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111,476 | 1bbfbb247810f947107d88dfbecc041af331352b | By . Misty White Sidell . One Kanye West fan has been left broken-hearted after the singer called him out for buying a fake pair of his Air Yeezy sneaker designs on Monday in Paris. The fan had approached Mr West to sign the shoes outside of a café where he had been lunching with Kim Kardashian. Never one to exercise subtlety, Mr West said of the sneakers: ‘These are not real though, you know that, right?’ The fan, who had likely paid hundreds, if not thousands of dollars, for the rare sneakers couldn’t believe it, saying: ‘Are you serious?’ SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO . Honest man: A video of Kanye West telling a fan that he purchased a pair of fake Air Yeezy sneakers has gone viral (pictured, a still from the video) Sharp eye: Mr West, who was out to lunch in Paris at the time (pictured) had been asked by the fan to sign the sneakers and Mr West obliged despite the fact they were counterfeit . Mr West, 36, graciously responded, ‘These are not real, it’s fine though,’ and signed them regardless. ‘Damn, broke my heart,’ the duped fan said as Mr West loaded into a car with the help of a security entourage, where fiancé Ms Kardashian was waiting. While the fan’s identity remains unknown, a video of their interaction was posted to Instagram by a female French Kimye fan named Dodo, whose account appears to be something of a dedicated fan page to the couple. Mr West began designing Air Yeezys in . collaboration with Nike in 2007. He spent two years working on . development with the brand before officially releasing the style in . 2009. Rare commodity: Kanye West released the first round of Air Yeezy sneakers in 2009, with a second round called the Air Yeezy II (pictured) launching in 2012 . Red riot: In February 2014 this Red October pair of Air Yeezy II's were released as a surprise for fans, igniting hysteria in the sneaker community . But before they came out, Mr West created buzz for the style by debuting them on stage at the 2008 Grammy Awards during his performance of Stronger and Hey Mama. The $215 sneakers, named for Mr West’s ‘Yeezy’ nickname, sold out almost immediately, and those who missed out on the shoes in stores have been known to shell out up to $10,000 for a pair on reselling sites like eBay - creating an opportune environment for counterfeiters. Sneakerheads who missed out on the shoes in stores have been known to shell out up to $10,000 for a pair on reselling sites like eBay - creating an opportune environment for counterfeiters. The popular style is formatted as a high-top basketball sneaker, comprised of contrasting grains and textures of leather. They have a wide strap across the top of the foot, and are known for utilizing contrast colorways like white, cream and red or black, cream and lime green. Street style: Ahead of their imminent wedding, Kanye West and Kim Kardashian have arrived in Paris for a round of serious shopping with the Kardashian clan . Mr West’s Nike partnership spawned a follow-up edition called the Air Yeezy II, which was released in 2012. The style is less athletic looking and chunkier than the first Yeezy edition. A surprise Air Yeezy II colorway called The Red Octobers was released this past February to mass fan hysteria. Prior to the Air Yeezy, Mr West had designed sneakers in collaboration with Louis Vuitton and Pharrell Williams’s line BAPE. | The shocked fan had no idea the sneakers he had bought were knock-offs, telling Mr West he was ‘heartbroken’ at the news . |
229,908 | b5ba39fdc05dcea2154b7607121c840ecb820a65 | By . Suzannah Hills . PUBLISHED: . 22:16 EST, 11 March 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 03:55 EST, 12 March 2013 . These breathtaking cloud formations all bear an incredible likeness to countries or animals - including the mythical song character Puff, The Magic Dragon. With a perfectly clear blue sky for a backdrop, the long snout and an eye can be seen as well as a large belly, two legs and even a tail. The cloud looks remarkably like the creature described in the 1963 popular song Puff, The Magic Dragon by music group Peter, Paul and Mary. Puff, The Magic Dragon: An unusual cloud forms the appearance of a dragon in the sky above Krakow, Poland . Taking shape: A large cloud appears to form the mainland of the United Kingdom - but with Northern Ireland missing . The lyrics were based on a 1959 poem by Leonard Lipton, a 19-year-old Cornell University student. It tells the story of the ageless dragon Puff and his playmate Jackie Paper, a little boy who grows up and loses interest in the imaginary adventures of childhood and leaves Puff alone and depressed. The story of the song takes place 'by the sea' in the fictional land of Honalee. The unusual cloud was captured on camera by Henryk T Kaiser, from Krakow, Poland, above his home town. Eerie: A cloud formation pictured by Henry T Kaiser resembles a face . Different interpretations: A cloud appears to form the appearance of Pegasus or a jockey riding a horse . He has managed to photograph several striking cloud formations - including one that looks like a face and another that forms the shape of a pyramid. One of his pictures also looks like the shape of Great Britain - with just Northern Ireland missing. The hump of East Anglia is visible as are the Scottish Highlands and Cornwall. Photographer T Kaiser has won over 60 awards at some of the best known International Competitions and Exhibitions. Interesting skyline: These two clouds appear to look like a tiger and a ship blasting a cannon . A piece of Egypt appears over Poland: A cloud forms the appearance of a pyramid . | Henryk T Kaiser took the picture of the unusual cloud above Krakow, Poland .
He has also captured images of clouds that resemble animals and countries . |
131,897 | 3689f8ab4c5eb1d1698faa732d7fd57bf67907b7 | Argentina coach Gerardo Martino believes Angel di Maria is 'one of the best four or five players in the world' after the winger's stunning performance against Germany on Wednesday night. Manchester United's £60million summer signing bagged a hat-trick of assists and scored himself as Argentina avenged their World Cup final woe with a 4-2 win against Germany in Dusseldorf. Di Maria crossed for Sergio Aguero, Erik Lamela and Federico Fernandez all to score before finishing a superb solo run with a delicate chip over Germany goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller. VIDEO Scroll down to watch Angel di Maria starring for Argentina v Germany . Talent: Angel di Maria scores Argentina's fourth against Germany with a chip over Roman Weidenfeller . Star: The Manchester United new boy bagged a hat-trick of assists and a goal against Germany . Speaking after the win, Martino said: 'Di Maria is one of the best four or five players in the world and so his performance didn't surprise me. 'His absence there was noticeable,' Martino told a news conference looking back to the World Cup final. Louis van Gaal will no doubt be hoping Di Maria can replicate such a performance against QPR next week as United look to get a stuttering start to the season back on track. Assist: The Argentina winger set up goals for Sergio Aguero, Erik Lamela and Federico Fernandez . Germany coach Joachim Low, however, believed Di Maria's presence in the World Cup final wouldn't have stopped his side from winning the tournament. Di Maria missed the defeat after picking up a thigh injury during Argentina's quarter-final win over Belgium. Low said: 'We would have beaten them on July 13 even if Di Maria had been playing. 'He couldn't have beaten us on that day.' Sweet: Erik Lamela scored a stunning volley to double Argentina's lead in the first half . Cheers boss: Di Maria was deservedly all smiles as he came off in the 85th minute . Happy: Argentina players run to Di Maria (left) to celebrate Sergio Aguero's opening goal . VIDEO Di Maria needs time to settle - Van Gaal . | Gerardo Martino believes Angel di Maria is one of the world's top five players .
Di Maria bagged a hat-trick of assists and scored during Argentina's 4-2 friendly win against Germany .
Manchester United's £60million signing will hope to carry national team form into Premier League .
Germany boss Joachim Low doesn't think Di Maria's presence in the World Cup final would have altered the result . |
135,773 | 3ba70682b2d5f478438c67a911ad2f24c8692857 | (CNN) -- Two leading Jewish watchdog groups are denouncing a prominent cartoonist's illustration about Israel's offensive in Gaza, saying it uses anti-Semitic imagery. The cartoon was published Wednesday in newspapers and on the Internet. The Anti-Defamation League, which has been fighting anti-Semitism since it was founded in 1913, called the syndicated cartoon by Pulitzer Prize-winning Pat Oliphant "hideously anti-Semitic." The Simon Wiesenthal Center, which, among other things, fights anti-Semitism and educates people about the Holocaust, said "the cartoon mimics the venomous anti-Semitic propaganda of the Nazi and Soviet eras." Published Wednesday in newspapers and on the Internet, the cartoon shows the small figure of a woman, labeled Gaza, carrying a child. She is being pursued by a headless, jackbooted figure wielding a sword, marching in an apparent goose-step and pushing a fanged Jewish star on a wheel. The Anti-Defamation League said the cartoon used "Nazi-like imagery" and a "hateful evocation of the Star of David." Abraham H. Foxman, the ADL's national director, said the cartoon's "outlandish and offensive use of the Star of David in combination with Nazi-like imagery is hideously anti-Semitic." "It employs Nazi imagery by portraying Israel as a jack-booted, goose-stepping headless apparition," Foxman said. "The implication is of an Israeli policy without a head or a heart. Israel's defensive military operation to protect the lives of its men, women and children who are being continuously bombarded by Hamas rocket attacks has been turned on its head to show the victims as heartless, headless aggressors." The Wiesenthal Center, which also issued its statement Wednesday, said it urged The New York Times Web site and other Web sites to remove the cartoon. "There is nothing about Oliphant's cartoon not meant to denigrate and demonize the Jewish state, from the headless goose-stepping soldier to the horrific depiction of the Star of David about to devour a cowering innocent Gazan woman holding a baby," Rabbi Marvin Hier, the group's dean, and Rabbi Abraham Cooper, the group's associate dean, said in a joint statement. "The imagery in this cartoon mimics the venomous anti-Semitic propaganda of the Nazi and Soviet eras. It is cartoons like this that inspired millions of people to hate in the 1930's and help set the stage for the Nazi genocide," the statement said. A spokeswoman for Universal Press Syndicate, which distributes Oliphant's work, issued a statement defending him, saying he, "like all editorial cartoonists, uses his art to comment on important issues of the day widely reported in the worldwide media -- in this case, the conflict over Gaza. That his cartoons sometimes spark intense debate is a testament to his talent." Universal said no media outlet had informed the syndicate that it removed the cartoon, but "Oliphant's clients are not contractually bound to inform us." A New York Times spokeswoman said, "We did not run the cartoon in the newspaper, nor do we plan to do so." She said NYTimes.com has, by contract with uclick.com, an "Oliphant" button on the cartoons page. "Yesterday, those who clicked on it saw the cartoon you mentioned, which is now relegated to the Oliphant archive," she said. Imagery and rhetoric comparing Israel to Nazis have been deployed by Israel's persistent critics, who decry the Jewish state's treatment of Palestinians as oppressive and brutal. Israel and its supporters defend the state as humane and say it has properly defended itself against attacks. There has been sharp criticism of Israel's offensive against Hamas militants in Gaza who launched rockets into southern Israeli towns. Human Rights Watch said Wednesday the Israeli military's firing of white phosphorus shells over densely populated areas during the offensive "was indiscriminate and is evidence of war crimes," a claim denied by Israel. Israel has said that Hamas militants situated themselves among civilians during the offensive. Oliphant, who won the Pulitzer in 1967, has been a dominant figure in the editorial cartoon world. His work has been distributed since 1980 by Universal Press Syndicate, which calls the Australian native one of the "sharpest, most daring practitioners" among editorial cartoonists. He has received many honors, and his cartoons have been exhibited across the world. "In 1998, the Library of Congress commemorated the acquisition of 60 of his works with a special exhibition at the Library's Great Hall," according to an Oliphant biography on the Universal Web site. This isn't the first time Oliphant's cartoons have drawn criticism. The American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee in 2005 "wrote to the San Francisco Chronicle and Universal Press Syndicate to communicate concern over racist depictions of Arabs," according to the group's Web site, and the Asian American Journalists Association criticized offensive stereotypes in cartoons in 1999, 2001 and 2007. Debates over offensive editorial cartoons are not uncommon. Keith Woods, dean of faculty at the Poynter Institute, a journalism school in St. Petersburg, Florida, was asked to comment on the reaction to the cartoon, whether the cartoon was improper, and at what point in the editorial process an editor can say a product has gone too far. He said he understands the positions the Jewish groups and Israeli policy critics bring to the table. He said he believes Oliphant is saying that "Israel is behaving toward the Palestinians the way the Nazis behaved toward the Jews" and that he is stating an opinion shared by many in the Middle East and the world. "I believe that like the caricatures they are, editorial cartoons by their nature exaggerate their messages, so I don't think Oliphant is suggesting a one-to-one comparison. So I get the message, instead, that Israel is acting brutally toward the Palestinians." He also believes the ADL and the Wiesenthal Center "are saying that the cartoon is at least doing unintentional harm (if not more calculated harm)." "I see their point. There are symbols -- and the Nazi extermination of the Jews is surely one of them -- that can only truly be analogized to their equals. Unadulterated evil compared with unadulterated evil. Israel's ongoing battles with its Arab neighbors may be many things, but it is not The Final Solution." As for the question of how news organizations should handle and discuss such a cartoon, Woods said that "Oliphant clearly has the right to provoke or offend. The question for him is: Do you truly wish to conflate a complex, historic conflict with one of the most evil acts in history? And for the newspapers that carry the cartoon -- and their behavior here is equally open to critique -- do you wish to perpetuate such a comparison?" | NEW: Cartoon's distributor defends cartoonist, cites his talent to stir debate .
Work by Pulitzer-winning cartoonist shows jack-booted figure, Jewish star with fangs .
Anti-Defamation League, Simon Wiesenthal Center say it uses anti-Semitic imagery .
Critics compare Israeli actions to Nazi aggression; Israel says it must defended itself . |
170,340 | 687cf59c2f3691f5846e91461956e97b4bc831cf | By . Sophie Borland and Daniel Martin . PUBLISHED: . 20:26 EST, 3 February 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 03:02 EST, 4 February 2013 . Care: NHS staff admit they would not want their families to be treated in the hospitals they work at. Picture posed by models . Thousands of NHS workers would not send relatives to their own hospitals because the care is so poor, according to a survey. One in four doctors, nurses and other staff at some trusts have admitted they don’t rate the standards at their own workplace. The worst trust was Croydon, in South London, where 30 per cent of staff said they would not recommend it to friends or family. This week a high-profile report will call for major changes to the health service in the wake of one of the worst-ever hospital scandals. As many as 1,200 patients died because of poor care at Mid Staffordshire NHS trust between 2005 and 2008, and doctors have admitted they were ‘immune’ to their anguish. NHS bosses say the release of the report on Wednesday will be one of the ‘darkest days’ of the health service’s history. The poll of doctors, nurses and other medical staff asked whether they would recommend their organisation to friends or relatives. At five trusts, at least a quarter of workers said they wouldn’t, because standards were so poor. They are Croydon; Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals; Royal Cornwall Hospitals; South London Healthcare; and North Cumbria University Hospitals. The report into the Mid Staffordshire scandal is expected to warn that similar standards of neglect still exist at some hospitals. Patients were left to become so dehydrated they were forced to drink from vases and nurses were threatened with violence for exposing poor care. The report will call for major changes to the NHS – including tougher hospital inspections and laws to prevent cover-ups – to prevent a repeat of the disaster. At five trusts, a quarter of hospital workers said they wouldn't recommend their organisation to loved ones. File picture . Mike Farrar, head of the NHS Confederation, which represents health workers, said: ‘This Wednesday will be one of the darkest days for the NHS but we must turn it into an opportunity to build a better NHS for patients. THE head of the NHS will be quizzed by MPs over his expenses. Sir David Nicholson racked up £6,000 on weekly first-class train tickets to Birmingham, where his new wife lives. He said all of the 41 trips last year were for ‘official meetings’, but many were carried out via video-conferencing – and he has not explained why he needed to travel to Birmingham to chair them. Margaret Hodge, chairman of the Commons’ public accounts committee, said she would question Sir David on the issue at the next hearing. ‘Our failings in Mid Staffordshire will be laid bare – and rightly so. We have to respond. We need to make it easier for patients to give feedback. ‘The people in charge of running our health services should rightly be held to account when they fail to act in the interests of patients.’ The head of the Royal College of Nursing has admitted that many workers have just an hour’s training before being allowed to care for patients. Dr Peter Carter said healthcare assistants – who account for nearly half of nursing staff – were often ‘picking it up as they go along’. He added: ‘If you walk into a ward for older people, this is where you find most of the problems, most of the staff nowadays are not nurses; they are healthcare assistants. ‘There’s nothing wrong with healthcare assistants, providing they have had a proper training and education, but in far too many cases they’ve not had as much as an hour’s training.’ There are about 300,000 healthcare assistants in the NHS. They wear similar uniforms to nurses, but have no medical qualifications or formal training. | A quarter of medical staff say they don't rate standards, according to a poll .
Findings come as damning report into NHS is about to be released . |
222,194 | aba0d0c08eecda3c4a43ee401a7436f41874b120 | Debris flew into the stands, injuring a number of spectators -- at least two of them critically -- during a jaw-dropping crash Saturday in the final turn of a NASCAR race at Daytona International Speedway. The multicar crash occurred near the end of the Nationwide Series Drive4COPD 300 race at the same Florida track where Sunday's Daytona 500 will be held. The race had recently restarted after another wreck, after which driver Michael Annett was hospitalized for bruising to his chest, according to Richard Petty Motorsports. Several closely-packed cars were jostling for position at top speed when they got tangled up, setting off a dangerous chain reaction that ensnared a number of vehicles. Reigning Sprint Cup champ Brad Keselowski -- who later told CNN he and others were simply "going for the win" -- was among those involved, while Tony Stewart somehow emerged unscathed and finished by winning the race. Driver Kyle Larson's vehicle ended up flying into a fence that separates the track from spectators. It broke into pieces -- including tires and a fiery engine. Larson walked away from the crash, even after the front part of his No. 32 car was completely gone. He and the other nine drivers involved told reporters that they were checked at a medical tent on the Daytona infield and released. Some of the shredded debris flew into the barrier, while others got into the stands -- some of it reaching the second level about 20 feet up. A video posted on YouTube shows a cloud of debris flying into stands and one man gasping, "Oh, my God." A tire rests on one seat, as a man frantically waves and yells to get the attention of paramedics. Afterward, several spectators could be seen lying down after apparently suffering injuries. A line of about 10 ambulances lined up on the track, with some first responders carrying stretchers. Fourteen fans were treated at an on-site medical facility, while 14 others were transported to area hospitals, speedway president Joie Chitwood told reporters. "I'm just hoping everyone is OK," said Keselowski. "As drivers, we assume the risk. But fans do not." NASCAR president Mike Helton earlier told ESPN, which was broadcasting the race, some people were taken to Halifax Health Medical Center. He said the protective fence did its job in preventing potentially more injuries and possibly deaths. Byron Cogdell, a spokesman for the hospital, told CNN that his facility was treating 12 patients. Two of those -- one of them a child -- are in critical but stable condition. "Everybody appears to be in stable condition," Cogdell said. Staff at Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center were treating one person and expecting three more, spokeswoman Lindsay Rew said Saturday evening. The injured include Eddie Huckaby, a 53-year-old Krum, Texas, resident who suffered a leg gash when a large piece of metal hit him as he was watching the race, his brother Terry Huckaby told CNN affiliate WKMG. He described the motor landing in the stands, as well as a wheel "and everything flying over your head and debris everywhere." "He's doing fine," Terry Huckaby said of his brother, who underwent surgery at Halifax Health Medical Center. "The first thing he said, 'I don't want to miss that (Daytona 500) race, but I have to watch on TV.'" Accidents are nothing new to NASCAR, where cars often cruise at speeds topping 190 mph, nor to the Daytona track. One of the sport's most horrific, and well-known, wrecks happened in the 2001 Daytona 500, when famed driver Dale Earnhardt Sr. was killed -- also, on that race's final lap. Still, injuries and fatalities to spectators are much rarer. With the stands having been quickly evacuated, crews worked to repair the damaged fence. Chitwood expressed confidence the 55th edition of the Daytona 500 would go on as planned, with spectators even sitting in the same seats struck by debris Saturday. "With the fence being prepared tonight to our safety protocols, we expect to go racing tomorrow with no changes," Chitwood said. | Texas man had surgery after suffering leg gash but is "doing fine," brother says .
The multicar crash happens at the end of a Nationwide Series race in Daytona speedway .
Debris, including an engine, ends up airborne -- some reaching the stands' second level .
12 patients are at one hospital, two of them in critical but stable condition, official says . |
71,585 | cae1ed865f09d84ef647346c08637d763e0b7f8a | Washington (CNN) -- Education Secretary Arne Duncan said Wednesday his department estimates that four out of five schools in the United States will not make their "No Child Left Behind" benchmarks by the law's target year of 2014 -- and when the test scores are counted for the current school year, numbers could show that U.S. schools are already at that failure rate. He blamed that failure rate on the law itself, not on schools. "This law has created dozens of ways for schools to fail and very few ways to help them succeed. We should get out of the business of labeling schools as failures and create a new law that is fair and flexible, and focused on the schools and students most at risk," Duncan told the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. Under the No Child Left Behind law, originally passed in 2001, all students are expected to meet a level of "proficiency" by 2014. Because standards under No Child Left Behind are higher from year to year as 2014 approaches, the percentage of schools that are not meeting "Adequate Yearly Progress" could rise from the current level of 37% to 82%, Duncan said. Duncan pointed out that federal law requires states and districts to "implement the same set of interventions in every school that is not meeting AYP, regardless of the individual needs and circumstances of those schools." Under the Education Department's estimates, 82% of America's schools "could be labeled 'failing' and, over time, the required remedies for all of them are the same -- which means we will really fail to serve the students in greatest need," said Duncan. "By mandating and prescribing one-size-fits-all solutions, No Child Left Behind took away the ability of local and state educators to tailor solutions to the unique needs of their students," Duncan said calling the concept "fundamentally flawed." Duncan was on Capitol Hill to both push for the reauthorization and revamping of the No Child Left Behind law, and to defend President Barack Obama's budget request for 2012. The 2012 budget request comes to $77.4 billion -- an increase of $4.5 billion over the 2011 request. Republicans on the committee questioned any increase in the budget in the current economic climate. Committee chairman Rep. John Kline, R-Minnesota, said in his opening remarks, "As we work to answer the question about the appropriate role for the federal government in education, one thing is for sure: it must be less costly and less intrusive." Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-California, asked the secretary if he though he could be successful without an increase in funding saying, "If you cut the right way and put the money into the systems that you know work, could you do that?" The education secretary answered, "We have to do that, anyway, and I continue to think we under-invest" compared to higher-performing countries. | Education Secretary Arne Duncan testifies before a congressional committee .
Almost 40% of U.S. schools are not now meeting goals for "No Child Left Behind," he says .
That could increase to 82%, he says .
Because standards are increasingly higher, U.S. schools could already be at that level . |
140,980 | 424c98946441a05b6aeddf5dbfd59e25a5d5a18d | Police in Waco, Texas, who set up an online sex sting were shocked when their Internet post advertising child sex got more than 180 responses in just 12 hours. The operation, which had detectives posing as minors online, resulted in the arrests of 20 people, age 19 to 63. They were busted after arranging what they believed would be meetings to have sex with children. When they arrived, however, they found cops and handcuffs. 'It's really just about every kind of weird sicko you can think of,' McLennan County Sheriff Parnell McNamara told the San Antonio Express-News. Cops nabbed Raymond Shattuck, 29, (left) at a H.E.B. grocery store. John Hinson, 25, (center) was busted at Walmart. Chelsea Robinson, 22, (right) was arrested at Home Depot . Laramie Jowers, 24, (left) was arrested at a mechanic's garage Police say Jonas Green, 63, (center) invited a detective posing as a minor to come to his home. Cops also arrested Breonna Smith, 20, (right) at her home . No bueno: Cops nabbed Dale Patrick, 30, (left) at local restaurant Taco Bueno. Charles Thiel, 19, (center) one of the youngest suspects, was busted at a gas station. Christopher Aguilar, 33, (right) was arrested at his home . McNamara said his detectives were horrified by the massive response to an online posting they made that advertised a minor wanting to have sex with adults. Of the 180 responses that cops got in 12 hours, many followed through and exchanged messages with detectives . According to the Waco Tribune, detectives were so busy responding to the messages that they continued the exchanges even during off hours when they were away from work. 'The response was incredible; these creeps came out of the woodwork,' Sheriff McNamara told the Tribune. In the end, 20 people - 18 men and two women - from three counties agreed to meetings with the detectives posing as vulnerable children. The law: McLennan County Sheriff Parnell McNamara branded the 20 suspects 'weird sickos' and said he was surprised how easy it was to snare so many of them . Charles Ramirez, 19, (left) allegedly tried to meet a minor at his apartment. Brandon Selenksky, 19, (center) was arrested at a friend's home. Cody Lowenthal, 29, (right) allegedly tried to lure a child to his apartment . Police arrested Eduardo Briseno-Perez, 27, (left) at a McDonald's. Christopher Pena, 28, (center) was picked up at his home Cory Eary, 28, (right) was arrested at an IGA grocery store . They set up meetings at public places across Waco - in the Walmart parking lot, at the popular local restaurant Taco Bueno, the mall, grocery stores, a public park and at McDonald's. 'I think it’s extremely dangerous. These people are shopping in the same places we shop,' the sheriff said. All 20 of the people arrested are dangerous 'child predators,' he added. They are charged with felony online solicitation of minors. Authorities said they are trying to add more charges as well. Conner Beam, 19, (left) allegedly tried to meet up with a minor on a roadside. John Rodriguez, 22, (center) was picked up at the Cargill facility in Waco. Police busted William Vasquez, 20, (right) at a park . Police also arrested Ruben Gonzalez, 25, (left) in the sting. Rhakeem James, 22, (right) was picked up after allegedly arranging a meeting at the Dollar Store . | The suspects allegedly showed up to meetings that they set up to have sex with children .
The victims in this case were actually McLennan County detectives who has been posing as minors online .
Police say they were shocked by the number of responses to their online ad for child sex .
Suspects include two women and range in age from 19 to 63 . |
273,836 | eeb6a57ea5609ef09e4832e7986165750cecb8c6 | By . Kieran Corcoran . PUBLISHED: . 11:43 EST, 8 March 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 16:27 EST, 8 March 2014 . It is hardly the place for anyone who values a room of one's own. For while this Tokyo resident does have his own space - and at a bargain price - it measures a paltry five square metres. Although he has evaded spiralling rents in the Japanese capital by finding a home for just ¥40,000 (£145, $242) a month, he has been left surrounded by his own detritus. His humble abode even boasts a kitchenette - though he has to head outside to shower. And the intrepid resident even has space to invite a friend over - just. Cosy: The flat's occupant, who has not been named, can just about squeeze in space to sleep . Got company: Despite his lack of personal space, the man is still able to invite a friend over . Stacking up: The man, nonetheless, has managed to cram a huge number of possessions into the tiny space . What a mess: There is no space left to see the floor . Popping to the fridge: The apartment features and extremely cramped 'kitchenette' Sinking feeling: The owner may struggle to make much use of his kitchen facilities . Clutter: Piles of boxes, as well as an aging computer screen, pack out one corner of the room . Boxing clever: The resident, who is not keen to get rid of any of his stash, has taken to building upwards . Toiletry shelf: The man has been forced to make good use of space to story all of his essentials, and non-essentials . Library: Carefully piled up, the man's extensive collection of sometimes-risqué literature is still accessible . | Unnamed resident pays £145 ($242) rent a month in notoriously pricey Japanese capital .
But has nowhere to put his mountains of rubbish, piled all around the room . |
218,690 | a71533b937a97a02dc4fba264cc2f04b32f22efe | By . Sadie Whitelocks . PUBLISHED: . 18:19 EST, 3 April 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 10:20 EST, 4 April 2013 . Famed fashion photographer Steven Meisel has opened up the doors of his lavish mid-century Los Angeles home, which is rumored to be on the market for $15million. The 6,300-square-foot mansion, in the exclusive Trousdale Estates area of Beverly Hills, could be straight off the set of Mad Men with its Sixties-inspired architecture and furnishings. Indeed, you could imagine Don Draper enjoying the luxury perks of one room, which combines a master bathroom and office in one. A look inside: Fashion photographer Steven Meisel's California home was designed by George MacLean in 1963. Even after renovation, it maintains its Sixties charm with vintage mid-century pieces and accents . Mr Meisel, a notoriously private man, told the Architectural Digest that the 'space was my idea'. Fashion photographer: Mr Meisel has shot campaigns for design labels including Versace, Valentino, Dolce and Gabbana and Calvin Klein . 'It just made sense to me - take a shower, get dressed, make a few calls, and do a little work. I love that room,' he said. Other standout features include mountain views, a large swimming pool and dozens of open-plan rooms decorated with marble, onyx, teak, and walnut detailing. Mr Meisel, who is credited with launching the careers of many models, including Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell and Karen Elson, purchased the property shortly after shooting a Versace campaign in the neighborhood in 2000. Talking about what attracted him to the dwelling, designed in 1963, by architect George MacLean, he recalled: 'I was told it was built for a race-car driver and his model wife, which sounded just about right. 'The house had never really been renovated, so it felt authentic to the period.' After he moved in, the property was . rebuilt and expanded, with architects adding 2,300 square feet to the . existing 4,000-square-foot building. However great care was taken to preserve the original Sixties detailing. Artistic interiors: Mr Meisner came up with the idea for this unique combination office/master bathroom, which features green onyx walls, Jim Thompson silk curtains, and a sculpture by Dorothy Draper . Ron Radziner, of the Los Angeles-based . firm Marmol Radziner, who served as the project’s lead architect, . explained that they took the building's original features and 'expanded . on them'. 'Even though the house is completely . rebuilt, it still has the same spirit. That was something Steven felt . very passionate about,' he recounted. 'The greatest thing going for the house was its rough stone walls, which gave it a Hawaiian-ranch-modern feeling.' Once the building work was complete, water features were installed in the grounds complemented with dense tropical planting. Chic details: Mr Meisel's bedroom includes vintage Tommi Parzinger lamps, a custom-designed headboard by interior designer Brad Dunning, and rare Macassar ebony bedside tables . 'Everything feels very lush and generous,' Mr Radziner added. For the interiors Mr Meisel recruited designer Brad Dunning, to ensure that the furnishings also had a retro feel. 'This was the most visually confirmed project I’ve ever done,' said Mr Dunning. 'Steven and I both love mining vintage periodicals and books. After going through stacks of archival material, we knew exactly what it was supposed to be.' The Trousdale Estates was developed in the Fifties and Sixties on a 410-acre plot of land by Paul Trousdale, and consists of luxurious, mostly single-story homes. Swinging style: Suave Mad Men character Don Draper would feel right at home in the home's chic Sixties decor . While the Trousdales area is popular . today, luring celebrities such as Simon Cowell, Jennifer Aniston and . Ellen DeGeneres, it wasn't the place to be when Mr Meisel moved in. 'Back then it wasn’t popular at all. I . remember asking my friend Herb Ritts about it and he told me, "It’s for . old 1960s movie stars. Nobody lives there.’" However Mr Meisel fell in love with the area and the risk paid off. 'This neighborhood has an incredible history, and it still inspires me,' he said. 'When I moved in, people kept telling me that it wasn’t cool and it wasn’t sophisticated. They were wrong.' | The Beverly Hills residence is rumored to be on the market for $15million . |
199,186 | 8dd90e589c82ed914b68b5410b23817990b4c0be | The parents of the innocent Brazilian shot dead by anti-terror police revealed last night they received £300,000 compensation from Scotland Yard – but want more after learning police ‘spied’ on them after the tragedy. The figure – far higher than previously thought – was disclosed by the couple as they said they would sue the force again over claims that undercover officers gathered private information about them after Jean Charles de Menezes was killed at Stockwell Tube station in South London in July 2005. In an exclusive interview with the Daily Mail at their home, a modest smallholding near the remote town of Gonzaga in south-eastern Brazil, they said they felt ‘violated’ at the thought of the police intruding on their privacy as they were grieving. 'Violated': The parents of Jean Charles de Menezes, Matozinhos, 75, and Maria, 69, believe they deserve more . Mr de Menezes’s father Matozinhos Otomio da Silva, 75, said: ‘We are a humble couple, and since Jean’s death we have both suffered with our health. We don’t want to be greedy, but we could really do with some extra money.’ Mother Maria Otomio de Menezes, 69, said of the ‘spying’ claims: ‘It makes me feel sick. They ruined everything for us, and now we’re hearing that they didn’t even respect our right to grief in privacy. ‘There are no excuses that could justify that. Nobody has contacted us about this. ‘They probably think that because we’re poor Brazilians we won’t find out and we don’t need to know.’ Mr de Menezes, a 27-year-old electrician, was shot seven times in the head by officers who mistakenly thought he was a terrorist. An inquest jury later found the Met guilty of health and safety failings over its bungled operation but no officer faced criminal charges. Details of the privacy intrusion which allegedly followed the de Menezes tragedy were outlined in a damning report on the activities of a now disbanded Metropolitan Police undercover unit, the Special Demonstration Squad (SDS). Officers from the SDS collected information on 18 justice campaigns – including those concerning Mr de Menezes and the Stephen Lawrence case – which resulted in ‘collateral intrusion’ on family members. Shot by mistake: Jean Charles de Menezes . The Met said it regretted ‘enormously’ the distress caused. Mr de Menezes’ parents said they had not been officially informed of the allegations or received any correspondence from the Met since settling compensation with them in 2009, although their lawyers in London have been notified of the spying scandal. Mr de Menezes’s father said: ‘We went to London twice for the inquiry into Jean’s death, and both times our hotel rooms were booked and paid for by the police. ‘Now I’m wondering if we were being watched and listened to while we were in there. ‘It was the policemen who killed Jean who were being investigated, but now it turns out that Jean’s family and friends were being investigated. They admitted they’d got it wrong and Jean wasn’t a criminal, but then they treated us as if we were criminals. ‘I think it is unforgivable. If having our son taken from us wasn’t enough, they were also spying on our suffering and grief. It makes us feel violated. ‘We’re all told that Britain is a free country where people’s rights are respected, but we’ve seen something very different.’ The couple said that with the money they received from the Metropolitan Police, they bought a piece of land and a house in the nearby town of Gonzaga, which they rent out for £70 a month. Mr de Menezes’s mother added: ‘We wanted to leave something for our other son, Giovan, and our three grandchildren. As well as the rent we get our pensions, but it’s only enough to survive. ‘For our lives to really change for the better, we needed a lot more than what we got. But no amount of money could have paid for my son’s death. They could have offered me the whole of London, I would have preferred to have my son back here alive. ‘I’ve never understood why they killed him without even asking any questions. He was a hard-working lad who was just trying to make a life for himself, and help his family too. How did he end up being mistaken for a terrorist?’ In 2009, the Mail revealed the de Menezes family had reached an out-of-court settlement with the Met but would receive reduced compensation because they were so poor. Sources said the undisclosed six-figure award was scaled down on the grounds that they could not have expected much cash support from their son. Although the amount was covered by a confidentiality clause, sources said it would have been much higher if Mr de Menezes had left a widow and children or came from a wealthy family. But when he died his parents were subsistence farmers living in a dilapidated one-bedroom shack in the rainforest. Above the road into Gonzaga, a sign reads: ‘Land of Jean Charles de Menezes. Victim of terrorism in London. Here we value life.’ The parents of Stephen Lawrence – who received £320,000 from the Met for the blunders that blighted the initial police investigation into his murder – could also be in line for more compensation in the light of the spying allegations. | Parents of Jean Charles de Menezes received £300,000 from Scotland Yard .
