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167,186 | 6436739da173955fe9dfb28b05d201207669f16a | By . Lucy Waterlow . PUBLISHED: . 08:17 EST, 11 January 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 10:21 EST, 11 January 2013 . Inspiration: The late Jane Tomlinson competed in marathons despite having terminal cancer . She defied her doubters and became an inspiration when she achieved numerous feats of endurance despite suffering from terminal cancer. Now Jane Tomlinson's husband has admitted even he was stunned when his wife announced she intended to run a marathon after she had been given just six months to live. Mike Tomlinson shared his wife's inspiring story on the podcast Marathon Talk after announcing a new marathon will be staged in York in her memory this year. The widower told presenters Martin Yelling and Tom Williams how his wife had never run before her cancer diagnosis in the summer of 2000 when she was only 36 years old. But after being told she had only six months to live, she decided to take on the endurance challenge. He said: 'It . was preposterous. She was told she was not going to see next spring and . there she was saying she was going to run the London Marathon in . April.' Mike added: 'She . did everything I thought wasn't possible for her. She was desperately . ill with a lot of cancer in her bones. I never for a minute thought she . could do it. 'But when she went out in the month before the marathon and . did an 18 mile training run, I thought this is serious, she's really . going to do it. She should have been dead and there she was on the start . line of the London Marathon.' Jane went on to live for another seven years after her advanced metastatic breast cancer diagnosis which Mike said was largely thanks to advances in cancer treatments. But he added he was certain taking up sport also helped prolong her life. Not only did getting fit make her more 'robust' physically so she could better handle her grueling chemotherapy treatments, it also helped her mentally. The marathon gave Jane a chance to 'take control' at a time when she was 'losing everything', Mike explained. 'It meant cancer stopped defining her'. The mother-of-three built up to running the London Marathon by taking part in 5k to half marathon races and after finishing the event in a respectable time of 4 hours and 53 minutes, decided she wouldn't stop there. Remarkable: The mother-of-three went on to complete an Ironman and raise nearly £2m for charity . Pedal power: She also cycled across America to boost charity coffers . She went on to complete an Ironman (comprised of a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride and 26.2 mile run) and then a 4,200 . mile bike Ride Across America, from San Francisco to New York. Remarkably after completing the Ironman - an event that can break the fittest of athletes - Mike said Jane didn't need painkillers for a week as she was on such a high from her achievement. 'If someone has had a cancer diagnosis, . they don't have to run a marathon but hopefully her story will give . people some hope that diagnosis is not the end of your life' He said: 'I expected her to wake up the next day and be a complete shell but she had no painkillers for a week. 'The endorphins she got from doing the race kept the pain at bay. That was the only week in seven years when she didn't take painkillers - after the Ironman. 'I'm not a medical man, I don't understand how the body works but there has to be something in that.' Jane's achievements meant her whole family were thrust into the public eye and the Yorkshire man admitted they found this difficult to begin with. While many people were supportive of Jane, others criticised her for the challenges she was undertaking while ill and some even questioned whether she really had terminal cancer at all. Legacy continues: Her husband Mike Tomlinson is helping to stage the Yorkshire Marathon in her memory . But Mike revealed while they would never have sought attention, when Jane's story first started making headlines, they decided to embrace it in order to make as much money for charity as they could. By the time of her death in 2007 at the age of 43, she had raised almost £2million for charity. She also won numerous accolades including a CBE and inspired people around the world to change their lives through her example. Mike said he hopes Jane's story continues to make a difference to people's lives. 'If someone has had a cancer diagnosis, they don't have to run a marathon but hopefully her story will give people some hope that diagnosis is not the end of your life, you can still have a fulfilling life,' he said. Now Mike and his family are keeping Jane's legacy alive and continuing to raise money for good causes through staging various sporting events in the North. Marathon challenge: Celebs including Paralympian Hannah Cockcroft, pictured front left with Mike, are supporting the event which will take place in York in October . Through Jane Tomlinson’s For All Events, they already stage the Leeds, York, Hull and Pennine-Lancashire . 10Ks, Leeds Half Marathon and walking and swimming festivals. But now their jewel in the crown will be the Yorkshire Marathon which they hope will become a not-to-be-missed event in the UK sporting calendar. The race, on a flat and scenic course around York city centre and surrounding countryside, will be held on Sunday, 20 October. Entries are now open and participants are encouraged to donate money to the Jane Tomlinson Appeal or raise money for a charity of their choice. However, there is no pressure to raise a certain amount in order to take part. Do the impossible: Mike said on the day of the marathon, he hopes to see people 'achieve things they have never dreamed of like Jane did' As well as raising money for charity, Mike hopes the race will make a difference to people's lives by encouraging them to get fit and enjoy taking part in sport. Mike and his daughter will also be running and he said he is looking forward to seeing people achieve what they thought might not be possible by completing the 26.2 mile course. He added that the best part will be 'seeing people achieve things they have never dreamed of like Jane did - that's success.' To listen to Mike Tomlinson's interview in full and for running advice and inspiration, visit www.marathontalk.com . To register for the Yorkshire Marathon, visit www.theyorkshiremarathon.com . | Jane took up running after terminal breast cancer diagnosis - and went on to complete marathons, Ironman and 4,200 bike ride .
Given six months to live, she ran the London Marathon seven months later .
Widower Mike Tomlinson, 51, says training gave her strength to survive seven years after diagnosis .
Week following Ironman was only time during treatment she needed no painkillers thanks to natural endorphins .
Family now staging York Marathon in her memory to raise money for charity . |
229,126 | b4afea8a0f444ed4272d1c892a4f32f549a3c727 | (CNN) -- Rep. David Wu of Oregon will not seek re-election and "is considering all options" regarding whether to serve out the rest of his term, Wu's communications director told CNN Monday. "He (Wu) will consider those options and make a decision in due course," said Erik Dorey, declining to elaborate on a possible time frame. Wu, facing mounting calls for his resignation, gave no indication Monday that he planned to step down. A spokeswoman in his Portland office refused to comment on alleged sexual advances toward an 18-year-old or discuss the congressman's future. On Friday, the Oregonian newspaper reported that the daughter of a fund-raiser of Wu's accused him in May of unwanted sexual advances that allegedly occurred in November. Citing anonymous sources from inside the congressman's office, the Oregonian said the woman, who the paper declined to name, left a voice-mail message at Wu's Portland office alleging aggressive advances by Wu. According to the newspaper, the woman was 18 when the alleged incident, which was never reported to police, took place. House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi is asking for an ethics investigation of Wu, a seven-term congressman and a Democrat. "With deep disappointment and sadness about this situation, I hope that the Ethics Committee will take up this matter. I will send a letter to the Ethics Committee tomorrow asking them to formally initiate a review of this matter," Pelosi said in a statement Sunday. Meanwhile Wu said in a written statement given to CNN, "This is very serious, and I have absolutely no desire to bring unwanted publicity, attention or stress to a young woman and her family." In Wu's home state, Republicans and some of Wu's fellow Democrats responded to the allegations by calling for him to resign. "Our stance and the stance of all Oregonians is that David Wu should step down," Allen Alley, the chairman of the Republican Party of Oregon, told CNN. "We need a representative on their 'A-game' and David obviously is not." Oregon Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian, a Democrat, said in a statement, "David Wu should do the right thing and step aside now." Avakian had previously announced plans to run against Wu when he is up for re-election next year. David Robinson, who lost against Wu in the Democratic primary last year, said he was pushing for the Democratic Party of Washington County to approve a vote of no confidence for Wu in a meeting on Wednesday. "I have been e-mailing and calling all day and believe we have the votes to pass it," Robinson said. He acknowledged it was not clear that Wu would step down even if the county Democratic Party called for him to do so. Wu has faced and weathered allegations of impropriety before. In February, the Oregonian reported that shortly before his re-election in November 2010, Wu was confronted by campaign staff over his erratic behavior and use of medication. At the time the staffers tried and failed to have Wu seek hospitalization, the newspaper reported. "To address my behavior and its consequences, I sought professional medical care and continue to obtain professional help from my doctor," Wu later said in a statement. "I fully acknowledge that I could have dealt with these difficult circumstances better, and I remain focused on being a good father to my children and a strong representative for the people of Oregon." CNN's Deirdre Walsh contributed to this report. | Wu will not seek re-election, his communications director tells CNN .
Report: A woman accuses Congressman David Wu of making sexual advances .
An Oregon newspaper cites anonymous sources within Wu's congressional office .
House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi is calling for an ethics investigation . |
116,695 | 22a98796650b70c3b53a0a36bd43f832bacf09ca | Los Angeles, California (CNN) -- Former porn star Jenna Jameson said she wants to get back with Tito Ortiz four days after things got "tragically out of hand" and he was arrested on a domestic violence charge. But the couple's reconciliation "is irrelevant" to the prosecution of Ortiz since it is the state of California, not Jameson, who filed the charge against the mixed martial artist, a police spokesman said. A restraining order prevents Ortiz and Jameson from reuniting immediately. Ortiz, 35, was arrested at his Huntington Beach, California, home Monday morning when Jameson's father called police as the couple argued. "By calling the police, my father was trying to defuse a private issue between two people," Jameson said in a written statement Friday. Ortiz and his lawyer told reporters later Monday that he was upset because he thought Jameson had relapsed in her rehabilitation from a prescription drug addiction. Jameson, 36, was captured by cameras alternately saying Ortiz was "the sweetest, most amazing man" and later saying that he had beaten her. "Unfortunately, what actually happened has now been dramatically distorted and misinterpreted and remarks that both Tito and I made after the police arrived reflect the state of shock that we were both in," Jameson said Friday. Now, she says she wants him back in her life. "He's a fantastic father and I'm confident we can work through this challenge," she said. While Ortiz and his lawyer did not immediately respond to calls for comment, the former Ultimate Fighting champ made it clear Monday night that he wanted her back. Tears rolled down his cheeks as Ortiz listened to his lawyer talk to reporters. "They have two children together," attorney Chip Matthews said. "They have planned on spending their lives together and they want nothing more than to work together." | She says things got "tragically out of hand" before Ortiz was charged with domestic violence .
Restraining order prevents Ortiz and Jameson from reuniting immediately .
Ortiz says problems began because he thought Jameson had relapsed with drugs . |
148,968 | 4c9f695549031064841bf14eb01d1b9c3c463e03 | Christmas shopping in central London in mid December is not for the faint-hearted. Wind, rain, angry customers, queues and general confusion are just a few of the issues that shoppers have to deal with when trying to find the perfect present in one of the capital's department stores. But the biggest retailers do have their perks - one of the main ones being the beautiful window displays they build every year. Scroll down for video . Harrods, Selfridges and Hamleys are among the London stores with festive windows. They outdo each other with outlandish decorations, including real trees, VIP penguins and life-sized Santas - like this one in the Hamleys shopfront. From Selfridges and Harvey Nichols to Harrods and Fenwick, the outside of every building is decorated with festive themes in a competition to create the biggest wow factor. This year, Father Christmas, multiple penguins, the ballet and even the iconic London black taxi have all featured in the festive scenes. The golden goose at Selfridges took so long to create that the designer managed to work her way through ten audio books while building it. The store's creative director Linda Hewson told MailOnline last month that a lot of planing goes into the window displays: . She said: 'We take inspiration from all over the place. It can be from festivals or fashion shows and we just begin collecting ideas together before deciding on a final theme. 'You do have to take a risk when anticipating trends so far ahead and it does require a lot of foresight.' If you don't want to join the hustle and bustle on the streets of the capital to see the end results, don't worry, FEMAIL has rounded up some of the best Christmas window displays right here: . A liquid Christmas: The decorated shop windows of Fortnum & Mason on Piccadilly . Iconic London: Paddington Bear and the black cab are both covered in 'marmalade' at Selfridges . Material girls: Liberty showcases their famous prints in their windows . Golden on the eye: This golden goose took several days to build for the Selfridges display . Traditional: Harrods always covers the whole store in lights . A feast for the eyes: Fortnum & Mason made tasty treats their focal point . This ted can bear-ly wait until December 25: Harrods went for a super-sized furry toy in one window . Designer greetings: Even Burberry got in the festive mood . Classy Christmas: Ralph Lauren has a minimal shine . Showgirls: Fenwick had a traditional red and white theme . Pulling the strings: A lonely puppet girl featured in one Harrods window . The VIP section: The John Lewis windows were full of their famous penguin . Even rarer than Santa Claus: A unicorn graced one Selfridges window . Anything that glitters: Fortnum & Mason showcased their best trinkets . The big picture: Fortnum & Mason had made every inch of their windows festive . Dreaming of a white Christmas: A ballerina was star of one display at Harrods . He is real! Santa made a second appearance, this time at Harrods . Driving home for Christmas: Even the Mini got a show at Selfridges . He gets everywhere: Hamleys booked an appearance from Santa in their displays . Can't see the jewels for the trees: Fortnum & Mason had real pines for their windows . | Harrods, Selfridges and Hamleys are among the stores with festive windows .
The shops try to outdo each other with outlandish Christmas decorations .
Real trees, giant golden geese, flying sleighs and VIP penguins all feature . |
79,631 | e1d0708d337e1162fe7cd64baab41020d6383a25 | By . Chris Pleasance . The secret 'first son' of Lucian Freud has lost his bid to secure a share of the artist's £96million fortune following a dispute in the High Court. Paul McAdam Freud is legally accepted, but not proven, to be Freud's first son from a relationship with fashion student Katherine McAdam in the 1950s. Mr McAdam Freud, brother of fashion designer Bella Freud, was fighting a clause in his father's will which meant he would inherit none of the money. He was also fighting a clause that meant only two people will ever know exactly who the artist's estate is handed to. Paul McAdam Freud (left), an alleged 'secret son' of elusive artist Lucian Freud (right), has lost a High Court battle to lift the lid on the beneficiaries of Freud's will, and potentially secure part of it for himself . At the time of Freud's death three years ago, Diana Rawstrom, his trusted solicitor, and Rose Pearce, one of his daughters, were the sole beneficiaries. After legacies and taxes the pair inherited an estimated £42million. But they have since revealed Freud secretly instructed them to pass on money to a list of others, without ever revealing their identities or the sums of money involved. Mr McAdam Freud tried to lift the lid on this secrecy by arguing that part of the will was illegitimate, but he failed in his attempt today. If he had succeeded it would also have meant Freud would have died largely intestate, and his millions would have been handed out to his next of kin, a complicated task given that the exact number of his children is unknown - though the court heard that it was 'at least 14'. Lucian's only legitimate offspring, two daughters named Annie and Annabel, came from his marriage to Kitty Garman - a muse of his whom he married in 1948. However, he had another four children by Suzy Boyt, a student he had met at the Slade school of art in the Fifties, and another four, including Paul McAdam Freud and sisters Jane, Bella and Esther, by Kathleen McAdam. After Kathleen left him in 1966, it is said that he barely saw any of the family for 20 years. The Greek sculptor Vassilakis Takis, a close friend of Lucian's, estimated that he had at least 500 lovers during his lifetime, while family friends insist that his children could number as high as 30. Revealing the true beneficiaries of Freud's will could have lifted the lid on some of the mystery, but following today's ruling, only Mrs Rawstrom and Mrs Pearce will know who receives the money. Speaking at the High Court today, the judge said he could ‘readily understand’ Mr MacAdam Freud’s concerns about the secrecy of the will, from which he stood to gain nothing. ‘There is a lot of money involved here, so I fully understand these are important issues,’ he said, before ruling that Mrs Rawstrom’s and Mrs Pearce’s interpretation of the will made ‘common sense’. Freud made his fortune through his portrait work, thought by many to be the best of his generation. His most famous work, 'Benefits Supervisor Sleeping' (pictured), sold for a world-record $33.8million in 2008 . Freud's portraits often featured nudes of his friends and family. This portrait is of his daughter, Bella . Although, on the face of it, the will appeared to give the £42 million to Mrs Rawstrom and Mrs Pearce ‘absolutely’, they had since made clear that they held the money only as trustees and were bound to distribute the cash under a cloak of confidentiality. ‘They wish to respect the deceased’s wishes not to disclose the terms of the fully secret trust to anyone who is not a beneficiary,’ their barrister, Michael Furness QC, earlier told the court. The judge said it had ‘at one time been disputed’ that Mr McAdam Freud was the artist’s son from his relationship with fashion student, Katherine McAdam, in the 1950s. But it had been accepted, at least for the purposes of the court hearing, that he was ‘another of Lucian Freud’s children’. By his will, the artist specifically left a £2.5m tax-free gift and a house in west London to his assistant of more than 20 years, David Dawson. A second clause instructed Mrs Pearce and Mrs Rawstron to dispose of ‘chattels’ on the basis of instructions given during his life. One of Freud’s works was also given to the National Gallery in lieu of inheritance tax. | Freud left estate after legacies and tax - about £42million - to his solicitor Diana Rawstrom and one of his daughters Rose Pearce .
They were to hold money in trust before giving it to secret list of others .
However Paul McAdam Freud, Lucian's 'first son' who was not due to inherit anything, argued that part of will was not legitimate .
Judge denied his claim, meaning money will pass to secret beneficiaries . |
61,522 | aec8d432e848a83156c49d5a9b73a600c3af3500 | (CNN) -- A few weeks ago, an Arabic campaign exploded on Twitter. The Arabic hashtag -- #الراتب_مايكفي_الحاجة (loosely translated as "the salary does not meet my needs") -- reached 17 million tweets in the first two weeks. At its height, it registered 1.2 million tweets a day, and was not only the most popular hashtag in Arabic, but the 16th most popular in any language. Somewhat unexpectedly, the campaign, which hints at a financially aggrieved populace, comes out of one of the world's wealthiest nations: Saudi Arabia. "There's a feeling among some people that I guess you could characterize as anger. Others are disappointed, some think it's a question of (the Saudi government's) priorities," says Fahad Nazer, a Saudi political analyst with JTG Inc. The anger he refers to is fueled by growing unemployment and frustration at government spending. Nazer notes that the campaign gained particular traction following the Saudi government's announcement that it would give financial aid to Egypt's military regime. "The government is giving handouts to Egypt, Jordan and Tunisia, and using a third of the country's budget for this year to pay for the Riyadh metro. Meanwhile, Saudi's are paying most of their salary on rent, private schools, private hospitals -- because public ones aren't good -- while salaries have practically stayed the same," laments Manal Al Sharif, a Saudi activist who gained notoriety for posting video of herself driving on YouTube. She is also one of the country's most vocal tweeters. "There's a long list of things that are wrong," she adds. Unemployment is higher than one might suspect in the oil-rich nation. Though official figures are hard to come by, there are approximately 1.8 million Saudis enrolled with Hafiz -- the country's unemployment benefits program -- according to Adam Coogle, a Middle East researcher with Human Rights Watch. The campaign has also drawn attention to a topic that was once considered taboo: Saudi poverty. Accompanying many of the tweets are images and video supposedly depicting Saudis living in squalor; some show Saudi's beggar class while others reveal the existence of Saudi shanties. Lynsey Addario, a photographer who documented Saudi poverty in Riyadh for Time Magazine, recalls how the assignment challenged her expectations. "What you see on the surface are the shiny buildings and the shopping malls and the new universities being built -- the wealthy side. I was actually quite shocked when we went to the slums," she says. She recounted families struggling to pay the bills, and living in single-story, cockroach infested houses in the heart of Saudi Arabia's capital. "Poverty in Saudi challenges many people's assumptions, including some Saudis'," admits Nazer. Poverty and unemployment are particularly rife among Saudi youths (Coogle estimates they make up anywhere between 18 and 35% of the unemployment rate), and even more so among women. According to English-language newspaper the Saudi Gazette, an annual report put out earlier this year by the Ministry of Labor showed Saudi men in the private sector earn an average of $1,516, with women staffers pulling in half that sum. Al Sharif notes that working women are at a further disadvantage due to the many practices that are banned to them. "A woman in Saudi is dependent on men to do just about everything in her life. If a man doesn't exist, she will have to pay for those services she can't do herself, like driving a car, starting her own business or going to court," she notes. Read more: Saudi Arabia's first anti-abuse campaign . Despite its popularity, the campaign has attracted critics who argue Saudis are already too reliant on their government. Nazer himself notes that the campaign risks oversimplifying what is actually a very complex issue. Several factors, he argues, have fed unemployment, including a population explosion -- since the '70s, Saudi has grown from 6 million people to nearly 20 million, with an additional 10 million expats competing with nationals for jobs. Adding to the problem is the fact that in the past, many Saudis chose to study religion and languages -- areas for which there is little demand. "It's a complex situation, as is true of any economy. People who try to trivialize or simplify it miss a lot of variables," says Nazer. Regardless of where one stands on the issue, what's been particularly surprising is the willingness of Saudis -- who traditionally value cultural privacy -- to air their grievances in an international forum. "It's true, we are a very private nation, and we don't want the rest of the world to know anything about us," admits Al Sharif. However, she says, it's a price many Saudis are willing to pay. "Saudis are realizing that you can't isolate yourself from the rest of the world, because the only way we can communicate and read each other's views is through social media. It's our kind of parliament, where we can go and debate, and do things we can't do in the real world." | Saudi Arabian Twitter users have flocked to a campaign bemoaning wages in their country.
The hashtag became the 16th most popular in any language.
High unemployment and government spending has fueled resentment in Saudi Arabia.
Many tweeters shared images and videos of impoverished Saudis. |
56,157 | 9f29417824d0a4e39598d132034e03324dec3270 | For Li Na, it was no big deal. For Flavia Pennetta, it was one of the most important victories of her tennis career. The tale of the two 32-year-olds could not be more contrasting: Li has risen to second in the world rankings following January's Australian Open triumph, while Pennetta is hoping to climb as high as 12th by winning the biggest final she has ever played in. The Italian battled through to Sunday's title match at Indian Wells by avenging her one-sided Melbourne quarterfinal defeat against Li, this time triumphing 7-6 (7-5) 63 in one hour 48 minutes. She earned a clash with Polish second seed Agnieszka Radwanska, who defeated Romania's No. 6 Simona Halep 6-3 6-4 in Friday's opening semifinal. "I have to be really aggressive. I have to go for winners," Pennetta said of Radwanska, who she beat in Dubai in February before losing to eventual champion Venus Williams in the quarterfinals. "But I can't rush too much, because she's a wall. I mean, I have to make seven times the winners against her. But I played really well against her in Dubai, so I hope to play the same way this time." Li, the top seed in the Californian desert tournament in the absence of Serena Williams, shrugged off her defeat -- having improved on her last tournament outing, which ended in the second round in Qatar last month. "It's not bad. It's not like I lost my first match," China's first grand slam singles champion said. "At least I had a few matches in Indian Wells, and making the semifinals isn't bad, and it's not like I lost to a bad player. She was playing really well. "It's nothing to worry about. I have a couple things I want to improve for the next tournament." Pennetta is seeking her 10th WTA Tour title, but her first in a top-tier tournament -- and she has lost 13 other finals. "In the beginning of the week if you told me, 'You're going to make the final here,' I would have said, 'Mmmm, I don't think so!' So I'm really happy. I'm happy with my game," she said. Halep, meanwhile, will rise to fifth from seventh in the rankings despite her defeat -- the best by any woman player from her country. "It's amazing for me. I'm not sad because I lost here. It happens. That's tennis. I have to understand I cannot win every match," said the 22-year-old. Australian Open semifinalist Radwanska will be seeking her 14th WTA title, and her first since last September's Korea Open. Meanwhile, men's No. 2 Novak Djokovic made it through to Saturday's semifinals at Indian Wells, where he won the 2008 and 2011 titles. The Serbian defeated France's Julien Benneteau 6-1 6-3 on Friday to set up a clash with American John Isner -- who beat him at the same stage two years ago. Big-serving Isner progressed by beating Latvia's Ernests Gulbis 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-3) on Friday. Roger Federer, a four-time champion in the Coachella Valley, will face Ukraine's Alexandr Dolgopolov in Saturday's opening semi. | Flavia Pennetta shocks world No. 2 Li Na to reach final at Indian Wells .
Italian will face world No. 3 Agnieszka Radwanska in Sunday's title match .
Poland's Radwanska ends run of Romania's rising star Simona Halep .
Men's No. 2 Novak Djokovic sets up semifinal against John Isner . |
27,082 | 4ccf41092954b6a526d19e2e2e99e6d31cb250a9 | By . Paul Christian . PUBLISHED: . 08:20 EST, 16 November 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 08:36 EST, 16 November 2012 . A farmer was left shocked when he discovered one of his hens had laid a huge 3in-tall egg. Simon Broomfield heard some strange squawking coming from the chicken shed and spotted the massive specimen when he went to investigate. The tennis-ball sized egg was three times the size of all the others that had been laid alongside it. Chicken farmer Richard Dickson was amazed when he discovered a huge egg laid by prize hen Doris this week . Simon took the incredible egg to farm owner Richard Dickson, who weighed it at a hefty six ounces. He said he had never seen one so large despite owning chickens for 26 years. It is thought a Lohmann Brown hen called Doris was responsible for the whopper, as she was seen to be gingerly walking around the barn later that day. Shell-shocked: Richard Dickson, who discovered the giant egg, with Lohmann Brown hen Doris this week . Simon put the egg in a wine glass for safety and Richard is planning to preserve it by draining away the yolk and white and keeping the shell. Richard, an organic egg producer and owner of Wick Farm in Downton, Salisbury, who feeds his hens on seed and grain, said: 'Simon was collecting the eggs and came across this huge one. Doris, who was seen walking around the barn gingerly, following the discovery of the tennis ball-sized egg . 'He brought it to me and said "have a look at this" and I thought it was exceptionally large. 'We weighed it and it was 169 grams (six ounces) which is giant compared to a normal egg, it’s about three times bigger. 'Doris is 22-weeks-old and when chickens are young they can often produce bigger eggs until they get the hang of it. Eggs-traordinary: Farmer Simon Broomfield put the monster egg in a wine glass for safe keeping. Richard Dickson, who owns Wick Farm, plans to blow the egg to preserve it . 'But I have been in commercial egg production since 1986 and I have never seen one that big. 'I put it in a wine glass as that was the nearest thing I could find to keep it safe and I am now planning to blow it out.' Ova and above: The huge egg, which weighed 169 grams (six ounces) dwarfs others around it . Feeding time: The Lohmann Brown hens at Wick Farm, Salisbury, Wiltshire are fed on seed and grain . | Tennis ball-sized egg dwarfed others laid next to it .
Hen Doris was spotted walking gingerly around the barn afterwards .
Farmer plans to blow the monster egg to preserve it . |
172,934 | 6bcee3f19a31e1ad20d0ab7b2ec4daba27fdd2dc | (CNN Student News) -- August 20, 2009 . Quick Guide . Afghan Election Day - Journey to a remote part of Afghanistan ahead of a presidential election. Launch Delayed - Learn about a pair of planned space launches in the U.S. and South Korea. Guitar of the Future - Rock out to a report on the changing technology of electric guitars. Transcript . THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS ANCHOR: One country prepares for its next orbiting opportunity while another has to wait to kick-start its space program. We're launching into the details in CNN Student News. I'm Carl Azuz. First Up: Baghdad Violence . AZUZ: We begin in Iraq, where a series of bombings have rocked the capital city of Baghdad. The U.S. pulled its combat troops out of Iraqi cities and towns back on June 30th. That left security responsibilities to the Iraqis. But violence has been on the rise since then, and yesterday marked the deadliest day in the nation since the end of June. At least 95 people were killed and more than 560 others were wounded by six explosions across Baghdad, including two that targeted government buildings. Authorities said that two people who were believed to be connected to the attacks were arrested yesterday. Iraq's prime minister said the bombings will force the country to re-evaluate its security plans. But American officials said the attacks won't stop Iraqis from building a peaceful society and won't stop the U.S. from helping with those efforts. Afghan Election Day . AZUZ: U.S. forces are also helping out in Afghanistan today, as that country holds just the second presidential election in its history. Security has been a big concern leading up to the event. Several election workers were killed in attacks this week, and the Taliban has vowed to disrupt the voting with violence. That's why American Marines and Afghan soldiers have been deployed to help protect voters. Afghanistan's Independent Election Commission estimates that there are about 17 million registered voters in the country. That's about 4.6 million more than in 2004 during the last election. Many of them live in remote areas. In order to get them voting supplies, officials are using helicopters, cars, even donkeys. Ivan Watson went along for the ride to one of these polling places and he tells us about the preparations leading up to today's election. (BEGIN VIDEO) IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're in a convoy in a police truck. We're escorting this truck up ahead of us -- in the dust, you might be able to see it -- and it's taking ballot boxes up to some of the polling stations here in Afghanistan's central Bamiyan province. As you can see, security is important here, even though this is one of the safest provinces in the country. Despite that good track record, election workers say, in some parts of the province, they've heard of armed men going house to house, warning people not to vote. And also, there's been a spike in violence and insurgent attacks over the past three months, as insurgents have tried to disrupt this election process. Now, you can tell the roads here are not paved. Despite the fact that Bamiyan is one of the safest provinces in the country -- it's been spared the daily car bombs and roadside bombs that the south and the east of the country have seen, and some of the assassination attacks -- it still hasn't really benefited from reconstruction. There are fewer than five miles, five kilometers of paved road in this entire province. And that makes this election a real logistical challenge. You can see the posters over there of some of the candidates for provincial council and for president. People here, they say they are going to participate in the elections. And there is a lot of support here for the incumbent president, Hamid Karzai, in part because some of the traditional ethnic Hazara leaders, this is a predominantly ethnic Hazara province, they have endorsed the incumbent president, Hamid Karzai. (END VIDEO) ID Me! TOMEKA JONES, CNN STUDENT NEWS: See if you can I.D. Me! I became an independent country after World War II. I'm located on a peninsula in Asia. My capital city of Seoul hosted the 1988 Summer Olympics. I'm South Korea, and I'm home to around 48.5 million people. Launch Delayed . AZUZ: South Korea's space program is in a holding pattern after officials cancelled yesterday's rocket launch just eight minutes before liftoff! In fact, this is the seventh time that the launch has been postponed since the program was started in 2002. Engineers say this week's delay is due to a technical glitch, and it will take at least three days to figure out what went wrong and try again. South Korea is hoping that the rocket, which cost about $400 million, will jump-start its space program. The ultimate goal is to send an unmanned probe to the moon by 2025. Discovery Launch . AZUZ: The U.S. space program has been running for decades, and NASA is planning its latest launch for next week. Bad weather or technical concerns could cause delays, but if everything goes according to schedule, the space shuttle Discovery will go up Tuesday morning on its 37th mission into space. The seven-person crew will be delivering equipment and supplies to the international space station. Hurricane Bill . AZUZ: ...whose current crew - up there now - is enjoying this view! What you're looking at is Hurricane Bill as seen from the orbiting space station. The first hurricane of the 2009 Atlantic season increased to a Category 4 storm by Wednesday afternoon. It's big, it's bad, it's moving through the Atlantic Ocean. But forecasters don't expect it to affect the southern United States, although they say it's too early to tell if Bill will have an impact on the northeast. Shoutout . GEORGE RAMSAY, CNN STUDENT NEWS: Today's Shoutout goes out to Mr. Parks' government classes at Luverne High School in Luverne, Alabama! On what stringed instrument would you find a tune-o-matic bridge, tremolo and pickups? If you think you know it, shout it out! Is it a: A) Cello, B) Piano, C) Lever Harp or D) Electric Guitar? You've got three seconds -- GO! You can find all of these features on an electric guitar. That's your answer and that's your Shoutout! Guitar of the Future . AZUZ: Electric guitars have been around for more than 70 years. They've seen some changes during that time -- the type of strings, the shape of the instrument, even what it's made out of -- but they've all basically sounded the same. Not anymore. Felipe Barral tells us about a new guitar that incorporates the past as it moves toward the future. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) FELIPE BARRAL, CNN REPORTER: The last couple of years, guitars have added mini-computers that add a whole new dimension. JOHN HALPEN, GUITAR CENTER: What this is attempting to do is kind of integrate digital and analog signals, and the worlds exist within them. BARRAL: At the Guitar Center, John Halpen shows off the latest offering. It's the Gibson Dark Fire, which is based on the famous Gibson Les Paul classic guitar, but with a microprocessor inside, taking studio effects out on the road. HALPEN: With the advantage of digital audio and recording systems that are available in-house, to where everyone can do it themselves. This allows you to tap into those abilities and get all sorts of different sounds that were never possible with a regular guitar. BARRAL: The guitar tones itself, just by turning the master control knob, one can change to any of 18 different tones. With a small servo motor on each tuning key, it looks like magic. The guitar also has a technology called "chameleon" that can simulate several classical sounds, sounds that use to depend on the different types of wood a guitar is made from, like a classic electric guitar or an acoustic guitar to a more jazzy sound. HALPEN: Guitar players are generally kind of looking to the past for what they've always liked sound wise. And what this does is lets you get all those classic sounds from the past, staples of rock music, jazz music and all that from one guitar. BARRAL: The guitar can also be connected to a nearby computer that gives more choices: the type of amplifier you use, the equalization, effects and even record a "loop" and play on top of it, all live. For some guitarists, this is the evolution of sound: endless turning possibilities, cutting edge technology and the ability to produce different sounds with just one click. One has to realize that creativity has a very interesting new tool. Felipe Barral, CNN, Atlanta. (END VIDEO CLIP) Promo . AZUZ: Showoff. But I guess if I were that good, I'd be showing off too. Now you tell us: Is this cool, with technology making something better? Or is it cheating, kind of taking something away from tuning the guitar yourself? We thought you musicians might have something to say about this. Say it on our blog! Head to CNNStudentNews.com and riff your opinion. Before We Go . AZUZ: Before we go, want to know the fastest way to ruin a quiet summer evening? Have this guy show up on your front porch! Yeah, that's all the same snake. 11 feet long, 55 pounds and doesn't seem to like being held. The pesky python slithered up on a California family's front stoop this week before getting stuck in a nearby fence. When animal control showed up, it took two officers to wrestle the rascally reptile into the truck. Goodbye . AZUZ: They should have just called in Shirley Coen. If you don't get that joke, just watch yesterday's Before We Go segment. But we are going to slither away for today. For CNN Student News, I'm Carl Azuz. | Journey to a remote part of Afghanistan ahead of a presidential election .
Learn about a pair of planned space launches in the U.S. and South Korea .
Rock out to a report on the changing technology of electric guitars . |
273,596 | ee6b5f306bac9fd54ee2bbcddef5e0157937c601 | Roberto Martinez criticised referee Lee Mason and accused Bojan Krkic of tricking the official into awarding Stoke a penalty. Martinez was unhappy that Mason did not show Jonathan Walters a red card for tugging Leighton Baines’s shirt when he was through on goal moments before he awarded a penalty for James McCarthy’s challenge on Bojan who then scored from the spot. ‘The decision on Walters is difficult to understand,’ said Martinez. ‘It’s outside the box but there is no other Stoke defender. He’s the last man and it’s a clear goalscoring opportunity. Bojan hits the turf, leading to a penalty for Stoke which the forward converted to win the game . Bojan wheels away in celebration after scoring the only goal of the game at Goodison Park . ‘I don’t understand why it’s a yellow card. It should be a red. It’s very different to play against 10 men than 11, especially against a side who worked well defensively.’ Martinez pointed to an incident in Everton’s draw at Sunderland last month when they were awarded a penalty by Mason but the referee took no action against Connor Wickham who was the last man. ‘My disappointment is we had the same situation last time at Sunderland that was a clear mistake. It was a real bad sign to see the same referee make mistakes applying the same rule. That’s a worry.’ Leighton Baines and Charlie Adam clash after the Everton defender was brought down by Jon Walter . Martinez said he understood why Mason awarded a penalty against Everton but only because Bojan had made the most of little contact from McCarthy. ‘I know the Catalan culture well,’ said Martinez. ‘You’ve been brought up in a way that you’re forcing the referee to make a decision. ‘I don’t think there’s enough contact for it to be a penalty. If he doesn’t give the red card because he’s not sure I don’t understand why he gives a penalty because he can’t be sure it is one.’ Stoke boss Mark Hughes had a different view of both incidents. ‘Jon pulled him back but I don’t think it’s a red because I don’t think you can say it was a clear goalscoring opportunity,’ said Hughes. ‘For the penalty, defenders have to be careful and his leg has been clipped.’ Roberto Martinez was aggrieved with the performance of referee Lee Mason (above) | Everton beaten 1-0 by Stoke City at Goodison Park on Boxing Day .
Bojan scored the winner after he was brought down for a penalty .
Everton manager Roberto Martinez critical of referee Lee Mason . |
229,424 | b5182e69292a0aeacad2651516963bb203f819ef | Former Rangers skipper Barry Ferguson believes the Ibrox support will put their differences with the club's board to one side for a day as they pay tribute to Fernando Ricksen. A host of retired Gers favourites will turn out for a charity game on Sunday in honour of the Dutchman, who is battling Motor Neurone Disease. But so far only half the available tickets for the Ibrox match have been sold. Former Rangers midfielder Fernando Ricksen (centre) is battling Motor Neurone Disease . Dutch midfielder Ricksen played for Rangers between 2000 and 2006 . The Light Blues faithful have been engaged in a long-running dispute with the ruling regime at the club and attendances at Ibrox have sunk to record low levels. However, Ferguson believes all that will be forgotten about come Sunday as he predicted a sell-out crowd. The 36-year-old - who won five Scottish titles over two spells with the Glasgow giants - said: 'I'm looking forward to the match. It's for a great cause. I'm really looking forward to meeting a lot of the lads I played with. 'Everything that has happened to Fernando just makes you appreciate life a lot more. 'It's a difficult time but I'm just doing a small part by showing up to pay my respects. You just need to see the turnout from former players who are coming to support him. 'I just hope the crowd is a big one. I've heard it's at 23,000 or 24,000 and I just hope it's a full house for the guy because he was a tremendous servant for the club. He captained it to trophies, so I hope there's a good turnout for him. 'I have no doubt the fans will forget about the off-field stuff and their issues with the way the club is being run. It's Fernando's day. Let's not forget that. 'He's going through a hard time. I'm sure the fans will realise (the profits) are going to Fernando, his kid, Motor Neurone Disease and various other charities. I'm more than sure there will be a great turnout for him.' Barry Ferguson has called on Rangers to show up in numbers to support Ricksen . Gennaro Gattuso is among a host of former Rangers players who have agreed to take part in friendly . Among the big names who will be pulling on a blue jersey once more are Michael Mols, Jorg Albertz, Ronald de Boer, Gennaro Gattuso and Marco Negri - who has become the latest former Ibrox player to sign up to fan-ownership group Rangers First. It will allow the club's faithful to put their current difficulties to one side and remember the days when it was silverware and not boardroom battles that dominated their thoughts. But Ferguson admits watching former team-mate Ricksen struggle with his debilitating - and ultimately fatal - illness will leave Sunday's occasion tinged with sadness. 'Fernando is some character,' he said. 'Everything I know about him, you couldn't repeat it outside of closed doors. Ally McCoist will be barred from making an appearance at the friendly match, according to reports . 'He's faced this with a lot of bravery and I take my hat off to him. He was like that as a player - a tough cookie. He's handling it really well. 'Even today when I met him he is still bright and he is excited about the game. 'But it's hard when you see a guy of his age going through what he is. He's only a year older than myself. You need to enjoy life.' Reports this week have suggested axed boss Ally McCoist will be barred for making an appearance alongside the other former players under the terms of his garden leave. But Ferguson hit back: 'If Ally wants to come and support Fernando I don't see why he shouldn't be allowed to. 'It's a great cause. Fernando has a terrible illness and if someone wants to come and show their support for Fernando, I don't see why it should be a problem.' Meanwhile, the Rangers Supporters Trust has announced it has now passed the one-million share threshold after buying up another chunk of shares in the club. | Former Rangers stars will take part in charity match for Fernando Ricksen .
Ex-Rangers midfielder Ricksen is battling Motor Neurone Disease .
Only half the available tickets for the Ibrox match have been sold . |
175,863 | 6fa4a0c121488546ad0e2b0fd496f25447ef9993 | Australian . Olympic swimming legend Ian Thorpe is set to reveal that he is gay in . an interview with Sir Michael Parkinson after years of denials and . speculation about his sexuality. The Sunday Telegraph . reports that Thorpe, who retired from professional swimming in 2012, . will make the full admission during a sit-down, tell-all interview with . the British TV personality set to air Sunday night on Australia's Ten . Network. In . the lead-up to the highly anticipated interview, a teaser released by . the network showed Thorpe being posed the question that has plagued him . his entire career - is he, or isn't he, gay? Scroll down for video . 'Are you gay?' No question was off-limits for British journalist Michael Parkinson when he sat down with former Olympic swimmer Ian Thorpe for an interview that went to air Sunday night. Thorpie's revealing interview has been overshadowed by reports of a lucrative deal . In the 25-second clip, Parkinson said to Thorpe: 'You've always said that you're not gay... is all of that true?' The . scene then cuts to an uncomfortable looking Thorpe, 31, who appears to . be nervously finding his words, before confirming his sexuality. Parkinson, . 79, said: 'I think his sexuality is no one's business but his own. But I . think it is one of the best interviews I have ever done.' The revelation sent Twitter into a frenzy with mostly tweets of support for the gold-medallist. 'Ian . Thorpe we're proud of YOU Regardless of sexuality, achievements, medals . or anything else... You're an Aussie who we'll love & stand by,' @2dayFMbreakfast wrote. 'Big . love to @IanThorpe!' tweeted @GayTimesMag, while Lady Catherine . @KadyLio wrote: 'I can only hope Thorpe's revelations help millions of . teens struggling inside themselves to find the courage to be them. Snaps . for Thorpie.' Anthony Venn-Brown @gayambassador tweeted: 'Life's much brighter on this side of the closet @IanThorpe. Welcome to being you.' Supportive: Twitter was sent into a frenzy following Thorpe's news . Twitter follows showed their support for the Olympic swimmer . Words of encouragement were also tweeted for Ian Thorpe . In . his 2012 autobiography This Is Me, Australia's most decorated Olympian . said that he found the accusations about his sexuality hurtful and . judging of his integrity. In . an extract, he explained: 'That’s the only part I find hurtful, that . this is something I would be embarrassed about and that I would hide.' 'For the record, I am not gay and all my sexual experiences have been straight,' he added. 'I'm attracted to women, I love children and aspire to have a family one day. 'I . know what it's like to grow up and be told what your sexuality is, then . realising that it's not the full reality. I was accused of being gay . before I knew who I was.' This . followed years of public denials including a statement issued in 2009 . by his management company: 'In the past, on several separate occasions, I . have answered questions about my sexuality openly and honestly with the . media ... my situation in this regard has not changed,' he said. Then . in July 2011 he told the The Sunday Times : 'I don't think anybody has a . right to write about [my private life], but I don't care enough about . it to be bothered. If you try and fight it, you're damned; if you don't, . you're damned. If you get married, it's a sham.' The startling admission is just taste of what viewers can expect from the no-holds barred interview. False . claim: In 2009 it was reported that Thorpe's management issued a . statement regarding comments in a 2007 magazine article discussing a . heterosexual relationship with Olympic swimmer Amanda Beard . In 2009, news.com.au . reported that Thorpe's management issued a statement regarding comments . in a 2007 magazine article discussing a heterosexual relationship with . Olympic swimmer Amanda Beard. 'Well, . I did have a long-term, long-distance relationship (with Beard), and it . was great while it lasted. It was sort of public knowledge we were . seeing each other, and yet not. It went on for ages, years,' he was . quoted as saying. Beard's . agent quashed the statement: 'Take out the word relationship and put in . the word friendship and that's exactly what it was.' Thorpe, . who will be part of Network Ten's Commonwealth Games commentary team . this month, has just overcome a physical and mental battle following . complications arising from shoulder surgery that almost cost him his . arm. More to come: In the 25 second promo clip, Parkinson said to Thorpe: 'You've always said that you're not gay... is all of that true?' Sit down chat: 'His fight against depression offers a unique insight into the darker side of celebrity and success,' Michael said . No holds barred: Ian looked pained as Parkinson quizzed him on his sexuality . Parkinson . said Thorpe's decision that no question was off limits was brave and . says he examines the good times and the bad of the Australian swimming . legend. 'His . fight against depression offers a unique insight into the darker side . of celebrity and success,' Parkinson said in a statement released by . Ten. 'What . fascinates me most about Ian is that apart from the very beginning of . his career, he never seemed to enjoy and celebrate his success. 'Ian Thorpe has always been near the top of my list to interview. 'Not many athletes can claim to be the best of all time. Ian can.' Superhuman! Known as the the Thorpedo during his stellar career, Thorpe smashed 22 world records and along the way won five gold, three silver and one bronze Olympic medals . Parkinson is renowned for not being afraid to ask the tough and sometimes uncomfortable questions. Some . of the British journalist's most memorable moments includes the time . that boxer Muhammad Ali squared up to him for calling him Cassius Clay . instead of by his Muslim name, and when former Spice Girl Victoria . Beckham let slip her nickname for husband David was Golden Balls. Former . British Primer Minister Tony Blair also spoke about the time that his . father-in-law had asked permission to smoke cannabis in front of him, . while his chat with Hollywood A-lister Meg Ryan made for uncomfortable . viewing when she appeared moody and unresponsive and asked for the . interview to be wrapped up. A good get! 'Ian has always been near the top of my list to interview,' Parkinson said . Known as the the Thorpedo during his stellar career, Thorpe smashed 22 . world records and along the way won five gold, three silver and one . bronze Olympic medals. He has also won 11 World titles and 11 (10 gold, one silver) Commonwealth Games medals. Thorpe . first retired in November, 2006, aged 24, and then made an ill-fated . comeback in 2011 when he failed to make the Australian team for the 2012 . London Games. Ten has announced it will air the TV special, Ian Thorpe: The Parkinson Interview, on Sunday, July 13, at 6.30pm. Thorpe’s agent and Network Ten have been contacted by Daily Mail Australia for comment. Big news: The Australian swimmer arrives at a press conference to announce his retirement from professional swimming at the Sofitel Sydney Wentworth hotel on November 21, 2006 . Pensive: Thorpe, a five-time Olympic gold-medallist, announced he would discontinue his professional swimming career to concentrate on new challenges . New role: Thorpe will be part of Network Ten's Commonwealth Games commentary team this month . Straight talker: Parkinson, pictured with his wife Mary, is renowned for not being afraid to ask the tough and sometimes uncomfortable questions . | Swimming legend to come out during Australian television interview .
Parkinson asks: 'You've always said that you're not gay. Is all of that true?'
