Chris Young and Girardi had words with plate umpire Eric Cooper as Keuchel cruised through New York's lineup for the third time this season. The AL Cy Young Award contender held the Yankees scoreless for 16 innings in two regular-season starts. On this much bigger stage, the lefty was just as confounding, dropping his slider and two-seam fastball seemingly wherever he wanted in striking out seven as nearly all his teammates and coaches stood along the dugout railing for every pitch. When he gave up two singles in the sixth -- bringing the crowd to its feet with Alex Rodriguez stepping into the batter's box -- manager A.J. Hinch took a walk to the mound to give Keuchel a breather. Keuchel responded by getting A-Rod to fly out lazily to center field for his final out. '"'He was as good as it gets," A-Rod said. "He was Greg Maddux from the left side." Keuchel is the first pitcher with a scoreless postseason start on three days' rest since Josh Beckett pitched a shutout for the Marlins at Yankee Stadium in the clinching Game 6 of the 2003 World Series, STATS said. Tanaka struggled with the long ball, giving up 25 homers in 24 starts this year. He only allowed two more hits in five innings but matched a season high with three walks. ACE IN THE BOOTH Tampa Rays ace Chris Archer has a new October gig, analyst for ESPN. "I did get a little nervous initially but we've already done one segment of `Baseball Tonight,' so I'm good now," he said. TIME'S UP During the regular season the countdown clock between innings was set to 2 minutes, 45 seconds for a national TV game. It was 3:15 for the first postseason game of 2015. TRAINER'S ROOM Astros: Jed Lowrie pinch hit in the ninth for Gomez, who looked as if he tweaked his injury while batting in the sixth. "Every time I swing, I swing and I miss, I feel it," Gomez said. UP NEXT Hinch will set his rotation for the Division Series. Houston went 4-2 against the Royals this season.
| 1 | 90,697 |
sports
|
We've all been there: hearts racing, palms sweating, and panic rising when we realize that there is too much to do and just not enough time. Stress can be immobilizing, and it can negatively affect many aspects of our lives. Sometimes we just need to step back, take a mental health day , and seek ways to de-stress. If you constantly feel like pulling your hair out, you may have some habits causing stress that need to be changed, and there's no better time than now! Here are some things that stressed-out people tend to do and tips to break the habits. Drink too much caffeine - We aren't going to tell you to stop drinking caffeine altogether - we wouldn't do that to you! But downing several cups of coffee a day can overstimulate you and make you unnecessarily anxious and on edge. So keep the caffeine to a minimum, and try these tips for making your caffeinated drink healthier . Constantly vent - Sometimes sitting down with a friend and letting it all out is exactly what we need. Venting is essential - but only in small doses. If negative things are all you talk about, they are going to be all you think about too. People who are stressed out usually talk excessively about a problem, drag it out, and don't let it go. It's best to rant your rant, get it off your chest, and then be done with it so that whatever was bothering you doesn't bog you down. Obsess over things they can't change - We all need to accept what we can't change, and dwelling on mistakes isn't healthy or beneficial. There is no point worrying about things you most likely can't do anything about. It's best to move on and simply do better next time! Eat food that isn't healthy - Sometimes when we're worried, turning to a giant cheesy pizza or pint of ice cream sounds like the best thing in the world. But feeding stressed feelings usually leaves us worse off, both mentally and physically. If you're tempted to snack while feeling anxious, try foods that may help with anxiety . Get overwhelmed easily - Everyone feels overwhelmed sometimes, but the key is not to get panicked when you realize that you have more to do than you thought you did. Take a deep breath, choose one item on your list to start with, and go from there. Trying to multitask or do parts of things here and there will leave everything half-finished and sloppy. Don't get enough sleep - Sleep deprivation makes you sluggish, cranky, and overall not your best self. Eliminate this contributing factor to stress by trying some tips to help you get the best sleep possible so that you wake up rejuvenated and ready to go! If you're feeling crafty, you can try making this DIY sleep spray . Overanalyze - Ever spent hours after a conversation worrying if you said something wrong, should have said something differently, offended someone, or ruined your chances at a promotion? You're probably the only one who noticed any of that, but people who stress tend to pick apart every little thing in life (work or otherwise) and find problems where problems don't exist. Stay positive about yourself! You're awesome, and the worry is all in your head! Don't exercise - When we are superbusy and trying to eliminate tasks to lighten the load, exercise can be one of the first things that goes. Don't let that happen! It may take a little time out of your day, but it's a perfect way to get those endorphins flowing and that motivation going. You can always squeeze in some light exercises before bed to help de-stress and get a good night's sleep! Overload their schedules - There are only 24 hours in one day, and sometimes we try to pack in more than we can realistically handle in that time. People who stress tend to bite off more than they can chew, and then realize after the fact that they are swamped. Plan out your day ahead of time so that you know what to expect. Take on what you know you can do, leave room in case something unexpected happens, and pace yourself for each task. Try to do everything on their own - A lot of high-stress people have a "if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself" mentality, and they have too much on their plates sometimes because of this. But truthfully, you get by with a little help from your friends! Let other people give you a hand from time to time - you may be surprised at how well they do the task and how nice it is not to have to go it alone. Focus on the bad instead of the good - Bad days will come, but they will also go. People who worry a lot tend to only focus on the negative, and they forget to leave room for contemplating the positive. Instead of clinging to the bad news, seek out the good news, and try to do more things that happy people do ! Procrastinate - Procrastination leads to panic - and that's when stress levels go to the next level. It's best to buckle down, suck it up, and get things done. Mapping out your tasks and making a plan can help make things seem more doable and less stressful. Rush through life - Stressed-out people can get so consumed with being anxious about pretty much everything that they forget to enjoy the best things in life. What's the point of all that stressing if you can't even enjoy the hard work you're putting into things? Take a minute to slow down and find your own happiness, wherever that may be for you.
| 4 | 90,698 |
lifestyle
|
Pixar's Pete Docter reveals more about Jessie's backstory in 'Toy Story.'
| 8 | 90,699 |
video
|
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.