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117,041 | 23171d4357a6405a71f30429da992f61bd35744a | (CNN) -- Chilean authorities will launch an investigation into the 1973 death of writer Pablo Neruda, a judge ruled Thursday. Judge Mario Carroza ordered the investigation Thursday, noting that police, witness and medical records would be examined, Chile's judicial authority said in a statement. The Nobel Prize-winning poet's death certificate says he died of prostate cancer, CNN Chile reported. But officials with the country's Communist Party asked officials this week to probe his death. Neruda died on September 23, 1973, just 12 days after a right-wing military coup that overthrew the South American country's government. "We are not accusing anybody, a priori. What we want is that the courts to fully clarify the situation," Communist Party President Guillermo Teillier told reporters Tuesday. But human rights lawyer Eduardo Contreras said that the circumstances surrounding Neruda's death reported in local media differed from descriptions on his death certificate. "Without a doubt, Neruda in exile would have been something very difficult for the dictatorship," he told reporters. A biography of the poet on the website of the Neruda Foundation, which Neruda's widow founded to promote and preserve his legacy, notes the coup as a significant date in his life. "The majority of Neruda's friends were made prisoners or had to hide or seek political asylum in other countries," it says. Neruda, a member of Chile's Communist Party, was also a lawmaker in the South American country and served as its ambassador to France. But internationally, he is most well-known for his poetry. Neruda received the Nobel Prize in Literature 1971 "for a poetry that with the action of an elemental force brings alive a continent's destiny and dreams." The investigation into his death comes as Chilean authorities probe the death of another high-profile figure in the nation's history: former Chilean President Salvador Allende. Last week forensic experts exhumed Allende's remains as part of an investigation into whether he killed himself or was assassinated during the 1973 coup. Official accounts ruled the leftist leader's death a suicide, saying that he shot himself -- with a gun that was reportedly a gift from Fidel Castro -- as Gen. Augusto Pinochet's troops closed in on the presidential palace. But some of Allende's supporters have long doubted that account. Carroza ordered the exhumation in April as part of a massive investigation of 726 reported human rights violations during Pinochet's rule, CNN Chile reported. CNN's Catherine E. Shoichet contributed to this report. | NEW: Lawyer: "Neruda in exile would have been...difficult for the dictatorship"
CNN Chile: Pablo Neruda's death certificate says he died of prostate cancer .
A judge rules that police, witness and medical records will be examined .
The judge's order comes after investigators exhumed a former Chilean president last week . |
241,999 | c530a2dd87c7c0afd77e6f18a4a84306da569758 | (CNN) -- Looking directly at the man who murdered his 9-year-old daughter, Mark Lunsford told John Evander Couey, "I hope you hear her cry as you try to sleep at night." "You will never hurt another child again," Lunsford said in testimony Tuesday in a Florida court hearing where a judge will decide whether to give Couey the death penalty. Jessica Lunsford, seen in an undated family photo, was 9 when she was abducted and killed. She disappeared in 2005 from her home in Homosassa, Florida. His eyes fixed on Couey, Lunsford continued, "For 29 months, my daughter has heard me cry and begged God to stop the pain in my heart." Addressing Florida Circuit Court Judge Ric Howard, Lunsford pleaded for Couey to die for his crime. Then he turned back to the man who took his daughter. Watch Lunsford's emotional testimony » . "I hope you see the tears at night when she asked you [if she could] go home. You will never hurt another child again." Lunsford spent much time talking about memories of Jesse Lunsford. "I can remember when she was about 1 year old and would give me kisses and hugs and steal the raisins from my cereal," he said. "From bumps to bruises, from Band-Aids to bicycles, she was a tomboy with her daddy and a very nice little lady for her grandmother." The hearing will continue Wednesday. Couey's attorneys are trying to convince Howard that Couey is mentally incompetent and should be spared the death penalty. "That's a cop-out," Lunsford said Tuesday on Larry King Live. "He is not retarded." The father said he wants Couey to die for his crime. King asked him if he would attend the execution by lethal injection. "I'd hold the syringe if they'd let me," he answered. But a prosecution expert testified Tuesday that the convicted killer had an IQ of between 80 and 90, about low average. "My opinion is that he is not mentally retarded," said Dr. Greg Pritchard, a clinical psychologist. Couey was convicted in March on charges of kidnapping, raping and murdering Jessica. The jury voted 10-2 to recommend the death penalty. In Florida, the vote does not have to be unanimous to recommend the death penalty. The judge is expected to sentence Couey next month. Jessica Lunsford disappeared in February 2005 from her home in Homosassa. Her body was found three weeks later in a shallow grave outside a mobile home about 100 yards from where she lived. Couey, a convicted sex offender, was staying nearby in a trailer with his half-sister. Couey kidnapped the girl from her bedroom and later, in a taped confession, admitted that he buried the child alive. "I went out there one night and dug a hole and put her in it. Buried her," he said. She was found wrapped in garbage bags, holding a stuffed toy dolphin, her hands bound with stereo wire. Jessica died from asphyxiation after being sexually assaulted, according to a medical examiner's report. The judge ruled the confession was inadmissible in court because Couey had asked for a lawyer the day before he told police he committed the crime. Evidence at the trial included Jessica's fingerprints in a closet in Couey's trailer and DNA from Jessica's blood and Couey's semen on a mattress in his bedroom. Lunsford has led a push for stricter sex offender laws since his daughter's death. Then-Gov. Jeb Bush signed the Jessica Lunsford Act into Florida law. The 2005 legislation calls for prison sentences of 25 years to life for sex offenses against children under age 12, better registration of convicted sex offenders and a Global Positioning System notification mechanism to track down probation violators. Texas Gov. Rick Perry signed similar legislation Monday. E-mail to a friend . | Mark Lunsford testifies at sentencing hearing for 9-year-old daughter's killer .
Jury recommended death for John Evander Couey .
Couey was convicted of kidnapping, raping, killing Jessica Lunsford .
Couey's attorney says he's mentally incompetent . |
271,878 | ec2df83299ad9d66248b0e16ff744b5623f15d82 | By . Anthony Bond . PUBLISHED: . 05:16 EST, 13 June 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 10:49 EST, 13 June 2012 . Detained: Australian lawyer Melinda Taylor is being held in Libya over allegations of spying . An Australian lawyer being held in Libya over allegations of spying following a visit to Colonel Gaddafi's son will be released if she provides details of where the country's most wanted man is, authorities have said. Melinda Taylor and her Lebanese-born interpreter Helene Assaf were detained last week while visiting Saif al-Islam Gaddafi in Zintan as part of an International Criminal Court (ICC) team. Officials in the town alleged that during the meeting the pair were caught passing documents to Saif al-Islam from his fugitive right-hand man Mohammed Ismail. Authorities say 36-year-old Ms Taylor had a suspicious pen camera on her and attempted to pass Saif al-Islam - the son of former Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi - a coded letter from the fugitive. The authorities say if Ms Taylor - who has a two-year-old daughter - was carrying a letter from Ismail, that means she had met the wanted man. The deal was proposed yesterday by a government official as a second delegation from the ICC visited their colleagues. Speaking to The Times, Mohammed al-Harizi, a government spokesman, said it was very important for the country's new rulers to catch Ismail. He said: 'We do not have anything against this woman. Just we need some information from her. After that she will be free.' Human rights groups, the court in The Hague, and the Australian government have all demanded that they be released immediately, but Libyan prosecutors say Taylor and Assaf will be held for at least 45 days while they are investigated. Allegations: Ms Taylor has been accused of passing documents to Saif al-Islam, left, from his fugitive right-hand man Mohammed Ismail, right . 'The delegation as well as ambassadors for their (the detained ICC staff) countries visited them,' said Ahmed al-Gehani, a Libyan lawyer who is in charge of the Saif al-Islam case and liaises between the government and the ICC. 'They are well, they are in a guesthouse, not in a prison. They have food, water, and are being treated well.' The ICC delegation had earlier yesterday been prevented from entering Zintan by a local militia which closed roads into the town because of tribal clashes in the area. In scenes that summed up the chaos and instability in Libya since a revolt last year ousted and killed Gaddafi, when the delegation arrived at a checkpoint outside Zintan, militiamen told them no one was being allowed in because of clashes with a rival tribe nearby. Captured: Ms Taylor is being held in the town of Zintan, pictured, which was yesterday affected by tribal clashes . The 7-vehicle convoy parked near the checkpoint but waited to get into Zintan, even though the visit had been approved by authorities in the capital, Tripoli. The incident underscored the problem complicating negotiations over the ICC staff: Zintan is effectively outside the control of the central government. Instead, it is the brigade in Zintan, which captured Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam in November and has since refused to transfer him to the capital, which is, de facto, in charge. Saif al-Islam is wanted by the ICC for crimes during the uprising that ended his father's 42-year rule last year. Libya's new rulers insist he should be tried in his home country. Saif al-Islam is being held in Zintan by a local militia that captured him in November. An ICC team, including Taylor and Assaf, was meeting him under an arrangement with the Libyan authorities for him to have access to ICC-appointed defence lawyers. | Melinda Taylor was detained last week while visiting Saif .
al-Islam Gaddafi in Zintan .
It is alleged she gave documents to Colonel Gaddafi's son from his fugitive friend Mohammed Ismail .
Libyan official proposed deal following visit from International Criminal Court team . |
145,957 | 48b83056ec881dd7de93f8009a10dd10d55f7ed2 | Armed forces veterans are to receive extra help to get jobs and transition into civilian life under a set of special measures announced by the Government. The Prime Minister will launch the biggest overhaul of services for troops leaving the Forces with more than 60 changes being made. The recommendations span every aspect of daily life - from education and training, to employment, housing, health, welfare and financial support. The Prime Minister (pictured meeting RAF troops in Camp Bastion earlier this month) will launch the biggest overhaul of services for troops leaving the Forces with more than 60 changes being made . It is aimed to support wounded soldiers and those at risk of turning to crime or suffering mental illness. Ministers are keen to cut the number of veterans who end up in jail after returning from the front line. About one in 30 prisoners have been in the Armed Forces. Lord Ashcroft was commissioned by David Cameron to draw up the recommendations . Lord Ashcroft was commissioned by David Cameron to draw up the recommendations. The Tory peer said more should be done to emphasise that former service personnel have a ‘great deal to offer’. He said: ‘I am pleased to see that the Government has accepted the great majority of the proposals, and that work is already underway on many of them.’ Prime Minister David Cameron said on Saturday: ‘Our brave servicemen and women make huge sacrifices to keep this country safe. Whatever the reasons behind their decision to leave our armed services, we must absolutely do all we can to smooth the move into civilian life. ‘That is why Lord Ashcroft’s review is so important, because it pinpoints the areas where we need to do more. 'I’m pleased that much of that work is now under way and I am determined to ensure that we deliver on the rest to ensure that our Armed Forces have the support they need to build a secure and better future.’ Whitehall officials say work is already under way to establish a single 24-hour contact centre number for veterans in urgent need of advice, supported by Combat Stress and the Samaritans. Other measures being rolled out also include resettlement advice for all those who leave the Services and education schemes to help Services personnel manage their finances better. The Government is also looking to introduce a longterm development and career support system and provide online courses. | Aimed at preventing veterans turning to crime or suffering mental illness .
Around one in 30 prisoners in the UK have been in the Armed Forces .
PM says: 'We must do all we can to smooth the move into civilian life'
Tory peer Lord Ashcroft will draw up the new recommendations . |
88,417 | faf82f99db2559f65638efcf13fe0ffa5bdf9f45 | Bangkok, Thailand (CNN) -- Thailand's floodwaters inched toward downtown Bangkok Saturday, threatening some subway stations as leaders urged residents not to open defenses set up to divert the waters from the capital. At least six subway stations are on the floodway, authorities said. Residents have threatened to open the defenses to drain water from their flooded neighborhoods, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration said. "The main problem of solving flood is no longer technical but people," Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said during the weekly radio address. The flooding has killed 442 people, the Interior Ministry said. Of Thailand's 64 provinces, 25 have been affected. Bangkok's central business district is still dry but other parts of the bustling metropolis of 12 million people are inundated. The flooding has had an enormous business impact as many factories and offices have been under water for more than a month. Affected businesses include Hi Tech Industrial Park, where Canon and Sony own assembly plants. CNN's Kocha Olarn contributed to this report. | Interior Ministry: Flooding has killed 442 people .
It is Thailand's worst flooding in decades . |
234,198 | bb329918dce8773bb9799f1ad13bc7ce4b89f67d | (CNN) -- It seems that the global super-rich like their private jets on the bland side. No matter if you're the CEO of a Fortune 500 company or electronics tycoon from Asia, it's likely a dark wood veneer and light-colored leather upholstery will envelop you in the lap of luxury at 38,000 feet. Even the bright red and yellow livery of kung-fu superstar Jackie Chan's new jet (that came with his role as "ambassador" for Brazilian plane-maker Embraer), gives way to a spotless interior of mid-tones and cream leather seats. If it doesn't seem to fit the persona of the martial arts actor, the companies that are fighting over the executive jet market are well aware that giving clients whatever they want, even if that is uniform luxury, is essential when it comes to securing a multi-million dollar sale of an aircraft. Battle for the skies at Singapore Airshow . "It's the cabin that sells the aircraft," says David Velupillai, of Airbus Corporate Jets, from the back of a voluminous sofa on board a champagne-colored ACJ318. "Usually clients just need it to be practical." If you can afford a $65 million jet like the ACJ318 (based on the commercial A318), fluctuating fuel costs aren't as much of a concern as a spacious bedroom and enough space for a banquet in the sky. A round table that can convert into a square for mahjong games is an off-the-shelf option for Velupillai's prospective Chinese clients, who are also being targeted with laser-like precision by the other big corporate jet companies like Boeing Business Jets, Gulfstream, Embraer, Dassault and Bombardier. Just 15 years ago there was only one corporate jet in China, and private jet ownership was illegal in the country until 2003. Now there are over 200 private and executive jets in China and around 700 in Asia., according to Embraer. However that's a small fraction of the total number of private planes criss-crossing the globe -- Asia still only has about a 5% global share, compared to North America's 40%, the company says. China's challenge for air supremacy . But while bigger can mean better in the high status world of private jets, the market for smaller four or six-seater jets, accessible to millionaires, not billionaires, is increasing. Analysts predict that Asia is worth around $40 billion to the private jet market in the next 10 years, although there could be some bumps along the way for companies hoping to cash in on the privacy mores of high-net-worth flyers. "It's not a recession-proof industry," says Jose Eduardo Costas, vice president of Embraer Executive jets for Asia Pacific. Like many other businesses, Europe's precarious economic position is the main worry for private jet manufacturers. "The drivers of this market remain the same; it's how the economies are performing, how the companies are doing, how the stock markets are," says Costas. "We still have a lot of the bottlenecks (in Asia) that the West has overcome over the last 30 to 40 years -- access to airspace and dedicated infrastructure like private jet terminals and common regulations. They will be smoothed out in time." Test your aviation knowledge . Courting clients and getting them to part with tens or hundreds of millions of dollars is one thing, but dealing with their demands once the plane is in the air is another. "Every owner is different," says Jenny Lau, CEO of SinoJet that manages six private planes in China, including the Jackie Chan jet. The company is one of many springing up to serve China's private jet owners with air and ground crew. "Some owners don't want to be bothered at all during a flight, but one might want his ashtray to be cleaned after two cigarettes. One gentleman, for example, if he was to land in Kazakhstan to refuel would expect a blanket to be handed to him, immigration forms to be filled out, that kind of thing." Lau, a former finance executive from Hong Kong, expects Sinojet to double its client list in the coming year. Her company and others like it are learning to deal with the spontaneous whims of the owners. That could be having a pilot and stewardess ready to go in a couple of hours for a flight to a different city just for dinner or jetting off for a Big Game hunt in Africa. "Some are very particular, often about little things like table-wear and having their own and favorite chopsticks." Demanding, yes, "but they're all very nice!" she adds. | Most buyers of private jets seek uniform luxury, companies say .
"It's the cabin that sells the aircraft," one aircraft executive explains .
Manufacturers will meet clients' demands for interior extras .
Fears Europe debt crisis will stifle demand for luxury jets . |
130,369 | 3490aed79448c6d0335a51cc6419bdc3b4332f53 | By . Sophie Jane Evans . PUBLISHED: . 06:05 EST, 17 November 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 11:54 EST, 17 November 2013 . It is an archaic tradition perceived by many to be outdated and elitist - with Prince Philip once deeming it 'bloody daft'. But now the presentation of young debutantes to elite society bachelors has been resurrected in Dubai. At a glitzy recreation of the British Queen Charlotte's Ball, girls of 'marrying age' showed off their poise, elegance and grace at The London Season Ball on Royal Island. Presentation: Debutantes (l-r) Anna Zaphiriou-Zarifi, Isabella Robinson, Nicole Gilmer and Eloise Knight are shown off to the aristocracy at the The London Season Ball in Dubai . Upper-class: Debutantes Anna Zaphiriou-Zarifi, 17, left, and Nicole Gilmer, 18, pose in their elegant dresses . Socialising: The debutantes mix with eligible young men during the ball, which was based on the historic Queen Charlotte's Ball, held annually at the Royal Courts of Justice in London . High society: The girls, who are all of 'marrying age', demonstrate their poise and elegance at the event . Accompanied by eligible male escorts, they wore their hair in elegant knots and donned white dresses as a sign of their innocence and purity. They also put the etiquette skills they had been taught at The London Season Academy into practice. The ball, featuring a charity auction and speeches, was held on the exclusive and privately-owned Royal Island, part of the World Islands development off the coast of Dubai, on Thursday. It attracted about 150 well-heeled and royal guests from Europe and the Middle East region, including X Factor finalist Jahmene Douglas. Posing: Debutantes wore their hair in elegant knots and donned white dresses as a sign of their innocence . Escorts: The girls were accompanied by male escorts - dubbed the 'debs delights' - including (l-r) Neil Matthias, 18, Matthew Philips, 17, Raunak Bhojwani, 18, Thomas Francis, 17, Jack Staply, 17 and Owen Westall also 17 . Luxury setting: The ball was held on the exclusive and privately-owned Royal Island, part of the World Islands development off the coast of Dubai . Anticipation: Debutantes arrive on Royal Island ahead of the unusual event . Earlier in the day, the debutantes, aged . 16 and 20, took part in a range of social, business and etiquette . classes at The Emirates Towers. They were taught how to cut a scone, prepare afternoon tea and shake hands correctly. They . were also advised on codes of conduct by Her Royal Highness Princess . Katarina of Yugoslavia, the Duchess of Somerset and Sir Tobias Clarke. Impressive guest list: The ball attracted dozens of rich, famous and royal guests, including X Factor finalist Jahmene, pictured left with a debutante. Right, a man bids during the charity auction . Having a ball: The debutantes dance with their escorts during the prestigious ball on Thursday . Popular: Wealthy, famous and royal guests sit down for dinner during The London Season Ball . The prestigious event was based on the historic Queen Charlotte's Ball, held annually at the Royal Courts of Justice in London. Up until 1958, young debutantes used . to be presented to the Queen at Buckingham Palace, until Prince Philip . pointed out that it was ‘bloody daft’. The . event, introduced by King George III in 1780 as a way to celebrate his . wife’s birthday, was seen as a rite of passage for upper-class girls. Royal advice: Earlier in the day, the debutantes, aged 16 and 20, took part in a range of social, business and etiquette classes with Princess Katarina of Yugoslavia, left . Lecture: They were taught how to cut a scone, how to prepare afternoon tea and how to shake hands correctly . 'Proper' etiquette: Princess Katarina, left, and the Duchess of Somerset, centre, teach debutante Isabella Robinson the art of making afternoon tea . Demonstration: The young girls, who are all from rich or royal families, are taught how to cut scones . Parents hoped their daughters would meet a potential suitor - with organisers aiming to equip the young women with poise, confidence and social skills needed for their married lives. However, as well as Prince Phillip's dismissal, the Queen felt such an elitist event was at odds with her desire for a more modern monarchy. Her sister, Princess Margaret, was also . apparently not a fan - reportedly saying: 'We had to put a stop to it - . every tart in London was getting in.' Arrival: Debutantes (l-r) Olivia Stead, Anna Zaphiriou-Zarifi, Nicole Gilmer, Eloise Knight and Isabella Robinson arrive at The Emirates Towers for their first class of etiquette, social and business protocol . Preparations: Debutantes Isabella Robinson, left, and Eloise Knight, both 17, wait to have their dresses fitted for the prestigious ball . Perfection: The debutantes take time out of the spotlight to check each others' dresses . On its website, the London Season Academy says it 'aims to carry on British traditions and promote etiquette'. It adds: 'Etiquette in a multicultural society is important in helping to navigate social occasions and to avoid unintentional offence when communicating with people from varying cultures. 'It is also paramount in international business situations, where different cultures adhere to entirely different codes of conduct.' | Debutantes presented to aristocracy at a prestigious ball in Dubai .
Girls aged 16-20 wore white dresses as a sign of their innocence and purity .
Debutantes also took part in social, business and etiquette classes .
Event was held on the exclusive and privately-owned Royal Island .
Historically, the balls were used to present high-society girls at royal court . |
223,191 | acee2e288e0d7ad03526a101251ceea99d8d2085 | These incredible pictures show Palestinian protesters using slingshots to hurl back tear gas cannisters fired into a village on the West Bank by Israeli security forces. The stand-off between demonstrators and Israeli soldiers followed a solidarity march by villagers of Bilin, west of the city of Ramallah, over the construction of settlements and the confiscation of their land. Some of the Palestinians wore masks as they threw the cannisters back at the Israelis, with noxious gases swirling in the air above their heads. Palestinian protesters used slingshots to hurl tea gas cannisters at Israeli security forces after they were fired at them earlier today . A demonstrator wearing a gas mask golds one of the projectiles in his hand before launching it back at the soldiers in the West Bank village of Bilin, near the city of Ramallah . A Palestinian wearing a bandana to protect him from the noxious gas kicks a tear gas cannister fired by the Israelis . The stand-off between demonstrators and Israeli soldiers followed a solidarity march by villagers over the construction of settlements and the confiscation of their land . Disabled protesters joined the demonstration, with one man in a motorised wheelchair seen joining those wearing gas marks as they refused to give way to the soldiers. Other demonstrators wore bandanas as they threw the tear gas cannisters back at the Israeli forces, who were unaffected thanks to their riot gear. The heavily armed soldiers stood their ground at the top of a gravel road while the protesters waited down on the outskirts of the village, shouting and gesturing while holding their slingshots. Israeli security forces also used a foul-smelling weapon, known as 'skunk' to clear activists as they drove trucks through the village. The smell is said to resemble rotting sewage and can take up to five years to clear. Stand-off: Around a dozen heavily-armed Israeli soldiers stood firm at the top of a gravel road while protesters waited nearby . A female member of the Israeli security forces throws a tear gas canister during the clashes with Palestinian protesters . Disabled protesters joined the demonstration, with one man on a motorised wheelchair seen joining those wearing gas marks as they refused to give way to the soldiers . A Palestinian protester runs for cover from Israeli troops during today's clashes over the building of new settlements . Weekly protests have been held in the village since 2005 over Israeli plans to seize residents' land and build new Jewish settlements. In 2009, Palestinian protester Bassem Abu Rahmeh was killed at the protests after a tear gas cannister fired by the Israelis struck him in the chest. Jawaher Abu Rahmah, 36, died on New Year's Eve in 2010 after she was seriously injured in a tear gas attack, however some reports say she was not present at that day's protest. The fourth anniversary of her death could heighten tensions in the area over the next few weeks, with the protests set to continue. Shrouded by the gases, a bandana-clad demonstrator hurls one of the devices off of a road leading into Bilin, on the West Bank . Catapult: Weekly protests have been held in the village since 2005 over Israeli plans to seize residents' land . A Palestinian protester runs for cover as an Israeli military vehicle (background) sprays a foul-smelling spray known as 'skunk' | Palestinian protesters use slingshots to hurl back tear gas cannisters fired into West Bank village by Israeli soldiers .
Stand-off between demonstrators and Israeli security forces followed a protest over new settlements near Bilin .
Palestinians wore gas masks as they catapulted the projectiles back at the Israelis after the weekly protest . |
143,073 | 450432feff0c358e1c2a1291994c2ff4abab7886 | Shane Watson admits that he was apprehensive batting in the nets on Friday, but is now feeling confident that Australia will have a full-strength XI in the first Test. Watson and the entire squad remain stricken with grief following the shock death of Phillip Hughes. But the 33-year-old expects to be mentally ready for Tuesday, when Australia's four-Test series against India starts at Adelaide Oval. The all-rounder is likewise confident his 10 teammates will find a way to take the field. 'Everyone is progressing well ... competitive juices will be up and running, especially after (losing) the last Test series we played in India,' he said. Scroll down for video . Shane Watson (right) bats during the Australian cricket team's first training session after Phillip Hughes' devastating death on November 27. He stands beside fast-bowler, Mitchell Johnson (left) Shane Watson (far left) is comforted by his wife Lee Furlong, as they process behind Phillip Hughes' hearse at the conclusion of his funeral on Wednesday. Watson and Furlong are pictured walking alongside Australian cricketer David Warner and his fiance Candice Falzon . Batting has always come easy to Watson - broad shouldered, confident and capable of bludgeoning an attack. But the past couple of days provided some of his toughest moments as a cricketer. 'There's a lot of inner demons we've had to find our way through,' Watson said of Australia's recent training sessions. Watson was in the field for NSW when Hughes was struck by a bouncer. It is a traumatic image that will stay in the mind of everyone present at the SCG on November 25. Shane Watson walks beside radio personality Alan Jones at Phillip Hughes' Macksville funeral on Wednesday . Watson has slowly turned his attention to facing India after attending Hughes' funeral on Wednesday. 'It's been the most challenging, mentally, couple of days I've had to go through in my career,' Watson said on Sunday. 'A few things flooded into my head as soon as I went out to bat - I thought I'd processed quite well over the previous week. 'The memories I've got that are very much in the front of my mind. 'You never expect anything to this extent - what happened to Phillip.' The all-rounder and his sports journalist wife Lee Furlong leave St Vincent's Hospital after visit Phillip Hughes, a day after after his devastating accident . Shane Watson and his wife Lee Furlong prepare to board their flight at Coffs Harbour airport in NSW, flying to Sydney after Phillip Hughes' funeral . Watson said he was initially apprehensive facing bouncers in the nets. 'But I've got more comfortable with just reacting to what I see and trusting my skill,' he said. 'I'm certainly getting much better. I know by Tuesday that I'll be ready to go.' The strain has occasionally showed while Australia trained in recent days. But Mitchell Johnson on Sunday got back to what he does best - sending down a testing bouncer to each of the Marsh brothers. Watson suggested his own mental struggles were only with the willow. 'For me, bowling's a hell of a lot easier than batting because you have to make sure you hold your nerve while guys are steaming in,' he said. Watson spent over an hour batting on Sunday, returning for some throwdowns from bowling coach Craig McDermott when most players had shuffled back to the rooms. 'It is not a lack of preparation, it is more about getting my head clear,' Watson said. 'Yesterday I also had a very long session and mentally it is a very big challenge. 'You know that if at any stage you get a ball and you get unlucky, and it hits you in the wrong spot - it can cause some serious damage.' Australian test team player Watson and his sports journalist wife Lee Furlong are pictured arriving in Coffs Harbour ahead of Phillip Hughes' December 3 funeral service . | All-rounder Shane Watson admits 'memories flooded back' the first time he picked up a cricket bat after Phillip Hughes' shock death on November 27 .
He's confident the team's mentally-ready to play again at 'full-strength'
The four-test series against India commences in Adelaide on Tuesday .
Watson admits that memories of Hughes' accident 'flooded back' during his first training session after the funeral but his confidence grew .
Phillip Hughes was farewelled on Wednesday in a moving service, held in his NSW north coast hometown, Macksville . |
140,819 | 42177e077d065a55b09a4028700fc43a2bb1066d | By . Ellie Zolfagharifard . PUBLISHED: . 08:48 EST, 23 September 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 11:14 EST, 23 September 2013 . Swiss scientists will launch a ‘janitor’ satellite with flexible tentacles that could sweep up space junk within five years. CleanSpace One will be sent to remove thousands of bits of jettisoned rocket and satellite components orbiting our planet at speeds of more than 28,000 km/h. The satellite will get hold of orbiting debris and throw it back into Earth's atmosphere, where they will burn up on re-entry. Scroll down for video... The CleanSpace One satellite's mission will be to clean up the thousands of bits of jettisoned rocket and satellite components orbiting Earth at speeds of more than 28,000 km/h . The debris orbiting Earth has become an increasingly serious problem. Last year, a Nasa report said that the amount of space junk orbiting earth had reached a 'tipping point'. In practical terms, this means that the amount of junk floating around the planet will make it difficult for spacecraft to leave the planet. 'We've lost control of the environment,' said retired Nasa senior scientist Donald Kessler, who authored the report. Last year, Ecole polytechnique federale de Lausanne (EPFL) announced its intention to design and launch CleanSpace One. There are around 22,000 objects in orbit that are big enough for officials on the ground to track and countless more smaller ones that could do damage to human-carrying spaceships and valuable satellites . Since the first object, Sputnik One, was launched into space 53 years ago, mankind has created a swarm of perhaps tens of millions of items of debris. The rubbish circling the planet comes from old rockets, abandoned satellites and missile shrapnel. There are around 22,000 objects in . orbit that are big enough for officials on the ground to track and . countless more smaller ones that could do damage to human-carrying . spaceships and valuable satellites. It . is estimated that there are as many as 370,000 pieces of space junk . floating in Earth's orbit, traveling at speeds of up to 22,000 mph. The picture above shows a ball of twisted metal, thought to be fallen space junk, on a farm in Queensland, Australia, in 2008. The group have now come a step closer to their goal by entering into a partnership with Swiss Space Systems (S3). S3 is developing a new method to launch satellites weighing up to 250 kg, and will take charge of CleanSpace One's launch, now scheduled for 2018. The company said it will invest £10million in the project and will launch the satellite into orbit. There are around 22,000 objects in orbit that are big enough for officials on the ground to track and countless more smaller ones that could do damage to human-carrying spaceships and valuable satellites. It is estimated that there are as many as 370,000 pieces of space junk floating in Earth's orbit, traveling at speeds of up to 22,000 mph. CleanSpace One's mission is to grab hold of a piece of space junk - in this case an out-of-commission Swiss nanosatellite measuring 10cm on each side - and thrust it into the atmosphere, where it will burn up. Getting to and seizing the ex -satellite is a formidable feat of engineering. A three-phase launch Swiss Space Systems - S3 is now the Prime partner in this project. The company, headquartered in Payerne, Switzerland, is developing a new launch method for small satellites up to hundreds of kilograms in weight. It plans to send a small shuttle rides on top of an Airbus A300 jetliner. VIDEO: CleanSpace One, a Swiss solution to space junk . CleanSpace One's mission is to grab hold of a piece of space junk - in this case an out-of-commission Swiss nanosatellite measuring 10cm on each side - and thrust it into the atmosphere, where it will burn up . When the plane reaches cruising altitude, this Suborbital Reusable Shuttle (SOAR) will start its engines and take off upwards. When it reaches an altitude of 80km, it will eject a vessel, which after reaching an altitude of 700 km, will releases the satellite into Earth’s orbit. According to the company, the three-phase process will cut launch costs by a factor of four. And to make sure that this doesn’t end up putting even more space debris in Earth orbit, S3 will ensure that all the elements in the chain include their own re-entry systems. The company plans to launch CleanSpace One in 2018 and said the satellite design is on the right track. The design is slighter larger than originally planned, and will weigh about 30 kg. ‘You can’t democratise space access without having a responsible attitude,’ said Pascal Jaussi, chief executive of Swiss Space Systems. ‘If we don’t deal with the problem of orbiting space debris and its accumulation, future generations’ access to space will be compromised. It is estimated that there are as many as 370,000 pieces of space junk floating in Earth's orbit, traveling at speeds of up to 22,000 mph . | Satellite will throw debris into Earth's atmosphere to burn up on re-entry .
It will launch in 2018 using a three-stage process involving a A300 jetliner .
There are as many as 370,000 pieces of space junk floating in Earth's orbit . |
68,724 | c2e2d873e80048a996801585342c876a29c47e4e | As news of the sudden death of Hollywood star Robin Williams spread, it appears some Twitter users have firmly grasped the wrong end of the stick. Perhaps hitting their phones and laptops before checking the news, they spoke of their shock at the death of Robbie Williams, the former Take That singer. Numerous social media commentators wrote commiserations like: ' I loved you in Take That and Angels was my favourite song' or 'I can't belive that #RobbieWilliams Is #gone. It feels in our hearts & spirits we will remember him with laughter and love!' Even Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos got in on the act. He tweeted: 'Dismayed at the death of Robbie Williams. I always liked his songs.' The hashtags #RobinWilliams and #RIPRobinWilliams were trending as stunned film fans struggled to come to terms with their loss. But #RobbieWilliams also made an appearance thanks to the mistaken tweeters. However, Harvinth Skin was not impressed with the errors. He tweeted: 'Hi. Please don't embarrass yourself. Robin Williams and Robbie Williams aren't the same people. Thanks.' Scroll down for video . Mistake: Actor Robin Williams (left) was found dead in his San Francisco mansion at around noon yesterday. Many Twitter users mistakenly believed Robbie Williams (right) of Take That fame had died . TalkSPORT presenter Alan Brazil provoked anger today after saying he had 'no sympathy' for Robin Williams. The radio host claimed the star's apparent suicide was selfish considering the effect it would have on his loved ones. He said: 'I believe he’s got a daughter as well, what’s she feeling like this morning? Now she’s got to sort the arrangements out. I think it’s shocking, I really do. 'I don’t have a lot of sympathy, I’m sorry.' Twitter users were not impressed with his comments. User Matt307 tweeted: 'Depression is a serious illness, to have "little sympathy" for Robin Williams shows the ignorance of Alan Brazil.' Michael Howarth added: 'Disgusting to read the comments made by @alanbrazil about Robin Williams. I hope @talkSPORT will be doing something about it!' The station apologised on the presenter's behalf. A spokesman said: 'TalkSPORT would like to apologise for any offence caused. Alan’s comments do not reflect the views of the station.' Brazil added that when his wife informed him of the death, he thought former Take That star Robbie Williams had died. 'It didn’t hit me hard - it would have been if it had been Robbie and thank God it wasn’t,' he said. | Twitter users erroneously believed the Stoke-born singer had died .
Many paid tribute to the man behind 'Angels' and 'Rock DJ' |
22,301 | 3f560a094b0596a04a00fa72e5f6c0e208d6e9d2 | (CNN) -- If the last several years have taught us anything, it's that the world is in constant flux. Regimes topple, borders are redrawn, whole countries are born anew. While the fighters are remaking their world, however, the lovers are evidently stuck in the 1800s. Ask anyone what the world's most romantic cities are and they'll likely reply in kneejerk fashion, "Paris..." "Venice..." "New York..." But what's so romantic about coffee breath, crumbling infrastructure and the smell of urine? And what is romance, anyway? Is it a ride on a unicorn over a rainbow through a glitter storm? Or is it the excitation of the senses that forms the preamble for the box spring bustle? Dispensing with the typical fairytale travel planning, we've opted for a more results-oriented approach to crowning the world's most romantic cities. Because while a romantic city should grab hold of your heart, it shouldn't stop there. Sure, there's an element of magic to a romantic city, but that magic is supposed to beget love or at least the making thereof. And these cities are municipal Viagra. New Orleans, Louisiana . Place: This former French colony on the Mississippi River offers all of the ornate architecture, rich food and freely flowing booze of Paris, without the Parisians. But belying the carefree geniality of its gumbo of assorted peoples is a dark mantle of sinful abandon and occult worship that makes the Crescent City colorful, crass and occasionally creepy. 7 under-the-radar cultural destinations . People: Once the fifth-largest city in America, New Orleans has been content for decades to rest on its leisure laurels, promoting an atmosphere of laissez faire inhibition that provokes many visitors to spontaneous fits of nudity. Adjust gazes accordingly. Things: The charm, fun and filth of the French Quarter; the mist and mystery of the bayou; the pomp and botany of the Garden District; the majesty of the mighty Mississippi. Moscow, Russia . Place: Seldom included on lists of romantic things: fear. But it's an exciting feeling all the same, just one among many aroused in the former capital of communism. It's all here: the derelict and the opulent, the authoritarian and the lawless, the oligarchic and the proletarian. Generations of strife and triumph abound: a Tzarist palace beside a Stalinist square beside a capitalist Starbucks. People: Loving is romantic but fighting can be too, and Muscovites are historically adroit at both. For those who find romance in power, there's always plenty on display, as well as a notorious live-for-today attitude that has yet to find the envelope. Things: The intellectual arousal of its late night bookstores; the metamorphosed grandeur of Gorky Park; old factories and warehouses transformed into galleries, clubs and performance spaces; countless monuments to lovers; vanishing vestiges of the Soviet era. Victoria, Seychelles . Place: You know what's romantic? A beach. You know what's not romantic? Barf-discharging college kids, shrill children (shrilldren?) and sunburnt albinos in socks and sandals, making coastal mainstays like Phuket, Honolulu and the Bahamas as enchanting as hair on soap. There's nothing more romantic than being as far from other people as possible, and no other capital city offers this kind of isolation with this kind of beachfront. Travel on the cheap: 5 times to go . Plus, the architecture of this former British colony often mimics that of its former empire. It's like they put England somewhere good. People: It's 80 degrees (27 C) almost every day of the year -- warm and cool enough to keep clothes and sweating respectively minimal. Things: The transcendence of its pristine beaches; the prehistoric beauty of Vallée de Mai (the reputed original Garden of Eden); the eroticism of moutya dancing, which increases as the rhythm quickens. Buenos Aires, Argentina . Place: Assimilating generations of native Argentines, German expats and Italian and Spanish immigrants, Buenos Aires is a petri dish of fiery European and South American culture. But, contrasting their showier Brazilian brethren to the north, the flash and passion of Porteños simmers without boiling over, yielding a city renowned as much for art and architecture as it is for spherical backsides. People: Porteños are an amorous lot, with some of that Parisian poutiness, only supplemented by actionable desire. It's a sentiment that often transfers osmotically to visiting tourists. Things: The electrostatic sensuality generated by tango -- watched or danced; the lawns full of frisky youth at Tres de Febrero Park; the unparalleled showcase for the city's passion and potency that is soccer at La Bombanera. Also: always order the steak. Amsterdam, Holland . Place: The canals of Venice. The art of Paris. The laws of Gomorrah. Even if you don't partake of the Dutch capital's approved vices, there's a romance that accompanies the freedom to do so. You know what's not romantic? Bus fumes. Which is why anything in this city is accessible by boat, bike or boot. People: The town is to professionals what Vegas and Bangkok are to amateurs, offering at the front door the sex and drugs everyone else keeps in back. Amsterdammers are the sinful world's grown-ups. Things: The titillation of women twisting in the windows of the Red Light District; the puritanical eye of the RLD's carnal storm that is Oude Kerk ("old church"); 10 p.m. summer sunsets; a kiss under the Magere Brug ("skinny bridge"), ensuring fidelity. Havana, Cuba . Place: Think old stuff is romantic? Well, it's still 1959 in the capital of Cuba, where the development -- and commercialism -- of the outside world has yet to sneak past the bouncers. The resultant sensations of risk and antiquity in this forbidden time warp make romance unavoidable. So if you ever wanted to have sex in the 1950s, here's your chance -- but time's running out. 7 ways to go local while traveling . People: Just about everyone in Havana is an artist of some kind, underscored by live music -- and dancing -- everywhere. While not as outwardly sexual as some Latin American capitals, this populace is as carnal as they come. Things: The bars 'n' cigars of Hemingway's Havana; the intimacy of dinner at an in-home paladar; the unspoiled virginity of the Eastern Beaches; the fear- and awe-inspiring Plaza de la Revolución. Barcelona, Spain . Place: If having nowhere to be is your idea of romance, the capital of Catalonia wins on two counts: it's easy to get happily lost and no one wakes up until 8 p.m. Like Los Angeles or Sydney, Barcelona is dense, cultured and cosmopolitan, and is also a beach town, offering fickle lovers a broad romantic spectrum. One avenue that's no longer available to paramours? Public nudity. It was finally -- in some cases, mercifully -- banned in 2011. People: Trend-centric, cocksure, proud and partying, Barcelonans will steal your heart if not your wallet. Things: The weird feeling in one's pants upon beholding Gaudí architecture; the corpuscle of seemingly endless branching alleyways housing the galleries, cafés, bars, restaurants and museums of the Born neighborhood. No two trips are ever alike. Paris, France . Place: OK. Fine. Hard as it is to admit, even the laziest "romantic cities" lists are right -- the Big Baguette is still among earth's most enchanting municipalities. Paris is an urban engineering conundrum: its architecture all differs vastly, yet simultaneously adheres to a singular, uniform vision, making the world's most visited city also probably its most beautiful. There, we said it. People: Pouty, self-righteous, indolent, aloof, tempestuous, hot. The contemptibility of Parisians is exceeded only by the self-hatred among those of us who lust for them. Things: The stupid views of the entire city from Montmartre; the lousy majesty of the Champs-Élysées; the crummy uplifting Wall of "I Love You's"; the idiot engineering marvel of the Eiffel Tower; the rotten eroticism of Pigalle; the insufferable grandeur of the River Seine. Where's the most romantic place you've ever taken a sweetheart? Please share in the comments below. | A former French colony on the Mississippi offers the rich food and booze of Paris without the Parisians .
A former British colony offers offers a beautiful beachfront with plenty of distance from spring break crowds .
The capital of Argentina offers a petri dish of fiery European and South American culture . |
75,078 | d4d7d495f1a133ce3f18cd2049a565da27d190d9 | Newtown, Connecticut (CNN) -- "We can't tolerate this anymore." That's what President Barack Obama told those attending a memorial service Sunday in Newtown, Connecticut, two days after a man shot his way into Sandy Hook Elementary School and killed 26 people -- 20 of them children no older than 7, who would never go on a date, drive a car, marry or have kids of their own. Obama offered his condolences, saying, "All across this land of ours, we have wept with you." He praised the residents of Newtown for having pulled together and "loved one another" with a spirit all could emulate. And he asked whether more could be done to prevent more parents, sisters and brothers, like those in this quiet New England town, from suffering similar heartaches. "Can we honestly say we're doing enough to keep our children -- all of them -- safe from harm?" Obama said, adding that "if we don't get that right, we don't get anything right." "If we're honest with ourselves, the answer is no." Read the full text of the president's speech . His call to action capped an emotional prayer service at Newtown High School, in which local leaders of several religions -- a Jewish rabbi singing a prayer, a Muslim man choking back tears, and several Christian leaders offering perspective -- attempted to comfort a shattered community. Nine hundred watched in the school's auditorium, including several children toting teddy bears, and another 1,300 saw the proceedings from a nearby overflow room. The aim was to show those suffering in Newtown they were not alone. With the help of their neighbors, they could move past this "act of unfathomable violence and destruction," explained the Rev. Matt Crebbin, senior minister at Newtown Congregational Church. "We needed this," Crebbin said of the service. "We needed to be together." Remembering the victims . That sentiment was echoed by Obama, who said the nation stands with Newtown. Then he went further than that, saying that the country owes it to them -- and to the people of Tuscon, Arizona; Oak Creek, Wisconsin; Aurora, Colorado, communities that also have been sites of mass shootings in the last two years -- not just to remember the victims, but take steps to prevent more bloodshed in the future. The president didn't specify what steps he favors, but he did promise to put the power of his office toward preventing more senseless grief -- saying, "We can't accept events like this as routine." "These tragedies must end. And to end them, we must change." Analysis: Why gun controls are off the agenda in America . Clearer picture of what happened, but not why . The first calls came into police around 9:30 a.m. Friday. Adam Lanza used "an assault weapon" to "literally (shoot) an entrance into the building," Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy said Sunday. The nightmare got worse as he moved through Sandy Hook's halls. Timeline of the shooting . Using a Bushmaster AR-15 "assault-type rifle," the 20-year-old fired "multiple magazines" -- each of which contained 30 bullets -- to gun down six adults and children in two classrooms, said Connecticut State Police Lt. J. Paul Vance. He then took out a handgun and shot himself in a classroom as law enforcement officers approached, officials said. All the victims were shot multiple times, said H. Wayne Carver II, Connecticut's chief medical examiner. Their deaths -- as well as that of Nancy Lanza, Adam's mother who suffered "multiple gunshot wounds" at their Newtown home -- are classified as homicides. "This probably is the worst I have seen or the worst that I know of any of my colleagues having seen," said Carver, who did autopsies on seven victims. Why did Lanza do it? That much, at least publicly, remains a mystery. He had no criminal record. He and his mother, who collected guns, had visited a gun range at least once, ATF spokeswoman Ginger Colbrun said. The few who spoke of Lanza publicly, including an aunt and former classmate, described him as very intelligent and quiet. His father, Peter Lanza, released a statement Saturday saying his family is "grieving along with all those who have been affected by this enormous tragedy." "We are in a state of disbelief and trying to find whatever answers we can," the father said. Authorities shared that sentiment. Even as they have offered more details on what happened Friday morning, they haven't given a motive. "We will and we are searching diligently and nonstop to attempt to answer that," said Vance, the police spokesman. Tears and hope . At Sunday's memorial service, Obama solemnly read out the first names of those Lanza killed. "God has called them all home," he said. Share your tributes . And for every victim, there's a story. Six-year-old Emilie Parker was "bright, creative and very loving," her father, Robbie Parker, recalled Saturday. "My daugher Emilie would be one of the first ones to be standing up and giving her love and support to all of those victims, because that is the type of person she is," he said. "...This world is a better place because she has been in it." Victoria Soto, 27, moved her students away from her first-grade classroom door when she heard gunfire. She is being hailed for having saved some of her students, even though she herself didn't survive. "She was truly selfless," her mother Donna Soto said Sunday. "She would not hesitate to think to save anyone else before herself and especially children. She loved them more than life." Many more tears will be shed in the coming days, as victims are laid to rest. The first two funerals tied to the massacre -- for Noah Pozner and Jack Pinto, both Sandy Hook students -- will begin Monday at noon and 1 p.m. respectively, according to the Connecticut Funeral Directors Association. Malloy, Connecticut's governor, said Sunday that they will never be forgotten. At the same time, he expressed hope that the strength of community will make a difference. "We will go on. We will find strength," he said at Sunday's memorial service. "We will get better." What really makes schools safer? School shooting: Shattering the sense of safety . 10 ways to put brakes on mass shootings in schools . CNN's Susan Candiotti reported from Newtown, Connecticut, and Greg Botelho reported from Atlanta. CNN's David Ariosto, Candy Crowley, Dana Ford, Catherine E. Shoichet, Ashleigh Banfield, Joe Johns, Terry Frieden, Michael Martinez and Chuck Johnston contributed to this report. | NEW: "These tragedies must end. And to end them, we must change," Obama says .
