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For the last two years the DJI Phantom has been our favorite drone. It's cheap and easy enough to be accessible to the average consumer, but powerful enough to satisfy professionals. It's been the unit that led the way as drones democratized aerial imagery, making dramatic shots previously reserved for Hollywood an option for anyone with $1,000. Today, DJI is introducing the Osmo, a handheld stabilizer that tries to repeat the same trick. It takes the camera and gimbal technology of DJI's drones and repackages it as the ultimate selfie stick. The goal is to make cinema-quality stabilization and 4K video accessible to the average consumer, while winning over lots of professionals on a tight budget as well. The Osmo goes on sale today, and will start shipping October 15th. The form factor is a handsome 6.5 handle with a three-axis gimbal and camera on top. The unit is made of plastic and aluminum, allowing it to remain a light 201 grams. It's not cheap, retailing at $649, although you can buy the stick without the camera for less if you already own one of DJI's Zenmuse cameras, which are interchangeable on top of the Osmo. It's most basic application is taking photos and videos of yourself and your surroundings; for that the Osmo comes equipped with a modified version of the camera found on DJI's Inspire drone: a 12-megapixel unit with a 1/2.3-inch sensor and a 94-degree field-of-view lens that can shoot 4K video. You align the camera with a trigger that sits underneath your pointer finger as you grip the handle. Double-tap and it will orient forward and adjust to match the way it's being carried. It can adjust to three different grips: your typical smartphone grip; a flashlight carry; or it can be slung down like a shopping bag, a position that produces very cool effects when you hold the camera off the side of an open vehicle. Triple-tap and it spins to face you, allowing you to shift easily into selfie mode while running or riding a bike. Opposite the trigger is a control pad you operate with your thumb. You have a shutter button for snapping photos, a button to start and stop recording video, and a trackpad you can manipulate to change the camera's orientation. The Osmo works with the same DJI Go app that you'd use when flying its drones. Unlike with the drone, you don't need to connect your smartphone or tablet with a USB cable. The Osmo throws off a Wi-Fi signal you can connect to, and you can keep the phone up to 25 feet from it and still get a live feed on your device, as well as control camera settings like shutter speed and ISO. That means one person can handle filming with the Osmo while a friend nearby focuses on perfecting the shot. The Osmo also comes with a mount to attach your mobile device to its side, where it acts as your viewfinder and settings. You can shoot in 24, 30, or 60 frames per second, and also capture slow-motion footage at 120 frames per second. It uses a standard microSD card for storage and DJI says you get about 60 minutes of recording in 4K and six hours of standby on a single battery charge. The time-lapse mode worked well in our testing, but the panorama had some bugs. It's very cool because you don't have to spin around: you just tap a button and the Osmo camera rotates to capture five pictures it stitches together into a 360 degree view. When I tried it out the Osmo captured me twice, producing the rare double-duck selfie, but this was a beta, and DJI will likely have the bugs ironed out by the time the final product is released. After our hands-on I spent a few hours reviewing the footage we shot and talking about it with my film crew. The stabilization on all the footage was great, especially on my bike and when it was facing me as I was running. But the footage it captured while it was facing away from me looked, to our eyes anyway, a little bit odd and artificial, an issue I noted when testing the DJI Phantom 3 as well. DJI really needs to work on allowing the camera to ease as you move. It's a little too stable, lacking the more fluid movement our video teams gets with glide-cam equipment and DJI's higher-end stabilizer, the Ronin. You also begin to see the limitations of a tiny 4K camera that costs only a few hundreds dollars to make. From the air DJI's footage looks incredibly crisp, if a little oversaturated. On the ground, however, with the focal length adjusted from infinity to one meter, you can begin to see that the focus, at least in auto mode, is not as tight as it would be if you brought your own DSLR. That combination of a glide unit and high-end camera would certainly end up being a lot bigger, heavier, and more expensive than the Osmo. On the other hand, while the new iPhone can shoot 4K video, it's far less flexible and powerful in terms of camera movement and stabilization. That's the gap DJI is trying to bridge. I came away from my day with the unit impressed, but not convinced, that the Osmo could replace expensive glide cams for a professional, and be worth the money for the average consumer who gets a pretty decent experience with their $50 selfie stick and the Hyperlapse app. It's walking a very fine line, one DJI nailed with its Phantom drones. Whatever the eventual market size, the Osmo is certainly proof that DJI isn't really a drone company, but a more well-rounded innovator focused on combining cameras and robotics in a variety of interesting new ways.
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Getty Images The flu isn't that big of a deal, right? You get a fever, chills, maybe throw up a little and then you're fine. For many Americans, this can be true. But anywhere from 3,000 to 49,000 people die from the flu or its complications every year, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The misconception that the flu is harmless means people don't get the vaccine or drag themselves to work and school when they're sick and that means more people who are at risk of getting seriously ill are exposed to the highly contagious virus. If you have the flu, which is contagious for about a week , remember that while you might be strong enough to easily fight off a flu, not everyone is. Young children, older adults, and people with other conditions like asthma, heart disease, and weakened immune systems are at especially high risk of developing complications from the flu that can lead to hospitalization or death. Every year, between 5% and 20% of Americans get the flu , and over 200,000 end up in the hospital because of it, according to the CDC. You can catch the virus from up to 6 feet away and even become infected after touching an object that someone with the flu touched. Getting your annual flu vaccine either via a shot, nasal spray or jet injector is the best way to keep yourself from getting the flu, and also to protect people who are at high risk. The vaccine is free for almost everyone, since nearly all insurance plans, including Medicare Part B, cover immunizations. So go out and get your flu shot this year, and protect the people around you. NOW WATCH: The biggest science mistakes in 'The Martian'
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British actress Helen Mirren hits the red carpet in London for the premiere of her latest film 'Trumbo' and talks her swearing habits. Tania Willis reports.
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From extinguishing fires with sound to hydrogen-powered cars, the September issue of the BBC's Science Focus magazine details " 39 ideas about to change our world ." 1. Hydrogen-powered cars and refueling stations Fueled by the chemical reaction of hydrogen gas and oxygen, Toyota's Mirai goes on sale in late 2015, but is expected to remain expensive because for safety reasons as hydrogen gas must be stored in heavy-duty, high-pressure tanks, BBC Science Focus magazine reports . Therefore, scientists at the UK's Science and Technology Facilities (STFC) are developing a low-cost method of extracting hydrogen from ammonia. According to Professor Bill David, who leads the STFC research team, "a small amount of hydrogen mixed with ammonia is sufficient to provide combustion in a conventional car engine." "While our process is not yet optimized, we estimate that an ammonia decomposition reactor no bigger than a 2-liter bottle will provide enough hydrogen to run a mid-range family car," David said in a news release. Source: BBC Science Focus, Issue 285, September 2015 , Science and Technology Facilities Council 2. Nearly supersonic trains Propelled by compressed air and induction motors inside a vacuum tube, Elon Musk's Hyperloop passenger train concept is designed to travel at 760 mph faster than Japan's new maglev bullet train (374 mph). Earlier this year, Musk announced a 'Hyperloop pod competition' that would enable students and independent engineering teams to design and build a sub-scale pod for the train. From the more than 1700 teams that registered, 300 teams have just been selected to move to the next stage of the competition. The winner is expected to test out their pod designs on subscale Hyperloop test track. The BBC Science Focus magazine also reports that test runs are expected to begin in two years. Source: BBC Science Focus, Issue 285, September 2015 , Fortune, Tech Insider , Wired 3. Internet for everyone According to the Washington Post, Musk is waiting government approval to send 4,000 small satellites into low-earth orbit. The satellites are designed to beam a high-speed signal to everyone on the planet including remote regions where people do not currently have access to internet. The filing, made with the Federal Communications Commission in May, proposes tests starting next year, and Musk hopes the service could be up and running in a few years. Source: BBC Science Focus, Issue 285, September 201 5, The Washington Post 4. Self-driving semi-trucks Luxury car company Mercedes-Benz and automated vehicle technology company Peloton are looking to bring driverless cargo trucks to the road sooner than later. "Computers don't get tired and don't need comfort breaks," as the BBC Science Focus notes. Driverless trucks would also be cheaper as the smoother run would mean that less fuel would be needed and the trucks could drive directly behind each other to minimize wind resistance. Earlier this year, Daimler Trucks introduced the first ever self-driving semi-truck licensed to drive on public roads. According to Dr. Wolfgang Bernhard, a board member at Daimler, the truck's technology is still undergoing experiments, the AP reports. Source: BBC Science Focus, Issue 285, September 2015 , Peloton Technology , Associated Press 5. Fight fire with sound WATCH As wildfires have been multiplying over recent years and the trend is likely to continue in that direction, new technologies to combat fire are being invented and two students at George Mason University are at the forefront of the trend. The two students created a device that sends loud noises toward the flames. "At the right frequency, the fire simply dies out," the BBC Science Focus magazine notes . The pressure waves coming from the device cut off the oxygen supply to the fire as it disrupts the airwaves around the fire. Although not yet tested on large fires, the students are confident their technology works. "I'd like to see this applied to swarm robotics where it could be attached to a drone and that would be applied to forest fires or even building fires," one of the two students, Seth Robertson and Viet Tran said in a video interview. Source: BBC Science Focus, Issue 285, September 2015 , Youtube 6. Portable water treatment systems According to the UN, over 780 million people in the world do not have access to clean water and over 2 billion people do not have access to adequate sanitation. In an attempt to remedy the situation, researchers in England have developed a portable mobile water treatment system. "The first stage of our project has resulted in the capacity to produce two cubic meters of drinking water in a 12 day period," said Professor Darren Reynolds , who is leading the research team. "This may not seem like a huge amount, but put into context, humans need a minimum of two liters of drinking water a day which is less than one cubic meter a year." Source: BBC Science Focus, Issue 285, September 2015 , UWE News , UN Water Amanda Macias contributed to this report.
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Donald Trump opens up about his brother's death from addiction and how it's impacted his life.
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Jim Cramer was surprised to learn on Thursday that after all the fear swirling in the market that the Fed would raise rates back in September; it wasn't even close to happening! The minutes of the Sept. 16-17 Federal Reserve meeting were released on Thursday and showed that the Fed was actually pretty darned worried about faltering global growth and its impact on the U.S. As soon as the market heard the minutes, the averages screamed higher. "That clarity, the knowledge that the Fed has our back and isn't about to shoot us in the head with a rate hike, emboldened investors to come off the sidelines and pretty much buy whatever merchandise was down," the " Mad Money " host said. (Tweet this) The new darling stocks of the fourth quarter were scooped up, as heavy industry stocks, transports, oils, retailers and packaged good stocks all rallied. With the price of crude rebounding, Cramer wondered if it could be time to circle back to the pipeline stocks that have been beaten badly as of late. "This group had been crushed, courtesy of worries about lower energy prices and the possibility that the Fed will raise interest rates," the " Mad Money " host said. Enbridge Inc (ENB) operates the world's longest crude oil and natural-gas liquids pipeline system that runs through Canada and the United States. It also contains a major natural-gas-gathering network. To learn more, Cramer spoke with CEO Al Monaco. He explained that the structure of Enbridge's business model is one that is resilient as it is directly connected to refineries and has a low cost infrastructure. "I think the biggest issue is the commercial underpinning of our assets…and the fact that we've got a low-cost structure allows us to really gain in this kind of environment. In fact, in the environment we are in today, we are extremely well positioned," Monaco said. Domino's Pizza stock was also put through the meat grinder when it reported on Thursday and missed Wall Street's top and bottom line estimates. The stock plunged almost 5 percent in response, as its overseas business has taken a beating due to the strong dollar. Domino's has 11,700 locations across the globe, and CEO Patrick Doyle has led the company through a remarkable turnaround and transformed it into one of the strongest growth stories in the restaurant space. So did Domino's just hit a one-time speed bump, or should investors be cautious? To learn more, Cramer spoke with Doyle. "It's really pretty straight forward. When food prices are low, it's great for our franchisees. When they are higher, it's a little bit tougher. "We are looking as much as $20 million hit to the bottom line for the year this year because of the FX headwinds. We've got to perform through that, we have. Our growth is terrific, we are excited about where the business is overall but certainly the FX headwinds have been strong," Doyle said. As the market continued its best five-day winning streak of the year on Thursday, Cramer decided to dig a little deeper to what could be fueling the economy. Are consumers finally spending some of that money they have been saving at the gas pump? "For the longest time, far longer than we thought, the savings from cheaper gasoline simply stayed in the pockets of the consumer," the " Mad Money " host said. On Thursday morning, CNBC's Steve Liesman presented information from the JPMorgan (JPM) Institute that showed definitively that consumers are now spending that extra cash in retail, particularly in restaurants and retail. But the real boost to the consumer will come when they get their heating bills this winter, with natural gas close to 15-year lows. That is more savings into their pockets, especially since natural gas is now heating the majority of homes. "And even though the price of crude has been rebounding, I think it is only going to get better form here for the stocks of restaurants, apparel companies and retailers, one of the most challenged groups of 2015, at least until now," Cramer said. (Tweet this) Alcoa recently decided to break itself up into a commodity metals business and a separate manufacturer of engineered products. Since the new broke, the stock has roared up 20 percent in a very short period of time. However, on Thursday Alcoa reported a quarter that came in shy of Wall Street's estimates. But in Cramer's opinion, no one thought this was going to be a great quarter for the company. Cramer dug deeper with Klaus Kleinfeld, the chairman and CEO of Alcoa to learn more about where the company could be headed. The CEO confirmed that while many of its businesses are strong, there is one area that is under stress. "The one business that has currently under additional stress is the Aluminum business and we have put together a new restructuring program for this and have been launching it," Kleinfeld said. In the Lightning Round, Cramer gave his take on a few caller favorite stocks: Baxalta: "I like Baxalta...This is the kind of stock that nobody really loves right now and yet that is exactly when I will buy it, because we will rotate back into those stocks back in not a long period of time. I say pick some up right here." BP PLC: "If you are in your mid-20s you want to be in a growth oil. You want to be in a Concho, or a Cimarex. But only if they pull back. That group has had way too big of a move."
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House Majority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy speaks about dropping his bid to be the next House Speaker.
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The national news media is being forced to recognize a fact that many political reports have not really engaged with thus far: Ben Carson's support is strong, and it doesn't seem to be going anywhere. The former pediatric neurosurgeon, who has no political experience and is running his first campaign, is consistently near the top of the polls in the key primary states of Iowa and New Hampshire. Carson broke from the pack in national polling at the end of August and is now running second only to real estate mogul Donald Trump, according to the Real Clear Politics polling average. Related: What Trump, Carson and Clinton Said About the Oregon Shooting While Trump has been extensively covered by the national media, in no small part because of his tendency to lob verbal bombs at his opponents, coverage of Carson has been less intensive possibly because many in the media originally viewed him as a fringe candidate who would likely have little staying power. On Thursday, however, Bloomberg Politics' Mark Halperin and John Heilmann conducted focus groups in Iowa and New Hampshire and came away surprised at the depth of support Carson has among voters in both of the early voting primary states. "Iowa and New Hampshire, undecided Republicans, you saw there, the gap between what they say about Ben Carson and what people in New York and Washington think is massive," Halperin said on MSNBC Thursday morning. A story published by Bloomberg about the focus groups said, "When asked to describe Carson, participants in the focus groups called him 'deep,' 'thoughtful,' 'intelligent,' 'measured,' 'true to himself' 'someone you can trust' and 'calm.'" Related: GOP Presidential Campaign Rapidly Turning into a Two-Man Race One participant said they felt he would be a "soothing balm" to the country as president. However, as Carson garners more attention from the mainstream media, he will be pressed to answer more and more complex policy questions, often about subjects that he appears rather uninformed about. On Wednesday afternoon, for example, the popular public radio business news program Marketplace released the transcript of a lengthy interview with Carson. Host Kai Ryssdal asked Carson repeatedly about the federal debt limit and how he would handle the need to raise it in order to avoid a government default. From the candidate's answers, it wasn't clear that he actually understood what the debt limit is: " Carson: Let me put it this way: if I were the president, I would not sign an increased budget. Absolutely would not do it. They would have to find a place to cut. Related: Here's Why Trump and Other 'Outsiders' Are Leading the GOP Ryssdal: To be clear, it's increasing the debt limit, not the budget, but I want to make sure I understand you. You'd let the United States default rather than raise the debt limit. Carson: No, I would provide the kind of leadership that says, "Get on the stick guys, and stop messing around, and cut where you need to cut, because we're not raising any spending limits, period." Ryssdal: I'm gonna try one more time, sir. This is debt that's already obligated. Would you not favor increasing the debt limit to pay the debts already incurred? Carson: What I'm saying is what we have to do is restructure the way that we create debt. I mean if we continue along this, where does it stop? It never stops. You're always gonna ask the same question every year. And we're just gonna keep going down that pathway. That's one of the things I think that the people are tired of." The conversation continued for some time in that vein, with the candidate never clearly saying how he would handle the looming crisis. Related: Ben Carson Is Catching Up to Trump in New National GOP Poll It's not the first time that Carson has, at least in the eyes of the national media, given answers to questions that seemed puzzling at best or alarming at worst. In discussing the recent shootings at a community college in Oregon, Carson has repeatedly appeared to criticize the victims for not being more aggressive toward the shooter. When a CBS anchor pointed out to him that a former soldier who charged the shooter had been shot several times and was unable to subdue him, Carson seemed unaware of that fact, and said that "verifies what I'm saying." He added, "That's exactly what should be done and if everybody does that, the likelihood of him being able to kill as many people diminishes quite significantly." In an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper last month, Carson suggested that a devout Muslim would not be acceptable as president of the United States an idea expressly rejected in Article Six of the U.S. Constitution, which holds that no religious test is permitted to qualify for public office. Related: Ben Carson Gain in New Hampshire However, so far at least, Carson's missteps in the eyes of the national media haven't been seen as a problem in the country as a whole. His comments about Muslims in the White House were actually widely supported in many states and were viewed positively by a number of participants in the Bloomberg focus groups. Likewise, his comments about the Oregon shooting appear to have done little to affect his support in early primary states. What that means as the election goes forward is unclear at this point, but the fact that there is a disconnect between how the media views Carson and how voters see him is becoming crystal clear.
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FORT CARSON, Colo. Top brass at a Colorado Army post are all smiles after a 2-year-old girl interrupted a general's speech to dash across the room and hug her dad, who had just come home from a nine-month deployment. Fort Carson spokeswoman Dani Johnson says "everyone thought it was awesome" when 1st Lt. Daniel Oglesby's daughter Karas gave him a knee-high embrace during the homecoming ceremony Tuesday. Oglesby was standing in formation with other members of the 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team when his daughter galloped toward him, arms outstretched. Johnson says everyone in the room laughed, including Maj. Gen. Ryan Gonsalves, the post commander, who was welcoming the soldiers home at the time. Oglesby hugged and kissed his girl and sent her back across the room to her mom and sister.
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The lines may not be any longer at Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) than they were a week ago, but at least one Wall Street pro sees some more lettuce in the chain's future. SunTrust Robinson Humphrey analyst Jake Bartlett initiated coverage of several restaurant chains on Thursday. Only a little more than half of the calls are bullish, but Chipotle is one of them. His buy rating comes with a $850 price target, suggesting 18% upside from yesterday's close. The bullish boost comes at a time when it seems as if growth is slowing at the cult fave burrito roller. Chipotle ended a streak of five consecutive quarters of double-digit growth in comps in the second quarter when comps clocked in at a historically pedestrian 4.3%. Analysts see year-over-year comps continuing to decelerate for the third quarter that concluded last week. Even the upbeat Bartlett is targeting comps of just 2.5% when Chipotle reports on Oct. 20. This isn't as bad you might think. A major catalyst for the hearty comps Chipotle was posting last year was a major price hike that kicked in during the springtime of last year. It was the chain's biggest menu board increase in three years, done primarily in response to escalating food costs. Now that we've lapped the price hike, it's not a surprise to see comps stabilize. Bartlett sees comps accelerating to a 5.5% clip for all of 2016, possibly rising back into the double digits come 2017. The end of the carnitas shortage should help smoke braised pork lovers back to Chipotle, and an improving economy should bode well for Chipotle as a popular lunchtime spot, or a place to grab dinner on the way back from work. Bartlett also sees greater traction for its catering and mobile ordering initiatives, something that should help increase sales at the individual restaurant level. There's also a story developing at Chipotle outside of its namesake chain. It's been a few years since Chipotle opened its first ShopHouse in Washington, D.C., and acquired Colorado's Pizzeria Locale to dive into the fast-growing fast casual pizza market. The time is right to expand both concepts into new territories, and that's something that could ease fears of what Chipotle will do once its Mexican concept saturates the market. Bartlett also sees margins improving in the future, with inflation in check and commodities holding up. Chipotle had warned earlier this year that rising beef prices could result in another increase for its steak and barbacoa proteins, but things appear to be stabilizing there. As long as Oct. 20's report doesn't offer any unwelcome surprises on either the costs end or the comps front, it may not be long before Chipotle takes out the new $850 price target. SPONSORED: 3 Companies Poised to Explode When Cable Dies When cable falters, you don't want to miss out on these three companies that are positioned to benefit. Click here for their names. Hint: They're not the ones you'd think!
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North and South Korea on Thursday exchanged the final list of people who will take part in a rare reunion for families separated for decades by the 1950-53 Korean War. Red Cross officials from both sides exchanged the list of 97 North Koreans and 90 South Koreans who will meet their long-lost relatives, said Seoul's unification ministry in charge of cross-border affairs. The reunion -- only the second such event in the last five years -- is scheduled to be held in the North's Mount Kumgang resort from October 20 to 6. The group of North Koreans will meet with their South Korean relatives from October 20 to 22, before the chosen southerners meet with their own relatives from the North from October 24 to 26. The oldest participants are two 98-year-old South Korean men who have a daughter and a son each in the North. The family reunion was agreed in August during high-level talks between the two Koreas aimed at defusing military tension on the border. But there are concerns that Pyongyang may still cancel at the last minute -- as it has done in the past. The North has a long track record of manipulating the divided families issue for political purposes, refusing proposals for regular reunions and cancelling scheduled events over some perceived slight. Late September, the North threatened to cancel the reunion, citing "reckless" remarks by South Korean President Park Geun-Hye on Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programme and human rights record. Millions of people were separated during the Korean War that sealed the division between the two countries. Most died without having a chance to see or hear from their families on the other side of the border, across which all civilian communication is banned. About 66,000 South Koreans -- many of them in their 80s or 90s -- are on the waiting list for an eventual reunion, but only a very limited number can be chosen each time.
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Connor Barth was sick of watching NFL kickers miss so many kicks. So he tweeted a reminder to NFL general managers and … boom. He's now back in the league.
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It's not exactly clear why, but Trump believe he deserves the credit for McCarthy ending his bid for Speaker of the House.
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US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has outlined her plan to curb Wall Street abuses. Her proposals include harsher penalties for executives, including forcing them to share fines imposed against their institutions. The former Secretary of State said there was still too much risk in the financial system. "'Too big to fail' is still too big a problem," Mrs Clinton said. The plan focuses on reining in Wall Street and holding individuals more accountable. If a bank engaged in trading that risked its financial stability, senior managers would not be eligible for bonuses. Her plan included imposing a "risk fee" on big financial institutions to discourage short-term borrowing and encourage them to hold more cash. Volcker rule Mrs Clinton would also impose new taxes on high frequency trading, which has been blamed for market disruptions. The proposals also strengthen the Volcker rule, which prevents banks from using their own money in certain trades. Senator Barney Frank helped the Clinton camp draft the proposal. He was the co-author of the Dodd-Frank Act, the most significant Wall Street regulation to emerge since the financial crisis. However, Mrs Clinton stopped short of calling for the reinstatement of the Glass Steagall Act - a law that separated high street banks from investment banks - saying she prefers "a different way". Glass Steagall was repealed by her husband Bill Clinton during his Presidency. "We need a comprehensive strategy to reduce risk everywhere in the financial system," Mrs Clinton said in her plan.