But they want more after learning police 'spied' on them after the tragedy .
They say they feel 'violated' at thought of police intruding on their privacy .
Jean Charles was shot seven times in the head at Stockwell Tube station in 2005 by officers who mistakenly thought he was a terrorist . |
32,302 | 5bde9536ee86ff621ace4a342ec29fc1566a3eb6 | (Health.com) -- After playing just one match, Venus Williams announced Wednesday that she is withdrawing from the U.S. Open. The 31-year-old has had nearly every injury in the book, but she offered an unusual reason this time around: Sjögren's syndrome, a poorly understood autoimmune disorder that causes joint pain and can deplete energy levels. Williams had played only 11 matches this season because of injuries and illness. "I am thankful I finally have a diagnosis and am now focused on getting better and returning to the court soon," Williams said in a statement. As many as 4 million Americans have Sjögren's syndrome (pronounced SHOW-grens), according to the Sjögren's Syndrome Foundation, making it the second most common autoimmune disease after rheumatoid arthritis, and ahead of lupus. Ninety percent of the people with the syndrome are women. Health.com: Signs and symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis . It's "a major women's health problem," says Frederick B. Vivino, M.D., associate professor of clinical medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and chief of rheumatology at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, in Philadelphia. "A lot of patients look a lot better than they feel." How well are you managing your RA? Take a test . In Sjögren's, the white blood cells attack moisture-producing glands. The most common symptoms are persistent dry eyes and dry mouth, but the syndrome can lead to complications including extreme fatigue, joint pain, and problems with the kidneys, lungs, liver, pancreas, and central nervous system. Health.com: 12 nice things you can do for someone in pain . Because the symptoms are similar to those of many other conditions, Sjogren's is difficult for even the most experienced doctors to diagnose. It often takes years for a patient to receive a diagnosis after first experiencing symptoms. Elite athletes like Williams are no more or less likely to come down with the syndrome, but they may be more likely to receive an earlier diagnosis. "An elite athlete might notice symptoms sooner," Vivino says. "When you're running around huffing and puffing, your mouth is more likely to dry out sooner. Another important symptom -- fatigue -- will slow them down and affect their performance. And if they develop joint and muscle pain [that] persists, that leads to further testing to try to figure out what's wrong." Health.com: Pain relief for athletes -- what works best? There is no known cure for Sjögren's syndrome, but symptoms can be managed with both over-the-counter products like artificial tears and sugar-free lozenges and prescription immunosuppressive drugs. The condition disappears suddenly in about 5% of cases, but the majority of people have lifelong problems. That doesn't necessarily mean Williams is done with tennis for good. "Most manifestations are treatable and in most cases we can restore people to healthy and productive lives," Vivino says. "Whether we can return an elite athlete to competition, that's another story, but we do feel the treatment makes a big difference." Copyright Health Magazine 2011 . | Venus Williams played only 11 matches this season due to injuries and illness .
As many as 4 million Americans have Sjögren's syndrome .
Ninety percent of the people with the syndrome are women . |
216,037 | a3af02cf0a73bca54931e1b24f286a0fcb375f5b | The United States plans to send small arms, ammunition and potentially anti-tank weapons to Syria's rebels, two officials familiar with the matter told CNN on Friday. President Barack Obama's administration has declined to provide details about increased military assistance for the rebels following its announcement Thursday that Syria crossed a "red line" with its use of chemical weapons. Ben Rhodes, a U.S. deputy national security adviser, told reporters that Washington will "increase the size and scope of the assistance." When pushed for more details, Rhodes said: "I can't give you a specific timeline or itemized list of what that assistance is." The weapons will be provided by the CIA, the officials told CNN's chief White House correspondent Jessica Yellin. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity surrounding the issue. The U.S. announcement set off a series of claims and counterclaims in Syria and world capitals over the conflict that has claimed more than 90,000 lives with no sign of progress toward a political solution. Britain backed the U.S. change in position, but Syria and its allies in Russia quickly sought to cast its integrity into doubt. The Syrian foreign ministry accused Washington of releasing "a statement full of lies regarding the use of chemical weapons in Syria," according to a statement released on state TV. And a government statement carried by the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency accused the United States of using "flagrant tricks to come up with any possible means to justify the decision of President Barack Obama to arm the Syrian opposition." An aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin labeled as "unconvincing" the U.S. evidence of chemical weapons use by Syria. However, British Foreign Secretary William Hague backed the U.S. government's assessment and called for a coordinated response from the international community. 'Weapons and ammunition' Obama has been criticized at home and abroad for not acting sooner to assist the Syrian opposition, and the declaration that the red line of chemical weapons use had been crossed raised expectations of U.S. arms heading to the rebels. "What we need, really, is weapons and ammunition, and especially anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles," Gen. Salim Idriss of the rebel Free Syrian Army told CNN's Christiane Amanpour on Friday. Idriss said he has not been told what type of weapons the United States will provide to the rebel army. Louay Almokdad, political and media coordinator of the rebel Free Syrian Army, told CNN that he expected the United States initially to send ammunition, rather than heavy arms. What complicates any U.S. military support for the opposition is that many of the rebel fighters are militants with pro-al Qaeda sympathies, the same stripe of militants America has battled in Iraq and Afghanistan. They include the al-Nusra Front, a rebel group that the United States says has links to al Qaeda. The rebels promised U.S. and European officials that any military weaponry they get won't end up with extremists among the anti-government forces, Almokdad said. The officials told CNN that beyond small arms and ammunition, anti-tank weapons were also under consideration. They did not spell out what was being given to rebels, but small arms can include such items as rocket-propelled grenades, small rockets, mortars and mines as well as guns. Anti-aircraft weapons were considered less likely, and Rhodes made clear Friday that Obama has ruled out sending any U.S. troops to Syria. "The one option that we've basically taken off the table is boots on the ground," Rhodes said, adding that Obama has made the final decision on the step that "dramatically increases assistance to" rebel forces. 'Convincing' evidence . Presidential aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters the United States had shown Russian officials data and information on Syria's use of chemical weapons, Russia's state-run news agency RIA Novosti reported Friday. "What we saw does not look convincing to us," Ushakov was quoted as saying. In a telephone call with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said arming the rebels "would lead to an escalation in the region, since the U.S. accusations that Damascus has used chemical weapons are not rooted in reliable facts," according to a statement released by the Russian Foreign Ministry. Washington and Moscow have been deeply divided over how to end the bloodshed in Syria, and the issue is expected to top the agenda when Obama and Putin meet for one-on-on talks Monday at the start of G8 summit in the UK. "This is a fluid situation. So it is necessary for us to consult with leaders of the G8 about the types of support that we are providing for the opposition," Rhodes said. Asked about Russia's questioning of U.S. evidence that Syria forces used chemical weapons multiple times, killing between 100 to 150 people, Rhodes said the information provided to Putin's government included samples of sarin gas and other "convincing" evidence. That evidence, according to Rhodes, includes intelligence reports, eyewitness accounts and "physiological samples" of the nerve agent sarin. No single piece of intelligence led to the conclusion that the Syrian regime had used chemical weapons, said a senior administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The official was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter. The finding, according to the official, was a result of looking at a number of instances of suspected use, seeing similar evidence and patterns of usage and coming to the conclusion chemical weapons had been used. Rhodes acknowledged the differences that remain between the United States and Russia on the Syrian crisis. The administration believes al-Assad's forces have used saran gas at least eight times in the more than two year conflict, said a U.S. Senate sourced briefed on the matter. A boost in support by the United States for the rebels could put at risk the gains made by Syrian forces in recent days, especially in central and northern Syria, with the help of Hezbollah fighters from Iran. In Damascus, an al-Assad loyalist who spoke to CNN's Frederik Pleitgen said he believes the United States is "inventing stories" about the government's use of chemical weapons "because our army is winning." McCain: Rebels losing fight . The White House announcement comes at a critical time for the Syrian opposition, which has suffered a series of significant losses in recent weeks. Those losses have coincided in large part with the arrival of thousands of Hezbollah Shiite fighters, backed by Lebanon and Iran, to reinforce al-Assad's forces battling the mainly Sunni uprising. After months of gaining ground, the rebels this month lost Qusayr -- one of their strongholds near the Lebanese border -- which was considered essential for the rebels' supply route. Until now, the United States has limited its aid to rebels, providing communications equipment, medical supplies and food. Obama signed off on a new package of non-lethal aid in April. That assistance was expected to include body armor, night-vision goggles and other military equipment. Sen. John McCain, who has repeatedly pushed the Obama administration to step up its support for the rebels, told CNN on Friday that they need anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons. Asked whether the rebels were losing the fight, the Arizona Republican said: "Absolutely, there's no doubt about it." He also called for taking out al-Assad's air assets to create a safe zone for the Syrian opposition. "I know that we have the military capability to impose a 'no-fly' zone, to crater their runways and their fixed installations where fuel and parts are, and establish a 'no-fly' zone with Patriot missiles," McCain said. "And if we can't do that, then the question ought to be asked to the American taxpayer -- to the Pentagon, 'What in the world are we wasting tens of billions of dollars for defense for if we can't even take care of this situation?'" McCain said. Rhodes, however, indicated that a "no-fly" zone was unlikely, saying it would be "dramatically more difficult and dangerous and costly" to enforce one in Syria compared to the one NATO forces imposed with U.S. backing during Libya's civil war. Libyan rebels had control of large portions of the country, unlike the Syrian rebels, he noted, and the Libyan military had fewer air-defense systems. He added that a "no-fly" zone "is not a silver bullet." U.S. defense officials are not reviewing any new or updated options for a no-fly zone, two Pentagon sources said. Even if U.S. planes monitored a no-fly zone along the Syrian-Jordanian border, the Syrian regime could attack targets in southern Syria using long range artillery or Scud missiles, a senior Pentagon official said. Syria's stockpile . Syria has long maintained that rebels, not government forces, are behind the use of chemical weapons. It also went to the United Nations with its claims, but al-Assad would not allow U.N. inspectors into the country to try to verify the claims. Analysts believe the Syrian government may have one of the largest stockpiles of chemical weapons in the world. Specifically, the supply is believed to include sarin, mustard and VX gases, which are banned under international law. Syria has denied the allegation. Sarin gas can be hard to detect because it is colorless, odorless and tasteless. It can cause severe injuries -- including blurred vision, convulsions, paralysis and death -- to those exposed to it . In recent months, reports have repeatedly surfaced that Syrian forces have moved some of the chemical weapons inventories, possibly because of deteriorating security in the country, raising fears the stockpile could fall into the hands of al Qaeda-linked groups working with the opposition should al-Assad's government fall. U.S. officials have been closely monitoring Syria's chemical weapons stockpiles and are certain they remain in the control of al-Assad's regime, Rhodes said, adding that it would be too dangerous to destroy the chemical weapons stockpiles from afar. As recently as last week, the French foreign minister said sarin gas had been used several times in the Syrian civil war, citing results from test samples in France's possession. In early May, the head of the U.N. Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria said that evidence points to the use of sarin by Syrian rebel forces. But the commission later issued a news release saying it "has not reached conclusive findings as to the use of chemical weapons in Syria by any parties to the conflict." | President Barack Obama will meet with Russia's president on Monday .
A rebel general says he has not been told what type of weapons U.S. will provide .
The CIA will provide small arms and maybe anti-tank weapons, sources say .
Syria accuses U.S. of producing a "statement full of lies" on chemical weapons . |
147,727 | 4b070a64993dbabb46af0278d3619e6136ad385f | By . James Salmon . PUBLISHED: . 17:52 EST, 3 April 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 01:34 EST, 4 April 2013 . Arrogant investment bankers at Barclays thought they were immune from the ‘ordinary rules’ of society, a withering independent report concluded yesterday. The scandal-hit lender has been accused of fostering a ‘winning at all costs’ culture and deserting its values in the relentless pursuit of growth. Huge bonuses lavished on investment bankers helped some ‘lose all sense of proportion and humility’, the report said. Scandal-hit: Barclays has been accused of fostering a ¿winning at all costs¿ culture and deserting its values in the relentless pursuit of growth . The staggering largesse of Barclays was also made clear. Between 2002 and 2009, 60 investment bankers shared average long-term performance-related bonuses totalling £170million every year – or just under £3million a year each over the period, according to the report. This came on top of their salaries, annual bonuses and other benefits. A tendency to push the rules to the limit was epitomised by its controversial tax avoidance unit – the Structured Capital Markets division – which generated an income of more than £1billion a year for the bank between 2007 and 2010, the report said. This division is being shut down by new chief executive Antony Jenkins as part of efforts to restore the lender’s bruised reputation. The independent report, spearheaded by veteran lawyer Anthony Salz, was commissioned in the wake of Barclays’ £290million fine last summer for rigging crucial Libor interest rates. But it also looked at a long list of scandals that have dogged the lender, from mis-selling payment protection insurance to customers, to its £7.7million fine in 2011 for duping elderly savers into gambling their nest-eggs in risky stockmarket investments. Mr Salz, the vice chairman of investment bank Rothschild, called for a raft of changes including stricter curbs on pay and better treatment of customers. Barclays chairman Sir David Walker said the 236-page document, which cost the bank almost £18million in fees, made ‘for uncomfortable reading in parts’. He added: ‘That is bound to be the case when one asks for an independent examination of this kind, and we must learn from the findings.’ Under scrutiny: The report focuses heavily on bumper awards paid out under former chief executive Bob Diamond, pictured . The report focused heavily on the bumper awards dished out to Barclays’ investment bankers under disgraced former chief executive Bob Diamond, who was promoted to the top job at the start of 2011 after running the investment bank for years. Mr Diamond amassed more than £100million in pay and perks between 2005 and his resignation in July last year following the interest rate-rigging scandal. The report said the six and seven-figure packages regularly handed out at the investment bank, Barclays Capital, ‘contributed significantly to a sense among a few that they were somehow unaffected by the ordinary rules’. It added: ‘A few investment bankers seemed to lose a sense of proportion and humility.’ Mr Diamond was feted at Barclays for turning Barclays Capital into a global giant after joining in 1996. But the report said the lender’s rapid expansion across a number of divisions in the years up to the financial crisis produced ‘cultural challenges’. It became increasingly dominated by the investment bank’s winning ‘at all costs’ culture. The report said: ‘Winning at all costs comes at a price: collateral issues of rivalry, arrogance, selfishness and a lack of humility and generosity.’ It added: ‘We believe a culture developed within Barclays, quite possibly derived originally from the investment bank, which came across to some as being ‘‘clever’’ or what some people have termed ‘‘too clever by half’’, even arrogant and aggressive.’ | Barclays accused of fostering a 'winning at all costs' culture .
Chairman Sir David Walker said report made for 'uncomfortable reading' |
171,762 | 6a4c7c310d7dc1ca26a67a46f67e79a300452136 | Botulinum in its purest form is a deadly poison, but it can help stroke victims with pain. Botox is considered a poison with a purpose. Millions of Americans use it to help smooth their wrinkles. As more people use Botox as the ultimate wrinkle remover, doctors are realizing that its benefits go far deeper than the skin. Now it's being used to help stroke victims. A study showing these benefits was released in October 2005. What is Botox? Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN chief medical correspondent: Botox is a brand name for botulinum toxin type A. It's produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. In its purest form, botulinum is one of the deadliest poisons known to humans. It can cause death by paralysis. What does Botox do? Gupta: In 1989, long before physicians injected Botox into faces to smooth wrinkles, the FDA approved it for patients with debilitating neurological diseases such as dystonia. In these conditions, faulty connections between brain and muscle cause parts of the body to spasm. Muscles are locked into uncomfortable, often excruciating, positions. Amazingly, Botox liberated many of these patients by actually chemically allowing their muscles to relax. On a basic level, that is what's happening with Botox for wrinkles -- the muscle is loosening its grip on facial skin. This ability to stop the brain from triggering the muscle malfunction led researchers to use Botox for a whole host of other conditions. Up to four in 10 stroke survivors suffer from spastic disability. You may recognize it as stiffness on one side of the body, often seen in a club-like hand or foot. These people lose their independence -- the ability to wash themselves, to eat, even walk. Botox has been used for years in these stroke patients in combination with physical therapy. It allows some of them to gain back mobility and function in their muscles. Is Botox the perfect solution? Gupta: Botox isn't a cure-all. It can have minor side effects and more studies need to be done on long-term use. But for many patients, Botox provides the muscle relief that will allow them to better move their muscles. Does it matter how much time lapses between the stroke and the patient getting Botox treatment? This is definitely a case where the sooner the patient can receive the treatment, the better, so that they can regain mobility and function of their muscles. | Bottom Line: Botox can help stroke victims ease a painful side effect . |
270,278 | ea0acf4aefff939c1e4131e08c64f8d5597dadde | (CNN) -- Roger Federer has finally won the only grand slam tournament to elude him after beating Sweden's Robin Soderling in straight sets to claim the French Open title at Roland Garros. Federer is the French Open champion at last after beating Robin Soderling in straight sets at Roland Garros. The Swiss world number two had 13 grand slam successes to his name prior to the event, but none of them had been on the Parisian red clay. However, that changed on Sunday as the 27-year-old cruised to a 6-1 7-6 6-4 victory over 23rd seed Soderling, the man who had caused a sensation by dumping four-time winner Rafael Nadal out of the tournament earlier in the week. The victory moves Federer onto 14 career grand slam titles, level with American Pete Sampras as the most successful grand slam player in men's tennis history. He also moved into a select group made up only of Fred Perry, Don Budge, Rod Laver, Roy Emerson and Andre Agassi as men who have won all four of the grand slam events. "It was probably my greatest ever victory, I was under big pressure. But I did it and it's phenomenal," an emotional Federer told a packed crowd on Court Philippe Chatrier -- before breaking down in tears after being presented with the trophy by American Agassi, the 1999 French Open champion and last player to win all four slams. "I think that now and until the end of my career, I can really play with my mind at peace and no longer hear that I've never won Roland Garros," he added. You say: Is Roger Federer the greatest tennis player in history? Soderling, who beat Nadal and Nikolay Davydenko en route to the final, told the crowd: "I had the two best weeks of my career. Roger is a really worthy winner. To me he is the best player in history so he really deserves to win here at the French as well." The 27-year-old Federer, playing in his 19th grand slam final, could not have wished for a better start under threatening skies, which produced drizzling rain for the majority of the match. The Swiss dropped just one point on his serve in three games, but, in contrast, Soderling's serve was far from convincing and he soon trailed 4-0. Soderling got on the scoreboard in the fifth game but he had already been broken twice by then. In the seventh game, the Swede was facing two set points when a rasping Federer forehand flew past him. Soderling saved the first with an unreturnable serve but on the second, Federer unleashed a whipped backhand for the set. The second set, which did not have a single break of serve, was overshadowed by an incident which saw Federer come face to face with a court invader at the start of the fourth game. How it happened: See the French Open final in photos » . The man, wearing a top bearing the word 'Switzerland' on its chest, came down from high up in the stands and vaulted the barriers to enter the court. He ran up to Federer and brandished in front of the player's face what appeared to be a flag of Spanish team Barcelona. He then attempted to put a cap on the head of Federer, who retreated way behind the service line. Security took their time coming onto the court to aid Federer but when they did, they managed to accost the invader, who by that time had frantically run across the court and leapt the net. Federer at first appeared shaken -- he lost the next game to love -- admittedly on Soderling's serve, but calm was soon restored as the rain started to come down and the set went to a tie-break. Federer played it flawlessly, smashing down four aces from four serves to clinch it in style. He then grabbed the key break in the third set in the very first game. Soderling by that time had got over his early-match jitters but he could not halt Federer's juggernaut of a serve. He only earned his first break point of the match in the fourth game of that set, but the Swiss came up with a fine forehand passing shot to save. Serving for the match, Federer went break point down again to add to the drama. Soderling wasted that with a mis-hit and then netted a return into the net two points later to hand Federer the title. | Roger Federer finally wins French Open title with victory over Robin Soderling .
The Swiss world number two beats his Swedish opponent 6-1 7-6 6-4 in Paris .
Federer had won 13 grand slam titles prior to event, but never the French Open .
The success takes him level with Pete Sampras on 14 career grand slam wins . |
235,546 | bcef5c778290e744cd86808d28e581db570690c1 | Steven Gerrard isn't getting the credit he deserves for his displays in a Liverpool shirt this season, believes former team-mate Jamie Carragher. The Liverpool captain revealed that he would be leaving his boyhood club at the end of the season to play in the MLS on New Year's Day. Playing in his first game since that announcement, the 34-year-old scored both of the Reds' goals in their 2-1 FA Cup third round win at League Two side AFC Wimbledon on Monday night. Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard scored both goals during the 2-1 FA Cup third round win at Wimbledon . Jamie Carragher believes the midfielder (centre) would be earning rave reviews if he was 10 years younger . Gerrard's display at Kingsmeadow was another example of his influence at the club during his 17-year professional association with the Anfield outfit. And after the match Sportsmail columnist Carragher took to Twitter to praise the midfielder's display - who is also the club's top goalscorer this season with nine goals. He tweeted: 'Liverpool struggled for goals this season (and) their top scorer is going to MLS next season!!!!!! 'If Gerrard was one of the new signings at 24 we'd be raving about him, but we judge him at 34 against himself at his peak.' The draw for the fourth round of the FA Cup sees Brendan Rodgers' team at home against Championship outfit Bolton Wanderers. And although Liverpool have been drawn against lower league opposition once more, Gerrard says he is taking nothing for granted as he bids to win the trophy he has previously clinched twice in 2001 and 2006. Carragher took to Twitter on Monday night to praise his former team-mate's performances . 'I always enjoy the FA Cup,' he told BBC One in his post-match interview. 'I grew up loving the competition and as it's going to be my last time, I want to make the most of it and try and go all the way. 'If I weren't here playing for this team, I'd probably be in the stands watching it so I know what (the FA Cup) means to every single supporter, that's why I always try to give my best. 'We've got to take each game as it comes. I'm told we've got Bolton at home in the next round and that'll be another difficult test. 'I know Neil Lennon quite well and I know he'll set up his team to be very difficult to beat. 'We take each game as it comes but of course, (winning the cup is) what dreams are made of and hopefully that'll be the case.' Gerrard (far left) scored the match-winning goal for Liverpool with a sumptuous second half free-kick . | Liverpool won 2-1 at AFC Wimbledon to reach the FA Cup fourth round .
Reds skipper Steven Gerrard scored both goals in Monday night's win .
Liverpool host Bolton Wanderers in the next round at Anfield . |
190,364 | 82769212908e71c1203f288d8704ab12a15885f4 | HOUSTON, Texas (CNN) -- On the tape, Sheikh Issa bin Zayed al Nahyan appears to burn with rage. Sheikh Issa bin Zayed al Nahyan, pictured here, allegedly tortured a business associate on videotape. Believing he was cheated in a business deal, the member of the United Arab Emirates ruling family was trying to extract a confession from an Afghan grain dealer. With a private security officer assisting, Sheikh Issa bin Zayed al Nahyan is seen stuffing sand in the Afghan's mouth. As the grain dealer pleads and whimpers, he is beaten with a nailed board, burned in the genitals with a cigarette lighter, shocked with a cattle prod, and led to believe he would be shot. Salt is poured on his wounds. In the end, the victim can muster up only weak moans as an SUV is repeatedly driven over him. The 45 minutes of torture appears on a nearly three-hour-long videotape shot in late 2004 in the desert outside Abu Dhabi, one of the United Arab Emirates in the Persian Gulf region. It was made at the direction of the sheikh himself. The tape has been viewed by CNN. Now the tape has surfaced as a piece of evidence in a federal civil suit filed in Houston, Texas, against the sheikh by his former business partner, Bassam Nabulsi. As media, U.S. governmental and human rights questions and concerns emerged, Abu Dhabi's government on Tuesday issued a statement saying it deplored the contents of the video and plans an immediate and comprehensive review of it. Nabulsi, a Lebanese-born U.S. citizen living in Houston, says he met Sheikh Issa when the royal came to Houston for medical care in 1994. Watch portions of the tape and Nabulsi tell his story » . According to Nabulsi, the men became friends and business partners, and Sheikh Issa eventually recruited Nabulsi to move to Abu Dhabi to work for him. "We were buddies," said Nabulsi, who met with CNN journalists in Houston. "He gave me his personal vow. He swore to look after my family in case something happened to me." The sheikh, who holds no official government position, is the half-brother of the country's ruler. In the lawsuit, Nabulsi says was disturbed by the sheikh's "increasingly bizarre behavior" after the November 2004 death of his father, UAE ruler Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al Nahyan. Nabulsi's lawsuit says that Sheikh Issa's father "kept tight control over Sheikh Issa" but after the father's death, he "apparently no longer felt constrained." Nabulsi claims he confronted his business partner about the Afghan's treatment, telling him that to do such a thing he "must not be a God-fearing person." Nabulsi says his boldness prompted the sheikh to turn on him. Later, Nabulsi was arrested on drug charges. Security officers working for the sheikh ransacked his home and demanded the torture video, Nabulsi claimed. By this point, the tape -- shot by Nabulsi's brother at the order of the sheikh -- had been smuggled out of the country. According to an affidavit, Nabulsi's brother worked for Sheikh Issa as a personal assistant. In 2005, Nabulsi was arrested, jailed and ultimately convicted on drug charges. And, he said, he was tortured and humiliated by UAE police, who demanded he return the tape. "It was a lot of humiliation," Nabulsi told CNN. "And I really don't like to talk about it." Nabulsi was fined and deported. Darryl Bristow, the sheikh's Houston attorney, argued in court papers that American courts have no jurisdiction over his client. In a statement to CNN, Bristow said Nabulsi is using the videotape of a third party, Nabulsi's brother, to influence the court over a business dispute. "The public should know that the man behind the camera was Bassam Nabulsi's brother and that Bassam Nabulsi kept the video from the media while his lawyer was asking for money. What do you call that where you come from?" Bristow asked. Nabulsi's attorney denied wrongdoing. The Houston case languished in the U.S. court system after it was filed in 2006 but it eventually moved forward when the sheikh's personal assistant was served with court papers last year. Nabulsi's attorney, Anthony Buzbee, said he has deposed the sheikh, but the deposition is under seal. The case was filed in Houston because the Sheikh Issa-Nabulsi business partnership was formed and focused in Texas and "claims at issue in this case arose out of contacts within Texas." Nabulsi claims breaches of contract and fiduciary duty. He wants $80 million he says is owed to him from their business relationship. He also wants to be awarded punitive damages for torture, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and malicious prosecution. Initially, the UAE Interior Ministry said Sheikh Issa "does not hold any official position" in the government and that Nabulsi's lawsuit is "a private dispute." Asked about the torture allegations, the UAE said it investigated and found "...all rules, policies and procedures were followed correctly by the police department. The review also concluded that the incidents depicted in the videotapes were not part of a pattern of behavior." The shocking case has made waves recently as news organizations asked about the tape. U.S. senior officials familiar with the case say the administration is holding off sending a nuclear deal with the United Arab Emirates to Congress for ratification because they fear a fallout from the torture story. Congress has to ratify the civil nuclear agreement signed in January between the Bush administration and the UAE. Those senior U.S. officials said the agreement was supposed to be sent to the Senate, but Secretary of State Hillary Clinton held off doing so because of the story's sensitivity. One American lawmaker, Rep. James McGovern, D-Massachusetts, asked Clinton to investigate and that all "expenditures of funds, training, sales or transfers of equipment or technology, including nuclear" to the UAE be put on hold until the matter is reviewed. He also wants the United States to deny any visas for travel by Sheikh Issa or his immediate family. "I think we have an obligation to say we want to step back a bit and look at this a little more closely," said McGovern, co-chairman of the congressional human rights commission. He promised hearings on the issue, probing the case and how the U.S. Embassy in the UAE handled it. "I am not going to let it go away," McGovern said. Human Rights Watch, the humanitarian watchdog group, is calling for the United Arab Emirates to "investigate and prosecute" the grain dealer's torture. With media questions about the tape mounting, Abu Dhabi said on Wednesday it decided to renew its inquiries -- more than four years after the incident. As for the grain dealer, UAE officials say he survived the ordeal, and said the sheikh and the grain dealer settled the matter privately by agreeing not to bring formal charges against the other. How much money was the grain dealer accused of stealing from the sheikh? "It's nothing," Nabulsi said. "No more than about $5,000." CNN's Scott Bronstein, Drew Griffin, Stan Grant, Elise Labott, Octavia Nasr, and Joe Sterling contributed to this report. | Former business partner of Sheikh Issa of Abu Dhabi suing royal .
Bassam Nabulsi's tape shows sheikh severely torturing grain merchant .
Nabulsi, of Houston, says he himself was tortured in jail, sheikh owes him $80M .