NEW: He vows action, saying America must do more to protect its children .
NEW: The mother of a teacher being hailed as a hero calls her daughter "selfless"
All victims at the Sandy Hook school were shot multiple times, a medical examiner says . |
156,985 | 56fc7a3611d1b4334341ffc44b164c2821d3b3f1 | As "Real Housewives of New Jersey" star Teresa Giudice faces a 15-month prison term that's set to start in January, it's no surprise she's also been dealing with "sleepless nights." The reality star and her husband, Joe Giudice, were sentenced Thursday to serve time after pleading guilty in March to numerous federal fraud charges. Teresa Giudice will serve a 15-month sentence. Joe received a 41-month sentence and also faces the possibility of deportation since he's not a U.S. citizen. 'Real Housewives of New Jersey' stars Teresa and Joe Giudice sentenced . On Monday night, both Giudices sat down with Bravo's Andy Cohen for the first part of an interview featured on Cohen's "Watch What Happens Live." When Teresa Giudice was asked about her reaction to the October 2 sentencing, she could hardly find the words to express how it has affected her, and how she fears it will affect her family. "I was so nervous. ... At one point, I couldn't even move my fingers," Giudice recalled. "My nerves were shot. I've had sleepless nights. I was shocked. It was very unexpected. I don't even know what to say." In March, the reality housewife and her husband pleaded guilty to hiding assets from bankruptcy court and conspiring to commit mail and wire fraud, among other charges. In hindsight, Teresa Giudice says, she's learned a lesson. "I do need to read things before I sign them. I do need to understand things before I sign them," she told Cohen. "I'm a trustworthy person, and sometimes I take what other people say and I just believe them and I trust them. I can't do that anymore; I've got to make sure I fully understand something." Giudice is expected to begin her sentence on January 5; once she's served her time, her husband is expected to begin his own stretch. The sentences were staggered to ensure the couple's four daughters have a caretaker. Being away from her kids, Giudice told Cohen, is what scares her most about prison -- more than the lockup itself. "I just think about my daughters," the 42-year-old said. "That's all I think about. I just want to make sure that my daughters are OK." According to Giudice, their eldest, Gia, 13, has become her support system. "She was being strong for me, I could tell," Giudice said. "She was like 'Mommy, don't worry, I'll be there. I'll help Daddy with the girls; that'll prepare me for when I'm a mom.' That broke my heart when she said that." She said she has only one request of Joe: "All I said to my husband was, 'All you have to do is take care of our daughters,'" she said. "'That's all I ask. You've got to do what I do.'" | Teresa and Joe Giudice spoke about their recent sentencing with Bravo's Andy Cohen .
Teresa Giudice said she was shocked by the court's decision .
She did share the support she's received from daughter Gia . |
181,955 | 779af40a6631a383c8971487d5746c0e7dd4c0b7 | By . Snejana Farberov . The pregnant Texas military mom who was stabbed in her own home last week while her horrified husband watched thousands miles away on FaceTime has held her newborn daughter for the first time today. Rachel Poole met baby Isabella today in University Medical Center where she is recovering after being allegedly assaulted and knifed by Fort Bliss soldier, Corey Bernard Moss, 19. Helplessly watching was her soldier husband Justin Poole, deployed in southwest Asia, who reportedly heard his terrified wife scream his name as she was stabbed in her face, abdomen and suffered several fractures. Scroll Down for Video . Touching: This is the moment when Rachel Poole is handed her daughter Isabella for the first time by her husband Justin - over 5 days after she was brutally stabbed in her own home while she spoke to her husband over FaceTime . Baby Isabella, was born via C-section on Friday fell immediately after her birth - despite her mother being nine months pregnant - because of the medication Rachel had been administered following the attack. As of today, Isabella is breathing on her own and her is eating well according to her father. Bravely speaking with KFOX14 via phone from her hospital bed over the weekend, Poole assured well-wishers both her and her daughter are going to be alright. 'I think the recovery is going pretty well, we have an amazingly strong daughter who is absolutely gorgeous,' Rachel said. 'It means the world, just being able to see her and know that, through everything, she's doing just fine.' New mother: Rachel Poole cannot see out of one eye, has a collapsed lung and displaced vertebrae and is unable to hold her newborn baby . Bittersweet: Justin Poole cradles his new baby girl, whose mother Rachel Poole is still in a serious condition after enduring a vicious attack in her own home. He has rightly described his wife as a 'pillar of strength' Isabella Poole was delivered by early C-Section following the horrific stabbing of her mother, Rachel Poole. Isabella was born ill due to the strong medications that needed to be given to Rachel, but is making a good recovery . Happier times: A photo of Rachel and Justin Poole before the attack that will change their lives forever . Baby Isabella was born quite sick due to the strong doses of medication her mother had been given to stay alive. Rachel is said to have been blinded in one eye after being stabbed in the head. 'I still haven't talked to the eye doctor, I really want to wait for any confirmation, we're very hopeful,' she said. Justin has been reading her messages of support, which have been flooding in from the public. 'Honestly it's such an encouragement, just to see and hear the support that is being brought to my family right now, through everything, knowing that everyone's really come to stand behind us right now is really helpful for any kind of recovery,' she said. Horror show: Rachel Poole (left), was nine months pregnant when she was stabbed multiple times by an intruder in her home as her husband Justin (right), who was deployed overseas, watched in horror on video chat . Ambush: El Paso police say Moss went to the Pooles' home in the 9400 block of Wichita Circle, broken in and waited for Rachel to come home . The 31-year-old mother-to-be was admitted to the hospital in a critical condition and treated for stab wounds to her face and body and multiple fractures. Poole's stepfather, Gary Jones said that doctors couldn't 'do anything with [her] injuries unless they got Isabella out.' He . also said that Rachel Poole may need an eye socket reconstruction, that she . suffered a collapsed lung and that one of her verebrae is out of place . after the attack. Poole was talking to her husband on FaceTime . Wednesday night when 19-year-old Corey Moss allegedly broke . into their El Paso home and lunged at her with a knife. According to an arrest affidavit obtained by KFOX14, she recognized her assailant as a man who owed her husband money and screamed out his name. According to police, the wounded victim was able to call 911 and give the name of the suspect to police. Meanwhile, Justin Poole called the 19-year-old's co-workers, who helped apprehend Moss and seized the knife allegedly used in the attack. Following his arrest, police said Moss admitted to stabbing Rachel Poole . The teenager has been charged with criminal attempted capital murder and was held on $60,000 bond. The bond has since been increased to $150,000. Suspect: Cory Bernard Moss, 19, allegedly admitted to the knife attack, which was reportedly sparked by a money dispute . Neighbors . told KFOX14 that Moss owed the Pooles' money for car repairs . because he had borrowed a vehicle from them and wrecked it. According . to El Paso police, Moss, a soldier attached to Fort Bliss, went to the . Pooles' home in the 9400 block of Wichita Circle to talk to Rachel Poole . about the money he owed her husband. The woman wasn't home, so the 19-year-old allegedly forced his way into the house and lay in ambush, waiting for her to return. When . Poole came home, she opened the Apple video chat program FaceTime on . her phone and began talking to her husband, who was stationed in . southwest Asia. A short time later, police say Moss . came out of hiding and surprised Rachel Poole from behind, repeatedly . stabbing her with a foldout stainless steel knife and beating her. According . to the affidavit, the victim instantly recognized Moss as her husband's . debtor and yelled out his name several times so Justin Poole could hear . it over the phone. Following the attack, police say Moss fled and called a co-worker to pick him up and drive him to Fort Bliss. Meanwhile, Justin Poole called Moss' colleagues to alert them of the suspect’s imminent return to the military base. The 19-year-old's co-workers intercepted him and found the knife in the car where he was riding. Fort Bliss spokesman Joe Buccino said that Army Pvt Poole has been deployed in southwest Asia for the past nine months, HLN-TV reported. Joy and sorrow: Mr Poole (top right) wrote that their unborn baby girl (bottom right) is doing fine, but his wife (left) had lost an eye . Justin Poolerushed home to be with his wife, who he describes as a 'pillar of strength'. He said the family will not be silent about their ordeal. 'Once my wife is out of the hospital, let the nation know she will speak up,' he said. 'She wants to be more than a number. 'I see her as a pillar of strength for her struggle to save not only her life, but my daughter's as well.' Long distance: Army Pvt Pele Poole, pictured left and right with his wife, has spent the past nine months serving in southwest Asia . ‘My wife is my wife til I'm no longer breathing,’ the serviceman wrote earlier in the week on Facebook. ‘No man can change that and though I was not here to protect her this time it will never happen again that's my word.’ Today he introduced the couple's daughter to Facebook friends. 'In case you are wondering Rachel Poole is fighting to beat this but here is why she is fighting so hard. We love you baby,' he wrote. Tragically, he added that the couple's dog had died after being left alone in the house following the attack on Rachel Poole. | Rachel Poole met her baby girl Isabella for the first time today .
Rachel gave birth via early caesarean section on Friday after she was brutally attacked in her El Paso, Texas, home on Wednesday .
Despite her critical condition, she gave an interview last week, saying the health of her daughter, Isabella, remains her utmost concern: think the recovery is going pretty well, we have an amazingly strong daughter who is absolutely gorgeous Read More at: http://www.kfoxtv.com/news/features/top-stories/stories/kfox14-speaks-pregnant-woman-knifed-during-video-chat-overseas-husband-2257.shtmlI think the recovery is going pretty well, we have an amazingly strong daughter who is absolutely gorgeous, Read More at: http://www.kfoxtv.com/news/features/top-stories/stories/kfox14-speaks-pregnant-woman-knifed-during-video-chat-overseas-husband-2257.shtmlI think the recovery is going pretty well, we have an amazingly strong daughter who is absolutely gorgeous, Read More at: http://www.kfoxtv.com/news/features/top-stories/stories/kfox14-speaks-pregnant-woman-knifed-during-video-chat-overseas-husband-2257.shtml .
She suffered a collapsed lung, a displaced vertebrae and was stabbed in her eye during the vicious attack .
Rachel's alleged assailant, Corey Bernard Moss, 19, has had his bail raised from $60,000 to $150,000Corey Bernard Moss Read More at: http://www.kfoxtv.com/news/features/top-stories/stories/kfox14-speaks-pregnant-woman-knifed-during-video-chat-overseas-husband-2257.shtml . |
32,789 | 5d2bf2d50e15ab02d1644f80c73b9144e1a17f96 | By . John Stevens . and Kieran Corcoran . A woman who allegedly pocketed £50,000 in disability payments and claimed she was too scared to go outside was in fact working as a tour guide in Argentina while travelling the world, a court heard yesterday. Tracy Johnson, 52, has also been pictured in front of the sprawling salt plains of Argentina in images shown to the jury. In the snaps, from an unknown time, she poses and smiles with a camera at the far-flung locations. Prosecutors have claimed that she made false claims and took the lavish trips abroad between January 2008 and July 2012. Globetrotter: Johnson is pictured above at the Salinas Grandes salt flats in Argentina . Salt flats: Johnson is pictured above at another locale in Argentina . While claiming cash from the taxpayer on . the grounds that she could hardly walk and needed daily care, she even . visited India and New York, where she worked as a travel writer, the . court was told. Johnson said she was a ‘prisoner in her own home’ as she pocketed disability payments for four years. She told the authorities that she spent all day in her bedroom where she felt ‘safe’, and she needed a friend to act as a carer. But instead, she toured the world living a ‘champagne lifestyle’ as a travel writer, as well as running a business as a tour operator in Argentina, a jury was told. She was caught out when investigators tried to contact her about her claims and found she was out of the country. Joanna James, prosecuting, told Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court: ‘Tracy Johnson was living the life that honest, decent, hardworking taxpayers could only dream of. ‘While workers were going out to do their daily grind, she was shopping in New York or having a few days in Madrid. ‘She said she was unable to live on a day-to-day basis because she was agoraphobic, suffered depression, hallucinations, anxiety, blackouts and post-traumatic stress disorder. ‘But while submitting claim forms telling the authorities that she was unwell, she was travelling the world on taxpayers’ money. 'Beneifts cheat': Tracy Johnson, 52, claimed £50,000 while allegedly travelling the world. She is pictured at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court . Sightseeing: Johnson is shown taking a photograph on her travels . 'It was absolute, blatant dishonesty.’ Miss James said Johnson also claimed she rarely came into contact with other people and was distressed and agitated when she talked of her illness. She added: ‘She said she stumbled and fell repeatedly and could not walk more than five metres without help.’ The court heard how Johnson, of Frome, . Somerset, had changed her address to her mother’s home in Builth Wells, . Powys, for the purpose of claiming benefits. She was arrested when she . tried to renew her benefits claim in June after she returned from India. Miss . James said: ‘In 2012 she decided to use taxpayers’ money to have a . four-month trip around India. When police searched her home, luggage . tags were still on her suitcases. 'Unable to live': The court heard Johnson rarely spoke to other people or went outside, and couldn't live in her own home . 'Champagne lifestyle': Prosecutors in the case referred to Johnson's 'blatant dishonesty' 'Blatant dishonesty': Prosecutors at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court (pictured) said police found evidence of her travels at home . 'They . found receipts with her name on for jewellery bought in India and . flight confirmation printouts to Jaipur with hotel reservations and . payment confirmations.’ Johnson, . who is representing herself, is accused of fraud, dishonestly making a . false representation and dishonestly failing to notify a change in . circumstances. She denies all 13 charges. The trial continues. Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article. | Tracy Johnson, 52, claimed she 'was agoraphobic and couldn't walk'
But jury hears she claimed £50,000 and took trips to New York and Spain .
She has been pictured in front of dramatic scenery in South America .
Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court was also told she spent four months in India .
Allegedly even set up companies and worked as tour guide in Argentina . |
183,284 | 7966ccffa9898f5807bcfc8c3cc08a919d9d576a | Hong Kong (CNN) -- After his father's death, a young prince, driven by suspicion, kills his uncle in a web of political intrigue. Sound familiar? The classic Shakespearean drama "Hamlet" is scheduled for a performance in North Korea in September 2015 by the Globe Theatre as part of a two-year tour to perform in every country. The parallels of staging a drama about an epic family power struggle in Pyongyang, where the country's young leader Kim Jong Un had his uncle, Jang Song Thaek executed has raised a few eyebrows -- especially from human rights groups. Jang was considered instrumental in Kim's rise to power, but Kim turned his back on his uncle in spectacular fashion late last year as Jang was branded "a traitor for all ages" and executed on charges that he had attempted to overthrow the government. Human rights criticism . "If the Globe Theatre goes to North Korea, they should read up on the reality of the country before they get there," said Niall Couper, a spokesperson for Amnesty International. North Korea's human rights record came under heavy scrutiny last month in a 400-page UN Commission of Inquiry report that called the country's stunning catalog of torture and abuse as lacking "any parallel in the contemporary world." "No tragic play could come close to the misery that the 100,000 people trapped in the country's prison camps endure -- where torture, rape, starvation and execution are everyday occurrences," Couper said. The Globe defended its decision to visit the country saying that "a policy of inclusion, rather than exclusion, is more true to the spirit of Shakespeare." Called a Globe to Globe Hamlet tour, the group intends to travel to all seven continents -- irrespective of political situations. The troupe also plans to visit Syria, Afghanistan, the Central African Republic and Somalia in "its most ambitious tour yet." Shakespeare a "force for good" "We have always believed that cultural communication, and different peoples talking to each other through art, is a force for good in the world. In every country, we are going for one single and simple purpose: to play Hamlet there," a statement released by the London-based theater said. Its "Hamlet" production is described as a "fresh, pared-down version" that lasts two hours and 40 minutes, with 12 actors and four stage managers using a portable stage. The theater stated that "Hamlet" was first written when England was weathering internal tensions, repression and violence. "Like all the best works of art, 'Hamlet' instigates discussion and dialogue, and like any theatre, we wish to play to, and interact with, as many people as we possibly can, in as diverse a range of locations as possible. We do not believe that anyone should be excluded from the chance to experience this play," according to its statement. The theater group is not the first to get blasted by human rights groups for performing in North Korea. Dennis Rodman, former NBA player, came under blistering criticism for holding a basketball exhibition and singing "Happy Birthday" to Kim Jong Un. In 2008, the New York Philarmonic held a controversial concert in Pyongyang, which was aired on North Korea's state-run TV and radio. The lessons of "Hamlet" may not extend to the young North Korean leader, said Amnesty's spokesperson. "There's a dark irony in the fact that Hamlet focuses on a prince wrestling with his conscience," Couper said. "Kim Jong Un is no Hamlet. Sadly he shows no sign of wrestling with his conscience." | Globe Theatre plans a two-year tour of "Hamlet" to every country in the world .
Plans to perform in North Korea draws criticism from Amnesty International .
Parallels made to "Hamlet" and North Korea's leadership situation . |
221,845 | ab293b87bea0eeef6f710e9dd9222094b27a19e3 | Washington (CNN) -- The number of Americans who say the economy is in good shape has dropped to the lowest level of the year, according to a new national poll. And a CNN/ORC International survey also indicates that economic pessimism is growing in the wake of the government shutdown, with nearly six in 10 forecasting poor economic conditions a year from now. The poll's Tuesday morning release comes a few hours before the Labor Department announces the September unemployment report. The release of last month's jobless figures was delayed because of the 16-day partial government shutdown. In the poll that was conducted this past weekend, 71% of those questioned say that economic conditions are poor right now, with only 29% saying that current conditions are good -- a drop of 4 percentage points since late September, just before the shutdown began. Opinion: 3 ways to avert the next budget crisis . "That number has not been particularly high in 2013, but throughout the year it has always been over 30%, making the current level of 29% the worst number since December of last year," says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. Only 40% say that the economy will be in good shape a year from now. That's down from 50% in June and represents the lowest level of optimism since October 2011. Some 59% say the economy will be in poor shape next fall. The poll was conducted for CNN by ORC International October 18-20, with 841 adults nationwide questioned by telephone. The survey's overall sampling error is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. Poll: 75% say most Republicans in Congress don't deserve re-election . | Optimism about the economy hits a low for the year, according to a new CNN/ORC poll .
The partial government shutdown contributed to the national pessimism .
Nearly three out of four say that economic conditions are poor right now . |
62,593 | b1d64899afcf11b27b351a07bab2a5403c37ff00 | Oscar Pistorius has reportedly been dating a student paramedic in the weeks leading up to his trial for the murder of his ex-girlfriend. The double amputee met 19-year-old Leah Skye Malan in Mozambique last December while she was holidaying with her mother, father and younger brother. Miss Malan, who is the Paralympian's first girlfriend since he shot model Reeva Steenkamp last year, has been supporting him in the run-up to his court case, it was reported by The Sun. 'Into each other': Oscar Pistorius is said to be dating 19-year-old student paramedic Leah Skye Malan (right) A source told the paper: 'They both seem really into each other. 'She's helped support him through this difficult time and has introduced him to all her family. They have embraced him.' Her father Andre may even attend the trial which starts on Monday. The pair have been on a number of dates, but Pistorius is believed to have disguised himself while out. Miss Malan has also invited the 27-year-old to her family's farmhouse in near Potchefstroom, around two hours from Johannesburg where she studies at university. 'Supporting him': Miss Malan is the Paralympian's first girlfriend since he shot Reeva Steenkamp last year . The revelations emerged as dramatic . new video was released showing Pistorius using a shotgun at a firing . range months before he fatally shot his model girlfriend. Sky . News, which published the footage, also revealed a series of . photographs showing the Paralympian firing the same silver 9mm pistol he . used when he killed Ms Steenkamp on Valentine's Day last year. The prosecution says he had a fight . with Reena Steenkamp before killing her by firing shots through a door . in the bathroom of his home on February 14 last year. Acused: Oscar Pistorius (pictured during his bail hearing last year) is due to stand trial on Monday . He says he shot the model and reality TV star after mistaking her for a dangerous intruder in the night. On the anniversary of her death on Valentine's Day, Pistorius claimed her death was a 'devastating accident'. Pistorius, 27, known as Blade Runner, posted the letter on his official Oscar Pistorious website. 'No . words can adequately capture my feelings about the devastating accident . that has caused such heartache for everyone who truly loved - and . continues to love Reeva,' he said. | Double amputee met Leah Skye Malan in Mozambique last December .
He is believed to have disguised himself when they are out on dates .
First girlfriend since Blade Runner shot Reeva Steenkamp last year .
Source said: 'She has helped support him through this difficult time' |
170,139 | 683497124496a7dc844b239ec69f749c6cafdcc0 | Royal Bank of Scotland’s bosses were warned about the danger of a computer meltdown two years before an IT glitch caused chaos for millions of its customers. But it has paid customer less than £5 compensation on average, with 2.7million receiving less than £1. The explosive details emerged yesterday as the state backed lender was hit with a record £56million fine for a botched software upgrade in June 2012 which locked millions of its customers out of their bank accounts. Royal Bank of Scotland was hit with a record £56m fine for a botched software upgrade in June 2012 . Underlining the seriousness of the failings, the fine marks the first joint penalty between City watchdog the Financial Conduct Authority and the Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority, established to prevent another financial crisis. Issuing its first penalty - of £14million - the PRA said the RBS’s ‘IT incident’ could have had ‘adverse effects on the stability of the financial system’ by disrupting the clearing system, which is used to settle payments among banks. Tracey McDermott, the FCA’s director of enforcement and financial crime, said: ‘Modern banking depends on effective, reliable and resilient IT systems. The bank’’s failures meant millions of customers were unable to carry out the banking transactions which keep businesses and people’s everyday lives moving.’ Business Secretary Vince Cable said: ‘This is another disastrous fine for RBS after a series of failures. RBS’s priorities under Fred Goodwin meant that it neglected its IT systems, which in some cases are now decades out of date.’ The issues in June 2012 stemmed from a botched upgrade to the software that processed updates to customers’ accounts overnight. The disruption lasted for more than a week for RBS and NatWest customers, and more than three weeks for Ulster Bank, RBS’s Irish subsidiary. Business Secretary Vince Cable said: ‘This is another disastrous fine for RBS after a series of failures' RBS admitted to ‘unacceptable weaknesses’ in its computer systems as around 6.5million customers – equivalent to 10pc of the UK population – could not pay bills or receive money and wages into their bank accounts. It revealed that it has paid a total of just over £70million in compensation to customers who were hit with overdraft charges or incurred other expenses because of the meltdown. But the lender, which promised to ensure no customers are left out of pocket, admitted this equates to an average of just £4.83 for the 4.7million retail customers of RBS and NatWest customers affected. Some 2.7m customer received less than £1 due to lost interest on current accounts and savings. The bank could not provide a breakdown of compensation for Ulster Bank and business customers. Last night one MP branded the compensation ‘derisory’. John Mann, Labour member of the Treasury Select Committee said: ‘This compensation is equivalent to not much more than a pint of beer. Yet again customers are not being looked after while people at the top get excessive pay and bonuses.’ Yesterday regulators revealed that the dangers of the ‘batch scheduler’ software failing were flagged up to management on August 1 2010, just under two years before the systems meltdown. RBS chairman Sir Philip Hampton said: 'I want to apologise to all customers in the UK and Ireland that we let down two and a half years ago' For this reason it fined RBS for ‘breaches’ covering the period from August 1 2010, to July 2012, when the problem was finally fixed. RBS’s new chief administration officer Simon McNamara, brought in last year to clean up the mess, yesterday insisted the specific problem was ‘not explicitly called out’ to RBS bosses by internal auditors. He said the bank had committed to spend £750million by 2015 on making its IT systems more secure and added that the ‘door is open’ to customers who believe they are still out of pocket as a result of the failings. Former chief executive Stephen Hester waived his £963,000 bonus over the IT debacle. The latest fine comes as he already faces pressure to hand back a £1million long term shares bonus he received earlier this year, despite being ousted from his position last summer. Last week RBS was fined £400million by UK and US regulators for rigging the £3 trillion a day foreign exchange market under Mr Hester’s watch. RBS chairman Sir Philip Hampton said: ‘Our IT failure in the summer of 2012 revealed unacceptable weaknesses in our systems and caused significant stress for many of our customers. As I did back then, I want to apologise to all customers in the UK and Ireland that we let down two and a half years ago.’ RBS and NatWest have 26million UK customers, 4,000 ATMs and 2,120 bank branches. | RBS has paid customers hit by a computer meltdown average of £5 each .
They were warned about the danger of the system failing two years ago .
An IT glitch locked millions of people out of their accounts then .
Details emerged yesterday as RBS was hit with a £56million fine . |
62,907 | b2c30c8fec58f3b30662f90a09a725c6ee8c6c90 | (CNN) -- This time, Paul the Octopus won't be able to predict the winner. In a World Cup already marked by stunning victories and catastrophic defeats, trying to guess the next World Cup champion is pretty much moot. Germany is riding high after annihilating host country Brazil 7-1 in their semifinal, a defeat so brutal that Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said she'd never imagined such a horror in her worst nightmares. Of course the Germans would love a repeat against Argentina. But if anyone can show grit and then calm under pressure, it's the Argentinians. Their semifinal against the Netherlands came down to a heart-pounding penalty shootout, and Argentina's 4-2 victory cemented the team's first trip to the World Cup final in 24 years. Germans and Argentinians have faced each other in the World Cup finals twice before. Back when West Germany was still a country, it lost to Argentina in 1986. Four years later, Argentina lost to West Germany in 1990. Sadly, unlike the last World Cup in 2010, there is no psychic cephalopod placing its bets on this year's victor. In that tournament, Paul the Octopus correctly predicted the outcome of eight consecutive matches, dooming Germany's hopes when he picked Spain in the semifinal and then also in the final. Paul died in his German aquarium later that year. No matter what happens Sunday, it's unlikely either squad will be as heartbroken as host team Brazil. As if their semifinal demolition by Germany wasn't humiliating enough, the Brazilians didn't score a single goal in their attempt at redemption during Saturday's third-place match. The Dutch finished off the Brazilians, 3-0. Follow the live blog . CNN's James Masters contributed to this report. | Argentina and Germany have met in the World Cup finals twice before .
Germany demolished host country Brazil in a 7-1 rout to get to the final .
Argentina defeated the Netherlands 4-2 after a penalty shootout to earn its spot . |
195,725 | 8956fd0adc6c4bd17352fd473a68e51c23a4d92e | TAIJI, Japan (CNN) -- Mention a dolphin to someone in the United States and they'll think about a trip to Sea World or the 1960s-era TV program "Flipper." Residents in Taiji, Japan, have been hunting dolphins for hundreds of years. Talk about a dolphin in rural Japan and some people think of dinner. Fishermen hunt dolphins about every day in Taiji, a town of about 3,000 in southwestern Japan that juts into the Pacific Ocean. Locals know they offend Western sensibilities by eating dolphins, but they say it's a tradition hundreds of years old. And they say outsiders have no more right to tell them to stop eating dolphins than they would have to demand that Westerners stop slaughtering, say, chickens or cows. Watch fishermen catch dolphins » . "I know there are many different ways of thinking in different societies, but for us who've been eating this for a long time ... it's an awkward thing to be criticized for," says Kayoko Tanaka, a retired middle school teacher. "I either fry dolphin meat or turn it into a stew." That disgusts Ric O'Barry, a 68-year-old retired dolphin trainer from Miami who makes a second home in Taiji, where he goes to unusual lengths to fight against the tide of local tradition. O'Barry sometimes dresses as a woman or wears a large surgical mask to disguise his Western identity on trips to spots overlooking the ocean. He prowls the cliffs with a video camera, hoping to catch fishermen in the act with footage that could stir emotions and raise awareness in the West. "This here is ground zero for the largest slaughter of dolphins on planet Earth," says O'Barry, who trained five dolphins to play "Flipper" on the TV series of that name. "It's absolutely barbaric and it needs to stop." He says the dolphins face a cruel fate. "It takes a very long time to die. They bleed to death. And some of them are dragged in the boats with hooks while they're still alive," he says. "Many of them are gutted while they're still alive." Looming beyond questions of whether the slaughter is humane, however, are larger and more complex questions of culture and perspective. To some puzzled people in rural Japan, the question comes down to this: What's the difference between killing and eating a dolphin and killing and eating a fish? Or a chicken? Or a cow? Most Japanese do not eat dolphins -- it's common in a few small fishing villages -- but the government respects the rights of people in towns like Taiji, says Joji Morishita, the international negotiator for Japan's Fisheries Agency. Many Japanese consider the deer a sacred messenger from the gods, he says, but they would never suggest that people in other parts of the world stop venturing into the woods on a quest for venison, Morishita says. "We don't like to play God to say this animal is just for food and this is not," he says. "Because we know nation to nation we have totally different ideas." That's obvious in the growing clash between Australia and Japan over whale hunting. Japanese ships crisscross the Antarctic Ocean each winter to capture and kill up to 1,000 whales. Whaling is allowed under international law when done for scientific reasons, which Japan cites as the legal basis for its hunts. Legal justifications aside, however, the whale hunts offend many people in Australia, where new Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has turned up the political pressure on Japan. His government has dispatched a customs ship to monitor and videotape the whalers. And Rudd says Australia could even file charges against Japan in an international court to try to stop the whaling. Back in Taiji, the fishermen are well aware of the Western sentiment that motivates whaling opponents. They realize the danger to their way of life that can come with prying cameras from other countries. When CNN trained its cameras on fishermen gutting some freshly killed dolphins, the fishermen erected some tarps to obstruct the view. Representatives of the Taiji Fishermen's Union declined CNN requests for an on-camera interview. So did the town's mayor and several others. And O'Barry says he's gotten into a few shouting matches with fishermen, who resent him and his camera. So what does O'Barry say to their claim that he has no right to tell them to abandon a tradition that has flourished in their small corner of the world for more than 400 years? "If someone came to my hometown and told me what to do, what to eat, I'd be outraged," he says. "But that's not going to stop me from doing it. I mean, tradition? It used to be traditional for women not to vote. So do we keep that going because it's traditional and cultural? Of course not." Complicating the debate are findings suggesting that eating dolphins may not be good for one's health. The Japanese government said in 2005 that bottlenose dolphin meat contains 12 times more mercury than blue fin tuna -- high levels of mercury in fish can cause health problems in pregnant women and young children. A city councilman in Taiji, Junichiro Yamashita, grew so concerned about mercury levels that he persuaded locals schools to stop serving dolphin meat at lunch. He even plucked some of his hair, sent it off for testing and discovered that it contained seven times as much mercury as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency considers safe. The mercury findings have not swayed Masaru Matsushita, a Taiji fish dealer. He says that dolphin activists like O'Barry only see their needs without understanding the culture in his town. "I understand that they think the dolphin in a cute animal, and I agree they're cute doing performances," he says, "but it is our culture to eat dolphins." E-mail to a friend . | Dolphin hunts have been carried out in Japanese town for centuries .
Westerners protest "barbaric" slaughter of the marine mammals .
Local residents say other nations have no right to criticize dolphin hunts .
Japanese government has found unsafe mercury levels in dolphins . |
249,010 | ce3a6bee2455c3063d13f9d9116946399c9b2be3 | Fort Lauderdale, Florida (CNN) -- A 15-year-old boy who was burned over 65 percent of his body in October when he was set on fire, allegedly by a group of teenagers, was released from the hospital Tuesday, officials said. Michael Brewer was discharged from the University of Miami's Jackson Memorial Hospital Burn Center, spokeswoman Lorraine Nelson said in a written statement. Doctors and Brewer's mother, Valerie, will speak to reporters Wednesday, Nelson said. Brewer's family is headed not to their Deerfield Beach, Florida, home, but to an undisclosed location, a source close to the family said. Nelson said the family had requested privacy before the teen's discharge. Brewer suffered second- and third-degree burns over about two-thirds of his body in the October 12 incident, the hospital's associate director, Dr. Carl Schulman, has said. He told CNN's Tony Harris last month that the teen faces a lifelong recovery from his injuries. "Michael's still got a lot of major surgery ahead of him, a lot of rehabilitation and therapy," Schulman said. "... the recovery is lifelong. This is truly a life-changing event." The hospital released some photographs of Brewer taken Tuesday morning in the hospital's rehabilitation unit. In the pictures his burns are clearly visible. Three teens -- Denver Jarvis and Matthew Bent, both 15, and Jesus Mendez, 16 -- are accused of being in a group that poured alcohol over Brewer and set him ablaze in what police said was a dispute over $40, a video game and a bicycle. All three teens are charged as adults with one count of attempted murder. Each has pleaded not guilty. If convicted, each could face a sentence of up to 30 years in prison. Detectives say eyewitnesses told them that Mendez used a lighter to set fire to Brewer after Jarvis poured alcohol over him. Bent allegedly encouraged the attack, police said. Brewer jumped into a pool at his apartment complex to put out the flames. Authorities have said Mendez admitted setting Brewer on fire. According to an arrest transcript, the boy said he made a "bad decision." Valerie Brewer said last month that her son's treatment at times has been excruciatingly painful. Physical therapy, she said, is "incredibly painful. He almost cries because it's so painful. He's burned badly on the backs of his knees and every time he moves his knee, it pulls, and if it's healing, it pulls the scab and it cracks and it starts to bleed." The 13-year-old brother of one of the accused youths made a public statement in November. Jeremy Jarvis said he wanted to "express his deepest sympathy to Mikey and his family" and added he was praying for Brewer's recovery. Jeremy Jarvis was arrested as a juvenile after the incident and spent about 30 days in juvenile detention. However, prosecutors have not filed charges against him and are still determining how to proceed. He could still be charged, as prosecutors have 90 days from his arrest to decide whether to move forward with the case. Jeremy Jarvis' attorney, Stephen Melnick, said it appeared the younger Jarvis was only a witness to the attack. Valerie Brewer said she was heartbroken when she learned her son's attackers may have included teens who they knew. "But we don't focus on that," she said last month. "We focus strictly on Michael and his recovery." CNN's Rich Phillips contributed to this report. | Michael Brewer, 15, allegedly set on fire by other teens, faces more surgery .
He and his family are not returning home, but to an undisclosed location .
Brewers mother plans to speak to reporters on Wednesday . |
26,312 | 4a98848f023557b38fb4388e438cb1f57a6f23fc | By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 00:00 EST, 7 December 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 06:21 EST, 1 March 2013 . She was faced with a decision no mother should ever have to make - her daughter's life or her legs. This was what was put to Donna Schulke, from Portland, Oregon, after her daughter was rushed to hospital with a life-threatening infection that was poised to ravish her whole body. Tabitha Schulke, 18, began experiencing . flu-like symptoms on Thanksgiving morning. Suddenly, her illness . worsened and she began developing gangrene on her feet. Her heart stopped on the way to the hospital. Next thing Donna knew, a surgeon was asking her that impossible question, explaining that the only option to stop the spread . of infection that was killing her daughter was to amputate portions of . her legs. Tabitha Schulke, 18, began experiencing flu-like symptoms on Thanksgiving morning. Suddenly, her illness worsened and she began developing gangrene on her feet which eventually had to be amputated . Change: Tabitha has accepted now that this is her life and she has to get used to her stumps and go through physical therapy to adapt . Critical care: As she fights for her life in a critical care unit, doctors are beginning to think she may be suffering from toxic shock syndrome, a disease with a 50 percent chance of survival caused by staph infections . Fighting for her life: Doctors told her family that she would die of the mystery illness, as they felt there was little they could do to saver her . Donna had no one to turn to for help. As a single mother she has no partner to share the agonizing decision with. She wondered if it would be best to let her daughter go, her body was ravaged and she had no idea if she would lapse into a coma or suffer brain damage. It was the hardest decision of her life. Tabitha was struck with the mystery infection after delivering food baskets with her church group around Monmouth, a small town near Salem, and got caught in the rain. Within days the 18-year-old had been rushed to the intensive care unit . and put on life support and then transferred to Portland's . Legacy Emanuel Medical Center. Doctors told her family that she would die of the mystery illness, as they felt there was little they could do to save her. Mother: Donna Schulke was faced with one of the most difficult decisions of her life - her daughter's life or her limbs . Mystery illness: Tabitha Schulke, 18, began experiencing flu-like symptoms on Thanksgiving morning. Suddenly, her illness worsened and she began developing gangrene on her feet . But a specialized emergency team . at Legacy Emanuel was able to stabilize her with 'extracorporeal . membrane oxygenation,' a technology that provides support to patients . whose heart and lungs are severely damaged and cannot function on their . own. According to The Oregonian, Donna said goodbye to her daughter 12 times as she suffered from multiple organ failure. But she knew what she had to do after Tabitha survived every one. She signed the consent form. Surgeon Andrew Michaels and a team of seven others performed the eight-hour surgery. 'To save her life, we committed her to . a lifetime of disability. Had we done the right thing?' he said. He was . the one who told her about her fate as he 'wanted her forgiveness'. Survival: Katie Zimmerman, the teen's aunt, said: Just her surviving, that's all that matters. Not Christmas, not anything, just... we want Tabi' When Tabitha came to and could . understand what was going on around her, she was delivered the . heartbreaking news - her left leg was gone six inches below the knee, . her right leg six inches above the knee. She was in shock. There were tears, . questions, denials, phantom pains, confusion and finally acceptance. Soon after, Tabitha told her mother she had done the right thing. After spending 82 days in hospital, the teen was finally allowed to go home last week. A hospital bed has been put in her living room, her mother carries her daughter up and down the steps. Donna tells the Oregonian: 'This was . the hardest choice I ever made. I prayed for guidance because my choice . was going to change her whole life. I decided that as long as Tabitha's . spirit is intact she will be fine. 'In many ways,' she says, 'This is a rebirth. When we came home it reminded me of when she was a baby and said her first word.' On the sofa, Tabitha makes no effort to cover up her stumps, because this is who she is now. Unfortunately your browser does not support IFrames. | Tabitha Schulke, 18, began experiencing flu-like symptoms on Thanksgiving morning .
Started developing gangrene on her feet and doctors amputated her legs at the knees .
After 82 days in hospital she is back home now trying to adapt . |
103,955 | 122216e3b8325f172c75f460684157b7ae43f2b0 | By . David Gerges . Last updated at 3:55 PM on 23rd December 2011 . Motorists were attacked with rocks along a busy A-road after a group of yobs smashed through several car windows. Police are searching for the culprits who damaged 12 vehicles, with a helicopter flying over the motorway were the crimes took place. The group carried out the attack as cars were driving along the a road near Rawreth in Essex, just weeks after a similar incident on the A14 in Suffolk. Through the looking glass: Paul Harvey's car window was smashed by yobs throwing rocks along the A1245 . Paul Harvey, 41, who was driving along the A1245 - formerly the A130, had the passenger window of his Land Rover caved in, believes it was sheer luck no-one was killed or seriously injured. He said: 'I just can’t believe anyone would do something like this. I was lucky it wasn’t my front windscreen. 'There were cars travelling at 60 or 70 mph and it was a busy time of night, this could have easily caused a major accident.' Mr Harvey believes the culprits may have been hiding in the trees by the side of the road on Wednesday when the incident took place. He added: 'It was lucky I was in the car on my own, if someone had been in the passenger seat I dread to think what would have happened. 'The window imploded all the way over to my side of the car. Whatever hit it must have been quite large.' In fact the impact was so that it also dented a rear door of his car. Fatal: Youngsters targeted drivers along the A1245, (the old A130) near Rawreth, Essex . Mr Harvey, who lives in Rawreth, said: 'I was just on the way to see my brother when it happened, on the way back I saw police had pulled over a lot of cars outside the Gables car showroom and the police helicopter was out too. 'They were taking statements and all the cars looked like they’d had something thrown at them. There was one guy taping up his van and there were piles of glass on the road.' Police had to comfort and interview shaken-up victims who pulled into a car park of Gables Cars, near the Carpenters Arms. Meanwhile the police helicopter searched in vain for the culprits. Dangerous: Four vehicles including an ambulance were damaged when youth hurled concrete rubble and stones from a flyover on the A14 in Suffolk (file picture) Police believe a young gang was responsible - and want parents to help them bring these young offenders to justice. Officers are also keen to prevent it happening again and leading to another high profile incident like the one on the A12 where a woman was left seriously injured by a falling concrete block. Sgt Chris Bramhill, of Rayleigh police, believes there must be parents out there who suspect their youngsters may have been involved. He said: 'We would urge parents to know where their children are and who they are with, especially at night. 'Even more so if they are on the side of a busy road where they could be at risk, or in this case, posing a risk to others.' Police have so far received 12 official reports of damaged cars on the old A130 - and are yet to get full details of all the damage caused. Horror: Carol Manley with the injuries she sustained in a near-fatal crash when a concrete block was dropped onto her car on the A12 earlier this month . But they are prepared for more motorists to come forward, wondering how their car has been damaged. Others may have heard a bump, but did not realise that it was due to louts playing a very dangerous game. Chris Black, Rochford district councillor for the Rawreth ward, added: 'Words almost fail me. It’s a stupid, dangerous thing to do. It’s important for parents to know what their children are doing. 'I can’t understand the mentality of somebody who wants to throw rocks at cars at Christmas time or any other time of the year. 'I just hope everybody’s okay and I hope the police will be patrolling the area very carefully.' | Comes one week after yobs threw missiles on the A14 flyover in Suffolk . |
7,262 | 1495e7f82c0353203a54b45b42f0d3c0bcd85df1 | By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 17:37 EST, 28 April 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 18:57 EST, 28 April 2012 . Suspicion: William 'Clyde' Gibson is being held in connection with the murders of two women . Authorities said they have dug up human remains in the backyard of a southern Indiana man who is suspected of killing two women a decade apart. Police found the remains of what they believe is a third victim late on Friday night at the New Albany home of 54-year-old William 'Clyde' Gibson III, a convicted sex offender. The remains were later identified as those of Stephanie Marie Kirk, 35, of Charleston, Indiana, WDRB.com reported. Floyd County Prosecutor Keith Henderson said told the Courier-Journal in Louisville, Kentucky, that the remains may have been there for weeks or months. Her exact cause of death is still under investigation, authorities said. 'The fact is it is a serious matter,' Mr Henderson told the News and Tribune of Jeffersonville. 'We do have three individuals at this point.' Henderson didn't reply to a phone message left at his office on Saturday. Gibson is being held without bond at the Floyd County Jail in connection with the deaths of two women. Christine Whitis, 75, of Clarksville, was found strangled in Gibson's home last week, and Karen Hodella, 44, a hairdresser from Florida, was discovered near the Ohio River in Clarksville in January 2003. Gibson was arrested on drunken-driving charges last week after police spotted him driving Ms Whitis' car. Scroll down for video . Grim findings: Police found human remains in Gibson's back yard in southern Indiana identified as 35-year-old Stephanie Marie Kirk . Possible evidence: Police haul away some of the remains during the night . An officer at the jail said Saturday . that there was no record of any formal charges against Gibson. He also . said he didn't know if Gibson had a lawyer. The discovery of the remains came . hours after officials called off a search of the Ohio River, where they . had been looking for Stephanie Marie Kirk, who was last seen on March 25 . when she left a friend's New Albany home to meet a man at a bar. New Albany police Maj. Keith Whitlow had said that they were searching the river as a result of information developed in the Gibson case. Gibson carries a lengthy criminal record. Discovered: The remains in his yard were identified as Stephanie Marie Kirk, left, who was last seen March 25 when she left a friend's house; the body of Karen Hodella, right, was found near the Ohio River in 2003 . The Courier-Journal reported he was sentenced to seven years in prison after pleading guilty to robbery and sexual abuse in a 1991 attack on a woman at a mall in downtown Louisville. Court records show he fondled her and stole her purse after pushing her into a phone booth, and later he said he had been drinking and using cocaine. Records also show he had arrests for assault, wanton endangerment and driving drunk. In 1992, Gibson told a psychologist that 'it's hard to predict what I might do,' when he drinks heavily. But in 1999, a psychologist found Gibson was at 'low risk' for being arrested again as a sex offender. This week, prosecutors also charged Gibson with being a habitual offender, listing convictions on 10 charges in eight cases between 1992 and 2007. The Courier-Journal reported Gibson was discharged from the Army for bad conduct in 1979 and had spent a year in the military prison at Leavenworth, Kansas. Earlier search: Before discovering the remains, police were searching the Ohio River for Kirk's body . Prior search terms: Police said Kirk was last seen March 25 as she left a friend¿s home in New Albany to meet a man at a bar . Court records also describe Gibson as a well-liked, 'extremely shy' person who didn't know how to respond when introduced to people. They said he had borderline intelligence and was emotionally immature, The Courier-Journal said. Michelle Rucker, Hodella's oldest daughter, said Friday that her mother had been in Indiana visiting her boyfriend's family for less than a day when she called her family in Florida and asked for money for a bus ride home. She told her family that a 'nice man' was buying her drinks at a bar. 'We never heard from her again,' Ms Rucker said. 'She was in Indiana one night and was missing the next day.' Ms Rucker said the latest developments had reopened old wounds. 'My family is a train wreck,' she said. Watch video here: . | William 'Clyde' Gibson, 54, has lengthy criminal record of drug and alcohol abuse and is a convicted sex offender .