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At 40, Jimmie Johnson says he's not close to retiring from a NASCAR career that has seen him win six Sprint Cup championships and dominate the sport the way few drivers have. That's not to say Johnson doesn't think about it sometimes, however, especially when two other of the sport's icons - Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart - are on the verge of wrapping up their careers. "When I feel like it's time, then I will make that decision," Johnson said recently. "Certainly I don't feel like it's time now." Gordon, Johnson's Hendrick Motorsports teammate, will retire after this season. A certain future NASCAR Hall of Famer, Gordon, 44, has four championships and 92 victories and has been honored as he races at each track for a final time this season. Three-time champion Stewart, 44, announced last week he will retire from Cup racing after the 2016 season. He made a point of saying he didn't want next season to serve as a farewell tour like Gordon's has been. When I feel like it's time, then I will make that decision. Certainly I don't feel like it's time now." "I've spent a lot of time with (Stewart) over the years and kind of sensed something was going to change, something was coming," said Johnson, who was eliminated from this season's Chase after finishing 41st at Dover (Del.) last week. "I'm really happy for him. The thought he has put into this, the way he is going about it, I'm excited for him because he's excited about what's next. "It's very similar with Jeff. It's so hard to watch somebody you have looked up to and idolized step down or decide it's time to do something different." Johnson said he has also paid attention to how other drivers handled their retirements, including Dale Jarrett, Rusty Wallace and Mark Martin. Jarrett retired in 2008 at age 51. Wallace stepped away in 2005 after a 26-year career at age 49. Martin raced in the Cup series for 31 years, retiring in 2013 at 54. "I remember watching Rusty pick (an age) and then remember talking to (him) in years following that. I still think he's mad he stopped. I still think he could be out here racing with us and winning races. "Mark tried a half dozen times to retire and couldn't walk away." Johnson, who just turned 40 in September, made his 500th career start last week at Dover (Del.) International Speedway. He said he has spoken with all those drivers about what went into their decisions. He said he will also make sure he has the full support of his wife, Chandra, as well. "I have always been curious," he said. "Why, when, what tells you to stop? I want to make sure I do it once and not keep coming back. What I am looking for is that moment. The moment that you say, 'All right, it's time.' When that shows up, then I will step down." David Scott: 704-358-5889, @davidscott14
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Investigators in Germany have searched Volkswagen's headquarters in Wolfsburg and confiscated documents to better understand the automaker's diesel scandal. German investigators are no longer pursuing an official investigation against former Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn, but prosecutors aren't giving up their detective work into the automaker's actions surrounding its diesel emissions scandal. In their latest move, authorities have searched VW's headquarters in Wolfsburg and confiscated documents and other data to learn more about how a software-based "defeat device" made it into the real world, according to Reuters . VW described the amount of material that it handed over as "comprehensive." The automaker is also conducting its own, internal investigation, but the company isn't releasing those results, yet. It has allegedly responded by suspending over 10 employees, including three top engineers. There has been reportedly no actual evidence found against this trio of men. In addition to the work of German prosecutors, many US investigators are looking into VW's actions, as well. The West Virginia Attorney General is suing the company for fraud, and there are pending class-action lawsuits. In written testimony for a Congressional hearing, Michael Horn, President and CEO of VW Group of America, said he first learned of the emissions noncompliance when the West Virginia University study was published in the spring of 2014. A recall on the affected Volkswagens isn't expected to begin until at least January, according to CEO Matthias Müller, and it could be later for some models. The costs to fix them all and deal with potential fines means that VW must delay some projects to save money. Put another way, VW will be dealing with the repercussions of this scandal for years. Follow MSN Autos on Facebook
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autos
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Congratulations, mom-to-be! Of course you're excited about the little bun growing in your oven, but you still don't want to look like you ate an entire bread factory. Whether you're in your first trimester or your third, here are some tips to keep in mind to prevent excessive weight gain during your pregnancy . What's Expected? Every pregnant woman will gain weight. For those with a healthy prepregnancy body weight, 25 to 35 pounds is the norm. For those who are underweight, expect to gain closer to 40 pounds, and anyone who is overweight will gain an average of 20 pounds. Expect variables, though. Many average-weight women can gain anywhere from 45 to 60 pounds during pregnancy but have no issues giving birth or shedding the weight later. Eating For Two While you are growing a human being, that little baby is a fraction of the size of an adult, so no need to feed it like one. While pregnant, you need an extra 150 calories a day in the first few months and an extra 300 calories a day for the remainder of your pregnancy. Foods that are high in fiber such as fruits and veggies, whole grains, and legumes have the power to fill you up and make you feel full longer. Eat fiber-rich foods like these every few hours to prevent hunger pangs that cause you to crave high-calorie snacks. How to Satisfy Cravings Every time you eat is an opportunity to nourish the body and help grow a healthy baby. If you always choose foods high in sugar and fat, think about how that can affect the little bundle inside of you. That said, you are a pregnant woman with needs, so find nutritious alternatives to the foods you want. Whip up this 150-calorie mango ice cream instead of reaching for a store-bought pint, or make this tomato, basil, and mozzarella quinoa polenta when you feel like heading to the nearest pizzeria. But like anything in life, give yourself some room to indulge. Just Keep Moving If you were exercising before your pregnancy, it's usually safe to continue, but make sure to check in with your doctor first. Most importantly, listen to your body. Fatigue, a decreased sense of balance, nausea, and muscle pain might make it difficult to run like you used to; just do what you can. Also be sure to include strength training since muscle mass burns calories - here's a 10-minute yoga strength-training routine you can do at home. If you weren't exercising before but want to begin, again, speak with your doctor before getting started. She'll probably recommend focusing on gentle types of movement such as walking, leisurely swimming, strength training with light weights, and yoga, as well as classes and videos geared specifically toward pregnant women. Here are some quick videos you can follow along to: Tracy Anderson Prenatal Workout For a Toned Tush 5 Prenatal Pilates Moves 10-Minute Prenatal Arms Workout 10-Minute Strengthening Yoga Series 10-Minute Prenatal Workout From Heidi Klum's Trainer Prenatal Lower-Body Workout Hip and Hamstring Openers Yoga Sequence For Your Sore Back Or buy this three-DVD series called Healthy, Fit, Happy Mom ($15). Hit the Hay Between waking up every hour to change positions or pee or staying awake thinking of baby names and what color to paint the nursery, a solid night's sleep is a tall order when you're about to be a mom. But not getting enough Zs contributes to weight gain by slowing down your metabolism, causing you to eat more, and making you feel too tired to work out. Make up for interrupted sleep by jumping into bed earlier or napping during the day. Keep Track If the pounds are creeping up and you don't know why, keep track of your calorie intake by writing down everything in a food and fitness journal. It'll make you realize how those extra handfuls of M&M's really add up, remind you to measure out serving sizes of everything you eat, and keep you honest about how many scoops of mac and cheese you're really eating. Yes, Indulge! You know choosing fruit or Greek yogurt is the more responsible option when it comes to satisfying your pregnancy hunger, but that doesn't mean you should never give in to your insatiable cravings. Denying yourself that slice of cheesy pizza or hot fudge sundae will just make you crave it more, which can lead to binging later. Eat healthy most of the time, and allow yourself a small indulgence a few times a week (or even every day) to keep cravings at bay.
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health
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Angelina Jolie sparked a movement that increased genetic testing by more than 30 percent in some cancer centers.
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Police in Brazil have arrested nine of their fellow officers suspected of carrying out a series of killings on the outskirts of Sao Paulo. Investigators say they were probably seeking revenge after the shooting of an off-duty policeman during a robbery in the area. Nineteen people were killed within several hours on 13 August. Witnesses in various locations said masked gunmen pulled up in a car before opening fire. In many cases they checked the victims' names before shooting or asked if they had criminal records. The nine suspects were arrested in a major police operation across the Sao Paulo area. More than 400 policemen took part in the operation. They seized guns, mobile phones and other objects. 'Rogue policemen' The August attacks happened in the municipal areas of Osasco and Barueri. Sao Paulo State Governor Geraldo Alckmin promised a swift investigation and set up a special task force. But nearly two months after the attacks, only one suspect had been arrested. Human rights groups say there is a high number of people are killed every year in Brazil either in police custody or by rogue policemen. In the city of Rio de Janeiro alone military police have been responsible for more than 1,500 deaths in the last five years, the UK-based campaign group Amnesty International says. Amnesty says that in some cases officers shot suspects who had surrendered or had been wounded. Police trade unions say officers often come under fire from drug dealers and other criminals.
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news
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The 19-year-old model and 39-year-old filmmaker Tao Ruspoli hung out in Los Angeles.
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entertainment
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A remarkable fossil has been found in Germany. The horse-like remains have not only been dated to 48 million years ago, but the animal was also clearly pregnant, as its unborn fetus and some soft tissue still remain preserved.
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video
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Coral reefs around the world are dying in what's known as a global bleaching event caused by climate change and exacerbated by El Niño.
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France train hero Spencer Stone was stabbed outside a bar in Sacramento, California, and the attack was caught on tape. CNN's Jason Carroll reports.
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While warmer weather and calmer seas contributed to the drastic increase of refugees and migrants attempting to reach Europe this summer, falling temperatures as the winter arrives are set to exacerbate the crisis in a different way. Winter weather has had a devastating effect on displaced Syrians since the country's civil war began four years ago. Snow blanketed refugee camps across the region in previous years, and frigid temperatures created concerns about the health of refugees, who lacked access to warm clothing and secure shelter. In early January, three Syrian refugees died of exposure in Lebanon, and the previous November a snow storm in the country killed two Syrian children caught in the cold. Over four million Syrians have been forced to flee their homeland as a result of the brutal and continually escalating civil war. While hundreds of thousands of these refugees attempted to reach Europe this year, the vast majority remain in neighboring countries like Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon. Only 12 percent of them are in official camps, The New York Times notes . Lebanon only has large makeshift encampments that are of poorer quality than United Nations tents, according to the U.N. refugee agency. Refugees who are not in formal refugee camps face unique challenges from the cold. More than half of the over one million Syrian refugees in Lebanon are living in insecure shelters . The situation is similar in Jordan, where around half of the refugee households outside of the camps that UNHCR researchers visited earlier this year didn't have heating. In anticipation of the dangers of winter, the UNHCR has already started distributing cold weather aid in Lebanon and expects to roll out it to other countries in the coming months. "Every year we've learned more from what we should have done and what we can do better," UNHCR spokesperson Bathoul Ahmed told The WorldPost. "One thing that we do know for sure is that we have to be prepared early." The weather has already started to take a turn in some parts of the region, and Ahmed explains that in addition to cash assistance or vouchers for necessities such as fuel, the UNHCR has also focused on giving out tarpaulin sealing kits for shelters and insulation, among other items , to keep out the cold. Yet, many aid agencies have also been forced to make cuts as a result of a lack of funding. The World Food Programme scaled back its food voucher program by a third, and the UNHCR has only reached 41 percent of its funding requirements for its regional response plan. If past years' migration trends are an indicator, the number of refugees attempting to reach Europe will likely decrease as the cold weather makes the already perilous journey even more dangerous, but those who are currently undertaking the trip are already dealing with the effects of the shifting seasons. Refugees and migrants traveling through the Balkans are ill equipped for the rain and cold, aid agencies say . Organizations including the Red Cross and UNHCR have begun handing out hot food and beverages, as well as blankets and rain gear, along the Serbian border, according to the Associated Press . Despite the dangers and hardships of the journey to Europe, the deteriorating living conditions for refugees in Syria's neighboring countries continues to push people to risk making the trip. Dwindling savings, laws that bar or complicate finding work and rising tensions with local populations in Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey have all contributed to the dire situation for Syrian refugees. Despite the dedicated work of volunteers and aid workers who, in the face of funding challenges, are helping refugees, Ahmed points out that many Syrians are losing hope, as the conflict shows no sign of ending. "No matter how much we try to improve conditions in the camps, no matter how many blankets we give out, no matter how many sealing off kits we give out, living in a camp is not ideal. Nobody wants to live in a camp," Ahmed says. "It doesn't matter if I give them ten blankets every year, this is not a life."
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After starring in 'Spectre,' Daniel Craig has said he'd rather 'slash his wrists' than play 007 again anytime soon. John Gorman (@jagster23) has the details.
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Don't let your mouth put your marriage (or his self esteem) in jeopardy ! Some things are simply better left unsaid. So zip those lips and listen up, ladies. Here's what not to say to your husband if happily ever after is the end goal. And isn't it always? 1. "You're too old for that." Or worse, we're too old for that. Boring! Stay out until the crack of dawn every once in a while, pop bottles at the club and encourage him to join that rec soccer league with his guys he's been going on and on about. You're only as old as you feel, right? Plus, tapping into your inner kid will help keep the marriage fresh and fun. We're not saying make a habit of it, but what we are saying is to stop using your age as an excuse to not do things. 2. "I love your dad bod!" Seriously, just don't. While we can all agree that dad bods are super hot , it's highly unlikely that your hubby will take this one as a compliment (shocker, we know!), whether he's an actual dad or not. Stick to adjectives like sexy and hot or simply tell him you love his body and you'll be A-Okay. 3. "OMG, you're going bald!" Yikes, way to hit him where it hurts! Wives, in case you weren't aware, men are surprisingly sensitive and insecure about hair loss so try not to rub it in when or if his starts to slowly disappear. Because husbands have feelings too, you know. 4. "I mean, do you really need another [insert favorite food or alcoholic beverage of choice here]?" Unless you've made a pact to eat healthier and call each other out on your slip-ups, making him feel bad about his physique is probably not the best idea, particularly if it's in front of all his friends. Humiliation hurts. 5. "I always have to do everything around here!" Girl, please! You may be the busiest woman alive and you may very well pick up a lot of the slack around the house, however, it's highly doubtful that you do everything while your husband contributes nada. Instead of harping so much on what he doesn't do, consider praising him for the things he does, and we bet you'll notice some big changes soon. 6. "I know you're probably going to say no, but..." Um, okay negative Nancy. The chances of your man actually agreeing to whatever request you had in mind are pretty much slim to none now. Reframe your question in a positive light (e.g. "I had so much fun the last time we took the dog to the park together. Want to go again tomorrow?) to get the answer you desire or at least increase your odds of hearing yes.
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One minute and 29 seconds. As a quarter-mile time, it's pretty slack. As the time it takes for the Blastolene Indy Special to cause hearing damage, it's pretty fearsome. Accelerating up to freeway speeds, the Blastolene pummels driver and passenger with a 110-decibel sonic baseball bat. At that noise level, workmen's-comp claims could start flowing in less than two minutes, according to a hearing damage formula developed by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Merely idling, the Blastolene registers 96 decibels with its bellowing side pipes, from which the NIOSH nabobs advise you to flee after 37 minutes and 48 seconds. And you think a Harley is antisocial? The Blastolene Indy Special isn't the first hot rod of its ilk. Carbuilder Randy Grubb, a glass artist from Grants Pass, Oregon, built the first aluminum-bodied Blastolene Special out of homemade bits and junkyard truck parts in 2002. He quickly sold it to television comedian Jay Leno. Besides being 21 feet long, weighing in at 8900 pounds, running on shaved Goodyear garbage-truck tires, and using an air-cooled 1792-cubic-inch, 810-hp V-12 originally designed for an M47 Patton tank, Leno's car is fairly conventional. In 2004 we drag-raced Leno's rod with a genuine 68-ton M1A1 Abrams tank. The Abrams was pitifully slower, but it could have won simply by eliminating Leno from behind, with its 120mm main gun ("Tank vs. Crank,"). Apparently, the Army didn't think of that. Dennis Gibbs, 62, is relatively soft spoken. He lists his occupations as real estate, banking, wind turbines, philanthropy, and early retirement. Gibbs had tried to buy the first Blastolene. When that didn't pan out, he took dibs on a second, similar car being constructed by Grubb around the same 2000-pound Continental AV-1790-5B tank engine but with different bodywork. Whereas Leno's looks like a supersized Bonneville lakester, Blastolene No. 2 is a sort of 19/10ths-scale model of the shark-shaped Watson roadsters that ran at Indianapolis in the 1950s and early '60s. "I just liked the aesthetics and the craftsmanship," says Gibbs, who, like Leno, keeps a barn or two full of classic cars. Gibbs also liked the Blastolene concept. What is Blastolene? "A highly concentrated distillation of pure cozmic [ sic] essence...an 'attitudinal conditioner'...like opening a can of 'whuppass,'?" extols www.blastolene.com. In short, it's hooey, a figment of Grubb's goofy humor. Leno, by the way, just calls his vehicle "the tank car." We're at San Francisco's Moffett Field, a former Navy blimp base not far from Gibbs's home to the east in Castro Valley. Some string pulling has resulted in permission to make a few head-splitting passes on the runway in the Blastolene. The car comes in on a rollback. Gibbs turns the levers to activate the quad magnetos and then hits the start button. The Blastolene's AV-1790 becomes an atom smasher of noise, from the deep artillery concussion of the exhaust to the ravenous suck of the toaster-sized carbs to the whirring of the two huge crank-driven cooling fans. Gibbs yells over the banshee racket that the car indeed has mufflers. "Flowmasters, I think!" Who can tell if he's fibbing? The pipes run behind the naked hand-rolled aluminum bodywork to exit just below but seemingly directly into your ears. It's hard to imagine a car powered by sticks of dynamite being any louder. Gibbs takes the wheel first, and we pull onto the runway. Some lessons learned on Leno's car have been incorporated into this one, including the use of power brakes, air springs on both of the huge floating axles, and side braces to keep the frame's trailing-arm pivots from bending under the loads. With 1560 pound-feet of torque to swallow, the four-speed Allison bus transmission won't take much brake-torquing. Following a couple of tentative passes, Gibbs gives it the full squirt. The clatter is brain rattling, the ride choppy on the sectioned concrete, the heat exhausted upward by the cooling fans like a furnace blast into our faces. The upshift at 2800 rpm is as smooth as two box cars banging together. The airport fire engine serving as our escort rapidly drops behind. We roar past 60 mph in 7.7 seconds sounding like a Lockheed Constellation on takeoff. We thunder through the quarter-mile in 15.9 seconds at 90 mph sounding like two Lockheed Constellations crashing. With the dial showing 120 mph and our hair blown back into a couple of teardrops, Gibbs gets off the gas. " Whoa! One-twenty!" he shouts. "That was pretty amazing!" I'll break the news later that our VBOX put the run's top speed at just 106. Never mind, it was amazing...and terrifying, and everything a $350,000 car should be. I slip behind the steering wheel. As in Leno's car, the cockpit is bizarrely snug and the luggage capacity is about spent with a cell phone, but there's more room to move feet around. The steering is numb and the responses as slow as a four-ton Buick's. A few maneuvers show that stops from 70 mph in less than 400 feet are indeed possible, but the car gets squirrelly (well, more like grizzly) under hard braking, and Gibbs is reluctant to push it. Merging onto a packed freeway for the short drive to the photo studio, the Blastolene rattles the windows of surrounding vehicles, fellow drivers staring at us. We look like two superheroes heading out to save the planet, but it's hard to tell what we're doing faster: going deaf, cooking alive, or asphyxiating on the fumes. Gibbs looks over and puts into words something I had assumed all along. "I don't drive it much." VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 2-passenger, 0-door roadster PRICE AS TESTED: $350,000 ENGINE TYPE: SOHC 24-valve V-12, aluminum block and heads, 2x2-barrel carburetor Displacement: 1792 cu in, 29361cc Power (SAE net): 810 bhp @ 2800 rpm Torque (SAE net): 1560 lb-ft @ 2400 rpm TRANSMISSION: 4-speed automatic DIMENSIONS: Wheelbase: 160.0 in Length: 270.0 in Width: 90.7 in Height: 45.0 in Curb weight: 8400 lb C/D TEST RESULTS: Zero to 60 mph: 7.7 sec Zero to 100 mph: 23.1 sec Standing ¼-mile: 15.9 sec @ 90 mph Fuel economy: shocking Follow MSN Autos on Facebook
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autos
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While it seems unlikely that the NBA will expand anytime soon, especially with claims that multiple teams and owners are losing money, it is possible at some point down the line. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver recently addressed questions about expansion, and whether bringing a team to Europe would be a viable option. Here's what Silver told the Associated Press: Commissioner Adam Silver says it is "premature" to talk about an NBA expansion in Europe. Silver says he doesn't think "it's going to happen in the very near future" but "could happen one day." Silver spoke in Madrid on Wednesday, a day before the Boston Celtics play Real Madrid in NBA's Global Games tour. (h/t ProBasketballTalk )
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Ken Rosenthal talks with Josh Hamilton ahead of Thursday's ALDS.
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sports
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Sepp Blatter has been given a red card by FIFA. World football's governing body says their president can not represent the organisation in any capacity for 90 days. Also suspended is FIFA Vice President Michel Platini, who received a $2 mn payment from Blatter. Platini has been a frontrunner to replace 79 year old Blatter and his election hopes depend on whether he can overturn the suspension. It is the latest embarassment for Blatter, who continues to deny he is linked to the corruption scandal which has already seen top FIFA executives indicted. So, is this the red card for FIFA's embattled chief? And can FIFA clean up the beautiful game? Presenter: Martince Dennis Guests: James Dorsey , Author of the blog, The Turbulent World of Middle East Soccer. Bonita Mersiades , Co-founder of a New FIFA Now, an organisation pushing for football reform. Gary Al- Smith , Ghana Editor for Supersport, Africa's Largest Sport Network
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sports
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Astros ease past Royals Houston Astros' George Springer celebrates with teammates after their 5-2 victory over the Kansas City Royals in Game 1 of American League Division Series, on Thursday in Kansas City. IMAGES: 2015 MLB PLAYOFFS Head on Rougned Odor #12 of the Texas Rangers collides with Josh Donaldson #20 of the Toronto Blue Jays after tagging him out in the fourth inning during game one of the American League Division Series at Rogers Centre on Thursday in Toronto. Donaldson left the game. IMAGES:2015 MLB PLAYOFFS Holed out United States' Phil Mickelson celebrates after sinking the ball after playing out of a bunker on the 13th hole during his foursome match at the Presidents Cup golf tournament at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea, in Incheon, South Korea, Thursday. Safe at the plate Texas Rangers center fielder Delino DeShields (left) scores a run past Toronto Blue Jays catcher Russell Martin (55) in the third inning in game one of the ALDS at Rogers Centre. IMAGES:2015 MLB PLAYOFFS Wrestling, Bolivian style Yenny Mamani 'Marta la Altena' left, reacts as her opponent Leonor Cordova 'Angela la Simpatica' lies on the ring during a Bolivian wrestling Cholitas fight in Madrid, Spain, Thursday. Cholitas are indigenous women who wear traditional pollera skirts and embroidered shawls. Hothead Darren Clarke of Northern Ireland in action during the first round of the British Masters supported by Sky Sports at Woburn Golf Club on Thursday in Woburn, England. Brother act Novak Djokovic of Serbia, left, greets his brother Djordje during their men's doubles match against Vasek Pospisil of Canada and Jack Sock of the United States in the China Open tennis tournament at the National Tennis Stadium in Beijing, Thursday. Big crowd Bubba Watson of the United States Team hits his tee shot on the first hole during the Thursday foursomes matches at The Presidents Cup at Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea on Thursday in Songdo IBD, Incheon City, South Korea. Who shrunk the bikes? Stefan MotoGP Riders ride the mini bikes during the pre-event "Tiny electronic mini bikes race" during the MotoGP Of Japan - Previews at Twin Ring Motegi on Thursday in Motegi, Japan. Wie plays Malaysia Michelle Wie of the United States watches her shot on the third hole during the first round of the LPGA Malaysia golf tournament at Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Thursday. Close quarters Jordan Spieth of the United States team plays his second shot from close to a tree on the seventh hole during the Thursday foursomes matches at The Presidents Cup at Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea on Thursday in Songdo IBD, Incheon City, South Korea. Bummed Svetiana Kuznetsova of Russia reacts after a shot against Ana Ivanovic of Serbia during the third round of the women's singles match at the China Open tennis tournament in Beijing on Thursday. Headache Hideki Matsuyama of Japan and the International Team reacts to a missed putt on the 15th hole during the Thursday foursomes matches at The Presidents Cup at Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea on Thursday in Songdo IBD, Incheon City, South Korea. Good sports Danny Lee of New Zealand and Marc Leishman of Australia on the International Team shake hands with Jordan Spieth after conceding their match 4&3 on the 15th hole during the first round of The Presidents Cup at Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea on Thursday in Songdo IBD, Incheon City, South Korea. Ivanovic advances Ana Ivanovic of Serbia hits a return against Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia during their women's singles third round match at the China Open tennis tournament in Beijing on October 8, 2015. 7-5, 4-6, 6-2. Fist bump Bubba Watson and J.B. Holmes of the United States Team celebrate on the 15th green during the Thursday foursomes matches at The Presidents Cup at Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea on Thursday in Songdo IBD, Incheon City, South Korea. Curry shows his class Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry shoots the ball over Portland Trail Blazers guard C.J. McCollum, forward Mason Plumlee, and center Meyers Leonard at Moda Center at the Rose Quarter on Thursday. Symmetry Georgia Baker of Australia leads out front in the Elite Women & U19 4000m Team Pursuit qualifying during the Oceania Track Cycling Championships on Thursday in Invercargill, New Zealand. Take a tight grip Lorenzo Cain of the Kansas City Royals loses his bat in the sixth inning against the Houston Astros at Kauffman Stadium on Thursday in Kansas City, Missouri. IMAGES:2015 MLB PLAYOFFS Wave rider Kelly Slater of USA surfs during Round 1 of Quiksilver Pro France 2015 on Thursday in Hossegor, France. Strong catch Houston Texans' Jaelen Strong pulls is a pass for a touchdown against the Indianapolis Colts to the the first half of an NFL football game on Thursday in Houston. IMAGES: 2015 NFL SEASON Dressed up to party Houston Texans fans cheer prior to the game against the Indianapolis Colts at NRG Stadium on Thursday. CR 7 magic Portugal's forward Cristiano Ronaldo with Denmark's Simon Kjaer in action during the UEFA EURO 2016 Qualifier match between Portugal and Denmark on Thursday in Braga Portugal. Hard landing Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah screams out in pain while battling Denver Nuggets forward Kenneth Faried for the ball during the first half at Coors Events Center on Thursday. Full fan support North Korean fans in national colours sing their national anthem before their team's preliminary 2018 World Cup and 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualifying soccer match against Philippines at the Kim Il Sung Stadium in Pyongyang on Thursday. Taking flight Abidjan ridden by Sam Twiston-Davies clears the first flight before going on to win The Great Point Media Investeents Novices' Hurdle Race on Thursday in Exeter, England. Overwhelmed with yellow Fans of Colombia cheer for their team prior to a match between Colombia and Peru at Metropolitano Roberto Melendez Stadium on Thursday in Barranquilla, Colombia. Famous fan Former U.S. President George W. Bush poses with Team USA wives and girlfriends (from left to right) Erin Walker, Suzanne Hannemann and Paulina Gretzky on the first tee box during the first round of The Presidents Cup at Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea on Thursday in Songdo IBD, Incheon City, South Korea. IMAGES PREVIOUS DAY'S PHOTOS
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In a recent report, Semiconductor Advisors LLC looked into some "Early Reports of potential SAMSUNG ELECT LTD(F)(OTC: SSNLF) A9 power issues."The analysts asked if Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL)'s vendor gamesmanship went too far, noting the huge potential for fallout.So, who could win and who could lose from this situation? Apple has sourced the A9 processor for the iPhone 6S from both Samsung and TSMC. Tests have indicated that performance is the same. However, amateur checks on consumption have suggested that Samsung chips use substantially more power. Nonetheless, it should be noted that there are still no "credible, reliable, scientific" sources of comparative power consumption testing, a recent report by Semiconductor Advisors commented. Related Link: New Apple Products On The Horizon? While the difference in consumption has not been confirmed yet, the experts noticed that "any measurable difference could be a problem for Apple […] Even if these initial reports prove to be untrue and there is no significant power difference just the rumor mill buzz of two types of 6Ss can cause issues." The Supplier Influence: It's What's On The Inside That Counts The research note went on to explain that Apple is well known for highly pressing suppliers. The tech behemoth now pushed the limits farther "and got very cute by dual sourcing the most critical component in the phone this way playing Samsung and TSMC off against one another." A few questions surface from this situation, Semiconductor Advisors LLC stated. "Could this now have blown up in their face? Who tested and vetted both parts at Apple? Where's the quality control?" In fact, they added, why would Apple even incur in the risk of utilizing two different components in the same device? "Just use one part in the 6S and the other part in the 6S plus so you can't compare them," they asserted. Or, was Apple forced into this situation due to availability issues? Good News For Intel Bad news for Samsung could mean good news for Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC). "Maybe this could potentially prove at least Samsung moved too fast and took too many risks versus Intel's more cautious slowing of their tick tock cadence," the firm suggested. Speaking of Intel, Semiconductor Advisors is pleased with the stock's performance, which "is looking better every day." Disclosure: Javier Hasse holds no positions in any of the securities mentioned above. Image Credit: Public Domain Latest Ratings for AAPL DateFirmActionFromTo Oct 2015Drexel HamiltonInitiates Coverage onBuy Sep 2015Sterne Agee CRTInitiates Coverage onBuy Sep 2015Goldman SachsAssumesBuy View More Analyst Ratings for AAPL View the Latest Analyst Ratings 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. Gain access to more investing ideas, tools & education. Get Started on Marketfy, the first ever curated & verified Marketplace for everything trading.
