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Getting fiber for home Internet used to be almost like trying to win the lottery. Google would pick a city and then AT&T would magically announce it was going to that city too . Meanwhile, the rest of the country would grumble and grouse, wondering if it was worth moving to Kansas City . That's slowly been changing though as AT&T has sped up its plans while Google remains far more limited. Now AT&T is announcing a significant expansion of its service, with plans to more than double the places with high-speed connections over the next year. Fiber allows speeds of 1 gigabit per second and above, far faster than most other high-speed Internet technologies. AT&T is bringing it's GigaPower service to cities like Detroit, Cleveland and San Francisco. (See below for the full list) The company is launching service now in Los Angeles and West Palm Beach, Fla. Previously, AT&T offered service in part or all of about 20 metropolitan areas while Google is live in three markets. AT&T said it now reaches 1 million homes and businesses and plans to double that next year and eventually reach 14 million addresses with fiber service. In October, Google Fiber announced it was adding three new markets, putting the total planned cities at fifteen in addition to its three active ones. From the cities on AT&T's map, only San Jose and San Diego overlap with those Google is eying among the new markets. Comcast has also been quick to announce plans for faster Internet just as fiber was coming to that city. Google's CFO has said that the conglomeration plans to continue its investment in Google Fiber, which is now a division of the separate Alphabet company called (for now) Access and Energy . Here's the full list of cities slated to get fiber service through AT&T: The 38 metro areas that AT&T will be entering, starting with the launch of service in parts of the Los Angeles and West Palm Beach metros today, are: · Alabama: Birmingham, Huntsville, Mobile and Montgomery · Arkansas: Fort Smith/Northwest Arkansas and Little Rock · California: Bakersfield, Fresno, Los Angeles, Oakland, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco and San Jose · Florida: Pensacola and West Palm Beach · Georgia: Augusta · Indiana: Indianapolis · Kansas: Wichita · Kentucky: Louisville · Louisiana: Baton Rouge, Shreveport-Bossier, Jefferson Parish region and the Northshore · Mississippi: Jackson · Missouri: St. Louis · Michigan: Detroit · Nevada: Reno · North Carolina: Asheville · Ohio: Cleveland and Columbus · Oklahoma: Oklahoma City and Tulsa · South Carolina: Charleston, Columbia and Greenville · Tennessee: Memphis · Texas: El Paso and Lubbock · Wisconsin: Milwaukee Mark Bergen contributed reporting. | 3 | 97,600 | finance |
A Japanese spacecraft should be orbiting Venus now, if all went according to plan Sunday (Dec. 6). The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Akatsuki probe fired its small attitude-control thrusters for 20 minutes Sunday evening in a second and final attempt to enter Venus orbit. Akatsuki's first try which came exactly five years earlier, on Dec. 6, 2010 failed when the probe's main engine conked out during the orbit-insertion burn, sending the spacecraft sailing off into deep space. It's too early to know if Akatsuki is indeed safely circling the second planet from the sun, the spacecraft's handlers said. "The orbiter is now in good health," Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) officials wrote in a mission update Sunday. "We are currently measuring and calculating its orbit after the operation. It will take a few days to estimate the orbit; thus we will announce the operation result once it is determined." The $300 million Akatsuki mission , whose name means "Dawn" in Japanese, launched in May 2010 to study the clouds, weather and atmosphere of Venus, with the aim of helping scientists understand how the planet ended up so much hotter and less life-friendly than Earth. (Surface temperatures on Venus are hot enough to melt lead.) Akatsuki's orbit will be much more elliptical than originally planned featuring a period of 8 or 9 days, compared to 30 hours for a 2010 Venus arrival if Sunday's maneuver worked. But the probe should still be able to achieve most of its mission goals, JAXA officials have said. Akatsuki performed the engine burn Sunday at 6:51 p.m. EST (2351 GMT; 8:51 a.m. on Dec. 7 Japan Standard Time), according to the JAXA update. Follow Mike Wall on Twitter @michaeldwall and Google+ . Follow us @Spacedotcom , Facebook or Google+ . Originally published on Space.com . | 5 | 97,601 | news |
Rolf's, in Gramercy Park, needs six weeks to install its holiday lights. | 2 | 97,602 | travel |
Coasters so stylish, guests will actually want to use them. Coasters so stylish, guests will actually want to use them. UncommonGoods Record Coasters $18 for set of six BUY NOW Well over 700 reviews tout this set of six coasters as a great grab-bag gift and an easy way to add a retro-styled, eclectic element to your decor. Made from recycled records, each coaster has the original label intact and the artist selection is totally random! More: 13 Essential Beer Glasses for Every Home Bar Molly M Designs Geometric Felt Coasters $45 for set of four BUY NOW You bring the beverage, and these laser-cut coasters will bring the graphic interest to your table. The see-through design lets these felt picks coordinate seamlessly with its surroundings, while keeping the surface underneath free of any drips. Godinger Race Coasters $40 for set of four BUY NOW For the auto enthusiast , only one set of coasters will do. This sophisticated, nickel-plated metal set keeps your home bar or coffee table surface pristine, and looks damn good doing it. Jonathan Adler Amoeba Coaster Set $78 for set of four BUY NOW A vibrant set with artful intrigue we love how this quartet of porcelain coasters is faintly reminiscent of a lively, botanical Matisse design. They're slightly curved upwards, to prevent any condensation from spilling over, plus the "amoeba" forms are actually hand-applied 24-karat gold details! West Elm The Vintage Vogue Rain Coasters $25 for set of four BUY NOW A subtle nod to the night sky. The paint-splattered patterns of these birch wood coasters evoke the look of the craters on a half-moon in a unique, subtle way. Anthropologie Saga Coaster $8 BUY NOW This stoneware hummingbird coaster provides a magnificent miniature accent to your coffee table. In fact, even if you're a solo dweller who seldom entertains, just grab one and keep it pleasantly perched on your end table at all times. Royal Cocktail Everyday Coaster Set $16 for set of eight BUY NOW Sip like royalty with this set of pulp-board coasters, each adorned with a cocktail-inspired character. The whimsical designs add a playful touch to your table. More: The Best Cocktail Books for the Home Bartender Thirstystone Cinnabar Sandstone Coasters $20 for set of four BUY NOW With the smooth, grainy look of sanded wood, these thick coasters are actually made of porous sandstone, and backed with a cork pad to prevent any moisture from seeping through. Thomas Paul Zodiac Coasters $16 for set of three BUY NOW A zodiac set like you've never seen before. These artful coasters have pen-and-ink-style designs of each of the 12 celestial signs, so you can display your birth symbol in the most demure fashion. Dot & Bo CMYK Color Coasters $25 for set of four BUY NOW For the design-obsessed who abide by the CMYK model, this colorful acrylic set protects your table with clean, modern simplicity. Crate & Barrel Marble Coasters $20 BUY NOW Minimalists, protect the pristine quality of your surfaces with these gorgeous, two-toned marble coasters. Foam feet ensure that these smooth stones don't go sliding out from under your drink. Spitfire Girl Animal Menagerie Coaster Set $24 for set of four BUY NOW The party animals have arrived this modish menagerie is displayed on a set of wooden coasters for peak rustic-quirk appeal. Mapleton Drive Gold Rimmed Blue Agate Coasters $110 for set of four BUY NOW Coasters so beautiful, you'll never want to stow them away. This gold-rimmed collection made of agate stone displays gorgeous shading and patterns unique to each set. Garima Dhawan Dance 3-Coaster Set $15 for set of four BUY NOW If you're hosting an all-out bash, make sure you have coasters on hand that match the mirthful mood. This confetti-clad set is lined with a satiny fiberboard pattern on both sides to keep the post-party mess to a minimum. Crate & Barrel Andie Wine Coaster $10 BUY NOW Prevent your bottle of white from marking up your table at your next wine-and-cheese night. This simple aluminum wine coaster lets you bring your chilled bottle out for enjoyment, while keeping your serving surface ring-free. | 4 | 97,603 | lifestyle |
The fantasy football playoffs are upon us in most leagues, and that means every matchup, every potential sleeper, and every waiver-wire pickup will be scrutinized more than ever. Our Week 14 fantasy defense rankings reflect that. Unfortunately, there aren't a lot of "high-percentage" sleeper plays. The 49ers and Browns are facing each other, and both are in the top five in fantasy points allowed to D/STs. However, both are in the bottom three in defensive fantasy points. Do you want to overturn your lineup and put your season on the line for either of those teams? Ultimately, you'll find a lot of usual suspects at the top -- with a few sleepers mixed in -- but if there's a theme this week, it's "dance with the ones that brought you." Let's check out the full fantasy D/ST rankings to help you make those tough start/sit lineup decisions. MORE: Week 14 fantasy football rankings: Quarterbacks | Running backs | Wide receivers | Tight ends | Kickers Week 14 fantasy football rankings, Defenses 1. Seahawks at Ravens . Baltimore's Matt Schaub has thrown a pick-six in five straight games. This is almost too easy...seems like a trap. Whatever, we'll take the bait. 2. Broncos vs. Raiders . The Broncos still lead the league by a fairly wide margin in D/ST fantasy points. The Raiders haven't allowed a ton of fantasy points for the season (8.5 per game), but the Chiefs just put up 20 on them. The Broncos are an easy call at No. 2. 3. Chiefs vs. Chargers . San Diego has allowed at least 25 fantasy points to D/STs in two of the past three games. The Chiefs, who rank fourth in D/ST fantasy points, have major upside coming off a monster game against the Raiders. 4. Cardinals vs. Vikings . The Vikings have been fairly good at limiting fantasy points to D/STs this year (8.9), but Arizona is ranked sixth in defensive fantasy points and has the advantage of playing at home on a short week. Watch out. 5. Panthers vs. Falcons . We'll assume the Panthers got their "bad" game out of the way last week in New Orleans. Back in Charlotte, the Panthers should take advantage of a Falcons' team that's scoring nearly four points less on the road than at home. 6. Packers vs. Cowboys . The Cowboys allowed an average of 15.4 points to D/STs in the games Tony Romo missed, so expect the Packers to be able to get something going against them at home. MORE: FanDuel tourney lineup | Cash-game lineup | Best DFS values 7. Eagles vs. Bills . Tampa and Detroit hung 45 points on Philadelphia in Weeks 11 and 12, but its defense has found a way to get enough fantasy points to rank fifth for the season. Part of that is the three TDs it scored against the Pats in Week 13, but this is still a big-play unit that can have value against anyone. 8. Jets vs. Titans . The Titans are tied for the second-most sacks allowed, and even though New York isn't an elite pass-rushing team, it's still posted a respectable QB takedowns. A healthy Darrelle Revis (concussion) would go a long way in improving the Jets' outlook in this one. 9. Patriots at Texans . The Pats are banged up, but don't let last week's 35 points allowed to the Eagles worry you, as 21 of those points came on returns. The Texans are still largely a one-dimensional offense ( DeAndre Hopkins ), and the Patriots are notorious for shutting down those types of teams. 10. Rams vs. Lions . Despite a rash of injuries, the Rams still have a decent pass defense. However, they've been hurt by the run the past several games, but the Lions have the second-worst rushing offense in the league. Playing at home, we still like St. Louis' upside against Detroit's Jekyll-and-Hyde offense. 11. Bengals vs. Steelers . Pittsburgh's offense is on a roll, but so is the Bengals' defense. Cincinnati's D/ST managed to coax Ben Roethlisberger into three INTs when they played the first time this year, though it should be noted that was Big Ben's first game back after a knee injury. Still, we think playing at home can help the Bengals put up decent fantasy numbers. 12. Lions at Rams . The Rams have allowed at least 13 fantasy points to D/STs in each of the past four games. Detroit isn't great, but it's good enough to take advantage of this favorable matchup. Editor's note: Are you the next fantasy sports millionaire? Play FanDuel and win some serious cash ! Best of the rest 13. Bills at Eagles 14. Giants at Dolphins 15. 49ers at Browns 16. Vikings at Cardinals 17. Dolphins vs. Giants 18. Steelers at Bengals 19. Titans at Jets 20. Buccaneers vs. Saints 21. Browns vs. 49ers 22. Texans vs. Patriots 23. Jaguars vs. Colts 24. Redskins at Bears 25. Bears vs. Redskins 26. Colts at Jaguars 27. Ravens vs. Seahawks 28. Raiders at Broncos 29. Chargers at Chiefs 30. Saints at Buccaneers 31. Cowboys at Packers 32. Falcons at Panthers | 1 | 97,604 | sports |
Starbucks has partnered with Postmates to test delivery in the Seattle area, but the service isn't cheap for consumers. | 3 | 97,605 | finance |
Baghdad warned Ankara on Monday that time is running out to remove forces it sent to northern Iraq without permission, but Turkey indicated it was unlikely to do so. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said there were "only 24 hours left" of the 48 that Iraq gave Turkey to remove tanks and soldiers sent to a base near Mosul. And Abadi visited the country's air force headquarters, saying: "We must be prepared and ready to defend Iraq and its sovereignty," according to his office. "The air force has the capability... to protect Iraq and its borders from any threat it faces," the premier said. But despite the tough talk by Abadi, who is struggling to assert Iraq's sovereignty while receiving foreign assistance against the Islamic State group, Baghdad's air force is hopelessly outgunned by Turkey and its realistic recourse is limited to diplomacy. A senior Turkish official said Monday that Ankara was unlikely to withdraw the forces, which number between 150 and 300 soldiers backed by 20 tanks, that were deployed to a base in the Bashiqa area, near IS's Iraqi hub Mosul. "We expect them to remain," the official said, though "it will depend on discussions." Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari clarified Monday that the demand for the withdrawal applied only to the recent deployment and not to Turkish trainers, who have been working with forces in the country's north for some time. "The Iraqi demand (for the withdrawal) is only related to the violation recorded by the presence of Turkish armed forces without coordination with Iraq," Jaafari told a joint news conference with his German counterpart, Frank-Walter Steinmeier. "The advisers are another issue; there are advisers from a number of countries and we accepted the principle of advisers, but not the principle of ground forces entering Iraqi territory," Jaafari said. Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has sought to downplay the recent deployment as "routine rotation activity" associated with the training effort, and as "reinforcement against security risks". - Oil smuggling allegations - "This is not a new camp," but rather a pre-existing "training facility established to support local volunteer forces' fight against terrorism", Davutoglu said. While Abadi has repeatedly said Iraq needs all the help it can get to fight IS, he is walking a fine line between receiving that support and projecting sovereignty. Taking a strong stance on Turkey is what "Abadi has to do to avoid being thrown out of office and (to) stay alive," said Kirk Sowell, a Jordan-based political risk analyst who is the publisher of Inside Iraqi Politics. "He is so weak, so under pressure on multiple fronts, and Shiite Arab opposition to the Turkish project so strong, he has no choice," Sowell said. "Abadi is kept in office by divisions among his critics, but they would crucify him if he were seen as acquiescing in the foundation of either American or Turkish bases on Iraqi soil, anywhere in Iraq." On Monday, Abadi joined Russia and Iran in linking Turkey with oil smuggling by IS, which overran large areas of Iraq last year and also holds major territory in neighbouring Syria. During a meeting with Steinmeier, Abadi stressed the "importance of stopping oil smuggling by (IS) terrorist gangs, the majority of which is smuggled via Turkey," his office said. Russia has accused Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his family of involvement in the IS oil trade, to which he responded that Russia was in fact involved. Iranian media then picked up Russia's claims, prompting Erdogan to lash out at his Iranian counterpart. And Mohsen Rezaie, secretary of Iran's Expediency Council, said Iranian military advisers on the ground in Iraq and Syria had images of IS oil trucks going to Turkey. The US has meanwhile said that IS oil smuggling through Turkey is not significant, prompting Moscow to accuse Washington of a cover-up. | 5 | 97,606 | news |
It's along way from making props for James Bond movies to developing state-of-the art virtual reality goggles. Then again, Ralph Osterhout has had more than three decades to get from Point A to Point VR. Along the way, he has made diving gear, small submarines and night-vision glasses for the military. He even made a ceramic weapon that President Nixon's secret service could use on his trip to China, where guns weren't allowed. "Crazy stuff like that," Osterhout says as he recalls his earliest days, getting to know the stand-ins on the set of The Spy Who Loved Me . Making working props for Bond films in the 1970s helped launch Osterhout's career making the impossible gadgets of science fiction into reality. These days, Osterhout is focused on creating eyewear for use in virtual reality and augmented reality. It was his firm, ODG , that created the design BMW Group used earlier this year to demonstrate how Mini drivers could see around corners using augmented reality . After all, the head is where all of the senses converge, Osterhout said. Your sight, hearing and smell are there, as is the mouth for communicating with others. "No one can convince me the future is going to be anywhere but on your head," Osterhout said at his office, located near the Giants ballpark along the San Francisco waterfront. As he talks about the future, Osterhout gets even more excited, with a youthful enthusiasm that belies his age he'll turn 70 in the next couple of weeks. That said, there are some big challenges that won't be easy to overcome if VR glasses are going to go from conversation piece into the mainstream. Battery size is correlated with battery life and technology is advancing only about 10 percent per year. Heat is also an issue. Today's virtual reality devices overheat in under an hour, often even more quickly. Getting closer to the face means being able to manage that issue. And then there's the issue of people getting sick after a couple hours of use. That, Osterhout said, is partly due to improper fit; most are slightly out of alignment, eventually causing nausea and other side effects. The distance between one's pupils can vary by as much as an inch between people, Osterhout points out, as he launches into a mini-lecture on human physiology and its impact on eyewear. Osterhout spent three years developing high-end virtual reality glasses that work with all kinds of different faces and see things in full stereo without the dizziness that comes with long-term use of slightly misaligned glasses. "It works flawlessly, but it was an unbelievably difficult thing to do," Osterhout said. As for the business, Osterhout sees a lot more opportunity for augmented reality, which mixes virtual and real-world inputs, than he does for pure virtual reality, which he said is limited to gaming. In a sense, Osterhout has been in the augmented reality space since before the term existed, helping make night-vision goggles for the military and eyewear that can tell divers how long they had been underwater and how much oxygen they have remaining. While Osterhout has been working in the space broadly for a while now, his firm's focus on augmented reality glasses comes at just the right time. The market for virtual reality (both software and hardware) is expected to generate billions of dollars over the next several years . Osterhout's company is nearly ready with a consumer version of the glasses it has been selling to businesses for some time now. The business uses are obvious. Workers can use augmented reality to see product manuals hands-free on a shop floor, while surgeons can overlay medical images over the patient they are operating on. But what has Osterhout excited is the possibilities for the technology for helping ordinary people to have extraordinary memory and access to information thanks to a head-worn display. "That is going to transform people's lives," he said. Osterhout has been trying to solve tough problems with unique technology for more than three decades. He got his start by hanging around on the set of James Bond films in the '70s, eventually convincing them to use the working one-man submarine he had developed. It turned out, though, that making props that get used once on a film set isn't such a good business. Nor was the commercial market for single-person submarines. Bing Crosby wanted one, as did the CEO of Singapore Airlines, but the market tailed off quickly. However, Osterhout built a reputation for being able to to create interesting underwater vehicles, something that caught the attention of both divers and the military, which laid the groundwork for two markets he would serve with all manner of niche gadgets for the next two decades. Sherry Burr, head of human resources for Osterhout, has known the man for 40 years and says he is unlike anyone she has ever met. "He's got just an amazing mind," Burr said. "He sees needs where nobody else does." Nor is he one to be slowed by age. "As we age we slow down," Burr said. "I don't see so much of that in him." | 5 | 97,607 | news |
The NBA paired with WSC Sports Technologies, a high-tech sports video company, to bring fans near real-time customized highlights, the league announced Monday. "The NBA will use WSC's AVGEN (Automatic Video Generator) and Clipro technology to automatically generate customized highlights in near real-time," the league said in a news release. "Additionally, highlights can be generated using pre-defined queries, ensuring that fans have access to the best moments from every team and player." "The new technology will provide in-game and postgame video highlight packages, along with daily, weekly and monthly highlights of specific teams, players and plays. The customized video content and highlight packages with WSC will be featured across the NBA's digital and social assets, including the league's 18 international Web destinations, many NBA team sites, NBA.com/Stats , NBADLeague.com , and WNBA.com ." In an initial rollout of the highlights, WSC has generated more than 20,000 packages since the start of the season. The highlight packages are available immediately, and for now, the league will create the video packages. However, in the future, it's possible fans will be able to create their own customized video highlights. | 1 | 97,608 | sports |
In the early 1980s, there was growing concern about the quality of peer review at scientific journals. So two researchers at Cornell and the University of North Dakota decided to run a little experiment to test the process. The idea behind peer review is simple: it's supposed to weed out bad science. Peer reviewers read over promising studies that have been submitted to a journal to help gauge whether they should be published or need changes. Ideally, reviewers are experts in fields related to the studies in question. They add helpful comments, point out problems and holes, or simply reject flawed papers that shouldn't see the light of day. The two researchers, Douglas Peters and Stephen Cecia, wanted to test how reliable and unbiased this process actually is. To do this, they selected 12 papers that had been published about two to three years earlier in extremely selective American psychology journals. Related Science is flawed. It's time we embraced that. The researchers then altered the names and university affiliations on the journal manuscripts and resubmitted the papers to the same journal. In theory, these papers should have been high quality they'd already made it into these prestigious publications. If the process worked well, the studies that were published the first time would be approved for publication again the second time around. What Peters and Cecia found was surprising. Nearly 90 percent of the peer reviewers who looked at the resubmitted articles recommended against publication this time. In many cases, they said the articles had "serious methodological flaws." This raised a number of disquieting possibilities. Were these, in fact, seriously flawed papers that got accepted and published? Can bad papers squeak through depending on who reviews them? Did some papers get in because of the prestige of their authors or affiliations? At the very least, the experiment suggested that the peer-review process was unnervingly inconsistent. The finding, though published more than 30 years ago, is still relevant. Since then, other researchers have been uncovering more and more problems with the peer-review process, raising the question of why scientists bother with it in the first place. All too often, peer review misses big problems with studies Researchers who have examined peer review often find evidence that it works a little better than chance at keeping poor-quality studies out of journals or that it doesn't work at all. That conclusion has been arrived at in experiments like this one or this one and systematic reviews that bring together all the relevant studies, like this one and this one . The reasons why it fails are similar to the reasons why any human process falls down. Usually, it's only a few reviewers who look at an article. Those reviewers aren't paid for their time, but they participate out of a belief in the scientific process and to contribute to their respective fields. Maybe they're rushed when reading a manuscript. Maybe they're poorly matched to the study and unqualified to pick it apart. Maybe they have a bias against the writer or institution behind the paper. Since the process is usually blinded at least on the side of the reviewer (with the aim of eliciting frank feedback) this can also up the snark factor or encourage rushed and unhelpful comments, as the popular #sixwordpeerreview hashtag shows. All together, the Lancet editor Richard Horton has called the process "unjust, unaccountable... often insulting, usually ignorant, occasionally foolish, and frequently wrong." Not to mention that identifying peer reviewers and getting their comments slows down the progress of science papers can be held up for months or years and costs society a lot of money. Scientists and professors, after all, need to take their time away from their research to edit, unpaid, the work of others. Richard Smith, the former editor of the BMJ, summed up: "We have little or no evidence that peer review 'works,' but we have lots of evidence of its downside." Another former editor of the Lancet, Robbie Fox, used to joke that his journal "had a system of throwing a pile of papers down the stairs and publishing those that reached the bottom." Not exactly reassuring comments from the editors of the world's leading medical journals. Should we abolish peer review? So should we just abolish peer review? We put the question to Jeff Drazen, the current editor of the top-ranked medical publication, The New England Journal of Medicine. He said he knows the process is imperfect and that's why he doesn't rely on it all that much. At his journal, peer review is only a first step to vetting papers that may be interesting and relevant for readers. After a paper passes peer review, it is then given to a team of staff editors who each have a lot of time and space to go through the submission with a fine-tooth comb. So highly qualified editors, not necessarily peer review, act as the journal's gatekeepers. "[Peer review] is like everything else," Drazen said. "There are lots of things out there some are high quality, some aren't." Drazen is probably onto something real in that journal editors, with enough resources, can add real value to scientific publications and give them their "golden glow". But how many journals actually provide that value add? We're probably talking about 10 in the world out of the tens of thousands that exist. The New England Journal of Medicine is much more an outlier than the rule in that regard. Even at the best journals, ridiculously flawed and silly articles get through. A few readers can't possibly catch all the potential problems with a study, or sometimes they don't have access to all the data that they need to make informed edits. It can take years, multiple sets of fresh eyes, and people with adversarial views for the truth to come to light. Look no further than the study that linked autism to the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine, published in the Lancet. That paper was retracted after it was found not only to be fraudulent but also deeply flawed. For some, that's a reason to get rid of peer review. Brandon Stall, the president of the PubPeer Foundation, favors 'post-publication' peer review on websites like his own (PubPeer.com) . There, users from around the world can critique and comment on articles that have already been published. These crowd-sourced comments have lead to corrections or even retractions of studies. "There's no reason why we couldn't publish everything immediately on the Internet and have it peer-reviewed after it's been published," Stall said arguing for abolishing pre-publication peer review. There are already journals that do just this, he added, such as The Winnower. But replacing one flawed system (traditional pre-publication peer review) with what may be another (post-publication peer review) doesn't fully solve the problem. Places like PubPeer are a fantastic development, but it's not yet clear that they're significantly better at catching errors and bad science consistently compared to traditional pre-publication peer review. Even with its flaws, at the very least, peer review seems to work at least a little better than chance. That's not great but that may be better than nothing. In a world without the peer review culture, it's possible even more bad science would sneak through. A complex solution for a complex problem Stall pointed to another great innovation: sites like Biorxiv which allow researchers to 'pre-print' their manuscripts online as soon as they're ready and get open comment before they're ever peer-reviewed and published in academic journals. This adds another step in the process to publication, another chance to filter problems before they make it to peer review and on to the scientific record. Ivan Oransky , a medical journalist who tracks retractions in journals at his site Retraction Watch , had a more holistic view. He didn't think post-publication review should supplant the traditional process, but that it should be an add on. "Post-publication peer review is nothing new, but in the past it's happened in private, with no feedback for the authors or larger scientific community," Oransky said. Sites like PubPeer open the process up, make it more transparent, and should therefore be strengthened. "Let's stop pretending that once a paper is published, it's scientific gospel," he added. We think that's closer to the solution. Science would probably be better off if researchers checked the quality and accuracy of their work in a multi-step process with redundancies built in to weed out errors and bad science. The Internet makes that much easier. Traditional peer-review would be just one check and pre-print commenting, post-publication peer review, and wherever possible, highly-skilled journal editors would be others. Before this ideal system is put in place, there's one thing we can do immediately to make peer review better. We need to adjust our expectations about what peer review does. Right now, many people think peer review means, "This paper is great and trustworthy!" In reality, it should mean something like, "A few scientists have looked at this paper and didn't find anything wrong with it, but that doesn't mean you should take it as gospel. Only time will tell." Insiders like journal editors have long known that the system is flawed. It's time the public embraced that, too, and supported ways to make it better. | 7 | 97,609 | health |