Gibson is being held over deaths of Karen Hodella and Christine Whitis .
Remains found in yard identified as those of 35-year-old Stephanie Marie Kirk . |
147,491 | 4ab2acc7ff2c72939d405fe283e4a06171234573 | (CNN) -- Two people were killed and two were severely wounded Tuesday in a shooting at a courthouse in Landshut, Germany, police said. A police car sits outside the courthouse in the German city of Landshut. The gunman, a 60-year-old man, was among the dead, Bavarian Police said in a statement. It happened around 10:15 a.m. (4:15 a.m. ET) during a break in a court proceeding about inheritance, Landshut police spokesman Leonard Mayer told CNN. The man began shooting once he stepped outside the courtroom, police said. He wounded three people before turning the gun on himself, Mayer said. One of the victims, a woman, died about 2 1/2 hours later, Bavarian Police said. Watch more about the shooting » . The lives of the two wounded victims are not in danger, he told CNN. The courthouse has no metal detectors or security checks that would have turned up the shooter's weapon, Mayer said. This latest shooting in Germany took place less than a month after a school massacre in the southwestern town of Winnenden, in which a total of 16 people were killed. | German TV: Two people killed in a shooting at a courthouse .
Report: Gunmen believed to have killed himself .
Court spokesman: Reported that there was "no more danger"
Landshut is about 55 kilometers northeast of Munich . |
92,948 | 0392afffae321bfa4f5c23488120dd43399b5400 | After months of rumours, Facebook has officially launched its Facebook at Work pilot. Designed to be used as self-contained social network within companies, the site has begun rolling out apps to a select number of 'partner' firms. Facebook at Work is available on the web, Android and iOS and the Californian tech giant described it as 'a separate experience that gives employees the ability to connect and collaborate efficiently using Facebook tools.' Scroll down for video . Facebook at Work is currently a pilot and is only available on the web, Android and iOS to a select number of 'partner' firms. The Californian tech giant described it as 'a separate experience that gives employees the ability to connect and collaborate efficiently using Facebook tools' Reports claim that the site features a News Feed, Groups, Messages and Events, like the original social network. Privacy wise, Facebook at Work will only be accessible by people within a company. And the tech giant said an employee’s Facebook at Work information is 'safe, secure, confidential and completely separate from their personal profile.' Facebook confirmed yesterday that it will start placing clickable warnings over extreme 'graphic' content on its site. The warnings, which are placed over flagged images and videos, state that the content might 'shock offend and upset'. The move comes after the Californian social media site came under fire for failing to impose greater controls on disturbing images. The warning asks the user 'are you sure you want to see this?'. Content with the warning will not be seen by users under 18 and videos will also not autoplay like other newsfeed items. Videos to come under the new measures include footage of the death of French policeman, Ahmed Merabet, who was shot in Paris during the Charlie Hebdo attacks. When the rumours first originated in November, sources said the site would likely launch without adverts. However, this may mean Facebook charges companies to use the app as an alternative way to make money. By launching an enterprise version of the site, Facebook is also taking aim at LinkedIn, as well as Microsoft's Yammer. Facebook staff were said to have been given a beta version of the ad-free Facebook at Work to test in December. A study last year found that more than 54 per cent of offices currently block Facebook on work computers to stop it distracting users. In October, Facebook reported its quarterly profit nearly doubled to £511 million ($802 million), but saw its stock hit hard after outlining a plan to invest heavily in the future instead of using its short-term riches. 'We are going to continue preparing for the future by investing aggressively, connecting everyone, understanding the world, and building the next-generation in computing platforms,' said boss Mark Zuckerberg at the time. 'We have a long journey ahead.' The 10-year-old site currently has 1.35 billion monthly active users worldwide, while LinkedIn has more than 332 million members in more than 200 countries and territories. When the rumours first originated in November, sources said the site would likely launch without adverts. However, this may mean Facebook charges companies to use the app as an alternative way to make money. By launching an enterprise version of the site, Facebook is taking aim at professional network LinkedIn . According to the professional site, users sign up to join LinkedIn at a rate of more than two new members per second. The site lets professionals 'connect' with each other to form networks. It also has its own messaging service and news feed. But Nicholas Scholz, global product manager, collaboration, at software firm Novell isn't convinced: 'We already know enough about Facebook that we can start making conclusions as to where this will end. Facebook has been looking to expand its services for year. Recently, it unveiled an app called Room that lets people chat anonymously in virtual 'rooms,' evoking the chat services from the early days of the web. It is also testing a feature that lets users of the leading social network make purchases by simply pressing an on-screen 'Buy' button. Meanwhile, Facebook completed its multibillion-dollar deal for mobile messaging application WhatsApp last year. And in November, it revamped its privacy policy to make it easier to understand, after years of criticism. It has also introduced tools to help people manage what they share on the site. The site's security was heightened at the end of last year when it rolled out default encryption, too. 'This is the same site where members share everything and anything with Friends. 'People of all ages leave privacy at the door when they sign-in to Facebook. 'You can essentially equate Facebook to the party guy you want to hang out with on Friday night who's funny, popular and a bit crazy - but would you want to work with him? 'It seems Facebook is not just looking to build another social network to compete with the likes of LinkedIn. 'Instead, it is planning to offer enterprise collaboration. 'Keeping the workplace IT environment safe and secure is a huge priority for IT departments. With this in mind, it's unlikely that Facebook will be able to stop IT from feeling comfortable with the safety of their information.' Facebook has been looking to expand its services, and recently unveiled an app called Room that lets people chat anonymously in virtual 'rooms,' evoking the chat services from the early days of the web. It is also testing a feature that lets users of the leading social network make purchases by simply pressing an on-screen 'Buy' button. Facebook completed its multibillion-dollar deal for mobile messaging application WhatsApp last year. And in November, it revamped its privacy policy to make it easier to understand, after years of criticism. It has also introduced tools to help people manage what they share on the site. This would be key for a professional version of the site, to keeping confidential business dealings secure. The site's security was heightened at the end of last year when it rolled out default encryption. | Dubbed Facebook at Work, the site lets users chat with colleagues .
Facebook described the site as 'a separate experience that gives employees the ability to connect and collaborate using Facebook tools'
Features include a separate News Feed, Groups, Messages, and Events .
Pilot is only available to select partners on the web, Android and iOS .
Facebook's site could compete with LinkedIn and Microsoft's Yammer . |
189,299 | 81264550b46dfbd739dcc6e00107061a3f2fa87f | Pardon: Lucille McLauchlan, 47, was 33 when she was freed from a Saudi sentence to eight years and 500 lashes . A nurse who was jailed in Saudi Arabia over the murder of a colleague has died after suffering a brain haemorrhage. Lucille McLauchlan was being treated in Ninewells Hospital in Dundee after she collapsed in her home in Broughty Ferry on Sunday. Her children could not wake her up and she was taken to hospital by ambulance. She was put on a life support machine but died this morning with her family around her, Ms McLauchlan's solicitor William Boyle said. The 47-year-old was sentenced to eight years and 500 lashes in 1996 for her part in the murder of Yvonne Gilford. She was pardoned 17 months later and allowed back to the UK. Her co-accused Deborah Parry, who had been sentenced to death, was also released. Both women later claimed they were forced to confess to a crime they did not commit and retracted their confessions. Mr Boyle said: 'Lucille passed away in the early hours of this morning following a traumatic brain haemorrhage. 'Her life support system was switched off on medical advice and arrangements were made, along with Lucille's wishes, for her organs to be donated. 'All the family are in a state of shock, and they ask that her and their privacy be respected. Following convictions for theft and fraud in Tayside, McLauchlan was struck off the nursing register by the UK Central Council for Nursing. Lucille McLauchlan was being treated in Ninewells Hospital in Dundee . | Lucille McLauchlan, 47, was sentenced to eight years and 500 lases in Saudi in 1997 .
Nurse arrested while shopping in 1996 but was freed after a royal pardon .
On Sunday her son discovered her unconscious at family home near Dundee . |
184,188 | 7a9198e53dfed2f6cbcee31c94b84cba9331ee92 | By . Associated Press . PUBLISHED: . 22:57 EST, 23 May 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 22:59 EST, 23 May 2013 . Health officials investigating a cluster of mysterious illnesses in Alabama closed their investigation on Thursday after determining the illnesses were unrelated and were caused by the same viruses that cause flu. The investigation involved 10 people who became sick and were admitted to hospitals in Dothan and Luverne in southeast Alabama. Two died, six remained hospitalized Thursday, and two had been released, state Health Officer Don Williamson said. The 10 range in age from 24 to 87. A cluster of mysterious respiratory illnesses that alarmed southeast Alabama turned out to be nothing more sinister than ordinary cold and seasonal flu . Williamson said health officials took . extraordinary caution due to the emergence of two viruses, including . the new H7NP, in other countries. Southeast Alabama is home to a military base and several aircraft plants that have frequent international travel . 'We looked extremely hard. This represents the way the system is supposed to work,' Williamson said. Testing at a state lab and at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed different groups of pathogens were present. Four of the patients had a rhinovirus, the same family of germs that causes the common cold. Three had bacterial-based pneumonia and others had influenza A and H1N1. All seven adults had been admitted to hospitals with symptoms including fever, cough and shortness of breath . Although it was not known whether the . sufferers had gotten flu shots, the types of illnesses that were . contracted were covered by this year's vaccine. Williamson said the flu pandemic of 2008-09 showed that flu cases are present in Alabama throughout the year. It is uncommon, but not unheard of, for small outbreaks to occur in the spring and summer, he said. Mysterious illnesses are always unnerving, but the cluster report came at a particularly sensitive time. Health officials have been monitoring . two deadly new illnesses that recently surfaced in different parts of . the world - one a deadly form of bird flu that has appeared in China, . the other a SARS-like coronavirus that seems to have originated in the . Middle East. The bird flu has caused 131 illnesses . and 32 deaths since the beginning of the year, according to the World . Health Organization. The SARS-like virus (called MERS) has been identified as the cause of 44 illnesses, including 22 deaths, the WHO said. Neither seems to be highly contagious so far, and neither illness has been reported in the United States. But in a world of daily international . air travel, it's always possible that a new germ of concern will . hitchhike on an infected globetrotter and enter this country. The CDC tested the Alabama patients . for MERS, for different forms of flu and for more than a dozen other . illnesses, the agency spokeswoman said. Dr. Mary McIntyre, head of infectious . diseases for the state public health agency, said the precautions taken . by Alabama were worthwhile. She said using the same protocol, a . pediatrician in north Alabama last year observed a new Coxsackie virus, a . type of hand, foot and mouth disease in children. By identifying the new strain, the disease was able to be slowed and children treated in other states. | Alabama state health officer: 'There is no evidence of any new or unexpected virus circulating'
People were worried the cases could be two bird deadly flu viruses, H5N3 and H7N9 . |
75,797 | d6f10b1658322ef9ca4329903d546fa26e2f1020 | By . Emma Innes . PUBLISHED: . 09:16 EST, 14 February 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 11:33 EST, 14 February 2014 . A young boy has credited his pet Labrador with protecting him for a crippling condition that affects his nervous system. Brad Oliver has a rare disorder which means his heart races every time he stands up or becomes excited – this alters the blood supply to his brain, causing him to pass out. But, three-year-old Fudge, a golden Labrador, instinctively knows when Brad is about to fall ill and has kept him out of harm’s way on countless occasions. Brad Oliver, 11, has a rare condition which means his heart beats too fast when he moves meaning the blood supply to his brain is compromised and he is in danger of fainting. Fudge sits by him when his heart is beating too fast to warn him not to stand up . Brad, who turns 11 next week, has postural tachycardia syndrome (PoTS) which causes dizziness, fainting, tiredness, palpitations, shortness of breath and headaches. He suffers up to 200 blinding ‘ice pick’ head pains a day as well as nausea and blurred vision. Brad, from Chudleigh, in Devon, is so vulnerable, he has to be taught at home and to remain constantly in temperatures of 18 - 21C because a sudden change of temperature could cause him to fall ill. His heart can race dangerously if he eats any number of common foods including meat, dairy, fish and bread. Fresh strawberries are one of the few things he can enjoy and his mother, Katrina - widowed while pregnant when her husband was killed in a car crash - can travel up to 50 miles a day to find the four punnets a day he eats. ‘Brad was seven days old when his heart first went funny, he went stiff then limp in my arms and we ended up in hospital,’ said Mrs Oliver. ‘Now he has to wait two hours before . getting up each morning and we have to pace his whole day. If we don’t, . Brad can be knocked off his feet for over three weeks. ‘I think sometimes life throws things at us to make us stronger.’ If Brad blacks out, Fudge finds his mother, Katrina, to warn her. Fudge is not trained to help Brad - he is just a pet who happens to have an instinctive ability to help the child . But Brad’s life changed for the better three years ago when Fudge came along. He chose the runt of the litter because she had the ‘waggiest tail’. ‘She kept diving for him,’ said Mrs Oliver. ‘At four-days-old she started acting a bit strangely, sitting across his legs and not wanting to get off. ‘She wouldn’t let Brad get up so we moved her and shortly afterwards Brad collapsed. ‘We realised later this had developed into a pattern, Fudge knew when Brad was going to have an attack. ‘Even if he was upstairs being poorly in bed and I didn’t know, Fudge would be at the bottom of the stairs crying. PoTS is an abnormal response by the autonomic nervous system to becoming upright - the autonomic nervous system is in charge of all of the automatic bodily functions, such as sweating and digestion. The condition causes the heart rate to increase and alters the blood supply to the brain. There are many causes - pregnancy, viral illnesses, surgery, rapid growth spurts and bed rest - but, in some cases, no cause can be found. Some patients are severely disabled by the condition while others have mild symptoms. Symptoms include: . Symptoms can be triggered by excess heat, eating, standing up, dehydration, alcohol and exercise. Source: www.potsuk.org . ‘A couple of times she came up to me to let me know I’m not moving fast enough. ‘It’s . also happened when Brad’s been in the downstairs bathroom and he’s . become unwell. Fudge will go running up to the door crying. ‘Brad used to end up in hospital a lot with concussion because he’d fall and hit his head, but now Fudge either cries or puts her paw on his arm warning him to sit down. ‘She just guards him the whole time and you know he’s not well. When she’s happy and running around we know Brad is in a good place too. ‘She doesn’t miss an occasion. When Brad had a loop recorder implanted to monitor his heart, it showed afterwards that every time he’d been extremely tachycardic [his heart has been beating much too fast] I’d entered ‘F’ into the manual log I kept and that meant “Fudge”, she had known he wasn’t well. ‘Sometimes I worry about her because it’s like she’s always working all the time although of course she’s never been trained to do this, it’s purely instinct. ‘Even if Brad goes out cold Fudge will let us know if it’s serious or he’ll come round by the way she’s laying by his feet, she just won’t leave if he’s bad. ‘When Brad’s going to collapse she tends to pin him down but if he’s about to have a head pain she’ll paw him more or go and sit beside him and give a little nudge, it’s really strange. ‘She helps him in so many ways. ‘The one disadvantage for Brad is that he can never lie about feeling unwell to get out of doing things because Fudge gives the game away.’ Howard Liebermann, a partner at the Kingsteignton Vets Practice where Fudge is looked after, said: ‘It’s not uncommon for dogs to be trained to predict when people might be at risk of an epileptic fit, but Fudge is the first dog I know of who has taken it on themselves to become a child’s protector like this.’ One of the reasons the Olivers decided to talk about their plight was to help raise the profile of Syncope Trust and Reflex Anoxic Seizures (Stars) – the charity which has helped them. Mrs Oliver said: 'It was only through the group that Brad was given a diagnosis and referred to Great Ormond Street Hospital. Ever since it has been on hand to provide advice and practical support. 'They are a fantastic charity, a lot of people get misdiagnosed with epilepsy when in fact it’s a type of syncope. 'Quite rightly the big cancer charities are well known but not Stars, nor Syncope or Pots – yet more people die of heart conditions than cancer. 'No one really knows how many people live with it and to raise awareness would be fantastic, it might help find a cure.' Shy Brad admitted that Fudge was his best friend and a ‘good dog’. He had one message: 'Make sure you love life.' For more information about Stars, click here. | Brad Oliver, 11, has postural tachycardia syndrome - his heart beats too fast when he moves causing the blood supply to his brain to be compromised .
He suffers crippling head pains and frequently blacks out .
Fudge can tell if his heart's beating too fast and he's in danger of fainting .
When this happens, Fudge sits by him to warn him not to stand up .
If he does pass out, Fudge goes to find his mother, Katrina Oliver .
Fudge is 'just a pet' - he has not been trained to look after Brad . |
13,835 | 273d32bd3e31f2d60c01d80e14314545b8e49cfc | By . John Stevens, Political Reporter . David Cameron has been accused of wasting taxpayers’ money after he used an RAF jet to fly back from his summer holiday after just one day abroad. The Prime Minister flew to Portugal with his wife and three children on Saturday where they are enjoying a 10-day break staying in a villa. But after just a few hours in the sun, he was yesterday flown home by the Royal Squadron so he could attend the closing ceremony of the Commonwealth Games. Scroll down for video . Jet-setting: David Cameron has been accused of wasting taxpayers' money after he used an RAF jet to fly back from his summer holiday in Portugal to attend the closing ceremony of the Commonwealth Games . He will today use the RAF plane to fly to France and Belgium for the First World War commemorations before flying back to Portugal on a commercial flight at his own expense. The Prime Minister has been criticised for not postponing his holiday for just a few days, which would have saved taxpayers thousands of pounds. Mr Cameron’s extraordinary travel plan will see him rack up around 3,700 air miles in just three days. Labour MP Thomas Docherty said: ‘Why couldn’t he just have booked his holiday for after these events, rather than blowing thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money jetting backwards and forwards? Fellow colleague Steve Pound added: ‘It’s not like he didn’t know these events were happening - we’ve known the date of the First World War anniversary for 100 years.’ Mr Cameron, who has previously been accused of being too good at ‘chillaxing’, had an Easter break with his family in Lanzarote. He and his wife will also take their traditional break to Cornwall later this summer with their children Nancy, eight, Arthur, six, and Florence, 23 months. Last year, Mr Cameron was criticised for taking four summer holidays to Scotland, Portugal, Ibiza and Cornwall. But he argued that he checked his BlackBerry and remained in charge of the country and ready to ‘spring into action’ no matter where he was. Ed Miliband is set to spend a fortnight in the French countryside on holiday. His summer reading list is said to include a detective thriller by JK Rowling, a 1994 true-crime story set in the Deep South and a work by Tristram Hunt, the shadow education secretary. Meanwhile Nick Clegg, the deputy prime minister, has already spent a week in Spain visiting his wife Miriam’s family. He has returned to Westminster to stand in for Mr Cameron during his break, but will fly back to Spain later this month. Downing Street said the Prime Minister is entitled to use the Royal Squadron for official business. Chillaxing: David and Samantha Cameron on a Cornwall beach in 2008. The family will return to Cornwall later this summer, after their trip to Portugal . | David Cameron used RAF jet to fly from Portugal to Glasgow .
Prime Minister flew to Portugal on Saturday with his family on Saturday .
One day into 10-day villa break he was flown back for Commonwealth Games .
He will use RAF plane to fly to France and Belgium to mark WW1 centenary .
Postponing holiday by a few days would have saved thousands, critics argue . |
161,712 | 5d1aff7b5efe81921f0053934091b710e3dea081 | By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 12:14 EST, 22 August 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 12:45 EST, 22 August 2013 . Yahoo: Yahoo's return to the top is another victory for CEO Marissa Mayer, pictured, who recently marked her first year as the company's boss. Shares of Yahoo have nearly doubled in value since she took the reigns . Yahoo has beaten Google to be named the most visited website in the United States, according to the latest report from ComScore. The once-fledgling tech company received 196.6 million unique visitors to its search website in July, compared to 192.3 million for Google, the monthly statistics show. This is the first time Yahoo has taken the top spot for U.S. web traffic since May 2011. Yahoo has been in the top two or three spots repeatedly, however the company has found securing the top spot tricky for the past two years. Yahoo acquired Tumblr earlier this year for $1 billion but the traffic haul does not include people who visited Tumblr, according to ComScore. 'Tumblr is not currently included in the Yahoo! Sites roll-up. 'Seems there are other factors at play, and given how close Yahoo Sites and Google have been in recent months it can likely just be normal seasonal/month-to-month fluctuations,' ComScore told Marketingland. Meanwhile, Google's traffic includes YouTube as well as its search page. Yahoo's return to the top is another victory for CEO Marissa Mayer, who recently marked her first year as the company's boss. Shares of Yahoo have nearly doubled in value since she took the reigns. Google: Google dropped from the top spot in the July's most visited website rankings . Rankings: Yahoo beat Google, and Microsoft, Facebook and AOL rounded out the top five . Microsoft properties followed Google and Facebook and AOL rounded out the top five most visited websites in July. Tumblr is listed separately and came in in 28th position with 38.3 million unique visitors last month and Twitter came 30th with 36.4 million. But the numbers don't include mobile traffic and, despite recent improvements, Yahoo is widely considered to be behind for smartphones, which may dent its lead. Yahoo also at the top of ComScore's Ad Focus rankings for July on the basis of internet audience reach. | The tech company received 196.6 million unique visitors to its search website in July, compared to 192.3 million for Google .
This is the first time Yahoo has taken the top spot for U.S. web traffic since May 2011 .
Yahoo acquired Tumblr earlier this year for $1 billion but the traffic haul does not include people who visited Tumblr, according to ComScore . |
187,704 | 7f116bbf745d9b1495a86b3353b73d8df7b6267c | By . Andy Dolan . PUBLISHED: . 19:48 EST, 9 January 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 06:37 EST, 10 January 2013 . Accused: Surgeon Ian Paterson is suspected of performing 'lumpectomy' surgery on 450 women instead of performing a simple biopsy to check for cancer . An NHS trust yesterday announced an independent inquiry into its handling of complaints about a surgeon alleged to have carried out more than 1,000 botched or unnecessary breast operations. Ian Paterson is suspected of performing ‘lumpectomy’ surgery on 450 women instead of performing a simple biopsy to check for cancer. He is also alleged to have performed his own ‘cleavage-sparing’ mastectomies (CSM) on around 700 more. The procedure, which he invented, leaves some breast tissue intact for cosmetic reasons, but is not approved in Britain because residual tissue could lead to an increased risk of the disease returning. Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust announced lawyer Sir Ian Kennedy will chair the review into how managers at Solihull Hospital and Good Hope Hospital in Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, reacted to concerns ‘raised by staff, patients and the public’ about the surgeon’s work. The review, which follows investigations already underway by the General Medical Council and West Midlands Police, will also consider if bosses acted appropriately on those concerns and responded to them ‘in a timely manner’. Paterson worked at three NHS and two private hospitals across the Midlands from 1994 until he was suspended last October. Police are also investigating the surgeon to see whether he should be charged with assault over the allegations he performed unnecessary surgery on 450 patients who did not have cancer. In the aftermath of the announcement of those inquiries, some patients spoke of how their lives had been ‘ruined’ by the surgeon, while others spoke out in his support. Hundreds of the women operated on by Paterson are believed to have launched claims for compensation against either the Trust or Spire Healthcare, which ran the two private hospitals where he worked in Solihull and Sutton Coldfield. Action: Solicitor Kashmir Uppal (centre) with (l-r) Paula Gelsthorpe, Victoria Weaver, Rachel Butler, Gail Boichat, Helen Gardiner and Marie Bailey, who are all taking legal action against surgeon Ian Paterson . The majority of the procedures took place at Solihull Hospital. Many of the women believed they were having a full mastectomy, only to discover they had not. The Trust wrote to all those women on its records operated on by Mr Paterson last year, asking them to get in touch. Heart of England NHS Trust said Paterson had carried out only a ‘very small number’ of operations at Good Hope, in the late 1990s, while he had not performed any surgery at Solihull since May 2011. Needless: Paula Gelsthorpe, 54, from Birmingham, had needless lumpectomies in 2002 and 2009 and said she suffered ¿an assault on the body and mind¿ . Sir Ian will make recommendations to the trust’s board in a public report expected to be completed by the summer. Lord Philip Hunt, chairman of the Heart of England trust, said the review would ‘determine whether there are lessons to be learned about how the organisation responded to the situation as it evolved, and how it might improve its response to concerns if they are raised in the future.’ Some of the women treated by Paterson said they felt mentally tortured by being led to believe they were seriously ill when, in fact, they were perfectly healthy. Paula Gelsthorpe, 54, from Birmingham, had needless lumpectomies in 2002 and 2009 and told the Daily Mail she suffered ‘an assault on the body and mind’. The Trust was first alerted to concerns about Paterson in 2007. He was ordered to stop the CSM technique. Spire Healthcare was informed and also asked the surgeon to stop the procedures. But some patients have told their lawyers that he continued CSM at the private hospitals before finally being banned from all surgery at the hospitals in August 2011. The married surgeon lives in a £1m Grade II-listed townhouse in Edgbaston, Birmingham. There was no answer at the property yesterday. Paterson, a father-of-three, is being represented by the Medical Defence Union. A spokesman said: ‘He (Paterson) is fully co-operating with the GMC investigation. ‘He cannot comment further because of patient confidentiality and the ongoing investigation.’ Sir Ian previously conducted a major inquiry into children’s heart surgery at Bristol Royal Infirmary and currently chairs Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) monitoring MPs’ expenses. Police are also thought to be investigating accusations Paterson made false claims to health insurers, allegedly claiming for more expensive operations than he performed and for others which were never carried out. Sorry we are unable to accept comments for legal reasons. | Ian Paterson is accused of performing 'lumpectomy' surgery on 450 women .
Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust will review two hospitals .
Investigations already underway by General Medical Council and police . |
89,008 | fc9e5e4ef5a8642665a8fc19fe9ffc84609a824a | (CNN) -- Reality TV may prove to be a golden ticket for Clay Aiken's congressional bid. Nearly a decade ago, Americans were introduced to the adorable schoolteacher from North Carolina. Aiken wowed viewers and judges early in the second season auditions of "American Idol." No one expected such an incredible voice to come out of such an unassuming package. He came out of nowhere and stole the show. His singing won him a golden ticket to Hollywood, but his resolve won him a unique place in the hearts of American viewers. And that could be just the training he needed for his next career. This week, Aiken once again presented himself as an unassuming candidate, this time jumping into North Carolina politics as a Democrat to challenge U.S. Rep. Renee Ellmers, a Republican, for her 2nd Congressional District seat. As a former political appointee and reality TV show participant, I am intrigued by Aiken's foray into the world of politics. He and I got our start on TV right around the same time. In all of my encounters with him over the last decade, I have found him to be kind, warm and authentic. I bet the voters in North Carolina will see the same thing. A friend asked me if I thought Aiken's TV background would help or hurt him in his congressional race. That's easy. National TV has uniquely prepared Aiken for this adventure into politics. Here's why. Aiken has had to convince millions to vote for him -- first via a toll-free 866 number and soon in a voting booth. He has had to deflect the barbs of critics -- I'm not sure who is worse, Simon Cowell or Sean Hannity. And he has had to learn how to win over the media -- first in Hollywood, now inside the Beltway. Back in 2003 and 2004, reality TV was a lot different. Aiken and I both were parts of instantly successful franchises at the peak of their popularity. Each week, millions of viewers tuned in not only to watch but also to vote for their choices -- or vote off whom they didn't like. This created a new entertainment democracy. Viewers were empowered to choose their favorites, and contestants had to campaign and compete for a spot on the show -- and for the hearts of America on an unofficial campaign trail. Reality TV requires you to have thick skin. When you have to face harsh critics such as Cowell or Donald Trump weekly, you have no choice but to be tough. But the toughest critic of all proved to be the American public. Aiken was subjected to intense, relentless scrutiny. He was forced to learn and apply leadership principles that were essential to his longevity and success, on screen and off. And even when he got knocked down, he had to get back up and fight again. There are skills that we learned being on a reality show that may help Aiken win. First, his message, which he has already tried and tested during his "American Idol" days, will get refined in the political arena. He proudly shared Christian beliefs and his passion for young people with special needs, both traits that resonated with viewers -- and likely with North Carolina voters. Secondly, his relationship with the media during "Idol" taught him how to deal with them in a smart, shrewd yet upfront and sincere way. The press can spot a fake a mile away. On "American Idol," he quickly learned to forge relationships with the media to connect with those who would cast their votes each week. In his congressional race, he will likely be able to reach voters in ways that his competitor can't. Because of his TV training, he already knows how to do so. Lastly, his two previous losses -- he came in second place behind Ruben Studdard during the second season of "Idol" and placed second behind Arsenio Hall in the fifth season of "Celebrity Apprentice" -- could prove to be just the hook in his bid for Congress. Going up against an incumbent in a traditionally Republican district, voters will see Aiken as the underdog and may rally behind him. Voters may feel that his time has come. And everyone roots for the underdog. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Omarosa Manigault. | Ex-"Apprentice" star Omarosa Manigault says reality TV was good training for Clay Aiken .
Aiken announced he is running for Congress in North Carolina as a Democrat .
Manigault: Reality TV makes you appeal for mass votes and requires you to have thick skin . |
8,006 | 16a3362bdc112095d993f1a1ace13085652c1963 | Hamas should be removed from the EU's 'terrorist list', the organisation's second highest court has ruled, leading to widespread outrage. The court defended the ruling, saying the process which saw Hamas put on the list in the first place was flawed, as the decision was based on media reports and not analysis of facts. The EU has said it still considers Hamas to be a terrorist group, despite the court's verdict, and may appeal. Not terrorists: The General Court of the EU has ruled that Hamas can no longer be included on the EU's terrorist list as the process which saw it put on the list in 2001 was flawed . Palestinian members of al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Hamas movement, descend while being harnessed to zip lines as smoke engulfs a building during a military parade marking the 27th anniversary of Hamas' founding, in Gaza City on Sunday . Deputy Hamas chief Moussa Abu Marzouk said the EU court's ruling is is a correction of a historical mistake the European Union had made . 'The EU continues to consider Hamas a terrorist organisation,' European Commission spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic said today, adding that the EU will consider its response to the ruling. The General Court of the European Union, the bloc's second highest tribunal located in Luxembourg , said EU member states could maintain their freeze on Hamas's assets for three months, to give time for further review or to appeal the verdict. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke shortly after the ruling was announced, demanding the EU immediately restore Hamas to its terrorism blacklist. 'We are not satisfied with the European Union's explanation that the removal of Hamas from its list of terrorist organisations is a 'technical matter',' Netanyahu said in a statement from Jerusalem today. 'We expect it (the EU) to put Hamas back on the list forthwith given that it is understood by all that Hamas -- a murderous terrorist organisation, the covenant of which specifies the destruction of Israel as its goal -- is an inseparable part of this list,' he said. Conflict: The EU has said it still considers Hamas (pictured) to be a terrorist group, despite the court's verdict, and may appeal to have it put back on the list . Not in the clear: EU member states can maintain their freeze on Hamas's assets for three months, to give time for further review or to appeal the verdict, the court ruled . Celebration: Members of al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Hamas movement, take part in a military parade marking the 27th anniversary of Hamas founding on Sunday . Israel's protests were unsurprisingly followed by cheers from Hamas in the Gaza strip, as representatives welcomed the verdict. 'The decision is a correction of a historical mistake the . European Union had made,' Deputy Hamas chief Moussa Abu Marzouk said. Anger: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, pictured on Monday, has demanded the EU immediately restore Hamas to its terrorism blacklist . 'Hamas is a resistance movement and it has a . natural right according to all international laws and standards . to resist the occupation,' Marzouk said. The EU court did not consider the merits of whether Hamas . should be classified as a terror group, but reviewed the . original decision-making process. This, it said, did not include . the considered opinion of competent authorities, but rather . relied on media and Internet reports. 'The court stresses that those annulments, on fundamental . procedural grounds, do not imply any substantive assessment of . the question of the classification of Hamas as a terrorist . group,' the court said in a statement. It added that if an appeal was brought before the EU's top . court, the European Court of Justice, the freeze of Hamas funds . should continue until the legal process was complete. Appeals, which can only be based on points of law, may be . brought within two months. The appeal itself would typically . last about a year and a half. The ruling comes just days after Hamas celebrated its 27th anniversary with an elaborate military parade through Gaza City. Hundreds of masked and armed members of al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Hamas movement, marched through the city on Sunday, holding rifles and mortar shells. Hamas holds sway in the Gaza Strip and its founding charter . calls for the destruction of Israel. It has regularly clashed . with Israel, most recently in a 50-day war this summer. Most Western countries, including the United States, agree . with Israel that it is a terror organisation, pointing to . indiscriminate rocket strikes out of Gaza and waves of suicide . attacks, primarily between 1993 and 2005. Hamas says it is a legitimate resistance movement and . contested the European Union's decision in 2001 to include it on . the EU terrorist list. | European Court rules Hamas should be removed from EU terrorist list .
Ruled decision to include Hamas on blacklist was based on media reports .
Israel has demanded the EU immediately restore Hamas on list .
Today, EU said it still considered Hamas to be a terrorist group . |
16,981 | 301a3c98c8ba866c96e99019a3168c58b9768efd | (CNN) -- The videos, pictures and tweets are chilling. A picture of a girl dangling limply from the arms of two young men. Other boys, laughingly saying the girl had to be dead because she didn't flinch as her body was violated. An alleged rape, made into a joke. The images and social media messages are at the heart of criminal charges against two high school football players accused of sexually assaulting an underage teenage girl during a series of end-of-summer parties in August. Both boys are charged with rape. One also is accused of "illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material." Their trial before an Ohio juvenile court judge is scheduled for February 13. CNN is not identifying the girl, who is a juvenile, in accordance with its policy not to release the names of alleged rape victims. The alleged attackers also are juveniles, but they have been identified by a judge in court, by defense attorneys and in newspapers and other media reports as Trent Mays and Ma'lik Richmond, both 16. The case has attracted the attention of bloggers and even Anonymous, a loosely organized cooperative of activist hackers. Anonymous has released information about the town and the football team and is threatening to release more unless everyone comes clean about what happened that August night. "The town of Steubenville has been good at keeping this quiet and their star football team protected," an Anonymous member wearing the group's trademark Guy Fawkes mask says in a video posted to the group's LocalLeaks website. The organization, he says, will not allow "a group of young men who turn to rape as a game or sport get the pass because of athletic ability or small-town luck." The girl was assaulted the night of Saturday, August 11, and early the next morning, according to authorities. Involved, according to authorities, were members of the Steubenville High School football team, demigods in the small, down-on-its-luck town along the banks of the Ohio River. A website dedicated to the team counts down the seconds to their return next fall. Police got involved on August 14, when the girl's mother came forward to report the alleged assault, according to Steubenville police Chief William McCafferty. The family provided a zip drive showing a Twitter page, possibly with a photo, the chief told CNN. A kidnapping charge was dropped by the Juvenile Court judge at a probable cause hearing last October, said McCafferty and Mays's attorney, Adam Nemann. "My client asserts his innocence, and he looks forward to his day in court," said Nemann. At an October hearing, attorney Walter Madison, who is representing Richmond, raised questions about the alleged victim's actions that night, according to CNN affiliate WTOV. On August 27, the same day authorities charged the two defendants, Jefferson County authorities asked for help from the attorney general's office in investigating and prosecuting the case. Interviews and witness statements led to the arrests, McCafferty said. "What we want is to be able to show the citizens of Jefferson County that everything that can be done in this case is being done, and if that means eliciting the help of these people from the attorney general's office, then that's what we want to do in this case," county prosecutor Jane Hanlin told WTOV at the time. By that time, images and messages from that night had made their way around social media. Crime blogger Alexandria Goddard, a former Steubenville resident, discovered and preserved many of the messages, at least some of which are now in the hands of authorities. She first spotted the story in the small town's newspaper and started looking into the situation on a hunch that the highly regarded football team's members were getting special treatment at the expense of the victim. "When I first came across the article, I just felt like -- because it was involving football players, and there is a culture there that football is very important, that there was probably a little more to this story than what the local media was reporting," she told CNN Thursday. "So I started doing my own research." One image circulated online and posted on a website maintained by Anonymous showed the girl, dressed in a T-shirt and blue shorts, her body limp, being held hand and foot by two males who appear to be teenagers. Text messages posted to social networking sites that night seemed to brag about the incident, calling the girl "sloppy," making references to rape and suggesting even that she had been urinated on, according to Goddard. CNN has not been able to establish whether this is true. In one 12-minute video, posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, one teenager makes joke after joke about the girl's condition, saying she must have died because she didn't move during one assault. Anonymous and others in the video identified the teen by a name that doesn't match the two who were charged, but CNN cannot independently confirm his identity. "Is it really rape because you don't know if she wanted to or not," the teenager says on the video. "She might have wanted to. That might have been her final wish." Other male voices can be heard off-camera, laughing and talking about the alleged assault. McCafferty said he cannot say who shot that video. "The subject in that video was interviewed. He wasn't charged," the chief told CNN. "The attorney general's office has all this. It appears to me after I watched the video he was intoxicated." The New York Times reported that a cell phone photo from that night shows the girl naked on the floor. Roughly 11 cell phones and a couple of iPads were seized during the investigation, said McCafferty, adding he was not involved in retrieving evidence from the electronic devices. McCafferty said "there was evidence on some of the phones." A special unit with the attorney general's office is doing the work, the chief said. McCafferty said there was a report of a video showing the alleged attack, but authorities don't have it or know whether it exists. The attorney for the girl's family told CNN that the girl is in counseling and is "doing as well as one can expect." "She's trying to go about her life right now, which is difficult because of all the media attention," said family attorney Robert Fitzsimmons. "It's as if she's just flown into this barnstorm. She'll make it through." The case is now in the hands of special prosecutors under Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine. DeWine said that the case is being aggressively prosecuted and remains under active investigation. "We want to make sure that there is no stone left unturned," he said. "We want to make sure that every one in the community really feels that justice has been done and that all the information does in fact come out." The parents of one teenager named on Goddard's blog sued her for defamation and sought to have those who anonymously commented on the blog about the case publicly identified. The family has since dropped the lawsuit, according to court documents. Meanwhile, Anonymous says it is collecting detailed information about the personal affairs of football boosters and others in the town of 18,000 who the group claims may have helped cover up the attack. It's also planning a protest "to help those who have been victimized by the football team or other regimes." The group has already hacked the website of the local football fansite and says it will release the information if people don't come forward to help the investigation. "My heart goes out to the victim," DeWine said. "The victim continues to be victimized every time something shows up on the Internet. There's nothing I can do about that, but it is very, very sad." CNN's Ross Levitt and Susan Candiotti contributed to this report . | Ohio state authorities are investigating an alleged rape .
Two teens are scheduled to be tried next month .
The alleged victim is "doing as well as one can expect," her lawyer says .
Images and messages about the alleged crime spread on social media . |
69,559 | c529d8c275ba55e667caeca62c677a3fd62a5a46 | (Mental Floss) -- It's tough being brilliant. It's even tougher when you hate your own masterpieces. 1. Tony Kaye The forgotten history of "American History X" Before director Tony Kaye embarked on his first feature film, 1997's "American History X," he'd already been declared a genius of the advertising world. Kaye was famous for taking months to craft the perfect 30-second commercial, and his meticulousness only bolstered his reputation. Top brands including Guinness and Volvo sought out his services, because he was just that good. But Kaye was more than a perfectionist; he was an egoist and an eccentric. During a period of unemployment in the mid-1980s, Kaye ran a full-page ad in London's "Evening Standard" proclaiming, "Tony Kaye is the Greatest English Director Since Hitchcock." He also attempted to start his own art movement, which included an "exhibition" of a homeless man in London's Tate Gallery. So, perhaps it should come as no surprise that "American History X" turned out the way it did. Studio execs at New Line Cinema were impressed by the concept behind Kaye's pitch -- to create a film about a former skinhead who tries to keep his younger brother from following in his footsteps. But after shooting 200 hours of footage and delivering a rough cut to the producers, Kaye still wasn't satisfied with the movie. He wanted to tweak the storytelling, and the studio agreed to give him another eight weeks to complete the project. During those two months, Kaye did virtually no editing. Instead, he went to a Caribbean island to consult with poet Derek Walcott, who plied the director with a few vague ideas about how to improve the film. Upon returning, Kaye decided to add in footage of actual neo-Nazis, but he had no idea how long that would take. Exasperated, the studio execs eventually pried the movie out of Kaye's hands, and New Line released an earlier cut of the film. At that point, Tony Kaye lost it. He sued the studio for $200 million and demanded that Humpty Dumpty be credited as the director. He also spent $100,000 on print ads that trashed the movie. In interviews, he badmouthed the script and claimed that actor Edward Norton had been wrong for the lead role. Yet in spite of Kaye's insistence that the movie was horrible, "American History X" went on to garner terrific reviews -- not to mention a Best Actor Oscar nomination for Edward Norton. Mental Floss: Ten hit songs you thought were about women (but aren't) 2. W.H. Auden The poem that wouldn't die . W.H. Auden's best-known poem, "September 1, 1939," was written the day that Germany invaded Poland, launching World War II. From the moment it was published in The New Republic that year, the work was instantly popular -- but Auden wanted to revise it. He thought parts of the poem rang false. He especially hated its most famous line: "We must love one another or die." Auden later reflected, "That's a damned lie! We must die anyway." So in the next version of his poem, Auden altered the text to read, "We must love one another and die." Even after making the change, Auden continued to despise the line. In subsequent versions, he resorted to cutting the entire stanza, and eventually decided he wanted to do away with the piece altogether: "The whole poem, I realized, was infected with an incurable dishonesty -- and must be scrapped." To Auden's dismay, people kept reading and quoting "September 1, 1939." The poet was particularly irritated when President Lyndon Johnson used the poem in his 1964 "Daisy" TV spot attacking opponent Barry Goldwater. The ad featured a little girl plucking petals off a flower, as the image of a nuclear explosion emerges behind her. As the mushroom cloud balloons to fill the screen, President Johnson says in a voiceover, "We must either love each other, or we must die." After seeing the ad, Auden said, "I pray that I never be memorable like that again." 3. Frederic Remington The way the west was lost . Decades before the movies of John Wayne and Clint Eastwood, Frederic Remington's illustrations created the mythic American West. During the 1880s and 1890s, readers devoured his depictions of grizzled cowboys and sinewy horses, reproduced by the hundreds in magazines and books. He illustrated "Teddy Roosevelt's Ranch Life and the Hunting-Trail" in 1887 and was a correspondent during the Spanish-American War in 1898. But the artist wasn't much of a cowboy himself. Born in New York, Remington went to art school at Yale, where he spent more time playing football than studying his craft. At age 19, he headed out West for a few years, visiting Montana and New Mexico and even making a go of sheep ranching in Kansas. However, he found the work difficult and tedious and soon returned home to New York, where he lived for most of his life. While his experiences on the frontier inspired his most famous works, Remington grew tired of painting crowd-pleasing cowboy scenes year after year. He wanted his work to become more abstract and expressive. He even began branching out into sculpture. But the public wasn't interested in his experiments in modernism; his cowboy paintings were paying the bills. On January 25, 1908, Remington became so frustrated while painting a particularly tricky scene that he decided to burn the canvas. He built a bonfire on his front lawn and torched the unfinished painting; then he proceeded to toss his other work into the flames. He ended up destroying more than 100 paintings that night, with millions of dollars in art going up in smoke. "They will never confront me in the future," he wrote. Indeed they didn't. Remington's sculptures became his most lasting work. Today, one of his bronzes, "Bronco Buster," sits next to President Obama in the Oval Office. Mental Floss: Ten of the best fictional parents . 4. R. Crumb Drowning his own kitten . Indie cartoonist Robert Crumb became famous in the 1960s for his cast of raunchy characters, including Mr. Natural and the "Keep on Truckin'" guys. But his best-known creation was the smooth-talking, sex-crazed Fritz the Cat. Ballantine Books published a paperback collection of Fritz' tales in 1969, and a copy ended up with animator Ralph Bakshi. An up-and-coming genius in his own right, Bakshi was looking to make an animated movie for adults, and Fritz seemed like perfect source material. When Bakshi approached Crumb with a movie deal, the cartoonist waffled. He'd lost interest in Fritz years ago, but he also didn't want to turn down Bakshi. To avoid making a choice, Crumb left the decision up to his wife, who thought both the film and the immediate paycheck were good ideas. It turned out that Crumb had good reason to be hesitant. Bakshi didn't feel obligated to stay true to the original work, and he used Fritz as a vehicle to voice his own views -- depicting hippies as would-be fascists, embracing toilet humor, and including unexplained violence. Bakshi presented the material as an attack on the 1960s -- a decade that had been very good to Crumb. When Crumb previewed the finished film, he was appalled. The politics were bad enough, but in Crumb's words, the toilet humor suggested a "real repressed" attitude toward sex. It was too late to change anything, though, and "Fritz the Cat" was released in theaters. The first animated film with an X rating, Fritz became a hot topic and earned massive amounts of publicity. Bakshi, for his part, was hailed as a breath of fresh air in the field of animation. But Crumb got his revenge. A few months after the movie's release, he drew a comic titled "The Death of Fritz the Cat," in which he killed the character with an ice pick to the head. The cat was finished, and Crumb refused all future adaptations of his work. 5. Ludwig van Beethoven Turning a deaf ear . In addition to being a brilliant composer, Ludwig van Beethoven was a shrewd businessman. He dedicated most of his work to wealthy benefactors, with the hope that they'd keep giving him money. But in the early 1800s, Beethoven decided to shift his strategy and honor the man he admired the most -- Napoleon Bonaparte. Beethoven believed in the egalitarian ideals of the French Revolution, and he saw Napoleon as a charismatic leader who was making a real effort to reform government. In 1803, the star-struck composer named his third symphony the "Bonaparte" symphony. Of course, when Napoleon proclaimed himself emperor of France in May 1804, Beethoven was horrified. The composer ripped apart the title page to his symphony, yelling, "Now, too, he will tread underfoot all the rights of man, and indulge only his ambition. He will exalt himself above all others, and become a tyrant!" After cooling off a little, the composer decided that the symphony was still good, but he changed the title. He renamed it the "Eroica" symphony, dedicating it to a generic "heroic man." The passionate work is still one of Beethoven's most-performed pieces. To this day, the library of Vienna's Musikverein concert hall keeps an original copy of the composition on display -- complete with Napoleon's name violently scratched out. Mental Floss: Fun facts about presidential memoirs . For more mental_floss articles, visit mentalfloss.com . Entire contents of this article copyright, Mental Floss LLC. All rights reserved. | To W.H. Auden's dismay, people kept reading and quoting his poem "September 1, 1939"
Frederic Remington destroyed over 100 paintings .