Thorpe, 31, retired from professional swimming in 2012 . |
85,788 | f34b9e48213b753d785521d84102b7811b78ea2e | By . Rebecca English and Steve Nolan . PUBLISHED: . 11:42 EST, 25 February 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 08:51 EST, 26 February 2013 . Joy: The 28-year-old celebrates his triumph at a polo match to raise money for his charity, Sentebale. he will arrive in Africa on a tour on behalf of the charity today . Prince Harry is set to arrive in Africa today on a three day tour on behalf of his charity Sentebale. The Prince, who only arrived back in the UK from a four month tour of Afghanistan last month is due to stop in Lesotho and South Africa this week where he will tour some of the charity's projects. On his last visit to the continent in 2010, the Prince told reporters that he can 'be himself' when he is Africa. After a private two day tour of Lesotho, he will then fly on to Johannesburg for a gala dinner raising funds to build the first permanent centre for children and young people suffering from HIV. But Harry will not stay on in South Africa for the wedding of Cressida Bonas's sister Isabella to Sir Richard Branson's son Sam. The pair are to marry at Sir Richard's private game reserve in the country early next month. The prince had been widely tipped to accompany Cressida whom he was spotted kissing at a Swiss ski resort last week. He will spend the first two days of his visit to Lesotho privately, travelling the kingdom with close friend and charity co-founder, Prince Seeiso, to learn more about his charity’s initiatives in the region. The pair first met when the prince undertook a gap year trip to the region and in 2006 set up Sentebale, which in Sesotho, the language of Lesotho, means ‘forget me not’. The name was deliberately chosen in memory of both of the princes’ late mother. Harry, in particular, believed that in setting up a project in one of the most poverty-stricken and marginalised areas of the world, he would be continuing Diana, Princess of Wales’s legacy. Following the private part of the trip, the prince will undertake several public engagements on Wednesday in Maseru, the capital city. At home: Prince Harry said that he feels he can 'be himself' on his last visit to Lesotho in 2010 with brother Prince William . Visit: Princes Harry and William arrive for a visit at the Mokolodi Education Centre in Africa on their tour of the continent back in 2010 . Among the projects he will visit are the Kananelo Centre for the Deaf and the Reitumetse Church Project, which care for children with disabilities and orphans. Harry will then fly onto Johannesburg for The Sentebale Gala Dinner, marking the launch of a major capital fundraising programme to build Lesotho’s first permanent centre for children and young people infected with, or affected by, HIV and Aids. The centre, which will be named after Prince Seeiso’s late mother, Queen Mamohato Bereng Seeiso, will be built on a sacred plot known as Thabu-Bosiu, ‘the birthplace of the nation’. Just like their mother: Harry and brother William on a 2010 visit to the African charities they support. Harry's organisation Sentebale means 'forget me not' in memory of Diana . The prince last visited Lesotho in 2010 along with his brother William. On that tour he evoked memories of his mother Diana's visit to a charity . that helps clear landmines by undertaking a similar visit. During an interview on that tour, the prince said that he would one day . like to live in Africa adding: 'When I am here in Africa, I can be . myself.' Despite being in Africa, it is believed that the prince will not be staying on in Africa to attend the wedding of Cressida Bonas's sister in early March despite reports that the pair's relationship is 'serious'. 'Romance': Prince Harry, left, was spotted kissing Cressida Bonas, right, at a Swiss ski resort last week but will not be accompanying her to her sister Isabella's wedding in South Africa next week . Close: Prince Harry and Cressida Bonas pictured in Verbier last week . It had been rumoured that Harry would . accompany Miss Bonas to her half sister Isabella's wedding to Sam . Branson at Sir Richard Branson's private game reserve near Kruger . National Park. But according to the Evening Standard he will not be combining the trip with a visit to meet Cressida. Harry . was pictured kissing the 24-year-old student at the Verbier ski resort . in Switzerland where the pair were both part of a party that included . Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie and their parents Prince Andrew and the . Duchess of York. A source told the Evening Standard: 'I am told Harry is not going at all. Not going: Prince Harry will not be staying on in South Africa to attend the wedding of Cressida Bonas's sister Isabella to Sam Branson (both pictured) 'He . is there on a charity mission. His relationship is going well, but . after the skiing pictures I think some in the media are getting a bit . ahead of themselves.' The pair are said to have met last summer at a music festival. Close friends of the pair say that they are 'smitten' with one another. Cressida is the daughter entrepreneur Jeffrey Bonas and lady Mary-Gaye Curzon, the daughter of the 6th Earl Howe. Just 11,500 square miles in size and with a population of just over two million, of which around 40 per cent live under the international poverty line, Lesotho is severely afflicted by HVI/Aids. According to 2009 figures, more than 23 per cent of people aged over 15 in the country are infected, one of the highest rates in the world. In urban areas around 50 per cent of women under 40 have HIV. Life expectancy in the country is just 42 years for both men and women, which has in turn had a catastrophic effect on the country’s children. Harry is currently on leave after spending four months on the frontline in Afghanistan as an Apache attack helicopter co-pilot gunner. In an interview to mark his arrival back home last month, the third in line to the throne made clear that his military commitment came first but insisted that he did want to schedule in more charitable work and official engagements over the coming months. | He had promised to focus on charitable work upon return from Afghanistan .
Harry is co-founder of the organisation, which helps vulnerable children .
Sentebale means 'forget me not' - in memory of his late mother .
He said he can 'be himself' in Africa on last visit to Lesotho in 2010 .
The Prince will not stay on to attend Isabella Bonas's wedding .
Cressida's sister is to marry Sir Richard Branson's son Sam in South Africa .
To learn more about Sentebale see: www.sentebale.org . |
164,729 | 6100cef974511d4b276332acc0d6523a3eba1e0a | (CNN) -- The individual mandate might prove to be the death knell for President Barack Obama's health care reform. Politically, the polls have been clear. While most parts of the Affordable Care Act are immensely popular with the public, as recent data from the Kaiser Foundation has shown, the individual mandate is unpopular. (A CNN poll found that a bare majority of Americans oppose the mandate to buy health insurance.) The Supreme Court heard arguments last week over whether the mandate is constitutional, and the administration is now waiting to see if the court will dismantle this key part of the program -- or possibly throw out the entire health care law. Although the individual mandate was born out of conservative proposals in the 1990s -- an effort to lower costs by requiring people to buy into the private market rather than creating a government program -- the presence of the mandate is also a product of the timidity liberals have displayed about their ideas since the 1990s. As Princeton sociologist Paul Starr has written in the New Republic, during the 1990s the mandate was perceived as the "conservative alternative to the Democrats' proposed mandate on employers to pay for a share of health insurance. The Republican proposal was thought to represent a more individualistic, market-friendly approach." Whereas liberals were once willing to defend the role of the federal government in American life and, even more importantly, defend the costs that federal programs imposed on the citizenry, liberals since the Age of Clinton have relied on developing jerry-built solutions to domestic programs that are often unpalatable politically -- and don't accomplish their goals. For much of the 20th century, liberals argued that government was an essential part of national life and that Americans would have to live up to certain obligations to support social programs that came with the privileges of citizenry. During the New Deal, President Franklin Roosevelt was not bashful about defending the value of government. In 1935, for instance, Congress passed the Social Security Act in which the federal government took over the role of providing old age insurance to the elderly. To finance the benefits, Roosevelt and Congress created a payroll tax paid by workers and businesses. During World War II, as government spending skyrocketed as a result of defense needs, the Roosevelt administration supported a massive expansion of the income tax. When the war started, only 4 million people paid income taxes. When the war ended, 44 million people were paying and taxes were withheld directly from paychecks. The Treasury conducted a public relations campaign to sell the tax to Americans that emphasized that these were "Taxes to beat the Axis." At the movies, Americans saw short films where a voice explained to Donald Duck just how his money was being used (and how he could take as exemptions Huey, Louie, and Dewey). This liberal ethic flourished for decades, even as liberals remained leery of the power of conservatism and aware of the long tradition of resistance to government in America. During the 1960s, Lyndon Johnson, who avoided proposing any tax increases until 1967, did talk to citizens about how a wealthy nation could afford to pay for programs that dealt with issues such as poverty and urban decay. With civil and voting rights, he called on the government to do what the private sector would not do on its own. On health care, Johnson and Congress created Medicare, which provided for a government takeover of the insurance costs of hospital stays for the elderly, funded through higher payroll taxes. When Ted Kennedy championed health care, his vision was still very much akin to the "single- payer" model of other countries where the government would be the insurer of first resort. But during the 1980s, after Ronald Reagan entered the White House and the modern conservative era began, liberals retreated into a defensive stance. After Democratic candidate Walter Mondale suffered at the polls in the 1984 campaign when he admitted that he would call for higher taxes, most Democrats were resistant to proposing any kind of revenue increase. The shift could be seen with health care. When President Bill Clinton proposed health care reform in 1993, he avoided the single-payer model that had been favored by older liberals like Kennedy for decades and instead opted for a complex system that aimed to create new mechanisms for offering and purchasing health insurance and stronger regulations to lower costs. The complexity of Clinton's plan, which involved an employer mandate, left his program vulnerable to attack from Republicans who characterized it as a Frankenstein monster that would result in massive deficits. Obama fell into a similar trap with health care. Although he was more open than many of his predecessors to championing an active government, he acted from a defensive posture. His health care proposal was even less ambitious than that of Clinton. He essentially chose a path that regulated the existing system and required all Americans to be part of it. Obama was not enthusiastic about any kind of single-payer option to compete with private markets and he allowed Congress to drop the public option that would create an alternative to private insurance. The result was an extraordinarily complex system, which depended on a mandate requiring the purchase of private insurance to make sure that costs were covered. The government intervention was indirect; the financing mechanisms were murky. It is not surprising that the individual mandate has caused so many problems. At its core, the mandate constitutes a conservative solution to the problem of costs and part of an effort by liberals to ensure health care coverage without resorting to the kinds of government interventions that liberals once championed. Obama ultimately promoted the health care bill as a cost-cutting measure that would create greater efficiency in markets. He did not focus as much as his predecessors on the right to affordable health care that is implicit in the name of the bill. While conservatives have attacked the program -- focusing on the mandate -- with great clarity, the president's hesitant defense of this complex system has done little to rally the public behind it. Now he must wait to see if the Supreme Court offers his critics justification that he overreached with his agenda. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Julian Zelizer. | Zelizer: Since Reagan, liberals have been cautious about expanding government .
Conservatives first backed a private health care mandate in the 1990s .
Obama touted efficiency in his bill, not the right to affordable care, Zelizer says .
Obama's hesitant defense of a complex bill hasn't inspired support, he says . |
216,815 | a4b298a93d78ec6d4693b975169283f69d1ed4fc | Manchester United, Bayern Munich and Barcelona are all hovering over Borussia Dortmund forward Marco Reus after he reportedly turned down a new deal. Germany star Reus, 25, is believed to have a £27.6million buyout clause in his contract and Bild are reporting that he is determined to engineer a move to one of the world's top sides by refusing to extend his stay at the Westfalenstadion beyond 2017. Reus is highly regarded by the likes of Louis van Gaal and United could make him their marquee signing of the summer despite the forward missing out on the World Cup with Germany with an ankle ligament injury. VIDEO Scroll dwon to watch Marco Reus score an amzing free kick for Dortmund . Come and get me: Marco Reus has reportedly rejected a new contract with Borussia Dortmund . Heartbreak: Reus was unlucky to miss out on a World Cup spot with champions Germany through injury . Bayern and Barcelona are thought to be frontrunners but United also hold an interest. Liverpool would like to make a move but his price tag may prove out of their range. The 25-year-old is now able to run freely and is targeting a return to full fitness by the start of September. But the availability of one of Europe's hottest talents at a relatively low cost has peaked the interest of the three Continental giants, even with Reus' injury issues. He scored 21 goals in 39 matches for Dortmund last season and would offer United, in particular, more creativity and goalscoring from deep. However, Van Gaal's men must hope he does not want to follow former team-mates Mario Gotze and Robert Lewandowski to Munich. World star: Reus smashes home a penalty for Dortmund during a win over Mainz in April of this year . Exit door: Reus might not be at Dortmund much longer - following Robert Lewandowski out of the club . VIDEO Bayern and Dortmund on a similar level - Guardiola . | German newspaper Bild report talks over a new contract collapsed in May .
25-year-old speedy winger is believes to have a £28million release clause .
United, Bayern and Barca would all be keen on the player .
Dortmund boss Jurgen Klopp is determined to keep his star man .
Bild claim the wideman will try to leave via his get-out clause .
Reus missed Germany's victorious World Cup campaign through injury .
Liverpool are keen but are likely to be priced out of any deal . |
203,256 | 9320d4c6602a87ba5fd3565ccd9fe9d86ee5c114 | When George W. Bush couldn't get an immigration overhaul though the Senate, he gave up. When Barack Obama couldn't get a bill through the House, he changed the rules. Rewriting the immigration system was at the core of Bush's "compassionate conservatism" political brand and was dear to his heart. "It didn't work," a deflated Bush said on a June day seven years ago when the comprehensive reform effort finally died on Capitol Hill. Faced with failure, he asked his team if he could reshape the immigration system with his own executive power, but they concluded he couldn't. So Bush -- a president who fought the war on terror with an expansive interpretation of executive power -- moved on to other things for his last 18 months in office. Obama refuses to accept the same fate. When immigration reform died in Congress this year, Obama, like Bush, asked his lawyers if he could change the system on his own. This White House team came to the opposite conclusion. So, more than 500 days since the Senate passed a bipartisan immigration bill, Obama unveiled his plan to go it alone. In a prime-time address, he announced he would wield executive power to patch up the system as best he could, temporarily shielding up to five million people from the threat of deportation. He said he had no choice but to go ahead — despite furious claims by Republicans he is subverting the Constitution and behaving more like a king than a weakened president hemmed in by a hostile Congress. "To those members of Congress who question my authority to make our immigration system work better, or question the wisdom of me acting where Congress have failed, I have one answer. Pass a bill," Obama said. The president plans to offer temporary relief from deportation to the parents of U.S. citizens and permanent residents, who have been in the country for more than five years. He'll also extend a program that already allows undocumented migrants brought here as children to stay in the country. The measures are far short of the fix that Obama had hoped a permanent comprehensive immigration bill would provide. And since he was forced to act via executive order, his moves could be wiped out with the stroke of a pen by a future president. But it's clear that Obama is motivated by far more than the prosaic business of fixing the broken immigration system. In the two weeks since the Republican rout in the mid-term elections dealt what many had thought was a killer blow to his presidency, Obama has been working at a furious pace. A president who believes he was elected twice to engineer change is not giving up just because Congress is in his way. Republican House Speaker John Boehner is noticing and warning of retribution. "President Obama has cemented his legacy of lawlessness and squandered what little credibility he had left," Boehner said. Reforming immigration was always on Obama's mind when he took office. "It was on the big bucket list of why he was running for president," said a White House official. "Climate, immigration and health care were problems that have eluded presidents for decades." "He really thought he had an opportunity to take on all three," the official said. "It looks like he is going to make progress on all three." Events that led to Thursday night's address had been unfolding for months, a factor that may explain the noticeable lack of drama surrounding Obama's announcement. WATCH: McConnell: Executive action ignores law . There was none of the excruciating tension or euphoria that greeted other signature moments of the Obama presidency — like the killing of Osama bin Laden, or the passage of health care reform. Senior administration officials confided that Obama signed off on the final details of the plan when he got back from Asia this week. But administration lawyers had been beavering away for months to flesh out legal justifications. Many in the White House had thought that it would never get to this point. In June 2013, when the Senate bill passed, administration insiders thought that the House would put a new law on Obama's desk to sign. Officials reasoned that if the Republican Party was ever going to capture the White House again, it needed to mend fences with Hispanic voters after Mitt Romney was wiped out among the crucial voting block in 2012. "It was clear there was going to be momentum for this," the official said. Knowing his political brand was radioactive for Boehner, Obama deliberately stepped back in the days after the Senate bill passed. But his patience began to fray as the months dragged on. All the time, Obama was feeling heat from immigration activists in his liberal political base — so much so that he made a series of statements to the effect that he couldn't just lash out and fix immigration on his own. Those comments -- intended to give the House space to do its work -- have instead come back to haunt him and are ammunition for Republicans who say Obama knows he is breaking the law. In the end, it seems Boehner did not believe his position was sustainable atop a restive Republican caucus if he used Democratic votes to pass a bill . A separate senior White House official said Thursday that the administration had concluded there was no point waiting any longer because Boehner would not promise to bring up a new bill in the new Congress. "I don't think there will be a moment when the Republicans won't say 'just wait another day,' the official said. The showdown that precipitated Thursday's speech happened back in June. Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson were in the White House at a PGA Tour event — which might have been a rare moment for Boehner and Obama to bond over one of the few passions they share: golf. But afterwards, the president was seething because Boehner told him he would not be sending him a bill on immigration. The Speaker later said he told the president that the American people simply "don't trust him to enforce the law as written." The decision came against a backdrop of a boiling crisis on the southern border as thousands of child migrants were teeming across the border. Republicans charged the human tide was triggered directly by the President's earlier executive order that offered certain categories of Dreamers — undocumented immigrants brought the nation as children — relief from deportation. In a mid-term election year, Republicans had also been spooked by the stunning primary loss of Republican House majority leader Eric Cantor, who was accused by his insurgent opponent of being too soft on "amnesty." Obama snapped in an event a few days later in a Rose Garden speech. "Pass a bill; solve a problem. Don't just say no on something that everybody needs to be done," he said. | Obama presses on where Bush failed on immigration .
Reform core to Obama's 'change' identity .
White House quit waiting for the House to act . |
252,103 | d2490587c2e81a56c5e0413e7c91ed53958a3b20 | By . Larisa Brown . PUBLISHED: . 19:38 EST, 30 January 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 04:25 EST, 31 January 2013 . An artist has transformed ugly run-down public structures into works of art by camouflaging them into their background using paint. Dutch designer Roeland Otten has used mosaics, geometric paint designs, and high resolution photograph wall coverings to recreate the otherwise blocked and lost views of the city streets. He has managed to turn an air quality measuring station, an electricity substation and a public toilet in Amsterdam into artistic creations. Now you WC me, now you don't: Dutch designer Roeland Otten likes to brighten up urban streets by camouflaging misplaced public structures . How to lose loos: Public buildings are decorated from all sides so the optical illusion works from all directions . Mosey on by: Jogger runs past a mosaic used to create a replica of the scene behind it . His aim is to disguise eyesores on picturesque urban streets and pathways and rejuvenate the area by doing so. His City Camouflage project, featured in Dezeen magazine, includes a pixelated view of Jan van Galenstraat shopping street in Amsterdam using tiles. Otten's project began in 2009 with the transformation of a former electricity substation on the corner of Graaf Floristraat and Heemraadsingel in Rotterdam. Blended in: If it wasn't for the car that has been placed to the side of this artwork, you would struggle to see it wasn't real . Drive to distraction: The clever artwork involving these parked cars makes you forget there is even a building there . Mosaic tiles on an air quality measuring station in Amsterdam, left, and another public eyesore, right . Acrylic paint is used to transform a rusty electricity substation on the Boompjeskade waterfront in Rotterdam . He decorated the building in sheets of aluminium printed with high-resolution photographs of the surrounding streets, so that it seemed almost invisible among the houses and trees. Last year he used acrylic paint to transform a rusty electricity substation on the Boompjeskade waterfront in Rotterdam. The bold graphic paintwork makes the substation blend in with the water and foliage nearby. An old public toilet building used to measure the quality of the air was used for another part of the project, which you can find out more about at www.roelandotten.com. | Roeland Otten has used mosaics and geometric paint designs .
Designer recreated otherwise blocked and lost views of the city streets . |
117,422 | 23a0d0391096303e29f0856efbfa3e8c2b40cf20 | By . Rachel Rickard Straus . PUBLISHED: . 03:52 EST, 1 April 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 04:21 EST, 2 April 2012 . Cuba will celebrate next week’s Good Friday for the first time since the 1959 Cuban revolution, following a request from Pope Benedict during his visit to the island, according to state media. Cuban President Raul Castro agreed to Benedict’s request to recognise the day Christians commemorate Jesus’s crucifixion and has declared the day a public holiday. Benedict requested the holiday as part of Easter celebrations during a meeting with President Raul Castro in Havana on Tuesday, the Vatican said. Visit: Pope Benedict XVI is welcomed by Cuban President Raul Castro at the Revolution Palace in Havana . The communist government will decide later whether to make Good Friday a permanent holiday, it said. Castro's . brother, Fidel, ended religious holidays after leading Cuba's 1959 . communist revolution, though he did reinstate Christmas to honour a . request by Pope John Paul during a visit in 1998 - a trip that marked an . upturn in relations between Cuba and the Church. Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi welcomed the decision by Cuba as a 'very positive sign'. Prayer and discussion: Pope Benedict XVI and Cuban President Raul Castro during a ceremony at the shrine to Cuba's patron saint near the city of Santiago . 'The Holy See hopes that this will . encourage participation in religious celebrations and in happy Easter . festivities and that in future, the visit of the Holy Father will . continue to bear the desired fruit to the benefit of the Church and all . Cubans,' he said in a statement. Benedict, . whose three day 'transcendental visit' to Cuba followed a stop in . Mexico, urged change on the island and asked that the Church be able to . do more in a time of potentially painful transition. Final duties: Pope Benedict XVI walks on a stage at Revolution Square in front of the 300,000-strong crowd to celebrate mass as he wraps up his trip which ended with a meeting with Fidel Castro . Animated meeting: Cuban leader Castro asked the Pope for a 'few minutes of his time' after he said mass in Havana, Cuba . Raul Castro, who succeeded his older . brother as president in 2008, has undertaken economic reforms that will . include the slashing of one million jobs from government payrolls. The . Pope spent three days visiting the island, meeting Fidel Castro at the . end to call for a bigger role for the Roman Catholic Church in Cuban . society. Rebel leader: Fidel Castro during Cuba's revolution in 1959, shortly after which he ended religious holidays (right: Brother Raul Castro in the same year) Historic meeting: Fidel Castro welcomes Pope John Paul II to Havana in 1998, a visit that significantly improved relations between the Catholic Church and Cuba . Benedict met for about half an hour with Fidel Castro, who is a Jesuit-educated altar boy-turned-revolutionary leader. His 1998 hosting of Pope John Paul II marked a turning point in the church's relations with Cuba. Pope Benedict XVI used his visit to Cuba last week to criticise the 50-year-old trade embargo imposed by the U.S.. The Pope claimed the blockade, introduced after Cuba’s Communist revolution in 1959 and strengthened three years later, was an unfair burden on Cuba's people after the meeting with Fidel Castro. The Pontiff, who has now arrived back in Rome, made the comments at Havana airport alongside current president, Fidel's brother Raul, after celebrating Mass in front of huge crowds in Havana. He said Cubans should be ‘forging a society of wide horizons, renewed and reconciled’. He added: ‘No one should feel excluded from taking up this exciting search by the limitations of their basic freedoms, or excused from this by indolence or a lack of material resources - a situation which is worsened when restrictive economic measures, imposed from outside the country, unfairly burden its people.' | Pope Benedict requested the holiday during his visit to Cuba last week .
Communist government will decide whether to make Good Friday a permanent holiday . |
118,595 | 251fc5bd336988a034e773679a9a64c45597bf3a | (CNN) -- Today's selection of Boeing and SpaceX as the providers of a U.S.-based capability to take humans to the International Space Station (ISS) is a major milestone in the almost six-decade history of space exploration. It is just the latest sign that the old paradigm of government-only space travel is being replaced by something else -- a new business ecosystem composed of novel relationships among NASA and the aerospace industry. No longer will NASA own the ISS "trucking company" -- specifying every nut and bolt. Instead, NASA is buying services from U.S. industry. To be sure, the new announcement made it clear that NASA will be carefully examining the safety aspects of each design. But the designs will still be those of Boeing and SpaceX and vetted by NASA. I believe this new approach is America's "secret weapon" in what some have described as a space race with China. And, as far as I can tell, while the rest of the world is still stuck in a nearly government-only mode, NASA, with the support of the Obama administration, is letting loose the creativity of American know-how. Beginning with the NASA Commercial Orbital Transportation Services competition, continuing with the Commercial Resupply Services (cargo) and now the Commercial Crew selection, NASA "bet the farm" on commercial companies filling the gap left by the retirement of the space shuttle, with the Commercial Crew companies (SpaceX and Boeing) replacing the Russians in bringing NASA astronauts to the ISS. This will allow NASA to invest the savings in deep space capabilities such as SLS and Orion. I believe it is critical that both commercial cargo and crew succeed for at least two reasons: First, NASA's proper role can be summed up in three words: "Explore Deep Space." It is time for NASA to turn over the low Earth orbit work to industry while NASA focuses on getting humanity to Mars, following in the tracks of robotic rovers Spirit, Opportunity and Curiosity. Second, history teaches us that without a trailing edge of commercial exploitation and profitability, exploration as large scale, routine human endeavor will not succeed. As an aerospace professional and former NASA executive, I have encountered over the decades many concepts for private space exploration. Until a few years ago, none of these ideas met the sniff test for what I call the "practical visionary," that is, someone capable of seeing a new future, yet solidly grounded in lessons learned. Something was always missing in these early ventures -- either the technical approach required some "unobtanium" technology to be invented, the advocate had good ideas but no money or the "build it and they will come" philosophy showed total naiveté in business and marketing. Today's selection points us in a different direction. As with the early 20th century airmail routes that helped stimulate aviation, NASA's commercial programs are now the anchor tenants in the government transfer of space services to the private sector. This in turn will enable a robust new business enterprise and allow NASA to focus on Mars -- the ultimate target for exploration. | Scott Hubbard says recent moves by NASA will allow it to focus on deep space .
Hubbard: Space X, Boeing contracts are secret weapons in space race with China .
New arrangement will let "loose the creativity of American know-how," he says . |
283,667 | fb7bfa15574adab0f957975944911c50af7a0061 | By . Larisa Brown . An elderly cancer victim has died after a police dog savaged her in her own home. Irene Collins, 73, had answered her door to officers searching the neighbourhood for an escaped suspected drug dealer. Just as she showed officers into the back garden of her home, the dog pounced, leaving her screaming in terror and covered in blood. Penrith Road in Middlesbrough where Irene Collins lived when she was attacked by the police dog . Mrs Collins, who was suffering from lung cancer, was taken to hospital but died over the weekend. Neighbours claimed to have warned officers beforehand that she was in a frail condition. One . said: ‘She wasn’t bitten, she was mauled. A relative told me the dog . had punctured and broken her arm, ripped her other arm, and then managed . to bite off her calf muscle after it had been restrained.’ Another . neighbour said: ‘It was horrible, everyone could hear her screaming . right across the street. It was a shock to see her. She had blood across . her face, and she was grey with shock. ‘The police dog handler had searched my house earlier and he was in tears. He looked devastated by what happened.’ Cleveland . Police said Mrs Collins had suffered ‘bites about her body’. Officers . said the dog had been ‘withdrawn from operational policing activities’, . but it was not clear whether it had been destroyed. The tragedy, which happened in Middlesbrough last Wednesday night, was said to have left the whole street in shock. Mrs . Collins, a widow for 30 years, had opened the door to officers chasing a . suspected drugs dealer who had fled through gardens after being stopped . in a car nearby. A resident said: ‘The street was full of police. There was a helicopter searching from above and about seven police cars. Assistant chief constable Sean White of Cleveland Police offered his condolences to the family . ‘A . car had apparently been stopped and the driver ran off into our estate. The police were knocking on doors and asking to search people’s back . gardens and outbuildings. Someone told them Irene was ill but they went . to her door anyway.’ Mrs . Collins was said to have answered the door at the side of her house and . was about to show the officers into her back garden when the dog, . described as a cross between a springer spaniel and an alsatian, . attacked her. After being treated at the scene she was taken to James . Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough, where she died. Speaking . soon after the drama, neighbour Claire Williams said: ‘Irene was lying . on the kitchen floor while the police attended to her. ‘She was in ill health already. She barely leaves the house, her breathing is very poor and she’s about six stone. 'I . warned the police to be careful and told them she may not make it to . the door but they went anyway. It’s horrific what happened to her.’ Mrs Collins’ family issued a brief statement thanking people for their ‘kind messages’. A family spokesman added: 'We are devastated.' Jose Pearson, 85, a neighbour for almost 60 years, described Mrs Collins as a lovely woman. ‘All the work she did was for charity,’ she said. ‘For years it was all she did, working in a charity shop.’ The incident has been referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission. Neighbour Kerry Blades laid flowers at Ms Collins’ Penrith Road home with niece Tylier Smith, nine. She said: 'It is disgusting. For her to be in her own home when it happened, it has shocked everyone down the road. The dog shouldn’t have been let off a lead until it was absolutely necessary. 'She has lived here for years. I have been here for 34 years, and I think she has been here since I was little. 'She was very quiet, but always very nice with people. She liked spending time with her family and her son was always there. We used to see her pottering around in her garden as well. 'Nobody can believe what happened.' Jack Williams, 20, a student at Teesside University who lives next door to Ms Collins, said he was 'shocked and saddened' by the news. He said: 'We all can’t believe it. We thought that she was going to come home soon. She was a lovely woman, the best neighbour you could have asked for. 'What has happened to her, and what she went through is just horrific.' | Irene Collins, 73, was attacked by the dog at her home in Middlesbrough .
Cleveland Police were searching for a suspected criminal in her garden .
Dog was withdrawn from operational duty after it bit the pensioner .
Understood she was in poor health and passed away over the weekend .
Matter referred to police watchdog who will investigate the circumstances .
Officers offer condolences to her family, who say they are 'devastated' |
79,016 | dff1b455c73bb798fa3d61368ccec599cb896b11 | (CNN)Fox News host Bill O'Reilly, grappling with accusations that he embellished and/or fabricated reports placing him at the center of dramatic news events, tipped his hand more than he realized by threatening one of the many journalists asking questions about the accuracy of his accounts. "I am coming after you with everything I have," O'Reilly told New York Times reporter Emily Steel. "You can take it as a threat." Bad move, Bill. In the real world of tough guys (as opposed to celebrity blowhards), that kind of empty threat only comes from a sore loser -- somebody unable to control or hide his anger, fright and impotence over the fact he has been cornered and beaten. There is nothing O'Reilly can do to harm The New York Times, its reporters or any other journalist doing their job, and he surely knows that. So why the tantrum? Part of it is O'Reilly's style. He is a fabulously wealthy, best-selling author and the host of a show that has dominated prime-time cable news for many years. One way he got to the top of the heap was by styling himself as a plain-spoken, working-class battler, willing to mix it up verbally with those who disagree with him. As ex-Rep. Barney Frank -- a gay, outspokenly liberal Democrat who sparred with O'Reilly -- explained to The Daily Beast: "When you go on his show, you have two choices: either be reasonable and let him dominate with his ranting, or yell back at him. You either look timid or as boorish as he is." The verbal fireworks make for a certain kind of TV that can be fun to watch and has proved enormously popular, but it doesn't give O'Reilly a pass to make things up and not get called on it. His dramatic claims to have reported from a war zone during the Falklands conflict -- an account complete with troops firing into crowds, a gun pointed at his head and O'Reilly saving a gravely wounded colleague -- has been disputed by seven of his colleagues who were on assignment in Argentina with him. More recently, reporters have questioned O'Reilly's claim -- printed in his book, "Killing Kennedy" -- to have heard the gunshot that killed George de Mohrenschildt, a friend of Lee Harvey Oswald, the man who killed President John Kennedy. Mohrenschildt's death was dramatic, important news: He killed himself in Florida shortly after being contacted by congressional investigators probing the assassination. It's hard to believe that O'Reilly, then working on stories about the assassination for Dallas television station WFAA, would have sat on the news that he was present and heard the shotgun blast that killed Mohrenschildt. Once again, a little probing by journalists turns up evidence from reliable sources that O'Reilly's account is probably false. Jefferson Morley, a former Washington Post editor, has posted audio tapes of O'Reilly talking with a congressional investigator around the time of the incident in conversations that leave little doubt that O'Reilly was in Dallas at the time Mohrenschildt died. "He was in Dallas" says Tracy Rowlett, who worked at WFAA at the time, according to the Huffington Post. "Bill O'Reilly's a phony -- there's no other way to put it." Sally Quinn, former columnist and veteran Washington insider who is a friend of O'Reilly's, defended him in a way that is less than helpful. "O'Reilly is an entertainer and everything he does is totally subjective, including his memories," she told The Daily Beast. "To attack him is simply to increase his ratings and the sales of his phenomenally popular books. Lighten up, everybody." That's easier said than done, especially after O'Reilly chose to start threatening reporters. His best move now would be to do the difficult, responsible thing, the thing truly great journalists have been doing for decades: admit he screwed up, apologize and try to move on. That might damage his brand as the swaggering no-spin guy, and it might even lose him some viewers. But it would begin to restore his reputation in a profession that isn't perfect and doesn't expect its practitioners to be -- but also doesn't expect valid questions to be answered with the snarling, empty threats of a coward. | Errol Louis: Bill O'Reilly, accused of fabricating reports, threatened NYT reporter, saying: "I'm coming after you..."
Louis: He placed himself in stories he was not in, former colleagues say. O'Reilly should come clean, apologize . |
217,805 | a5ffbba03e4de99f628d0f69ed51428c92a76397 | By . Mike Dickson . Follow @@Mike_Dickson_DM . At this most democratic of Open Championships, the warm connection between Phil Mickelson and the fans is quite something to see. ‘All right there Phil, lad,’ was one greeting shouted from Hoylake’s bulging galleries on Friday morning as his lolloping stride came down the sixth fairway in his stellar grouping that also featured Ernie Els and Bubba Watson. Mickelson is from southern California but . has sufficient understanding of the Merseyside accent to recognise . cordiality when he hears it, and responded with a smile and a ‘How ya . doin?’ Upbeat: Mickelson played with the purpose that suggests he believes he is capable of repeating 2013 triumph . In many sports, defending champions are less preferred than underdogs but not the 44-year-old American, whose general willingness to engage adds to the perception that with the advent of middle age he has matured into a good egg. He has a man-of-the-people quality that particularly resonates in an area where golf has a strong blue-collar following. The Cinderella story of local qualifier John Singleton being a factory worker has attracted worldwide attention, but there are plenty of men on the shopfloor who enjoy the sport in these parts. Mickelson got huge support from the bumper crowds, but then he hardly failed to entertain, mixing dazzling mastery of the gusty winds with the odd basic error that showed that he is human like the rest of us. While Els laboured and Watson spent much of the time with a quizzical look on his face, Mickelson played with the purpose that suggests he believes he is capable of repeating his triumph of Muirfield 2013. Focused: Bubba Watson and Phil Mickelson tee off on the fifth during the second round on Friday . His morale going into the weekend was lifted by draining a 10-foot putt for birdie on the 18th. Of rediscovering his best form, he said: ‘It’s really close to being good. I’m striking it so good. And if I putt the way I putted the last nine holes then this weekend I’m going to have a good chance. If the wind stays up then I absolutely have a chance.’ Mickelson hit a miraculous second shot to within an inch on the fourth, but his mood had darkened after the seventh, where he missed a birdie putt, and he was still spewing on the next hole, which led him to make a hash of a chip that also cost him. Consequently there was not much banter around the turn, especially after he lost his ball off the tee on the 10th, Hoylake’s best birdie chance. Amends were made when he made an eagle from his provisional, thus saving his par. He carded a two-under 70, leaving him level par after the first two rounds. The years, the victories and the vagaries of life outside golf have, he said afterwards, made it easier to come to terms with not getting the better of the draw. ‘You accept that as part of the tournament. The conditions I had didn’t allow for it and, rather than force it, I have to play as well as I can with the conditions. ‘I might be seven or eight back but if I try to force it then I’m going to be missing the cut.’ That was the fate of Els, whose Open looked ill-fated from the moment on Thursday’s opening hole when he struck an elderly spectator. Trying to come to terms with the switch back to an orthodox putter from the ghastly broomhandle is not proving easy, and the previous evening he did not leave the putting green until 7.30pm, long after his finish. Struggle: Ernie Els and Bubba Watson failed to make the cut after two disappointing rounds . His drive off the fifth could have caused a similar accident to day one, because it was so far left it only just cleared the stand for the seventh green before landing in the gorse, sending him back to try again. Before the tournament Els was effusive about his love for Royal Liverpool, a place where he won as a junior, but he skulked off last night without explaining himself, having scored a 73 for a two-round eight-over 152. Watson rarely got out his pink driver and a bogey on the last was likely to mean him missing the cut, despite being level for the day and four over for the tournament. He pledged to go back to his digs and commiserate with housemate Webb Simpson, another early departure. ‘I can’t wait to get back home to see my wife and child,’ he said. Unlike Mickelson, who prepared at last week’s Scottish Open, Watson has been out of America for all of seven days. That is clearly more than enough. | Phil Mickelson drained a 10-foot putt for birdie on the 18th .
The American finished on level par, 12 shots off leader Rory McIlroy .
Bubba Watson and Ernie Els failed to make the cut at Hoylake . |
53,146 | 96c3a901f358943054e6328777a9e8fe160a3aee | The daughter of the Sultan of Brunei, one of the world's wealthiest men, wed groom Pengiran Haji Muhammad Ruzaini today in a dazzling ceremony at the monarch's 1,700-room palace. Princess Hajah Hafizah Sururul Bolkiah, 32, the fifth child of the Sultan and his wife, Queen Saleha, and her groom Pengiran Haji Muhammad Ruzaini, 29, exchanged their vows this afternoon in front of scores of gathered family and friends, royals and international dignitaries. Both the bride and groom work in Governmental roles as employees of the Sultan of Brunei, with Hafizah, who has a degree in business administration, working as an officer in the finance ministry, and Ruzaini a civil servant in the Prime Minister's office. Scroll down for video . Princess Hafizah Sururul Bolkiah and her groom . Pengiran Haji Muhammad Ruzaini attended a ceremony ahead of their . wedding, which took place today . Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, right, and Queen Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Hajah Saleha at the pre-wedding ceremony yesterday . The pre-wedding ceremony and the wedding both took place at the Brunei monarch's 1,700-room palace . Sultan . Haji Hassanal Bolkiah led a ceremony ahead of today's wedding, where . daughter Princess Hafizah Sururul Bolkiah was dressed in lavish silks . and prepared for today's service . The Sultan is Prime Minister of the small oil-rich Muslim sultanate that has been governed for 600 years by the same royal family, and also holds the roles of finance and defence minister. The sultan has 12 children, five sons . and seven daughters, from his three marriages, and the wedding is the . first involving one of the sultan’s children since 2007. Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei prepared to give his daughter away in a lavish ceremony yesterday, which saw the family attend a service at the Throne Hall of Istana Nurul Iman palace in Brunei yesterday. The couple then exchanged their vows in front of some the most powerful people in the region including Prime Minister Najib Razak of neighbouring Malaysia. The . guest list for the wedding was not released ahead of the day, but many . international royals and dignitaries were preparing to attend, including . Prime Minister Najib Razak, the Prime Minister of neighbouring Malaysia . The opulent Throne Hall of Istana Nurul Iman palace played host to the service yesterday . The daughter of the sultan of Brunei, one of the world's wealthiest men, is set to wed this weekend in a dazzling ceremony at the monarch's 1,700-room palace . The young boys looked dashing in their handmade silk outfits as they accompanied their fathers at the ceremony . The couple will now be officially presented to the royal court in an elaborate ceremony on Sunday that marks the climax of more than a week of wedding-related festivities. Southeast Asian leaders and foreign royalty are expected to be among the guests at a lavish royal banquet in honour of the newlyweds in the Islamic sultanate on Sunday night, hosted by the bride’s father, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, 66. This week’s festivities have included . nightly vigils at the palace to bless the couple, but the monarchy will . forgo a traditional public procession through the capital in the royal . family’s gilded Rolls Royce. Such weddings are typically a rare . source of excitement in Brunei, which is known for its slow pace of life . and lack of nightlife. The wedding of Crown Prince Al-Muhtadee Billah in . 2004 attracted large crowds in the capital, Bandar Seri Begawan, and a . guest list of over 2,000 people including members of the royal families . of Japan, Jordan, Britain and Malaysia. Happy occasion: Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, right, and Queen Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Hajah Saleha, who both looked delighted during the ceremony, have 12 children . Traditional: Brunei's Queen Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Hajah Saleha applies ceremonial paste to Princess Hafizah Sururul Bolkiah's hands during the week-long wedding festivities . Father of the bride: Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah applies ceremonial paste to Princess Hafizah Sururul Bolkiah in the first of his children's weddings since 2007 . | Princess Hafizah Sururul Bolkiah marries civil servant Pengiran Haji Muhammad Ruzaini, 29 today .
The family prepared for wedding with a lavish ceremony held in the Throne Hall of the Istana Nurul Iman palace .
1,700-room palace is home to the Sultan, whose family have ruled in Brunei for 600 years .
Both bride and groom work for the Sultan of Brunei in the Prime Minister's office . |
26,936 | 4c6fe111f00825ac54d08220f1263761f572140b | A woman photographer has been placed under formal criminal investigation in connection with pictures taken of the Duchess of Cambridge as she sunbathed in France, it emerged tonight. Legal sources in Paris said she is Valerie Suau, who admits taking images of Kate in the south of the country in September. She describes her pictures, published in France's La Provence regional newspaper, as 'all decent'. But she is now facing a criminal trial . along with a man believed to be Ernesto Mauri, the publisher of French . Closer magazine, which first ran the pictures. Both are being prosecuted . under strict privacy legislation. Probe: Legal sources in Paris said the photographer facing an investigation was believed to be Valerie Suau (left), who took images of Kate (right, pictured tonight in London) in the south of France in September . Kate, 31, and 30-year-old Prince . William took legal action against Closer in September, as their lawyer, . Aurelien Hamelle, described the Duchess as a 'a young woman, not an . object’. He said the royal couple had suffered a . 'grotesque breach of privacy' and felt 'violated' during a 'highly . intimate moment during a scene of married life'. Ms Suau, whose name is pronounced . 'sewer', has kept a low profile ever since the case, but police are . believed to have arrested her earlier this month. She took the photos on September 5 as the couple relaxed at Viscount Linley's retreat, Chateau d'Autet, in Provence. Referring to Princess Diana's death in . 1997, Mr Hamelle said it was 'just six days after the 15th anniversary . of the cynical and morbid hunt which led to the death of William's . mother'. Mr Hamelle told the court William and . Kate could not have known they were being spied on and a photographer . would have needed a long lens, even if he or she was on a public road. Controversial images: The French magazine Closer showed topless pictures of Kate in an issue last September . Mr Hamelle said that if the original . digital images were not handed in, the Mondadori group - which publishes . Closer - should be fined £8,000 a day for non-compliance. The Duke and Duchess also launched . criminal proceedings against the then unnamed photographer under . France's strict privacy laws. The French media are protected from . having to name their sources - including photographers - but the royal . couple are said to have made it a personal crusade to discover who took . the images. Ms Suau has denied being responsible . for taking any indecent images. She says she took pictures of Kate in . her swimsuit but not topless. Yet, despite her claims, no other photographer has been identified, nor even been placed in the area at the time. Delphine Pando, representing the . magazine, told a court case in the Paris suburb of Nanterre last year . that topless photographs were no longer considered shocking. She denied that the chateau was . inaccessible to public view and claimed the magazine did not hold the . rights to the pictures, so it could not be proved that it intended to . republish them. Photography spot: Some pictures were shot from a public road on a hill less than half-a-mile from the former hunting lodge, close to the medieval village of Viens, although it is possible to get closer on foot . Ms Suau, who lives close to Chateau . d'Autet, deep in the Provence countryside east of Avignon, told friends . there was no sign of British or French police anywhere, so allowing 'any . photographer who wanted' to take images. Some were shot from a public road on a . hill less than half-a-mile from the former hunting lodge, close to the . medieval village of Viens, although it is possible to get closer on . foot. The road, and nearby path, offers . clear views of the Chateau's raised swimming pool and its sun loungers, . where Kate and William spent most of their four day break. It was from here that a set of . intimate images were captured and later published in the French Closer . magazine, which is now being sued by the couple for invasion of privacy. Ms Suau produced one set of pictures . on Friday September 7th - the day the couple left. This is the same day . that the Closer pictures were taken. She aimed her camera at the pool at . around 1.30pm, where she saw William wearing just a pair of swimming . shorts and sunglasses as he read his I-pad. Kate, meanwhile, was in a . bikini. A Paris prosecutors source confirmed . that 'a female photographer' working for La Provence, and 'the publisher . of Closer' had both been placed under formal criminal investigation . over the topless pictures. St James's Palace said tonight the case was a matter for the French authorities. Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article. | Photographer under investigation named by legal sources as Valerie Suau .
She took images of Kate in France in September and called them 'decent'
But she's now facing trial along with publisher of French Closer magazine . |
23,487 | 42b5187949f4534edbb6d9f43ef2b2ec1054fdb1 | WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT . A young mother was tossed screaming on to a pyre of tyres and burned alive after being accused of killing a neighbour's six-year-old son with sorcery. Kepari Leniata, 20, 'confessed' after she was dragged from her hut, stripped naked and tortured with white-hot iron rods. She was then dragged to a local rubbish dump, doused in petrol and, with hands and feet bound, thrown on a fire of burning tyres. As the mother-of-two screamed in agony, more petrol-soaked tyres were thrown on top of her. Brutal: In February, a young woman was burnt alive on a pile of tyres (pictured) for allegedly killing a boy . The horrendous scene took place in in the village of . Paiala, in the highlands of Papua New Guinea where many believe that witchcraft exists and sorcery is used to kill enemies. The head bishop of a Lutheran Church located in the district today condemned the killing. ‘Sorcery . and sorcery-related killings are growing and the government needs to . come up with a law to stop such practice,’ David Piso told The National . newspaper. ‘Many innocent and helpless people . have been killed and tortured after being accused of witchcraft, but . taking a life is against the teachings of the Bible and the laws of the . country,’ he said. The tragedy unfolded after Miss Leniata's . young neighbour fell sick on Tuesday morning. He complained of pains in . the stomach and chest and was taken to Mt Hagen hospital where he died a . few hours later. Still alive: Sorcery and witchcraft are still practiced in remote villages in Papua New Guinea's highlands . Scene: The two women had been tied to poles and were about to be burned alive when police arrived in Mount Hagen . Relatives of the boy were suspicious . that witchcraft was involved in the death and learned that two women had . gone into hiding in the jungle. After they were tracked down, the pair admitted they practised sorcery but had nothing to do with the boy's death. Miss Leniata, they said, was the person responsible. The boy's family went to her hut at 7am on Wednesday, stripped her and dragged her away to torture and death. Pictures of the horrific scene were soon circulating online. The . Post Courier newspaper said the torture and brutal murder of a mother of . two ‘provided a photo opportunity for many of the onlookers, including . school children, who crowded around and took photos of the woman being . consumed alive by the fire.’ Police who rushed to the area were . turned back by the angry crowd, but were able to drive away with one of . the other women while the second has fled. Part of the culture: Sorcery and witchcraft is widely believed in Papua New Guinea, which brought in a Sorcery Act to protect against attacks on those accused of practising black magic (file picture) Breaking the law: The criminalisation of sorcery has seen several cases of violent vigilante action against 'witches' and 'sorcerers' in highland villages . Sorcery and witchcraft is widely believed in Papua New Guinea and is commonly practiced in remote villages across the island nation. The cost of a witch doctor revealing a cause of death or casting out an evil spirit is usually 1000 New Guinean kina (£303), plus a pig and a bag of rice, . In 1971, whilst still a colony, the country introduced a Sorcery Act to criminalise the practice. However the law has recently seen a rise in attacks on innocent people accused of black magic, such as that on Miss Leniata, and convictions by ‘kangaroo courts’ made up of of local village elders. As a result the Papua New Guinean law reform commission proposing to repeal the law. Last July, 29 people were arrested accused of black magic and cannibalism after allegedly murdering seven people in order to eat their brains and use their genitals for sorcery rituals. In 2009 a man was hacked to pieces by machetes after a ‘kangaroo court’ convicted him of sorcery. Papua New Guinean police have launched a murder . investigation and are reportedly preparing charges against those . responsible. A firetruck which had been called to the scene was chased away by the crowd. Authorities and international diplomats have spoken out against the torching of the young mother, leaves behind two children, the youngest an eight-month-old girl. The country's Prime Minister Peter O'Neill has sworn to bring the killers to justice, as he addressed the matter in a statement today. ‘No one commits such a despicable act in the society that all of us, including Kepari, belong to,' he said. ‘Barbaric killings connected with alleged sorcery. Violence against women because of this belief that sorcery kills. These are becoming all too common in certain parts of the country. 'It is reprehensible that women, the old and the weak in our society should be targeted for alleged sorcery or wrongs that they actually have nothing to do with.’ The U.S. embassy on the Papua New Guinea issued a statement condemning the "’brutal murder’ calling it evidence of ‘pervasive gender-based violence’. ’We add our voice to those of Papua New Guinean religious and civil society leaders who have spoken out against the brutality inflicted upon Ms Leniata,’ the embassy said. ‘There is no possible justification for this sort of violence. We hope that appropriate resources are devoted to identifying, prosecuting, and punishing those responsible for Ms Leniata's murder.’ | Police turned back by lynch mob in highlands of Papua New Guinea .