Badly outbid in their effort to maintain the best 1-2 starting duo in the major leagues, the Los Angeles Dodgers moved quickly to build the most dominant back end of a bullpen, swinging a deal to land left-handed reliever Aroldis Chapman from the Cincinnati Reds. Fox Sports first reported the trade, which will send multiple prospects to the Reds for Chapman, who will team with incumbent closer Kenley Jansen in a bid to shorten games now that Greinke - the NL Cy Young runner-up - won't be around to team with lefty Clayton Kershaw atop the Dodgers rotation. Chapman, eligible for free agency after the 2016 season, was an All-Star each of the past four seasons and has a staggering ratio of 15.7 strikeouts per nine innings to go with 146 career saves. That will pair nicely with Jansen, whose career strikeouts per nine is 14.0. Jansen, 28, has converted 142 career saves in 161 chances. Now, he may cede some of those opportunities to Chapman as club president Andrew Friedman and new manager Dave Roberts have the option to use their bullpen in a far more progressive fashion than the traditional set-up man/closer roles. Like Chapman, Jansen is eligible for free agency after 2016. Greinke, 32, opted out of his six-year, $147 million contract with the Dodgers and signed a six-year, $206 million deal with their NL West rival Arizona Diamondbacks. The Dodgers have reportedly agreed to terms with Seattle Mariners free agent Hisashi Iwakuma on a three-year deal as part of the effort to replace Greinke. GALLERY: Top free agents | 1 | 97,610 | sports |
It's not a leap to assume you got married because you wanted to be together , and not just in the metaphorical 'until death do you part' way. You wed so that you could spend your days and nights with the man or woman you love, so when his or her work takes them from you on the regular, it can drive a wedge between you and distort what you imagined your marriage would look like. "The distance can make you feel disconnected from your partner," explains Jane Greer , Ph.D., relationship expert and author of What About Me? Stop Selfishness From Ruining Your Relationship . Plus, without your partner physically in sight, she says, "you can feel unsure about what they're doing and what they're up to, which can make you feel anxious and insecure." But if you find yourself without your spouse because of his or her job, you don't have to let their travel schedule tear you apart. Here's how you can keep your closeness even when you're far apart. Establish relationship rituals. You may not have a daily routine like other couples, but that shouldn't keep you from establishing your own intimacy-building traditions. Rachel Needle , Psy.D, clinical psychologist and certified sex therapist based in West Palm Beach, Florida, suggests working goodbye routines and reuniting rituals into your repertoire. "Plan little surprises for your partner when you are away from each other, such as sending flowers or a gift, leaving a love note in his or her suitcase or somewhere in the house for him or her to find, sending sweet and even some sexy text messages throughout the day, or keeping a journal to share with your partner when he or she returns," Needle suggests. Begin each day with a conversation. Make a decision that despite the distance you will wake up next to each other and go to bed beside one another via text , smartphone, or Skype, Greer says. "Make a point of remembering some of the smaller elements of your days, so you can share those details and keep each other in the loop," she says, in addition to soaking in the face-to-face time you're missing when you have the time to video chat. Staying in constant contact is important, explains Needle, "because it helps you maintain a connection to one another." Build anticipation for your next time together. "Plan your return together time so that you're excited about seeing each other and know how you'll be spending the time together," suggests Greer. "Maybe it's something simple like staying in and watching movies, but know you're going to share that intimate time." Take the time to talk about what you're most looking forward to, suggests Needle, or even send some sexy images to stimulate one another's imagination. " Fantasize about being with your partner again and what you want to do," she says. "If you feel comfortable, you can even share your fantasies with your partner. That can be hot!" | 4 | 97,611 | lifestyle |
Mitch Marner has been absolutely dominant of late in the OHL. Claus Andersen/Getty Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Mitchell Marner is starting to look NHL-ready. The 18-year-old is on an unbelievable scoring run with the London Knights, recording 11 points over three games this past weekend and 45 points in his past 15 games to shoot to the top of the Ontario Hockey League scoring race. Marner is tied for the OHL scoring lead with teammate (and Arizona Coyotes prospect) Christian Dvorak, as they both have 58 points through 25 total games this season. Marner started the season slower than Dvorak, but his recent surge helped him make up lost ground in the scoring race. The 18-year-old Marner has two hat tricks in his last three games and is currently riding a five-game goal-scoring streak with nine goals in those five games. The Leafs selected Marner with the fourth overall pick in the 2015 NHL Draft after he recorded 126 points in 63 games with the London Knights last season (good for a two-points-per-game pace). Marner upped the ante so far this season, as he is currently riding a 2.32-points-per-game pace. These are clearly ridiculous numbers, but Toronto still thinks Marner has some work to do down in juniors. The team got a firsthand look at Marner in training camp this season, where he played in two preseason games for the Leafs and did not record a point. The team sent him back to London to develop before the end of training camp. Marner is still small for an NHL player, standing at 5-foot-11 and 164 pounds. He could use time in the weight room to bulk up, and since the Maple Leafs are not expected to contend this season, there is no reason to have Marner accelerate his professional career. But Marner's continued dominance of junior hockey proves he should have a bright NHL career ahead of him. Leafs fans will get a better look at how Marner can handle play against the top players in his age bracket when he participates in the World Junior Tournament later this month. Given his scoring pace of late, Marner projects to be an exciting player to watch. | 1 | 97,612 | sports |
Uber gave everyone a private driver. Kitchensurfing thinks everyone should have a private chef, too. Matthew Pflueger discovered Kitchensurfing and Blue Apron during the same conversation with a friend. The two services that help consumers more easily serve a home-cooked meal appealed to Pflueger and his wife, who were short on time thanks to their infant child. Blue Apron has been shipping boxes of produce and corresponding recipe cards for three years and has gained a wide appeal to the tune of a recent $2 billion valuation while also spawning many competitors . But Kitchensurfing represents what is perhaps the next stage in the food startup scene. Unlike cook-your-own meal kits or on-demand restaurant delivery, itself a rapidly growing industry, Kitchensurfing actually sends out chefs to cook for customers in their own private homes . The chefs bring all the ingredients and cooking equipment, and about 30 minutes after letting a Kitchensurfing chef in the door, customers sit down for a home-cooked meal. (The chefs do the dishes.) The service is currently available in most of Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn. If Uber used the on-demand economy to make "private drivers" more accessible, Kitchensurfing is bringing the private chef into homes that most likely can't afford to employ a private chef full-time. While some might feel uncomfortable with the idea, startup concepts are increasingly entering consumers' physical space to provide similar services. Startups like Handy, which has secured $110 million in funding to date , allow consumers the ability to hire a home cleaner via the company's app or online. Ten of the most popular tasks listed on outsourcing site TaskRabbit, itself a $38 million startup that essentially connects users with on-demand personal assistants, require strangers to come into a customer's home or office. (Common tasks include assembling furniture, organizing closets, and general cleaning). And to use Uber, arguably the best-known company in the new on-demand economy, customers must enter an independent driver's personal space (ie, their car). Uber and its ilk took some getting used to deciphering surge pricing and remembering to jump out of the car without a direct payment process but now, it's a part of life for many urbanites. "Food tech is a very young vertical. Consumers are also learning more about what the different needs are that different services will fit." What makes cooking different? According to Kitchensurfing CEO Jon Tien, who joined the company in late 2014, the concept isn't actually about cooking: It's about sitting down for the meal. Tien wants Kitchensurfing to build a relationship with its customers, which differs from the company's original model. Under co-founder and former CEO Chris Muscarella, the company supplied chefs for dinner parties and special events. In fact, that friend of Pflueger's who told him about Kitchensurfing was actually lamenting that the company no longer provided chefs for dinner parties as a core part of their service. The company began to focus on set weeknight meals in September. "I think it's less of a pivot and more just an evolution of the product," says Tien, who previously worked for Zynga, the social video game company and Farmville creator, as the senior vice president of product. The switch mimics larger trends in food startups namely, subscriptions. Before the change, "we actually got an email from a customer saying, 'Hey could you send a chef to come cook a meal for two, the recipe and ingredients are provided by Blue Apron?'" Tien says. "Things like that started to point us towards what was ultimately that bigger need addressing the weeknight family dinner. It happens five times a week, and yet it's probably the single meal that people particularly in urban areas struggle with the most." Kitchensurfing's online system only offers consumers an option for service one night a week (although Tien admits there are some customers who sign up for two or more using different email addresses). The company offers a few different models, but consumers can expect to pay between $23 and $30 per person per meal . Customers choose one of six weekly meals (like seared autumn vegetables with curried lentils and halloumi cheese, or chicken teriyaki with Japanese cucumber salad) from photographs online or on the company's app. Below each meal option are indications for dietary restrictions and the ability to read about how the meal will be prepared and what ingredients are involved. Customers can opt-out for up to three weeks online, but anything more requires an email to the company. There's a box at "check out" for special requests "cook medium well" or "serve family style" as well. Like many new on-demand services, this one comes with some feelings of awkwardness or guilt: Shouldn't I be doing this myself? "It will only feel as awkward or invasive as you let it," writes Pflueger in an email to Eater about the service. "Food tech is a very young vertical," Tien says. "It's constantly evolving, and I think consumers are also learning more about what the different needs are that different services will fit." Kitchensurfing has removed some of the potential awkward moments in the transaction, namely payment: Gratuity is included and is all processed online prior to the chef's arrival. All of Kitchensurfing's chefs are part-time employees , for not only feel-good but also practical reasons, says Tien. (Some Kitchensurfing chefs still work at New York City restaurants during the lunch shift.) "We're not just hiring cooks. In restaurant speak, it's back of the house and front of the house," Tien says. Cooking skills are necessary, but interacting with the guests, reading the room, allowing a child of the client to "help," are all part of the job description. The chefs are frequently a mix of recent culinary school graduates, former restaurant workers, long-time personal chefs, and the odd startup CEO. (Tien has gone out as Kitchensurfing chef to experience how the service works and what some pain points might be. He's also discovered that in New York City "people store books in their oven.") "A lot of what we're trying to do is help people create a ritual." Hiring chefs as employees gives Kitchensurfing more control over availability, allowing for predictable hours for chefs and a predictable time slot for customers. As employees, chefs are required to come into the commissary kitchen for training an hour before they leave for their shift. When they head out, chefs carry the whole evening's supply of food, pans, cooking utensils, and a kit with essentials like olive oil, salt, and pepper. The packs aren't light. "They're getting in good shape," says Brian Young, Kitchensurfing's head chef who previously worked stints at Tavern on the Green and Le Bernardin. He was also the culinary director at Munchery , which delivers chef-prepared meals for customers to reheat. According to Young, chefs are prepared for all of the typical New York City kitchen issues. "I assume three things: That the [oven] hood doesn't work, I assume the smoke alarm is going to trip, and the oven doesn't work," Young says. Most meals are executed on the stove top; a chef might open a window when he or she is searing, and when necessary, chefs have brought their own burners. (Before a chef arrives, "I do ensure that the kitchen is not totally disgusting but also don't worry about it being restaurant A-grade clean," writes Pflueger.) So why not take-out food instead, particularly the new delivery models that offer dining options from high-end restaurants? The health aspects appeal to customers like Pflueger. Beyond those, "this is food that you can't get from delivery or takeout," Tien says. "Temperature, texture, doneness: Those are the three tenants that are big for us. You can't get a medium-well steak delivered to you. If you tried, you would probably be disappointed," Tien says. "We really try to highlight the things that benefit from being freshly prepared for you." There's something nice about the smell of dinner cooking in your home. Tien still gets asked if having a Kitchensurfing chef over is " going to be like Benihana, like theater ?" His answer is adamant: No. "The first time often feels new and different, and you treat it as that, but a lot of what we're trying to do is help people create a ritual," Tien says. "After a few times people understand this feels like my one night off a week." * Eater co-founder Ben Leventhal served as Kitchensurfing's president in 2013. | 0 | 97,613 | foodanddrink |
To find out the best place for holiday dessert, ask Andrew, Adam and Sam. | 2 | 97,614 | travel |
Thousands of San Bernardino County employees are returning to work, days after a county worker and his wife opened fire on a gathering of his co-workers. Officials say they'll be increasing the number of armed security guards as well. (Dec. 7) | 8 | 97,615 | video |
Going green may help save the whales but it'll also save some serious greenbacks. A new survey released Monday morning by the New York University School of Law finds that economists generally seen as more conservative than scientists and environmentalists on the topic of climate change are, in fact, more concerned about global warming than the general public. The vast majority more than 75 percent believes climate change "will have a long-term negative impact" on the global economy, and 80 percent say the United States can lead the way by unilaterally reducing its own greenhouse gas emissions, regardless how other nations act. "There is clear consensus among economic experts that climate change poses major risks to the economy and that significant policy responses will be needed to avoid large economic damages," according to the survey, published by the law school's Institute for Policy Integrity. Current economic and climate models also likely undervalue how carbon emissions could ultimately impact the global economy. The results were based on a 15-question online survey of 365 economists. Each respondent had published at least one article on climate change "in a highly-ranked, peer-reviewed economics or environmental economics journal" sometime after 1994. The economists expressed greater levels of concern about climate change compared to members of the general public, who were asked the same survey questions. About 41 percent of the experts surveyed said climate change was already negatively affecting the economy. The results were released as a major U.N. climate summit entered its second week in Paris, with thousands of delegates there working late into the night to hammer out an international agreement on climate change. One major area of disagreement is the divide between developing and developed nations specifically ensuring that as the U.S. and European Union institute potentially costly measures to rein in their carbon emissions, heavily polluting and traditionally reticent nations like China and India do the same. Monday's survey, however, found economists "overwhelmingly" believe the U.S. should act on its own no matter what other nations do that it's actions on climate could, in short, induce others to follow suit, and that the country stands to gain either way. "Economists seem to believe that the United States would benefit from enacting strong domestic climate policies in the near term regardless of any concerns about 'free-riding' by other countries," the survey found. "These findings strongly suggest that policymakers in the United States and elsewhere should be concerned about a lack of action on climate change." Copyright 2016 U.S. News & World Report | 3 | 97,616 | finance |
Many people go into a Christmas-induced tailspin, thinking, 'Why isn't my life the way I thought it would be at this stage? Why don't I feel happy? What's wrong?' To find an answer, they often pin the blame on their mate. Chaos can follow. But here's how you can get through the holidays without taking an impulsive action you might regret. Soul search Before talking to your mate (and certainly before screaming at your mate), do some honest and painful reflection. Are your feelings of angst and dissatisfaction due to long-simmering, unsolvable problems in the relationship? Or are they due to voids in your life that only you can fill? My patient Denise (all names are changed) said late November last year, "I've been seeing all the holiday decorations going up and feeling such emptiness in the pit of my stomach. Usually I look forward to holiday time with Sam but this year I'm not looking forward to spending Christmas together. I keep picking fights. Maybe I want him to leave." As we spoke, the 44-year-old came to see that lately she'd been feeling life's opportunities were passing her by, she wasn't a child anymore who couldn't wait for Christmas morning to unwrap all her presents. She felt old and jaded and at a loss on how to change things for the better, so it seemed easiest to pin the cause for her pain on her husband of 15 years. Easiest but not the true cause. When she was young Denise had dreamt of being an artist but put those dreams aside to forge an income-producing career in retail. Now, she realized, "I need to go back to art school. It's not too late." This Christmas she and her husband are celebrating Denise's painting being selected for a neighborhood art gallery show. Have this conversation If indeed there are issues in the marriage that are troubling you, It is essential to talk to your mate, not squelch the dissatisfaction until it erupts in an explosion of verbal venom. To that end, the conversation should not be in blaming mode: "It's your fault I'm not happy" but an honest, open exploration of feelings. Here is how 30-year-old Sandy approached a potentially difficult conversation with Phil, her husband of two years: "Honey, lately I'm feeling that we are on different paths. I like being home in the evening; you seem to prefer being out at parties and all kinds of functions. Let's talk things through before we start drifting apart." It turned out that Phil felt he'd be missing out if he didn't attend every holiday-oriented opportunity that came his way. His childhood Christmases were spent running from one extended family member's house to another. Sandy wasn't a 'party person' and much preferred quiet times by home and hearth. The two compromised Sandy agreed to accompany Phil to a party a week, he could go to another event or two on his own, and the rest of the week they would spend together at home. Set goals together for 2016 'Tis the season to set individual resolutions. Why not set goals as a couple for the New Year as well? What areas of your lives are working well and what areas need some attention? Beth and Sam have been following this ritual for five of the seven years they've been married. Beth, 33, says, "Setting resolutions together helps us not take the relationship for granted." Perhaps the two of you are ready to begin saving to buy a house, or perhaps you want your husband to stop 'joking' about your cooking skills (or lack thereof) and he wants you to stop interrupting him when he tells a story. Schedule check-ins every quarter to see how these resolutions are going. Remember, marriage takes effort every season but especially at the time of year when there is such pressure to be jolly! | 4 | 97,617 | lifestyle |
For the second year in a row, the Seattle Seahawks got off to a slow start that had the NFL curious about whether their run of dominance was over. Last season, the Seahawks started 3-3 before going 9-1 over their next ten games. This season, the swoon lasted a little longer, with Seattle starting 2-4, then going 4-5, looking like they were in serious danger of missing the playoffs. The defense was lackluster, Russell Wilson had regressed through nine weeks, and in a top-heavy NFC, the Seahawks were out of the Wild Card race. However, they've now won three games in a row and five of their last six (the one loss in the last six weeks was the loss that dropped them to 4-5). They're 7-5, would make the playoffs in the Wild Card if it started today, Russell Wilson is on fire, and the defense is back. The Seahawks made their loudest statement of their surge in a dominant 38-7 win over the Minnesota Vikings, another team vying for a playoff spot in the NFC. It marked the third time in four games the Seahawks have scored 30 or more points they scored 29 in the other game. Russell Wilson has played a huge part in this resurgence. After the first nine weeks, Wilson's touchdown rate was down, while his interception and sack rates were up. However, over the last three games, Wilson has thrown for 879 yards, rushed for 95, completed 77% of his passes, thrown 11 touchdowns, and no interceptions. Those are monster numbers, and the kind of performances that led the Seahawks to pay Wilson like a franchise quarterback this offseason. During Wilson's resurgence, wide receiver Doug Baldwin has suddenly come to life as the Seahawks' best passing threat. Over his last four games, Baldwin has a total of 433 yards and six touchdowns. The two connected for two touchdowns vs. the Vikings: Wilson also looked like he was having fun on the field. He scored his first rushing touchdown of the season and was back to making defenders look silly with his shifty jukes: While Marshawn Lynch is out recovering from a hernia surgery, backup Thomas Rawls has more than filled in, totaling 391 yards and three touchdowns over the last three weeks. When Lynch is back, the Seahawks will have the luxury of trotting out two capable, bruising running backs on any given possession, thus opening up the field even more for Wilson. And while the defense began a little flatter than we're used to, they're also showing signs of perking up. Going into Week 12, the Seahawks ranked seventh in Football Outsiders defensive DVOA, 11th in the run. Those numbers figure to spike after holding the Vikings to just seven points while limiting Adrian Peterson, the NFL's best running back, to just 18 yards. For the second straight game, the Seahawks have forced interceptions and then turned those turnovers into points. When the defense is playing with the type of ferocity the NFL world has come to expect over the last two years, it becomes extremely hard to beat this team, particularly if the offense is rolling, too. The Seahawks are also peaking at the right time. After a difficult stretch of games, the Seahawks' next three come against the Ravens, Browns, and Rams. While a Week 17 matchup with the Arizona Cardinals looms large, if the Seahawks take care of business over the next three weeks, going into Week 17 with a 10-5 record should cement them for a playoff spot, regardless of the outcome vs. the Cardinals. And if the Seahawks make it into the postseason riding a hot streak, there won't be a scarier team in the NFL. NOW WATCH: This is why the Golden State Warriors are so hard to beat | 1 | 97,618 | sports |
Christmas came early for three little girls in Texas when their parents surprised them with a little bundle of joy under the tree. | 8 | 97,619 | video |
During the summer of 1970, North Carolina's Land of Oz theme park welcomed a whopping 400,000 visitors in a matter of months. For a time, it was the second most-visited amusement park in the eastern United States , playing runner-up to Disney World, according to a local magazine. So what happened, and why have you almost certainly NEVER heard of this place? Land of Oz was constructed on North Carolina's Beech Mountain to keep local ski employees busy during summer months. In its heyday, visitors traveled far and wide to visit Dorothy's farm house, take hot air balloon rides and stroll the legendary Yellow Brick Road . But after just 10 years of operation, the park fell on hard times , according to its website. Its emerald gates closed, and vandals and trespassers became its only visitors. Now, Land of Oz is legally open to the public once per year for an "Autumn in Oz" party to celebrate the magic that once was -- and still lives on -- at this eerie spot. It's also available to rent for weddings, gatherings and private tours. Most of the time, though, the park sits completely empty. Photographer Seph Lawless captured the haunting location for his new book, " Bizarro ," which focuses on abandoned amusement parks around the world. Oz was an otherworldly place to visit, he told HuffPost. "It sits hidden on top of one of the highest mountain peaks in the eastern U.S., so being there was almost like entering another planet," Lawless said. "It was surreal and completely beautiful." We have to agree. | 2 | 97,620 | travel |
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton edged out all major Republican presidential candidates in a MSNBC/Telemundo/Marist poll published Monday. The closest margin put Clinton three points above Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and only one point ahead of political newcomer Ben Carson. The poll, which had a Latino voter subsection, shows Clinton with a 11-point lead over the Republican frontrunner, real estate magnate Donald Trump. She led 52-41. Among Latino voters, Clinton led Trump by 42 points, 69-27. Latinos and other minority voting blocs are seen as key pieces to winning the White House in 2016. The poll was conducted among 2,360 registered voters from Nov. 15 to Dec. 2 with a margin of error of 2 percentage points. The poll surveyed 264 Latino voters with a margin of error of 6 percentage points. This article was written by Caitlin Cruz from Talking Points Memo and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network. | 5 | 97,621 | news |
Ice cream at home with just 3 ingredients and no fancy equipment? Done. | 0 | 97,622 | foodanddrink |
WASHINGTON -- Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) commended Hillary Clinton on Monday for proposing stronger regulations on Wall Street banks. Clinton noted in a New York Times op-ed published earlier that day that Republicans "are working to attach damaging deregulation riders to the must-pass spending bill," as well as "trying to undo constraints on risk at some of the largest and most complex financial institutions." The Democratic presidential front-runner also outlined how she would "fight for tough new rules, stronger enforcement and more accountability that go well beyond" Dodd-Frank, the financial reform bill passed in 2010 that the GOP has tried to roll back ever since. This earned praise from Warren, who helped design and set up the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau after the Dodd-Frank bill called for its creation. Republicans have repeatedly tried to gut the agency. Secretary Clinton is right to fight back against Republicans trying to sneak Wall Street giveaways into the must-pass... Posted by Elizabeth Warren on Monday, December 7, 2015 In the op-ed, Clinton detailed Wall Street reform proposals including, among other measures, imposing a new risk fee on some of the biggest banks and strengthening the Volcker Rule "by closing the loopholes that allow banks to make speculative gambles with taxpayer-backed deposits." She also wrote that she would "fight to reinstate the rules governing risky credit swaps and derivatives at taxpayer-backed banks." Those rules were repealed, over objections from progressives like Warren, during last year's budget negotiations. One Warren-backed proposal that was conspicuously absent from Clinton's op-ed is the reinstatement of Glass-Steagall, legislation that forced banks to separate their commercial and investment operations. The law was repealed in 1999 under President Bill Clinton. Clinton wrote in the Times that she would "ensure that the federal government has -- and is prepared to use -- the authority and tools necessary to reorganize, downsize and ultimately break up any financial institution that is too large and risky to be managed effectively" because "no bank or financial firm should be too big to manage." However, she has resisted calling for Glass-Steagall's reinstatement -- as her opponents for the Democratic nomination have -- saying the legislation wouldn't have prevented the 2008 financial crisis and doesn't cover the activities of hedge funds, investment banks and other non-bank institutions. Warren has indicated that she will make an endorsement in the Democratic primary, but has yet to do so. She has often found common ground with Clinton's main rival, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), on financial reform, and was the only female Democratic senator to not appear at a fundraiser for Clinton last week. | 5 | 97,623 | news |
Actress Pamela Anderson meets Russian President Vladimir Putin's powerful chief of staff at the Kremlin to lobby for the protection of rare animals. | 8 | 97,624 | video |
"So apparently both my friends and my mom like you more than me?" *"So apparently both my friends and my mom like you more than me?"* 1. The one that shows you've moved on while they sure haven't. 2. The one that reaffirms exactly how amazing you are at sex. 3. The one that lets you know you're not the only one who wants to give it another shot. 4. The one that proves your ex's mom is both objective and absolutely correct. 5. The one that serves up evidence of your ex's social media habits. 6. The one that confirms what you suspected all along. 7. The one that manages to be wistful, straight-up honest, and chill all at the same time. 8. The one that shows you even have a better way with animals. 9. The one that means you'll never, ever have to run into your ex again. | 4 | 97,625 | lifestyle |
Will Mark Richt bring a national championship to Miami? Barton Simmons of 247Sports joins CineSport's Noah Coslov get into that, Kirby Smart at UGA and Will Muschamp at South Carolina. | 1 | 97,626 | sports |
By Tripfilms filmmaker pettypoh. A travel timelapse / hyperlapse video (holiday in Melbourne) - visited 23 to 31 March 2015 Facebook - fb.com/thetimelapseguy Instagram - instagram.com/pettypoh13 Twitter - twitter.com/pettypoh Prominent locations include Queen Victoria Market, Yarra River, Flinders Street and Train Station, Federation Square, Bourke Street, Docklands, Southbank, Eureka Skydeck, St Kilda, Luna ParkShare your travel videos on Tripfilms.com! | 2 | 97,627 | travel |
A bizarre scene broke out during halftime of the 49ers-Bears game and it included a really late hit on a little kid by mascot. | 1 | 97,628 | sports |
Rafael Nadal discusses his form and training plans for the the next tennis season | 8 | 97,629 | video |