Beethoven ripped apart the title page to his "Bonaparte" symphony . |
262,815 | e0698c6c3c736f011482e20880b8f3a5c5968e8e | (CNN) -- Do comedy writers share notes or do they just think alike? On the day "Tonight Show" host Jay Leno announced he was passing the baton to Jimmy Fallon, he and an old rival shared nearly identical jokes on their late night shows. In his opening monologue on Wednesday, Leno said it had been a tough day for him. "Had a really awkward day today," the late night host said in mock anguish. "Had to call David Letterman and tell him he didn't get 'The Tonight Show' ... again." At nearly the same instant on the "Late Show," Letterman addressed his rival's impending retirement. "I got a call from my mom today, she says, 'Well, David, I see you didn't get the 'Tonight Show' again,'" Letterman said with a shrug. "What are you going to do, mom?" he asked. A bit of comedy serendipity? Maybe it was just too tempting to pass up. Many expected Letterman would take over "The Tonight Show" when former host Johnny Carson retired in 1992, but the gig instead went to Leno. Letterman jumped networks to start "The Late Show" on CBS, which airs opposite Leno on NBC. How Twitter helped Fallon get Leno's job . Emotional Fallon . Fallon bounded onto his "Late Night" set, full of energy, if a bit manic, after word of his new job. "Hello! Welcome! This is 'Late Night with Jimmy Fallon,' for now," he said to chuckles. "You guys probably heard the news -- I'm going to be taking over 'The Tonight Show' next February! "But don't worry, until February, our focus is right here on whatever this show is called." Later, Fallon's voice cracked as he paused and struggled for words at times. "I want to thank everyone here at 'Late Night.' The staff, the crew and, of course, The Roots," he said, referring to his late night band. "I have to say thanks to Jay Leno for being so gracious. It means so much to me to have his support." An hour earlier, Leno congratulated Fallon in his opening monologue, while taking another swipe at the NBC executives that are showing him the door. "I just have one request of Jimmy. We've all fought, kicked and scratched to get this network up to fifth place, okay? Now we have to keep it there," he deadpanned. "Jimmy don't let it slip into sixth. We're counting on you." Leno will wrap up his 22-year run as host in spring 2014, with Fallon officially signing on as his replacement. On his Twitter account, Fallon said, "Today was one of the most exciting days of my life." Rumors have been swirling . The expectation that Leno would leave NBC's legendary late-night program has been building recently, and Fallon's appointment isn't surprising in the least. He's had a swift rise to "Tonight's" chair, having hosted "Late Night" for just four years, but Fallon's transition was treated as such a near certainty that both hosts worked the headlines into their nightly routines. While Fallon initially downplayed the rumors, Leno went after his employer on a regular basis. He compared NBC executives to snakes, joked about the network's sagging ratings and kidded that the rumored late-night shuffle was like NBC's version of March Madness. Monologue: Leno congratulates Fallon . Just two days before the big announcement, Fallon and Leno again made light of the reports with a parody of the song "Tonight" from the musical "West Side Story." With Leno's contract set to expire in fall 2014, industry observers said the move was only a matter of time. And this, says media reporter Bill Carter, was the right time. "Jay told me that really the difference with this was he went along with it," said Carter, a New York Times reporter who wrote "The War for Late Night: When Leno Went Early and Television Went Crazy" -- a book that chronicles the last time Leno left "Tonight." "He agrees with this. He's on board with this." This has happened before . Leno first exited "Tonight" in 2009 after 17 years as host, passing the torch to Conan O'Brien, who was then the host of "Late Night." Leno was moved to prime time with his own program, "The Jay Leno Show," that fall. But when that brought dismal ratings, NBC decided to put Leno back in charge of "Tonight" at the start of 2010, leaving O'Brien without a job. Despite his short stint on "Tonight," O'Brien wished Fallon well. "I want to congratulate Jimmy. That is a really fun gig. You laugh, but it really is," O'Brien said, trying to reassure the audience he wasn't being sarcastic. "Jimmy is the perfect guy to do it. He's going to do a fantastic job." After getting the boot from "Tonight," the flame-haired comedian eventually moved to TBS to host his own show, "Conan," in the 11 p.m. hour, but the entire scenario generated ill will toward Leno and NBC. (TBS shares a parent company with CNN.) Yet as the years went on, Leno has proved to be resilient. As NBC's prime-time ratings suffered, Leno's "Tonight Show" was still able to rise above the rest in its time slot. At the end of March, "The Tonight Show" hit a seven-week high in total viewers, with 3.52 million watching. However, NBC was said to be concerned about losing younger viewers to ABC's Jimmy Kimmel, whose "Jimmy Kimmel Live" was moved up to compete with Leno and David Letterman's "Late Show" at the beginning of 2013. "The more time Jimmy Kimmel is in that slot, the more the young audience goes that way, the harder it is for (Fallon) to keep that audience," one source familiar with the network's thought process told The Hollywood Reporter in March. Changing states of comedy . With the change in hosts comes a change in locales. According to a statement from NBC, "As part of the transition, 'The Tonight Show' will be returning to its original home in 30 Rock in New York" from Leno's base of Los Angeles. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo praised the move, saying in a statement "on behalf of all New Yorkers" that he's "pleased to welcome 'The Tonight Show' back to its first home." When it began in 1954, the "original 'Tonight Show' ushered in the modern era of television," Cuomo continued. "It is only fitting that as 'The Tonight Show' returns to our state, it will be headlined by New York's own native son and resident, Jimmy Fallon." Out with the old . At 62 years old, Leno represents a more traditional form of hosting, as he's known for his "Las Vegas-style comedy," said The New York Times. Fallon, 38, regularly incorporates the Web and social media into his act, offering "a more contemporary and varied brand of entertainment," the Times said. This changing of the guard is one of the most closely watched exercises in pop culture, especially as it takes place at one of TV's mainstay productions. Even with its decline in ratings over the years, it remains a solid profit center for NBC, making between $25 million and $40 million for the network, according to The New York Times. Although it's been on the air for almost 60 years, "The Tonight Show" has had just a handful of regular hosts: Steve Allen, Jack Paar, Johnny Carson, Leno and O'Brien. "The Tonight Show" isn't what it was during the long tenure of Carson, who hosted the show from 1962 until 1992. In those three-network times, Carson dominated late-night TV like nobody before or since. He dominated the ratings and routinely sat down challengers like so many duck targets at a carnival shooting gallery. Joey Bishop, Dick Cavett, Joan Rivers, Pat Sajak -- they all tried to dethrone the king, and they all came up short. Carson sat behind "Tonight's" desk for 30 years before passing the torch to Leno, and "Johnny" is still the model against whom all are measured. "Late Night" producer Lorne Michaels, who's now executive producer of "The Tonight Show," has called Fallon "the closest thing" this generation has to Carson. It appears it's now time for Fallon to show and prove. CNN's Henry Hanks contributed to this report. | NEW: New York Times media reporter Bill Carter says Leno was "on board with this"
Fallon will replace Leno in spring 2014 .
Leno first left the show in 2009 but returned after his new show failed .
The new "Tonight Show" will also return to New York . |
40,926 | 73612a1f04dd096ddc7ef54f2e635577dd193c29 | (CNN) -- Baseball scouts found Hank Aaron hitting cross-handed in Mobile, Alabama. They found Mickey Mantle outrunning the wind in northeast Oklahoma. They even found a former drug addict and felon turned outfielder, Ron LeFlore, in a Michigan state prison. "We are very happy. This is a big opportunity," Rinku Singh says of his new job. The latest discoveries are from the countryside. The Indian countryside. Two pitchers, both as rural as hay, are now working for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Rinku Singh and Dinesh Patel are the first baseball players from India to sign a professional baseball contract. They're entering pro baseball, a religious cult of its own with tobacco-spitting high priests, superstitions and unwritten rules of the clubhouse and the field . "Sir, we are very excited," Singh said with stunning reverence compared with most American 19-year-olds. Baseball is a game that rewards fresh young arms that can throw with velocity. Patel is 19 years old, a muscular 5 feet, 11 inches tall and right-handed. Singh is 20 years old and a 6-foot-tall 180-pound lefthander. Watch Singh and Patel discuss their new sport » . Both have thrown the ball past the vaunted 90 mile per hour mark on a radar gun. Their passage from India began with a reality show, "The Million Dollar Arm" competition, staged from Mumbai to Delhi. Los Angeles, California-based sports agent J.B. Bernstein got the idea that somewhere in a country of 1.1 billion people, they could find humans who could throw the ball 85 mph or better. The winner of the contest would get to come to America to learn how to pitch. For the Indian men, many meal-skipping poor, baseball represented a chance to throw their way out of poverty. More than 37,000 competitors crossed rivers, walked, rode, drove and bicycled over paved and unpaved roads and dirt paths. They pitched in all sorts of unconventional manners, often a hurl of the baseball in a modified cricket style. "We even had a guy in Bangalore named Babu who drove a three-wheeler cab," Bernstein explained. "He threw 81 miles per hour barefooted. He actually made it to a tie-breaker to qualify for the finals but ultimately was eliminated." Singh and Patel, two former javelin throwers who picked up a baseball for the first time this year, changed their lives with throws faster than 85 mph. Goodbye to villages where their parents earn about $25 a week, hello to training in Los Angeles. "The biggest surprise here, sir, is the rules of the road here," Patel said, alluding to India's dangerous driving. "People respect safe driving here." The young men arrived in the United States to work with a master, Tom House, the University of Southern California pitching coach. House has a Ph.D. in psychology, preaches pitcher-specific strength drills and taught Nolan Ryan, Randy Johnson and other legends of the craft. "The idea is that getting somebody brand new, with no bad habits, would be easier than trying to teach somebody to undo bad habits," House said. House adds that already, the pitchers are good mentally and physically. So House is teaching his pupils the art of deception, changing the speeds of their pitches, throwing to different locations: high and tight, low and outside. "We have learned three pitches: breaking ball, fastball and change-up," Singh said. "We are very happy. This is a big opportunity." It's also high-voltage culture shock. Halloween with horrifying costumes, drunken revelry and women in various states of undress blew the minds of the Indian pitchers, both are Hindus raised on reverence and modesty. "I couldn't believe the first time I saw Halloween here," Patel said in astonishment. "I saw students in crazy costumes. People were going crazy." House says his pupils will have to get used to the customs of baseball, from being asked to knock down a hitter with an inside pitch to knowing not to waste throwing a curveball on a three-ball, one-strike count when up by 10 runs. "That's going to be their hardest adjustment," House said. "It's going to be a cram course. They'll figure it out and probably have their feelings hurt or be confused early on." But House predicts that the amiable pitchers will be embraced and soon learn about spitting sunflower seeds, or putting shaving cream in an unsuspecting teammate's cap. "Baseball is a funny game," Patel said with a smile, flashing teeth as white as a newly unwrapped baseball. For the pitchers from India, the levity of baseball diamond got interrupted by the terror being played out on television as they watched the details of the recent Mumbai terrorist attacks on CNN. "It is very sad," Singh said. "We just pray for everyone in India." The young men are back at home in India now, where they say they are fortunate that none of their loved ones was killed or hurt. Once they return, they will eventually wind up on the mound in Bradenton, Florida, for Pittsburgh Pirates spring training. When Singh and Patel face their first opponents off on some practice field, no doubt the echoes of Tom House will be heard. "So you wanna throw hard," House urged. "Think hard. Think hard thoughts." The pitching guru will also steer them through those times when an ornery coach might live up to the Housian theory of baseball being a kid's game run by negative adults in a culture of misinformation. "The really good thing is, they're not going to understand 90 percent of the negativity." House said. "My mom used to say ignorance is bliss. So their lack of understanding of the politics of the game will be a plus for them." The Pirates players will also need to adjust to their teammates . Between games, Singh and Patel won't be eating cheeseburgers on the road, as cows are sacred to their Hindu beliefs. It's on to the world of pro baseball, sidestepping tobacco juice and the smell of new leather gloves. The baseball scouts have found two true country boys from India, who both have great arms and cows as pets. | Two young men sign contracts with Pittsburgh Pirates .
They took part in Indian reality show searching for next great pitchers .
Noted coach Tom House is teaching them the rules of the game .
"Baseball is a funny game," one says . |
48,903 | 8a13b74bdf4eecc39e6b6ae9de529204d330bc8f | Havana, Cuba (CNN) -- Fidel Castro has never been accused of wanting for opinions, but the former Cuban leader's Tuesday commentary stumped many of his fellow citizens. The subject was not the bloodshed in Syria or the economic crisis in Europe, but yoga. Yoga? "Yoga does things with the human body that defy the imagination," Castro wrote in a front-page editorial in the island's state-run Granma newspaper. The 35-word ode to the Eastern art of meditation and stretching was the latest "Reflection from Comrade Fidel," a newspaper column dedicated to Castro's musings that has appeared regularly since he stepped down from power in 2006 due to a mystery illness. Castro's praising of yoga, which according to Granma, occurred at 2:40 p.m. on Monday, did not include whether Castro himself was a practitioner. The column was atypically short for the famously verbose former head of state. Opinion: Is Castro Cuban-American's Hitler? Since his illness, Castro's "Reflection" opinion pieces often have filled whole pages in the newspaper -- not a difficult task for a world leader who in his heyday spoke for hours without notes on a variety of subjects. But in recent weeks, Castro's published opinions resemble microburst streams of consciousness more akin to a Twitter message than a formal treatise. "He thought of himself as a wise man and, doubtless, he was. But he made a small mistake," Castro wrote Friday about an apparent long-ago rift with former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping. "Cuba has to be punished," Castro wrote that Deng said. "Our country never even pronounced his name." Deng died in 1997 and it is not clear what punishment Castro referred to. Another "Reflection" praised former East German leader Erich Honecker, who Castro wrote was the "most revolutionary German I have known." "I had the privilege of observing his conduct," Castro continued in the brief column. "When he was paying bitterly for the debt contracted by the man who sold his soul to the devil for a few shots of vodka." "The man" selling his soul for vodka was not identified, sparking a debate among Cubans, some thinking Castro meant former Russian President Boris Yeltsin, a reputed lover of the beverage. Others argued he meant former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, whose reforms helped lead to the end of the Soviet empire and to vital economic aid from the USSR to Cuba. Raul Castro's daughter endorses Obama . For his Monday "Reflection," Castro switched topics from politics to farming, authoring a one-sentence endorsement of the moringa olefeira and mulberry plants for their nutritional benefits. The brief and sometimes cryptic "Reflections" have also stirred debate in Miami, where Castro's health is an oft-discussed topic among the city's large Cuban-American community. Castro has not been seen publicly since March,when video was shown of him meeting with Pope Benedict XVI during the pontiff's visit to Cuba. In the video, Castro appeared frail and had to be assisted while he walked. "It may be that he is not coherent enough to write longer 'Reflections,'" said professor Jaime Suchlicki of the University of Miami. "But it's clear even if Fidel Castro is no longer in the limelight, he is not ready to stop talking just yet." | Since his illness, Castro has written regular "Reflection" newspaper commentaries .
His topics have ranged from former leaders to plants .
Tuesday's topic: Yoga .
"Yoga does things with the human body that defy the imagination," Castro wrote . |
149,445 | 4d407e7d471b0f510dfed3c53e9b1a7ac6874450 | A retired decorator has painted his whole council house in the style of the Sistine Chapel and is using celebrities as models for his versions of priceless Renaissance paintings. Robert Burns, who lives in a £93-per-week rented home in Brighton, East Sussex, has depicted Russell Brand as Jesus, Wayne Rooney in prayer and Jose Mourinho as Leonardo da Vinci's Salvator Mundi. The only hint of what is within the 1960s terrace is the Renaissance decorations he has added to his green . wheelie bin, and his house number is in Roman numerals. The 66-year-old's ten-year project is all the more impressive because he has never been to Italy and has never been taught art. When Rome meets Brighton: Retired painter and decorator Robert Burns has painted his council house to look like the Sistine Chapel . Renaissance man: Mr Burns has used celebrities as his muses, including comedian Russell Brand as Jesus, and even his wheelie bin is decorated spectacularly . No clue: Despite the fantastical painting and decorating inside the building, the outside of this humble terrace shows no signs of Mr Burns' flair for art . Grandfather-of-three Mr Burns, 66, said: 'I get inspired when I see a celebrity offering themselves in a Renaissance pose. 'I used the Russell Brand picture from the front of a magazine, I thought he looked like Jesus of Nazareth. 'I just put the crown of thorns on his head. 'It is the camera angle that inspires me.' He added: 'I don't follow football but when I found out Jose Mourinho calls himself 'The Special One' I knew I had to do him next. 'He is extremely photogenic, there was this photograph and I thought, 'he looks just like the Salvator Mundi photo'. 'Salvator Mundi means Saviour of the World, I think it suits him very well.' Incredible: The ceilings of his council house have renaissance scenes simlar to those found in Rome, but this one is in his upstairs loo . Magnificent: The grandfather-of-three and former decorator has painted his entire home in this style, although the spare room still needs some work . Inspired by the stars: His religious art includes Wayne Rooney in the style of Francis of Assisi by Francisco de Zurbaran and 'the special one' Jose Mourinho . He has also painted Wayne Rooney in the style of Francis of Assisi by Francisco de Zurbaran after seeing him in prayer. Mr Burns describes the picture as 'the ultimate hoody'. Mr Burns has famously painted the entirety of the inside of his terrace home with elaborate frescoes inspired by 15th century Italian painters. Every surface in his house - bar the spare room - shows a gilt-edged nativity scene, cherub or picture of the Virgin Mary. In the last year Mr Burns has also dedicated his bathroom to the Renaissance style - in fact there is just one room in his three-bedroom house not yet decorated. His bathroom has pictures inspired by The Triumph of Galatea by Raphael and The Birth of Venus by Botticelli the ceiling is painted with a version of the Venus and Adonis by Sebastiano Ricci. Talented: Mr Burns started work on the house in 2003 and ten years on he admits that if he were to leave the house he would want to take his artworks with him, but knows he can't . Magic: His bathroom has pictures inspired by The Triumph of Galatea by Raphael and The Birth of Venus by Botticelli the ceiling is painted with a version of the Venus and Adonis by Sebastiano Ricci . Eye for art: Despite his passion for the renaissance Mr Burns has never visited Italy to see the art in situ and has never been formally taught art . He first started decorating his home in 2003 and in the last decade has dedicated hours to transforming boring magnolia walls into works of art. Mr Burns said: 'The spare room is still waiting to be painted. 'That will be the next project. 'I have recently completed an altar piece in the bedroom. 'I'm really pleased with how it has all turned out.' As the work is painted onto plaster if Mr Burns ever moves he will be unable to take his work of art with him. Despite his passion for the Renaissance Mr Burns has never visited Italy to see the art in situ and has never been formally taught art. Instead he is inspired by books on art and especially on the Vatican he picks up at car boot sales. He says his children and grandchildren are used to visiting the house now and 'hardly notice it anymore'. | Robert Burns, 66, has spent ten years turning his £93-per-week council home into a giant work of art .
He has used celebrities as his muses, with Russell Brand as Jesus and Wayne Rooney as Francis of Assisi .
'I don't follow football but when I found out Jose Mourinho calls himself "The Special One" I knew I had to do him next' |
42,088 | 76bfeff109e9abf9ab0191ee82f304c831aa3b03 | By . Rachel Quigley . PUBLISHED: . 14:43 EST, 11 September 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 14:59 EST, 12 September 2012 . As brave Aimee Copeland walked on to the Katie Couric show to talk about her remarkable journey, there was not a dry eye in the house. The 24-year-old, from Snelville, Georgia, was struck by a rare flesh-eating bacteria after a zip-lining accident on May 1 which left her clinging on to life before eventually claiming her hands, legs and foot. Today was her first TV appearance since she was released from hospital in July and Aimee demonstrated her remarkable recovery by coming on the show with the aid of a walker and one prosthetic leg. Journey: Aimee revealed that core strength and arm strength is important for her to be able to walk which she was just able to do for the first time a week ago . Remarkable: There was not a dry eye in the house when Aimee Copeland came on the Katie Couric show with the aid of a walker . Brave: The 24-year-old was smiling and optimistic throughout and told Katie she never considered giving up because she 'loves life' Young love: Aimee revealed for the first time that her boyfriend has been with her every step of her remarkable journey and that she can see her spending the rest of her life with him . Couric herself could not contain her emotion at Aimee's remarkable recovery and tears spilled down her cheeks. The University of West Georgia student appeared to be the only person in the studio able to hold her emotions together as she beamed and smiled from the moment she walked in, describing it as 'awesome'. She also revealed that her boyfriend Ben has stuck by her through the whole remarkable journey. Asked by Katie if she ever worried he would turn around one day and say: 'You know Aimee I can't do this any more,' she laughed and said: 'No not really. 'Because he's really great . and we have been together through so many hard times. I look at him . and I see myself with him and I think he thinks that too. 'It's remarkable . how laid back he is even when I'm being a grouch. When I stood up for . the first time he started crying, it was really sweet.' Speaking about her time in hospital, she revealed the worst moment came when her dad Andy lifted up her hand for her to see. Her fingers were black and her hands blood red. He said to her: 'This isn't healthy is it? We’re going to have to cut them off.' Describing the experience she said: 'It was a very intense moment. I said, "let’s do this!" What else are you going to do?' And as a testament to her courage and optimism, when asked if she ever considered giving up at any time, Aimee smiled and said: 'Dying was never an option, I love . life, it’s a beautiful thing. 'I don’t take for granted . anymore how beautiful it is. Seeing the sunrise, ocean, animals, the . senses are so deepened. Smell, everything smells better, colors are more . vibrant than ever before. Instead of saying I’m disabled, I say I have . different abilities.' Normal life: Aimee talks about how she has had to adapt to living without hands and feet but says she is looking forward to learning how to drive again . iPhone: Voice activation software is a massive help for Aimee as she reveals she uses Siri to text and call her friends . Rehab: Aimee can now do 300 sit ups and is focusing on her upper body strength so she can manoeuvre her body around more easily . Shocked: Aimee Copeland was gifted a new car by a local dealer as a surprise on the Katie show . She also revealed she was hoping to dedicate her life to helping other amputees and learn from others about how much can be achieved despite their disabilities. Aimee's university thesis will focus on wilderness therapy for amputees, which is the idea that healing can happen through nature, and victims can be helped spiritually, physically and mentally by being in their natural environment. She said; 'When people think they cannot do certain things, it's just not true, as there is so much technology that enable people to do whatever they can. 'We say in rehabilitation "Never say can't" and I want to get that message out there to others.' Throughout the interview, the remarkable young woman remained upbeat and was even cracking jokes about her condition with Couric, who seemed overwhelmed by her recovery. As she described how eager she was to be able to drive again and the trials and tribulations of having to relearn the skill, Couric surprised her with a brand new car which will be equipped to deal with her disabilities. Video footage of Aimee's recovery was shown before she walked on to the show. The sheer determination is evident on her face as she works tirelessly to improve her upper body and core strength which she said is important for her to be able to move around. Proud: Aimee's family were there to support her and discuss the amazing journey she has been through on the Katie show . Surprise: The student was gifted a brand new car by a local car dealer who told her he just wanted her to be able to do what every other 24-year-old kid does . Goodbye: poses with hospital staff as she goes to a rehabilitation clinic. She has now spent her first night in her newly built wing of her family home . Aimee says she reminds herself every single day just how lucky she is to be alive. 'It’s something I had to do every moment of every day. It’s not something that I’m like "oh great I accomplished this", it’s something I have to get through at every moment. 'Sometimes it doesn't work, and sometimes it's bad. It’s just that fight. In everyone’s life we all have struggles we have to get through at every moment.' Aimee . will continue her rehabilitation regime, a tough military-style workout . of 300 crunches, 400 leg lifts, and ‘untold number’ of pushups and . ‘planking’-exercises. Wing: The team have created the perfect home for the Aimee, doing their utmost to incorporate her own bohemian, earthy and eclectic style . Aimee’s road to recovery has been followed by thousands and touched the heart of the local contractors who clubbed together to create the perfect home for Aimee. Couric told the student that she believed she was put on this earth to do something special and looked forward to seeing what that may be. | Boyfriend Ben cried when she stood up for the first time .
Described the moment she walked onto the show as 'awesome'
Said dying was never an option for her because she loves life too much .
Wants to dedicate her life to helping other amputees . |
153,476 | 525302ebda36c4ef98d76dc6025daba7440a132a | There was laughter, can-can lines and even the odd bouncer as Australia started their preparations for the four-Test series against India. Training together for the first time since Phillip Hughes' tragic death, the Test squad maintained a front of normality on Friday in the South Australian capital, Adelaide. Tuesday is not only the opening day of the series, but the first time Hughes' team mates will play after their beloved mate was felled at the Sydney Cricket Ground, on day one of a Sheffield Shield round between South Australia and New South Wales. The full impact of Hughes' shock death, after he was fatally struck by a bouncer, on not only the Australian cricket team but also on the game is yet to be seen. Mitchell Johnson throws a cricket ball during an Australia Test Team practice session at Park 25 Cricket Ground in Adelaide, South Australia . 'I reckon you'll get a pretty good indication of how they're going today,' Australian coach Darren Lehmann (right) said. 'The squad (left) is getting on with what we do well and that's play cricket' Phillip Hughes shock death was caused by a bouncer during a Sheffield Shield match at the SCG, which caused 'catastrophic' injuries when he was struck in the head on November 25 . Australia coach Darren Lehmann reaffirmed that players will be given time to decide whether they're mentally up to playing at Adelaide Oval on Tuesday. But the early signs suggest the fear of mass withdrawals was unfounded. Coach Darren Lehmann (left, with Steve Smith) says that it's the player's choice if they return to the pitch or not for the first test against India. The test begins on Tuesday in Adelaide . The Australian cricketers showed incredible good humour, partaking in routine hijinks and questionable dance moves as players warmed up at a suburban oval on the fringes of the Adelaide CBD. Kick-ups came first, with the standard debate over who was at fault when the soccer ball hit the ground. It was only days earlier that the nation watched a clip at Phillip Hughes' funeral, broadcast on national television, which showed archive footage of the talented youngster playing the very same game alongside his team mates. The players were photographed playing 'kick-ups'. At his Wednesday funeral, Phillip Hughes was shown in archive footage playing the same game as he laughed with his team mates . Fielding drills were next, the four fast bowlers breaking away to one group. They laughed with Peter Siddle when the Victorian overshot the mark with his return, the ball skidding along the car park and bumping a vehicle. Then came the serious business. David Warner was among the first batsmen to shuffle into the nets. David Warner took to the nets during Friday's training session. The opening batsman was incredibly close to Hughes and did not leave his side on the field after he was struck during the Sheffield Shield match . Steve Smith also took to the nets and was exposed to fast balls and bouncers as the bowlers appeared to train in their typical fashion in a remarkably normal session . Siddle, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Johnson looked to regain rhythm in a centre-wicket session. Even then, spirits remained remarkably high. Chief selector Rod Marsh helped set the tone. Marsh grabbed a baseball mitt and reprised his wicketkeeping days for a short time before being replaced by fielding coach Greg Blewett. Both Marsh and Blewett understandably struggled to read the pacemen's deliveries. The bouncer slowly came into fashion, although Johnson bowled a fuller length for most of the session. Ryan Harris (left) and Mitch Marsh (right) both returned to the pitch with confidence . Australia's fearsome fast bowler, Mitchell Johnson, appeared to bowl a fuller length for most of the session . Hazlewood fired one in that flew over Shaun Marsh's head, but it was Siddle that truly stepped up. He sent down a terrific short ball, Marsh quickly ducking under. Chris Rogers was not so lucky, a rising delivery from Siddle inflicting some serious pain when it thumped his body. It was remarkably normal. Five days of Test cricket is obviously a significantly different proposition to a run in the park. The Australian cricket coach, affectionately known as 'Boof', is confident that the boys are back in business. 'I reckon you'll get a pretty good indication of how they're going today,' Lehmann said prior to training. '(The squad is) getting on with what we do well and that's play cricket.' Spirits were high, with plenty of antics, laughters, games and questionable dancing . Just two days before, the Australian cricket team had farewelled their mate, Phillip Hughes. (From left to right) Shane Watson, wife Lee Furlong, David Warner and fiance Candice Falzon process through the main street of Macksville behind the hearse . The 25-year-old batsman was farewelled at a moving service in Macksville in New South Wales' mid north coast . Tributes to Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes are displayed on the pitch at the Sydney Cricket Ground . | Australian cricket team train for the first time since Phillip Hughes' death .
Phillip Hughes was killed when he was struck in the neck by a bouncer in a Sheffield Shield match at the Sydney Cricket Ground .
The team are preparing for the first of the four-Test series against India .
The Test opens on Tuesday at the South Australian capital Adelaide .
Players laughed, joked around and even bowled bouncers at training .
It is the players' decision whether or not they will play in the first Test . |
167,242 | 644a6b2d288e55ab831bb3a8be78b3334b67f756 | Mexican drug cartels are finding it easier to smuggle drugs into the U.S. thanks to border patrol officials being forced to deal with an unprecedented crisis of illegal migrants. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbot recently requested an additional $30 million (£17.6m) in funding from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to help deploy more resources to the area. It comes on the heels of a massive 92 per cent spike from the same period last year in minors being apprehended at the border, thought to be mostly from Central American countries such as Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. Scroll down for video . Detainees wait in a Texas holding cell, where authorities are dealing with a massive spike in unaccompanied children attempting to cross the border via Mexico and the Rio Grande . In his request for funding, Abbot described an 'extraordinary influx' of unaccompanied minors to Texas via the state's border from Mexico. 'With the Border Patrol’s focus shifted to this crisis, we have grave concerns that dangerous cartel activity, including narcotics smuggling and human trafficking, will go unchecked because Border Patrol resources are stretched too thin. 'Unless the Department of Homeland Security or another federal agency provides funding, the cartels - which are central to this crisis - will prevail because they profit from each illegal border crossing.' Chris Cabrera, a Border Patrol union representative told The Washington Post that smugglers were exploiting gaps created in the border when agents were pulled from their stations to deal with groups of people crossing the Rio Grande river. He told the paper groups as large as 250 wade across and distract officers while the drug traffickers creep across hoping to pass by undetected. 'After that they send over the dope,' he said. Young detainees are pictured being escorted to make phone calls at a processing centre in Nogales, Arizona . In the Rio Grande Valley sector alone, the Border Patrol made more than 160,000 apprehensions of illegal migrants between October 2013 and May 2014 - an increase of 70 percent over the same period the year before. Authorities arrested 47,017 unaccompanied minors illegally crossing the border between October and May, up 92 percent from the same period a year earlier, with more than two-thirds of these arrests in the Rio Grande Valley. Startling photos taken last week document a handful of failed border crossing attempts - the images show young children and even babies sleeping in holding cells at a U.S. Customs and Border Protection processing facility in Brownsville, Texas, where they are held before being deported. | There are fears more drugs are being brought into the U.S. by cartels south of the border, who are ready to exploit stretched Border Patrol resources .
Texas currently dealing with unprecedented number of young children, mostly from Central American countries, attempting to cross the border .
$30 million in funding requested by Texas Attorney General Greg Abbot for combating 'grave fears' of drug smuggling and human trafficking . |
39,434 | 6f6964470c122807573653173b45b8e00bb59696 | NFL legend Dan Bailey of the Dallas Cowboys was thrilled to watch players of his boyhood team Aston Villa during a pre-season training camp in the summer. Bailey is renowned as the most accurate kicker in NFL history, having converted 91.07 per cent of his kicks - or an incredible 102 of 112. The 24-year-old is also a passionate Villa fan who could not wait to meet his heroes when they visited Texas for pre-season. After seeing Paul Lambert's side being put through their paces, he told the Aston Villa website: 'I grew up following soccer and following specific players. A lot of those players played for Aston Villa so I just grew fond of the team and it all took hold from there. NFL star Dan Bailey has been an Aston Villa fan since his childhood . Bailey is the most accurate kicker in the history of the NFL, having kicked 102 of 112 attempts . Bailey was thrilled to watch Villa during the club's pre-season camp in Texas . The 24-year-old poses with Villa manager Paul Lambert (R) during the session . 'I have continued supporting them ever since. 'I was a big Gareth Barry fan. He was a lot of fun to watch. I loved the way he played and his style on the pitch. 'I like Gabby Agbonlahor now. He's great to watch. 'Soccer was my sport growing up. I was a defender - I wasn't skilled enough to play any higher. 'I love the sport - everything about it. It's just a great game. When I was a bit older, I made the transition to American Football. But I still love watching soccer. Bailey has revealed that his first Aston Villa hero was Gareth Barry (R) Aston Villa striker Darren Bent poses with the American football star and his shirt . 'I like watching Brad Guzan. You can see his passion, drive and industry on the pitch. I am delighted he's our keeper. He's brilliant. 'I watched Ron Vlaar in the World Cup. He's been a big strong defender - he's a strong leader on the pitch. He's an outstanding player for us. 'And it's great to have Roy Keane on board too. He's an established name in the sport. That veteran leadership will be huge. I am sure the young guys will buy into his mentality and be a sponge to what he - and the manager - says.' Bailey proudly wears his named Aston Villa shirt while watching the training session . | Dan Bailey met Aston Villa players at a pre-season training camp in Texas .
Dallas Cowboys star is the most accurate kicker in NFL history .
The 24-year-old rates Gareth Barry as one of his favourite players . |
166,739 | 639d5a7304c244ff8293299c209d4511eaf9c9af | Johannesburg (CNN) -- For the Xhosa people of South Africa, death is traditionally not something to be talked about or to be planned for, no matter how inevitable or close it may seem. But those close to Nelson Mandela had little choice as the country's first black leader lay in a Pretoria hospital and then at home in Johannesburg on life support. In the final years of his life, secret plans were hammered out between the government, the military and his family as they prepared for a fitting farewell for a great man. Below is a breakdown of how those plans will unfold over the next 10 days, culminating in a state funeral to be broadcast to millions worldwide and a very private farewell for those closest to him. As is often the case with events of this magnitude, plans might change due to weather, security and other factors. But for now, this is what the authorities and the family hope will happen. According to multiple sources involved with the planning of the final farewell to the South African icon, the 10 days of mourning will combine both Western traditions and those of the Thembu, Mandela's native clan. Day 1 to Day 4 . Mandela passed away at 8.50 p.m. Thursday (1.50 p.m. ET), surrounded by his family, South African President Jacob Zuma said. CNN understands that during his final hours, Mandela would have also been surrounded by Thembu elders. Importantly, at some stage - either at his home or in the mortuary - the traditional leaders will gather for a first ceremony, a tradition called "the closing of the eyes." Throughout the ceremony, they'll be talking to Mandela, as well as to his tribal ancestors, to explain what's happening at each and every stage to ease the transition from life to beyond. After the ceremony, it's believed Mandela's body will be embalmed at the mortuary, which is understood to be a military hospital in Pretoria. Day 5 . No formal public events will be held until five days after Mandela's death when tens of thousands of people are expected to converge on the FNB Stadium, known as Soccer City in Soweto for a memorial service. It was at that stadium that in July 2010 Mandela made his last public appearance at the World Cup final. Spectators rose to their feet, their cheers partly drowned out by the deafening shriek of thousands of vuvuzelas to pay tribute to the then-92- year-old who some had feared might be too infirm to show up. In stark contrast to the mood of elation, the atmosphere on Day 5 is expected to hang heavy with grief as a nation mourns Madiba. It is unclear whether Mandela's casket will be there. Some world leaders might attend this memorial service instead of the state funeral later on in the week. A White House Official tells CNN the administration is working on plans for President Barack Obama to travel to South Africa to attend the memorial service. Day 6 to 8 . According to sources, Mandela's body will then lie in state for three days at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, the seat of power of the South African government. The first day will be reserved for dignitaries. The public will be allowed to file past his casket on days 7 and 8. Viewing hours are expected to be limited to daylight. Long lines will likely form from the very early hours of the morning. It was at the historic Union Buildings that Mandela was inaugurated as president on May 10, 1994. On that extraordinary day, crowds converged around the building to witness history being made. That day, a former political prisoner achieved what was once unthinkable and became South Africa's first post-apartheid black leader. Day 9 . Nine days after Mandela's death, a military aircraft will leave a Pretoria airbase and fly south to Mthatha, the main town in the South African province of Eastern Cape. Thembu elders and members of the Mandela family make the journey with Mandela's casket. Thousands of mourners are expected to line the streets from Mthatha airport to watch as the military transports Mandela's casket on a gun carriage to the remote village of Qunu, where the former leader spent his childhood years. Along the way the procession is expected to pause for prayers to allow ordinary South Africans to pay their respects. Once at Mandela's house, the military will formally pass responsibility for his remains to his family. The South African flag that is expected to be draped over the coffin will be replaced with a traditional Xhosa blanket, symbolizing the return of one of their own. At dusk, ANC leaders, local chiefs and Mandela's family are expected to gather for a private night vigil before a very public funeral the next day. Day 10 . The funeral and burial will be on the grounds of Mandela's Qunu home. It's expected that thousands of people, including dozens of heads of state, will gather for the state funeral. The funeral will take place under a large tent nestled in the hills where Mandela ran and played as a child. A tight military cordon is expected, in an attempt to assuage security fears. The event will be broadcast to an audience of millions around the world. At midday - when the summer sun is high in the sky - Mandela will be buried into the rocky soil of his homeland. Only a few hundred close family members will bid that final farewell to Mandela as he is laid to rest. The burial area has been especially built for him; some of Mandela's long deceased family members are already buried at the site. It will be, according to custom, a homecoming. His grave site is surrounded by rocky outcrops, hardy grass used for the grazing cattle and bright orange aloe plants. The aloes are indigenous succulents which are hardy, drought-resistant, medicinal plants that bloom across the bushveld when all else is dry and dull. A symbolic floral gesture to a man whose life was filled with sacrifice and tragedy but who triumphed with a tenacity of spirit and hope in even the darkest of days. | CNN has a detailed account of how plans will unfold over the next 10 days .
The 10 days of mourning will combine both Western traditions and those of Mandela's native clan .
No formal public events will be held until five days after Mandela's death . |
57,440 | a2c44fae7e2f3fd58419aa18c0ede696946ea349 | Italians have attacked their government for failing to protect the Medieval port city of Genoa after floods there killed one man and left the streets caked in mud. The city's archbishop and Italy's biggest daily newspaper blasted the 'shameful' failures over the torrent - which comes less than three years after a similar disaster in Genoa killed seven people. Some parts of the northern city have seen two thirds of a year's rainfall in 72 hours, hurling cars into each other and reducing public services to chaos as the cleanup cost is estimated at £157million. Destruction: Floods in Genoa, Italy, have killed one man and left the city's streets full of filthy water and mud . Anger: Italy's biggest daily newspaper attacked the government's 'shameful' failure to prevent the disaster . Disaster: The cleanup costs have been put at £157million - not including private individuals and insurance firms . Corriere della Sera, Italy's biggest daily newspaper, attacked the government by announcing in its front page headline yesterday: 'The mud of Genoa, shame of a country'. And Archbishop of Genoa Angelo Bagnasco called for a 'timely . and massive' action by the government to resolve the crisis and . prevent similar disasters in future. 'Everyone knows what their responsibilities are,' he said, . his clothes spattered with mud after a tour of the city. 'It's absurd and shameful that bureaucracy of any kind . should be blocking funds which are absolutely necessary for . resolving these problems,' he said. Last night authorities warned the disaster could get worse with heavy rain predicted until Monday. Mess: The Bisagno river burst its banks on Thursday night, leaving the streets strewn with debris and mud . Power of nature: The floods wrecked cars and smashed through shop windows in the Medieval port city . Parked: Genoa is vulnerable because it sits between the sea and a ring of steep mountains with heavy rain . 'What is really alarming is how little has been done in three years to make Genoa secure from another flooding disaster,' said Francesco Vincenzi, president of ANBI, anational association for water safety organisations . Governor Claudio Burlando said the estimated damage to public . infrastructure was 200million euros (£157million) - not including all the costs to be borne by private landowners and insurance firms. Franco Gabrielli, the head of the civil protection authority, added: 'We are still in full emergency. 'The forecasts for the next few hours offer no relief at all for . tomorrow and Monday.' He admitted that authorities had failed to predict the huge . volume of rain. Parts of . the city, where the average rainfall is just over 1,000mm a year, saw 700mm in 72 hours. But Mr Gabrieli criticised delays in reinforcing the banks of the . Bisagno river, the biggest in Genoa, which burst its swollen . banks late on Thursday night. Civil protection chief Franco Gabrielli said: 'We are still in full emergency. The forecasts offer no relief at all' Archbishop of Genoa Angelo Bagnasco said: 'It's absurd and shameful that bureaucracy should block funds' Streets of mud: Parts of the city, where average rainfall is just over 1,000mm a year, saw 700mm in 72 hours . Critics say Italy has failed to protect Genoa from the elements. One major flood defence project was pulled . Volunteers: Residents of the northern city have pulled together to begin clearing the streets despite more rain . He added it was a 'scandal' that 35million euros set aside for the work after the 2011 floods had . not been spent because of a legal dispute. Genoa's position between the . sea and a ring of steep mountains has made it particularly vulnerable to . storms and floods. But critics say successive governments have been mired in bureaucracy and failed to approve proper flood defences or building regulations. Italy's economic crisis has also seen much public spending pared to the bone. 'What is really alarming is how little has been done in . three years to make Genoa secure from another flooding . disaster,' said Francesco Vincenzi, president of ANBI, a . national association for water safety organisations. He added: 'The problem of water security in Italy isn't mainly to do . with resources, it's about political will and bureaucracy'. Digging in: Authorities have warned the rain is set to continue until Monday and could cause more flooding . Effort: Thousands of people emerged from the cleanup effort covered in mud, including Genoa's archbishop . Italy's biggest daily newspaper announced in its front page headline: 'The mud of Genoa, shame of a country'. Community effort: Italy's stagnant economy means public spending has been pared to the bone in many areas . Doing their beat: Young people wore raincoats and boots and were slathered in mud as they cleaned up . | One man killed and streets buried in mud and debris in northern Italian port .
Parts of Medieval city saw two thirds of a year's average rainfall in 72 hours .