She had confessed to killing a boy 'with sorcery' while being tortured . |
42,686 | 785ea455992e7790f9d8e8a16e8deaea28e0f12b | The Australia team will be battling their emotions and ‘inner demons’ when they play the first Test since the death of Phillip Hughes. The Aussies take on India in a rescheduled first Test at Hughes’s adopted home ground, the Adelaide Oval, in what is sure to be an emotional atmosphere. Players will wear Hughes’s Baggy Green No 408 on their shirts, as well as black armbands. They will line up on the outfield before the first day’s play, in front of a giant 408 painted on the grass, to watch a video tribute to their former team-mate, which will be followed by 63 seconds of applause — the score on which Hughes was unbeaten when he was fatally injured by a bouncer during a domestic Sheffield Shield match just under two weeks ago. Shane Watson said preparing for it has been 'the most challenging couple of days' of his career . All-rounder Shane Watson is one of four members of the Test squad who were on the outfield at the Sydney Cricket Ground at the time Hughes was struck while playing for South Australia. He is confident all squad members will be physically and emotionally ready to play but he spoke honestly and openly about the impact Hughes’s death has had on him since returning to training two days after the 25-year-old’s funeral. He said: ‘Mentally, it’s been the most challenging couple of days I’ve had to go through in my career, after seeing what happened over the past week, trying to process everything that happened, especially being there at the SCG. ‘The first couple of sessions were tough, especially the first one. 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. Watson said it would be difficult facing aggressive bowling after what happened to Phillip Hughes . ‘This has been as important a four days’ lead up to a Test match that I have ever been involved in because there are a lot of inner demons that we’ve had to find our way through.’ For Watson, one of those demons involves facing up to top quality, aggressive, fast bowling — something he has done without a second thought for 52 Tests and 178 ODIs since his international debut in 2002. Suddenly, having witnessed close up what happened to Hughes, he has been struggling to put thoughts of the risks to one side when it comes to his own batting. ‘It’s been a big challenge to try to put the memories that are very much in the front of my mind — very recent — to move them back a bit in my mind and trust what I do as a batsman. I know everyone’s going to be in the same boat. ‘Bowling is a hell of a lot easier than batting because you have to make sure you hold your nerve while guys are steaming in.’ Australian players will wear No 408 on their shirts in the first Test against India in tribute to Hughes . Watson admitted to feeling apprehensive about facing bouncers in the nets over the past couple of days, but said it got easier the more he batted — hence why he stayed in the nets half an hour longer than anyone else on Sunday. ‘There was initially (some apprehension), no doubt. But I’ve got more comfortable with just reacting to what I see and trusting my skill. He added: ‘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. ‘I knew I had to confront it from day one when I went in, and every day that I’ve gone in I’ve felt more comfortable.’ Captain Michael Clarke looks set to lead Australia after coming through a fitness test over the weekend. He batted with purpose in the nets on Sunday, having been struggling with a recurrence of his hamstring injury. The Australian team continue their preparations for the four-Test series against India . His inclusion will give added poignancy to the opening day of the Test match after being such a figure of support for the Hughes family and delivering the most heartfelt and tearful of tributes. Given the emotional burden Clarke has shouldered, he has been excused from the captain’s traditional eve-of-Test press conference. That job has gone to Mitchell Johnson, Australia’s chief aggressor with the ball, who roughed up the England batsmen during the last Ashes series. There has been an international debate over the use of the bouncer in the wake of Hughes’s death but Watson is in no doubt that the Aussies will go hard at India. ‘We’ve played our best cricket when we are aggressive. Aggressive with bat and ball but especially with the ball, as we were during the last Ashes series. That’s not going to change because that’s when we are at our absolute best.’ Adelaide will host the first of four Tests between Australia and India before Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney . Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland said he hoped the Test will be an opportunity for supporters to pay tribute to Hughes. ‘Soon after arriving in Adelaide Phillip became a crowd favourite,’ he said. ‘This is an opportunity for those who embraced him so fondly to say their goodbye.’ When the 63 seconds of applause bursts out at the Adelaide Oval it will be hard to avoid the thought that his score that day at the SCG would surely have seen him recalled to the Test squad for the start of this series. Perhaps, instead, this Test will signify the start of a healing process for those players who were closest to Hughes. As silent mourning is replaced by ringing applause, a group of men will begin the hardest game of cricket they are likely to play in their lives. Australian captain Michael Clarke practises in the nets at the Adelaide Oval ahead of the clash with India . | Australia will face India in their first Test since the death of Phillip Hughes .
Shane Watson said preparing for it has been a huge challenge .
Watson said the team will be battling their emotions and inner demons . |
174,065 | 6d445e640cc24a6c17c4e908dc2ef1c72f7cb438 | A teen took a surprise picture with Paul McCartney and Warren Buffett in Nebraska on Sunday night. In the snap, Tom White stands on a Dundee street as he gives the camera a big grin and flashes a thumbs up as McCartney and Buffett sit behind behind him on a bench. The musician and the Omaha-based billionaire, who were seen getting dinner together, appear to notice the photo being taken from where they are sitting. McCartney is currently on tour and will perform at the Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln Monday evening. 'Chillin with my homies': Tom White is seen with 'friends' Paul McCartney and Warren Buffett sitting behind him on a bench in Dundee, Nebraska . A boy identified as Luke Koester by the Huffington Post shared the image on Twitter Sunday night. He captioned the photo 'Best picture of the night with @WarrenBuffett and @Paul McCartney goes to Tom White!' That night, Koester also uploaded a photograph of McCartney walking down the street. 'Just saw Paul McCartney in Dundee! My night is awesome!!!!!' he wrote. However, the encounter didn't go exactly as Koester wished. 'Too bad he couldn't sign my Abby Road vinyl :/' he tweeted. Sweet treats: McCartney and Buffett were also seen getting dessert after dinner in a local restaurant. McCartney is set to play a concert in Lincoln on Monday . I was here! Jacob Murray, pictured, took the now-famous photo of his friend Tom White . White later shared the same photo online - and described the moment as 'Chillin with my homies.' McCartney's Twitter account retweeted the image on Monday. The picture is not technically a selfie, Mashable . notes, because Koester told the site it was taken by pal Jacob Murray. He also shared a photo of himself on Twitter posing in a similar fashion . to White. Murray's . mother Deborah told MailOnline that Jacob and White photographed one . another standing in front of the Beatle and his dinner companion. 'Paul was very kind and wonderful to the kids,' she said. Though the boys were photographed with McCartney and Buffett in the background, one fan managed to pose right next with them - on her birthday, no less. 'I can do one better than a selfie! Best bday ever!' Katy Clarke wrote on Twitter. McCartney and Buffett ate in town at Avoli restaurant and later bought ice cream from eCreamery, Omaha.com reported. 'We had a special dish - gluten-free pasta for Paul ...Sir Paul,' Avoli's owner Dario Schicke told the paper. A fan at eCreamery, Jeff French, told the paper 'He deserves to be called "Sir" because he's nothing but polite.' Best birthday ever? Kaity Clarke shared this image of her sitting right next to Warren Buffett and Paul McCartney . Spotted: Luke Koester wrote 'Just saw Paul McCartney in Dundee! My night is awesome!!!!!' on Sunday . Out in public: Paul McCartney was in Dundee with Warren Buffett, where they ate dinner and ice cream together . | A photo taken on Sunday night shows Nebraska boy Tom White standing on a Dundee street and giving the camera a thumbs-up - as Paul McCartney and Warren Buffett sit right behind him on a park bench .
White later described the moment as 'Chillin with my homies'
McCartney and Buffett ate in town at Avoli restaurant and later bought ice cream from eCreamery .
McCartney is currently on tour and will perform at the Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln Monday evening . |
63,417 | b40e823c3233b41947a100f5c584438b0f915ac8 | (CNN) -- The Los Angeles Regional Food Bank needed a way to tell the world about its work. Shawn Ahmed wanted to continue the video storytelling he'd begun on behalf of the poor in Bangladesh. YouTube wanted to bring them together. The result, YouTube's Video Volunteers page, pairs deserving but underfunded charities with creative video producers willing to help them. The page has brought hundreds of sometimes-offbeat fundraising and promotional videos to the same site that launched such Web celebrities as singer Susan Boyle and the "Leave Britney Alone" guy. "There are all these really big, sexy parts of YouTube, but we need people to know about this [project] because it actually matters," said YouTube spokesman Aaron Zamost, invoking pop star Justin Timberlake. "The nonprofits aren't that sexy -- but we're trying to bring sexy back a little bit to the nonprofits." The Video Volunteers page lets nonprofits post descriptions of projects for which they need videos produced. Video artists, in turn, can scroll the offerings and pick a cause they'd like to help. Since October, the site has featured a particular issue each month. February's issue is health. The best videos get featured on YouTube's main page, giving massive exposure to both the charity and the video artist. "We would love to think users just do it out of the kindness of their own hearts," said Ramya Raghavan, the nonprofits and activism manager at YouTube, who said she thinks that's usually the case. "But I think the incentive piece does help a lot." On average, about 75 new volunteer videos appear on the page each month. During "animal welfare month" in October, 120 new videos were created, Raghavan said. Last year, Ahmed, who had already visited Bangladesh to video blog and raise funds for poverty relief there through his personal project, Uncultured, was looking for a way to address the issue closer to home. He found out about the Los Angeles, California, food bank through YouTube and the charity's parent organization, Feeding America. "It was just really serendipity," said Ahmed, who lives in Toronto, Canada. "I wanted to do something charitable at home and YouTube had made a relationship with Feeding America. This actually made things really, really easy for me." The food bank is one of the nation's largest and distributes about 1 million pounds of food a week. Its staffers were thrilled at the prospect. Spokeswoman Julie Flynn said the staff recognized the value of an online video presence, but never had the time or money to seriously pursue it. "We're just trying to maintain our own Web site," she said. "It was really nice to have someone volunteer, and a cool way for [Ahmed] to get involved. It was a perfect blend of his passion, his skills and our need." The resulting video shows Ahmed touring the bank's distribution center on a forklift, interviewing clients and, ultimately, showing the 10,000 pounds of food he was able to provide with a $2,000 donation he'd raised online. It appeared on YouTube's main page on Thanksgiving Day, and had gotten more than 400,000 page views as of this week. The key to success on YouTube, Ahmed said, is realizing that the site's viewers are different than a television audience and that traditional public-service announcements aren't going to cut it. "When people watch videos on YouTube, they don't approach it the same way as when they watch CNN or 'Heroes,' " he said. "It's very personal interaction for them. I just wanted to take a personal approach ... I thought if I do it this way, people would get more involved." Many of the clips are quirky, unconventional and self-referencing -- taking their cues from some of the most viral videos on the site. One video titled "The World Sucks: Make It Suck Less" promotes the launch of Video Volunteers while name-dropping some of the most viral Web videos ever. "How about we put a squirrel on water skis and we tie a banner to its neck with all the stuff that you want to say about charity?" says a guy having a video chat about the page. "Or, we take a 7-year-old kid to the dentist, we get him all hopped up on pain medications and then we have him talk about charity." In the end, Raghavan said, the project is about giving charities -- which often struggle to make ends meet in tough economic times -- a chance to make their case to the masses. "If you're a pet shelter in Kansas, you don't have the money, you don't have the staff and, frankly, you don't have Bono," she said, referring to the U2 singer's worldwide One campaign. "It's very hard to get your message out." | YouTube's Video Volunteers page aims to "bring sexy back" to charitable fundraising .
Page pairs nonprofits with video producers to create video clips for deserving charities .
Project averages 75 videos a month; the best are featured on YouTube's main page .
Video creator says online offerings need to be offbeat, personal, interactive . |
211,202 | 9d8366a1fc99ca517318dad8ebd987f4886f8102 | Apple's newly-recruited head of retail was paid more than $70 million in her first year with the company - $60 million more than CEO Tim Cook. Angela Ahrendts, 54, was poached by the tech firm in May after eight years as Burberry's CEO, where she was the UK's highest-paid CEO with $26.3 million. With a transition package worth $73.4 million in stock awards for 2014, she is now the highest-paid Apple executive. Big bucks: Former Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts received $70 million in her first year as Apple's head of retail . Ahrendts, the firm's only female executive, was brought over to oversee the expansion of Apple's online and retail stores, with a view to expanding in China. As one of the most influential voices in the fashion world, she was also seen as a valuable addition to the team developing the highly-anticipated iWatch. In an SEC filing, Apple explained Ahrendts' paycheck by stressing her 'experience' and 'ability'. 'The recruitment of Ms Ahrendts provided an extraordinary addition to the Company's executive team with the experience and ability to lead both the retail and online businesses,' Apple wrote. 'In determining her transition package, the Compensation Committee considered Ms Ahrendts' compensation arrangement at Burberry and the amounts that she was expected to receive in future years. Movement: Ahrendts, the firm's only female executive, was brought on to oversee Apple's expansion in China . More than the CEO: Tim Cook, Apple chief executive, received $60 million less than Ahrendts in shares in 2014 . 'At the time, Ms Ahrendts was among the highest paid executives in the U.K. and held unvested Burberry equity awards with a value of approximately $37 million.' Though most of the $73.4 million was earned in shares, Ahrendts' basic salary is $440,000. Tim Cook received $9.2 million in shares in 2014, while his salary increased 43 per cent, from $1.4 million to $2 million. Tim Cook, CEO - $1,748,462 salary, $9.2m with shares . Luca Maestri, SVP and CFO - $717,211 salary, $14m with shares . Peter Oppenheimer, former SVP - $947,596 salary, $4.5m with shares . Angela Ahrendts, SVP of retail - $411,538 salary, $73.3m with shares . Eddy Cue, SVP of internet software - $947,596 salary, $24.4m with shares . Jeff Williams, SVP of operations - $947,596 salary, $24.4m with shares . | Angela Ahrendts was the UK's highest-paid CEO as head of Burberry .
She left the $26m job last year to become Apple's head of retail .
Ahrendts earned $73.4m in shares during first year, her salary is $440,000 .
CEO Tim Cook earned $9.2m in shares, his salary rose from $1.4m to $2m .
She is Apple's only female executive . |
157,966 | 583a01b8cd4704807bfbab127c02108b65b9efac | British Extreme Enduro racer Ben Hemingway shows us just how tough going his day job can be with a brilliant point-of-view video, filmed via a GoPro camera on his helmet, as he zips through the steep and narrow staircases of Porto. Leeds-based Hemingway shares his experience during a race against German Andreas Lettenbichler during the city portion of the Extreme XL de Lagares race in Portugal. Hemingway commentates the action from start to finish, his voice getting increasingly breathy as the race nears its frenetic conclusion. 'Oh it’s hard work is this,' he says. Ben Hemingway chases Andreas Lettenbichler during the Extreme XL de Lagares race in Porto, Portugal . Impressive reflexes, agility and a full array of riding techniques are required to manoeuvre a host of challenging corners during the three-minute video. Wooden logs at the start of the video appear tricky but are just the tip of the iceberg as Hemingway moves quickly through the course alongside his rival Lettenbichler. The view from Hemingway's GoPro helmet camera as German Lettenbichler takes the lead up steep steps . Leeds-based Hemingway stares down the first obstacles of the urban course in Portugal . Hemingway does his utmost to take the lead in the race, however, Lettenbichler manages to skip in front of him after they negotiate the logs and the track narrows. Hemingway is on the back foot from that moment but he position in the contest doesn't diminish the thrill for viewers as he speeds down long, slender stone staircases lined with fans in the city centre. As the two motorcyclists ride side-by-side in the opening stages the pair come together. 'We've clashed, he's nicked me,' Hemingway says as the bikes collide and his opponent brushes by. Hundreds of spectators line the course behind safety railings as the off-road bikes enjoy a city break . It looks like a descent into madness but Hemingway breeze down this series of flats and stairs without drama . More logs awaited the racers at the end of the race, this time in piles increase the degree of difficulty . 'That was quite hard work,' Hemingway says as he finishes seconds behind Lettenbichler . 'It’s all good but I can follow him, it’s quite slippy in here,' Hemingway reassures his future listeners. As if tight spaces, sliding stone surfaces and hundreds of people weren't enough obstacles, Hemingway almost collects a photographer at the one minute and 13 seconds mark. Hemingway successfully navigates hundreds of steep steps, a rickety ramp over water and large log piles at the end of the race, not getting flustered at any point. But the honours went to Lettenbichler. 'And we’re finished,' Hemingway says before turning off his bike having safely negotiated another tough course. 'I don’t know how the commentary was [but] that was quite hard work.' . | Ben Hemingway competed in Extreme XL de Lagares in Portugal .
The rider attached a GoPro camera to his helmet before the race .
Hemingway races through narrow streets and up and down staircases . |
55,809 | 9e31394842fa9e105840c9f414727e72f1b61173 | Voting for Ukip is about a 'state of mind', not policies, Nigel Farage will say today. In his first major election event, the Ukip leader will use a speech in Essex to pledge to fight a 'positive' campaign that highlights the party's values and beliefs. Last month, it emerged that Ukip policy chief Tim Aker had been forced to quit after falling behind on work to finish the party's manifesto. Ukip's 2010 manifesto included a number of bizarre policies, such as requiring taxi drivers to wear uniforms. Mr Farage was later forced to disown it, saying it was 'drivel' that had been written by an 'idiot'. Scroll down for video . Upbeat approach: Voting for Ukip is about a 'state of mind', not policies, its leader Nigel Farage will say in a speech in Essex today . But Mr Farage last night said the party's supporters were more interested in its general approach than its detailed policies. He said: 'We will have a fully-costed manifesto, with policies across a range of issues. But I actually think people are looking for the right type of people – they are sick of the college kids of the political class who are in hock to the big corporates. We are different – we are unashamed to be patriotic. 'It's about a state of mind, an attitude. We are on the side of the small guy, we are on the side of patriotic people, we believe in a Britain that is free and independent with a proper border control policy, and people know that.' The three main parties launched their election campaigns six weeks ago, but Mr Farage said voters were not yet ready to pay attention. And he accused them of a conspiracy of silence on immigration. 'They have started miles too early – already they are boring the public to death,' he said. 'Labour are trying to weaponise the NHS, the Tories pretending everything in the garden is rosy – both of them barely credible. 'Neither of them is offering any solution at all to the immigration issue and its impact on jobs, schools and hospitals. What the people want: Mr Farage says the party's supporters were more interested in its general approach than its detailed policies . 'Instead we are getting a negative, US-style campaign of personal attacks, which we are not going to have anything to do with. They can say what they like about me - I will turn the other cheek.' Mr Farage will also make the audacious claim that Ukip, which has MEPs in England, Scotland and Wales is now the only national party. He will attack the others as 'regional parties', with the Conservatives unable to break out of their southern heartlands, and Labour making no progress outside the north. | Ukip leader Nigel Farage will make first big election speech in Essex today .
General approach more important to supporters than policies, Farage says .
Accused Tory and Labour parties of 'US-style campaign of personal attacks'
Ukip Policy chief forced to quit last month after falling behind on manifesto .
2010 manifesto included bizarre policies which Farage described as 'drivel' |
218,589 | a6f64a259bd74c69e0f32c2dcaf59164b8e84bb6 | Cairo (CNN) -- As protesters battled supporters of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy outside his palace, his chief of staff announced Thursday that the president would address the nation later in the day. The chief of staff, Refaa El-Tahtawy, said the speech would include important news but did not specify what that might be. The announcement came hours after demonstrations erupted into violence Wednesday night over Morsy's assumption of sweeping powers last month. Three of Morsy's advisers resigned Wednesday in protest of his edict, while demonstrators set fire to offices of the Muslim Brotherhood and its political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party, in three cities. The unrest comes as Egypt lurches toward a scheduled December 15 referendum on a new constitution. Days of largely peaceful protests in Tahrir Square had preceded Wednesday's violence. But that all changed Wednesday. After Morsy supporters chased protesters from the grounds, pro- and anti-Morsy demonstrators threw rocks, fireworks and Molotov cocktails at each other. Late in the day, a spokesman for the Muslim Brotherhood called on protesters to withdraw from the area of the palace "and not to protest there again due to its significant symbolic position as the president's office." The Health Ministry reported four were killed and 271 were injured; state media reported earlier in the night that no one was killed. Dr. Mohamed Sultan, a spokesman for the ministry, said the injuries ranged from bruises to cuts, burns and fractures. More marches were promised for Thursday, said Rami Shath, a member of the Revolutionary Alliance and the Free Egyptian Party. "We hold opposition figures, namely Sabbahi & ElBaradei, fully responsible for escalation of violence & inciting their supporters," said the Muslim Brotherhood in a tweet, referring to opposition leaders Hamdeen Sabbahi and Mohamed ElBaradei. Morsy, Egypt's first freely elected leader, was a Muslim Brotherhood leader before winning office in June, when he resigned from the movement and the Freedom and Justice Party to represent all Egyptians, he said. Demonstrators were protesting his recent edict granting himself sweeping powers and the proposed constitution -- drafted by an Islamist-dominated council -- that they fear will give him even more power. "This is not what we asked for," one protester said. "It's a complete dictatorship." Other protesters vowed to remain in the streets until Morsy is forced to leave office. "He's not our president anymore," another protester said. The three advisers who announced their resignations said they had done so after failing to persuade Morsy to reverse his November 23 decree. "He has rejected all our suggestions and initiatives that may have avoided the cycle of violence we are witnessing today," Ayman al-Sayad, Seif Abdel Fattah, and Mohammed Esmat said in a joint statement. But the powerful Muslim Brotherhood called the protesters "thugs" who were trying to overthrow the president. "By the grace of God, the Egyptian people will be able to protect this legitimacy, its constitution and its institutions," the group said on its Facebook page. Ahmed Sobea, a spokesman of the Freedom and Justice Party, said the party's offices in the northeastern cities of Suez and Ismailia had been ransacked and torched by masked, armed men on Wednesday night. The offices were empty when the attacks occurred, Sobea said. State-run Nile TV broadcast pictures of the Ismaila office on fire and reported that other masked men had burned the Muslim Brotherhood headquarters in the northeastern city of Zagazig. Opposition leaders are prepared to open talks with Morsy if he withdraws his edict and delays the referendum, said ElBaradei, leader of the liberal Constitution Party and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate. But Vice President Mahmoud Mekki said the referendum will be held as planned. "Saying the referendum will be held on time is not being stubborn," Mekki said. "The president has backtracked from decisions before; he's not a stubborn character." Morsy's decree placed his decisions out of the reach of courts until a new constitution is approved. He said the move was designed to protect the spirit of the popular 2011 uprising that drove former strongman Hosni Mubarak from power. Critics call it a power grab. Egyptian judges and media outlets as well as liberal political groups have protested Morsy's decree and the proposed constitution, saying it goes against the goals of the revolution. How the struggle plays out could have repercussions across the Middle East and North Africa, regions already wracked by upheaval. In nearby Gaza and Israel, tensions remain high after last month's fighting. In Syria, a civil war has raged since March 2011. Wednesday's violence followed clashes Tuesday outside the palace, which has become the focus of protests by Egypt's liberal opposition. On Tuesday night, police fired tear gas after anti-Morsy protesters broke through barbed wire around the palace and hurled chairs and rocks at retreating officers. After the initial clashes, police withdrew behind fences and the demonstration was peaceful for several hours. Yassir Ali, a spokesman for the presidential office and the vice president, told reporters Wednesday that the presidential office had ordered the security forces at the palace "to protect the protesters and keep them safe." "The orders to the security forces were not to confront (them), (but) to preserve the lives of the protesters and to prevent any clashes between the security forces and the protesters," Ali said. CNN's Reza Sayah and Journalists Mohamed Fadel Fahmy and Sarah Sirgany reported from Cairo, CNN's Michael Pearson, Joe Sterling, Saad Abedine and Yousuf Basil reported from Atlanta, and Sarah Brown and Laura Smith-Spark reported from London. | Morsy chief of staff says president's address will contain important information .
The announcement comes after more than 200 people were hurt Wednesday .
Masked men set fire to Muslim Brotherhood offices in three cities .
Opposition leaders say they are prepared to start talks with Morsy if he withdraws his edict . |
246,141 | ca9632d01c0aff8efe1ebed410526ab101f01e3f | New York (CNN) -- She might have gone unnoticed through the many years of triumphs and tragedies of the Kennedy family. Now the spotlight will be cast, sadly, on Mary Richardson Kennedy. The estranged wife of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was found dead Wednesday in Bedford, New York, the small town north of New York City where she lived. She died of asphyxiation due to hanging, the Westchester County medical examiner said. The Kennedy clan will gather once again for a funeral. This time, it's Mary's. Mary Kennedy's family blasts stories on her death . A wake was planned for Friday evening, Kennedy family publicist Ken Sunshine said. It will take place in the Bedford mansion that Kennedy, an architect, and her husband lovingly restored into an eco-friendly home after flooding left it infested with black mold. Her funeral is planned for Saturday morning at St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church in Bedford, Sunshine said. A private memorial service has also been planned in Manhattan, Kennedy's family said in a statement. She will be buried in Hyannisport, Massachusetts, where the Kennedy family has a compound. Mary Kennedy married Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in 1994. The prominent environmental lawyer is the third of 11 children born to Ethel and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, who was gunned down in 1968. Mary Kennedy: 'Green' designer, wife of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The assassination was one of a string of tragedies to befall the Kennedy family, America's royal family in the absence of monarchy. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, five years before his younger brother. More than three decades later, in 1999, John F. Kennedy Jr.; his wife, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy; and his sister-in-law, Lauren Bessette, died when a plane he was piloting crashed in the waters off Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. David Kennedy died of a drug overdose in 1984, and Michael Kennedy was killed in a skiing accident in 1997. Both were sons of Robert F. Kennedy Sr. "We know from a history of this family, it's very hard being a Kennedy, either being a blood Kennedy or being married to one," Kennedy biographer Laurence Leamer said. "The overwhelming celebrity, the attention, the obligations, the expectations that you're supposed to do something with your life. It's very, very hard." And now comes the shock of Mary Kennedy's death at age 52, though her troubles were well-known. The details of the couple's private life surfaced after Robert F. Kennedy Jr. filed for divorce in 2010. After that, Mary Kennedy was charged once with driving while intoxicated and once with driving while impaired by prescription drugs, according to Bedford police. "A lot of times, I don't know how she made it through the day," Robert Kennedy told The New York Times. "She was in a lot of agony for a lot of her life." Her family criticized media accounts of her death for what they called "inaccuracies and misrepresentations" of her life. "While we would naturally prefer to remain private at this very upsetting time, we feel compelled to make this statement because the description of Mary carried by certain news organizations since her passing yesterday is wholly inconsistent with the sister we knew and the life she, in fact, lived," her family said in a written statement. "We loved Mary and knew her to be an exceptional mother, sibling and friend to many," they said. "Countless people have described her as an extraordinary mother, selfless in her desire to help others, and one of the finest people in the world. We know her as all those things, and more." Mary Kennedy stood by her husband's side, bearing Kennedy grief through the years. Now, it is her turn to be grieved. "You know, you sometimes hear things like 'I've lost my right arm'?" Kerry Kennedy, sister of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., told The New York Times about the friend she met in boarding school and roomed with at Brown University. "I feel like I've lost half my body, half my soul." CNN's Dominique Dodley contributed to this report. | Mary Kennedy married Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in 1994 .
The couple was estranged but still married .
She was found dead from asphyxiation by hanging .
A wake was planned for Friday evening, a Kennedy family publicist said . |
27,359 | 4d8d92bb5ccfdc1724e756e056519800dd16b8ae | Harold Morgan, 85, is expected to have a send off to remember tomorrow after a social media appeal for mourners to attend his funeral went viral . A Facebook appeal for mourners to attend the funeral of an ex Welsh Guardsman has been so successful there are concerns the venue will prove too small. Harold Morgan, 85, will be remembered at a service in St Tathan Church in St Athan, South Wales, tomorrow. The church had feared they would struggle to fill a single row of pews at Mr Morgan's funeral. Oxford-born Mr Morgan, had lived in a care home in Barry for the past 14 years. The former railwayman died with little known about his family after he spent his final 14 years in a care home in nearby Barry. Officials said it would be 'horrible' if no-one attended his send-off, so the Reverend Rachel Simpson, the curate who will lead the service, posted a message on the church's Facebook page on Monday. It said: 'On Thursday November 13, we have the funeral for the late Harold Morgan at 12 noon. 'He lived in Owain Court before moving to a care home in Barry approximately 14 years ago and requested that his funeral be at our church. 'Unfortunately there's been some difficulty tracing next of kin or knowing who his friends were, or if they're still in St Athan. 'If you did know Harold or have any more information, please get in touch or come along to his funeral on Thursday.' Twenty four hours after Reverend Simpson posted her plea on the social media site the appeal went viral. Up to 200 people are now predicted to attend Mr Morgan's funeral - and the only worry now is where to put them all. The service will have a battalion bugler play the Last Post , while two standard bearers will display regimental flags and around 20 veteran and serving Welsh Guardsman will turn out in full uniform to pay their respects. Welsh Railway Research Circle enthusiasts, of which Mr Morgan was a founding member, are also planning to attend the farewell service. Ken Ball, director of the Park Funeral Directors, said: 'Nobody wanted to see an empty church for the service of a man who had done a lot in his life. 'There was a worry that there would be row after row of empty pews with not enough people even to fill the first line. Harold Morgan, 85, will be remembered at a service in St Tathan Church in St Athan (pictured) tomorrow . 'But once the appeal appeared on Facebook all that changed. I know there's a bus load of Welsh Guardsman coming for the service and many people have been in touch. 'The phone has been red hot and from what I understand there could be around 200 people attending tomorrow. 'It could well be there will be more outside the church than in it.' Colonel Tom Bonas, Regimental Adjutant for 1st Welsh Guards, said: 'There will be 10 to 15 people from the Welsh Guards Association attending the service and up to seven from the battalion. 'This has only cropped up in the last 24 hours so we've not been able to trace his service record yet. 'I understand Mr Morgan did his national service with the Welsh Guards in the 1940s in Egypt.' He added: 'We pride ourselves on being a family regiment. We also have a very strong association. Once you don the uniform you become part of that family.' Others will be attending the service out of a sense of duty towards a former soldier. Similar social media campaigns to find mourners for forces veterans have also produced results in recent months. In April, John Anderson Campbell, believed to have won the Military Cross for his bravery during the British Army's campaign in Burma, died in a care home at the age of 92 with no known friends or family. However a big crowd turned up for his funeral in Whitley Bay Crematorium following an online appeal. And last month, hundreds of total strangers turned up in Worcester to pay their last respects to D-Day RAF veteran Denis Man, who died with no surviving family. | Church was worried no one would attend funeral of Harold Morgan, 85 .
Mr Morgan did national service with the Welsh Guards in 1940s Egypt .
Reverend posted a message on Facebook asking if anyone could go along .
Appeal went viral and around 200 people are expected to pay their respects .
At least 20 veterans and serving Welsh Guardsman will turn out in uniform . |
30,861 | 57b4cb2a410764d0c854274c3fa2be78ad1225db | By . Mark Duell and Matt Chorley, Mailonline Political Editor . PUBLISHED: . 08:22 EST, 20 March 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 13:36 EST, 20 March 2013 . Millions of Britain's hard-pressed taxpayers will find themselves up to £705 better off after the coalition today delivered on its flagship tax cut a year early. Chancellor George Osborne announced that the amount of money that workers can earn before they start paying tax will be raised to £10,000 from April next year. That will take another 700,000 people out of tax altogether. Ministers had promised to deliver the key Liberal Democrat policy before the 2015 election, but the cut has been rushed forward by a year. Scroll down for video . Rising trend: This personal allowance graph taken from figures on the Institute for Fiscal Studies website shows how for a person aged under 65, it has risen from £3,005 to £8,105 from 1990/91 to 2012/13 . It is part of a bid to ease the burden on squeezed family budgets and provide an incentive to work. The personal allowance will already increase from £8,105 to £9,400 on April 1. The announcement means that from April 2014 the average taxpayer will pay £705 less income tax than before the 2010 general election. Ministers boast that the cash is the equivalent of the average gas bill or for two people to pay their council tax bill. The Lib Dems claim that the move will . mean 24million taxpayers will have been given an income tax cut since 2010. It . means a total of 2.7million people will pay no income tax at all. Is George Osborne's Budget good for Britain? Danny Alexander, the Lib Dem Chief Secretary to the Treasury, said: 'When times are as tough as they are now, our focus must be on helping those on low and middle incomes. 'The right to earn £10,000 income tax free has gone from the front page of our manifesto to the pockets of 27m hardworking people. By keeping this promise we are giving practical help to millions of families.' Critics have complained that the money . fails to compensate for other tax rises, including Mr Osborne’s early . decision to hike VAT from 17.5 per cent to 20 per cent. When the coalition was formed, the . Tories and Lib Dems pledged to ‘further increase the personal allowance . to £10,000, making real terms steps each year towards meeting this as a . longer term policy objective’. Going up: When the income tax threshold reaches £10,000 in April 2014, the average worker will be £700 better off than in 2010 . The Government promised to . ‘prioritise’ the policy over other tax cuts, including the Tory policy . to cut Inheritance Tax. The tax-free threshold in 2010 was £6,475, . rising to £7,475 a year later and then £8,105 last year. Mr Osborne had already announced that . the threshold is due to rise again to £9,400 in April this year, 12 . months earlier than expected. The allowance previously only rose in . line with inflation or rises in wages. Each £100 increase in the . personal allowance, above inflation, costs the Exchequer £500million. But free market think thank the Adam . Smith Institute urged Mr Osborne to lift the allowance to £12,875, which . would ensure full-time minimum wage workers would not have to pay any . tax. It said in a report last year that a . £12,875 personal allowance would increase the take-home pay of all those . earning less than £100,000 by £575 and lift up to 1,297,000 people out . of the tax system. The institute’s policy director Sam . Bowman said: ‘It is a national scandal that we tax the people at the . bottom of society so much that they can’t earn enough to achieve a basic . standard of living.’ Payments: From April 2014 the average taxpayer will pay £705 less tax than before the 2010 general election . Meanwhile hopes were also pinned on . the Chancellor easing the strain on savers today as well as building on . recent signs of confidence returning to the housing market. Savers have seen the returns on their . cash squashed by four years of ultra-low interest rates as living costs . remain high and wages are stagnant. Almost a dozen tax loopholes will be closed overnight as the government clamps down on those who scrimp on payments to the exchequer. As the Chancellor strives to plug Britain’s £32bn tax gap, he unveiled ‘the largest ever package to tackle tax evasion’. The host of measures is expected to bring in £4.6bn to Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs’ coffers over the next five years. Some ten loopholes will be shut down by the government, George Osborne announced. Tax specialists who concoct artificial avoidance schemes will be ‘named and shamed’ under proposals outlined in the budget. This is part of the attempts to ‘tackle both the supply and demand of these schemes,’ the document said. ‘A tax system where people and business pay the taxes expected of them is the glue that holds society together,’ the Chancellor declared. MPs previously lambasted US corporate giants Starbucks, Google and Amazon for scrimping on payments. Anyone, either a company or individual, who used a tax avoidance scheme in the past will also have to tell the taxman how much they saved by it – and pay it back. This could raise up to £130m over five years. One measure will see Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man enter into discussions with the Government over Britons with assets on the islands to settle up with the taxman over past dues. An estimated £8.5bn of funds are held on the islands by UK residents, and the government hopes to claw back £325m a year by 2016 from the measure. According to financial information . website Moneyfacts, the impact of inflation on savings means that . £10,000 invested five years ago, allowing for average interest and tax . at 20 per cent, would have the spending power of just £8,884 today. Former Government policy adviser Ros . Altmann, who recently stepped down as director-general of Saga, said . that the rules around tax-free Isas should be relaxed, so that people . can invest all of their allowance in cash Isas if they want to. Under the current system, only half of . the £11,280 allowance for this tax year can be saved in cash and the . remainder must be invested in stocks and shares. Dr Altmann said: ‘Older people who . need to live on their savings cannot afford to gamble on the stock . market, nor can younger generations who are saving for a house deposit. ‘It is important, especially given the . dramatic drop in savings interest rates, that the Government helps . savers and allows them the choice of whether to invest in cash or other . assets freely.’ Mr Osborne could also today signal . that corporation tax will be cut to 20 per cent. He has already slashed . the headline rate from 28 to 24 per cent and it is due to fall to 23 per . cent next month and 21 per cent in April 2014. But he is understood to be keen to . reduce corporation tax to 20 per cent – aligning it with the basic rate . of income tax and the tax rate on small companies. It comes as a new study showed the UK . has enjoyed a jobs ‘boom’ despite the economic downturn and huge . cutbacks in public spending, despite a fall in labour productivity and a . squeeze on pay. Leading analyst the Jobs Economist . said 2012 was the best year for employment growth since 2000, with . previous jobs booms taking place during periods of a strong economy. Director Dr John Philpott said: ’2012 . really was a year of extraordinarily strong employment growth. A jobs . boom without economic growth is unprecedented in recent UK economic . history.’ Budget day: Chancellor George Osborne has announced that the amount of money that workers can earn before they start paying tax will be raised to £10,000 from April next year . | Personal tax allowance will already rise from £8,105 to £9,400 on April 1 .
Chancellor Osborne will now bring forward £10,000 allowance to 2014 .
Adam Smith Institute: £12,875 would pull minimum wage staff out of tax .
Ex-policy adviser says all ISA allowance should be allowed to go in cash .
Osborne closes tax avoidance loopholes to raise £4.6bn over five years . |
81,364 | e682eea9c02fe4eaa2a2d14b1dc0a262ce62a468 | By . Jonathan McEvoy . Bernie Ecclestone has again proved himself the great survivor by maintaining the support of the one person who can save him from the sack – publicity-shy businessman Donald Mackenzie. Sportsmail understands that Mackenzie, the chairman of CVC, the private equity firm which owns the largest shareholding in Formula One, has withstood pressure from within the board to remove Ecclestone after he was called 'untruthful and corrupt' by a judge last week. Although Mackenzie, 57, rarely speaks to reporters and declined to offer public backing for Ecclestone, unimpeachable sources have revealed that he remains loyal for two principal reasons. Staying put: Bernie Ecclestone, pictured in London last week, is poised to remain at the helm of Formula One . The first is that Ecclestone, with his flair and experience, makes the business more money than anyone else possibly could, and the second that there is nobody lined up to take over. Therefore, Ecclestone will stay in post as Formula One's chief executive – and all-seeing impresario – unless he is found guilty of bribery in a criminal court case in Munich this April. However, given that Ecclestone is 83, a replacement must be found some time soon. One board member told Sportsmail that the only plausible contender is Christian Horner, the Red Bull team principal, who was named by Ecclestone as his preferred successor last November. Looking ahead: Christian Horner is seen as the only plausible contender to replace the 83-year-old . The two men are close, often dining together. Horner was one of only a handful of guests at Ecclestone's 2012 marriage to Brazilian Fabiana Flosi. But as well as being a confidant of Ecclestone, Horner is respected within the paddock for the astute manner in which he has harnessed Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz's fortune to win eight titles, drivers' and constructors', in four seasons. One well-placed source said: 'There is no doubt Christian fits the bill. Bernie is unique and no one can do what he has been doing. Simple as that. We need someone with experience of Formula One, someone who can deal with television rights and commercial contracts. The fact that Bernie would train Christian up, in effect, looks like a solution to many of the directors.' Surviving the axe: Ecclestone, pictured here earlier this year, faces trial in a Munich court in April . Ecclestone, who stores every contract in his office, and all the know-how in his head, holds a strong hand with regards to who replaces him and when. Imposing some corporate type on him would not work. Justin King, the former Sainsbury's chief executive, whose son Jordan is pursuing a career in motor racing, was interviewed by Mackenzie but has been categorically discounted as a possible replacement. Sportsmail understands that, Horner apart, none of the handful of names linked with Ecclestone's position is remotely under consideration. So it seems likely that only a jail sentence in Munich, where Ecclestone is accused of bribing German banker Gerhard Gribkowsky to sell the sport to CVC at an undervalued price, will unseat the octogenarian billionaire in the immediate future. Moving on: Horner has steered Red Bull to eight titles, drivers' and constructors', in four seasons . For as well as strong support from Mackenzie, Ecclestone has the backing of the Peter Brabeck-Lethmathe, chairman of Delta Topco, the F1 board that comprises CVC and the other shareholders. It is understood that Brabeck-Lethmathe was won over by Ecclestone's 'genius' in building palaces out of sand – namely, taking the sport to new venues, such as Bahrain and Abu Dhabi – and making huge profits in the process. However, there remains a chance that Mackenzie could be swayed into acting sooner if the sport's other investors, including Waddell and Reed, an American investment company who hold a 20.9 per cent stake, the US-based financial firm BlackRock, and Norges Bank, who control the Norwegian government's pension fund, started to fret about Ecclestone's probity. Mercedes and Ferrari, who also sit on the board, are known to be exercised about the need for good corporate governance, citing the European compliance law, which acts as a kind of fit-and-proper-person test. In the spotlight: Luca di Montezemolo is likely to oppose Horner taking over from Ecclestone . Ferrari, represented by their president and one of Formula One's big beasts Luca di Montezemolo, have publicly called for a summit to plan a future for the sport in the post-Ecclestone. Di Montezemolo has not been antagonistic towards Ecclestone in his pronouncements, but is likely to speak out against Horner taking over on the basis that he hails from a rival team. Ecclestone is still stung by the findings of Mr Justice Newey last week. Despite ruling against Constantin Medien, a German media firm and former shareholders in F1 who believe they lost out because Ecclestone bribed Gribkowsky to sell the sport for less than its market value, Newey said Ecclestone had lied in evidence. 'Tell me where I lied,' said Ecclestone yesterday. 'I can't see where the evidence is for that.' 52594 . 36950 . 84359 . 201039 . 55125 . 32857 . | Bernie Ecclestone to remain in post as Formula One chief executive unless he is found guilty of bribery at Criminal Court in Munich in April .
The 83-year-old has maintained the support of CVC chief Donald Mackenzie .
Christian Horner is the only plausible contender to replace Ecclestone .
Source tells Sportsmail that Horner, who's close to Eccelstone, 'fits the bill' |
168,946 | 668c9cfc1ff62a215fdcfa0c8e1e7f9eee386872 | Carrying a guitar can increase the chances of you getting a date by a third, according to a study by researchers from the University of South Brittany. The study found that women were 31% more likely to give their number to a man carrying a guitar - double the amount of people who would give their number to the same man when he was empty-handed. But this technique only works if your a man, women are not seen any more or less attractive if they carry a musical instrument. According to a study by French researchers in Brittany, men who carry guitars are seen as more attractive than sporty-looking men. Carrying an instrument can boost your chances of getting a date by 31% . Researchers Mary Cowan from the University of Stirling, and Anthony Little filmed 40 psychology students - half men and half women - explaining which two items they'd take to a desert island and why, choosing from chocolate, hairspray or a plastic bag. Even though they hadn't been told about humour, 19 of the 40 students tried to be funny in their responses. The next 11 students were played audio recordings of these 19 participants and asked to rate them for funniness, and for the attractiveness. The magazine revealed that 'a key result is that attractive actors were judged to be funnier.' It added 'men who were considered funnier also tended to be considered more attractive for both short and long term relationships but especially short term.' The study was led by Professor Nicolas Gueguen, a researcher in behavioural sciences at the University. Gueguen hired a 20-year-old man to approach 300 women aged between 18 and 22 in a shopping centre in Brittany. The man told each girl that they were 'really pretty' and asked for her phone number so they could arrange a date. For the first 100 women he was holding a sports bag. For the next 100 women he approached them holding a guitar case. And for the final 100 women, the man asked them for their number without anything in his hands. When the actor was carrying the guitar case, 31% of the women gave them his number. When he was carrying nothing, 14% of the women gave them his number. The biggest turn off for the women was when he was carrying the sports bag, which had a success rate of only 9%. According to research from the University of . South Brittany, women are 31% likely to give a man their phone number . when he's carrying a guitar. The biggest turn off for women is men . carrying sports bags . English singer and musician David Bowie topped the list of the 20 sexiest male musicians of all time, according to LA Weekly. The 66-year-old has been married twice. His current wife is Somalian fashion model Iman Abdulmajid . According to Guitar World, the top ten songs which all budding musicians must learn if they want to impress a woman are: . 1. More Than Words - Extreme . 2. Crash - Dave Matthews Band . 3. Melissa - Allman Brothers Band . 4. Just Like Heaven - The Cure . 5. Name - Goo Goo Dolls . 6. Wonderful Tonight - Eric Clapton . 7. You And Me - Lifehouse . 8. Baby I Love Your Way - Peter Frampton . 9. Your Body Is a Wonderland - John Mayer . 10. Babe, I’m Gonna Leave You - Led Zeppelin . Gueguen's findings mirror those from a study carried out by the University of Tel Aviv and Ben Gurion University last year. In the Israeli study, 100 single women were sent Facebook friend requests with a message that said: 'I like your photo'. Half of the respondents were sent a request by a man seen strumming a guitar in his profile picture. The other half were sent a request from the same person, but this time he was empty handed. Only five (10%) of the 50 women accepted the request, or replied to the message sent by the empty-handed man. Yet 28% accepted the request, or replied to the message sent by the man holding a guitar. The French researchers attribute these findings to the fact that playing a musical instrument is a sign that the man is intelligent, can learn, or is willing to learn, new skills and has independent hobbies. They believe there may also be a link between how musicans are portrayed in the media, and that holding a guitar is a sign of wealth and status. The team from the University of South Brittany also wanted to test whether the same theory was true when it came to female musicians. Gueguen's team repeated the Israeli study, but used females to send the friend requests. He found there was no difference in the response rate of the men she sent requests to whether she was holding a guitar or not. This suggests that its only women who consider playing an instrument to be an attractive trait. | Women are 31% more likely to give their number to a man carrying a guitar .
Sporty-looking men were the least popular during the French study getting numbers in only 9% of cases . |
60,575 | ac291d880017384410fd02e84c8df413acd40389 | Tokyo (CNN) -- Tokyo Electric Power Co., the company that owns the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, said Tuesday it is going to stick to its previously announced timetable of six to nine months in bringing an end to the crisis. But the company says it will have to change strategies in cooling the No. 1 reactor after it learned last week that water levels in the reactor were much lower than previously believed. Tokyo Electric first laid out the six to nine month timetable for bringing an end to the crisis in mid-April. But the company said last week that the water levels in the No. 1 reactor were much lower than previously believed, and that it suspects the fuel rods had melted and fallen into the coolant at the base of the reactor pressure vessel. The company also said it suspects that the pressure vessel was leaking fluid into the surrounding concrete containment vessel. It was not clear where the leak was located or how bad it was, but the discovery could complicate efforts to restore normal cooling systems in the reactor. Three reactors at Fukushima Daiichi overheated after the plant was struck by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, which knocked out the units' cooling systems and unleashed the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl. Over the weekend, residents began evacuating from two villages which had originally been outside the danger zone drawn around the plant. The towns of Iitate and Kawamata were downwind of the plant in the early days of the disaster, and radiation levels there are high enough to raise the long-term risk of cancer for those remaining, the government said. "I know that they are having to endure great hardships, and their life in evacuation going forward will be a very harsh one," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano told reporters Monday. "We truly regret that this had to happen." Radiation levels in Iitate, about 40 km northwest of the plant, were nearly 40 times normal background levels Monday, according to data released by the country's Science Ministry. Someone who spent eight hours a day outside would get the government's maximum allowable dose of 20 millisieverts in about six months at those levels. Residents of those towns and all or part of three others were given orders to start packing in April. Five more areas have been put on notice to await evacuation orders, and the government says it will decide whether those residents will be allowed to return around the time the crisis is resolved. CNN's Kyung Lah and Matt Smith contributed to this report. | Tokyo Electric Power Co. first announced the timetable for ending the crisis in mid-April .
Three reactors at plant overheated after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami .
The company says it will have to change strategies in cooling the No. 1 reactor . |
192,820 | 85a2bc81694dc190a047dc9da4b56d2bbfdb1edb | On the run: Eric Frein, 31, escaped police capture again today. He is on the FBI's Most Wanted List . Scroll down for video . Fugitive gunman Eric Frein has again evaded the massive police dragnet that has now been hunting him for 16 days as he ran into woods after being spotted in the Pocono Mountains. Frein, 31, wanted for murdering one state trooper and critically injuring another, managed to flee, although MailOnline understands they have an article of clothing that he left behind. Frein, who is on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted List, was seen just outside the perimeter of the five-square-mile search area that up to 1,000 cops are manning at any one time. The sighting led to a huge shift southwards as heavily armed cops were forced to rethink their tactics in their frustrating task of finding the expert woodsman. The drama unfolded in the Delaware State Forest around 3 p.m. on Saturday, Pat Snively, whose home abuts the Delaware State Forest told MailOnline. She said her son, Cody, 32, was first to see the action. 'My son went out to the garage and he saw a state trooper there,' said Snively, 61, a hotel housekeeper. 'He waved to him and the trooper waved him down and he shouted 'Put the kids in the house. 'He said: "Somebody is in the back." They saw him running back into the woods — they flushed him out and he ran.' Snively lives on the Snow Hill Falls development just south of the area where cops have concentrated their search for Frein for more than a week. On Sunday, Pennsylvania State police spokesman, Trooper Adam Reed told MailOnline: 'I can't comment on any possible sightings or evidence found yesterday. 'The Snow Hill Falls area is one we are focusing on, however.' Snow Hill . Falls was reopened to visitors late on Sunday afternoon after more than 24 . hours when only residents were allowed in. But the police presence on the . rustic estate remained heavy. When . asked whether it was open, one trooper said: 'We'd prefer it if you didn't go . up there, but.... 'You must . realize there is an inherent danger,' he added. Survivalist: Frein is believed to have taken two guns with him on his flight through the forests - an AK-47, which he later abandoned, and a .308 rifle . Manhunt: FBI and state police, pictured this Friday, have launched a huge hunt through the mountains for Frein . Frein, 31, is the only suspect in the murder of Pennsylvania state trooper Bryon Dickson, 38, a father-of-two. He ambushed him late on September 12 at the Blooming Grove police barracks, and as he lay dying he then shot a second trooper, Alex Douglass, who had gone to Dickson's aid. Douglass is still critically injured in hospital in a serious but stable condition. Police, who have called Frein a 'coward' and 'an assassin', say he then took off in his green 2001 Jeep but failed to negotiate a turn and plowed into a swamp. They say he then managed to walk 25 miles through dense forest to an area south of the picturesque Poconos town of Canadensis where he lived with his parents and teenage sister. Saturday's was the first sighting of Frein in four days. Lt. Col. George Bivens, the man heading up the hunt, said Friday he believes Frein, a military simulation fan, is playing games with cops. 'War games if you will,' he said. Bivens said that in the past, Frein has gone close enough to the police line to be seen but far enough away that they have been unable to shoot at him. Officers are authorized to shoot to kill if they make a positive identification and Frein refuses to surrender. Extensive: Police, using dogs, cars and even choppers have been searching for Frein for weeks . 'War games': Police chiefs hunting Frein believe he is toying with them in his lengthy journey through the forest . Flying high: A helicopter takes part in the search for Eric Frein in Canadensis, Pennsylvania . Cops say Frein had been planning the attack for more than two years judging by evidence they found on a computer he used. They say he bought equipment to make a bunker — which they have not managed to find — and believe that is where he is hiding out. Police refused to confirm Saturday's sighting, but there was a dramatic increase in activity in the afternoon with hundreds of cops moving south into the area that Snively describes. Helicopters were seen hovering over the area and police dogs were sent in as the hunt for Frein gets more desperate. 'There were two or three regular helicopters and one big black one — it looked like something out of Black Hawk Down,' said Snively, referencing the 2001 movie about a U.S. military helicopter downed in Somalia. 'It was down so low I could wave at the pilot. 'Obviously the troopers had never seen anything like it, they were taking pictures of it on their cellphones.' Cordon: Police have set up numerous cordons and checkpoints to stop Frein escaping - to no avail . The choppers were flying so low wind from their rotors knocked over three trees on the nearby property of Snively's daughter and son-in-law Farley and Tom Carvalho and their two sons Connor, 14, and Cole, 8. One of them fell on electrical lines, knocking out power to the area for several hours. On the ground, Snively said troopers rushed to the scene, fanning out into the woods, but once again Frein had made a successful getaway. 'They were so quiet we didn't even know they were there,' she said. Police have said repeatedly that they believe they have Frein surrounded. But Saturday's sighting appears to show he somehow got outside the perimeter they have set up. Snively said the effect of the search has been hard on her. She had to miss several days' work last week when she could not get out of her neighborhood because of the police cordon. Her husband Larry is bedridden after falling off a roof and her 14-year-old grandson has been traumatized by the action near his house. 'He is petrified. He won't sit out on the porch with us,' she said. 'Really into guns': Frein's sister Tiffany, 18, opened up about him in an interview . Snively lives about two miles from Frein's home on Seneca Lane. Police believe the fugitive is intimately acquainted with acres of woods surrounding his house. They say they have found soiled diapers, a rare Serbian brand of cigarettes and an AK-47-type rifle that they say he abandoned probably because it was too unwieldy for him to carry as he makes his way through the dense undergrowth. They believe he still has a .308 rifle. Frein's father Michael, an ex-U.S. Army major say the two weapons are missing from his house. Frein is known to have read survivalist material that advises the wearing of diapers to allow someone to stay in place for extended periods. He is also known as a heavy smoker who is obsessed with Serbia, a country he has visited at least once. He was a member of Istocni Vuk - which translates to Eastern Wolves - a military simulation team which reenacts battles from the Yugoslav civil wars of the 1990s. In an interview with the Times-Tribune newspaper of Scranton, Pennsylvania, Frein's 18-year-old sister Tiffany said her brother was 'really into guns.' Police have said that Frein has a strong hatred of law enforcement, but Tiffany said that he several years ago he dated a woman who became a police officer. She told the paper: 'I want this to be all over. At the same time, I don’t want my brother to sit and rot in jail.' She said that despite the age difference she had a 'strong relationship' with her brother. 'We are a typical brother and sister. We fought and had our moments, but we bonded.' | Eric Frein, 31, is accused of killing a state trooper and injuring another .
Went on the run after shooting and has been missing more than two weeks .
Frein, now on the FBI's Most Wanted List, is evading massive police hunt .
Was spotted in Pocono Mountains near Canadensis, Pennsylvania .
But escaped again - though police recovered a jacket belonging to Frein . |
153,690 | 529d2bfc694b8038a27ee92056e211210ffc92af | Playful pooch Charlie is one dog that every baby would want as a best friend. In the latest instalment of the dog's YouTube adventures, the beagle takes it upon himself to turn his young owner's crib into a colourful ball pit. With dogged determination, Charlie gathers brightly coloured balls and drops them one-by-one into baby Laura's crib while the bemused baby looks on. Scroll down for video . Charlie the beagle takes it upon himself to turn his young owner's crib into a colourful ball pit . The faithful pooch and his little human have been best friends since Laura was born . Charlie flings an orange ball into the baby's crib which is lined with her toys and teddies . Charlie gets started opening up the bag and releasing the balls to drop into baby Laura's crib . At one point the pooch shakes the bag holding the balls and looks a little startled as they scatter . The adorable YouTube star poses for the camera before returning to the job at hand . Laura looks slightly bemused by the whole experience but smiles happily as her canine pal fills up her bed . The cute clip has received more than 150,000 views on YouTube, where Charlie and little Laura have achieved quite a following on their CharlieDaDog channel . Although Laura doesn't seem quite old enough to make the most of her new ball pen, this doesn't stop the devoted pooch from trying to please his tiny friend. At one point the pooch shakes the bag holding the balls and looks a little startled as they scatter across the room. But within seconds he's got back to the job at hand and is happily dropping the coloured balls into the crib. Baby Laura looks slightly bemused by the whole experience but smiles happily as her canine pal fills up her bed. The cute clip has received more than 150,000 views on YouTube, where Charlie and little Laura have achieved quite a following on their CharlieDaDog channel. Charlie the beagle appears to high five the camera once his ball pit task is completed sucessfully . The protective pooch seemed determined that his tiny human should have her very own ball pit . The clever dog was able to open the bag and carry the colourful balls to the crib to drop them in . Laura lies on her tummy as the baby's crib steadily fills up with colourful plastic balls . With dogged determination, Charlie gathers balls and drops them one-by-one into baby Laura's crib . The charismatic pup has his own Facebook page so his fans can keep up with the beagle's escapades . In one video - which has received close to 13 million views - Charlie showers Laura with toys to repent for making her cry by stealing her rattle, covering the baby in his peace offerings. Charlie's talents even extend to rocking his young human to sleep, helping her mom change a diaper and even helping her grown-up owner complete the ice bucket challenge. The charismatic pup has his own Facebook page so his fans - who hail from right across the globe - can keep up with the beagle's escapades. Laura enjoying her surprise ball pit party courtesy of her canine best friend Charlie . Charlie's talents - as seen on his YouTube channel - even extend to rocking his young human to sleep, helping her mom change a diaper and even helping her grown-up owner complete the ice bucket challenge . | Charlie the beagle gathers balls and drops them into baby Laura's crib .
Cute clip has received more than 150,000 views on YouTube .
Video is just one instalment from the popular CharlieDaDog channel . |
135,983 | 3bf0f71f7f9e754d50dedf69e42ada13f9b9333c | By . Daily Mail Reporter . Last updated at 6:28 PM on 26th July 2011 . A military transport plane flying in bad weather has crashed into a mountain in Morocco killing 78 people. It is the country's worst ever air disaster. The C-130 aircraft had been carrying 60 members of the military, 12 civilians and nine crew when it crashed in mountains north-east of Guelmim this morning. Wreckage: Deadliest plane crash in southern Morocco which killed 78 people on board . Officials say the crash in the disputed Western Sahara region of the country was the deadliest in years. Information Minister Khaled Naciri said the military believes 78 were killed but that searches are ongoing for all the bodies. The MAP news agency said all three survivors were seriously injured. MAP . said the plane crashed around 9am local time, seven miles north-east of . Guelmim in southern Morocco, as it prepared to land at the Guelmim . military air base. MAP said the crash was 'due to bad weather conditions,' without elaborating further. Naciri said the plane was en route from . Dakhla, in the disputed Western Sahara, to Kinitra in northern Morocco, . and making a stop in Guelmim. Officials at the military hospital in Guelmim could not be reached. Guelmim is more than 360 miles . south-west of the capital Rabat, just north of the Western Sahara and a . few dozen miles from the Atlantic Coast. Morocco . took over the mineral-rich Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony, in . 1979. However the Saharawi people want to establish the region as an . independent state . UN peacekeepers have been there since . 1991, and the UN has demanded a referendum but Morocco has instead . proposed wide-ranging autonomy for estimated half a million people who . live in Western Sahara's sparsely populated desert flatland. The . Guelmim region features contrasting desert, oasis and mountain . landscapes with their valleys and gorges, part of the so-called . Anti-Atlas, an extension of the Atlas mountain chain that runs through . Morocco. The region also features a coastal zone known as the 'White Beaches of Guelmim' with the beach in nearby Tan Tan. Devastating: A body lies next to the wreckage of the military transport plane . Carnage: Rescuers carry a body away from the Air Force C-130 and the remains of the military transport plane . | Country's wost ever air disaster took place in Western Sahara region in bad weather . |
8,323 | 1787cfc30c9519d20a59cee865cc5d65a8e2ff0d | (CNN Student News) -- November 12, 2013 . As the Filipino president declares a "state of national calamity," CNN Student News reports on rescue and recovery efforts following a devastating typhoon. We also discuss the Washington Monument's repair status, and we see how the U.S. and other countries paid tribute to their veterans. Plus, we hear how the U.S. military plans to outfit commandos with "Iron Man" suits. On this page you will find today's show Transcript, the Daily Curriculum, Maps pertaining to today's show, and a place for you to leave feedback. TRANSCRIPT . Click here to access the transcript of today's CNN Student News program. Please note that there may be a delay between the time when the video is available and when the transcript is published. DAILY CURRICULUM . Click here a printable version of the Daily Curriculum (PDF). Media Literacy Question of the Day: . What unique challenges do reporters face in an area struck by a natural disaster? Key Concepts: Identify or explain these subjects you heard about in today's show: . 1. "national calamity" 2. Washington Monument . 3. military technology . Fast Facts: How well were you listening to today's program? 1. Where in Washington, D.C. would you find the Washington Monument? Why was this monument closed to the public two years ago? 2. About how many veterans are there in the U.S.? What are some ways in which veterans were honored yesterday around the world? 3. How has Miami Dolphins player Richie Incognito responded to accusations of bullying? What has been said about the issue by player Jonathan Martin's lawyer? Discussion Questions: . 1. What kind of information do you think relief workers might need to help survivors of Typhoon Haiyan? What might be the challenges of getting this information? 2. What are your thoughts about recent allegations of misconduct among some Miami Dolphins players? Have your views on this story changed since more details came to light? Explain. In your view, what are some possible outcomes regarding this issue? 3. What do you think might be some of the benefits and limitations of the "Iron Man" suit ordered by the U.S. military? What modifications would you make to such a suit to give it new functions? Can you think of non-military uses for this kind of suit? Explain. CNN Student News is created by a team of journalists and educators who consider the Common Core State Standards, national standards in different subject areas, and state standards when producing the show and curriculum. We hope you use our free daily materials along with the program, and we welcome your feedback on them. MAPS . Download PDF maps related to today's show: . Asia . Philippines; Mt. Fuji, Japan . North America . Washington, D.C. FEEDBACK . We're looking for your feedback about CNN Student News. Please use this page to leave us comments about today's program, including what you think about our stories and our resources. Also, feel free to tell us how you use them in your classroom. The educators on our staff will monitor this page and may respond to your comments as well. Thank you for using CNN Student News! Click here to submit your Roll Call request. | This page includes the show Transcript, the Daily Curriculum, and Maps .
Use the Transcript to help students with reading comprehension and vocabulary .
The Daily Curriculum offers the Media Literacy Question of the Day, Key Concepts, Fast Facts and Discussion Questions .
At the bottom of the page, please share your feedback about our show and curriculum . |
256,906 | d884f700ae1e30b0ae4e4bc7b6b3cb66d792b1ae | As far as surprises go, this has got to be one of the best. After heading into the kitchen of their home in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, to start her breakfast, this woman is told to 'pack a bag' as she is being whisked away by her husband Derrick. Her reaction is priceless - a mix of disbelief, joy and bewilderment as she struggles to hold back tears. Derrick's wife's reaction to being told she is being whisked away is priceless - and even more so when he hands her cash for the taxi to the airport . Filming the whole scene on his mobile phone, the husband tells his wife that she 'doesn't have to go to work today,' and that he isn't going either. He then hands her a 20 euro note as a hint, telling that that she will need it as they are on their way to the airport. 'Happy anniversary! Five years,' exclaims the man, identified as Derrick. At first his wife is confused, particularly when she is told she has an hour-and-a-half to pack a bag. Dismayed, she asks: 'You're not being serious? Do you promise?' As she begins to cry tears of joy, she is comforted by the fact that her husband has already sorted who will look after the cats, before he urges her to get packing. Little did the woman know on entering the kitchen area that she was set for the ultimate anniversary gift . 'We're going to go to Europe,' the man tells his wife. 'Why do you think I've been working like bolt-loads of overtime.' Emotions are running high for both, as the man admits to shaking on delivering the news. The video ends when Derrick's tearful wife says: 'Let me hug you!' 'My wife thought we were leaving for work' Derrick explained after posting the video. 'Little did she know I already booked her the time off, and we were headed for the airport to fly to Europe for our five-year anniversary.' For his first wedding anniversary with his wife Derrick decided to surprise her with a trip to Miami and a cruise through the Bahamas. When it came time for their fifth anniversary Derrick decided to go a step above and booked a trip to Belgium. | Wife's early morning routine in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, is interrupted .
Husband Derrick delivers news of anniversary gift of trip to Europe .
Disbelief met with tears of joy by visibly surprised woman . |
283,170 | facc4fe2891f0e2accb3463b0bca26584d0f891d | Jordan Henderson made his 150th appearance for Liverpool on Tuesday night. Considering the midfielder was doubted early on in his Liverpool career, after a £16million move from Sunderland in 2011, he quickly amassed that total in just over three years at the club. That form has earned him a spot as an England regular. VIDEO Scroll down for Sportsmail's Big Match Stats: Leicester 1-3 Liverpool . Jordan Henderson scores against Leicester during the 3-1 win for Liverpool on Tuesday night . Henderson celebrates scoring on his 150th appearance for Liverpool at the King Power Stadium . Emile Heskey was in the BT Sport studio working as a pundit — pictured with fellow Foxes hero Gary Lineker — having played a decade of his career at Leicester and Liverpool. At Leicester he was a powerful, pacy striker who filled defenders with fear. At Liverpool he became known for falling over a lot. Gary Lineker tweeted this photograph of him and Emile Heskey on Tuesday night at the King Power Stadium . Heskey was a pundit on Tuesday night, having played for Leicester City and Liverpool . Click here to find out why Mario Balotelli has made the headlines yet again . There were short, one-line descriptions of every Liverpool player on the back of Tuesday night’s match programme. Mario Balotelli, absent due to injury, was described as an ‘enigmatic Italian international striker’. Referring to him as perplexing and mysterious — definitions of enigmatic — is putting it mildly, especially given the latest storm surrounding the player. One of many since his summer move. Mario Balotelli, absent due to injury, was described as an 'enigmatic Italian international striker' Simon Mignolet – Liverpool's Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde player – had one of his off nights. At times for Liverpool he has been magnificent, at others he has been diabolical. He had already gifted Esteban Cambiasso an open goal, which the Leicester player missed, before being beaten twice until the ball cannoned off the post and went in off the hapless keeper. Liverpool's Simon Mignolet (right) sees Leicester score through an own goal by the unfortunate goalkeeper . Mignolet had already gifted Esteban Cambiasso an open goal, which the Leicester player luckily missed . This was the 100th meeting between the two sides. Including Tuesday night, they have met 89 times in the league, 10 in the FA Cup, and once in the League Cup. Leicester have 35 wins and 126 goals to Liverpool's 42 victories and 155 strikes. The leading scorers in this fixture are Leicester's Ernie Hine, a forward who was prolific in the early 1900s, Liverpool's Gordon Hodgson, from the same era, and Merseyside legend Ian Rush, all on nine. This was the 100th meeting between the two sides, with Ian Rush (right) among the top scorers on nine . | Jordan Henderson was doubted when he first joined three years ago .
The £16m buy from Sunderland made his 150th appearance on Tuesday .
Mario Balotelli described as an 'enigmatic Italian international striker' in Leicester City match-day programme .
Ex-Liverpool and Leicester striker Emile Heskey at King Power Stadium . |
133,580 | 38bb87fb1aad686097b36c70ca0433522509af87 | (CNN) -- Russia emerged as genuine contenders for football's European crown with a thumping 4-1 win over Czech Republic after co-hosts Poland and 2004 champions Greece had opened the tournament with a dramatic 1-1 draw in Warsaw. Alan Dzagoev scored twice as Dick Advocaat's Russia side made a confident start, Roman Shirokov and substitute Roman Pavlyuchenko completing the rout after Jaroslav Plasil had briefly threatened a Czech comeback. Russia, who reached the semi-finals of Euro 2008 under Guus Hiddink, next face co-hosts Poland, who saw Robert Lewandowski's first-half header cancelled out by Greece substitute Dimitris Salpingidis' second-half goal in Warsaw. But the goalscorers barely told the tale of a remarkable opening match. Both sides had a player sent off - Sokratis Papastathopoulos for Greece and Poland goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny -- before the Arsenal goalkeeper's replacement Przemyslaw Tyton emerged as the hero by saving a penalty from Giorgos Karagounis. Poland 1-1 Greece . Two goals, two red cards and a missed penalty in the tournament's opening game meant that the focus of Euro 2012 shifted firmly to football. Fears of racism had dominated the build-up to the tournament and there was an inevitable feeling of relief when the opening game finally got under way in Warsaw. A brief but beautiful opening ceremony - just 12 minutes long - set the scene for the three-week tournament before the home crowd came close to lifting the closed roof off the National Stadium with a rousing rendition of the national anthem. It was a vocal chorused outside the stadium by 100,000 supporters crammed into a specially-built fan zone in the center of Warsaw -- and those almost exclusively Poland fans had plenty to shout about in the opening 20 minutes of the opening game. Co-hosts Poland looked to be cruising to their first-ever European Championship finals victory when Borussia Dortmund striker Lewandowski headed home Jakub Blaszczykowski's cross, with Greece keeper Kostas Chalkias stuck in no-man's land. It was a special moment for Lewandowski, who was born in Warsaw and proved a constant menace to the hapless Greek defence in a one-sided first half. Euro 2012: The best photos from day one . And when Greece lost both their starting centre backs - Avraam Papadopoulos limping off injured before Papastathopoulos was sent off for two bookings in nine first-half minutes -- it seemed a matter of how many for Lewandowski and Poland. Somehow, Greece manager Fernando Santos instigated a response to silence the Polish fans in and out of the stadium, with substitute Salpigidis the central character. Just six minutes after coming on as a half-time substitute, Salpigidis poked an equaliser past stranded goalkeeper Szczesny. Suddenly it was the Greek fans - so burdened by national crisis, so weighed down by Eurozone millstones - with something to celebrate. It got worse for Arsenal keeper Szczesny when he saw red for a clumsy trip on substitute Salpigidis, but his replacement Tyton guessed right to push away Greece captain Karagounis' penalty. The Warsaw party was back on -- and two of the tournament underdogs had set a high standard of entertainment for the rest to follow. Russia 4-1 Czech Republic . Over in Wroclaw, Russia and Czech Republic continued to defy Group A's pre-tournament image as the "least exciting" section, with Advocaat's side capitalising on some weak Czech defending. These two sides had been installed as favourites to qualify from the group, but only the Russians lived up to that hype in a game dominated by Advocaat's side. Former Arsenal forward Arshavin was the architecht of their dominance, playing a crucial part in the opening goal from Dzagoev and then playing a defence-splitting pass to set up Shirokov for the second. Pilar's superbly taken goal early in the second half gave the Czechs hope and they had chances to level before substitute Pavlyuchenko set up Dzagoev for his second and then himself wrapped up victory with a thumping finish. Pavlyuchenko had been ledft out of Russia's starting line-up, yet still played a crucial role in helping finish off the Czechs when he replaced the tiring Aleksandr Kerzhakov 17 minutes from time. It was a cameo role not lost on two-goal hero Dzagoev, who told Uefa's official website: "It was hard for us at 2-1 but a big performance from Roman helped us and we want to thank him for this. "It is very important that we performed well in the first game -- it is one of the six steps to the final." Czech Republic coach Michal Bilek admitted his side had struggled to cope with the Russians' forward movement and link-up play. He conceded: "We had problems with the combinations of the Russians. They had a lot of chances and we could not get the ball off them. Bilek added: "They have great technique and showed us today what a great team they are." | Two players sent off as co-hosts Poland draw 1-1 with 2004 champions Greece .
Poland's substitute keeper Przemyslaw Tyton saves Giorgos Karagounis' penalty .
Russia cruise to 4-1 win over Czech Republic in Wroclaw .
Alan Dzagoev scores twice for Dick Advocaat's side . |
16,143 | 2dbe7185bfaf9722f200cd3fff3bcef24f54529d | Contrary to popular belief, high-fliers are having more babies than ever, reveals new research. A study, which will be published in the Economic Journal, claims that despite the long-held view that career-minded women have fewer children, fertility rates among highly educated women are in fact on the rise. Economists Moshe Hazan and Hosny Zoabi have discovered that fertility rates among American women with advanced degrees have risen by over 50 per cent in the last 30 years, reports The Observer. Baby boom: A new study reveals that fertility rates among highly educated career women are on the rise . According to their research, American women with college degrees have a fertility rate of 1.88 children - a figure that rises to 1.96 for those with advanced degrees. This is a significant rise from 1980, when the fertility rate was 1.2 for women who had studied for 16 years or more. 'The relationship between fertility and women’s education in the US has recently become U-shaped,' say the researchers. Hazan believes the results are down to a rapidly rising inequality gap between women: those who work hard and can afford to pay for childcare and those who provide the services at an affordable price. Speaking about his results, Hazan told the paper: 'I looked around at friends in Israel and the US and I noticed those who juggle careers, work very hard and earn enough money seem to have more kids. Then you go through the data and you find it is true. Explanation: Researchers believe the results of the study are down to a rapidly rising inequality gap between women: those who work hard and can afford to pay for childcare and those who provide the services at an affordable price . 'You have a nanny, people to pick up your laundry and suits, buy you food from the local store for you to cook for dinner, and you can leave all the mess to the housekeeper in the morning.' The researchers, who say the income gap theory applies to about 30 per cent of findings, believe we will begin to see a similar trend in Europe. Google and Apple recently announced that they would be providing financial support for female employees who wanted to freeze their eggs, which can cost up to £12,600. Since turning 35 earlier this month, Apprentice winner Michelle Dewberry has decided to freeze hers. The TV star, who shot to fame after winning Alan Sugar's approval on the BBC reality show, has made the decision after reaching her mid-thirties without finding The One. But the choice also centres around Michelle's successful career in business, which she believes would face a setback if she took time out right now to have children. Michelle told This Morning: 'We live in this society now where it used to be that women stayed at home, the chap was the breadwinner, but times have now changed because we have a choice. 'Lots of women want to stay at home, but I’m in a position now where I want to focus on my career. 'I believe that I can achieve anything that I want in the workplace and the one thing that is restricting me is my biological clock . 'It’s a mixture of three things, I have an awful lot that I want to achieve in my career, I haven’t met the right guy yet that I want to settle down with and also I feel like I’m just not ready.' Career woman: Michelle Dewberry, who shot to fame after winning Alan Sugar's approval on The Apprentice, has made the decision to freeze her eggs . | US study shows rise in fertility rates among women with advanced degrees .
Due to two tribes of women: those who can afford childcare and those offering it .
Apple and Google now offering to cover costs of freezing women's eggs . |
140,436 | 419a6495c561fb68d4f9d779bbedf98ee9093a1a | By . Rachel Reilly . PUBLISHED: . 10:56 EST, 3 October 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 13:00 EST, 3 October 2013 . The Blue Planet Aquarium in Cheshire is celebrating a tiny triumph after successfully breeding one of the world's smallest species of fish. The tiny Danionella translucida, from Burma, is just 10mm long when fully grown, and its tiny babies are only 2mm long and almost invisible to the naked eye. The creatures is also transparent, allowing to see the fish's internal organs. The tiny Danionella translucida from Burma (pictured) is just 10mm long when fully grown, and its tiny babies are so small they are almost invisible to the naked eye . The fish are found in Southern Myanmar in small shallow muddy streams. One recorded habitat is known as Bala Stream. Here the water has a pH of 7.2 and is medium-hard. They are found with various barbs and rasboras, and are highly likely to be at the bottom of the food chain due to its size. The maximum recorded is 12mm. Males are larger than females. Eggs are reported to be 0.5mm in diameter (relatively large for the size of fish), and only a few are laid at any one time. Their estimated lifespan is 2-3 years, but accurate data is still lacking on this. Staff at the aquarium were amazed when they noticed the tiny babies swimming with their parents in the display tank. Steve Chester, our Freshwater Aquarist, told MailOnline: ‘I am delighted to have the chance to work with this very rare fish. 'Little is known on the natural breeding cycle and as a team we are working hard to increase our knowledge on the life cycle and breeding habits of this fish, with a view to sharing our findings with other public aquariums and researchers.’ Mr Chester added: 'Their size and the . fact that in the wild they live in a small area makes them particularly . vulnerable to environmental change.' The creatures, which are just 2mm long when hatched, are also transparent, revealing the fish's internal organs . Staff at the aquarium were amazed when they noticed the tiny babies swimming with their parents in the display tank . 'Establishing a viable breeding populationwill help secure their survival.' Found in Southern Myanmar in small shallow muddy streams, the tiny Danionella translucida eggs are reported to be 0.5mm in diameter. Only a few are laid at any one time and the fish's estimated lifespan is two to three years. 'Due to their scarcity, little is known about their breeding habits,' said Dave Wolfenden, curator at the Blue Planet Aquariam. 'Bolton Museum has been assisting with our breeding programme, and we are continuing to record breeding habits to increase knowledge on the species.' | Blue Planet Aquarium in Cheshire successfully bred Danionella translucida .
Creatures are also transparent, allowing you to see internal organs .
When hatched, babies are just 2mm long almost invisible to the naked eye . |
256,382 | d7d92aa8e53aecb77f6f735cf234d5a61b8b9882 | The dad of England star Rickie Lambert has been sacked from his job after breaking a glass panel on a drinks machine. Ray Lambert, 54, was sacked after he says he accidentally broke the panel while trying to retrieve a £1 cup of coffee. The father-of-three was escorted out of clothing giant Matalan’s distribution warehouse in Knowsley, Merseyside by security guards last week. VIDEO Scroll down to watch Rickie Lambert in rugby-styled training exercise . Ray Lambert, father of England and Liverpool star Rickie Lambert, at his home in Kirkby, Merseyside. He has been sacked from his job after breaking a glass panel on a drinks machine . The father of Rickie Lambert, pictured arriving in Brazil ahead of the World Cup, has been fired from his warehouse job, it has been revealed . A former workmate said Ray is due to fly out to Brazil next week with wife Maureen, 57, to watch his son in action at the World Cup. He was said to be ‘fuming’ over his dismissal from his £20,000-a-year job and is considering an appeal. The former colleague, who asked not to be named, said: 'It's a joke. Loads of people give that machine a nudge when it doesn’t work properly. 'But to sack him for something as trivial as that was pathetic. 'Ray’s worked at that warehouse ever since it opened. He had put his money into the vending machine to buy the coffee but the cup got lodged in the machine. 'He gave it a little shove to try and dislodge it but accidentally broke the glass panel.'It wasn’t done with any malice. It had got stuck and he was trying to get it out.' But Matalan said there had been 'substantial damage to company property'. Matalan, where Mr Lambert worked, say 'substantial damage' was caused to company property (file picture) A Matalan spokeswoman said: 'Matalan confirms that an employee was recently dismissed from the company following an act of gross misconduct involving substantial damage to company property. 'Matalan takes its responsibility as an employer very seriously and has conducted this dismissal in accordance with the company’s disciplinary policy.' Mr Lambert is understood to have worked for Matalan for ten years, first at the company’s headquarters at Skelmersdale and then at the Knowsley warehouse. The couple live in a modest terraced home less than half a mile from the warehouse. The colleague added: 'He didn’t deliberately smash the glass. 'He’s got lots of friends at the warehouse and is popular among his colleagues. Ray Lambert and his wife Maureen are due to fly out to Brazil to watch their son Rickie Lambert, pictured with the ball against England's recent clash with Ecuador . 'He likes to work even though his son is a millionaire and he doesn’t have to. 'Rickie may have just signed to Liverpool for £4m but Ray has always been keen to stand on his own two feet. 'He and Maureen are desperately proud of what Rickie has achieved and I am sure that this will not destroy their trip to the World Cup.' Lambert signed a two-year-deal with boyhood club Liverpool earlier this month having starred for Southampton in the Premier League in the past two seasons. His parents plan to fly out to Brazil to watch him play in England’s last two group games against Uruguay and Costa Rica. Mr Lambert refused to comment about his sacking. | Ray Lambert accidentally broke panel trying to retrieve a £1 cup of coffee .
Reportedly sacked on spot at Matalan distribution warehouse in Knowsley .
Said to be 'fuming' after the dismissal and considering launching an appeal .
Matalan has said there was 'substantial damage to company property'
He and wife Maureen due to fly out to watch son Rickie in World Cup .
Lambert signed for boyhood club Liverpool from Southampton this month . |
47,386 | 85947978f07a092eba2bd1503c468460a2e5c1b9 | Washington (CNN) -- Federal firearms agents in Arizona cringed every time they heard of a shooting after letting waves of guns pass into the hands of Mexican drug gangs, some of those agents told a House committee Wednesday. It was part of an operation aimed at tracking the flow of weapons across the U.S.-Mexican border, but the operation has come under intense criticism since the December killing of a U.S. Border Patrol officer. Operation Fast and Furious, as the program was known, was "a colossal failure of leadership," said Peter Forcelli, a supervisor at the Phoenix field office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. When U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was wounded and six others were killed in a January assassination attempt in Tucson, Forcelli said, an agency spokesman told him "that there was concern from the chain of command that the gun was hopefully not a Fast and Furious gun." Another agent, Lee Casa, said, "This happened time and time again." "Every time there's a shooting, whether it was Mrs. Giffords or anybody, any time there is a shooting in the general Phoenix area or even in, you know, Arizona, we're fearful that it might be one of these firearms," Casa told the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. The killings of three people connected with the U.S. consulate in Juarez, Mexico, caused similar anxiety, Casa said. And a third agent, John Dodson, told lawmakers: "I cannot begin to think of how the risk of letting guns fall into the hands of known criminals could possibly advance any legitimate law enforcement interest. I hope the committee will receive a better explanation than I." Operation Fast and Furious focused on following "straw purchasers," or people who legally bought weapons that were then transferred to criminals and destined for Mexico. But instead of intercepting the weapons when they switched hands, Operation Fast and Furious called for ATF agents to let the guns "walk" and wait for them to surface in Mexico, according to a committee report. The idea was that once the weapons in Mexico were traced back to the straw purchasers, the entire arms smuggling network could be brought down. Instead, the report argues, letting the weapons slip into the wrong hands was a deadly miscalculation that resulted in preventable deaths, including that of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry. Terry was killed last year just north of the Mexican border in Arizona after he confronted a group of bandits believed to be preying on illegal immigrants. Two weapons found near the scene of the killing were traced to Fast and Furious. "I was flabbergasted. I couldn't believe it at first," Terry's mother, Josephine, said of when she learned that the ATF may have let some of the guns used in the attack slip through its fingers. Terry's family said they want all those involved in his killing and who helped put the weapons in their hands to be prosecuted. "We ask that if a government official made a wrong decision, that they admit their error and take responsibility for his or her actions," Robert Heyer, Terry's cousin and family spokesman, testified. The committee's chairman, California Republican Rep. Darrell Issa, called the operation "felony stupid." As many as 2,000 semi-automatic rifles reached the hands of the cartels as a result, and Issa said the top two ATF officials were briefed the program regularly. Assistant Attorney General Ronald Weich testified that the ATF never knowingly allowed the sale of assault weapons to straw purchasers, who then transported them into Mexico. But Issa and other congressmen said the claim was deceiving. Although it is technically true that straw purchasers didn't cross any weapons into Mexico, they did transfer them to third parties who did, they said. Issa also was upset over heavily redacted documents that his committee had received from the attorney general's office. Weich said his office was cooperating to the greatest extent possible, given concerns about disrupting the ongoing investigation. But Weich said he did not know or was not able to answer questions about who authorized the operation. "The attorney general has said he wants to get to the bottom of it," he said. Speaking before the committee, Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, said that the operation started with the flawed assumption that there was a large arms trafficking network that was operating. "That kind of assumption can cause you to start with a conclusion and work backwards, looking for facts that fit the case. Until you figure out that you've got the cart before the horse, you're probably not going to get anywhere," he said. Casa said ATF supervisors in Phoenix, where the project was based, brushed off several agents' concerns over letting guns go. And Dodson said that despite evidence that straw purchasers were giving their weapons to cartels, the agency went no further than to do some surveillance. "Knowing all the while, just days after these purchases, the guns that we saw these individuals buy would begin turning up at crime scenes in the United States and Mexico, we still did nothing," he said. Forcelli, also criticized the U.S. Attorney's Office in Arizona for what he described as a tendency not to prosecute arms trafficking cases, and said "toothless" laws against straw buyers made it difficult to recruit low-level operatives as witnesses. "With these types of cases, for somebody to testify against members of a cartel where the alternative is seeing a probation officer once a month, they're going to opt toward not cooperating with the law enforcement authorities," he said. | NEW: Agent tells of fears over possible link to Giffords' shooting .
NEW: Committee Chairman Darrell Issa calls the operation "felony stupid"
A report says the ATF let guns "walk" into Mexico without being intercepted .
Operation Fast and Furious was "colossal failure," supervisor says . |
115,380 | 20e4096e33b4eead0e82b3a35cc8f68ed400e44b | The sister of OJ Simpson's murdered wife Nicole blasted the serial killer who claimed he carried out the slaying as a sick fame-seeker. Glen Rogers, who was convicted of killing two women in 1995, is on death row in Florida. He reportedly confessed to the brutal stabbings of Nicole and her friend Ron Goldman. But Denise Brown told Mail Online: 'I don't know of Glen Rogers but from what I've heard he's not famous and wants to be. My thoughts are he should have come forward years ago if fame is what he's seeking.' 'Sick': Denise Brown, the sister of Nicole Brown Simpson, said Glen Rogers' 'confession' is nothing more than a publicity stunt . 'I think it's the biggest bunch of crap I've heard in a while and I've heard a lot,' she added. Denise, who now gives lectures across the country to raise funds for women's shelters, was speaking after Ronald's father, Fred Goldman, also dismissed the so-called confession. He remains adamant that Simpson killed his son. The new theory about the infamous 1994 murders, floated by filmmakers for Investigation Discovery, marks only the second time an alternate suspect has been suggested. The nine-month trial of millionaire OJ Simpson, defended by some of the top attorneys in the nation, remains the most explosive court case in modern American history. Different suspect: Glen Rogers is on death row in Florida and has been linked to five other murders, but now he is thought to be the killer of Nicole Brown Simpson as well . Domestic life: Simpson was married to Nicole Brown for seven years; here, they're pictured at the opening of the Harley Davidson Cafe; Brown filed for divorce in 1992 . The acquittal of Simpson on the murder charges is still a deeply divisive topic. Investigation . Discovery, an offshoot of the Discovery Channel, reports that Rogers . boasted that he befriended Nicole shortly after he moved to Los Angeles . from Ohio. He is said to have bragged about partying with her and, more ominously, warning that she was rich and he was ‘going to take her down’. The New York Post reports that Rogers confessed to the crime years after he was already jailed for the murders of the two other women, even giving police a few receipts as evidence that he was in the area at the time of the double-homicide in June 1994. The documentary explains that the reason why Rogers’ name has never come up before is because Simpson was purposefully keeping his connection to Rogers under wraps. Rogers, who at one point boasted about having killed up to 70 women in a cross-country serial spree, alleges that Simpson hired him to break into his ex wife’s home to steal a pair of $20,000 earrings. Adding up: A new documentary bases the connection of Rogers to the Simpson case largely on his own confession . Timeline: Rogers said that he was hired by OJ to steal expensive earrings from Nicole's home and he gave him permission to kill 'that b****' if necessary . He also says that while the original intention of the partnership was to get the earrings, Simpson gave Rogers permission to kill ‘the b****’ if necessary. Fred Goldman has campaigned to keep his son Ron, 25, from being forgotten as only Nicole Brown Simpson's friend. He has not given any thought to the suggestion that someone other than OJ maybe have been responsible for the murders. 'OJ Simpson murdered Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. The criminal trial showed overwhelming and monumental evidence that OJ Simpson was the killer. There was no contrary evidence other than guess, innuendo, and rumor,' he told TMZ. Mr Goldman says he believes Investigation Discovery is playing up Rogers' alleged confession to boost the ratings of the show. The documentary does not feature Rogers himself, who is serving time on death row in Florida, but it comes close to home as it is based largely on interviews with his brother Clay who was the person to tip police off to Glen’s whereabouts. 'Gimmick': Fred Goldman, the father of murder victim Ron Goldman, says he still believes OJ killed his son . Murdered: Ron Goldman, 25, an aspiring actor, was found stabbed to death, along with Nicole Brown Simpsons . Glen allegedly told Clay about the . Brown-Goldman murder but he did not believe it. Later on, Glen spoke to a . criminal investigator and went through step-by-step details of how the . murder took place. Rogers is suspected of being a prolific murderer who used his charm and good looks to pick up women at bars. He is currently on death row in Florida for the 1995 murder of Tina Marie Cribbs in Tampa. He and Cribbs reportedly had sex at a motel after meeting at a bar. He then stabbed her multiple times and left her to bleed to death in the bathtub. He was later convicted of murdering Sandra Gallagher, a mother of three, in Los Angeles in 1995, as well. Her body was found in her burning pickup truck. He is also suspected in the deaths of women in Mississippi and Louisiana. California authorities suspect he was behind four other murders in that state, as well. At one point, Rogers boasted her murdered 70 people, though later recanted and said he was only joking. The truth behind the murders of Nicole . Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman has gotten murkier, not clearer in the 17 . years since OJ's acquittal. The timeline of the crime has long . been a point of contention as OJ infamously signed a deal to pen a book . called ‘If I Did It’ which was ultimately cancelled. Numerous friends and acquittance have . come forward, claiming firsthand or secondhand knowledge of OJ . confessing to the crime. However, the former football star and actor has . publicly maintained his innocence. Despite being found not guilty at the . criminal trial, the families of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman . sued OJ in civil court. Trial run: In the sensational 1995 murder trial, O.J. Simpson tries on a leather glove allegedly used in the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman . Acquitted: Simpson, centre, smiled while standing with his attorneys F. Lee Bailey, left, and Johnnie Cochan, right, after hearing the not guilty verdict in his criminal murder trial; Cochran died in 2005 . Several pieces of evidence were introduced that had been excluded from the criminal case. The jury found Simpson legally liable for the wrongful deaths of the two victims. Their families were awarded more than $33million in damages. Earlier this year, private investigator William Dear floated a theory that OJ's son Jason Simpson committed the murders. In a book, Mr Dear claimed that OJ stood trial to deflect attention away from his son, who he says was mentally unstable at the time. The theory has been called 'absolutely absurd' by some legal analysts. One of the key witnesses in the case, Kato Kaelin, a small-time actor who testified for several days at the trial, has flipped-and-flopped back and forth on whether he believes Simpson committed the crimes. Most recently, he said he had no direct knowledge of Simpson admitting to the crimes. Simpson is now serving 33 years in prison for a recent armed robbery in Las Vegas. In 2007, two sports memorabilia dealers say Simpson and four other men reportedly broke into their hotel room and robbed them at gunpoint. Simpson denies that he used weapons and claims he was only taking back property that was rightfully his from his days as a college football and NFL star. VIDEO: The moment OJ Simpson tried on the leather glove at his 2001 murder trial and Christopher Darden now claims the lining was purposely torn . | Glen Rogers reportedly confessed to the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman in 1994 .
Rogers is currently waiting the death penalty in Florida for the 1995 murder of Tina Marie Cribbs .
Convicted of a second murder in California and suspected in at least 12 killings in the 1990s .
Rogers claims Simpson hired him to break into Nicole's house and steal a pair of expensive earrings .
Revelations come from Rogers' brother . |
245,376 | c9994aca818c8ba52eff6a8eeb44c8748e2297b0 | LONDON, England (CNN) -- Hannah Clark is a 16-year-old with a shy laugh and a love of animals. She likes to go shopping with friends and dreams of a career working with children. Teenager Hannah Clark's heart has healed itself more than a decade after she received a donor heart. But Hannah Clark is no ordinary teenager and her normal life today could not have been possible without a unique, life-changing heart surgery. In 1994 when she was eight-months-old, Hannah was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy -- an inflammation of the heart muscle that impairs the heart's ability to work properly. Hannah's heart was failing and she needed a transplant. But instead of taking her own heart out, doctors added a new donated heart to her own when she was just two-years-old. The so-called "piggyback" operation allowed the donor heart to do the work while Hannah's heart rested. But Hannah was not in the clear yet. As with any organ transplant, Hannah's body was likely to reject her new heart and she had to take powerful immune suppression drugs. Those drugs allowed her body to accept the donor heart but also led to cancer and yet another medical battle for Hannah that lasted for years. Nearly 11 years after receiving the extra heart, there was more bad news: The immuno-suppression drugs were no longer working. Hannah's body was rejecting the donor heart. In February 2006, her doctors tried something that had never been done before: They took out the donor heart. Doctors theorized that the donor heart had allowed Hannah's heart to rest, recover and grow back stronger. Now for the first time Hannah's father, Paul Clark, describes the agonizing decision the family had to make at the time: "If she'd never had it done, she wouldn't be here. Watch a report about Hannah's amazing recovery » . "In the very beginning it was a 50/50 chance she wasn't going to make the operation. But in the next one it was even greater because it had never been done before. But we had to take that risk," he told CNN. The doctors were right. Three years later, Hannah has no need for any drugs and has been given a clean bill of health. The operation was a success. "It means everything to me," Hannah told CNN after the pioneering operation. "I thought I'd still have problems when I had this operation done. I thought after the heart had been removed I thought I'd have to visit hospitals. But now I'm just free," she said, smiling. Dr. Magdi Yacoub performed Hannah's original transplant and came out of retirement to perform the second. "The possibility of recovery of the heart is just like magic." Dr. Yacoub said at a media conference. "[We had] a heart which was not contracting at all at the time. We put the new heart to be pumping next to it and take its work, now [it] is functioning normally." The findings have been published in the British medical journal, the Lancet. Hannah's amazing recovery would not have been possible without a donor. Both Hannah's doctors and her family made an appeal for more people to consider organ donation. "When it happens to someone close to you or yourself, you don't realize until then how important it is to be a donor and not to be selfish like, I need that part. You don't need that part. Give it to somebody else that needs it," said Clark. "It just proves that if you can, be a donor. This can happen." Dr. Yacoub now advocates "presumed consent" -- a policy by which anyone can be considered an organ donor unless they specifically request to opt out. "All you are asking is please make up your own mind. Do you or do you not want to be a donor? My own family, my kids, everybody wants to be a donor. But if you don't, then say so," he said. "Just please tell us what you want to do. So, presumed consent is a good thing." Hannah has made a full recovery and looks forward to doing what many teenagers do during the summer holidays: Work at a summer job. Her family jokes that it's difficult to keep her from racing out the door now that she has so much energy. For Hannah, it took the strength of two to help heal a broken heart, something she could have never done alone. | Hannah Clark suffered from a rare heart condition when she was a baby .
Doctors added a donor heart to her own in a unique surgery when she was two .
Doctors later removed donor heart and found her own heart had healed itself .
Hannah is now a healthy 16-year-old with normal teenage aspirations . |
264,662 | e2cef8284c8cbde424ed1d00f77e910a1a1ce8e7 | By . Daily Mail Reporter . Last updated at 9:37 AM on 8th November 2011 . The family and friends of a mother missing for more than a week are appealing for her safe return, as search teams scour the area for clues. Karen Johnson Swift, 44, was reported missing by her husband, who last saw her in their Dyersburg, Tennessee, home early on October 30. The mother-of-four had just come home from a Halloween party with her daughter. Mother missing: Friends of Karen Johnson Swift, fourth from left, say it's 'not in her nature' to leave her family . Her 2004 Nissan Murano was found about a quarter of a mile from the home with a flat tyre. WMCTV reported over the weekend that searchers have found items believed to belong to Mrs Swift, including some clothing. Dyer County Sheriff Jeff Box told the station that his office is waiting on DNA tests to confirm whether or not the items belong to her. Search: Crews led by the Dyer County Sheriff's Office have been scouring the area looking for clues in the disappearance of Karen Johnson Swift . He told the Dyersburg State Gazette: 'We are searching for anything of interest. And we are still inspecting other potential evidence, which we have recovered.' Missing: The 44-year-old has not been seen since she left a Halloween party . Friends of the woman have come forward, saying they suspect foul play because Mrs Swift would never voluntarily leave her family. Carrie Engelhardt, a friend of Swift's, told FoxNews.com: 'It’s not in her nature. We’re really concerned and worried because it’s been over a week now.' Her husband David, whom she was divorcing, told police he last saw his wife at home after she . returned from the party to drop off their children. Mr Swift said they spoke briefly . before he went to bed, but he has not talked to reporters about his . wife. She filed for divorce on October 11. She has two sons in college and two daughters aged seven and nine. The youngest girl 'just cries' and will 'hardly eat' now, Mr Johnson told ABC. Her cell phone is also missing. Police said it was last used at about 5am on Sunday when Mrs Swift . accessed the internet on the device. Cops are working with the phone . company to pinpoint its last location. Her husband has not been . named as a suspect in the case. On Saturday, the sheriff's department arrested a neighbour who has been accused of poisoning two dogs, one of which belonged to the Swift family, in early October. Clues? Authorities say they have found several items in their search, but cannot yet be sure whether they belong to Karen Swift . The suspect, 39-year-old John Hogshooter, was charged with animal cruelty in the case, according to the State Gazette. The paper reported that Karen Swift had tried to speak to Hogshooter about her dog weeks before she disappeared, but he was not home. The sheriff's office has not said whether or not he is suspected of being involved in Mrs Swift's disappearance. Vanished: Karen Johnson Swift's husband says he last saw her at their Dyersburg, Tennesee, home . She has two sons in college and two daughters aged seven and nine. The youngest girl 'just cries' and will 'hardly eat' now, Mr Johnson told ABC. Her cell phone is also missing. Police said it was last used at about 5am on Sunday when Mrs Swift . accessed the internet on the device. Cops are working with the phone . company to pinpoint its last location. Her husband has not been . named as a suspect in the case. Nightmare: Authorities are working with the phone company to pinpoint the last location of Karen Swift's mobile phone . The couple's 21-year-old son Preston said he has never seen them being violent towards each other, reported WPSD. Other case: Mrs Swift's home is not far from where Holly Bobo was abducted . There are no signs of foul play and her disappearance is being treated as a missing persons case, Sheriff Box told KAIT. Tennessee investigators are also doing a forensic analysis on the car of 5’5” Mrs Swift, who has . blonde hair and green eyes. In . addition, her home in Dyersburg is just 80 miles away from where . 21-year-old nursing student Holly Bobo was abducted in Darden in April. Six . months after that disappeareance, her family are continuing their own . searches and investigators are developing leads and working on the case . daily. But authorities can not yet be certain that the two cases are connected. | Karen Johnson Swift last seen by her husband on October 30 .