With the winter meetings rolling and news of big trades or free-agent signings breaking on an hourly basis, we thought it might be a good time to take a look at few of the most lopsided trades that have gone down in December. Some of these really aren't pretty, depending on which team you root for. MORE: Worst November trades of all time, ranked And this is the type of list you hope your team doesn't wind up on after a deal that's made this week. 1. Mets trade Nolan Ryan The trade: December 10, 1971: Sent Nolan Ryan to the Angels for Jim Fregosi The result: Ryan went on to pitch 22 more seasons in the majors and become the greatest strikeout pitcher in baseball history; in his eight years with the Angels, Ryan struck out 2,416 batters. Only one pitcher in Mets history (Tom Seaver) has ever struck out more than 2,000. Saddled with injuries, Fregosi played only 146 games for the Mets before he was sold to the Rangers. 2. Reds trade Frank Robinson The trade: December 9, 1965: Sent Frank Robinson to the Orioles for Milt Pappas and two others The result: Pappas was a reliable starting pitcher in Cincinnati for a couple years after the trade, but Robinson continued to be a star on a direct career path to the Hall of Fame. In his first season for the Orioles, Robinson captured the AL Triple Crown, won the MVP and helped Baltimore win its first World Series title. Oops. 3. Marlins trade Miguel Cabrera The trade: December 4, 2007: Sent Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis to the Tigers for Cameron Maybin, Andrew Miller and four others The result: The Marlins didn't want to deal with Cabrera's looming free agency (he'd also had a couple off-the-field issues, too) so despite the fact that he'd been an All-Star in each of his four full big-league seasons (averaging 32 homers, 115 RBIs and a .947 OPS), the Marlins jettisoned him. In his eight seasons in Detroit, Cabrera has two MVPs, three other top-five finishes and three other top-13 finishes. Miller and Maybin eventually became excellent MLB players, but not until long after they'd left the Marlins, and they didn't bring much in return to south Florida. 4. Reds trade Christy Mathewson The trade: December 15, 1900: Sent Christy Mathewson to the Giants for Amos Rusie The result: Mathewson made his debut in the 1900 season with the New York Giants, then was shipped to the minors and drafted by Cincinnati. A short time later, he was traded back to the Giants for Rusie, who had won 234 games in eight years with the Giants but hadn't pitched since 1898. Mathewson, on the other hand embarked on a Hall of Fame career. The right-hander fashioned a 2.13 ERA in his 17-year career, and had a 0.97 ERA in 11 career World Series starts. 5. Braves trade Adam Wainwright The trade: December 13, 2003: Sent Adam Wainwright, Jason Marquis and Ray King to the Cardinals for J.D. Drew and Eli Marrero The result: The Braves felt they needed a bat to make a push into the 2004 playoffs, so they made the deal for Drew, who was a year away from free agency. And Drew was very good; he had a 1.006 OPS and finished sixth in the NL MVP vote. But he left Atlanta after that one year, and that Wainwright guy has been pretty decent. He was a rookie closer for the Cardinals' 2006 World Series-winning club, and he's finished in the top three of the NL Cy Young voting four times. In 221 career starts, he has a 2.96 ERA. 6. Pirates trade Willie Randolph The trade: December 11, 1975: Sent Willie Randolph, Dock Ellis and Ken Brett to the Yankees for Doc Medich The result: Medich had one solid year in Pittsburgh before he was shipped to Oakland as part of a nine-player deal. Randolph, 21 at the time of the trade, was the Yankees' starting second baseman for the next 13 seasons. Ellis, who had a 3.16 ERA in his eight years in Pittsburgh, had a great first season in New York before he was traded to Oakland. 7. Astros trade Kenny Lofton The trade: December 10, 1991: Sent Lofton and Dave Rhode to the Indians for Willie Blair and Eddie Taubensee The result: Oops. Lofton had hit just .203 in his 20-game trial with the Astros as a 24-year-old rookie in 1991, but he immediately became a star in Cleveland. He hit .285 and stole 66 bases for the Indians in 1992, the first of five consecutive seasons he led the AL in stolen bases. By the time he was done playing in the majors, after the 2007 season, Lofton had swiped 620 bases and finished with a career .299 average. Taubensee had a .235 average in three seasons with Houston and Blair was with the Astros just one season before the Rockies selected him in the 1992 expansion draft. 8. Mets trade Mike Scott The trade: Dec. 10, 1982: Sent Mike Scott to the Astros for Danny Heep The result: Mike Scott learned a devastating split-finger fastball, won the 1986 NL Cy Young (and was named NLCS MVP that year despite the fact that the Mets won the series), was second in the 1989 Cy Young vote and finished his nine seasons in Houston with 110 wins and a 3.30 ERA. 9. Cardinals trade Fingers, Simmons and Vockovich The trade: December 12, 1980: Sent Rollie Fingers, Ted Simmons and Pete Vuckovich to the Brewers for David Green, Dave LaPoint, Sixto Lezcano and Lary Sorensen. The result: This has to go down as one of the best deals of all time. In the strike-shortened 1981 season, Fingers won the AL Cy Young and MVP (he was only a Cardinal for a couple of days; St. Louis had picked him up in a deal with the Padres on Dec. 8). In 1982, Vuckovich won the AL Cy Young (on an unrelated note, he played slugger Clu Haywood in the movie Major League, which is awesome). Simmons was an AL All-Star two of his first three years. Milwaukee made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history in 1981, then in 1982, of course, the Brewers made the World Series. Where, ironically, they lost in seven games to the Cardinals. 10. Tigers trade Luis Gonzalez The trade: December 28, 1998: Sent Luis Gonzalez to the Diamondbacks for Karim Garcia The result: Gonzalez hold just about every single offensive record in Diamondbacks history, including home runs, RBIs, runs scored, doubles and WAR, to name a few (though Paul Goldschmidt is gaining …). And, of course, Gonzalez owns the most famous bloop single in baseball history, off Mariano Rivera in Game 7 of the 2001 World Series. That remains the only championship in franchise history. Garcia batted .236 in 104 games with Detroit before he was sent to Baltimore. 11. Red Sox trade Cecil Cooper The trade: December 6, 1976: Sent Cecil Cooper to the Brewers for George Scott and Bernie Carbo The result: The Cooper deal brought two former Red Sox back to Boston, but neither was still around by the end of the 1979 season. Cooper, who was a few days shy of his 27th birthday when the trade was completed, became a star in Milwaukee. In his first seven seasons with the Brewers, he produced a .316/.354/.504 slash line and averaged 22 homers and 95 RBIs. 12. Yankees trade Fred McGriff The trade: December 9, 1982: Sent Fred McGriff, Mike Morgan and Dave Collins to the Blue Jays for Dale Murray and Tom Dodd The result: Both Morgan and Collins accomplished more after this trade than either Dodd or Murray, but that's not why this makes the list. McGriff, a ninth-round pick out of high school in the 1981 draft, wasn't supposed to be the key piece to this deal. He just 19 when he was dealt to Toronto and didn't make his MLB debut until 1986. You know what happened, though: McGriff went on to blast 493 homers in his 19-year career. 13. Diamondbacks trade Carlos Gonzalez The trade: December 14, 2007: Sent Carlos Gonzalez, Brett Anderson, Chris Carter and three others to the A's for Dan Haren and one other The result: Haren was very good in his 87 starts for Arizona over three years (3.31 FIP), but Arizona gave up a ton of young talent. This trade would be higher on the list, but Gonzalez didn't become an MVP candidate until he landed in Colorado, Carter didn't become a consistent power hitter until he wound up with the Astros and Anderson made more than 19 starts with the A's just once because of injuries. | 1 | 97,630 | sports |
Oh come, all ye zombies. Jasen Dixon's zombie-themed nativity scene is only a two-year-old tradition for the Sycamore Township, Ohio, man, but it's been a hard journey. "I wanted a zombie scene actually, a manger scene," Dixon told WCPO last year . "All I had to work with since I work at 13 Room Haunted House is zombies. It's a different take. I hand made everything, but Joseph and baby Jesus, so it's kind of artsy." Last year, Dixon was ordered to remove the structure from his front yard police said he lacked the proper permit to have the display in his yard. This year, he applied for a permit, but was denied; the structure violates neighborhood zoning code, apparently. Dixon is skeptical of the party line, however: "I think it's the theme," he told WKRC . It just rubs people the wrong way and it puts the spotlight on me. That's why they're coming down so hard on me." And coming down hard they are: Dixon faces a $500/day fine as long as the scene stays up. As of Friday, he'd already forked over a day's worth of that. | 5 | 97,631 | news |
During a recent interview with Hello! Magazine, Ryan Gosling gushed about Eva Mendes, saying he knows that he's with the person that he's supposed to be with. | 8 | 97,632 | video |
Tiger Woods showed a more candid, reflective side in his interview with TIME. Our panelists discuss their takes on this 'new' Tiger. | 1 | 97,633 | sports |
America's oldest living veteran is helping the nation mark Monday's 74th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor by participating in a wreath-laying ceremony at the National World War II Memorial in the nation's capital. Former Army private Frank Levingston, who turned 110 last month, served in Italy during World War II. He enlisted in 1942, shortly after the Dec. 7, 1941 Japanese attack in Hawaii that killed 2,400 servicemembers and brought the United the States into the war. The veteran from Lake Charles, La., who was discharged from the Army in 1945, traveled to Washington for the first time in his life on Sunday and will visit the White House on Tuesday, where he hopes to meet President Obama. "We don't know, we hope so," Allen Bergman, who is coordinating Levingston's trip, said Monday. Levingston planned to join other veterans, including two Pearl Harbor survivors, during Monday's wreath-presentation ceremony. At the site of the attack, thousands are expected to attend anniversary events, according to KITV Channel 4 in Honolulu. The ceremonies are co-sponsored by the National Park Service and U.S. Navy. The annual Pearl Harbor Memorial Parade will be held Monday evening through the streets of Honolulu and be webcast live . Commemorations Monday also include the interment in the hull of the USS Arizona of an urn with the ashes of Joseph Langdell, a former ensign on the submerged ship. The interment is to take place with full military honors. On Tuesday, a dive to the wreck of the Arizona by a Pacific National Monuments cultural resources chief will be broadcast live and people can ask questions through Facebook . The opening phase of the Japanese attack, which occurred shortly before 8 a.m. Honolulu time, was recalled as a series of concussive explosions in Pearl Harbor, according to an account told recently to the Palladium-Item by survivor and former chief petty officer Guy Vecera, of Richmond, Ind. "I had the watch on the quarterdeck and was just standing by to hoist the stars and stripes when suddenly the reflection of sunlight on falling objects caught my eyes," he told the newspaper. The objects were bombs that exploded in the harbor. "We saw a Japanese plane going across our bow with the emblem of the Rising Sun emblazoned boldly on her wings," Vecera recalled. | 5 | 97,634 | news |
The era of bulky, geeky-looking smartglasses might be over. Developers in Finland have created a thin display that fits into ordinary eyewear. Elly Park reports. | 5 | 97,635 | news |
Kevin Payne of Rotowire.com joins the guys weigh in on his Week 13 Value Menu plays for their daily fantasy lineups. | 1 | 97,636 | sports |
The future of the Florida Panthers may ride on a vote scheduled for Tuesday at the Broward County Commission. According to a report in the Sun-Sentinel , the commission will consider an $86 million bailout package that team officials say is necessary to ensure the survival of the franchise in South Florida. And at this point the vote could go either way. The team is reportedly bleeding millions of dollars and needs the infusion to cover those massive losses. The deal would average $6.6 million in payments per year through 2028, although it would it be heavily front-loaded with a first-year payment of $12 million. Over the course of the deal $39 million would be earmarked for capital expenses at the team's arena, the BB&T Center, plus $45.5 million for operating expenses, and $1.5 million to be used to lure a "high impact event" such as the NHL All-Star Game. One report suggests the league would guarantee an All-Star Game before 2023 if the vote passes. The money would be generated by a hike in tourist taxes collected at area hotels. Although public sentiment about the proposal has been mixed, county auditor Evan Lukic was quoted as saying it was "a reasonable way to address an unfortunate quandary." "We entered into this business arrangement some 20 years ago now, and things have not worked out for our partners, and quite frankly, they haven't worked out as well as we expected, either," Lukic said. "So we're sitting here saying, 'What do we do next?' ... I believe the team's done a good job bringing forward a plausible solution to the problem." Eight members of the council will take part in the vote, with a 5-3 margin required to pass. A ninth member of the council will abstain as a result of her husband's business relationship with the Panthers. At least two members, including mayor Marty Kiar, are set to vote no. Five have indicated that they would be willing to consider voting yes, although one of them campaigned in a recent election with a promise of voting no. Another has chosen not to make his leanings public. The deal includes several provisions to protect both the team and the county. Among them is a stipulation that the county would receive a portion of the team's haul from future NHL expansion. The county also gets 10% of the total proceeds if the team is eventually sold. However, it would also allow an out-clause from the contract with the county in eight years. To activate that clause the team would have to give one year's notice, show losses of $100 million over seven years, and pay a termination amount. For example, if the Panthers depart in year eight, they would pay back the full $72 million that the county had given them by then. The termination penalty decreases each year thereafter but leaves the county with enough money to pay off the debt. We'll have more after the vote is taken. | 1 | 97,637 | sports |
Activist investor Carl Icahn 's Icahn Enterprises offered Monday to buy all outstanding common stock of Pep Boys-Manny, Moe and Jack (PBY) for $15.50 per share in cash. The proposal comes after Icahn reported Friday a 12.12 percent stake in the auto services and retail company. Pep Boys previously reached a deal in October to be acquired by Bridgestone for $15 per share, or $835 million. "We believe our proposal is clearly superior to the $15.00 per share Bridgestone transaction and that our financial wherewithal to close expeditiously is indisputable," Icahn Enterprises wrote in a letter to Pep Boys. Pep Boys shares traded about 2 percent higher on Monday afternoon. The Icahn letter added that the proposal would not be subject to "any due diligence, financing or antitrust conditions." In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing last week, Icahn said Pep Boys' auto parts segment "presents an excellent synergistic acquisition opportunity" for Auto Plus, which is owned by Icahn Enterprises. The billionaire investor's representatives have held talks with Pep Boys and "various parties" about possible transactions involving its retail arm. Pep Boys did not immediately respond to a request to comment. | 3 | 97,638 | finance |
FOX Sports college football insider Bruce Feldman joins Colin Cowherd to talk about the Heisman Trophy race. | 1 | 97,639 | sports |
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. Authorities now believe that the two attackers who killed 14 people here last week had been radicalized for quite a while, an FBI official said Monday. "Both subjects were radicalized and have been for quite some time," David Bowdich the assistant director in charge of the Los Angeles Field Office, said at a news conference. Bowdich touched on the question of whether one of them guided the other down the path of radicalization, saying that police did not know yet when or how this might have occurred. "How did that happen and by whom and where did that happen?" he said. "I will tell you right now, we don't know those answers at this point." He added that it was possible there was no "whom" responsible for this, but said investigators were still exploring all possibilities. Investigators have found evidence of "pre-planning," Bowdich said. Both attackers went to shooting ranges in the Los Angeles region for target practice, including one such visit just days before the shooting, he said. The federal investigation which Bowdich described as "massive in scale" has involved more than 400 interviews so far, he said. San Bernardino County officials had said earlier Monday they were returning to work in an attempt to resume normal business, five days after the massacre at an event for government workers. The only exception is the Division of Environmental Health Services, where work will be suspended for at least another week, county officials said at a news conference. One of the two killers, Syed Rizwan Farook, was a department employee. In an effort to help employees cope with the effects of last week's violence, the county has established a counseling center and hotline, and managers in county government have been asked to look for signs of stress among their staff. San Bernardino has already taken steps since the Dec. 2 shooting at the Inland Regional Center to enhance security in county facilities, including increasing the number of armed guards at certain facilities, and is considering additional measures. [ 'I Got You:' San Bernardino victim shielded female co-worker during shooting, saving her life ] County officials and physicians from hospitals that treated shooting victims stressed that San Bernardino would seek to remain united and would rally around those affected by the massacre. "The purpose of terrorism is to make ordinary people afraid to do the ordinary things that make up their lives," said Janice Rutherford, a member of the county Board of Supervisors. "We can't be afraid of our lives, of our community, of our neighbors, of our coworkers." Of six victims who were admitted to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center after the attack, five have gone home. The wide-ranging investigation into the deadliest terrorist attack on U.S. soil since Sept. 11, 2001, continued Monday, as officials sought answers about the attack, the suspects and any ties they may have to other people. Law enforcement agents on Sunday again searched the home of a man suspected of providing Farook with the military-grade rifles he and his wife used to gun down 14 people. A team of three officials spent about 30 minutes inside the home of Enrique Marquez, a former neighbor of Farook's, and left carrying a large cardboard box. The box's contents were unknown, and the officials declined to identify themselves or their agency to reporters outside. The search at the modest suburban home, the second in two days, took place as new details surfaced about Marquez, who officials say bought the DPMS and Smith & Wesson AR-15 rifles that Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, used in the Dec. 2 rampage. Marquez, who works as a Walmart security guard, checked himself into a mental health facility Friday; it is not yet clear whether he has already been questioned by authorities or if he will be charged. On Monday, in response to reports that Marquez was detained or charged, Bowdich said he would not comment on Marquez's status. A picture has begun to take shape of the couple's past and their apparent radicalization even as their lives followed a seemingly ordinary course: work, marriage, child. The couple's daughter, born in May, is in the care of child protective services. The Marquez and Farook families lived next door to each other on the quiet residential street in Riverside, Calif., for years. Like Farook, Marquez, 29, attended La Sierra High School. Both young men shared a love of cars. Neighbor Jared Rork said Farook and Marquez would sometimes be seen working on cars and listening to music in one of their garages. "They seemed like everyday, normal Americans," he said. One of his coworkers at Walmart, who asked to go only by his last name, Dandy, said Marquez had worked at the store only a few months. When he heard about Marquez's possible role in supplying the weapons used on Dec. 2, Dandy was shocked. "I was just blown [away], man," he said. "I couldn't believe something like that could come here." Friends and family described Farook, who was born in Illinois and grew up in California, as devout and conservative. Those who prayed with him at local mosques said the 28-year-old spoke about his personal life to few people. On Sunday, Italian publication La Stampa published an interview with Farook's father, also named Syed, in which he said his son had harbored anti-Semitic animosity. Reached at his son Raheel's home on Sunday morning, the elder Farook said his views differed from those of his son. "He was going towards [conservatism]," he told reporters through the gate of the home. "His views were conservative, my views were liberal." He also said that Syed Farook had quarreled with a Jewish coworker. One of the fellow county health inspectors killed in the attack was Nicholas Thalasinos, who converted to the Messianic Jewish movement of Christianity three years ago and who frequently posted online about Israel and politics. Kuuleme Stephens, a friend of Thalasinos's, said she had spoken with him by phone about two weeks before the attack, reaching him when he was having a conversation with Farook about the nature of Islam and Israel's place in the Middle East. But she played down the significance of the conversation. "It wasn't an argument," she said. "No one was raising their voices." Investigators are also working to determine what other attacks the couple may have planned. The rifles they used had been altered to make them more lethal, and a major arsenal was found in their two-story townhome, including what authorities said were a dozen pipe bombs and thousands of rounds of ammunition. On Monday, Bowdich said authorities had found 19 pipes that could have been used for pipe bombs, rather than the dozen pipe bombs previously described. During an appearance on Fox News on Sunday, Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Tex.), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said investigators are trying to establish where the couple got the money to buy their weaponry. "There's a serious investigation ongoing into what she was doing in Pakistan and in Saudi," McCaul said. "We think that she had a lot to do with the radicalization process and perhaps with Mr. Farook's radicalization from within the United States." "The wild card here is the wife, Malik," he added. [ From pharmacy student to suspected San Bernardino terrorist: The baffling journey of Tashfeen Malik ] One of the few known clues about Malik's beliefs was a posting she made on Facebook around the time of the attack, pledging loyalty to Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The Islamic State has described the couple as followers but has not expressed the same close association with the attack that it has with other recent examples of violence, such as the Nov. 13 attacks in Paris. On Sunday, Pakistani Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan told reporters that his government was investigating Malik's past. He said Pakistan was offering the United States "all possible legal assistance" but added that Pakistan should not be held responsible for the actions of a single person. "Such heinous acts also lead to serious difficulties for millions of Muslims who live in Western and other countries, and the extremists and nationalist elements in those societies look at Muslims with suspicions," he said. So far, the Pakistani government has not found any links between the 29-year-old Malik, who was born in Pakistan, and extremist groups, he said. Reporters' ability to look into Malik's roots was made more difficult by the presence of intelligence agents at sites she is known to have visited in the town of Multan, where she lived with her mother and sister while undertaking her college studies. The family moved in 2014, one neighbor said. On Sunday, three professors at Bahauddin Zakariya University, which Malik also attended, told Reuters that security agencies had told them not to speak to reporters. A professor, who was not identified, told Reuters that security officials had removed records and pictures of Malik from the university Saturday. A former college roommate, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, said she stayed in touch with Malik after she moved to the United States in the summer of 2014, but gradually lost touch. "She was initially responding to our calls and Facebook messages," the woman said in a text message. "But then [she] stopped replying to our messages after December 2014." A local cleric, Attaul Manan, who runs a madrassa and mosque near Malik's former home, said the Malik family largely stayed to themselves. "The people have been discussing how [Malik] had lived there, but no one ever saw her because the Malik family did not mix with others in the street," he said. But even the most basic facts of Malik's background remain disputed. While Pakistani officials say she lived in Saudi Arabia on and off for 25 years, the Saudi government on Sunday said she had spent little time there. According to the Associated Press, Saudi Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Mansour al-Turki said she had spent less than six months there in two visits in 2008 and 2013. Craig reported from Pakistan. Abby Phillip and Thomas Gibbons-Neff in San Bernardino, Calif., and Alice Crites, Karen DeYoung, Adam Goldman and Peter Holley in Washington contributed to this report. | 5 | 97,640 | news |
The number of cases of dengue fever in Hawaii has risen to 136, prompting health authorities this week to warn residents and travelers to the popular winter vacation destination to take precautions to avoid contracting the virus. In a statement published Sunday, the County of Hawaii said that 119 residents and 17 visitors on Hawaii Island, the largest of the state's eight main islands, have been confirmed to have dengue fever. The first cases in the current outbreak were traced back to September, and over time they developed into what is now being treated as a cluster of 106 adults and 30 children. The cluster has now grown to rival the last major dengue outbreak , which took place in 2001 and lasted about 10 months with 92 cases on Maui, 26 on Oahu and four on Kauai. Sign up for The New York Times' weekly travel newsletter The outbreak is taking place at the start of the island's peak tourism season, which usually begins around mid-December and lasts until March or mid-April. The Hawaii Tourism Authority published an alert last month instructing tourists to take precautions against the illness. The virus, spread by a bite from infected mosquitoes, is uncommon on the island of Hawaii. County health officials said that it was probably introduced to the island by a person who contracted it in another part of the world, became infectious while in Hawaii and was bitten by there by a mosquito, which spread the fever. Authorities are now trying to curb the spread by spraying mosquito-infested areas and advising people to wear protective clothing and repellent. The virus can cause fever, headaches and pain in the eyes, joints and muscles. It is spread by mosquitoes that bite during the daytime, and is usually found in tropical areas of Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and the South Pacific, but is relatively rare in the United States. It is not immediately clear why the current cluster of cases developed at this time and to this extent on the Big Island. Early cases were traced to a popular camping site in South Kona. Dr. Lyle Petersen, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention division that covers diseases spread by mosquitoes, said one factor in the outbreak could be that the Kona coastal area had a heavier than normal rainy season because of El Niño. "But that is total speculation," he said in a telephone interview on Monday. "Nobody can tell you that is the cause." Dr. Petersen, who just returned from an assignment in Hawaii as part of a C.D.C. team studying the outbreak, said the measures needed to control its spread are challenging. One of the species suspected of spreading the virus, the Asian Tiger mosquito, breeds in a wide range of sites, making it impossible to eradicate. In addition, the species is active during the day, but air currents are not optimal for aerial spraying during daylight hours, on top of the danger that poses of exposing people to the pesticides. Dr. Petersen said he had no solid estimates about how long the current outbreak would last. | 2 | 97,641 | travel |
Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez has been named Player of the Year by the Football Supporters' Federation. Sanchez has scored 20 goals for Arsene Wenger's men in 2015, including a long-range stunner as Arsenal thumped Aston Villa 4-0 to retain the FA Cup in May. The Chile star is the third straight player from South America to land the prize, which was first awarded in 2013, and he follows in the footsteps of Luis Suarez and Sergio Aguero in winning the award. The 26-year-old beat competition from Jamie Vardy, Aguero, David De Gea, Harry Kane and John Stones. "I'm delighted to receive the FSF Player of the Year award. Personally, it's been a great 2015 for me on the pitch with both my club and country," Sanchez, who also helped Chile to Copa America success earlier this year, said. "Arsenal have enjoyed a good start to the season and it was disappointing to pick up an injury. But I'm hoping to be back soon to help my teammates have another successful year." Wenger added: "Alexis has had a great 2015 - winning the FA Cup with us and the Copa America with Chile. "He has made a huge impact on English football since his arrival at the Emirates Stadium and I'm very happy that his skill, ability and dedication has been recognized by football fans across the country." | 1 | 97,642 | sports |
USA TODAY Sports' Sam Amick breaks down 22-0 Golden State's matchup against 12-7 Indiana. | 1 | 97,643 | sports |
As a New York Times editorial urges the nation on its front page for the first time since 1920 to fix the root causes of gun violence in America, average citizens are responding in ways that shouldn't come as much of a surprise. Some are buying guns of their own, likely pushing 2015 to yield the most ever gun purchases in history. Others are buying up ballistic body armor and bulletproof backpack inserts for the safety of their families. For Bullet Blocker, a backpack-insert company founded by a concerned parent after the Columbine shooting, sales after have gone from around 20 to 10,000 per week after Sandy Hook, according to Marketplace . The trend has continued up, significantly, in recent weeks. Security Pro USA, which sells bulletproof vests, saw sales rise 600% the day after the San Bernardino shooting. Like guns, bulletproof vests can't be sold to felons, but there's no background check required. According to KXAN , all you have to do is lie if you want a bulletproof vest and have a record. In addition to the spike in bulletproof vest sales, gun sales have been soaring, but as KXAN notes, not necessarily for the reason you might think. Instead of as a means of self-defense, people buy guns in the wake of increased shootings because they fear it will lead to increased regulation. So, they stockpile while they can. And, considering the body armor used by the San Bernardino perpetrators, a similar mindset could be spurring on body armor sales. MORE: Gun Sales in U.S. on Pace to Beat All-Time High This Year | 3 | 97,644 | finance |
Warring factions in Yemen will relaunch peace talks on December 15, the UN envoy to the embattled country said Monday, voicing confidence that a temporary ceasefire will be in place before negotiations begin. Talks to ease the violence in Yemen have been stalled for months, with the conflict escalating since March when a pro-government coalition led by Saudi Arabia began bombarding Iran-backed Huthi rebels. With the humanitarian crisis in the impoverished country deteriorating, UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said a swift halt to the fighting was imperative for those caught up in what has increasingly become a regional conflict. - Key governor killed - Ahmed told reporters that three delegations would take part in talks likely to be held outside Geneva which have no definitive timeline and will last "as long as it takes." The delegations include representatives of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi's government, the Huthi rebels, and officials from the General People's Congress (GPC), who are loyalists of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh. Though not formally aligned, some GPC members have expressed support for the Huthis. The UN envoy further said he was "almost certain" a temporary ceasefire would be in force by December 15 "in order to create an environment conducive to peace talks." "Everyone seems to be welcoming this idea that we will have a ceasefire," Ahmed said, noting that a permanent ceasefire remained a more distant prospect and would depend on the outcome of negotiations. According to the UN envoy, Riyadh said it would observe a ceasefire and pause its aerial assault so long as Hadi was on board with the plan. Each delegation will be made up of 12 members, including eight official negotiators and four advisors. The delegations have not yet been finalised, in part because the UN has insisted that more women be included, according to Ahmed. Asked about reports that Huthi rebel leaders had been dragging their feet and refusing to name their delegates in an apparent bid to further stall dialogue, the UN envoy said he was certain that the Iran-backed faction would show up. Talks will focus on four main areas, including the terms for a permanent ceasefire and the withdrawal of armed groups from the areas under their control. Another area of dialogue was described as "confidence-building measures" which includes broadening humanitarian access in the country where aid workers have been killed and kidnapped. Finally, delegates will try to hammer out a political future for Yemen, a country plunged into worsening chaos since the insurgents overran the capital Sanaa, forcing the government to flee to Saudi Arabia. Jihadist groups have exploited the conflict by making sweeping gains. The announcement on the restart of talks came after the killing of the governor of Yemen's second city Aden, Jaafar Saad, in an attack claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group, which has threatened further violence. The assassination happened a day after the UN envoy visited Aden. Ahmed said he was "extremely concerned by the ever-growing suffering of the Yemeni people" and called on the rival camps to show "courage, personal sacrifice and tenacity" in the bid for peace. The United Nations says more than 5,700 people have been killed in Yemen, almost half of them civilians, since the Saudi-led air campaign began. | 5 | 97,645 | news |