Italy's biggest daily newspaper blasts the flood as 'shame of a country'
Damage estimated at £157million as critics blame lack of 'political will'
Floods happened less than three years after similar disaster killed seven . |
108,155 | 1772737e48c39e8a0823109e7ff99d9db2173c7a | Washington (CNN) -- Still reeling from the Costa Concordia accident in January that left at least 30 passengers dead, two of the largest cruise ship industry organizations have announced new safety policies aimed at helping both passengers and rescuers during an emergency at sea. Under two new rules, a record of the nationality of all passengers aboard vessels will be kept on land and made readily available to search-and-rescue teams in an emergency, and passengers will be given a specific set of safety instructions during "musters," or safety drills. Passenger cruise ship regulations previously required companies to record the name and gender of each passenger, and to distinguish between adults, children and infants for search-and-rescue purposes. The new requirement to also record passenger nationality is intended to help ensure rescuers have key information immediately available to them in the event of an emergency. "Certain governments have indicated that this would be very helpful in accounting for all passengers during rescue operations. In such situations, it is necessary to communicate with consulates and embassies to help locate, account for, and care for those involved in the incident," David Peikin, Cruise Lines International Association's director of public affairs, told CNN. "It was conveyed to us by governments at the (International Maritime Organization) that experience has demonstrated significant value in knowing which officials to contact for this purpose." The new rule requiring documentation of passenger nationality is not related to security concerns over terrorism, Peikin added. In the new muster policy, the 12 specific emergency instructions given to all passengers include: . 1. When and how to don a life jacket. 2. Description of emergency signals and appropriate responses in the event of an emergency. 3. Location of life jackets. 4. Where to muster when the emergency signal is sounded. 5. The method of accounting for passenger attendance at musters both for training and in the event of an actual emergency. 6. How information will be provided in an emergency. 7. What to expect if the master orders an evacuation of the ship. 8. What additional safety information is available. 9. Information on whether passengers should return to cabins prior to mustering, including specifics regarding medications, clothing, and life jackets. 10. Description of key safety systems and features. 11. Emergency routing systems and how to recognize emergency exits. 12. Who to seek out for additional information. "Our industry continues to actively identify a range of measures that will improve the safety of passengers and crew, which is the top priority of the cruise industry," Christine Duffy, president and CEO of CLIA, said in a statement announcing the new safety policies. In February, CLIA, which represents 26 U.S. cruise ship companies, and the European Cruise Council, with 30 cruise ship companies, announced a policy change requiring all musters be performed prior to leaving port. After the Costa Concordia accident, officials learned about 600 of more than 3,000 the ship's passengers had not participated in the muster drill because they got on the ship within hours of the accident. The massive passenger ship Costa Concordia struck rocks and rolled onto its side in shallow water off an island on Italy's Tuscan coast on January 13. There were roughly 4,200 people on the ship when it ran aground -- about 3,200 passengers and 1,000 crew members, the vast majority of whom made it off the ship safely. Since the accident, the cruise line industry has been under pressure to improve safety measures in place during emergencies. Industry representatives have met several times since the disaster to address concerns. More changes to safety procedures are expected in the coming months. | Groups representing U.S. and European cruise companies announce new safety policies .
The nationality of all passengers is to be recorded along with names and ages .
Instructions to be given to passengers during safety drills are spelled out . |
280,302 | f71ce7f4123dafb0d358b47f24c8d9f60b69cad5 | (CNN) -- Tender, loving vampires? Look elsewhere than FX's "The Strain." The new thriller series, produced by Guillermo del Toro, Carlton Cuse and author Chuck Hogan, wants to make bloodsuckers scary again. "The vampire genre has sort of been overrun by romance," Cuse told reporters on a press call. "We had had our fill of vampires that we're feeling sorry for because they had romantic problems." Instead, "The Strain's" vampires lose their heart, their hair and their genital organs. When these vampires fully transition, there's no mistaking them for the really pale guy in science class. For Cuse, that was the selling point for hopping aboard. "The idea of sort of reimagining the vampires, going back to the roots of what vampires are -- that they are scary, dangerous creatures -- that was something that was incredibly compelling for me; the idea that when you see these things, it's not good." An adaptation of Hogan and del Toro's books, "The Strain," premiering Sunday, July 13, begins with the mysterious deaths of passengers aboard an airplane that lands in New York. All but a few on the flight appear to be dead, and CDC epidemiologist Dr. Ephraim Goodweather (Corey Stoll) heads over to investigate with a few colleagues. But the wormy outbreak they're examining is far more ancient and sinister then they realize -- and it isn't long before the horrific outbreak spreads. "I've been obsessed by vampires for a long, long time, since I was a very young kid, and a very strange kid," del Toro said during the press call. "I read about vampire mythology worldwide and I familiarized myself with the Japanese, Filipino, Malaysian and Eastern European variations on the vampire, and many, many others. And I kept very detailed notes as a kid on where to go with the vampire myth in terms of brutality, social structure (and) biology. Some of those notes made it into my first feature, 'Cronos.' Some of them made it in 'Blade II' when I directed that, and most of them made it into 'The Strain.'" In del Toro's world, the undead do not sparkle, do not brood and do not hesitate to take out someone they once loved. In fact, the first thing to go is their heart. "The older that they stay alive, the more they lose their humanity," del Toro explained. "They start literally by losing their heart; their heart is suffocated by a vampire heart that overtakes the functions. This was important metaphorically for me because the beacon that guides these vampires to their victims is love. Love is what makes them seek their victims. They go to the people they love the most. So they turn their instinct that is most innately human into the most inhuman feeding mechanism." With "The Strain" being on FX, hardcore horror fans are likely skeptical that the drama can be as graphic as an R-rated movie would be. Cuse told press that the network gave the producers "the latitude" to tell the story their way -- and critics have taken notice. "'The Strain' is packed with so much macabre imagery and so many clever ideas that it doesn't feel like the resuscitation of a tired genre, but the launch of something new and fun," says HitFix's Alan Sepinwall. Granted, like the show's gross-out billboards, the producers' commitment to "unadulterated" storytelling may not sit well with some viewers. "This is cult-classic, midnight-movie horror, designed in meticulous, mythology-respecting detail for comic-book readers and fangirls and -boys," says Entertainment Weekly. "The show isn't for everyone. But that special someone it is for? She's gonna love it." | FX's new series "The Strain" is a return to scary vampires .
Series is produced by Guillermo del Toro, Carlton Cuse and Chuck Hogan .
Critics have lauded its debut . |
208,179 | 998286c80da77a119fa063185dd4f9045d82d9e5 | By . Rob Cooper . PUBLISHED: . 07:49 EST, 26 November 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 09:22 EST, 26 November 2013 . A police force has made more than 50 cardboard cut-outs of the same police officer in an effort to deter crime. Gwent Police had the 7ft larger-than-life models of Newport-based PC Rhydian Jones made to put up as a warning in shoplifting hotspots. The images of the officer started appearing in November 2011 before the scheme was later extended. In total, 52 of the cut-outs have been made at a cost of more than £13,000. Cut out crime: Police have spent more than £13,000 buying 52 pictures of police officers in a bid to reduce shoplifting . A Gwent Police spokesman said: 'They have been distributed throughout our force area and teams use them tactically to deter shoplifting. 'We are not prepared to say where they are at this moment as they are often moved about to tackle a particular problem.' The cut-outs have cost £255 each. One store manager, Lee Hillier, who has one of the cardboard cut-outs in his store for the past three months, said he felt it had reduced crime. He said: 'It’s right by the front of the door and people look up at it as they walk into the store.' Crimefighter: Co-op workers Sandra Swan (left) and Hannah Shingler with a cardboard cut out which has been put in the supermarket in Somerton to combat crime . Hannah Shingler, a sales assistant at a Co-Operative store where there is another cut-out, added: 'I think it’s reduced crime a little bit. I think there would be more if it wasn’t there.' The cut-outs, placed next to doors of shops where shoplifting is a common problem, are all of PC Rhydian Jones holding a sign aimed to deter thieves. The sign reads: 'Gwent Police and this store are working together to stop shoplifting. Please be aware there are police operations in this area.' The initiative were first introduced when Gwent Police discovered shoplifting was increasing, despite other crimes falling. Other police forces across the UK have now started to adopt the scheme, including Thames Valley Police in Berkshire. | Gwent Police has bought 52 cut-out policeman at a cost of £255 each .
Shopkeepers claim the 7ft replica officers have reduced shoplifting .
Police Constable Rhydian Jones had his picture taken for the cut-outs . |
10,481 | 1dcf2d3b03bfb7bddab47a63d01e21fc68523c68 | By . Mark Prigg . Amazon has launched a budget £159 tablet it hopes can take on the iPad mini. The Fire HD tablet, which is based on Google's Android software, has a 7inch touchscreen and is linked to Amazon's own app, music and book store. It will go head to head with Apple's £269 iPad mini, which is launched next week, and Google's £159 Nexus 7 tablet. Scroll down for video . Competition: Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos holds up the new Kindle Fire HD 7" and Kindle Fire HD 8.9" which is one of the iPad's top competitors . The tablet wars: How they stack up . Amazon has released two version, a cheaper £129 Fire with a poorer quality screen, and the £159 Fire HD, which experts expect to be the big seller. Amazon hopes the low price will help it take on Apple, who release the iPad mini in the UK next week for. 'The biggest factor is price - the Kindle Fire HD is so much cheaper,' said Chris Hall of gadget Web Site Pocket Lint. 'The Kindle name is well know, so it's not entirely new to people, and most potential owners probably already have some Kindle books or have bought content from Amazon.' Mr Hall believes the key difference between the tablets is their interface. 'Amazon has decided to make it content focused - the focus is on content not apps. 'It really comes down to what you want to do with it - people won't take it into a meeting and tap out notes, but it will be very popular with travellers and commuters. 'It's going to be a fiercly fought battle, and Amazon are slightly on the back foot now the iPad mini has been announced. 'People who couldn't afford an iPad may get a mini instead.' The new Kindle Fire HD tablet . The Fire HD is a well built tablet, and the rubberised back and surround make it feel more durable than an iPad. Switch it on, and the 7 inch screen is sharp, clear and easy to read. However, the main difference is in the software. The Kindle software puts content, not apps first. It works using a 'carousel' you scroll through with a finger, with content divided into books, music, apps, video and others. It's extremely simple to get around, but does feel far more 'contained' that the rivals from Google and Apple - this is a gadget for consuming media rather than any attempt to work. Sadly, the app selection is also smaller than its rivals, with 50,000 available. However, there are still most of the big names in there (including the MailOnline app), and the web browser also works well. For app addicts, this probably isn't the right tablet. But for those who primarily want a gadget to read and watch films on, the Fire HD is an absolute bargain, and it's only real competition in the budget market comes from Google's Nexus 7, which runs the firm's Android software and has more apps, but a much more complex interface. Overall, the Fire HD is a winner and could see many people switching from dedicated ebooks into the world of tablets - and the lower price may even lure a few iPad mini purchasers to switch allegiance. Users can also watch films via Lovefilm as Amazon does not yet have a film service in the UK. 'Kindle Fire HD is our most advanced 7” tablet and is already the bestselling product for Amazon worldwide,' said Jorrit Van der Meulen, VP Kindle, Amazon EU. 'Kindle Paperwhite is the e-reader we always wanted to build and pre-orders have exceeded all expectations.' 'We’re excited that Kindle Paperwhite, Kindle Fire and Kindle Fire HD are available to customers in the UK today.' The firm has also signed up several UK high street retailers to sell the devices. Steve Monaghan, Waterstones eCommerce and IT Director, said, 'Waterstones is the home of reading on the high street, so it is apt and exciting that we are now able to sell the digital reader's device of choice, Kindle. 'Where better to buy the latest Kindle than somewhere you can be surrounded by inspiration, both in print and from our booksellers - who are happy to advise and discuss books in all their myriad forms.' 'We are excited to offer our customers the opportunity to touch, test and buy the all-new Kindle family from Tesco stores nationwide, as well as online at Tesco Direct' said Tesco Electricals Director Ian Ditcham. 'Kindle was a must-have product for many Tesco customers last Christmas and with the new, expanded range now available at great prices, we think they’ll be appearing on many Christmas lists this year too.' Adam Brown, buyer for Tablets and Telecoms at John Lewis said, 'There are a plethora of new tablets launching into the market, but the thing that makes the Kindle Fire HD stand out for me is the sheer amount of content that it offers.' Mark Slater, Category Director for Computing at Currys and PC World, said: 'We're expecting tablets to be hugely popular this Christmas and Amazon's Kindle Fire products should prove no exception.' The £109 Kindle Paperwhite is the best e-book on the market thanks to its superb screen and easy to use interface . The Kindle Paperwhite . has a new screen with a built in light meaning it can be read at night as well as in direct sunlight. It's software has also been updated since the original Kindle, with new features including a Time to Read . feature that helps readers know the amount of time it will take them to . finish a chapter or book, X-Ray to explore the 'Bones of a Book,' and find out more information about character or places. It's the same small size as previous Kindle's, and the touchscreen is very responsive for page turning. The screen is a delight - it's sharp, simple to read and makes reading in bed easy, a key complaint about the previous version. Overall, the Kindle Paperwhite is simply the best e-reader on the market, but is facing an increasing threat from tablet and smartphones, including Amazon's own Kindle Fire. | First time Amazon has released tablet outside of the US - and has been priced significantly cheaper than Apple's £269 iPad mini .
New e-book has lit display allowing readers to use it at night .
Back to Mail Online home .
Back to the page you came from . |
149,455 | 4d4363a06004c5b04454d3c573bb1e2d3f8d2ad2 | A third-grade teacher who won $150,000 in an online contest has given her entire winnings to her school. Nikki Bollerman, 26, won the sum as part of Capital One's #WishForOthers competition, which asked people to submit ideas of what they would like to do for others this holiday season. Bollerman, who teaches at UP Academy Dorchester in Boston, said that she wished for every one of her students to be able to take home a book so that they could experience the joys of reading. As well as giving her the money, Capital One also granted her wish, and every child was given three books: Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul, My Father's Dragon and Where the Wild Things Are. Scroll down for video . Celebration: Nikki Bollerman poses with some of her students and Boston Mayor Marty Walsh after she won a $150,000 prize from Capital One and then donated it back to the charter school where she works . She was honored this week by Boston Mayor Marty Walsh after donating her prize back to the school, which is only a year old. Governor Deval Patrick also sent her a letter. 'I want to thank Nikki for your kindness and your humility, and you are certainly a shining example of great things to the city of Boston,' Walsh said at the press conference. 'We are grateful for your hard work and generosity. You have inspired lots of people with your selfless act.' Bollerman told ABC News that it giving away the money seemed like the natural choice. 'I really made the wish for my students and I was blessed, lucky and thankful that Capital One gave me the opportunity,' she said. 'Since I made the wish for my students I thought I would do something to make their lives better rather than spend it on myself.' In her winning entry, she wrote: 'My #wishforothers is that my voracious, adorable, hardworking, loving scholars all leave for their December break with a book in their hand.' Joy: For her entry for the competition, she made a wish that all of her students would go home with a book over Christmas and in a video made by Capital One, she can be seen handing them out to the children . Emotional: Bollerman, 26, became emotional as she handed out the books to her third-grade class . Considerate: She said she had made the wish for the children so it seemed right they would get the money . Capital One also shared a video of the moment her children were presented with the books. 'I tried not to cry,' she said in the video as she was seen giving out the packages to her excited students. 'I really just wanted them to have books of their own.' Bollerman said she wants the money to be used on better computer access and coding lessons for the children. She told ABC that because she wanted every child in the school to go home with a book - not just her class - she and her mother bought each child in other classes a book as well. 'We are so proud of Nikki, her fellow teachers, and all of our scholars,' the school wrote on its website. 'Thank you for all that you do!' See below for video . | Nikki Bollerman won the sum as part of Capital One's #WishForOthers, in which people submitted what they wanted for other people .
Bollerman, a Boston teacher, said she wished that each of her students could take home a book over December break .
Capital One bought three books for every student on top of the money .
She said she's hopeful the school will use the money for a computer lab . |
184,621 | 7b2216f391d04b5b277e5b7c6fdbeaf3789eccce | (CNN) -- Rory McIlroy produced a dazzling performance to clinch the World Tour Championship in Dubai. The world no.1 birdied the last five holes to pip Justin Rose by two shots and round off a phenomenal year. Beginning the day leading the field alongside Luke Donald, the Northern Irishman was forced to produce his brilliant best as his Ryder Cup teammate faded towards the end. McIlroy had fallen two shots off the lead following a bogey on the 13th as Rose bloomed in the Dubai sunshine. McIlroy to duel with Donald for Dubai glory . Rose, ranked seven in the world, set a new course record with a bogey-free round of 10-under par 62. But McIlroy, watched by tennis ace girlfriend Caroline Wozniacki, produced an exquisite run of form down the final stretch to finish on six-under 66 and 23-under for the tournament. And the 23-year-old, who came into the tournament having already won the Race to Dubai European Money List, was thrilled with his latest triumph. McIlroy clinches money list double . "I just wanted to finish the season the way I thought it deserved to be finished," McIlroy told reporters. "I've played so well throughout the year, and I didn't want to just let it tail off sort of timidly. I wanted to come here and finish in style. I was able to do it. "Obviously going out today, myself and Luke (Donald) were tied for the lead, and we both didn't get off to the greatest of starts. "And then Justin had that incredible back nine, shot 62, and I knew midway through the back nine I needed to do something special. "Somehow I summoned up the energy from somewhere to make five birdies in the last five holes. It's just a great way to end this tournament, a great way to end the season, and I am already excited about 2013. "It means a lot to me to win in this fashion, as well. I guess in a way, Justin gave me the opportunity to do what I did. "I guess seeing a target there and shooting at something, it definitely makes you more focused." The 23-under-par 265 recorded by McIlroy matched the lowest four-round aggregate in the four-year history of the tournament -- set by Lee Westwood in 2009. Will McIlroy join Tiger at Nike in $20M a year deal? He also equaled the Englishman's achievement of winning both the Race to Dubai European Money List and the World Tour Championship in the same season . Meanwhile, Rose was left to reflect on what might have been having gone close to making an eagle putt from 70 feet on the 13th only to miss by inches. He said: "That was a lot of fun. The front nine was just as good as the back nine, and the back nine putts started going in, which is a nice feeling. "But you know what Rory is capable of. Fair play to him for making all those birdies down the stretch." Luke Donald, who led alongside McIlroy overnight, finished on 18-under for the tournament after making two bogeys on the final round having not made any over the first 100 holes of the tournament. He finished level alongside 2011 Masters champion Charl Schwartzel. | Rory McIlroy wins the World Tour Championship in Dubai .
World no.1 birdied the final five holes to defeat Justin Rose .
McIlroy had already won Race to Dubai and topped European Money list .
Justin Rose finishes second after threatening to shock the Northern Irishman . |
284,946 | fd3bf3f7422924bff2889e13a5cc5ce02e5758c6 | By . Mia De Graaf . and Ashley Collman . PUBLISHED: . 16:06 EST, 28 December 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 02:16 EST, 29 December 2013 . Authorities say the man suspected of killing a police officer in a Tupelo, Mississippi bank robbery last Monday has been killed trying to carry out another heist in Arizona. According to ajc.com, the agency made the connection late Sunday and announced that the bank robber subject of a nationwide search was shot and killed outside a Phoenix bank yesterday. His name was not released. On exiting the bank the man encountered a police detective and shots were fired, CNN reported, it is not believed the detective was wounded. The new and final development in the case came just hours after the FBI announced that the man was a serial bank thief and had attempted a robbery just hours before his fatal heist in Mississippi. Twice in one day: The same man suspected of robbing a Bancorp South bank in Tupelo, Mississippi is being tied to a bank robbery that happened just hours earlier in Atlanta, Georgia . Not scared: The man is filmed walking up to the teller to demand money but is ultimately unsuccessful in robbing the bank . Wanted man: Police had a reward of $100,000 on the suspect, who is believed to now be dead . Surveillance footage showe the same . suspect entering a Bank of America branch in Atlanta, armed with a . semi-automatic handgun and wearing a black ski mask. In a wanted poster, the suspect was described as 5-foot-8 to 6 feet tall with a slender build. Police first started chasing the suspect on Monday when he conducted a robbery at a BankcorpSouth branch two states away in Tupelo, several hours after the Atlanta incident. When . the man failed again to get money from the teller, he decided to rob a customer using an ATM and that's when police intervened. A BancorpSouth surveillance screen shot from Monday of a man holding up the bank with a handgun . Cpl Kevin Gale Stauffer, 38 and fellow officer Joseph Maher, 27, tried to stop the suspect and an accomplice as they were leaving in a grey sedan. Both officers were shot by one of the suspects, but Cpl Stauffer was killed. Officer Maher was injured and taken to North Mississippi Medical Center for treatment but was able to leave by Friday. Killed and injured: Cpl Kevin Gale Stauffer (left) and fellow police Officer Joseph Maher (right) were shot by the two suspects as they fled the Tupelo bank in a car. Cpl Stauffer died while Officer Maher was treated for non life-threatening injuries . CCTV . footage released to the public, showed one of the . suspects in a convenience store wearing khaki trousers, white Converse . trainers, a long-sleeved jacket and a blue ski mask. A team of more than 100 law enforcement staff worked over Christmas Day and Boxing Day to trace the gang. Police . previously released a surveillance image of another 'person of . interest; wearing a hoodie at a convenience store just minutes before . the Tupelo robbery. Tupelo Police Chief Bart Aguirre spoke at the vigil, praising Cpl Stauffer, who worked for the department for eight years. The FBI set a reward for information from $152,000 to $162,500 . Authorities have released a photograph of a man in a hoodie at a convenience store shortly before the robbery . Cpl Stauffer, a 38-year-old father of two, was laid to rest Friday in a ceremony attended by policeman from accross the South. On . Christmas Day, a candlelit vigil was held in the town centre for Mr . Stauffer, a combat veteran of the Louisiana Army National Guard with . whom he served a tour in Iraq. Tupelo Mayor Jason Shelton praised Cpl Stauffer, who 'made the ultimate sacrifice for his community' Grieving wife Beth Stauffer told WTVA-TV: 'I have my moments. But, I'm at peace with Gale because I know he died doing something he loved. 'The way he was at work as a leader is what he was like at home. His mother, Debbie Brangenberg, thanked . the dozens that attended the memorial service on Wednesday, saying the . strength of the community keeps the family strong. She added: 'Everybody has been so wonderful to us through this week. 'And, the overwhelming love and support that this community has given us has helped us make it through.' Memorial: Dozens attended a candlelit vigil in Tupelo, Mississippi on Christmas Day for the father-of-two . Shaken: Members of the community also held a silence for Officer Joseph Maher, 27, who was also shot by the suspects and remains in hospital in a serious but stable condition . | FBI believe the wanted man has now been shot dead while trying to carry out another heist in Arizona on Saturday .
Authorities announced that the man suspected of killing a police officer in a bank robbery in Tupelo, Mississippi, on Monday tried to rob a bank just hours earlier in Atlanta .
After failing to rob the bank in Atlanta, the man drove two states away to Tupelo and still couldn't get a teller to give him money .
Police intervened when the suspect and one other were driving away from the Tupelo branch, and one of them shot both responding officers .
Cpl Kevin Gale Stauffer, an Iraq war veteran, was killed and fellow Officer Joseph Maher was injured .
Cpl Stauffer was laid to rest on Friday - the same day Officer Maher was allowed to leave the hospital . |
97,952 | 0a18b1b162221ed1fdbc3951434bdab64ece31a9 | WASHINGTON (CNN) -- America's top commander in Afghanistan warns that more troops are needed there within the next year or the nearly 8-year-old war "will likely result in failure," according to a copy of a 66-page document obtained by The Washington Post. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, right, arrives at a U.S. base in Logar Province, Afghanistan, last month. "Failure to gain the initiative and reverse insurgent momentum in the near-term (next 12 months) -- while Afghan security capacity matures -- risks an outcome where defeating the insurgency is no longer possible," U.S. and NATO commander Gen. Stanley McChrystal said in the document, according to the Post. Bob Woodward of the Post -- who wrote the article -- called it "a striking thing for a general to say to the secretary of defense and the commander-in-chief." McChrystal "really takes his finger and puts it in their eye, 'Deliver or this won't work,'" Woodward told CNN's "American Morning" on Monday. "He says if they don't endorse this full counterinsurgency strategy, don't even give me the troops because it won't work." The document was "leaked" to the newspaper, but parts were omitted after consultations between the newspaper and the Department of Defense, Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said. "While we would have much preferred none of this be made public at this time, we appreciate the paper's willingness to edit out those passages, which would likely have endangered personnel and operations in Afghanistan," Morrell said in a statement. President Obama is considering the assessment of troop levels completed by McChrystal over the summer, however, a review of U.S. strategy in Afghanistan won't be driven "by the politics of the moment," Obama said on Sunday. "Every time I sign an order, you know, I'm answerable to the parents of those young men and women who I'm sending over there, and I want to make sure that it's for the right reason," Obama told CNN's "State of the Union." The president put off questions about whether additional troops would be needed, saying, "I don't want to put the resource question before the strategy question." But he said Afghans need to show that they are "willing to make the commitment to build their capacity to secure their own country." The United States now has about 62,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, with NATO and other allies contributing about 35,000 more. The Pentagon is planning to add 6,000 troops by year's end, and some members of Congress say McChrystal soon will call for thousands more. The fighting has ramped up sharply in the past year as U.S. troops and a NATO-dominated coalition battle a resurgence of the Taliban, the al Qaeda-allied Islamic militia that ruled most of Afghanistan before the attacks. Washington poured an additional 21,000 troops into Afghanistan to provide security for its recent presidential election, which has been marred by allegations of fraud. In August, 48 U.S. troops were killed in the fighting, surpassing the previous high of 45 in July. And the war has spread into Pakistan, where Taliban fighters are now battling government troops in that nuclear-armed country. Obama said he has ordered "a soup-to-nuts re-evaluation" of the U.S. strategy, refocusing "on what our original goal was, which was to get al Qaeda, the people who killed 3,000 Americans" in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Watch Obama's views on the Afghan war » . "To the extent that our strategy in Afghanistan is serving that goal, then we're on the right track," he said. "If it starts drifting away from that goal, then we may have a problem." But support for the Afghan war hit an all-time low in a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll released last week. That survey found 39 percent still favor the war, compared with 58 percent who oppose it -- making it almost as unpopular as the Iraq war has become in recent years. And calls for more troops could be a tough sell in Congress. Sen. Carl Levin, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has argued that the allies should bolster Afghan forces before sending in more troops of their own. Watch what Levin has to say about Afghanistan » . "If we can get the Afghan army much larger, much better equipped, and if we can also get a plan, finally, for co-opting or reintegrating those lower-level Taliban people the way we did in Iraq -- if we can get that in motion -- that hopefully will have an effect on how many additional troops we need to go to Afghanistan," Levin told CNN on Sunday. Leading Republicans have called for McChrystal and Gen. David Petraeus, the U.S. commander in the Middle East and Central Asia, to testify publicly about their recommendations. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, told CNN that it was time for lawmakers to hear what McChrystal has to say. "We would like to see Gen. McChrystal and Gen. Petraeus come up to Congress, like they did during the Iraq surge and give us the information about what they're recommending," McConnell said. "We think the time for decision is now." But he added that if more troops were needed, "I think the president will enjoy a lot of support among Senate Republicans." Sen. Lindsey Graham, another Republican on the Armed Services Committee, said a decision on additional troops needs to be made soon. "I've been told Gen. McChrystal's ready to hit the send button in terms of how many more troops he needs, and the longer we wait the harder it is," said Graham, of South Carolina. Levin said hearings would be held "when we have a recommendation that is made to the president, and when the president makes his decision." | NEW: General puts heat on president, secretary of defense .
U.S. commander in Afghanistan says more troops needed or war could be lost .
U.S. has 62,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan; other allies contribute 35,000 more .
Support for Afghan war hit all-time low in opinion poll released last week . |
47,504 | 85f1f992617c267eea4680c47485a1d6bb9b6270 | New York Yankees player Alex Rodriguez walked out of an arbitration hearing into his record-setting 211-game suspension on Wednesday after learning Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig would not testify, saying later that he's done with what he called a "farce" and an "abusive process." After arbitrator Fred Horowitz made the decision on Selig, Rodriguez slammed his hand on a desk, looked at MLB Chief Operating Officer Rob Manfred and then at Horowitz, and cursed, a source who was in the room in New York told CNN. The Yankees third baseman then walked out, according to the source. Later, Rodriguez appeared on WFAN radio, which was simulcast on the YES cable TV network, and said he will meet with his attorneys to decide whether he will testify Friday, as scheduled. As of now, if Selig doesn't appear, Rodriguez won't either, he said. One of his attorneys told CNN's "Piers Morgan Live" that Selig needs to answer questions about the suspension. "Come here, sit in the chair, take an oath, explain your unprecedented, unexplainable decision to make the suspension," attorney Joe Tacopina told CNN. "What this really is, is cowardice and hypocrisy." Rodriguez is appealing his suspension, which MLB levied after accusing him of taking performance-enhancing drugs and having ties to the now-shuttered Biogenesis clinic. After leaving the hearing, Rodriguez released a statement saying he was "disgusted with this abusive process, designed to ensure that the player fails." "I have sat through 10 days of testimony by felons and liars, sitting quietly through every minute, trying to respect the league and the process," Rodriguez said. "This morning after Bud Selig refused to come in and testify about his rationale for the unprecedented and totally baseless punishment he hit me with, the arbitrator selected by MLB and the players' association refused to order Selig to come in and face me. "The absurdity and injustice just became too much. I walked out and will not participate any further in this farce." A spokesman for Major League Baseball told CNN that the league will continue to take part. "Despite Mr. Rodriguez being upset with one of the arbitration panel's rulings today, Major League Baseball remains committed to this process and to a fair resolution of the pending dispute," Pat Courtney said. The players' union said it disagrees with the decision that the commissioner doesn't have to testify, saying players have the right to face their accusers. Rodriguez told WFAN he invited Selig to talk in person in early in 2013 but the commissioner declined. "I think they wanted this big spectacle, and they got it," he said on WFAN. He said Selig has a personal problem with him and is "trying to destroy me." Rodriguez lashes out against MLB commissioner . The suspension involves Biogenesis, the former anti-aging clinic in South Florida that MLB says supplied steroids to at least a dozen baseball players. Rodriguez was one of 14 players suspended in the Biogenesis scandal and is the only one who appealed his suspension. Though he was suspended in August, Rodriguez played out the 2013 season because he appealed. Rodriguez, 38, is fifth on MLB's list of all-time home run leaders, just six runs behind Willie Mays. He would make $25 million in 2014 if his suspension is overturned. If his suspension is upheld, he won't be eligible to return until 49 games into the 2015 season. Performance enhancing drugs in sports . A-Rod Grocery store seeks new name . | Attorney for Alex Rodriguez says Selig is being a coward .
Alex Rodriguez claims commissioner is out to destroy his career .
Yankees player is appealing his 211-game suspension .
MLB accuses Rodriguez of taking performance-enhancing drugs . |
176,425 | 7062599cf843a56b17c517175c1b61b1390f8f71 | (CNN) -- Legendary singer, dancer, actress and civil rights activist Lena Horne, 92, died at New York-Presbyterian Hospital on Sunday night, a hospital spokeswoman said. No other details of her death were made public. Horne was the first African-Americans to sign a long-term movie contract with a major Hollywood studio when she joined MGM in 1942. Horne's expressive and silky voice made her a singing star, known best for her hit "Stormy Weather," after Hollywood failed to give her roles that might have made her a big screen starlet. Horne complained she was used as "window dressing" in white films, mostly limited to singing performances that could be easily edited out for play in southern theaters. The light-complexioned Horne refused to go along with studio plans to promote her as a Latin American. She later said she did not want to be "an imitation of a white woman." Horne, whose parents divorced when she was 3, lived a nomadic childhood traveling with her actress mother. She spent much of her time growing up in Brooklyn, New York, where she was born in 1917. Horne was 16 when she began her show business career as a dancer at Harlem's Cotton Club. She later became a singer there, playing to packed houses of white patrons, with band leaders Cab Calloway and Duke Ellington. She began taking singing lessons in 1935, and eventually landed a part in the all-black Broadway production "Dance With Your Gods." Her work as a feature singer with touring bands and in nightclubs increased. She became the first African-American singer to tour with a white group in 1940, according to her official biography. Her first film role came in 1938 in "The Duke is Tops," but her next movie didn't come along for another four years. She was given a screen test by MGM and signed to a seven-year movie contract after a studio scout saw her performing in a New York club. Her stepfather, Miguel Rodriguez, negotiated with MGM head Louis B. Mayer for her to never be cast as a maid or "Tarzan extra." "I think the black boy that cleaned the shoes and me were the only two black people except the maids who were there working for the stars," Horne said in a CNN interview. "And it was very lonely and I wasn't very happy." Still, Horne said she was grateful that her World War II era films -- including black musicals "Cabin in the Sky" and "Stormy Weather" -- were seen by black and white soldiers. "But after I realized I would only go so far, I went on the stage," Horne said. With only subservient roles available for a black actress in Hollywood in the 1940s, Horne turned to recording top-selling songs. Horne said performing for live audiences was what she loved most. "I'm always happy when I'm surrounded by people to react and feel and touch," she said. While traveling with a USO tour during the World War II, she walked out on a show because German war prisoners were seated in front seats, ahead of African-American troops. After the USO withdrew her from the tour, she used her own money to travel to sing for the troops. She has a son and daughter from a first marriage that ended in 1944. Horne married again in 1947 to Lennie Hayton, who was then MGM's music director. She kept the marriage secret for several years, since Hayton was white. When it was made public, the couple received hate mail and threats of violence, according to her biography. Radio, television, film and nightclub jobs were harder for Horne to find in the McCarthy era of the 1950s when she was blacklisted. That ended in 1956 when RCA gave Horne a new recording contract and she earned a guest spot in the movie "Meet Me in Las Vegas." Horne returned to Broadway in 1957 for her first starring role there. "Jamaica" ran for 555 shows. She became active in the civil rights movement after she was involved in a public altercation following a racial slur in a Beverly Hills, California, restaurant in 1960. She was an active supporter of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s civil rights movement. Horne was there when King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech on the Lincoln Memorial steps in 1963. Variety television shows welcomed Horne as a musical performer, especially in the 1960s. She appeared on numerous episodes with Perry Como, Dean Martin and Flip Wilson. She returned to film for a final role in 1978 as Glinda the Good Witch, opposite Michael Jackson and Diana Ross, in "The Wiz," an adaptation of "The Wizard of Oz." She got a special Tony Award for her 1981 one-woman Broadway hit "Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music." She also won two Grammys for the recording of the show. Horne was honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1989, and she also won a Grammy in 1995 for best jazz vocal performance for her album "An Evening With Lena Horne." In her later years, Horne said she found peace. "The best time in my life I guess is now because I'm quiet and I'm logical and I accept without flying off the handle -- sometimes I do," Horne said with a laugh. | She was one of the first African-Americans to sign a long-term movie contract .
Horne complained she was used as "window dressing" in white films .
She was grateful that her World War II-era films were seen by black and white soldiers .
Performing for live audiences was what Horne loved most . |
24,051 | 4445b6a5b9366ca56d9ad77048afe061d56aa058 | (CNN) -- Hunter Moore, once dubbed the "most hated man on the Internet" and the "Revenge Porn King," is free on bond after being indicted on felony charges including identity theft and conspiracy. Moore, 27, the founder of a now-defunct "revenge porn" website is accused of hacking into people's e-mail accounts to steal nude photos to post online, federal authorities said this week. On Friday, a judge released him on bond set at $100,000 and took his passport as collateral, according to a court document. Moore is to appear in court again on February 7. He was released into the custody of his parents, who signed the bond, CNN affiliate KCRA reported. His release came with some conditions. Moore is not to use a computer or get anyone else to do it for him. He must take down his social media accounts and get tested for drug use, KCRA reported. Moore, who the FBI says operated isanyoneup.com, was arrested in Woodland, California, Thursday. Also arrested was Charles Evens, a 25-year-old man in Southern California believed to be connected to the scheme. 'You took the picture' In 2012, way before this arrest, Moore talked to HLN's Dr. Drew about the website. "The site was just born, actually," Moore said. "It was just a couple of friends and, you know, we had our hearts broken by a couple of girls, and we thought we would make a site. And it became Is Anyone Up. That's how it started. Of course. But when I did start the site, I was hurt, and so was my friends." But later in the show Moore was confronted by a woman who called in and said she regretted taking topless photos for a boyfriend and was devastated when the pictures appeared online. "I don't know how you can point your finger at me," Moore responded." You took the picture. I mean, I've been justifying this in my head for over a year and a half of the site. But at the end of the day, it started with you. You took these pictures." Site got out of hand . The FBI says Moore and Evens conspired to peddle "hundreds" of nude pictures, without getting permission in 2011 and 2012. But, according to an indictment Moore allegedly pushed Evens to hack into computers to get more sexually explicit photos. Moore then would pay Evens for the photos and then post them on the site, according to the FBI. Both suspects are named in a 15-count indictment with charges that include aggravated identity theft and conspiracy. If convicted, they face up to five years in federal prison for each conspiracy and hacking-related charge. Moore actually shutdown the website in 2012 and sold it to an anti-bullying group. "Taking down the site has been something I`ve wanted to do for months," Moore said. "It was just something I created that got out of hand. It was supposed to be for friends." CNN's Mayra Cuevas contributed to this report. | Moore was released on bail Friday after being arrested a day earlier .
He is accused of posting hundreds of nude photos without permission .
Moore is accused of paying another man to hack into alleged victim's accounts .
His bond is $100,000; he is not allowed to use a computer and must submit to drug testing . |
96,036 | 077f237df3a1a94970087515c54e7e07bd9b502b | BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Iraq's parliament has passed a $58.8 billion budget for 2009 after cutting $3.2 billion from government spending because of weak oil prices, a Iraqi lawmaker said. The Iraqi presidential council, including Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, still must approve the spending plan. The three-member Iraqi presidential council, including Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and his two deputies, still needs to approve the spending plan. The budget, adopted Thursday, was calculated based on $50 a barrel, said Kurdish lawmaker Mahmoud Othman. Crude oil currently is trading around $44 a barrel, and Iraq's oil-dominated economy has taken a beating due to the world financial downturn. According to the Iraqi parliament Web site, Iraq still would expect to run up a deficit in 2009 of about $15 billion. The original budget proposals made in July totaled $79 billion. As a part of the trimming of government spending, Othman said that the Iraqi parliament voted to reduce the salaries of key officials by 20 percent. Those affected include members of the presidential council, including the speaker of the parliament and his two deputies, the Iraqi president and his two vice presidents, the prime minister and his two deputies and the chairman of the judiciary council and his two deputies. The Iraqi parliament also voted to cut lawmakers' own salaries by 10 percent. The 10 percent cut also will affect other high-ranking government officials. CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed to this report. | Iraqi lawmakers reportedly OK $58.8 billion budget for 2009 .
Weak oil prices force $3.2 billion cut in spending, Kurdish lawmaker says .
Three-member Iraqi presidential council still must approve the plan .
Oil-dominated economy takes a beating due to global financial downturn . |
13,213 | 258885107f626de7060a39933178249398239368 | Lazio teenager Keita Balde Diao has walked away unscathed after crashing his £158,000 yellow Lamborghini Gallardo. The 19-year-old, who has been linked with a move to Liverpool this month, wrote off his car over the weekend. The front of Diao's vehicle was left in pieces after the incident, but the forward was said to be unharmed. Lazio teenager Keita Balde Diao has walked away unscathed after crashing his yellow Lamborghini . The front of Diao's car was left in pieces after the 19-year-old reportedly lost control of the vehicle . Diao - playing for Lazio against Bologna in May - has been linked with a move to Premier League Liverpool . Reports in Italy indicate that he lost control of the car and that he was below the legal limit. Diao has played three times for the Serie A outfit this season but is yet to find the net. Predominately an attacking player, he came through Barcelona's proficient youth system before joining Lazio three years ago. During his true breakthrough season at the Stadio Olimpico Diao turned out 33 times and was part of the side to make the knockout stages of the Europa League. | Keita Balde Diao walked away from the crash unharmed .
The Lazio forward wrote off his Lamborghini Gallardo .
Liverpool have been linked with a move for the Spaniard . |
149,548 | 4d5b428b86a6d7171a78a975450b98cc65ea6139 | As we all know, Thanksgiving isn't always the harmonious holiday it's sometimes made out to be. Stick a bunch of relatives together in the same house, add menu planning and alcohol, and things can get a little snippy. Many people have strong opinions about how to cook the turkey, what side dishes to serve and who has to clean up. Family traditions die hard and new ideas aren't always welcome. "I know you don't like creamed pearled onions, but we've had creamed pearled onions at our Thanksgiving table since I was a little girl and we're not about to stop now. I had to suffer, so we're all going to suffer." And don't get us started on the potatoes. Your Thanksgiving do-ahead list . Then there are broader questions of Thanksgiving Day etiquette. Some families break out the fine china and dress up for dinner, while others eat on paper plates in front of the TV. Some of us watch football, while others hold annual viewings of "Planes, Trains and Automobiles." (Those aren't pillows! Still funny every time.) And, as stores open earlier and earlier to chase those Black Friday dollars, there's even a formerly unheard-of question for families to grapple with: Is it OK to go holiday shopping on Thanksgiving? Nobody wants to squabble on a holiday, but some family feuds are inevitable. See our gallery above for the things you're most likely to bicker about on Thursday. And no, you shouldn't ever go holiday shopping on Thanksgiving. Don't fear the vegan at your Thanksgiving table . | Many people have strong opinions about how things should be done on Thanksgiving .
Nobody wants to squabble on a holiday, but some family feuds are inevitable . |
240,215 | c2f84d2c5fa25d130c3b679d107986564cf758ae | Callous: Tracie Nellis,44, was charged last summer with battery on a person age 65 or older . A Florida nurse has surrendered her license after she was charged with pouring hot sauce into the mouths of two sleeping dementia patients in a nursing home. Tracie Nellis, 44, was charged last summer with battery on a person aged 65 or older and misdemeanor battery. She allegedly poured the hot sauce into the mouths of the dementia sufferers who were residents at the Williston Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Florida in March 2013. The state Medicaid Fraud Control Unit investigated the shocking incident and Nellis was arrested on January 13, 2014. She pleaded no contest to the battery charge and was sentenced to one year probation. Last week, the state Board of Nursing ruled she could give up her license to avoid disciplinary proceedings. Nellis, from Marion County, Florida, is accused of placing the hot sauce in the residents' mouths between March 18 and 19, 2013, according to state records. Another employee at the home, Vincent Murano was also arrested with her at the same time according to the State Attorney's Office for Levy County. But The Ocala Star reported that in July 2014, the charges against Murano were dropped. Williston Rehabilitation and Nursing Center has not commented on the incident. Nursing home: The incident occurred in March 2013 at Williston Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Florida . | Tracie Nellis was charged last year with battery on a person 65 and older .
She pleaded no contest and was sentenced to one year probation .
She worked at the Williston Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in 2013 .
She has surrendered her nursing license to avoid disciplinary proceedings . |
276,133 | f1c384d8fac5578c4c567d026781ed010ae25cdf | Munich, Germany (CNN) -- Iran will give "positive consideration" to a renewed prospect of one-on-one talks with the United States on its nuclear program, its foreign minister said Sunday. Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said a new round of talks between Iran and the five permanent U.N. Security Council members, plus Germany, would be held February 25 in Kazakhstan. Salehi spoke on the last day of the 49th Munich Security Conference, a day after U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said the Obama administration remains willing to hold direct talks with the Islamic Republic. "That offer stands, but it must be real and tangible, and there has to be an agenda that they're prepared to speak to," Biden said. "We are not just prepared to do it for the exercise." The United States and Iran haven't had diplomatic relations since 1980. But U.S. and Iranian diplomats had occasional talks in Baghdad during the eight-year American war in Iraq, and U.S. President Barack Obama held out the prospect of talks with Iran when he came into office in 2009. Biden: U.S. open to direct talks with Iran . Salehi noted Sunday that both Biden and the new secretary of state, John Kerry, have mentioned the possibility of talks with Iran in recent days, and "We take these statements with positive consideration." Salehi said Iran has "no red line" for bilateral talks and is ready for negotiations over its nuclear program. But he added, "We have to make sure this time -- and this I think is very fair of us -- to make sure the other side this time comes with an authentic intention, with a fair and real intention, to resolve the issue." " Iran has defied international demands that it halt its production of enriched uranium, which it insists is to be used for civilian nuclear power and research reactors. But the United States and Israel have accused Iran of seeking the capability to produce nuclear weapons, and the International Atomic Energy Agency says it can no longer verify that Iran's nuclear program is strictly peaceful. Iran's refusal to shut down its uranium enrichment plants has led to tougher and tougher economic sanctions that have crippled its economy. An oil embargo and banking restrictions have crashed the Iranian currency, the rial. New U.S. sanctions imposed in January targeted a handful of companies and individuals that Washington says are providing materials and technology to Tehran's nuclear program. Biden said Saturday that U.S. policy "is to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon," and said the clerical leadership in Tehran "need not sentence their people to economic deprivation and international isolation." "There is still time, there is still space for diplomacy -- backed by pressure -- to succeed," he said. "The ball is in the government of Iran's court, and it's well past time for Tehran to adopt a serious, good-faith approach to negotiations with the P-5 plus 1." During his confirmation hearing last week, Kerry told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that if Iran can prove its nuclear work is peaceful, "That's what we're seeking." And Obama's nominee for secretary of defense, Chuck Hagel, has in the past called for direct talks with Iran. It was a point of contention during his confirmation hearing, with some Republicans accusing him of being too soft on Iran. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, has urged the United States -- his country's leading ally -- to set a "red line" for nuclear development and make clear that if Iran crosses that line, it would risk war. Netanyahu, who won a new mandate in January, said Sunday that the job of preventing a nuclear-armed Iran "is becoming more complex, since Iran is equipping itself with cutting-edge centrifuges that shorten the time of enrichment. We must not accept this process." CNN's Chelsea J. Carter and Mariano Castillo contributed to this report. | The U.S. needs a "fair and real intention" to resolve the nuclear issue, Iran says .