U.S. senior officials say case is holding up a U.S. nuclear deal with the UAE . |
168,462 | 65e35e6f1e7a661993820a091fc909ae07b8f11a | With this weekend jam-packed full of exciting fixtures, including the eagerly anticipated Capital One Cup final between Chelsea and Tottenham, we wouldn't want you to miss a thing. With that in mind Sportsmail gives to you the weekend TV guide for all the live football from the Premier League, Capital One Cup and more on Sky Sports and BT Sport. Chelsea face Tottenham in the Capital One Cup final on Saturday afternoon - the weekend's biggest fixture . FRIDAY . 7.30pm - 10pm (kick off 7.45) - BT Sport 1 - Falkirk vs Rangers - Scottish Professional Football League . SATURDAY . 10.30am-12.30pm (Kick-off 10.30am) - BT Sport 2 - Perth Glory vs Brisbane Roar Live A-League Football . 12pm to 3pm (Kick-off 12.45pm) - Sky Sports 1 - West Ham vs Crystal Palace Premier League . 12.15pm - 3pm (Kick-off 12.45pm) - BT Sport 1 - Eastleigh vs Macclesfield Town Live Conference Football . 5.15pm - 7.30pm (Kick-off 5.30pm) BT Sport 1 - Eintracht Frankfurt vs Hamburg SV Live Bundesliga . 7pm - 9pm (Kick-off 7.00pm) BT Sport 2 - Toulouse v St Etienne Live French Ligue 1 . Liverpool host Manchester City on Sky Sports 1 on Sunday ahead of the clash between Chelsea and Spurs . SUNDAY . 6:00am-8:00am (Kick-off 6.00am) - ESPN Melbourne Victory v Wellington Phoenix Live A-League . 11.30am - 1.30pm (Kick-off 11.30am) - BT Sport 2 - Cagliari v Verona Live Serie A . 11:30am-2:30pm (Kick-off 12.00pm) Sky Sports 1 - Liverpool v Manchester City . 11:30am-2:00pm (Kick-off 12.00pm) Sky Sports 3 - Celtic v Aberdeen Live SPFL Football . 1.15pm - 4.15pm (Kick-off 2.05pm) BT Sport 1 - Arsenal v Everton Live Premier League 1.15pm . 2.00pm-4.30pm (Kick-off 2.05pm) Sky Sports 3 - Norwich City v Ipswich Town Championship . 2:30pm-4:30pm (Kick-off 2.30pm) ESPN - Borussia Moenchengladbach v SC Paderborn 07 ESPN Live Bundesliga . 2.00pm - 4.00pm (Kick-off 2.00pm) BT Sport 2 - Sassuolo v Lazio Live Serie A . 2.30pm-7.00pm (Kick-off 4.00pm) Sky Sports 1 - Chelsea v Tottenham Hotspur Live Capital One Cup Final . Nani (right) will be in action for Sporting Lisbon when his side take on Porto on Sunday evening . 4:00pm-6:00pm (Kick-off 4.00pm) BT Sport 2 - Montpellier v Nice Live French Ligue 1 . 4:30pm-6:30pm (Kick-off 4.30pm) - ESPN Werder Bremen v VfL Wolfsburg Live Bundesliga . 5:00pm-7:00pm (Kick-off 5.00pm) BT Sport 1 Inter Milan v Fiorentina Live Serie A . 7:00pm-9:00pm (Kick-off 7.00pm) BT Sport 2 Toulouse v St Etienne Live French Ligue 1 . 7:30pm-10:00pm (Kick-off 7.45pm) BT Sport 1 Live Serie A Chievo v AC Milan Live Serie A . 7:15pm-9:15pm - (Kick-off 7.15pm) ESPN FC Porto v Sporting Lisbon Live Portuguese Primeira Liga . 8:00pm-10:00pm - (Kick-off 8.00pm) BT Sport 1 Monaco v PSG Live French Ligue 1 . MONDAY . 7:30pm-10:00pm (Kick-off 7.45pm) BT Sport 1 AS Roma v Juventus Live Serie A . | Here's the stellar line up for all the televised football action this weekend .
Crystal Palace face a tough trip to Upton Park for Saturday's early Premier League kick-off .
Liverpool face Manchester City in a vital match at Anfield on Sunday .
That fixture is quickly followed by Arsenal vs Everton at Emirates .
Then Chelsea take on Tottenham in eagerly awaited Capital One Cup final . |
95,857 | 073d5a23f07679a07594d8523b364f685cdc4bdc | (CNN) -- Seven members of the environmental group Greenpeace were arrested Monday after protesting at a private ship that the group says is scheduled to depart for Alaska this summer as part of a drilling mission. The group said it was sending a message to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to ban new drilling in the Arctic or any U.S. waters. The ship was docked at Port Fourchon, Louisiana, near the site of the massive BP oil spill that for more than a month has been gushing thousands of barrels of oil daily into the Gulf of Mexico. Photos from the scene show two protesters repelling off the side of Harvey Explorer, a 240-foot supply vessel, with one holding a sign reading "Salazar: Ban Arctic drilling." The activists also smeared messages -- "Arctic next?" -- on the boat in raw crude from the BP spill in the Gulf. The seven arrested, between ages 24 and 32, face unauthorized entry charges of a critical infrastructure and an inhabited dwelling, according to the Lafourche Parish County Sheriff's Department. They could face additional charges pending an investigation into the incident, authorities said. The protest comes as the Obama administration has decided to establish a presidential commission to investigate the disaster and look into federal oversight of offshore oil drilling, safety aboard rigs and environmental protection. Permits to drill offshore were suspended last month pending an Interior Department safety review after the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon drill rig. Still, the government is under pressure to issue new permits for offshore drilling as early as next week. The safety review is due this Friday, and the Obama administration will use it to help decide when and how drilling should resume. The Harvey Explorer is a vessel contracted by Shell for offshore operations off the Alaskan coast that had been scheduled for July. "The safety and security of this contracted vessel and its crew are a top priority," Shell said in a statement Monday. "While we welcome discussions regarding Shell operations, we are disappointed in the approach taken by Greenpeace today." Greenpeace and other environmental groups argue there should be no new drilling until the investigation into the disaster is complete, which will take months. "As long as we continue to rely on dirty and dangerous fossil fuels and offshore drilling, we can't prevent future disasters from destroying our oceans and the industries and wildlife that depend upon them," said John Hocevar, oceans campaign director for Greenpeace. "Pulling the plug on plans to drill in the Arctic would be a first step towards a comprehensive ban on all new drilling in the United States," he said. | Greenpeace activists want interior secretary to ban new drilling .
Protesters used crude from BP spill to write messages on boat .
Activists boarded private vessel contracted by Shell for Alaska operations . |
25,824 | 49327b670a524e6082bcf11a2bf5c0bb8829dcec | A man was rescued last night after he was adrift for six hours on a paddle board off the coast of Cornwall. Joe Holtaway went for paddle off the Cornish south coast near Marazion when he was dragged out to sea. His family became concerned when he failed to return and rescuers were scrambled at 8pm. A team of RNLI volunteers, pictured, recovered Mr Holtaway who was unable to make his way back to shore . The RNLI and coastguard teams from Penzance, St Ives, Penlee and Porthleven raced to the scene along with a helicopter and searched for several hours. Three hours later, a lifeboat found Mr Holtaway floating behind St Michael's Mount, approximately one mile off shore. He was taken to hospital in Treliske for a check up where he was treated for suspected hypothermia. Speaking after his ordeal, Mr Holtaway said: 'It was a beautiful evening in Marazion, I paddled out on my board in the sunset and drifted further/got colder than I could get myself back to shore from. 'Six hours later the lifeboat took me onboard, and brought me in. 'Much love, respect and appreciation for everyone who was on the beach, the emergency services, my friends and family (all are family.x)' Joe Holtaway, pictured, paddled out to sea at sundown yesterday in Marazion when he got lost . Martin Leslie, the coastguard's area commander, said: 'The guy has been recovered. 'He was found by the lifeboat at the back of St Michael's Mount. 'He's being transported to Treliske hospital by land ambulance. 'He was wearing a wetsuit and had a paddleboard or something similar. 'If you're going to go out you must let people know where you're going to go, what time you're going to be back. 'Stay within your limitations. 'Today it's calm, it's flat, it's good conditions - but it is very cold, even standing here on the shore side.' An eyewitness who saw the rescue said: 'The helicopter has been scanning up and down the shore. 'There's been the coastguard and a rib flying around with lots of people on the beach with torches and also off St Michael's Mount with high power torches. 'It's been quite a large scale search we've seen tonight. 'We're standing here nicely wrapped up - but to be out on the water on a night like this is going to be pretty challenging. 'The level at which the helicopter has been flying across Mount's Bay has been incredible - probably no more than 20 feet above the water in pitch black conditions. 'These people are taking a lot of risks to try to find whoever has gone missing.' Mr Holtaway's brother Ben has thanked the lifeboat crew for plucking him to safety, describing them as 'superstars.' He wrote: 'Fantastic Penlee, can't say thank you enough, I have one lucky brother.' Mr Holtaway was pulled out to sea behind St Michael's Mount, pictured, where he was found by the RNLI . Mr Holtaway was found suffering from hypothermia when he was recovered just south of St Michael's Mount . A spokesman for Penlee lifeboat added: 'After nearly three hours of searching for a missing person Penlee Lifeboat found the young man a mile south of Marazion Beach around 11pm. 'The person, who had been in the sea for five hours was taken to Newlyn harbour by the Lifeboat then conveyed to hospital by ambulance. 'The young man is suffering from hypothermia but should be ok, a great result this evening, it really was a fantastic effort by everyone involved.' Mr Holtaway left his clothes and bicycle on the beach at Marazion around 5pm when he entered teh worker. Patch Harvey, coxswain at Penlee RNLI, described how crews spent three hours searching for Mr Holtaway in darkness. He said: 'Thankfully this story has a happy ending but it could have been very different. 'Joe paddled out on his paddleboard at about 5pm, just before darkness fell, but quickly became very cold, disorientated and confused. 'Despite the calm conditions, it is not advisable to enter the sea at this time of year, at such a late hour, without any means of communication with the shore. 'It is very easy to lose your bearings when darkness falls and you are freezing cold. 'On this occasion there was a happy ending but Joe was very lucky that the crew found him safe . A spokesman for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency said coastguards received a call reporting Mr Holtaway's disappearance at 8pm. 'The Penlee all-weather and inshore lifeboats, the Penzance, Porthleven and St Ives Coastguard Rescue Teams and the Culdrose Royal Navy Search and Rescue Helicopter all assisted in the search,' the spokesman said. 'A lifeboat later found the person approximately one mile offshore.' Mr Holtaway and his family later visited Penlee Lifeboat Station to thank Mr Harvey and the volunteer crew of the Ivan Ellen and Paul Alexander lifeboats. | Joe Holtaway went paddling off the Cornish coast at sundown yesterday .
He left his clothes and bicycle on the beach in Marazion, Cornwall .
Despite wearing a wetsuit, Mr Holtaway became cold and disorientated .
His family alerted the coast guard at 8pm and a search was launched .
He was found after spending six hours at sea, around one mile from land .
RNLI volunteers brought him back to land and he was taken to hospital . |
135,321 | 3b0b3955ee6b41ef34ac1575594199ef8ee440f2 | By . Sara Malm . Chris Christie has proved he is ready to joke about last autumn's damaging scandal over lane closures on George Washington Bridge after appearing on Jimmy Fallon. The New Jersey Governor joined The Tonight Show's host in a 'dad dancing' skit poking fun at September's events. Governor Christie and Fallon had a Father's Day special dance-off called The Evolution of Dad Dancing, dressed in high-waisted khaki trousers and blue golf shirts. Scroll down for video . Bridging joke: New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and The Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon joke about the George Washington Bridge scandal . Not finding it funny? Governor Christie pretended to become upset with Fallon's joke during a skit called The Evolution of Dad Dancing . Ready to laugh: Governor Christie walked off camera in a fake huff after The Tonight Show host's 'surprise' quip during the sketch . After first dancing to moves with names like The Belt Grabber, The Lawn Mower and The Dance at a Springsteen Concert, Fallon introduced The Bridge is Closed – at which point Christy pretended to become upset and walk away. Fallon also 'apologised' to Governor Christie over a Born To Run cover he performed with Bruce Springsteen on his show in January which mocked the bridge scandal. Governor Christie, a favourite for Republican nominee in the 2016 presidential elections, also quipped he would beat Hillary Clinton in 2016 if they both 'hypothetically' both won their parties’ nominations - but in a dance off. The Evolution of Dancing is one of the most popular segments on Jimmy Fallon, which has previously seen Michelle Obama and Will Smith perform dance styles through history with the talk show host. Chris Christie's appearance on The . Tonight Show was his first late night talk show appearance since the . George Washington Bridge scandal broke earlier this year. Bust it!: Jimmy Fallon and Governor Christie both dressed up in high-waisted khaki trousers and tucked in blue polo shirts for the 'dad dancing' Born to run? The father-of-four showed that he can do a mean air guitar for the Dance You Do At A Springsteen Concert move . The right way? Fallon and Governor Chirstie showed how they go crazy, crazy, crazy til they see the sun at the Republican Convention . How the blue do: If the Governor and Fallon are to believe, the Democratic Convention sure looks a lot more fun . Two out of three toll lanes on George Washington Bridge, which connects the New Jersey borough of Fort Lee and Manhattan, were closed from September 9th-13th last autumn. There had been no warning to emergency services, local officials or the public and it caused severe gridlock and traffic jams in the local area. Initial reports said the closure was due to a traffic study, but it soon emerged that it had been planned by a member of Chris Christie’s staff and political appointees. Although never officially confirmed, it is believed the lane closure was an attempt to create animosity against Mark Sokolich, Fort Lee’s Democrat mayor who declined to back Governor Christie in the 2013 gubernatorial election. So far, four political appointees have resigned over the scandal. Bridget Anne Kelly, Christie's deputy chief of staff, who is believed to have instigated the lane closure, was fired by Christie. Chris Christie has firmly denied knowing anything about the closures, and later visited Mayor Sokolich to apologise in person. Relaxed: Governor Chris Christie discussed the George Washington Bridge scandal during the interview with host Jimmy Fallon . Scandal: Two out of three toll lanes on George Washington Bridge was closed for five days last September in what later emerged had been an act of political retribution from Christie's staff against a Democrat New Jersey mayor . Governor Christie's appearance on Jimmy Fallon came as officials from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey confirmed the Securities and Exchange Commission have launched an investigation into its operations after the bridge scandal. New Jersey newspaper The Record reports the Port Authority acknowledged the SEC investigation in a document it released Thursday to prospective buyers of its bonds. The newspaper says the SEC is looking at the Port Authority's justification for diverting $1.8 billion to pay for New Jersey road repair projects at the urging of Governor Christie's administration. The document also discloses the agency and related people have received several subpoenas, including from New Jersey federal prosecutors and the Manhattan district attorney's office. Additional investigations by the United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey, the New Jersey Legislature, and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey are already underway. | New Jersey governor Chris Christie appeared on The Tonight Show .
Joked about bridge scandal on first late night appearance since it broke .
Christie appeared in 'history of dad dancing' skit with Jimmy Fallon .
Republican joked he would beat Hillary Clinton in 2016 - in a dance off . |
286,501 | ff3923936c4452e993e0bf50d5675e0743eb0601 | By . Claudia Connell . PUBLISHED: . 20:58 EST, 22 December 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 20:58 EST, 22 December 2013 . The extent to which junk mail and nuisance phone calls had taken over my life became clear during one hellish day when I felt as though I was under siege in my own home. On this day, my letterbox seemed to open and snap shut every 15 minutes with some leaflet or other offering a service I didn’t need. When the junk mail wasn’t disturbing the peace, my mobile and landline were ringing with calls claiming I was due a small fortune in PPI and accident compensation or from call centres asking me to take part in endless surveys. Deck the hall with junk: Claudia with her stacks of unwanted mail . It all added up to an incredibly stressful day when I was unable to get any work done. Certainly it’s a problem that has become part and parcel of modern life, but what made it all the more frustrating was that I take every step I can to ensure I’m not targeted. I refuse to join mailing lists, I untick boxes asking if I’d like to be sent special offers, my phone number is ex-directory and I’m registered with the TPS (telephone preference service). Clearly, though, these weren’t working. So, with a mixture of sheer frustration and morbid curiosity, I decided on that day in November last year to keep a running total of all my junk mail and nuisance calls for 12 months. My experiment came to an end at the beginning of this month and the outcome is staggering. Over the past year I have experienced 4,481 unwelcome intrusions into my life in the form of unsolicited post, spam emails, phone calls and texts. Of all these intrusions, it’s the junk mail that I find the most infuriating. Deluge: 17.5billion pieces of junk mail are distributed in Britain every year . On a bad day, leaflets start dropping through my letterbox as early as 6am and can continue until as late as 10pm. Sometimes, I’ll come home after a day out to find a dozen pieces of paper strewn across my floor. Every year around 17.5 billion pieces of junk mail, addressed and unaddressed, are distributed across the country. The average householder receives 453 of them. On Tuesday, the Mail ran the story of Rebecca George, 44, a graphic designer from Hackney, East London, who collected 1,027 pieces of junk mail in a year. Well, guess what? I can do better than that. I received nearly treble the national average. This year, 1,147 items of junk were delivered to me. My house is in a part of South London known for its young families and high-earning professionals. And even though I don’t slot into either category, it means that if I look out of my window I rarely have to wait more than a few minutes before I see a leaflet distributor. My tally included 91 cards from taxi firms, 76 freesheets and newspapers and 42 envelopes and bags from charities. There were also 159 takeaway menus - a third from Pizza Hut and Dominos, who rarely went a week without reminding me of their latest offers. Endless: Spam email traffic is never-ending, and practically impossible to stem . As the value of properties in my area has risen by 25 per cent in the past year, estate agents are keen to make their presence known. There have been 123 communications, including 30 addressed to me by name from agents who, presumably, had identified me on the electoral roll. I also received 309 flyers from companies offering every kind of service you can imagine from cleaning and gardening to baby-sitting and dog walking. Religious groups including the Church of Scientology and Jehovah’s Witnesses left their calling cards, as did one gentleman calling himself ‘Mr Mahuba the Witchdoctor’ who, for a small fee, would place lifelong curses on my enemies. On more than one occasion I wondered how much he’d charge for performing a little voodoo on Pizza Hut or Foxtons estate agents. My local authority, Lambeth, has failed to see the irony of leafleting me on 24 occasions about my duty to recycle and dispose of my mail responsibly. Of the half a million tonnes of junk mail generated in Britain every year, around a fifth ends up going to landfill sites at an annual cost to the taxpayer of £50 million. Then there is the damage to the environment. It takes 17 trees to produce each tonne of junk mail. In the past year, there were only eight blissful days out of 365 when I didn’t receive a single flyer. At the beginning of this year, I stuck a ‘no junk mail please’ sticker to my letterbox. A fortnight later I removed it when I realised it was making things worse. Hefty load: Half of a postman's bag will be made up of junk, which is worth £1.1billion a year to the Royal Mail . Some mischievous distributors were taking it as a sign to dump a handful of flyers on me in one go. When I pointed out the sticker to one young man who was about to deliver literature from a removal company, he just shrugged and said ‘no understand English’. Increasingly, it isn’t just the door-to-door leaflet-droppers responsible for junk mail. A vast amount is delivered by Royal Mail. In the past 12 months it delivered 226 letters and promotional mail items from companies trying to sell me everything from wine, holidays to insurance, clothes and furniture. Ludicrously, the companies who harassed me the most were the ones whose services I already used. So much for their expensive consumer research departments! Sky Television wrote to me 26 times trying to sell me more expensive packages or get me to switch phone provider. BT also wrote to me 16 times about their broadband or new TV sports channels. But as any Sky or BT customer knows, when you have a problem with their products and really need to make contact, you’ve got more chance of getting through to the Prime Minister than you have of speaking to someone who can help. I also received 63 letters from energy companies wanting me to switch my supply to them or simply justifying why they are sticking up their prices yet again. Thirty-three banks and credit companies wrote offering loans and balance transfers. Not surprisingly, half a postman’s sack will be made up of junk post - with the Royal Mail delivering 3.3 billion items a year. Though it offers households the chance to opt out of receiving unaddressed junk mail, since it depends on £1.1 billion a year of such business, it doesn’t make it well known. No wonder less than 1 per cent of homes have joined the scheme. I did, however, think that registering my mobile and home phones with the Telephone Preference Service would stop nuisance calls - and until about two years ago, it did. The service is free and it means that your number is put on a national register that marketing and telesales companies are meant to check and not contact anyone whose name appears on it. While reputable companies abide by the rules, a growing number of rogue ones do not. Unstoppable: Claudia was bombarded with more than triple the average amount of junk mail . It is for that reason, I assume, that over the past year I received 137 nuisance calls and 72 texts. Some of the phone calls, particularly those from Indian-based call centres, came as early as 5am, while texts pinged up any time of the day or night. The vast majority were from companies wrongly claiming I was owed PPI compensation or a pay-out after an accident. I also received 40 ‘silent calls’. These are from companies using ACS (Automated Calling Systems). Targeted phone numbers are randomly chosen and automatically dialled. If you answer and an agent is available you’ll be connected. But if you answer and no agent is free, the line just goes dead. A rather intimidating thing at 2am. During September, a company calling itself UK Lifestyle, but using Indian call centre staff, called me 14 times asking me to take part in pointless surveys. I’d refuse, ask them not to call again and an hour later they’d ring back as if they’d never spoken to me before. When it comes to text messages, texting ‘STOP’ to one of the PPI companies is the worst thing you can do. It simply informs them your number is in use and leads to a flurry of additional messages. The problem of nuisance calls and texts has become so huge, with seven out of ten people receiving them, that consumer watchdog Which? has launched a ‘Calling Time’ campaign asking the Government to get tough on organisations that harass people in their homes. Richard Lloyd of Which? says: ‘Unwanted calls or texts are not just a nuisance, they can be intrusive and distressing. 'Many of us have been bombarded with spurious claims of PPI or injury compensation, and people are fed up with this nuisance and want to see action. ‘We want regulators to work together to police and punish those responsible. If they are unwilling or unable to enforce the rules, the Government should step in.’ But the award for the biggest pest of all goes to the email spammers. In the past year, I have received 3,125 junk emails - that’s despite using the highest possible security filters. From the Nigerian scammers telling me I’ve inherited millions to Canadian pharmacies wanting to sell me Viagra, the emails arrived at a rate of nine a day. What I can do to reduce the spam? Apparently, not a lot. Internet security expert Sam Maccherola says: ‘Once your email address is publicly available online or on an illegal list, the genie cannot be put back in the bottle.’ And as with the junk text messages, opting to unsubscribe will only alert spammers to the fact your email address is active, and you’ll be targeted even more. With my own Project Junk at an end, I will shortly be taking my ten giant bin bags full of leaflets and letters to the recycling centre - and, sadly, bracing myself for the even bigger deluge that 2014 is bound to bring. | Claudia tries to avoid spam, but still had 4,481 junk messages in 2013 .
There are ways to opt out of posted and telephone junk, but they are often not well-publicised or do not work .
17.5billion items of junk mail were distributed in the UK last year . |
18,684 | 34de59d2142441bd8fe1d4645bfae69aaa82a276 | A 20-month-old baby died in hospital after she was prescribed an 'exceptionally high' dose of potassium while recovering from a 'textbook' operation, an inquest was told. Willow Kemp suffered a heart attack after undergoing a number of procedures, including a gastrostomy, at Royal Manchester Children's Hospital. The inquest heard that medics who were responsible for her care failed to check her blood levels for three-and-half hours as she recovered in the hospital's intensive care unit. Willow Kemp suffered a heart attack after undergoing the procedure at Royal Manchester Children's Hospital. Her parents, Debbie and Oliver, (pictured) told doctors that their daughter looked 'peaky', the inquest heard . Willow died in June 2012, just moments after her parents, Debbie and Oliver Kemp, had voiced concerns that their daughter appeared to be struggling to breathe, the inquest heard. The toddler suffered from a number of complex illnesses including cardiac and respiratory problems that meant her potassium levels had previously fluctuated wildly. In response, a pharmacist prepared a large dose of potassium. He told the inquest that he had never dealt with such high concentrations in his whole career. But staff admitted that they then did not check Willow's blood levels again for a number of hours, despite the unusually high dosage. Potassium, a mineral that the body needs to work normally, helps nerves and muscles communicate. It also helps move nutrients into cells and waste products out of cells. A normal potassium level is between 3.5 and 5.5millimoles per litre. However Willow had a history of fluctuating levels - with readings ranging from 1.8 to as high as 8mmol/l being taken in the month before her death. Willow Kemp, pictured, suffered from a number of complex medical conditions including respiratory and cardiac problems before she died . Willow's first potassium reading on 28 June was of 5.7mmol/l. Shortly after, her parents described her as looking 'peaky' and said she was struggling to breathe as she lay in her mother's arms. When her father Oliver Kemp, a radio DJ, from Bamber Bridge, Lancashire, alerted the nurse to his daughter's condition, she called a physiotherapist for assistance and her blood gas was taken again. The test revealed that her potassium level had shot up to 8.3mmol/l and her situation became critical. The baby slipped into cardiac arrest and, despite frantic attempts to resuscitate her, was pronounced dead a short time later. It was later discovered that she had a huge 11mmol/l of potassium in her blood at the time of death. At an inquest into her death in Manchester yesterday, Mr Kemp broke down in tears as he relived the moment he was told that hyperkalaemia - a high potassium concentration - contributed to his daughter's death. He said: 'The procedure, we were told, was 'textbook' and she would make a full recovery. 'When we arrived back at the hospital Willow was in the cot and looked very uncomfortable, her breathing appeared laboured, she had white secretions on her mouth and she appeared to be hot to the touch. 'Before the cardiac arrest my wife was holding Willow on her lap and I was beside her and the consultant came to the cubicle. 'At that point I decided to ask about what I was seeing on the heart monitor screen. He had come to look at the chart. I said to him 'is that correct, does that look right to you?' 'He looked at her and at the heart monitor and he said something to the effect of, "yes, she does look very peaky, could you please put her back on the bed". 'We left the cubicle after we gave her a kiss and we knew something was wrong because the voices started to get louder. More members of staff came and we were told she had died.' Dr Robert Yates, a consultant paediatrician at the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, said Willow's body would deal with potassium differently to anything he had ever seen. Willow's blood readings were taken for a second time after her father Oliver Kemp, a radio DJ, from Bamber Bridge, Lancashire, alerted the nurse to his daughter's condition. Above, Oliver with wife Debbie and Willow . Willow had a history of fluctuating potassium levels even when she was stable, the inquest was told. The body needs the mineral to work normally, as it helps nerves and muscles communicate . He said: 'This was a little girl who had widely fluctuating levels even when stable and well. 'The concentration and quantity that she received wasn't directly proportional to the potassium in her blood. 'I have been a consultant for 18 years and have never seen a child with such fluctuating levels of potassium.' When asked by Andrew Bridgman, representing Willow's family, whether it would be 'prudent' to monitor Willow's levels frequently because of their unusual results, Dr Yates said: 'Yes, but where it was practical to do so, given the other cares for her going on. 'I was happy with them being taken every ninety minutes to two hours and was happy she had previously tolerated a high level of potassium which was outside our normal experience.' Dr Adam Southern, a senior clinical pharmacist at the hospital, constructed the potassium mixture to be used in the two infusion bags administered to Willow. He said: 'This is the first time in my professional career I have needed to make a solution like that.' Staff nurse Stacey Cain, who was responsible for Willow's care on the intensive care unit that day, admitted she should have checked her potassium levels more regularly while such a large amount was being administered. However, she said she hadn't been given any specific instructions as to how often they should be taken. She said: 'One should be taken every two hours, but circumstances wouldn't allow it.' Dr Robert Ross-Russell, a consultant paediatrician from Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, was asked by coroner Nigel Meadows to prepare a report on Willow's care as an expert witness. He said: 'It was an exceptionally high concentration of potassium. I have used it once or twice but never in a child so small in age or in terms of weight. It is an extraordinary situation you are in. 'The decision to move up from 6-12mmol per hour was a bold one and a risky one. Staff nurse Stacey Cain, who was responsible for Willow's care on the intensive care unit at Royal Manchester Children's Hospital (pictured), admitted she should have checked her potassium levels more regularly . I don't think it was unreasonable to do given the difficulties they had in controlling the potassium but it was a very substantial rise in the amount being given. 'I think my feeling was if one is going to undertake risks they have to be very careful and monitor them. 'There was a need for regular monitoring. When the blood gas was taken at 4.51pm it should have raised significant concern and alarm because it is a substantial jump up.' He conceded that the registrar's fell below the standard expected as the infusion wasn't immediately stopped and issues weren't raised with the consultant doctor on duty. Coroner Nigel Meadows earlier acknowledged that the family have received admissions from the NHS trust about the potassium levels - which the family do not accept as going 'far enough' in determining responsibility for Willow's death. The inquest continues. Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article. | Willow Kemp was given potassium after 'textbook operation'
Royal Manchester Children's Hospital staff 'failed to check blood levels'
The 20-month-old toddler died after parents voiced concerns to medics .
She had suffered from a number of illnesses, including cardiac problems . |
259,216 | db8c6b56d6fd9d6febb1edee5a7dd52b12fa7a0b | Chelsea will head into Christmas top of the league for the fourth time since the Premier League began in 1992. Goals from John Terry and Cesc Fabregas were enough to secure a win at Stoke on Monday night as they restored their three-point gap over title rivals Manchester City. As a result Jose Mourinho is now top of the tree at Christmas for the eighth time during his managerial career - and seven of those times he went on to win the league. Chelsea will be hoping they can repeat history for a third time after going on to win the Premier League twice previously under Jose Mourinho when they have been top at Christmas . Cesc Fabregas slides on his knees to celebrate Chelsea's second goal against Stoke on Monday night . The Blues celebrate Premier League success in 2005 in Jose Mourinho's opening season in English football . John Terry holds up the Premeir League trophy after Chelsea win the title for the second year in a row in 2006 . VIDEO Mourinho hails English festive period . Two of these came early on during Mourinho's first spell at Stamford Bridge, as they won back-to-back titles in 2005 and 2006. The Blues were also top of the pile come December 25 in the 2009-10 campaign, going on to lift the Premier League under the guidance of now Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti. Speaking after his side's 2-0 win against Mark Hughes' men, the Chelsea boss rejected talk that the past will play a part in his team's title bid this season. Mourinho told Sky Sports: 'I don't think it's important what you did in past. It is this season though. 'In my opinion we were the best today because we're top. We start this period with the hardest set of fixtures - three away and at home to West Ham - who are playing well.' Blackburn strike partners Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton celebrate Blackburn's title success in May 1995 . Manchester United players celebrate title triumph in the 2012-2013 season - the last under Sir Alex Ferguson . In the 22 Premier League seasons before now, the team that has been top of the table come Christmas Day has only gone on to win the league on 10 occasions. However, seven of those have occurred in the last decade - which will give Blues fans renewed hope that history can be repeated. Most recently Liverpool were flying high two points clear at the top this time last year, but went on to fall at the final hurdle towards the end of the season. One side which suffered a big slide down the table after being top of the pile at Christmas were Aston Villa - as they ended up finishing sixth at the end of the 1998-99 season - which included a run of just two wins in 15 league games. But with just one defeat in the Premier League so far this season, the current Chelsea side are extremely unlikely to suffer similar fate, as they look for their first Premier League crown in five years. Aston Villa ended up finishing sixth in the 1998-1999 Premier League season - despite being top at Christmas . The last time Chelsea won the Premier League was in May 2010 following an emphatic 8-0 win against Wigan . | Chelsea will top the table on Christmas Day after 2-0 win at Stoke .
Jose Mourinho's men are three points ahead of Manchester City .
The Blues have gone on to win the Premier League on the three occasions they have previously topped the table at Christmas .
Mourinho led the Blues to two of these - in 2004-05 and 2005-06 .
In the 22 Premier League seasons before now, only on 10 occasions has the team at the top of the league go on to win the title .