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finance
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Sean Gallup/Getty Images After hitting record highs just a few months ago, stocks dropped off seriously in August and September. Despite fighting higher recently, they have yet to make back the losses. According to a note from Credit Suisse there are 5 reasons they are being held back. They're a wide range of reasons, with sources from the markets themselves to the US economy to foreign concerns. China and China's real estate market. Credit Suisse says that the slowdown in real estate is troubling considering it accounts for 15% of GDP and around half of household wealth. While the company thinks that the real estate prices are stabilizing, they are bearish on the market overall due to the over-building and over-valuation. Wage growth and what it might encourage the Fed to do. The most immediate concern is that higher wages will bring down corporate margins and ultimately corporate profits. The further concern is that once wage growth shows up, it'll look like inflation, and the Fed will raise rates. "We worry that if the Fed raises rates, then the gap between the Fed dot chart and the forward curve might end up closing if the rhetoric is not unambiguously dovish," said the note. "Thus the risk of a policy mistake by the Fed would be high." Widening of high yield spreads. Spiking borrowing costs for speculative-grade companies is precondition of a bear market. Though it can be a false indicator, it has the market spooked. " High yield spreads ex energy have risen c200bp from their lows," said the note. "High yield is critical as c80% of US corporate financing is from the corporate bonds market, the spread between corporates and the free cash flow yield has supported net corporate buying (and hence equities) and as the lower interest charge has accounted for a third of margin improvement (and that would become a drag if the investment yield rose 100bp)." Disruption. The note says that there is "barely a sector or theme that is not being disrupted sector or theme that is not being disrupted." The analysts cite examples like Airbnb and the hotel industry. These disruptors are worrying investors and will challenge the stock prices for the companies that face these sorts of disruptions. Low oil prices. The price of oil is connected to a number of market elements including equities, said Credit Suisse. So the low price of oil is depressing other assets. "If the oil price falls, inflation expectations tend to fall, credit spreads widen and cyclicals tend to underperform," said the note. Credit Suisse didn't say whether these factors are transitory or how long they could linger, but for now they seem to be holding the market back. NOW WATCH: Fed's Bullard gave us a great baseball analogy to explain what the Fed is doing wrong
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finance
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The Rogers Centre has claimed two third baseman in one day. In Game 1 between the Texas Rangers and Toronto Blue Jays, Adrian Beltre was forced out of the game early with a back injury. A few innings later, Blue Jays third baseman/AL MVP candidate Josh Donaldson took a knee to the head from Rangers second baseman Rougned Odor. He remained in the game, but was removed in the fifth inning for 'precautionary reasons' when Ezekial Carrera pinch-hit for him. Needless to say, this is not a good development for either club considering how important each player is to his respective team. This will be something to watch as the series progresses, for sure.
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sports
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Have you ever asked your pet what their favorite movies is? After this guy asked his baby cat if The Excorist is its favorite one, the cat answers like a baby boy mumbling Yay which is really cute and amazing.
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The media just can't win when dealing with Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook. No matter what they say or do, it's going to annoy the Thunder's surly superstar. The latest example: After torching 19-year-old Minnesota Timberwolves rookie Tyus Jones on Wednesday night, Westbrook was asked what it was like for him to face older veterans when he was a 20-year-old rookie. "S***, I'm young," Westbrook, 26, told The Daily Oklahoman . "I ain't old. I don't know who we both young. We young together." When asked the question in a different manner -- this time emphasizing experience rather than age -- Westbrook had a more diplomatic response. "My job is to play my game and guard and compete," Westbrook said. "I treat every opponent the same, regardless of years, regardless of age." Westbrook had to face guys like Steve Nash and Derek Fisher as a rookie -- they may have been more skilled and poised, but they weren't physically superior. Westbrook was better than Jones in just about every facet of basketball on Wednesday, and one can only hope the rookie takes the lesson as motivation. One can also hope the media learns its lesson when speaking with Westbrook.
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Marvel announced the new title for the "Ant-Man" sequel would be the first woman with a female superhero in the title. Finally.
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An Ebola scare has been reported in southern Nigeria, a year after the country was declared free of the virus. Ten people have been quarantined after coming into contact with a man showing Ebola-like symptoms, officials said. The man reportedly died shortly after being admitted to hospital in Calabar. On Wednesday, the three countries worst affected by Ebola - Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia - recorded their first week with no new cases since the outbreak began in March 2014. More than 11,000 people died in the West African Ebola outbreak, the worst known occurrence of the disease in history. New cases have fallen sharply in 2015, but the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that the disease could break out again. The latest scare happened when a patient arrived at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital on Wednesday. "We have sent blood samples for testing and quarantined identified contacts," said Queeneth Kalu, the hospital's chief medical director. Those quarantined included nurses who had attended to the patient, he added. Ebola arrived in Nigeria in July 2014 when a Liberian businessman collapsed at Lagos airport. In all, 19 people were infected of whom seven died. WHO declared the country Ebola free in October last year.
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TORONTO (AP) -- A big day by the bottom of Texas' batting order helped the Rangers overcome an injury to slugger Adrian Beltre in the start of their postseason run. Robinson Chirinos hit a two-run homer against David Price, Rougned Odor added a solo shot and the Rangers beat the Blue Jays 5-3 Thursday in their AL Division Series opener as postseason baseball returned to Toronto for the first time in 22 years. "It means a lot to the team to come to Toronto and win that first game against a great pitcher," Chirinos said. BOX SCORE: RANGERS 5, BLUE JAYS 3 Both starting third baseman left with injuries: Beltre came in the third with a strained muscle in his lower back and Toronto's Josh Donaldson in the fifth after he was kneed in the head while sliding in an attempt to break up a double play. Rangers manager Jeff Banister said he wasn't sure whether Beltre would be available for Game 2 on Friday. In an effort to remain in the series, Beltre had a cortisone shot. "Obviously we want Adrian in there," Banister said. "He's the heart and soul of this ballclub." After going for tests at a hospital, Beltre returned to the clubhouse about an hour after the game and walked gingerly. An MRI confirmed Beltre had a strained back but no structural damage, general manager Jon Daniels said. "We haven't ruled him out of tomorrow's game," Daniels said. Texas will have Joey Gallo and Ed Lucas travel from its Arizona Fall League team in case Beltre needs to be removed from the roster, a decision that also would rule Beltre out of the AL Championship Series. Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said Donaldson felt light-headed while playing defense in the top of the fifth, forcing the AL MVP candidate to come out of the game. "They check for concussions, and apparently he passed all the tests. So that's good news," Gibbons said. Yovani Gallardo (1-0) allowed two runs and four hits in five innings. "That's what we really needed from him," Banister said. "I think he did a great job." Gallardo is 4-0 with a 1.78 ERA in four career starts against Toronto. "We got in some good hitter's counts and he wouldn't give in," Blue Jays catcher Russell Martin said. "He didn't make those mistakes that we capitalize on.". Keone Kela, Jake Diekman and Sam Dyson finished, with Dyson getting a save. Pitching on 11 days' rest, Price (0-1) allowed five runs and five hits in seven innings. He dropped to 1-6 with a 4.79 ERA in 11 postseason games, and is 0-6 in six playoff starts. "I expect to have better results," a subdued Price said. Gibbons said Price was the victim of timely hits by the Rangers. "He wasn't getting hit around. It was just a couple of key hits at some key times that made the difference," Gibbons said. Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista hit a solo homer in the sixth, then left with a sore right hamstring after popping out in the eighth and was replaced in right by Dalton Pompey. The Blue Jays said Bautista is expected to play Friday. Delino DeShields and Beltre hit RBI singles to give Texas a 2-0 lead in the third. Beltre, injured when sliding into second base as Prince Fielder hit into an inning-ending double play in the first, had difficulty running and was replaced by rookie Hanser Alberto in the bottom of third. Edwin Encarnacion's run-scoring infield single cut the deficit in half in the fourth - the first run Toronto scored off Gallardo in three meetings this season. Price hit Odor with a pitch for the second straight at-bat, and Chirinos homered for a 4-1 lead. "I think he relaxed a little bit with the people at the bottom of the lineup," Chirinos said. Price hit just three batters all season, none after Toronto obtained him from Detroit on July 30th. Kevin Pillar doubled home Russell Martin in the bottom half, but Toronto left a runner at third when pinch-hitter Ezequiel Carerra, batting in Donaldson's spot, hit an inning-ending groundouty. Cliff Pennington took over defensively in the sixth. Bautista's leadoff homer off Kela cut it to 4-3 in the sixth -- the first run off the pitcher since July 30. Odor homered in the seventh. FOR STARTERS Cito Gaston, who managed the Blue Jays to back-to-back World Series titles in 1992 and 1993, threw out the ceremonial first pitch to veteran left-hander Mark Buehrle, who is not on Toronto's playoff roster. UP NEXT RHP Marcus Stroman, who returned from a torn left knee ligament to go 4-0 with a 1.67 ERA in four September starts, starts for the Blue Jays on Friday. Texas starts LHP Cole Hamels, who is 7-1 with a 3.66 ERA in 12 starts with the Rangers. Texas has won each of the past 10 games started by Hamels.
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This adrenaline junky climbed to the top of a narrow waterfall and did a backflip into the small pool at the bottom. Truly amazing precision.
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Facebook launches Reaction. A new feature which offers another way of showing emotion towards a status update. Angeli Kakade (@angelikakade) has the story.
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The United Nations envoy for Libya has proposed the formation of a national unity government after months of difficult talks. Since 2014 Libya has had two rival parliaments - an Islamist-backed one in Tripoli and an internationally recognised government in the east. UN envoy Bernardino Leon told a news conference in Morocco that Fayez Sarraj would be nominated as prime minister. But both parliaments must back the deal and some MPs cast doubt on the UN plan. Abdulsalam Bilashahir, of the Tripoli-based General National Congress (GNC), told the BBC: "We are not a part of this (proposed) government. It means nothing to us and we were not consulted." Ibrahim Alzaghiat, of the House of Representatives (HoR), based in Tobruk, said: "This proposed government will lead to the division of Libya and will turn it into a joke. Mr Leon's choice was unwise." Analysis: Rana Jawad, BBC North Africa correspondent MPs from rival camps appear to be finding rare common ground over their dismissal of the UN proposal, saying it is premature. The rival parliaments have not even accepted the political agreement that embodies the proposed unity government, so announcing the names appeared rushed. The UN pushed for it because there were still objections to the wider deal and mediators worried that talks would collapse. But there is a danger that this latest move will backfire. Civilians are frustrated with the dangerous and chaotic realities ruling their lives. It is unlikely they are waking up more hopeful today. However, Mr Leon said he believed that the list of proposed ministers for the unity body "can work". Speaking in the Moroccan city of Skhirat, where the talks have been taking place, Mr Leon said: "After a year of work in this process, after working with more than 150 Libyan personalities from all the regions, finally the moment has come in which we can propose a national unity government," "All of them will work as a team," he added. Other posts in the proposed government include three deputies for the prime minister to represent Libya's east, west and south. One of the proposed deputy prime ministers, Mussa al-Kouni, said: "The hardest part has just begun." A loose alliance of militias, including Islamists, seized the capital, Tripoli, in August 2014 and reinstated the GNC, forcing the existing and internationally recognised government to flee to the eastern city of Tobruk. Libya's politicians have faced increasing pressure from the West to reach agreement on a unity government. Libya has suffered years of unrest since the overthrow of dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. The violence and political chaos have allowed Islamist militants to gain ground in Libya and also seen human traffickers use the Libyan coast to send tens of thousands of migrants across the Mediterranean to Europe.
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The 2016 model year is officially in full swing and one of the stand-out of all these new cars and trucks comes from an unlikely source. That's because, despite years of strong sales and a range of vehicles seismically different from when the brand first arrived in the U.S. market in the mid-1990s, South Korea's Kia Motors still has something of an image problem. Go ahead, close your eyes and think of three things that come to mind when I say "Kia," or "Kia sport-utility." Now, what immediately sprang to mind? Maybe it was value, or fuel economy, or even a strong warranty (Kia has one of the best in the business). Chances are good, however, that one of the words that crept into you head was "cheap." Am I right? When it comes to the 2016 Kia Sorento SXL sport-utility I recently tested, cheap was the last thing that came to my mind. Part of the reason is because this Kia is many things, but cheap it ain't. Almost fully-loaded, equipped with the optional 290-horsepower 3.3-liter V-6 and all-wheel-drive, this Sorento had a price firmly fixed in the mid-$40K range. This alone might cause some readers to head for the hills, or abandon all hope of taking the new Sorento for a meaningful test drive. It shouldn't, and here's why. When it comes to test vehicles, car companies love to load them with every available option. Part of the reason is to spoil auto journalists, I'm sure. But one very real and helpful reason is because 'Automaker X' wants to show off the latest gadgets, luxury touches, and safety features available in its newest car or truck. Well, maybe Kia didn't want me testing the airbags or traction control in the Sorento. Though it's safe to say the company wanted me to at least know they are there, if needed. And remember, minus any options, the base 2016 Sorento starts at a much more affordable $24,900. Related Link: Research the Kia Sorento Even a range-topping version like this one represents an excellent value when you consider how much is included in the Sorento. The cabin is spacious, quiet, and extremely comfortable during all types of driving situations. German luxury brands get all the credit for having world class dashboards and precise layout of all controls. Let me tell you, this Kia is running them very close! I especially loved the heated and cooled front seats, the matte-finish soft touch plastic covering the dash, along with the absolutely massive panoramic glass roof. The high seating position gives a commanding view of the road, yet the Sorento doesn't feel or behave like it's a lumbering road-hog of an SUV. The only interior strike against the Sorento is the snugness of the third row seating. It's not a nice place to be, plain and simple. When talking about the driving dynamics of the Sorento, I'd tell you it's much more along the lines of a Buick, Lincoln, or Lexus. Think hushed cabin, cosseting ride, and a stress-free driving atmosphere. A BMW X5 M it's not - and would you expect it to be? It's also not as nimble and edgy as the Infiniti QX70 I recently drove. That's absolutely fine, especially because not everyone aspires for their SUV to be a racecar-on-stilts. This is one very relaxed ride, and it's an SUV that left me astounded at the quality and refinement offered by a Kia product, especially one that doesn't need to wear a fire-sale price tag to lure you in. The V-6 engine delivers smooth and linear power when you need it. A turbocharged 4-cylinder is also available, as is standard front-wheel-drive if you want to save a few bucks. I could live with slightly less power with the 4-banger, though I'm always reluctant to recommend an SUV and not tell the prospective car shopper to add AWD. After all, isn't that go-anywhere grip kind of the point of any SUV? This is also one of those rare vehicles where I left the available Sport driving mode pretty much alone and turned off. Okay, I pressed it on occasion and the steering gained the artificial, electronically-induced heft that so many automakers confuse for "sport" handling. No, the Sorento is better when you steer around NYC traffic with your fingertips, not manhandle the thing like you're wrestling alligators. Speaking of swamp creatures, the new Sorento thankfully doesn't look like one! I know, weak transition, but I wanted to keep the reptilian theme going. In fact, from its LED front lamps (that cluster of four lights in each corner is so cool looking!) to its crisply tailored tail, the 2016 Sorento looks really, really good. I'll go relatively easy on the adjectives because, lucky me, I get to drive some incredibly pretty cars with this job. But let me give credit where credit is due, Kia did a fantastic job of making the Sorento a class act in the SUV segment. There is some real heft and presence to the exterior, I like it a lot. And if you've read this far, you'll know that I like the rest of this Kia a whole lot, too. The ride and handling still earns a B rating - it's fine, but there is always some room for improvement with pretty much any new vehicle. That still places the Sorento right in the thick of the field, and it's definitely on par with a number of models carrying prestigious luxury badges (and even higher prices). What's exciting is that Kia has maintained its core values while upping it's game in so many other departments. The value and economy is still there. So is safety, thanks to superb crash test ratings, along with Kia's stout 5 year/60,000 mile limited warranty and 10 year/100,000 mile powertrain warranty. Quite frankly, you're getting a ton of truck for the money, no matter how wild you go with the options or your preference of powertrain. Follow MSN Autos on Facebook
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The Dayton Daily News' Jay Morrison and CineSport's Brian Clark preview the Bengals' game against the Seahawks, and discuss what makes Seattle dangerous to the unbeaten Bengals.
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TomTom, the Dutch company known for its navigation and mapping products, has released its annual Traffic Index, to understand global city traffic congestion. The report considers local roads, arterials and highways from 218 countries across six continents. The methodology used was measuring travel times during the whole day and during peak hours, and then comparing them with travel time during non-congested hours. Click through to find out which cities make it to the top 50. 50. Milan, Italy Congestion level on highways: 20 percent Congestion level on non-highways: 36 percent Morning peak (Monday to Friday): 66 percent Evening peak (Monday to Friday): 55 percent Delay per year with a 30 min commute: 87 hours 49. Quanzhou, China Congestion level on highways: 32 percent Congestion level on non-highways: 30 percent Morning peak (Monday to Friday): 39 percent Evening peak (Monday to Friday): 61 percent Delay per year with a 30 min commute: 77 hours 48. Stockholm, Sweden Congestion level on highways: 26 percent Congestion level on non-highways: 33 percent Morning peak (Monday to Friday): 57 percent Evening peak (Monday to Friday): 65 percent Delay per year with a 30 min commute: 87 hours 47. Toronto, Canada Congestion level on highways: 24 percent Congestion level on non-highways: 35 percent Morning peak (Monday to Friday): 53 percent Evening peak (Monday to Friday): 66 percent Delay per year with a 30 min commute: 87 hours 46. Seattle, Washington, United States Congestion level on highways: 26 percent Congestion level on non-highways: 35 percent Morning peak (Monday to Friday): 51 percent Evening peak (Monday to Friday): 74 percent Delay per year with a 30 min commute: 89 hours 45. New York City, New York, United States Congestion level on highways: 24 percent Congestion level on non-highways: 37 percent Morning peak (Monday to Friday): 48 percent Evening peak (Monday to Friday): 56 percent Delay per year with a 30 min commute: 79 hours 44. Hamburg, Germany Congestion level on highways: 28 percent Congestion level on non-highways: 35 percent Morning peak (Monday to Friday): 48 percent Evening peak (Monday to Friday): 55 percent Delay per year with a 30 min commute: 78 hours 43. Honolulu, Hawaii, United States Congestion level on highways: 26 percent Congestion level on non-highways: 36 percent Morning peak (Monday to Friday): 51 percent Evening peak (Monday to Friday): 68 percent Delay per year with a 30 min commute: 88 hours 42. Nanjing, China Congestion level on highways: 27 percent Congestion level on non-highways: 33 percent Morning peak (Monday to Friday): 59 percent Evening peak (Monday to Friday): 62 percent Delay per year with a 30 min commute: 87 hours 41. Auckland, New Zealand Congestion level on highways: 29 percent Congestion level on non-highways: 35 percent Morning peak (Monday to Friday): 68 percent Evening peak (Monday to Friday): 73 percent Delay per year with a 30 min commute: 95 hours 40. Manchester, England Congestion level on highways: 27 percent Congestion level on non-highways: 36 percent Morning peak (Monday to Friday): 67 percent Evening peak (Monday to Friday): 72 percent Delay per year with a 30 min commute: 94 hours 39. Changsha, China Congestion level on highways: 35 percent Congestion level on non-highways: 33 percent Morning peak (Monday to Friday): 54 percent Evening peak (Monday to Friday): 64 percent Delay per year with a 30 min commute: 85 hours 38. Singapore Congestion level on highways: 24 percent Congestion level on non-highways: 38 percent Morning peak (Monday to Friday): 54 percent Evening peak (Monday to Friday): 65 percent Delay per year with a 30 min commute: 87 hours 37. Izmir, Turkey Congestion level on highways: 18 percent Congestion level on non-highways: 39 percent Morning peak (Monday to Friday): 44 percent Evening peak (Monday to Friday): 55 percent Delay per year with a 30 min commute: 76 hours 36. Sao Paulo, Brazil Congestion level on highways: 23 percent Congestion level on non-highways: 43 percent Morning peak (Monday to Friday): 44 percent Evening peak (Monday to Friday): 59 percent Delay per year with a 30 min commute: 77 hours 35. Changchun, China Congestion level on highways: 18 percent Congestion level on non-highways: 34 percent Morning peak (Monday to Friday): 56 percent Evening peak (Monday to Friday): 63 percent Delay per year with a 30 min commute: 86 hours 34. Ankara, Turkey Congestion level on highways: 17 percent Congestion level on non-highways: 37 percent Morning peak (Monday to Friday): 44 percent Evening peak (Monday to Friday): 52 percent Delay per year with a 30 min commute: 74 hours 33. Zhuhai, China Congestion level on highways: 39 percent Congestion level on non-highways: 33 percent Morning peak (Monday to Friday): 52 percent Evening peak (Monday to Friday): 79 percent Delay per year with a 30 min commute: 90 hours 32. Brussels, Belgium Congestion level on highways: 30 percent Congestion level on non-highways: 35 percent Morning peak (Monday to Friday): 67 percent Evening peak (Monday to Friday): 71 percent Delay per year with a 30 min commute: 94 hours 31. Shenzhen, China Congestion level on highways: 28 percent Congestion level on non-highways: 35 percent Morning peak (Monday to Friday): 54 percent Evening peak (Monday to Friday): 81 percent Delay per year with a 30 min commute: 93 hours 30. Hangzhou, China Congestion level on highways: 38 percent Congestion level on non-highways: 34 percent Morning peak (Monday to Friday): 59 percent Evening peak (Monday to Friday): 63 percent Delay per year with a 30 min commute: 88 hours 29. Shenyang, China Congestion level on highways: 22 percent Congestion level on non-highways: 34 percent Morning peak (Monday to Friday): 56 percent Evening peak (Monday to Friday): 65 percent Delay per year with a 30 min commute: 86 hours 28. Fuzhou, China Congestion level on highways: 21 percent Congestion level on non-highways: 35 percent Morning peak (Monday to Friday): 59 percent Evening peak (Monday to Friday): 74 percent Delay per year with a 30 min commute: 92 hours 27. Athens, Greece Congestion level on highways: 13 percent Congestion level on non-highways: 40 percent Morning peak (Monday to Friday): 54 percent Evening peak (Monday to Friday): 50 percent Delay per year with a 30 min commute: 78 hours 26. San Francisco, California, United States Congestion level on highways: 29 percent Congestion level on non-highways: 39 percent Morning peak (Monday to Friday): 53 percent Evening peak (Monday to Friday): 68 percent Delay per year with a 30 min commute: 87 hours 25. Shijiazhuang, China Congestion level on highways: 19 percent Congestion level on non-highways: 36 percent Morning peak (Monday to Friday): 60 percent Evening peak (Monday to Friday): 72 percent Delay per year with a 30 min commute: 91 hours 24. Shanghai, China Congestion level on highways: 39 percent Congestion level on non-highways: 34 percent Morning peak (Monday to Friday): 66 percent Evening peak (Monday to Friday): 67 percent Delay per year with a 30 min commute: 92 hours 23. Fortaleza, Brazil Congestion level on highways: 47 percent Congestion level on non-highways: 33 percent Morning peak (Monday to Friday): 52 percent Evening peak (Monday to Friday): 62 percent Delay per year with a 30 min commute: 84 hours 22. Paris, France Congestion level on highways: 35 percent Congestion level on non-highways: 35 percent Morning peak (Monday to Friday): 64 percent Evening peak (Monday to Friday): 64 percent Delay per year with a 30 min commute: 90 hours 21. Sydney, Australia Congestion level on highways: 31 percent Congestion level on non-highways: 37 percent Morning peak (Monday to Friday): 66 percent Evening peak (Monday to Friday): 64 percent Delay per year with a 30 min commute: 91 hours 20. Vancouver, Canada Congestion level on highways: 13 percent Congestion level on non-highways: 41 percent Morning peak (Monday to Friday): 53 percent Evening peak (Monday to Friday): 66 percent Delay per year with a 30 min commute: 86 hours 19. Chengdu, China Congestion level on highways: 24 percent Congestion level on non-highways: 37 percent Morning peak (Monday to Friday): 64 percent Evening peak (Monday to Friday): 67 percent Delay per year with a 30 min commute: 91 hours 18. Marseille, France Congestion level on highways: 23 percent Congestion level on non-highways: 42 percent Morning peak (Monday to Friday): 63 percent Evening peak (Monday to Friday): 71 percent Delay per year with a 30 min commute: 92 hours 17. Guangzhou, China Congestion level on highways: 31 percent Congestion level on non-highways: 40 percent Morning peak (Monday to Friday): 40 percent Evening peak (Monday to Friday): 73 percent Delay per year with a 30 min commute: 84 hours 16. London, England Congestion level on highways: 22 percent Congestion level on non-highways: 43 percent Morning peak (Monday to Friday): 65 percent Evening peak (Monday to Friday): 67 percent Delay per year with a 30 min commute: 92 hours 15. Beijing, China Congestion level on highways: 43 percent Congestion level on non-highways: 35 percent Morning peak (Monday to Friday): 63 percent Evening peak (Monday to Friday): 74 percent Delay per year with a 30 min commute: 94 hours 14. Tianjin, China Congestion level on highways: 17 percent Congestion level on non-highways: 40 percent Morning peak (Monday to Friday): 56 percent Evening peak (Monday to Friday): 64 percent Delay per year with a 30 min commute: 87 hours 13. Rome, Italy Congestion level on highways: 24 percent Congestion level on non-highways: 43 percent Morning peak (Monday to Friday): 71 percent Evening peak (Monday to Friday): 65 percent Delay per year with a 30 min commute: 93 hours 12. Chongqing, China Congestion level on highways: 32 percent Congestion level on non-highways: 39 percent Morning peak (Monday to Friday): 82 percent Evening peak (Monday to Friday): 84 percent Delay per year with a 30 min commute: 104 hours 11. Taipei, Taiwan Congestion level on highways: 27 percent Congestion level on non-highways: 40 percent Morning peak (Monday to Friday): 55 percent Evening peak (Monday to Friday): 77 percent Delay per year with a 30 min commute: 92 hours 10. Los Angeles, California, United States Congestion level on highways: 36 percent Congestion level on non-highways: 42 percent Morning peak (Monday to Friday): 60 percent Evening peak (Monday to Friday): 80 percent Delay per year with a 30 min commute: 95 hours 9. Warsaw, Poland Congestion level on highways: 37 percent Congestion level on non-highways: 42 percent Morning peak (Monday to Friday): 69 percent Evening peak (Monday to Friday): 75 percent Delay per year with a 30 min commute: 96 hours 8. Bucharest, Romania Congestion level on highways: 28 percent Congestion level on non-highways: 45 percent Morning peak (Monday to Friday): 78 percent Evening peak (Monday to Friday): 82 percent Delay per year with a 30 min commute: 103 hours 7. Saint Petersburg, Russia Congestion level on highways: 25 percent Congestion level on non-highways: 46 percent Morning peak (Monday to Friday): 67 percent Evening peak (Monday to Friday): 96 percent Delay per year with a 30 min commute: 104 hours 6. Recife, Brazil Congestion level on highways: 37 percent Congestion level on non-highways: 55 percent Morning peak (Monday to Friday): 81 percent Evening peak (Monday to Friday): 82 percent Delay per year with a 30 min commute: 103 hours 5. Salvador, Brazil Congestion level on highways: 33 percent Congestion level on non-highways: 50 percent Morning peak (Monday to Friday): 62 percent Evening peak (Monday to Friday): 75 percent Delay per year with a 30 min commute: 93 hours 4. Moscow, Russia Congestion level on highways: 67 percent Congestion level on non-highways: 45 percent Morning peak (Monday to Friday): 77 percent Evening peak (Monday to Friday): 103 percent Delay per year with a 30 min commute: 109 hours 3. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Congestion level on highways: 49 percent Congestion level on non-highways: 52 percent Morning peak (Monday to Friday): 72 percent Evening peak (Monday to Friday): 81 percent Delay per year with a 30 min commute: 99 hours 2. Mexico City, Mexico Congestion level on highways: 46 percent Congestion level on non-highways: 59 percent Morning peak (Monday to Friday): 93 percent Evening peak (Monday to Friday): 89 percent Delay per year with a 30 min commute: 110 hours 1. Istanbul, Turkey Congestion level on highways: 79 percent Congestion level on non-highways: 50 percent Morning peak (Monday to Friday): 76 percent Evening peak (Monday to Friday): 109 percent Delay per year with a 30 min commute: 110 hours Click here for the complete list.