Holding off Iran "is becoming more complex," Israeli PM Netanyahu says .
Biden held out the prospect of direct U.S.-Iran talks Saturday .
Iranian foreign minister says a new round of P5+1 talks will be held February 25 . |
137,494 | 3dd0bfb6279f4ec2259fb37469ef6a8c4350ca19 | Des Moines, Iowa (CNN) -- A visit to the Iowa State Fair is a test of diet discipline: They fry just about everything -- from Oreos to butter to mac & cheese -- and the bigger the better, from half-pound tenderloins to massive turkey legs and pork chops. Not much changes from year to year. There's the butter cow, nightly entertainment at the grandstand, arcade games and amusement rides. But the "Cast Your Kernel" booth, while hardly a scientific enterprise, offers a big hint of change from the last presidential year: With more than 30,000 kernels cast, Mitt Romney is leading President Barack Obama.Iowa, the scene of a 10-point Obama blowout in 2008, is a 2012 presidential battleground. Obama stopped by the fair during his three-day Iowa bus tour this week. And the Romney campaign chose the fair for the solo debut of Rep. Paul Ryan, the GOP vice presidential pick. "We have a real battle going on here for the heart and soul of the people of this state," GOP Gov. Terry Branstad says during an early afternoon walk through the fairgrounds. "President Obama had a tremendous following here four years ago," Branstad says in making the GOP's case. "But people feel betrayed. They feel like he ran as someone who was going to bring people together and reach across the aisle and he hasn't done that." Branstad is both a throwback and part of an Iowa Republican revival: He was governor for 16 years, left office, and then decided to run again in 2010, when the Midwest was a big part of the midterm GOP rout. Four years ago, Democrats enjoyed a significant numbers advantage in Iowa. Now, there is parity -- even a slight GOP edge in the latest active voter registration tally. "Have you been outhustled here?" is the question we put to top Obama political strategist David Axelrod as he traveled with the president this week. Axelrod was quick to offer a tip of the cap to Branstad and the Iowa Republican Party for their aggressive work the past few years, but he voiced confidence the Obama campaign was stepping up its grass-roots organizing. "I think we still have an organizational advantage in this state," Axelrod says. "We've done a good job of registering new voters so I think we are building that back up. But I don't think we are going to be outhustled on Election Day." The urgency is obvious when you stop by a local Obama campaign office. In Davenport this week, for example, everyone in line for tickets to one of the president's rallies was asked if they were registered voters. Those who said no were immediately handed a clipboard with the registration form, and volunteers -- knowing anyone not registered by now might be unreliable come Election Day -- suggested they also sign up to vote by mail, which allows the campaign to follow-up and witness the process. You don't need to visit the fair or a campaign office to understand 2012 is different from 2008. Just turn on the television. The TV ad war is bruising, and unavoidable -- $6 million spent just in Iowa in the last month. The Obama campaign outspent the Romney campaign more than 2-1 in the past month in Iowa. But the TV ad war scales tip back in favor of Romney and the GOP when spending by the political parties and super PACs is factored in. Iowa is a great test of the Ryan Factor. The president's team says his policy views -- on Medicare, on a new long-term farm bill and on renewable energy subsidies -- will in the end trump any short-term bounce from his campaign skills and Midwest roots. "He may hail from Wisconsin," Axelrod says in the interview, "but he is very much a product of the right-wing Washington think tanks. And that vision is not a good vision for this country." Branstad, in turn, calls the Ryan pick "brilliant" and, a Catholic himself, predicts having a Catholic as the No. 2 on the GOP ticket will help with a critical voting bloc here, especially in the Northeast corner of the state. Plus, Branstad says Iowa voters rank the federal deficit higher than jobs as an election priority -- and says Ryan is in tune with their worries about annual deficits and long-term debt. "You cannot increase the deficit, the debt, a trillion dollars every year and have 40 cents of every dollar you spend be borrowed money," Branstad says. Branstad also says he is confident of what you might call a reverse-coattails effect: He says Republicans are competitive in each of the state's congressional districts this year, and suggests that will help with the presidential margins in traditionally Democratic areas like Des Moines and surrounding Polk County. Democrats take a not-so-fast approach to that dynamic -- promising to make the Ryan budget, particularly its Medicare proposals, an issue in every House race here and beyond. Branstad acknowledged the potential power of the issue, especially in an older state like Iowa, but predicted it would not hurt the GOP provided Romney and Ryan used every opportunity to rebut the attacks and explain their proposals. "It's going to be close," Branstad says of the state, making note of the heavy commitment of candidate time, staff and spending both campaigns are making to Iowa. That includes busy booths just a few steps away from each other at the fair, where both campaigns are helping to register voters and recruit volunteers. Branstad, whose involvement in presidential politics goes back more than a quarter-century, smiles at all the activity -- and attention. "It's fun," the governor says, "to be a battleground state." Axelrod, who also traveled with Vice President Joe Biden the last time he came to Iowa, says the state and its six electoral votes could prove decisive. "John, my philosophy is always to plan for the worst and hope for the best," Axelrod says. "And so we're planning for 270 electoral votes (the minimum for victory). In that scenario, even a smaller state like Iowa can be a pivotal state. And that's why we're spending three days here. We're not leaving anything to chance. We're fighting for every vote and every electoral vote. And these electoral votes matter." | President Obama won Iowa in a 10-point blowout in 2008; this year it could go either way .
Democrats enjoyed a numbers advantage in 2008, this year there is parity .
Iowa's Republican governor says people feel betrayed by Obama .
Obama strategist David Axelrod says the campaign won't be "outhustled" in Iowa . |
110,576 | 1a8850cb723e38d58a41799d6c4099931d5ede68 | By . Louise Boyle . PUBLISHED: . 08:44 EST, 10 October 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 17:08 EST, 10 October 2012 . A 47-year-old convicted criminal has been charged today after a teenage girl was found in a lake with weights tied to her body. Anthony Balbirnie faces a federal charge of abandoning a corpse. His on-off girlfriend, who has not been named, told . investigators she saw him wrapping a girl's body and placing it in . the trunk of his car in the early hours of September 21. Khighla Parks, 15, was last seen on September 20. She was found ten days later . in Truman Lake, southwest Missouri by fishermen. It is believed that she . was already dead when dumped in the water but cause of death has not . been released. Dallas County Sheriff's Office also announced earlier today they were seeking two persons of interest - Desiree Siddens, 24, and Larry Warner, 39 - in the murder investigation. Scroll down for video . Connection: Anthony Balbirnie, 47, has been charged with abandoning a body after 15-year-old Khighla Parks was found dumped in a Missouri lake . Innocence: The 15-year-old girl was last seen leaving her home on September 20 . Balbirnie was arrested on Monday after a car chase that began in Greene County and ended in Dallas County, Kansas. Deputies said Balbirnie threw something from the car during the 45-minute chase but they don't know what. The abandonment charge had been filed on Sunday but was not revealed until today. Court documents said Balbirnie told a woman he was taking the body to Warsaw, close to Truman lake. The drug dealer had been the only . suspect in the case but it was not known today if anyone else was being investigated. The relationship between Balbirnie and Miss Parks is unknown although they were friends on Facebook. The Dallas County Sheriff's Department was unclear as to when Balbirnie's path crossed with Miss Parks. 'Persons of interest': Desiree Siddens, 24, and Larry Warner, 39, (pictured) were being sought in connection with Miss Parks homicide, police said today . The teenager was reported missing on . September 20 after she left her grandparents' home in Willard to go for a walk. She was last seen at a party in Buffalo, Missouri with a crowd of people, around 40 miles away. The girl's grandmother Bonnie Adams told KY3: 'She . had taken off a few days, went to a friend's house or something like . that, so I gave her the 24 hours. 'I always believed you need to give . them some space, but you also need to know where they're at.' Balbirnie was released from prison on . parole in August after serving 15 months for possessing marijuana, according to the Missouri Department of Corrections. He was on . probation for convictions in 2010 for unlawful use of weapons, . manufacturing a controlled substance and resisting arrest with the . intent to cause physical harm or death by fleeing. The 47-year-old has a long history of criminal charges from drug possession to resisting arrest. Facebook friends: The profile pictures of Miss Parks (left) and Anthony Balbirnie (right) on the social network where they were connected . Grisly death: The teenage girl's body was pulled from Truman Lake in southwest Missouri where it had been tied down with weights . Friends and family of the 15-year-old . had started a Facebook page in her honor. The teenager's funeral is . being held this Friday at Clear Creek Baptist Church. Balbirnie's . Facebook page has a profile picture of a latex mask with swastika. He . describes himself as 'outgoing and energetic, likes to take long walks . in the woods'. Police . considered him a suspect in an attempted abduction in 2006 when a girl . was allegedly taken against her will from a hotel room. The girl came . home and although Balbirnie was the main suspect no charges were brought . against him. Distraught: The teenager's grandmother Bonnie Adams wept as she said that she tried to allow the girl some freedom while always knowing where she was . | Anthony Balbirnie's girlfriend told police she saw him 'wrapping body and putting it in trunk of car'
Khighla Parks, 15, last seen at party in Buffalo, Missouri on September 20 .
Desiree Siddens, 24, and Larry Warner, 39, named as 'persons of interest' in murder investigation . |
196,982 | 8af18d8e6924205b7ff901669814b3284957ab10 | By . Ellie Zolfagharifard . Nasa’s latest solar observatory has captured footage of the sun belching out a stream of charged particles at 1.5 million miles per hour. The curtain of radiation, which erupted on May 9, was the first coronal mass ejection (CME) observed by the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph, or Iris. The footage reveals the CME in ‘extraordinary detail’ showing a field of view about five Earths wide and seven-and-a-half Earths tall. Scroll down for video . The line moving across the middle of the animation is the entrance slit for Iris’ spectrograph, an instrument that can split light into its many wavelengths – a technique that ultimately allows scientists to measure temperature, velocity and density of the solar material behind the slit . CMEs are a mass of charged particles and magnetic field energy that bursts from the sun like a volcanic eruption. Material from a coronal mass ejection takes two to three days to reach . Earth, but in this case, the coronal mass ejection didn't affect our planet. Coronal mass ejections interact with Earth’s magnetic field to generate auroras and magnetic storms. The CME's magnetic fields peel back . the outermost layers of Earth's fields changing their very shape, . distortions which can can degrade communication signals and cause . unexpected surges in power grids. They . also can cause aurora. Storms are rare during solar minimum, but as the . sun nears solar maximum, large storms occur several times per year. Because the observatory has to position itself a day in advance, it was a stroke of luck that the eruption happened just as the probe was pointing the right way. ‘We focus in on active regions to try to see a flare or a CME,’ said Bart De Pontieu, the Iris science lead at Lockheed Martin Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory in California. ‘And then we wait and hope that we'll catch something. This is the first clear CME for Iris so the team is very excited.’ During a CME, changes in the sun’s magnetic fields cause a large section of the surface of the sun to expand rapidly, ejecting billions of tonnes of particles out into space. Iris must commit to pointing at certain areas of the sun at least a day in advance, so catching a CME in the act involves some educated guesses and a little bit of luck. Pictured is the solar flare captured by Iris (right) and the same flare later seen by the Solar Dynamics Observatory (left) Material from a coronal mass ejection takes two to three days to reach Earth, peeling back the outermost layers of the planet’s magnetic field. CME’s can degrade communication signals and cause unexpected surges in power grids. However, this CME is not thought to have made a significant impact on Earth. CME’s often accompany a solar flare – a solar eruption that pushes out waves of light all across the spectrum. Iris can observe both types of eruption. It was launched in June 2013 to study what's known as the interface region, which is a layer between the sun's surface the corona that has long baffled scientists. Solar flares can damage satellites and have an enormous financial cost. Astronauts . are not in immediate danger because of the relatively low orbit of this . manned mission. They do have to be concerned about cumulative exposure . during space walks. The charged particles can also threaten airlines by disturbing the Earth’s magnetic field. Very large flares can even create currents within electricity grids and knock out energy supplies. A positive aspect, from an aesthetic point of view, is that the auroras are enhanced. Geomagnetic . storms are more disruptive now than in the past because of our greater . dependence on technical systems that can be affected by electric . currents. By capturing light emitted by atoms of . different temperatures, Iris can looks at different heights above the . sun's surface to analyse this obscure layer. The line moving across the middle of the movie is the entrance slit for Iris’ spectrograph, an instrument that can split light into its many wavelengths – a technique that ultimately allows scientists to measure temperature, velocity and density of the solar material behind the slit. While the strength of this CME is yet to be revealed, it follows on the heels of the most powerful type of solar flare that’s ever been recorded by the space agency. The huge event on the sun occurred on 29 March 2014, but Nasa has only now analysed the data from their fleet of observatories. This fleet consisted of four telescopes in space and one observatory on Earth. The flare observed was an X-class flare, the biggest and highest-energy solar flares that have ever been observed. This close-up of the sunspot underneath the March 29, 2014, flare shows incredible detail. The image was captured by the G-band camera at Sacramento Peak in New Mexico. This instrument can focus on only a small area at once, but provide very high resolution . This combined image shows the X-class flare as seen through the eyes of different observatories. The SDO is on the left, which helps show the position of the flare on the sun. The darker orange square is Iris data. The red rectangular inset is from Sacramento Peak. The violet spots show the flare's footpoints from RHESSI . In particular it was an X1 flare, which is the lowest intensity within the X category but significantly more powerful than the majority of flares. Coordinated observations like this are crucial to understanding such eruptions on the sun and their effects on space weather near Earth. Such research can help scientists better understand what catalyst sets off these large explosions on the sun. Perhaps they may even some day be able to predict their onset and forewarn of the radio blackouts solar flares can cause near Earth - blackouts that can interfere with airplane, ship and military communications. This is an artist's concept of the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph, or Iris, satellite in orbit. By capturing light emitted by atoms of different temperatures, Iris can look at different heights above the sun's surface to analyse this obscure layer . | The huge curtain of solar radiation erupted on May 9 but didn't affect Earth .
It was the first ever coronal mass ejection (CME) observed by the Iris probe .
During a CME, changes in sun’s .
magnetic fields can cause a section of the solar surface to .
expand, ejecting billions of tonnes of particles into space .
CMEs can disrupt communication signals and cause surges in power grids . |
157,836 | 5812a04eeda55300a19a1e20eb995e06cee27468 | By . Daily Mail Reporter . Last updated at 1:29 PM on 15th November 2011 . Gabrielle Giffords and her family have revealed how the tragic shooting in January of this year healed the rift that had simmered between her and her two teenage stepdaughters. As Giffords struggled to form full sentences in at television interview last night, the Congressowman's stepdaughters Claudia and Claire told how the tragic afermath of the attack gave them a 'second chance' to bond with their father's new wife. The Diane Sawyer interview with Giffords and Mark Kelly was the congresswoman's first full interview since the January shootings that killed six people and wounded 13. Giffords said she would not be returning to congress until she is 'better. She struggled to respond to a question about whether she would return to Congress, saying 'No, Bette' before husband Mark Kelly finfished her sentence. Scroll down for video . Feeling 'pretty good': Gabrielle Giffords smiles during her first TV interview since being shot in the head ten months ago . 'She wants to get better' he said. Giffords . appeared alert and happy on the show, but admitted the rehabilitation . has been 'difficult' and that there is still a long way to go. The . 41-year-old is alert, curious and her intellectual skills are clearly . still there, but she spoke in halting sentences as she tried to get the . words out. Despite Giffords's struggle to summon the words, her speech therapist believes there is plenty more progress to be made. It was revealed in the programme that Mark Kelly's daughters Claudia and Claire were cold and indifferent towards Giffords after she married him in 2007. The girls admitted in the show that they regretted not being closer to the stepmother before the shooting. Kelly touched on the subject in the new book In their new book Gabby: A Story Of . Courage And Hope, writing: 'Gabby tried her best to connect with my . kids. They wouldn't be rude. They just weren't receptive.' When Giffords tried to engage them in conversation, they just shrugged and were even unresponsive when their new stepmother bought them gifts. Giffords eventually told her husband: 'I understand. They're kids and I love them. I'm patient. I'll wait for them to come around.' But the shooting changed everything. Kelly and his daughters were in Houston, where they lived full-time, when Giffords was holding her meet and greet event at a store in Tuscon, Arizona. When they heard of the shooting, they immediately flew to be by her bedside. The girls had never seen their father cry before. Change of heart: Mark Kelly with his daughters Claire (left) and Claudia who came to respect and love their stepmother Gabrielle . After two years of giving Giffords a hard time, Claudia, then 16, wrote: 'You are the strongest, most incredible woman I have ever met. 'I love you so much. I am thankful to have you in my life. 'I know we have not been extremely close in the past couple years and I am really sorry. That is going to change immediately.' From that moment, the girls did everything they could to show Giffords they loved her. Claudia said on tonight's show: 'I took Gabby for granted for so long, and I'm lucky I got a second chance to build a relationship with her.' In May, four months after she was shot, Giffords was well enough to leave her rehab center for a Mother's Day dinner with Kelly, his daughters, and Giffords' mother. She showed up at the restaurant with gifts for her own mother from her and Kelly. Just before the shooting: Gabrielle Giffords was meeting with constituents in Tucson, Arizona, when she was shot in the head . But she was also met with a pleasant surprise - Claudia and Claire joined them for dinner, showering Giffords with cards and gifts. It was a first for the girls and for Giffords and another turning point in their relationship. It may have taken a tragedy to bring Giffords and the girls together, but it made the girls realise how lucky they'd been to receive a second chance, Kelly writes. He said: 'We didn't fully know it, but we'd all been very lucky, and lucky to have each other. We see that clearly now.' In tonight's show Giffords said she will not return to Congress until she is 'better.' She struggled to form a sentence and replied, 'No. ... Better' when asked if she wanted to return to Congress. She moved her hands in front of her mouth as if needing to form the words and said, 'Better, better.' Her husband, former astronaut Mark Kelly, completed the thought for her, saying, 'She wants to get better.' The show also featured video documenting the 10 . months of progress since the . horrific Tucson shooting. The couple credits much of her recovery to music, as footage shot by her husband shows her singing such songs as Cyndi Lauper's Girls Just Wanna Have Fun and Free Falling by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers with hospital personnel. A life altered: Gabrielle Giffords' life changed seconds after this photo was taken on January 8 . Her brown hair has grown out since it . was shaved in May for surgery to repair her skull and she was wearing a pale green top with . gold buttons and dark eyeglasses. The programme also showed footage of Giffords as she tried to walk again for the first time and how even music helped in her protracted recovery process. ABC said its special presentation . was broadcast in conjunction with tomorrow's release of Gabby: A Story of Courage and Hope. related] . Her mother Gloria Giffords is interviewed and declares her daughter inspirational. She said: 'I think Gabby's got a message now that exceeds the political one.' The Arizona Democrat's husband concurs, adding: 'Gabrielle Giffords is too tough to let this beat her.' Relaxed: Giffords and her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly, sit down for an ABC interview with Diane Sawyer . Miracle: The first look at Giffords in hospital shows her scars and bruises after she was shot in the head . Slow recovery: The programme showed footage of Giffords during her 'difficult' rehabilitation in Houston . Giffords was shot at a public event . for constituents in Tucson in January. Jared Lee Loughner has been . charged in the shooting spree that killed six people and wounded 12. Throughout . this year, Giffords has been in rehabilitation in Houston and has made . few public appearances in the ten months since she was wounded. She . was last seen at a ceremony in Washington last month, she awarded her . husband two medals to honour his 25 years of service with the Navy and . Nasa. Kelly, 47, announced his retirement in June. He flew 39 missions in Operation . Desert Storm and made four trips into space, including commanding the . last mission of space shuttle Endeavour. As she was: Video of a precocious teenage Giffords onstage at high school . Pride: Gloria Giffords tells Diane Sawyer how her daughter's rapid recovery is inspirational . Charged: Jared Lee Loughner (left) has been charged with 49 crimes in . the January shooting spree that seriously injured Giffords (right, pictured in May) and 11 others and killed six . Giffords made a dramatic return to Congress in August on the floor of . the House of Representatives to vote on raising the nation's debt . ceiling. She was met . with thunderous applause. Watch the ABC videos here: . | Mark Kelly's teen daughters had been cold towards Giffords .
They apologized and said they would do anything to help her .
Arizona Democrat struggles to form sentences in brave TV interview .
Says she will return to Congress when she is 'better'
Footage shows Giffords in hospital and dancing at high school .
The 41-year-old admits her recovery has been traumatic . |
120,488 | 27b6e4110d13fd0f01bc1a47b59dc5a6da22b001 | By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 15:38 EST, 15 March 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 13:23 EST, 30 March 2013 . The feeling of weightlessness only lasts for 22 seconds but for thrill-seekers with some change to spare, the experience is well worth the hefty ticket price. Space research company Novespace launched its first ever zero gravity flight for civilians in Europe, costing just over £5,000 to reserve a space. The excited group ducked and dived through the skies in the aircraft, experiencing the feeling of weightlessness normally only enjoyed by astronauts. Swept off her feet: Space research company Novespace launched its first ever zero gravity flight for civilians in its Airbus A330 Zero-G . Having fun: The group were the first ever to have enjoyed a parabolic flight in Europe . Zero gravity flights for paying customers have already taken place in the United States and Russia, but this was Europe's first. Indeed, the experience has proved so popular that the company has sold every boarding card for similar flights scheduled for later this year and in 2014. The 'parabolic flights' follow a carefully sequenced flight pattern involving a series of ascents and descents with short moments of 'freefall'. During these manoeuvres, those on the aircraft experience up to 22 seconds of reduced gravity or weightlessness. Light on their feet: Passengers on the flight paid just over £5,000 for their space . Head over heels: The flight shave proved so popular that spaces for journeys later in the year and next year have been booked up . Floating: The sensation of weightlessness is created when the gravitational force acting on the aircraft by pulling it towards earth is cancelled out by centrifugal force . The . sensation is created when the gravitational force acting on the . aircraft by pulling it towards earth is cancelled out by centrifugal . force. The flights are most often used to perform a range of tests on astronauts and equipment to be used in space travel. Space . explorers can undergo biomedical testing or equipment can be tested in . conditions most similar to those experienced outside of the earth's . orbit. Eye on the ball: Floating balls inside the aircraft display the sensation of weightlessness... and give the passengers something to play with . Ticket to fly: Yves Pleindoux, one of the civilian passengers of the Airbus A330 Zero-G, and his boarding pass . The Airbus A330 Zero-G on the tarmac at the Bordeaux-Merignac airport in France . | Space research company Novespace launched civilian zero gravity flight .
Thrill-seekers paid over £5,000 a ticket with future spaces already booked up . |
12,391 | 231b6b2473f4542bec3ca427e1984b2790905920 | PUBLISHED: . 08:58 EST, 17 July 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 12:29 EST, 17 July 2013 . Reverend Al Sharpton has been seen with an attractive young woman on his arm at various recent events and according to the woman herself, they're dating. Sharpton, 58, attended the New York County Democratic Committee Award Ceremony on Monday night accompanied by Aisha McShaw, a 35-year-old from Westchester, New York. It's the first relationship Sharpton has made public since the demise of his 24-year marriage to Kathy Jordan in 2004. New couple: Sharpton and McShaw were pictured together in February this year . McShaw told reporters at Monday's event that she is a 'personal stylist'. The New York Daily News reports that when the attractive younger woman was questioned about her relationship to Sharpton, she said, 'I'm his girlfriend,' before being steered away from the reporter by Sharpton. McShaw was wearing a form-fitting black-and-white gown to the ceremony and certainly looked the part of a stylist, though her LinkedIn page describes her as a personal banker at Wells Fargo. Looking sharp: Rev. Al Sharpton cosies up with Aisha McShaw (right) and a friend . Sharpton's new squeeze comes in the wake of his 2004 divorce and 125lb weight loss in 2010. The charismatic activist and preacher scoffs at the idea of a 'reinvention', though. 'I don't evolve, I'm "reinvented",' he told Roland Martin in 2010. 'Like it's part of some slick strategy.' Amicable: Sharpton and his ex-wife Kathy Jordan, pictured here in 1998, divorced in 2004 . Sharpton attributes his dramatic weight loss to a change of diet and says he doesn't eat meat, but has fish twice a week and lots of fruit and vegetables. He and McShaw have been seen together at black-tie events around the country over the past few months. Evolved: (left) Sharpton with his daughters in 2004 and (right) discussing planned 'Justice for Trayvon' vigils in 100 cities across the U.S. yesterday after the acquittal of George Zimmerman . The well-coiffed host of MSNBC's PoliticsNation is usually outspoken but has remained tight-lipped about his love-life. After the decline of Sharpton's marriage, a spokesperson said he and ex-wife Jordan had simply grown apart. The split was said to be amicable. Sharpton has two grown-up daughters with his ex-wife, Dominique and Ashley. | Sharpton, 58, has been seeing 35-year-old Aisha McShaw .
McShaw told reporters that she is Sharpton's girlfriend at an event on Monday .
The activist and preacher was divorced in 2004 . |
88,612 | fb81298a0221c5fc841ad7a80f0d21fde0694f83 | NEW YORK (CNN) -- Dr. David Ores, or Dr. Dave as he's referred to by his patients, isn't your average neighborhood doctor. It's not because his arms are covered with tattoos of nearly naked women or because he drives a Harley to work, but because eight months ago he started New York City's first health care cooperative for restaurant workers. The Harley-riding Dr. David Ores has started New York's first health care cooperative for restaurant workers. The Restaurant Worker's Health Care Cooperative, currently servicing 15 restaurants in lower Manhattan, provides free health care to all restaurant employees, from bus boys to bartenders. Every month the owner or manager of each restaurant contributes money into a common fund based on its number of employees. In return, their workers can go see Dr. Dave with any kind of health issue they may have. Dr. Dave, a graduate of Columbia Medical School, has been treating uninsured people for more than a decade. He decided to start the co-op after noticing a trend among patients working in the restaurant industry. "Over the past ten years, I've seen many patients that work in restaurants, and there were always two things in common: They had no real access to any kind of medical care, and they also waited a long time to come see a doctor," Ores says. "I decided to form this co-op in order to get them early, basic health care." Watch the doctor at work » . The restaurant workers, many of whom have never been medically insured, can now make appointments, stop by the office, text medical questions and even send photos of their injuries to Dr. Dave, free of charge. "This is my first checkup ever," Asaf, a waiter at Macao Trading Co., told CNN in the waiting room. "It's an example of how someone finds an easy and fair solution to a serious problem or a need." And statistics show there is, in fact, a need. According to a 2005 study by the Restaurant Opportunities Center of New York, about 73 percent of all New York restaurant workers -- about 160,000 people -- have no health insurance. The co-op comes as a relief to restaurant owners who would ideally like to provide medical insurance to their employees but cannot afford to do so. "Obviously we want to take care of our people, but financially we're only capable of doing so much," says restaurant owner Billy Gilroy. "This was the perfect opportunity to be able to extend the ability to find medical services through the restaurant, but in a way that's affordable." The price for use of the co-op's services ranges from as little as $50 a month for an establishment with a couple of employees to $400 a month for a larger restaurant. Dr. Dave, who works as a general practitioner and sees other patients, is able to support himself because both his office and apartment are located in rent-stabilized buildings operated by the Lower East Side People's Mutual Housing Association, a not-for-profit housing group that charges him only $800 a month for rent. With health care currently a hot-button political issue, Dr. Dave sees this local, not-for-profit health system as a model for how national health care in America could work. "I'm not against profit," he says. "I just don't think you can have a for-profit health system that provides everyone with proper health care. It's just never going to work." In the meantime, Dr. Dave has plans to expand. "In the next year I'd like for our little health co-op to offer more services. Maybe dental, more hours in the evening, maybe hire a second doctor." He also hopes to offer routine checkups for all workers, so he can catch illnesses early and hopefully prevent steeper medical costs down the road. Although Dr. Dave started the program only eight months ago, he's no stranger to helping others. "I would call him a pioneer in health care, I would call him a pioneer as a human being, and also as a doctor," says restaurant owner and longtime friend Julio Peña, who has been benefiting from Dr. Dave's services for quite a while. "We've been trading pasta and cappuccinos for stitching somebody up with him for years, and now that he's doing it with other people, it's great." | Health care cooperative helps New York restaurant workers .
Not-for-profit system now enables workers to see a doctor when necessary .
"Dr. Dave" now has plans to expand coverage, hours of service .
"I would call him a pioneer in health care," friend says of Dr. Dave . |
1,014 | 02ddb59a4a60f9b5a3f8e5fab0f4362a75e5e295 | When Tubs the Labrador refused to take milk or formula from a bottle, it seemed the puppy was unlikely to survive. The animal was the runt of a litter left as orphans when their mother died, and taken in by a Colarado woman. But when he was just an hour from death, the woman saved the puppy's life – by breastfeeding it herself. Feeding time: A Colarado woman saved the life of Tubs the Labrador after he refused to take milk or formula from a bottle - by breastfeeding the puppy herself. Above, Tubs latches on to the breast of the woman . 'You could call it a maternal instinct': The woman - who wishes to remain unnamed - said the animal had been the smallest of the litter of mixed-breed Labradors that she had fostered following the death of their mother . 'He wasn't moving and I just did it. I didn't know what else to do. I was desperate and I just couldn't bear sitting there watching him die,' the mother-of-one told KRDO-TV. 'I guess you could call it, in a sense, like a maternal instinct.' The unnamed woman - who has a 15-month-old child - said the puppy had been the smallest of the litter of mixed-breed Labradors that she had fostered following the death of their mother. She confessed she had felt 'weird' about breastfeeding the animal - but that the notion had just 'clicked' in her head. Warning: Veterinarian Amber Williams has warned of the risks posed by breastfeeding animals like puppies . 'I thought "just put him on you and pray to God that he'll take something and not die",' said the woman, who later posted a photo of herself breastfeeding the puppy on Facebook. And her actions appear to have saved the puppy's life - with the animal now weaned off breast milk and taking formula. It is also no longer the runt of the litter, and has even grown larger than some of its siblings - earning it the nickname 'Tubs'. 'I've seen the results. That dog is alive because I took the initiative,' she said. However, veterinarian Amber Williams has warned of the risks posed by breastfeeding puppies - in particular, the danger of zoonotic diseases (conditions transferred between animals and humans). 'There are things that can be passed from puppies to babies,' she said. 'In . an emergency situation, I don't think it's a big deal, but . for them to grow appropriately, I think it would be important for them . to get on a canine formula.' She added that human breast milk is not the most nutritional food for puppies - potentially damaging their growth and general health. | Tubs the Labrador was runt of litter left as orphans after mother died .
Seemed unlikely to survive after refusing to drink milk from a bottle .
Saved an hour from death by Colorado woman - who breast-fed it herself .
'The dog is alive because I took the initiative,' says unnamed woman .
But veterinarian has warned of risks posed by breastfeeding animals . |
257,584 | d95f833ba9ddd9070b6f0ed8f63bb5274e222456 | In the aftermath of dramatic events like Monday's bombing attack at the Boston Marathon, it's a truth of our times that millions of people will get early bits of news via social media. To be sure, sites like Twitter and Facebook were used extensively by police, relief groups and governments to share important information about the bombings. But there's also a more unfortunate side to how the Web responds to sudden bad news. Sometimes accidentally and sometimes maliciously, false information gets loose. And in the rapid-fire digital echo chamber, it doesn't take long to spread. "On days like this, Twitter shows its best & worst: loads of info at huge speed, but often false & sometimes deliberately so," said Mark Blank-Settle, of the BBC College of Journalism, in a post on the site. As always, news discovered online (or anywhere else, really) should be double-checked before it's passed along -- especially in times of tragedy. Here are some of the most widely shared untrue news items we've found on social media in the past 24 hours. Man planned to propose, girlfriend killed . Among the many gripping images to emerge from the bombing's aftermath was one of a man in a red shirt, kneeling on the ground cradling a woman in his arms. It went viral -- with a heartbreaking, but fake, story attached. "The man in the red shirt planned to propose to his girlfriend as he crossed the finish line of the Boston Marathon, but she passed away" it reads. "Most of us will never experience this amount of emotional pain." The image is, in fact, real. It comes from the Boston Globe and was shared through Getty Images. But the agency's caption merely describes the scene as a man comforting an injured woman at the finish line. That didn't stop it from making the rounds in a big way. A somewhat misleading Facebook account pretending to represent actor Will Ferrell (it calls itself a "parody" but has 385,000 likes) shared the post. By Tuesday morning, the picture had more than 448,000 "likes" and had been shared over 92,000 times. Young girl died at finish line . Another heart-wrenching image of a supposed victim went viral. In this one, a young girl running in a road race is pictured, with text saying she died in one of the blasts. As an added cruel twist, the post says she was "running for the Sandy Hook victims." But a quick look at the photo shows that her runner's bib is from the Joe Cassella 5K in Great Falls, Virginia. Also, the Boston Marathon does not allow runners that young. On Google+, one of the users who shared the image followed it with "poor little girl..got killed in boston..):" By Tuesday, it had more than 500 comments and had become a "What's Hot" post on the site -- appearing in the feeds of all users who haven't turned off that feature. On Tuesday, organizers of that race shot down the tale on their Facebook account. "We would like to clarify that the picture circulating on the web and Twitter of a little girl wearing a Joe Cassella 5K bib claiming to have been killed at the Boston marathon is being used fraudulently," read the page for the Joe Cassella Foundation. The group raises funds for the families of children who are ill in the Washington area. Race organizers will donate for retweets . A Twitter account sprouted up under the handle @_BostonMarathon. Posing as the organizers of the race, whoever is behind the account tweeted: "For every retweet we receive we will donate $1 to the #BostonMarathon victims #PrayForBoston." By Monday evening, the post had been retweeted more than 50,000 times. It was, of course, fake. And to its credit, Twitter disabled the account soon afterward. It wasn't the only Twitter phony. Another widely talked-about account, @Hope4Boston, shared both the image of the 8-year-old girl who supposedly died and a photo of a young boy, running in a race, who was another supposed victim. Eight-year-old Martin Richard was one of three confirmed fatalities as of Tuesday morning. But he was watching the race, not running in it. The "Hope for Boston" account was created on March 24, according to the Web tool When Did You Join Twitter? But account holders are able to change their handles and names on the site. Authorities shut down cell phone service . Reports flew around social media, mainly Twitter, on Monday that police in Boston had shut down cellular networks to prevent an attacker from using a cell phone to detonate another explosive. At least one media report quoted an unnamed source with information to that effect, before later recanting. In truth, Boston's wireless network was simply overwhelmed with the volume of calls and other communications in the aftermath of the attack. Service was slow and spotty, but never shut down. Verizon and other mobile carriers confirmed they'd never been contacted by officials asking them to shut off service. Soon after the bombings, mobile carriers were beefing up their networks in the Boston area. AT&T made its Wi-Fi system publicly available for free to help take the load off traditional phone lines. Conspiracy theories . We almost hate to even address this stuff. We'll start with a bottom line: Anyone saying they know what happened at this point is making it up. But that didn't stop far-fetched imaginings, often based in political ideology, from flying almost immediately after the attack. One syndicated talk show host (who won't be named and whose content won't be linked here) tweeted that the attacks "stink to high heaven" of a so-called "false flag," or staged attack. "False flag" is an old naval term that's come to be used for a military action that's not what it appears to be. At least one Web user was ready for this. He registered a website -- bostonmarathonconspiracy.com -- on Monday. Clicking the link reveals a white page with black text reading: . "I bought this domain to keep some conspiracy theory kook from owning it. Please keep the victims of this event and their families in your thoughts. Thank you." | On social media, untrue stories about the Boston terror attacks have gone viral quickly .
One photo falsely purported to show a man who had planned to propose to his girlfriend .
People believed cell phone service was shut down by authorities, but it wasn't .
Tragedy shows "best and worst" of Twitter, media professional says . |
175,462 | 6f17d86ec486e5534a28d83fb19ca80adbf70e7e | By . Kieran Corcoran . PUBLISHED: . 06:43 EST, 26 September 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 07:51 EST, 26 September 2013 . Hanged: Former PC Gareth Gricks, pictured, was found dead at his home in August . A shamed police officer who was dismissed for gross misconduct was found dead on the day he was due to be charged with sex offences. Former PC Gareth Gricks, 53, was found hanged at his home in Dunton, Norfolk, by a family member. Norfolk Police said that he was suspected of being involved in online sex abuse of children in South East Asia, and would use forums to make contact with young girls. He was about to be charged with nine sex offences when he was found dead on 6 August this year, an inquest into his death heard. The charges were three counts of . arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offence, one of making . indecent images of children and five counts of sexual assault against a . woman. Gricks is understood to have told his family some details about the investigation a few days earlier. The divorcee, who has adult children, was arrested at his home after returning from a holiday in Thailand in July and was then dismissed from the force for gross misconduct. The child sex offences are thought to relate to victims between the ages of 10 and 16. The sexual assault was committed in the UK. Officers also found more than 100 indecent images on Gricks's computer - though they have confirmed that none of the offences was committed while he was on duty. A death notice published in a regional paper five days after Gricks died described him as 'a dearly-loved dad, granddad, son and brother, . who will be sadly missed by all his family and friends.' He had a profile on a dating website, where he called himself laid-back and romantic. Misconduct: Gareth Gricks was dismissed from Norfolk Police in response to the allegations . It said: 'I work shifts . and have plenty of time off for travelling during the week or weekends, . so don't worry about distance! I am romantic and like to eat out or chill out at home.' Temporary . Assistant Chief Constable Nick Dean said: ‘Norfolk Constabulary took . immediate action on being notified of the officer’s suspected criminal . activity. Norfolk Police . said that he would have had some contact with children during his . duties, but never worked in a role related specifically related to young . offenders or child sex abuse victims in his 20-year policing career. ‘As a result of his death, there can be no criminal prosecution and the investigation, effectively, ceases. ‘However, in recognition of his role and the serious nature of the offences he was due to face, it is right and proper that this information is placed in the public domain, not only to demonstrate police action but also to give victims of sexual abuse a voice when this cannot be achieved through the judicial process.' | Gareth Gricks, 53, was found hanged at his home in Dunton, Norfolk .
The former PC was about to be charged with nine serious sexual offences .
He had been dismissed from Norfolk Police for gross misconduct .
For confidential support on suicide matters call the Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90 or visit a local Samaritans branch, see www.samaritans.org for details . |
215,387 | a2cdb029a3f46017057c4785468b016c6eb14101 | By . Ian Garland . PUBLISHED: . 12:51 EST, 26 June 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 02:15 EST, 27 June 2012 . Teacher Ellen Ruffle went missing 43 years ago, when she was 34 years old . Police in Scotland are searching the . home of a primary school teacher who went missing more than 40 years ago . - fearing her body may be buried in the garden. Ellen Elizabeth Ruffle was last seen in 1969 at her home in Annan Glade, Motherwell. The 34-year-old primary school teacher, known to friends as Evelyn, was married with two children, then aged 4 and 18 months. Mrs Ruffle was working at Cathedral Primary School, Motherwell when she went missing. Strathclyde Police said it was . out of character for her to leave her family, but in more than four . decades they have come no closer to solving the mystery of her . disappearance. Officers insist the search is standard procedure as part of a long term missing person inquiry. But the use of ground penetrating radar indicates they fear Mrs Ruffle's body may be buried in the garden. Search: Police fear Mrs Ruffle's body is buried in the grounds of her Motherwell home . Officers begin scouring the garden. Police insist the search is standard procedure as part of a long term missing person inquiry . Police have brought in a ground penetrating radar to search for a grave in the garden of the Ruffle family home . Superintendent Andy McKay from . Strathclyde Police said: 'It is now over 40 years since she went missing . and I urge anyone with information, no matter how small, to come . forward and hopefully we can provide some resolution to her family. 'I have no doubt that someone has information which can help us to find out what happened to her. 'It . was completely out of character for her to leave her two small . children. It may be four decades since she was last seen, however my . officers are no less determined to find out what happened to her.' | Ellen Elizabeth Ruffle disappeared from her family home in Motherwell in 1969 .
She left behind a husband and two young children .
Police insist search is 'standard procedure' but are using ground penetrating radar on the garden . |
158,690 | 5928976bc8e03a3dbd37555d6c7ffc32adf146af | A quarter of a million extra school places are needed by next year, the National Audit Office warns. The biggest baby boom since the 1950s combined with high levels of immigration have been blamed for the huge shortfall. The squeeze on household incomes has also seen large numbers of families turn their backs on private schooling. Inadequate: There will be 250,000 fewer places than needed next year, some say down to immigration and the baby boom . An estimated 240,000 of the places expected to be needed in the 2014-2015 academic year are in primaries. More children than ever could be forced to travel large distances to school, be taught in makeshift classrooms or in oversized classes. Amyas Morse, who is head of the NAO, said yesterday: ‘Despite increases in places and funding over the last two years, the Department for Education faces a real challenge, with 256,000 places still required by 2014-2015. ‘There are indications of real strain on school places.’ The number of pupils in state schools is expected to soar by nearly a million to 7,950,000 by the end of the decade. Last year alone the primary school population went up by 78,000, the fastest rise in a decade. Sire Andrew Green, from MigrantWatch UK, believes that the problem has been caused by the policies of the last Labour government . At least a fifth of schools were full or overflowing last May and the number of infant classes with more than 31 children has doubled since 2007. Last September, hundreds of primary children were left waiting for a confirmed place as the term began. And around 23,000 began their education at schools their parents didn’t want them to attend. The rising demand has had a significant impact on the average time a child spends travelling to school. Areas under the greatest strain include Hampshire, where 122 primary schools are educating children who are ‘in excess of school capacity’. Kent has 733 too many children in 114 primaries and 1,351 ‘excess’ pupils in 33 secondary schools. Were migration reduced to zero, 106,000 fewer places would be needed, DfE figures suggest. But it is feared that the arrival of an estimated 50,000 Romanians and Bulgarians when an immigration cap expires at the end of this year will heighten the problem. Councils have been concreting over parks and other open spaces to build extra classrooms. Children are also having lessons in former warehouses, police stations, offices and retail outlets. Some education chiefs have considered ‘radical’ solutions such as split-shift schooling, with school days staggered to have different year groups taught at different times of day. Sir Andrew Green, of MigrationWatch UK, said: ‘This is yet another example of Labour’s failure to plan for the inevitable effects of mass immigration which they stimulated.’ The Office of the Schools Adjudicator warned in November that a shortage of capacity for four- and five-year-olds is one of the biggest problems facing councils. Failing: Labour claim that Education Secretary Michael Gove is not performing the most basic tasks of his job . The Government has pumped more than £5billion into creating more spaces. But this did not include costs such as acquiring land – because the Department for Education assumed most places would be in existing schools, the NAO said. The shortage increases the likelihood of more ‘super’ primaries being opened that can accommodate up to 1,000 children. Kevin Brennan, Labour’s schools spokesman, accused the Government of cutting funding for school buildings by 60 per cent. ‘Michael Gove’s first job as Education Secretary is to provide enough school places for children – he is failing in that duty,’ he added. But schools minister David Laws said the NAO report confirmed the Government was ‘dramatically’ increasing funding for school places. He added: ‘Labour reduced the number of places available even though there was a baby boom. ‘We have already created 80,000 new places to deal with the shortage left by the last government and there will be more places to come.’ A DfE spokesman said: ‘We will have spent around £5billion by 2015 on creating new school places, which is more than double the amount spent in the previous parliament. ‘We are confident that this will meet the local demand that local authorities face.’ David Simmonds, of the Local Government Association, said councils faced ‘unprecedented pressures’. ‘If the Government wants to rapidly increase the number of school places it should release money from the grip of Whitehall mandarins and let councils, who have both the legal duty and the local knowledge to deliver new places.’ | The National Audit Office warns that there will be problems next year .
The lack of spaces is partly due to immigration, and the baby boom .
The squeeze on incomes has also led to an exodus from private schools .