WASHINGTON The World Trade Organization ruled Monday that Canada and Mexico can slap more than $1 billion in tariffs on U.S. goods in retaliation for meat labeling rules it says discriminated against Mexican and Canadian livestock. At issue were U.S. labels on packaged steaks and other cuts of meat that say where the animals were born, raised and slaughtered. The WTO has previously found that the so-called "country of origin" labeling rules put Canadian and Mexican livestock at a disadvantage. It ruled Monday that Canada could impose $780 million in retaliatory tariffs and Mexico could impose $228 million. The labels, which allow consumers to learn where their meat came from, were supported by U.S. ranchers who compete with Canada. But they were opposed by meatpackers who said they required costly paperwork. | 3 | 97,646 | finance |
We've found the best places to celebrate the holidays It's a Wonderful Life, all right! We've found the best places to celebrate the holidays-It's a Wonderful Life, all right! 1) Leavenworth, WA On any given day this Bavarian-themed town gives off an Alpine holiday air, but during snowy December, 21 miles of lights trace each peaked roof of the half-timbered village and run scallops along fences. The holiday is anticipated with handbell concerts, a lively weekend-long Christkindlmarkt, harp music, and a weekly festival around the town tree with carolers, Gluhwein, and sledding . Plan your trip to Leavenworth at TripAdvisor.com . 2) Branson, MO Each December this town hosts the Ozark Mountain Christmas festival, a month-long Christmas extravaganza with festive music, buildings decorated in lights, and plenty of parades. You can even ride the Branson Scenic Railway's Polar Express Train Ride and feel like you're in a scene from the movie. Don't forget the hot chocolate! Plan your trip at Branson at TripAdvisor.com. 3) Woodstock, VT It sounds like it could only happen in Christmas cards: a parade of horses and buggies circling a snowy village green. But Woodstock Wassail Weekend is an annual event in picturesque Woodstock, Vermont . Carolers serenade townsfolk and everyone gathers for the lighting of the town tree and Yule log. Historic homes and farms open for celebrations of rural and small-town holiday heritage. You may have to pinch yourself to believe the charming New England spectacle. Plan your trip to Woodstock at TripAdvisor.com. 4) Asheville, NC Not surprisingly, much of Asheville's holiday focus is on Biltmore , the historic Vanderbilt mansion, which dresses up lavishly with ribbons, garlands, and sparking lights. Elsewhere in this active mountain town, locals gather to watch Santa rappel down Chimney Rock as a warm-up exercise for his upcoming Christmas Eve activities . The well-established arts scene in town makes shopping for unique gifts easy at craft shows and studio visits in the River Arts District. Plan your trip to Asheville at TripAdvisor.com. 5) Jackson, WY No town lights up for the holidays quite like Jackson. The town at the base of the Tetons has a spectacular town square any time of the year, with monumental arches of elk antlers at the four corners. But around the holidays, the arches are wrapped in strings of lights to illuminate the nights with a festive glow. Stick around until New Year's Eve if you want to see the torch parade of ski instructors snaking down the mountain at the town's two ski resorts. Plan your trip to Jackson at TripAdvisor.com. 6) Natchitoches, LA Christmas in Natchitoches begins in June when the bulbs on the strings of holiday lights are tested in anticipation of the town's proud Festival of Lights. The town of 18,000 celebrates the season with more 300,000 lights and 100 set pieces displayed along the banks of Cane River Lake, honoring the holiday and their Creole heritage. Festivities, including carriage rides, historic home tours, a children's festival, fireworks, a 5K race, parades, and live performances, go on until early January. Plan your trip to Natchitoches at TripAdvisor.com . 7) Helen, GA You may not expect to find an Alpine village along the banks of Georgia's Chattahoochee River, but Helen , a former logging town at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains, reinvented itself long ago as a Bavarian town. Visitors come to town in December to view the wreaths and artist-decorated holiday trees on auction at the Festival of Trees and to participate in the Kinderfest, the Christkindlmarkt, and tree lighting in tiny downtown Helen. Plan your trip to Helen at TripAdvisor.com. 8) Williamsburg, VA Colonial holiday traditions like caroling by torchlight, fife and drum performances, and interpretive programs (care to celebrate with the Madisons and Jeffersons?!) set the stage for Christmas in charming Williamsburg. The activities culminate in a Grand Illumination , a celebratory fireworks and historic gun-salute display, best viewed from the town green. For the less historic minded, nearby Busch Gardens opens for the holiday with Christmas Town, a stroll through European holiday traditions. Plan your trip to Williamsburg at TripAdvisor.com. 9) Durango, CO This historic mining town uses the local steam-engine train to festive advantage with snowy rides through the surrounding mountains along the Animas River. The Durango & Silverton narrow gauge train operates year-round but in December, its runs include a Polar Express-inspired trip for kids as well as weekend Christmas Tree runs on which passengers can cut their own tree and get it transported back to town. Plan your trip to Durango at TripAdvisor.com. 10) Delray Beach, FL A 100-foot-tall Christmas tree is just the thing to shift the mood from beach to holiday. At the center of the aptly named Old School Square (a historic district revived as a cultural center), the tree magically opens to reveal a wonderland inside, with toy trains running around miniature scenes depicting holiday traditions. Plan your trip to Delray Beach at TripAdvisor.com. 11) Annapolis, MD Annapolis showcases its impressive 18th-century historic district at the holidays, with candlelit strolls and guided tours of some of the town's grand homes. The town is lavishly trimmed with evergreen garlands and, down on the City Dock , reflections of the holiday tree twinkle in the water of the harbor. The town's nautical traditions are honored with a lighted boat parade in December. Plan your trip to Annapolis at TripAdvisor.com. 12) Sierra Madre, CA Where do Southern Californians go to get the Christmas spirit? Sierra Madre , a foothills town just a few miles east of Pasadena, imports snow from the San Bernadino Mountains every year to build a big snowman in the town's central square, Kersting Court, until the balmy local temperatures send him downstream. There's still plenty to see, with the town's houses and businesses decorated for the season, a life-size nativity scene, and a 154-tree-long Christmas Tree Lane. Plan your trip to Sierra Madre at TripAdvisor.com. 13) Santa Claus, IN Santa Claus, Indiana, with a strong year-round commitment to the holiday, calls itself America's Christmas Hometown. In the late 1920s, the local postmaster began to promote the town and pretty soon, children's letters to Santa began pouring in. Every year, thousands of letters are answered by volunteer Santa's Elves. Local festivities include a themed parade, a candy castle (selling nostalgic hard-to-get favorite treats), and Santa's Land of Lights , a 1.2-mile drive-through holiday light show. Plan your trip to Santa Claus at TripAdvisor.com. 14) Taos, NM In the days leading up to the holidays, Taos holds tree-lightings, concerts, and crafts fairs like many other towns, but on Christmas Eve, the game changes. A religious procession in ancient Taos Pueblo , the Native American settlement outside town, includes bonfires, luminarias, and historic gun salute, and can make the most jaded Scrooge feel holiday magic stir. Plan your trip to Taos at TripAdvisor.com. 15) Oxford, MS It may not often get cold and snowy in this college town, but the locals have a clear understanding of Christmas giving. The Gingerbread Village , elaborate structures made from scratch each year by volunteers, benefits local food banks. The town also holds an Ornament Auction, selling unique decorations made by local artists, to raise money for its arts council. Plan your trip to Oxford at TripAdvisor.com. 16) Prescott, AZ The holidays take on a Western twang in Prescott. Activities center around historic Courthouse Plaza, ablaze with more than a million lights for the season and site of the town's Christmas tree. On the day of the tree-lighting, Sharlott Hall Museum hosts a Frontier Christmas Open House where locals enjoy hot cider and cookies while listening to stories about pioneer holidays. Plan your trip to Prescott at TripAdvisor.com. 17) Newport Beach, CA Every year boat owners and residents prepare for the biggest holiday celebration on the water: the Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade . More than 100 boats ranging in size from yachts to canoes light up and sail 14 miles around Newport Harbor for five consecutive nights. Prizes are given out for categories such as best animation and originality-some owners are even known to spend months (and up to $50,000!) decorating. Plan your trip to Newport Beach at TripAdvisor.com. 18) Dyker Heights, Brooklyn Okay, okay. It's not technically a small town, but Dyker Heights , a neighborhood in South Brooklyn, shares a lot of traits with small towns-loyalty, pride, close-knit families and a deep, slightly competitive affection for Christmas lights. Residents of this walkable Italian-American enclave erect intricate and spectacular displays on and around their homes. Strolling around Dyker Heights will convince you that there's a small town lurking in the heart of the big city. Plan your trip to Brooklyn at TripAdvisor.com. | 2 | 97,647 | travel |
Which NFL receivers had the best fantasy performances in Week 13? Our guys take a look at the top fantasy receivers from this past week. | 1 | 97,648 | sports |
Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz has taken the lead in the early-voting state of Iowa, surpassing both Donald Trump, who holds the lead in most national surveys, and Ben Carson, who has scored strongly in the state in recent months, according to a Monmouth University poll released on Monday. The poll of likely caucus-goers in Iowa, which in February 2016 will hold the first contest in the Republican presidential nomination process, Cruz had the support of 24 percent. That marked a jump from the 10 percent of caucus-goers who supported Cruz in October and 9 percent in August. Trump was in second place with 19 percent, followed by Marco Rubio with 17 percent and Ben Carson at 13 percent. Cruz, a U.S. senator from Texas, has benefited from a decline in support for Carson. Both Republicans have a strong base of support with evangelical voters, who make up a large bloc among likely caucus-goers in Iowa. But Carson has seen his poll numbers drop amid missteps in some of his comments about national security in the aftermath of the attacks in San Bernardino, California and Paris. As recently as October, Carson was leading in the Monmouth poll, with the support of 32 percent of caucus-goers. In August, he was tied with Trump at 23 percent. The poll surveyed 425 likely Iowa caucus-goers and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.8 percent. (Reporting by Alana Wise; Editing by Alan Crosby) | 5 | 97,649 | news |
In the wake of the recent high-profile mass shootings in San Bernardino and Colorado , a mostly overlooked bit of news about a forthcoming gun-focused cable TV channel is suddenly in the spotlight. A few weeks ago, the Desert Sun , which covers Palm Springs and California's Coachella Valley, reported that a new cable channel called GunTV would be making its local debut in January 2016. The channel promises six hours of programming daily "mostly shopping, starting at 1 a.m.," according to the Desert Sun . Also known as "GTV Live Shopping," the channel is aiming for 24/7 content and a national audience by the end of 2016. After last week's massacre in San Bernardino , roughly a one-hour drive away from Palm Springs, word of the fledgling cable channel was picked up by the likes of Fast Company , Rolling Stone , and the (UK) Independent . Fast Company , which noted wryly that the channel's daily 1 a.m. start time for programming is "precisely the time of day when most people make their wisest decisions," characterized GunTV as a "QVC for deadly weapons." The Guardian called attention to GunTV's promotional materials, which position the channel "as iTunes but for guns." Despite offering programming and gun sales pitches during the hours when cable stations are dominated by "As Seen on TV" schlock and gimmicks, GunTV says that it stresses safety and responsibility. The channel will "fuse the social responsibility message with the traditional home shopping channel format," according to its Facebook page. "Our business philosophy is filling the need, not creating one," GunTV co-founder Valerie Castle said to the Desert Sun . Obviously, a channel such as this has gun control advocates alarmed, to put it mildly. At least the channel isn't promising speedy delivery, or any home delivery for that matter. While GunTV exists to sell firearms, ammunition, and other shooting sports gear, when a viewer places an order with the channel, the order will be referred to a firearms distributor, which will then ship it to a licensed gun store in the vicinity of the buyer who will have to show up in person and submit to a background check before walking away with it. | 3 | 97,650 | finance |
A lack of sleep can affect your health in many different ways. | 8 | 97,651 | video |
As Nick Saban's top defensive assistant for the past seven years, Kirby Smart has had chances to step out of the master's shadow and make a name for himself elsewhere. It took a perfect fit for him to say yes. An emotional Smart was introduced Monday as the head coach at his alma mater, and there's little doubt Georgia will look a lot more like Alabama going forward. MORE: Meet the new coaches | Imagine a 16-team playoff | Best of 2015 Smart, a Bulldogs defensive back from 1995-98, spoke passionately but mostly in generalities about his hopes for a program that experienced great success under Mark Richt but rarely entered the national championship discussion. After helping the Tide win three national titles in six seasons, with another still possible this year, Smart sounded determined to transfer those high expectations to a school he loves. "We're going to push them harder than they've ever been pushed," he said of his players. Smart spoke to the team Sunday evening and told them about his experience sitting in their place when Georgia fired Ray Goff and hired Jim Donnan in the middle of his playing career. "The uneasiness of having to prove yourself and start over, sometimes as an upperclassman, is tough," he acknowledged. But he doesn't sound inclined to sit around and wait for stragglers. Perhaps the most revealing moment of a press conference without much sizzle was his observation that the 2015 Bulldogs were "lacking somewhat" in "perimeter guys who can make explosive plays" on offense. Pair a few of them with the "big, grown men" up front who are mandatory for competing in the SEC and Georgia will be on the right track, he said. Aside from a one-year stint as Georgia's running backs coach under Richt 10 years ago, Smart's career has been spent on the defensive side of the ball. But he did say he expects his offense to be multiple, neither exclusively the pro-style approach Richt had nor the spread employed by numerous schools around the country. "I don't think you can pigeonhole yourself into that you've gotta be both," he said. "… You need to go get good players, and get 'em the ball, and that's what we plan to do." While Smart clearly plans to run his own program, even to the point of indicating he might not retain any of the current Georgia assistants, it sounds like he will maintain the school's philosophy of strict off-field discipline established during the Richt years. He made that point in his opening statement, which didn't even address football schemes or styles, by saying his players will be held to a "higher standard of behavior." "Our student-athletes will represent the university with class and integrity," he said. "We will demand that." MORE: Most disappointing teams | Final playoff rankings Recruiting and assembling a coaching staff will be Smart's top priorities in the coming week. He was set to head out on the road immediately after Monday's introduction and continue nonstop until the recruiting dead period kicks in Monday. Then it's back to Tuscaloosa to help prepare Alabama for its Cotton Bowl national semifinal against Michigan State on New Year's Eve. Smart said he was confident in his ability to handle pulling double duty for the next month or so, and added that first-year Falcons coach Dan Quinn had reached out to offer advice on time management after going through the same process last season while helping coach the Seahawks to the Super Bowl. Smart thanked Georgia president Jere Morehead and athletic director Greg McGarity for allowing him to continue with Alabama through the end of its season, talking about how important it was for him to "finish things the right way" with the Tide's players. Whenever that run ends, Georgia will be his sole focus. Where to start? "First and foremost," he said, "these players at the University of Georgia have to believe in themselves." | 1 | 97,652 | sports |
The Golden State Warriors debates are raging in every corner of the online world these days. It's the digital water cooler effect of their sensational start (now 22-0), enough to slow down the workplace efficiency at even the highest-end operations. On Sunday, that meant a Kobe Bryant v. Steph Curry discussion that took place on Twitter and is worth revisiting. So long as the Warriors keep winning and Curry keeps setting the nets aflame, considering this the first of many attempts to quantify the scoring history that's happening here. Curry vs. Bryant in the present day is no contest, of course, but this was Kobe Bryant in his most vicious season of scoring (2005-06) compared to Curry in the past 22 games. The basic question here is this: has Curry, whose MVP season in 2014-15 had so much to do with his all-around game, become a scorer so skilled that he deserves to share sentences with lethal legends like Bryant? Forget about defense, playmaking and all the rest, and don't forget when it comes to the scoring department that Curry's scoring has spiked from 23.8 points per game last season to a league-leading 32.4 at present. As is so often the case these days in discussions of this sort, there's an old-school/new-school divide in terms of how to best quantify a player's impact. With that in mind, we'll start with the conventional look at what each player has done. Bryant's raw scoring stats from the 2005-06 regular season: 35.6 points per game (career-high), 45.7% shooting overall, 34.7% from three-point range and 85% from the line. Curry's raw scoring stats: 32.4 points per game (career-high) on 53.2% shooting overall, 47.2% from three-point range and 91.2% from the line. Bryant wins based on production alone, right? Not so fast. In terms of scoring style, Curry has a major edge in two categories: his vastly-superior efficiency means there are far fewer possessions wasted, and his unreal mastery of the three-pointer serves as the kind of X-factor that not only changes this debate but is changing the state of the game itself. Now a look at the advanced statistics that paint a more detailed picture. Points per 100 possessions (which eliminates any discrepancy in playing time and team pace of play): Bryant was at 45.6 in that season, while Curry is currently at 45.8. True-shooting percentage (which combines a player's percentage on two-pointers, three-pointers and free throws to encapsulate his overall accuracy): Bryant 55.9%, Curry 70.7%. And this is the point where the in-arena music comes scratching to a screeching halt. In terms of impact combined with efficiency, what Curry is doing right now has never been done and most certainly not by a guard. His 70.7% true-shooting mark is on pace to best Wilt Chamberlain's .689 true-shooting mark from the 1972-73 season that is the current gold standard, which is remarkable considering the inherent edge that big men have when it comes to shooting efficiency. The closest guard to Curry on that list is Utah Jazz great John Stockton (eighth place at .651), and Bryant's best-ever season on this front was .580 in 2006-07. Michael Jordan's best true-shooting season, for those who wondered, was 61.4% in 1988-89. Behold the power of the three-point shot. Because Curry has remained extremely efficient from beyond the arc while increasing his volume of attempts (11.2 threes attempted per game this season compared to 8.1 last season), these are uncharted waters that put him in his own special category. Bear in mind, he has already set the single-season record for threes made twice and is likely going to break his own mark (286, set last season) by a country mile (currently on pace for 432). Whether Curry is being compared to Bryant or anyone else, the bottom line is that his unprecedented experiment with the long-ball is a raving success. And for all the focus on the analytics debate, this stuff isn't really all that complicated: even a toddler understands that three-pointers are worth more than twos, so the fact that nearly half of Curry's converted field-goals this season are threes (49.2%) gives him the kind of nightly edge that we've never seen. In terms of long-distance volume, consider this much: the single-season NBA/ABA record for three-pointers attempted in a single season is 678 (George McCloud, Dallas Mavericks, 1995-96), and Curry is on pace jack up 916. All-time three-point champion Ray Allen never attempted more than 653 in a single season (the second-highest mark all-time, followed by Curry's 646 from last season). What's more, even the sharpshooting Allen never relied as much on the three-pointer as much Curry is this season (his personal high in terms of percentage of overall field goals being three-pointers was 48.3% from the 2013-14 season). Bryant, who has averaged two-plus made three-pointers per game just twice in 20 seasons, was one of the most ruthless and effective scorers the game has ever seen. But Curry, should he somehow keep this up, is in a class all his own. | 1 | 97,653 | sports |
Netflix Inc (NFLX.O) will focus on developing its own content next year and nearly double the number of original shows to 31 from 16, Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos said on Monday. The video-streaming company has 10 feature films, 30 kids' series, about a dozen feature documentaries, 10 stand-up specials and two documentary series in various stages of production, Sarandos said at the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference in New York. "This is programming that people want to watch," Sarandos said, noting that Netflix shows got nominations for Emmy, Oscar and Golden Globe last year. The company, known for original shows such as "Orange is the New Black" and "House of Cards", is also pulling back from signing deals with U.S. movie studios with the exception of Walt Disney Co (DIS.N), Sarandos said. (Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Bengaluru and Jessica Toonkel in New York; Editing by Anil D'Silva) | 3 | 97,654 | finance |
In late 2014, Bubba Watson had the following to say after a victory at the WGC-HSBC Champions in China, his seventh PGA Tour win. "My goal is 10 wins and to make every team event. Those are the biggest goals. And until we reach those goals, I'm going to keep trying. If I get to 10, then I can switch it from there. Or retire." Watson's victory at the Hero World Challenge Sunday, though an unofficial PGA Tour event, is his ninth win as a professional golfer. After cruising to a three-shot victory with a final-round 66 at Albany Golf Club in the Bahamas, Watson was reminded of just how close he is to 10 wins, and about what he had said he'd do once he reached that goal. In typical Bubba fashion, he made a quick amendment. "Ten U.S. victories," he said. "And I don't count this as a PGA Tour victory. It counts as a victory. It's very big for my career personally. "I will give you this, though: If I ever become No. 1 in the world, ever, somehow, I'm walkin' away. I'm gonna walk away on top. But let's be honest, though. Nobody here's voting on that, right? Everybody thinks I'm not gonna do that." Sign up for more golf news, exclusive stories and insider analysis Watson is currently fourth in the world ranking, behind Jordan Spieth, Jason Day and Rory McIlroy -- stiff competition. He's also 37 years old and not exactly a spring chicken when compared to the three guys he's chasing. But something tells us that if Bubba were to attain the top spot, he'd stick around long enough to enjoy it. | 1 | 97,655 | sports |
Regardless whether it's a Ford or Chevy, the best used car buy for someone that likes to thrash their ride on a daily basis is a former police patrol unit. Of course there is that matter of brand loyalty, so feel free to choose accordingly. Getting back to why: it's because a police car is built to handle anything that comes its way and that means it's hard to break. Hard to break and go fast doing it, is what police car testing is all about. Every year different police agencies from around the nation comparison test the top three contenders: Ford, Dodge and Chevrolet. In 2014 tests, the Caprice PPV (police patrol vehicle) came out on top against the Dodge Charger and Ford Police Interceptor. The Caprice performed exceptionally well against other manufacturers' police vehicles, with the Caprice PPV 6.0L delivering a higher top speed (155 mph / 248 kmh) than the Dodge Charger V-8 or the Taurus-based Ford Police Interceptor with an EcoBoost V6, during Michigan State Police's annual benchmark police vehicle evaluation. Classic muscle on MSN Autos For 2015 things turned out in favor for the Ford EcoBoost Police Interceptor. The big three, Ford, Chevrolet, and Dodge, all participated in police interceptor comparison tests conducted by the LASD (Los Angeles Sheriffs Department) and the Michigan State Police. In the latest tests the V6 EcoBoost-powered Ford Police Interceptor sedan bested all vehicles, including V8-equipped competitors' sedans in testing by both Michigan and California authorities. The Ford EcoBoost Police Interceptor turned in best-in-class acceleration for overall pursuit vehicles of 0-60 mph in 5.8 seconds vs. 6.6 seconds for the 5.7-liter Charger and 6.7 seconds for the 6.0-liter Chevrolet Caprice. Much in the same way it was a rear-engine, Lotus-powered by a Ford, that rung the death knell for conventional Offenhauser-powered cars at Indianapolis, the same might be happening for conventionally configured police cars. It's no secret production of the V8-powered, rear-wheel-drive Impala goes out of production at the end of 2017, so it will be interesting to see what replaces it and if the new platform can exact revenge. Follow MSN Autos on Facebook | 9 | 97,656 | autos |
Violent extremists' use of encryption to evade law enforcement in communicating online will be examined by a task force proposed by a Republican lawmaker on Monday, adding to pressures on Silicon Valley to do more in fighting militant groups. Citing concerns about violent extremists communicating in potentially undetectable "dark space" online, Representative Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said he wants to set up a commission of members from the technology business, law enforcement and other experts. It would look at ways to break a long-standing logjam in a debate over encrypted phones and messaging platforms, which appeared to be on hold after the Obama administration abandoned an earlier push this summer. Telecommunications and Internet companies for years have resisted demands from Washington for "backdoor keys" to encrypted messaging, citing broad concerns that such vulnerabilities could make data more accessible to hackers. "We should be careful not to vilify 'encryption' itself, which is essential for privacy, data security, and global commerce," McCaul said during a speech outlining the state of homeland security. "But I have personally been briefed on cases where terrorists communicated in darkness and where we couldn't shine a light, even with a lawful warrant." The proposal comes a day after President Barack Obama addressed the nation on efforts to combat Islamic State, which included a plea for Silicon Valley to help law enforcement "make it harder for terrorists to use technology to escape justice." Obama's speech followed a shooting rampage last week in San Bernardino in which 14 people were killed, which is being investigated as an act of terrorism, and attacks by Islamic State on Nov. 13 in Paris in which 130 people died. Lawmakers and the White House are also looking at ways that companies like Facebook and Google can do more to restrict violent propaganda and recruiting on social media. (Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and Jonathan Oatis) | 5 | 97,657 | news |