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The cream rose to the top Thursday night, as Matt Kenseth of the powerhouse Joe Gibbs Racing team won the pole for Saturday night's Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. JGR, the most successful team in NASCAR this year, swept the front row and saw all four of its drivers qualify in the top eight. In a rare Thursday night qualifying session, Kenseth blistered the 1.5-mile North Carolina track with a best lap of 194.532 miles per hour in his JGR Toyota. Kenseth is the only five-time winner this season in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Qualifying second was Kenseth's JGR teammate Kyle Busch at 193.154 mph. Joey Logano was third in a Team Penske Ford, followed by Greg Biffle's Roush Fenway Ford and Denny Hamlin in a third JGR entry. Carl Edwards was eighth in the final JGR entry. Kevin Harvick, last Sunday's winner at Dover, qualified 11 th . But the night clearly belonged to JGR, which rebounded strongly here. "Proud of my guys," said Kenseth. "They brought some speed today. All of the (JGR) cars had a lot of speed today, and that's always really encouraging." Kenseth said his car felt good on track during both practice and qualifying. "It had speed today," he said of his car. "It reacted to changes. It did the things I like the car to do at Charlotte to make it go fast." "We were a contender for the pole and our teammate there got it from us," second-qualifier Busch said of Kenseth. "He ran a really fast lap. He got more out of it than I did." The strong qualifying added to what already has been a sensational year for the team. The JGR Toyotas have won 13 of 29 races so far this season, including the Coca-Cola 600 and the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, which were both run at Charlotte in May. The pole was Kenseth's fourth this year, including two at Charlotte, and 17 th of his career. Third-qualifier Logano said he was pleased with his run. "We want to start first, obviously, but third is a good starting spot," said Logano, a three-time winner this season. "We'll have a good pit stall for that reason. Five hundred (miles) is a long time, but it's still nice having a good starting spot here." The Charlotte race is the first of three events in the so-called Contender Round of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Twelve drivers remain in Sprint Cup championship contention and they will start the BofA 500 tied with 3,000 points each. At the end of the Contender Round, the four drivers with the lowest point totals of the 12 who have not won a race in the round will be eliminated. The remaining eight drivers will move on to the Eliminator Round, which again is three races long. The top four Eliminator Round survivors will move on to the one-race, winner-take-all season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway next month. Nine of the 12 Chase drivers qualified in the top 12 for Saturday night's race. In his final race at Charlotte, four-time series champion Jeff Gordon qualified 22 nd . The only other two Chasers to post times outside the top 12 were 2012 series champ Brad Keselowski in 13 th and Martin Truex Jr. in 15 th . Two drivers failed to make the field: Josh Wise and Timmy Hill.
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HOUSTON (AP) -- Matt Hasselbeck and Andre Johnson showed Thursday night that sometimes old guys can shine in what is certainly a young man's league. The 34-year-old Johnson caught two touchdown passes from the 40-year-old Hasselbeck, the second for 2 yards in the fourth quarter, to help the Indianapolis Colts beat the Houston Texans 27-20. "You get over the age of 30 they kind of count you out," Johnson said. "But we proved to people that we could still play." BOX SCORE: COLTS 27, TEXANS 20 Released by Houston in March after 12 seasons with the team, Johnson had six catches for 77 yards. The Colts (3-2) extended their AFC South winning streak to an NFL-record 16 games. Hasselbeck was filling in for Andrew Luck, who missed his second straight game with a shoulder injury. Hasselbeck's performance was even more impressive given the fact that he was battling a bacterial infection that hospitalized him this week. He started feeling ill just before halftime Sunday in a victory over Jacksonville and didn't start feeling better until Thursday night. "I honestly feel like this isn't even real right now," Hasselbeck said. Coach Chuck Pagano raved about Hasselbeck. "He was literally on his deathbed Monday/Tuesday and mustered up enough to come in Wednesday and practice," Pagano said. "He was getting IVs and fighting a virus and the grittiest performance I've seen in a long, long time." Brian Hoyer, who replaced Ryan Mallett for Houston (1-4) in the second quarter, threw a pass up for grabs that was intercepted by Mike Adams with less than 2 minutes left. Johnson extended the lead to 27-17 with the 2-yard reception with about 10 1/2 minutes left. The Texans intercepted Hasselbeck's pass in the end zone earlier in that drive, but the play was negated because of defensive holding on Eddie Pleasant. A second penalty, this one for pass interference gave the Colts a first down at the 1. Mallett got the wind knocked out of him on an illegal hit midway through the second quarter and was replaced by Hoyer. Mallett looked to be OK soon after that, but coach Bill O'Brien stuck with Hoyer. He finished with 312 yards passing with two touchdowns. Both of the touchdowns were to rookie Jaelen Strong and they came on his first two NFL receptions. DeAndre Hopkins had 11 receptions for 169 yards for Houston. "We're not happy obviously," J.J. Watt said. "But we're going to go back to work and figure it out." Foster, who was shaken up in the second quarter but returned after halftime, had 44 yards rushing and 77 yards receiving in his second game back after groin surgery. The Colts opened the second half with a drive capped by Frank Gore's 3-yard touchdown that made it 20-10. Gore finished with 98 yards rushing. Strong's second catch and touchdown came on an 11-yard pass by Hoyer to get Houston to 20-17 in the third quarter. Hoyer's desperation throw on the last play of the first half that Strong pulled down in a sea of Indianapolis defenders for a 42-yard touchdown strike that cut the lead to 13-10. Strong boxed out two defenders and outjumped the others to reel in his first NFL catch. Johnson entered the game without a catch in the last two games after having just one such game in his entire career in Houston. The Colts made sure that wouldn't happen again Thursday night, going to him early. He drew boos from the home crowd when he grabbed a 23-yard reception late in the first quarter. Two plays later, he scored his first touchdown of the season when he was wide open in the back of the end zone for 4-yard reception that made it 10-0. "When I would be on the sidelines a lot of the fans were screaming, `Andre we still love you! Come back to Houston! Welcome home!'" Johnson said. "So that was probably the most special thing." Mallett was shaken up when Sio Moore received a penalty for roughing the passer when he crashed his helmet into the quarterback's chest with about seven minutes left in the second quarter. Mallett appeared to struggle to catch his breath and was replaced by Brian Hoyer. He was tended to by trainers for a couple of minutes after leaving the game, but soon put his helmet back on and stood near coach O'Brien. Hoyer finally got Houston's offense going and the Texans cut it to 13-3 on Nick Novak's 36-yard field goal. Mallett looked good early, helping the Texans into the red zone. But then Foster deflected a pass and Adams intercepted it. The Colts took a 3-0 lead with a 48-yard field goal on the ensuing drive. NOTES: Mallett was 7 of 10 for 50 yards. ... It was the third straight 100-yard game for Hopkins. ... T.Y. Hilton led the Colts with 88 yards receiving. ------ AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP--NFL
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When I was young, there was a house on my street that I always looked forward to going to on Halloween, we called it the Apple Cider House. Every year, this nice lady made a big pot of hot apple cider and she handed it out in little styrofoam cups. It wasn't candy, but it warmed us up while we were out in the cold in our flimsy costumes and I loved it. These days, we'd probably have our kids dump it out for fear of poison, and we *definitely* wouldn't be drinking anything out of a styrofoam cup, right?! That said, it got me thinking about some fun non-candy ideas for trick-or-treaters that parents might approve of (or at least not mind!) and kids will love (ahem - no mandarin oranges, please). Here's what I came up with: • Glow sticks. Every kid loves these, even after Halloween - and you can never have too many on Halloween night. Put together a fun bucket full of different types - necklaces, bracelets, hand-helds, and let kids have their pick. • Play-Doh. OK so this might only be good for the really little ones, but what a cute idea from the OneKriegerChick blog! Little orange and green balls of play-doh with cute faces drawn on, wrapped in cellophane bags with festive ribbon. So cute! • Two words: glitter slime. This seems like an easy recipe for something kids will love. Pop it into small mason jars and attach googley eyes for something fun and different. • What kid doesn't love pudding ? Check out Baxter the Bat and Cordelia the Cat templates to decorate Snack Pack pudding cups - your own kids will have fun putting these together for trick-or-treaters! • String cheese ghosts! Keep the cheese in its wrapper, and draw eyes and a mouth in black Sharpie on there. Fast, easy, healthy, and fun. Maybe pair it with a bag of Halloween-themed mini bags of pretzels or crackers. • Mini caramel apple pops. OK these aren't exactly healthy, but at least there's some fruit in there! Here's a great recipe - basically, you'll met caramel, scoop little balls of apple out with a melon baller, put 'em on a stick and dip them into the melted caramel. Yum. • This recipe for Zombie Boogers - made from popcorn with green food coloring - will make your house the talk of the block. • Lego pumpkin treat bags. Grab a bunch of orange legos and package them up in cellophane with green ties, for a crowd-pleasing, super-cute idea.
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lifestyle
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Your color of choice may communicate more than you realize. We're no rookies when it comes to creating a statement lip, but deciphering exactly what statement that may be is another thing entirely. In regards to romantic encounters, different shades can send different signals some you probably don't intend. So then, one could argue the color you chose to swipe on before heading out for that first date could be the reason why he never called again, or the reason why he did. Are you coming across as confusing or closed off? Or is your kisser painting you as playful or sophisticated or bold? Karen Pine, style psychologist and author of Mind What You Wear, The Psychology of Fashion , lent her insight in an interview with Mashable to help decode the messages your pout is putting out there. The phrase 'read my lips' has never been used so literally. From classic red to hot pink, find out what your favorite hue says about you. Red: "You are sending out emotionally charged signals, wearing a color associated with passion, energy and action. You're a bold, confident woman and one in her sexual prime." Nude: "You want to be taken seriously, have nothing to hide and a lot to give. There's a vulnerability and sensitivity to your approach but with the right partner, you're willing to bare your soul and wear your heart on your sleeve." Hot Pink: "Pink is the color of innocence, but you've added some heat too, signaling a mixed message of approach-avoidance. Your date may be confused as to what you want from a relationship, and maybe you're not too sure yourself, but ultimately it must appeal to your heart, body and soul." Burgundy: "Your color reflects your strong, decisive character, but you may find yourself holding back on the date, unwilling to give away too much too soon. It's a color that says you're strong but take a while to get to know you, so your date needs to be patient." Coral: "You are approaching the date with enthusiasm, playfulness and the right amount of balance. You want to be noticed, know where you are going and may be in a hurry to get there. You're willing to have fun and just see where it goes." Fuchsia: "With its undertones of purple, you've gone for a regal hue that conveys an image of sophistication and uniqueness. This shade also suggests enlightenment and creativity, so you're expecting some stimulating conversation, someone out of the ordinary, and your date had better deliver." Bare Lips: "You have a no-nonsense approach, don't want to play games or get off on the wrong foot. So by not wearing lipstick, you're saying, 'This is me, take me as I am, or not at all.' You'll be looking for openness and honesty from your date."
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Home away from home: Scientists have discovered that Mars used to have long-lasting lakes and Pluto has blue skies.
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Game 1 of the Astros-Royals ALDS was delayed by rain. When putting the tarp on the field, an unfortunate member of Kauffman Stadium's ground crew was swallowed up by the tarp. Poor grounds crew... https://t.co/BF84035pCZ Joe Lucia (@Joe_TOC) October 9, 2015 OH THE HUMANITY!!!!!!
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Bryant University assistant coach Chris Burns made history by coming out, making him the first openly gay NCAA Division I coach.
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Twenty is an important birthday. It's the year you leave your teens, the year you start to feel a bit more like a real adult. For Japanese 20-year-old Yuma Hasegawa, it was also the day his parents politely quit their parental obligations. And it was just not the kind he was expecting. It also makes clear that while Hasegawa is technically free to marry whomever he desires, his parents may struggle to "emotionally accept" any spouse he doesn't clear with them before the marriage.
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Selena Gomez credits her good friend Taylor Swift for "pulling me out of my shell." thanks to the pop star's strong focus on female empowerment. In a new interview with Billboard magazine, Selena says she's slowly but surely letting herself be more free, and it's largely thanks to Taylor and their close-knit group of female friends. She says, "Taylor makes me feel empowered, like I can trust new people... The way she cares about women is so adamant. It's pulling me out of my shell."
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entertainment
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Anointing "trade deadline winners and losers" in the aftermath of baseball's July 31 transactions bazaar is usually a meaningless exercise, in that true assessments can't be made for months, if not years. For a handful of teams that went all-in on 2015, however, judgment day has arrived in the form of Friday's quadruple-header of Division Series games. Whether playing for their lives or going for the kill, July's big movers will be at the forefront. "That's exactly why we got Johnny Cueto," Kansas City Royals manager Ned Yost said after his club dropped Game 1 of their ALDS to the Houston Astros. "You lose Game 1, you got Johnny Cueto. That's why we got Johnny - for games like that." Friday features four "games like that." A look at the trade gems like Cueto who may need to justify their team's investments: *** Texas Rangers at Toronto Blue Jays, 12:30 p.m. ET (MLB Network): Even the Rangers admit they had little expectation acquiring Cole Hamels would boost them to these playoffs. But it happened thanks in large part to Hamels' 7-1 mark in 12 starts, with the Rangers winning the last 10 of them. The Rangers' investment in Hamels was extensive five decent prospects and assuming at least $76 million in salary. The biggest payoff in that investment certainly was for situations like Game 2 in Toronto: The chance to take a commanding lead against one of baseball's most imposing lineup in several years. Hamels figures to make at least 100 starts with the Rangers, but some will be bigger than others. That this one comes so surprisingly soon doesn't diminish its import. On the Blue Jays' side? Well, after David Price came up small and Josh Donaldson suffered a head injury in Game 1, the Blue Jays need a boost in Game 2. Hey, how about Troy Tulowitzki? He went 0 for 4 in Game 1, and batted .239 since his July arrival from Colorado. He's one of at least five premier right-handed batters the Blue Jays will stack against Hamels. With Donaldson and Jose Bautista possibly ailing, Toronto could use some punch from Tulo. *** Houston Astros at Kansas City Royals, 3:30 p.m. ET (Fox Sports 1): Along with the Blue Jays, the Royals generally "won" the trade deadline thanks to their acquisitions of Cueto and second baseman Ben Zobrist. Now, after a listless performance in Game 1, they have no choice but hope that the biggest midseason trade acquisition in franchise history bails them out. Recent indicators, as you might have heard, aren't encouraging. Cueto posted a 4.76 ERA with the Royals after his July arrival from Cincinnati, with a grim 11.2 hits per nine innings. He was slightly better in his final four starts, but still far from the guy who posted a 1.17 WHIP over eight seasons with the Reds. He'll walk into free agency after this year, and anything less than a dominant outing Fridaywill make his Kansas City fling a colossal failure. After all, Cy Young Award favorite Dallas Keuchel awaits in Game 3 in Houston. The Astros, meanwhile, may piggyback a pair of July prizes to win Game 2. Scott Kazmir was acquired from Oakland to help the Astros turn on the afterburners in the AL West. Instead, like Cueto, faded badly the last two months of the season, a key reason for the Astros' free fall into second place. Should he falter, the Astros could turn quickly to Mike Fiers, considered the lesser light in a deal that brought Carlos Gomez to Houston. But Fiers threw a no-hitter in August, and could be summoned in relief if Kazmir wobbles. *** Chicago Cubs at St. Louis Cardinals, 6:30 p.m. ET (TBS): OK, so neither team did much of significance at the deadline. So let's pause to note that some of the greatest deadline deals are the ones that receive little fanfare. John Lackey's July 2014 arrival in St. Louis was overshadowed by blockbusters around the majors involving Price and others. You'd be hard-pressed, though, to find a pitcher delivering more value than Lackey in the last year-plus. This season, pitching for the major league minimum $507,500 due to a clause in his contract from Boston, he was the Cardinals' steadiest starter, logging a 2.77 ERA over 218 innings, producing 26 quality starts and pitching at least seven innings 21 times. He'll get the ball in Game 1, which represents something of a must-win for St. Louis with the indomitable Jake Arrieta lurking in Game 3. *** New York Mets at Los Angeles Dodgers, 9:45 p.m. ET (TBS): Yoenis Cespedes could take all of October off, and still he'd be worth the price of two solid pitching prospects the Mets sent to Detroit. After all, his 17 home runs in 57 games that still doesn't look right boosted the Mets into the playoffs for the first time since 2006. Still, now that they're here, the Mets will be in desperate need of offense. That's OK Cespy's probably got this. In two postseasons with Oakland, Cespedes had a .350/.395/.525 slash line. In 2013, when Detroit's Max Scherzer was the best pitcher on the planet, Cespedes was the lone Athletic to dent him ripping a two-run homer. He went 5 for 11 in games started by Scherzer and Justin Verlander. Why is this relevant? Well, the Mets will face almost exclusively great pitchers in this Division Series, starting with left-hander Clayton Kershaw in Game 1. And they need Cespedes to be great.
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An Iranian Revolutionary Guards general has been killed near Aleppo, where he was advising the Syrian army on their battle against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) fighters, the guards said in a statement. The Guards on Friday said General Hossein Hamadani was killed on Thursday night and that he had "played an important role ... reinforcing the front of Islamic resistance against the terrorists". Iran is the main regional ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and has provided military and economic support during Syria's four-year-old civil war. Iran denies having any military forces in Syria, but says it has offered "military advice" to Assad's forces in their fight against "terrorist groups". Hamadani was a veteran of the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war and was made deputy chief commander of the elite forces in 2005. 'Iranian troops in Syria' In the biggest deployment of Iranian forces yet, Reuters news agency reported last week that hundreds of troops had arrived since late September to take part in a major ground offensive planned in west and northwest Syria. Iranian politician Esmail Kosari said Hamadani helped coordination between Syrian armed forces and the voluntary forces in their fight against ISIL. "For years, Hamadani played a very important role in Syria as an adviser ... he played an important role in preventing the fall of Damascus. Then he returned home at the end of his assignment," Kosari told the semi-official Tasnim news agency. "He returned to Syria for a few days because of his deep knowledge about the area ... and he was martyred in Syria." Assad's longtime ally, Russia launched its air campaign in September, saying it would also target ISIL. But its planes have also hit other rebel groups opposed to Assad, including groups backed by Washington. The United States and its allies have been waging a year-long air campaign against ISIL in Syria, while pushing to diplomatically edge Assad from power. Washington has ruled out military cooperation with Russia in Syria, accusing Moscow of pursuing a "tragically flawed" strategy that would force it to limit military talks to basic pilot safety.
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Rain brought a halt to the second round of Taiwan's $500,000 Yeangder Tournament Players Championship Friday. The second round will be played Saturday instead, with the third and final round to be played Sunday, organisers said. Taiwan hopeful Lin Wen-tang and countryman Hung Chun-kang remain tied at the top of the leaderboard after both shot five-under-par 67 in the opening round Thursday. AFP
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The Gun Cave owner Jan Morgan on gun sales in and gun control laws in the U.S.
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finance
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The Astros topped the Royals 5-2 on Thursday night. Houston now holds a 1-0 lead in the NLDS. Colby Rasmus homered in the win, while a rain delay slowed down action.
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DALLAS (AP) -- Antti Niemi couldn't remember whether he'd ever had two assists in a game before. Matthias Janmark didn't have anything to remember before he scored his first NHL goal. And Ales Hemsky had good feelings in the first game after a season he'd rather forget. Niemi stopped 37 shots in his Dallas debut for his 33rd career shutout and had two assists in the first periods, and Janmark and Hemsky scored to lead the Stars to a 3-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night. "We got the lead early (here), which is not always the easiest place to play," Niemi said, "especially against a team like that. "I just tried to have fun out there, and usually it's fun when you give me too many goals." Hemsky scored on a power play, and assisted when Janmark scored on his first shot on his first shift in an NHL game just 1:39 into the first period. "He deserved it," Stars coach Lindy Ruff said. "He's had a heck of a camp. I made the move to put him back to center, let him play his natural position." The Stars acquired Niemi and Janmark in trades earlier this year. Hemsky joined the team as a free agent last season, but had only 11 goals and 21 assists in 76 games. "It took me a while last year to get into it and align the system and everything," Hemsky said. "I feel much (more) comfortable this year." Dallas scored on two of five power plays. Jamie Benn, the NHL's leading scorer last season, had a power-play goal in the third period. Niemi improved his career record against the Penguins to 5-1-1. He withstood a flurry in the final minute after Pittsburgh pulled goalie Marc-Andre Fleury for an extra skater. "I thought (Niemi) looked quick, nothing went through him," Ruff said, "and then he made a couple really good saves right at the end of the game to put the icing on the cake." The Stars held Penguins captain Sidney Crosby without a shot on goal. "We got to find ways to score goals whether it's the power play chipping in or finding ways in front," Crosby said. "It wasn't lack of chances." Fleury finished with 21 saves. The Stars are 4-0-1 in their last five home games against Pittsburgh, and have won three in a row overall. They scored first when Janmark skated down the slot, took a pass from Hemsky and shot between Fleury's legs. "I couldn't have had a better start," Janmark said. "My first game, and to get that start, I never dreamed of that." The Penguins dominated the latter half of the period, but couldn't score. Niemi's best stop was a reaching glove save of Rob Scuderi's drive from the blue line with less than 3 minutes remaining. Hemsky scored at 5:42 of the second on Dallas' first power play. His shot from the top of the right faceoff circle went in over Fleury's right shoulder. Seven seconds into the Stars' fourth power play of the third period, Benn tipped in Jason Spezza's shot from the right point. NOTES: Dallas acquired Janmark as part of a March trade that sent Erik Cole to Detroit. The rookie had been playing in the Swedish Hockey League. ... San Jose traded Niemi's rights to the Stars in June for a seventh-round draft pick. Also making their Dallas debuts were LW Patrick Sharp and D Johnny Oduya, teammates with Chicago's Stanley Cup champions last season. ... In his first game for the Penguins, Phil Kessel played in his 447th straight game. ... Pittsburgh was 0 for 3 on the power play.
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The family of Walter Scott, a black South Carolina man shot and killed by a police officer who is now facing murder charges, has reached a $6.5 million settlement with city officials. The North Charleston, S.C. city council approved the settlement Thursday night at a hearing attended by Scott's family and their attorneys. Officer Michael Slager, who is white, was arrested and charged with murder after a videotape taken by a bystander showed the officer shooting a fleeing Scott in the back multiple times on April 4. Scott died at the scene. The video, replayed across the country, captured national attention and underscored increasing tension between white police officers and black men. "I am glad the city and the family were able to reach a settlement without the necessity of a lawsuit," North Charleston Mayor R. Keith Summey said shortly after the settlement's approval. "Both sides have met many times and worked very hard over the past several months to resolve this matter." Summey said he appreciated Scott's family asking for calm shortly after video of Scott's death surfaced. He explained that since the shooting, North Charleston has taken several steps including outfitting police with body cameras as well as engaging the North Charleston police department and the Justice Department. "As a result of this tragedy, important issues have been discussed not only in North Charleston, but around the country," Summey said. "Citizens have become engaged in the process and government officials are listening." The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, which is investigating the shooting, also released video taken by a police patrol car dash camera showing Scott, 50, getting out of his car and running away after a traffic stop moments before he was shot dead by Slager. In that video, Slager, approaches a dark Mercedes-Benz driven by Scott and says he pulled him over because of a non-functioning taillight. Scott can be heard saying he doesn't have registration or insurance on the vehicle because he was in the process of buying it. After a brief exchange, the officer returns to his cruiser. Scott tentatively gets out from the car, then gets back in. Moments later Scott opens the door again and runs off the side of the screen. Slager then runs after him. Thursday night, Scott's family reflected on the settlement and Slager's fate. "While nothing can replace having Walter in our lives, the city of North Charleston's historic actions ensure that he did not die in vain," Anthony Scott, Walter Scott's brother said. "This city sent a message, loud and clear, that this kind of reckless behavior exhibited by members of law enforcement will not and shall not be tolerated." Anthony Scott added that the family is now hoping that Slager is convicted of murder. "We will now focus on efforts in the criminal trial of Walter's killer," Anthony Scott said. "It is our hope that after a jury of his peers reviews the evidence, they'll send an equally important message to law enforcement. This is not place for unnecessary violence against unarmed fleeing individuals." Walter Scott's family said the settlement will go toward Scott's children and that a portion of the money will also be donated to help with disaster relief efforts for recent flooding in South Carolina.