Critics have blamed Labour's immigration policies during the last government . |
268,924 | e85a1c68619bb7607ef283d835c7c22fddfe7b59 | NBA legend Shaquille 'Shaq' O'Neal has prompted outrage by apparently posting an Instagram photo which mocked a man with a rare genetic condition. Jahmel Binion, whose ectodermal dysplasia hinders his ability to grow teeth and hair, was dumbfounded when thousands of internet users imitated and mocked a selfie he took. They included Shaq, who has now apparently deleted the Instagram photo - which said 'SMILE TODAY' - and uploaded one comparing himself to the cartoon ogre Shrek. Offensive: The photo was uploaded to the Instagram account of Shaquille O'Neal (left) comparing him to Jahmel Binion (right) - who has the rare genetic disorder ectodermal dysplasia. It has since been deleted . But the move was too late to stop a storm of comments from many of Shaq's 500,000 followers on Instagram and 8.3million on Twitter. The controversy comes after criticism of another top figure in basketball, billionaire LA Clippers owner Donald Sterling, who is embroiled in a racial discrimination row. Many Instagram and Twitter users today demanded Shaq apologised for the photo. And instead of hiding away, 23-year-old Mr Binion has used the publicity to start a campaign to raise awareness of his condition. Called Hug Don't Judge, a Facebook page for his campaign has gained more than 3,500 fans and been flooded with photos by parents whose children have the same disorder. The description reads: 'This page is to support my anti-bulling and cyber bullying organization. 'Please be respectful, be positive and share this with the world. Time to make a difference.' Mocked: Jahmel Binion (left) had ectodermal dysplasia since he was a baby (right) and has begun an anti-bullying campaign. He said he was disappointed by the NBA star because he saw him as a role model . Famous: NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal has more than 500,000 followers on Instagram and 8.3million on Twitter . Mr Binion, 23, told My Fox Detroit: 'I've been getting teased since I was yea tall - people laugh at me, stare at me. 'I . was kinda hurt because I look up to him and I watch Shaq play . basketball so I was like, why is he making fun of me when he's supposed . to be this role model?' 'I can't let it get to me, then I get hurt and depressed, so I keep my mind positive.' The storm prompted the National Foundation for Ectodermal Dysplasias to write an open letter to the NBA legend. Executive . director Mary Fete said there were more than 180 forms of the condition . and many left sufferers with missing teeth and unable to sweat. She wrote: 'You might want to consider . making something positive come from this. Consider giving Jahmel . Binion the gift of a smile, one that others would not make fun of. 'Give him a smile that would give him confidence and pride.' Self-mockery: The four time NBA champion has since uploaded a photo comparing himself to Shrek . So far Shaq has not responded publicly to the row. Some . users rushed to the 7ft 1in four-time NBA champion's support, saying . people were too easily offended and Shaq may not have known Mr Binion . had a disibility. Anger: One Twitter user's response today . The controversy comes after another top figure in the NBA, billionaire LA Clippers owner Donald Sterling, made headlines when a tape of an alleged racist rant was leaked to TMZ. He is allegedly heard telling his girlfriend she can 'sleep with black people' but not bring them to matches. 'You can bring them in, you can do . whatever you want,' the voice on the tape says. 'The little I ask you is not to promote it on that... and not to bring them to my games. 'It bothers me a lot . that you want to broadcast that you’re associating with black people. Do you have to? 'I’m just saying, in your lousy f******* Instagrams, you don’t have to have yourself with, walking with black people. 'Don't . put him (Magic Johnson) on an Instagram for the world to have to see so they . have to call me. And don't bring him to my games.' In 2009 Sterling agreed to a $2.76 million settlement over claims he discriminated against African American and Latinos tenants at apartments he owned. He did not admit any liability. Campaign: Jahmel Binion's anti-bullying Facebook group Hug Don't Judge has already gained 3,500 members . Response: One of the reactions which the NBA star received to the row from his 8.3million followers . Politics: Another user highlighted the NBA star's support for New Jersey 'Bridgegate' governor Chris Christie . Abuse: Some Twitter users were more angry and one called Shaq a 'sad pathetic excuse for a man'. Others, however, defended him saying he may not have known Jahmel Binion had a disability . Dear Mr. O’Neal, . All of us at the National Foundation for Ectodermal Dysplasias (NFED) are terribly disappointed by the hurtful image that you and others recently posted on social media about a member of our family, Jahmel Binion, who is affected by ectodermal dysplasia. Individuals affected by these rare, genetic conditions often face a lifetime of bullying and negative remarks because of their appearance, which others may consider “different.” Bullying is never acceptable and we, as a nation, have had some devastating consequences as a result of bullying. However, to be called out on a celebrity’s social media and made fun of is especially reprehensible. We applaud Jahmel for reacting to this cyberbullying by establishing a positive social media campaign called “Hug Don’t Judge.” Mr. O’Neal, we welcome this opportunity to enlighten you about the ectodermal dysplasias and how we could work together for positive change. The ectodermal dysplasias are rare genetic conditions that affect the development of hair, teeth, skin, glands and nails in men, women and children of all races and ethnic groups. Of the more than 180 different syndromes, x-linked hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia (XLHED) is the most common and features multiple malformed and missing teeth, the inability to perspire, sparse hair and recurring respiratory infections. Symptoms can range from mild to severe, but in all cases present a variety of challenges. We invite you to attend our NFED National Family Conference, July 23-26 in Columbus, Ohio, and meet families from around the world who, like Jahmel, are affected by ectodermal dysplasias. You will meet some extraordinary people who are accomplishing profound acts despite the harsh social stigmas, daunting physical challenges, and financially draining dental procedures they’re up against. You might want to consider making something positive come from this. Consider giving Jahmel Binion the gift of a smile, one that others would not make fun of. Give him a smile that would give him confidence and pride. We are urging our NFED community to use this opportunity to raise awareness, to make positive change, and to support Jahmel’s “Hug Don’t Judge” campaign (#hugdontjudge). We encourage you to do the same. Let’s raise awareness of the ectodermal dysplasias. Together, we have the power to make life better for the people it affects. Beauty is diverse. Let us show you. Sincerely, . Mary FeteExecutive Director . | NBA legend's 'offensive' photo caused outrage and was later deleted .
It compared him to Jahmel Binion, 23, who has rare ectodermal dysplasia .
Condition affects Mr Binion's hair, teeth, skin and sweat glands .
Visit the Facebook campaign at #hugdontjudge. |
112,196 | 1cb9f8426cb85618da147765d20bcb2f58d6dfa7 | By . Matt Chorley, Mailonline Political Editor . PUBLISHED: . 08:48 EST, 23 September 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 08:50 EST, 23 September 2012 . George Osborne’s opposition to a plastic bag tax is the last remaining barrier to the introduction of a levy in England, Liberal Democrats claimed today as they voted to bolster their ‘weaponry’ against the Treasury’s resistance. The Lib Dem conference backed a motion demanding a levy on all single-use plastic bags, with proceeds to go to community food initiatives. Senior party figures said the move was designed to counter what they said was a Treasury ‘log jam’ which had repeatedly blocked the idea of charging for bags to encourage people to curb their use. The Liberal Democrats claim the Treasury is the last stumbling block to securing a levy on plastic bags to cut pollution . A poll by the Break the Bag Habit coalition of campaign groups last week found more than half people – 56 per cent – supported the idea of a small charge for disposable bags. Official figures show around 350million more bags were given out by retailers over last year, despite David Cameron demanding ‘significant falls’. Lib Dems say Caroline Spelman, the former Tory Environment Secretary, was supportive of the idea of a levy but came up against Treasury resistance, something the Treasury denies. After Mr Osborne proposed taxes on pasty and caravans - sparking a public outcry and leading to embarrassing u-turns - it was claimed the Treasury was reluctant to appear to be adding to the day-to-day costs of low income families. But Andrew George, the Lib Dem policy spokesman on the environment, today told MailOnline he hoped the adoption of a new party policy on the issue would place the issue back on the agenda. Lib Dem MP Andrew George said the new party policy ensured campaigners had the 'most effective weaponry' in taking on the Treasury's resistance . ‘We have seen some indications of support coming out of Number 10,’ he said. ‘It has always been over-ruled by the Treasury. We have only one remaining log jam and we need to keep firing the most effective weaponry at it and making it quite clear that this issue will not go away.’ However Treasury insiders were said to be ‘bemused’ by the suggestion that Mr Osborne was blocking the policy. ‘All ideas are on the table,’ said a source. ‘And the Lib Dems know that.’ In Wales shoppers are charged 5p for carrier bags with the money going to good causes. The Republic of Ireland has had a levy since 2002, and has seen significant drops in plastic bag use. Last year Mr Cameron said the level of bag use was ‘unacceptable’ and government sources suggested there had to be a reduction of five per cent. Instead the number rose by around five per cent to 6.75billion for 2011-12. Mr George added: ‘We need to bear down on excessive landfill. It is a cause of very significant pollution not just in the waste stream but around the countryside. ‘It is quite unnecessary. There are just so many alternatives to having a ready supply of free plastic bags. ‘It is a very simple, straight forward hit,’ the MP for St Ives told MailOnline. Lib Dem activist Justine McGuinness told the conference that she had changed her mind about the need for a levy after visiting Ireland where there were not bags in hedgerows . The Lib Dems are pushing for a levy of between 5p and 10p per bag. ‘It has got to be sufficient to make people think hard before going out shopping, planning in advance, and taking reusable bags with them where they can. ‘We don’t want to penalise people who find themselves in a situation where they have no alternative but we do need to change behaviour. ‘Behaviour is changing, but it seems to be that the political will isn’t there to tip things in the right direction.’ The Lib Dem motion was backed by delegates at the party conference in Brighton after being urged to do so by Justine McGuinness, a former election candidate who acted as a spokesman for or Kate and Gerry McCann's Find Madeleine Fund. Ms McGuinness said she used to be against the party’s policy on plastic bags but had changed her mind after visiting Ireland. ‘You don’t see plastic bags floating around in hedgerows because of course there is a plastic bag tax. 'It has changed people’s behaviour and that to me is a sign of a very good policy. It is a policy which will effect change.’ | Liberal Democrats adopt new policy demanding a charge of up to 10p to fund community food projects .
Party environment spokesman Andrew George says resistance from George Osborne is the final hurdle .
Treasury insiders insist all options are still on the table .
Bag use rose by around five per cent to 6.75billion in 2011-12 despite David Cameron demanding reductions . |
178,712 | 735df4dd43f46a7dd49c4d0792fa6ac2645d4c8a | A German neo-Nazi group is using modern technology to organise and showcase terrifying protests that have a chilling resemblance to the fascist torch rallies of the 1930s. In one, hundreds of black-clad figures with white masks converged without warning on the streets of Bauzen, Germany, carrying torches and placards with extreme nationalist slogans. The march, which took place on May 1, was disturbingly similar to the days of The Third Reich which saw the Nazi SA hold night rallies to honour Hitler. Scroll down for video . Chilling: A neo-Nazi group who call themselves 'The Immortals' flood the streets of Bauzen, Germany, after organising the flashmob protest via text message . Dark: The group wore black cloaks and white masks while carrying torches and placards in a disturbing echo of the fascist torch rallies of the 1930s . Calling itself 'Die Unsterblichen' (The Immortals) has been using text message to orchestrate such rallies all over Germany for several months as it makes it more difficult for the police to track their movements . Many of the clips end with slogans such as 'Make your short life immortal' or 'so that those to come don't forget that you were German' Details of the demonstration have been reported by the New York Daily News, which cites Germany's Die Zeit newspaper as its source. According to CNN, a group calling itself 'Die Unsterblichen' (The Immortals) has been using text message to orchestrate such rallies all over Germany for several months as it makes it more difficult for the police to track their movements. Dr Hajo Funke, a professor at the Free University of Berlin, told CNN he believes the tactics employed by the Immortals are designed to attract young people to their cause . Embracing social media: The demonstrators upload videos of their marches onto YouTube and some have been watched by tens of thousands of viewers . Videos of their protests have then been uploaded onto YouTube, some of which have had tens of thousands of views. Many . of the clips end with slogans such as 'Make your short life immortal' or 'so that those to come don't forget that you were German.' Dr Hajo Funke, a professor at the Free . University of Berlin, told CNN he believes the tactics employed by the . Immortals are designed to attract young people to their cause. Horrible history: The marches are disturbingly similar to the days of The Third Reich which saw the Nazi SA hold rallies to honour Hitler . According to Die Zeit, the group also uses the obsolete word 'Volkstod' which references the days of national socialism and is used by neo-Nazis to describe what they believe to be the downfall of the German race taking place under a democracy. A neo-Nazi group, which first came up with the idea of organising flash mob protests in 2009, was banned by state authorities earlier this summer. More than a dozen homes of known neo-Nazis have been raided by police in a bid to find the group's central leadership. VIDEO: The chilling video made by the group 'Die Unsterblichen' (The Immortals)... | Flashmob uses texts to orchestrate rallies then upload videos onto YouTube .
Marches have chilling echo of the torch rallies held to honour Hitler in 1930s .
Demonstrators wear white masks and carry placards with extreme nationalist slogans .
Clips end with disturbing slogans such as 'Make your short life immortal' |
106,386 | 15348842c25b0aba00a9180e5314644bfdd42800 | ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- Samina Rajput speaks in hushed tones about her husband, Asif, who was killed alongside former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in the December 27 attack that convulsed the nation. Suicide bombings have killed 400 people and wounded nearly 1,000 others in the last three months. "He always used to say ... 'I am ready to sacrifice my life for the party and my country,'" Rajput says. She clings to a weathered book with newspaper clippings of her husband, a 28-year-old Bhutto supporter who had great political ambitions. He wanted a brighter and freer Pakistan, Rajput says, as she turns the delicate pages of the scrapbook. The clippings on the faded pages offer little comfort. But a picture of their wedding day less than two years ago, buried among the pages, makes her face light up somewhat. "As the widow of a martyr, one has to keep dignity, and I will do this up to my last breath," Rajput says, clasping her hands and rubbing them together. Suicide bombings like the attack that killed Bhutto and more than 20 of her supporters, including Asif, have intensified in recent months in Pakistan. Watch the devastating effects of bombings » . On Thursday, a suicide bomber killed at least 23 people and injured more than 58 others outside a court in Lahore, police said. The attack brought to 20 the number of suicide attacks in Pakistan in the last three months, including a failed attack on Bhutto's life in October. The bombings have killed close to 400 people and wounded nearly 1,000 others in the last three months, according to government officials. Pro-Taliban militants with ties to al Qaeda are carrying out the attacks, according to analysts and government officials. CNN terrorism analyst Peter Bergen says the number of suicide bombings in Pakistan has "reached unprecedented levels in the past year." Previously, Bergen says, such attacks were rare. "The reason for this rise is because al Qaeda and the Pakistani Taliban have morphed together ideologically and tactically, and both see themselves at war with the Pakistani state," Bergen says. "Many of the suicide attacks have been aimed at Pakistani politicians, officials and soldiers." Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has vowed to fight militancy and religious extremism, going after Taliban and al Qaeda within the country. Pakistan's ambassador to the United States, Mahmud Ali Durrani, recently told CNN that the Pakistani military is "totally focused on destroying al Qaeda and the Taliban network and not just one person." Still, the suicide bombers are succeeding, targeting political parties, rallies, military installations and anyone seen as a threat. Meanwhile, civilians are caught in the crossfire. "They would like to destabilize our country," Azhar Hamdani, who survived a July attack, says of suicide bombers. Clutching a walker, Hamdani recalls the blast that changed his life. On July 17, 2007, a suicide bomber targeted a rally for Pakistani Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry, who was stripped of power by Musharraf. The explosion killed at least 12 people and wounded 35 others in the capital, Islamabad. Hamdani remembers a strong blast throwing him several yards. When he regained consciousness, he was missing his left eye and his right leg was severely injured. "My leg was totally damaged," he says. "My one left eye was damaged and I have several other injuries on my body." But at the time of the blast, Hamdani was not focused on his own pain, he says, because he was surrounded by the bodies of his dead friends lying in pools of blood. The bombings, he says, must be stopped. "I hope that we will succeed and, God willing, we will try to stop these bloody cowards," he says. "I don't think they are Muslim." "Innocent people are suffering." E-mail to a friend . CNN's Wayne Drash contributed to this report. | 19 suicide bombings have rocked Pakistan over the last three months .
Terror analyst: Number of attacks "unprecedented" as Taliban, al Qaeda join forces .
Man wounded in attack says "bloody cowards" must be stopped . |
178,463 | 730feecc0179561146e99d17dfa645e81b389536 | Washington (CNN) -- President Barack Obama's assertion of executive privilege ahead of a hearing before a House committee, which subsequently recommended his attorney general be cited for contempt of Congress, sets up a fight that has had mixed results in the past. At stake are Justice Department documents relating to the flawed Fast and Furious gunrunning sting that House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-California, wants in his hands, and that Attorney General Eric Holder says are confidential. The White House move means the Department of Justice can withhold the documents from the committee, which recommended by a 23-17 vote Wednesday that Holder be cited for contempt. The full House is expected to consider the motion next week. More details: House panel recommends contempt citation . If it votes to issue a contempt citation, a statement of facts would be delivered to the U.S. Attorney in the District of Columbia, "whose duty it shall be to bring the matter before the grand jury for its action," according to the law governing contempt citations. Executive privilege also has been around since the earliest days of the country, and gives the executive branch the ability to withhold certain internal discussions and documents from scrutiny. "It's there to give the executive branch some breathing room for its own deliberations," said Josh Chafetz, professor of law at Cornell Law School. Executive privilege "has a long history, but it often plays out very differently," he said. The last major confrontation over executive privilege also involved the Justice Department, but the partisan roles were reversed. Q&A: What's going on and what comes next . In 2007, President George W. Bush insisted that White House Counsel Harriet Miers and White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten wouldn't testify under oath or provide subpoenaed information about the firings of nine U.S. attorneys, a controversy that had led to the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales the year before. House Democrats, who were in the majority at the time, believed the firings were politically motivated and wanted to force the pair to testify about them. The House voted 223-32 to cite Miers and Bolten for contempt (most GOP members walked out in protest), but when Congress sued the pair, the case never made it to court. It was settled between the two sides with mixed results: The House got some of the testimony it wanted, but not until 2009, when Obama was in office. The real aim of Congress had been to get oversight of the Bush administration, but he had already left the White House when the information was made available, Chafetz said. Historically, presidents' claims of executive privilege rarely have been accepted by Congress. When power brokers from those two branches clash, it is often left to political expediency or the courts to sort out the competing interests. Edward Lazarus, author of a book on the Supreme Court, "Closed Chambers," said that when such a "showdown among two co-equal branches of government" occurs, "the judiciary often becomes the referee." iReport: Tell us what you think . The claim arises from the constitutional idea of separation of powers. The concept is not a settled legal precept, since it has been open to varying interpretations, and it remains a controversial, litigated part of government business. "The main factor that courts usually use is internal deliberations," said CNN Senior Legal Analyst Jeffrey Toobin. "The courts want to respect the president's internal deliberations so he can get freely given advice from his aides. They don't want to invade that privilege. However, that's not an absolute privilege for everything that goes on in the White House." Constitutional groundwork . The U.S. Constitution does not expressly mention this idea of executive privilege. President George Washington set the precedent in 1796 when he refused a House request for documents relating to how the Jay Treaty with Great Britain was negotiated. The Supreme Court first decided the issue in 1807, during Aaron Burr's separate trial for treason. Chief Justice John Marshall ordered President Thomas Jefferson to produce a letter that might have exonerated the former vice president. The court concluded the Sixth Amendment right of compulsory process did not exempt the executive branch. The letter was turned over, but its contents never were publicly revealed, at Jefferson's insistence. As may ultimately prove to be the case in the Fast and Furious controversy, the Burr issue was privately negotiated, without a subpoena being issued. The high court has not spoken with one voice on executive privilege. In 1927, it ruled that the executive branch was not protected from "legitimate" outside investigations. In 1948, presidential prerogatives were preserved in relation to private lawsuits where national security or military matters are involved. Executive privilege claims have risen sharply since the 1950s, but most presidents since Dwight D. Eisenhower have assured Congress that such claims would only be asserted with their personal approval, as Holder indicated Obama did in this case. Of Watergate and task forces . The biggest recent executive privilege case was U.S. v. Nixon in 1974, during the Watergate crisis. That involved a criminal grand jury subpoena for the president to turn over secretly recorded Oval Office audiotapes. The justices unanimously ruled against his legal claims, saying there was great national interest that the tapes be produced. Nevertheless, for the first time the Supreme Court recognized the constitutional basis for executive privilege. "Nowhere in the Constitution ... is there any explicit reference to a privilege of confidentiality," that ruling said, "yet to the extent this interest relates to the effective discharge of a president's powers, it is constitutionally based." The court then recognized that "those who expect public dissemination of their remarks may well temper candor with a concern for appearances and for their interest, to the detriment of the decision-making process." In other words, the Supreme Court laid out a balancing test of sorts: a basic need for executive confidentiality and candor, weighed against the public interests of congressional oversight, a criminal inquiry or prosecution. President Bill Clinton's first term produced an interesting legal dilemma that later popped in subsequent administrations. Then-first lady Hillary Clinton chaired a health care task force that was sued for closing to the public several meetings with government and private officials. The issue was whether she as the first lady was a government employee and therefore could claim executive privilege. A federal appeals court concluded she could. The issue emerged again in 2001, when Vice President Dick Cheney was sued for his role chairing an energy task force. Only this time the issue was whether executive privilege applied to conversations by White House officials with those outside the government. Cheney was taken to court by private groups and the Government Accounting Office seeking information on what energy company officials and lobbyists might have advised the group, whose conclusions later formed the basis of the administration's energy policy. A lawsuit claimed those contacts improperly benefited private energy businesses. The private lawsuit reached the Supreme Court after two years of legal wrangling, and the White House won a temporary victory. Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote, "Special considerations applicable to the president and the vice president suggest that the courts should be sensitive to requests by the government" in such appeals. The government claimed in its legal brief that it is "clear that the president's authority to receive opinions from executive officers is not subject to interference from or control by other branches" of government. The case was sent back to the lower courts and, after about five years, was settled without the government turning over the requested documents. The foreseeable future and beyond . Time may be on the side of the White House, if it is determined to see this issue played out in the courts. The case could take many months, or even years, to be resolved. The use of contempt measures or executive privileges can blur the line between law and politics. Congress benefits from having the Fast and Furious controversy viewed as an issue of tremendous national importance, and from affirming the power of the legislature to serve as a check on the executive. It has not been shy invoking the threat of subpoenas. Administration supporters have countered that the request for documents by the Republican-led oversight committee amounts to election-year politics, with the goal of embarrassing Obama. The president has two centuries of precedent to rely upon, and no clear sign the courts want to resolve the issue with some bedrock finality. "The executive branch is taking the long-term view of this," said legal analyst Lazarus. "You need to develop golden rules in this situation that will apply regardless of who is in power, to come up with a fair way to hold the president accountable without unduly chilling speech with the executive branch." Holder contempt vote could come next week . | Executive privilege is often invoked by the president but rarely accepted by Congress .
Differing circumstances have led to a mishmash of Supreme Court rulings over time .
Early cases involved the Jay Treaty of 1796 and Aaron Burr's trial for treason in 1807 .
Most recent case involved the firings of U.S. attorneys by George W. Bush in 2007 . |
273,147 | edd24398173c57b9acfc8871047c503b5ea0e3fd | By . Tara Brady . Inception-style lucid dreams can be induced by applying a specific frequency of electric current to sleepers' brains, a study has found. Lucid dreams involve a state of heightened awareness that allows the sleeper to recognise the dream and control what happens within it. A similar concept was explored in the hit movie Inception, starring Leonardo DiCaprio. Dreams involving a state of heightened awareness were explored in the movie Inception starring Leonardo DiCaprio . People who have lucid dreams talk of 'waking up' within a dream and being able, for instance, to fly at will or manipulate the imaginary world around them. In the new study, researchers tested 27 participants with no previous experience of lucid dreaming over several nights. After three minutes of uninterrupted Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep - the sleep phase when most dreaming occurs - a weak alternating electric current was applied to their scalps. The scientists targeted the frontal and temporal brain regions where high-frequency 'gamma' brainwaves had previously been associated with lucid dreaming. Stimulation at a frequency of 40 hertz both raised gamma activity and induced lucid dreaming . A few seconds after the brain stimulation the volunteers were awakened and reported having lucid dreams. Stimulation at a frequency of 40 hertz both raised gamma activity and induced lucid dreaming. It also correlated with specific aspects of lucid dreams, such as insight - realising you are dreaming - control over the dream plot, and dissociation from the dream's protagonist. Writing in the journal Nature Neuroscience, the team led by Dr Ursula Voss, from the JW Goethe-University in Frankfurt, Germany, speculated on the use of lucid dreams to help victims of post-traumatic stress disorder who are plagued by nightmares. 'Promoting gamma oscillations during REM sleep in post-traumatic stress disorder with re-emerging nightmares might trigger lucid dreaming and eventually enable active changes in dream content,' said the researchers. | Lucid dreams allows the sleeper to control what happens .
Concept was explored in the movie Inception starring Leonardo DiCaprio .
Stimulation at a frequency of 40 hertz induced lucid dreaming . |
157,980 | 583fc516a887b7e7d522fc4fce8052c1285db5d9 | By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 23:13 EST, 30 July 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 03:50 EST, 31 July 2013 . It's certainly eye-catching - but it's price might bring a tear to your eye. This three-inch long piece of jewellery in the shape of a human eye, designed by surrealist artist Salvador Dali, has just been sold for £96,000. Called The Eye of Time, the exquisite brooch is made from diamonds and platinum that form the eye lids and a small gold watch in blue enamel that makes up the eye ball. The original brooch, made by famed jewellers Alemany & Ertman in New York, was a gift for Dali's wife in 1949 . The original brooch, made by famed jewellers Alemany & Ertman in New York, was a gift for Dali's wife in 1949. But, with the artist's permission, the company made several copies from his original designs. The one for sale was bought by an Italian man in the 1950s and it has been passed down through his family ever since. The artists did not design that many pieces of jewellery . The piece went up for sale at auctioneers Dreweatts of Newbury, Berkshire, and had been expected to sell for £12,000. But such was the interest in the extremely rare item, went for eight times that amount and was bought by a private watch collector from the US. James Nicholson, head of jewellery at Dreweatts, said: 'Privately owned pieces of this calibre which have never been on the market before arouse considerable interest globally. 'The Dali brooch is a fantastic piece. He didn't design that many pieces of jewellery, probably about 20 in all, so whenever one comes on the market it is very rare. 'We don't know how many pieces like this were made but this is the first time one of this large size has come up for auction. 'I knew there would be a lot of interest in the piece but because it was so unusual there was no precedent for me to go on. 'It was very exciting in the sale room and moved very, very fast, everybody was shouting down the telephones trying to get their bids in, it was an electric atmosphere. 'There were people bidding from all over the world, from the USA, Europe, the UK and the far East. 'There was a lot of interest because some collectors specifically look for artist's jewellery. 'Eventually it sold to a private collector in the US and the vendor was absolutely thrilled and amazed.' | Called 'The Eye of Time', it was designed by Salvador Dali .
Platinum, diamond and gold watch piece sold for £96,000 at auction .
Surrealist artist rarely designed jewellery . |
17,609 | 31e424f7a6fe1f5ec61486eec17a85c78ca2ce8c | As one Spaniard was announcing his arrival in Manchester on Monday, another was reflecting on a spectacular start to his career here just a few hundred yards across the fields of Carrington. Alvaro Negredo cost Manchester City significantly less than the £37million their neighbours have paid for Juan Mata, but it is hard to think of anyone who has had a greater impact on the Barclays Premier League this season than the man they call The Beast. Negredo, 28, has been a vital cog in City’s goal machine, contributing 23 goals in 33 games to a team now dreaming of the Quadruple. It has earned him cult status with his new supporters and spread fear among opponents. VIDEO Scroll down to watch Negredo scoring a spectacular scissor-kick strike in training . The Beast: But Manchester City's Alvaro Negredo claims he is a big softie at heart . Off to a flyer: Alvaro Negredo has had a remarkable first season in the Premier League with Manchester City . However, sitting in an office at the club’s training ground, talking eloquently through an interpreter about his achievements this season, his upbringing in the tough Vallecas neighbourhood of Madrid, his devotion to his two-year-old daughter Aitana and, of course, that nickname, there is nothing wild about Negredo. It soon becomes clear the image of the brooding Spaniard with dark beard and tattoos is misleading. ‘I’m just the opposite of a beast,’ he says. ‘I’m totally different. I’m very affectionate as a person and I like to spend time chilling out with my family. ‘If anything, my daughter has maybe taken this image of the beast to heart because she’s the wild one! It came about when I was at Almeria. It was more of dressing-room thing really. None of the fans knew me as that, but it became more public when I got here. ‘At first, I was called The Shark because I had a bit of a Mohican haircut and I used to celebrate goals by clasping my hands above my head.’ These days, each goal is followed by a kiss of the inside of his right wrist and then the left bicep.Negredo’s wrist is tattooed with the letters CRJ, the initials of his elder brothers Cesar and Ruben and parents, Jose Maria and Juana. Those of his wife Clara and their daughter appear on his bicep. The striker also has Aitana’s little footprint tattooed on the left foot that has despatched so many goals this season. It’s clear that family means a great deal to Negredo. The sacrifices his father made working long hours as a taxi driver in Madrid to provide for his three boys have not been forgotten. Preferring to play football with his older brothers and their friends, Alvaro grew up idolising Gabriel Batistuta and Brazil’s Ronaldo. It was there, on the streets of Vallecas, that he learned to take the hard knocks. Sealed with a kiss: Negredo's celebration has become a familiar sight in England this season . Fans favourtie: Negredo was spotted in Cheshire town Alderley Edge on Monday afternoon . Gentle giant: Negredo takes time to chat to a supporter while filling up his Audi Q7 . Bully boy: Negredo is famed for his bullish style and lethal finishing in front of goal . ‘My brother Cesar was a centre back. I used to really wind him up because I’d be trying all kinds of tricks on him, nutmegs and things like that, and he’d just kick me,’ says Negredo. ‘He’d knock me to the ground and not even offer a hand to help me up. ‘I speak to them every day. They are footballers themselves and are still making a living from football (Cesar at CD Covadonga and Ruben at CF Reus Deportiu). They’ve not had the fortune to get as far as I have but they’re really pleased for me. ‘We think that, secretly, the reason our dad worked so much is because it was bedlam at home with me and my brothers arguing so much. He’s still a taxi driver. I’ve tried to tell him to give it up but it’s impossible to prise him out of his taxi . ‘I know that my parents gave up a lot and throughout my life I’ve been marked by my childhood experiences. I’ve not forgotten where I came from.’ It says much about Negredo’s talent that on the two occasions Real Madrid let him leave, they inserted a buy-back clause into the deal. On the second occasion, stuck behind Cristiano Ronaldo, Raul, Karim Benzema, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Gonzalo Higuain and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, coach Manuel Pellegrini not surprisingly advised him to accept a move to Sevilla. Negredo admired his honesty. Gratfeul: Negredo admires current manager Manuel Pellegrini for advising him to leave for Sevilla . Summer deals: Negredo, Stevan Jovetic (centre) and Jesus Navas (right) joined before the start of the season . Out in the cold: Negredo was low in the pecking order during his time at Real Madrid . Idolised: Negredo, who found goals while at Sevilla (left), admires great strikers like Gabriel Batistuta (right) 'My brother Cesar was a centre back. I . used to really wind him up because I’d be trying all kinds of tricks on . him, nutmegs and things like that, and he’d just kick me' ‘He didn’t make me go through the entire pre-season in the hope that I might be featuring,’ he recalls. ‘He doesn’t hide from talking to you face to face and that’s what a dressing room wants from a manager. He’s one of the reasons I’m here at City. It was never tough for me meeting up again.’ David Moyes made an unsuccessful £9million bid to sign Negredo for Everton last January. West Ham scouts also monitored his progress and there was talk of interest from Hull. But when Pellegrini and City came knocking with the offer of a four-year deal worth £75,000 a week last summer, Negredo knew the time was right to join former Sevilla team-mate Jesus Navas and the rest of City’s Spanish-speaking contingent. A deal worth £16.4m plus £4.2m in add-ons was agreed, and it quickly became clear from Negredo’s debut on the club’s tour of Hong Kong that Pellegrini had found a typical English No 9 in Spain. ‘Feed The Beast and he will score,’ has since become a popular twist on an old favourite at City. Once again, however, the image does him a disservice. Negredo can operate as a traditional target man but he can offer so much more than an aerial threat in terms of his creativity, vision and movement. Dream: Negredo is targeting a World Cup selection with Spain next summer . Invention: Negredo deftly lifts the ball over the onrushing Jussi Jaaskelainen during the Capital One Cup clash . Happy man: The Beast enjoys playing with Sergio Aguero (centre) or Edin Dzeko . 'I think there is more to come. As an individual and a team we’re not going to settle for what we’ve achieved so far.' It’s no surprise that he looks equally comfortable playing alongside Sergio Aguero or the bigger Edin Dzeko. ‘A lot of people maybe make the mistake of thinking I’m just a big strapping centre forward who is going to be barging into defenders and creating trouble physically,’ he says. ‘Yes, there is that side to me, but I think I have an extra plus where I do try to show that little bit of invention. I try to surprise people with a touch or something spectacular in a finish.’ It has helped Pellegrini’s rampant team rack up an astonishing 107 goals this season as they challenge on four fronts. Barcelona and Chelsea might pose substantial obstacles in two of those competitions, but City are through to the Capital One Cup final against Sunderland and lie menacingly in second place in the Premier League table. Can they win all four? ‘It’s possible simply because we’re still involved in all four competitions,’ Negredo says. ‘To be totally honest it would be tough to imagine both myself and the team would be scoring quite as many goals as we have. But I think there is more to come. As an individual and a team we’re not going to settle for what we’ve achieved so far.’ Goal glut: Negredo blasts the ball past Simon Eastwood during the FA Cup replay with Blackburn . Double act: Negredo (left) and Dzeko have proven to be an effective pairing at City . Leading the charge: Negredo was ruthless during the 6-0 hammering of Tottenham at the Etihad . Watch Tottenham v Manchester City on Wednesday exclusively LIVE at 7pm on BT Sport 1... And don’t miss all this on BT Sport: . West Ham v Swansea (Sat 1 Feb, 12.45pm) Liverpool v Arsenal (Sat 8 Feb, 12.45pm) Cardiff v Aston Villa (Tues 11 Feb, 7.45pm) Arsenal v Man Utd (Weds 12 Feb, 7.45pm) Chelsea v Everton (Sat 22 Feb, 12.45pm) Tomorrow night, City face a difficult trip to White Hart Lane, where Negredo is expected to come up against Roberto Soldado, one of his rivals for the No 9 shirt in Spain’s World Cup squad. Having missed out in 2010 before picking up a Euro 2012 winner’s medal, Negredo is determined to make it to Brazil. He says: ‘Soldado and Fernando Torres come to mind as rivals in this country, as well as Michu who has been out injured, but there are lots of players in Spain fighting for it as well. It’s going to be a battle.’ And as everyone knows by now, The Beast loves a battle. | Man City's powerful striker eager to pick up silverware in debut season .
Alvaro Negredo reveals he admires Manuel Pellegrini for telling him to leave for Sevilla during his time at Real Madrid .
Spain hitman kisses tattoos dedicated to family members after each goal .
Eager to battle for his place in Vicente del Bosque's World Cup squad .
Family man Negredo's father still works as a taxi driver . |
147,367 | 4a87f9943622cd9ab87cfc9f6ad2724d2480ccb7 | By . James Rush . PUBLISHED: . 11:57 EST, 15 December 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 11:58 EST, 15 December 2012 . These cheeky monkeys were caught on camera showing off some pretty impressive acrobatic skills while enjoying a bit of play time in the early morning. The troupe of vervet monkeys were photographed on a forest floor in the Great Rift Valley in Kenya. Just after sunrise when the temperature is still cool the younger animals love nothing better than showing off their jumping skills. Acrobatic: The young vervet monkeys enjoy their play time in the cooler early morning temperatures . Messing about: The little primates were caught in action as they played on a Kenyan forest floor . They were caught on camera by wildlife photographer Manoj Shah who said the energy of the little primates was amazing. He said: 'After sunrise, the vervets come down from the trees they were sleeping on. 'The adult vervet monkeys are leading and the young ones follow. 'The young sub-adult vervets are fresh with energy and chase and play fight with each other. 'Mothers with very young babies watch the playful rituals from a distance. 'The display lasted for about an hour or so until the rising hot sun put an end to their energetic display. Just playing: Wildlife photographer Manoj Shah, who captured the shots, was amazed by their energy . 'It was awesome, I never knew that the monkeys had so much energy. In their playful mood they did not notice that I was photographing them. 'The monkeys were so agile, more versatile than circus acrobats.' The vervet is an Old World monkey native to Africa. There are five distinct subspecies that can be found mostly throughout South Africa as well as some of the eastern countries. Good friends: One monkey obviously wants to continue to play, while another appears to have had enough . | Young vervets caught on camera playing on the Kenyan forest floor .
Wildlife photographer Manoj Shah captured them in the early morning .
The early risers took opportunity before Great Rift Valley temperatures rose . |
133,830 | 390cdb435227bd4a41223817a3f624b4eea16045 | Hopping across the backs of clowns, ball spinning and clambering along moving poles, these adventurous cats certainly know how to put on a unique show. Some 120 felines make up the Moscow Cat Theatre, which has reopened after a year of renovation and features madcap acts with titles such as Catnappers, Cat Clowns and Cats from the Universe. The Russian theatre, which was founded by Yuri Kuklachev and his son Dmitri in 1990, includes stunts that see cats walk a tightrope, wobble on a rocking horse and pose on top of a mirror ball. Scroll down for video . Clambering: Some 120 felines make up the Moscow Cat Theatre, which has reopened after renovation . Trick: The cat theatre reopened last Friday and hundreds of locals were there to see the first performance . Shows: The theatre, which was founded by Yuri Kuklachev and his son Dmitri in 1990, includes various stunts . The cat theatre reopened last Friday and hundreds of locals were there to see the first performance. Dimitri Kuklachev, artistic director of the cat theatre, said: 'The animals feel good and each of them has found its place. That's great because it shows that the atmosphere here is favourable for them.' He told New Tang Dynasty Television: ‘We have more than 120 cats in total. We haven't brought all of them here. Step by step we will be bringing them in. Soon we'll have a whole cats world here.’ Mr Kuklachev’s father Yuri, who is a . legendary animal trainer and clown, runs the theatre - which bills . itself as ‘the only cat theatre in the world'. Interaction: The shows feature acts with titles such as Catnappers, Cat Clowns and Cats from the Universe . Putting on a show: Stunts performed by the cats include hopping across the backs of clowns and ball spinning . He was seen in last Friday’s performance . on stage dancing with the cats and guiding them through stunts . choreographed to music, reported New Tang Dynasty Television. Audiences can also see felines before and after shows in the theatre’s glass ‘cat temple’. 'The animals feel good and each of them has found its place. That's great because it shows that the atmosphere here is favourable for them' Dimitri Kuklachev, Moscow Cat Theatre . However, Yuri Kuklachev has drawn criticism over his theatre from U.S. animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. A PETA spokesman told MailOnline it was worried about cats ‘forced to carry out uncomfortable and unnatural tricks, such as performing with burning torches and dragging a doll's pram’. He claimed: ‘Mindful members of the audience quickly realise that the cats' performances are driven by fear and enforcement and are neither voluntary nor enjoyable for the animals.’ The theatre went to Germany, and 'after examining the show, PETA Germany urged authorities to ban the performance and encouraged prospective audience members not to buy tickets', he said. VIDEO: Celebrity cat trainer opens theater in Russia (CBS News) | 120 felines make up Moscow Cat Theatre which has had renovation .
Stunt cats wobble on rocking horses and pose on top of mirror balls .
Theatre founded by animal trainer Yuri Kuklachev and his son in 1990 .
Reopened on Friday and bills .
itself as 'the only cat theatre in the world' |
258,283 | da48afa2ca55c0171685d31cef68a757214e55ac | By . Mia De Graaf . PUBLISHED: . 14:25 EST, 10 March 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 16:21 EST, 10 March 2014 . Looks help men get ahead in business - but attractive women face a battle to climb the ladder, according to new research. A study showed investors are more likely to put money into ventures if the man making the pitch is handsome. However, female entrepreneurs blessed with good looks are no more likely to be successful than their less physically endowed counterparts. Blessing or curse? Good-looking businessmen like Twitter's Jack Dorsey will climb the ladder easily but their female equivalent such as Ultimo's Michelle Mone will not have found it so simple, the study says . The findings, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, also suggest there is a glass ceiling for women in the corporate world because backers prefer presentations from men. In Britain, just four FTSE 100 companies have female chief executives, and 90 per cent of growing venture capital firms in the US are founded or led by men. Researchers at Harvard Business School recruited 60 experienced and affluent backers to view video recordings of 90 randomly-selected verbal business pitches made by entrepreneurs from various business sectors at three contests in the US. The investors - who were unaware of each contest's outcome - were asked to rate the looks of the entrepreneurs. Though Karren Brady achieved world fame as an entrepreneur, the study claims her looks won't have helped . Did Tumblr CEO David Karp's youthful looks help him reach one of the top jobs in media? Among the women, those who were deemed attractive were not necessarily the most effective speakers. Conversely, attractive men were thought to give the best presentations. The panel also found male voices were much better at securing deals than female ones. Dr Alison Brooks, of Harvard Business School, said: 'We identifiy a profound and consistent sex gap in entrepreneurship - a central path to job creation, economic growth and prosperity. 'Across a field setting and two controlled experiments we find investors prefer entrepreneurial pitches presented by males compared with picthes presented by females - even when the content of the pitch is the same. Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts - who is soon moving to Apple Inc - is very attractive but that will not have been a factor in her climb to success, Harvard Business School found, whereas it may have helped Peter Jones . 'Attractive males are particularly persuasive whereas physical attractiveness does not matter among female entrepreneurs. 'These findings fundamentally advance the science related to sex, physical attractiveness, psychological persuasion, bias, role expectations and entrepreneurship. 'To the extent female entrepreneurs are disadvantaged in entrepreneurial pitching simply by virtue of their sex then women may remain under-represented in the entrepreneurial economy. 'Moreover the power of male attractiveness to persuade evaluators to select one pitch over another suggests entrepreneurial opportunities may also be unevenly distributed even within the male population.' | Harvard Business School found attractive men consistently secure deals .
A panel of 60 business backers rated looks and effectiveness of speech .
Women who secured deals were not necessarily attractive, unlike the men . |
64,825 | b8198337a98066e2964fc674d1b0df204d1ba219 | Rosendo Torres pictured in his police mugshot . A former New York Yankees outfielder who worked as a youth baseball coach was sentenced today to three years in prison for sexually abusing an 8-year-old girl during baseball practice. Rosendo 'Rusty' Torres, 66, was convicted in July of five counts of first-degree sexual abuse. He was acquitted of sexually abusing another girl. Torres later tried to have the conviction overturned, claiming some jurors failed to disclose that they or family members had been crime victims or had been sexually victimized. Nassau County Court Judge Tammy Robbins rejected the argument that jurors acted improperly. 'As a professional athlete, people looked up to this defendant and trusted him to teach America's favorite pastime to their children,' District Attorney Kathleen Rice said in a statement. 'Instead, he violated that trust and committed horrible acts against a defenseless young girl.' Prosecutors said the girl was abused by Torres while he worked as a coach for the Long Island town of Oyster Bay. The abuse occurred from April 2012 to May 2012 during baseball practice sessions in Plainview, prosecutors said. A town spokesman did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. Robbins said Torres never apologized or acknowledged the little girl. Defense attorney Troy Smith said Torres 'has maintained his innocence and still maintains his innocence to this day.' The Massapequa resident played 89 games for the Yankees in 1971-72. He also played for four other teams. He had a .212 lifetime batting average before retiring in 1980. Rusty Torres (pictured on ground) is seen on the pitch for the New York Yankees in 1972 . | Torres, 66, found guilty of sexually abusing a girl, 8, from April 2012 to May 2012 .
Torres has allegedly never apologized or acknowledged the girl .
He has maintained his innocence to this day . |
856 | 0273000e573b45b48dea43be96aca5de17852211 | An AFL player has been charged with leaving the scene of an accident after hitting a parked car and failing to stop. Geelong forward Brad Hartman, 20, was driving home on Sunday afternoon when he clipped the vehicle in St Peter's in South Australia but kept driving, according to a statement from the club. On Monday, he reported the incident to police after discussing the matter with his father. Brad Hartman played his first game for the Cats on June 15 this year . Getting amongst it: Hartman handballs during a Round 13 game against the St Kilda Saints last year . He has been charged with leaving the scene of an accident and failing to stop at a stop sign. Geelong CEO Brian Cook said the club was disappointed and frustrated Hartman had been involved in the incident. 'There have been too many motoring related issues with our players in recent years,' Mr Cook said. 'Brad should have handled this differently by stopping and then providing his details at the time.' The club was 'frustrated and disappointed' by the incident . Welcome: Brad Hartman, right, and team mate Darcy Lang are welcomed to the club in the middle of last year . Mr Cook said the club needed to reassess the way it works with its players when it comes to their responsibilities as representatives of the club. 'We will convene in the new year when the key people return to the club to develop a way forward in regard to this,' Mr Cook said. Hartman will appear in court on a date to be set. Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article. | Geelong forward Brad Hartman was driving home when he clipped another vehicle .
He did not stop and kept driving, according to a statement from the club, which said it was frustrated and disappointed .