The nation's No. 1 team, Kentucky, suffered its first loss of the season Thursday at UCLA. The score was 87 77, a stunning reversal from the meeting between those two schools last season, when Kentucky led by 34 points at halftime en route to an 83 44 win. More important, it was a stark turn for UCLA , which began the season by losing at home to Monmouth, a team that went on to lose at Canisius, which lost on Saturday at home to Quinnipiac, which is currently ranked 299 th out of 350 teams in the RPI. You like that bouncing ball? Let's follow another. Syracuse rose to No. 14 in the AP poll after beating UConn and Texas A&M in the Bahamas over Thanksgiving. Last week, the Orange lost at home to Wisconsin, which earlier this season lost at home to Western Illinois. Over the weekend, Syracuse lost at Georgetown, which lost at home to Radford, which lost to James Madison, which lost at home to UT-Martin, which is 305 th in the RPI. Texas A&M beat Gonzaga to claim the No. 19 ranking, but on Saturday the Aggies lost at Arizona State, which lost at home to Sacramento State. Miami handily beat two ranked teams, Utah and Butler, and then lost at home to Northeastern, which lost at Miami (Ohio) , which lost at IUPUI, which is 274 th in the RPI. North Carolina has beaten Maryland but lost at Northern Iowa , albeit without its starting point guard, Marcus Paige. San Diego State beat California but also lost at home to Arkansas -Little Rock . Arizona needed overtime to defeat winless Santa Clara and lost to Providence on a neutral court. On Saturday, the Wildcats won a road game at Gonzaga. And they didn't have their starting center. If tracking all these crazy bounces is making you dizzy, you are not alone. Welcome to the 2015 16 college basketball season. The one thing we definitely know is that we don't know anything. The only certainty is uncertainty. Is this a good thing? Well, yes and no. Parity can be fun, and it augurs for an exciting NCAA tournament. (Then again, there is no such thing as an unexciting NCAA tournament.) On the other hand, the public loves dynastic powerhouses. Those, alas, are in short supply this season. There are more good teams than ever before, but at the moment there are no great ones. If you're worried that this is going to be one of those hifalutin "trend pieces," fear not. The world moves in cycles, and each season has its own personality. It's just that season's personality is quite different from last year's, when four teams (Kentucky, Duke, Wisconsin and Arizona) lorded over the pack pretty much the whole way. So let's not call this a trend so much as a one-year confluence of factors. Here are the three major forces at play: 1. This year's freshman class is ... meh. Yes, Ben Simmons is sublime, but consider that Kentucky center Skal Labissiere, whom many people ranked ahead of Simmons as a high school senior and still project as the No. 1 pick in the next NBA draft, has scored a combined eight points and played 16 minutes in each of his last two games. Another consensus top-five freshman, Cal's Jaylen Brown, is scoring in bursts but his team is struggling. Duke's top freshman, Brandon Ingram, is just starting to have in impact, while Chase Jeter, whom Rivals.com ranked 16 th in the class, can barely get off Mike Krzyzewski's bench. Kansas made a big stink about getting Cheick Diallo eligible, but the player ranked No. 5 by Rivals apparently will be a rotation player on a veteran team, not a featured star. Look across the country, and you will find very few freshmen having a major impact. There's no real reason for it; not all classes are created equal. Since the very top freshmen tend to end up at the powerhouse programs like Duke and Kentucky, they are not providing the same degree of separation than they have in other years. Hence, the crazy bounces. 2. Just about everybody who could turn pro last year did. We're used to seeing underclassmen bolt for the NBA at any sign of daylight, but in the spring of 2014 there were an unusual number of players who turned down the chance to be first-round picks. Chief among them were Wisconsin's Frank Kaminsky and Sam Dekker. Several Kentucky players (Willie Cauley-Stein, Dakari Johnson, the Harrison twins) also bucked the tide and returned to Lexington. Maybe they weren't slam-dunk pros a year ago, but an awful lot of college players would have been happy to take that chance. That allowed those two teams to spend all season on a collision course that ended at the Final Four. There is no analogous example for 2015 16. 3. The transfer craze has made the world even more flat. For the last few years, we have seen upwards of 600 players change schools each spring. This is the most significant trend in this sport over the last decade, and I am sensing a cumulative effect take hold. Time was, the top programs could horde the best players deep on their benches. If they lost guys to the NBA, they had a next man up. Now, all the attrition has put extraordinary pressure on recruiting. So when you have a mediocre freshman class, it hurts their ability to reload. Meanwhile, the quote-unquote lesser schools can get better and stay that way. The ones that benefit the most are the players, who are taking advantage of the movement to find places where they can get minutes. In transferring, unlike recruiting, it's not just the rich who get richer. Will any of these factors still be in play next season? We'll find out soon enough. In the meantime, let's just sit back and enjoy trying to track that bouncing ball. The madness has gotten started early this year. This season may not be sexy, but it has a great personality. Other Hoop Thoughts • Don't look now, but is Kelvin Sampson starting to build something in just his second season at Houston? The Cougars are 5 0 with a win at home over Murray State. We'll know whether they're for real this week after they play at Rhode Island Tuesday and then face LSU at home on Sunday. • Speaking of LSU, while everyone is going gaga for Simmons, the Tigers have lost three of their last four games, and it's possible none of the teams they lost to are going to be in the NCAA tournament. Not good. I like Antonio Blakeney, the freshman guard, but he has to learn the difference between an open shot and a good shot. • I called Ohio State's win at home over VMI on Saturday for Big Ten Network, and even though the Buckeyes won easily, I must say I'm rather pessimistic about their chances to make the tournament. Besides the obvious problem of their overall youth (seven freshmen and four sophomores), this team has no reliable playmaker. Freshman JaQuan Lyle is running the point, but he is a suspect ball-handler and not a natural floor leader. His backup, A.J. Harris, is also a freshman and stands just 5'9" and 165 pounds. The good news is Thad Matta has ditched his tie for this season, so at least he'll get plenty of oxygen while his young guys grow up on the fly • Keep your eye on Bruce Weber's Kansas State Wildcats. On Friday, they picked up a nice road win at Georgia on Dean Wade's jumper with four seconds to play. That matches K State's total number of road wins for all of last season. Remember, this team gave North Carolina all it wanted in Kansas City last week before losing by 10. • Add this to your rising star watch: Kelan Martin, Butler's 6'6" sophomore swingman. He had 14 points in the Bulldogs' thrilling 78 76 road win at Cincinnati last Wednesday, and then followed that up by scoring a career-high 24 points in Saturday's home win over Indiana State. Butler isn't big, but this team is so fundamentally sound defensively that all it needs is a couple of timely buckets and it can beat anyone, anywhere. That's the Butler Way. • I love bigs who can pass and guards who can rebound. • I also love when coaches come out of a timeout playing a different defense. Makes the other guy feel he just wasted two minutes in his huddle. • Remember last week when I wrote that Duke really needed to get Brandon Ingram going? Well, he had 24 and 23 last week against Indiana and Buffalo, respectively. Shot a combined 18-for-30 from the floor and 6-for-10 from three-point range. I'd say he got going. • Anyone out there come into the season saying UNLV was the team to beat in the Mountain West? Because they are, you know. • Keep in mind Michigan State is winning without much production from Eron Harris, the heralded 6'3" junior transfer from West Virginia. Harris averaged 17 points per game as a sophomore, but he has been having a hard time earning minutes because a) the Spartans' other perimeter guys have been on fire, and b) his defense is still not up to Izzo-like standards. But trust me, there will be some pivotal moments in games this season where Harris will make a difference. • I can't remember the last time a top-25 team had two seven footers as its leading scorers, but that's what Purdue has going right now with Isaac Haas and A.J. Hammons. Freshman Caleb Swanigan (6'9") is sixth, in case you were wondering. • Best sixth man? I'll go with Xavier's James Farr. The 6'10" senior is averaging 10.5 points and 8.5 rebounds in 19.5 minutes off the bench. Xavier might not be the best team in the country, but it is one of the few that can check every box: point guard play, shooters, athletes, post guys, rebounders, defenders, depth, toughness. Can't wait for 'em to play Villanova. • How come college coaches never and I mean never try the two-for-one? College coaches love to mimic the NBA (hence the ball screen craze), but for some reason nobody does this. Makes no sense to me. • I wrote Arizona's obituary in my Twitterbag column on Thursday, so naturally two days later they beat Gonzaga in Spokane. Me and my big mouth. The Zags did not have Przemek Karnowski (back spasms), but the Wildcats were also without their best big man, Kaleb Tarczewski (foot). This was a good win for Arizona, but it was also a bad loss for Gonzaga, which has yet to show that it has a high-caliber backcourt. The Zags' rotation of four guards produced a whopping four field goals, and they did a horrendous job guarding Gabe York, who managed to hang 18 points on them despite having a limited offensive arsenal. And with the way the game is being called this season, how does a team shoot just eight free throws in a game of this magnitude? • Welcome to head coaching, Mike Hopkins. Oy vey. • I said this about Texas A&M coming out of the Bahamas, and I'll say it again. It's O.K. to have one starting guard who basically can't shoot. When you have two back there, you have a problem. And when a strong athlete like Danuel House is taking 15 of his 21 shots from three-point range as he did in the loss at Arizona State, then it's time to do some soul searching. • Don't you just love these league vs. league challenges? Really spices up November and December. Thank goodness for TV executives and conference commissioners, because believe me, if it were up to the coaches, none of these games would be happening. I heard the Big Ten coaches voted unanimously against the Gavitt Games challenge with the Big East, but it happened anyway because Jim Delaney, who was close friends with Dave Gavitt, wanted it to. • Maryland has a big problem right now with lack of depth in the backcourt. The Terrapins were counting on help from sophomore Dion Wiley, but he suffered a season-ending knee injury before the first game. You have to wonder whether Melo Trimble's legs can hold up during the course of a long season. • The Monmouth bench completes me. • Anyone else want to vote for Providence's Ben Bentil for most improved player? The 6'9" sophomore went from averaging 6.4 points and 4.9 rebounds as a freshman to 18.1 and 7.1 this season. He scored 23 points, including the game-winning tip-in, during the Friars scintillating win at Rhode Island on Saturday. Send me other suggestions for most improved. Sounds like a good Twitterbag subject. • I can't imagine there are many things more frustrating to a coach than when the opposing team gets an offensive rebound off a missed free throw. Your guys are awarded inside position, yet they still don't get the ball. • Rick Pitino is hardly ever described a great Xs and Os coach, but he's one of the best there ever was. Just making sure you knew. • I love that NC State point guard Anthony "Cat" Barber averages more than 11 free throw attempts per game. That dude wants to get Capone. • You think Fran Dunphy overscheduled his Temple Owls a bit? Their four losses have come against North Carolina, Butler, Utah and at Wisconsin. The Owls aren't very good, but I'm not they're as bad as they looked in Madison on Saturday. • Add this name to your list of under-the-radar guys: Wyoming senior guard Josh Adams. He scored 32 points in the Cowboys' overtime loss at home to California on Saturday and is averaging 22.9 on the season after averaging 12.8 last year. The biggest reason for the jump is his improvement behind the three-point line. Adams converted 32.4% from behind the arc during his first three seasons but is now shooting nearly 40%. Someone spent a lot of lonely hours in the lab this summer. • I'll spare you another opus about the new rules and officiating this week. Suffice to say, the whole experiment is working far better than anyone imagined coming into the season. A huge, huge success. Hope it continues. (Please don't tell Izzo I said that.) • One note along these lines: The dribbler thrust (back ... and to the left) is the new flop when it comes to tricking the refs into calling fouls. • Also: The wider lane is coming. Matter of time. • The National Association of Basketball Coaches has been handing out a national defensive player of the year award since 1987. As far as I can tell, only three players have won that award while also being named the national player of the year. They are Tim Duncan (1997), Shane Battier (2001) and Anthony Davis (2012). I say this because Providence point guard Kris Dunn has a chance to join this list. Not sure he can do it, but it will be fun watching him try. • Bryant McIntosh is only a sophomore, but he is going to play in an NCAA tournament game before he leaves Northwestern. Book it. • It has been a while since I've seen a team ravished by injuries the way Illinois has been this season. Yet, John Groce still yanked his best player, Kendrick Nunn, from the starting lineup last weekend because of his subpar defense in last week's loss to Notre Dame. Nunn responded by coming off the bench to score a career-high 27 points in the Illini's win over Western Carolina. Way to respond, young fella. • How about Oklahoma State with back-to-back home losses last week to Tulsa and Missouri State. I realize the Pokes are without Phil Forte, who is out indefinitely with an elbow injury, but still. Forte better get healthy soon, or it's gonna be a long season in Stillwater. • Can you believe anyone suggested that a playoff would diminish college football's regular season? Where are all those folks now? Hiding in plain sight? • Indiana attempted 36 free throws versus 15 three-pointers in its win on Saturday. I realize the opponent was Morehead State, but it's a start. • How's this for the best mid-major race of the year: Arkansas-Little Rock vs. UT-Arlington in the Sun Belt. UTA, which already had true road wins at Ohio State and Memphis, notched another one on Saturday at UTEP. The Mavericks also took Texas to overtime in Austin before losing by seven. Meanwhile, Arkansas-Little Rock's 7 0 start includes road wins at San Diego and Tulsa. Those two play on Jan. 23 in Arlington and on Feb. 25 in Little Rock. Mark your calendars! • I'm sure you've noticed that Louisiana Tech is off to a solid 6 1 start under first-year coach Eric Konkol. This supports my argument that a new coach is better off replacing a guy who was hired away because he won a lot (a la Steve Prohm) as opposed to replacing someone who was fired because he lost a lot. • I don't know whether Memphis can get to the NCAA tournament, but let me tell you, that Dedric Lawson can play. • Finally, I have some distressing news to report about Trey Schwab, the former Marquette assistant who suffered from a rare lung disorder and gained attention during the Golden Eagles' Dwyane Wade-led run to the 2003 Final Four. Schwab underwent a double lung transplant that saved his life, but he emailed friends over the weekend that his body has been rejecting his transplant for over a year, which means he needs to have a re-transplant to survive. While he waits, Trey is hoping people will go to registerme.org and sign up to be organ donors. I hope you'll consider doing this. You could save someone's life someday. Five games I'm psyched to see this week Oklahoma vs. Villanova at Pearl Harbor, Monday, 7 p.m., FS1 Is this the middle of December or the third week in March? These have been two of the more impressive teams this season, but something has to give. Since it's on a neutral court, you can basically flip a coin here, but I'll go with Villanova's collection of guards over Oklahoma's superior individual in Buddy Hield. Villanova 80, Oklahoma 79 West Virginia at Virginia, Madison Square Garden, Tuesday, 7 p.m. I'm guessing Cavaliers' guard London Perrantes will not be available for this game considering it will be played just seven days after he had an appendectomy. That will be a problem against a Mountaineers team whose fullcourt press is relentless. West Virginia is ranked seventh nationally in defensive efficiency and is first in steals percentage, turnover percentage and three-point defense. West Virginia 65, Virginia 61 Florida at Miami, Tuesday, 7 p.m., ESPN2 The Gators might be 6 1, but most of their wins have come against middling competition. That won't be the case in Coral Gables, where the Hurricanes will have a decided advantage on the perimeter. Miami 76, Florida 67 Maryland vs. UConn at Madison Square Garden, Tuesday, 9:30 p.m., ESPN I've been driving the UConn bandwagon since the preseason, but I don't think the Huskies have enough inside force to win this one. Terps forward Robert Carter scored a season-high 20 points in Maryland's win over St. Francis on Friday. Maryland 85, UConn 80 Iowa at Iowa State, Thursday, 7:30 p.m., ESPN2 Iowa State hasn't lost yet, but it's a little disappointing the Cyclones haven't played a tougher schedule. Still, it's always a pleasure to watch Monte Morris, who owns a 5.13 assist-to-turnover ratio, which ranks 12 th in the country. Iowa State 77, Iowa 65 This week's AP ballot * (Last week's rank on my ballot in parentheses) 1. Michigan State (2) 2. Kansas (3) 3. North Carolina (9) 4. Kentucky (1) 5. Maryland (4) 6. Duke (5) 7. Villanova (6) 8. Iowa State (7) 9. Oklahoma (8) 10. Purdue (14) 11. Xavier (16) 12. West Virginia (17) 13. Arizona (NR) 14. Butler (19) 15. Gonzaga (12) 16. UConn (13) 17. Vanderbilt (15) 18. Virginia (18) 19. Miami (21) 20. SMU (22) 21. Louisville (NR) 22. Cincinnati (23) 23. Providence (24) 24. UCLA (NR) 25. Baylor (NR) Dropped out: Syracuse (10), Texas A&M (11), Oregon (20), Louisiana Tech (25) We knew we'd have a new No. 1 team, but deciding it was not so obvious. I gave serious thought to putting North Carolina on top given that it beat Maryland and is obviously a much better team with Marcus Paige in the lineup. Still, with all due respect to Northern Iowa, the Tar Heels should have been able to win that game even without their starting point guard, so I left them at No. 3. Xavier continues its steady rise, not only with some decent wins (in this case, a 31-point drubbing of Western Kentucky), but also by benefiting from other teams' stumbles. But the Musketeers are about to encounter their toughest stretch of the season. On Saturday, they host Cincinnati in one of the sport's great rivalry games. After that, three of Xavier's four games are on the road (at Wake Forest, Villanova and St. John's), and their home game is against Butler. I think Xavier is really good, but we'll know a lot more in a couple of weeks. Arizona definitely has my head on a swivel. I know Gonzaga has issues, but winning up there without Kaleb Tarczewski at least deserves a one-week reward. I am still skeptical of this team's staying power, but then again, the Pac-12 isn't exactly a powerhouse this season. I can see Arizona, if it ends up highly seeded in the NCAA tournament, as a popular upset pick but we are a long ways from that. Incidentally, Gonzaga's loss at home not only dropped them, but also UConn, which lost to Gonzaga in the Bahamas. We are quickly getting to the point in the season where it will be hard to maintain the head-to-head sequences like that especially if UConn manages to knock off Maryland in Madison Square Garden this week. Louisville looked good enough in its loss at Michigan State that I thought the Cardinals were deserving of a ranking. Unfortunately, they're back to playing a ludicrously soft schedule for another couple of weeks before the big showdown at Kentucky on Dec. 26. Baylor started the season ranked No. 19 on my preseason ballot, then dropped off following its loss at Oregon, and then re-appeared thanks to his home squeaker over Vanderbilt on Sunday night. When I put together my ballot of Sunday night and released it over Twitter (troll feeding!), I had UNLV at No. 25 thanks to its impressive win over Oregon last weekend. I then felt compelled to give Baylor that spot after the Bears beat Vandy; but as I mentioned above, I do think the Rebels are the favorite to win the Mountain West. I also considered ranking Georgetown, which handled Syracuse and has now won three in a row; Kansas State, which won at Georgia to improve to 6 1; Louisiana Tech, which is also 6 1 with a win at Ohio State; George Washington, whose 7 1 record indicates that win over Virginia was no fluke; and Dayton, whose only loss this season was to Xavier and plays at Vanderbilt on Saturday. If the Flyers win that game, I can pretty much guarantee they will have a number next to their name next week. | 1 | 97,658 | sports |
If you thought Hayden Panettiere and fiancé Wladimir Klitschko's height difference was crazy, the pictures of her hanging out with his family at the Ein Herz Für Kinder Gala in Berlin on Saturday will blow your mind. The diminutive Nashville actress, who is 5' tall, and Wladimir, who is 6'6", couldn't stop smiling as they goofed around with the boxer's look-alike brother, Vitali, and sister-in-law, Natalia, who all towered over Hayden. This is one of the first few times the actress has been seen in public since she completed treatment for postpartum depression in early October, and she's looking happier and healthier than ever. Keep scrolling to see more fun snaps from the event, and check out photos of Hayden with the couple's baby girl, Kaya! | 6 | 97,659 | entertainment |
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum's Pre-Integration Era Committee announced that no players, managers, executives or umpires from before 1947 were elected into Cooperstown's Class of 2016. The Pre-Integration Era Committee takes into consideration the athletes, coaches and executives that impacted baseball before 1946. Election into the Hall of Fame requires 75% of the vote. Doc Adams, who served as a player and executive for New York Knickerbockers and later the leader of National Association of Base Ball Players rules and regulations committee, received votes on 10 of the 16 ballots for 62.5% of the vote. Bill Dahlen, who played from 1891 to 1911, and Harry Stovey, the first player to hit 100 home runs, received eight votes on 16 ballots for a 50% finish. • VERDUCCI: Which first-year players will earn HOF nods? Other candidates like Sam Breadon, Wes Ferrell, August Herrmann, Marty Marion, Frank McCormick, Chris von der Ahe and Bucky Walters received three or fewer votes respectively. The BBWAA Hall of Fame election results will be announced at 6 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Jan. 6. - Christopher Chavez | 1 | 97,660 | sports |
Courtney and her husband Steve adopted a baby boy, but they didn't share the news with their three daughters until he was home. The couple surprised the girls by telling them they had a gift to share and placed their new brother, Nathan, under the Christmas tree. Nathan was just 3-days-old when he came home. The Texas family is busy with their little newborn. The three sisters got an extra special Christmas present this year that they'll surely never forget. | 4 | 97,661 | lifestyle |
20th Century Fox In 1990 Tim Burton was at the peak of his creativity. He had burst through Hollywood's doors with the playful "Pee-wee's Big Adventure" five years earlier, then followed that up with two vastly different and equally great movies, "Beetlejuice" (1988) and "Batman" (1989). In '90 Burton would team with Johnny Depp for the first time with " Edward Scissorhands, " in which Depp plays a gentle boy with scissors for fingers who must adapt to a new life when his creator dies. Like his previous work, Burton thrusts us into a bizarre world of fantasy and unique characters that delivers a different kind of melodrama. Production designer Bo Welch had worked with Burton previously on "Beetlejuice," so he was aware of the director's style and aesthetic desires. But that didn't prepare him for what Burton wanted to take on in this project. Welch told Business Insider thinking back on Edward walking in Kim's (Winona Ryder) neighborhood is still edged in his brain 25 years after the movie came out. 20th Century Fox"The friction between Edward's look and the neighborhood, that we altered severely, just gives me infinite joy," Welch said. "I don't know if I've ever seen it again." Welch said the script had little detail of how the neighborhood should look. But he and his team began looking at neighborhoods around the US, mostly in Texas and Florida, and came across a new development of homes in a suburb of Tampa. Basically a blank canvas that Welch and Burton could create what they liked. "This neighborhood in Florida also had a particular graphic quality, and interesting skies with its clouds." They went down to the neighborhood and completely stripped it down. Repainted the houses with vibrant colors. 20th Century FoxThey stripped out the existing plant life and replaced it with the interesting foliage that Edward would craft later in the movie with his unique fingers. 20th Century Fox"It clearly represents a suburban neighborhood of a distinct era, but mainly to Edward it's exotic and beautiful and beyond words," Welch explained. The motivation for this look, said Welch, came from the place Edward previously called home. He lived in a dilapidated castle with his creator (Vincent Price) high on a mountain at the end of the neighborhood, isolated from the rest of the world. 20th Century FoxBut Welch admitted, at first he didn't get it. "When I first read the script I said to Tim, 'So, this is how this is going to look? The castle and neighborhood are going to coexist?' And he said, 'Yes,'" Welch recalled. "That's the beauty of working with Tim," Welch continued. "He would lead you to these places that were counter-intuitive. It was mindblowingly gratifying." Welch had a similar experience with Butron while looking for the shopping mall that would double as the downtown area in the film. "I couldn't find something that would fit into the equation," said Welch. "One day Tim and I got into a car and were driving around Tampa when we came to this old shopping center you would look and think, 'Oh God, that's weird.' But Tim looked at it and was like, 'This is it!'" The location was the Southgate Shopping Center in Lakeland, which sports unusual arches and a tacky strip-mall design. 20th Century Fox"That's where Tim sees things that none of the rest of us can see," Welch said. Much of the neighborhood and downtown scenes were shot on location, except for the interior scenes which were done on a soundstage. Looking back on it, Welch sees his time on "Edward Scissorhands" as a forgotten era in moviemaking, before computer graphics took over and everything had to be built with real materials by carpenters and set designers. "I think the closest thing now is a Wes Anderson movie," said Welch. "Where the production design and the art direction is an integral part of the entertainment experience. Thinking of 'Edward Scissorhands,' a nostalgic wave washes over me." The 25th Anniversary Blu-ray edition of "Edward Scissorhands" goes on sale Tuesday. NOW WATCH: These are the most creative costumes we saw at New York Comic Con | 6 | 97,662 | entertainment |
Mike Leake could be the next domino to fall in the free-agent starting pitcher market. FOX Sports Insider Ken Rosenthal reports Leake would be willing to give the Arizona Diamondbacks a "hometown discount," though the San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals and other teams remain in the mix. Rosenthal adds that the D-backs seems more interested in adding a lower-end starter than Leake after agreeing to a six-year, $206 million deal with fellow free agent Zack Greinke. The 28-year-old right-hander went 11-10 with a 3.70 ERA in 30 starts this past season for the Cincinnati Reds and Giants. After his late-July trade to San Francisco, he was 2-5 with a 4.07 ERA in nine starts. Sources: #STLCards on Leake, joining #SFGiants , others. Preference is to be in west. Would take less to play for #DBacks and return to AZ. Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 7, 2015 #DBacks seem more focused on trading for a lower-end starter than Leake at this point. But it all depends upon price. Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 7, 2015 In his six-season major-league career, Leake is 64-52 with a 3.88 ERA and a 6.1 K/9 ratio. | 1 | 97,663 | sports |
A few key supplements can boost how you look and feel. Start Stacking It's easy to feel overwhelmed in a supplement store -- with all those pills, powders, and portions, how can you separate help from hype? As an exercise physiologist and sports nutritionist, I can tell you that in addition to exercising and eating right, a few key supplements can boost how you look and feel. Here's where to start. Multivitamins A great multivitamin/mineral complex should be the cornerstone of your nutritional plan. As a scientist, I always recommend foods first, but frankly no one is perfect, and the primary purpose of a multi is to fill the nutritional gaps in you diet of foods that you should be eating but aren't. A solid multi provides the most critical vitamins and minerals your body needs in optimal forms. The most important components include: vitamin A (my preference is for the beta-carotene and mixed carotenoids), the B vitamins, vitamin D (always look for the naturally occurring D3 form rather than the less potent D2 version), vitamin E (the tocopherol and tocotrienol forms are particularly important), vitamin C (look for the ascorbate form), vitamin K (those with cardiovascular and/or bone health concerns should consider taking the K2 form), calcium (the citrate form is my personal favorite), zinc, selenium, chromium, iodine, manganese, and molybdenum. Note: A good multi isn't cheap you get what you pay for. Exercise research has shown that women who train intensely lose many critical vitamins and minerals, including B vitamins, vitamin C, chromium, selenium, zinc, iron, and magnesium. This primarily occurs through vitamin and mineral loss in sweat and urine, as well as increased uptake for energy production during exercise and recovery. Keep In Mind: Choose a multi that provides less than 50 percent of the recommended daily amount in one capsule or tablet, then take one capsule or tablet with each of your two largest meals. Unless you have a specific health condition that mandates mega-doses of specific vitamins/minerals, don't overdo it! Recent research has shown that high doses of some antioxidant vitamins can actually interfere with training adaptations. Protein Powders Protein powders are one of the biggest segments of the supplement market. And there's no shortage of options available. Animal-derived proteins such as whey, casein, and egg, as well as goat, beef, and fish, are extremely popular. But there's also a healthy selection of vegetable-based proteins, such as rice, hemp, soy, and pea. You can even try hydrolysates, which are predigested whey and casein peptides. Which powder to choose often comes down to personal preference and individual needs, but my favorite is whey protein isolate (WPI). It's made from the water-soluble portion of milk that's been processed and filtered to remove lactose, cholesterol, and fat and is preferred by many consumers who are lactose intolerant and/or have problems digesting protein powders. WPI is typically very high in protein content (usually 90% or more) in comparison with other forms, which can range from only 10 50% protein. It's also high in L-cysteine and all nine essential amino acids (histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine). L-cysteine helps regulate blood sugar, decreases blood vessel inflammation, and reduces exercise-induced oxidative stress. Other important ingredients to look for in your protein powders are branched-chain amino acids, aka BCAAs, which include leucine, isoleucine, and valine. BCAAs can help reduce muscle soreness and speed recovery from intense training. Leucine is the most important amino acid to athletes, as it can increase muscle protein synthesis all by itself. Make sure your protein powder has a minimum of 2.5 grams of leucine in it. Keep In Mind: Whey protein is absorbed and digested very quickly, causing sharp increases in blood levels of amino acids. Use it in the morning or post-workout. The rapid delivery of amino acids to muscle can quickly reverse the catabolic effects of resistance exercise, helping immediately boost muscle recovery after training. When you mix whey protein with heart-healthy fats, high-fiber foods, or casein (another milk-based protein), you'll slow down digestion, helping you feel fuller, longer. For a muscle-building, between-meal snack, try whey protein blended with a tablespoon of natural peanut butter and a handful of mixed berries. Fat Burners There's no shortage of products that pledge to help you burn more fat at a faster rate. But despite the hype, only a handful of ingredients have solid scientific evidence demonstrating a boost in metabolic rate, enhanced lipolysis (fat breakdown), and actual increases in fat oxidation (burning). On the list: 7-keto DHEA: This is a derivative of DHEA, but unlike the naturally occurring hormone it does not convert into testosterone or estrogen. Research has shown 7-keto supplementation may increase metabolic rate during dieting. Dosage: 100 200mg/day. Capsaicinoids: The molecules that give chili peppers their heat are also proven fat burners and metabolic boosters, according to numerous research studies. Dosage: 3 6mg/day. Green tea extract: Green tea is a natural fat burner, and an extract called EGCG may be particularly potent. It works best if you're not also consuming caffeine on a regular basis. Dosage: 270mg/day standardized with EGCG. Yerba mate: This has long been used to help suppress appetite and burn fat. It usually contains caffeine. Dosage: 1,000mg/day. Advantra Z: This branded ingredient, derived from immature bitter oranges, may have some applications as a safe thermogenic aid. Dosage: 100mg/day of p-synephrine (the active component in Advantra Z). TeaCrine: Another branded ingredient and is a more recent newcomer to energy-boosting and weight-loss supplementation. Preliminary studies in humans have been positive, and unlike other stimulants, it doesn't lose its strength or effectiveness during eight weeks of continuous use. Dosage: 100 200mg/day. Keep In Mind: When it comes to fat-loss supplements, results vary widely among individuals, so don't be discouraged if one of these ingredients leaves you hanging. Typically, combining several ingredients with different mechanisms of action (i.e., in a finished, research-proven formula) works best. Tip: Divide your supplements with different meals for better absorption. Turmeric Extract Also known as curcumin, this yellow spice is a member of the ginger family and has been used as a spice and in traditional medicine for centuries. It has both anti-inflammatory and pain-reduction properties and is also a powerful antioxidant that promotes brain health, and may help protect against certain cancers, particularly breast, prostate, and colorectal cancer. In the past 15 years almost 7,000 scientific papers have been published on the therapeutic properties of turmeric and curcumin. Keep In Mind: To maximize bioavailability and disease-prevention effects, I recommend using Longvida, Super Bio-Curcumin (BCM-95), or Curcumin Phytosome (Meriva), as these forms of curcumin have been researched in humans. The typical effective dosage for curcumin is from 500 4,000mg per day. Vitamin D The vast majority of multivitamins don't contain anywhere near "optimal" amounts of vitamin D, so it may be prudent to take a little extra, especially in the winter months. Vitamin D functions as a steroid hormone precursor which means that without enough vitamin D, your body cannot produce optimal amounts of estrogen or progesterone. Vitamin D is most well known in medical circles for its beneficial effects on bone health, blood sugar control, immune function, cardiovascular health, and cognitive function, helping to fight depression and reduce stress. In fact, recent research has shown that vitamin D affects more than 2,000 genes in the body, including several in muscles that help promote a lean, sculpted physique. Keep In Mind: Many of us are downright deficient in vitamin D, or at least have suboptimal levels. This is especially true if you have dark skin tone, use a lot of sunscreen, and/or live in the northern part of the country. Most multis provide only 600 800 IU of vitamin D, but ideally you should be getting about 2,000 IU per day. Since D is a fat-soluble vitamin, try to take it with a meal that contains some fat so that the body can absorb it properly. | 7 | 97,664 | health |