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OSLO, Norway (AP) A Tunisian democracy group won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for its contributions to the first and most successful Arab Spring movement. The Norwegian Nobel Committee cited the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet "for its decisive contribution to the building of a pluralistic democracy" in the North African country following its 2011 revolution. "It established an alternative, peaceful political process at a time when the country was on the brink of civil war," the committee said in its citation. The prize is a huge victory for small Tunisia, whose young and still shaky democracy suffered two extremist attacks this year that killed 60 people and devastated the tourism industry. Tunisian protesters sparked uprisings across the Arab world in 2011 that overthrew dictators and upset the status quo. Tunisia is the only country in the region to painstakingly build a democracy, involving a range of political and social forces in dialogue to create a constitution, legislature and democratic institutions. "More than anything, the prize is intended as an encouragement to the Tunisian people, who despite major challenges have laid the groundwork for a national fraternity which the committee hopes will serve as an example to be followed by other countries," Nobel Peace Prize Committee Chairwoman Kaci Kullmann Five said. The National Dialogue Quartet is made up of four key organizations in Tunisian civil society: the Tunisian General Labour Union; the Tunisian Confederation of Industry, Trade and Handicrafts; the Tunisian Human Rights League; and the Tunisian Order of Lawyers. Kullmann Five said the prize was for the quartet as a whole, not the four individual organizations. Houcine Abassi, the leader of the Tunisian General Labour Union, told The Associated Press he was "overwhelmed" by the award. "It's a prize that crowns more than two years of efforts deployed by the quartet when the country was in danger on all fronts," he said. The decision came as a surprise to many, with speculation having focused on Europe's migrant crisis or the Iran-U.S. nuclear deal in July. "It is a very good prize that tries to get into the heart of the conflict in the Muslim world," said Oeyvind Stenersen, a Nobel historian. "But it was a bit bewildering. It was very unexpected." European leaders welcomed the prize, with EU commission president tweeting that "after visit to Tunisia in March I understand & respect choice." The prize comes the day after unidentified assailants shot repeatedly at a lawmaker and prominent sports magnate in Sousse, underscoring a sense of uncertainty in the city, which depends heavily on tourism. While Tunisia has been much less violent than neighboring Libya or Syria, its transition to democracy has been marred by occasional violence, notably from Islamic extremists. An attack in June on a beach resort in Sousse left 38 dead, mostly British tourists. Another in March killed 22 people, again mostly tourists, at the country's leading museum, the Bardo in Tunis. There were 273 candidates nominated for the 2015 peace prize, five fewer than in 2014. The award capped a week of Nobel Prize announcements, with the winners of the medicine, physics, chemistry and literature awards presented earlier in Stockholm. The economics award not an original Nobel Prize but created in 1968 will be announced on Monday.
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Washington's Bradyen Lenius reached over the defender's back to haul in this Jake Browning pass for a crucial first down in the third quarter. Washington would go on to win the game 17 to 12.
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LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Nearly every Washington upperclassman insisted they took no personal pleasure in beating the coach who left them for Southern California two years ago. A gritty defensive victory over a ranked team on the Coliseum's national stage was more than enough reason for these Huskies to celebrate. Myles Gaskin ran for 134 yards and a fourth-quarter touchdown, and Washington shut down No. 17 USC's high-powered offense throughout a 17-12 victory Thursday night. BOX SCORE: WASHINGTON 17, USC 12 Receiver Marvin Hall threw a 27-yard touchdown pass to Joshua Perkins early in the second half as the Huskies (3-2, 1-1 Pac-12) beat Steve Sarkisian and the coaches who recruited many of them to Seattle. The Huskies all celebrated with their strong cheering section after running out the clock on Washington's first win at the Coliseum since 2010. "A win like this really puts us on the right step as a program," said senior linebacker Travis Feeney, who had 2 1-2 sacks. "We're only going up from here. It's definitely a stepping stone for our confidence, for any young guys who doubted themselves. It's something we can take pride in and gain confidence from." Washington beat a ranked team for the first time under second-year coach Chris Petersen, who appeared to pull a trick play out of his Boise State cache. The Huskies weren't looking for vindication against Sarkisian, but a win in Los Angeles still was particularly sweet for the numerous Washington players from the area. "It's like playing in my backyard," said linebacker Keishawn Bierria, from nearby Carson. "It's just playing at home for me, for a lot of us. That's the way we look at it: There's nothing special about this park." Cody Kessler had two interceptions while passing for just 156 yards on a disastrous night for the Trojans (3-2, 1-2), the popular preseason pick to win the conference and a healthy double-digit favorite against Washington. Instead, USC couldn't score a touchdown until Ronald Jones II's short run with 12:02 to play. Washington's defense then came up with two late stops, and the Trojans missed a field goal with 3:44 left. Jaydon Mickens caught a key third-down pass from Washington freshman Jake Browning with 2:10 to play, allowing the Huskies to run out the clock against the frustrated USC defense, which was solid after giving up 41 points to Stanford last month. "It's never fun to lose a game, so yeah, it's a little shocking," USC linebacker Cameron Smith said. "But give them credit. They played well. Their defense played awesome." Sarkisian faced the Huskies for the first time since he left Washington to take over the Trojans last season, taking five Huskies assistant coaches with him. Sarkisian spent five years in Seattle, restoring a moribund program to competence, but never breaking through to the Pac-12's elite. Instead, the Huskies took a major step toward the future at the expense of Sarkisian, who could be on a hot seat before reaching the midway point of his second season. "Not at all," Sarkisian said when asked if he is coaching for his job now. Tre Madden rushed for 120 yards for the Trojans, who lost their second straight game at the Coliseum following last month's visit from Stanford. Kessler went 16 for 29 during just the second multi-interception game of the touted senior's college career, but the entire offense struggled against Washington's defense, which entered the Coliseum as the Pac-12's best. The Trojans went 1 for 13 on third downs, and they made three turnovers after committing just two in the first four games. "This is going to test the character of a lot of guys," Kessler said. "This one hurts. It hurts. I'm not going to lie." Kessler threw the 14th interception of his career on USC's opening drive, just the Trojans' third turnover all season. USC led 6-3 at halftime after the teams traded field goals. The Huskies recovered a fumble by JuJu Smith-Schuster deep in USC territory early in the third quarter, and Hall hit a wide-open Perkins for the game's first touchdown on the next play. Why did the coaches pick Hall, a Los Angeles native, for the big throw? "Because I have a cannon," Hall said with a laugh. Gaskin scored early in the fourth, but USC's offense finally awoke on the ensuing drive after Washington linebacker Azeem Victor was ejected for targeting Kessler with 13 minutes to play, erasing a third-down stop by the Huskies' defense. Jones made three consecutive big runs capped by his 1-yard TD lunge, but Madden dropped a pass on the 2-point conversion attempt. ------ AP college football website: www.collegefootball.ap.org
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Within Jerusalem's holiest site, known as the Temple Mount to Jews and the Noble Sanctuary to Muslims, lies an explosive historical question that cuts to the essence of competing claims to what may be the world's most contested piece of real estate. The question, which many books and scholarly treatises have never definitively answered, is whether the 37-acre site, home to Islam's sacred Dome of the Rock shrine and Al Aqsa Mosque, was also the precise location of two ancient Jewish temples, one built on the remains of the other, and both long since gone. Those temples are integral to Jewish religious history and to Israel's disputed assertions of sovereignty over all of Jerusalem. Many Palestinians , suspicious of Israel's intentions for the site, have increasingly expressed doubt that the temples ever existed at least in that location. Many Israelis regard such a challenge as false and inflammatory denialism. "This is a very politically loaded subject," said Matthew J. Adams , Dorot director of the W. F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research in Jerusalem. "It's also an academically complex question." Sign Up For NYT Now's Morning Briefing Newsletter Sacred to Judaism, Islam and Christianity, the world's three great monotheistic religions, the site has been a perennial focal point for flare-ups in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Its history reflects the turbulent chronology of Jerusalem. The city has been successively occupied for roughly 3,000 years by a parade of peoples, starting with the Canaanites and Israelites, then the Babylonians, Greeks, Persians, Romans, Byzantines, Muslims, Christian crusaders, Mamelukes, Ottomans, British and Jordanians. In recent decades, after the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and the Israeli occupation of East Jerusalem, the site has been administered by a special Islamic religious authority called the Waqf, under Jordanian custodianship. The Israeli authorities share security responsibilities with the Waqf and maintain a ban on non-Muslim prayer at the site. But pressure by nationalist religious Jews for access, including some calls for building a new temple, has aggravated Palestinian fears that the Israelis will change the current arrangement, an assertion the Israeli government denies. Jewish scripture states that King Solomon built a temple around 960 B.C. on Mount Moriah and that it was destroyed by Babylonian invaders nearly four centuries later. Although the biblical text does not specify the exact site of Mount Moriah, the Israeli scholar Rivka Gonen, in her book "Contested Holiness: Jewish, Muslim and Christian Perspectives on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem," says the reference has been widely interpreted to mean the high point on the hill above the City of David the rock now under the Dome of the Rock. Many historians have said independent scientific verification of such a reference is problematic. "The sources for the first temple are solely biblical, and no substantial archaeological remains have been verified," said Wendy Pullan , senior lecturer in the history and philosophy of architecture at the University of Cambridge, in the book "The Struggle for Jerusalem's Holy Places." Mr. Adams said, "We just don't have enough primary source data, textual or archaeological, to say where it was with any confidence." Many historical texts say that Cyrus the Great of Persia, who conquered the Babylonians, let Jews rebuild the temple around 516 B.C., that King Herod added retaining walls about 37 B.C., and that Romans destroyed the rebuilt temple about 100 years afterward. The Dome of the Rock, a shrine that is one of Islam's holiest sites, was built at the highest point of the site around 691, which would be about 600 years after the second temple's demise and 60 years after the Prophet Muhammad's death, when Jerusalem was ruled by the Umayyad Dynasty during Islam's Golden Age. Many archaeologists agree that the religious body of evidence, corroborated by other historical accounts and artifacts that have been recovered from the site or nearby, support the narrative that the Dome of the Rock was built on or close to the place where the Jewish temples once stood. Nonetheless, the Waqf has never permitted invasive archaeological work that could possibly yield proof of either temple. "That's where you get to the Catch-22," said Jodi Magness , a professor of religious studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who was the consulting archaeologist in "Jerusalem," a 2013 documentary film. "The logical thing would be to dig," Professor Magness said. "If you did that, you'd probably cause World War III to break out. It's not even in the realm of possibility." Jane Cahill, an expert on Jerusalem's early history who was a senior staff archaeologist for Hebrew University's City of David Archaeological Project, said "nobody knows exactly" where the temples once stood, although "pretty powerful circumstantial evidence" suggests they were on the site. "Because there have been no organized excavations there, and not likely to be, circumstantial evidence is probably all we're going to have," she said. Archaeologists agree that far more information is known that corroborates the existence of the second temple at the site than the first. The historian Flavius Josephus, an eyewitness to Jerusalem in the first century, described the temple's expansion under King Herod, surrounded by partition walls that were meant to separate gentiles and Jews. He also wrote about the temple's destruction under the Romans. An important piece of physical evidence supporting Josephus's descriptions is a warning stone , written in Greek, admonishing visitors not to trespass into the partitioned area reserved for Jews. The stone, discovered in 1871 when Jerusalem was under the control of the Ottoman Empire, is on display at the Istanbul Archaeological Museum. It says any intruder "will invite death for himself." Further corroboration of the temple's existence is in the New Testament, based on its account of anger at Paul by Jews who accused him of having violated the trespass restriction: "He has brought Greeks into the temple and defiled this holy place," reads a passage from Acts 21:28. The most direct physical evidence of the temple's existence is the Western Wall, an outer wall spared by Roman destruction. The wall has become a holy site in itself, drawing millions of Jews for prayer. Kent Bramlett, a professor of archaeology and history of antiquity at La Sierra University in Riverside, Calif., said historical records of the destruction committed by the Romans, just by themselves, are "pretty overwhelming" in supporting the existence of the second temple in the immediate vicinity of the Dome of the Rock. Still, he said, "I think one has to be careful about saying it stood where the Dome of the Rock stood." Ms. Cahill, who is also a practicing lawyer, said the answer depends partly on what constitutes proof. "The answer might be 'yes,' if the standard of proof is merely a preponderance of the evidence, but 'no' if the standard of proof is beyond a reasonable doubt," she said.
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Thanks to guidance from some veteran Blues, rookie defenseman Colton Parayko felt confident in his first NHL game -- a 3-1 win by St. Louis.
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The father of a young man who is facing the death penalty in Saudi Arabia has told the BBC his son is innocent, and has called for continued international pressure to help save his life.
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LAS VEGAS -- As Donald Trump complained about how his nose looked on the cover of People magazine last week, he spotted a woman in the crowd waving a copy. "There it is! Come here!" Trump said, walking across the stage and pulling up Myriam Witcher, an immigrant from Colombia who has become one of his super-fans. Witcher bounced with the excitement of a teenaged girl meeting a boy-band heartthrob: "I love Mr. Trump!" "I am Hispanic," she proclaimed to the mostly white crowd at a rally here on Thursday afternoon, "and I vote for Mr. Trump!" Trump fan bounces with excitement: "I'm Hispanic!" Trump: "And that's my relationship with Hispanics." pic.twitter.com/eNnuEg56GH The encounter, Trump quickly acknowledged to the crowd, was so perfect that it seemed staged: A self-described Hispanic woman living in an early-voting state declaring her support for the Republican presidential front-runner who has had difficulty connecting with Hispanic voters -- especially as he has suggested that many illegal immigrants are criminals and rapists, called for the deportation of the 11 million illegal immigrants currently living in the United States and advocated for the construction of a massively expensive wall along the southern border and no longer granting automatic citizenship to the children of illegal immigrants. [ Alongside Trump's campaign, activist clashes are growing uglier ] Despite the crowds of angry immigration activists who gather outside many of his events, Trump insists that most Hispanic voters love him. At the beginning of the rally, Trump took credit for employing thousands of Hispanics at his construction sites and resorts. Then Witcher joined him on stage and used the word "love" over and over again. "And is this a set-up?" Trump asked Witcher, as she shook her head. "Did I ever meet you before? Huh?" Witcher then exploded with enthusiasm, jumping up and down: "We love you! We love you! We love you!" "I swear to you -- I think she's totally beautiful and yet I've never met her before," Trump said. "This all started with a People magazine." Trump signed the magazine, kissed Witcher on the head and sent her back to her seat, declaring: "And that's my relationship with Hispanics." Later in the day, he tweeted: "Just leaving Las Vegas. Unbelievable crowd! Many Hispanics who love me and I love them!" Trump's political rallies often feel like a circus -- but the one Thursday afternoon at the Treasure Island Hotel, Casino and Resort on the Las Vegas Strip was even more of a spectacle. The rally was held in a theater on the converted set of Cirque du Soleil's Mystere show, which features high-flying acrobatics and actual circus spectacles. "At full capacity, the theater sits over 1,500 spectators," the Las Vegas Sun newspaper reported Thursday morning. "By showbiz standards, it's small. By political ones, it's big." Debby and Tom Larsen, a retired waitress and a cook, dressed up to see Trump in Vegas: pic.twitter.com/i3o1MdQzJf More than three hours before the rally was set to begin, hundreds waited in a long line that snaked past a pizzeria, past a den of slot machines with games named "daVinci Diamonds" and "Pharaoh's Funtune," past a gift shop selling gummy dice and souvenir drink-ware, through the casino floor, past a buffet restaurant and a mojito bar, past poker tables and into a lobby. There was an elderly woman wearing a pink "birthday girl" sash, a group of young women in tight dresses and high heels, and dozens in various Trump-branded T-shirts. Two Elvis impersonators were in attendance, along with a Trump impersonator who borrowed the politician's love for dramatic hand gestures as he said: "Vote for Donald. I want to see him in office in 2017." [ Donald Trump plots his second act ] The concession stand served popcorn. Before the businessman had even entered the theater, the crowd was already cheering in anticipation. Trump spoke for more than an hour and rattled off some of his policy stances -- but spent most of his time complaining about media coverage of his candidacy, bragging about his poll numbers and wealth, slamming his Republican rivals one by one and acting like a, well, celebrity. He chatted about the years he hosted "The Apprentice," the reality game show on NBC, and plugged his upcoming book, "Crippled America." "I go home, and I say, 'I'm going to watch myself on television,'" Trump said at one point, as he complained about CNN. "Who wouldn't do it?" The crowd responded enthusiastically to Trump's rhetorical questions, cutting comments and jokes with applause, cheers and, at times, boos. There were screams of "We love you Trump!" and "We want Trump!" At times it felt like a rock concert -- although Trump made clear that these rallies are not just a spectacle. "This is more than just a group of people listening to a speech," Trump said, as he wrapped up his comments. "This is a movement." As Trump prepared to leave the stage, Aerosmith's "Dream On" blared. Trump pointed to fans in the crowd, flashed thumbs-up and, at one point, did some air-drumming. Meanwhile, reporters surrounded Witcher, who was still beaming about meeting the candidate. "I am an American citizen, and I vote Trump all the way to the White House," said Witcher, who said she became a citizen about 14 years ago. "I love Trump... He is a genius man. He is a business legend. I only vote for a genius person... Donald Trump is the right man for America and for the world wide."
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As soon as Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) shocked his fellow Republicans by withdrawing from the race for House speaker, Paul Ryan knew what was coming. "I will not be a candidate," the Wisconsin Republican said in a release issued less than 20 minutes after McCarthy's stunning Thursday announcement, in an immediate bid to cut off any pressure for him to do a job he has repeatedly said he does not want. But this time, it didn't take. By mid-afternoon, outgoing speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) had spoken to Ryan at least twice, trying to convince the reluctant congressman that he was the only man who could save House Republicans from their self-created chaos. By day's end, after hunkering down for two hours in his ceremonial office a few steps from the House floor, after listening to pleas from friends to take the reins of the bitterly divided Republican caucus, he emerged, declining to explicitly state his plans. "I've got no news for you guys," Ryan told reporters, exiting the Capitol. "I've got nothing to add right now. . . . This is not the time or place, guys." Boehner and several other prominent Republicans are turning to their party's 2012 vice-presidential nominee out of desperation, believing that he is the only member of the House with the stature to be speaker. Two other members, Reps. Daniel Webster (R-Fla.) and Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), have announced their candidacies, but they are widely seen as too inexperienced or underwhelming to handle the job. Although Ryan has the standing and experience at 45, he has already been in office 17 years it is not clear that he is suited to the role, either. He has never held an elected leadership position, never had to spend hours listening to every complaint possible from rank-and-file lawmakers. A self-styled policy wonk, Ryan prefers to spend time in a committee room cobbling together legislation than working the fundraising circuit in New York and Florida a modern-day requirement of any House speaker. Even if Ryan does win the job, some supporters question whether the most respected member of the House Republican Conference would be able to tame the divisions to push a unified agenda: The same 30 to 40 conservatives who have helped usher Boehner toward the door, and who appeared ready to deny McCarthy the job, plan to be just as hard on whoever the next speaker is when it comes to showdowns with President Obama and Democrats. "He's still going to have to deal with the same dynamic," said Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.), a leader of the small moderate wing and a backer of Ryan's ascension. "That may be part of the reason why he's denying this so far he knows the dynamic." Yet by 6:15 p.m. Thursday, as McCarthy increased the pressure on Ryan to run for the job and the Capitol press corps camped outside his office, Ryan's spokesman resorted to Twitter. "Nothing has changed," Brendan Buck tweeted. But everything has changed, according to his colleagues. As they voted on the House floor late Thursday, Ryan was besieged by his GOP colleagues. As the lawmakers huddled, Ryan aides canceled his fundraising and political events for the next 48 hours, a move interpreted by his friends as a signal that he had gone from a hard "no" to undecided after speaking with Boehner. His party's elder statesmen, long enamored with Ryan's policy inclinations since his days as a disciple of Jack Kemp, said he needed to answer the call. But that doesn't mean the door is shut. "Knowing him, if it becomes clear to him, as it is to so many others, that he's first among peers, he may do it," William J. Bennett, an education secretary in the Reagan administration and a close friend of Ryan, said in an interview Thursday. The situation is more dire than the one Ryan confronted two weeks ago when Boehner, under intense pressure from the right flank, shocked the House Republican Conference by announcing his plan to resign Oct. 30, setting Oct. 29 as the original date for a full vote of the House on his successor. Walking out of that Sept. 25 meeting, Ryan said then and has consistently repeated that he did not want the job and that it would be a terrible one for a man with three school-age children living in Janesville, Wis., 75 miles southwest of Milwaukee. His long game, according to those close to him, is not rising up in the House. He has been touted as a potential treasury secretary in a GOP administration. He declined to run for president this time, but he still has a couple of decades ahead of him. That future could crumble if he listens to his colleagues. Not since Tip O'Neill (D-Mass.) left as speaker in 1986 has anyone retired from that job in good standing. Today's House is more rife with pitfalls than it was even a decade ago. Many of his colleagues, such Rep. Bill Flores (R-Tex.), head of the conservative Republican Study Committee, were calling on him Thursday to gamble his future to meet the present need. "I would say, unequivocally, if I could choose the perfect person to be speaker, today, for this conference, it would be Paul Ryan," Flores said. Karoun Demirjian, Kelsey Snell and David Weigel contributed to this report.
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An athletic Tyrannosaurus went to the gym and started training for 'American Ninja Warrior.'
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Construction output fell 4.3% in August, its sharpest drop since late 2012, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has said. In the three months to August, output fell by 0.8%, the biggest such decline since March 2013. Meanwhile, the UK trade deficit was £3.3bn in August, a narrowing of £1.2bn from July, it said. But the deficit was larger than expected and is set to weigh on growth, the ONS added. An ONS official said the weak figures for construction in August may have been linked to wet weather during the month. Housebuilding fell by 3% from July and output in other parts of the sector also contracted for the first across-the-board decline since 2010. The trade figures showed the UK's deficit in its trade in goods narrowed to £11.1bn in August compared with £12.2bn in July, although some analysts had expected it to shrink further. The deficit of £11.1bn on goods was partly offset by a £7.9bn surplus on services. Exports increased by £0.8bn, boosted by cars. The UK's economy grew by 0.7% in the second quarter of the year, but growth is expected to have slowed in the current quarter.
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BEIJING Research published in the medical journal The Lancet says one in three of all the young men in China are likely to die from tobacco, but that the number can fall if the men quit smoking. The studies, conducted by researchers from Oxford University, the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and the Chinese Center for Disease Control, show that two-thirds of the young men in China start to smoke, mostly before age 20, and that half of those will eventually be killed by tobacco unless they stop permanently. The research, involving two studies 15 years apart and including hundreds of thousands of people, says the number of tobacco deaths, mostly among men, reached 1 million by 2010 and will hit 2 million by 2030 if current trends continue. But researchers say the trends could be stemmed if the smokers quit. "The key to avoid this huge wave of deaths is cessation, and if you are a young man, don't start," said co-author Richard Peto, from the University of Oxford. Smoking rates have dropped significantly among men in developed countries. In the United States, about 20 percent of adult men smoke and 15 percent of women do, and cigarette smoking causes about one of every five deaths, said the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In China, the percentage of smokers among Chinese men has been on the rise in recent decades as cigarettes have become easily available. As more Chinese people start to puff at younger ages, researchers expect the proportion of male deaths attributed to smoking to increase. Around the world, tobacco kills up to half of its users, and more than 5 million deaths annually result from direct tobacco use, according to the World Health Organization. However, with tobacco an important source of revenue for the Chinese government, Beijing's efforts to control tobacco use have in the past been compromised. Also, many people in China find it difficult to kick the habit in a culture where smoking has become so ingrained. "It is difficult, because there is a lot of pressure at work, so I smoke to alleviate the tension," Beijing office worker Wei Bin, 32, said in an interview. "At the same time our country does not provide good support for people who want to quit. I have tried electronic cigarettes, but I think that is perhaps worse," Wei said. Some people are showing growing signs of awareness of the health risks. "Three years ago, I used to smoke, but now I realize it is bad for health and also the environment, so I quit," office worker Ma Huiwei, 35, said in downtown Beijing. The research published in The Lancet shows that the number of young men smoking in China has increased, and the percentage of all male deaths in China that can be attributed to smoking is rising, while younger generations of Chinese women have become less likely to smoke compared to those born in the 1930s. Yet, researchers also worry that this downward trend among Chinese women might be reversed as other studies have shown more young women taking up smoking recently. ___ Associated Press video journalist Isolda Morillo contributed to this report.
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BEIJING (AP) Research published in the medical journal The Lancet says one in three of all the young men in China are likely to die from tobacco, but that the number can fall if the men quit smoking. The studies, conducted by researchers from Oxford University, the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and the Chinese Center for Disease Control, show that two-thirds of the young men in China start to smoke, mostly before age 20, and that half of those would eventually be killed by tobacco unless they stop permanently. The research, involving two studies 15 years apart and including hundreds of thousands of people, says the number of tobacco deaths, mostly among men, reached 1 million by 2010 and would hit 2 million by 2030, if current trends continue. But researchers say the trends could be stemmed if the smokers quit. "The key to avoid this huge wave of deaths is cessation, and if you are a young man, don't start," said co-author Richard Peto, from the University of Oxford. Smoking rates have dropped significantly among men in developed countries. In the United States, about 20 percent the adult men smoke and 15 percent of women do, and cigarette smoking causes about one of every five deaths, said the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In China, the percentage of smokers among Chinese men has been on the rise in recent decades as cigarettes have become easily available. As more Chinese people start to puff at younger ages, researchers expect the proportion of male deaths that are attributed to smoking to increase. Around the world, tobacco kills up to half of its users, and more than 5 million deaths annually result from direct tobacco use, according to the World Health Organization. However, with tobacco an important source of revenue for the Chinese government, Beijing's efforts to control tobacco use have in the past been compromised. Also, many people in China find it difficult to kick the habit in a culture where smoking has become so ingrained. "It is difficult, because there is a lot of pressure at work, so I smoke to alleviate the tension," Beijing office worker Wei Bin, 32, said in an interview. "At the same time our country does not provide good support for people who want to quit. I have tried electronic cigarettes, but I think that is perhaps worse," Wei said. Some people are showing growing signs of awareness of the health risks. "Three years ago, I used to smoke, but now I realize it is bad for health and also the environment, so I quit," office worker Ma Huiwei, 35, said in an interview in downtown Beijing. The research published in The Lancet shows that the number of young men smoking in China has increased, and the percentage of all male deaths in China that can be attributed to smoking is rising, while the younger generations of Chinese women have become less likely to smoke compared to those born in the 1930s. Yet, researchers also worry that this downward trend among Chinese women might be reversed as other studies have shown more young women are taking up smoking recently.