However, seven of those have come in the last decade . |
261,022 | de107ef7a65d467cb7dce4110a8201401eb2604b | Las Vegas (CNN) -- Declaring victory in Nevada's Republican presidential caucuses on Saturday, Mitt Romney again turned away from his GOP rivals and toward President Barack Obama. CNN projects that Romney will win the Nevada Republican presidential caucuses, based on results and entrance polling. With 71% of the votes counted, Romney held about 48% of the vote, while former House Speaker Newt Gingrich had 23% and Rep. Ron Paul had 18%. Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, who had largely bypassed the state, had 11% of the vote. Those numbers were gathered from vote counters at caucus sites across the state and the state's Republican Party. See full Nevada results . Romney thanked supporters at his campaign headquarters in Las Vegas, telling them, "This isn't the first time you gave me your vote of confidence, but this time I'm going to take it to the White House," alluding to his win in Nevada in 2008. But then he turned his attention to Obama, saying Nevada has had enough of his kind of help in fixing its home mortgage crisis and that he failed at bringing down unemployment. Entering the race as front-runner, Romney had largely ignored his Republican rivals and focused on Obama. But as Gingrich rose to challenge him in polls, he was forced to address the other candidates in the race. His victory speech was a one-on-one with Obama. "This president began his presidency by apologizing for America. He should now be apologizing to America," Romney told cheering supporters. The only allusion to GOP opponents Romney made was when he told supporters that he was the only one who could fix the economy, "unlike other people running for president." Rather than the traditional post-vote speech, Gingrich held a news conference in which he accused the Romney campaign of spreading rumors that he would drop out of the race, calling it "their greatest fantasy." Gingrich reaffirmed his commitment to stay in the race, saying, "We will continue all the way to Tampa," where the Republican National Convention will be held in August. Gingrich aides had said that he would outline a new campaign strategy that would be more positive. But while his tone with reporters was cordial, the message wasn't. Although he called his opponent a "Massachusetts moderate" instead of a "Massachusetts liberal" as he has in the past, Gingrich said he believed he was the alternative to Romney, "who has in his career been pro-abortion, pro-gun control, pro-tax increase, and who ranks third from the bottom in creating jobs in the four years he was governor." Gingrich downplayed the Nevada results, pointing out that Romney, a Mormon, did well in "a very heavily Mormon state, a state which he carried in 2008." He said Paul has a "substantial advantage" in any caucus state because of his organization. Gingrich said he wanted to run a more positive campaign, but that negative attacks were part of the game. "I stayed relentlessly positive in Iowa, and I lost by 22 points," he said. "I think it's terrible the American system is reduced to negative ads, some of them false." "But it's a fact, if you're not willing to stand and fight, you have to get out of the race." Gingrich said he intends to compete for the GOP nomination in every state and will be matching Romney in the polls by the Texas primary on April 3. "In a few more weeks I'll be ahead in Gallup again," Gingrich predicted. Romney's Nevada win makes him the first GOP candidate in this cycle to score back-to-back wins. The former Massachusetts governor appeared to win in the Iowa caucuses, but the contest was later awarded to Santorum when the vote was certified. Romney scored a big win in New Hampshire but was then stunned in South Carolina by Gingrich. Romney scored a 14-point victory over Gingrich and the rest of the field in Tuesday's Florida primary and entered Saturday's contest with a sizable lead in polls. The caucuses were open only to the state's more than 470,000 registered Republicans. Nevada's 28 delegates will be awarded proportionately based on the statewide vote. Polls leading up to the vote had shown Gingrich trailing far behind Romney. At one point, in the wake of his poor showing in the Florida primary, Gingrich advisers said he would concede the state and look down the road to more friendly states that vote in the March 6 Super Tuesday contests. But ultimately he chose to campaign in Nevada and didn't appear to make up much ground on Romney. As the votes were being counted, a leading Romney backer in Nevada was calling for Gingrich to drop out of the race instead of continuing to divide the party. Nevada Rep. Joe Heck, who has been closely allied with Romney since his 2008 presidential bid, said the results of the caucuses should be a wake-up call for Gingrich. "I hope he takes the message that it's time to withdraw gracefully and not continue to divide the party," Heck told reporters in Las Vegas, shortly before the first caucus results were announced. While Romney's campaign and his network of supporters have voiced concerns about Gingrich's threat to remain in the race for the long haul, there has not yet been a chorus of Republican leaders publicly asking him to drop out. Heck was not as insistent, however, when asked if Paul should also bow out for the good of the party. Paul should quit when it becomes apparent that there is "enough critical mass in terms of delegates," he said, probably sometime after Super Tuesday. Establishment Republicans fear that the longer the campaign goes on, the more the vitriol between Gingrich and Romney will result in a damaged nominee and give Democrats ammunition from Republicans themselves. Gingrich isn't expected to do well in the contests in February, but he could rebound on Super Tuesday, where he'll find friendlier voters in contests in Georgia, which he represented in Congress, Tennessee, and Oklahoma. The former House speaker's stunning victory in the South Carolina primary -- in which he erased Romney's double-digit lead in polls two weeks before the vote to win by double digits -- propelled Gingrich to the lead in national polls. But Romney and groups that support him bombarded Gingrich with negative ads and attack stump speeches, questioning everything from his ethics to his mental stability, and toppled him going into Florida. Asked Saturday night about the Romney campaign's tactics, Romney's son Josh said there were no regrets within the campaign about Romney's criticism of his rival. Politics is "a tough sport," Josh Romney said. While Romney and Gingrich spent caucus night in Nevada, both Paul and Santorum are looking ahead to Tuesday caucus states -- Paul to Minnesota and Santorum to Colorado. Missouri also votes in a nonbinding primary on Tuesday. Asked about how long his campaign could run, Paul said even if he wanted to drop out of the race ahead of the convention, he couldn't because there would be a "strong rebellion with my friends." "But we're doing so well there's no reason to think about that," Paul added. Campaigning in Colorado, Santorum told CNN that he expects to win one of the three events next week in Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri. "I expect to win the nomination," Santorum said. "I feel very good about how it is going. This race is a long way from being over." The Silver State could almost be considered home-field advantage for Romney. He won the caucuses here four years ago in his first bid for the GOP nomination, grabbing 51% of the vote, far ahead of Paul, who was in second place at 14%. Romney won the endorsement Thursday of real estate mogul and reality TV star Donald Trump, who last year flirted with his own bid for the White House. Trump is a well-known figure in Las Vegas and his outspoken criticism of Obama has made him popular with some tea party activists and grass-roots conservatives. The state's strong tea party movement should have been Gingrich's trump card in Nevada, but supporters seemed divided between Gingrich, Paul and Santorum -- who landed the endorsement of Sharron Angle, the tea party-supported Republican Senate nominee who came close to unseating Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in the 2010 midterm elections. The division of tea party supporters only helps Romney. Gingrich started up operations in Nevada much later than Romney and has been playing catch-up since. He does have some major allies in the state, including billionaire casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, who along with his family has contributed millions of dollars to an independent pro-Gingrich super PAC. The Silver State won't be in the rearview mirror of presidential politics for too long. Nevada is a battleground state in the general election, having voted for the winning presidential candidate 10 out of the last 11 elections. Obama beat McCain by 12 points here in 2008. CNN's Jim Acosta, Chelsea Carter, Candy Crowley, Phil Gans, Peter Hamby and Gabriella Schwarz contributed to this report . | In victory speech, Romney again focuses on Obama rather than rivals .
Gingrich says he's in race for the duration and predicts he'll be competitive .
Rep. Ron Paul and former Sen. Rick Santorum looking ahead to other contests . |
150,487 | 4e8ec342222d5683985e990eeb60c5d26dce87c8 | Eric Cantona today spoke for the first time about his fight with a photographer outside a London pub, saying he was ‘used to it’. The 47-year-old retired French footballer turned actor was arrested and cautioned for assaulting the man on Wednesday. Cantona was back in Paris today, and told RTL radio it was ‘a simple fight with a paparazzi’, adding: ‘I’m used to it’. SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO . Former Manchester United star Eric Cantona was arrested following an altercation with a photographer who spotted him with a mystery brunette . Witnesses said his companion went inside the pub and waited before leaving through another door . Police were called to The Queens pub in Primrose Hill after the photographer was punched in the face . Eric Cantona is ushered into a police car after being arrested for assault in north London . The Manchester United legend, who is . married with children, was particularly angry at references to an . attractive brunette pictured alongside him in the The Queens pub in . Primrose Hill. He said that the person he punched in the face was not just ‘a man’ but ‘a paparazzi’. ‘I had a fight with a paparazzi whom I considered too intrusive,’ said Cantona. ‘I . spent three, four hours at the police station and I returned to Paris . as planned. So they were bothering me, but I’m used to that.’ Football legend Eric Cantona is confronted by a police officer in North London yesterday . Witnesses called police, who arrived shortly before 1pm and arrested the controversial ex-player on suspicion of assault . The French star is believed to have enjoyed a beer and lunch in the Queens pub in Primrose Hill before the incident happened . Cantona jumps into the crowd for his infamous kung-fu kick in 1995 . Cantona has made a living as a model and actor since retiring from professional football in 1997 . Cantona . was upset that the incident was made to sound worse that it was, mainly . because nobody identified his victim as a photographer, but solely as . ‘a man’. ‘So we get into a fantasy’ said Cantona. ‘If it was that violent, I wouldn’t only have been kept for three to four hours.' Justifying . his decision to speak out, Cantona said: ‘It just allows me to clarify . things for my family and friends, and those who love me, who were very . concerned. You have to think about them sometimes.’ Cantona . did not mention the woman he was with, who did not speak to police and . who was later seen leaving the pub by a side door. Cantona captained United in their successful 1996-97 season and scored the winning goal in the 1996 FA Cup final against Liverpool . Cantona . lives with his second wife, the French actress-director Rachida Brakni, . 37, in the Paris suburb of Fontenay-sous-Bois. It is not known whether . she was in the pub. The couple, who have two children, a boy and a girl, met on the set of the film ‘l’Outremangeur’ (the Overeater) in 2003. Cantona has become well known for his philosophical one-liners. Here is a selection of some of his best:- . On . his achievements: 'I am searching for abstract ways of expressing . reality, abstract forms that will enlighten my own mystery.' On life: 'He who has regrets cannot look at himself in the mirror.' On his looks: 'If someone is too perfect they won't look good. Imperfection is important.' On education: 'I didn't study; I live.' On . his career: 'My best moment? I have a lot of good moments but the one I . prefer is when I kicked the hooligan (at Crystal Palace).' On Wednesday afternoon, Cantona appeared deep in conversation with the mystery woman as they drank beer in the sunshine. But police were called when he attacked the photographer, who did not require a doctor. A Metropolitan Police spokesman confirmed Cantona ‘was taken into custody and subsequently cautioned for common assault.’ Cantona . was convicted of assault in 1995 for a kung-fu attack on a Crystal . Palace fan who abused the player after he was sent off for kicking . defender Richard Shaw in a 1-1 draw at Selhurst Park, in south London. He received a two-week prison sentence, although that was later reduced to 120 hours community service on appeal. Cantona was also banned from football for eight months by the FA and fined a total of £30,000. The . Frenchman was worshipped by Manchester United fans as 'King Eric' and . 'Le God', but was as famous for his bizarre outbursts off the pitch as . his performances on it. He . has stayed in the public eye since retiring from football and starred . as himself in the 2009 film Looking For Eric, directed by Ken Loach. He recently returned to screens in a tongue-in-cheek TV advert for French beer Kronenbourg 1664, which claimed hop farmers in the Alsace region of France are treated as well as footballers. But the ad was engulfed in a row when the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) banned the campaign for misleading drinkers about the true origins of the beer. The watchdog found the adverts misled viewers into thinking that the entire brewing process took place in France. | Eric Cantona, 47, has spoken for the first time after fight in London .
Former footballer cautioned by police after punching photographer .
He played down the attack, calling it 'a simple fight with a paparazzi'
Said he was 'used to' police attention after being grilled for three hours .
Shaven-headed star didn't mention mystery woman he was with . |
77,284 | db1e8f6cbb7b8ee3e1a94966a3633caf367650f8 | By . Alex Ward . PUBLISHED: . 21:51 EST, 9 February 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 21:53 EST, 9 February 2013 . A 9,000-strong colony of penguins has been discovered in Antarctica after scientists spotted their poo trails in satellite images. The huge emperor penguin colony had never encountered humans until researchers found them on Antarctica’s Princess Ragnhild Coast. Researchers from the British Antarctic Survey noticed the trail in 2009 while studying satellite images of Antarctica and it was not until December last year that three researchers from the International Polar Foundation found the colony. This 9,000-strong colony of penguins has been discovered in Antarctica after scientists spotted their poo trails in satellite images . Alain Hubert, founder of the International Polar Foundation, said the penguins were curious rather than scared of them. He was quoted by NPR saying: ‘When you arrive, they just come to see you, to watch you, to turn around you. 'The penguins, and especially the emperors, they are so human.' Mr Hubert and his team had been investigating climate change from an Antarctic research station and . after seeing a number of emperor penguins nearby, they thought a colony . could be close by. The huge emperor penguin colony had never encountered humans until researchers found them on Antarctica's Princess Ragnhild Coast . Voyage of discovery: Expedition leader Alain Hubert was one of the first to visit the colony . After a 30-mile trip across sea ice, the team searched for hours until they found so many penguins it felt like they were on another planet, Mr Hubert said. He said: ‘I spent more than five years of my life in the polar regions, but that was the kind of moment that I wouldn't have expect[ed] to be able to ... just enjoy.’ While the amount of poo was substantial, Mr Hubert said that because of the cold temperatures, it did not smell but, had it been any warmer, it would have produced a stench. Emperor penguins are the tallest of all penguin species and are the only penguin species that breed during the Antarctic winter. They trek up to 75 miles over the ice to reach breeding colonies which are often made up of thousands of penguins. | British Antarctic Survey researchers noticed the trail while studying satellite images in 2009 .
Scientists at an Antarctic research station found the unconfirmed colony in December 2012 . |
6,907 | 1390b968c93793ec753115510eea305b1c7a2921 | Los Angeles (CNN) -- A bitter legal dispute between Michael Jackson's estate and a business partner of the late pop icon's mother was settled Tuesday, just before a trial on the matter was to begin, lawyers said. In the end, the lawyer for Katherine Jackson, who was not a party to the lawsuit, mediated the agreement, which gives the estate $2.5 million from the several companies involved. A federal judge had already ruled that Howard Mann and several associated companies violated Jackson's copyrights, which are controlled by his estate executors, and the only question for a jury was how much should be paid in damages. "In light of the court's rulings for the estate on summary judgment, this settlement seems appropriate for all concerned," estate lawyers Howard Weitzman and Zia Modabber said in a statement to CNN on Tuesday. Mann's company published Katherine Jackson's 150-page coffee table book "Never Can Say Goodbye, The Katherine Jackson Story" two years ago and established a website -- MichaelJacksonSecretVault.com -- that the estate argued illegally used Jackson's images and lyrics. "This was a long, complex and difficult litigation that in the end will likely be equitable for Mrs. Jackson and the other parties involved," Mann said. "This settlement would not have been possible without Perry Sanders (Katherine Jackson's lawyer), who worked to bridge quite a distance." "I really really appreciated the reasonableness of all parties involved, and everyone is served well by getting this wrapped up," said Sanders, who helped mediate the settlement this week. The resolution of the dispute represents a new twist in the contentious relationship between the executors who control Michael Jackson's estate and the members of the Jackson family and some of their business associates. E-mails show promoter's doubts before Michael Jackson's death . Mann's involvement with the Jacksons began when he partnered with Henry Vaccaro, who bought a large amount of Jackson memorabilia purchased at an auction after Katherine and Joe Jackson's 1999 bankruptcy. A lien will be placed on those photos and other assets until a portion of the settlement is paid, a lawyer said. Katherine Jackson was not a defendant, but her name and those of her husband, Joe Jackson, and children Janet, Randy, Tito and Jermaine Jackson were on the defense witness list. The estate accused Mann of "wholesale misappropriation" of Michael Jackson copyrights and acting with "arrogant disregard" for the estate's rights by using unauthorized images . While the estate claimed the book sold about 25,000 copies for $1.5 million in the first two days, Mann's lawyers contended "actual sales are very minimal and the defendant's businesses have suffered a major net loss." The copyright violations also included screen shots from the "This Is It" documentary about the singer's last days and other "misappropriated" images, including Jackson's "Smooth Criminal Lean," which Mann's company used in its corporate logo. Mann's website, which the judge already ordered to be taken offline, "does absolutely everything in its power to suggest to its visitors that it is the hub for all things Michael Jackson, and that it is sanctioned and supported by the estate, when in fact it is neither," the estate argued. | Companies involved agree to pay the estate $2.5 million for copyright violations .
"This settlement seems appropriate for all concerned," Jackson's estate says .
Jackson estate accused Howard Mann of "wholesale misappropriation" of copyrights .
Mann's company published Katherine Jackson's book "Never Can Say Goodbye" |
10,005 | 1c66042ae78b534b74dc1df212d974c5d444a73a | A Ukrainian porn-star is hoping to become the first in her profession to be granted asylum in the European Union because of her job. Anastasia Grishay, who is known by her screen name Wiska, claims that she is being persecuted in her home country because of her work on porn films. She is requesting asylum from the European Union after fleeing to the Czech Republic in 2010 when she was investigated for allegedly producing and distributing pornography. Asylum seeker: Ukrainian adult film actress Anastasia Grishay is requesting asylum in the EU after claiming she was persecuted in her home country of Ukraine for starring in porn . The Czech authorities have rejected her asylum request but Ms Grishay intends to appeal to the European courts. Ms Grishay told The Times: 'I have been given 15 days to leave the country. They don’t care that we can’t go back to Ukraine.' The actress, in her early thirties, claims she was forced to flee Ukraine after welfare officers threatened to take her children into care because her job made her unsuitable to be a 'worthy mother'. Appeal: The actress plans to appeal to the European courts after her request for asylum was denied by the Czech Republic . She added: 'I was left alone with a child, worked as a model in various magazines. When I was asked to star in a porno movie I accepted because I needed the money. I have been trying to explain that I did not do it out of a love for the business but because I had to feed my son.' Ms Grishay now has three children with the youngest born in the Czech Republic. The porn-star is being supported by Femen, a group of Ukrainian feminists who stage provocative demonstrations such as stripping naked outside parliament and cutting down crucifixes. | Anastasia Grishay claims she was persecuted in Ukraine over porn roles .
Mother of three is requesting asylum in the Czech Republic .
Actress now planning to appeal to European courts after Czech authorities rejected her asylum application . |
229,089 | b4a3b13251fe34517a8a58283473c2c457cbe6d2 | By . Meghan Keneally . Lisa Ling has shared a pictured of her daughter while she updated her former co-hosts on The View about her life. The reporter chose an intimate snap of her now-1-year-old daughter Jett lying in between she and her husband Paul Song. During the reunion episode of The View this morning, Ling credited Barbara Walters for reminding her to take care of her professional life and not just focus on her career. Coming together for Barbara: Lisa Ling joined her former View co-hosts in a celebration for Walter's penultimate show . Family snap: Ling said that her daughter Jett, now 1, is her husband's doppelganger . 'Your best advice that you ever gave me was don’t neglect your personal life because I'm someone who is a bit of an over-achiever and working all the time,' Ling said to Walters during the legendary journalist's penultimate episode. ‘My daughter Jett has just changed our lives in such a profound way. And she is my husband's doppelganger, she looks just like him- they have the same hair when they wake up in the morning.’ Ling was 26-years-old when she chosen from an estimated 12,000 young women who applied to be the new View co-host in 1999 after Debbie Matenopoulos left the show. Showing the maternal role that she took towards her younger colleague, Walters said: 'I thought you'd never get married!' Concern: Ling said that the most important piece of advice that Walters gave her was to never neglect her personal life . Mentor: Walters was flanked by the 10 other women she brought on to her show over the past 17 years . 'I wanted you to get married. I didn't want you to neglect your personal life,' the 84-year-old said on Thursday. Ling married Paul Song, an oncologist, in May 2007, five years after leaving the morning show. While she was pregnant with Jett, she opened up to Anderson Cooper telling how she was nervous throughout the pregnancy because she had suffered a miscarriage two years earlier. She said: 'I was trying to keep [my pregnancy] quiet for a long time, but I'm starting to get to the point where it looks like I have this really big beer belly. Embracing motherhood: Ling, seen with her baby last June was she was only 2-months-old, said that Jett has 'profoundly' changed her life . Happy family: Ling married Paul Song, an oncologist, in 2007 (pictured in December with Jett) 'I figured I'd better share it publicly.' 'I just felt like such an incredible failure and I felt so alone when it happened,' she told Cooper of the miscarriage. 'I wasn't ready to tell any of my friends about it. I jumped online, I started pouring through blogs... Once I did start talking to friends, I realised that it's so pervasive. Almost every one of my friends has had one at one time or another but nobody talks about it.' Her decision to go public with her pregnancy on Cooper's show only came out of necessity, as she said that she was 'starting to get to the point where it looks like I have this really big beer belly.' Aside from starting a family, Ling has continued to dedicate time to her career since leaving The view, opting to focus on international reporting with a series of documentary reporting projects. Ling, now 40, has her own documentary series called 'Our America with Lisa Ling' on Oprah Winfrey's network. The all-female cast was reunited in a way they'd never been before with every co-host from the show's 17 seasons joined together at an extra large table . | Lisa Ling gave birth to her baby girl in March 2013 .
Said that Barbara Walters' best advice was for her to 'never neglect your personal life'
Ling, 40, was one of The View co-hosts from 1999 to 2002 and joined her former colleagues at a reunion special ahead of Walters' retirement . |
228,611 | b4022500336cff1cda27fc2bcd1ffb5330af61e2 | By . Associated Press Reporter and Reuters Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 00:53 EST, 9 April 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 04:28 EST, 9 April 2013 . Cause of death: Matthew Warren, the son of popular American evangelical pastor Rick Warren, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, his autopsy showed . An autopsy has determined that the son of popular U.S. evangelical pastor Rick Warren, found dead in California on Friday, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, an Orange County Sheriff's spokesman said on Monday. Rick Warren said in a letter to staff of his Orange County-based Saddleback Valley Community Church over the weekend that Matthew Warren, 27, committed suicide after a lifelong struggle with depression and mental illness. Orange County Sheriff's spokesman Jim Amormino said an autopsy conducted on Monday found that the Matthew Warren had died at around 10 a.m. GMT on Friday at his home in Mission Viejo. He said the cause of death was determined to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Along with leading the Saddleback Church based in Lake Forest, California, Rick Warren is author of the best-selling book 'The Purpose Driven Life' and delivered an invocation at President Barack Obama's first inauguration in January 2009. In his letter to staff at the church, Warren said his son took his own life in 'a momentary wave of despair at his home' after a 'fun evening' with his parents. The pastor described his son as an 'incredibly kind, gentle, and compassionate man. He had a brilliant intellect and a gift for sensing who was most in pain or most uncomfortable in a room.' He said his son struggled with mental illness, depression and suicidal thoughts all of his life. 'In spite of America's best doctors, meds, counselors, and prayers for healing, the torture of mental illness never subsided,' he said. Saddleback, one of the largest evangelical churches in the United States, is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. About 20,000 people attend weekly services at the main campus in Lake Forest and at seven other churches throughout southern California. Family: Kay and Rick Warren have two other adult children, Amy and Joshua. Kay Warren is active in her husband's ministry . Tragedy: The youngest son of Rick Warren, the evangelical pastor pictured delivering the invocation at Obama's 2009 inauguration, has committed suicide at the age of 27 . The elder Warren founded Saddleback . Church in 1980, according to his biography on the church website, and . watched it grow to 20,000 members and several campuses beyond its home . base of Lake Forest. Already well-known among evangelical . Christians, he became a national celebrity in 2002 with the publication . of the multimillion-selling book "The Purpose Driven Life," whose . popularity reached far beyond the usual religious readers. Scores of tributes poured in on social media, with supporters posting words of encouragement and prayers to the Saddleback Facebook page. 'Our hearts ache for you. We love you and are holding you close in our prayers. God bless you and give you strength,' one mourner wrote, with another adding, 'Matthew is home, free of all the pain he felt.' 'All I can think is that he wants his parents to have a happy last memory. He's with God and he is whole again.' Megachurch pastor Greg Laurie lost his 33-year-old son in a car crash in 2008 and offered his condolences to the Warren family. 'At times like these, there really are no words, but there is the Word. There is no manual, but there is Emmanuel,' he said in a statement on the Gospel Coalition website. Warren, 59, is one of the leading voices in the evangelical movement in America. His . church, located in Orange County, is ranked the seventh largest . congregation in the U.S. with an average weekly attendance of 20,000. The Southern Baptist pastor authored the Purpose Driven Life, a devotional study book, that was published in 2002 and became a New York Times bestseller, selling over 32 million copies as it exploded as a popular trend among conservative Christians. Politics: Rick Warren hosted the Civil Forum on The Presidency, attended by both Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and then Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) at Saddleback Church in August 2008 during the 2008 presidential election . Christian right: President George W. Bush, with his wife Laura in 2008, receives the International Medal of PEACE from Warren at the Saddleback Civil Forum on Global Health at the Newseum in Washington, DC . He has taken an active role in promoting social justice and even hosted the Civil Forum on The Presidency, attended by both Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and then Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) during the 2008 presidential election. Pastor Warren was also selected to deliver the invocation at President Obama's 2009 inauguration. Kay Warren helped her husband establish the evangelical church in 1980. She has openly discussed her personal struggle with depression and overcoming sexual abuse in her childhood. Though . the spiritual leaders never publicly detailed their youngest son's . struggle, Kay did tell Christianity Today in an interview last April . that 'a loved one was struggling . with a mental illness' on the same day that Rick Warren delivered his . prayer at Obama's inauguration in 2009. She . authored a book about overcoming adversity, Choose Joy: Because . Happiness Isn't Enough, about finding victory over despair through faith . in Christ. 'Suffering does give one an appreciation for joy,' she told the Christian magazine in 2012. 'Those . who have suffered have been given the opportunity to recognize the . limitations of ourselves and to know God in our darkest days.' Congregation: Kay and Rick Warren founded the church in 1980 and it has grown into a megachurch, with an average weekly attendance of 20,000 . | Matthew Warren, 27, of megachurch pastor died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound on Friday at 10am .
Warren suffered from mental illness from a young age .
Evangelical pastor Rick Warren founded Saddleback Church in 1980, the 7th largest congregation in the U.S. with an average attendance of 20,000 .
The spiritual leader authored The Purpose Driven Life in 2002, that has sold over 32 million copies . |
108,765 | 183f5b0d60b5ae976f7834b2b562a9d455bb49b6 | By . James Rush . PUBLISHED: . 10:33 EST, 27 February 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 12:01 EST, 27 February 2013 . Accused: Mick Philpott, pictured with Mairead Philpott on their wedding day, joked about the night of the fatal blaze to a police officer just a week later, a court has heard . A father accused of killing his six children in a house fire joked about the night of the fatal blaze to a police officer just a week later, a court has heard. PC Joanne Halford told Nottingham Crown Court that Michael Philpott, 56, seemed 'jovial' when she spoke to him at Royal Derby Hospital in the early hours of May 18. She told jurors: 'He was laughing and joking about the incident saying that when he was trying to rescue the children he had took his chance to hit out at two coppers trying to hold him back.' Mick Philpott and his wife Mairead are on trial for the manslaughter of their six children along with a third defendant Paul Mosley following a fire at their house in Allenton, Derby, on May 11 last year. A week after the fire, which the three are accused of setting to frame Philpott’s former mistress Lisa Willis, PC Halford said she met Philpott at the hospital, where the bodies of the youngsters were being held, at around 1.30am. The police constable told the court that when she asked him what he was doing at the hospital, Philpott said to her 'I’m here to see you gorgeous. Paul Mosley’s brother Brian, who was with Philpott, asked PC Halford: 'Don’t you know who he is? He’s Mick Philpott, father of the six dead kids.' She told the court the statement seemed to be used like a 'badge of honour'. Richard Latham QC asked her: 'How was that statement being used to you?' PC Halford replied: 'I describe it as a badge of honour'. Philpott alleged that neighbour Adam Taylor, who was later arrested and released without charge, had set the blaze because he had borrowed a strimmer and a petrol can from him two weeks before the fire and had failed to return the petrol can. Deadly blaze: Philpott surrounded by the six children whose lives were claimed by the fatal house fire last May . He also told her that he was angry police had asked him about his family background and that it was none of their business, PC Halford told the court. She said he was 'cross' that his wife Mairead had disclosed information to them, including about threesomes the couple had in the past. PC Halford told the court that when she returned from phoning the information Philpott had given her to her colleagues, Philpott seemed 'jovial' in an office inside the hospital. 'He was jovial, laughing and jolly with the other men in there,' she told the court. Scene: Flowers are left outside the house where the children died in the fire . The police constable also told the court Philpott inferred that he would like her to join him at the hotel where he and Mairead were staying following the fire at their home. The court also heard evidence from a family friend who said she saw Mosley and Philpott at the hospital on the night of the fire on May 11. Claire Smith said she saw co-accused Mosley arrive at the hospital and thought it was Philpott’s brother. 'He does look very similar to Mick and I thought he was Mick’s brother', Ms Smith told the court this morning. She said she saw the pair go down the side of Royal Derby Hospital away from everybody else for about half an hour. 'Was anyone else with them?', Mr Latham asked her. 'No', Ms Smith replied. 'Could you hear what they were saying?', Mr Latham asked. 'No,' she replied. Ms Smith told the court it seemed strange to her, when Philpott already knew he had lost five of his children and that his surviving son Duwayne was fighting for his life. Giving evidence she said: 'You have just lost your five children. You’ve got your other one in the hospital. Everyone reacts differently but me on my hand, why would I want to go and talk to my friend for half and hour when my son is lying in hospital fighting for his life.' Ms Smith told the court Mrs Philpott seemed very distressed when she saw her at the hospital.'She was very distressed. Like anyone would be when they’ve lost their children. She was very upset.' The court also heard Mosley offered his cousin Steve Owen money to get him 'out of' Derby when he saw him last year. Giving evidence this afternoon, Mr Owen told the court he had had little contact with his cousin since 2001 but had seen him in the street in Alvaston last September. On Trial: Mick Philpott and his wife Mairead (pictured here at a press conference after the fatal fire) are on trial for the manslaughter of their six children, along with a third defendant Paul Mosley, following a fire at their house . The meeting came after Mosley was first arrested and released by police in June last year in connection with the fire. Jurors heard Mosley asked his cousin why he had been arrested in connection with the case.Mr Owen told the court: 'He told me he never did anything but that he knew more than the police knew about it'. He said Mosley offered him £10,000 to take him out of Derby and claimed he had been given the money by a national newspaper for his story. Mr Owen said he didn't believe his cousin until he saw reports that Mosley had been charged on Sky News. He told the court he then went to the police. In his police statement, Mr Owen said during the meeting in September Mosley had also told him he was 'at the scene' when the fire was started. He said in his statement that Mosley was 'there at the time the fire was started, then left and then came back', the court heard. Mr Owen also told police Mosley had said he knew 'more about the incident than the police.'Mosley was rearrested and charged in November. Prosecutors have alleged Mosley, with the Philpotts, set the fire at the couple's house to frame Philpott's former mistress Lisa Willis. Miss Willis left the three-bedroomed house she shared with the Philpotts and their children in February, taking her five children with her. Jurors have heard Philpott was due to attend a custody hearing with Miss Willis to discuss residency of the five children, four of which he had fathered, on the day of the blaze. The trial was adjourned until tomorrow morning. Sorry we are unable to accept comments for legal reasons. | PC Joanne Halford tells court Philpott seemed 'jovial' week after fire .
Philpott told the officer 'I'm here to see you gorgeous' at hospital .
Court hears he was angry his wife had shared information with police .
Paul Mosley offered cousin £10,000 to get him 'out of' Derby, court hears . |
210,628 | 9ccb2a8ba62dbcec98b97b6e1970e77d34fbbced | By . Paul Donnelley . A British poker ace who disappeared from his Costa del Sol mansion and was being hunted by police for allegedly stealing more than €3million from investors, has been found living in Berkshire. Playboy Nigel Goldman, 56, who counts James Hewitt and Sir Mark Thatcher among his social circle, is being investigated by the Guardia Civil and Action Fraud, the UK's fraud and internet crime reporting centre. Earlier this year the only trace of Goldman since he vanished in Marbella, was a text message to a former employer three weeks ago which read: ‘I did not set out to be a thief.’ Goldman, who drove a red Ferrari, has been found living in a modest home in the picturesque village of Kintbury, Berkshire under the alias of Howard del Monte . Spanish police were probing claims that the broker from Edgbaston in Birmingham, left people empty handed and unable to access their bank funds. However police were unable to trace him after they received complaints about his Tangier-based company, International Financial Investment. But now Goldman, who drove a red Ferrari, has been found living in a modest house in the picturesque village of Kintbury, Berkshire under the alias of Howard del Monte. Ex-pat newspaper The Olive Press, based in Spain, tracked him down using details on his eBay account Bensons Emporium. From the Costa del Sol to Berkshire: Nigel Goldman is being hunted by police for allegedly stealing more than 3million euros from investors . Goldman's lavish lifestyle seems to have been scaled down with his Ferrari being replaced with a Vauxhall Zafira . He uses the site to buy and sell coins, stamps and antiques. When approached at his Berkshire home Goldman refused to comment and his lavish lifestyle seems to have been scaled down with his Ferrari being replaced with a Vauxhall Zafira. But a neighbour said: ‘Everyone in the village knows he's Goldman, whatever name he goes under.’ Geoff Whitton, originally from Cornwall, is trying to locate €20,000 he says he handed to Goldman.The 49-year-old writer said: ‘If he's a legitimate businessman, why hasn't he contacted me? ‘I gave €10,000 in May, 2012, and €10,000 two months later. Goldman made me a profit for two months, then a loss for the same amount. Goldman is said to have moved in the same social circles as cad James Hewitt (left) and Sir Mark Thatcher . ‘For the next one-and-a-half years, I was in limbo. He'd say, "Just trust me and you will receive a profit in October 2013".’ Goldman, who enjoys swigging champagne and smoking expensive cigars, has a history of dishonesty, in his own book, 'High Stakes: How I Blew £14 million' published in 2006, he confesses being sent to prison twice for fraud. A review on his book reads: ‘Goldman seems to show little remorse - and more than a little contempt - for the victims whose money he lived off so handsomely.’ Despite his past, Goldman is claiming that he, and others, have been duped this time and believes his brokers were running a Ponzi scheme with everyone's money. A Ponzi scheme is an investment operation that pays returns to its investors from existing capital or new capital paid by new investors, rather than from profit earned by the individual or organisation running the operation. Goldman has admitted in writing to owing as much as £658,000 (€800,000). However a lawyer acting for investors who claim to have lost cash is stating that he is chasing €3 million, a figure rising daily. Flashy Goldman made his name at some of the world's biggest poker tournaments around the world, winning thousands. Lawyer Antonia Flores, said: ‘So far we have spoken to victims in Almeria, Malaga and Jaen. ‘In our most recent estimate it looks like reaching €3 million. ‘The first thing he did right was openly admit to all his wrongdoings and say he paid for it and was a new man. ‘That was a success. People could not talk about his past, people actually felt sorry for him. ‘It is large scale, police have not yet issued an arrest warrant, but they are not far from doing that.’ Goldman offered investments in a host of commodities including bullion, stocks and shares although he is not a regulated financial advisor due to his criminal convictions. From the Costa del Sol to this sleepy Berkshire village Kintbury . Roger Parks, a neighbour and friend of Goldman said that he even tried to get him to invest, although he chose not to, he said: ‘I have known him for 35 years. ‘When he showed me the prospectus for International Financial Investments at his palatial rented home in Elviria a few months ago, I couldn't stopped laughing. ‘By the way, has anyone else noted the initials of his company spell IFI, as if 'iffy'?’ A spokesman for Auction fraud confirmed complains had been lodged with the organisation about Goldman. If those complaints are upheld, information gathered will be passed to either the Metropolitan Police or Fraud Investigation Bureau. | Nigel Goldman, 56, investigated by Guardia Civil in Spain and Action Fraud in Britain .