When the Mazda Koeru concept debuted at the 2015 Frankfurt auto show in September, many thought it previewed the redesigned three-row Mazda CX-9 crossover, which was shown at the Los Angeles auto show last month. But now, a new report suggests the concept previews a possible all-new sporty crossover model. "It's a totally new car. It's a lower, sporty SUV. It's close to a wagon," Mazda CEO Masamichi Kogai told Automotive News. "The CX-9 rides higher. So does the CX-3 and CX-5. [The Koeru] aims to generate more driving pleasure." When the Koeru concept debuted, we noted that it was much shorter than the current CX-9, which has a 113.2-inch wheelbase and an overall length of 200.6 inches. The Koeru concept rides on a 106.3-inch wheelbase and is 181.1 inches long -- slightly larger than the compact CX-5 crossover. Kogai said the Koeru concept is unrelated to any existing model in the automaker's lineup and would sit next to the CX-5 as a sportier option. Research Mazda's Latest Models on MSN Autos "That kind of genre," Kogai said referring to the Subaru Outback. "We'd like to see how it is evaluated globally, so we are collecting customer feedback." Subaru has sold more Outback crossovers in the U.S. in the first 11 months of the year than Mazda has sold CX-3, CX-5, and CX-9 models combined. Should Mazda make a sportier companion to the CX-5 ? Source: Automotive News (Subscription required) | 9 | 97,665 | autos |
Defining moments: Which of the 2015 Sprint Cup Series races top the list? 10. Auto Club Speedway, Auto Club 400 Brad Keselowski reaffirmed one of the oldest truisms in all of motorsports: You only have to lead one lap, as long as it's the last lap. Keselowski managed to pass Kevin Harvick on the final green-white-checkered restart to score what would be his only victory of the season. 9. Sonoma Raceway, Toyota-Save Mart 350 There was debate at Joe Gibbs Racing as to whether or not Kyle Busch should compete on the Sonoma road course, where the constant shifting and braking would be painful to his still-aching feet and legs. Not only did Busch compete, he scored a hugely surprising victory that kicked off his title run. 8. Talladega Superspeedway, GEICO 500 The only thing bigger in the state of Alabama than Dale Earnhardt Jr. winning at Talladega is the Alabama Crimson Tide football team beating LSU in Tuscaloosa. Fortunately for fans, both those things happened this year. 7. Watkins Glen International, Cheez-It 355 It looked like Kevin Harvick had it in the bag at Watkins Glen. On the final lap, Harvick led and second-place Joey Logano ran wide in Turn 1, as Harvick quickly stretched out a huge lead. But the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet ran out of fuel in Turn 6, allowing Logano to come back and steal the victory. 6. Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Crown Royal Presents the Jeff Kyle 400 at the Brickyard Kyle Busch drove brilliantly over the closing laps to hold off the relentless pressure of Joey Logano and win the Brickyard 400. The victory was huge because it was Busch's first win in a NASCAR "major" and the first victory for Toyota in the sport's second biggest race. 5. Texas Motor Speedway, AAA Texas 500 If you're a fan of old-school, balls-out, hard racing on a scary fast track, Texas was the place to be. Brad Keselowski led 312 of 334 laps, but late in the race Jimmie Johnson stalked him and ran him down, making the race-winning pass with just 4 laps to go and essentially knocking Keselowski out of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup in the process. 4. Homestead-Miami Speedway, Ford EcoBoost 400 Kyle Busch completed an amazing recovery from serious injuries to win his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship by capturing the final race of the season. And the Homestead race was the last of his career for Jeff Gordon. 3. Kansas Speedway, Hollywood Casino 400 The entire NASCAR season hit the fan on Lap 263 of the scheduled 267-lap race, when Joey Logano spun leader Matt Kenseth and went on to win. That move, which was heartily endorsed by NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France, triggered a firestorm of controversy and, ultimately, retaliation. 2. Darlington Raceway, Bojangles' Southern 500 The Bojangles' Southern 500 was pure genius: With one of NASCAR's most important tracks back on its rightful Labor Day weekend date, the entire show was a throwback to the old days in NASCAR. Fans, drivers, crews, the media -- everybody loved what Darlington did and rightfully so. And, oh by the way, Carl Edwards won. 1. Martinsville Speedway, Goody's Headache Relief Shot 500 The fall race at NASCAR's shortest track had it all: tight racing, huge controversy and an emotional final victory for one of the sport's greatest stars of all-time. Jeff Gordon's joyous triumph lifted up this race, which would have made this list for the Matt Kenseth-Joey Logano controversy alone. | 1 | 97,666 | sports |
Just because your boss asks you to make daily trips to Starbucks doesn't mean she's a Miranda Priestly. Some bosses are just more demanding and like to challenge their employees. That's why Andrew Faas , a former senior executive with Canada's two largest retail organizations who has dealt with bullying first hand, says it's important to define what constitutes bullying in the workplace. I n his new book, " The Bully's Trap ," Faas writes that he often gets push back from managers who think that raising public awareness of bullying will hinder them from being able to do their job properly out of fear of being labeled a bully. "A lot of executives say, 'Well this is my style and I'm very passionate and never mean to hurt someone,'" Faas tells Business Insider. "But my pushback on that is, 'What if you are hurting someone?'" To help determine where bullying is happening, Faas says he always looks for one telling sign: the intent to destroy. On the other hand, aggressive or demanding managers set high expectations, hold people accountable, and follow up in a direct manner, all with the intent of helping that person improve or correcting a deficiency, not to destroy that person, Faas says. "A manager should not be afraid to do those things," he explains. To help make the distinction clearer, here are the eight subtle differences between a demanding manager and a bullying manager, according to Faas: 1. Disciplining vs. destroying Flickr Disciplining, even to the point of firing an employee, is essential to effective management so long as the intent is to "improve performance or correct behaviors," Faas writes. However, threatening to fire someone can easily become bullying when it is used to "set up a target" to be destroyed and ousted from the company often in a public manner, he explains. 2. Cautioning vs. badgering Sebastiaan ter Burg/Flickr Setting high expectations for employees and holding them accountable to them is not bullying if they expectations are fair and the employees have the resources to complete them, Faas writes. But bullies masquerading as aggressive bosses will set unreasonable goals and will not provide the support for their employees to accomplish the tasks, he says. "Usually they use harassment and badger people to perform this is a form of exploitation and bullying." 3. Coaching vs. humiliating DisneyMoviesOnDemand/YouTube True coaching is helpful, but humiliation is just mean. Faas writes that the distinction should be obvious: if your boss points out everything a certain employee does wrong in front of their coworkers without bringing up any of that employee's accomplishments or inserting any helpful tips or methods for improvement, then that's bullying. "Even professional coaches can fall into this trap, heaping insult onto injury after a defeat," he writes. 4. Healthy competition vs. unhealthy competition Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images Healthy competition is motivated by wanting to do well on the task at hand and focuses on both sides having fun and learning skills along the way, Faas writes. He says an example of positive competition in the office would be two teams working to find the best solution to a problem. "Competitions like this can lead to startling innovation as teams share and learn from each other and lift each other up at the same time," he says. Unhealthy competition, on the other hand, is motivated by wanting to beat others and the focus is on winning, Faas writes. An example of negative competition in the office would be two individuals or groups fighting for their boss's approval, he explains. The two sides typically become defensive and stoop to undermining the other side through sabotage, gossip, and innuendo. 5. Outlining consequences vs. making threats The Internet Movie Database Outlining the good and bad consequences of an action is not bullying, it's being clear, Faas writes. For example, "Breach of this policy could result in disciplinary action, up to and including discharge." But when explaining the consequences turns into threatening someone by throwing out comments like, "If you don't do this, you will be fired" in a nasty tone, then it's bullying, he explains. 6. Joking vs. taunting YouTube "I was just joking" is not an excuse for bullying. Faas writes that poking fun at coworkers is fine until the offensive comments are used repeatedly to offend, demean, and ridicule. A safer bet to lighten the mood? Poke fun at yourself instead, he advises. Or just tell an office-appropriate joke that everyone can enjoy. 7. Holding accountable vs. seeking revenge Paramount Pictures Being held accountable for your words and actions is healthy, but being threatened with retaliatory action for them is bullying, says Faas. 8. Building endurance vs. hazing Flickr - trix0r Hazing doesn't always end after college. Sometimes employees will haze a new coworker, for instance, to initiate them into the company. The bullies may brush it off as "harmless fun," which some pranks can be, but it turns into bullying when racial or homophobic slurs are used or if the victim is forced to perform disgusting acts. | 4 | 97,667 | lifestyle |
A family in South Florida lights up their neighborhood every year with a massive Christmas display that has over 200,000 lights and draws hundreds of visitors. | 8 | 97,668 | video |
"Packaged" doesn't necessarily mean "processed" or "refined." 7 Packaged Foods That Nutritionists Actually Want You to Eat Packaged foods get a pretty bad rap, and rightly so. Some are chock-full sodium, artificial colors, and, honestly, who knows what else. After all, most of the ingredients you can't even pronounce, let alone understand. But "packaged" doesn't necessarily mean "processed" or "refined," says Marci Clow, M.S., R.D.N., registered dietitian nutritionist at Rainbow Light. And by lumping all of those foods together, you could actually be selling your eating plan short. Here are seven packaged foods nutritionists actually want you to eat. Greek Yogurt With protein, calcium, and probiotics, Greek yogurt is a nutritional trifecta, Clow says. It can help build muscle, lower your risk of chronic disease, and up your immunity. One 2013 study published in the journal Gastroenterology even found that eating probiotic-rich yogurt (read: Greek) twice a day for a month curbed stress. Frozen Produce Apart from helping you get your five-a-day even when strawberries are out of season, frozen fruits and vegetables may actually contain more vitamins and antioxidant than their "fresh" counterparts, according to research from the University of Chester in England. That's because, while frozen produce is stuffed in a bag at its peak of freshness, room-temperature produce can spend weeks or more in transit to your supermarket's bins. Before you buy frozen produce, just make sure the only ingredient is the fruit or veggie you actually want to buy, White says. No preservatives or chemicals. Canned Fish Fish in a can do the body good. Salmon, sardines, tuna, and mackerel are all rich sources of omega-3 fatty acids, which can improve heart health and lower high blood pressure, says Jim White, spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics and owner of Jim White Fitness & Nutrition Studios. Those healthy fats can also help keep you full without fattening you up. Add to that a ton of protein, and you're good to go. Whole Grains For every downside to eating white and refined grains, there's an upside to mowing down on whole grains. Whole wheat, brown rice, quinoa, and steel-cut oats provide the body with fiber, antioxidants, and myriad other minerals and vitamins, White says. Among the best ones: B vitamins. By helping your body's cells convert food into fuel and get oxygen where it needs to be, they keep your body energized and your body in tip-top shape. Canned Tomatoes Tomatoes not in season? Go for the canned goods. "Canned tomatoes contain even more of the antioxidant lycopene than their fresh counterpart," Clow says. "Lycopene supports a healthy inflammatory response and has been linked to prostate health, especially when eaten with a small amount of oil to enhance absorption." Nuts and Seeds Nuts and seeds are crazy rich sources of unsaturated, heart health-promoting fat. One New England Journal of Medicine study even found that people who eat nuts almonds, walnuts, Brazil nuts, pistachios, other tree nuts, or even peanuts (although they're really legumes) about every day are about 30 percent less likely to die from heart disease. They were also less likely to die of cancer, diabetes, or lung disease. "On the seed front, pumpkin seeds specifically are a rich source of zinc, which is good for immune health, and phytosterols, which have been linked to prostate health," Clow says. Canned Beans About as convenient as any veggie protein can get, canned beans like kidney, black, and pinto beans are also rich in filling fiber, she says. Add them to salads, soups, pasta, rice, or mix them into dips. Tip: Buy low-sodium versions and then rinse them off in water to get rid of that last little bit and make your beans even more heart healthy. | 7 | 97,669 | health |
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- The proposed trade sending Cincinnati Reds closer Aroldis Chapman to the Los Angeles Dodgers appeared to be on hold Monday night after Yahoo Sports reported that police investigated an accusation of domestic violence involving the pitcher. Yahoo reported more than a dozen police officers responded to Chapman's home in Florida on Oct. 30. No arrests were made due to conflicting stories and a lack of cooperation, according to the report by the website. Police in Davie, Florida, said they could not provide a copy of the police report on Monday night. Jay Reisinger, Chapman's lawyer, denied the allegations in the Yahoo report. "We are aware of the situation and have commenced an investigation," Major League Baseball said in a statement. Earlier, a person familiar with the deal said the Reds agreed to trade Chapman to the Dodgers, pending approval of medical records. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the agreement, first reported by Fox, had not been announced. Chapman, a 27-year-old left-hander, is eligible for free agency after next year's World Series. He threw the 62 fastest pitches in the big leagues this year, ranging from 103.92 mph to 102.36 mph, according to Major League Baseball's Statcast computer system. "We go through this at the trade deadline at the end of July and now we have a bunch of players with names out there. So it's uncomfortable enough," Reds manager Bryan Price said. "So if anything happens with any of our guys, it would be nice if it happened sooner rather than later, but that's just the nature of the beast." Chapman was an All-Star in each of the last four seasons. He would join a bullpen that already has closer Kenley Jansen, who like Chapman is eligible for salary arbitration this winter and can become a free agent next November. Jansen, 28, has 80 saves during the last two seasons. He figures to be the Dodgers' setup man if he stays. After defecting from Cuba in 2009, Chapman spent the last six seasons with the Reds and saved 146 games in 164 chances. He had a 1.63 ERA this year, when he struck out 116 in 66 1-3 innings. Seeking their first World Series title since 1988, the retooling Dodgers replaced manager Don Mattingly with Dave Roberts. Los Angeles also was closing in on deals to add free-agent pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma and to re-sign second baseman Chase Utley. "You look at Chase Utley, the intangibles, I think he's a special player and can make our team better," Roberts said. "Iwakuma, haven't seen a whole lot, but when he's healthy, he's as good as anything. Top-of-the-rotation guy. From what I hear, he's healthy. We'll see what happens." Roberts' mother is from Japan. "I definitely need to brush up on my Japanese. I'm a momma's boy, self-admitted momma's boy. She's fluent in Japanese," he said. "Have to get home cooking and go back to mom and go back to Japanese 101." ------ AP Sports Writer Eric Nunez in New York contributed to this report. | 1 | 97,670 | sports |
Johnny Manziel is back as the Cleveland Browns starter. Two weeks after he was benched, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported on Twitter Monday that the former Heisman Trophy winner will be again the team's starter. The move is hardly unexpected after the Browns lost 37-3 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, Cleveland's seventh consecutive loss. Browns head coach Mike Pettine handed Manziel the starting job heading into the bye week two weeks ago. But after footage of Manziel partying in his native Texas surfaced, Pettine yanked the promotion. Manziel was demoted to third-string, with Austin Davis serving as Josh McCown's backup. McCown, however, was lost for the season with a broken collarbone in a loss to the Baltimore Ravens last Monday, elevating Davis to starter and Manziel to backup. Davis, however, was unable to lead the Browns into the red zone a single time on Sunday. He was 23 for 38 passing with an interception and passer rating of 65.79. "We are judged on wins and losses, so you saw how the game went," Davis said after the game. "It is disheartening to put so much into a week of prep and then you go out and have a game like that. Whatever my performance was, it wasn't good enough." The Browns host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday. PHOTOS: JOHNNY CLEVELAND: MANZIEL AND THE BROWNS | 1 | 97,671 | sports |
NEW YORK HopStop, a pioneer in offering transit directions in major cities, disappeared in October not because it failed, but because Apple bought it and shut it down after putting its engineers to work building Apple's own transit-navigation service. That feature went live on Apple Maps in September, narrowing a major feature gap with Google Maps. Such transit services offer you navigation routes via train and bus, usually based on published transit schedules. Some also offer limited real-time arrival information. Although Apple's transit service doesn't cover as many cities as HopStop and Google Maps, it has its strengths, including improvements in getting you to and from subway stations. Here's a look at how Apple Maps, Google Maps and a few smaller rivals stack up in this respect. ___ APPLE MAPS Apple is expanding its transit service gradually. In the U.S., it's currently limited to Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, the San Francisco Bay area and Washington, D.C. It also covers Berlin, London, Mexico City, Sydney and Toronto, plus more than 300 cities in China. Coverage areas include some suburbs. Where Apple has gone further is in sending teams to map out subway stations. Rival mapping services typically use a station's center point to offer walking directions to and from the station. Given that stations can stretch for blocks, this approach can mean more walking if there's a closer entrance just around the corner. Apple Maps can direct you to that closer entrance and to a specific subway exit with directions that reflect the wording you'd see on signs within the station. You get better directions as a result unless you're looking at a sprawling subway station that serves multiple routes. Apple might direct you to an exit on a different platform, potentially leading you on a maze-like journey through tunnels and up or down stairs. Sometimes it's easier just to use the closest exit and walk aboveground. ___ GOOGLE MAPS Google has been offering transit directions longer. Google Maps now covers public transit in hundreds of cities on every continent except Antarctica. In California alone, it works in about 70 cities even Yosemite National Park. Google also covers more devices. While Apple Maps requires an iPhone, iPad or Mac, Google Maps has an Android app and works on other devices through a Web browser. Even on Macs, Apple Maps requires a dedicated app. But Google Maps doesn't offer precise directions to station entrances and exits. And while Google Maps recently updated its Android app to offer directions without an Internet connection, that's limited to driving directions. ___ MOOVIT Moovit gets the same official data from transit agencies that Apple and Google Maps get. But it supplements that with crowdsourcing, a fancy term for free labor from people around the world. Volunteers improve coverage by adding information on bus routes and schedules from smaller transit agencies that don't provide mapping data. Moovit now covers 800 cities worldwide. Moovit is particularly good at accounting for service changes and disruptions. New York's transit agency, for instance, provides warnings about such changes, but the timetables aren't automatically updated. As a result, Google and Apple will sometimes direct you to a subway that skips a particular stop, while warning you that you can't get on there. Moovit has teams to manually adjust the timetable data so that the route offered reflects what's actually running. One feature added last week: Real-time information on when your train or bus is coming. Rival services typically rely on scheduled stops. You're on your own, though, figuring out entrances and exits. Moovit has apps for Apple and Android mobile devices and Windows phones. ___ CITYMAPPER As with Apple Maps, Citymapper offers specific exit information. Citymapper now covers 29 cities worldwide and is available on Apple and Android mobile devices. The best part: It tells you what part of the train to get on so that you're closer to your destination when you get off. ___ TRANSIT Transit presents route choices in a grid, which takes getting used to. Others tend to give you recommendations to reduce work on your part. But Transit does offer real-time schedules, along with information on nearby bike- and car-sharing services. It covers more than 100 cities worldwide on Apple and Android mobile devices. | 3 | 97,672 | finance |
Juventus will be without Mario Mandzukic and Patrice Evra for their final Champions League group stage clash at Sevilla on Tuesday night. Croatia striker Mandzukic was on target as Serie A champion Juve beat Manchester City 1-0 last time out in Group D to ensure a place in the knockout stages, but he has been ruled out of the encounter at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan with a heavy cold. Fullback Evra is also out of the encounter after taking a knock to his right knee in Friday's 2-0 win at Lazio, which marked a fifth straight win for Juve, which is six points adrift of Inter. Massimiliano Allegri's men need just a point against Sevilla to secure top spot ahead of City. | 1 | 97,673 | sports |
Amber Heard is pleading not guilty to illegally importing her dogs into Australia… If convicted, the actress could face 10 years in prison or a $75,000 dollar fine. | 8 | 97,674 | video |
Since it was founded two years ago, Creative Labs has been one of the most interesting parts of Facebook. Built as a startup within the company, it built a series of experimental social apps designed to test new interfaces and interaction patterns. But the experiments have come to an end: Facebook said today that the division has been shuttered. As a result, the division's apps are being discontinued. "Since their launches, we've incorporated elements of Slingshot, Riff and Rooms into the Facebook for iOS and Android apps," a Facebook spokeswoman told CNET . "We haven't updated these apps in some time and we've decided to officially end support by removing them from the App Store and Google Play." At its best, as with the alternative News Feed browser Paper , Creative Labs pushed the boundaries of Facebook's design forward. More often, though, its apps clumsily aped features from other companies, notably Snapchat. Slingshot was an effort to replicate Snapchat's success with ephemeral messaging; Riffs was a take on Snapchat's popular Stories feature . Year-old Rooms was more interesting: it tried to reimagine web forums for mobile devices . But joining a forum bizarrely required taking screenshots of QR codes; it never gained any traction, and creator Josh Miller left to join the White House as director of product in September. It's unclear whether anyone was laid off as part of the division's shutdown; The Verge has requested comment from Facebook and will update this post when we hear back. And while it doesn't bode well for Paper, the app is still in the App Store. It hasn't been updated since March, though. And if today's news is any indication, updates may not be coming at all. | 3 | 97,675 | finance |
Don't you miss the BCS? The anger ... the controversy ... the threats of government intervention? Nah, me neither. College football's selection Sunday was so clean, Larry David could not have complained. Both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton would have offered their thumbs-up. Every team is where it should be. Michigan State skipped over Oklahoma into the No. 3 spot, a reward for a game-winning, 22-play drive against Iowa in the Big Ten championship game that none other than Nick Saban termed "pretty awesome." Saban's second-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide will be Michigan State's opponent in the Cotton Bowl, providing a nice storyline. Saban coached in East Lansing from 1983-87 as an assistant and guided the program as head coach from 1995-99. The secondary coach he hired? Mark Dantonio, who has turned Michigan State into an elite program, winning at least 11 games in five of the last six seasons. "He's certainly done a better job than I ever did there, I can tell you that," said Saban, who went 34-24-1 at Michigan State and noted Sunday that the program was on probation when he arrived. The matchup is also delectable because Alabama opened as a nine-point favorite, perfect for Michigan State, a program that likes the underdog tag more than Rocky Balboa. "We're going to play on edge," Dantonio said. The other semifinal pits the nation's top-ranked team (Clemson) against its hottest (Oklahoma) in the Orange Bowl. The Sooners have averaged 52 points in winning seven straight since falling to Texas on Oct. 10. The selection committee also did right by Iowa, keeping the Hawkeyes ranked ahead of Ohio State. As a result, Iowa gets a date with Stanford in Pasadena. The Rose Bowl might have preferred to welcome the Buckeyes, considering how they mauled Michigan in the Big House and have a fan base that did not shell out cash to travel to Indianapolis. But right is right. Iowa missed out on a playoff spot by about the length of a football - Connor Cook's fourth-and-2 option run with less than two minutes to play - and deserved to be rewarded with its first trip to the Granddaddy of Them All since 1991. And how about a Fiesta Bowl pitting Notre Dame and Ohio State? Urban Meyer used to call Notre Dame, where he coached under Lou Holtz and Bob Davie, his "dream job." Florida State draws an entertaining Houston in the Peach Bowl, and Oklahoma State-Ole Miss is a parade-worthy matchup at the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. It's all so perfect, it just doesn't seem right for a sport in which fans and power brokers like Jim Delany could never agree on a postseason. Longtime readers will recall that I used to be in the anti-playoff camp over concerns about damaging the value of the regular season, uneasiness about forcing non-paid athletes (many of whom are legitimate students) to play 15 games and the concern that a four-team playoff would make fans thirst for an eight-teamer. Can we now all agree that four is the perfect number? Check out the rankings: Iowa is No. 5, followed by Stanford, Ohio State and Notre Dame. If you included all these teams, you would have effectively rendered the Big Ten title game irrelevant. And Michigan State's stunning victory in Columbus. And Notre Dame's loss to Stanford. And you'd still have No. 9 Florida State and No. 10 North Carolina, two-loss teams just like Notre Dame, howling over perceived injustice. You'd also be demanding that some athletes suit up for 16 games, further blurring the line between college and professional sports, and you'd be asking fan bases to choose among traveling to a conference title game, quarterfinal playoff game and potential semifinal and championship game. I'm a guy who'll watch the Idaho Potato Bowl, but in this case, enough is enough. The next time someone howls about the need for an eight-team playoff, remember this season. [email protected] | 1 | 97,676 | sports |
Wreck of the Spanish ship San Jose found off Colombia coast | 8 | 97,677 | video |
The NYPD has deployed several elite units to a Queens neighborhood that has been targeted by a serial arsonist suspected of setting seven fires since October, police said Monday. The arsonist has torched seven Forest Hills properties, either under construction or renovation, since Oct. 20 and as recently as Sunday, prompting police officials to load the area with the highly trained squads. "Right now we have members of the Arson and Explosion Squad, Major Case Unit from the NYPD, Fire Marshals, and Queens detectives all concentrated on this area to find out who this person is," said NYPD Chief of Detectives Bob Boyce. The newly formed Strategic Response Unit is also patrolling the Forest Hills area at night, police said. Several of the properties attacked were owned by Bukharian Jews, but police have said they do not suspect the firebug is motivated by bias. "We're not looking at this as a terrorist-related incident. We're not looking at it as a hate crime incident either," Police Commissioner Bill Bratton said. "There's nothing to indicate that it's a hate crime or anything like that as of yet," Boyce added. The Bukharian Jewish Center has raised a $50,000 reward for information on the suspect. The NYPD is also offering a $2,500 reward. Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS (8477). [email protected] | 5 | 97,678 | news |
Ava DuVernay's coming to a store near you! It's official, Mattel has released the Ava DuVernay Barbie doll in honor of the Selma director. The 43-year-old took to Twitter revealing the exciting news that her very own doll would be hitting store shelves just in time for Christmas. But, get this! The doll sold out in 17 seconds, but will be available on Amazon! Also, the director announced that all proceeds for the Barbie doll will go to two organizations close to Ava's heart. Check out the video to get the first look at the doll. | 8 | 97,679 | video |