Tennessee mother, 44, filed for divorce last month . |
125,763 | 2e8fd2cff53f30fe3b6e760704862796f5e75d9f | (CNN) -- The Supreme Court tried mightily to come together. Last week brought tantalizing hints the nine justices could speak as one on the thorniest of issues -- on cellphone privacy and presidential recess appointments. But in the end came a familiar conservative-liberal split on the last, and perhaps most-watched case of the term ending this week. That was an Obamacare challenge over religious liberty and reproductive choice. When the stakes are highest, especially on cases with a distinct political bent, old habits die hard. "There's no doubt this is a closely divided Supreme Court. That's been true for decades, and it's no less true now," said Thomas Goldstein, publisher of SCOTUSblog.com. "You have five sold conservative votes in the majority, but Justice (Anthony) Kennedy, who is the least conservative among them, does on occasion switch sides and join his more liberal colleagues. There's a constant battle going on in these ideological fights." All together now . From affirmative action, campaign spending, public prayers, and labor union power-- the justices continue to stack their docket with cases spanning a range of constitutional and legal questions. What was surprising was how often they agreed to agree. Two-thirds of the 72 cases fully decided this term were unanimous, the highest percentage in years. Most were low-profile disputes, but did include: . * A shockingly united rebuke of law enforcement discretion to search for incriminating data in cellphones and smartphones, when suspects are first arrested. The simple answer: "get a warrant." * A narrowly-drawn defeat for the Obama administration on recess appointments, those named to temporarily fill high government positions without Senate confirmation. Congress must define when it's in recess, not the administration. Also amazing was that only 14 percent of the court's decisions were 5-4, with just four of those 10 splits along the liberal-conservative marker. But that included four of the most contentious of petitions: . * The big one on Obamacare gave some for-profit businesses discretion to deny certain birth control insurance based on religious objections centered around anti-abortion beliefs. * Allowing civic prayers in local town meetings, even if the ceremonies are predominantly offered by Christian citizens. * Another setback for campaign finance reform, this time giving individual political donors the power to throw more money to more candidates in a federal elections. * A defeat for public sector labor unions over dues for non-members. The swing vote . As usual, Kennedy was the swing vote in the majority in those cases. Chief Justice John Roberts has made no secret of his desire to foster as much unanimity among his benchmates as possible. "There are clear benefits to a greater degree of consensus on the court," he said just months after joining in 2005. "Unanimity or near unanimity promote clarity and guidance for the lawyers and for the lower courts trying to figure out what the Supreme Court meant." The key, said Roberts is to rule on the narrowest grounds possible, to do only "what's necessary to decide the case." It has been a most elusive goal, and has attracted a measure of bipartisan criticism. Ruling narrowly means both sides may have reason to complain about the outcome. Many legal observers believe the idea of consensus sounds good on paper, but is not practical given the current court's makeup, and the sharply held views of its members, led by Roberts himself. Harmonic principles will be tested mightily in coming months, as the justices begin preparing for their next term in October and what promises to be a more contentious session. Same-sex marriage upcoming? The justices by this time next year could be tackling the constitutionality of same-sex marriages, and whether gay and lesbians have an "equal protection" right to legally wed. Federal courts around the country in the past eight months have been all but unanimous those couple do enjoy such a right. It seems all but inevitable the justices will have to answer the question, in what could be the defining civil rights ruling of this generation. But wait, there is more. "Not only are the justices likely to get the equal protection question over same sex marriage," said Goldstein. "But next term, they are very likely to return to the abortion question, in a case from Texas involving restrictions over where clinics can be located. And that will be a monumental fight, because Roe v. Wade is never settled in the Supreme Court." Another Obamacare challenge, perhaps over when some Americans can get tax breaks and subsidies when buying insurance on the federal health exchange, may also be put on the he docket. Confidence low . A Gallup survey released Monday found Americans' confidence in the Supreme Court is at just 30 percent, the lowest since 1973. It was as high as 56 percent in the mid-1980s. The numbers reflect an overall drop in confidence in the all branches of government. But members of the court hold fast to their belief they operate independently of public opinion, and politics. "I don't think any of my colleagues, on any cases, vote the way they do for political reasons. They vote the way they do because they have their own judicial philosophy," Justice Antonin Scalia told CNN recently. The five mostly conservative justices were named by Republican presidents, the four more liberal members by Democratic presidents. That dynamic more than anything explains why the court is perceived-- rightly or wrongly-- as hopelessly divided and ideological. Social media, the proliferation of partisan legal advocacy groups, and a corrosive political atmosphere in Washington all have helped to punch holes in the record and reputation of the Roberts Court. Are they completely powerless to change hearts and minds? The court's members will tell you they ignore all that outside noise-- or try to-- and focus instead on the work. "People think in fixing things, that there's a magic bullet to every problem. It doesn't work that way," Justice Sonia Sotomayor told CNN last year. "We're trying to convince. And we're trying to convince (the public) what we're doing is the right thing." What the Supreme Court's Hobby Lobby decision means . Justices strike down abortion clinic buffer zone . Court slows EPA on emissions, but largely backs its rules . | There were signs the court could speak with a unanimous voice in key cases .
But then came Monday's ruling on Obamacare and contraception .
There were 10 cases overall where decisions came down 5-4 . |
176,811 | 70e2283896bd8f1dbfc7cf0768f6302e6071b4eb | By . James Tozer . PUBLISHED: . 19:57 EST, 29 January 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 07:21 EST, 30 January 2013 . Accused: Michael Brewer was able to keep working with children after a cover-up by Chetham's School of Music, it was alleged in court . A choirmaster caught ‘fondling’ a half-naked schoolgirl was able to keep working with children after a cover-up by a top music school, it was alleged in court yesterday. Michael Brewer, 68, resigned from Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester, claiming he had ‘real feelings’ for the 17-year-old, who was head girl. The official reason given for the father-of-four’s departure was ‘health grounds’. But he went on to serve as musical director of the National Youth Choirs, featured in BBC1’s Last Choir Standing and was awarded the OBE for services to music. Brewer is on trial for raping another ex-pupil with the encouragement of ex-wife Kay. He said the health story was suggested by then headmaster, Rev Peter Hullah, after he had knocked on Brewer’s door in 1994 when the choirmaster had the head girl’s top off. Rev Hullah knocked on the office door when Brewer had the girl’s top off, but while she had time to dress and dash out before he walked in, he became suspicious and ordered an inquiry. Asked if it was ‘a cover-up’ in which ‘everything was swept under the carpet by you, Rev Hullah and Chetham’s’ Brewer said he had acted ‘honourably’. But when pressed by Judge Martin Rudland, the defendant replied: ‘Yes.’ Earlier at Manchester Crown Court, the jury heard from the former head girl that he used to kiss her in his office, take off her top and touch her breasts. Asked if he had wanted the secret relationship to go beyond touching and kissing, Brewer said: ‘We made an agreement, however naïve, just to stick to what teenagers would call the top half.’ He added: ‘I was interested in her as a person – initially as a musician, someone I could talk to, to seek her views.’ The 68-year-old resigned from Chetham's School of Music, in Manchester, claiming he had 'real feelings' for the 17-year-old . Peter Cadwallader, prosecuting, pointed out that this would happen with her stripped to the waist, ‘fondling her breasts’. Brewer replied: ‘I hesitate to use the word fondling – I would touch her.’ Mr Cadwallader suggested the same thing happened with the alleged victim, a violinist who stayed at the Brewers in the 1980s. Brewer, of Selly Oak, Birmingham, denies rape and eight counts of indecent assault. Hilary Kay Brewer, 68, of Rossendale, Lancashire, denies one count of indecent assault and aiding and abetting rape. The trial continues. Sorry we are unable to accept comments for legal reasons. | Michael Brewer able to work with children following cover-up, court hears .
Resigned claiming he had 'real feelings' for a 17-year-old .
Official reason given for the father-of-four's departure was 'health grounds' |
172,361 | 6b112f9318b468beea28832ae4ba3977e69f2179 | One brave convenience store customer risked life and limb attempting to stop and armed robbery in progress last week. CJ Stout tackled the gunman who had come into the Muskogee, Okla., Stop N Go demanding money from the clerk. Intense footage of the encounter shows Stout throwing himself into the unidentified robber only to be shot then beaten with the gun for his attempt. Scroll down for video . Showdown: Customer CJ Stout saw the gunman and waited for an opportunity to tackle him and stop the robbery . The Tulsa World reports that the gunman remains at large. The encounter happened at approximately 8:45 p.m. on Jan. 21 when the gunman burst into the store with a hoodie and a mask covering his face. Security cameras captured him pointing a gun at the clerk, who slowly takes money out of the register. As the gunman reaches for the cash Stout rush him and tackles him. The gunman got a shot off into Stout's shoulder before the two tumbled to the ground and the robber began pistol whipping his head. The gunman then raced away before authorities could arrive. 'We’ve had no tips so far,' said Sgt. Mike Mahan. 'This is an obviously dangerous guy who definitely needs to be caught' He is described as being roughly 5 feet 8 inches tall and possibly in his teens. Fight for life: The robber continues to pistol whip the shot Stou before fleeing before authorities could arrive . Staggered and shot: Stout was lucky to be alive as police say if he had been shot inches left or right he would have died . 'If you look at it, just a foot to one way or the other and (Stout) could have been killed. It could have turned out very, very badly,' Mahan said. The bullet exited below his ribs on the left side and Stout was released from a hospital the following day. 'I didn’t really feel it when I got shot, I figure because of the adrenaline,' he said. 'The pain is still there — the bullet traveled pretty deep. I’ve seen before where people get shot after the fact, after the robbery, and I figured I didn’t know what was going to happen. I didn’t want to just sit there and wait.' | CJ Stout tackled the gunman who had come into the Muskogee, Okla., Stop N Go demanding money from the clerk .
Stout was shot in the shoulder and pistol whipped by the unidentified gunman, who escaped before police arrived .
The bullet exited Stout's body under his ribs on the left side and he was released from the hospital the following day . |
256,900 | d882e1e7774c94eab33563adc7e7468ee1082759 | By . Steph Cockroft . Miroslav Balog, 32, from Shoebury, Essex, was let off most of his outstanding fines despite a string of shoplifting offences . Having only one arm didn’t hold back Miroslav Balog in his chosen profession – shoplifting. In fact, he accumulated more than £900 in fines by stealing from seafront traders in Essex. So understandably, local business owners were outraged when the serial thief, 32, was let off paying almost £860 of it – on the condition that he spent the day on court premises. Instead of a more traditional punishment, Balog was simply forced to stay until 5pm at Southend Magistrates’ Court, where he was free to wander around the concourse and eat in the cafeteria. Paul Thompson, chairman of Southend Seafront Traders’ Association, said: ‘That is not a deterrent. It is carte blanche for him to carry on offending. ‘Serial offenders are given a soft touch approach and ordinary hard-working people lose out because these criminals are getting off scot-free. It’s ridiculous. ‘These people waste police time. Police do their job, but unfortunately the courts put the offenders back on the street. ‘What will happen if he’s in there again? Will we start giving him money?’ Balog, a Czech heroin addict with no left arm, appeared in court this week to admit his latest crimes – stealing £178 worth of meat from the Co-op in Southend between February and April. He was handed a 12-month conditional discharge and initially told to pay £87 in compensation. But when magistrates heard that he still owed £904 for previous offences, they decided to ‘give him another opportunity to turn his life around’ by waiving nearly all of his outstanding fines. Chairman of the bench Robert Smale said he would write off £859 of the unpaid charges if Balog agreed to stay on court grounds until 5pm. The defendant was given the chance by . magistrates to spend the rest of the day on the grounds of Southend . Magistrates' Court, in return for an £859 outstanding fine being waived . Balog agreed, and will now only have . to pay £87.66 compensation for the meat thefts, as well as £45 for one . of his previous offences. The . court heard the unemployed father of three, of Shoebury, Essex, feared . he would be deported to the Czech Republic if he continued to commit . crimes. He claimed to be working hard to change his life and had asked . to serve time in prison last year to try to come off drugs, the . magistrates were told. Michelle . Breindel, mitigating, said Balog had promised to turn over a new leaf, . adding: ‘I said to him, “You have no money, will you go and shoplift to . support your family?” He said, “No, we will have to manage with what we . have.”’ Mr Smale told . Balog: ‘We have heard you are turning your life around. You have another . opportunity to do so – make sure you take it.’ A . spokesman for the Courts and Tribunals Judiciary said: ‘We do not . comment on judges’ and magistrates’ sentencing decisions, other than to . say they sentence on the facts of each case and within guidelines.’ | Miroslav Balog, 32, from Shoebury, owed court £904 in outstanding fines .
But magistrates offered to waive £859 if Balog spent rest of the day at court .
He was allowed to wander grounds until 5pm in return for fine being waived .
Traders in Southend said it was a 'carte blanche' for him to keep offending . |
70,131 | c6d172d8f6af82112a392f46d99c57cb4b54c20e | Most people see chores as a complete bore but some savvy entrepreneurs have turned signing up for all kinds of odd jobs into a thriving six-figure business. The latest trend to come from the wonderful world of the internet is people advertising a task that they either don't know how to do, don't have the time to complete or simply would prefer to outsource. Some keen taskers have found the odd jobs business so lucrative that that they thrown in their careers to concentrate on completing chores for other people as a full time occupation. People post a job on the website Airtasker with the price attached that they are willing to pay - and then a secret bidding war decides which person gets the gig. Daily Mail Australia looks at some of the more peculiar chores that people have taken on to make some big bucks: . Scroll down for video . Daniela White has been earning up to $1,500 a week from odd jobs advertised on the website Airtasker. Her husband, Phil, is quitting his job as a caravan builder so they can start earning at least double that amount . Daniela White has been earning up to $1,500 a week since August and is on such a winner that her husband, Phil, is quitting his job as a caravan builder so they can start earning at least double that amount. 'I get so many requests that I don't get enough time in the day to do all of them,' she said.'I've had to knock some back because I haven't had time to put in an offer.' The 37-year-old Melbourne resident has done it all from charging $100 to sew scout badges on five blankets for a family and reviewing a phone app for a restaurant. But the most surreal job Daniela has signed up for is pretending to be a man's partner for a timeshare holiday presentation for an hour and a half. 'He didn't want his partner to know because it was a surprise for her but he needed to have a partner to get the freebie holiday voucher,' she said. 'We had a blast and I made $50.' Rod Armstrong has been a handy man at a Bondage parlour which filled with whip, chains and harnesses . A former software engineer, Rod Armstrong, 60, took on ageism and won by doing chores for others and is now earning a tidy sum. 'Nobody gives a technical job to anyone over 30 anymore, so when I got sick of being rejected I tried Airtasker,' he said. 'My first job was moving two chairs 3km from one house to another for $75. It was such easy money and I was hooked.' The Sydneysider has been paid for all sorts of odd jobs including installing an iPod connection to a 1933 valve radio and fixing furniture in a bondage and discipline house. 'I didn't know what the business but I was taken into a dark room and asked to wait for the lady who was with a client,' he said. 'I had to wait for 15 minutes and I figured out pretty quickly that I was in a dungeon because there were whips, chains, harnesses, masks, feathers and red velvet on the walls.' He has been back to the business several times to do a variety of tasks including painting walls, plumbing jobs and refitting doors. Assembling furniture for people is a chore that Rod has taken on regularly. 'It doesn't surprise me that people want to pay for their furniture to be put together because it requires patience,' he said. 'It's easy to screw things up.' It's not uncommon for Rod to turn up to a job and have to disassemble the piece and literally start from scratch. 'A man once tried to put together a Dyson vacuum cleaner and when I turned up he gave me a bucket with all of the parts - people just give up.' Rod has fixed at least a dozen doors across Sydney which have been knocked down - much to his amazement. 'Some people say they had to get in because they had a child locked in the bathroom and others have been drunk when they got home at night and can't get in,' he said. 'I always evaluate whether it's worth the money, taking into account petrol prices and travel time, but I've managed to make a decent living for a while now.' Dee has been paid to pick up and deliver a parrot and also buying a crocodile bathmat from IKEA . Dee Papworth was stressed out working in income protection and decided to take a break for a couple of months ago to work out whether to return her job or have a complete career change. The 40-year-old started to do a few odd jobs a couple of months ago and is now earning a minimum of $1,000 week. She said she could be earning a lot more but was restricted by sharing a car with her partner and also holding down a part-time job. But the Melburnian said she is planning to resolve these roadblocks and will then be well on her way to earning at least double what she makes now with the six-figure mark becoming a highly achievable target. 'One of the most unusual jobs I have had is picking up a parrot that a uni student had bought and looked after it for six hours before dropping it off to him,' she said. 'It was quite funny because it would start squawking really loudly every time I walked into the room.' 'I also had to pick up a crocodile bath mat from IKEA for a man's child.' | Assembling IKEA furniture is a popular chore on Airtasker website .
One of many odd jobs is handy work at a bondage and discipline house .
Also reviewing phone apps and picking up and dropping off a parrot .
Others include sewing badges on blankets and being someone's date .
Airtasker involves people advertising chores which involves a secret bid . |
39,223 | 6ed65ea7cf940be35deda2221d008e551872a9da | By . Daniel Martin, Whitehall Correspondent . There is still a ‘shameful’ lack of working class people on public bodies as the establishment maintains its stranglehold on British life. Parliament is now more dominated by the middle classes than it was in 1979, with just 4 per cent of MPs from manual trades - down from 16 per cent. Those from working class backgrounds are also under-represented among local magistrates, according to the damning report from centre-right think tank Policy Exchange. Experts say that Parliament is more dominated by the middle classes than in 1979, with just 4 per cent of MPs from a manual trades background . The study found that Labour’s equalities policies have failed to promote people from working class communities to public office. The Equality Act 2010 stipulated that discriminating on the grounds of gender, race and disability is wrong, but no reference was made to socio-economic background. Constitutional expert Dr Michael Pinto-Duschinsky, lead author of the report, said: ‘It is vital for a functioning democracy that all its citizens are represented in public life, no matter their background, colour or gender. ‘Quite frankly it’s shameful that working class communities are being excluded from sitting on public bodies. Setting up an immediate inquiry into this problem will help determine the size of this problem and draw attention to a much needed area of debate. The establishment has a stranglehold on British life according to experts who have analysed the work backgrounds of those working in parliament compared to 36 years ago . ‘Diversity policies that reflect the true make up of this country will ensure that our brightest and best - regardless of their backgrounds - are given the opportunity to make a real difference to their communities. ‘Action to encourage individuals in manual occupations should not be in the form of quotas or statistical “targets”. Rather, there should be special schemes to help those in manual occupations to apply for roles and to persuade employers to grant time off to carry out public duties.’ The paper warned that current diversity policies are far too narrow, focusing on gender, disability and ethnicity to the exclusion of class. The experts also found that working class people were underrepresented on magistrates benches . It found that while the number of female and minority ethnic MPs has risen since the end of the 1970s, the percentage of manual workers in parliament has substantially diminished - from 98 (16 per cent) in 1979 to 25 (4 per cent) in 2010. The working classes are also underrepresented on magistrates benches. The number of women acting as local magistrates, for example, still needs to increase by more than 40 per cent of above their present number before they reach parity with their percentage in the general population. For ethnic minorities there would need to be an increase of some 150 per cent to achieve parity. But for those in routine and manual occupations, the increase needs to be no less than 873 per cent. In other words, they are nearly 10 times under-represented. The report also found that the panels that select public appointments are almost entirely - 96 per cent - made up of middle class professionals. Not a single person came were from a manual or routine occupation. It said that while it is expected that those selecting the next British judge to Strasbourg would have a professional understanding of law, there is no such requirement for lay magistrates, school governors or volunteers visiting prisons as independent monitors. Dr Pinto-Duschinsky concluded that the UK needs an extension to its entire equalities policy, and calls for an inquiry to be run by the Government Equalities Office and the Equality and Human Rights Commission. The inquiry should report on the facts about the percentage of public appointees from routine and manual occupations, recommend special initiatives to encourage such appointments and set out how socio-economic equality will be made an integral part of their future work. The new policy should not involve quotas, ‘targets’ or legislative stipulations, but instead special initiatives to encourage under-represented groups to apply for public office. The paper also calls for greater transparency about the membership of interviewing panels for public appointments, and to avoid the overabundance of civil servants on these panels, to ensure that there are no underlying prejudices or inherent bias in the selection process. | Parliament is more dominated by the middle classes than in 1979 .
Experts analysed those working in parliament compared to 36 years ago .
Working class people also underrepresented on magistrates benches . |
260,039 | dcb76d8aacb74dac7a700e30c7e65954cec029f4 | (CNN) -- Steven Van Zandt did not mince words. Steven Van Zandt (right) wants musicians to have a sense of history and care for their craft. "I want to spend just a minute on a topic that never ever gets discussed in the music business -- the music," the Bruce Springsteen guitarist and "Sopranos" star said in a speech to the SXSW music and arts festival in March. "The reason nobody wants to talk about it is because it mostly sucks! "Who are we kidding here?" he said. "Nobody's buying records? Because they suck!" He called the speech "A Crisis of Craft," and implored listeners to get back to rock 'n' roll's roots. Learn how to play cover songs, he said. Get people to dance. Harness your working-class energy. Take pride in craft. It's been two months since that speech, and Van Zandt is still passionate about the subject. "[Rock 'n' roll] is a craft that has to be learned," he tells CNN. "There are things you learn by listening to great records, copying heroes." He believes that he said some things that people were thinking, but haven't said out loud. But the rumbles are out there. The music business is in a state of flux, with the sales of more profitable CDs continuing to fall even as single downloads climb. "American Idol's" season is coming to an end, with rock purists once again assailing the show's slick pop sensibility. Commercial radio, country, rap and hip-hop -- they all have their critics, many of them wishing a return to the way things used to be. Blog: What do you think of the state of rock 'n' roll? Van Zandt has sympathy for all sides, coming at the issue from what he calls "a unique perspective" -- he's a musician, a DJ (with his radio show and Sirius XM channel, "Little Steven's Underground Garage") and record label honcho (Wicked Cool Records). He's quick to observe that he's not slamming all pop music. There's vibrancy in some hip-hop, he says, and he admires "Idol," particularly when it promotes music history. "But it's quite an alien world to my traditional rock 'n' roll world," he adds. "It has nothing to do with it." Within that rock 'n' roll world, he worries. Today's bands, he says, look down on performing covers, and as a result many have gotten lost in a musical wilderness. "The result is an extraordinary amount of mediocrity," he says. "There are no standards to live up to." Which is part of the problem with rejuvenating rock 'n' roll, says Steve Greenberg, founder of S-Curve Records, which includes alt-rockers Tinted Windows and We The Kings among its acts. Technology is one problem, he observes. "I think in the old days, in order to even be decent, it took a lot of work," he says. "And today, relatively untalented and uncreative people can actually make rock 'n' roll music that sounds kind of decent. And I think that kind of fools people and causes people to be lazy." But for Greenberg there's also a sense that the "square pegs" -- the naturally rebellious types -- are getting shoved in round holes. "A lot of opportunities inevitably these days go to people who fit the format, whether the format is Top 40 radio or 'American Idol' or [Radio] Disney or whatever it is," he says. "There's so much pressure to fit those slots. And it's the square pegs ultimately who are going to change the world." The spirited Greenberg wants to channel that rebellious energy. He's high on a band he signed named Care Bears on Fire, a trio of 13-year-old Brooklyn girls who sound like the Ramones with a touch of Shonen Knife. "Their attitude is maybe one size doesn't fit all," he says. "I feel like the spirit of rock 'n' roll lives in those guys. ... They're having fun playing rock 'n' roll." Scott Booker, the manager of the avant-pop band the Flaming Lips ("She Don't Use Jelly," "Do You Realize??"), is also hoping to foster creativity. He's serving as the CEO of the Academy of Contemporary Music, a music school based at Central Oklahoma University. Drawing from a British concept, the school plans to offer courses in music, music production and the music business, many starting this fall. Booker observes record labels aren't spending as much money on developing talent. He hopes the ACM not only makes bands more signable, but also teaches them business strategies, such as setting up their own label and distribution apparatus. "This could become a think tank for how the industry could go," he says, musing aloud. "People think of music as a throwaway cultural item [nowadays]. I want to change that. ... Make things more exciting." Technology, adds BMI executive Phil Graham, can also be rock 'n' roll's friend. "The opportunities the digital world give the population as a whole to throw their talents to a very wide audience is a very good thing," he says. More people have gotten the chance to put their music out there and connect with fellow music lovers, he says. Of course, there are also old-fashioned connections. BMI sponsors dozens of showcases for new acts; young bands play clubs and hawk their CDs (or Web page). Van Zandt welcomes the efforts, but hopes there's also a connection to rock 'n' roll history. He's founded a Rock and Roll Forever Foundation to foster music education in schools. (To its credit, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum has similar programs.) "The spark comes from whatever people are into these days -- and that very well may be 'American Idol,' " he says. "You start with whatever singer you're rooting for, and you start to trace back where they come from. It's up to the artists themselves to make sure that their fans know where they're coming from, to make it clear that music doesn't fall off trees." | Steven Van Zandt: Bands aren't woodshedding, aren't learning rock 'n' roll history .
Record label head: "square pegs ultimately who are going to change the world"
Ways to counter trend: Use technology wisely, invest in history . |
13,913 | 276dc7bdd0709770bc547153d430c5488d718957 | A garbage truck has become trapped in a sinkhole in a busy Melbourne road after a burst water main caused the bitumen to collapse. A crane was used to extract the truck from the road at midday, five hours after the vehicle became stuck on Orrong Road in the inner city suburb of Armadale. Sergeant Paul Melrose from Prahran Police told Daily Mail Australia that the truck became trapped in the ‘half-a-metre to metre deep’ pothole on Friday morning when the bitumen collapsed. Scroll down for video . The KS Environmental garbage truck sank into the bitumen in the Melbourne suburb of Armadale at 7.30am on Friday morning. The truck is expected to remain stuck in Orrong Road for hours to come, until a crane removes it from the collapsed road. Prahran Police estimate the sinkhole is around a metre deep, explaining 'the back wheels have sunk into the road up to the vehicle's rear axles.' ‘A water main has burst and as water has flowed through underneath the roadway, it has worn away at the road's foundations. ‘The truck drove over the road and with no support underneath it, the bitumen has collapsed and the truck has dropped down into the hole, all the way to its back axles,’ said Sergeant Melrose. The road is closed in both directions and will remain closed, with 110 homes expected to be without water for several hours this afternoon, according to a spokesperson for South East Water. Crews have switched off the water in the area as they work to repair damage to the road after the KS Environmental truck 'hit the burst water main in the road,' according to South East Water. 'Crews were called to the site early this morning to block off the area and assess damage after the water main burst. 'Unfortunately, repairs have been delayed after the truck hit the water main. We apologise for the inconvenience.' The busy Armadale street will be closed in both directions for most of the day, causing major dramas for commuters in the suburb, seven kilometres south-east of Melbourne's CBD. Drinking water is available to households without water at 110 Orrong Road, Armadale. KS Environmental told Daily Mail Australia they have ‘no comment’ about the mishap. The busy street will remain closed in both directions, which is expected to continue to cause problems for motorists in the suburb, which is only seven kilometres south-east of Melbourne's CBD. A post on social media shows the road closure and a number of workmen trying to move the garbage truck. A crane will be required to finally extract the truck from the sinkhole. The burst water main, which caused the road's foundations to erode and bitumen to collapse, has now been fixed and turned off. It is currently unknown how long road repairs will take once the truck has been removed. ‘The usual early morning traffic was hampered by the road closure,’ said Sergeant Melrose. It is unknown at this stage how long it will take to repair the damage to the road. | A truck has been trapped after a burst water main caused road collapse .
A crane was needed to remove the truck from the metre-deep hole .
Orrong Road remains closed in both directions causing havoc for motorists .
110 houses are without water as workmen attempt to fix the road . |
199,552 | 8e532133bc2a4e47f93d81a5d572e1d5bbc23b91 | By . Martin Robinson . PUBLISHED: . 10:11 EST, 21 May 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 10:50 EST, 21 May 2013 . Tragedy: Georgia Hedges, 14, died two days after being found hanged at home in Witham, Essex . Hundreds of friends and loved ones have today paid tribute to a 'beautiful' and popular teenager who appears to have killed herself. Georgia Hedges was found hanged in Witham, Essex, on Tuesday last week and died on Thursday. The 14-year-old had been rushed to a specialist unit at Adenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, but could not be saved. A shrine covered with notes, pictures and surrounded by flowers has been started at her school, Maltings Academy in Witham. An inquest into Georgia's death was today opened by Essex Coroner Caroline Beasley-Murray. Coroner's officer Philip Sitch said: 'On May 14, she was found at home suspended by a ligature. 'An ambulance was called. Extensive resuscitation was carried out and she was transferred to Adenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge where she died on the morning of May 16. 'A post-mortem examination was carried out by Dr Nat Carey who confirmed cause of death as hypoxic ischaemic brain damage following a cardiac arrest with evidence of a compression of the neck consistent with hanging. 'Police enquiries are being conducted to try to ascertain the circumstances leading up to this tragic event.' Hundreds of Georgia's friends have paid tribute to her on Facebook. Caitlin Overton wrote: 'We wish you were here - rocking' up to school one hour late, brushing your beautiful hair. 'We all love you so much, you are always in our thoughts and hearts and you will never be forgotten. 'Sleep tight beautiful princess, the brightest star in the sky! We love you.' Upsetting: A shrine to Georgia has appeared at her school, Maltings Academy in Witham, where principal John Szynal and vice principal Damian Lee, read the tributes . Outpouring: Bereft staff and students at her Witham school have called Georgia a bright and beautiful teenager, as cards and picture line the corridor there . Stunned pupils and parents were told of the teenager's death last week in a letter sent home by the principal, John Szynal. He wrote: 'She [Georgia] was a popular student, well-liked and respected by students and teachers. 'People are dealing with the grief in different ways and I have drafted in a group of professional counsellors to support students and staff.' Police were called to Georgia's home last Tuesday after she tried to hang herself. Paramedics and an air ambulance also attended at about 6pm and Georgia was rushed to Chelmsford's Broomfield Hospital by air ambulance being she was then transferred. An Essex Police spokesman confirmed officers were continuing to investigate the cause of death. He said: 'A post-mortem was carried out on Friday and a provisional cause of death has shown the girl died of compression of the neck.' Sorry we are unable to accept comments for legal reasons. | Georgia Hedges was found hanged in Witham, Essex last week .
Her school has a shrine filled with tributes and photos of the teenager . |
159,405 | 5a0bf56f626d03e1d35a1337e031923c66bc0e4c | Ilovaisk, Ukraine (CNN) -- On a country road in eastern Ukraine, a scene of bucolic tranquility was suddenly interrupted by the aftermath of carnage. A burned-out tank tilted into a ditch, its turret blown some 20 meters away by a direct hit. Unexploded ammunition of every caliber lay everywhere. A troop transport vehicle was shot to pieces; a short distance away a simple grave was marked by a cross hastily made from branches. Amid the fields of sunflowers and grazing cows, the smell of burned metal hung in the air. The road, running south from Ilovaisk, was the escape route for Ukrainian soldiers when the town finally fell to pro-Russian separatists after a three-week siege. Except that many of those soldiers, at least 70 according to army medics and probably more, did not escape. Whether they were ambushed or killed making a final stand, or rebels reneged on a deal to grant them safe passage, is unclear. But their chaotic retreat marked one of the bloodiest defeats for Ukrainian security forces in their war to reclaim the east. It was also the latest evidence of a resurgence in the fortunes of the rebels. After being penned back into a shrinking corner of eastern Ukraine -- around the cities of Donetsk and Luhansk -- for much of July and August, they are now advancing on several fronts. Last week the army of NovoRossiya, as it now calls itself, seized Novoazovsk, a town on the coast a few miles from the Russian border. Those fighters have begun to push west and north, while others have captured more territory south and east of the city of Donetsk. The rebels have established a corridor from the city all the way to the coast in which there is no sign of Ukrainian forces. In an interview with CNN Tuesday, the youthful commander of rebel forces in Ilovaisk, who gave his name as Givi, was contemptuous of Ukrainian troops, who he claimed vastly outnumbered his men. "I proposed to them a million times to give up and get out," he said. "But many of their officers are fighting for money, and the regular soldiers are forced into it. They died with tears in their eyes because they have no experience, and don't know who their enemy is." Asked to show the rebels' front lines on a map of Ukraine, he leaned across the cot that takes up half his tiny office and drew a line beyond Mariupol -- and further west. "But you don't control Mariupol," we countered. "It is next," he said with confidence. That still seems unlikely. Mariupol is Ukraine's fourth-largest city with a population of more than 400,000, an uneasy mixture of pro-Ukrainian and pro-Russian viewpoints that has exploded into violence several times since the unrest began. It could only be occupied by a substantial force. But on Tuesday the rebels stationed a T-72 tank and troop carrier on the main highway just 40 miles (70 kilometers) from the city. A nearby Ukrainian checkpoint that was manned just last week is deserted. There is little evidence of the Ukrainian army around the city; just a few trenches, hastily dug by volunteers, on the outskirts. In Ilovaisk, Givi has certainly amassed an impressive store of weapons and ammunition. All were seized from the Ukrainians, he insisted, showing us their markings. Boxes of mortars and shells were stacked high in a garage; outside his men were trying to repair an armored personnel carrier. But his forces also boasted at least two T-72 tanks flying the flag of NovoRossiya -- a blue diagonal cross on a red background -- that looked virtually new. Asked where they came from, he said he didn't really care. Then he embraced and kissed a blonde female fighter carrying a Dragunov sniper rifle and walked off. Nearby, almost every window in a four-story school has been shattered. Mortar impacts have thrown up dirt and paving and demolished a wall in what was the playground. An anti-tank mine lay in the grass. In the road outside, a rocket was embedded in the tarmac; a Ukrainian flag lay twisted and dirty on the floor of a bus the troops were using. The school was the headquarters in Ilovaisk for the National Guard detachment sent to hold the town. They were targeted by mortar fire of an accuracy rarely seen from separatist forces. So were the blackened tanks --- a dozen or more --- that lay across the road south of Ilovaisk. Whether the separatists have had training in Russia or been joined by reinforcements from across the border is at the heart of the dispute that has drawn Europe into its worst crisis since the Cold War. What is beyond dispute is that the weaponry they now have -- and their ability to use it -- is far more advanced than two or three months ago. But identifying who is using what hardware in this conflict, and where it came from, is at best an imprecise science. In a burned field south of Ilovaisk, on what was the frontline of combat a few days ago, we found a large green tube amid bushes and trees. Military experts have identified it as the rocket motor section of a Russian-made SS-21 "Scarab" ballistic missile. But both the Ukrainian and Russian militaries have the SS-21. The same dilemma applies in identifying the separatists. Most of the fighters at Givi's base appeared to be from the Donetsk area. Further south, men manning a checkpoint near Novoazovsk had distinctly Russian accents. But the presence of active-duty Russian soldiers -- and in what numbers -- is impossible to know. The civilians who have remained in Ilovaisk, a town without water or electricity, seemed largely supportive of the new authorities. Few had anything good to say about the National Guard soldiers; some villagers claimed they had harassed and stolen from locals, claims that were impossible to verify. One man said the separatists had shot dead his 23-year old grandson when he was caught looting -- but at least they had helped arrange the funeral. In small towns and villages in this corner of Ukraine, it is increasingly rare to come across pro-Kiev sentiment. While identifying themselves as Ukrainian, many people have family links to Russia. They accuse the Ukrainian armed forces of being undisciplined, or indiscriminate in their targeting. Anecdotal evidence after two days in Donetsk suggests a similar feeling there. Wherever the shelling is coming from (and it is sporadic and seems largely indiscriminate), people seemed to blame the Ukrainian forces surrounding the city. Tens of thousands of people have abandoned Donetsk over the last few months, and the streets are eerily quiet. Stores and restaurants are boarded up; playgrounds deserted. Most professionals have left; most of those still in the city tend to be older and poorer, with nowhere to go. Among them are the store-owners at a street market by the railway station, an area hit by several shells at the weekend. As they swept away the shattered glass and gazed at their ruined livelihoods on Monday morning, one woman, on the verge of tears, said she had just brought $700 of clothing from Kharkiv to sell. Now it was gone in the fire ignited by the shelling. A grizzled middle-aged man wandered up. He had a unique prescription for Ukraine's troubles. "Peace, freedom, Led Zeppelin," he said with a toothless grin. "End of problem." | In eastern Ukraine, burned-out military vehicles, used armaments litter the countryside .
In Ilovaisk, one rebel commander tells CNN he is confident of victory .
Lister: It is increasingly rare to come across pro-Kiev sentiment in the small towns, villages of this region .
Separatists' weaponry -- and their ability to use it -- are far more advanced than two or three months ago, says Lister . |
202,786 | 928fcc6fdb198eac4e6fbc68cf5b9ad0f6f6bd92 | Seoul, South Korea (CNN) -- Returning from a trip to Pyongyang, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter said that North Korean leader Kim Jong Il ready for a summit with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak at any time. Carter did not personally meet with Kim, but he said that as he and his delegation of former heads of state were on the way to Pyongyang airport to depart for South Korea, they were summoned back to their guesthouse, where a senior official read out a written message from the reclusive leader. "Chairman Kim sent word that he is willing to negotiate with South Korea or United States ... on any subject at any time and without any preconditions," Carter told a news conference. "He specifically told us he is prepared for a summit directly with President Lee Myung-bak at any time to discuss issues between the two heads of state." The dramatic declaration puts Lee on the spot: Seoul is currently declining official dialogue with North Korea until it takes responsibility for two fatal incidents last year. In 2010, 50 South Koreans were killed in the two separate incidents: South Korea accuses the North of torpedoing and sinking one of its warships in March 2010, killing 46 sailors. In November, North Korea shelled Yeonpyeong Island, killing two South Korean marines and two civilians. North Korea denies the torpedo attack on the warship Cheonan, though a Seoul-led international investigation has found a North Korean mini-submarine responsible. Following a range of nuclear and missile tests, and Pyongyang's exposure last November of a uranium-based nuclear program -- a separate program from its earlier plutonium-based program -- the Obama administration is sanctioning Pyongyang and has also put official contacts on hold. Asked if he expected Pyongyang to apologize to Seoul, Carter said; "My own assessment is that talks should begin without preconditions on either side. My opinion is North Koreans will not admit culpability for the sinking of the Cheonan and will not apologize." Carter, 86 and his group had met North Korea's de facto head of state Kim Yong Nam, as well as its vice defense minister and foreign minister and other officials. The visit had been intended to promote North-South dialogue, revive a denuclearization process, and assess food shortages. The delegation included former president of Finland, Martti Ahtisaari, former Prime Minister of Norway, Gro Brundtland, and former president of Ireland, Mary Robinson. They are all members of "The Elders" a group of retired leaders founded by former South African leader Nelson Mandela who undertake peace-building initiatives and non-state diplomacy. Regarding Kim's offer of dialogues, Carter said: "The Elders' desire is that under some circumstances, these offers will be accepted by the leaders of South Korea, the United States and other leaders of the six-party talks." The six-party talks are a Beijing sponsored initiative to denuclearize the peninsula; the parties are China, Japan, North Korea, Russia, South Korea and the United States. Following North Korean nuclear and missile tests, they have been in limbo for two years. As for why he had not been able to meet Kim Jong Il personally, Carter responded: "We did request a chance to meet with him, and we did request an opportunity to meet with the president of South Korea. Neither were available to meet with us." With North Korea suffering major food shortages, the Elders strongly suggested South Korea and the United States resume food aid to the ultra-nationalist state. "We would urge you here in South Korea as we will urge the EU and the U.S. to realize there is a very severe crisis," said Robinson. "The humanitarian issues must be disconnected from matters of political concern. It is a matter of life and death urgency." There had been criticism of Carter in South Korea for not raising human rights issues with the North, even though he did exactly that with South Korean leaders of the authoritarian governments of the 1970s and 80s. Asked by a South Korean reporter if he had raised this issue with the North, Carter took a swipe at South Korean and U.S. policies. "There are human right issues that relate to the policies of the North Korean government that I don't think any of us on the outside can change," he said. "But one of the most important human rights is to have food to eat and for South Korea and Americans, and others to deliberately to withhold food aid for North Korean people because of military or political issues unrelated is indeed a human rights violation." Carter added that he believes that there are no longer any impediments to food aid monitoring. In the past, some governments and non-governmental organizations have criticized Pyongyang for not permitting them to monitor their aid deliveries, raising suspicions that shipments could be going to the military, rather than to the most vulnerable populations. Brundtland, who is an ex-World Food Programme director, noted that one third of North Korean children are stunted due to malnutrition, and one in five is underweight. Ahtisaari suggested that the resumption of dialogue is essential. "I think it is extremely important that we as Elders can recommend that there is, as early as possible, a resumption of dialogue on all outstanding issues," he said. "I sincerely hope that parties can agree on a time frame in which to resolve these problems instead of a process that can last forever." In South Korea, where North Korean defectors have alleged the existence of concentration camps, torture and the imprisonment of family members, Carter's message on human rights and his linkage to food aid is likely to raise hackles. "For the South Korean audience, we need to hear that he raised the human rights issue with North Korea as he did in South Korea during the 1970s and 80s, that would bring more credibility," said Won Jae-chun, a director general at Seoul's National Human Rights Commission of Korea. "I don't think his message will go far in [South] Korea." Carter and his delegation will be hosted at a banquet by South Korea's foreign minister Thursday evening. However, a representative of the Blue House, the South Korean presidency, said Wednesday that it considered Carter's trip that of "private individuals." Carter has a history of private diplomacy on the peninsula. In 1994, after Pyongyang had expelled international nuclear inspectors and threatening to turn Seoul into a "sea of fire" and with the United States mulling air strikes on North Korean facilities, Carter flew into Pyongyang to meet Kim Il Sung. That set the scene for the so-called "Agreed Framework" in which North Korea would give up its nuclear facilities in return for light water reactors from the international community. That deal foundered after Washington accused North Korea of having a secret uranium based nuclear program. North Korea denied it at the time -- only to publicly reveal a uranium-based program last year. Last year, another Carter visit to Pyongyang resulted in the freeing of an American citizen held there. However, he had no opportunity to discuss strategic issues, because he was not met by Kim Jong Il. Journalist Andrew Salmon contributed to this report . | The Elders visited the Korean Peninsula .
Kim Jong Il is "willing to negotiate"
The declaration puts South Korea's Lee on the spot . |
6,316 | 11e980238e2ed05938a4e88aa8a0f943b429512c | (CNN) -- Last year, Dr. Kiran Sagar, a cardiologist in Wisconsin, was fired two months after presenting strong data showing that cardiologists in the hospital she worked at misread a substantial number of heart tests. Similarly, a nurse from Columbia Hospital Corp. of America (HCA) was let go after complaining that a doctor was performing unnecessary cardiac procedures, even after an internal investigation found the nurse's claim to be substantiated. And a few weeks ago, the CBS News program "60 Minutes" reported on ER doctors fired for not meeting quotas on the percentage of patients they admitted to the hospital. These recent patterns of firings send yet another strong message to every doctor and nurse who has ever considered speaking up about dangerous and fraudulent medical care: Speak up and risk destroying your career. The culture of health care needs to change. Medical mistakes cause too many needless harm or deaths, yet few people see the problem in this context because we rarely have an open and honest conversation about the quality of health care in America. When we do, it is often behind closed doors. This is a challenge that a new generation of doctors is working to change through initiatives ranging from more transparent bedside care to public reporting of hospital performance. Doctors and nurses increasingly feel disconnected from policymakers and even their own hospitals, some of which have transformed into giant corporations. Despite concerns from the Federal Trade Commission that costs will go up for consumers, hospital mega-mergers are on the rise. This past year saw a large number of hospital mergers and acquisitions in health care. While some hospital executives have commendably used a hospital chain's large size to standardize best practices, others have fallen into the age-old management trap of detaching themselves from the front lines and becoming dangerously out of touch with their own staff. I talk to doctors and nurses around the country every week. One trend that seems clear is that more doctors and nurses are feeling frustrated. A recent national study by Mayo Clinic researchers shows that doctor burnout rate is now up to a staggering 46%. A new phenomenon, quite different from when my father practiced medicine, is that doctors and nurses now say they feel like they are tenants working for their landlord: the hospital management. Often, doctors and nurses know how to make care better and safer but feel stripped of the power to make necessary changes. This worker-management disconnect (even antagonism) in any industry is dangerous. In medicine this workplace atmosphere, complicated by perverse economic incentives and weak systems of accountability, contributes to a hospital culture marked by a lack of a sense of communal ownership in the overall delivery of care. What results is a poorer quality of care, more overtreatment, more fraud, more medical mistakes, and more patients falling through the cracks. According to a 2009 CBS-New York Times poll, 77% of Americans say they are satisfied with the quality of their health care. But what makes people think the health care they're receiving is good? Very little. A Harvard study published in the New England Journal of Medicine reported an alarming fact: 18% of patients were actually harmed by medical care. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that up to 30% of health care procedures, tests and other services do not improve health outcomes. For instance, if you had a medical condition, would you go to a hospital that has performed more than 1,000 unnecessary procedures? Probably not. As much as one-third of all health care expenditures may be going to waste, fraud and unnecessary medical care. This problem is high on the agenda for the American Board of Internal Medicine. Other physician groups have joined the "Choosing Wisely" Campaign to address unnecessary care in American medicine. The Institute of Medicine is calling attention to the problem, and many medical researchers are speaking openly about it. But more needs to be done. Rather than reinforce a closed-door culture in American medicine, hospitals should use their new large size to encourage external and independent peer reviews and create a culture of transparency. Patients should be encouraged to keep a copy of their medical records, not inconvenienced with burdensome processes and extra charges to obtain them. A hospital's front-line health care workers are their work engine, and these people should be encouraged to voice their safety concerns to their managers. Mega-hospitals need to stay true to their mission and not fall into the large corporate pitfalls that can erode the standing of any business. A workplace culture that punishes those who speak up about problems by depriving them of their career livelihood is part of the problem itself. As a surgeon, I sometimes see patients after they have blindly walked into the hands of dangerous, expensive and avoidable care. If we are serious about improving health care quality and lowering costs, we need to address the issue of accountability. Our hospitals must be more accountable to patients and doctors. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Marty Makary. | Marty Makary: Doctors who talk about fraudulent medical care risk losing job .
Makary: Doctors increasingly feel disconnected with policymakers and hospitals .
He says some hospitals are becoming mega-corporations with little accountability .
Makary: Doctor should be encouraged to voice safety concerns to their managers . |
285,249 | fd9e3162d543cef2458d52b61f02e06739559c84 | A 911 dispatcher is under investigation after security footage proved she was using her cell phone during an emergency call while the victim lay dying. The call center operator, Shauna Justice, was training a new staff member in Volusia County, Florida, when the call came through on September 4. Bob Hill, 58, had suffered a heart attack while playing a game of racquetball with friends. In video footage of the incident - obtained by Click Orlando - Justice is seen using her cell phone while her subordinate entered the wrong location. See video below . 'What is your emergency?': Shauna Justice (left) is seen in this video footage scrolling through a personal cell phone while the trainee she is supervising (right) sends paramedics to the wrong address . 911 dispatcher Shauna Justice is said to be 'very remorseful' about using her cell phone on duty. She now faces a five day suspension . The trainee accidentally sent the ambulance to a different recreational center following a miscommunication with the person reporting the emergency. Fifteen minutes passed before paramedics arrived at the scene. Deceased: Bob Hill, 58, died of a heart attack while waiting for paramedics to arrive . Mr Hill died in that time. In the 911 call, the caller clearly states the cross streets of his location, but said the wrong name of the center. He misidentified Nova Community Center, which is in Ormond beach, as the 'Ormond Rec Center'. Instead of sending paramedics to the cross streets, the trainee dispatcher looked up 'Ormond Rec Center' and sent units to 176 Division Avenue. The dispatcher is heard guiding the caller through CPR, but almost 10 minutes passes before he realizes his mistake. An internal review said Justice failed to properly supervise. It is believed that, had Justice not been looking at her phone, the proper address would have been identified. Volusia County Sheriff Ben Johnson said Justice was 'remorseful' about the incident. Mishap: Emergency crews were sent to the wrong recreational center. Supervisor Shauna Justice was on her cell phone when a trainee entered the address. It took 15 minutes to get to the correct location . 'She admitted her mistake,' he said. 'We messed up. 'She was very remorseful about what happened, very caring about it. 'She admitted to what her mistake was.' Volusia County Sheriff Ben Johnson said 911 dispatcher Shauna Justice was 'remorseful' and had 'admitted her mistake' It's unclear whether the mistake contributed to Hill's death. Johnson, however, still said it was a 'serious mistake' that 'could have been avoided'. Justice is now facing a five day suspension. The dispatcher who handled the call was given a written reprimand but was not taken off the job. Watch video here ... video platformvideo managementvideo solutionsvideo player . | Shauna Justice was supervising a trainee at a dispatch office in Volusia County, Florida .