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Thanks to an unbelievable catch from Brayden Lenius and a perfectly executed trick play that resulted in a TD, Washington pulled off a 17-12 win over No. 17 USC.
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Russia is denying reports from unnamed US officials that four of its cruise missiles fired at Syria crashed in Iran. The missiles were launched from Russian warships in the Caspian Sea on Wednesday as part of an offensive Moscow says is targeting the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group and "other terrorists". The report, citing two US officials, first emerged on CNN. The American network said monitoring by US military and intelligence assets had concluded that at least four missiles crashed as they flew over Iran. "The US believes, based on intelligence reports of damage assessments, that some buildings were damaged and civilians may have been hurt," the report said. The Russian defence ministry denied that any of the missiles had fallen short of their targets. "In contrast to CNN, we do not talk with reference to anonymous sources," the ministry said. "We show the launch of our rockets and the targets they struck." Spokesman Igor Konashenkov insisted that all the missilies hit their targets. "Otherwise one would have to admit that the terrorist group ISIL's facilities in Syria ... blew up on their own," he said in a statement. Russia had displayed graphics of the missiles flying over Iran and Iraq on Wednesday. Iranian state media said Iran's defence ministry also rejected the CNN report. The White House declined to comment on the report from the officials, who asked not to be identified, and the State Department said it could not confirm it. If confirmed, the crashes would be a blow to the military strength Russia aimed to display in launching what it said were 26 missiles at ISIL targets in Syria about 1,500km from the Caspian Sea on Wednesday. US officials have already disputed Russian reports that the missiles struck ISIL fighters in Syria. The US, which leads a coalition bombing ISIL in Syria and Iraq, says Moscow is using ISIL as a pretext to target rebels fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, an ally of Moscow. "Greater than 90 percent of the strikes that we've seen them take to date have not been against ISIL or al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorists," State Department spokesman John Kirby said on Wednesday. The Syrian opposition have accused Russia of causing civilian casualties.
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The 2015-16 NHL season has barely started and Calgary Flames captain Mark Giordano has already criticized his team's effort. The Flames fell in their opener 5-1 against the Vancouver Canucks, and Girodano had some blunt comments following the game. Via The Score : "That was probably as bad as we can get out there. We've got to get back to playing our system. We can't play like that. That is unacceptable." The Flames entered the year with fairly high expectations, but Giordano's comments are ones you might expect after a multi-game losing streak and not after the first game of the season. He's not wrong in his comments and the Flames should be better on defense than their 5-1 loss may have indicated, but it's important not to go overboard with a reaction too early in the season. NHL captains and coaches walk a fine line when discussing wins and losses. Making a mountain out of a molehill, especially doing so frequently, can zap credibility. Prior to the game, Giordano was already commenting about how critical it would be to take two points from the Canucks early in the season. Again, he's not wrong, but he's turning every instance into a do-or-die situation which can grow tiresome in a hurry.
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A new study has warned that a third of all men currently under the age of 20 in China will eventually die prematurely if they do not give up smoking. The research, published in The Lancet medical journal, says two-thirds of men in China now start to smoke before 20. Around half of those men will die from the habit, it concludes. The scientists conducted two nationwide studies, 15 years apart, covering hundreds of thousands of people. If current trends continue, the annual number of tobacco deaths in China, mostly among men, will reach two million by 2030, the research said calling it a "growing epidemic of premature death". The study was conducted by scientists from Oxford University, the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and the Chinese Center for Disease Control. But co-author Richard Peto said there was hope - if people can be persuaded to quit. "The key to avoid this huge wave of deaths is cessation, and if you are a young man, don't start," he said. While smoking rates have fallen in developed countries - to less than one in five in the US - they have risen in China, as cigarettes have become more available and consumers richer. Authorities have shown concern over the rise, with Beijing even introducing a public smoking ban. But efforts have been hampered by the habit's popularity, and its usefulness as a source of tax revenue. Globally, tobacco kills up to half of its users, according to the World Health Organization.
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SAN DIEGO Ebola survivor Dr. Ian Crozier says he continues to experience long-term effects of the disease, including hearing loss and seizures. In a speech Wednesday (Oct. 7), Crozier provided his unique perspective on the devastating illness, from the point of view of a doctor who treated patients in West Africa who also became a patient himself. He described his struggle with not only the viral illness but also the numerous health complications that have appeared in the months since he was declared Ebola-free. "It ain't over, even when it's over," Crozier said here at IDWeek 2015, a meeting of several organizations focused on fighting infectious diseases. [ 10 Deadly Diseases That Hopped Across Species ] Crozier also discussed unanswered questions about post-Ebola complications , and the need to develop ways to diagnose and treat these problems. Crozier, who was born in Zimbabwe and later became a U.S. citizen, volunteered to treat Ebola patients in Sierra Leone in August 2014. But in early September, he developed a fever and headache, and tested positive for Ebola. Crozier was soon evacuated to Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, where he spent six weeks fighting for his life. His organs were failing, and he required a ventilator to breathe and kidney dialysis, according to Emory University. After more than 40 days of treatment, Crozier's condition improved, and he was released from the hospital after doctors no longer detected Ebola in his blood. But soon, he developed other symptoms, including severe back pain, hearing loss and tinnitus (a constant ringing in the ears). Crozier also experienced cognitive symptoms, including problems with his short-term memory, he said. Two months ago, he had a seizure while attending a wedding in England, and started taking an anti-epileptic drug. "I added this to a long list [of symptoms] in my survivor's portfolio," Crozier said. One of his most notable complications was serious eye problems his vision was blurry, he saw halos around objects, and felt pain and increased pressure in his left eye. At one point, his eye even changed color, from blue to green. Doctors found Ebola virus in the aqueous humor the fluid between the eye's outer covering and the lens. Even 100 days after he was released from the hospital, "the virus was teeming in the anterior chamber of my eyes," Crozier said. Today, his vision has improved, although it's not back to where it was before his illness, Crozier said. (Although the virus was found in a part of his eye, Crozier, along with other Ebola survivors , would not be able to spread the virus to other people through casual contact.) Questions remain, including how Ebola is able to "hide" in certain parts of the body, including the eye, without being detected by the immune system. "How does a pathogen hijack that space?" he said. Crozier has since returned to West Africa, where there have been reports of survivors experiencing a range of eye problems. "There's an immediate need" to develop ways to diagnose and treat people who have eye problems after Ebola, he said. An upcoming study called PREVAIL III aims to look at the health consequences of Ebola, including the burden of eye disease in survivors. "I hope you're thinking about West African eyes," Crozier told the audience. After the conclusion of his speech, Crozier received a standing ovation. Follow Rachael Rettner @RachaelRettner . Follow Live Science @livescience , Facebook & Google+ . Original article on Live Science . The 9 Deadliest Viruses on Earth 5 Viruses That Are Scarier Than Ebola 6 Superbugs to Watch Out For
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Is it better to buy online or shop in store? Sometimes the answer is the former, sometimes it's the latter and sometimes a combination is best. Better prices (57%) and selection (49%) are the top reasons for purchasing online after researching an item in store, according to a June online shopping study by media analytics firm comScore and transportation company UPS. For anyone who's ever been torn between driving to the mall and turning on a computer, we're finally giving you some answers. Here's a list of five things you should definitely buy online (and a few you shouldn't). 1. Electronics First up: electronics. Purchasing a new TV or smartphone can be confusing. With so many product specs to consider, it's tough to figure out what makes one model better than another. And what if you pick the wrong one? Can you exchange it for something else? For major purchases (electronics included), we recommend that you shop online. It gives you more time to fully read warranties as well as return and price matching policies. You'll also be able to easily compare products across and within brands. Additionally, online marketplaces such as Amazon or eBay make it easy to locate and purchase preowned or refurbished electronics if you're looking to spend less. 2. Cars You can set yourself up to drive away with a sweet deal on your next vehicle before you ever step foot on the car lot all thanks to online tools. Start your car negotiations online, as that will allow you to easily compare prices and inventory across dealers. First, consult a resource such as TrueCar to get a rough estimate of what you should be paying for certain makes, models and features. Then, start negotiating online with a handful of dealers to see which one will give you the best offer. Get a definitive quote before you visit the lot to test drive and pick up your new ride. As the DMV points ou t, consumers can communicate with dealers via live chat and ask them to list all fees that will be associated with the car. Besides this convenient comparison research, you'll likely also save yourself from buyer's remorse if you do your car browsing from the comfort of your own home, as you can avoid potentially making spur-of-the-moment decisions after only a quick test drive at the dealer. 3. Groceries It's not just major purchases that are best made online. You can benefit from doing virtual grocery shopping for smaller items too. Think about it: You already know which type of coffee you'll need or which brand of toilet paper you prefer, so there's really no need to drive to a store to pick up these types of items, especially when they're readily available online. For groceries and other home necessities that you need regularly, take advantage of offers like Amazon's Subscribe & Save . The program allows customers to set up a schedule for how often they want deliveries of a specific item. Plus, you'll get a discount off of the original price just for doing so. Amazon says these savings could trim 15% off your entire order. Just be certain that your savings offset any potential shipping charges. 4. Luggage Before you jet off on your next vacation, look for luggage deals online. After all, luggage can be pretty bulky to carry home, and there's no real need to try it out in person as long as you look at the dimensions. Once you've settled on a size, color and pattern, you're ready to buy. Purchase your new travel companion from a retailer that offers free shipping (and free returns on online orders) if you're looking for the best possible deal. 5. Holiday gifts Finally, holiday shopping season is nearly upon us, and if you want to get the lowest possible sale prices on gifts while also avoiding the crowds, we recommend shopping online. Both Black Friday and Cyber Monday are huge seasonal discount days, and each is known to offer blowout online discounts. For example, last year, Best Buy's Black Friday event hosted tons of deals in store, but deals could also be shopped online all day on Thanksgiving and the day after. If you don't need to try on or test out a present in person, shopping online is the way to go. Combine purchases from the same retailer to meet the minimum threshold for free shipping and input any relevant promo codes for additional savings. And a few to avoid Not all purchases are best made via the World Wide Web. Here are a few items you should always go to the store for: Mattresses: You shouldn't commit to a mattress until you've felt its comfort level in person. Head to a mattress store to test it out before you buy. Art and decor. Ever notice that the colors of paintings don't always look the same on the screen as they do in person? Before you purchase paint, artwork or other home accents, you'll likely want to at least browse in store first. Furniture. Shopping for furniture in store adds a personal element that's lacking online. Plus, when you shop at a bricks-and-mortar location, you have the opportunity to speak with a salesperson and negotiate such details as the cost of the item and delivery fees. Helpful hint No matter where you make your final transaction, we always recommend doing at least some of your deal comparison work online. Use your computer (or your smartphone) to give you more time and a better opportunity to search for coupons, read product reviews and compare prices across stores. Once you've armed yourself with knowledge of the best sale, you can finish your checkout online or hit the stores.
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lifestyle
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INDIANAPOLIS - A few minutes before a choir sang the national anthem at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Thursday night, 10-year-old fan Sam Mefford yelled his encouragement to Orlando Magic shooting guard Victor Oladipo. "Victor!!!" Sam yelled from his seat in Section 5, near the midcourt stripe. "Go Hoosiers!!!" Sam wore an Indiana Pacers jersey but he also brought Oladipo's road blue No. 5 Magic jersey to the game. Because Oladipo is an Indiana University alumnus, the young Magic guard is still adored here, even by Pacers fans like Sam, Sam's 10-year-old friend Drew Wolfe and Sam's dad, Todd Mefford. The Magic hope Oladipo one day will develop into a player who is as beloved in Central Florida as he is in Indiana. So far this preseason, Oladipo has shown signs of modest growth as he prepares for his third NBA season. In 31 minutes, Oladipo scored a game-high 15 points, grabbed four rebounds and had two assists without a turnover in the Magic's 97-92 exhibition loss to the Pacers. But the Magic need more from Orlando than merely impressive stats. With new coach Scott Skiles expecting a defense-first mentality from his entire team, Oladipo must emerge as one of the team's best defenders and one of its best leaders. "He's a good player," Skiles said. "He can be an All-Defensive Team type player on that side of the ball. And I was going to say, 'If he wants to,' but I don't even need to finish the sentence about it. He's a very eager defender. He's a really good learner, and he's got a lot of enthusiasm for the game." On Thursday, Oladipo received some support. Tobias Harris, who started the game at power forward, scored 12 points and collected a game-high 13 rebounds against the Pacers' small lineup. Third-string point guard Shabazz Napier added 13 points. Evan Fournier, who recently returned from a sprained right ankle, rolled the same ankle when a Pacers player fell on his leg. Fournier exited the game, but he returned a few minutes later and finished with nine points. Oladipo arrived at Indiana University in 2010 while the Hoosiers were in the midst of a painful down cycle, recovering from NCAA sanctions. The Hoosiers posted a 12-20 record during his freshman season, but they advanced to the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16 during his sophomore and junior seasons. "He turned around the program," Todd Mefford said. "He's one of those guys who became a Hoosier legend. He's not from Indiana, but he endeared himself to the fans." Oladipo wasn't a polished player during his time at IU, and he's still not fully polished now. The Magic played him at point guard as a rookie, then shifted him full-time to shooting guard after about a month and a half into his second season. He'll enter his third season solidly entrenched at shooting guard. A point of emphasis for him is improving his shooting. He made just 33.9 percent of his 3-pointers last season. "I don't think there's anything wrong with his shot," Skiles said. "For Victor to shoot 33 percent from 3, I think he's a much better shooter than that. I think it's more just [making better] decisions [on when to shoot and when not to shoot]." Early in Thursday night's fourth quarter, Oladipo made a wise choice. As the Magic sprinted upcourt in transition, he pulled up just before the 3-point arc and swished an uncontested jumper. A few minutes later, the Magic were on another fastbreak as Oladipo pushed the ball forward. He spotted an open lane to the basket and accelerated, finishing the play by gliding to the hoop for a dunk. It was another smart decision. Sam Mefford cheered, smiling from ear-to-ear. [email protected]. Read his blog at OrlandoSentinel.com/magicblog and follow him on Twitter at @JoshuaBRobbins.
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ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) -- Count Washington Capitals defenseman Matt Niskanen among those around the NHL taking a wait-and-see approach when it comes to the league's new 3-on-3 overtime. A few things do seem clear about the setup: It will make goalies' stats uglier, result in fewer shootouts and force coaches to decide whether to focus on defense or an all-out attacking style. "I wasn't really sure about it at first," said Niskanen, whose team hosts the New Jersey Devils in a season-opener Saturday. "Now I think it's probably going to do what it was designed to do: Teams are going to get `grade A' chances, and if that's what people want to see, then let's do it. Fans are going to love it and the forwards are going to love it. Goalies and `D'? Maybe not as much." As the hockey season gets going this week, how teams deal with the switch from 4-on-4 in OT to one fewer skater per team could wind up having a real effect on the standings. Consider this: A year ago, with 4-on-4 rules, 44 percent of overtime games were decided by a goal before they got to a shootout, according to STATS, about the same percentage that it's been in the 10 years since that format began in 2005-06. But during this preseason, the first NHL test of 3-on-3 after it was tried in the AHL, 72 percent of OT games ended before a shootout, STATS said. Factor in that nearly a quarter of all regular-season games over the past decade went to overtime, and what might seem like a minor rule change takes on more significance. "I like the concept of it. I like more games being decided closer to where we're playing the 5-on-5 game -- and less shootouts deciding games," Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan said. "The shootout's been entertaining, but I think a lot of people within the league would like to see more games not decided by shootout." Buffalo Sabres coach Dan Bylsma pointed out that teams weren't necessarily using their No. 1 goalies in the preseason, which skewed the numbers. He also thinks coaches and players will adapt. "We're going to be better defensively as it goes on, versus better offensively," Bylsma said. "Right now, you're feeling it out." The expectation is that most teams will use two forwards and a defenseman, but that could change. How much teams try to be the first to score as opposed to trying to control the puck and prevent goals might shift, too. Nashville Predators coach Peter Laviolette called 3-on-3 a "tough thing to practice." "The majority of the goals are usually some sort of a transition goal or somebody falls down," Laviolette said. As his goalie, Pekka Rinne, put it: "I'm sure every team is going to go through a little bit of a learning curve." Buffalo's Bylsma and others, including Chicago Blackhawks forward Marian Hossa, figure one way teams will do things differently during 3-on-3 is to take care of line changes while in possession of the puck, instead of dumping it to the other end. The first 3-on-3 overtime of the regular season was a wild affair. On Thursday night in Florida, the Tampa Bay Lightning beat Philadelphia 3-2 on a breakaway from defenseman Jason Garrison that capped an OT period filled with end-to-end action and even a penalty shot. "How to describe it?" Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "Lunacy. It's just constant (action)." Tampa Bay outshot the Flyers 5-3 during overtime, and 32-25 for the game. "There's definitely a lot of chances out there, and that's what the league was trying to get out of it," Flyers goalie Steve Mason said. "I think we're going to see a lot of games ended in overtime just because of how wide open it is." Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin, who led the NHL with 53 goals last season, doesn't sound like someone in love with the idea of 3-on-3, even if he could be the sort of player who'll pad his scoring stats with more room to operate. "It's not fun, because if you're stuck in the zone, you're going to be dead after that, obviously," the three-time MVP said. "And you have to be smart with changes." His team's goalie, Braden Holtby, said he's "indifferent" to shootouts and the prospect of having fewer of them. He also isn't sure yet how he feels about 3-on-3. "I think the novelty (of shootouts) has worn off a bit. If anyone thought it wouldn't when they implemented it, then they're a little bit crazy," Holtby said. "Anything like that, that's a novelty, is soon to wear off. Just like this 3-on-3 will, at some point." ------ AP Sports Writers Teresa M. Walker in Nashville, Tenn., and Jay Cohen in Chicago, and AP Hockey Writer John Wawrow in Buffalo, N.Y., and freelance writer Mark Didtler in Tampa, Fla., contributed to this report. ------ Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich
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An escort's allegations in a tell-all book that former Louisville men's basketball staffer Andre McGee hired her to provide dancers to strip and have sex with Cardinals recruits, their fathers and players stunned the college basketball world when word of its pending release surfaced a week ago. Four investigations have been launched, two this week, to review Katina Powell's allegations in the book, ''Breaking Cardinal Rules: Basketball and the Escort Queen.'' Powell said in the book that three of her daughters were among those who danced with her in a dormitory on Louisville's campus, creating a lingering unease and uncertainty looming over Rick Pitino's program. With questions mounting about who did what, who knew what and when, Louisville President James Ramsey stressed the need for patience as the investigations move forward. Ramsey said Thursday in a statement that, ''We must, as one university, continue doing the work we do to move our university and our community forward.'' Campus police took a couple of days to review the book's details before Chief Wayne Hall announced Tuesday that his department is working with Louisville Metro Police and the Commonwealth's Attorney's Office to review the allegations for possible criminal charges. The independent University of Louisville Foundation, which does fundraising for the school, hired a law firm Thursday to review the allegations in the 104-page book. There were ongoing investigations by the NCAA and Louisville that had begun when the school was notified in late August about Powell's accusations. As Ramsey called for people to let the process unfold, he also praised longtime athletic director Tom Jurich's ''exemplary'' supervision of the department. The president, however, didn't mention Pitino - raising even more questions. The coach talked about the omission in a radio interview later Thursday, saying, ''I'm sorry that Dr. Ramsey did not think enough to mention me, but that's something I cannot control.'' Pitino then bristled at a question if the widespread attention now on his program has made him consider resigning. ''I don't know what resigning would accomplish,'' Pitino, 63, told 840 WHAS. ''I think that's the cowardly way out if I resign now without coaching two fifth-year seniors and people who came to play for me. What does it do for the program if the coach runs away? ''If I resign, would people feel better about it?'' Much depends on what the investigations uncover, but the book's allegations have raised several troubling questions. Former Cardinals recruit JaQuan Lyle, now an Ohio State freshman, confirmed the ''gist of allegations'' detailed in Powell's book during a meeting Tuesday with the NCAA, CBS Sports reported Thursday. Louisville men's basketball spokesman Kenny Klein had no comment on the report. Lyle originally signed with Louisville before de-committing and eventually landing with the Buckeyes. OSU spokesman Dan Wallenberg confirmed the NCAA meeting via email on Wednesday but said there were no issues with Ohio State. He did not mention Louisville. Powell's book was released online by a publishing affiliate of the Indianapolis Business Journal. A hardcover version of the book is scheduled for release on Monday. The book states that McGee hired her and other dancers for 22 shows performed from 2010 to 2014, mostly at Billy Minardi Hall. She said McGee paid her $10,000 during that period. McGee left Louisville in 2014 for Missouri-Kansas City, which has placed him on paid administrative leave. Messages left Thursday with his Louisville attorney, Scott C. Cox, were not returned. A spokeswoman for IBJ publishing also could not be reached for comment. Neither Powell nor McGee has commented publicly since the release of the book. Pitino has said McGee denied Powell's allegations and repeated in his second local radio interview in three days that he didn't know those activities took place in the dorm named after his late brother-in-law. The coach said he was still trying to understand the motive behind McGee's alleged actions and said that Louisville didn't need to hire dancers to attract top-flight recruits to his elite program. ''If you're the University of Louisville, you don't need any help with those artificial means to get players,'' Pitino said. ''This is one of the premier programs in the nation.'' Right now, his premier program is being scrutinized and examined by four separate entities.
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Priyanka Chopra is one of India's biggest stars and now she's taking America by storm singing with Pitbull and starring in ABC's newest thriller, Quantico. The former Miss. World hopes the show, which debuted to strong ratings in October, will change the way people think about racial stereotypes. Chopra spoke to Nightline on Fusion about balancing careers both in Bollywood and Hollywood, and how she's perfected that American accent. Quantico airs Sundays on ABC.
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Sports are notorious for showing us just how little we know, and college football is especially so. With that in mind, this appears to be one of those weeks in which it would take a truly monumental upset to shake up the top of the rankings. But with conference play just underway, there are still a number of contests that will help sort the contenders from the pretenders. Without further ado, here are the five games in Week 6 that will have the biggest impact on the race for the College Football Playoff. 10 p.m. ET, ESPN | 5dimes line: Utah by 7½ over Cal That other school from the Bay Area has established itself as the favorite in the Pac-12 North. But the surprising Golden Bears have a chance to match Stanford's feat of a cross-divisional road upset as they face their biggest challenge to date this season. Junior QB Jared Goff, who has already thrown for 1,630 yards and 15 TDs in 2015, is Cal's biggest reason for optimism. The Utes, however, are rested and ready. They were last seen hanging 62 on Oregon in Eugene, and the backfield duo of QB Travis Wilson and TB Devontae Booker know how to find open spaces. 7:30 p.m. ET, SEC | 5dimes line: Florida by 4 over Missouri Just as a team in crisis has to tune out the criticism, it's just as important not to enjoy the pats on the back too much when things are going well. That's where Florida finds itself a week after its convincing win against Mississippi. In case the Gators have forgotten, this week's opponent is the defending SEC East champ, and Mizzou fans will be happy to remind them. The Tigers will once again turn to true freshman Drew Lock to quarterback the offense as Maty Mauk's suspension continues. The Gators' defense could prove harder to solve, but the Tigers have a few guys who can hit as well. Florida QB Will Grier would do well to steer clear of Mizzou LB Kentrell Brothers. 3:30 p.m. ET, BTN | 5dimes line: Michigan by 7½ over Northwestern Few predicted this would be the biggest game on the Big Ten slate. Given the high level at which both defenses are performing, it might be good to familiarize oneself with the opposing punters. Senior Blake O'Neill has a solid 40.71-yard average for the Wolverines, but the Wildcats' Hunter Niswander isn't far behind at 38.93. 7:30 p.m. ET, FOX | 5dimes line: TCU by 10 over Kansas State Both Big 12 co-champs from 2014 are venturing up to the Sunflower State, though Baylor's visit to Lawrence does not figure to be quite as taxing. The Horned Frogs have been hard to stop themselves, though the Wildcats defense is always well-drilled and will be paying special attention to QB Trevone Boykin's primary target, WR Josh Doctson. K-State hasn't quite reached the point of scouting intramural flag games around the campus for a back-up QB, but the position is getting a bit thin. The good news for the Wildcats is Joe Hubener has been through concussion protocols and has been cleared to play this week. 8 p.m. ET, ABC | 5dimes line: Florida State by 8½ over Miami For the Seminoles to have a realistic chance of being in the Playoff conversation, they must have a clean record heading into their Nov. 7 game at Clemson. The Hurricanes, battling fan discontent and coming off a non-conference setback at Cincinnati, have a chance to start over as they enter ACC play. Miami QB Brad Kaaya has been through the wringer before, but the FSU defense he faces has been the main reason the Seminoles have survived to this point. FSU QB Everett Golson hasn't made any devastating mistakes FSU does not have an offensive turnover this season but he might need to take more chances in the passing game if top TB Dalvin Cook (hamstring) is unable to play.