If these don't convince Santa to hand over the goods, nothing will. On the first day of Christmas, our true love gave to us: all of the icing, all of the sugar and a peek at the perfect cookies. Make your holiday countdown the sweetest one yet. Sugar Cookie Ornaments One cookie for you, one for the tree. Get the recipe for Sugar Cookie Ornaments » What you'll need: holiday cookie cutter set ($7, amazon.com ) Shortbread Squares Keep it classic this holiday season with these versatile shortbread goodies. Get the recipe for Shortbread Squares » Slice and Bake Chocolate and Pistachio Cookies Skip the bag of pistachios this year - try these nutty, chocolate cookies instead. Get the recipe for Slice and Bake Chocolate and Pistachio Cookies » Jam Sandwich Cookies It's what's on the inside that counts. Get the recipe for Jam Sandwich Cookies » What you'll need: round cookie cutter set ($12, amazon.com ) No-Bake Waffle Dippers The recipe for an easy Christmas treat: Three ingredients, five minutes and zero frustration. Get the recipe for No-Bake Waffle Dippers » Walnut Crescent Cookies These cookies look like a snow-covered crescent moon - how dreamy! Get the recipe for Walnut Crescent Cookies » Ginger and Cream Sandwich Cookies Do these cookies come in double-stuffed? The choice is yours. Get the recipe for Ginger and Cream Sandwich Cookies » Swirly Gingerbread Trees Mint and cream icing swirls make the perfect snowy scene on gingerbread trees. Get the recipe for Swirly Gingerbread Trees » Traditional Cutouts Everyone needs a good cut-out cookie, and this one will never let you down. Frost, glaze, and decorate to your heart's content, but they taste just as great plain. Get the recipe for Traditional Cutouts » Pistachio and Cherry Polvorones Take a bite for the ultimate fruit and nut surprise. Get the recipe from Woman's Day » Winter Spice Dough Be the MVP of your cookie swap with this warm, spiced sweet. Get the recipe for Winter Spice Dough » Santa Cookies Wear your heart on your sleeve - we mean, cookie - with these adorable Santa treats. Grab your trusty heart cookie cutter and cut out sugar cookies . With white frosting, add Santa's beard and eyes. Then use red frosting to add Santa's hat and rosy nose. Add the finishing touches with another round of white frosting for the hat and a dot of black frosting for the pupils. What you'll need: heart cookie cutter ($13 for 6, amazon.com ) Polar Bear Sugar Cookies This is the sweetest way to show off an ugly Christmas sweater . Get the recipe from Woman's Day » What you'll need: teddy bear cookie cutter ($6, amazon.com ) Vanilla Sugar Dough What's behind the best-ever holiday cookies? A super reliable dough that never lets you down. Get the recipe for Vanilla Sugar Dough » Reindeer Cookies Transform a classic gingerbread man into Rudolph (and his pals!). Use brown and white frosting to create the reindeer head and antlers. Top it off with Red Hots or red M&M's for Rudolph's famous nose. What you'll need: gingerbread man cookie cutter ($6, amazon.com ) Christmas Light Sugar Cookies Smashed candies, sprinkles and sanding sugar light up these icy blue and mint bulb cookies. Get the recipe from Country Living » Cream Cheese Spritzes The time has finally come for you to dust off your trusty cookie press - it's spritz season. Get the recipe from Woman's Day » What you'll need: cookie press ($24, amazon.com ) "Candy" Bars Why do we call these candy? It might have something to do with the pretzel, coconut, toffee, chocolate and caramel hidden in those layers. Get the recipe for "Candy" Bars » Perfect Frosted Sugar Cookies If you prefer thin, crispy cookies, this recipe is not for you. If you like soft, pillowy sugar cookies that melt in your mouth, we've got your back. Get the recipe from Back to Her Roots » Milk and Cookies Shots Reinvent the "dunking" process so you can have your cookies and your milk too. Get the recipe from Delish » Chocolate Crinkle Cookies Crinkle cookies are classic and for good reason. They've got a devil's food cake-like interior with an irresistible sugared crust. Get the recipe from Simply Recipes » Thick and Chewy White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies The combination of white chocolate and dried cranberries is perfect for the holidays, and this recipe goes from mixing bowl to oven in just 8 minutes. Get the recipe from Baker by Nature » Eggnog Snickerdoodles Everyone loves a good ole snickerdoodle, especially when it's flavored to taste like eggnog. Can you spike a cookie too? Asking for a friend. Get the recipe from Let's Dish » Italian Rainbow Cookies There was never a more appropriate Christmas cookie than these classic red and green striped beauties. We're suckers for the fluffy almond cake layers with the thin chocolate shell. Get the recipe from Sugar-Spice and Everything Nice » Milk Chocolate Cookies and Cream Cookies Have your cookies and milk in one giant, delicious bite. Get the recipe from Joy the Baker » Gingerbread Oreo Cookie Balls You had us at Oreo, but those adorable mini gingerbread men seal the deal. Get the recipe from Sweet Recipeas » Gingerbread Donut Cookies A lot easier than making donuts, but just as delicious. Get the recipe from Studio DIY » Cake Batter Chocolate Chip Cookies. Because cake batter is appropriate for every holiday. Get the recipe from Sally's Baking Addiction » No-Bake Peppermint Bark Cookies Thin, crispy and wait for it ... you don't even have to turn on your oven. Get the recipe from The Suburban Soapbox » White Chocolate Peppermint Cookies Did you think we were done with peppermint? Nope. Get the recipe from Completely Delicious » Gingerbread Wands Gingerbread men get the grown-up treatment with these elegant, spiced cookie wands. You're never too old for a sparkly cookie. Get the recipe for Gingerbread Wands » Dulce de Leche Sandwich Cookies Dulce de leche is like caramel made from sweetened milk, so it's pretty much perfect on its own. Sandwich it between two buttery cookies and you'll be the most popular person at the cookie swap. Get the recipe for Dulce de Leche Sandwich Cookies » Chocolate-Citrus Cran Wheels If you like chocolate-covered orange rinds, you'll love this white chocolate-dipped cookie version. Talk about impressive. Get the recipe for Chocolate-Citrus Cran Wheels » Razzy-Jammy Thumbprints Our honey-kissed thumbprints are a delicious update to the classic Swedish cookie. Pick your favorite jam for the filling - or did someone say Nutella? Get the recipe for Razzy-Jammy Thumbprints » Lemony Ricotta Pillows We call them pillows because of how they melt in your mouth, a pleasant side effect of using creamy ricotta in the batter. Get the recipe for Lemony Ricotta Pillows » Merry Meringues You'll never believe how simple these rainbow meringues are to make. Choose from almond, lemon, mint and blueberry or get creative with your own add-ins. Get the recipe for Merry Meringues » Glazed Vanilla-Almond Cutout Cookies How are we updating the classic cutout cookie? With subtle almond and vanilla flavors (or pumpkin spice!) and a crazy simple decorative glaze. Get the recipe for Glazed Vanilla-Almond Cutout Cookies » Cream Cheese Spritz The classic spritz becomes extra addictive with the addition of cream cheese. Get the recipe for Cream Cheese Spritz » PB&J Bars We took all the flavors of a PB&J and turned it into a bar cookie that both kids and adults will freak out over. Get the recipe for PB&J Bars » Pecan Balls Who doesn't love a good powdered sugar mess on their sweater during the holidays? These melt-in-your-mouth pecan cookies are a classic we aren't about to give up. Get the recipe for Pecan Balls » Gingerbread Cookie Dough For intense gingerbreading, this is the dough you're going to want to use. It's perfect for building houses, trees and apparently trucks. Bonus: You can make it up to three days in advance. Get the recipe for Gingerbread Cookie Dough » Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies Thick, chewy and perfectly spiced - that's how we like our ginger cookies. Get the recipe from Gimme Some Oven » Frosted Peppermint Brownie Cookies Fudgey chocolate cookies that taste like brownies with a festive pepperminty frosting? It doesn't get any better. Get the recipe from Cooking Classy » Pistachio Truffles Why splurge on fancy truffles when they're so simple to make at home? Get the recipe from Camille Styles » Pumpkin Spice Rum Balls What's small and white and filled with rum? These boozy pumpkin spice balls, that's what. Did we mention they're no bake? Get the recipe from Will Cook for Smiles » Sticky Toffee Pudding Cookies These gooey toffee cookies are straight up dangerous. You've been warned. Get the recipe from Cookies and Cups » Red Velvet Cream Cheese Thumbprint Cookies May all your holiday cookies get a healthy dollop of cream cheese icing in the center. Get the recipe from Foodiecrush » Chai Shortbread Cookies with Sea Salt Pair with your coziest sweater and a steaming mug of tea for dipping. Get the recipe from Foodiecrush » Ginger Snap Whoopie Pies Whoopie pies may be closer to cake, but they are small and portable so we're throwing them in the mix. Get the recipe from The Faux Martha » Bourbon Tomato Jam Thumbprint Cookies Maybe sugar isn't your thing. Maybe you want a cheesy cookie stuffed with bourbon jam. We understand you. Get the recipe from The Flavor Bender » Spiced Drops Sometimes you need a sophisticated spice cookie that's not shaped like a gingerbread man or Christmas tree. Enter these sparkly little guys. Get the recipe for Spiced Drops » Ritz Cracker Puppy Chow Ganache Cookies Puppy chow belongs on your holiday dessert table, and this sandwich cookie version is the update we've all been waiting for. Get the recipe from Kailley's Kitchen » Ginger Apple Cookie All the coziness of apple pie snuggled up into one perfect cookie. Heaven. Get the recipe from Nellie Bellie » Hot Cocoa Cookies Serve these warm from the oven so not to miss out on the gooey marshmallow magic. Get the recipe from Pip and Ebby » White Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Cookies It's not a cookie swap without your classic peanut butter cookie. Get the recipe from The Brunette Baker » Calzoncelli These chocolate-stuffed Italian cookies are like the dessert version of pizza rolls. Get the recipe from Jul's Kitchen » Pecan Shortbread with Toffee Sauce Someone spiked the toffee sauce with rum and we are not mad about it. Get the recipe from Willow Bird Baking » Soft-Baked Christmas Funfetti Cookies It's not a party without Funfetti. Get the recipe from Sally's Baking Addiction » Gluten-Free Vegan Linzer Cookies We finally found some allergen-friendly Christmas cookies that taste as amazing as they look. Get the recipe from Cafe Johnsonia » Halva Rugelach Let's not forget about Hanukkah cookies, guys. Get the recipe from My Name is Yeh » Matcha Spritz Matcha (green tea powder) was the hip ingredient of the year - and now you can add it to your cookies. Get the recipe for Matcha Spritz » M&M Gingerbread Cookies Have you ever seen a more loveable cookie? Almost makes us feel bad about eating them... Get the recipe from Sweet Tooth » Almond Lace Sandwich Cookies Eat these dainty cookies freshly baked if you like em' thin and crispy or wait a day if you prefer the chew factor. Get the recipe from Love and Olive Oil » Triple Chocolate Truffle Cheesecake Cookies Who's ready to do the truffle shuffle with us? Get the recipe from Half Baked Harvest » Decorated Christmas Cookies You might need some fancy icing skills for these babies, but the stunning result is worth it. Get the recipe from Bakers Royale » Cake Mix Cookies Four ingredients and 20 minutes. You're welcome. Get the recipe from Taste and Tell » Pumpkin Cheesecake Snickerdoodles Man do we love a surprise inside our dessert, especially when that surprise is cream cheese icing. Get the recipe from The Recipe Critic » Gingerbread Magic Cookies Cinnamon chips, gooey condensed milk and white chocolate get loaded onto a gingerbread cookie crust. Love is actually all around. Get the recipe from The Kitchen is My Playground » Fig and Walnut Stuffed Cookies Now bring us some figgy cookies. That's how the song goes, right? Get the recipe from Little Broken » Brown Butter Nutella-Stuffed Oatmeal Cookies If you don't hear a peep from us this Christmas, it's because our mouths are full of gooey goodness from these cookies. Get the recipe from Imma Eat That » Milk and Cookies Fudge What could be a better gift than some fudge filled with tiny cookies? Get the recipe from Sweet Recipeas » Peppermint Mocha Cookies Now you can have your peppermint mocha and eat it too. Get the recipe from Sally's Baking Addiction » 3-Ingredient Nutella Truffles Oreos, Nutella and chocolate. That's all folks. Oh, and sprinkles if you're fancy. Get the recipe from Crazy for Crust » Melting Snowman Sugar Cookies We almost feel bad for these melting snowmen, but not bad enough to stop us from gobbling them up in one sitting. Get the recipe from My Frugal Adventures » Rosemary Salted Caramel Linzers Linzer cookies don't always have to be filled with jam. Take a hint from these rosemary-spiced caramel beauties. Get the recipe from Two Red Bowls » | 0 | 97,680 | foodanddrink |
Rumor Mill: Gundogen to Liverpool? Muller to Chelsea? Jamie Vardy Rumor: Leicester City to Valencia // Likelihood: A long shot // The Talk: According to the Daily Star Sunday, new Valencia manager Gary Neville has urged the club to snap up Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy. The forward has been in great form this season, scoring in a record 11 EPL games in a row. However, Neville has only joined the club on a five-month contract and I can't see this one happening. Vardy will either pen a new deal at the King Power Stadium or join one of the Premier League giants. Ilkay Gundogan Rumor: Borussia Dortmund to Liverpool // Likelihood: One for next summer // The Talk: Ilkay Gundogan has admitted his Borussia Dortmund future is uncertain and that Liverpool have a 'good team and great coach,' reports the Daily Mail. Gundogen, 25, joined Dortmund in the summer of 2011 and was signed by Jurgen Klopp. The Germany international penned a contract extension with Dortmund in the summer until June 2017. That would mean Dortmund would have to sell in January or next summer to maximize any transfer value they are to receive for the player. One of Gundogen's strengths is his versatility across midfield, which could prove attractive to Klopp. Charlie Austin Rumor: QPR to Newcastle, Sunderland or Southampton // Likelihood: Definitely possible this January // The Talk: The Daily Express reports that EPL strugglers Newcastle United and Sunderland plus Southampton are on red alert with QPR striker Charlie Austin hoping his form can attract the 'right opportunity' going into the transfer window. Austin scored 18 goals in the EPL last season but QPR were eventually relegated and the striker would surely fancy a return to the top flight. Edinson Cavani Rumor: Paris Saint-Germain to Manchester United // Likelihood: A long shot // The Talk: According to the Daily Express, PSG's Uruguayan striker Edinson Cavani is being lined up by Manchester United as part of their summer spending plans, providing the Parisians find a big-name replacement. United have struggled for goals this season and need to bring in a proven goalscorer, but with PSG already looking likely to lose Zlatan Ibrahimovic next summer, would the club allow two of their big stars to leave? Xabi Alonso Rumor: Bayern Munich to Liverpool or Real Madrid // Likelihood: A real possibility // The Talk: Xabi Alonso's current contract at German champions Bayern Munich is up at the end of the season and the Daily Star Sunday reports that former clubs Liverpool and Real Madrid are set to battle it out for the midfielder. Alonso, 34, won the Champions League with both Liverpool and Real Madrid, plus the World Cup and European Championships (twice) with Spain. But he could be set for one last challenge back at Anfield or the Santiago Bernabeu. Zlatan Ibrahimovic Rumor: Paris Saint-Germain to Chelsea // Likelihood: Very possible // The Talk: The Sun reports that Sweden striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, 34, is refusing to sign a new deal with Paris Saint-German and links the forward with a move to Chelsea. The striker's current contract at PSG runs out in June 2016 and after winning league titles in Holland, Italy, Spain and France, he may fancy one last high-profile move and has never played in the Premier League before. Jose Mourinho Rumor: Chelsea to Valencia // Likelihood: Definitely maybe // The Talk: Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho is under big pressure after the Blues suffered another defeat at the weekend, this time losing 1-0 at home to Premier League new boys Bournemouth. The 'Special One' could be sacked this week by Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich, according to reports. And The Sun revealed last week that Gary Neville may only be keeping the Valencia hot seat warm for Mourinho. Neville has joined Valencia on a five-month contract so there will be a vacancy on the bench at the Mestalla from next summer. Mourinho's agent, Jorge Mendes, is a key adviser to Valencia owner Peter Lim and if the former Real Madrid and Inter Milan coach does leave Stamford Bridge at some point this season, I can see this managerial switch happening. Pep Guardiola Rumor: Bayern Munich to Manchester United // Likelihood: A great shout // The Talk: The Sun reports that Bayern Munich boss Pep Guardiola could be prepared to take a 12-month break to make sure he lands the Manchester United job. Guardiola's deal at Bayern runs until next summer, whereas current Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal is on a contract until June 2017. Guardiola has often been linked with a move to Manchester City in recent months, with former Barcelona directors Ferran Soriano and Txiki Begiristain now working as City's chief executive and director of football respectively. But could Guardiola instead end up at Old Trafford? It definitely seems possible. And Guardiola had a year's sabbatical between his time at Barcelona and Bayern Munich. This is definitely one to keep an eye on. Antoine Griezmann Rumor: Atletico Madrid to Chelsea // Likelihood: Unlikely in January // The Talk: Chelsea have made Atletico Madrid and France striker Antoine Griezmann their No. 1 target for the January transfer window, according to The Sun. I can see Griezmann joining Chelsea at some point and the Blues are in need of goals with Diego Costa struggling to replicate his form of last season. However, I doubt Atletico would allow one of their star players to leave in the winter transfer window, especially as Diego Simeone's men are second in the table and only two points off leaders Barcelona. Thomas Muller Rumor: Bayern Munich to Chelsea // Likelihood: Doubtful // The Talk: The Daily Mirror last week reported that Chelsea are ready to rival Manchester United for Bayern Munich star Thomas Muller. The Germany international striker has won everything with Bayern and may be tempted by a move to the EPL, in which case both Chelsea and Manchester United would be interested in a striker of such quality. But even if Chelsea want to bring in Muller, surely Manchester United are in pole position for the player's services. At this rate, Chelsea may not even be in the Champions League next season, which is a prerequisite for any player of Muller's standing. | 1 | 97,681 | sports |
The most important meal of the day should be enjoyed in style. A Charming Farmhouse Breakfast Retreat For the wood-paneled breakfast room of a farmhouse outside Stockholm, fashion designer Sanna Kvist and her husband, interior designer Lars Henriksson, painted vintage chairs red and covered the seats with sheepskin. The table is by Ikea. A Fashion-Forward Manhattan Breakfast Room Playful framed sketches, a vibrant Clarence House wallpaper, and a collection of toy robots enliven the breakfast area of Estee Lauder executive John Demsey's Manhattan townhouse, which was decorated by Bibi Monnahan. A Saarinen Tulip table is paired with chairs by Knoll from Design Within Reach. An Upper East Side Townhouse's Cute Breakfast Nook Designer Philip Gorrivan upholstered the breakfast-area banquette of Manhattan-based filmmaker Nathaniel Kramer's Upper East Side apartment in a cheery blue-and-white DeLany & Long awning stripe. Photographs by Kramer and an artist's proof by Joan Miro adorn the walls. A Modern Backdrop For The Ideal Table Arrangement Fo the glass-walled breakfast room of jewelry designer Diana Quasha's Manhattan apartment, designer Albert Hadley devised a neutral scheme with metallic touches. Knoll's Brno armchairs clad in white leather surround a Saarinen Tulip table. A Manhattan Apartment's Timeless Breakfast Room Built-in bookshelves line a wall in the breakfast room of a Manhattan apartment restored by architect Peter Pennoyer and decorated by Katie Ridder. The walnut dining table is a custom design, and the maple chairs by Ann Morris, Inc., were painted in Farrow & Ball's Picture Gallery Red. The vintage French pagoda chandelier is from Florian Papp Antiques. A Dream California Breakfast Alcove At Steven Volpe's weekend home in California's Marin County, the table in the kitchen's breakfast nook is original to the 1890s Shingle Style house. The chairs are 1920s Norwegian. A Moscow Breakfast Table For Every Morning In a Moscow apartment, designer Olga Kulikovskaia-Ashby created a breakfast area within the kitchen. Pendant lights by Tom Dixon hang above the table; the chairs are by Vitra, and the plates on the kitchen counter are by Seletti. | 4 | 97,682 | lifestyle |
Week 13 of the NFL season featured an astounding nine missed extra points Sunday and the first blocked extra point for a defensive two-point conversion. It also included the vaunted New England Patriots take another surprising step backward in the AFC and the unbeaten Carolina Panthers move closer to securing home-field advantage in the NFC. Here's pushback on five overreactions from a wild Week 13: 1. The Seattle Seahawks are the most dangerous team in the NFC The scary news for the rest of the NFC? The two-time defending conference champs are starting to surge. Russell Wilson, who has thrown 11 touchdowns and zero interceptions in his last three games, is playing as well as any quarterback. But let's slow down on penciling them in for another Super Bowl. During this three-game winning streak, Seattle (7-5) beat the lowly San Francisco 49ers, benefited from multiple baffling decisions by Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin and knocked off a Minnesota Vikings team hindered by injuries. If the Seahawks can secure the No. 5 slot in the NFC, an attainable goal, that likely would mean an opening-week playoff meeting at the lackluster NFC East winner. This very well could be the beginning of another long playoff run for Seattle. But it's only the beginning. 2. The New England Patriots are in serious trouble Tom Brady is getting hit more and has a dearth of notable, healthy playmakers at his disposal. The Patriots (10-2) have lost two straight and have, for the moment, fallen to the No. 3 spot in the AFC playoff race. But it is no time to panic in New England. The Patriots need to get healthy and, more than anything, need Rob Gronkowski back as soon as possible. They play three of their final four games on the road. But with the current two top AFC teams the Cincinnati Bengals and Denver Broncos set to face off in Week 16, the Patriots are guaranteed a first-round bye if they win out. Given their injury issues, no team needs a bye more than the Patriots. 3. The Pittsburgh Steelers are ahead of the pack as a potential wild-card team Make no mistake, the Steelers are awash in skilled offensive playmakers. And with Ben Roethlisberger slinging the ball downfield, they are capable of outscoring any team in the AFC in any venue. But the key phrase is potential wild-card team. At the moment, the Steelers (7-5) are on the outside looking in. The surging Kansas City Chiefs, winners of six straight games, have the inside track on one wild card berth. The New York Jets (7-5) have a reasonable chance to at least reach nine wins. If the Steelers (7-5) are to eclipse nine wins, they'll need to beat either the Bengals or Broncos, their opponents the next two weeks. The AFC playoffs will be more competitive if the Steelers make the cut, but their margin for error is slim. 4. The New Orleans Saints exposed the Carolina Panthers Any team that makes it this far with a perfect record is going to experience turbulence because pressure mounts. The biggest takeaway from Carolina's 41-38 victory at New Orleans was this: Cam Newton has a serious case as the leader in the MVP race. Just watch the two egregious drops by wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr. and you'll have a sense what Newton has to work with this season. Apologies to Greg Olsen, who is an excellent tight end. Newton hasn't compiled gaudy statistics, but he has thrown five touchdown passes in two of the last three games. And his performance in fourth quarters or in overtime is especially impressive. The fact that the Panthers (12-0) still managed to win Sunday despite a litany of mistakes further underscores Newton's leadership and value. 5. The NFC East is finally starting to take shape Don't be silly. Rest assured, this absurd race won't be decided until Week 17 when the division crown falls into someone's lap. Three of the coaches have been on the hot seat at various points this season, and that doesn't even include the Dallas Cowboys' Jason Garrett, who has been accused of lacking control over an unruly locker room. Once written off, the Philadelphia Eagles re-emerged Sunday to knock off the Patriots. The previously division-leading New York Giants offer glimpses of potential only to collapse in the final minutes, amid game management questions, for at least the fourth time this season. And is it ever safe to believe in the Washington Redskins? And as division foes continue their mediocrity, then there is Jerry Jones, choosing to keep Tony Romo off the injured reserve just in case the Cowboys, who enter Monday's game at 3-8, reach the playoffs. Don't even try to figure out this division. Follow Eric Prisbell on Twitter @EricPrisbell . | 1 | 97,683 | sports |
Chuck Williams, the founder of Williams-Sonoma, died Saturday at his home in San Francisco of natural causes . He was 100. The entrepreneur, who weathered a tough, depression-era childhood by finding solace in baking and cooking, opened the first Williams-Sonoma in 1956 in Sonoma, Calif. While the timing was fortuitous Julia Child was beginning to popularize French cooking Williams-Sonoma's success and influence was just as much a result of Williams' understanding of what America's emerging class of ambitious home cooks wanted and needed. A trip to Paris in 1953 informed his vision for the company, which was essentially to upgrade American kitchens from a supply of warped aluminum pots to the well-crafted equipment found in kitchens throughout France. Related: This Luxe Kitchen Knife Just Raised $1 Million on Kickstarter Williams had an intuitive sense for what American cooks would respond to, and his first store did well enough that by 1977 there were five locations. He sold the company soon thereafter, but remained heavily involved in its operations, from producing numerous cookbooks to selecting merchandise, nearly until his death. In recent years his duties were dialed back, but he continued to regularly drive from his apartment to the company's San Francisco headquarters, The New York Time s reports. His attention to specifics rivaled that of even the most detail-obsessed entrepreneurs . According to the San Francisco Chronicle , he dictated the exact placement of pans on store shelves and once postponed a catalog photo after tasting the featured apple pie and finding it not delicious enough to be "authentic." Today, Williams-Sonoma is a publicly traded company with 623 stores under a corporate umbrella that has grown to include Pottery Barn, West Elm and Williams-Sonoma Home. It all started with one man with a genuine passion for quality cooking and the appliances that made those meals possible. In a recent interview posted on the company's website in tribute, Williams was asked to share his advice for leading a long, happy life. His response? "Love what you do and always eat well!" | 3 | 97,684 | finance |
There were more shocks involving giants in the Premier League on another unpredictable weekend of action, while in Spain, Valencia has a new and intriguing coach in place ahead of a big game this week. Pep Guardiola has some thinking to do after a rare defeat for Bayern Munich, while Lyon is moving into a new stadium in the new year under a cloud. Meanwhile, in Italy, perennial favorite Juventus is back on the upswing after a horrid start to its latest title defense. Here is what caught our eye this week Around Europe: Credit to EPL giant slayers Bournemouth, Stoke Some results make you sit up and take notice, and this was one of them. Down-on-its-luck Bournemouth is one of the stories of this Premier League season: a club that was minutes away from extinction but won promotion through the divisions under English coach Eddie Howe, sticks true to its principles despite losing four key players Callum Wilson (who was on the verge of an England call-up), captain Tommy Elphick and the club's two most expensive signings Tyrone Mings, Max Gradel to long-term injuries in the season's first few weeks. Oh, and last season's PFA Player of the Year in the second division, Harry Arter, was missing until November, too. This Premier League season has been so unpredictable that maybe newly promoted Bournemouth beating Chelsea 1-0 at Stamford Bridge is not such a surprise. But, really, it is. Chelsea may be in a rotten slump and Monday's papers, understandably, focus on the latest threat to Jose Mourinho's job: his former club FC Porto comes to London Wednesday and defeat could knock the Blues out of the Champions League. But what about Bournemouth? "This result is at the very top," said Howe. "We've never been in the top flight before, so to come to the champions and beat them, it must be the best individual result in the club's history, and I'm very pleased this group have been able to achieve this." Mitchell Kaye, a diehard fan who has watched the team home and away for over 20 years, told SI.com: "It was the kind of moment you dream about as a kid and live for your whole footballing life." Yet last week's result was arguably just as impressive as this one. Bournemouth was 2-0 down at home to Everton, and could have been feeling sorry for itself. But the spirit in the squad is strong, and it clawed back to 2-2. On 93 minutes, Ross Barkley scored for Everton, the TV commentator said: "And he's surely won it for Everton now!" Most people would have agreed. But not this group of players: on 95 minutes, Junior Stanislas equalized to earn Bournemouth a point. The result was probably worth more than a point: it gave the side belief, and proved that it has a collective spirit that outshines what we have seen at times from the likes of Newcastle or Aston Villa this season. You can't buy that in the January transfer window. Howe is not the first English coach with a predominantly English group of players to win promotion to the Premier League, play nice football, keep the same core of players from lower leagues and impress with his management style. Last season, Sean Dyche did the same with Burnley, which, after 16 games, had an almost identical record: won three, had 15 points, held 17th position in the table. Bournemouth's now reads: played 15, won three, 13 points, position No. 17 in the table. Burnley was relegated at the end of the season. At this rate, Bournemouth might just avoid that fate. Chelsea, of course, was not the only big-name casualty in the Premier League over the weekend. Stoke City totally outplayed Manchester City and won 2-0, a score that flattered the title contender. Without Vincent Kompany and Sergio Aguero, City is a different team, and you fear for its European aspirations if those two players are not fit in spring. The real story, though, was how Stoke outplayed City in every department, with the front four of Marko Arnautovic, Xherdan Shaqiri, Ibrahim Afellay and Bojan Krkic giving the visiting defense nightmares. This was coach Mark Hughes's vision come to life (and it helped to embarrass his former team). The days of Stoke as the bruisers are over. The new Stoke is just as tough to beat, but has a new deftness and guile in attack. LYTTLETON: Stoke City continues its evolution with eye-opening signings Neville ready for Valencia challenge You could see why Gary Neville did not take charge of the Valencia team for its weekend fixture at home to Barcelona. The Englishman, a surprise choice to replace Nuno Espirito Santo, was only appointed last Wednesday; he met the media on Thursday and watched Saturday's game against the Spanish champion from up in the stands. If the plan was to avoid being associated with an embarrassing defeat, it did not work: Valencia was excellent throughout and just about deserved its 1-1 draw against the Spanish champion. Neville would have been encouraged by his new side's performance and effort and noted the Valencia fans' reaction to the caretaker-coach on the sideline, Voro Gonzalez, a former player who has been temporary coach before. "If the contract is only for six months, why not give it to Voro?" wondered former Valencia captain David Albelda, a sentiment that ex-goalkeeper Santiago Canizares echoed. Regardless, the first test of Neville's career as head coach comes in the Champions League on Wednesday, with Valencia needing to beat struggling Lyon (more on that below) and hoping Zenit provides a favor and beats Gent. It's a pretty important debut match, with £8 million in extra revenue resting on the outcome. Neville made all the right comments in his press conference, promising to learn Spanish, bring over his whole family, and admitting that Neville the TV pundit would question the appointment of Neville the coach. Fans at the Mestalla can turn pretty quickly on coaches as they've done on Hector Cuper, Unai Emery and Nuno in the past but Neville should have some time to win them over. His first job will be to restore Alvaro Negredo to the team; the Spain forward is one of Valencia's best players but was inexplicably dropped from the squad by Nuno. Young fullback Ruben Vezo, who struggled against Neymar Saturday (join the club), could benefit from a Neville defending masterclass but there is enough talent in the squad, most of it young, to move up the table. The plan for Neville is clear; make a success of his six months in Valencia and be in a strong position to potentially replace Roy Hodgson as England coach after Euro 2016 (Neville is already England's assistant coach and will retain that role). If he flops in Valencia, he can blame the mitigating factors of an inherited squad, a new language and a short time to turn things around. As he said with his typical honesty: "Let's see how it goes." Bayern endures first defeat Is the title race back on again in Germany? Borussia Dortmund did what Manchester United needs to do in the Champions League Wednesday, winning 2-1 at Wolfsburg, to close the gap at the top of the table to five points. That's because Bayern Munich lost its first game of the season, going down 3-1 at Borussia Monchengladbach, for whom caretaker-turned-permanent boss Andre Schubert continues to be a miracle-worker. This was the first time Pep Guardiola had named an unchanged lineup in 99 games as Bayern boss, and it didn't prove fruitful. What went wrong? Exactly the same as what happened in the two Champions League semifinal losses in the last two seasons: Bayern conceded the first goal to a good side and then did not know how to react. Within 14 minutes, Lars Stindl and the prolific Fabian Johnson had turned 1-0 into 3-0. "We lost control," said Guardiola after the game. This is one of the issues that the Spaniard has failed to correct in his time in Bavaria. It's a tricky challenge, as Bayern is so dominant at home that it rarely happens. But if Bayern is to win the Champions League, it will need to resolve this issue before spring. And even though Dortmund was a bit fortunate to win all three points thanks to Shinji Kagawa's late winner, no, the title race is not really back on at all. Elsewhere in Germany, the focus will also be on Wolfsburg as it welcomes United needing just a draw to get out of Group B. United needs to win to avoid needing help in CSKA Moscow-PSV, but might not find it easy. And a note on naughty Marwin Hitz: the Augsburg goalkeeper scuffed up the area just to the left of the penalty spot with the heel of his boot before FC Cologne's Anthony Modeste took a penalty. Guess what happened next? That's right, Modeste slipped as he struck the ball and Hitz saved the spot kick. The keeper later apologized for his behavior and the German FA, who could have charged him for unsportsmanlike behavior, will take no further action. Lyon limps out of Stade Gerland It was not supposed to end like this. Lyon's final Ligue 1 game at Stade Gerland ended in another defeat its third in four games and a surreal atmosphere was completed when the fans who booed the players off at the final whistle hung around to watch a firework display and cheer Lyon's former greats like Juninho Pernambucano and Sonny Anderson on a final lap around the pitch. Coach Hubert Fournier was training his players on defending corners all week, so couldn't have been happy that the two goals newly promoted (and now second-place) Angers scored in its 2-0 win were both Cheikh Ndoye headers from set pieces. "We will meet, talk, try to think about things and not get carried away," Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas told beIN Sports when asked about the coach's future. Winger Mathieu Valbuena, however, called recent performances "catastrophic." This is practically the same Lyon side that pushed PSG close in the title race last season, and rather than cashing in on young talents like Alexandre Lacazette, Aulas tied them down to lucrative new contracts. It has not worked, and Fournier looks on his way out and soon. Wednesday, Lyon is the opponent for Neville's first game as Valencia coach ironically, if he had the choice of any team in Europe, he might have chosen Lyon and then Lyon plays PSG. After that, Aulas could well sack Fournier. Aulas wants a big name to lead Lyon in the new stadium, and Le Parisien reported that former hero Juninho, currently doing his coaching badges, was top of his list. That might be a bit early for the Brazilian, but change is imminent all the same. Dybala, Juventus on the march Italy was where the title race was the most open this season, but after five wins in a row, the latest a clinical 2-0 win at Lazio, there is something promising about the form of Juventus at the moment. After 10 games, the reigning champion had only won three matches; it was down in 12th place and 11 points behind leader Roma. Now it's only one point behind fourth-place Roma and six off the pace set by Serie A-leading Inter. Juventus has gone back to basics: switching to a back three in defense at the request of the players keeping clean sheets (three in a row for league games, four-and-a-half and over seven hours in all) and relying on some individual brilliance for the goals. In recent weeks, that's come from Paolo Dybala, the new signing from Palermo who Max Allegri has eased into the side. He's now undroppable and like Carlos Tevez, is not just there for his goals: he's scored seven, including both against Lazio (the first took a heavy deflection) and created three more. Allegri fell out with Alvaro Morata last month, but the pair has made up. It was in midfield where Allegri earned his money this weekend. With Paul Pogba suspended, the easy option would have been to pick a replacement and ask him to play like Pogba. That's not possible, though, so he moved Claudio Marchisio into the center, picked Kwadwo Asamoah on the left and Stefan Sturaro on the right. The balance worked but with Dybala or IncreDybala as Tuttosport called him in this form, it seems like it's only a matter of time before Juventus makes up deficit on Inter. Top three players of the week Xherdan Shaqiri (Stoke) The winger was too hot to handle for Manchester City and his two passes, the second an incredible defense-splitter, were converted by Marko Arnautovic for a well-deserved win. Casimir Ninga (Montpellier) The Montpellier forward came from Chad in the summer for €75,000 and has turned his team's season around: two goals against Lyon last week and two more in a 2-2 draw at Marseille Sunday. Ninga, 22, is fast, strong and generous with the ball. Remember the name. Antonio Sanabria (Sporting Gijon) The 19-year-old Paraguayan striker scored a hat trick for Sporting Gijon in its 3-1 win over Las Palmas. Roma, who has loaned him out, will be happy. Top three goals of the week Jessy Pi (Troyes) Bottom of the table and without a win all season, Troyes has not enjoyed much to cheer about this season. But the French club sneaked a point at Reims thanks to Pi's tasty volley. Renato Sanches (Benfica) You're 18, your team is 2-0 up at home with a few minutes left and you have the ball 35 yards from goal. Why not try a shot? That's what Sanches did against Academica, and even his coach looked surprised when the ball powered into the top corner. Jairo Sampeiro (Mainz) A dipping volley from a lying-down position set Mainz on the way to a fine win at Hamburg but not many would have expected Jairo to go for it from there. | 1 | 97,685 | sports |