Hartman reported the incident to police after talking to his father . |
85,463 | f26645472e0f11a929a0e66e459318a84801b599 | By . Jennifer Smith . PUBLISHED: . 05:08 EST, 6 September 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 13:28 EST, 6 September 2013 . A little friendly competition can't hurt anyone. But the most recent outburst from survival expert Ray Mears is perhaps a sign there's room for only one king of the jungle - and he'll be damned if it's his younger rival, Bear Grylls. This week the outdoor survival expert launched an attack on Grylls, the UK's youngest ever Chief Scout, accusing the adventurer of setting a bad example with his wild stunts and dangerous advice. Ray Mears (left) has accused his younger rival Bear Grylls (right) of setting a bad example with 'crazy' stunts which young viewers may imitate . The two survival experts have been in friendly competition ever since Grylls found fame with his television series . Man vs. Wild, in 2006. Mears, whose popular books and television programmes shed light on how to safely survive in the wild, this week accused Grylls of setting a poor example for young viewers who might imitate his dangerous stunts. He said: 'Leaping off cliffs into water when you don’t know what’s in it. If a 15-year-old was to copy him and impale himself on a pram leaping into a canal... because they were inspired by it, I would think that was his fault.' The 49-year-old added: 'Some of his stunts are crazy.' Ray Mears (left) has travelled the world filming documentaries on how to safely survive in the wild, whereas Bear Grylls (right) has been accused of performing 'crazy' stunts on TV which include wrestling wild animals and drinking his own urine . In an interview to promote his new autobiography, Mears said he started his career to enlighten people for safety reasons, rather than encourage the macho and 'militaristic' attitude which is often associated with survival in the wild. His comments come just days after Bear . Grylls removed a steel water slide from his private island off the . Welsh Coast after planning officials launched an investigation into its . safety. The grass . covered slide stopped short several . feet above rocky waters to encourage a fast drop. Upon its construction Mr Grylls tweeted: 'New slide attached at home on our island! You hit the water very fast!!!!'. This . is not the first time Eton-educated Grylls chief scout has been scathed by . Mears, who in 2008 described as 'a showman' and 'boyscout' before insisting he was the one to talk to for survival advice. 'I . think the viewer knows that if you want to really know how to take care . of yourself in the wild, I’m the person to talk to,' he said in a jibe . directed at the son of Tory politican, Sir Michael Grylls. Bear Grylls has removed the slide on his private island off the Welsh coast after officials raised health and safety concerns . Some of the latter's most famous stunts include urinating into a snakeskin and then drinking it to quench thirst in the desert, using the corpse of a sheep as a sleeping bag, and eating deer droppings. Ray Mears' World of Survival premiered on British screens in 1997 and taught viewers a new survival skill in each episode, including how to rub sticks together to make fire to keep warm in the Arctic. Mears travelled to seemingly inhabitable destinations in the series which was followed by a string of programmes such as Extreme Survival and Ray Mears Goes Walkabout. In 2009 the outdoor expert from Kenley, London, faced claims he had inspired a teenage fan to bludgeon a pigeon to death. He was carrying a copy of one of Mears' best selling books at the time. Nineteen-year-old Raphael Thomas beat the bird with a skateboard before wringing its neck and putting it into his rucksack 'to eat later'. Grylls faced controversy in 2007 when it was alleged the outdoor expert had been sleeping in hotels after filming in the wild had wrapped. Ray Mears has travelled the world making documentaries which reveal how people live in seemingly uninhabitable conditions . Age: 49 . Height: 6ft . TV series: 14 and counting . Ray . Mears has taught the basics of outdoor survivals on British television . screens since the early 1990s. His programmes have taken him around the . world to seemingly inhabitable environments from where he shows viewers . how to survive by taking notes from natives. Mears . survived a helicopter crash in 2005 while filming a documentary in . Wyoming. He escaped the wreckage and rescued others, administering . crucial first aid to a member of his film crew who was badly injured. In . 2010 the woodland expert was called upon by Northumbria Police to help . track down Raoul Moat, a killer who was on the run after shooting three . people. His . most recent programme, Ray Mears Close Encounters, saw him track down . and study two of the most dangerous animals in Australian wildlife - the . Tasmanian Devil and Saltwater crocodile. Grylls became the youngest ever Chief Scout in the UK at the age of 35 . Age: 39 . Height: 6ft . TV series: 10 and counting . Before . becoming a survival expert, the son of Sir Michael Grylls and Lady . Sarah Grylls climbed the Himalayan mountains of Sikkim with the . Indian army and trained with the SAS. Eighteen . months after a crippling parachute accident broke his back, . Grylls climbed Mount Everest before joining the world of television to . eat bugs, free-climb waterfalls and wrestle wild animals. Bear faced criticism after it was alleged the . he was secretly retiring to hotels once filming had wrapped in wild locations. In . 2009 he was appointed Chief Scout by the Scout Association, making him . the youngest man to receive the accolade in the UK's history, at the age . of 35. Grylls has made headlines in recent weeks for creating a steel slide on his private island off the coast of Wales which has attracted concern from local Health and Safety officials. His new programme, Escape From Hell, is scheduled to begin next month on the Discovery Channel. | Mears says he started making TV to ‘put right damage done by Rambo’
Condemns ‘leaping off cliffs’ and says copycat injuries would be Grylls’ fault .
Grylls was exposed in 2007 for living in comfort when cameras stopped rolling . |
77,771 | dc7f22f2590e0b31464ea3c4b15993a9bf462f50 | Grown adults dressed as sexualised cuddly toys met at a gathering for ‘furries’ in Germany at Eurofurence, Europe’s largest furry fandom convention. Cats in tutus and stockings, bears in cleavage baring tops and a creature in a satin corset were some of the 2,000 people who attended the convention in Berlin for fans of animals with anthropomorphic qualities. The 20th anniversary of Euroference saw adults cuddling up in their figure-hugging outfits – which can cost as much as £5,000. But Liza, a 29-year-old graphic designer based in Brighton, denied the convention was a sex party for people with a furry toy fetish. She told the Independent: ‘We’re sick to death of reading that furry conventions are all about sex.’ Fans claim that adopting ‘fursonas’ to engage in animal roleplay by touching, petting, hugging and stroking each other is just harmless fun. Anthrozoologist and social psychologist Kathy Gerbasi, who studies the furry phenomenon and has a fur suit herself, agreed there was a sexual aspect. She said: ‘There is a sexual element for some people but I don’t think that applies to the majority.’ A bear in a figure-hugging outfit struts around at Eurofurence while a cat in a tutu and stockings walks past . Ms Gerbasi, 65, argues that most people are interested in animals from a young age. She said: ‘We grow up with teddy bears, stories and pets. But furries take this interest in animals further.’ Some take it so far – that they actually believe they are part animal. She said: ‘For most furries it’s just a fun hobby, but for others it’s an alter ego. Some think they’ve been reincarnated as an animal.’ New Yorker Ms Gerbasi, who is married to a pediatrician and has three children, got hooked on furry fandom nine years ago after coming across the underground movement on the internet. Bear chested: This person favoured a low-cut animal costume for the furry fandom convention . Peas in a pod: Two like minded souls enjoy a quiet moment at Eurofurence . She began studying the craze and ended up buying a dog costume based on her pet basset-springer spaniel for £180, which she wears every year to a festival called Anthrocon. She said: ‘Most people spend around £5,000 on their costumes but I opted for a cheaper one and decided to make the body myself. ‘The first time I wore it to a furry convention I was nervous, but after a while I relaxed and it was so much fun. ‘My husband and children think it’s ridiculous but they let me get on with it. ‘The only thing is that it gets very hot in the outfit.’ But Ms Gerbasi does not wear her outfit in public. She said: ‘I’ve toyed with the idea of wearing it out but I was worried I would scare the cats. 'I do know some furries who go bowling in their costumes, but I think most like to wear them at conventions where they are surrounded by like-minded people.’ Conventions are held around the world and the UK scene is reported to be very active, though there are no reunions currently held on the scale of Euroference. | Furry fandom convention, for people who dress as animals, held in Germany .
Event attracted 2,000 'furries' - some in stockings, tutus and corsets .
UK has active scene - and some even believe they are part animal . |
199,615 | 8e66faa4988f94ffae862dd283a41d96408ad268 | Washington (CNN) -- Republican Rep. Vern Buchanan, a self-made Florida millionaire, is only in his third term in Congress, but he already is in charge of fundraising for the Republican Congressional Campaign Committee, and he sits on the powerful House Ways and Means committee. But all that could be jeopardized. Federal investigations underway could result in Buchanan serving his next term behind bars. CNN has confirmed there are no fewer than four congressional and federal investigations into Buchanan's business practices, his campaign finances and his alleged attempt to try to stop a witness from talking. Congress: Same hours, half the work . Now that witness is stepping forward in an exclusive interview with CNN. Buchanan's former business partner says the congressman schemed to launder money from his car dealerships into his campaign coffers, and then tried to get others to cover it up. Many of the questions surrounding Buchanan go back to his auto dealerships in Florida where he made his millions, and back to the days when he worked with his former business partner Sam Kazran. Their partnership started at what is now a weed-filled lot, the former North Jacksonville Hyundai dealership. Eventually they owned four dealerships together. "I respected him," Kazran says of their early years together. "I believed him." But Kazran says he was naive, and that he soon found out the man he believed in was interested in only two things: money and power. "Mr. Buchanan is a very selfish person, and in my opinion people who go to Congress have got to do good for the people they represent," Kazran says. Kazran presented to CNN the same information, documents and testimony he has given to federal investigators. The two men had a falling out over their finances, and they've been suing each other for years. Buchanan says Kazran is a disgruntled partner and has lied about what happened. At the center of Kazran's allegations is a cash swap scheme used to finance some of Buchanan's campaigns. He says employees were forced to write checks, then were reimbursed with cash drawn from Buchanan's car dealerships. "It was to a point where I said, 'Chief, we can't give you this kind of money. At which point he said, 'Just run it through the corporation,'" Kazran said. "What he said to me was 'Get people to write a check to the campaign and then pay them back through the corporation.'" Kazran did, and he was soon calling in managers, salesman, even assistants. People who never gave money to campaigns were suddenly writing big checks to Buchanan for Congress and, according to Kazran, getting reimbursed from the dealership. It added up to almost $70,000 at Kazran's dealership alone, he said. Senate close to deal to extend low interest rates on student loans . "I remember one of the partners jokingly saying, 'Boss, you have all the money in the world. Why do you want us to pay you the money?' And he said, 'Well, it doesn't look good if it's coming from me.'" Kazran took his detailed allegations to the Federal Elections Commission, which was already looking into Buchanan's campaign finances. Investigators there wanted to know not only about how the cash-swap scheme was set up, but if the congressman knew about it. Kazran says there is no question the congressman knew all about it. The FEC's initial report found "reason to believe" that Buchanan "knowingly and willfully violated" federal election laws. Read the initial FEC report (pdf). But in a later report the FEC pulled back, saying it found credibility problems with both Kazran and Buchanan and not enough corroborating evidence to back up Kazran's testimony. The FEC then dropped the investigation into Buchanan, stating, "While there is some other evidence in the record that is consistent with Kazran's general allegations, other evidence supports Buchanan's denials or is ambiguous." Read the FEC report (pdf). The FEC eventually fined Kazran $5,000 in a settlement because he admitted reimbursing employees for campaign contributions. Kazran has never disputed his involvement, but he says he did it because Buchanan told him to. While the congressman has said the later FEC report proves he's innocent, the findings at the FEC were more convoluted, stating it came "close to supporting a finding that it is more likely than not" that Buchanan violated the law. And that's where things get much more serious for the congressman. During the FEC probe, Buchanan pushed to settle a lawsuit Kazran had brought against him. At the last minute, with a $2.9 million settlement offer from Buchanan dangling in front of him, Kazran says he was given an affidavit to sign. According to Kazran, the congressman and his attorneys were asking him to sign a statement that was a lie, that Buchanan knew nothing about the campaign cash swap. Kazran says Buchanan and his team were trying to force him to lie about Buchanan's role in the campaign cash scheme in exchange for the nearly $3 million cash settlement, money which Kazran says he desperately needed, as his finances were in trouble and his wife was suffering from cancer and was undergoing expensive medical treatments. "A lot of the language of it was really to distance himself...," said Kazran. "In short it said that Mr. Buchanan had nothing to do with it." Kazran's lawyer, Robert Stok, says it was clearly an effort to lean on Kazran when he was vulnerable. "He was holding the settlement in escrow," Stok says. "He basically said, 'We can settle, but there's one little thing remaining. All you have to do is sign this affidavit. We release the settlement and everything will be rosy for you.'" Kazran refused to sign and took the affidavit to federal investigators. Now, CNN has learned that Buchanan is being investigated for attempting to tamper with a witness in a federal investigation. After CNN's repeated requests for interviews were ignored, CNN decided to find Buchanan as he emerged from a hearing. Buchanan would not respond fully to any questions and quickly walked away from CNN's camera. When asked if he tried to get Kazran to sign the affidavit, Buchanan responded "No, no, no, no. No I didn't," adding that he needed to get to another meeting, and that CNN should contact his office. When asked if he used the affidavit to hold up the $3 million settlement with Kazran, Buchanan replied: "No." In a recent report, released quietly several weeks ago, the Office of Congressional Ethics wrote: "There is substantial reason to believe that Buchanan attempted to influence the testimony of a witness in a proceeding before the FEC in violation" of federal law and House ethics code. Read the OCE's report on the affidavit (pdf). Now a full House ethics committee is looking into it. CNN has also learned that the FBI is conducting its own investigation. In addition, the Office of Congressional Ethics also found "substantial reason to believe" that Buchanan failed to disclose unearned income on his financial disclosure forms from 2007 to 2010. Read the report (pdf). Salvatore Rosa, a former chief financial officer for Buchanan's business interests for five years, said in a recent deposition conducted by Buchanan's attorney that he submitted a federal whistle-blower complaint to the IRS with allegations that Buchanan violated federal tax laws, including tax evasion, fraud and conspiracy to commit tax evasion. In the deposition, Buchanan's attorneys asked Rosa if he stood to gain a "financial windfall" by filing the complaint. Rosa said "potentially." The deposition did not provide details of the alleged violations of tax law. Rosa declined an interview with CNN. Buchanan's office responded to CNN's interview request with a statement saying the charges are "politically motivated," that the congressman did nothing wrong, and "We are confident that the Justice Department and House Ethics Committee will reach the same conclusion." On Friday, lawyers for Buchanan filed a legal motion in Sarasota, Florida, to seal all documents in the Kazran case and to stop Kazran and his lawyers from speaking publicly about it. Buchanan's lawyers said news stories about the congressman are "publicly disparaging" his character. Stok said: "As an American citizen, both Congressman Buchanan and I have the fundamental right of free speech. ... Mr. Buchanan's motion is yet another in a series of frivolous efforts to attempt to shut down the case ... and to conceal his wrongdoing behind a shroud of secrecy." CNN's Nicole Boucher contributed to this report. Watch Anderson Cooper 360° weeknights 10pm ET. For the latest from AC360° click here. | Four probes looking at various allegations against Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Florida .
Ex-business partner: Buchanan used cash-swap scheme to finance his campaigns .
FEC initial report finds "reason to believe" Buchanan violated election laws .
Buchanan, a top House GOP fundraiser, says allegations are "politically motivated" |
202,755 | 928685a15b221875e144b29c5d78fcf4a0b8de34 | (CNN) -- Big banks have found few political friends in recent years. Excoriated by President Barack Obama and progressive Democrats like Elizabeth Warren for their "greedy" policies, rejected by Tea Party conservatives for being too cozy with Washington, and even seemingly scolded by Pope Francis in his Evangelii Gaudium last month, it's almost as if Wall Street has been sent to the woodshed. And after the 2012 presidential election, it's not hard to understand why no one wants to appear too comfortable with the "plutocracy." Many have argued that Mitt Romney's Bain Capital pedigree and his comments at the Boca Raton, Florida, home of private equity manager Marc Leder about the "47%" helped tank his campaign. Fate sealed: Romney-the-plutocrat was cooked. But perhaps the big banks have found an unlikely new ally: Hillary Clinton. An article in Politico Magazine this week, one that elicited little response from Democrats, recounted Clinton's recent remarks to Goldman Sachs executives and a few hundred major investors, seemingly to reassure them that she didn't think the banks were all bad. According to the story (ironically headlined, "Lament of the Plutocrats"): . "...Clinton offered a message that the collected plutocrats found reassuring, according to accounts offered by several attendees, declaring that the banker-bashing so popular within both political parties was unproductive and indeed foolish. Striking a soothing note on the global financial crisis, she told the audience, in effect: We all got into this mess together, and we're all going to have to work together to get out of it. What the bankers heard her to say was just what they would hope for from a prospective presidential candidate: Beating up the finance industry isn't going to improve the economy -- it needs to stop. And indeed Goldman's Tim O'Neill, who heads the bank's asset management business, introduced Clinton by saying how courageous she was for speaking at the bank. (Brave, perhaps, but also well-compensated: Clinton's minimum fee for paid remarks is $200,000)." It's hard to imagine how this will square with Obama's renewed progressive, middle-class agenda for Democrats. According to the White House, raising the minimum wage and lessening income inequality will be major parts of Obama's 2014 domestic plan -- as well as his State of the Union address and budget. More problematic is how Hillary Clinton's bighearted rhetoric toward Wall Street will accord with Democrats generally. You don't have to go to Elizabeth Warren in Massachusetts or Bill de Blasio in Manhattan; it isn't hard to find a Democrat, be they union machinist, single mom, or Wal-Mart cashier, who wants to punish the banks and weaken their influence in politics and everything else we do. Hardest of all to figure is how this will square with Clinton herself. Since leaving the State Department, she's made concerted (and some would argue necessary) efforts at rebranding herself as more progressive, speaking on voting rights, women's issues, and gay rights. In a recent New Republic piece by Noam Scheiber titled "Hillary's Nightmare? A Democratic Party that Realizes its Soul Lies with Elizabeth Warren," the writer describes Clinton's hard left turn this way: "she recently used the word 'progressive' so many times in a single speech it was tempting to describe her condition as 'severe.'" Indeed, is Clinton in danger of becoming the next Mitt Romney? Heir(ess) to the throne, the natural front-runner, but out of touch with "the little people," stuck in the rhetoric -- and passé politicking -- of the 1990s? I talked to several Democratic strategists who were incredulous that Clinton cozied up to the bankers, and wondered how long it would take for progressive groups -- or Republicans -- to jump on it. Her bizarre tryst with Goldman and friends, and her nurturing message to them, doesn't only put her to the right of progressive superstars like Warren and DeBlasio -- and to the right of Obama, and to the right of most Democratic voters -- but also to the right of many anti-bank, populist conservatives. That's tough -- and odd -- territory for Hillary Clinton to stake out in the run-up to a presidential election. But will Democrats hold her accountable? Or will she get a pass because she's (sigh) Hillary? Elizabeth Warren, where are you? The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of S.E. Cupp. | S.E. Cupp: Hillary Clinton met with Goldman execs, investors, brought reassuring message .
She says that's at odds with progressive stance of Warren, Obama. How will it play to left?
She says Clinton courting progressives too; may have trouble reconciling two camps .
Cupp: Clinton could end up like Romney: out of touch wih 'little people,' mouthing 90s rhetoric . |
178,087 | 728a729bd63c650b4b1a6b9baa4cea9b4ebe1ddb | By . Emma Reynolds, Jill Reilly and Snejana Farberov . PUBLISHED: . 18:05 EST, 13 November 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 06:51 EST, 15 November 2012 . The man who accused Elmo puppeteer Kevin Clash of engaging in sex when he was underage has been identified as a 24-year-old wannabe model that was once arrested for allegedly robbing someone at knifepoint. The accuser, Sheldon Stephens, of Pennsylvania, was named by The Smoking Gun website on Wednesday. The website said it learned the identity of Stephens from a family member and friend who were not named. Stephens describes himself as an 'entrepreneur, student, model [and] actor' on his Twitter account. On his Facebook page, he writes, 'I like to consider myself a rare breed. I'm very spontaneous and random… I'm determined and goal oriented. My destiny is laid on a solid gold brick pathway... MY FUTURE IS BRIGHT and never will it dim.' Named: Sheldon Stephens, 24 of Pennsylvania, has been identified as the man who accused Elmo Muppeteer Kevin Clash of engaging in sex when he was underage . Stephens had publicly accused Clash, the puppeteer behind Elmo on Sesame Street, of an underage . sexual affair this week and then later recanted his claim. The recantation comes one day after . the accusations against Clash, who is openly gay, were published on TMZ, . setting off a firestorm in the media. Andreozzi & Associates, a law . firm that said it represented the accuser, said in a . statement on his behalf: . 'He wants it to be known that his . sexual relationship with Mr Clash was an adult consensual relationship. He will have no further comment on the matter.' Since the scandal broke, Clash, 52, . has taken a leave of absence from the Sesame Workshop which produces the . popular children's TV show on PBS. Since the scandal broke, Clash, 52, has taken a leave of absence from the Sesame Workshop which produces the popular children's TV show on PBS . Court records show that Stephens has . been arrested several times since 2009 on charges that include writing a . bad check and reckless driving. His most serious charges were in . September of 2009, when he was arrested at an airport in Pennsylvania . after stepping off a flight from Los Angeles.He was charged in that arrest with robbing his former employer, Darian Pollard, at knifepoint. Pollard accused Stephens of stealing a $250,000 'white gold necklace with diamonds' and a 'white gold ring with diamond baguettes' and then boarding a flight to Pennsylvania, according to a criminal complaint. Stephens was wearing the jewelry when police arrested him and he insisted that the pieces were gifts. Charges filed against him in Pennsylvania were later dropped, however, and charges were never filed in California, The Smoking Gun reported. After Stephens withdrew his allegations, Clash told the New York Times through a . spokesman: 'I am relieved that this painful allegation has been put to . rest. I will not discuss it further.' Clash exchanged messages with his accuser in 2010 in which he apologized for constantly talking about sex and promised to make all of his 'dreams come true.' The puppeteer, who has left the show . in the wake of the accusations, told the man almost 30 years his junior . that he loved him and offered to buy him a ticket to visit him in New . York, it has emerged. The Sesame Street stalwart, who has worked on the show since the mid-80s, admits to having a sexual . relationship with the accuser but insists it only took place after the younger man was an adult. Clash, 52, took a leave of . absence from the children's show after the 23-year-old contacted the program's lawyers and told them he had a sexual . relationship with the puppeteer seven years ago. Allegations: Clash has left the popular children's show to fight the accusations . In the latest emails published by TMZ, sent well after the accuser turned 18, Clash wrote: 'I'm sorry that I keep talking about sex with you, its driving me insane.' He added: 'I want you to know that I love . you and I will never hurt you. I'm here to protect you and make sure . your dreams come true... 'I'll have my assistant book a ticket for you to come to NY and we can talk about this in person.' Clash said the relationship was between two consenting adults and that he was deeply . saddened that the younger man was 'trying to make it into something it was not.' The . accuser reportedly felt he was being silenced after his initial meeting with Sesame Street lawyers. He is now being represented by Andreozzi and Associates - the firm that worked with one of the victims . in the Jerry Sandusky child rape case. In August, the accuser's lawyers wrote a . letter to Sesame Street accusing the program of trying to 'discredit . the victim in order to protect its . employee and the image of one of its most valuable characters.' The letter also claimed the show's attitude 'places a greater value on a puppet than the well being of . a young man.' Sesame Workshop officials, however, said they found the the allegation of underage sex was . unsubstantiated after a thorough . investigation. Iconic: Clash, left, who has voiced Elmo for two decades, admits he had a relationship with the man, but only after the accuser was an adult . They say that rather than trying to hush up the accuser, they asked for evidence of his allegations, which was not received. TMZ reported they had seen an email supposedly sent to the accuser by Clash, . acknowledging they had the affair when he was 16, but officials believe it is fake as they say the . accuser never mentioned such an email existed. Sesame Street disciplined Mr Clash . for inappropriate use of company email after they found his messages to . the accuser, but they reportedly did not indicate an illegal sexual . relationship. They said the divorced father of a 19-year-old girl had shown poor judgment, but claimed . his leave of absence was to allow him to defend his reputation in the wake of the damaging allegations. Clash's ex-wife, Gina, declined to comment, but a friend who answered the door at her Baltimore home told the New York Daily News that the former nurse is 'surviving'. In the spotlight: Clash, who joined Sesame Street in the mid-80s, sent his accuser emails promising to make his dreams come true . A neighbor who did not wish to be identified defended Clash, saying: 'He was really good to her and the family. He's a really nice guy.' Sesame Workshop insisted the scandal surrounding Clash does not mean the end of Elmo. 'Elmo is bigger than any one person,' the company said. Clash has been Elmo's puppeteer for two decades, performing on the show as well as for PBS specials, DVD releases and TV movies, while earning nine Daytime Emmy Awards. He eventually assumed the title of Sesame Street's Senior Puppet Coordinator and Muppet Captain, while also directing and producing show segments and TV specials. He published an autobiography about his career in 2006 called My Life as a Furry Red Monster: What Being Elmo Has Taught Me About Life, Love and Laughing Out Loud. Earlier this year he appeared in Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey, a documentary detailing Clash's journey from a childhood obsession with puppets to assuming his role on the iconic show. | Sheldon Stephens, 24, accused Elmo puppeteer Kevin Clash of having sex with him when he was underage .
Stephens has been arrested for allegedly robbing a former employer at knifepoint .
Stephens later said through his lawyer that his relationship with Clash was consensual .
Clash was the subject of documentary Being Elmo, which delved into his childhood obsession with puppets . |
169,687 | 67973ca843f1359cf0947894662af9d44a311188 | By . Lizzie Parry for MailOnline . The parents of two step-brothers have spoken of their heartache that both boys are suffering the same muscle-wasting condition. Cameron McKenzie, eight, and Ben Stewart, nine, are unlikely to survive beyond their teenage years after being told they are both suffering Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD). The condition has left Cameron largely confined to his wheelchair, while the same fate is expected to befall his step-brother Ben in the near future. Step brothers Cameron McKenzie, left, and Ben Stewart, right, both suffer the rare muscle-wasting condition Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and are not expected to live beyond their teenage years . The condition has left Cameron largely confined to his wheelchair, while the boys' parents Sheryl and Alan Stewart said the same fate is expected to befall Ben in the near future . The brothers, who are also best friends, were both diagnosed as toddlers, but only met four years ago when their parents rekindled a romantic teenage relationship . Around one in 3,500 boys in the UK are born with DMD, but two unrelated brothers having the condition is simply a very unlucky chance association, London-based genetics specialist Dr Anand Saggar, told MailOnline. In the face of their bleak prognosis, the inspiring pair, from Stoneyburn, West Lothian in Scotland, have compiled a bucket list of dreams they aim to complete before their time runs out. Meeting comedian Harry Hill, the cast of Top Gear, a dream holiday to Australia and spending Christmas with Mickey Mouse, all feature on the boys' list. The pair's parents Sheryl and Alan Stewart, both 35, and their sisters Phoebe, six and Layla, two, are helping the boys achieve their dreams before their bodies begin to fail them. Mrs Stewart, who has now become a full-time carer for the brothers, said: 'What's important is fulfilling their dreams and having no regrets. 'If the worst happens sooner rather than later, we want to know we've done everything we could to make their dreams come true. 'The boys have got such a special bond, they would literally do anything for each other. It's good that they've both got each other. 'They're getting a wee bit older and Cameron is deteriorating earlier than we thought - we don't think he'll go another year walking - so now is the time. 'The only thing we are going to be left with when they are gone is memories and photos so it means everything to us.' Ben and Cameron were both diagnosed as toddlers, but only met four years ago when their parents rekindled a romantic teenage relationship. Mr and Mrs Stewart were childhood sweethearts almost 20 years ago, but the love affair waned - until they met years later. Fate brought them back together and they discovered that both their children were suffering from the same illness. They tied the knot in 2011, which made Cameron and Ben step-brothers and the best of friends. Ben and Cameron have compiled a bucket list of adventures they want to complete before their bodies become too affected by their condition . Mrs Stewart, who has now become a full-time carer for the brothers, said: 'What's important is fulfilling their dreams and having no regrets. If the worst happens sooner rather than later, we want to know we've done everything we could to make their dreams come true' Both boys have been on steroids to help keep them mobile for longer, but the side-effects were so severe the family felt there was no alternative but to stop. The drug withdrawal has accelerated their decline . Duchenne muscular dystrophy is a neuromuscular condition caused by a lack of protein called dystrophin. Around 100 boys with the serious condition, which causes progressive muscle weakness, are born in the UK each year. It is a genetic condition and can be inherited. The condition starts early in childhood and maybe detected when noticing a child has difficulty standing up. Children with DMD will struggle to walk, climb and run. The condition causes muscles throughout the body to weaken and waste, including those of the . heart and chest. Around one in 3,500 boys in the UK are born with DMD. Symptoms of the condition include: . Source: Muscular Dystrophy Campaign . Mrs Stewart said: 'It's so rare to even know someone who has a child with DMD, for it to happen to both of us, it's unbelievable. 'It's a one in a million chance that this would happen.' The family have now managed to get financial support from the Fund a Wish Foundation, which will go towards an adventure trip to Lapland in early December. But the pressure is on to get Ben and Cameron to meet their TV idols and their favourite animals in Australia, before their condition deteriorates. Both boys had been on steroids, to help keep them mobile for longer, but the side-effects were so severe the family felt there was no alternative but to stop. The drug withdrawal has accelerated the decline of Cameron's health and he is now showing signs of curvature of the spine - which could crush his lungs and heart. 'We really need to do the bucket list items before they need the respirators, the ventilators, before they need the feeding tubes and things like that,' said Mrs Stewart. 'We're desperate not to leave it too late because we want Cameron to be able to walk at least some parts of it.' Mr Stewart, who works as a graphic designer, added: 'We are on a limited time scale of what the boys can do before their condition deteriorates. 'We have hard times ahead, so we made a conscious decision to make their dreams come true. It won't be easy, but it would mean the world to us.' To help the boys complete their bucket list, visit their website here. | Brothers Cameron McKenzie, eight, and Ben Stewart, nine, suffer the rare muscle-wasting condition Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD)
The pair are not expected to live beyond their teenage years .
In the face of their bleak future they have compiled a bucket list to complete .
Meeting Harry Hill, the cast of Top Gear and going to Australia on the list .
Mother Sheryl Stewart, said: 'We want to know we've done everything we could to make their dreams come true'
The family are raising money to help the boys complete their list . |
183,748 | 7a0256beaa82654a5371e4a712e3a33c3dc8e518 | By . Hugo Duncan . PUBLISHED: . 17:53 EST, 1 October 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 17:53 EST, 1 October 2013 . Growth: The figures will be a boost for George Osborne, who has seen UK factory output but all other competitors . British manufacturers are on top of the world – outperforming rivals in the US, Europe and beyond, a report showed yesterday. Factory output in the UK in September grew faster than any other major global economy for a fourth month in a row, said researcher Markit. The news fuels hopes that Britain is on the road to a broad-based and sustainable recovery and are a further boost for David Cameron and George Osborne. Official figures published later this month are also expected to show that the economy has grown by at least 1 per cent in the last three months. Markit’s closely-watched index of activity for UK manufacturers, where scores above 50 represent growth, eased from a two-and-a-half year high of 57.1 in August to 56.7 in September. Despite the slight drop, it is still the strongest performance of any of the 25 economies covered by the report, beating 52.8 in the United States, 51.1 in Germany and 49.8 in France. Canada, Ireland, Japan and the so-called BRIC economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China also lagged behind the UK. Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit, said: ‘The fastest growth was seen in the UK, which led the worldwide growth rankings for the fourth successive month.’ The firm said UK manufacturing output is likely to have risen by between 1 per cent and 1.5 per cent in the third quarter of the year – up from 0.9 per cent in the second quarter and the best performance since mid-2010. Booming: Despite a drop in 2009 The manufacturing sector is growing and looks set to continue to going upward as UK factory output increases . In a further boost to the Chancellor – whose 2011 promise that the economy would be ‘carried aloft by the march of the makers’ looked for a long time to be falling flat – employment in Britain’s factories grew at its fastest pace last month for more than two years. Rob Dobson, senior economist at Markit, added: ‘UK manufacturing continues to boom, adding to the flow of upbeat data which suggest that the economy is growing faster than almost anyone expected. Prime Minister David Cameron, pictured preparing for his conference keynote speech, will also be buoyed by the news while the economy looks to be improving . ‘Job creation is also on the rise, with manufacturers reporting the strongest employment growth since May 2010 as firms took on more staff to meet faster order book growth.’ Analysts said the domestic market was the main source of growth last month, although export orders also rose amid higher demand in the US, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Scandinavia, Latin America, Russia and Australia. Martin Beck, UK economist at Capital Economics, said factory output could have grown by as much as 2 per cent in the third quarter of the year between July and September. ‘With manufacturing output still some 10 per cent below its pre-recession peak, there remains the potential for a period of strong catch-up growth ahead,’ he said. Lee Hopley, of the manufacturers’ organisation EEF, said it was ‘another solid month for manufacturing’. He added: ‘The good run of indicators should continue beyond the end of this year with some expansion in manufacturing taking place in Europe, Asia and the US.’ George Buckley, chief UK economist at Deutsche Bank, predicted that the next batch of official figures would show a resurgent British economy, with gross domestic product up from 0.7 per cent to 1 per cent in the third quarter. Rob Wood, chief UK economist at Berenberg Bank, added: ‘The economy should see a very strong second half of the year.’ | British manufacturers have beaten rivals in Europe and the United States .
Factory output in September grew faster than any other global economy .
Figures expected to show the economy has grown in the last three months . |
114,192 | 1f514fdfdbd0af91af67f163966fd41c1c34c2e5 | It seems even extra-terrestrials retire to Florida. Residents of a Naples condo building swear that a UFO came to Earth to check out the swimming pool and stayed for 30 minutes Monday night. Security guard Debralee Thomas says she was monitoring the surveillance camera feeds when she noticed an unusual pair of lights that appeared to be hovering over the water. Scroll down for video . What is it? The video shows a disc-like object hovering over the pool before expanding and dipping into the waters, pulsing for half an hour . The lights appear to be illuminating a saucer-shaped object in the sky, residents claim . The strange object stuck around for about 30 minutes and then vanished without explanation . 'I realized that it was something that wasn't normal, so I was like "Oh my, what is that," she told WBBH-TV. As a security guard who stares at video screens for hours, Thomas said she's seen some bizarre-looking things on her screens that turn out to be nothing at all. Bug that fly into the camera lenses, for instance, can offer a frightening spectacle for someone who doesn't know what they're looking at. But this was no bug. When she taped the encounter and showed the footage to her friends, they agreed that it indeed looked like something extraterrestrial. 'We watched it on tape and to be honest, . I was so grateful that it was there so I could say it was real...it . really happened,' Thomas said. Video evidence: Security officer Debralee Thomas was glad she caught the happening on tape . What's the interest? It's unknown why extra-terrestrials might be interested in this condo swimming pool in Naples . Thomas sent the video to the Mutual UFO Network, an Ohio-based UFO organization, for analysis. The leaders of the organization said they don't believe the video is a hoax. But, they can't say what the strange lights are. A wildlife biologist that examined the video for WBBH said the images could not have been an animal. Residents have been going into the condo's offices just to watch the video and see the event for themselves. 'I've . never seen anything like this,' said resident Curtis Kate. 'The . electrical charges coming from it, it's truly unbelievable.' The . mystery of the UFO remains unsolved for now, and Thomas is OK with that . just as long as it doesn't happen under her watch again. A Florida wildlife biologist examined the tape and concluded that no animal could have made the bizarre shapes seen on the tape . | Condo security officer Debralee Thomas witnessed a strange object by the community pool Monday night .
The object was UFO-shaped and pulsed above the pool for 30 minutes .
The video has been sent off to a UFO organization in Ohio for analysis . |
235,686 | bd1c65d2236d163aab803140a7b38f200fd9f326 | LONDON, England -- American basketball is planning to create up to five new European franchises who would compete for the NBA Championship, according to a report by Sports Illustrated. NBA stars such as Kobe Bryant may soon be seen on a regular basis in Europe. The astonishing claims come hard on the heels of plans by the football's English Premier League to play matches overseas and underline the growing trend of globalization in major sports leagues. This was further evidenced by Super Bowl champions New York Giants playing a regular NFL season game against the Miami Dolphins at Wembley Stadium in London, but the NBA's leaked plans go far beyond that. A report on the Sports Illustrated Web site, says NBA commisioner David Stern will reveal his proposals on the eve of the All-Star Game in New Orleans this weekend. The plans are understood to include the formation of a European division with five new teams in major markets. The teams would play a full 82-game schedule and compete for the NBA championship. It is not the first time that Stern has entertained the concept of overseas expansion. He broached the idea in 2003, saying at the time that the league would look into European expansion within a decade. Those plans were scrapped, however, with the NBA instead focusing on developing its relationship with China and other emerging basketball markets. The number of European and overseas players has steadily increased in the NBA and basketball enjoys a particularly high profile in Spain, France, Italy, Greece and the Balkans. The NBA has played regular-season games in Japan and Mexico, and played exhibition contests this season in London and Rome. Meanwhile, Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant is doubtful for Sunday's All-Star game with a damaged finger. Bryant, who dislocated his right pinkie last week, scored 29 points in 35 minutes in Wednesday's 117-92 win at Minnesota. Bryant sat out the fourth quarter and had the finger X-rayed after the game. E-mail to a friend . | The NBA is planning a European division of up to five teams claims a report .
Sports Illustrated say commissioner David Stern will announce expansion plan .
NBA has previously played exhibition games in overseas countries . |
27,864 | 4ef874ac9c010e029017417b865a1e48fe6d386e | By . Daily Mail Reporter . A Florida police officer was arrested Tuesday night after allegedly posing as a teenage girl on Facebook in order to get photographs of naked boys. Michael Gerard Stavris II, 30, of Palm Coast, was arrested on two counts of computer pornography under the child exploitation prevention act and one count of criminal use of personal identification information. The arrest was a long time coming. According to officials, the police sergeant had been posing as a girl for more than a year. Sgt Michael Gerard Stavris: A Florida police sergeant who once worked as an after hours school cop in Jacksonville is charged with soliciting high school boys for sex by posing as a teenage girl on a fictitious Facebook profile . According to the felony warrant issued March 25, Stavris allegedly created a fictitious profile on Facebook profile of a 16-year-old girl on November 25, 2012. Florida Department of Law Enforcement agents began investigating Stavris in December 2013 after receiving a complaint. Stavris allegedly created a fraudulent Facebook account using someone else's image in order to pose as a teenage girl. Agents said he used the fake account to solicit teenage boys and then began to turn the conversations into those of a sexual nature before requesting sexually explicit photos. The 6-foot-3, 400-pound man promised to perform oral sex on his victims in exchange for the pictures and even sent a picture of a woman's breasts to one victim. The officer befriended at least 30 teenagers in the process, some of whom attended Flagler Palm Coast High School, where Stavris graduated from in 2002. Calculating: Officer Stavris used his fake teenage girl Facebook profile to befriend at least 30 teenagers in the process. Some of them were students at his old high school, Flagler Palm Coast High School, from where he graduated from in 2002 . Posing as a girl, he asked for pictures of their penises. After the victims sent the photos, 'she' promised to perform oral sex behind their schools. The affidavit said that in one case, a student was asked to meet if he would send the 'girl' a picture of his genitals. According to the arrest report, he would solicit the male victims through the Facebook page and discuss what sexual acts they had committed. The page had between 30 to 40 friends younger than 18. Stavris, a sergeant with the Bunnell Police Department, was arrested at the Bunnell City Hall, where all of the government offices are located. He was booked and then released on a $125,000 bond. The charges carry a penalty of five years in jail. 'We will do everything in our power to see that all potential victims are identified and this person is charged with each crime that's committed,' said Dennis Bustle, special agent in charge of the FDLE's Jacksonville regional office. Stavris worked as a patrol officer for the Duval County school system from October 2009 to July 2010, school officials said. His job began after school hours were over and involved patrolling and responding to school-related calls citywide, . Before becoming a police officer, Stavris worked for the Flagler County school system from 2000 to 2006 teaching activities and safety to children through the eighth grade, said his Duval County school board personnel file. | Sgt. Michael Gerard Stavris allegedly used a fake Facebook page to solicit his victims .
Posing as a girl he contacted teenage boys and asked them to send nude photos of themselves .
Page had between 30 and 40 friends younger than 18 .
The officer allegedly promised sexual favors for sexually explicit pictures . |
241,088 | c41e53fa3a78fceeed96e1ca4381972cbfa98192 | An attack on apartments that neighbors say were used as a brothel in Baghdad has killed at least 28 women and six men, security officials told CNN. Unidentified militants wearing military uniforms and street clothes stormed apartments Saturday in the Zayona residential complexes in eastern Baghdad, officials said. They fired their weapons in the streets before breaking down doors to enter the buildings, security officials and residents told CNN. Once inside, they killed the men and women, officials said. Attackers left a message on a door: "This is the fate of any prostitution," an Agence France-Presse correspondent on the scene reported. Residents told CNN the Shiite Asa'b Ahl al-Haq organization carried out the attack. But the organization told CNN it does not have forces inside the city. There was no letup in violence Monday, with two car bombs in Baghdad and a roadside bomb in Iraqi's semiautonomous Kurdish region. There were also ongoing clashes in Salaheddin province, 70 kilometers (about 44 miles) north of the capital. Two people were killed and 14 others wounded in the separate car bombings in the al-Bayaa and al-Alawi areas of Baghdad, police officials said. Meanwhile, a roadside bomb targeted a Kurdish police convoy patrolling a road between Sulaimaniya and Diyala provinces, killing one police officer, Kurdish Peshmerga officials told CNN. The area is controlled by the Peshmerga Kurdish fighters. In Salaheddin province, fighting between militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, and Iraqi forces backed by Sunni al-Jubouri tribesmen broke out late Saturday in Dhuluiya, police officials and a tribal representative told CNN. ISIS controls 50% of the town, including the mayor's office, municipal council and the police building, they said. Six security force members and tribal fighters have been killed in the fighting. ISIS, an al Qaeda splinter group, has led Sunni insurgents who have taken over large areas of northern and western Iraq in an offensive that began last month. The terrorist group has also made major gains in Syria in its quest to establish an Islamic state spanning both countries. "ISIS terrorist groups started shelling the town with mortars from the northern side of the town," the al-Jubouri spokesman said, before pickup trucks loaded with armed militants moved in to occupy government buildings. A YouTube video purportedly from ISIS shows militants raising a flag over the buildings. "We are steadfast and will cleanse the town from them in 48 hours," the al-Jubouri spokesman said. Inside Baghdad hospital, harrowing tales from the front line . U.S. report on Iraqi readiness . The initial U.S. military assessment of Iraqi security forces ordered by U.S. President Barack Obama was given Monday to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a Pentagon spokesman said. Pentagon officials will review the report -- which assesses the capabilities, training, morale, leadership, and command and control of Iraq's forces -- before giving the President recommendations for the next steps in supporting Iraq's forces. Pentagon press secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby said the United States has "not moved to an advisory capacity at this point." Two U.S. officials tell CNN a major concern that has been raised is the overwhelming sectarianism in Iraqi forces. In particular, U.S. commanders are concerned if they move into a direct advisory role of Iraqi government forces, it will be perceived as taking sides with the Iranian-backed Shiite elements inside Iraqi units. U.S. military personnel are also looking at why so many Iraqi units collapsed in the face of the initial ISIS advances and whether it is possible to even reconstitute those units to the point that U.S. advisers would be useful. The officials also said that if Baghdad was attacked, Iraqi forces would need help from Iranian-backed militia. Another concern is infiltration of Iraqi units by militants and potential green-on-blue attacks -- that is, attacks on U.S. personnel by members of the Iraqi forces. Kirby would not say what was in the report but noted, "This is a lesson that certainly we learned in recent years from Afghanistan. We always keep in mind and have to keep in mind the insider threat, and we have to factor that in when we are doing work in a partnership capacity n a situation such as this, where it's as dangerous as it is." President Obama has authorized 300 military advisers in Iraq, 210 of which are there now. ISIS success in Syria . ISIS also has been making gains in Syria. In the eastern Syria city of Deir Ezzor, militants took control of areas that had been held by other rebel groups, such has al-Nusra Front and the Free Syrian Army, the UK-based opposition group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The other rebels either left the city or pledged allegiance to ISIS, the observatory said. That means the city is controlled partly by the government and partly by ISIS. Deir Ezzor is 100 kilometers (62 miles) east of the Iraqi border. ISIS now controls about 95% of greater Deir Ezzor province, which borders Iraq, the observatory said. In other violence over the weekend in Iraq, militants believed to be with ISIS attacked the city of Haditha from four directions, said Hameed Ahmed al-Hashim, a member of the Anbar provisional council, and two security officials in Haditha. A large military force backed by tribesmen defended the city, they said. Iraqi jet fighters bombed a bridge controlled by militants east of Falluja, causing structural damage, al-Hashim said. Three police officers were wounded when a roadside bomb exploded near their convoy in Kirkuk, a security official told CNN on Saturday. | U.S. worried about sectarianism in Iraqi forces, sources tell CNN .
Report: Militants left a message, "This is the fate of any prostitution"
Residents say Shiite group carried out attack, but it denies having forces in Baghdad .
Car bombings kill two in Baghdad; roadside bomb targets a Kurdish police convoy . |
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