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Australia said Friday it is in talks with the Philippines to send refugees there, but refused to confirm reports of a Aus$150 million (US$109 million) deal to expand its controversial resettlement policy. Under Australia's hardline policy to stop asylum-seeker boats reaching its shores, those arriving by sea are denied resettlement in Australia, even if found to be genuine refugees. They are sent to much-criticised camps on the Pacific island nations of Nauru and Papua New Guinea and in recent months Australia has been seeking new countries to settle the refugees in. A front-page report in The Daily Telegraph said Foreign Minister Julie Bishop had agreed the deal with her Philippines counterpart in New York and that it was awaiting sign-off by President Benigno Aquino. "We have had bilateral discussions with other countries, including the Philippines at an officials level and ministerial level over a number of months and the foreign minister obviously spoke with her counterpart in New York recently," Immigration Minister Peter Dutton told reporters. "I am not going to publicly comment in relation to where some of the negotiations are at. I think we're best to discuss those issues in private with those partners." Canberra has already struck a deal with Cambodia to accept refugees in exchange for millions of dollars in aid over the next four years. Only four asylum-seekers have so far opted to take up the offer of a new life in impoverished Cambodia, while the deal itself has been condemned by rights groups. "We will continue the negotiations (with the Philippines) because there is good faith on both sides," Dutton said. "If we can strike an agreement that is in the best interests of our country and from the Philippines' perspective, their country, we will arrive at that point." It has been more than a year since a boat carrying asylum-seekers arrived in Australia and Canberra has declared its hardline policy a success, despite intense criticism from rights groups. Before it was introduced, boats were arriving almost daily, with hundreds drowning en route. Bishop's office would not confirm the report on the Philippines deal, but a spokeswoman said the two governments had "long cooperated on irregular migration, people-smuggling and human trafficking".
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news
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TORONTO Game 1 of the American League Division Series was won Thursday by the Texas Rangers, just as everyone expect. Yeah, right. The Rangers did beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 5-3, with home runs from the bottom two hitters in their lineup, with five more quality innings against the Blue Jays by Yovani Gallardo, with Sam Dyson acting as closer, and with Adrian Beltre at an area hospital after a third-inning RBI single. Just as it was supposed to be. BOX SCORE: RANGERS 5, BLUE JAYS 3 As improbable as a Rangers victory was against Cy Young candidate David Price, at least as forecast by baseball's leading experts, the way they won was from an unused script from their 88-win regular season. Sometimes it takes a village, but a win is win and the Rangers now have a leg up in the best-of-5 series. "We've got a very confident group of guys," Rangers manager Jeff Banister said. "We've got a group of guys that they absolutely love playing together and they've been up against all year long since spring training. "So, it's not anything that we haven't faced already about what is said on the outside about our ballclub. We know that we're a ballclub that's not a perfect ballclub, but we've got a group of guys that play extremely well together." As of dinnertime, it appeared as if the Rangers would be playing Friday without Beltre in Game 2. He was diagnosed with a lower-back strain stemming from a first-inning slide into second base to break up a double play. He lasted until the third inning, receiving an injection of anti-inflammatory medicine in the clubhouse. Two batters after Rougned Odor scored a Delino DeShields single, Beltre slapped a single to center to score DeShields. Beltre, though, could barely run to first base. He stayed in the game but was lifted at the end of the inning after he couldn't run to second base. Beltre returned to the Rangers' clubhouse after a visit to an area hospital. An MRI exam taken there showed no structural damage, and the Rangers said that Beltre is day-to-day and did not rule him out for Game 2. "Adrian Beltre is a bleeping stud," left fielder Josh Hamilton said. "He's played with a lot of pain in the past and he'd continued to if we let him. He didn't want to come out. That's the type of guy he is." The Rangers opted to fly third basemen Joey Gallo and Ed Lucas from Arizona, where they were stationed to stay sharp in case of an injury, but removing Beltre from the roster would keep him out for the rest of the ALDS as well as the entire AL Championship Series. "That would be the last option," Daniels said. "The news would have to be worse than it is now for us to consider that." Beltre's single put the Rangers up 2-0. Toronto scored once in the fourth, but the Rangers' fifth opened with Odor getting plunked for the second time. No. 9 hitter Robinson Chirinos followed with a drive to left-center for a 4-1 lead. The Blue Jays scored singles runs in the fifth and sixth, but Odor started the seventh with a line shot that was just high enough to clear the wall in right field. He scored three times from the eighth spot in the lineup. "Anything you can gain against David Price is a plus," said Chirinos, a former teammate of Price with Tampa Bay. "I think he relaxed a little bit against people in the bottom of the lineup. He doesn't throw that hard against the seventh, eighth and ninth hitters. I took the first pitch and was looking middle in and was able to hit it out of the ballpark." Left-hander Jake Diekman pitched two perfect innings in the seventh and eighth, and he retired Jose Bautista, who had homered in the sixth, on a popup to get to the ninth. Dyson was the choice by Banister over closer Shawn Tolleson, and Dyson pitched around a leadoff single to end it. The decision came after a pre-series meeting in which the members of the back of the bullpen were told that game situations and matchups would dictate how they will be used. Tolleson, who saved 35 games, said that he wanted to be in the game, but said a win is what matters most. "Tolly's still our guy out there in the bullpen, and you will see Tolleson at the end of the game," Banister said. "But in these type of ballgames and in a series like this, it's about finding the best matchups for our bullpen." That move worked just like most everything else the Rangers did Thursday, just as everyone expected. Yeah, right.
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A month after it premiered at the Toronto Film Festival, Starz has purchased U.S. rights to Jason Bateman's dark comedy "The Family Fang" and is planning to release the film theatrically in 2016, Variety has learned. "The Family Fang" is adapted from Kevin Wilson's 2011 comic novel of the same name and stars Bateman and Nicole Kidman as siblings who reunite with their performance artist parents (Christopher Walken, Maryann Plunkett).
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Though Apple has been poaching engineers from Tesla for its own electric car project, Tesla CEO Elon Musk insists the newly scooped up employees are actually Tesla rejects. "They have hired people we've fired," he said in a recent interview with the German publication Handelsblatt . "We always jokingly call Apple the 'Tesla Graveyard.' If you don't make it at Tesla, you go work at Apple." He added: "I'm not kidding." While Musk (backhandedly) praised Apple for entering the automobile market, he remains skeptical of the company's ability to produce a vehicle. "[C]ars are very complex compared to phones or smartwatches," he said. "You can't just go to a supplier like Foxconn and say: Build me a car. But for Apple, the car is the next logical thing to finally offer a significant innovation. A new pencil or a bigger iPad alone were not relevant enough." His remarks parallel those of Palm CEO Ed Colligan , who in 2006 brushed off Apple as a smartphone maker: "PC guys are not going to just figure this out. They're not going to just walk in." In that case, Colligan had to eat his words. Perhaps Musk shouldn't write Apple off too early.
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finance
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INDEPENDENCE, Kan. The rooms in the intensive care unit are filled with folded-up walkers and moving boxes. In the lobby, plaques and portraits have been taken off the wall. By this weekend, the last patients will be discharged and Mercy Hospital Independence will close, joining dozens of rural hospitals around the country that have not been able to withstand the financial and demographic challenges buffeting them. The hospital and its outpatient clinics, owned by the Mercy health care system in St. Louis, was where people in this city of 9,000 turned for everything from sore throats to emergency treatment after a car crash. Now, many say they are worried about what losing Mercy will mean not just for their own health, but for their community's future. Mercy will be the 58th rural hospital to close in the United States since 2010, according to one research program , and many more could soon join the list because of declining reimbursements, growing regulatory burdens and shrinking rural populations that result in an older, sicker pool of patients. The closings have accelerated over the last few years and have hit more midsize hospitals like Mercy, which was licensed for 75 beds, than smaller "critical access" hospitals, which are reimbursed at a higher rate by Medicare . Whether in Yadkinville, N.C.; Douglas, Ariz.; or Fulton, Ky., all of whose hospitals were also shuttered this year, these institutions are often mainstays of small communities, providing not just close-to-home care but also jobs and economic stability. Sign Up For NYT Now's Morning Briefing Newsletter "People are sad. People are shocked," said Sister Annrené Brau, who came here in 1989 as a hospital administrator and is the town's last remaining member of the Roman Catholic order that took over the hospital in the 1920s. "No one thought we would ever come to this." On Thursday, just a day before the main hospital building was to close, a Mercy spokeswoman said another health system had tentatively agreed to open an urgent care clinic in Independence and take over most of Mercy's outpatient operations, but not inpatient services or the emergency room. An earlier plan for another hospital to take over some of Mercy's operations here fell through last month. Mercy's problems attracted notice in Topeka, the state capital, as some lawmakers renewed calls on the state to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, a move that would have pumped an estimated $1.6 million a year into the hospital's coffers. But Gov. Sam Brownback, a Republican, remained steadfastly opposed to the idea. Hospital officials said the Medicaid funds would have helped significantly but probably would not have ensured Mercy's long-term survival. Reductions in Medicare payment rates are hitting many rural hospitals hard, because they serve older populations and operate on thinner financial margins than their urban and suburban counterparts. "If it were just one silver bullet, it would have been easier to attack it legislatively and figure it out," said Maggie Elehwany, the chief lobbyist for the National Rural Health Association. "But it's really death by a thousand different knives." For Independence, Mercy was a constant in a century that brought drastic changes, many of them unwelcome, to this part of rural America. The oil boom came and went, the population dropped, and some companies took their jobs to bigger cities. This year, a large Amazon distribution center closed in Montgomery County, which includes Independence. But even then, many in town said they never thought the hospital, opened by local physicians in 1910 and taken over by the Sisters of Mercy in 1927, would follow suit. Linda Swenson, 68, said she was often at Mercy, for tests, doctor's appointments or emergency room visits. She knows many of the employees there, and is especially fond of the nursing staff. "It's crushing to think that it's closing," she said last week before getting lunch downtown at the Vintage Steak House. Mercy's emergency room had 8,000 visits a year, hospital officials said, of which roughly 250 were actual medical emergencies. Joanne Smith, a Mercy spokeswoman, said the preliminary agreement called for the hospital's new operator to open an advanced urgent care center that might eventually offer full emergency care. But even if that happens, the economic cost of losing the hospital could be stark, local officials said. Though there are two other hospitals within a half-hour's drive, Micky Webb, the city manager, said companies considering coming to Independence often ask whether there was a hospital in town, and that residents felt more secure with one within a few minutes' reach. The fire department recently bought a new ambulance because the closing will lead to longer transport times, and there are plans to buy another soon. Rod Zinn, a land surveyor who lives in town, said he had hoped that his aging parents would move to Independence from another part of the state, but that they were dissuaded by uncertainty about the hospital's future. "It's a great community," he said, "and for a community this size, it should have a hospital." This slice of southeast Kansas, about 90 minutes by car from Tulsa, Okla., and about two hours from Wichita, Kan., has long struggled to attract businesses and educated young people. But Independence is still an economic center for the stretches of farmland surrounding it. The downtown area has ample foot traffic and few empty storefronts. Along the highway leading into town, fast-food restaurants and car dealerships stand near a faded blue "H" sign pointing toward Mercy. Mardie Long, a nurse practitioner at Mercy, said many of her patients, especially the older ones, had expressed anxiety since learning last month that the hospital would close. Ms. Long has pledged to her patients she will continue her practice in town. "I see my patients at Walmart. I see them at the grocery store," said Ms. Long, who was born at Mercy 51 years ago. "And many times, the first question is, 'What will you do?' " But Ms. Long was an increasingly rare figure at Mercy. Many doctors left after only a few years in town, and Kim Day, the hospital's interim president, said the high turnover helped explain why about half of Independence residents had gone elsewhere for their care in recent years. "They get frustrated with not having consistent care," he said, "so they start reaching out to larger communities where there is more continuity." While hospital closings clearly have an economic and emotional impact, it is less clear whether they jeopardize people's health. A study published in May in the journal Health Affairs found that hospital closings had no measurable effect on hospitalization rates or mortality rates in the affected communities. One reason could be that the hospitals that closed were of lower quality than those in the region that remained open, the study said. "Is it an inconvenience? Sure," said Dr. Ashish K. Jha, a professor of health policy at Harvard and an author of the study. "But do patients do worse when they have to travel a little farther, at least from a clinical health point of view? They don't even for really time-sensitive conditions." Mr. Day said the Mercy system, which owns 46 hospitals in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma, tried for years to keep the Independence hospital afloat. But it never succeeded in referring patients to larger Mercy hospitals for specialty care, he said, thus hurting the system's bottom line. The closest large Mercy hospital was about 85 miles away in Joplin, Mo., and Independence residents preferred to travel to Tulsa or the 40 miles to Bartlesville, Okla. Two Republican state legislators from Independence, Senator Jeff King and Representative Jim Kelly, said they hoped some version of state-based Medicaid expansion would seriously be considered in the next legislative session to help prevent more hospital closings. Mr. King said that while he still opposed a straight expansion of Medicaid, he was open to the type of alternative model that Indiana and several other Republican-led states have pursued. "My children's children will not be born in Mercy like I was, like my kids were," said Mr. King, a father of two. "That is a new fact of life that we are addressing in the best way we can." Mr. Kelly, who is also the hospital's board chairman, said he feared that Independence might be just the "tip of the iceberg," and that lawmakers needed to act to help rural communities like his. "If we don't want to expand Medicaid," he said, "we need to find an answer."
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Spencer Stone, hailed as a hero after he intervened to stop a terror attack on a train in France, has been stabbed in Sacramento, California.
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On Thursday night, the Texans dropped their fourth game of the season with a 27-20 loss to the Colts. Ryan Mallett was benched early in the second quarter after 7-for-10 passing for 51 yards and one interception in favor of Brian Hoyer, who, aside from a first half Hail Mary to Jaelen Strong , didn't exactly summon his inner John Elway. MORE: Week 5 photos | Week 5 picks | Worst offseason moves | Texans whiff on Foster injury Just look at Mallett's face. This is AFTER the Texans scored a touchdown. Ryan Mallett's actual reaction to the Texans last TD pic.twitter.com/vxLcepLjlp NFLonCBS (@NFLonCBS) October 9, 2015 Want to know how bad things got for the Texans? This is John Skelton. Yes, the same John Skelton who in 20 NFL appearances threw 25 interceptions and fumbled the ball 11 times. And I'm not in the league... John Skelton (@johnskelton19) October 9, 2015 To Hoyer's credit he did finish with 312 yards through the air and threw two touchdowns to just one interception, albeit a game-ending one. Sorry, John Skelton, you aren't the answer.
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TrueTimber and Earnhardt Outdoors announced Friday that Dale Earnhardt Jr. will become the face of TrueTimber Camo, a company specializing in realistic camouflage patterns for the outdoors. As part of the agreement, Earnhardt Jr. becomes an equity partner in TrueTimber with the Inman, South Carolina-based company's founder, Rusty Sellars, and Bass Pro Shops CEO Johnny Morris. "As most people know, my family has a longstanding passion for the outdoors," said Earnhardt Jr., NASCAR's 12-time most popular driver and a winner of 48 NASCAR-sanctioned races. "TrueTimber has created top-of-the-line products and established itself as innovator of the most realistic camo designs. I feel like there is unlimited potential for us to grow the company to become the leader in the outdoor marketplace, and that's our goal." To celebrate his new affiliation, Earnhardt Jr., who has become an avid Twitter user since joining the social networking site in February 2014, has now launched his own personal Instagram account . The first photos on the account show Earnhardt Jr. donned in hunters camouflage. And here I am crouching in @truetimbercamo. Trying to be more inconspicuous against this white backdrop. #canyouseeme A photo posted by Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@dalejr) on Oct 9, 2015 at 7:00am PDT Very excited to join @truetimbercamo team. TrueTimber will be heavily involved in the Earnhardt Outdoors line and Earnhardt Outdoors will exclusively feature TrueTimber camo. A photo posted by Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@dalejr) on Oct 9, 2015 at 6:59am PDT "The Earnhardt family has long had a strong connection to the outdoors and this new partnership," said Sellars. "TrueTimber prides itself on being a family business, and as such, one of the concepts I'm most looking forward to is developing TrueTimber products that directly celebrate the family's outdoors heritage." TrueTimber will be heavily involved with Earnhardt Outdoors, a lifestyle brand started by Earnhardt Jr. and siblings Kerry Earnhardt and Kelley Earnhardt Miller to share outdoors traditions. Earnhardt Outdoors will feature TrueTimber Camo exclusively. Additionally, there will be TrueTimber-branded licensed merchandise featuring Earnhardt Jr. and other NASCAR teams and drivers. "TrueTimber already has a solid platform for success thanks to the hard work put in by Rusty and his family," said Kelley Earnhardt Miller. "We believe in the TrueTimber brand and look forward to this new relationship and how it will further enhance its visibility. We're also excited about TrueTimber's alignment with Earnhardt Outdoors. Not only are we both family operations, but there is a lot of crossover appeal between the two and it offers immense potential with the brand."
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US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter called for a "more strategic approach" to trying to defeat the terrorist group "Islamic State." The $500 million (441 million euro) program Washington had implemented in an effort to train and equip rebel groups to fight terrorists in Syria had been deemed a failure. Carter expressed dissatisfaction with the program, which to date has produced just 80 soldiers, most of whom have proved to be ineffective fighters. Last week, one rebel unit turned over US equipment and weapons to a group of IS combatants. "We have been looking for now several weeks at ways to improve that program," Carter told reporters. "I remain convinced that a lasting defeat of ISIL in Syria will depend in part on the success of local, motivated, and capable ground forces." Looking ahead, the Pentagon will seek to embed rebel fighters with already existing Kurdish units. Carter specifically referenced the work the US military had done with those units as an effective model of how to move forward in tackling extremist militants. "The work we've done with the Kurds in northern Syria is an example of an effective approach," he said. "That's exactly the kind of example that we would like to pursue with other groups in other parts of Syria going forward." The new program will also focus on providing training and equipment to soldiers outside of Syria. "Secretary of Defense Ash Carter is now directing the Department of Defense to provide equipment packages and weapons to a select group of vetted leaders and their units so that over time they can make a concerted push into territory still controlled by ISIL," Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said in a statement, using an acronym for Islamic State. The Pentagon's move comes as fighting has ramped up in Syria, with Russia launching air strikes starting in late September and IS making significant gains around Aleppo. blc/sms (AP, AFP, Reuters)
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Tomas Lindahl, Paul Modrich, and Aziz Sancar won the Nobel Prize in chemistry for their work into the mechanism that cells use to repair DNA. Click through to know other interesting facts about the Nobel Prize. The Tunisia National Dialogue Quartet was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize 2015 on Oct. 9, 2015, "for its decisive contribution to the building of a pluralistic democracy in Tunisia in the wake of the Jasmine Revolution of 2011". Belarusian writer Svetlana Alexievich was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature 2015 on Oct. 8, 2015. She has been given this recognition for "her polyphonic writings, a monument to suffering and courage in our time." On Oct. 7, 2015, Tomas Lindahl, Paul Modrich, and Aziz Sancar won the Nobel Prize in chemistry for their work into the mechanism that cells use to repair DNA. The scientists, who are from Sweden, USA, and Turkey, respectively, were honored with the prestigious award by Goran K Hansson, the secretary general of Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm, Sweden. The scientists' research mapped and explained the process through which the cells repair its DNA to prevent errors occurring in genetic information. (L-R) Anne L'Huillier, member of the Nobel Committee for Physics, Goran K Hansson, Permanent Secretary of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, and Olga Botner, member of the Nobel Committee for Physics, sit in front of a screen displaying the winners of the Nobel Prize in Physics 2015 Takaaki Kajita (L) and Arthur B McDonald during a press conference of the Nobel Committee to announce the winner of the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physics on Oct. 6, 2015, at the Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm, Sweden. Takaaki Kajita of Japan and Canada's Arthur B. McDonald won the Nobel Physics Prize for work on neutrinos. The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet announced on Oct. 5, 2015, that three scientists will be jointly awarded this year's Nobel Prize in Medicine for their path-breaking work on parasitic diseases. While one half of the award goes to Ireland's William Campbell and Japan's Satoshi Omura for discovering a new drug to treat infections caused by roundworm parasites, the other half will be received by China's Youyou Tu for discovering a new kind of antimalarial agent using traditional herbal medicine. Do you know how the prestigious Nobel Prize really came into being or who was the first winner? Swedish chemist and innovator Alfred Nobel, who made a fortune from his invention of dynamite, created a fund to honor individuals who made a recognizable difference in the fields of physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature and peace. The Nobel Prize consists of a gold medal, a diploma and a sum of money. Here are some facts about this much-coveted prize that you really should know. With more than 200 initial nominees for the various awards each year, a Nobel Prize winner receives around US $1.5 million. The first Nobel Laureates received 150,800 Swedish kronor (around US $15,420 today). The names of the nominees are withheld from the public for 50 years to prevent any kind of lobbying. So essentially, unless a nominee wins the honor, they may never know about their nomination. Swiss activist Jean Henry Dunant and French economist Frederic Passy were jointly the first winners of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1901. In 1926, Johannes Fibiger won the award after he discovered that parasitic worms were behind cancer a discovery which was later found to be untrue. Marie Curie became the first woman Nobel laureate after winning the physics prize with her husband Pierre Curie in 1903. The pair was also the first husband-wife team to win the award. Eight years later, Marie Curie won a second Nobel on her own in chemistry. In 1964, French philosopher and writer Jean-Paul Sartre was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, but he declined the award saying: "A writer must refuse to allow himself to be transformed into an institution, even if it takes place in the most honorable form." In 1905, Baroness Bertha von Suttner became the first woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize, and the second woman Nobel laureate after Marie Curie. A close friend of Alfred Nobel, Suttner was the author of the hugely popular anti-war novel "Lay Down Your Arms." In one of the most controversial Nobel Peace Prize ever awarded, Yasser Arafat (L), then chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization, shared the honor with Shimon Peres (R), then Israeli president, and Yitzhak Rabin, then Israeli Prime Minister, in 1994. Unhappy with the decision, Nobel Committee member Kare Kristiansen resigned and questioned the act of awarding a "terrorist" the world's most coveted honor. In 1973, Vietnamese revolutionary leader Le Duc Tho (R) was honored with the Nobel Peace Prize, along with U.S. secretary of state Henry Kissinger (L), for their work negotiating the Paris Peace Accords during the Vietnam War. While Kissinger accepted the award, Tho declined it saying that true peace did not exist. In 1918, Erik Axel Karlfeldt won the Nobel Prize in Literature, but he did not accept it as he was serving as the secretary of the Swedish Academy, which awards the prize, at the time. In 1931, he was awarded posthumously. Despite being nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize five times, Indian independence leader Mohandas Gandhi (popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi) never received the prestigious award. Though his final nomination came just weeks after his assassination in January 1948, the committee decided not to award it to him posthumously and instead chose to shelve the award for that year. In 1958, Russian poet and novelist Boris Pasternak was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. However, he refused the award after facing pressure from the Soviet Union. The award was later accepted by his son Yevgenii Pasternak after the end of the Cold War. In 1968, a sixth award was created to recognize individuals who have made remarkable contributions in the field of economics. The Bank of Sweden endowed a fund to support the prize to mark its own 300th anniversary. In 2009, U.S. president Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize "...for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples." Malala Yousafzai shared the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize with Kailash Satyarthi, a child rights activist in India. Yousafzai was shot in the head by members of the Taliban during her struggle to promote girls' education in Pakistan. The European Union was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2012, for "...over six decades contributed to the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe." Aware of his talents, Albert Einstein promised his former wife Mileva Marić (L) that the monetary award he received from any future Nobel Prize would be put in a trust for the couple's sons, with the latter having the access to the interest. This promise was part of Einstein's divorce settlement.
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China's first glass suspension bridge, which dangles 180 metres (594 feet) over a canyon in the central Hunan province, has excited -- and terrified -- thousands of visitors since opening two weeks ago. "I'm afraid to look down. I can only look straight ahead," said one young woman crossing the 300-metre long structure. Visitors were apparently not put off the experience despite news this week of cracks appearing on a glass walkway over a canyon in nearby Henan province, reportedly because someone dropped a stainless steel cup on it. Authorities insisted it was still safe. Visitors flocked to the Hunan glass bridge, in a scenic area of Pingjiang county, where officials were forced to impose a cap of 10,000 people a day during recent holidays. The glass-bottomed bridge, which replaced a wooden walkway, opened on September 24 -- just in time for China's week-long National Day holiday, a peak travel period. As dozens of people trudged across the bridge it shook underfoot and photos posted online showed some visitors kneeling or crouching on the transparent surface, too scared to move. "The glass bridge is a little scary to me since I have a fear of heights. I didn't look down," said a muscular young man, though his phobia didn't stop him from striking a ballet pose on the bridge. The structure is made from two layers of hardened glass with a total thickness of 24 millimetres (0.9 inches), according to state media. One family crossed hand-in-hand with their son in the middle. "We are not scared at all, it's so much fun," the mother said, as they strode boldly forward.