Texted a friend saying 'I did not set out to be a thief'
Goldman offered investments in a host of .
commodities including bullion, stocks and shares although he is not a .
regulated financial advisor .
In his book, High Stakes: How I Blew £14million, he confesses that he has been jailed twice for fraud .
Moved in same social circles as James Hewitt and Sir Mark Thatcher . |
217,667 | a5d14c0654a1f03f3bd59e57e2844dd9f454bdee | A portrait many believe to be of Henry VIII’s third wife is really of her predecessor Anne Boleyn, researchers claim. Facial recognition technology was used to compare possible likenesses of Anne, and found a striking similarity with a picture long said to be of Jane Seymour. The only undisputed portrayal of doomed queen Anne – the so-called Moost Happi medal in the British Museum – was used as a starting point for the project by computer scientist Amit Roy-Chowdhury. Scroll down for video . The portrait of Anne Boleyn (left), which shows a striking similarity to Jane Seymour, was compared against the only undisputed portrayal of Anne – the so-called Moost Happi medal (right) - using facial recognition . His hi-tech method uses differences in facial features to rule whether two pictures are of the same person. It revealed that the picture of Anne hanging in the National Portrait Gallery most likely is not of her at all, and was unable to decide on a second. However, a third portrait at Nidd Hall, North Yorkshire, probably does portray Anne – despite it long being said to depict her successor, the American Association for the Advancement of Science heard at its annual conference in San Jose, California. It had been argued that the painting was of Jane and altered to look more like Anne after her daughter Elizabeth I came to power. For instance, a brooch bearing the initials AB can be seen pinned to the woman’s dress. There are few images of Anne Boleyn after King Henry VIII attempted to erase her from history after her execution in 1536 . The discovery is significant as few images of Anne survive. Henry attempted to erase her from history after having her executed in 1536. Dr Roy-Chowdhury, from the University of California, said: ‘Who is being depicted in a portrait can be an area of considerable controversy among art historians. 'Portraits often have some importance. They represent someone of social standing, or some significant event. 'The goal of this project is to be able to use state-of-the-art face recognition to identify the individuals seen in a particular portrait.' | Facial recognition technology was used to analyse portrait of Anne Boleyn .
Found that it had a striking similarity to picture said to be of Jane Seymour .
It has been argued painting of Jane was altered to look more like Anne .
The discovery is significant as few images of Anne Boleyn have survived .
Henry VIII attempted to erase her from history after her execution in 1536 . |
11,713 | 21496f33ebb6b8ed23adc50175a73744e8d4a749 | (CNN) -- A spate of fireworks debacles and tragic parade accidents wrecked Independence Day celebrations across the country. The mishaps Thursday left 20 people hospitalized in Southern California, two people dead in parades nationwide, two people seriously injured in Chicago and $1.5 million in damage in Seattle. Two people killed in parades . In Oklahoma, an 8-year-old boy on a parade float was killed when his father accidentally ran over him, Edmond police said. The boy was on a martial arts float that was driven by his father, police spokeswoman Jennifer Monroe said. It's unclear whether the boy jumped or fell from the float before he was run over by the trailer's tires. Another tragic parade accident took place in Bangor, Maine, when a man driving a tractor in the Independence Day parade died after a vintage fire truck struck him from behind, authorities said. Bangor police Sgt. Paul Edwards said the parade had been rerouted because of a four-hour standoff with a gunman who fired several rounds at police from an apartment window. The parade participants "would not have been on that street normally," Edwards said. Fireworks shows gone awry . A display in Simi Valley, California, turned disastrous when fireworks exploded low to the ground and injured at least 26 people. Twenty-three of the 26 people who were treated at Simi Valley Hospital were released by Friday morning, said hospital CEO Kim Milstein. One person was transferred to a burn center and two people were admitted to the hospital and were in fair condition. Among those who were treated and released was a 17-month-old child. Injuries involved burns and shrapnel wounds, she said. Witness Annisa Wynn told CNN affiliate KTLA that fireworks suddenly began shooting sideways into the crowd instead of up into the air. "The fireworks were so close, you could see them on the ground," Wynn said. "It never happens this way. People were screaming." The show, carried out by a pyrotechnics company, was part of an annual series of fireworks displays that began in the city in 1970, police Chief Mitch McCann said. Investigators were collecting evidence Friday, and the main investigation probably will begin Monday, Ventura County Deputy Fire Chief Mike LaPlant said. Another show in Windsor, Colorado, sparked flames that rose 10 feet high over parched land, witness Kami Gilmour said. "The first embers dropped and looked like it might have started a small tree on fire," Gilmour said. "Then we realized there were six or seven fires all along the field, and then a gust of wind came and blew the fire all over the place. ... Our car was about 50 yards from it and covered in soot." There was no immediate word of injuries from the Colorado fire. 6 die in Fourth of July Pennsylvania house fire . Fireworks sever woman's foot in Chicago . An apparent near-ground fireworks explosion severed a woman's foot and also seriously injured her sister-in-law in Chicago's West Lawn Park on Thursday night, CNN affiliate WGN reported. The explosion severed the left foot of Kristina Perez, 32, and left fourth-degree burns on the left leg of Lorena Perez, 34, WGN said. "One of the firecrackers, instead of going up, went to the ground and hit Kristina," her father, Eleuterio Carmona, told WGN. The women said they were watching a fireworks display at the park when the explosion happened. Both were in serious condition at a hospital Friday, WGN said. The display was not an official, regulated show, the station reported. Illegal fireworks destroy 14 boats . Seattle authorities said illegal fireworks sparked a massive fire that caused $1.5 million in damage. A firework landed on a boat cover at a boat storage facility on the north end of Lake Union, Seattle Fire Department spokesman Kyle Moore said. He said the dry storage facility stacks boats four stories high. Within seven minutes, the fire had destroyed 14 boats. Seattle also had three roof fires started by fireworks, according to Moore. As temperatures sizzle, fireworks even more risky . CNN's Jake Carpenter, Dave Alsup, Dottie Evans and Mayra Cuevas contributed to this report. | Two women seriously injured in fireworks incident in Chicago, WGN reports .
An 8-year-old Oklahoma boy and a man in Maine are killed while participating in parades .
Fireworks shoot sideways in Simi Valley, California, a witness says .
Illegal fireworks destroy 14 boats in Seattle and cause $1.5 million in damage . |
200,249 | 8f3b65a38958ed9a92276ee4e82e9991fc64d472 | By . Sara Malm . PUBLISHED: . 03:04 EST, 12 June 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 03:34 EST, 12 June 2013 . A 'safe play scheme’ that encourages parents to apply for their street to be closed off to traffic so their children can play safely, has been launched. The Play Streets initiative will allow children to play on their car-free street for a few hours every fortnight without parents having to worry about traffic. The scheme, introduced in Reading, applies to residential streets only and has been introduced as an opportunity for neighbours to get to know each other better and foster community spirit. Safe game: Parents can apply to have their street closed for traffic for a few hours so children living in the neighbourhood can play safely together on the road . The scheme will go through a trial period of one year, Reading Borough Council said, and applicants need supporting signatures from around two-thirds of their neighbours to be considered for approval. This means that a street can be closed for up to three hours every fortnight even if some of the residents object to the vehicle ban. Tony Page, the council’s Lead Member for Strategic Environment, Planning and Transport, said there are some ‘clear benefits’ to the scheme for Reading. ‘Once established I am sure it will be something that is enjoyed by both young and older members of the community, much like the numerous street parties held across the borough were last year,' he said. All together: It is hoped that by closing the streets from traffic for a few hours will foster community spirit and bring neighbours closer (file photo) He added: ‘Some local authorities run schemes where they only close streets if there are no objections. We are not planning to go that far but it is important that any application has as much support as possible from the residents who live on that street’ Although a Play Street can be created on any day of the week, Reading Borough Council has asked residents to avoid bin collection days. Residents can apply for a Play Street day until July 12 with the first closure to be expected in early September. | Play Streets scheme to launched by Reading Borough Council .
Residents can apply for their street to close for up to three hours .
Only two-thirds of neighbours on the street have to approve . |
52,041 | 9365b76ca78835dad4428608f25e1be94a451264 | Josh Kelchner, a long-term foster child, has defied the odds to graduate from New York's prestigious West Point Military Academy as a lieutenant. After a rough childhood that included four different high schools and 12 foster homes, the 22-year-old has finally come to a point in his journey where he can relax - briefly. Currently on holiday in Puerto Rico, the graduate has a short break before he heads to Fort Sill, in Lawton, Oklahoma, for field artillery training and to begin his five years compulsory service. Against the odds: Josh Kelchner smiles after graduating from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point as a second lieutenant . Kelchner's childhood still haunts him. A local newspaper article about the then 17-year-old in 2008 describes the trials of the younger Kelchner. When Kelchner was just a toddler his father abandoned the family, leaving his mother to raise Kelchner, who would be joined by three younger siblings. His mother did not cope with her responsibilities and neglected Kelchner, who can count 12 different foster homes over seven-and-a-half years. 'Whenever you get harshness you can’t think it’s your fault,' Kelchner told News-Press recently. 'You move past it. You don’t think it’s your fault.' Kelchner tried to keep his siblings together as they were shuttled from one home to another. 'I had one girl on one arm, the other girl on the other arm and my brother on my shoulders,' he told News-Press. 'I didn’t want us to be broke up. I felt like they were the only thing I really had that stayed constant,' he said. Hard work: Josh Kelchner, seen here with his girlfriend, was abandoned by his father and neglected by his mother as a child but has worked hard to overcome his problems . 'According to his brother and sisters, he’s the one who got them up for breakfast and took them to the bus stop,' said Gwendolyn Burdette, Kelchner’s caseworker for the Department of Children and Families, in 2008. When Kelchner finally lost the battle to keep his siblings together in 2005, it was an opportunity for the teenager to settle into a new home and focus his future. He moved in with the Burdick family and settled into school and was allowed to just be a kid. He excelled at sports at Dunbar High School - his fourth - and was no slouch academically, either, making the honor roll. Kelchner's siblings were all adopted out and according to News-Press, are doing well. Proud: Josh Kelchner poses in uniform with his girlfriend . When Kelchner was 17, he attended a West Point seminar. Out of 400 other attendees, he left with an award for outstanding leadership. After his experience at the seminar, Kelchner decided to apply to attend West Point Military Academy. The academy receives more than 13,000 applications from students wanting to attend each year. It accepts just 1,100 of these. Kelchner was accepted, and after a brief upset when he left the academy in shame after flunking out of an academic course, he graduated with flying colors. Now, Kelchner feels he's found somewhere he feels at home and is planning a career in the military. 'I like the atmosphere and the camaraderie,' Kelchner told News-Press. 'Everybody helps everybody out.' 'I’m kinda thinking long-term. We’ll see how this feels,' he said. | Josh Kelchner, 22, has graduated the prestigious West Point Military Academy .
The Florida native was abandoned by his father as a toddler and endured 12 different foster homes .
He plans to embark on a military career . |
272,032 | ec5d282a726e34dabf946df81e12245d24984e00 | Three times Marilyn Jean Hartman attempted to slip past airport security checkpoints to stowaway on airplanes. And three times the 62-year-old Hartman got caught. This week, authorities say she made it through a screening checkpoint at Mineta San Jose International Airport without a ticket and boarded a Southwest Airlines flight bound for Los Angeles International Airport. "If you Google her name, you will see she had been arrested before but not at our airport," San Jose airport spokeswoman Rosemary Barnes said. Hartman was arrested Monday at the Los Angeles airport, according to a statement released by airport police. She pleaded no contest Wednesday to a misdemeanor count of stowing away, CNN affiliate KTLA reported. She was sentenced to two years probation and three days in jail. She was given credit for time served and released. Outside the courthouse, Hartman refused to detail to reporters how she got through security. "I don't think it's wise to say how I got through. I don't want to help the enemy," she said. "...I want to go with a paid ticket. ... I want to do everything legal," Hartman said. "It was clearly wrong on my part. ... It was stupid and it is something I don't want to repeat." Hartman was arrested Monday night after the flight crew determined she did not have a ticket, police said. The flight crew conducted a head count and discovered Hartman "was not a ticketed passenger on Southwest Airlines," the police said. It was unclear how the crew determined Hartman stowed away. "Further investigation revealed there was no confirmed reservation in the system and Hartman had no documents to show proof that she had purchased a ticket," the statement said. It's the second time San Jose International Airport has made headlines in recent months over a reported stowaway. In April, 15-year-old Yahya Abdi crawled into the wheel well of a Hawaii-bound 767 and lost consciousness when the plane took off. He was caught after climbing out of the plane and onto the tarmac at Kahului Airport on the island of Maui. The incident raised questions about how the teen was able to breach security at the airport. Hartman's actions raised the question again this week. Hartman apparently blended in with a family at a checkpoint where a Transportation Security Administration agent was checking tickets and identification, CNN affiliate KTVU reported, citing an unnamed source familiar with the case. She is then accused of doing the same thing -- blending in with a family -- to board the flight, the source said. San Jose airport officials and the TSA said at no time were passengers in jeopardy. Hartman "was screened by TSA for any prohibited items. It's really important to point that out," Barnes said. "And public safety was not compromised in any way." Even so, the TSA is making "minor modifications" to the layout of its passenger screening area to prevent another incident, said Ross Feinstein, the TSA press secretary. Hartman has been described by authorities as a serial stowaway, who has repeatedly tried to board flights to Hawaii at San Francisco International Airport without a ticket. Earlier this year, she was sentenced to probation and ordered to stay away from the San Francisco airport. 5 stowaway attempts that didn't end tragically . | Marily Jean Hartman, 62, pleaded no contest to stowing away on Southwest flight .
"I don't think it's wise to say how I got through" the security checkpoints, she says .
Hartman was arrested Monday after stowing away on a flight from San Jose to Los Angeles .
She has been arrested at least three times for trying the same thing . |
198,060 | 8c614c7928f4475f72282b3cb06b037c9d0e4cb0 | By . Associated Press Reporter . A traffic accident involving two double-decker tour buses in the city's Theater District on Tuesday afternoon sent shattered glass flying and injured 14 people, three of them seriously. None of the injuries was believed to be life-threatening, the Fire Department of New York said. The accident occurred around 47th Street and Seventh Avenue in Manhattan, an area of Times Square usually teeming with tourists near the TKTS discount Broadway tickets booth and the Hershey's Chocolate World store. It shut down a stretch of Seventh Avenue. Scroll down for video . A traffic accident involving two double-decker tour buses in the city's Theater District on Tuesday afternoon sent shattered glass flying and injured 13 people, three of them seriously . People embrace following an accident between two double-decker buses in Times Square: None of the injuries was believed to be life-threatening, the Fire Department of New York said . The accident occurred around 47th Street and Seventh Avenue in Manhattan, an area of Times Square usually teeming with tourists near the TKTS discount Broadway tickets booth and the Hershey's Chocolate World store . At least eight people, including several bus passengers, were treated at the scene, city officials said. One of the buses crashed into a light pole, causing it to topple, witnesses said. 'It sounded like something was falling from really high,' said Josh Price, visiting the city from Lafayette, New Jersey. The glass in the front of the bus was shattered, and glass was strewn on the pavement. People look on as emergency personnel respond at the crash scene . Of the 15 people injured - 14 of them pedestrians - none were considered life-threatening, the Fire Department of New York said . Price said the scene was initially chaotic, with people running around trying to help. He said he saw one person on the ground holding his leg and bleeding. Rose Cantillon was visiting the city from Ireland and was nearby. 'I was sitting on a bench, and I turned around and heard screaming, and I ran,' she said. The cause of the accident was under investigation. Telephone calls to the tour bus companies seeking comment were not immediately returned on Tuesday. Iconified as The Crossroads Of The World, Times Square is the hub of the Broadway Theater District, one of the world's busiest pedestrian intersections, and a major center of the world's entertainment industry . The FDNY says the buses crashed at 7th Avenue and West 47th Street . | Two double-decker tour buses collided in the city's Theater District on Tuesday afternoon .
Flying glass injured 14 people, three of them seriously while the remainder were treated at the scene .
The cause of the accident was under investigation . |
10,414 | 1d9f4f0d773c15f4c72a7a30119930f05780725c | It might make up more than 80 per cent of the known universe, but as of yet scientists have still not managed to directly observe one of the universe’s greatest mysteries - dark matter. In recent months there have been detections from the sun and in orbit around Earth, but now scientists think they have found it in neighbouring galaxies. They spotted photon emissions coming from space - and one of the best possible explanations is that they came from particles of dark matter. Scroll down for video explanation . Research led by Leiden University in the Netherlands has found particles in other galaxies that could be dark matter (illustrated). They analysed X-ray signals emitted by the Perseus galaxy cluster and the Andromeda galaxy. The signal could not be attributed to any regular form of matter . Two groups have recently announced that they have detected a signal that could be a sign of dark matter, with the research to be published next week in Physical Review Letters. One of them, which included Netherlands-based Leiden University scientists Dr Oleg Ruchayskiy and Dr Alexey Boyarsky, found it by analysing X-rays emitted by two celestial objects - the Perseus galaxy cluster and the Andromeda galaxy. When physicists study the dynamics of galaxies and the movement of stars, they are confronted with a mystery. If they only take visible matter into account, their equations simply don't add up: the elements that can be observed are not sufficient to explain the rotation of objects and the existing gravitational forces.There is something missing. From this they deduced that there must be an invisible kind of matter that does not interact with light, but does, as a whole, interact by means of the gravitational force. Called 'dark matter', this substance appears to make up at least 80 per cent of the universe. After having collected thousands of signals from the Esa's XMM-Newton telescope and eliminated all those coming from known particles and atoms, they detected an anomaly that, even considering the possibility of instrument or measurement error, caught their attention. The signal appears in the X-ray spectrum as a weak, abnormal photon emission that could not be attributed to any known form of matter. Above all, ‘the signal's distribution within the galaxy corresponds exactly to what we were expecting with dark matter, that is, concentrated and intense in the centre of objects and weaker and diffuse on the edges,’ explained Dr Ruchayskiy. ‘With the goal of verifying our findings, we then looked at data from our own galaxy, the Milky Way, and made the same observations,’ added Dr Boyarsky. The discovery was made using Esa's XMM-Newton telescope (illustration shown). The researchers detected an anomaly that, even considering the possibility of instrument or measurement error, caught their attention - as it could be the best sign of dark matter yet . The signal comes from a very rare event in the universe: a photon emitted due to the destruction of a hypothetical particle, possibly a ‘sterile neutrino’. If the discovery is confirmed, it will open up new avenues of research in particle physics. ‘It could usher in a new era in astronomy,’ said Dr Ruchayskiy. And Dr Boyarsky said: ‘Confirmation of this discovery may lead to construction of new telescopes specially designed for studying the signals from dark matter particles. ‘We will know where to look in order to trace dark structures in space and will be able to reconstruct how the universe has formed.’ The research, to be published in Physical Review Letters, included EPFL scientists Dr Oleg Ruchayskiy and Dr Alexey Boyarsky. They found the signal by analysing X-rays emitted by two celestial objects - the Perseus galaxy cluster and the Andromeda galaxy (shown) | Research led by Leiden University in the Netherlands has found particles in other galaxies that could be dark matter .
They analysed X-ray signals emitted by the Perseus galaxy cluster and the Andromeda galaxy .
The signal could not be attributed to any regular form of matter .
Instead it must be a particle of dark matter, according to the researchers .
‘It could usher in a new era in astronomy,’ said Dr Ruchayskiy . |
95,179 | 064d46f6b516a525d2e19ec41da08d9696847310 | By . Ashley Collman . PUBLISHED: . 16:17 EST, 25 February 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 17:36 EST, 25 February 2014 . A newborn baby was found alive, stuffed into trash bag and thrown in a dumpster, at an apartment complex in Houston, Texas this morning. Maintenance worker Carlos Michel made the sad discovery around 8:30am when he said he heard what sounded like a cat mewing near the dumpster at The Reserve apartments. After throwing in a bag of trash, he says the sound got louder so he went to investigate. Thrown out: A newborn baby was found alive in an apartment complex dumpster Tuesday morning in Houston . Strange noises: Maintenance worker Carlos Michel discovered the baby after hearing what sounded like a cat mewing coming from the dumpster . Sad discovery: The baby was found stuffed in a trash bag among food containers, scraps and school homework . Inside a white trash bag along with food containers, scraps and school homework, Michel found a 7-8 pound baby boy with four inches of its umbilical cord still attached. Michel and another man took the baby to a nearby car to keep it warm while they waited for police and paramedics to arrive. The boy was found purple and having a hard time breathing but appears to be doing well now at Memorial Hermann Hospital. The police have since identified the mother as a 16-year-old who attends South Houston High School. She is currently under examination at the same hospital where her baby is being cared for. Once released she will be questioned by police, who will then decide whether to bring up charges. Other residents in the apartment early speculated on who the mother was. 'The maintenance lady said that it's a young girl who is pregnant and hiding it all the time,' resident Shawntal Posey told KHOU. Who did it? One resident says she suspects a young girl who was hiding her pregnancy of the horrible crime . Found: Investigators identified the mother as a 16-year-old South Houston High School student. Above, investigators outside the apartment complex today . Adding to the tragedy is the fact that Texas has a special law to help new mothers who can't take care of their children. The Baby Moses law states that a babies up to 60-days-old can be dropped off without fear of prosecution at any hospital, fire station or ambulance station - as long as the baby is handed off to a person. The whole incident has scared Michel, who is a grandfather himself. 'It made a big impact,' he told the Houston Chronicle. | A maintenance worker found the baby after hearing cat mewing sounds coming from the dumpster around 8:30am .
The baby boy was found in a white trash bag along with food containers, scraps and school homework .
The worker took the baby to a car to keep him warm while he waited for police and paramedics to arrive .
While the baby was discovered purple and having a hard time breathing, he is doing fine at the hospital now .
Police have identified the mother as a 16-year-old student at South Houston High School .
The mother is currently under examination at the hospital, and will be questioned by the police once she is released . |
276,878 | f2b18ad7ffe20537aba38d6335309982baabb57f | By . James Daniel . When James Garcia recently learned that his dog Elmo had just a few months left to live, he decided not to waste one minute left his his best friend. The New York man got the news earlier this month that the 16-year-old dog he co-parents with his ex was dying of liver cancer, bladder disease and renal failure. Since then, he's been toting Elmo across New York City, showing the little dog his favorite sites and restaurants in a grand farewell to his longtime companion. Terminal: James Garcia recently learned that his dog Elmo has just a few months left to live . Goodbye: To bid farewell to the 16-year-old dog, Mr Garcia has started taking him to all of his favorite sites in New York City including Times Square . 'The vet has given him a couple of months,' Mr Garcia told Buzzfeed. 'So I decided not to sit and cry but to make the moments together matter and decided to take him to every one of my favorite NYC spots.' Since Elmo's legs no longer work, Mr Garcia went out and bought a stroller to take the dog to eat at Shake Shack, through the Museum of Modern Art and across the Brooklyn Bridge. Elmo even got to meet his namesake Sesame Street character in Times Square and witness Manhattanhenge - a spectacular sunset through the city's buildings. Though Elmo will soon pass, he now has a mark on this city thanks to Mr Garcia who had grafitti artist Greg Siff paint a picture of his pooch. Mr Garcia says he hopes to write a book someday on how to say goodbye to a dying pet by 'sharing experiences together'. He told People magazine that his New York outings with Elmo have helped him 'cope with his fate' and 'create memories that will last a lifetime'. Pram: Since Elmo's legs no longer work, Mr Garcia has been taking his dog around in a stroller . The little wolf of Wall Street: Mr Garcia and Elmo have visited the Bull statue on Wall Street as a part of their bucket list adventures . Light: Elmo even got to witness Manhattanhenge, a sunset that happens between the streets of New York . Making his mark: Mr Garcia had a grafitti artist paint a picture of Elmo . | James Garcia recently learned that his dog Elmo has just a few months to live .
Garcia has since started taking Elmo to all of his favorite New York sites to say goodbye to the dog he has owned for 16 years . |
132,929 | 37e02422ce253269f7b5e5402d32d6933d626efc | Virgil van Dijk has issued a ringing endorsement of Ronny Deila’s regime. The Celtic manager made headlines this week as he enforced a stringent approach to fitness and diet. Seen in some quarters as a criticism of the reign of predecessor Neil Lennon, an unrepentant Deila insisted that any player not buying into his methods would soon be surplus to requirements. But having helped the Scottish champions move joint top of their Europa League group with a narrow win over Dinamo Zagreb, Dutch defender Van Dijk stressed the squad were prepared to go to any lengths to improve their chances of competing at the highest level. Virgil van Dijk has been in impressive form for Celtic and helped his side to a win over Dinamo Zagreb . ‘It’s good for us all, it’s not something that makes you worse or anything else. He wants to make us better players and wants to get everything out of us,’ Van Dijk said. ‘I think that’s a good sign. But he is also busy trying to win games and that’s the most important thing in football.’ Asked if the strict diet Deila is imposing was something he’d experienced in Holland, Van Dijk replied: ‘No, but I think if you play at the highest level then you should look into it. If you want to play at the highest level and get everything out of yourself then, of course, you need to do what it takes. ‘Diet and fitness are important. They belong there. But the most important thing is to win games. ‘It’s his (Deila’s) opinion. He’s the gaffer and he wants us to do it. That’s his right and I think it will only make us better human beings and better players.’ The mutual respect between player and manager was apparent again yesterday when Deila described Van Dijk as the ‘perfect defender’. Van Dijk stressed the squad were prepared to go to any lengths to improve their chances of competing . And he urged the towering centre half to hold fire for a major European club after Celtic resisted offers from Southampton and Sunderland in the last transfer window. Deila insisted the sky is the limit for his £9million rated Van Dijk and said: ‘Virgil is better now and improves all the time. He looks fit and sharp and for me I hope when he leaves Celtic he goes to a top international club and we’re talking about one that could win the Champions League. ‘I don’t have so much experience of those things, but in my opinion if he gets consistency in his play and is even more disciplined in his structure I can’t see his weaknesses. ‘He’s quick, he’s strong, he’s good on the ball, he’s calm, he reads the play well, he’s good in the air. You name it, he has everything. ‘He is the perfect defender. But he is his own enemy, he has to step up every day and go to training to get even better but I think he is improving all the time.’ Jason Denayer on-loan at Celtic from Manchester City has been called up to the Belgium squad . Deila is also delighted with Jason Denayer’s call-up to the Belgium squad for the forthcoming Euro 2016 ties with Andorra and Bosnia – and hopes it can help to keep the Manchester City loan star for one more season. ‘You see what it does to have a good environment and work in the right way, this is what you can get out of players,’ he said. ‘It’s something I learn and you learn when you get into a big club. ‘It’s about getting the best out of the players and with Jason we have done that. ‘I hope that we can build him up but also keep him for the Champions League if we win the league and get into the Champions League next year - that he can be an important player in that role as well. ‘We have a very good co-operation with City, there are good bonds there. We talk well together. He is very young still to be playing at this level and if we win the league and go into the Champions League it would be a perfect scenario for him because it is a very high level and he maybe needs a couple of years there. They are happy with what is happening here with him.’ | Southampton and Sunderland bid for £9m rated Van Dijk in the summer .
Van Dijk gave his manager Ronny Deila a ringing endorsement at Celtic .
Deila praised Man City for handing Celtic Belgium's Jason Denayer on loan . |
96,163 | 07aa85ea509a6996fe9b66410c1b12c27b8ee619 | A brazen thief has stolen the £4,000 bicycle of GB triathlete Jessica Earp from outside Birbeck University in London. Ms Earp had removed the front wheel from her bike and chained it to a bike rack to discourage any possible thieves. However, one criminal spotted the bike and hacked-off the lock, but only after stealing the front wheel from a second bicycle and riding off. Police are looking for this man who is accused of stealing GB triathlete Jessica Earp's £4,000 bicycle . The man took the Pinarello bike after first stealing the front wheel from a different bicycle . The thief stole the £4,000 bicycle from this cycle rack outside Birbeck University in Bloomsbury, London . Police in Camden have found CCTV footage of the thief peddling from the scene. The modified Pinarello bicycle is worth an estimated £4,000. It was taken from Malet Street in Bloomsbury on September 12. Police investigating the theft said the thief rode up on his own bike, leaving it behind after taking the highly valuable model. The suspect is described as white, in his early 20s and of slim build. He was wearing a light grey jumper and grey shorts. He also had a black and silver helmet and was using a black rucksack. Anyone with information on the theft is asked to contact PC Cara Newton who is leading the investigation on 0208 733 6846 or phone Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. | Triathlete Jessica Earp removed the front wheel of her bike before locking it .
Police said the thief arrived on his own bicycle before removing the lock .
He also stole the front wheel from another bike to make his escape .
The Metropolitan Police has released CCTV footage of the alleged thief . |
142,637 | 4479f276bd672c88ce214110a9d9cbbd4652f30e | Arsene Wenger praised Olivier Giroud for his match-winning performance as the France striker's brace was enough to beat Middlesbrough in their FA Cup fifth-round meeting. Giroud, who missed almost three months of the season after breaking his leg in August, reached double figures for the campaign as he struck twice in two first-half minutes as the reigning FA Cup holders eased into the last eight. The 28-year-old remains an important part of Wenger's side despite the summer acquistions of Danny Welbeck and Alexis Sanchez - who started either side of Giroud in a strong Arsenal side - and the Gunners boss feels his compatriot is now a much more rounded player than the one he signed from Montpellier in 2012. Arsene Wenger (left) has described Oliver Giroud as a 'top level footballer' after his two goals in the FA Cup . The Frenchman (centre) scores his second goal with a neat finish at the near post . 'We controlled the game from the first to the last minute,' Wenger said. 'They had one chance at the end from a header, but overall I'm pleased with the way we attacked, the way we defended and with the way we played together with a good focus for 90 minutes. That's basically it. 'I believe that he (Giroud) is a different player today than the guy who arrived here. He understands what top-level football demands, works with a great concentration in training and he has improved tremendously on his mobility, his technical quality and of course his body is very strong. He uses it very well.' Giroud celebrates after scoring his second goal during Arsenal's 2-0 FA Cup win over Middlesbrough . Giroud put the game beyond doubt as he thrashed home Sanchez's corner with a well-taken first-time finish but it was his first strike, just two minutes earlier, which lit up the Emirates on what was a run-of-the-mill afternoon for the home side. All 11 players touched the ball as Santi Cazorla, captain for the day, threaded a pass to Kieran Gibbs to cross low for Giroud to finish and Wenger was left purring at the accomplished move. 'The first goal is what we try to do in our game and our build-up,' he said. Giroud (centre) scores the first goal after a flowing move involving all 11 Arsenal players in the build-up . 'The second goal shows that the game belongs to the players as well because it's a consequence of two players who respond quickly to a situation, analyse it quickly and do what they want to do well. That's basically what it was. It's a consequence of intelligence and technique.' Giroud's position as Arsenal's main striker had been under threat after the arrivals of Sanchez and, in particular, Welbeck but Wenger insists if the France international is named in his starting line-up he will always play through the middle - with the likes of former Manchester United man Welbeck being accommodated elsewhere. 'One of the reasons I bought him (Welbeck) is that he can play central striker and wide,' Wenger added. Danny Welbeck started out wide for the Gunners and Wenger has revealed he likes his versatility . 'I believe he's doing extremely well and is contributing to the team very well. He can play central striker like he did for a long time but the most natural centre forward we have is Giroud. 'All the strikers we have can play in different positions. The only one who can only play centre forward is Giroud, so when Giroud plays the others have to move out wide.' Middlesbrough had beaten reigning Premier League champions Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium to reach this stage - but Aitor Karanka's side never looked like producing similar heroics in north London. Giroud's double knocked the stuffing out of the visitors, who had only one shot on target throughout the game, with Wojciech Szczesny's clean sheet coming under the most threat in injury time as Kike headered Ryan Fredericks' deep cross against a post. Alexis Sanchez (left) and Mezut Ozil were once again impressive for the Premier League outfit . Middlesbrough boss Aitor Karanka feels his side underestimated Arsenal after beating Manchester City . And Karanka thought his side may have been lulled into a false sense of security having already collected the scalp of City, as well as taking Liverpool to penalties in a Capital One Cup tie at Anfield, as the second-placed side in the Sky Bet Championship came up short. 'I think, especially in the first half, we haven't played in the way we like to,' he said. 'It is difficult to beat teams like Arsenal and if you want to take something from games against Arsenal today you have to be perfect, like we were at the Etihad Stadium, and if you make mistakes it is difficult. 'I'm a little bit disappointed because everyone was expecting another game like we played against Liverpool or Man City and this is my biggest concern, we didn't go to the pitch in the way we usually go. In the first half I didn't like anything. 'It could be that the atmosphere (amongst the players) was very exciting and everyone was expecting another win. The players maybe thought it was going to be easier because we played very well against Manchester City two or three weeks ago.' Grant Leadbitter (left) and Danny Welbeck compete for possession during Arsenal's win over Boro . Boro's Spanish striker Kike (centre) holds the ball up against Gunners new boy Gabriel Paulista . | Arsene Wenger praised Oliver Giroud after he scored twice in the FA Cup clash against Middlesbrough at the Emirates Stadium .