When a call came through about a man having a heart attack, the trainee entered the wrong location .
Security footage also shows Justice looking at her cell phone .
The victim, Bob Hill, died in the 15 minutes it took the ambulance crew to get to the right address .
The incident has forced police to admit: 'We messed up.' |
23,368 | 4262f9ca1047753cb560a80560effbd1eb0f1b9b | (CNN) -- North Korea kept the world on tenterhooks Wednesday, when the funeral of leader Kim Jong Il was expected to take place in Pyongyang. On Wednesday morning, state television began broadcasting previously aired video of Kim Jong Il's son Kim Jong Un and other mourners paying respects in front of the late dictator as his corpse lay in state. The secretive nation had revealed no details about the funeral, where thousands of North Koreans were expected to file past a glass case housing the body of the elder Kim, revered as a godlike "dear leader" by his people. State television on Wednesday morning also showed historical footage recounting the life of Kim Jong Il, from the legend of his birth on a sacred mountain to his years as leader of the communist state. Kim's funeral likely will be modeled after that of his father, Kim Il Sung, in 1994, said Han Park, a professor at the University of Georgia's School of Public and International Affairs who is also director of the Globis Center for the Study of Global Issues. However, the funeral is expected to spotlight his son Kim Jong Un, the man designated the "great successor" by the nation's Worker's Party. Questions have been raised about Kim Jong Un's ability to take the reins of the reclusive communist nation, given his young age -- he is thought to be in his late 20s -- and relative inexperience. "The system will try to make sure that Kim Jong Un, this young man, is a legitimate leader, so probably he will be spotlighted in the funeral procession," said Park. While there is no official religion in North Korea, the funeral will probably touch on the Confucian tradition of ancestor worship, Park said. Denny Roy, a North Korea analyst at the East-West Center in Honolulu, said observers outside North Korea will be performing "the usual Kremlinology -- except in this case it's Pyongyangology." They will be watching the ceremonies for clues as to where leading figures stand in the new hierarchy, comparing the event to the 1994 funeral of North Korea's founder, Kim Il Sung. "What I expect to see is no sign that there's any hiccup or difficulty in Kim Jong Il's plan to have his son Kim Jong Un succeed him," Roy said. Among those expected to be at the side of the "great successor" are his aunt and uncle. The late ruler's sister, Kim Kyong Hui, and her husband, Jang Sung Taek, are expected to serve as regents for the young Kim as he builds leadership experience, Roy said. "They will be very prominently featured in all of the public ceremonies," he said. "They'll have places that are very close to Kim Jong Un. If it was otherwise, it would be a dramatic new development, but I don't expect that." The ceremony is to be followed by a memorial on Thursday. The state-run Korean Central News Agency said when the national memorial service is held Thursday, gun volleys will be fired in the capital, Pyongyang, as well as provincial seats. "All the people will observe three minutes' silence and all locomotives and ships (those on voyage included) will blow whistles and those units with sirens will sound them all at once," KCNA said. While the public "outpouring of grief" will be present at the funeral, it may not be as overwhelming as it was following the death of Kim Il Sung, said Park, who has visited North Korea frequently and is in close contact with high-ranking officials there. As loved as he might be among the North Korean people, he said, "Kim Jong Il is no Kim Il Sung." Kim Il Sung was much more charismatic, and his death was much more unexpected, he said. While Kim Il Sung was 83 to Kim Jong Il's 69, the elder Kim was thought to be in excellent health. "Two weeks before his death, (Kim Il Sung) received Jimmy Carter," Park said, referring to the former American president. "In North Korea, no one actually anticipated or suspected the coming of his death ... Kim Jong Il, his health was failing. Everyone knew that." The glass case to house Kim Jong Il's body was ready upon his death, he said. In Kim Il Sung's case, "it took days ... to make that arrangement preparation." And John Park, research fellow at Harvard University's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, said Kim Jong Un is "following a script laid out by his father," who had a major stroke in 2008. "Basically, we are seeing a man who planned his own funeral," he said. North Korea has said the funeral will be a "low-key" affair, with no foreign heads of state invited, John Park said. That's "the one factor that Kim Jong Il couldn't control" -- the possible embarrassment, if invitations were issued, that heads of state might not accept. One point of interest will be who is going to be in the Chinese delegation, John Park said. "That will be done through party-to-party connection," with those attending likely to be a senior representative of the Communist Party of China. There have been rumors that Chinese President Hu Jintao may attend, he said. John Park believes if Hu shows up, he will use the title of party general secretary, not president. And one notable omission from the guest list is Kim Jong Il's oldest son, Kim Jong Nam, who fell from favor after being caught trying to sneak a visit to Tokyo Disneyland using a forged passport. He told Japan's TV Asahi in 2010 that he opposed having his family hold power for another generation, but had "no objection nor interest" in the matter. Roy said Kim now lives in the Chinese casino haven of Macau and is "more or less exiled." "It's rather significant that in a Confucian society, the oldest son won't play a significant role in the funeral," he said. "That speaks to a very strained relationship between him and the current leadership." Han Park referred to "government by legacy" in North Korea. When Kim Jong Il succeeded his father, he also inherited much of Kim Il Sung's policies and philosophies, which have been "the backbone of policy-making," he said. Because of that, neither he nor Roy said they expect to see drastic policy changes under Kim Jong Un. Observers say upcoming events will also provide North Korea with opportunities to reinforce the succession and provide a window on how smoothly that process is going. Scott Snyder, senior fellow for Korea studies and director of the program on U.S.-Korea policy for the Council on Foreign Relations, wrote Tuesday that the leader's upcoming New Year's address may already have been written, "but can be scoured for deviations from the past and for evidence of possible rewriting post-Kim Jong Il's death." Kim Jong Un's first birthday as leader, on January 8, may also provide some clues. So could Kim Jong Il's 70th birthday on February 16 -- still within the mourning period -- or the 100th birthday of Kim Il Sung on April 15. CNN's Matt Smith contributed to this report. | Observers will be watching the funeral for succession clues, analyst says .
Kim Jong Il's eldest son is a notable omission from the guest list, he says .
Kim's funeral is expected to follow the template of his father's in 1994 .
Experts say no dramatic policy changes are likely in the short term . |
77,651 | dc272132e91e8c832596eb3d1b036b14f8f5309e | It was not so long ago that Brendan Rodgers was saying he had been made a better manager, and a better person, by Luis Suarez. He was talking, firstly, about his unquestionable talent as a footballer but, more importantly, Rodgers referred to the inspirational power of Suarez’s personal growth last season. So Liverpool’s manager has every right to feel cheated , as do a lot of other people. And not just cheated out of his best player for close to three months at the start of next season, either. VIDEO Scroll down to watch the shocking moment Suarez bites Chiellini and more . Personally cheated: Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers had said Luis Suarez had made him a better person . Down and out: Luis Suarez has been banned from all football activity for four months . Homeward bound: Suarez will return to Uruguay and play no further part in the World Cup . Goodbyes: Uruguay's Luis Suarez is seen embracing a member of the coaching staff on a balcony at the team's hotel in Natal . The consequence of Suarez’s behaviour runs far deeper than mere professional inconvenience. FIFA . were correct to mete out a punishment that reached beyond the . boundaries of international football when Suarez bit an opponent for . the third time in his career, playing for Uruguay on Tuesday. Yet, for Rodgers, the betrayal does not stop there. He has been personally cheated, too, because he invested emotionally in what we now know was a lie. Like . many in the English game, from the dressing-room to the press box, he . was fooled into thinking he had witnessed one man’s capacity to change . for the better. He . thought he had seen a journey, an epiphany, a powerful redemption. He . thought he was a better person, a more valuable person, for the . rehabilitation of Luis Suarez. He had helped. He was of use. And now it . all seems false. Events . in Brazil this week will cast a shadow over the advances made by . Liverpool last season, because it will be a while before the club can . trust again. The footballer can be replaced - although not like for like - but not the faith. All for nothing? Rodgers thought he was more valuable for rehabilitating Suarez but now it all seems false . If . Suarez goes one month, one season, one year, unblemished, what does it . mean, what will it matter? He will work a lifetime trying to put right . his behaviour at this World Cup because everything he says, or does, . from here will be met with scepticism. No . one will buy the sham of a reformed Suarez any more. No one will judge . the performances, without also considering the man. For all the cant . from several quarters about a vendetta in the British media, Suarez won . the Football Writers’ Footballer of the Year Award at the end of last . season, having started it suspended for biting Chelsea’s Branislav . Ivanovic. As Rodgers remarked in a speech on Suarez’s behalf, it is part of British nature to forgive. VIDEO Suarez actions bad for everyone - Sanchez . Flashpoint: Suarez holds his teeth in pain after appearing to bite Giorgio Chiellini during Uruguay's 1-0 win . Referee! Branislav Ivanovic explains what happened after Suarez appeared to have bitten him back in 2012 . Suarez . was a popular winner. He was respected and admired, not just for the . exceptional quality of his play, but for his new maturity. It . is not just X Factor voters who are suckers for a moving back story. Suarez had grown from a dark soul, a player who did and said the most . despicable things, to one who embodied the game at its finest. He . has always played beautifully but now had a serenity to match. No . diving, no biting, no vile words designed to wound. He made the people . believe. And then, when they were at their most trusting and vulnerable, . he revealed it was all an act. Fooling us all: Suarez's bite on Chiellini reveals the frontman's good behaviour last season was all an act . Stellar season: Rodgers (left) said it had been a privilege to work with Suarez after the frontman scooped the Football Writer's Player of the Year award (right) There . will be predictable howls at FIFA’s punishment and its extension to his . club career. Suarez, after all, was not banned from playing for . Uruguay when suspended by the Football Association. Yet the FA is an . organisation under the umbrella of FIFA. The bigger body can pass its . rulings down, the smaller body cannot pass its rulings up. It . is unfortunate that Liverpool, who have worked so hard at reforming . Suarez’s unpalatable excesses, are now punished beside Uruguay - who have done nothing but indulge and excuse him, and shamefully so since last Tuesday. Yet what else was there to do? The . evidence was plain. If Suarez has not transgressed in English football . since the Ivanovic incident it is only because the FA have threatened . draconian punishment. What option did FIFA have, then, other than to adopt the same policy? A . ban from international football alone would not have stopped a . potential move to Real Madrid or Barcelona this summer. Indeed, the . absence of regular commutes between Europe and South America would . almost have made Suarez more appealing. Unfortunate: Liverpool have worked hard to help reform Suarez but are now being punished . And . what message would that send if a player who had brought the World Cup . into disrepute then became the most expensive signing of the summer? FIFA had to include Liverpool in their reckoning if any penalty was not to become worthless. Is . it enough? Some might even argue he has got off lightly. The ban from . all competition could have lasted two years, according to FIFA’s rules. In the circumstances, certainly the recidivism, four months globally . and nine games in internationals, seems fair. It . is harsh enough to hurt Suarez, not so ferocious that it destroys his . career. It leaves room for rehabilitation, enough time for the player to . change, to grow, to be redeemed. Whether . anyone is interested in viewing this sequel is another matter. Disbelief can only be suspended so far even in horror show audiences. Dracula has risen from the grave? Not this time, bub. | Luis Suarez has been banned for nine matches and banned from all football for four months by FIFA .
The controversial Liverpool striker has been punished for biting Giorgio Chiellini on the shoulder during Uruguay's win over Italy at the World Cup .
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers will now have to face the first three months of the 2014 - 2015 Barclays Premier League season without Suarez . |
36,885 | 68919edd9fdbfd615feeb2f8797856948cc841ac | 'Ointment': David Acres, 36, denied he was performing a sex act on himself . A man who exposed himself to a coach load of schoolgirls while driving along a motorway claimed he was applying ointment to his genitals, a court heard. David Acres, 36, denied he was performing a sex act on himself as he drove past the shocked pupils along the M6 motorway near Rugby, Warwickshire. Acres, 36, was seen with his hand moving 'furiously' on his genitals by the schoolgirls and their teacher, it was said. But he told Warwick Crown Court he was simply rubbing ointment on himself at the time. A statement from Acres' wife said he had had a problem with a sore genital area for some time but had not been to a doctor about it. Acres, of Irthlingborough, Northamptonshire, denied indecently exposing his genitals intending someone to see them and be caused alarm or distress in March 2011. But on the day of his trial at Warwick Crown Court he pleaded guilty to an alternative charge of outraging public decency by his actions. Denis Desmond, prosecuting, said: 'The Crown were not minded to pursue the allegation that he did it intending the children on the coach to see what he was doing.' However, the prosecution said they did not accept Acres' claim that he was not performing a sex act at the time as the teacher said he had been performing the act 'furiously'. Judge Alan Parker said: 'His case is that he was applying ointment while driving in his car on the M6 motorway. 'The risk assessment that follows needs to be based on either a finding that he was merely applying ointment to himself and gave no thought to the young girls on the coach seeing him, or that he was performing a sexual act; because if he was, it makes it more likely he will do the same in the future.' The case was adjourned for a 'trial of issue' at which the teacher, but not the girls, will be called to give evidence, and Acres was granted bail. Exposed: David Acres, 36, denied he was performing a sex act on himself as he drove past the shocked pupils along the M6 motorway near Rugby, Warwickshire . Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article. | David Acres, 36, claims he had cream for a sore genital area .
Teacher saw his hand moving 'furiously' as he overtook school coach . |
266,173 | e4c08e82a05772f424d9fcbdc93bf1c234b86ece | (CNN) -- Albert Einstein is often quoted as saying, "In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity." Planning a road trip is hardly nuclear science, but perhaps the professor had learned that a well-chosen overnight stop can yield treasured memories. Here are four midway suggestions that may brighten a tedious road trip from one region of the nation to another. I-95 between Massachusetts and Florida: Follow Lincoln's footsteps . Like Abraham Lincoln in 1865, why not take a walking tour of the former capital of the Confederacy? "Very few people know that Lincoln visited Richmond with his son near the end of the Civil War," said Mike Andrus of the Richmond National Battlefield Park in Virginia. Map this trip and three others . Richmond remains a very walkable city in this area, from the James River to the Confederate White House to Capitol Square. Civilwartraveler.com offers free downloadable podcasts to guide you on a 90-minute walk in Lincoln's footsteps. Near the square is St. Paul's Episcopal Church, where Confederate President Jefferson Davis in 1865 learned the troubling news that his troops were no longer able to defend the city. During your walk, stop for lunch at one of the many restaurants in Shockoe Bottom, which once served as a market for slave traders. Near there, see Richmond's Slavery Reconciliation Statue, a 15-foot, half-ton sculpture unveiled in 2007 that remembers and offers regret for Virginia's role in the African slave trade. Looking for a special breakfast or lunch? Try the internationally recognized Perly's, where you can enjoy homemade biscuits, made with what longtime owner Gray Wyatt calls his secret ingredient. Located in the city's Monroe Ward district in a 1930s-era building, Perly's has a "real retro feel to it," said Wyatt. In addition to traditional breakfast fare, the lunch menu offers Brunswick stew, chicken salad and signature sandwiches. Customers include Gov. Tim Kaine, a former Richmond mayor who's quoted as saying more business gets conducted at Perly's than in most of the offices downtown. I-75 between Michigan and Florida: 'Paradise' and a murder scene . At the southern tail of the Appalachian Mountains, about 90 miles north of Atlanta, lies Chattooga County, Georgia -- home to a world renowned artist, an attorney who inspired a TV series, and what may be a haunted house. Almost every day, attorney Bobby Lee Cook can be found enjoying the food at The Brass Lantern in Summerville. Cook is said to be one of the inspirations behind 1980s TV defense lawyer Matlock, who was portrayed by Andy Griffith. "They had to pick somebody I guess, so they picked this country hooligan," joked Cook. The Brass Lantern offers American cuisine "with a little French twist," he said. "It reminds me of country restaurants in the South of France." Looking for a taste of Southern hospitality? Cook recommends Dillard's B&B as a fine place to hang your hat during your visit. Summerville also is the home of the late Howard Finster, a self-taught folk artist whose work was embraced in the 1980s by musicians such as REM and the Talking Heads. His home has been transformed into a fascinating and sometimes bizarre world he called Paradise Gardens. Finster's home celebrates a unique era of Appalachian culture that's quickly fading, said Tommy Littleton, chairman of the nonprofit group that owns the gardens. The fame that Finster gained in the '80s can be fleeting, he said, "but the niche he created and its influence now on two generations of artists means that the gardens really are a part of art history." For three decades Finster used the four-acre property as a canvas, painting sidewalks and buildings and using "found materials" to decorate walls and various objects throughout the grounds. He built "display houses" for all of his art, which included a huge collection of mosaics. Finster's work hangs in museums around the nation, including the Smithsonian and museums in San Francisco, California, and Baltimore, Maryland. Finster's gardens are open only from Thursday through Saturday, so check the Web site for times. More adventurous travelers might ask local residents to help them find the ruins of a destroyed country estate called Corpsewood Manor, where two men were murdered in 1982. A pair of killers was sentenced to life in prison for the notorious crime -- which spawned rumors about devil worship and satanic rituals that continue to echo on the Internet. I-84 between the Pacific Northwest and Utah: Opulence and flying fury . The area along the Oregon-Idaho border has a lot to offer travelers looking for a memorable experience between the Northwest and Utah. The amazing Geiser Grand Hotel in Baker City, Oregon, often attracts guests who are en route to regional ski resorts. Those who renovated the Geiser in 1997 aimed to restore it to the opulence it enjoyed when the German-Swiss Geiser family first built it in 1889 -- complete with ornate, decorative stained glass fittings, said owner Barbara Sidway. "Everything that could be preserved was preserved and everything that couldn't was lovingly replicated," she said. "It's like stepping back in time with its intimate feel and rare level of glamour and opulence." The cast of the 1969 film "Paint Your Wagon" -- including Hollywood tough guys Clint Eastwood and the late Lee Marvin -- were pampered guests at the Geiser. according to Sidway. Surrounding the hotel is Baker City's historic district, including more than 100 buildings listed in the National Register of Historic Places, said Sidway. Special holiday events held each Friday in December include rides on a horse-drawn sleigh to the nearby Powder River, where guests are invited to gather around a blazing bonfire and sip hot spiced cider. Inside the hotel, enjoy high tea amid the glow of a spectacular Christmas tree set in the center of the Palm Court dining area. About two hours down I-84, Nampa, Idaho, you'll find a pair of Hollywood stars you may have seen without realizing it. The Warhawk Air Museum is home to two rare Curtiss P40 World War II-era fighter planes, which appeared in 2001's "Pearl Harbor" and 2008's "Valkyrie," said museum co-founder Sue Paul. On the set of "Valkyrie," star Tom Cruise turned to Paul, took her hand, and told her, "'I want to thank you so much for the honor of using your beautifully preserved historical airplanes in this movie,'" recalled Paul. "Never before had anyone on any of the films we've worked on recognized the historical significance of these airplanes." For nightlife, drive 20 miles down I-84 and visit the pedestrian-friendly downtown district of Boise, Idaho, with its vibrant bars and eateries. For decades, locals have been enjoying the classic dishes at Angell's Bar & Grill, on 9th Street, and the central pedestrian area, where visitors can stroll and peruse local shops. I-80 between California and Utah: Basque food oasis . For generations Reno has been well-known as Nevada's "Biggest Little City in the World," but road-trippers with a taste for good food often talk about a tiny town about 2½ hours northeast along I-80. The Basque community that settled in Winnemucca's high desert in the mid-19th century is still going strong, offering a little taste of Europe at several of the town's restaurants and hotels. The fare at the century-old Martin Hotel is repeatedly praised by foodies on Chowhound.com. Chefs at the Martin serve tasty meals, including Basque lamb dishes and traditional pork loin solomo, say fans. Established as a rooming house for traffic along the nearby Southern Pacific Railroad, the hotel is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, according to the hotel Web site. "The lamb shanks as a main are awesome," wrote Chowhound.com poster nvcook in July. "I also like their halibut and their ribeyes." Another Chowhound poster extolled the lamb shanks served five blocks down Melarkey Street at Ormachea's Dinner House, which is another highly touted Basque eatery in Winnemucca. | Clint Eastwood, Lee Marvin stayed at century-old Geiser Grand Hotel in Oregon .
Folk artist Howard Finster turned Georgia home into living museum of found objects .
Follow in Lincoln's footsteps through historic downtown Richmond, Virginia .
Basque-American cuisine offers succulent surprises in Winnemucca, Nevada . |
189,641 | 8193da899a39b50a20d8c59c53b091a6b7a0e236 | By . Jennifer Newton . Stephen Quinnell, 33, who was jailed for four years after he targeted a child through online video game Call of Duty . A judge has issued a warning to parents after a paedophile was jailed for using the popular computer game Call of Duty to target a child. Stephen Quinnell, 33, used the best-selling online Xbox game to get in touch with a young boy and encourage him to perform sex acts. Today Judge Christopher Prince imposed a four-year extended prison sentence on Quinnell before issuing a warning to parents arising from what he called a 'sexual pre-occupation with young boys.' Judge Prince said: 'One hopes this will alert parents to the dangers of children gaming online.' Durham Crown Court was told that Quinnell befriended a young competitor in a shared online game of Call of Duty. Quinnell, of Chester-le-Street, County Durham, was said to have introduced himself to other players as, ‘Steve, a 34-year-old actor from Chester-le-Street’. Richard Bennett, prosecuting, said after other players left the game, Quinnell exchanged details with the boy and asked him to make contact via the live messaging network Skype. Mr Bennett said over the course of five subsequent Skype link-ups, Quinnell turned the conversation onto sexual matters, culminating in him claiming to have performed a sex act on himself, before urging the boy to follow suit in front of his web camera. The horrified youngster immediately switched his computer off, but later told another player what had taken place. He was urged to inform his parents, which the boy did, and his shocked mother reported Quinnell’s actions to their local police force in the south-west of England. Mr Bennett said based on the description and details given by the victim, the Durham force were informed and visited Quinnell’s home in Chester-le-Street, on May 1. He was arrested and his computer and gaming equipment were seized. Quinnell admitted taking part in the online game, but denied trying to coerce the boy into performing a sex act. But, at an earlier hearing, he admitted causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity. Referring to Quinnell’s offending history, Mr Bennett told the court: 'It’s evident he has a long-term sexual interest in young children, starting with a caution in 2001 for indecent assault.' Quinnell used the Xbox game Call of Duty, pictured, to target his young victim online and exchange Skype details with him . He said this was followed by several appearances for downloading indecent images of children, for which he was jailed for 24 weeks in August 2009, having flouted previous restrictions from obtaining such material on the internet. Mr Bennett said the latest offence was in breach of a sexual offences prevention order and suspended prison sentence imposed at Newcastle Crown Court, in January, also for downloading indecent child images. Brian Hegarty, defending, said the latest offence did not go beyond incitement, as the boy did not actually engage in any sexual activity. He added that the game itself has an age rating of 18, and Quinnell initially contacted an adult inquiring if he could join the online game. Judge Prince jailed Quinnell, made him subject of a further sexual offences prevention order, and ordered confiscation of the seized computer and gaming equipment. Quinnell, who is subject to an extended sentence, will not be released until he has served two-thirds of the four-year period and will then remain on licence for a further five years. Mr Bennett told the court there were no barriers to anyone joining such games, enabling them to communicate with potentially very young players. | Stephen Quinnell, 33, used the popular online game to target a young boy .
Exchanged details with the child and asked him to make contact on Skype .
Quinnell then urged the boy to perform a sex act in front of camera .
Four year extended prison sentence was imposed at Durham Crown Court .
Judge warns parents of the dangers of children gaming online . |
86,031 | f40be51268bb011550c28629baf394edea2d622c | By . Daily Mail Reporter . Heartbreak: Megan Renfroe, right, holds her little sister Katie who suffers from megalencephaly at their home in Paxton, Florida . A little girl born with a rare genetic disorder has been offered hope through a series of life-altering surgeries. Katie Renfroe, four, was diagnosed with megalencephaly before she was born, causing some of her facial features to be abnormally large. She also had part of her brain removed as an infant to control the seizures that were happening as often as 50 times a day. 'All we know is we give her all the . love, all the attention we know how to give her,' says her mother Angie . Renfroe. 'We've never treated her like she has a handicap.' Katie . is the sixth of Angie and Danial Renfroe's eight children, the one who . came along after doctors told them Angie wouldn't be having any more . children. In the first trimester, doctors noticed anomalies on her ultrasound. The baby's head was 'oddly shaped,' her parents were told. At three and a half months, a . specialist told her parents that Katie's head was three times larger . than normal. He gave them the name of Katie's rare disorder, but it . meant nothing to the rural Paxton couple. He also told them what her life - and their life - would be like. 'He . was trying to help us understand that she might be a vegetable,' Danial . says. 'She ain't nowhere near what they said she was gonna be.' The specialist told them to come back . in two weeks after they had decided what they were going to do. The . couple drove home from Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola. As soon as . they got there, Angie went into their room, got into bed and cried. Beloved: Angie and Danial Renfroe hold their daughter Katie whose condition had caused her to have seizures as much as 50 times a day . 'I tried to figure out how we were going to deal with this,' she said. And then she realized she had choices. 'You can lay here, you can cry or you can leave this in God's hands, which is where she belongs,' Angie remembers thinking. Next, she talked to God. 'If you let me have her, I'll raise her and take care of her the best I know how to do for as long as you give her to me.' Having made peace with her decision, she talked to Danial. 'I told him, ''If you can't handle it - they're telling us it's going to be bad - go now,''' she says. He recalls looking at her like she was crazy. He wasn't going anywhere. Katie . was delivered by cesarean section at Sacred Heart on January 28, 2008. Angie doesn't remember much about the delivery except seeing her . daughter's 'big, pretty cheeks'. Loving family: Megan Renfroe, left, Jessica Renfroe, center, and Emmalee Renfroe watch over their sister Katie . Danial remembers getting his first peek at his 'Katie-Bug' while she lay in an incubator right after the delivery. 'What it looked like was a small little body hooked to these two grapefruits —her cheeks,' he says. In . a portrait taken when Katie was two- months old, she is curled up, . sleeping, her cheeks nestled in the lace and satin of her pale pink . dress. As Katie has grown, so have her cheeks. Extra skin on top of her cheeks gives them a mottled brown look. Her ears are also deformed and she has some hearing loss. Her tongue doesn't fit in her mouth, but ever resourceful, she has still figured out how to suck her two fingers and her thumb. She doesn't have seizures anymore but her muscles tighten up, causing a stiffness that rolls from one side of her petite frame to the other. When that happens, whichever family member is closest pats her back, rubs her arm or pinches her feet to help her snap out of it. Despite her disabilities, in many ways Katie is just one more child in a big family. Over Thanksgiving break, the older girls entertained themselves with face painting. Katie got a flower on her cheek, too. 'I've learned a lot,' says 13-year-old Megan of having Katie as a sister. 'I have learned how to cope with things. When we see other people like her, we actually know how they feel.' The family takes Katie wherever they go but have never gotten accustomed to the way strangers respond to their little girl. A few are kind; most stare. Some make comments that hurt. Danial says when they go out he puts up an imaginary line around him and his family, and hopes no one crosses it. 'Kids are cruel,' he says. 'And it isn't only kids. It's just hard. If you have a kid like that, you have got to get your head straight.' The family lives outside of Paxton in a mobile home that has been expanded as the family grows. Each older child has his or her own room. The beds are neatly made and possessions, most donated by kind strangers, are arranged on dressers and shelves. The three youngest children sleep with Angie and Danial, piling into their king-sized bed. In addition to the five older kids, Katie has two younger siblings, three-year-old Kenneth and one-year-old Emalee. The older children - who are eight, 11, 12, 13 and 14 - go to schools in Paxton and Laurel Hill. Katie attends preschool at Richbourg School in Crestview. Neither Angie nor Danial work, although he receives disability. But they don't ask for help and are almost entirely self-sufficient. On Tuesday, they will pile into their van and drive to Hollywood, Florida, where a surgeon at Memorial Hospital will perform the first of as many as seven surgeries on Katie. 'They're going to downsize her cheeks, fix her ear, shorten up her tongue,' Danial says. 'Once she gets rid of this weight, she'll be able to stand better.' The family will stay in one room, with two beds, at a nearby facility that reaches out to families of hospital patients. They will be in South Florida for at least two weeks for the first surgery. Christmas, when it comes, will be modest, with a few gifts for the children from Catholic Charities. They don't need much to be happy, except for each other. 'I'm grateful for my family, my kids, no matter how wild they get sometimes,' Angie says, smiling. 'I still love them.' And since making her decision to go forward with her pregnancy five years ago, she has never looked back. 'I'm a firm believer,' she says. 'If God gives you something, don't throw it away.' | Katie Renfroe, four, diagnosed with megalencephaly before she was born .
Little girl had brain surgery at Florida hospital as a baby to stop seizures . |
120,492 | 27b803beece513a09a3614c1dd60c354174171d3 | By . Jaymi Mccann . PUBLISHED: . 16:31 EST, 15 March 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 06:45 EST, 16 March 2013 . Comic Norman Collier, a star of numerous TV light entertainment shows and famed for his faulty microphone routine, has died at the age of 87. Collier became a major figure on the club circuit and on TV with his stuttering performances as he pretended to have a sound problem, as well as for another long-running gag where he strutted and clucked like a chicken. The sandy-haired comic suffered from Parkinson's disease for a number of years and died in a residential care home close to his home town of Hull. Scroll down for video . Norman Collier performing his famous faulty microphone gag (left) and more recently (right) Collier's son-in-law, John Ainsley, . said his father-in-law died peacefully in his sleep at a nursing home in . Brough, East Yorkshire, at 6.05pm yesterday. Impressionist Jon Culshaw was among those paying tribute to Collier today, calling him a 'wonderfully funny man'. 'People would be permanently laughing whenever they were around him,' he said. Ricky . Gervais made a comic reference to Collier's long-standing microphone . gag, in which he would pretend the sound had an intermittent fault . causing letters and syllables to be silent. Gervais wrote on Twitter: 'R P orman ollier.' Comedy writer and broadcaster Danny Baker said of the mic routine: 'That really was some act.' The late Norman Collier on Setback January in 1983. The beloved comedian passed away aged 87 . Collier in November 198. He made his name in the 1960s through his famous faulty microphone gag . Mr Ainsley, who is married to Collier's daughter Karen, said: "His passion was making people laugh and that's what he did all his life. He was the same at home as he was on stage. "He was adorable, he was hilarious.He was a wonderful person who just wanted to get out there and make people laugh.' Mr Ainsley went on: 'He loved his family and just wanted to be around all his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Eighty-seven-year-old Collier suffered from Parkinson's Disease for a number of years before his death . 'Everyone who knew him loved him. And to professionals, he was the comedians' comedian. 'People like Jimmy Tarbuck have always said Norman was the one they would go and see if they wanted a laugh.' Collier rose to fame on the local club circuit, but took more than a decade of plugging away before he turned professional in the early 1960s. By 1971 he was on the bill for the Royal Variety Performance and in the years that followed he became a regular face on TV entertainment programmes. Mr Ainsley, who lives in Hull, went on: 'He'd been ill with Parkinson's for seven years but he didn't make a fuss about it. 'His family saw him yesterday and he died peacefully in his sleep. 'He will be missed by a lot people because he was such an adorable, lovely man.' Collier had been a gunner in the Second World War and made his comedy debut in 1948 when a performer at Hull's Perth Street Club failed to show up and he agreed to fill in. Alongside his day job as a labourer, he honed his craft on the northern club circuit, eventually making comedy his main career by 1962. He did seasons at Blackpool and shared stages with Sir Cliff Richard and the Everly Brothers as he rose up the bill. Collier's performances were showcased on ITV show The Wheeltappers And Shunters Social Club, hosted by Colin Crompton, which was set in a fictional smoky working men's club and featured the top comedy stars of the day. But he was also a regular on many of the light entertainment shows of the day. He continued to perform well into his 80s, playing the variety circuit alongside his contemporaries and more modern performers, as well as raising thousands of pounds with charity The Grand Order Of Water Rats. Collier and his wife Lucy had been married for more than 60 years and had three children. | Comedian Norman Collier suffered from Parkinson's disease for many years .
He died peacefully in his sleep at a nursing home in Yorkshire .
He rose to fame in the 1960s with a gag where he would pretend that his microphone was faulty . |
179,063 | 73dbd672ee059b4e4664f0ebc2ca5af360b95f79 | Rape allegations against Bill Cosby came back to haunt the comedian once again on Monday when a supposedly harmless social media stunt blew up in his face. And Barbara Bowman, 47, the brave victim of the comedian's twisted sexual abuse, tells MailOnline in an exclusive interview, 'I do not find rape funny, but I do not ridicule others for their expression. Bill Cosby's self induced #cosbymeme was a safe outlet for many to do so.' Cosby posted an invitation on Twitter on Monday afternoon asking fans to create memes using a selection of photos of him. The comedian's intention was no doubt for fans to post lightly humorous posts like the 'Happy Monday!' example in his original tweet, but instead fans focused on a series of rape allegations that have been levelled at him. Scroll down for video . Telling her story: Barbara Bowman told MailOnline how Cosby 'raped and drugged her' while she was just a teenager . Decades old rape allegations against Bill Cosby came back to haunt the comedian once again on Monday when a supposedly harmless social media stunt blew up in his face . The comedian's intention was no doubt for fans to post lightly humorous posts like the 'Happy Monday!' example in his original tweet, but instead fans focused onrape allegations filed against him . Cosby posted an invitation on Twitter on Monday afternoon inviting fans to create memes using a selection of photos of him . Artist and former actress Barbara Bowman, came forward and shared her story with MailOnline in the wake of comic Hannibal Buress' outburst calling Cosby a rapist. 'I was drugged and raped by that man,' Barbara revealed. Today she told of her reaction to the memes. 'The Cosby meme-ing was a sight to see,' she told MailOnline. 'I'm grateful that the critical masses are now paying attention to, and are taking seriously, the reality and truth about Bill Cosby and his evil deeds. 'Rape is nothing to joke about, but Twitter has been used as a vessel for communication of the highest magnitude and has been used as an outlet for people to express their disgust with the rapist.' Barbara said that although Bill Cosby had not been prosecuted, the public reaction agaisnt him was clear. 'However, he now must endure the scorn and humiliation that came to pass as a result of his invitation to the public to express their feelings about him using Twitter as an outlet. 'It should be very clear to him now that people loathe rapists, and a large majority had to get their anguish of off their chest, even if it meant laughing at his narcissism, sickness and foolishness.' Following the backlash Cosby's original tweet was deleted and the meme generator was removed from the site. The link now redirects people to Cosby's homepage. However the memes have been widely repeated on other sites and social networking. The 77-year-old Emmy - and Grammy-winning actor and comedian, who has been married for 50 years and has five children, has been battling accusations of sex assault for more than three decades. According to published reports, between the 1970s and early 2000s, as many as 13 women came forward accusing Cosby of sexual assault. In 2006, the legendary comic, actor and activist reached a settlement with a woman who claimed that Cosby drugged and assaulted her at his home in a Philadelphia suburb, reported The Wrap. Barbara Bowman, who has told MailOnlone of Cosby's attacks on her in the past . Rising star: Barbara revealed how she was targeted by Cosby as a teenager . The 77-year-old Emmy - and Grammy-winning actor and comedian, who has been married for 50 years and has five children, has been battling accusations of sex assault for more than three decades . Not long after, Cosby's original tweet was deleted and the meme generator was removed from the site and the link now redirects people to Cosby's homepage . Cosby, best known for his role as Dr Heathcliff Huxtable in the The Cosby Show, has however never been charged with rape in a court of law . Cosby, best known for his role as Dr Heathcliff Huxtable in the The Cosby Show, has however never been charged with rape in court. Last month, stand-up comedian and former Saturday Night Live writer Hannibal Buress unleashed a violent tirade about Cosby, calling him a 'rapist' and a sanctimonious hypocrite during a live performance. 'Bill Cosby has the f***ing smuggest old black man public persona that I hate,' Buress declared from the stage at the Trocadero Theater in Cosby's hometown of Philadelphia. Buress said: '''Pull your pants up, black people. I was on TV in the '80s. I can talk down to you because I had a successful sitcom.' Yeah, but you raped women, Bill Cosby. So, brings you down a couple notches.' According to published reports, between the 1970s and early 2000s, as many as 13 women come forward accusing Cosby of sexual assault . In 2006, the legendary comic, actor and activist reached a settlement with a woman who claimed that Cosby drugged and assaulted her at his home in a Philadelphia suburb . In her interview with MailOnline, Barbara did not hold back. 'He is a monster. He came at me like a monster. My hope is that others who have experienced sexual abuse will not be intimidated into silence by the famous, rich and powerful. If I can help one victim, then I've done my job.' Bowman was just a teenager at the time she met Cosby, and soon the actor was flying her to meet him around the country and putting her up in the nicest hotels. Things changed however when one night she passed out after a glass of wine and woke up vomiting in the toilet wearing Cosby's white t-shirt. Bowman is certain that she had been drugged by Cosby. And she believes raped by him too. After that her relationship with Cosby changed, and by 19 he had sent her on her way after a final night in Atlantic City where she claims he tried to rape her. In 2006, Cosby settled a civil lawsuit with Andrea Constand, 32, a former Temple University employee who claimed Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted her in his Philadelphia mansion in 2004. It was at that trial that 13 women came forward to allege they too were drugged and sexually abused by Cosby. Cosby has not commented on any of the allegations since they have resurfaced. Famous father: Cosby is best remembered for playing Dr. Cliff Huxtable on The Cosby Show in the 1980s . | Comic posted invitation on Twitter on Monday inviting fans to create memes using a selection of photos of him .
Stunt backfired after the numerous rape allegations against him .
Not long after, Cosby's original tweet was deleted and the meme generator was removed from the site .
Bowman tells MailOnline she is grateful that people are taking seriously 'the truth about Bill Cosby'
As many as 13 women have claimed Cosby sexually assaulted them in the past, but he has never been charged with rape . |
121,072 | 287e32c1522e0cb695064fd776b9888dca231c34 | Italy beat Norway 2-0 in its opening European Championship qualifier on Tuesday as Antonio Conte extended his winning start as coach. Simon Zaza scored his first international goal in the 16th minute as Italy showed little sign of missing suspended striker Mario Balotelli. Strike partner Ciro Immobile was offside and in the goalkeeper's line of vision, but the referee waved away Norway's protests. First: Simone Zaza fired in his first goal for Italy with a deflected shot inside the area on his competitive debut . Solid: Zaza and his team-mates celebrate as Italy secured a simple win to kick off the qualifying campaign . Norway: Nyland, Forren, Nordtveit, Elabdellaoui, Flo, Nielsen (Elyounoussi 50), Johansen, Skjelbred (Pedersen 75), Jenssen (Tettey 70), Daehli, King. Subs not used: Jarstein, Semb Berge, Hagen, Kamara, Samuelsen, Danielsen, Hansen, Konradsen. Booked: Nordtveit, Forren. Italy: Buffon, Ranocchia, Bonucci, Astori, Giaccherini, Florenzi (Poli 87), De Rossi, De Sciglio, Darmian (Pasqual 61), Immobile, Zaza (Destro 83). Subs not used: Ogbonna, Candreva, Giovinco, El Shaarawy, Sirigu, Parolo, Perin, Quagliarella, Verratti. Goals: Zaza 16, Bonucci 62. Booked: Florenzi, Astori. Leonardo Bonucci doubled Italy's lead shortly after the hour mark with a fine header. Zaza also hit the crossbar late on and had an effort cleared off the line as Conte's side cruised to victory. In the other matches in Group H, Bulgaria won 2-1 in Azerbaijan, while Croatia beat Malta 2-0. It was Conte's first competitive match in charge of the Azzurri after steering Italy to a 2-0 friendly win over the Netherlands on his debut last week. | Italy manager Antonio Conte took charge of his first competitive match .
Simone Zaza scored his first goal for Italy after quarter of an hour .
Juventus centre-back Leonardo Bonucci doubled the lead on 62 minutes . |
36,007 | 663578ac896aac2674cbf3bf25fec10ede013441 | Along the Turkish border hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees listen to the distant pop of shells and rattle of machine-gun fire as ISIS renewed its attacks on their home city of Kobani today. Between 140,000 and 180,000 ethnic Kurds have so far left the city for the safety of Turkey, fearing another massacre if Islamic State militants overrun the peshmerga fighters protecting them. While the evacuation has been largely peaceful so far, today clashes erupted between armed Turkish police and Kurdish refugees as they tried to march back to the border and stage a protest, no longer able to bear the sound of the fighting. Tension: Turkish police use tear gas to disperse 200 Kurdish protesters marching towards Syrian border to protest against attacks by the Islamic State . Heavy armour: Soldiers sat nearby watching the protests while carrying riot shields, rifles and wearing gas masks as tension rise along the border . Fleeing: Between 140,000 and 160,000 Kurdish refugees have fled the town of Kobani fearing a massacre if ISIS fighters defeat the peshmerga soldiers defending them . Protest: Kurdish activists had attempted to get to the border to protest against attacks by Islamic State after listening to days of fighting in their home city nearby . Guards in body-armour and helmets were forced to use tear gas to drive a group of around 200 desperate demonstrators back behind Turkish lines. There has been a heavily military presence along the Turkish side of border all week, including tanks, armoured vehicles and soldiers carrying machine guns as they attempt to keep the peace. There have also been fears that Kurdish extremists, who have previously staged attacks on the country while demanding their own state, might use the refugee crisis as cover to cross the border. Kobani and the surrounding area has been under attack by militants since mid-September as fighters seized surrounding villages, while the city itself has been shelled for the last three days. Fighting: Clashes broke out along the Syrian border today where tensions have been rising following days of ISIS attacks on the Kurdish town of Kobani . Crowd control: A Turkish Gendarmerie fires tear gas towards 200 activists who attempted to gather along the border with Syria today . Clashes: Turkish officials have previously said they fear Kurdish militants, who have previously staged attacks against their country, will use the refugee crisis as a reason to cross the border before launching fresh assaults . Desperation: Elderly Kurds walk though clouds of tear gas near the Syrian border today after staging protests against ISIS attacks on their hometown . Fierce: There have been clashes in Kobani since mid-September as fighters from the Islamic State try to capture the last crossing point along Syria's border with Turkey . Senior Kurdish official Asya Abdullah said: 'Clashes continue now, they are shelling on all three fronts. They tried to invade Kobani last night but they were repelled. We think they are planning to launch another big attack but [we are] prepared to resist them.' Nawaf Khalil, a spokesman for Syria's leading Kurdish Democratic Union Party, said the militants had failed to capture a strategic hill overlooking the city despite launching five attacks on it. He added that U.S.-led airstrikes were having 'a positive impact' after a bombing raid on Friday killed an estimated five militants and destroyed one vehicle heading to attack. Elsewhere today another 30 ISIS fighters were reported to have been killed after airstrikes on the eastern city of Shaddadeh where the Islamist group have a strong foothold. Airstrikes: As clashes erupted along the border today, five ISIS fighters were reported to have been killed in a U.S. bombing raid near Kobani overnight on Friday . Resistance: Kurdish forces inside Kobani say they are ready to resist ISIS forces, claiming that the Islamists have failed to capture a strategic hill overlooking the city . New arrival: A confused-looking Kurdish man crosses the police line along the Turkish border after fleeing the ISIS attacks on nearby Kobani . Lookout: A Turkish soldier keeps watch for ISIS forces which can be heard fighting to capture the town of Kobani just a short distance away from the border . Conflict: Turkey has been reluctant to become involved with the situation in Iraq and Syria but is slowly being dragged into the war as refugees pour across the border . It was the first time Shaddadeh was struck since the U.S.-led campaign began nearly two weeks ago. There was no immediate confirmation on the strikes or casualties from Washington. About 30 explosions were heard in and near Shaddadeh on Friday night, according to an activist in Hassakeh province, who added that the targets included several buildings occupied by Islamic State fighters. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which relies on a network of activists around Syria, said as many as 30 fighters from the Islamic State group were killed in the airstrikes on Shaddadeh. It said all the dead were foreign fighters. Shelling: Sources inside Kobani have reported that ISIS are using heavy weapons to attack on three fronts today, the third day the city has been shelled . Explosion: Kurdish fighters say the main focus of the shelling has been the southwest edge of the city, as they prepare to repel any Islamic State advance . Looking on: Turkish police and troops sit on top of an armoured personnel carrier as the sound of clashes between Kurdish and ISIS forces can be heard . Guarding: Turkey has maintained a strong military presence along the border for the last few weeks as the conflict with ISIS draws closer to its borders . Death toll: Five militants were killed and one vehicle destroyed in the area surrounding Kobani overnight on Friday in a U.S airstrike . Meanwhile in the Syrian capital of Damascus, Bashar al-Assad was seen in a rare public appearance as he joined in Eid al-Adha at the al-Numan Bin Bashir mosque. During Syria's civil war, which is now in its fourth year and which activists say has killed more than 190,000 people, Assad has been largely sheltered from the public eye. The last time he was seen in public was in July, when he attended prayers for the Eid al-Fitr holiday, which marks the end of fasting during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Desperate: As the number of refugees at Turkey's border grows, another 30 militants were reported to have been killed in the east of Syria in a U.S.-led strike . Helpless: A Kurdish boy looks on through a barbed wire fence after fleeing Kobani where ISIS have renewed their attacks today by shelling parts of the city . Ready for action: Turkish soldiers crouch behind riot shields while holding their rifles near the Mursitpinar border gate at the Turkish-Syrian border, . Armed: All along the Turkish-Syrian border soldiers have set up defensive positions and are standing guard with heavy machine guns and rifles . Eagle-eye: A Turkish fighter looks down the barrel of his gun towards Syria, where ISIS militants have begun another assault in their attempts to take the town of Kobani . | Around 200 Kurdish refugees attempted to march to the border to protest attacks by ISIS militants on city of Kobani .
However Turkish police and soldiers were forced to use tear gas in order to disperse the activists as tension rise .
Between 140,000 and 160,000 Kurds have fled the town of Kobani fearing a massacre if ISIS troops manage to take it .
Elsewhere bombing raids killed an estimated 35 fighters on the outskirts of Kobani and in the city of Shaddadeh . |
91,523 | 01bc4040c1cb33c6f92dcd3c9185427075ceff78 | By . Jill Reilly . PUBLISHED: . 07:28 EST, 13 May 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 09:20 EST, 13 May 2013 . With its Italian-Baroque inspired architecture, this rose-colored mansion looks like it belongs in the Italian countryside. But Calhoun House, dubbed the Pink Castle by locals, is actually in Atlanta and is now on the market for $2.5million. Once hailed as 'one of the grandest properties in the South,' the neoclassical mansion was built in 1923. For sale: Atlanta's pseudo-Italian Baroque Andrew Calhoun Estate dubbed by locals as the Pink Castle is on the market for $2.5million . Life of luxury: The house was designed in 1923 by local architecture favorite Philip Shutze and its grand interior matches in extravagant exterior . Grand designs:The Pink Castle has 10,905 square feet, seven bedrooms, and 8.5 bathrooms . High praise: Calhoun Estate, has been hailed as 'one of the finest examples of classical architecture in Atlanta' The rose-colored mansion borrows from 16th-century Italian design and was created by renowned Atlanta architect Philip T. Shutze. The color theme is continued inside the . grand property set on one and half acres - dusted in pale pink, the . dining room and ballroom look like a setting from 1939 film Gone With . The Wind. The 10,905 square-foot property has seven bedrooms and eight and a half bathrooms, reported Curbed.com. The identity of the seller is unclear, according to Buckheadheritage.com, the original owner of the mansion was . Andrew Calhoun. Mr Calhoun was in real estate and his wife was the founder . of the first garden club in Atlanta, the 1923 Peachtree Garden Club. The original estate spanned one hundred . acres and included an . orchard, various gardens, a lake, and tennis courts. But the land was split up in the 1960s and sold off. Mr Schutze modeled the house after the Villa Cussano in Verona, Italy, which was designed by Giovanni Battista around 1650, according to This photographer's life. The home and gardens were constructed on an axis in the same design as the original. Grand: Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles. once considered the house as 'one of the grandest properties in the South' Film set: The house has a Gone With the Wind-style ballroom which evokes memories of the 1939 film . To the highest bidder: The Pink Castle has been listed and relisted at least five times since it first hit the market for $3.5M in May 2011 . Scale: Although the sizable house is grand, some of the rooms are not too imposing and instead look intimate . Sympathetic: The kitchen remains archaic and has not been refitted and remodelled in the latest designs . | The grand mansion was built in 1923 and spans 10,905 square feet with seven bedrooms, and 8.5 bathrooms .