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KUNDUZ, Afghanistan As night slipped over the wheat fields and sandy hills, the blasts and gunfire of the last week had fallen silent. The security guard eased into bed with a faint sense of relief. From his room near the Doctors Without Borders hospital compound in the center of this bustling northern city, the guard did not hear any sign of hostilities between Afghan forces and Taliban insurgents. The charity hospital was humming, with more than 80 Afghan and foreign staff members treating 105 patients, including a few wounded Taliban fighters. "Everyone inside the compound was working confidently," recalled the guard, who spoke on condition he be identified only by his middle name, Suhrab. "There wasn't any fighting that night at all. The city was all calm." Shortly after 2 a.m., Suhrab heard a scream overhead the unmistakable sound of a warplane followed by an explosion at the main hospital building, whose white-columned portico sat just a few yards away. Diving under a desk, he counted 20 more blasts and heard the loud, dull crackling that told him the building was on fire. Somewhere inside the burning compound, Khaled, a nurse, placed a desperate call to his cousin Abdul Rahim. "I am dying in a flower bed," Khaled said. "Pray for me." Panicked, Abdul Rahim jumped into a taxi and set off for Kunduz from his home in Char Dara, several miles west across a winding river. In the city, along the road to the hospital, he was stopped at a Taliban checkpoint. In the distance, Abdul Rahim could see a faint red glow coming from the hospital complex. "The Americans are bombing the hospital," a Taliban fighter told him. "Don't go." The American military's Oct. 3 bombing of the hospital in Kunduz, the only trauma center of its kind in northeastern Afghanistan, killed 22 people and wounded 37. It has touched off an international outcry, three government and military investigations and, on Wednesday, an apology from President Barack Obama to Doctors Without Borders and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani. Obama said the facility was "mistakenly struck." But he and other senior officials have left key questions unanswered, chiefly, how American troops on the ground and aboard an AC-130 gunship failed to realize that they were repeatedly bombarding a hospital, one of the best-known landmarks in a city of 300,000 people. The Nobel Peace Prize-winning medical charity also known by its French name, Medecins Sans Frontieres, or MSF established the hospital in August 2011 in a compound formerly occupied by a textile company. The campus of low-slung, whitewashed buildings occupies an area roughly the size of two football fields and is surrounded mostly by empty land, except for a few houses across the road to the east. As is standard practice in the conflict zones where MSF operates, the group had passed on the hospital's GPS coordinates to military officials in Kabul and Washington multiple times, most recently about four days before the bombing. As the attack began Saturday, the group again contacted the U.S. and Afghan military personnel with whom they had shared the hospital's location, said Jason Cone, MSF's executive director in the United States. "We were under the impression that it was being passed up the chain of command," Cone said. Yet the bombing went on for at least 30 minutes more. Until then, the trauma center had avoided the worst of the previous week's fighting. Five days earlier, Taliban militants had launched a swift, multipronged assault on Kunduz, the provincial capital, raising their white flag in the central square of Afghanistan's fifth-largest city. It was a triumphal moment for the resurgent militant group, its first takeover of an urban center in the nearly 14 years since the 2001 U.S.-led military invasion drove the Taliban from power. Advocacy groups have accused the Taliban of storming civilian homes, raiding the offices of local and international aid agencies and abusing residents. As the militants besieged the city Sept. 28, most of the MSF staff hunkered down inside the hospital. "We were scared," said Suhrab, the security guard. "Everyone was concerned about what the Taliban would do to us." That afternoon, Taliban fighters reached the hospital gate. Suhrab was among a group of MSF staffers who greeted them at the entrance. "We opened the door, but they said they didn't have permission to go inside," he said. "They told us to go back in, that it wasn't safe, and that we should continue doing our jobs." The hospital treated 22,000 patients and performed more than 5,900 surgeries last year, MSF says. It enjoys an excellent reputation in Kunduz, where the only other major medical facility, a 200-bed hospital, is ill-equipped and short-staffed. MSF has a policy of admitting all patients, even combatants, as long as they shed their weapons at the hospital gate. Both Afghan soldiers and Taliban militants have received care, the group says. "Once a combatant is wounded, they are a civilian," Cone said. "We treat anyone who is a victim of a conflict, regardless of politics, religion, ethnicity. That's what we do." MSF staff in Kunduz said that several wounded Taliban fighters were brought to the hospital during the course of the clashes, but without weapons. They would be handed over by colleagues at the front gate and, like other patients, received occasional visitors, including Taliban elders. "A few times some of their elders would come inside to visit patients and meet with doctors," said Rahimullah, an Afghan doctor at the hospital, who, like many Afghans, has only one name. "They assured us, 'No one can harm you, you will be safe here,' so we were confident. Everyone was feeling safe inside the compound." The presence of insurgents in the hospital has sometimes rankled Afghan security forces. In early July, Afghan special operations soldiers entered the facility, reportedly to look for a militant who was being treated there. MSF lodged a protest with the Afghan government. "It's not the first time we've had issues in various places in Afghanistan," Cone said. "It's always been a challenge to just maintain respect for our medical facilities, and for other organizations as well. ... Absolutely they knew what we were doing." Sediq Sediqqi, spokesman for the Afghan Interior Ministry, which oversees the police, said security forces are instructed to respect international law. "Anyone who is wounded has the right to be treated," Sediqqi said. "We've tried to ensure that everyone in our forces understands this." The bombings occurred at about 15-minute intervals and lasted about an hour, MSF staff members said. The main building, housing the intensive-care unit and emergency rooms, appeared to be the target of the strikes; surrounding buildings sustained less damage. Some staffers and patients retreated to safe rooms in the compound. In one of them, nurse Lajos Zoltan Jecs helped treat a colleague who staggered in covered with blood. "In the safe room, we have a limited supply of basic medical essentials, but there was no morphine to stop his pain," said Jecs, in an account provided by MSF. "We did what we could." About half an hour after the airstrikes stopped, sometime after 3 a.m., staff members slowly ventured outside and began to absorb what had happened. Jecs peeked into the ICU and saw "six patients were burning in their beds." Omer, an Afghan doctor who had been in an adjacent building, saw the main hospital building charred black, with fires burning inside. Patients and nurses had suffered severe burns, he said. "It was a horrible moment," he said. "I couldn't save my own colleagues." "One of our doctors died on an improvised operating table an office desk while his colleagues tried to save his life," MSF International President Joanne Liu said. Survivors tried to carry the wounded and dead out of the compound. Among those killed were three children who had been admitted the previous evening, after they and their parents had come under fire in their vehicle as they tried to drive out of the city. Into the carnage walked Abdul Rahim, who had finally gotten past the Taliban checkpoint and come to find his cousin Khaled. He saw dozens of bodies, their eyes closed and heads wrapped in bandages, lying in two rooms as three doctors tried desperately to help. "You couldn't tell who was alive and who was dead," Abdul Rahim said. He found the bloodied Khaled, who had been wounded as he tried to run from the pharmacy to the main building during a pause in the bombings. Shrapnel had lodged in his back. Hospital staffers were able to stop the bleeding, but he needed further treatment. Abdul Rahim called another relative who had a rickshaw, and the three piled in and drove toward the city's other hospital. Along the way, Afghan security forces stopped them, asking why they were transporting a wounded man in the middle of the night, and accused Abdul Rahim of being a member of the Taliban. When they finally reached the main hospital, Abdul Rahim was shocked again. The facility was abandoned, with barely a doctor or nurse in sight. In the days since the attack, one of the single deadliest civilian casualty incidents in 14 years of U.S. combat in Afghanistan, the American military has added to the confusion by changing its account of what happened. Officials initially said American troops in Kunduz, deployed to help Afghan soldiers retake the city from the Taliban, called in the airstrike because they were under direct fire from insurgents. Gen. John F. Campbell, the top commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, later revised that account to say that Afghan forces caught in fighting had requested the airstrike, which was approved and carried out by the U.S. military. Hamdullah Danishi, the acting governor of Kunduz, was quoted as saying that Taliban fighters had been firing rockets from inside the MSF compound. But if there was firing near the hospital when the U.S. attacked, witnesses and hospital staff members said, they did not hear anything. "At the time of airstrike there hadn't been any fighting near the hospital at all," said Omer, the doctor. "The night was very calm compared to other nights." The incident came as a deep blow not just to the victims, their families and MSF, but also to the Afghan government, which had overcome a huge tactical embarrassment and nearly regained control of Kunduz. "We thought the operation was going well. We were very excited here in Kabul about the partnership with our U.S. friends," said a senior security official in the Afghan capital, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. "This was really unfortunate." MSF has categorically denied that fighters had infiltrated the compound and has demanded that Afghan officials end the "false charges." The group this week called for an inquiry by an independent commission established under the Geneva Convention, the international laws of war. "We're not an investigative body. That's why we need this," Cone said. "And we need it to be done by an independent party. We are doctors and we treat patients. That's it." Khaled, the wounded nurse, was eventually taken to an Italian-run charity hospital in Kabul, where he is recovering. He was one of the first staff members to join the hospital in 2011, his cousin said. MSF closed the facility the day after the bombing; it is unclear whether it will reopen. "He was so devoted to his work," Abdul Rahim said. "I can't remember a single Eid" the two holiest celebrations on the Muslim calendar "where he wasn't at the hospital working." (Special correspondent Latifi reported from Kabul and Times staff writer Bengali from Mumbai, India. Special correspondent Matt Hansen in New York and a special correspondent in Kunduz, who cannot be named for security reasons, contributed to this report.)
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Medicare Part B premiums for individuals could increase by 52% to $159.30 per month for 7 million enrollees.
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LOS ANGELES -- Up onstage in the sprawling Pasadena Convention Center stands Dirk Ahlborn, the German entrepreneur who wants to stick you into a 7-foot-wide tube -- suspended by magnetic forces in a pneumatic vacuum, naturally -- and shoot you from Los Angeles to San Francisco at a rate of 760 mph, about the speed of sound. "Just to explain it really simple," Ahlborn tells the audience, "it's a capsule full of people, hovering inside a tube, going very, very fast from point A to B." It's late September and Ahlborn has been asked to deliver the keynote speech at the unfortunately named Gizworld conference, a three-day event whose tag line proclaims "the future is already here." Though he's not yet a household name, Ahlborn, founder of Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, is a natural pick for a futuristic event like this. Two years ago, Elon Musk, the Tesla and SpaceX founder, published a widely publicized white paper that called for the building of a Hyperloop -- essentially a super-fast vessel that runs inside a vacuum-sealed tube. The idea for a "fifth mode" of transportation -- after planes, trains, autos and boats -- has floated around for about 100 years, but concerns over safety and cost have consistently scuttled the plans. Still, Musk has been adamant that advances in technology make the time right for a Hyperloop, or a system like it, one that is far more audacious than California's already-proposed 200 mph high-speed rail line, which, in addition to being very fast, would also be very expensive, at a cost of some $68 billion. Still, Musk had no intention of building the Hyperloop himself. It was part public exhortation, part public dare. In essence, Musk lobbed the idea into the ether and just sort of hoped that a company -- or a person -- would turn the notion into a reality. Ahlborn is the guy who took the bait. Back onstage, Ahlborn is describing how the company he formed is itself on the fast track to building the Hyperloop. What he doesn't mention, however, is that in February a separate and competing Hyperloop concern was announced. Similar Names, Different Approaches The similarly named Hyperloop Technologies, run by Shervin Pishevar -- a former SpaceX engineer and Silicon Valley investor -- opened up in Los Angeles not far from HTT's headquarters. But despite their similar names, much to the chagrin of Ahlborn, the two companies could not be any different in their approach to prototyping, building or commercializing the Hyperloop. In one corner, Pishevar's company is taking the more traditional, Silicon Valley route: It's raising gobs of money from venture capitalists, hiring employees and starting to build out potential Hyperloop prototypes right from the courtyard of its freshly appointed headquarters in downtown LA. By contrast, Ahlborn's company is the renegade, the company that the Los Angeles Times recently described as "the radical" of the two companies. Why? Because Ahlborn and HTT aren't simply trying to rethink the physics of transportation, they're attempting to rethink how companies are built in the first place. Rather than hire full-time, salaried employees, Ahlborn has decided to crowdsource the labor to part-time workers and offer stock options in lieu of salary. Amazingly, it's beginning to work. Since launching in the summer of 2013, Ahlborn's company has grown to about 450 workers, based in more than a dozen countries. Many of them work for organizations like NASA and Boeing during the day and spend nights and weekends working for Ahlborn. In order to be eligible for stock, HTT asks its "employees" to commit to a 10-hour workweek. Ahlborn declined to get into specifics about stock allocations for this story, but in an email he noted: "Early [employees] get more. In general we have a difference between senior and junior people for each hour worked." Yayun Zhou, HTT's design director, recently completed her master's degree in architecture from the UCLA. She's now helping design the interiors for HTT, forgoing the stability -- and paycheck -- of a more traditional salaried gig. "Everything is going really fast," she says. "We're very focused." Eventually, those employees may indeed cash in on their efforts. By the first quarter of 2016, Ahlborn has a bold plan: He wants to take the company public, raising upward of $500 million on the Nasdaq, with the money being used to compensate those who stick with the company, as well as finance a test track in California's Central Valley. 'Back To Basics' Later, hunched over a tomato soup and salad lunch near the conference center, Ahlborn reflects on his chosen model of doing business. "I hate the name 'crowdsourcing,'" he says. "At the end, it's community. We used to come together to build houses together. It's back to basics." Ahlborn, who stands well over 6 feet tall and has a snarling tattoo up his shoulder that peeks out from his button-up shirt, has been described by associates with various terms -- "visionary," "honest" and a "big German guy that never smiles," just to name a few. Born in Berlin, Ahlborn lived most of his adult life in Italy, where he started a string of companies, including a pellet stove business and a maker of high-quality fireplaces. In 2010, Ahlborn moved to the United States and, in 2013, at the height of the crowdfunding after the 2012 enactment of the JOBS (Jumpstart Our Business Startups) Act, Ahlborn launched the JumpStart Fund, where would-be entrepreneurs can post ideas and hope to get people interested in working on them in exchange for company stock. The international experience should serve him well. Ahlborn said he doesn't actually believe the path to commercialization of the Hyperloop will happen in the United States. While the idea for a Los Angeles-to-San Francisco route will likely sound appealing to millions of Californians, Ahlborn isn't really bent on selling the technology locally. He believes markets like China and India, where a "small" city might mean something like 20 million residents, could find it more useful. And he says for that reason overseas governments are more willing to act quickly. "We're not going to do this in the United States," he says. "If we were to try and do this in the U.S., it would take 20 to 30 years." To help get attention for JumpStart, he launched the platform on the heels of Musk's Hyperloop announcement, despite not having a particular expertise in transportation or the physics of supersonic travel. Ultimately, his lack of expertise hasn't really mattered much because he has been able to attract top-tier talent to work for the company. "The guys are working for stock options -- they're doing 10 times better job [than paid employees]," he says. It's not just solo workers getting involved, either. Andrew Liu, a vice president at Aecom, one of the world's largest engineering design firms, headquartered in Los Angeles, actually signed up his entire company, and says there are about two-dozen employees within Aecom currently working on the Hyperloop project. Right now, those employees are preparing an environmental-impact report, providing more detailed conceptual designs and developing a more realistic cost assessment for the project. "There's a lot of different things we need to do," Liu says. Liu admits that actually building Hyperloop systems around the United States would be a Herculean challenge. Beyond cost, they'd have to convince government officials and regulators that it's actually safe enough for passengers. "In order to get the revenue you need, you need to send a pod every 30 seconds," Liu says. "What happens if one breaks down and you have a pileup?" Still, Liu says Aecom is participating for a couple of reasons. First, because it's a potentially "transformative" project, and Aecom wants to be involved. Second, it's also helping get employees -- many of whom might be a little sick of building mundane highways -- get excited about building something new. "So many employees are so excited," Liu says. "You have to imagine what it does from a recruiting perspective. It's win-win. The exciting part is seeing how this is changing the paradigm within our own company. This is a sexy project." Another key partnership for HTT is the Swiss-based Oerlikon Leybold Vacuum, which was also announced last February. Sucking The Air Out Without getting too deep into the science of how the Hyperloop will work, it's imperative to understand that the air must first be sucked out of the system. It's like that old science experiment in which a feather is dropped in a vacuum-sealed container. It falls like a stone because there's no air resistance. So in order for the Hyperloop capsules to speed through the tubes at extremely high velocities using magnetic forces, the air first needs to be pumped out of the tubes. And for that, they basically need giant vacuums. Carl Brockmeyer, head of business development at Oerlikon Leybold Vacuum, says he emailed Ahlborn out of the blue when he heard about the Hyperloop project. "Ahlborn is very quick, very open," Brockmeyer says. "He's a visionary. It's very different from the conventional customers we have. The reason we want to be involved is because we are a tech company, and we want to share a seat on the podium to work on new projects. This is in our bloodstream. This is part of what we do." In the next couple of months, Ahlborn says his company will raise as much as $50 million from strategic investors (though he declines to mentions who just yet) and by the second quarter of 2016, once the company goes public, Ahlborn says the company will break ground on a stretch of land in central California. To get to that point, Ahlborn needed to find a suitable partner. After all, how many private entities would be willing to let him build a test track on their land -- for free? Earlier this year, Ahlborn found his match: Quay Hays, builder of Quay Valley, a sort of utopia being built in California's Central Valley, halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco. "Quay Valley is going to be huge for us," Ahlborn says. Sitting in his 16th floor office overlooking the Hollywood Hills, Hays gestures across a massive conference-room table cluttered with plans for the futuristic, energy-efficient village he envisions will some day have some 75,000 residents. Hays is a third-generation California developer, and is no stranger to developing large swaths of land. He says he has been obsessing for years about how to build sustainable communities -- especially one without cars and traffic. When he saw Musk's white paper, he said he began "tracking" companies involved in its implementation. "It still amazes me that we all hop into big hunks of metal with rubber and have to use those to get from point A to point B," he says. In February, Hays and Ahlborn signed a deal that would allow HTT to build a 5-mile test track adjacent to the village on land now used for cattle grazing. "The Hyperloop seemed to be a good fit with what we're doing, which is challenging traditional wisdom in every aspect of development to see if there's a better way. It's the 21st century, and in 99 percent of the cases, there is a better way." Asked about Ahlborn's approach using crowdsourced employees, Hays was unfazed. "I can relate to what Dirk is doing," he says. "It's the way to get the best talent." Later, he added: "Something's got to give. It's going to take these pioneers in transportation to get it done." Cost Per Mile Pioneering a new transportation system is one thing, but the question of revenue and profit is another. Even though the idea sounds fantastic -- even revolutionary -- Ahlborn is constantly reinforcing that Hyperloop isn't merely a fantasy cooked up by Musk. Right now, the company estimates that building the tubes would cost $20 million to $45 million per mile, compared to the $200 million per mile for a bullet train. Overall, for a 400-mile track, HTT estimates the cost to be around $16 billion. "Why not build a bullet train? Because a bullet train is the worst investment you can make," Ahlborn says. "It's the cost, the liability. You continue paying for it. It doesn't make economical sense. It's old technology. What we're working on, it's not the speed. It's the business model." Bibop Gresta, Ahlborn's business partner, explains a ticket would cost $30, and each capsule would transport 28 people. For a journey from San Francisco to Los Angeles, one capsule would be dispatched every 30 seconds. Assuming full capacity on each trip, Gresta says the company would make about $24 million per year, and be profitable within eight years, assuming it can build more than one tube. Still, Gresta says ticket prices will be just one source of revenue. He says solar panels placed along the track would produce excess energy that could be sold to nearby municipalities. And then there's the matter of "monetizing the user." "We also have all your data," Gresta says. Both Gresta and Ahlborn say advertising will be another source of lucrative income. "Anything is advertising, because it's data," Ahlborn says. "From data, I can learn more about you. It's about incorporating different business models into [the Hyperloop]. I know where you're coming from, I know where you're going, I can offer you solutions so that your experience is better, faster, simpler." Right now, though, it's all just a pipe dream, so to speak, at least until the Quay Valley launch. Ahlborn says that in all likelihood, revenues generated from the Quay Valley track won't be coming in until at least late 2018. "I always tell everyone it's a marathon, not a sprint," Ahlborn says. With 450 workers and growing, Ahlborn adds, "It is becoming a movement."
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Think you can't afford to be your own boss? Think again. Franchises You Can Launch for Less Than $50,000 Think you can't afford to be your own boss? Think again: Some of the top franchises in the world cost less than $50,000 to start. These bargain franchises encompass everything from pet training to commercial painting, so there is something for every hopeful franchise owner. Here are 20 of the top affordable franchises from Entrepreneur's 2015 Franchise 500. H&R Block Category: Tax preparation, electronic filing Website: hrblock.com/franchise Startup cost: $31.5K-$148.7K Total franchises/co.-owned: 4,846/6,165 More info CleanNet USA Category: Commercial cleaning Website: cleannetusa.com Startup cost: $9.8K-$97.95K Total franchises/co.-owned: 2,951/14 More info RE/MAX Category: Real estate Website: remax.com Startup cost: $37.5K-$279.5K Total franchises/co.-owned: 6,751/21 More info Proforma Category: Printing and promotional products Website: onlyproforma.com Startup cost: $4.7K-$50.2K Total franchises/co.-owned: 703/0 More info CruiseOne Category: Travel agency Website: cruiseonefranchise.com Startup cost: $3.2K-$21.9K Total franchises/co.-owned: 1,000/0 More info MaidPro Category: Residential cleaning Website: maidpro.com Startup cost: $45.9K-$202.8K Total franchises/co.-owned: 187/1 More info My Gym Children's Fitness Center Category: Early-learning/fitness programs Website: mygym.com Startup cost: $34.3K-$247.2K Total franchises/co.-owned: 329/0 More info Fresh Coat Category: Residential and commercial painting Website: freshcoatpainters.com Startup cost: $49.4K-$76.95K Total franchises/co.-owned: 112/0 More info The Glass Guru Category: Window and glass restoration and replacement Website: theglassguru.com Startup cost: $30.2K-$119.99K Total franchises/co.-owned: 92/0 More info Dale Carnegie Training Category: Workplace training and development Website: dalecarnegie.com Startup cost: $26K-$182.5K Total franchises/co.-owned: 202/2 More info Doc Popcorn Category: Kettle-cooked popcorn Website: docpopcorn.com Startup cost: $39K-$355.1K Total franchises/co.-owned: 94/2 More info AmeriSpec Home Inspection Services Category: Home inspections Website: amerispec.com Startup cost: $44.3K-$75.5K Total franchises/co.-owned: 290/0 More info Young Rembrandts Franchise Category: Art classes for ages 3 to 12 Website: youngrembrandtsfranchise.com Startup cost: $40.2K-$48.9K Total franchises/co.-owned: 107/0 More info Happy & Healthy Products Category: Frozen fruit bars Website: happyandhealthy.com Startup cost: $37.2K-$113.1K Total franchises/co.-owned: 63/0 More info Unishippers Global Logistics Category: Shipping services Website: unishippers.com Startup cost: $48.2K-$2.2M Total franchises/co.-owned: 222/92 More info Sit Means Sit Dog Training Category: Dog training Website: sitmeanssit.com Startup cost: $45K-$123.9K Total franchises/co.-owned: 82/1 More info Green Home Solutions Category: Environmentally friendly mold cleaning, pest control and odor elimination Website: greenhomesolutions.com Startup cost: $21.1K-$72.7K Total franchises/co.-owned: 102/1 More info Complete Weddings and Events Category: Photography, DJ, video and photo-booth services Website: completewedo.com Startup cost: $30.4K-$48.7K Total franchises/co.-owned: 200/2 More info The Senior's Choice Category: Nonmedical home care Website: theseniorschoice.com Startup cost: $38K-$55K Total franchises/co.-owned: 170/1 More info Computer Troubleshooters Category: Technology consulting for small businesses Website: comptroub.com Startup cost: $17.2K-$82.9K Total franchises/co.-owned: 344/0 More info
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Pulses, solo salad kits and seeds make the list. I just returned from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics' 2015 Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo in Nashville one of the largest gatherings of food and nutrition professionals in the world. This year's conference featured sessions that addressed everything from food waste and hunger to adolescent eating disorders and nutrition strategies for athletes. The expo part of the four-day meeting is ideal for trendspotting. This is where you'll find a range of exhibitors showcasing new food and beverage products, equipment, education campaigns and corporate initiatives. Some trends remained strong, such as gluten-free , protein, whole grains, non-GMO and clean ingredients. Others trends appeared to be gaining momentum, such as 100 percent grass-fed, whole-milk dairy products and coconut in many forms coconut water fortified with protein, toasted coconut chips, coconut oil salad dressings and spreads and overnight muesli. It was tough to narrow down my list, but here's what I thought were the top eight food trends uncovered at the show: Pulses beat loudly. Several exhibitors were boasting about pulses beans, dry peas, lentils and chickpeas. The United Nations has declared 2016 the International Year of Pulses , so the celebrations have officially begun. Beans were baked into chips and pasta, flavored up and packaged in ready-to-eat cartons, served in salads and soups and showcased in hummus. Sabra promoted its "Two Spoons of Hummus a Day" campaign to close the bean gap, and Eat Well Embrace Life sampled unique hummus varieties made with different beans , including edamame, white beans and red lentils. Salad kits go solo. Prewashed and packaged salad mixes have been around for a while, but the concept of salad kits for one is new. Dole Foods is introducing an innovative product called Take Aways that combines chopped salad mix with a packet of whole grains and seeds , along with a vinaigrette dressing or salsa to drizzle on top. Two of the four varieties include diced chicken. You shake the salad in the box that doubles as your serving bowl. The kit even comes with a spoon. Eat Smart's new Plant Powered Protein salad kits are similar, but the packet inside features plant-protein toppings including a mixture of seeds, nuts, roasted edamame, dried corn and roasted soy nuts. Sprouted grains gain traction. It seems that sprouted grains have gone mainstream. The trend has been growing in recent years, and it's no longer a natural foods niche. Sprouted grains popped up in several places on the exhibit floor from sprouted grain cereals, bars and bread to sprouted rice and risotto mixes. Sprouted grains are harvested right after they start to sprout but before they turn into a full-fledged plant. Since a sprouted grain is lower in starch, it has higher proportions of other nutrients, such as protein, vitamins and minerals (especially iron and zinc) compared to unsprouted grains. Some claim that sprouted grains are higher in certain enzymes and may be easier to digest, but the advantages often get over-blown. Seeds see more love. Seeds may be the new nuts showing up in nutrition bars and other snacks, cereals, granola, salad mixes and more. And it's no longer just about chia seeds, which seemed to steal all the glory in the past. A company called Go Raw sampled an interesting array of sprouted seeds sunflower, pumpkin , watermelon and other seeds. Frozen meals get a fresh take. Multiple companies are trying to shake up the freezer aisle. The new technology for frozen meals is paper pouches for steam cooking in the microwave. It's definitely a new era of the old TV dinner. Luvo showcased globally-inspired entrees including vegetable bibimbap, tandoori-inspired spiced chicken, sweet potato and butternut squash enchiladas and chicken and harissa chickpeas. Probiotics go beyond yogurt. Probiotics , those beneficial bacteria made famous by yogurt and kefir, made appearances in dairy products and beyond. A flavored water-based beverage called Go Live stashed the probiotics in the lid that will spill out into the bottle once it's opened. New individual packets of powdered probiotics and fiber to mix with water, smoothies or other foods were humorously named Regular Girl to help girls "eat, drink and be regular." Desserts slim down. A new frozen dessert called Wink was created by a guy with celiac disease and a dairy allergy who wanted a healthier version of ice cream that he could enjoy. The entire pint contains only 100 calories, and it's vegan , gluten-free, sugar-free, dairy-free, fat-free, soy-free, nut-free and egg-free. So what's in it? That's what I wanted to know. Turns out, it's mostly water and pea protein, with some inulin, tapioca, guar gum, monk fruit, stevia and a variety of flavors from cake batter to cinnamon bun. I think I'll stick with real ice cream or frozen yogurt, but Wink may be a good option for some people. Packages tell a story. Throughout the exhibit floor, I noticed that companies both big and small were using their packages to tell their story. Some showed their commitment to sustainability and transparency with language on the back panels or through the package itself (like recycled paperboard printed with soy or waterless ink). I also saw more front-of-pack call-outs from 2 cups of vegetables per serving to chicken raised without antibiotics. More from MSN The Truth About the Pumpkin Shortage 5 Key Nutrients You're Probably Not Getting Enough Of
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