The Arsenal boss described Giroud as a 'top-level footballer'
The Frenchman missed three months of the season with a broken leg .
Click here for all the latest Arsenal news . |
42,562 | 780208044b3b3b4ab2798ffb707df709e92778fc | (CNN) -- A federal judge Friday ruled in favor of a former UCLA college basketball star who sued to end the NCAA's control over the rights to college athletes' names, images and likenesses. In a landmark decision, U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken sided with Ed O'Bannon in his lawsuit against the National Collegiate Athletic Association. O'Bannon argued athletes in the top tier of college basketball and football should be allowed to profit from their schools' use of their likenesses. In a 99-page ruling, Wilken wrote that current NCAA rules "unreasonably restrain trade in the market for certain educational and athletic opportunities offered by NCAA Division I schools." Wilken issued an injunction to block the NCAA from prohibiting its member schools and conferences from offering their Football Bowl Subdivision or Division I basketball recruits a limited share of the revenues generated from the use of their names, images, and likenesses. She did rule, however, that the NCAA could set a cap on the money paid to athletes, as long as it allows at least $5,000 per athlete per year. "The NCAA's witnesses stated that their concerns about student-athlete compensation would be minimized or negated if compensation was capped at a few thousand dollars per year," the judge wrote. O'Bannon's suit alleged the waivers the athletes are required to sign are illegal and asked that players be able to collectively negotiate the terms of their likenesses in order to keep a share of those profits. "Before the court in this case is only whether the NCAA violates antitrust law by agreeing with its member schools to restrain their ability to compensate Division I men's basketball and FBS football players any more than the current association rules allow," Wilken wrote. "For the reasons set forth above, the court finds that this restraint does violate antitrust law." The ruling could potentially change college sports drastically, eventually forcing the NCAA to restructure its amateur model and allow college athletes to be paid. NCAA chief legal officer Donald Remy said: "We disagree with the court's decision that NCAA rules violate antitrust laws. We note that the court's decision sets limits on compensation, but are reviewing the full decision and will provide further comment later." William Isaacson, an attorney for the plaintiffs, called the ruling "a big step forward for common decency." "One of the things the judge is saying here ... is some sharing is OK," he said. "It won't affect amateurism, won't affect the popularity of the sport. She made a very reasonable and significant and measured decision." Ramogi Huma, president of the National College Players Association, said the ruling was "a big win" that signaled "the time for college athletes to get their due," though he was critical of the $5,000 compensation cap. "The ruling says the NCAA was operating illegally and college athletes do have rights," said Huma, who helped find players to join the case. "Even if you label them student-athletes and want to call it amateurism, it doesn't give the NCAA the right to deny them the rights that other Americans deserve." Sonny Vaccaro, who started the lawsuit by introducing O'Bannon and lead attorney Michael Hausfeld, said the decision was precedent-setting. "The key is, they're allowed to get paid," said Vacarro, who helped pioneer branding athletes by putting Nike shoes on Michael Jordan. Vacarro called the decision his most important career accomplishment. "It's more important to me that these kids won and this go forward and the principles are right," he said. "To me, it's more important than the Jordan and Kobe and things I did in my professional life. ...This was just something that was wrong and I totally believed in it." The judge wrote that the injunction will not affect student-athletes who enroll in college before July 1, 2016. When athletes commit to a university, players are required to sign a waiver that relinquishes their right to their own likenesses in every form. That means they can't make money off their television appearances, their jerseys, or in any other way. The universities get any revenues from selling sports paraphernalia or other material related to the players. The trial began June 9 in federal court in Oakland, California. The plaintiffs were 20 current and former student athletes who play or played for an FBS football or Division I men's basketball team starting in 1956. Legal appeals could delay a final outcome for years but the decision is in a position to be the first major NCAA reform effort to take hold. Already the issues brought up in the case have had an effect, even before the ruling was made. Texas A&M, the University of Arizona and Northwestern University have decided to stop selling jerseys with the numbers of specific players. Instead, Texas A&M will sell the number 12 jersey, in keeping with its 12th man tradition; and Arizona will sell jerseys with numbers that correspond to the year of competition -- 14 for this year, according to a school spokesman. Northwestern will sell only jersey number 51, in honor of its head coach, Pat Fitzgerald, and legendary Chicago linebacker Dick Butkus. The NCAA's argument in both the ongoing O'Bannon suit and another one filed by former quarterback Sam Keller, also in federal court in Oakland, is that it is trying to protect the amateur model of college sports. Paying college athletes would hurt traditions, NCAA chief testifies . NCAA under fire: 5 things to know . NCAA faces change, legal challenges in months ahead . | The judge sides with an ex-UCLA college basketball star who challenged the NCAA .
The NCAA says college athletes are amateurs, rewarded with an education .
The ruling could potentially change college sports drastically . |
246,061 | ca7c6343f1fe8fbdc6f9b2b7d71fa0610e38cdab | By . Aoife-grace Moore . Created: . 02:46 EST, 26 June 2014 . His pretty-boy looks and rise to fame as a fresh-faced teenager made him a big hit with young music fans worldwide. But the parents of his impressionable admirers will be less than happy about a confession by singer Paolo Nutini – that he has smoked cannabis every day for the past ten years. The star, who was born in Paisley, Renfrewshire, told music magazine Q that the drug helps him to cope with fame and is no worse than alcohol. Scroll down for video . Paolo Nutini says that he has smoked cannabis every day for the past ten years . Nutini, 27, called for a more tolerant attitude to cannabis by authorities across the world before admitting it can cause problems for some users. But his comments were condemned by a leading expert who claimed the star’s views could encourage more youngsters to dabble with the drug. Nutini was asked during the interview for Q if he had smoked pot. He replied: ‘Every day since I was about 16. Can the world please get to grips with marijuana? How long can this go on? ‘Don’t get me wrong, you can give it to the wrong person, marijuana can spawn all kinds of things, but no more so than alcohol.’ Paolo Nutini performs his Glastonbury Festival warm up show on stage at Bristol Harbourside last night in Bristol . He also defended boy band One Direction after two members reportedly smoked cannabis, adding that raunchy singer Miley Cyrus was a worse influence on youngsters. Nutini said: ‘They are men now. Let’s flip it and look at the female global pop stars out there. ‘Sexualisation isn’t the problem, it’s a case of class. I saw a photo of Miley Cyrus with her leotard pulled up – is that cool? And One Direction can’t have a joint? They’re the bad role models? Come on.’ But Professor Neil McKeganey of the Centre for Drugs Misuse Research: . ‘He (Nutini) has clearly failed to understand the terrible impact drug abuse has had throughout Scotland and particularly in the community from which he comes. He defended boy band One Direction after two members reportedly smoked cannabis, adding that raunchy singer Miley Cyrus was a worse influence on youngsters . 'Sexualisation isn't the problem, it's a case of class. I saw a photo of Miley Cyrus with her leotard pulled up- is that cool?' said the singer . ‘Paolo is a fantastic musician but when it comes to drugs he’s just another pop star on pot. ‘It’s grossly irresponsible for him to be effectively advocating for young people to use cannabis. ‘It’s quite likely that comments from someone who has his celebrity status, who is revered by many young people, could have a hugely negative impact on young people.’ Paolo Nutini talked in the new August issue of Q magazine out now . Professor McKeganey added: ‘We know cannabis substantially reduces intelligence and it also affects areas of the brain associated with judgment and can lead to an increase in serious mental health problems. ‘If he has been taking cannabis for as long as he claims, he may well be experiencing some of the psychological effects of its extended use.’ Tory MSP John Lamont also condemned the pop star for setting a bad example to young fans. He said: ‘Paolo has to realise he’s a role model for many and this kind of remark can be extremely damaging.’ Police Scotland yesterday warned that there was ‘no safe way to take drugs’. A spokesman said: ‘Everyone needs to be aware of the short and longer-terms dangers. You can never be sure of what you are taking or what effect it could have on you.’ A spokesman for Nutini declined to comment last night. It is understood police are not planning to take action against the singer following the disclosures. Police sources said such inquiries cannot be retrospective. Learn more about the effects of smoking cannabis at Howcast.com . | Star said the drug helps him to cope with fame and is no worse than alcohol .
Nutini, 27, called for a more tolerant attitude to cannabis by authorities .
Defended One Direction after two members reportedly smoked cannabis .
An earlier version of this article stated that Professor Neil McKeganey was associated with the Centre for Drug Misuse Research at Glasgow University, when in fact, he is associated with the Centre for Drug Misuse Research which has no connection with Glasgow University. We are happy to clarify the matter. |
106,362 | 152d1b8a4953abf75d13e9bc70897a2fdf49d302 | Fourteen monkeys have died from eating biscuits laced with rat poison after pestering and stealing them from a street vendor in eastern India. Another two monkeys also fell violently ill and required treatment at a veterinary hospital after devouring the food. Police have now opened a criminal investigation against the vendor, who fled in the aftermath of the mass poisoning. Fourteen monkeys in eastern India have died after eating stolen biscuits that were laced with rat poison . The 14 langurs became violently ill and died immediately after devouring the poisoned cookies, while another two were taken to a vet, officials said . Though revered in the majority Hindu nation, monkeys are a major menace, often trashing gardens, office and residential rooftops and even viciously attacking people for food. The troop of 16 langurs grabbed the biscuits from the vendor as he tried to sell them in the eastern state of West Bengal but fell violently ill soon afterwards on Sunday, officials said. Shyamal Mukherjee, the state forest ranger, said: 'Immediately after devouring the biscuits, 14 of them died on the spot and two were admitted to a veterinary hospital.' He added that autopsies were also being conducted. Concerns about India's rising monkey population prompted parliamentary authorities to recently hire a group of actors to impersonate giant monkeys and scare away smaller monkeys who had been terrifying lawmakers. | Fourteen monkeys die and another two fall ill after eating poisoned cookies .
They had stolen the biscuits from a street vendor in West Bengal, India .
He fled the scene immediately after the mass poisoning, officials said .
Monkeys are revered in India but are also considered a major nuisance . |
11,840 | 2195a868efc7c1f6f693c369021319bf161bbe7f | (CNN) -- Facing down a gunman, placing yourself in the path of flying bullets, forfeiting your life to protect innocents. It's a job description fitting for a soldier or police officer, but for a school teacher -- an elementary school teacher at that? What the teachers and principal at Sandy Hook Elementary School did for the children in their care could win a soldier in a war zone a Purple Heart. Read more: 'This world is a better place because she has been in it' But the soldier makes a conscious choice to face mortal danger when he or she enlists. Sandy Hook's heroes did not. Adam Lanza did not give them that choice when he opened fire in the hallway and two classrooms Friday in Newtown, Connecticut. Long before it happened, Principal Dawn Hochsprung tried to prevent a shooting -- or any other calamity -- by implementing new security measures at Sandy Hook. She made sure teachers practiced getting into lockdown mode. The front door was locked when the gunman arrived. A mother meeting with Hochsprung about her struggling child was astounded that the gunman had gotten in: "It's a locked school; you have to be buzzed in," she later said. Principal's husband left with future that no longer makes sense . Lanza blasted his way in. Hochsprung heard the loud pop. She, school psychologist Mary Sherlach and Vice Principal Natalie Hammond went to investigate. They were acting as the first line of protection and paid heavily for it. Only Hammond returned from the hallway alive -- but not unscathed. Along with Hochsprung, 47, and Sherlach, 56, four teachers perished. Victoria Soto, 27, moved her first-grade students away from the classroom door. The gunman burst in and shot her, according to the father of a surviving student. Read more: Comforting survivors: 'Hug them' and 'cry with them' "She would not hesitate to think to save anyone else before herself and especially children," her mother, Donna Soto, told CNN's Piers Morgan. Anne Marie Murphy's body was found in a classroom, slumped over young children killed in the shooting. The 52-year-old special education teacher was apparently attempting to shield them, her father told the newspaper Newsday. Aspirations were cut short and potential was wiped out -- of the young children who will no longer learn and grow toward adulthood, but also of the teachers who died. Rachel D'Avino, 29, was a behavioral therapist who worked with autistic children. D'Avino's boyfriend was going to propose to her on Christmas Eve. Lauren Rousseau, 30, had dreamed of being a teacher since before she went to kindergarten herself. She had been hired only last month by Sandy Hook and was substituting for a teacher on maternity leave when Lanza killed her. Read more: Remembering the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting victims . For the teachers who lived through the carnage, difficult tasks lie ahead. In the coming days, they will bury their colleagues and 20 small children they taught and adored, while comforting parents and nursing the tender hearts of the children who survived. Kindergarten teacher Janet Vollmer knows at least half of the killed children. "Ten of them were in my class last year," she told CNN's Anderson Cooper on Sunday. "It's tough. It's tough." When the shots rang out, Vollmer locked her classroom door, covered the windows, including the one in the door, then took the children into a nook between bookcases and a wall. She read them a story to keep them calm. "They kept saying 'How come we're here for so long?' 'Well, it will be a little longer.' " she answered. "When they're 5, you do whatever you can to keep them safe and keep them calm." "We're going to be safe," Vollmer told them, "because we're sitting over here and we're all together." Read more: Teacher: 'I wanted to be the last thing they heard, not the gunfire' First-grade teacher Kristen Roig herded her students into a bathroom, locked the door and told them not to make a peep. They got impatient, antsy, wanted someone to go out and see what was happening. No, she told them. She was afraid they would all die. "If they started crying, I would take their face and tell them, 'It's going to be OK.' I wanted that to be the last thing they heard," she said, "not the gunfire in the hall." The wait dragged on, Vollmer said. "Maybe it was 20 minutes, a half-hour; I'm not sure." Police knocked at the door to take them all out. They instructed her to have the schoolchildren hold hands and close their eyes. "At 5, it's not so easy to close your eyes and walk," Vollmer said. "So I had them look toward the wall." They all had to be brave. President Barack Obama eulogized the teachers in a speech to Newtown and the nation Sunday night. "They responded as we all hope we might respond in such terrifying circumstances -- with courage and with love, giving their lives to protect the children in their care," he said. "We know that there were other teachers who barricaded themselves inside classrooms, and kept steady through it all, and reassured their students by saying 'Wait for the good guys, they're coming'; 'Show me your smile.'" Read more: What really makes schools safer? Now Newtown will need to muster the courage to rebuild, to keep raising the siblings of fallen angels, to face another day without a beloved child. Sandy Hook Elementary will probably move into another building, away from the scene of the spilled blood and bullet holes. Teachers and children will go back to class, prepare lessons, do homework, take tests and grade them. "We need to get the kids back in school," Vollmer said. Vollmer, her colleagues and the children have all seen and heard too much and gotten through it bravely. Even soldiers experience permanent trauma after seeing a child being killed -- let alone 20 at once. --------- . The stories of how these teachers and school administrators risked their lives -- and in six instances gave them -- to protect their young students spurred CNN readers to label them heroes. "The next time people criticize teachers, think of these heroes and know that any teacher would do the same for their students. Your children," wrote Tom in the online comment section below this story. "How many dozen lives were likely saved because the teachers and administrators knew what to do?" "Let's try and remember these heroic women's names and forget the gunman's name starting today," said a person using the name druglady33. Margaret Kime called their actions "Unimaginable grace when faced with unimaginable horror." Commenter marsh025 suggested the school principal should have been armed and able to fight off the attacker: . "She should have come out with guns blazing. (I never thought I would say that) At the very least, principals need to be armed and trained in locating and engaging gunmen who enter their schools. The principal and a security/police officer should go together, armed to confront the individual. This is what we've become." "We should never forget them," wrote boogbop, "and we should make certain they did not die in vain by holding them up as an example of what is great and good in human beings." | NEW: "Remember these heroic women's names and forget the gunman's," a reader says .
Teachers at Sandy Hook elementary acted heroically .
Some were killed as they used their bodies to shield the children they taught .
It will take more bravery to move on and heal . |
46,945 | 8440c48781d7987a14a372f0b622e859c83879b7 | By . Emma Reynolds . PUBLISHED: . 09:38 EST, 10 October 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 13:06 EST, 10 October 2012 . A super-strict father prompted an outcry when he made his four-year-old son do press-ups in the snow wearing only his underpants and sail alone on the open ocean. But now China's 'Eagle Dad' has gone even further. He and his two children had to be rescued from the slopes of 12,000-foot (3,776-metre) Mount Fuji after embarking on a reckless climb. Scroll down for video . Dangerous trip: He Liesheng and his son just had time to unfurl a banner that read, 'The Diaoyu Islands belong to China', before being helped down the mountain by park rangers . Unprepared: Mr Liesheng had only brought a chocolate bar and cup of water as rations, believing there would be shops on the mountainside . 'Patriotic effort': He Yede, or Duoduo, was crying and nearly collapsing from altitude sickness by the time his determined father admitted defeat . He Liesheng, who lives in Nanjing in eastern China, flew his son Duoduo and . older daughter Tiantian to Tokyo, Japan, for the trek. He arrived at the mountain . determined to reach the top, despite park rangers' warnings that climbing . season was over. Ignoring news of severe weather conditions and gale-force winds, Mr Lieshing hopped over the barrier and began his journey. The pushy parent had brought only a chocolate bar and a cup of water for rations, thinking there would be shops en route. He soon realised that, 'unlike a lot of Chinese mountains', Fuji does not have steps, according to Chinese media sources. Test of endurance: Duoduo was forced to do press-ups in the New York snow wearing just his underpants . Merciless: The boy begged his father to hug him, but his parents insisted he get down on the floor before they gave him any help . He . admitted that he was as terrified as his children on some stretches of . the climb, when the trio were forced to scale 70-degree slopes. The . militant father had not brought waterproof clothing, so a sudden . downpour soaked them to the skin, and most shelters on the mountain were . boarded up. As temperatures dipped to almost zero . and the air became thinner, his children began crying and Duoduo, whose . real name is He Yede, was nearly collapsing with altitude sickness. At 3,700 yards (3,400m) up, Mr Liesheng admitted defeat and the group were rescued by park rangers, who gave them warm clothes and medical treatment. The family had just enough time to pose . with a banner that read: 'The Diaoyu Islands belong to China' before . beginning their descent with the help of the rangers. Super-strict: He Lieshing insists that his extreme challenges will help his son Duoduo, who was born premature, to toughen up . In August, Mr Liesheng left his son to fend for himself on the open seas, to help him 'show his potential' They were fed hot noodles to warm them up. Eagle Dad has previously said that because his son was born several months premature he had to make him undergo tough tests of physical and mental endurance to build up his strength. When the video of the unhappy child shivering in a snowy New York appeared on YouTube at the start of this year, outraged viewers demanded that Duoduo be taken into care. His mother could also be heard in the footage, encouraging the boy to carry on as he begged for a hug. By August, Mr Liesheng has his son following a strict training regime to enable him to compete against much older children in sailing competitions. He said at the time: 'Only by placing him in a situation with strong winds and waves can he show his potential.' VIDEO: Watch four-year-old Duoduo in the snow and being made to sail a boat . | He Liesheng has forced son to do press-ups in the snow in his underpants .
Sent the four-year out in boat on open seas alone .
Took only a cup of water and chocolate bar as rations for 12,000ft climb . |
33,712 | 5fe41a32a07119d156c46dab3388037b051ee089 | Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson says airport security officials are not considering a ban on carry-on luggage "at this time." In an interview with Jake Tapper on CNN's "The Lead," Johnson was asked about a National Public Radio report that counter-terrorism officials are considering implementing a Transportation Security Administration ban on carry-on bags at airports. The report cited concerns that al Qaeda could be planning attacks on major airlines in Europe before the Christmas holiday. Johnson said the department continues to focus on security, particularly at airports overseas, so as not to burden the traveling public. "I think people should continue to [travel] and have a happy and safe holiday but we continue to be vigilant and continue to evaluate whether more is necessary, based on the latest threat streams," Johnson said. Tapper followed up: "But no ban on carry-on luggage yet, but you're considering everything?" Johnson responded: "There's no ban on carry-on luggage at this time." | Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson played down reports the TSA could ban carry-on luggage .
Johnson's comments come amid reports that al Qaeda could target airlines this holiday season . |
152,253 | 50c8d30f106b66554f41f1fc640d1fc5b7154f63 | By . Simon Jones . Oscar Garcia is poised to leave Brighton this summer. Brighton are eighth in the Championship and just five points off the play-offs yet the Spanish manager has grown frustrated with the club's transfer dealings and it's understood wants a different challenge. Swansea and Norwich will both be alerted by his decision as the former Barcelona youth coach has impressed with his style and ability to keep Brighton in the hunt for promotion despite losing players such as Liam Bridcutt and Ashley Barnes. Moving on: Oscar Garcia (left) is considering leaving his post at Brighton in the summer . Interest: Swansea are also understood to be considering Dennis Bergkamp (left) and Marcelo Biesla . Swansea are considering coaching changes in the summer. Although interim manager Garry Monk remains a key part of those plans, the club are weighing up alternatives with Ajax assistant coach Dennis Bergkamp and former Chile boss Marcelo Bielsa among them. Norwich will seek a new coach to take over from caretaker Neil Adams at the end of the season following Chris Hughton's sacking. Malky Mackay is among the favourites but will have to settle any outstanding wrangle with Cardiff owner Vincent Tan first. Garcia, 40, is young and suits the profile both clubs are seeking as they look to maintain and impose a possession and passing style to stay in the Premier League. | Oscar Garcia has grown frustrated with Brighton's transfer dealings .
Swansea and Norwich are on alert after being impressed by Garcia's style .
Swans also considering Dennis Bergkamp and ex-Chile boss Marcelo Bielsa . |
145,157 | 47bd134e641d00128cf274d5d80d82d2b9894709 | Southampton's Toby Alderweireld began 2014 playing alongside Diego Costa and ends it trying to shackle a player he believes is one of the best in the world. This has been quite the year for the 25-year-old, having made the loan move to Saints fresh from helping Belgium to the World Cup quarter-finals and Atletico Madrid shock the football world. Alderweireld was part of the Los Colchoneros side which won a first La Liga title in 18 years and came off the bench in the Champions League final, where rivals Real Madrid cruelly denied them a famous double. VIDEOS Scroll down to watch . Toby Alderweireld scored his first Premier League goal against Crystal Palace on Boxing Day . Alderweireld (right) celebrates his goal for Southampton as they cruised past Crystal Palace . It took extra-time for Real to eventually triumph and things could have been so different had star man Costa not been forced off just nine minutes into what proved his last match for Atletico. The bustling forward moved to Chelsea in the summer and has so far justified his £32million price tag, with the Boxing Day strike against West Ham making it 13 goals from his first 15 Premier League matches. Alderweireld faces the unenviable task of attempting to stop Costa adding to that tally on Sunday, with the defender well aware of the threat his former team-mate poses. 'It is very difficult because he is fast, he is strong, he has technique,' he said. Alderweireld knows all about Diego Costa (right) and Eden Hazard's qualities having payed with both . Costa scored his 13th Premier League goal of the season against West Ham on Boxing Day . 'He can score goals, is good with his head, so I have to be at my best to stop him.' Costa is not the only threat Alderweireld knows all too well about, having this year also played alongside Eden Hazard, Thibaut Courtois and Filipe Luis. 'They are the best players in the world, especially Diego and Eden Hazard,' he said. 'We have to be at our top to beat them.' Despite that, he says Southampton will head into the match brimming with confidence after continuing their impressive resurgence at Selhurst Park. Southampton defender Alderweireld is an international team-mate of Hazard with Belgium . Fresh from ending their worst losing streak of the 21st century against Everton, Ronald Koeman's men triumphed 3-1 against Crystal Palace thanks to goals from Sadio Mane, Ryan Bertrand and Alderweireld. 'It's the best feeling, even for a defender,' the latter said after his first Premier League goal. 'I am very, very pleased that I could help the team and after we made it 3-0 it was over, I think. 'It is always difficult to win here and play here, especially over the Christmas period. 'They need the points and we knew that before, but I think we played very good, defensively it was fantastic and in important moments we killed the game. The 25-year-old defender also played alongside Costa as Atletico Madrid won the La Liga title last season . 'It is very important after a couple of difficult weeks to win again. 'They were two difficult games, Everton and now here at Crystal Palace, but we got six out of six points, made six goals and conceded one. We are getting our confidence back.' Chelsea will be a much bigger test, though, as will having to deal with such a quick turnaround - a new issue for manager Koeman and number of his players. 'Two days after a game, play another game - that has never happened to me before,' Alderweireld added. 'I will prepare myself the best way I can and I hope to be 100 per cent for Sunday.' | Southampton welcome league leaders Chelsea to St Mary's on Sunday .
Toby Alderweireld played alongside Diego Costa at Atletico Madrid .
Defender is also an international team-mate of Eden Hazard with Belgium .
Alderweireld hailed the pair as two of the best players in the world . |
50,686 | 8f669a57eb3836a26e788564253908d8970d9b40 | By . Joshua Gardner and Ap Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 10:02 EST, 18 August 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 14:36 EST, 18 August 2013 . In the race for lieutenant governor of Texas, one candidate's supporters have taken inspiration from Buzzfeed by mocking the opposition using a series of cat GIFs. On a website dubbed Dewfeed that is built to look uncannily like the meme-spreading site, Texans for Republican Dan Patrick posted a series of short animated cat images that highlight what they call incumbent lieutenant governor David Dewhurst’s lack of leadership at June’s abortion bill filibuster. With posts like ‘Wendy Davis began her filibuster and Dewhurst began chasing his tail,’ Patrick gets catty in his fight to unseat Dewhurst, who has held the job since 2002. Win? Republican Dan Patrick hopes to oust lieutenant governor David Dewhurst with the help of animated cats on political site based on BuzzFeed called DewFeed . ‘The night that will live in Texas political infamy, as told by cats,’ is the title of the list of nine reasons—paired with cat GIFs—Patrick believes voters should out Dewhurst. The unusual campaign tactic was borne from the widespread criticism Dewhurst received following the short-lived Democrat victory over Texas abortion opponents led by a now nationally-known Wendy Davis. With the crowd in the Texas Senate gallery chanting at deafening levels, Dewhurst stood at the podium with his hands in his pockets as his fellow Republicans pleaded and shouted for order. Fail? Texas lieutenant governor David Dewhurst attracted ire from many state republicans who believe he failed to stop June's abortion bill fillibuster . LOL? Supporters of Dewhurst opponent Dan Patrick created DewFeed to highlight what they see as the incumbent's failings--using cats . Amid one of the wildest scenes in the Texas Legislature in recent memory, Dewhurst failed to stop Davis and her supporters from running out the clock in her quest to stop the passage of a bill that all but bans abortions in the Lone Star State. Dewhurst faced almost immediate criticism from rivals within his own party and now Patrick is taking advantage of the initial spectacle by creating another. DewFeed pairs BuzzFeed’s rating system . with photos of the lieutenant governor: ‘LOL,’ ‘FAIL’ and ‘NOPE’ are . pinned to Dewhurst’s frowing mug. OMG: The site dubs June's abortion bill filibuster and the ensuing controversy as 'The night that will live in Texas political infamy, as told by cats' Cute? DewFeed uses BuzzFeed's highly recognizable list format and rating system of LOL, FAIL, OMG, etc . WTF? The site and its uncanny resemblance to BuzzFeed ends with a call to arms, so to speak--an animated cat fighting a dog with a Star Wars light sabre . Cats fight, sleep drunkenly, and generally act like fools in the GIFs that tell the story of the filibuster and Dewhurst’s role in it as the person in charge of controlling the flow of state legislation. The list ends with a call to arms. Above the final GIF, of a cat and dog fighting with Star Wars light sabres, comes the plea for votes. ‘Support Dan Patrick, candidate for Texas Lt. Governor,’ it reads. ‘He’ll never back down from a fight.’ V is for victory! Wendy Davis, Texas state senator from Ft. Worth, reacts to her successful filibuster in June. The democrat's victory may lead to Dewhurst's failure . Memes: Davis herself was the focus of internet memes following her highly publicized filibuster, notably from the pink athletic shoes she wore to stay comfortable during the marathon oration . | A rip on the site BuzzFeed hopes to help oust incumbent Texas lieutenant governor David Dewhurst with the help of animated cats .
'DewFeed' is a paid political ad in support of candidate Dan Patrick and mocks Dewhurst's role in June's abortion bill filibuster . |
53,299 | 973044a3033da8740801c1701ebc42d5bff54446 | By . Jenny Hope . PUBLISHED: . 18:42 EST, 3 October 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 02:50 EST, 4 October 2013 . Millions of men over 50 are more at risk of dying from cancer than women because they still do not recognise the symptoms and refuse to see a doctor. Experts warn there has been little improvement in men’s knowledge of the disease, and in their unhealthy lifestyles, despite a series of awareness campaigns. Each year around 82,500 men in the UK lose their lives to cancer, making it the leading cause of death in the male population. Concerns: According to survey of 12,000 over-50's almost half do not know the signs of prostate or bowel cancer . One man dies every hour from prostate cancer. According to a survey of 12,000 over-50s, almost half do not know the signs of prostate or bowel cancer, while women are better informed. A similar number do not visit their GP about health problems, with one in four refusing to do so even if they are in severe pain. More than a fifth need to be chivvied into seeing their doctor by worried family members. The survey also shows almost two-thirds of men do not eat the recommended five-a-day of fruit and vegetables, compared with half of women, and one in five does not exercise. The findings come after figures revealed cancer death rates in the UK are more than a third higher in men than in women. Confidence: A posthumous advert featuring Bob Monkhouse, who died from prostate cancer, inspired men to be more vigilant with the disease . Although the difference is partly due to men developing hard-to-treat cancers such as those affecting the bladder, oesophagus and liver, doctors and charities also blame men for not paying attention to their health. The death of entertainer Bob Monkhouse from prostate cancer ten years ago led to a posthumous TV advert five years later which used special effects to show him urging men to be vigilant. But only 59 per cent know the symptoms of prostate cancer, which is predicted to be the most common cancer by 2030. Signs include trouble urinating and blood in the urine. By contrast, 82 per cent of women can identify breast cancer signs. Men are also less likely to recognise bowel cancer, with 55 per cent saying they would know the symptoms compared with almost three-quarters of women. Meanwhile, just over a third of men know how to spot lung cancer – the biggest cancer killer of both sexes – compared with half of women. Slightly more are aware of skin cancer, with 54 per cent of men knowing the signs compared with 71 per cent of women. Mark Flannagan, of Beating Bowel Cancer, said men can be too embarrassed to talk and leave it too late before visiting GPs. ‘Bowel cancer is more treatable if spotted and diagnosed early,’ he said. The survey, by Saga Health Insurance, found the eventual rate of prostate cancer in boys born today will triple compared with the current rate, of around 41,000 men a year. Owen Sharp, of Prostate Cancer UK, said: ‘We all need to generate more open conversations about men’s health and we hope that with the likes of Billy Connolly [who has been treated for prostate cancer] speaking out about their personal experiences, more men will be inspired to seek advice. ‘Prostate cancer kills one man every hour but it can be treated if caught early enough.’ | Experts warn of little improvement in men’s knowledge of the disease .
Around 82,500 men in the UK lose their lives to cancer every year .
Survey of 12,000 over-50s say almost half do not know the signs .