WASHINGTON It's a simple concept that has lasted a half century: "One person, one vote." But in today's litigious society, nothing is simple. So the Supreme Court must step in Tuesday and consider this question: When it comes to drawing election districts, who counts as a person? On one side are civil rights groups fighting to keep the rule that emerged from a series of high court cases in the 1960s: Everyone can be counted. On the other side are conservative groups who want tens of millions of children, non-citizens, prisoners, ex-felons and people with intellectual disabilities excluded from the count because they cannot vote. If those challengers to Texas' state Senate districts win, many state and municipal governments from coast to coast would be sent back to the drawing boards. Urban districts with large numbers of non-voters, such as Hispanic immigrants, would grow larger, and there would be fewer of them. Many suburban and rural districts that are largely white would be smaller and more numerous. Republicans would benefit. Democrats would lose out. "Every legislative map in the country would become presumptively unconstitutional," says Michael Li, a lawyer at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law, causing "upheaval ... from Vermont to California." Congressional lines would not be affected by the court's decision, at least until another lawsuit challenging them is filed. The Constitution requires that House seats be apportioned among states based on total population a process by which Texas gained four seats after the 2010 Census. Challengers to the Texas Senate districts argue that in districts with large numbers of ineligible voters, those who can vote have more power to elect the lawmakers of their choice. The opposite is true in districts with large numbers of voters each one of them has less clout. The case is the brainchild of Edward Blum, director of the Project on Fair Representation, who has made a practice in recent years of challenging racial and ethnic preferences in voting and higher education. He initiated the challenge to the University of Texas' affirmative action plan that will come before the justices on Wednesday, as well as a lawsuit from Shelby County, Ala., that resulted in the court's 2013 decision striking down the key section of the Voting Rights Act. Blum recruited white plaintiffs Sue Evenwel and Edward Pfenninger because they live in state Senate districts with a heavy concentration of legal voters and therefore their votes carry less weight than those in districts with large numbers of non-voters. "In Sue Evenwel's mostly rural district, about 584,000 citizens are eligible to vote," Blum noted when bringing the case. "In a neighboring urban district, only 372,000 citizens are eligible. As a result, voters in the urban district have more sway than in the rural district; their individual electoral preferences carry more weight." But if the justices order Texas to redraw the lines using eligible voters, some urban districts in south Texas would swell to more than 1 million people, while others in rural areas would shrink to barely 700,000. Outside Texas, states with large numbers of undocumented immigrants would see the biggest change, such as California, New York, New Jersey, Arizona and Nevada. Cities such as Chicago and Miami also would be affected. In many other states, the rules could change but require no immediate moving of district lines because the results from using total or voter populations are not significant. Civil rights groups contend the change from total to voter population would discriminate against minorities, who often face obstacles to voting, have more children, or lack citizenship. In addition, they say, it's simply hard to do: While the Census Bureau provides relatively accurate population estimates every decade, there is no reliable federal data for eligible voters. Texas wants flexibility to choose its method of drawing districts, but the Obama administration goes further and argues that the court should not give states such flexibility. "Adopting Texas's hypothetical approach risks rendering residents of this country who are ineligible, unwilling, or unable to vote as invisible or irrelevant to our system of representative democracy," the solicitor general's office argues in its brief. Blum and his allies contend the switch would not be as dramatic as claimed particularly if the justices require states and municipalities to take both sets of data into consideration. The court could send the case back to Texas to see if such a compromise is possible, delaying any nationwide impact. If the court gives states the option of switching to voter population, civil rights leaders such as Sherrilyn Ifill of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund predict "mischief will happen" on the part of state legislators. Redrawing lines to exclude various groups from the head count based on age, race, ethnicity and intellectual disability could lead to more lawsuits, she says. "I'm not exactly sure what your citizenship rights are," Ifill says, "if you don't count and you can't vote." Follow @richardjwolf on Twitter | 5 | 97,686 | news |
Sandra's gingerbread cookies are impressive treats - and semi-homemade. | 0 | 97,687 | foodanddrink |
Immerse yourself in a world of music with these great apps. Discover new artists, listen to old favorites and share your favorite tunes. | 6 | 97,688 | entertainment |
It's not every day that you find cold, hard cash floating around in a river. On Saturday morning, two young men came across about 100,000 euros ($108,000) in banknotes floating down the Danube River in Vienna. Police spokesman Patrick Maierhofer told The WorldPost Monday that police had learned about the development after several people had called authorities to report they saw large amounts of money floating in the Danube. The two men, however, did not alert the police when they found the money. They had dived into the water to fish some of the banknotes out of the river before police arrived and retrieved the rest of the money, police spokesman Roman Hahslinger told the BBC Monday. As of Monday, Austrian police remain stupefied as to how or why the the money ended up in the Danube. They suspect the money came from a crime, and "don't think someone just put it in the Danube" due to the sheer amount of money involved, Maierhofer said. While they have not found any links to crimes involving this amount of money, special investigative forces are looking into the issue and hope to find answers within the next few days, the spokesman added. According to Austrian law, people who find over 2,000 euros ($2,170) and bring it to the police's attention can get 5 percent of the total sum, provided the money was not obtained criminally. The fact that bystanders alerted the police around the same time the two men found the banknotes brings up the issue of who found the money first -- and who gets the share of the money if the police deem the money clean. But police aren't concerned about that yet. "We have to wait for what's going on there, then we can talk about the situation and what the two men get," Maierhofer said. | 5 | 97,689 | news |
Amber Heard's dog saga continues... The 29-year-old actress plans to plead not guilty to illegally importing her and husband Johnny Depp's pets into Australia this past May. "Whilst I am unable to comment on the specific matters before the Court I would like to say that I respect the importance of Australia's laws, my decision to defend these charges, as will become apparent in the appropriate forum of the Court, is not intended in any way to diminish the importance of Australia's laws," the actress said in a statement released by her lawyer, NBC News reports. Due to Australia's strict biosecurity laws, Heard's illegal importation charges carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $75,000 fine, while the false document charge carries a penalty of a year in prison and a fine of $7,500. "Everything in Australia, we absolutely enforce and make sure people understand ... a lot of things we're easy-going about, but we're not easy-going about biosecurity," Barnaby Joyce , Australian Agriculture Minister, said at a news conference in July. "We're deadly serious about it. Depp addressed the issue in September, saying, "We were under the impression we had all the paperwork done for the dogs." "We were there with the dogs in front of everybody," he added during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! , insisting that if his significant other faced jail time, "I'd just fly to Australia and assault that man [Joyce], so that I could go to jail." ET spoke with Heard in July, who confirmed that the couple's dogs -- Pistol and Boo -- were OK despite "attempts by certain rogue thug Australian government officials," referring to a warning from the Australian government that the dogs would be euthanized if they were not removed from the country. Watch the video below. | 6 | 97,690 | entertainment |
Saudi Arabia's rulers have long maintained stability with the help of welfare spending and subsidies. But as the oil dependent country's crude revenues sink, the world is watching for political troubles. Social unrest in Saudi Arabia is unlikely to ratchet up significantly in the next few years, analysts tell CNBC. But if crude prices remain low, and Saudi finances continue to deteriorate, King Salman bin Abdulaziz may find it more difficult to tackle civil unrest in the future. Falling revenue could exacerbate dissatisfaction among religious minorities, the upper class, or royals, analysts said. Saudi Arabia is the chief architect of OPEC's policy of maintaining crude output at roughly 31 million barrels per day, a level that has forced producers of higher-cost hydrocarbons including the United States and Russia to balance an oversupplied market through production cuts. But as U.S. and Russian drillers prove more resilient that most industry watchers had expected, oil prices have stagnated, putting pressure on Saudi finances. On Friday, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed to continue its current policy, sending crude futures lower. On Monday, internationally traded Brent crude fell below $41, to its lowest price since February 2009. Last year, Saudi Arabia announced a $229 billion budget for 2015, its largest ever. As a result, the International Monetary Fund projects a 19.5 percent deficit for the kingdom this year. To cover the gap, the nation has burned through about $91.5 billion of its reserve assets, reducing total foreign reserves from a peak of $746 billion last August to a still-healthy $654.5 billion in September, according to the IMF. In August, the Financial Times reported that Saudi Arabia was seeking to sell about $5.3 billion in sovereign bonds per month through the end of the year. The Saudis' borrowing ability is considerable, but they could find themselves mired in debt, just as they did in the 1990s and early 2000s, said Matthew Bey, energy and technology strategist at Stratfor. If low oil prices and high spending persist, the Saudis will be forced to reduce spending on social programs, energy subsidies and education, Bey said. The challenge for the royal leadership will be making reductions in areas that will not elicit social backlash, he added. Saudi Arabia "is still a security state. It will rely on its social apparatus to manage unrest going forward," he said. Reached by CNBC, the Saudi embassy in Washington did not have immediate comment. A reduction in subsidies would have domestic political consequences, and may affect the royal family's tacit social compactwith the country's elite, said Simon Henderson, director of the Washington Institute's Gulf and energy policy program. Henderson asserted that most Saudis are conservative and do not desire social change. "They look at the chaos in the rest of the Arab world with horror," he told CNBC in an email. While Saudi Arabia is by no means on the verge of collapse, risks are currently under-appreciated, said Hani Sabra, head of Eurasia Group's Middle East and North Africa practice. "If you look at the Achilles heel of a lot of countries in the Arab world, they have had a pact with people. You get cheap gasoline and energy, you live in a welfare state, and you don't open your mouth," Sabra said. Like almost every predominantly Arab country, Saudi Arabia has a Sunni Muslim majority. But it faces ongoing protests from members of its Shiite minority and long-simmering dissatisfaction among Muslims who do not subscribe to the strict, conservative brand of Sunni Wahhabism embraced by the monarchy. Earlier this year, the BBC documented three years of continuous demonstrations in an eastern, largely Shiite region that sometimes turned violent. Activists frequently cited poor economic prospects for residents in an area that is home to the Ghawar oil field, the largest conventional field on earth. "From a social perspective, one thing to keep in mind is that the perception of Saudi Arabia as a wealthy country is false," Sabra said. "You have an increasing number of poorer Saudis in the country who feel disenfranchised in an environment in which the politics of the country are changing." The fractured nature of opposition groups works in the royal family's favor, Sabra said, but the current political climate is also breeding dissatisfaction at the top. Following his ascension to the throne this year, King Salman named his son, Mohammed bin Salman, deputy crown prince making him second in line in the Saudi succession after earlier appointing him defense minister and chairman of the country's economic council. That consolidation stands to exacerbate a structural problem with the growing Saudi royal family, Sabra said. Hundreds of royals are clamoring for a piece of the pie, and with low oil prices and power increasingly concentrated in bin Salman, the pie is shrinking. If those royals are frozen out, many of their wealthy constituents who once had access to the halls of power could create unrest in the upper class, Sabra said. Within the royal family, the chances of a significant rift remain unlikely in the short- to medium-term, but the outcome has increased from very low to credible, Sabra said. "I am sure there are divisions in the royal family, but the question is whether groups of princes are prepared to do anything about it. I suspect it may be too late," Henderson said. The deputy crown prince may now wield enough power to weather any challenge to his authority, he added. Only a disastrous oil policy or dissatisfaction with Saudi Arabia's ongoing intervention in Yemen's civil war the first major act under Mohammed bin Salman could tip the scales, he said. Bin Salman's regional posturing is a growing concern in some quarters. Last week, Germany's Federal Intelligence Service, the BND, said it was concerned about Saudi Arabia's foreign policy under Mohammed bin Salman, in a rare instance of public criticism. "The thus far cautious diplomatic stance of the elder leaders in the royal family is being replaced by an impulsive interventionist policy," Reuters quoted the BND as saying. | 3 | 97,691 | finance |
At least one young boy is more interested in getting a letter to Mars than the North Pole this holiday season, but the UK's Royal Mail and NASA collaborated to deliver the news that dropping an old-school line to the Red Planet might be beyond the spending power of his allowance. Five-year-old Oliver Giddings wrote to Royal Mail with a query about the amount of postage that would be required to deliver a letter to Mars. The 499-year-old postal service consulted with NASA on the cost of launching a letter of normal weight and getting it to the planet's surface, based on the agency's last delivery. NASA responded that its " last visit to Mars, carrying the Curiosity rover , cost about $700m," Senior Customer Advisor Andrew Smout wrote in his reply to Giddings, according to AFP . "Based on how much the spaceship weighed compared to how much it costs to get to Mars, they said that something weighing up to 100 grams would cost them approximately $18,000 to fly to Mars." Converted, that's about £11,945 or AU$24,770. For the record, that's the cost of about 18,000 first class stamps in the UK, and over 36,000 US stamps. Perhaps somebody should have told young Oliver about how we like to talk about NASA doing things more slowly and more expensively than other outfits. I'll bet Elon Musk would love to get that letter to Mars in half the time, let's just hope it doesn't wind up on a mission that involves nuking the Red Planet like he's joked about (he was joking, right?). | 5 | 97,692 | news |
VIDEO: The Iowa Caucuses are about three months away. | 8 | 97,693 | video |
25 NEW Outrageous Examples of Government Waste Waste, Waste, Glorious Waste If we saved only half of the $788 billion we waste every year, we could revamp our infrastructure, bolster education, and grow the economy. One place to start is the low-hanging fruit identified in Senator James Lankford's (R-OK) Federal Fumbles -- a new version of former Senator Tom Coburn's famed "Wastebook." The following 25 slides are a snapshot of how your money is mismanaged. Truck Stop Maybe the NIH was getting desperate to find another project to fund before the end of the fiscal year. Or maybe it was just Oregon's turn to be awarded a grant. Either way, the NIH decided to grant Oregon Health & Science University $2.6 million to study whether a motivational phone program can help obese truckers lose weight. How the Red and Blue Duke It Out "Never discuss religion or politics in at a dinner party." That was the advice etiquette experts used to write about. Still, try to avoid either in today's politically and religiously fractured world. But why is the National Science Foundation spending $150,000 "to better understand which facets of social interaction about politics are most stress inducing"? Maybe they should start with wasting taxpayers' hard-earned money. Just Take the Fifth Looks like the State Department knows something is up. Why else would it hire consultants and pay them $545,000 to train management how to testify before Congress? Rebels Without a Clue Trying to get Syrian rebels trained to fight ISIS has proved to be a challenge -- and a big one, to the tune of $250 million to train a mere 60 rebels. Dying to Collect More Social Security The Social Security Administration might be paying benefits to 6.5 million people 112 years old or older, a demographic which doesn't exists except on TV. SSA's failure to maintain accurate death records could result in billions in fraud. Equally troubling, perhaps, is the possibility that those SSA accounts are being used to legitimize illegal immigrants. Triple Dipping It's pretty well known that a retiree can collect unemployment insurance (if they've been laid off from work and are looking for a job) and Social Security Benefits. (One NY woman collected $3,000 a month from both plans.) But did you know they could also collect TAA benefits? What's that, you may ask? It's Trade Adjustment Assistance for people who lost their jobs because of a foreign trade deal. Why does the government allow this? Because they don't know how to track all the different federal and state unemployment benefit programs. The $43 Million Gas Station in Afghanistan Yup. That's what our crackerjack Defense Department spent to build a gas station that few Afghanis can use. Need we say more? Federal Spending Spree In September every year, you can almost hear your tax dollars flying out the doors of agencies that haven't spent their generous budgets before the close of the fiscal year. The worst offender last year was the State Department, which spent 37 percent of its budget in a wild September shop-till-you-drop spree that included $26,315 on North Face parkas and $5 million for custom stemware. Beer, Kissed by the Sun Everyone knows the USDA doesn't the resources to inspect all U.S. food producers. So why did they give a $35,000 grant to a Michigan company for "solar-powered beer?" The grant was made through the Rural Energy for America Program to help expand renewable energy for farmers and businesses. But beer? What Would Joni Mitchell Say? After spending $8 million for a 1,400-panel solar roof in Little Rock, AR, Veterans Affairs tore down the facility to make room for a parking lot. Bring in Fannie Mae! The federal government spends $1.67 billion to manage 77,000 unused or under-utilized properties. Why not just sell them? Playing Doctor The National Institutes of Health has given millions in grants to develop a cure for breast cancer. Not to be outdone, the Defense Department wants a piece of that action. They've just donated $25 million. This is known as topping off. Re-Fracking It didn't matter how many states and geologists issued reports on the effects of hydraulic fracturing on drinking water resources. Congress decided the EPA should do the research all over again, just in case Atlantis is buried somewhere under Albany. They gave the agency $29.1million to essentially duplicate the states' results. Downton A.I. Private companies have created "humanoid" robots that can wait on tables, carry wounded soldiers off the battlefield, dismantle intricate nuclear bombs, and cap fuel leaks under the ocean. So why is the government spending $1.2 million trying to figure out how a robot could choose an outfit from someone's closet and help an elderly person get dressed? Camp Leatherneck Hey, let's build a command center as part of Camp Leatherneck! We can do it right here in Afghanistan. It will only cost $36 million. They built it, but they didn't come. A year later, they turned the command center and the camp over to the Afghans. Oscar Museum The National Endowment for the Arts supports new artists -- some controversial -- in a variety of artistic disciplines. But giving even a small grant like $25,000 to support a museum honoring America's Oscar-winning motion pictures is inappropriate. The Academy Awards show is heavily sponsored and makes a fortune. So why are taxpayers underwriting the museum? Fiddler on the Big Screen We love country music. You find the good stuff in backwater counties in Tennessee and the Carolinas. Banjos, fiddles and of course guitars string together to create that Dixie sound. Still, should the National Park Service spend taxpayer money to fund a documentary about one of Dixie's musical heroes, Roger Howell? It was only $5,000, but, hey, why not create a Kickstarter campaign and let country fans kick in? They'd probably raise a lot more! 140 Characters for $5 million If it only cost about $250,000 to build Twitter, why would it take $5 million a year to post feckless U.S. anti-ISIS propaganda on Twitter or Facebook? Oh, and according to tech experts, it would take about 10 hours for one person who knows how to code to build Twitter. The State Department's Center for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications created one of the most expensive Twitter accounts ever to fight ISIS. Too bad it doesn't make a dent in the terror group's recruitment campaign. Bleacher Report In many cases, when a sports stadium is torn down, it's still not paid for. The cities that host big sports teams delude themselves into thinking that major league sports will bring in the tourists -- and the big bucks from business. But that doesn't begin to pay for the hefty costs of building state-of-the-art arenas that are rarely used. Even the $542 million over ten years in tax-exempt bonds provided by the IRS doesn't help much. Raisin' Hell The Department of Agriculture spends $200 million every year to help American companies market their products to foreign countries. California Raisin growers got $3 million of that funding. Lucky Strikes Someone ought to tell the NIH about Google. And then mention a site on the Internet called Amazon. Instead of spending $48,500 to produce a book entitled, Cigarettes and the Soviets: The Culture of Tobacco Use in Modern Russia, they could have searched "cigarette smoking in Russia" and found this book on Amazon for $66.83. Place Your Bets Here's a real game changer. The NIH awarded $50,000 to the University of Michigan to create an application based on quantum physics that achieves "a certifiable random number generator." The app benefits "companies that manage electronic transactions and gambling casinos." A Gnatcatcher Is Not a Carrier Pigeon Someone in the Defense Department has a thing for gnats or maybe gnatcatchers, a species deemed "threatened" since 1993. Maybe that's why the department with one of the largest federal budgets decided to spend $283,500 on a gnatcatcher survey. Memo to the Pentagon: These tiny birds catch gnats, not ISIS terrorists. Trump, the Dealmaker The IRS gave Donald Trump's organization a $40 million tax credit to renovate the Old Post Office in Washington, D.C., and turn it into what Trump calls, "the most sought-after hotel redevelopment opportunity in the country." | 3 | 97,694 | finance |
Alon Livne, Ines Di Santo, Reem Akra they're all designing wedding dresses with beautiful backs. Check out the highlights from fall 2016 bridal fashion week. | 8 | 97,695 | video |
The NBA is exploring the use of some cutting-edge new technology. | 1 | 97,696 | sports |
It was all for a good cause | 1 | 97,697 | sports |
CNBC's Dom Chu reports the head of Redbox is out. Parent company Outerwall also announced full-year guidance that was below estimates. | 3 | 97,698 | finance |
NEW YORK (AP) -- Alabama's Derrick Henry and Stanford's Christian McCaffrey are hoping to return to the Heisman Trophy to the running backs. Clemson's Deshaun Watson can keep it with the QBs. The two star running backs with very different styles and the dual-threat quarterback of the No. 1 team in the country are headed for New York after being named Heisman finalists Monday night. Henry and McCaffrey will be looking to break a five-year streak of quarterbacks winning college football's top honor when the trophy is presented Saturday night in Midtown Manhattan. Mark Ingram of Alabama in 2009 was the last running back -- and only Crimson Tide player -- to win the Heisman. Since 2000, 13 of the 15 Heisman winners have been quarterbacks. Among those missing out on a trip to New York City was Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield, LSU running back Leonard Fournette, who was the early season favorite, and Navy quarterback Keenan Reynolds. Henry seems to be the front runner in a Heisman race that tightened over championship weekend. He ran for 189 yards and a touchdown on 44 carries in the Alabama's Southeastern Conference championship game victory against Florida on Saturday. Later that night, McCaffrey had 461 all-purpose yards with touchdowns running, receiving and passing as Stanford beat Southern California in the Pac-12 title game, and Watson had 420 total yards and accounted for five touchdowns in Clemson's Atlantic Coast Conference championship game win against North Carolina. Close Heisman voting has been uncommon in recent years. The last three winners -- Marcus Mariota, Jameis Winston and Johnny Manziel -- all won by comfortable margins. The last time there was real suspense at the Heisman presentation was 2009, when Ingram received only 1 percent more of the vote than Stanford's Toby Gerhart. By percentage, that ranks as the closest Heisman vote in history. A look at the finalists: HENRY The 6-foot-3, 240-pound junior carried the Tide (12-1) to the College Football Playoff, setting an SEC record with 1,986 yards and nation's best 23 touchdowns. With a passing game that has been inconsistent, the Tide has leaned heavily on Henry in its biggest games. He carried the ball 90 times in Alabama's last two games and has averaged 180 yards per game against SEC opponents. "The Heisman Trophy has been a dream of mine since I was a little kid and the chance to go to New York as a finalist is amazing, but none of this would be possible without my coaches and teammates," Henry said in a statement. "The offensive line, the quarterback, wide receivers and tight ends have done an unbelievable job all season and our coaches always put us in a position to be successful." McCAFFREY While Henry is the prototypical power runner, McCaffrey is all about elusiveness and versatility. The 200-pound sophomore broke Barry Sanders' NCAA record for all-purpose yards in a season with 3,496. He has scored 13 touchdowns and thrown two TD passes. He would be Stanford's second Heisman winner, joining Jim Plunkett in 1970. The Cardinal did have a recent run of three straight seasons with the runner-up. Gerhart finished second behind Ingram in `09 and Andrew Luck came in second to Cam Newton (2010) and Robert Griffin III (2011). "Just found out five minutes ago. I'm a little emotional," McCaffrey told reporters at Stanford. WATSON The sophomore has Clemson in the playoff, trying for its first national championship since 1981. Watson fits the mold of recent Heisman winners Cam Newton, RGIII, Manziel and Mariota as a dual-threat quarterback, capable of dominating as a runner or passer. Watson is the only player in the country who has surpassed 800 yards rushing (887) and 3,500 yards passing (3,512), and he has accounted for 41 touchdowns. He would be Clemson's first Heisman winner. "This is recognition for a great performance on the field and for the hard work he has put in over the last year after suffering a torn ACL," Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. "A year ago Saturday night (December 12, 2014) he was in the hospital having surgery. Exactly a year later he will be in New York as a Heisman finalist." ------ Follow Ralph D. Russo at www.Twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP Data curated by PointAfter | 1 | 97,699 | sports |
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