The pseudo-Italian Baroque property was designed in 1923 by local favorite Philip Schutze . |
144,874 | 4761622abbe4c98aabbe76cbbca29804cecf63c6 | (OPRAH.com) -- What do Pinocchio, Richard Nixon, and an "O, The Oprah Magazine" very inventive columnist all have in common? Every now and then, when the situation calls for it, they've been known to bend, sculpt, or otherwise contort the facts to their liking. Hey, if it saves Bambi's mother... The story goes that, as a child, George Washington chopped down the backyard cherry tree and then admitted the whole sordid affair to his beloved father: "I cannot tell a lie," he is said to have said. "It was I who chopped down your cherry tree." This leads me to a couple of thoughts: First, what were the Washingtons thinking? Color me cautious, but I've never been a big believer in allowing children direct access to an ax. Ditto hatchets, swords, tomahawks, muskets, and Barbie. Second, I cannot tell a lie; had I been in that very same situation, there's no doubt in my mind that I'd have looked my beloved father straight in the eye and told a lie. And that, my friends, along with the wooden teeth and powdered wig, is what separates me from our first president. I could tell you I believe it is imperative that we be absolutely meticulous with the truth 100 percent of the time, but the truth is -- I'd be lying. You see, I live in New York City, where manhole covers explode and construction cranes crash from the sky and people slip through the space between the subway platform and the train, and you feel almost giddy with relief on those days when you manage to make it home in one piece. The bottom line is this: Life is short, time is precious, and I don't want to spend Saturday night watching my friend, the would-be actress, do a walk-on in "Tartuffe." It's not that I don't love my friend, and it's not that I don't love "Tartuffe" (okay, that's a lie, nobody actually loves "Tartuffe"). It's just that I reserve Saturday night for slathering my reptilelike feet in Vaseline Intensive Care as my daughter shampoos her Polly Pocket doll in the toilet. But try explaining that to a friend who has just spent $200 on a brocade bustle and is flying her parents in from Wisconsin for her off-off-off-Broadway debut. My choices? Well, I can sit through "Tartuffe" with a lovely couple from Racine and a running time of two hours and 46 minutes that I'll never get back. I can pray that one of my undermoisturized feet will suddenly fossilize so that I can use it to knock myself unconscious. Or I can say, "Darn the luck, that's the night I have to... " Fill in fiendishly fabricated excuse here. And, yes, I know, this makes me sound kind of awful, but I ask that you refrain from judging me until you've endured an evening of musical theater based on the early years of Joseph Goebbels, courtesy of this same friend. Honesty is a delightful policy, but I'm here to tell you that without at least a few lies, Thanksgiving with the family would be a thing of the past, first dates would end faster than you can dismiss your biological clock with a jaunty "Que sera, sera... ," every political figure who intentionally linked Iraq with Osama bin Laden would be forced to resign in disgrace, and any number of plastic surgeons throughout the greater Los Angeles area would end their lives in the gutter holding large cardboard signs that read WILL BOTOX FOR FOOD. Ask any man in a healthy relationship, and he will tell you that when his wife comes home with a horrific haircut, it's a mistake for him to start feverishly skimming the Yellow Pages for an attorney while muttering, "I think we've got a lawsuit here. The bastard who did this to you will never trim bangs in this town again!" Oprah.com: How you (yes, you!) should live your life . No, he must greet her with the simple phrase that Johannes (boyfriend extraordinaire, father of the aforementioned shampoo girl) uses to chill me out whenever I despair. He will look up from whatever he's doing, pause, tilt his head, then casually ask: "Are you losing weight?" Couplehood: A brief one act . Lisa: Plastic is destroying the earth! Johannes: Are you losing weight? L: The creepy guy who hangs out on Lexington Avenue followed me into Dunkin' Donuts to announce that I remind him of a young Kim Jong-il! J: Are you losing weight? L: I've put on three pounds since breakfast! J: Are you losing weight? What can I say? He's lying, I know he's lying and yet it works for us. I am also a firm believer in lying to chatty cabdrivers ("Sir, I have the kind of menstrual cramps that could turn a lesser woman homicidal, so you need to trust me when I tell you that it's beyond crucial for us to travel in complete silence"), my dental hygienist ("Of course I floss. Flossing is my life"), and my 5-year-old ("Bambi's mother is alive and well. She has merely relocated to a breathtaking piece of beachfront property off the coast of Hawaii with her hunky new boyfriend, Raoul, who is both incredibly wealthy and deeply sensitive to her every need"). Oprah.com: What makes a relationship work . To this day, Julia believes that Toys "R" Us is only open when my parents visit Manhattan; the shelves are stocked as Grandma and Grandpa's plane touches down and the doors to the store lock as soon as they head back to Detroit. Here is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth: My name is Lisa, and I am a liar, though a good marketing consultant could probably finesse the word into something a bit more palatable: "Reality Stylist" might be good, or "Pinocchiotologist" could work. My mother insists that, at the end of the day, what I am is a storyteller -- and she might have a point. Joan Didion says that "we tell ourselves stories in order to live." I think that's right. Forget what I tell cabdrivers for sport or dental hygienists for spin control or "Bambi" readers for peace of mind. It's the lies we tell ourselves that determine the particular arc of our stories. I tell myself that it's never too late to master Italian and piecrust, that one day I'll appreciate Clay Aiken and understand calculus. I tell myself that I'll be able to guarantee my daughter a life of joy and confidence and financial security in a universe that's just and safe and green. To be honest, I have my doubts. Perhaps I was born predisposed to pessimism or maybe I've witnessed too much pain, but my mind is forever taking me to the dark side and I am afraid of the dark. So I sugarcoat and I gloss over, and I rationalize and, yes, I sometimes fictionalize my little story. I tell rose-colored lies because Wellbutrin only takes a girl so far, because I want with all my heart to believe in something just a bit sweeter than what I see on the 6 o'clock news. And because, to tell you the truth, I've always been a sucker for a happy ending -- even if it means my pants catch fire. By Lisa Kogan from "O, The Oprah Magazine," August 2008 . Subscribe to O, The Oprah Magazine for up to 75% off the newsstand price. That's like getting 18 issues FREE. Subscribe now! TM & © 2009 Harpo Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved. | A few lies can go a long way to smoothing the road of life, columnist says .
Writer confesses to being a "Reality Stylist" or "Pinocchiotologist"
Husband asks "Are you losing weight?" anytime she needs to calm down .
Daughter believes Toys "R" Us is only open when grandparents come . |
264,355 | e262e5496e1c66cda7209d6b701cc5c6003acce8 | By . Louise Eccles . PUBLISHED: . 08:26 EST, 13 March 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 07:48 EST, 14 March 2013 . There's only one thing more scary than a pack of rugby players…and that’s the wives of a pack of rugby players letting their hair down. Zara Phillips led the way yesterday as she and a group of fellow ‘scrummies’ enjoyed Ladies’ Day at Cheltenham. Wearing a bright red coat, the Queen’s granddaughter collapsed into fits of giggles as Siobhan Brown, wife of Gloucester rugby player Alex Brown, pulled faces for the camera and threw her arm around the royal. Scroll down for video . Girls just wanna have fun! Zara Phillips was joined by her glamorous friends for the Gloucestershire race meet's Ladies Day . Having fun, girls? Zara and pals were clearly game for a laugh as they messed around before racing got underway . Wrapped up warm: Princess Anne and Zara Phillips shared a joke as they arrived at Cheltenham race course for Ladies Day . Among those joining them at the . racing were 31-year-old Miss Phillips’ best friend Dolly Maude – the . maid of honour at her 2011 wedding to former England rugby captain Mike . Tindall – Kate Wood, the wife of Gloucester rugby player Nick Wood, and . several wives and girlfriends from the club, for whom Tindall plays. Anticipating a boozy day ahead for . his wife Annika, Gloucester rugby player Huia Edmonds sent a tweet to . Mrs Maude, saying: ‘Annika loves tequila so plenty of it for her . tomorrow please?’ Miss Phillips seemed to be cheered by spending some . quality time with her friends yesterday. Goofing around: Zara in the parade ring (she was allowed in this time!) Top titfer: Zara kept things simple with black accessories that let her coat do the talking . Just 24 hours earlier, she was . photographed having a row with a security guard, who failed to recognise . her and tried to block her from crossing the parade ring while the . horses passed. Yesterday, female punters covered up . more than usual for Ladies’ Day as temperatures struggled to rise above . 4C. Fur was once again the clothing of choice for many and there was an . abundance of feathered hats. Things however became heated when a . cheating row broke out over the coveted Ladies’ Day Best Dressed Fashion . Awards. Contenders claimed the competition had been marred by entries . from professional designers who used the event to plug their brands. Racing fans: Zara was joined by Mike Tindall, also at Cheltenham for a second day running . Don't you know who I am? The royal had trouble getting in yesterday thanks to an overzealous security man . ELSEWHERE AT LADIES DAY... Racy lady! Camilla Bassett-Smith poses for a photograph as she arrives for Ladies Day . Sparkling form: Racegoer Siobhan Wright, and RIGHT, a standout hat . Stephanie King from Newmarket opted for a fantastical butterfly hat design made from peacock feathers while an elaborate headpiece was worn with a cosy fur scarf . Glammed up: Brightly dressed girls brave the chill . Brrrr. glamorous punter Fawn Beddows chose a plunging playsuit for Ladies day but she didn't seem to mind the chilly weather and put on a brave front for the cameras . Georgie Turner (left) from Cheltenham and Geraldine Murphy from Cork posed with their spring-coloured hats under a rare patch of blue sky . LEFT: Mimi Theobald from Inverness arrived in an impressive looking outfit featuring a leather skirt and dramatic opera gloves and, RIGHT, Bridget Robbins chose a fur-trimmed tapestry coat and a feather-heavy hat for the event . Details: Some daring ladies shoe and hosiery fashions were on display during the second day of the 2013 Cheltenham Festival . And they're off! Ruby Walsh on Pont Alexandre, left, leads Tony McCoy on Taquin du Seuil and Barry Geraghty on Chatterbox on the first circuit of the Neptune Investment Management Novices' Hurdle at Cheltenham today . Braving the chill: The March cold snap did nothing to dampen the enthusiasm of the crowds, who gathered at the parade ring to watch Barry Geraghty ride in on Sprinter Sacre after winning the Queen Mother Champion Steeple Chase . The Queen's granddaughter, who had arrived at the Gloucestershire race course earlier today with mother Princess Anne, was sure to stand out at the meet, wearing a vivid red military style double-breasted Paul Costelloe coat paired with black accessories and a peacock-feather trim pillbox. The coat is from the Irish designer's Autumn/Winter 2013 Dressage collection, which showed on the catwalk at London Fashion Week last month. Costelloe is one of Zara's preferred designers - thanks to his smart, polished aesthetic - and she has a number of his pieces. For two days running Zara has wrapped up warm in wool coats from Costelloe, one of her go-to designers. Catwalk queen: The £300 red coat Zara wore today was from the A/W13 Dressage collection shown by Paul Costelloe at London Fashion Week last month, while the cream angora-wool mix coat was shown as part of the London Fashion Week collection (POA) Today's was a red military dresscoat in . British lambswool coat with gold buttons from Paul Costelloe's A/W13 . Dressage collection, relaunched last month at London Fashion Week. The . coat, which will retail for £300, is not yet available to buy. The coat Zara wore yesterday was from the Paul Costelloe London Fashion Week collection, and is a wool-angora mix swing coat with crystal button detail, Peter Pan collar and pleated detail on the back. | Queen's granddaughter wore double-breasted wool coat by Paul Costelloe .
Attended race meet for the second day running .
Was there with a group of rugby WAG friends .
Joined later by group of glamorous girlfriends and husband Mike Tindall . |
132,741 | 37a33460d75ced543c98bf6b596d78c34c8e8512 | By . Emma Innes . Dogs are almost four times better at detecting prostate cancer than traditional tests. Medical Detection Dogs accurately detect the disease 90 per cent of the time, research has shown. In contrast, traditional PSA tests often give false positives – three in four positive results from the tests turn out to be false and result in unnecessary and invasive tests. Scroll down for video . Medical Detection Dogs are better at diagnosing prostate cancer than traditional tests are . Specially trained Cancer Detection Dogs can detect cancer cells in urine samples. The dogs are trained by the charity Medical Detection Dogs, in Buckinghamshire. Dr Claire Guest, Chief Executive and Director of Operations at Medical Detection Dogs, said:‘These results from the detection dogs are remarkable. ‘Over the years, millions of pounds of NHS funding have been poured into the traditional test methods, and yet there has been little improvement in their reliability. ‘This has caused a huge waste of resources, not to mention the distress to the impacted individuals. ‘Moreover, the detection dogs provide alternative solution that yields consistently accurate results. If our detection dogs were a machine, there would be huge demand for them. The dogs accurately pick up cancer cells in urine samples 90 per cent of the time . ‘Dogs can pick up a scent in a dilution of one to a thousand parts. Their superior smelling power is well known. So why the reluctance to embrace this tested, time-old technology?’ As times goes by there is increasing interested about the work of Medical Detection Dogs. The charity has been invited to the House of Lords to showcase its work this evening. While they are there, the dogs will demonstrate their ability to detect cancer in urine samples. The Rt Hon Iain Duncan Smith and his wife Betsy, a trustee of the charity, will also be attending to lend their support. Betsy . Duncan Smith said: ‘I am so pleased to see this government, and at last . some people in the medical profession, are taking an interest in this . life-changing work. Some 75 per cent of positive PSA test results turn out, on further investigation, to be false . ‘We . have long recognised the remarkable ability of dogs to assist the blind . and deaf. Now we are realising how much more they are capable of. ‘MDD’s trained dogs can detect cancer before noticeable symptoms and others have been trained to recognise dangerously low sugar levels in diabetics. In short, this wonderful charity is training dogs to save lives. ‘Iain and I are trying to help the charity. We’ve recently fostered one of the cancer detection dogs. We are both enjoying having Jobi, a delightful little black spaniel, around the house!’ It has also previously been shown that dogs can detect other cancers, including bladder, ovarian and breast cancers. | Medical Detection Dogs pick up the disease accurately 90% of the time .
Traditional PSA tests often give false positives - 75% of positives are false .
The dogs can sniff out cancer cells in urine samples . |
103,800 | 11ebcdebb7fd8a36b7a6870730d4e7ff81fe1b31 | (CNN) -- Amputees will soon get help from a groundbreaking bionic arm, thanks to the inventor of the Segway and a little inspiration from "Star Wars." After almost eight years of research and testing, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the DEKA arm, a prosthetic controlled by signals from the brain. Unlike most current prostheses, the DEKA can perform such delicate tasks as zipping up a coat, unlocking a door with a key or handling an egg without breaking it. Funded by DARPA, the research branch of the Pentagon, the DEKA project was overseen by Dean Kamen, who invented the Segway personal vehicle. Kamen nicknamed the DEKA arm "Luke" after Luke Skywalker, the "Star Wars" hero who was fitted for a prosthetic after losing his right hand in a light-saber duel with Darth Vader. The FDA is calling the device the first prosthetic arm that can perform multiple, simultaneous movements via electromyogram electrodes, which detect electrical signals from the contraction of muscles close to where the prosthesis is attached. The battery-powered arm is about the size and weight of a natural limb and has six different grips. A computer in the device can tell what type of movement its wearer wants to make. "This innovative prosthesis provides a new option for people with certain kinds of arm amputations," said Christy Foreman, director of the FDA's Office of Device Evaluation. The DEKA arm "may allow some people to perform more complex tasks than they can with current prostheses in a way that more closely resembles the natural motion of the arm." The DEKA bionic arm can be configured for people with limb loss at the shoulder joint, mid upper arm or mid lower arm, the FDA said. It cannot be fitted for someone whose arm was amputated at the elbow or wrist. One of the device's first users was double amputee Chuck Hildreth, who lost both arms in an electrical accident. Hildreth has been demonstrating the DEKA arm on national TV news programs since at least 2009. "I never thought in my lifetime I'd see something this functional come out," he told CNN's Sanjay Gupta in 2010. "It's definitely going to change my life, and more importantly it's going to change the life of my family. Because ... I'm going to be less dependent on them." In considering whether to approve the device, the FDA reviewed a Department of Veterans Affairs study involving 36 participants fitted with DEKA arms. The study found that about 90% of participants were able to perform activities they were not able to perform with their current prosthesis, such as using keys and locks, preparing food, feeding themselves and brushing their hair. A video demonstration on DARPA's website shows a man using the bionic arm to transfer eggs from one carton to another without breaking them. The device was developed by DEKA Integrated Solutions in Manchester, New Hampshire. FDA approval means that DEKA can now legally market and sell the bionic arm in the United States. | FDA approves the DEKA arm, a prosthetic controlled by brain signals .
The DEKA project was overseen by Dean Kamen, who invented the Segway .
Kamen nicknamed the arm "Luke" after Luke Skywalker from "Star Wars"
The arm can perform delicate tasks such as handling an egg without breaking it . |
157,909 | 582850f8beb140e820f925378e611c3b3255e3ed | By . Matt Chorley, Mailonline Political Editor . PUBLISHED: . 10:24 EST, 2 January 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 07:21 EST, 3 January 2014 . An MP has been banned from Mumsnet after posting details online of a mother forced to give up her baby after a caesarean ordered by a secret court. Lib Dem John Hemming said he had also been put on the ‘naughty step’ for revealing the identities of other users of the website. The MP for Birmingham Yardley admitted using Mumsnet after drinking, writing on the site: ‘I am not sober, but I am right.’ Lib Dem MP John Hemming insisted he was not bothered about being kicked off the website Mumsnet . Mr Hemming, a long-standing campaigner against secrecy, was an outspoken critic of the treatment of an Italian woman forced to have a caesarean against her wishes. The newborn was taken into state care by Essex County Council on the orders of a judge in the notoriously secretive Court of Protection – despite the mother’s pleas to be allowed to raise her. Mr Hemming inadvertently named the woman on Mumsnet after posting a transcript of court proceedings from Italy. Under family law, all identities have . to remain anonymous. Mumsnet deemed this a breach of its rules and Mr . Hemming was banned just before Christmas. An Italian woman's newborn was taken into state care on the orders of a judge in the notoriously secretive Court of Protection despite the mother's pleas to be allowed to raise her. File picture . He insisted he was not bothered by the suspension, which will be reviewed after a ‘cooling off period’. Mr Hemming also incurred the wrath of . Mumsnet after posting a link to the Twitter account of a user named . ‘spero’ which identified her as family lawyer Sarah Phillimore. It is . against Mumsnet rules to name users. Justine Roberts, CEO of Mumsnet, said: 'The naming of the Italian mother's children and the somewhat aggressive outing of another mumsnet user's identity led us to suspend John Hemming. 'We have received a number of complaints about the MP's posts and posting style over the years so we thought it appropriate that we should suspend his membership for a cooling off period.' Mr Hemming, 53, said that he had inadvertently named the woman and her family involved in the Italian court case. He added: ‘Although I do read Italian, I don't read it that well, and didn't realise there was an Italian court order in place. ‘As soon as I realised my error, I contacted Mumsnet and asked them to take the posts down.’ He also admitted he had been drinking . while writing some posts. He said one night on the forum members . questioned if he was ‘Mumsnetting under the influence’ and he replied: . ‘I am not sober, but I am right.’ He . also admitted he had inadvertently revealed the identities of Mumsnet . contributors by posting links to their Twitter accounts, which gave . their real names. ‘I didn't realise it was against Mumsnet's rules and regulations, I haven't read them,’ he said. But . Mr Hemming said he was ‘not really that bothered’ about being banned. ‘My eight-year-old daughter is thrilled I'm on the naughty step and if . she's happy, I'm happy,’ he said. Mumsnet said it would look again at Mr Hemming's use of the site after a cooling off period . A . statement from Mumsnet said: ‘Although we don't formally verify the . identity of our users, we believe that it is John Hemming MP posting on . Mumsnet. He has been posting for some time. ‘Before . Christmas, he was involved in a long discussion surrounding the forced . Caesarian/adoption case. He posted a long transcript of Italian court . proceedings which named some of the mother's children, which is in . breach of UK reporting restrictions on the case. It was reported to us . by John Hemming and by other users so in accordance with our guidelines, . we deleted the post. ‘John . Hemming was also reported for posting information that linked to Mumsnet . users' real names, which is against our ethos (the vast majority of our . members greatly value the anonymity of our site and value being able to . keep their real life identity and MN identity separate), and so we . suspended him from the site on 21/12/13. ‘After a cooling off period while we review the things that lead to the suspension we will decide on the best way forward.’ The mother in the Caesarian case Alessandra Pacchieri, 35, from Tuscany, can be named openly in the British media after a High Court judge refused a request from Essex County Council for a blanket ban on anything which could identify her. MailOnline reported last month how she had written a poignant letter to her 'little Princess' promising never to forget her. | Lib Dem MP for Birmingham Yardley broke rules of popular web forum .
Posted transcript of court case which named mother in controversial case .
Also revealed identity of another Mumsnet user in breach of rules . |
176,520 | 7088f90309d4475d8ebc0928c6b061bed06e6bee | St. Petersburg, Russia (CNN) -- Vladimir Putin was out on a mission here in his hometown to re-boot his languishing economy after political moves involving Ukraine scared off investors in the past half year. While voters were readying for an election this weekend in Ukraine, the Russian president spent 48 hours at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum to convey a message to those in attendance, his domestic constituency and investors watching our coverage from abroad. The images showed an engaged leader in constant dialogue with corporate titans and one helping to support dealmaking. Putin stood proudly behind Igor Sechin, the CEO of his energy giant Rosneft, as he finalized a recent agreement with his counterpart Marco Tronchetti Provera of Italian tire manufacturer Pirelli. The signing of seven agreements on Saturday capped off a week where Putin orchestrated a $400bn, 30-year agreement with China to export natural gas. To underscore that moment, he invited a Chinese vice-premier to his annual roundtable. Bringing him here reinforced the new partnership and illustrates to the world Russia is moving east to Asia to capture business. Alexey Ulyukaev, Russia Economic Development Minister and a member of "Team Putin" told a CNN emerging markets roundtable here at SPIEF. "This is our message: nothing personal, nothing political, just business." Impact of Crimea . But politics and business have clashed over Ukraine. President Putin's move to annex Crimea may have boosted his poll ratings at home, but it certainly has not helped his standing in global business. U.S. and EU sanctions prompted capital flight of $60bn in the first quarter. More worrying, cabinet ministers and business leaders told me, it's holding back decision making. "This problem is not the sanctions themselves which are in place at the moment," said Dmitry Konov, CEO of the Russian natural gas and petro-chemical group Sibur, "but rather that most of our partners don't know what to expect if anything." That uncertainty is hitting an economy already in decline. Russia was growing 4% back in 2010, but it has taken a staircase lower to just over 1% last year. It is projected to barely expand this year, according to the International Monetary Fund. There is also the potential danger of global contagion by trying to isolate a near $2 trillion economy like Russia. "It's very difficult to solve the problem without engagement, "said Mustafa Abdel-Wadood, Chairman of the Executive Committee at private equity firm Abraaj Group. "I don't think we'll find solution without engagement. And I would apply it to both: commercial and political decisions," he added. After the final event of the forum, Sechin of Rosneft told me constant questions on sanctions don't help matters. He has been the target of U.S. sanctions limiting his ability to travel there for business with partners such as Exxon-Mobil. "I suggest we don't discuss the sanctions anymore because it is counterproductive," he said, adding, "The increased attention to sanctions and discussion of sanctions significantly increase their importance." Corporate leaders understand that Putin and his team want to turn the page on Ukraine, but there is another reality. Beyond all the efforts to convey a message of "business as usual," investors who attended the forum said they want to see how the Kremlin responds to events after the Ukraine election. Read more: Russia's Davos: Where Vladimir Putin has gone from powerhouse to pariah . | Russia has been hosting the May 22-24 St. Petersburg International Economic Forum .
Russian President Vladimir Putin spent 48 hours at the business gathering .
He gave the impression of an engaged leader aiding dealmaking, John Defterios says .
But Defterios says the annexing of Crimea has not helped Putin's standing in global business . |
101,344 | 0ea3ecb5c95c9059d6a3791eda23f194fe4e5557 | A 'feisty' giant rhea burst past its owner and went running down a busy main road causing bemusement, just six weeks after another of a massive birds escaped. Locals in Warminster Town, Wiltshire, took photographs of the bird as it fled having avoided the attempts of several women who tried to keep it under control. Police spent three hours chasing the flightless bird before it was cornered allowing the owner to safely collect it. The giant rhea, pictured, escaped from its owner yesterday evening and ran down the street in Warminster . Local resident Andy Taylor spotted the rhea, pictured, running past his car as he was stuck in rush-hour traffic yesterday afternoon . Police officers spent three hours trying to capture massive bird after it escaped yesterday afternoon bringing traffic in Warminster to a standstill . Eyewitness Adam Taylor, 29 said: 'To be honest I didn't see it at first. I was wondering why the car in front had suddenly stopped. 'Then I saw what I thought was an albino ostrich and a women trying to shepherd it back towards her house. 'I thought, "well that's something you don't see everyday". 'The owner managed to grab it but it shed a few feathers escaping her grasp, and then ran off stopped and turned by my car. 'I thought about getting out and helping but wasn't sure how safe a choice that was, as I was unsure if it was dangerous or not. 'I've seen ostriches before at Longleat and assumed this was the same.' The . bird's owner, who did not want give his name, said: 'It's a male bird . and unfortunately he has taken a dislike to me so when I went to get the . post yesterday afternoon he just burst at me. 'He made a dash for it through the open gate and that was it. Unfortunately this time of year males can be really feisty and that's what happened. 'It . wouldn't ever hurt anyone else, they are lovely creatures, my . 10-year-old can play with them just fine, it's just me he doesn't like. He made a run for it down the road and we had to wait for the police to corner it and bring it back.' He added: . 'I used to own lots of Rhea, I had them on my farm, they are lovely . birds. I'm in the process of selling off the house so I'm selling off . the birds too, this was my last one. 'They are a South American bird and they keep them rather than sheep, they really are lovely.' Police officers spent three hours chasing the bird. An earlier escaped rhea in Hertfordshire, pictured, was shot dead and turned into sausages . Baffled residents could not believe their eyes when they spotted an exotic bird - running riot in a quiet town centre. Police . called nearby Longleat Safari Park thinking that the Rhea may have . escaped from the estate, but they said all animals were accounted for. Rita the Rhea, escaped from a small holding owned by Jo Clark in Starling's Green in Essex in mid-March. The giant bird was running wild for more than a month when it was eventually shot in the head by gamekeeper Stuart Howe. Mr Howe said he saw the bird 70 yards away in a rape seed field near Royston, Hertfordshire. After shooting Rita, Mr Howe said he was going to turn her into gourmet sausages. The giant white flightless bird was eventually cornered in a back garden in Warminster, where its owner came to pick it up. Sergeant Jim Suter, Sector Sergeant for Trowbridge and Bradford-on-Avon, informed followers of the strange chase on Twitter. 'Police responding to report of Ostrich running through #Warminster High Street,' he tweeted. 'The Ostrich turned out to be a Rea located rear of #Warminster hospital and returned to owner.' Local Kate Preece wrote on Twitter: 'It was BIG, long neck & legs carrying it at break neck speed down the road! I was scared it would be killed!' Jamie . Wilkins said: 'I'm a little concerned. My wife is out with friends . tonight and there's reports of an ostrich running through Warminster.' He later added: 'The people of Warminster can relax. It wasn't an ostrich it was a rhea. It was cornered behind the hospital.'Grace . Dickins wrote: 'Just seen picture evidence that there is indeed a loose . emu or rhea running around Warminster High Street.' Fully-grown rheas can weigh up to 80lb, exceed 6ft in height and run as fast as 40mph. The spur on their heel is as big as their claws and they can kick with a force of 800lb per square inch. | Police in Warminster spent three hours chasing the giant flightless bird .
The owner said male rheas 'this time of year can be really feisty'
The owner explained 'unfortunately he has taken a dislike to me'
The last giant rhea to escape had to be shot and was turned into sausages . |
198,769 | 8d4a95f06ae69c432ae9b62f53d1a2200367f4bb | By . Meghan Keneally . PUBLISHED: . 10:53 EST, 23 January 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 13:21 EST, 23 January 2014 . Property ladder: Ronan Farrow, 26, has bought a $1.495million apartment near Lincoln Center . Ronan Farrow has purchased a $1.495million apartment ahead of the launch of his own MSNBC show. The 26-year-old media wunderkind reportedly bought a condo near Lincoln Center in Manhattan's Upper West Side, according to The New York Post. The two bedroom, two bathroom apartment allows the owner access to a communal roof deck that looks out at the Hudson River on one side and Central Park on the other. According to Zillow, 15th floor apartment has skyline views visible through the floor-to-ceiling windows that keeps the apartment flooded with natural light. The apartment is has an easy commute to MSNBC's studios in Rockefeller Center, and it seems fitting that it should be on the city's West side as that is where his mother has always lived. His mother, Mia Farrow, has an apartment on the Upper West Side and that is where Ronan was raised, while her longtime partner and Ronan's father Woody Allen kept a separate apartment across Central Park on the Upper East Side. Quite the view: The communal roof deck has views of the Hudson River and New Jersey on one side (pictured) and Central Park on the other . Lounge area: The 982-square-foot apartment (seen here with a previous tenant's decor) has hard wood floors and floor-to-ceiling windows . Their fraught familial relationship was brought back to the surface after the Golden Globes when Allen was honored with the lifetime achievement award and both Ronan and Mia lashed out online. Ronan, ended his relationship with his father after his parents split when it was revealed that Allen had started a sexual relationship with Ronan's adopted sister Soon-Yi, Tweeted a message about how his other sister Dylan had made sexaul assault allegations against Allen that were never prosecuted. Room to spare: The two bedroom apartment is about a 20 minute walk from his new office at MSNBC headquarters . Entertaining: The chefs kitchen and seated bar will allow him to entertain . Mia Farrow followed up the next day by asking her followers to 'decide for yourselves' about whether or not Allen was a pedophile, including a link to a recent article that detailed the case. Though Ronan's MSNBC paycheck has still been kept under wraps, this is not his first job since graduating from Bard in 1999 at the age of 15. He went on to get his law degree from Yale a decade later and is a registered lawyer in the state of New York. From there, he began working on international causes and became a UNICEF spokesman advocating for youth issues and later was appointed as a special advisor to then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2011. | Mia Farrow and Woody Allen's son, 26, has bought a condo .
The two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment is located near Lincoln Center and just blocks from Central Park .
The 982-square-foot apartment is on the 15th floor of a luxury building .
He is heading up his own MSNBC news and talk show which will launch in the coming months . |
130,618 | 34ed32915607924f92a423723356a228add6b2b6 | Grand Rapids, Michigan (CNN) -- There isn't a question that's more quintessentially American than "What do you do for a living?" It is just safe enough to start a conversation with a stranger, it is universal enough so anyone can answer, and it strikes right to the core of what our culture values most -- money. Sure, on the surface that question doesn't sound as if it's been ripped from the Gordon Gekko "greed is good" manifesto -- but the reality is it blows past the pleasantries and heads right into the grit of someone's finances, revealing their place in the pecking order of society and thus a glimpse into just how happy they may or may not be. Since the end of the 20th century, "What do you do for a living?" has ceased to be an inquiry about how someone spends their time during normal business hours and instead serves as a slightly grating, socially acceptable manner in which we remind each other of the stuff we don't have or will never get. We may understand that money does not buy happiness, but over the past few decades that notion has been competing against a message that at every turn tells us we can't be happy without it. This dichotomy has slowly disconnected the American dream from the idea of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness and attached it to one's ability to move up the ladder. If you're at a bar and someone's response to that question is "I'm a lawyer," the people around generally assume that individual makes a lot of money, drives a fancy car and is not living paycheck to paycheck. He or she is happy, if you will. Obviously this is not the same rosy outlook people have about someone who says "I work at McDonald's" -- if the person who is working in McDonald's actually even says so. That's not meant to slight people who work in the fast food industry, but to illustrate my point. In our culture a person's worth is tied to his or her profession -- the higher the salary or profile, the more valued the individual is as a person, and the happier we assume he or she is. And sadly the reverse is also true. If it weren't, women would not feel the need to defend their decision to be stay-at-home moms in the era of the career woman. If it weren't, men would not feel challenged if they're dating a woman who makes more. Nowadays, with so many people either out of work or underemployed, I find that question can not only inject a small measure of shame into a conversation, but herd us into faceless categories like job creator or illegal immigrant. There's nothing wrong with trying to pass the time by asking strangers nonthreatening questions. But why not ask about something not related to money, such as "When was the last time a moment took your breath away?" -- getting back to what it means to be human as opposed to a consumer. Yes, jobs, career, money are all realities and yes, we've all got to eat. But what's wrong with talking about good food as opposed to what we had to do to pay for it? To me, the impetus behind Occupy Wall Street is not about jobs or failed policies. It's a yearning to be valued again. To be heard and seen. To matter. Some of us are guilty of buying houses we couldn't afford or leaning on credit cards to live above our means. Banks created a business model that profits off of our desire to keep up with the Joneses. Now the rugs been pulled from under us and we're scared. In the title track of his second CD, bluesman Amos Lee sings "life ain't only supply and demand." Somewhere between the Atari 2600 and the first iPod, a lot of us have forgotten that. It seems now would be a good time to remember, because regardless of who wins the election in 2012, most economists believe the waters will be choppy for some time after. Unnerving, considering how much we're already at each other's throats. Somehow we have to remember we are more than our credit score. We are more than what we do for a living. We are more than stuff. Last week, in roughly 36 hours, I went from sipping coffee at a Starbucks in a midsized city in Michigan, to ordering overpriced cocktails at a posh hotel lounge in Beverly Hills, to shaking my head disapprovingly as I drove by Confederate flags that still flap in the wind in Jackson, Mississippi. Along the way I found myself engaged in a number of casual conversations with some of my favorite kind of people -- strangers. It would make sense that folks from the Midwest, West Coast and Deep South would have radically different approaches to life -- and in many ways they do -- but what I found amusing was that regardless of the ZIP code, it did not take long for the person I was talking to ask me what I do for a living. In some cases in Beverly Hills, they wanted to know that before they knew my name. It all seemed so callous and fake. Then I remembered "what you do" is the new "who you are." Now it just all seemed so sad. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of LZ Granderson. | LZ Granderson says Americans love to ask strangers: "What do you do for a living?"
He says the once-innocent question has new meaning in a time of economic turmoil .
It offers a window into how people are doing and in theory how happy they are, he says .
Granderson: We should be less focused on the material and more on the worth of people . |
42,535 | 77ec5a35ff71e43a8dc13c4598d79b9c83b6bd9e | By . James Chapman . Attack: Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg will insist fathers should no longer be made to see themselves as bread-winners . Nick Clegg will today launch an extraordinary attack on ‘old-fashioned’ bosses who ‘raise an eyebrow’ when men ask for time off work to look after their children. The Deputy Prime Minister will insist fathers should no longer be made to see themselves as breadwinners rather than carers. And he will claim more needs to be done to encourage men into caring professions such as childcare and nursing. Mr Clegg will hail the Government’s changes to parental leave rules, which are being torn up next year to smash what he calls an ‘Edwardian’ attitude that women rather than men should stay at home to look young children. It comes as a study found one in three fathers who work in the City of London took either no paternity leave or cut short their two-week entitlement. The research, carried out by Cityfathers, a new support group for working fathers in the City, also found that one in five men feared it would be 'career death' to ask for time off to look after their children. Speaking at the launch of the group today, Mr Clegg will say will say he has ‘fought to drag the clapped-out rules into the 21st century’. He will highlight new childcare . subsidies worth up to £2,000 year per child designed to encourage women . to return to work, insisting Britain ‘could boost its GDP by up to . £23billion if we use the skills of our female workforce more . effectively’. Mr Clegg will argue there is also a need . for a culture change across British industry to tackle ‘clapped-out’ attitudes to flexible, family-friendly working practices. He will say: ‘We need to challenge the ways in which many fathers are still pushed to see themselves as a breadwinner first and carer second – whether it’s by a manager’s raised eyebrow when you ask for some family time off, or your friends’ surprise when you say you’d like to be a stay-at-home parent if you could.’ Despite efforts to introduce flexible parental leave that can be shared between men and women and extend free childcare, there are still ‘hidden prejudices’ which limit women’s career ambitions and men’s ability to spend time with their families. The coalition’s reforms, he will say, are ‘only the start’. Reforms to parental leave, which come into effect next year, have been the subject of a fierce coalition argument and have split the business community. But the new study has raised fears that many fathers won't take advantage of the new rules, with one in three high-earners saying they won't be sharing their partner's maternity leave. Cityfathers founder Louisa Symington-Mills said: 'Employers need to give greater support to their employees who are working hard, juggling office and home life, otherwise the prospects look dim both for morale in organisations and for the government's plans for more flexible working.' The Institute of Directors has condemned the reforms as a ‘nightmare for small businesses’, but the Confederation of British Industry said it was pleased the Government had listened to concerns about how the system will operate. The reforms mean that from April next year, parents will be able to share 52 weeks of parental leave. New mothers will have to use the first two weeks, deemed important for recovery and bonding with a baby. But then, they will be able to transfer the rest of their time off to their partner – meaning a father can tell his employer he wants as much as 50 weeks off. Alternatively, parents could each take 25 weeks to run concurrently. Nick Clegg’s salary is vastly outstripped by his wife. Mr Clegg earns £134,565 a year as an MP and Deputy Prime Minister, while Miriam Clegg – a Spanish-born lawyer for international legal firm Dechert – earns £500,000. Three sons: Mr Clegg and his wife Miriam, who brings in a £500,000 salary from her legal work . The Cleggs live in a £1.6million townhouse in Putney, South-West London. They married in 2000 and have three sons – Antonio, Alberto and Miguel. Mrs Clegg has said previously that the pair split the childcare and her husband often tried to do the school run. She admitted they had a ‘fantastic nanny’ to help look after the children. | Men should not have to be the breadwinner, Deputy Prime Minister will say .
Mr Clegg will hail reforms to parental leave rules and childcare subsidies .
Will also attack 'clapped-out' attitudes to family-friendly working in Britain .
One in three fathers in the City failed to take full two weeks paternity leave .
One in five of those surveyed said it was 'career death' to ask for time off . |
60,423 | abc362f7b78f5f3683205f9629d01623607bbc52 | (CNN) -- Politicians, generals and clerics have all played their part in shaping the new Iraq, with varying results. Now the geeks are giving it a shot. In recent months, Baghdad residents from science, engineering and tech backgrounds have been meeting regularly to participate in Iraq's first "hackerspace." Known as Fikra Space, from the Arabic word for "idea," this open-access laboratory is intended as a technological playground to promote collaborative innovation, entrepreneurship -- and potentially solutions to some of the problems facing the country. "There's nothing else like this here," said Salih Ammar, a 16-year-old high school student with an interest in smartphone technology, who has become heavily involved in the project. "It's open for all people, no matter their ages and their religion." Sectarian tensions have been a hallmark of life in Iraq following the ouster of former dictator Saddam Hussein. Shia Arabs form the largest group in the country, but for centuries were dominated by the Sunni minority. Today, Shias dominate the government, and Sunni activists routinely protest what they consider discriminatory treatment. The hackerspace concept, where participants were free to drop in, experiment with specialist tech equipment and share ideas, has been imported to Iraq via Bilal Ghalib, a 27-year-old Iraqi-American. Ghalib became involved in hackerspaces when he visited about 50 across the United States in 2009, shooting footage for a possible documentary. The model, he told CNN, had originated in Germany in the 1990s, but had taken off in the U.S. in the wake of the global financial crisis, as skilled, newly unemployed people sought different ways to re-tool and channel their energies in a more entrepreneurial way. Ghalib says he saw parallels with the situation across the Middle East where a young generation looking for greater control of their own destinies were being worn down by high unemployment and political instability. "How do you look into the future and see your (hand) in it?" he added. "That's what entrepreneurship is, putting control back into your hands and letting you create what you want to see and make a living doing it." See more: Ten of the Gulf's coolest green buildings . Ghalib started Fikra Space during a flying visit to Iraq in October, paid for through crowd-funding to his organization GEMSI (the Global Entrepreneurship and Maker Space Initiative). Having put the word out through online networks, he convened a series of workshops to demonstrate the new technologies people could play with in the setting -- such as a 3D printer -- and to introduce them to the ethos of the hackerspace itself. Since then, the group, which meets in the offices of a local journalism institute, has been drawing as many as 30 active participants to its meetings, held weekly if security allows, said Fikra Space member Mujtaba Zuhair. Although attacks by sectarian militants in Iraq have decreased since the height of the insurgency in 2006 and 2007, religious violence is still common and security remains a prime concern for civil society groups and other organizations pushing a progressive agenda. Zuhair, a 19-year-old student with an interest in electronics and programming, said many locals struggled to wrap their heads around the concept, while Ghalib added that the project has been regarded with suspicion in some quarters. "First, they're confused by the word hacker -- they think it's something to do with piracy," said Zuhair. Rather, the term here refers to an inventor or creator. The "open-source," everyone-is-welcome philosophy that underpinned the project is also unique. "There aren't many communities in Baghdad that operate like this," said Zuhair, who has been using his time in the lab to conduct experiments in home automation -- connecting items in the home to a network which can be operated through a mobile phone. "We don't have a manager, board, administration. We're all equal and every member can do whatever they want." But despite its novelty, the facility is proving a major draw to a certain type of technologically curious, enterprising Iraqi, the majority of whom are college students or professors. "The most interesting thing is the people themselves, the people who want to help their community and others," said Ali Mohammed, a 21-year-old student of materials science and engineering who uses the labs to further his interest in artificial intelligence. Read more: Who will win the battle for the new Tunisia? Along with others behind the space, he hopes the lab might eventually prove an incubator that could generate products and services providing solutions for problems facing Iraq. "The problem here in Iraq is that people have lost hope in making things," said Zuhair. "People became unused to making things -- they just wanted to survive. If someone has a great idea they will get discouraged. But the new generation want to change, and they're looking for other people like them who want to change." To this end, Ghalib has had a similar hand in the establishment of hackerspaces in Lebanon and Egypt -- operating on the basis that he helps seed the idea, then lets the community take over -- and has a vision for a chain of similar spaces throughout the region. "I want to see 1,000 hackerspaces from Turkey to Morocco," he said. Ghalib added that you don't need to spend long in Iraq to be exposed to the challenges the country faces -- when he was in Baghdad, explosions occurred close to where he was staying -- and the Middle Eastern hackerspaces had some way to go before they began generating solutions to those problems. Experiments thus far had been more modest in scope. Projects in Egypt include a high-tech reimagining of a "fanuz," the colourful lamp traditionally lit during Ramadan -- a home-grown response to the loss of the fanuz-manufacturing industry to China. Beirut's hackerspace has conducted experiments with clay and cryptography, and while Baghdad's experimental makers are a long way from solving the city's notorious traffic issues, Zuhair is proposing a simple intervention to make it more tolerable: Starting a podcast to entertain gridlocked commuters. "We haven't gotten there yet," said Zuhair, acknowledging that the sort of game-changing innovations promised by the hackerspace movement were probably some way off. But that's okay, said Ghalib. "I think it's really important for the people in the Middle East to feel like they have a place to come and play. People don't really have that." He acknowledges that his faith in the hackerspace concept has previously been described as "irrationally optimistic" -- but says that's a good fit for the city. "I think that's the only way to be when you're working in a place like Baghdad," he said. "I believe it's this type of optimism that will allow me and others around me to look past the challenges that surround us, and begin to do something." | Hackerspaces have begun operating in Baghdad and elsewhere in the Middle East .
Hackerspaces are open-access laboratories intended to promote entrepreneurship .
Its members hope to generate tech solutions to some of the problems facing Iraqis . |
65,960 | bb348aacb4a3bde72c4ce937ac86914de6437628 | By . Mark Duell . At least 15 people have died and almost 230 injured after a huge explosion in Taiwan caused by a suspected gas leak. Multiple explosions happened early on Friday in Kaohsiung city in the south of the island after reported leaks in the sewage system. Witnesses said the gas leaks started at about 9pm, forming white fog, before fire could be seen and explosions heard on several streets. Scroll down for video . Fire: A blast rips through the city of Kaohsiung in southern Taiwan. The explosion, that is believed to have been caused by a gas leak, has killed at least five people . Shocking damage: People take pictures of a crater caused by a blast in the city of Kaohsiung in Taiwan early on Friday . Blaze: Multiple explosions happened early on Friday in Kaohsiung city in Taiwan after reported leaks in the sewage system . Massive leakage: Flames from an explosion from an underground gas leak in the streets of Kaohsiung, Taiwan, early Friday . Ripped off: Photographs from the scene showed overturned cars and destroyed roads, while some observers saw bodies on the streets . Help: Residents carry a wounded person following the blast. Witnesses said the gas leaks started at about 9pm, forming white fog, before fire could be seen . Photographs from the scene showed overturned cars and destroyed roads, while some observers saw bodies on the streets. Taiwan's National Fire Agency said 15 . people were killed and 228 were injured. It added that five . firefighters were among the dead. Paul . Bensilum told MailOnline tonight that his wife Hui-Mei, 43, and . six-year-old son Peter both heard the blast despite living 10 minutes . away by road. The . 42-year-old from Basingstoke, Hampshire, said: ‘It was really . unexpected, and they still don't seem too clear on what the cause is. ‘There seems to be a mixture of official and unofficial words around that something similar may happen again. Disaster zone: The body of a victim killed in the gas explosion from an underground leak is carried from the rubble in a main street in Kaohsiung . Carried: A massive gas leakage caused five explosions that killed 15 people and injured more than 200 in the southern Taiwan port city of Kaohsiung . Taken away: A local report said that before the explosion, smoke with a 'gas-like smell' was seen coming out of drains in the streets . Emergency response: Rescue workers inspect the body of a victim following a blast in the city of Kaohsiung. More than 220 people were injured in the explosion . Location: The incident happened in the early hours of Friday in Kaohsiung city, which is located in the south of Taiwan . ‘My . wife said she's not going to go to sleep tonight and is sleeping . dressed just in case. It's a bit like when you have an earthquake. ‘It's absolute shock because it's something they're not used to, and they're obviously scared of what might happen.’ Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu was said to have urged people to leave the dangerous areas of the city following the incident. One witness told China’s Central News Agency: ‘I saw fire spurting, ripping off some covers of ditches. It was terrifying.’ Cianjhen, Lingya, Siaogang and Cianjin districts were all reportedly rocked by the explosions on Ersheng Road and Kaisuan Road. | Multiple explosions heard early on Friday in Kaohsiung city, Taiwan, after reported leaks in the sewage system .
Witnesses say the gas leaks started at 9pm, forming white fog, before fire could be seen and explosions heard .
Photos from scene showed overturned cars and destroyed roads while some observers saw bodies on streets .