Similar number do not go to a GP when they are suffering health problems . |
48,422 | 88ace3ae9e91238f38211b0a9f02c4001f1ba0af | She has grown to be something of a national treasure since becoming a judge on the Great British Bake Off. But Mary Berry, who has no problem whipping up a Victoria Sponge, has managed to upset Yotam Ottolenghi over her hummus recipe. The Israeli cook, who is famed for transforming vegetarian cooking in the UK, was outraged that the baking star added olive oil to the dish – and leaves out the tahini. Yotam Ottolenghi said he was 'upset' that Mary Berry added olive oil to hummus recipe and leaves out tahini . During his appearance at the Cheltenham Literature Festival in Gloucestershire he said: ‘Hummus cannot have anything but chickpeas, soaked overnight and never from a tin, lemon juice and tahini and water and a little bit of garlic. ‘Some people put olive oil in their hummus, or other oil, which is a big no no. 'That makes me really upset.' But after watching the 79-year-old preparing her version of hummus on television he was left fuming. He added: ‘I love Mary Berry but I saw her make hummus in one of her shows without tahini and it had chickpeas crushed with olive oil.’ The renowned restaurant owner reportedly put his head in his hands as he became frustrated at the thought. Mary Berry says you could also add chopped coriander leaves and a pinch of cumin to hummus . He was further infuriated to learn that she uses tinned chickpeas, among other non-traditional ingredients. Her recipe recommends adding chopped coriander leaves, a pinch of ground cumin and three tablespoons of Greek yoghurt. She also says that tahini – a thick paste made from ground sesame seeds – can be used if you like the ‘traditional sesame seed flavour of hummus’. And Berry is not alone in the oil debate – Delia Smith adds olive oil to her hummus and Nigella Lawson prefers garlic oil. While Heston Blumenthal further waded into the debate, saying he would even consider leaving out the lemon juice. ‘I use one third olive oil and two thirds groundnut oil,’ he told the Times. ‘The oil brings richness. You have got to put in salt and you need acidity, lemon juice or vinegar. Without that it would all be wrong.’ But Ottolenghi, who maintains olive oil is fine as long it is drizzled on top of the dish, said the dispute is far more heated in Jerusalem. One of the chapters in his books entitled Hummus wars explains the so-called ‘hummusia fetish’. He says there is evidence in scriptures that Jews ate it in biblical times but that ‘nobody seriously challenges the Palestinian hegemony in making hummus, even though both they and the Jews like calling it their own’. The dip has become so popular among Brits that a survey last year revealed that 41 per cent of people had a pot in the fridge. And we reportedly get through 12,000 tonnes a year with sales at Waitrose growing by 40 per cent annually. Hummus has become so popular among Brits that 41 per cent of us always have a pot in the fridge . | Yotam Ottolenghi said he was upset Mary Berry added olive oil to hummus .
Israeli cook also infuriated she left out tahini and used tinned chickpeas .
Berry supported in debate by Delia Smith, Nigella Lawson and Blumenthal .
Ottolenghi says hummus causes a more heated debate in Jerusalem .
He has chapter in his book entitled 'Hummus wars' and explains debate . |
164,740 | 610540d44ef022b3e48fcbf2d67b98bf267657a0 | UNITED NATIONS (CNN) -- Former U.S. President Clinton has been tapped as a United Nations special envoy to Haiti, a senior U.N. official said Monday. Former President Clinton has been chosen to serve as a United Nations special envoy to Haiti. An official announcement will be made Tuesday, the official said. The two-term president has traveled to Haiti on several occasions, most recently in March with his wife, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon. At the time, the Clintons voiced optimism at Haiti's potential because of political stability and economic growth after decades of chaos. The Caribbean country is the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere. | Official announcement is coming Tuesday .
Clinton visited nation in March with his wife and U.N. chief .
It is the poorest country in the Western hemisphere . |
175,959 | 6fc2a3520d831822a395986be7c2e12a75076b65 | By . Leon Watson . Can't make a loved one's funeral? Don't worry, a cemetery is now offering the chance to watch services live on a 4G mobile phone. Kemnal Park Cemetery and Memorial Gardens, in Chislehurst, south-east London, claims it is the first in the country to offer the high speed video feed of funeral services directly from the graveside. Grieving families can request a cameraman records the proceedings, which are streamed live over the network used by new smartphones. Kemnal Park Cemetery and Memorial Gardens, in Chislehurst, south-east London has become the first in the country to offer a live 4G video feed of funeral services directly from the graveside . The package is aimed at friends and family who live abroad and are unable to travel, or those who are infirm and unable to leave their home. Users can watch and listen to the broadcast by logging on to a password-protected website on a computer, mobile phone, or tablet. The £450 charge includes a professional cameraman, equipment, and wireless 4G data charges. Families can also request a hard copy recording of proceedings for to watch later. Some cemeteries and crematoria already offer live streaming from within the chapel using fixed cameras and a wired broadband connection. But bosses at Kemnal Park say this is the first time families have been able to request a wireless, graveside recording with a roaming camera. It is available for burials and cremation services. Michael Burke, operations director at Kemnal Park, said: 'Our new 4G service is as close as you can get a funeral service without actually being there. A cameraman records the proceedings, which are streamed live over the high-speed 4G network used by new smartphones . Bosses at Kemnal Park say this is the first time families have been able to request a wireless, graveside recording with a roaming camera . 'We are taking advantage of the latest technology to beam high quality video and audio around the world in real-time. 'It is ideal for friends and family who are unable to travel to Kemnal Park but still wish to pay their respects.' He added: 'People use their mobile phones to record everything they see these days, but they draw a line at funeral services, because they see it as morbid. Kemnal Park covers an area of 55 acres, has 30,000 grave spaces, and a chapel that houses up to 500 mourners . 'However, they do realise it may be nice to relive memorable moments at a later date, perhaps if a young relative sings, or somebody delivers a particularly poignant eulogy. 'We are now able to film that for them, and have had a lot of demand from people who do want a recording but do not want to do it themselves. Our new 4G streaming service takes things a little bit further. 'We now foresee the time when celebrities will welcome their fans watching their service remotely, away from immediate family and friends.' Funeral director Michael Killick, from J and R Killick, in West Wickham, south-east London, described the service as an 'excellent extra'. Mr Killick, who conducted the first streamed service, said: 'There are times when it can be impractical for some family members to attend a funeral at short notice. That may be because of distance or their own health. 'But just about everywhere now has access to the internet, so we see this 'virtual service' as an excellent extra option to be able to offer a family.' He added: 'I found it very moving that the grandson and his wife who reside in New Zealand were able to watch this service at 3am their time and still be part of the service at Kemnal Park.' Kemnal Park covers an area of 55 acres, has 30,000 grave spaces, and a chapel that houses up to 500 mourners. It is used primarily by London residents and is expected to host around 800 services this year. | Service offered at cemetery in Chislehurst, south-east London .
Cameraman makes recording and streams them over 4G network .
The package is aimed at friends and family who live abroad . |
163,698 | 5fb2dee7921470e586deafb12dad100a83e878d1 | LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- TV talk show host Jay Leno fell ill and checked himself into a Los Angeles, California, hospital on Thursday, his representative said. NBC cancels tapings of "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" on Thursday and Friday after Leno became ill. Tracy St. Pierre would not disclose the nature of Leno's illness. Leno will be 59 on Tuesday. NBC canceled tapings of "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" scheduled for Thursday and Friday, she said. The network will rerun the March 26 show on Thursday, which features a musical performance by Prince and interviews with actors Paul Giamatti and Emma Roberts, according to the show's Web site. Actor Ryan Reynolds, animal trainer Jules Sylvester and swing band Big Bad Voodoo Daddy had been booked for Thursday's show. CNN's Anderson Cooper, anchor of "Anderson Cooper 360," was scheduled to appear on Friday's show. The network did not announce which show would be broadcast on Friday. CNN's Jack Hannah contributed to this report. | Jay Leno's representative, Tracy St. Pierre, would not disclose illness .
Network cancels tapings of Thursday and Friday night shows .
Leno will be 59 years old on Tuesday . |
33,771 | 600b619001a9d840f5bb5ee3362787ee38df26fd | By . Jonny Singer . Follow @@Jonny_Singer . Andres Iniesta has described new Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal as 'someone very important to me' and said that the Holland boss commands complete respect. Iniesta was a young player at Barcelona when van Gaal was at the Nou Camp, and believes that the Dutchman's attitude to youth was vital in building his career. The Spain playmaker also acknowledged that the United boss can be imposing, and commands respect of even the most experienced player. Inspiration: Iniesta told Barca Fans TV that van Gaal was important in shaping his career at Barcelona . Tough time: The Spain midfielder is consoled by Barca teammate Alexis Sanchez after the World Cup exit . Asked by Barca Fans TV whether his former manager was an imposing figure he answered: 'Yes. He already commands respect when you are a veteran, so imagine when you have just entered the team and you are young. 'But the truth is I have a special memory of him, because he is someone very important to me and if there was something he cared about was supporting the young players from the reserves.' Showing the way: Iniesta says that it was van Gaal who showed him the path to the top in his younger days . Pass masters: Xavi and Iniesta have dominated the centre of Barca's midfield for most of the last decade . VIDEO Dutch party rumbles on . Van Gaal was in charge at the Nou Camp between 1997 and 2000, during which time Iniesta captained the Under-15 side to the the Nike Premier Cup. He will be joining Manchester United as their manager as soon as Holland are knocked out of the World Cup. | Iniesta was a youth player while van Gaal managed Barcelona .
Says the Dutch boss is imposing to veterans .
Barca midfielder calls van Gaal 'someone very important to me' |
18,511 | 345a91f7497990f6377075aeab12779f545465d3 | WASHINGTON (CNN) -- India's air force geared up for possible missions against suspected terrorist camps in Pakistan in the immediate aftermath of November's Mumbai attacks, U.S. military officials told CNN Monday. One U.S. official said India's air force "went on alert" after the attacks in Mumbai. Pakistan said it would defend itself if attacked. "We don't want to go to war," Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Gilani announced during a speech at the National Assembly on Monday. "But if the war is thrust on us, we will stand united like a respectful nation." While the officials characterized the Indian actions as preliminary preparations to position the air force if strikes were ordered, the comments indicate that the two nuclear powers were perhaps closer to conflict than previously acknowledged. Three Pentagon officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, have individually confirmed to CNN that the United States has information indicating that India began to prepare air force personnel for a possible mission. The officials offered few details, but one said India's air force "went on alert." A second official said the United States concluded these preliminary preparations would put India in a position to move swiftly against suspected terrorist camps and targets inside Pakistan, before adding that a number of senior U.S. officials urged India to exercise restraint during this time. An Indian air force official had no comment. CNN sister network CNN-IBN reported last week that the air force had been put on its highest level of readiness and that the aircraft had been armed. "We are certainly against terrorism, but that doesn't mean that we go at war with any country," Indian Air Chief Marshal Fali Homi Major told CNN-IBN Thursday, adding that any decision on military action would be "up to the government because the air force and the army are there only to carry out the will of the government." Air Commodore Homayoon Ziqar, a spokesman for the Pakistani air force, told CNN that Pakistan is not on heightened alert at the moment. "Everything is normal," he said. Another source in Pakistan's military also said the air force is not on heightened alert, but added, "We are always ready, on weekends, on holidays, no matter what the circumstances." Since the Mumbai attacks, Pakistani security forces raided a camp near Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistani-controlled Kashmir, according to military sources. It was the first sign of government action against Lashkar-e-Tayyiba since the Mumbai attacks. India says the Pakistan-based Islamic militant group was behind the killings of more than 160 people in Mumbai. Watch Miss Pakistan talk about the Mumbai attacks » . Also, Pakistani authorities have banned a charity linked to last month's attacks and placed its leader under house arrest. The move came after the U.N. Security Council designated the charity, Jamaat-ud-Dawa, a terror organization because of its links to Lashkar-e-Tayyiba. Gilani's promise that Pakistan would defend itself came amid mounting international pressure for him to crack down on Lashkar-e-Tayyiba. U.S. Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen said he was "encouraged" that Pakistan arrested two of the group's top leaders last week, saying it amounted to the first steps toward determining who plotted the Mumbai siege. Indian police say the only surviving suspect from the Mumbai attacks, identified by Indian authorities as 21-year-old Mohammad Ajmal Kasab, is from Pakistan's Punjab province and the other nine attackers also were from Pakistan. Pakistani officials have denied that assertion, blaming instead "stateless actors." Until now, the Bush Administration has publicly said it saw no signs of military movement by India and no indication that the Indian government was preparing any type of retaliation. The Pentagon officials broadly described the activity as checking the status of crews, fighter jets and weapons that were available. The extent of the reported preparation was not immediately known. Also, one of the Pentagon officials confirmed that the United States has intelligence indicating a single Indian aircraft violated Pakistani airspace twice on Saturday. The United States believes the incursion was inadvertent, the official said, adding that there is no information to indicate it was planned. Meanwhile, suspected U.S. missile strikes continued to hammer Pakistan's tribal region, killing three people in a North Waziristan village Monday evening, according to a Pakistani military official. Monday's strike is the 29th suspected U.S. missile strike in Pakistan this year. CNN's Reza Sayah and Zein Basravi contributed to this report. | Pakistani PM says, "If the war is thrust on us, we will stand united"
One Pentagon official says India's air force "went on alert" after Mumbai attacks .
During preparations, senior U.S. officials urged India to exercise restraint .
More than 160 people were slain in the three-day attack that began in late November . |
175,411 | 6f07b7eb8cd90bf3732d9ac8fe98abfc57b2fe35 | (CNN) -- Comedian and actor Kevin Hart says he'll straighten up his act. And he's not being funny. Los Angeles traffic police arrested the stand-up comic on "suspicion" of drunken driving early Sunday. They observed him speeding down a freeway at 90 mph in his black Mercedes, weaving across traffic lanes and almost running into a gas tanker truck, the California Highway Patrol said in a statement. When patrol officers pursued him, he took an off ramp and pulled over, police said. "Mr. Hart had objective signs of intoxication and was unable to perform the field sobriety tests," the statement read. The comedian later tweeted: "When the cop asked me to take the sobriety test I said 'WHY WASTE OUR TIME ... I'M DRUNK MAN.'" Police booked him into jail and held him on a $5,000 bond. "This is a wake up call for me, I have to be smarter & last night I wasn't ... everything happens for a reason," he tweeted Sunday. In a stand-up routine in his 2011 movie "Laugh At My Pain," Hart lampooned his father's alleged embarrassing behavior due to a drug addiction. But he does not make light of his own intoxicated behavior. "Drinking & driving is not a game or a laughing matter. People have lost lives because of stupid ... this!," he said on his verified Twitter account. Hart has been in various movies, including "Think Like a Man" and "The Five-Year Engagement." He's also appeared in television shows, including "Modern Family." CNN's Tresha Lindo contributed to this report. | In 2011, Kevin Hart lampooned his father's alleged intoxicated behavior .
Police say Hart drove 90 mph and nearly hit a gas tanker .
Hart says on Twitter that he was drunk .
He calls the arrest a "wake-up call" |
162,017 | 5d7b7ef9d4c5505f72c225af1f45254563078e4b | (CNN)They might be over 65, but these former burlesque dancers haven't lost the charisma that made them so desirable in their heyday. Whether it's a seductive, sensual pose or something more fun and playful, it's clear they aren't afraid to be bold in front of the camera. "I really enjoyed being around those women," said photographer Marie Baronnet, who documented them in her book "Legends: The Living Art of Risque." "I found that they had a real knowledge of life but also of this work. They were very self-sufficient." All of the women featured in Baronnet's book used to dance in burlesque theaters, enticing the audience with a strip show. But burlesque is about more than just skin. "Burlesque is interesting because it's a space where women of all kinds, physically speaking, can actually go onstage," Baronnet said. "They have to have personality and rhythm, they have to know how to dance, and they have to also be an artist because they have to do all those costumes and create a choreography." Burlesque was also empowering for many of the women, especially Americans who performed before the sexual revolution of the 1960s. "Striptease for them was a passport to discover their own country and to travel abroad. ... They would have agents, they would get contracts," Baronnet said. Over time, however, burlesque theaters lost their popularity in the United States as strip clubs became more prominent. Social media . Follow @CNNPhotos on Twitter to join the conversation about photography. "The '80s were really the era where all the glamour kind of disappeared and what the audience wanted was more flesh always," Baronnet said. "All of those women always described in the interview how it was difficult to transition between the '70s and the '80s, where the glamour was no longer there and the bosses of the clubs were asking them to get rid of the costumes and actually show more." "And those women arrived at an age where they were 40, 45 sometimes 50 years old. They were still very beautiful, but it was also an age issue where they saw that maybe they should stop and start to do something else. Also, the money was not the same. They used to make a lot of money, and suddenly it wasn't that good." Baronnet became interested in burlesque during a trip to Las Vegas in 2011, where she met legendary dancer Dixie Evans. She later photographed an annual burlesque festival in the city. Through the contacts she made there, she reached out to former burlesque dancers across the country and asked if she could come to their homes and photograph them. "The idea was to go to them and not to do something in a neutral place, because I wanted to feel the atmosphere of where they live," Baronnet said. All of the women in the book are at least 65 years old, and some are even in their 90s. "We would put on the costumes and makeup, we'd do the hair and the lights, and then suddenly they would just know how to move," Baronnet said. "And they like that. I think there is a part of them where they are very exhibitionist. They like to show off and just dance and move and seduce men." The poses were a collaborative effort, but Baronnet had a certain vision, too. "I didn't want to do something that was too close (to what) they were used to doing for so many years -- and that men photographers especially ask -- which is to be like a pinup like the typical Bettie Page picture," Baronnet said. "Sometimes they would give that, and I would always kind of like twist it and say, 'Let's try something else, because this has been seen over and over again.' " Although burlesque isn't dead -- it's even enjoying a bit of a renaissance today -- these women represent a bygone era, and Baronnet gives them the spotlight one more time. "They witnessed a time that completely disappeared, and they mastered the art of striptease in a very special way, and they never really were recognized for that," she said. Marie Baronnet is a French photographer based in Los Angeles. Her book "Legends: The Living Art of Risque" can be purchased through Idea Books. You can also like it on Facebook. | Marie Baronnet's book documents some of the legends of burlesque dancing .
The women in the book, all of whom are 65 or older, represent a bygone era .
But even today, they've still got plenty of sensuality and charisma . |
204,097 | 943a26342f7e6575933425b7f8782d08f5cf38c3 | Caterham administrator Finbarr O'Connell has launched an investigation to determine whether there were any behind-the-scenes irregularities that may have resulted in the team's demise. The Leafield-based marque are back on the grid at this weekend's last race of the current Formula One season in Abu Dhabi after being given dispensation to miss the last two in the United States and Brazil. A crowdfunding project that has so far raised £2million has extended the life of the team and put them back in the shop window, with the hope a buyer will come forward and take them into 2015 and beyond. Caterham administrator Finbarr O'Connell is investigating if any irregularities lead to the team's demise . Caterham's new driver Will Stevens in talks with a team member during the first practice round . O'Connell sits at a telemetry booth in the pits during the second practice at the Yas Marina circuit . O'Connell, serving as interim team principal, concedes he has three weeks at most to secure a new owner otherwise the plug will have to be pulled. In the meantime, it is also part of his duty to look into why the team has ended up in such a mess following a takeover in June. A consortium of Swiss and Middle Eastern businessmen took up the reins passed on by Malaysian entrepreneur Tony Fernandes, owner of AirAsia and chairman of Barclays Premier League side QPR. The consortium, however, bailed out in October, citing an issue over the transference of shares, with Fernandes claiming he had not been paid. O'Connell is determined to get to the bottom of the matter for the sake of his creditors, on whose behalf he is working to ensure they get a return on monies owed. Speaking in the paddock at the Yas Marina circuit, the 54-year-old Irishman said: 'As administrator I'm clearly trying to sell the business. 'But another thing I have to do is investigate how the business was run. Anybody who was running it improperly or who owes it money I have a duty to investigate them. 'If I think they're guilty of an offence, like wrongful trading or misfeasance, then I have to pursue them and get money back for the creditors. 'My investigation has already started, but the thing about it is you can do it after the heat of the sale, so I'm just getting all the papers together and my lawyers are going through those. That is a different phase. Caterham's Stevens during the first practice day at the Abu Dhabi Grand prix . The finale of the Formula One season comes to a close in Abu Dhabi on Sunday . 'But a number of people have already said to me they really believe there were things that went on here that need to be investigated.' Naturally of more pressing concern for O'Connell is his desire to find a buyer and secure the futures of the 230 staff he had to make redundant last week. In Abu Dhabi there is a skeleton crew of 40 people readying the cars, all of whom are working on a consultancy basis for a nominal payment, with another five back at the factory in Leafield. O'Connell added: 'I've had 50 approaches, and I think there are four parties who are serious. 'My analysis shows who they are and what they've got. For a couple of them it would make perfect sense for them to buy it. 'One purchaser I'm talking to, who is a perfect fit, is talking about a couple of months down the road. 'They've asked me not to sell the building (the factory) yet and to give them time to get a deal together. 'I've said to them the employees will drift away, and they've said it's a huge decision, that they hear what I'm saying, but they'll do it in their own time. 'So that's one of the purchasers not going to chomp now. 'Then there are some wealthy Middle Eastern people I'm meeting while I'm over here who could be one of those multi-billionaires who buys a team because they want one. 'They want to be an owner in the most exclusive club in the world. 'But as Bernie Ecclestone says, it has to be run by people who have a financial basis.' | Caterham's Finbarr O'Connell launched an investigation into irregularities .
Caterham are back on the grid for the last race of the season .
A crowdfunding project raised £2million to extend the life of the team .
The investigation seeks to discover what lead to the team's demise . |
14,228 | 285ec1cba68d07d90a3d558b82d5d6fa4c7a7d51 | (CNN) -- If you think this is the year George Clooney will finally settle down, don't hold your breath. In an interview airing on Friday's "Piers Morgan Tonight," he told both Morgan and his own father that his one marriage, to actress Talia Balsam that ended in 1993, was enough. Morgan pointed out that George's father, Nick, who appeared on the show with him, had "one of the great marriages." Nick Clooney has been married to his wife, Nina -- George's mother -- for more than 50 years. Morgan asked whether, as a parent, Nick was "yearning for the moment" his son would walk down the aisle. Nick Clooney turned to his son and said, "I want you to think about that. I want you to think about -- we've been married -- Nina and I've been married 51 years." "I hate to blow your whole news story," said the younger Clooney, "but I was married, so I gave it a shot." Clooney said the "shot" he gave marriage ought to have "proven how good I was at it." Clooney also said his dad taught him that he has an inherent responsibility to share his luck and good fortune with others. Clooney said his father urged him "to help look out for people that are less fortunate than you and to challenge people that are in power." Clooney also said his career luck came late and pointed out that his acting successes came relatively late. "I did eight television series before "ER" hit and if we didn't get a Thursday night at 10 o'clock time slot, you know, I wouldn't have the career that I have." When Morgan asked Clooney if he was considering following in the footsteps of other Hollywood A-listers who ventured into the political arena, the actor dashed any hopes of a President George Clooney: "Honestly, my job is as good as they get." "I think that I am best suited as an advocate for issues," said Clooney. "And I look to people who are far smarter and far better at this than I am to lead." His primary issue now is the situation in Sudan. Earlier this month, Clooney continued his ongoing humanitarian efforts to shed light on deadly violence in the troubled border area of Abyei. Clooney was a firsthand witness to the voting process that will most likely lead to independence for Southern Sudan. Clooney also told Morgan he contracted malaria while in Sudan, but said he's no longer infected with the disease, and even made light of the situation, saying, "Even with malaria, it's just good fun." Clooney, who has been infected with malaria twice, joked, "I guess the mosquito in Juba looked at me and thought I was the bar." When Morgan asked whether Clooney gets angry when people say he's wasting his time in Sudan and that his charity work is for "self-aggrandizing reasons," Clooney told Morgan, "I don't need to be more famous." "I've got all the attention I need," Clooney continued, "and I'm just trying to use that attention on other people." Watch Piers Morgan Tonight weeknights 9 p.m. ET. For the latest from Piers Morgan click here. | George Clooney credits his dad for teaching him to be generous with his good fortune .
He says if not for "ER's" 10 p.m. time slot, "I wouldn't have the career that I have"
Clooney contacted malaria on a humanitarian trip to Sudan in early January .
Watch the full George Clooney interview on "Piers Morgan Tonight," 9pm ET . |
128,545 | 321ad3889ccd692168a3fb815b254364dcbcdc5a | A trial against a Detroit police officer accused of shooting dead a seven-year-old girl ended in a mistrial after the jury became 'hopelessly deadlocked.' The jurors were unable to reach a verdict in the case against Officer Joseph Weekley who was accused of shooting Aiyana Stanley-Jones during a raid on a house for a murder suspect in Detroit. Judge Cynthia Gray Hathaway declared a mistrial in the case for the second time after the first trial ended in a hung jury in June 2013. Death: Happy-go-lucky seven-year-old Aiyana Stanley-Jones was shot and killed on Sunday, May 16, 2010, by a Detroit police officer during a raid to arrest a murder suspect . Shooting: Detroit Police Officer Joseph Weekley testifies during his first trial in Wayne County Circuit Court in Detroit, Michigan, his second trial was declared a mistrial on Friday . Judge Hathaway told the jurors: 'These things happen.’ But the little girl's distraught uncle Londell Fields said: 'I don't understand how we can go through this again and have all this evidence brought forth and there not be a verdict either way.' 'I don't think it's fair because he's a police officer that he gets to get away with this again. That's wrong to me.' At the beginning of the case, jurors were asked to decide the officer's fate. Yet the group of 12 was almost split down the middle over whether to acquit or convict Weekley on a misdemeanor charge of careless, reckless or negligent use of a firearm causing death. ‘This was an emotional case,’ the jury foreman told the media afterward. ‘There were tears in this room.’ Distraught: The parents of Aiyana Stanley-Jones, Dominika Stanley, left, and Charles Jones, hold a photo of her in Southfield, Michigan, both are devastated over the mistrial . But race, the jurors said, never played a role in deliberations, despite the fact that Weekley is white, and Aiyana was black. On the night of the shooting on May 16, 2010, police and the Special Response Team went to an address in Detroit's east side to carry out a search for a murder suspect. They were accompanied by a camera crew from a TV reality show called 'The First 48, but the midnight raid was recorded from the outside, not the inside where Aiyana was shot. A stun grenade was thrown through a window to confuse anyone inside. Then, officers stormed the house and once inside, a round from Weekley's sub-machine gun struck Aiyana in the head while she slept on a couch. The trial featured a multicultural jury made up of eight women and four men, four of whom were African Americans. The jurors, asked that their names not be made public as they explained what happened over four days of deliberations. Sadness: Dominika Stanley wipes away tears after Judge Cynthia Gray Hathaway declares a mistrial . They said that they never agreed unanimously, but listened to each others view points, took three votes and had some jurors shift sides. The jury foreman, a pastor said: ‘This has not been an easy case.’ During the last vote, the panel was split 7 to 5, with seven voting not guilty and five saying Weekley was guilty of the charge. Grief: Charles Jones, center, the father of seven-year-old Aiyana Stanley-Jones, is consoled by family and friends as they stand in front of Aiyana's open casket before the funeral service at Second Ebenezer Baptist Church in Detroit on Saturday, May 22, 2010 . One of the most important questions that jurors needed to answer was whether the discharge of the weapon was a result of the defendant's carelessness, recklessness or negligence. Some jurors felt Weekley, should not have allowed his gun to discharge because of his training as a member of the Special Response Team, while others could not determine what happened . ‘It really came down to defining negligence,’ the foreman said. During the trial, Steve Fishman, Weekley's attorney, told jurors that the officer mistakenly pulled the trigger during a struggle with Mertilla Jones, the girl's grandmother. But Jones denied this. Prosecutor Rob Moran argued: 'His training says, keep your finger off the trigger. ... All he had to do is follow his training and we wouldn't be here.' After the mistrial, Dominika Stanley, Aiyana's mother stayed in the courtroom, wiping away tears as she shook her head and held onto a tissue. Meanwhile, Weekley released a statement shortly before the mistrial was declared. It said: ‘No matter the outcome of any jury's decision, I have already been devastated and my life has been ruined irreparably by the events that occurred on May 16, 2010. 'There has not been one single day that has gone by since that day where I have not thought about the loss of Aiyana and I will be haunted by this tragedy for the rest of my life.' ‘I have nothing but sympathy for the family of Aiyana ... I know in my heart and before God that what transpired that day was out of my control, but I will still have terrible grief weigh upon me every day for the rest of my life,’ his statement said. But Aiyana's great-uncle Fields added that he thought Weekley should apologize and say he made a mistake. ‘The justice system did not work in this case,’ he said. ‘I don't understand how we could go through this again and have all this evidence brought forth and there not be a verdict, either way.’ Weekely could still face a third re-trial. | Jurors were unable to reach a verdict in the case against Joseph Weekley .
The group of 12 was split over whether to acquit or convict the officer .
The multicultural jury was made up of eight women and four men .
The jury foreman, a pastor said: ‘This has not been an easy case’
Weekley said that his life has been 'ruined irreparably by the events'
He could face a third re-trial over the shooting death of the seven-year-old . |
260,774 | ddb37591d766c8543cb947ceba9ba0fa52ee9892 | By . Martha De Lacey . PUBLISHED: . 10:03 EST, 20 June 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 12:05 EST, 20 June 2012 . A nine-year-old schoolgirl who has never so much as trimmed her hair has chopped off all her locks and donated the resulting 17inch ponytail to a cancer wig charity. Xanthe Coote, from Portsmouth, Hants, decided she wanted to . help young cancer victims who have lost their hair to chemotherapy, after . a family friend was diagnosed with the deadly disease. The real-life Rapunzel also raised a staggering £666 for Portsmouth-based children’s hospice Naomi House - an especially impressive amount since her initial target was just £50. Before: Xanthe shows off her super-long locks before preparing to have her hair cut for the first time in her life . After: Xanthe plays with her short and sweet new crop, having cut off her ponytail to donate her tresses to a children's cancer wig charity . Xanthe said: 'It feels a bit weird because my head feels a lot lighter and it is easier to brush and wash my hair. 'I decided I wanted to donate my hair because one of my friends got cancer and had all her hair taken off. 'She explained to me what it felt like, and I decided to help all the other children who might be going through the same thing.' Proud . mum Anjella Corr, 40, said: 'Xanthe has grown her hair all her life - . she has never had it cut. I guess like most little girls she liked to . have long hair. 'But then one . day she came home and said she wanted to have it all cut off because her . friend had a haircut. She also decided she wanted to give her hair . away. 'She knows a family . friend, whose daughter had cancer and needed a wig. Even though they do . not know each other too well she wanted to help other people like her. 'She . is the youngest of four and she has always been very altruistic. It is . in her nature to be so giving and I am immensely proud of her.' Xanthe's new goal is to regrow her hair and cut it all off once more to help those in need. Hair today, gone tomorrow: Xanthe now plans to regrow her newly cropped locks in order to donate them all over again . Monica Glass, spokesperson for Little Princess Trust, who make the wigs, said: 'The Little Princess Trust is very grateful to Xanthe for her kind hair donation. 'Support such as this helps us to continue to provide real-hair wigs to boys and girls across the UK and Ireland, that have sadly lost their own hair through cancer treatment. 'It is always particularly poignant when one child decides to help another and for this we sincerely thank Xanthe. 'We would also like to extend our thanks to her family.' | Xantha Coote, nine, made decision after friend was diagnosed with cancer .
Raised £666 for children's hospice in Portsmouth .