Husband whose wife and son are in Taiwan tells MailOnline there is concern that more explosions may happen . |
269,764 | e9669311f595373bad9f4ca6b11f3cbe1c32e3d5 | (CNN) -- A number of themes emerge from the regional reports included in the National Climate Assessment -- things like risks to infrastructure due to rising oceans both benefits and harm to agricultural production because of changing temperature, and new realities for cooling and heating costs. Find your geographic region below and see how these issues specifically affect where you live, according to the report. NORTHWEST . If you live in the Northwest, you can appreciate how vital the snow accumulation in the mountains is. It melts in spring to provide water for hydropower plants and irrigation for crops. But as seasonal water patterns change, caused in part by changes in snowmelt, the region's diverse ecology and geography can face challenges. The impacts of climate change will be strongly felt along the coast -- an area important for the region's economy. People's livelihoods, recreational areas and infrastructure could be affected by rising sea levels. At the same time, wildfires are expected to increase. White House: Climate change is here, action needed now . Examples from report: . -- "Since around 1950, area-averaged snowpack on April 1 in the Cascade Mountains decreased about 20%, spring snowmelt occurred 0 to 30 days earlier depending on location, late winter/early spring streamflow increases ranged from 0% to greater than 20% as a fraction of annual flow, and summer flow decreased 0% to 15% as a fraction of annual flow, with exceptions in smaller areas and shorter time periods." -- As sea levels rise, coastal areas of Washington and Oregon will flood more often. Beaches and habitats will probably decline in these areas. -- "Climate change will alter Northwest forests by increasing wildfire risk and insect and tree disease outbreaks, and by forcing longer-term shifts in forest types and species." -- Wildfires are a natural part of the forest ecosystem in the Northwest, but warmer and drier conditions have increased the number and extent of such fires. -- "Projected warming will reduce the availability of irrigation water in snowmelt-fed basins and increase the probability of heat stress to field crops and tree fruit." -- In the short term, some crops will benefit from a longer growing season, but the long-term consequences are uncertain. SOUTHWEST . Those in the Southwest, especially in California, have already seen what changes in sea levels and temperature can do. Wildfires have ravaged some communities, and there has been damage along the coast due to waves encroaching further and further inland. Residents in this region count on a reliable supply of water. Imagine if that supply becomes less reliable as snowpack and streamflow amounts decrease? Examples from the report: . -- "Over the past 50 years across most of the Southwest, there has been less late-winter precipitation falling as snow, earlier snowmelt, and earlier arrival of most of the year's streamflow." -- Between 1970 and 2003, warmer and drier conditions increased the burned area in the western U.S. mid-elevation conifer forests by 650%. -- The sea level along the California coast has risen anywhere between 6.7 to 7.9 inches over the past 100 years. --"If adaptive action is not taken, coastal highways, bridges, and other transportation infrastructure (such as the San Francisco and Oakland airports) are at increased risk of flooding with a 16-inch rise in sea level in the next 50 years." -- "The effects of heat stress are greatest during heat waves lasting several days or more, and heat waves are projected to increase in frequency, duration, and intensity,,,,, become more humid, and cause a greater number of deaths." GREAT PLAINS . A large chunk of the middle United States, from Texas to Montana and the Dakotas, falls into this category in the report. What do Texans and Montanans have in common when it comes to climate? Well, the entire region will see increased demand for water and energy, and temperatures rise. Changes in how much you have to cool or warm your house has large impacts on the efficiency of energy use. Five things you can do . Climate change doesn't have just negative effects. For example, increased rainfall in the Northern Plains could increase agricultural productivity. But in the Central and Southern Plains, declines in rainfall means crop yields will be reduced. Examples from report: . -- In the Northern Plains, warmer winters mean that there may be a reduction in heating demand, but it might be outweighed by greater demand for air conditioning during warmer summers. -- In the Central and Southern Plains, "the climate impacts of shifting from irrigated to dryland agriculture would reduce crop yields by about a factor of two." -- Plants and animals adjust to rising temperatures by adjusting their ranges, but that is becoming more difficult. For example: "The historic bison herds migrated to adapt to climate, disturbance, and associated habitat variability, but modern land-use patterns, roads, agriculture, and structures inhibit similar large-scale migration." -- Native American communities face physical and political constraints as the climate changes: "Tribal members have reported the decline or disappearance of culturally important animal species, changes in the timing of cultural ceremonies due to earlier onset of spring, and the inability to locate certain types of ceremonial wild plants." MIDWEST . The Midwest is home to one of the country's treasures, the Great Lakes. Climate change, however, means that the ecosystem might see changes such as increased invasive species and harmful algae, and declining beach health. On the flipside, less ice on the lake could increase the shipping season. As in other regions, the growing season stands to be lengthened because of the climate change, but again, it risks being offset by extreme weather events such as freezes that ruin crops. Examples from report: . -- The Midwest growing season lengthened by almost two weeks since 1950. -- The longer growing season can be offset by extreme weather, such as freezes and springtime cold outbreaks. -- The frequency of major heat waves in the Midwest has increased over the past 60 years. -- "One study projected an increase of between 166 and 2,217 excess deaths per year from heat wave-related mortality in Chicago alone by 2081-2100." -- "The Great Lakes, North America's largest freshwater feature, have recently recorded higher water temperatures and less ice cover as a result of changes in regional climate." SOUTHEAST . The Southeast -- known for its beaches, its seafood and ports, and as home to two of the nation's major cities -- Atlanta and Miami -- could face risks due to climate change. Sea-level, rise, especially, can affect the region, as well as extreme weather such as hurricanes and heat spells. The risk is intensified in that so many cities, roads, energy facilities and water supplies are on the coast. Opinion: Wake up to the reality . The hot weather is only going to get hotter, though the increases for this region are smaller than for some others. Examples from report: . --North Carolina is raising the roadbed of U.S. Highway 64 across the Albemarle-Pamlico Peninsula on the coast by four feet, which includes 18 inches to allow for higher future sea levels. -- "Louisiana State Highway 1, heavily used for delivering critical oil and gas resources from Port Fourchon, is literally sinking, resulting in more frequent and more severe flooding during high tides and storms." -- Utilities will be under more pressure as rising seas means saltwater can contaminate freshwater supplies. -- The summer heat will continue to reduce crop productively and damage crops, as happened in Georgia in 2007, when a drought cost $339 million in losses. NORTHEAST . New York. Washington. Some of the country's most important cities are categorized together in the climate report under the Northeast region. The governmental and financial hubs of the United States will have to withstand heat waves, downpours, and a rising sea level. The Northeast is a highly-urbanized region, where the heat and other climate factors can take a toll on the population. Already, there are examples of cities in this region incorporating the risk into their planning. Industries such as agriculture and fishing will be tested, and farmers can choose to explore alternate crops, but this is not easy or cheap. Examples from report: . -- "One recent study projected that temperature changes alone would lead to a 50% to 91% increase in heat-related deaths in Manhattan by the 2080s." -- Don't forget about rural areas. Places where air conditioning is not prevalent because heat waves are rare suddenly become vulnerable when such heat events become more frequent. -- "In New York State, two feet of sea level rise is estimated (absent adaptation investment) to flood or render unusable 212 miles of roads, 77 miles of rail, 3,647 acres of airport facilities, and 539 acres of runways." -- Higher ocean temperatures mean that commercially important fish will be pushed northward. This means fisheries that depend on cod and lobster face significant declines. | The National Climate Assessment includes regional reports .
Themes include infrastructure risks from rising oceans, to changing energy needs .
Forecasts are included for six U.S. regions . |
177,233 | 716d20f737fe0d1e5d8414201c21731762f451b7 | (CNN) -- The rapper who mutilated himself and then jumped from a Los Angeles building has broken his silence about what happened. Andre Johnson was severely injured in April after he severed his penis and leaped from the second level of a building in North Hollywood. He told E! that he was under the influence of drugs at the time but insisted that he knew what he was doing. "Yes, I was using drugs that night, but I was in complete control," he said. "I cut it off because that was the root of all my problems. My solution to the problem was the realization that sex is for mortals, and I am a god. ...Those kinds of activities got me into trouble, and I came here to be a god." Johnson performs under the name Christ Bearer and his group Northstar was affiliated with the Wu-Tang Clan. Johnson said he hadn't spoken out on the incident before because "People perceived me as crazy, so I never wanted to speak wholeheartedly on the matter." Doctors weren't able to reattach the penis, he told E!. He said he had been seeing a psychologist after he was discharged but that he has been deemed okay. He said he was thankful to God when he awoke in the hospital still alive. "I didn't want to kill myself," Johnson said. "That was just my response to the demons. They were doing their best to get to me, but being alive solidified my thoughts. ...I'm alive, penis or no penis." Photos: Celebrity substance abuse confessions . | Andre Johnson told E! he wasn't attempting suicide .
He said he had done drugs but knew what he was doing .
"I'm alive, penis or no penis," Johnson said . |
51,848 | 92d57143dae8dd0c10394942fd705116c2ad19a6 | By . Martin Bagot . PUBLISHED: . 07:58 EST, 12 December 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 13:14 EST, 12 December 2012 . England and Saracens rugby star Owen Farrell's great uncle Francis was killed with a single punch . The great uncle of England rugby star Owen Farrell was battered to death over a cigarette as he walked home to celebrate Father's Day. Dad of one Francis Farrell, 56, was left to die in a pool of blood by 23-year old David Horner who had been earlier pestering passers-by for a smoke. Mr Farrell told Horner he had no cigarettes and tried to walk on but was punched in the face causing him to fall and hit his head on the kerb. Yesterday . Horner, of Scholes, near Wigan, Greater Manchester was sentenced to three years and four months at Liverpool Crown Court after admitting manslaughter. He was traced after . police trawled CCTV footage. Owen, 21, has appeared for both England rugby league and union international teams and plays for Saracens in the Aviva Premiership. The England number ten kicked 17 points in the 38-21 victory over New Zealand this month. He was recently nominated for the IRB Player of the Year Award - marking him out as one of the four best players in the sport. Francis Farrell - known to friends as 'Fran' - was found unconscious on the pavement by a passing taxi driver with his teeth broken. Scroll down for video . 'Francis ( left) would cause no harm to anyone,' said his family said, and his killer David Horner . He died three days later in hospital from fatal head injuries without regaining consciousness. The victim had been drinking in . various pubs within Wigan, Greater Manchester into the early hours of . Fathers Day on Sunday 17 June this year. He . was last seen leaving Wiend Bar in Wigan town centre at about 3.50am . wearing a black fleece jacket, light blue jeans, black shoes, and a . black hat. He was then seen on CCTV walking down Frog Lane at 3.58am. Horner and a friend had been celebrating a birthday in Wigan town centre when they ran out of money. They left and walked the short distance to an address just off Frog Lane to pick up some extra cash. On their way back Horner became separated from his friend and started to pester passersby for a cigarette. His friend heard a noise and turned to see Horner running towards him and a man lying in the road. Mr Farrell was found a short . time later unconscious by a passing taxi driver who called an ambulance. Post mortem tests revealed he died from head injuries. VIDEO: CCTV traces Francis Farrell's final moments... The dead man's nephew - and Owen's father - is Andy Farrell OBE. The 37-year-old former Great Britain Lions captain and won the Golden Boot as the best player in the world in 2004. He is currently coach for the England rugby union team and helped mastermind their historic defeat of the New Zealand All Blacks. Former Wigan Warrior forward, Andy, captained his club to several championships and Challenge Cup titles as well as a range of individual awards between 1991 and 2004. In 2001 Farrell set the Wigan club's record for most points in a season with 429. He is only the second player to score more than 3,000 points in all competitions at Wigan. He transferred to rugby union and played for the Saracens from 2005 to 2009 and won eight England caps. Francis Farrell making his final steps before being attacked on his way home on Father's Day . Greater Manchester Police said the main focus of the investigation centred on CCTV, with officers trawling through hundreds of hours of footage from various locations, which led to the arrest of Horner and his friend on Tuesday 10 July 2012. Horner made no comment in police interview. A 22 year old suspect was eliminated from enquiries. After the case Det Chief Insp Phil Reade said: 'Francis was attacked in the early hours of Sunday 17 June whilst minding his own business on his way home after enjoying a night out in Wigan town centre. 'Horner, desperate for a cigarette, carried out a totally unprovoked attack which ended in tragedy. 'He left Francis lying in the road, unconscious and seriously injured and carried on with his night out as though nothing had happened. 'Francis' family and friends have been left devastated and are still finding it hard to come to terms with his loss.' Fran's nephew, Andy Farrell, helped mastermind England's historic defeat of the All Blacks this month . The victim's family said: 'We as a family cannot understand why this senseless tragedy has happened. 'Our Francis, or better known as 'France' to his friends, was a good son, brother and uncle. He kept himself to himself and was a quiet person. 'Francis lived his life how he wished and would cause no harm to anyone. From a proud sporting family: Andy Farrell is currently coaching the England rugby union team . 'He will be sadly missed by all his friends and family. Words cannot describe how this brutal killing has affected all of us around him. As a youngster, he grew up in Scholes and later the family moved to Beech Hill. 'Francis was the kind of person who when he made friends, they were to be his lifelong friends. 'As a young lad he loved participating in team sports. As he grew older, he liked a pint and enjoyed a good night out, like the majority of us do. Sadly, this is when his life came to a shocking end. 'We would also like to thank everyone for everything that was done for Francis whilst he was in hospital and for the many cards and thoughts of condolence that we have received. 'Francis son and grandson have both said how much they are missing him.' Francis Farrell's other nephew Liam . Farrell, 22, is presently a second row player for the Wigan Warriors in . the European Super League. As well as his nephews, the Francis Farrell leaves a son aged 33 and a grandson aged eight. | David Horner is jailed for three years and four months after admitting manslaughter at Liverpool Crown Court .
Francis Farrell, 56, was punched to floor and left for dead in Wigan .
'Fran' was beloved great uncle of Saracens star Owen . |
281,682 | f8e54dccd4ff14c7ced7487f0abd07b3d099f2c1 | The man who was caught on camera fleeing a New York City subway station with a grin on his face after attacking an MTA worker has surrendered, and he's a New York Police Department officer, authorities say. On December 23, around 2.30am, on a New York southbound D Train platform at the Tremont Avenue station near Grand Concourse, a 28-year-old Metropolitan Transportation Authority worker was grabbed by the then-unknown assailant, according to PIX11. The man grabbed her, threw her to the ground and began choking her before fleeing the scene, the New York Daily News reports. Scroll down for video . Surrendered: The man who was caught on camera fleeing with a grin on his face after attacking an MTA worker has surrendered, and he's a New York Police Department officer . Recognized Himself: Police say the officer recognized himself in the video and turned himself in at the 25th Precinct in Harlem . The woman was taken to a hospital where she was treated for minor injuries to her neck and back, CBS reports. The NYPD released a surveillance video of the attacker running through a subway turnstile and smiling. Once the video circulated, police realized they were looking for one of their own. The Daily News reports that people called investigators, identifying the assailant as a Harlem cop. The off-duty officer surrendered and was questioned Thursday, claiming he attacked the woman after she tried to grab his cell phone, according to CBS. The officer reportedly told investigators that the woman cursed at him when he asked her a question. Then the woman grabbed his phone to keep the officer from taking a picture, CBS reports. Police say the officer recognized himself in the video, that has received nearly 100 views on YouTube, and turned himself in at the 25th Precinct in Harlem. No charges were immediately filed, according to the Daily News, but the NYPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau is investigating the incident. Incident: The incident occurred Dec. 23 around 2.30am at the Tremont Avenue station near Grand Concourse (photographed) | The man who was caught on camera fleeing with a grin on his face after attacking an MTA worker has surrendered, and he's a New York Police Department officer .
The man fled after grabbing a female MTA worker, throwing her to the ground, and choking her .
The NYPD circulated the surveillance video of the man only to get calls identifying the assailant as one of their own .
The officer claims he attacked the woman because she tried to grab his phone . |
58,514 | a5f40be052cb9500c1a61072d11e3ee58cb85b39 | (CNN) -- Zuccotti Park is not Tahrir Square, because the United States is not Egypt. In case this is not obvious to those camping out near Wall Street and in various other cities around the country, consider the following: In about 13 months, all 435 members of the House of Representatives must stand for election. In addition, 33 Senate seats and residency at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue will be up for grabs. And this is just at the federal level. So if the "Occupy Wall Street" crowd wants to peacefully overthrow the government, there is no need to gather in a public square. The demonstrators can work for a candidate or run themselves. Unfortunately, those who are part of this movement seem to have dismissed this option. The New York group has produced a manifesto of sorts, entitled a "Declaration of the Occupation of New York City." Among the grievances listed (which they helpfully note are not "all-inclusive") is "that no true democracy is attainable when the process is determined by economic power." So are we to conclude that since corporations control American politics, the best thing for us to do is to sit outside in a park and issue manifestos? Writing in the pages of CNN.com, Douglas Rushkoff chastises those of us who don't understand the point of all this, explaining that Occupy Wall Street is "the product of the decentralized networked-era culture, it is less about victory than sustainability. It is not about one-pointedness, but inclusion and groping toward consensus." Well, in the U.S., groups made up of disparate individuals "network" themselves together to make collective decisions all the time. We call it democracy. As for "victory" being exchanged for "sustainability," how is it that these are interchangeable nouns? Political processes tend to be ongoing and aimed at "sustainability." Congress does not just take a vote and then dissolve. "Victory," as Rushkoff terms it, is just a way of saying that we have reached a decision. It is probably not our first, and let's hope, not our last. And though it is not always pretty, President Barack Obama, U.S. House Speaker John Boehner and Majority Leader Harry Reid spend most of their time "groping toward consensus." They must do so, however, in the real world, where people disagree. But let's get back to that idea about democracy not being possible because corporations run everything. This feeling, I think, is at the root of the Occupy Wall Street movement. Now, no one is going to say that money doesn't play a role in politics. It always has, and it always will. What does this mean? Well, if you want to influence the nation's politics you have to raise money. So raise some money. In this sense, Rushkoff is right to talk about how, in a networked and wired world, politics is different. It is now much cheaper to get your message out. Where 20 years ago a candidate would have to raise hundreds or thousands of dollars to fund a mass mailing, voters are now just a mouse click away. Not enough money to buy traditional advertising? There is the Internet -- Facebook and Twitter, for example. Ron Paul, hardly a favorite of corporate America, has managed to use this new technology to raise several million dollars in just a day. Technology has leveled the political playing field. Still, as they say about the lottery, you have to be in it to win it. So if you want to change America, you have to get in the game. But here's the rub: Occupations and rallies are fun. Electoral politics is hard. The rules are complex, and so are the voters. A gathering in the street has a lot in common with a party. Running for office and working for a candidate is like a 9 to 5 job. And getting involved in the political process forces you out of your comfort zone. Instead of hanging out with a few hundred -- or a few thousand -- people who basically agree with you, you have to confront and perhaps persuade those who don't agree with you. In the process, however, you will learn more about democracy then you will at any teach-in. So my suggestion to Occupy Wall Street and their affiliates throughout the country is to pay as much attention to their 15th Amendment right to vote as they do to their 1st Amendment right to peaceably assemble. In other words, get out of your sleeping bags and onto the ballot! The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Paul Sracic. | Paul Sracic says if Occupy Wall Streeters want change, they should run for office .
He says demonstrating in a park won't do anything about corporate power in U.S.
He says protesters want inclusion, consensus, but they have it; it's called democracy .
Sracic: Rallies are fun; running for office not as much. To change U.S., get in game . |
163,699 | 5fb34e71593102ee18bb4cce8d927a35e3b97cd0 | By . Rob Cooper . PUBLISHED: . 11:10 EST, 9 May 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 02:07 EST, 10 May 2013 . Scam: Anne Manger, 55, carried out the fraud so she did not have to lay off her staff in Oakham, Leicestershire . An 'exemplary' postmistress who stole £114,000 to keep her struggling branch afloat after a lifetime working for the Royal Mail has been jailed. Anne Manger, 55, whose father was a postmaster, was a well-respected member of the community but turned to fraud when money worries hit in January 2010. She struggled to pay her daily bills and rather than lay staff off or admit the business was struggling she began to generate false cash credits and pocketed more than £100,000. She covered her tracks by sharing the debt she created out between a number of the branch's outreach services. A court heard that she even kept her crime secret from her husband because she wanted to protect his reputation. But her scam was foiled when a routine audit found £113,872 missing from the accounts. Manger, who ran the post office in Oakham, Leicestershire, admitted fraud and was jailed for 16 months at Leicester Crown Court. Judge Robert Brown told her she had committed a 'significant breach of trust'. He said: 'Many in the community speak well of you and your family, who support you through this. 'It's such a large sum, over a long period of time, it's too serious not to mark it with a custodial sentence.' Michael Garvey, mitigating, said: 'She's been employed by the Post Office all her working life, and her father before her. 'She's previously run post offices in various locations in an exemplary fashion. 'Oakham Post Office needed building up when she and her husband first moved there and she started an outreach branch, going to villages so those who had lost their post offices would have some service. 'They were hit, as every business in the country was, by the recession. Fraud: The post office in Oakham got into financial difficulties in 2010 and the respected boss Anne Manger turned to crime to cover their losses . Guilty plea: Manger and her husband have sold their home to pay back the money which was taken . 'Extremely difficult circumstances arose and over a three-year period, the money went purely on living expenses and making sure the premises could stay open. 'She didn't want to lay off any staff and she was working more than 60 hours a week. 'They didn't have a lavish lifestyle and hadn't been taking holidays or buying cars beyond their means. 'She knew from the outset she would be found out and it was a weight off her shoulders.' The Mangers, who ran the post office together for six years, have now been forced to sell their £150,000 home to pay back the stolen money. A Post Office spokesman said: 'We believe that all sub-postmasters hold a unique position of trust. 'The overwhelming majority of people who work in our branch network are professional, honest and provide the highest standards of service possible and so it is always disappointing when that trust is breached.' | Anne Manger, 55, generated false cash credits to cover businesses' costs .
She even kept the scam secret from her husband to preserve his reputation .
But the crime in Oakham, Leicestershire, was uncovered in a routine audit . |
225,208 | af9deedbe38c8396b721d9e654c6155e4f759f5c | (CNN) -- At a time where former tennis greats are returning to the tour, there is one man whose presence looms large. It was always going to take something special to lure Boris Becker away from the home comforts of his family and the sanctuary of the television studio. But with one phone call and a glimpse at a man who made him think twice, the opportunity to work with Novak Djokovic was a challenge he could not resist. "I see in Novak a little bit of Boris Becker," the German tells CNN's Open Court. "I see him against Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, probably the two most popular players in the world, and he doesn't always get a fair deal from the crowd. "It makes him work even harder and more determined to win. I see some similarities between him and a young Becker." Becker began his partnership with Djokovic in December 2013 and was courtside when the Serb star claimed his seventh grand slam title at Wimbledon in July -- one more than his coach managed during a 15-year career. Becker, whose first of three triumphs at the All England club came as a raw teenager, was heavily criticized when he moved away from the microphone to become an integral part of Djokovic's coaching set up. His former rival Stefan Edberg joined forces with Federer around the same time, while Ivan Lendl -- another star of their era -- enjoyed a successful spell working alongside Andy Murray before they split in March. But it was Becker's arrival that caught the headlines. The 46-year-old says he could not turn down the offer -- especially given the similarities he saw between Djokovic, now 27, and his younger self. "I live with Novak. Whenever he makes a mistake I feel that I make it too," Becker says. "Whenever he hits an ace, I feel like I've hit an ace. "I have to keep my poker face and have a very cool demeanor. He's looking at us up in the box and we have to give him confidence. "Inside it's a volcano, I'm burning. After matches he needs to take a quiet minute to relax -- I need to take one too!" Becker burst onto the scene by winning Wimbledon at the tender age of 17 and repeating the feat the following year, becoming known as "Boom Boom" for his ferocious serve-and-volley game. A U.S. Open triumph in 1989 and two Australian Open crowns capped a fine career in which he won 64 ATP titles, earning $25 million in prize money. But since his retirement in 1999, Becker's main contribution to tennis has been through his television work. It is something he enjoys immensely, his enthusiasm laid bare for all to see every time he picks up a microphone. While Becker received a couple of phone calls from players curious as to whether he would be willing to take up a coaching role, it was only once Djokovic got in touch that he began to consider moving back onto the circuit. But even then, Becker needed reassuring -- he had to know what was driving Djokovic. "I have a pretty successful second career which is nothing to do with tennis or sport so I was already on the road for so many years, so I thought, why bother?" he says. "But Novak called me and I told him I felt honored. I told him I appreciated that he remembered me and that I could bring something he didn't have yet. "I considered going back on the road but I wanted to talk to him first to see how driven he was. "I didn't want to spend weeks with him away from my wife and kids if he wasn't driven. "I go on the road because I want to win the majors and not being happy with the quarters or the semis. He had the same mindset and that's why I felt it was the right decision." Becker's presence at the 2014 Australian Open sparked much interest. Djokovic, having won the title on each of his three previous visits to Melbourne Park, was dethroned by eventual winner Stan Wawrinka 9-7 in the fifth set of their quarterfinal. That result sparked skepticism over Becker's appointment, though he dismissed that as "part of being Boris Becker." Instead, Becker believes the defeat to Wawrinka allowed them time to assess which way they needed to go, and allowed him to begin to influence the Serbian's game -- especially the mental side. Defeats in the finals at Wimbledon and the U.S Open in 2013 and the 2014 French Open had left question marks over Djokovic's morale, but Becker believes any doubts have since been erased. "I was known to be a pretty hard-nosed guy on court with a very strong mentality," he adds. "I was a fighter's player. Maybe I wasn't the quickest or most talented but I put all my character into the match. "Maybe that was something he was looking for. He's so talented and physically he's amazing, maybe that was the one part he was lacking. "I think that's why we gel and get along. I have something he doesn't have, he certainly has things I don't have anymore, and I think that's a foundation of our relationship." Djokovic will start his 2014 U.S. Open campaign next week hoping to secure a second victory at Flushing Meadows to his growing list of triumphs, having lost in the last two finals there. Since Wimbledon, and his wedding, top-ranked Djokovic has struggled in the North American hard-court swing. A heavy defeat by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at the Rogers Cup was followed by a shock loss against world No. 18 Tommy Robredo in Cincinnati last week -- a result which has cast doubt over whether he will be ready for the final grand slam of the season. But with Nadal ruled out of the tournament with injury, Djokovic will still be confident of reaching the final, especially with Becker by his side. "Novak is a great student given he's someone who has won so much already," says Becker. "He's been world No. 1, is a multiple grand slam winner and is a very rich man. He really wants to learn, wants to get better and be in the history books of tennis. "He had a dream, coming from very humble beginnings. His parents gave everything for their children and he feels he has a very big responsibility to give everything he has and eventually give back to his family. "That's what makes him tick. He's much more mature than normal 27-year-olds often come across as." That maturity is also in evidence off the court following Djokovic's marriage to long-term girlfriend Jelena Ristic and the imminent arrival of their first child. Becker believes fatherhood will only enhance Djokovic's game and says children can have a positive effect on a player's psyche both on and off the court. "It changed me for the better," says Becker, who has children by both his first and second wives. "It changed Roger Federer for the better and gave him a new zest for life. A tennis player's life is sometimes very lonely but to have your wife and kid with you sometimes gives you a better quality of life. "There's something to go back to after practice or a match. It gave me another three or four years on my career and I think it will do the same for Novak. "He's a true family man. He loves his wife and family more than anything in the world, and having that addition to his family will make him a better man." | Boris Becker says he sees a lot of Novak Djokovic in himself .
Says he "burns like a volcano" while watching Djokovic play .
Only decided to take role after long talks with Serbian star .
He says fatherhood will help Djokovic blossom . |
177,890 | 7248f54e4b08621296bf569aef56aad81a17b95b | By . John Drayton . Every day Sportsmail takes a look at the European papers to see what are the biggest stories creating talking points on the continent. It's just one day until the World Cup, but in Spain and Mundo Deportivo, the attention centres on Victor Valdes. The former Barcelona keeper's proposed move to Monaco has collapsed due to the player's knee injury suffered in April proving more serious than first thought. Write caption here . Elsewhere in Spain, Marca are reporting that Sergio Ramos is set for a new bumper contract which would take him behind only Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo as the biggest earners at the European champions - a show of gratitude perhaps for his injury time equaliser in the Champions League final against Atletico Madrid. In Italy, Tuttosport lead with Juventus boss Antonio Conte having made contact with Barcelona forward Alexis Sanchez while also claiming Manchester United have made a £56m offer for PSG's Edinson Cavani. Corriere go with Mario Balotelli's engagement Fanny Neguesha but also report that Tottenham forward Erik Lamela is the subject of a three-way-fight between Juventus, Inter Milan and Napoli to secure his services. Over in France, domestic issues are set aside as L'Equipe lead with celebratory pictures of the France national team and a headline that roughly translates as permission to dream of winning the World Cup. On the move: Corriere dello Sport report that Napoli, Juventus and Inter Milan are all keen on Erik Lamela . | Sergio Ramos set to sign new Real Madrid deal - one which would see only Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale earn more .
Tottenham's Erik Lamela being chased by Inter Milan, Juventus and Napoli .
Manchester United offer £56million for PSG's Edinson Cavani . |
124,573 | 2d05878d3b5f118f43214c11b354b6b8043b43cb | (CNN) -- "CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute" returns to the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles as the network celebrates its fifth year of honoring "everyday people changing the world." CNN's Anderson Cooper again hosts the star-studded gala, which this year will be broadcast live around the world at 8 p.m. ET/ 5 p.m. PT on the global networks of CNN. The telecast shines a spotlight on the extraordinary accomplishments of the top 10 CNN Heroes, who will each receive $50,000 in recognition of their work. The show culminates with the announcement of the CNN Hero of the Year, one of the top 10 who will receive an additional $250,000. Voting to select the Hero of the Year is being conducted online at CNNHeroes.com and will end December 7 at 11:59 p.m PT. Performers and presenters for this year's tribute show will be announced in the coming weeks. Last year's show included appearances by Halle Berry, Demi Moore, Jessica Alba, Kid Rock, LL Cool J, Renee Zellweger, Gerard Butler, Kiefer Sutherland, Marisa Tomei and Aaron Eckhart. It also had performances by Bon Jovi, Sugarland, and John Legend with Common and Melanie Fiona. Since January, profiles of CNN Heroes have been featured every week on CNN and online at CNN.com. These Heroes were chosen from nominations submitted through the CNN Heroes website. This year, more than 10,000 nominations were received. "We hope to empower these selfless individuals to persevere in their humanitarian efforts to create progress," said Jim Walton, president of CNN Worldwide. "We are proud to share the stories of this year's Top 10 Heroes." Preceding the tribute show, CNN will air a red-carpet special, "Showbiz Tonight @ CNN Heroes," at 7 p.m. ET, hosted by A.J. Hammer. The special will feature celebrity arrivals and interviews as well as a celebrity-hosted social media suite that will tap into the worldwide online passion and interest in the Heroes event. CNN.com will also offer live-streaming from the red carpet, as well as exclusive backstage interviews of the honorees and celebrity presenters throughout the live broadcast. Kelly Flynn is the senior executive producer for the CNN Heroes initiative and "CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute." This year's show will be produced by Ian Stewart and Hamish Hamilton. | "CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute" will air at 8 p.m. ET Sunday, December 11 .
The live, global telecast will be held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles .
The annual show honors the top 10 CNN Heroes of 2011 .
Cast a vote for Hero of the Year at CNNHeroes.com . |
35,553 | 65020647632b708c80558e092a1402a06e5c1bdf | By . Janet Street Porter . PUBLISHED: . 19:02 EST, 12 May 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 10:35 EST, 14 May 2013 . Janet Street-Porter is proud to be a Nimby . Our ruling classes have a new term of abuse - Nimby. The Not In My Backyard brigade - anyone brave enough to stand up and shout they don't want a pylon, a smelly pig farm, a waste disposal unit, a travellers' encampment or a high-speed rail link in their neighbourhood. Nimbys are not small-minded petty bigots but normal voters and taxpayers. They wave home-made placards, march on town halls to fight ugly estates springing up around their small towns, organise sit-ins to keep cottage hospitals and maternity wards open and who don't want gorgeous views blighted by windfarms. Far from being celebrated for protecting everything we value about Britain, Nimbys are trashed by politicians as selfish irritants, objects of derision. Last week, Planning Minister Nick Boles - a man determined to concrete over as much of our green and pleasant land as possible in the name of 'progress' - finally admitted he would never be able to defeat Nimbys. This in spite of pushing through radical changes to the planning laws which could see disused barns being turned into cafes and shops, and huge new housing schemes going ahead on farmland no matter what residents say. Boles had the cheek to say Nimbys should 'channel' their anger, stop objecting and 'get involved' with developers to 'create an environment'. That's like asking us to shake hands with the devil. We need new homes, but not at the expense of our precious countryside. Developers are sitting on huge banks of land they have been stockpiling for decades, and there are enough brownfield sites to fill most of our housing needs. There is no need for councils to greenlight new projects permitted by Mr Boles's new laws until developers build on sites they already own. I'm proud to be a Nimby. I signed a petition against a huge electrical sub-station for an offshore windfarm being built on the edge of Graveney marshes in Kent - but John Prescott (who claims he cares about the environment), Planning Minister at the time, gave it the go-ahead, and now ugly concrete bunkers desecrate this lovely spot. Janet Street-Porter has signed petitions to stop wind farms being built since she feels they ruin the landscape . On-shore windfarms are not cost-efficient and when the technology has been superseded, who is going to go around the UK digging up the ugly concrete pads these things sit on and put the soil back? Windfarms are to be built on Crown Estate farmland near Rye in East Sussex, destroying a view that inspired painters for centuries. In Scotland, the Crown Estates granted rights to Scottish and Southern Energy for an offshore windfarm which would have desecrated beautiful Kintyre - thanks to Nimbys, those plans were eventually abandoned. Another Nimby victory saw Eric Pickles rethink ludicrous plans to allow neighbours to build giant extensions (up to 26ft long) without planning permission - twice the current limit. The proposed HS2 high-speed rail link between Birmingham and London was foisted on us as if it's going to save the British economy singlehanded, when we already have a rail network that doesn't work properly and needs upgrading. Nimbys recently won an important victory with a High court ruling that plans for compensation were unfair so the Government must go through the consultation process all over again. Attacking the brave Nimbys, Ministers accused homeowners of 'putting family interests ahead of national interests'. Could this be the same bunch of politicians who complain if any new roads and factory farming units might be sited near their second homes in the country? Why shouldn't homeowners demand the full value of their home and damages if forced to leave their neighbours and decamp somewhere fresh so a train can whizz through the beautiful Chilterns and Warwickshire, delivering businessmen to Manchester a little bit quicker? By the time the railway is built, business will be conducted via the internet and this 'need' for intercity commuting will have evaporated! Last week, a Commons Committee decided that instead of building a new airport in the Thames, Heathrow should be allowed two more runways further to the West. These MPs assumed that we need more airport capacity in the London area, when there is plenty of evidence we have enough airports all over the country to take more flights. Expect Nimbys living west of London to start marshalling their opposition - and that will include all the MPs whose constituencies these extra 'essential' flights will be polluting with fumes and noise from early morning to late at night. Some planning reforms are long-overdue - allowing offices, hotels and leisure facilities to be turned into housing and schools, for example. Anything which breathes life back into our High Streets is to be welcomed. But asking Nimbys to stop protesting and cosy up to developers - whose agenda is pure profit - is nothing more than wishful thinking. I will go to my grave a Nimby - and I'm not going to be told I'm unpatriotic or small-minded. STILL TRYING TO BE A REBEL REBEL... Ageing pop star needs publicity to promote his new album. How to shock? Pose as a Christ-like figure singing in a basement bar frequented by priests, a boozy cardinal and some gorgeous semi-clad hookers. David Bowie's embarrassing video for his new single The Next Day was removed from YouTube for 'violating the terms of service' - in other words for causing offence. 'David Bowie's embarrassing video for his new single The Next Day was removed from YouTube for "violating the terms of service" - in other words for causing offence' Later - when the ban made news - it was reinstated with a warning about 'adult content'. We're told Bowie 'wrote and conceived' the video - but he's no Baz Luhrmann. In this parade of hackneyed imagery, the gorgeous Marion Cotillard writhes around in a corset spouting blood from stigmata in her hands, while Gary Oldman does a feeble impersonation of a priest. It is about as subversive as a cup of cocoa. The Christian church has huge problems, from allegations that abuse has been routinely ignored to the Church of England's refusal to accept women as bishops, but would Bowie have had the guts to attack Islam in the same way? BLOW THE WHISTLE ON FERGIE FEVER . Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson arrives on the pitch at Old Trafford for the last time before retiring . You'd think Britain was mourning the loss of a monarch - the retirement of a football manager has been elevated to an event of national importance. Sir Alex Ferguson has been touted as one of the great-est businessmen this cen-tury - but, please let's get his achievements in perspective. Fergie didn't discover a cure for cancer, or find a crop that would feed starving farmers in Africa. As for his wife Cathy - do we need to worry how she will 'adjust' to life with her irascible husband hanging around the house? Football might give pleasure to millions, but during Fergie's reign, the players were vastly over-rewarded, while the poor, loyal fans paid through the nose. A VOTE FOR GREY POWER . Thanks to the hundreds of you that wrote and emailed after I told Iain Duncan Smith off for his patronising suggestion that 'wealthy' pensioners should hand back their winter fuel allowances. IDS has done an excellent job of alienating voters - many of you suggested we form the Grey Party and I stand for Parliament. Removing our entitlements like bus passes seems to be a sure-fire way of committing political suicide - especially as MPs enjoy subsidised food and drink in their many in-house hostelries. As you point out, free bus passes keep rural services running during the day and we use them to visit town centres, shop (even if it's in Poundland!) and meet mates for coffee or 'two for one' lunches. I'm not sure I want to stand for Parliament - being a dictator is more my style. | Columnist says Nimbys should be praised, not criticised .
Has signed petitions to stop wind farms being built .
Says we should put Sire Alex Ferguson's achievements into perspective .
And wonders if David Bowie has gone too far in his latest music video . |
60,226 | ab29086425efd9586caca0812ff6c6a2c7b0e4a8 | Noddy Holder does not look like a drink and drug-addled rocker. His skin is pink and soft, his hair is fluffy and clean, and his mutton chops are still fulsome. Even his long-suffering liver is still going strong. ‘I tend to get pretty plastered but I’ve got an amazing constitution,’ he says. ‘All the different bands have tried to outdrink me and spike my drinks. Ozzy Osbourne [the Black Sabbath singer] had all sorts of tricks. I was the only one who could keep up with him, though he was much more into drugs than me. Mr Nice Guy: Slade's Noddy Holder in 1973, dressed in a striking suit, and sporting a similar pattern today. The 68-year-old is happily married and has just written a book, The World According To Noddy . ‘But I’ve never passed out. Never even had a proper memory blackout. Or been sick. ‘Today, I drink fewer drinks, but stronger: Gin Martinis. I could still be up all night, no problem, but now it takes me a week to get over it. In fact, I’m off out tonight!’ Noddy (real name Neville, after Neville Chamberlain) is 68. Back in the day, Slade, the glam rockers he fronted, were superstars. They sold 50 million records, made 20 albums and had six Number Ones, including 1973 Christmas hit Merry Xmas Everybody. Officially the most heard song in the world, it still generates well over £500,000 in royalties every festive season — ‘It’s a brilliant pension plan,’ says Noddy. They had groupies (despite being ‘a bit uglier and heavier than most of the other bands’) and private jets. They partied every night, slept with hundreds of different girls (‘though the best bit was always when they’d ask us all round to their parents’ house for Sunday lunch’) and grasped opportunities that most young lads from Walsall could only have imagined. Superstars: Slade sold 50 million records, made 20 albums and had six Number Ones, including 1973 Christmas hit Merry Xmas Everybody . ‘Most people we knew had never been abroad. When you’re in a rock band, you want to pick up girls, drive flash cars and see the world — and we made the most of it. We didn’t know it was going to last 25 years!’ But Slade were never quite what you’d describe as ‘cool’. Nor were they edgy. There were no massive drug-binges (‘we were more of a booze band’), no orgies, threesomes (‘I don’t think we were really into all that’) or scandalous arrests. There wasn’t even any gratuitous smashing-up of hotel rooms. While rival bands were busy hurling tellies through windows, Noddy was more likely to be doing a spot of DIY in his room. Wholesome: Over the years, many of Noddy’s peers fell foul of drugs, alcohol, suicide, bankruptcy. He avoided it all. Above, pictured in 1974 . ‘I always carried a screwdriver, and later a full tool kit. So, if I had an hour before the gig, I’d fix things. It was quicker than calling down to reception, and that way you can have it all nice for the next person.’ Even Slade’s legendary parties (‘we had one pretty much every single night we were on tour’) would come to a sudden halt when the boys got a bit tired. ‘We’d put on [BBC comedy] Hancock’s Half Hour. The Yanks couldn’t understand it, but we’d fall about laughing and they’d get bored and go home … and we’d go to bed.’ Over the years, many of Noddy’s peers fell foul of drugs, alcohol, suicide, bankruptcy, increasingly desperate comebacks and terrible hair-dye. He, meanwhile, remains a picture of wholesome contentment. He enjoys acting, radio work, does lucrative voice-overs for TV adverts, lives in a ‘very nice house’ near Manchester, is happily married and has just written a book, The World According To Noddy, which is part memoir, part musings about life. He is also, despite leaving the band more than 23 years ago (to tend to his dying father and pick up the pieces of his crumbling first marriage), instantly recognisable as Slade’s frontman. Which has its drawbacks. ‘At least once a day throughout the year, someone shouts “It’s Christmas!” at me. In December, it happens 10 or 20 times a day, and I have to get my Christmas shopping out of the way before December or I get mobbed. ‘I’m not complaining — writing Merry Xmas was the best day’s work we’ve ever done and I’m proud of it — but they all think it’s the first time anyone’s ever shouted it. ‘And I’ve been getting this for 40-odd years!’ (An estimated 42 per cent of the planet, more than three billion people, are thought to have heard Merry Xmas Everybody.) Today, people also try to grab covert snaps of Noddy to post online. Bizarrely, some men attempt to take surreptitious pictures of Noddy’s manhood as he relieves himself at public urinals. ‘They lean over and go “click”. It happens all the time. It’s ludicrous. Why on earth would someone want a photo of me p***ing?’ Why indeed? Perhaps it’s just the (very odd) price of fame. Which all started in Walsall in 1966 when Noddy joined drummer Don Powell and guitarists Dave Hill and Jim Lea to form The ‘NBetweens. They later became Slade and had a huge hit with Coz I Luv You. They dressed in over-the-top mirrored outfits, strutted like peacocks (‘The Americans thought four aliens had landed’), made a fortune and paid outlandish amounts of tax. ‘It was 83 per cent! We could have gone abroad for a bit and avoided it — lots of bands did — but we were from working-class families and we had a social conscience.’ Success: Merry Xmas Everybody was Slade's third single in a year to go straight in at Number One in 1973 (after Cum on Feel the Noize and Skweeze Me, Pleeze Me) — something even The Beatles didn’t manage . Merry Xmas Everybody was their third single in a year to go straight in at Number One in 1973 (after Cum on Feel the Noize and Skweeze Me, Pleeze Me) — something even The Beatles didn’t manage. Yet as punk music took over in the mid-70s, Slade’s star faded. ‘Suddenly, we were boring old farts, playing civic centres again. By 1980, we were pretty much finished.’ And then Ozzy Osbourne dropped out of the Reading Festival, Slade filled in and the crowd went berserk. ‘It changed everything. We had a second wave in the Eighties.’ Noddy has always been a big believer in ‘what goes around comes around’. ‘I love everyone on sight, and you’d have to do something really bad for me to turn nasty. ‘I have never knowingly lied, or done anything nasty to anyone, or even nicked anything.’ He even gets on with his first wife, Leandra, with whom he has two daughters. He claims Leandra was one of the biggest supporters of his budding romance with his second wife, Suzan, a television executive and journalist whom he met when she was 24 and he was 43. They now have a 19-year-old son, Django. ‘I never chucked a telly out of the window, but I did drive a car into a swimming pool once. Well, nearly. It was teetering on the edge, anyway. ‘And we never went short of women. Marc Bolan got all the screamers, but we got our fair share.’ And, latterly, it transpires, a lot of letters from people claiming to be Noddy’s illegitimate offspring. ‘I used to have loads of people claiming I’d fathered them — loads! They’d write to the office — sometimes nice letters, often not. They all tried it on. You just had to ignore it.’ And would he have remembered fathering them anyway? ‘God Almighty, no! Of course not. But it was rubbish. It was all about money. That’s all they cared about.’ Is there anything that gets him riled up? This is someone who was ditched by BBC2 series Grumpy Old Men because he wasn’t grumpy enough. ‘Oh yes, loads! Politicians, lack of respect for elders, people who talk in “quiet carriages”, cycling on pavements — that drives me crackers.’ Oh yes, and being asked if the original Slade will ever reform. (‘Never. I’ve toured the world 20 times already.’) Nor has he any intention of watching bandmates Don Powell and Dave Hill, who still tour as Slade II. ‘It’d make me feel funny to watch. I’d feel strange watching half the band doing the songs that the other half wrote. I didn’t really want them to carry on using the name, but it wasn’t worth going to court for, was it? Life’s too short for all that s***.’ Noddy Holder is one of the most content people you’ll meet. He seems remarkably unspoilt by success — and, as ever, looking forward to a strong drink. And another very lucrative Christmas. n The World According to Noddy (Constable, £5) is available from September 25 only at Sainsbury’s as part of their Book Club. | Noddy Holder, now 68, fronted glam rock superstars Slade .
They sold 50 million records, made 20 albums and had six Number Ones .
The band partied every night and slept with hundreds of different girls .
Over the years, many of Noddy's peers fell foul of alcohol and drugs .
But music's Mr Nice Guy is happily married and lives in a 'very nice house' |
180,265 | 75639ea28aae2bb41d0a1a65bc18c5d9fcdd5166 | Alcohol. Bond's alcohol. The British spy James Bond may routinely get himself out of dangerous situations with skill and charm, but his body may be suffering all the while because of his drinking habits. British researchers predict he could die from alcohol-related causes, such as liver damage, by age 56. Scientists wanted to examine just how much alcohol the famous fictional secret agent consumes, and what effect that could have on his health. They published a study, led by Graham Johnson of the emergency department of Royal Derby Hospital, in the British Medical Journal's Christmas edition, which features a variety of offbeat research papers. Researchers found Bond's weekly alcohol consumption totaled 92 units a week, which is more than four times what doctors recommend. A real person would not be able to carry out such complicated tasks and function as well as Bond does while maintaining such habits, they conclude. A unit of alcohol is defined as 10 milliliters or 8 grams of pure ethanol in the United Kingdom. For some perspective on that, a bottle of wine is nine units, and a pint of beer is three, according to this study. The finding of 92 units a week could actually be the low end of the truth, as studies have shown that "people generally underestimate their alcohol consumption by about 30%," the study said, noting other research has demonstrated that health surveys don't account for about half of all alcohol sold. In other words, Bond may be drinking much more than the large quantities portrayed in the books. "We advise an immediate referral for further assessment and treatment," the study authors wrote, as well as "a reduction in alcohol to safe levels." 10 hotels featured in James Bond movies . Two study authors analyzed all 14 original James Bond books by Ian Fleming, focusing on the number of days on which alcohol-related events were described. But each of them only read half the books, representing a shortcoming of the study, which was conducted in "the study authors' homes, in a comfy chair." They found that in "From Russia with Love," on the third day of the story, Bond drank about 50 units of alcohol -- the highest daily consumption in the collection of stories. It also appears that the spy's alcohol intake dropped around the middle of his career, but then picked back up gradually toward the end. "This consistent but variable lifetime drinking pattern has been reported in patients with alcoholic liver disease," study authors wrote. Note that researchers did not analyze the Bond films, only the books, so the precise level of alcoholism that Bond portrays on the big screen is an open question. James Bond 50th anniversary coverage . About 2.5 million deaths worldwide are attributable to alcohol use, the study said. The cause of alcohol-related death is most often injury, liver cirrhosis, poisoning and malignancy. A real person who drank as much as Bond, more than 60 grams of alcohol per day, would be in the highest risk group for malignancies, depression, hypertension and cirrhosis and could also suffer sexual dysfunction. Early death would be likely for the spy as a result of such rampant alcohol consumption, researchers said. Fleming, the author who created the Bond character, and frequently drank and smoked tobacco, died at age 56 of heart disease. "We suspect that Bond's life expectancy would be similar," the researchers wrote. Alcoholism may even be responsible for Bond's famous catchphrase "vodka martini -- shaken, not stirred." This may have health-related implications, too. Study authors posit that if Bond's alcohol consumption in the books is so chronic and excessive, he may be suffering from an alcohol-induced tremor. Chronic exposure to alcohol can damage a part of the brain called the cerebellum, which can lead to a tremor. This suggests -- and of course, this is only speculation -- that perhaps Bond can't actually stir his drinks. James Bond submarine car sells for $920,000 . Is Bond the man with the golden liver? "In Casino Royale he drinks over 39 units before engaging in a high-speed car chase, losing control, and spending 14 days in hospital," study authors wrote. "We hope that this was a salutatory lesson." And yet, Bond kept drinking in subsequent novels. There's plenty of opportunity for another installment: "From Rehab With Love." | Study looked at 14 James Bond novels .
About 2.5 million deaths worldwide are attributable to alcohol use .
Researchers project Bond could die at age 56 because of alcohol use . |
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