Now growing it back...to cut it all off again! |
65,615 | ba4e64cba745a3f6a811fa7246a974dba105d823 | Eoin Morgan has brushed aside concerns over his form ahead of England's World Cup opener against Australia. The England captain has scored just two runs in his past four innings, including consecutive first-ball ducks against Australia, ahead of Saturday's clash at the MCG. '(I'm) not really that concerned,' he said. Eoin Morgan says he isn't too concerned by his recent patchy form as England prepare to open their World Cup campaign against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Saturday . Morgan tries a bit of rugby on the training ground at the MCG ahead of England's World Cup opener . The England skipper appeared to have some acumen for the oval-ball game . 'I went through a bit of a bad patch before Christmas and I feel, since I started with the Sydney Thunder at the Big Bash, I've started to turn things around. 'I've had a couple of low scores but I'll look to cash in on Saturday if I manage to get past 10-20 balls.' The left-hander is taking comfort in the fact that it was only at the start of the tour that he defiantly hit a century against Australia at the SCG. 'I think it is four or five games since I scored a hundred so I don't have to look that far back to actually reconnect with what works well for me,' he said. 'I took a lot from that hundred I scored at Sydney, particularly because it was against Australia, and the first game is a big game against Australia so I'll take a lot of confidence from that game.' Morgan (middle) shares a joke with Ian Bell (left) and Joe Root during England's training session on Thursday . Coach Peter Moores (right) joins in the hilarity as Bell, Morgan and Root crack the jokes . Gary Ballance runs with the ball during a game of touch rugby in training at the MCG on Thursday . He added: 'I find it really easy to reconnect with the past and what I do well and can be very individually focussed when the chips are down. 'I've done that in the past on a number of occasions when I've gone through low scores. I know that I have done it and come out the other side.' If Morgan was looking to move on quickly from the subject, he was given little chance to do so. The first question from the home media focused on his bizarre dismissal in Wednesday's four-wicket warm-up defeat to Pakistan in Sydney. Morgan somehow managed to direct his third delivery, a full toss from leg-spinner Yasir Shah, to slip and he was reluctant to re-live the moment 24 hours on.. 'My dismissal was I played a shot that I played, maybe, thousands of times,' he said. 'Usually it results in the ball going over 45 on the leg-side. It didn't. It caught the top edge and went to slip.' Asked if that was a concerning to get out given his form, he added: 'No'. James Anderson takes over possession as England make their final plans for Saturday's Australia opener . Morgan cracks a joke with bowlers Stuart Broad, James Anderson and Chris Jordan in training . Morgan takes a catch during fielding practice at the MCG on Thursday . Morgan was equally as brief when asked to discuss news from earlier in the day that his opposite number, Michael Clarke, would definitely miss the match as he continues his much-talked about return from hamstring surgery. 'It doesn't really bother me,' he said. 'Whatever team they put out doesn't really bother us. It's really important that we focus on what we do.' Morgan confirmed that England would not name their team until just before the match, although they are likely to call upon at least six World Cup debutants. With a sell-out 90,000 MCG crowd set to be baying for English blood it promises to be a baptism of fire for England's young guns. They do have prior MCG experience, however, with only Moeen Ali and James Taylor having not played a competitive match at the ground, and Morgan believes that not only can his players handle any white-hot atmosphere, but that they have played in more hostile venues. 'It is certainly going to be a challenge,' he said. 'In regard to the ground it is quite a big stadium. The majority of our guys have played here before - there's only two that haven't - and the guys that have played here before say that although it is a fantastic venue to play when you are in the middle you are so far away from the crowd. James Anderson and Moeen Ali go through their stretching exercises during the training session . England's fielding coach Chris Taylor is challenged by James Taylor during the touch rugby match . Chris Woakes returns the ball during a fielding drill at the MCG as England get ready for the World Cup . England gather for a team talk on the outfield ahead of their training session . 'It's a big AFL oval, so in regards to places where we've played before where it is quite intimidating, it's not on top of you.' Morgan then sought to pour the pressure on Australia - and co-hosts New Zealand who England meet in their second group game - by suggesting such a large home following could be detrimental. 'They've had a good run of it, as have New Zealand for a while, which probably makes Australia favourites and New Zealand second favourites and with that brings a lot of pressure,' he said. 'I know sometimes it is a nice pressure to have, in front of your own fans, there will be 90,000 fans cheering them on - but if it goes against them it will be interesting to see how they react.' Regardless of the crowd England will need to arrest a poor recent one-day record against Australia in their own backyard - they have lost 13 of their past 15 games - if they are to begin the tournament with a win. More recently they lost all three games in the tri-series, including a 112-run defeat in the final, but Morgan remains confident his team can pull off an opening-night shock. 'If we can produce what I believe is our best cricket on Saturday we'll be able to beat Australia,' he said. | England skipper not worried by scoring just two runs in past four innings .
He was bowled out first ball in consecutive games against Australia .
England open their World Cup campaign against Aussies on Saturday .
But Morgan insists he is 'not really that concerned' by patchy form . |
57,947 | a42f9b7f9449392e0b273b6195a868585b91f824 | (CNN) -- Formula One world championship leader Fernando Alonso has warned his Ferrari team they must improve if he is to win the marque's first drivers' crown since 2007. Alonso finished third at the Singapore Grand Prix, extending his lead at the top of the 2012 standings to 29 points with just six races of the season to go. But the two-time world champion knows Ferrari cannot continue to rely on their rivals slipping up, after McLaren's Lewis Hamilton was forced to retire from a winning position on Sunday. "In the end it went well, but we definitely can't go on like this," the Spaniard, who saw his nearest rival Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull take the checkered flag, told Ferrari's official website. "It can't always be the case that my closest rival retires, as has happened in the last two races and we can't think of carrying on to the end of the season with qualifying sessions like yesterday's, when our performance was almost a second off the best. "On track we manage to make the most of what we have, making few or no mistakes, thanks to great work from the team; for that alone we deserve to be where we are in the classification." Alonso, who qualified fifth fastest in Singapore, predicts tougher challenges ahead when the F1 season continues at similar Asian tracks. "Probably this has been the most difficult circuit for us: we will find partially similar characteristics in Korea and Abu Dhabi, but I hope that by the time we get there, we will have found a way of improving the car. "It was a very tough race physically, definitely the most tiring of the whole season; three hundred odd kilometers in this heat and such high humidity is very stressful." Vettel, the world champion in each of the last two seasons, has moved into second place in the championship standings, ahead of Lotus' Kimi Raikkonen in third position. Finland's Raikkonen was the last driver to win the championship for Ferrari with his triumph five years ago. The next stop on F1's world tour is the Japanese Grand Prix on October 7. | Fernando Alonso warns Ferrari must improve if he is to win F1 title .
The Spaniard has a 29-point advantage at the top of the drivers' standings .
Alonso finished Singapore GP in third place, after starting fifth on the grid .
The next Grand Prix is in Japan on October 7 . |
155,672 | 553a32e60cbf17f8b1ff72f4c20990f510f7d201 | By . Suzannah Hills . PUBLISHED: . 06:29 EST, 30 July 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 09:45 EST, 30 July 2013 . Conman: Ian McEnroe, 49, duped owners of boutiques, toy shops and wine merchants in wealthy Manchester suburbs to give him refunds for items he'd stolen . A conman swindled thousands of pounds from a string of shops - by claiming their goods had injured his wife and children. Drug addict Ian McEnroe, 49, targeted boutiques, toy shops, delis and wine merchants in wealthy south Manchester suburbs. He approached stores across Stockport, Didsbury and Chorlton claiming their clothes, bottles, drinking glasses and even toys were dangerous to get refunds and vouchers as compensation. In one scam last October, McEnroe told the owner of Monkey Puzzle toys in Chorlton that his son had cut himself on a shard of glass in a box of Lego. The tale was completely untrue, but he was refunded for the imaginary accident. He also duped staff at Ye Old Cock Inn in Didsbury by telling them his daughter had bitten into an ice cube which contained a piece of glass. Again, he got a refund. Employees at The Cheese Hamlet in Wilmslow Road, Didsbury, refunded McEnroe after he claimed his wife had cut herself on a wine bottle bought from their deli. In several incidents, he stole items from shops and then took them back and demanded a refund. In total he defrauded the businesses of £2,914. Manchester Crown Court heard many of the traders were ‘more affected by the feeling of being duped than the financial loss’. Targeted: Ye Old Cock Inn, Didsbury, gave McEnroe a refund after telling staff his daughter had bitten into an ice cube which contained a piece of glass . Lies: McEnroe also claimed his son was injured by a blade found in toy packaging he 'purchased' from Giddy Goat Toys on Albert Hill Street in Manchester . McEnroe, from Hulme, who has a string of fraud and theft offences dating back 30 years, was stealing to fund a heroin and cocaine addiction. He was tracked down in Birmingham where he shoplifted clothes then rang police as ‘a cry for help’. McEnroe pleaded guilty to 18 charges of fraud between November 2011 and February this year. He also asked for another 15 offences, from other parts of the country, to be taken into account.McEnroe, a grandfather-of-one, was jailed for 15 months. Recorder Judge William Waldron QC told him: 'You preyed on people’s goodwill, their sensitivity and compassion.' Fraud: Ian McEnroe managed to get a refund from The Cheese Hamlet, on Wilmslow Road in Manchester, after claiming his wife cut herself on a wine bottle from their deli . McEnroe claimed his daughter cut her gum on a sharp chip on her drinking glass in Pizza Express in Didsbury . | Ian McEnroe, 49, targeted boutiques, toy shops and wine merchants in wealthy south Manchester suburbs .
McEnroe claimed members of his family had been injured by their products .
He secured thousands of pounds of refunds - often for goods he's stolen .
Drug addict was jailed for 15 months after admitting 18 counts of fraud . |
181,365 | 76c9df2b6a5e493ff84295d3e6ab045fb480ad04 | By . Rob Cooper . PUBLISHED: . 11:11 EST, 22 August 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 12:03 EST, 22 August 2013 . British holidaymakers take nearly five days to get fully into 'holiday mode' and forget about work, a new study has found. Just one in 10 workers - or 12 per cent - are fully relaxed just one day into their break. 18 per cent of us now find it so . difficult to disconnect from work we confess to never completely . relaxing or switching off from our job. Holiday mode: It takes the average Briton nearly five days to fully relax while on vacation, a study has found . The average Briton now takes four days, eight hours and 24 minutes to fully unwind, the study found. The researchers found 28 per cent of people need at least five days to get into holiday mode and 40 per cent manage to unwind four days in. Administrator Hannah Smith, 28, agrees it takes her a couple of days to properly relax when she goes away. Miss Smith, from Lincoln, said: 'I really look forward to the holiday time I've booked off, but then end up feeling tired when it swings around. SOURCE: MONSTER.CO.UK . 'You still have work issues whirring . around in your head and it's hard to leave it all behind and not worry . about how your colleagues are getting on. 'Now . I make sure I have at least one day at home to deal with chores and . chill out before jetting off somewhere nice, so I will enjoy it to the . full.' Michael Gentle, head . of consumer marketing at Monster.co.uk, said: 'The fact it is taking so . long for workers to unwind on holiday is indicative of the 'always . switched on' culture we now live in. 'In the past we used to be able to go on holiday and disappear from the "working world". Relaxing in the sun: Nearly one in five of us never fully switch off and unwind while on holiday . 'Now most of us go away armed with our mobiles and tablets, and don't think anything of checking our work emails from our Mediterranean villa. 'While the British work ethic should be applauded, holidays provide an important opportunity to refresh and recharge the batteries, ready for the challenges ahead. 'By not relaxing fully, workers are putting themselves at risk of burn out, which will be detrimental to them and their employer in the long run. 'So remember to switch off, enjoy the break and leave work to your capable colleagues back home.' | Average Briton takes four days, eight hours and 24 minutes to fully unwind .
18 per cent of people never fully relax while on holiday . |
213,357 | a04ba91da0e5cc2718e547c3063a1bc0cfe7bc9d | By . Sam Webb . PUBLISHED: . 14:58 EST, 12 March 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 16:19 EST, 12 March 2014 . The stars of a reality TV show set in a Las Vegas pawn shop have melted a customer's $50,000 coin collection after it was stolen, it has been reported. According to a criminal complaint filed by the State of Nevada, the coin collection of David Walters was stolen from his home in November by his niece, Jennifer Beckman. It is alleged Ms Beckman took the collection, which includes a rare 1903 St. Gaudens $20 gold piece and silver Morgan coins from the 1880s, to the World Famous Gold & Silver Pawn Shop, featured in popular History Channel TV series 'Pawn Stars'. The shop featured in Pawn Stars, starring (left to right) Corey Harrison, Rick Harrison and Richard Harrison, has reportedly melted down a stolen gold coin collection . ABC reports that a Detective Watkins of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department says in a deposition filed with the complaint that Beckman received $12,375 over three visits. Mr Walters did not notice the coins were gone until November 27 and in early December the detective says he contacted Gold & Silver so they could be returned to Mr Walters - but they were already gone. Under Nevada law, customers must present identification, and every item sold to a pawn shop must be entered into a database for police to see. Hit: Las Vegas-based Pawn Stars is the highest rated show on History . The owner of the coins said they are worth $50,000. Stock picture . Shops must hold items for 30 to 90 days so owners can buy them back and police have time to highlight stolen goods. However, coins that are not part of jewellery are an exception to this rule. Silver & Gold's spokesperson, Laura Herlovich said coins are usually in plastic cases with a value already assigned to them by an expert. She added: 'If the grader is not someone we trust, the cases are cracked open and the coins are sent out to be melted down. 'That was the case here. I don't know for sure, but I believe a majority were melted down. They weren't worth what he [Walters] thought they were worth.' Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article. | David Walters claims his $50,000 coin collection was stolen by his niece .
She allegedly sold it to the pawn shop made famous by TV's 'Pawn Stars'
But the coins were melted down before police could recover them . |
54,977 | 9bc336cff2588ac101b04cab5d90f612f3c43ea8 | Jermain Defoe is a step closer to securing his return to the Barclays Premier League after agreeing a move to Sunderland - and has arrived in the city in order to finalise the deal. As revealed by Sportsmail on Monday, the 32-year-old striker is poised to end his 11-month spell with Toronto FC in Major League Soccer and join Gus Poyet’s side. Sunderland sit just one point and two places above the relegation zone after managing only 18 league goals so far this season, but Defoe is expected to be confirmed as a Black Cats played on Thursday after arriving in the North East in order to rubber stamp the deal. Jermain Defoe is closing in on a return to English football with a move to Sunderland . Defoe (right) has been training with former club Tottenham Hotspur and wants to return from the MLS . Sunderland have arranged a swap deal that involves Black Cats misfit Jozy Altidore heading in the opposite direction. The USA international’s big wages were a concern but it's understood the 25-year-old has agreed terms with Toronto FC as Defoe has sorted his deal with Sunderland. Defoe meanwhile has scored 11 goals in 16 games in the MLS, but has been keen to return home and revive his Premier League career. And it looks like Hull City will miss out on the striker, with Sunderland having seemingly won the race for his signature. Black Cats misfit Jozy Altidore (right), pictured against Chelsea in November, will move the opposite way . Steve Bruce has admitted an interest in Jermain Defoe (pictured) but says he may be too expensive for Hull . Tigers boss Steve Bruce had admitted that injuries to forwards Nikica Jelavic and Abel Hernandez would force him to step up his pursuit of a signing - but he looks to have missed the boat on Defoe. Bruce said: ‘There’s been a lot spoken about Jermain Defoe. 'I, like Tony Pulis (of West Bromwich Albion) and Nigel Pearson (of Leciester City) and all the people, would like a Jermain Defoe. The numbers might cause a problem. It might be just beyond us. ‘The one thing you don’t want to do is gamble. We’ve seen all sorts of clubs get into a financial mess by pushing the boat out. But if there’s someone who can make a difference I’ll be knocking the door down like I always have done. ‘We’ve got to get an individual who can make a difference.’ Hull City boss Steve Bruce looks set to miss out on former England international Defoe's signature . Injuries to Nikica Jelavic (right) and Abel Hernandez have given Hull's search for a forward added importance . Former England international Defoe represented the Three Lions on 55 occasions between 2004 and 2013, scoring 19 goals in the process. He has also netted 123 Premier League goals for three different clubs during his career in English top-flight football. Having started his youth career at Charlton Athletic, he was snapped up by West Ham United at the age of just 16 before being loaned out to south coast side Bournemouth for one season, where he netted 19 times in 31 appearances. Former England international Defoe scored 19 goals during 55 Three Lions caps between 2004 and 2013 . Defoe (right) began his Premier League career with West Ham United between 2001 and 2004 . Upon his return to Upton Park, Defoe eventually broke into the Hammers side during the 2001-02 season - scoring 14 goals in 31 games. His time at West Ham was extremely successful, with the striker returning 41 goals in all competitions before moving to Tottenham in 2004 for £6million. During his first spell at White Hart Lane between 2004 and 2008, Defoe netted 61 goals in 170 appearances. He then moved to Tottenham Hotspur and spent four years at White Hart Lane during his first spell at the club . Defoe netted 61 times in 170 appearances in all competitions for Spurs during his first spell in north London . He then moved to Portsmouth, where he managed 17 goals in 36 matches before returning to Spurs in 2009. A further 76 goals followed for Tottenham before his move to the MLS last year - and Defoe will be looking to add to that tally at the Stadium of Light. The striker moved to Portsmouth and scored 17 goals in 36 matches for the south coast club . A further 76 goals arrived for Tottenham during Defoe's second spell at White Hart Lane . Age: 32 (D.O.B. 07/10/82) Clubs: West Ham United (2000-2004), Bournemouth (loan, 2000-01), Tottenham Hotspur (2003-08), Portsmouth (loan, 2007-08), Portsmouth (2008-09), Tottenham Hotspur (2009-2014), Toronto FC (2014-15) International appearances: 55 (England, 2004-13) International goals: 19 . Premier League record: - West Ham United = 74 appearances, 18 goals . - Tottenham Hotspur = 274 appearances, 90 goals . - Portsmouth = 31 appearances, 15 goals . - Total = 379 appearances, 123 goals . MLS record: 16 appearances, 11 goals . | Ex-Tottenham Hotspur striker training with his old club to maintain fitness .
The 32-year-old signed for Toronto FC in the MLS 11 months ago .
The ex-England striker wants to revive his Premier League career .
Sportsmail revealed on Monday Defoe is poised to return to England . |
37,970 | 6b6fcd84beaaeedc0751e1770d8aee74b9ea571f | By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 01:35 EST, 20 November 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 02:52 EST, 20 November 2013 . The White House released a letter Tuesday handwritten by President Obama and dedicated to the memory of Abraham Lincoln and his historic Gettysburg Address. Just like the unforgettable speech, Obama’s letter contains 272 words and became public on the 150th anniversary of the day Lincoln honored the soldiers who died in the Civil War bloodbath. It also comes at a time when Obama is facing disastrous approval ratings and amid criticism he’s taken for choosing not to attend a Gettysburg memorial. Scroll down to read the transcript... Honoring a leader: The White House released a handwritten essay President Obama wrote commemorating Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. Like Lincoln's speech, Obama's address has exactly 272 words . Four score and 70 years ago: Tuesday was the 150th anniversary of Lincoln's historic speech. Obama has faced criticism for not attending a memorial at the historic battlefield and for omitting 'under God' during a recitation of the address . Obama has also been attacked for failing to say the words ‘under God’ during a recent recitation of the address. But the letter, which Obama seems to have written himself, appears to be an means of laying to rest any possibility that the president has anything but respect and admiration for the Great Emancipator. ‘I sometimes walk down the hall to a room Abraham Lincoln used as his office,’ the letter reads. ‘It contains an original copy of the Gettysburg Address, written in Lincoln's own hand.’ In his own handwritten script, Obama highlights an excerpt from Lincoln’s speech that he most often lingers on: A new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. ‘Lincoln grasped, perhaps more than anyone, the burdens required to give these words meaning,’ the President writes. ‘He understood as well that our humble efforts, our individual ambitions, are ultimately not what matter; rather, it is through the accumulated toil and sacrifice of ordinary men and women…that this country is built, and freedom preserved.’ Obama, whose spokesman claims he was reading from a so-called ‘Nicholay copy,’ of the address when he omitted a shout out to God, finishes his letter with a nod to healing wounds. ‘But Lincoln's words give us confidence that whatever trials avoid us, this nation and the freedom we cherish can, and shall, prevail.’ In the evening, when Michelle and the girls have gone to bed, I sometimes walk down the hall to a room Abraham Lincoln used as his office. It contains an original copy of the Gettysburg Address, written in Lincoln's own hand.I linger on these few words that have helped define our American experiment: "a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal."Through the lines of weariness etched in his face, we know Lincoln grasped, perhaps more than anyone, the burdens required to give these words meaning. He knew that even a self evident truth was not self executing; that blood drawn by the lash was an affront to our ideals; that blood drawn by the sword was in painful service to those same ideals.He understood as well that our humble efforts, our individual ambitions, are ultimately not what matter; rather, it is through the accumulated toil and sacrifice of ordinary men and women -- those like the soldiers who consecrated that battlefield -- that this country is built, and freedom preserved. This quintessentially self made man, fierce in his belief in honest work and the striving spirit at the heart of America, believed that it falls to each generation, collectively, to share in that toil and sacrifice.Through cold war and world war, through industrial revolutions and technological transformations, through movements for civil rights and women's rights and workers rights and gay rights, we have. At times, social and economic change have strained our union. But Lincoln's words give us confidence that whatever trials avoid us, this nation and the freedom we cherish can, and shall, prevail. | The essay, released Tuesday on the 150th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's historic speech, is the exact length of the Gettysburg Address: 272 words .
The release of the letter comes amid the criticism Obama has lately received for omitting the 'under God' part of the speech during a recent recitation and for not attending this year's commemorative gathering at the historic battlefield . |
241,101 | c41fe412ce09a14b26ad3acb07e0d95b9ce32fc1 | Britain will become more involved in the battle against Islamic State militants, but ground troops will not be deployed into Iraq and Syria, the Defence Secretary said today. Michael Fallon said the UK's involvement against IS fighters in Iraq will continue to be in a supportive role, by RAF planes taking part in air strikes, and helping to arm Kurdish troops. The Defence Secretary said western countries had learned from previous conflicts that the war against Isis would only be won by 'home troops', but that Britain and the U.S. can support them. Defence Secretary: Michael Fallon said the UK's involvement against IS fighters in Iraq will continue to be in a supportive role, by RAF planes taking part in air strikes, and helping to arm Kurdish troops . His comments come after Foreign Secretary, Philip Hammond, admitted there was nothing the international coalition fighting IS militants can do to make a fundamental difference in the battle for the strategically important Syrian town of Kobane. IS is threatening to overrun the lightly-armed Kurdish defenders of the town, which is close to the border with Turkey, despite United States air strikes on the extremists' position. The battle has sparked major protests in Turkey against its government's perceived inaction and US secretary of state John Kerry said he was deeply concerned about the situation. Speaking to the BBC's Today programme, Mr Fallon said neighbouring countries had a duty to stop Iraq and Syria 'falling apart', but stopped short of urging Turkey to get involved in the conflict. 'Turkey could help, but it's a matter for Turkey,' he said. 'Other allies have been helping, from the south Gulf countries and Saudi Arabia were helping with strikes. Strike: A picture taken from Turkey shows smoke rising after an airstrike, thought to have been carried out by a coalition plane on Islamic State targets in the west of Kobane, Syria . Fear: IS is threatening to overrun the lightly-armed Kurdish defenders of the town, which is close to the border with Turkey, despite United States air strikes on the extremists' position . 'This is a situation that can not be resolved by America and Britain. We'd like Turkey to be involved, but it's a decision for their government.' Mr Fallon said there had been talks with the Turkish government, and that Ankara is 'very aware' of the 'desperate' situation in Kobane. 'They will have to see whether they can help more,' he said. He added: 'Every country has its own position and comes to this from its own position. They have had difficulty with Kurdish extremism in the past, such as hostages. 'Every country in the region has got to see what it can contribute against ISIL or we will have Iraq falling apart and Syria falling apart and that's a danger for the entire region.' Mr Fallon said that it was in Britain's interest for Iraq and Syria not to collapse at the hands of IS, but said the Armed Forces would continue to act in a supportive role. Plight: Newly-arrived Syrian Kurdish refugees carry their belongings after crossing into Turkey from Kobane . 'There is a very direct British interest in making sure the Middle East does not fall apart, and that terrorism is not exported back to Western Europe,' he said. 'The legitimate government in Iraq will have asked for help, I don't think it would be right for Britain with its air power and other resources to stand apart and leave it to the Bahrainis or the Americans.' He added: 'We're not portraying ourselves as the saviours of the Middle East, we are helping.' Mr Fallon said ground forces would ultimately be the ones to push back IS, but maintained that British soldiers would not be involved in this. 'This can only be won in the end by ground forces, but it can only be won by the home army not an army from the West. 'That is the hard lesson we have learned. 'We can stiffen up the army, supply ammunition to Kurdish forces and use air power to provide support for operations on the ground. Help: A RAF Tornado GR4 returns to Akrotiri in Cyprus following an afternoon armed mission to Iraq . Air power: Mr Fallon said RAF flights have been flying on missions out of Akrotiri 'every day and night' 'We can help, and we should help. 'We have got to keep reviewing the campaign. At the moment we are here at the request of the Iraqi government and air power is a key part of that, as is stiffening up the Iraqi army and making sure it is properly equipped.' Mr Fallon also said British action would continue to focus on Iraq, rather than Syria. 'We have made it clear that ISIS has to be defeated in Syria and Iraq but we don't have the authority to support in Syria at the moment. 'There is plenty for us to do in Iraq and the RAF are flying missions every day and night. There is plenty for us to be getting on with in Iraq and pressure from ISIL is coming from bases in Syria. That's why we welcome what America is doing there.' He added: 'If we find there is a contribution we can make in Syria and it is lawful we can do it, but at the moment we don't have the authority from Parliament.' Asked if Britain would become more involved in the fight against IS militants he said: 'This is the international community's fight and the collapse of Iraq, or if Syria gets worse, that will affect us all. 'There could be terrorist strikes across Western Europe as (IS fighters) are returning to countries as far apart as Norway and Australia.' Mr Fallon said the proposal for a Turkish 'buffer zone' along the border inside Syria where refugees fleeing the fighting could be protected was being considered. He said that US special envoy to Syria, former general John Allen, would be holding talks with the Turkish government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to establish what contribution Ankara would make to the coalition. Foreign Secretary: Philip Hammond admitted that the coalition's focus on air strikes meant there was nothing it could do to make a fundamental difference in the battle for Kobani and acknowledged the town could fall to IS . 'We have the air power to help with it,' he said. 'That's something General Allen is discussing with the Turkish government today. Last night, Mr Hammond admitted that the coalition's focus on air strikes meant there was nothing it could do to make a fundamental difference in the battle for Kobani and acknowledged the town could fall to IS. He told BBC Radio 4's The World Tonight: 'The US has implemented some additional air strikes to try and help the people who are defending Kobani but it is a very difficult situation on the ground and we have never envisaged that the coalition's intervention with air power in this battle was going to turn the tide in the short term. 'We have got to degrade ISIL's military capability over time, that isn't going to happen overnight. 'So I don't want to suggest that there is anything readily that the coalition can do that will make a fundamental difference on the ground in this battle, in the tactical situation that's faced around Kobani.' He said: 'Self evidently it could fall. The Americans are committed to doing what they can to support the defence the town with additional air strikes. Cautious: US secretary of state John Kerry (right) and Mr Hammond (left) have reacted cautiously to a Turkish proposal to establish a 'buffer zone' 'But this is a long struggle here against a poisonous ideology and an organisation which has built up some very significant military capabilities. 'Although we the coalition are confident that we will win that strategic battle we cannot say with confidence that we will be able to win any specific tactical engagement.' Both Mr Kerry and Mr Hammond have reacted cautiously to a Turkish proposal to establish a 'buffer zone'. 'If Syrian citizens can return to Syria and be protected in an area across the border there's a lot that would commend that,' he said. 'But at the same time you'd have to guarantee safety, guarantee there wouldn't be attacks by the government. 'It needs a thorough examination.' Mr Hammond added: 'We would have to explore with other allies and partners what is meant by a buffer zone, how such a concept would work, but I certainly wouldn't want to rule it out at this stage.' Meanwhile, the Foreign Secretary sought to reassure the US that Britain would be prepared to join air strikes on Is militants in Syria, if requested by American commanders. Mr Hammond indicated ministers would be prepared to go back to Parliament to seek permission to extend British military action into Syria if US Central Command (Centcom) considered it 'militarily useful'. 'We absolutely have not ruled out playing a role in Syria,' he said. 'We will require further parliamentary approval if we decide that that is the right thing for us to do. 'We would see this as a military question - is there a militarily useful role that UK assets could play. 'If Centcom commanders see a specific role for UK military assets I am sure that they will not be slow in requesting them.' | Michael Fallon says British involvement in Iraq will continue to be supportive .
Rules out ground troops and says fight is one for a 'home army'
Says Middle East has a duty to prevent Iraq and Syria 'falling apart'
Turkish 'buffer zone' along Syrian border is being considered .
Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond and Fallon say UK could help in Syria .
Ministers prepared to seek Parliamentary permission to extend British action into Syria if US Central Command considers it 'militarily useful' |
204,702 | 9505987484fb8d07cc8618e26817cc7b36960318 | By . John Drayton . Lizzie Armitstead crashed during the inaugural La Course by Le Tour in Paris as world and Olympic champion Marianne Vos won on the Champs-Elysees on Sunday. Armitstead (Boels-Dolmans) attacked at the start of the last of 13 laps of the 89-kilometre race, but was edged into the safety barrier inside the final kilometre by Annemiek van Vleuten, one of Vos' team-mates. An aggressive race which featured numerous attempts to avoid a bunch sprint finished with the pack tearing down the Champs-Elysees and Vos (Rabo-Liv) dug deep to hold off fellow Dutchwoman Kirsten Wild (Giant-Shimano). Armitstead (Boels-Dolmans), the Olympic silver medallist behind Vos on The Mall two summers ago, picked herself up to finish more than three minutes behind, in 94th place, nursing a bloody elbow and battered pride. Lizzie Armitstead crashed in Paris as Marianne Vos won the race . Dutch of class: Olympic champion Marianne Vos celebrates after winning the La Course race in Paris . The 25-year-old from Otley, who required stitches but will be fine for next Sunday's Commonwealth Games road race in Glasgow, said: 'I had a bit of bad luck in the race. I dropped my chain two times so I had to change the bike two times. 'And then in the final I was a little bit out of position but I was pretty okay because I was on Vos' wheel so I wasn't too panicked. 'But her team-mate just put me in the barrier, Annemiek van Vleuten. She turned right on me and took her team-mate down as well (the French champion Pauline Ferrand Prevot).' The race took place on the final day of the 101st Tour de France, which began in Leeds on July 5, and was an opportunity for women's cycling to showcase itself on cycling's most famous road finishing circuit. 'I wanted to put on a show and maybe it was a bit silly but I'm not an out and out sprinter," Armitstead said of her foiled attack. 'Today it was really special for me because obviously the Tour started in Yorkshire and I heard lots of chants of 'Yorkshire' as I was riding around today. Marianne Vos crosses the line to win the La Course in Paris . 'Just to be riding around Paris is not something I ever expected to experience. 'It just made me proud of where women's cycling is at the moment.' Emma Pooley was proud, too, as one of four women - alongside Vos, American Kathryn Bertine and former triathlete Chrissie Wellington, all part of Le Tour Entier campaign group - who petitioned Tour de France organisers Amaury Sports Organisation to put on a women's race. 'It was an amazing experience,' said Pooley (Lotto-Belisol), who was 84th in a race which did not suit her climbing ability. 'This race is just brilliant for women's cycling. I don't know how exciting it was to watch... better than pedalling around drinking bottles of champagne slowly.' That was a reference to the ceremonial finish to the men's race. Pooley hopes for further opportunities for women's cycling now. She said: 'I'd love to see more long women's stage races alongside the men's races, but at the moment it will take time to develop. Dutch rider Marianne Vos celebrates victory in the first ever La Course . 'That's not up to me. ASO don't have some kind of duty to put on women's races, they're a money-making organisation. 'If it's a success because of the audience and their response is because of the audience, then it will expand because it's a good financial proposition. 'It's a huge missed opportunity at the moment, financially. Think of the number of women who ride bikes nowadays.' Pooley will now ride Thursday's time-trial at the Commonwealth Games for England, a race from which Armitstead had already withdrawn to focus on Sunday's road race over the circuit on which she won the 2013 British title. Armitstead, who also had a sore shoulder, added: 'I'll be fine, it's just a nuisance. It's not ideal obviously but I'm 100 per cent sure I have not broken anything.' | Olympic champion Marianne Vos won the La Course race in Paris .
Lizzie Armitstead crashed out during the final stages after being edged into the barrier by Vos' teammate Annemiek van Vleuten .
Race took place on the final day of the 101st Tour de France .
Emma Pooley has petitioned Tour de France organisers to stage women's race . |
5,810 | 107889fd15f4a54d33696c399f029892879f218a | Ernst Hess, Adolf Hitler's company commander in WWI, who was, despite his Jewish roots, spared from the genocide unleashed by the Nazis . Some German Jews escaped the Holocaust by fleeing the country, others hid and some battled to stay alive long enough to be freed from the Nazi death camps. But Ernst Hess owed his survival to the personal intervention of Adolf Hitler. The Fuhrer ordered his SS thugs to leave the Jewish judge alone because Hess had been his commanding officer during the First World War. Hitler looked back on his time on the Western Front with great pride and fondness so, while some six million Jews perished in the Holocaust set in motion by Hitler, Hess was allowed to live on the Fuhrer's whim. His remarkable story was told by his daughter Ursula, 86, after a newspaper unearthed the letter sent on the orders of Hitler insisting that Hess was not to be 'persecuted or deported'. A file kept by the Dusseldorf Gestapo on him includes the letter from the head of the Gestapo and the SS, Heinrich Himmler, dated August 27, 1940, saying Hess must receive 'relief and protection as per the Fuhrer's wishes'. Himmler made a point of informing all relevant authorities and officials that the judge was 'not to be inopportuned in any way whatsoever'. Ironically, Hess told his daughter that he and his old comrades from the trenches hardly remembered Hitler – by then a well-known figure in German politics – when they met at reunions in the 1920s and 30s. He told her that the future dictator rarely spoke and had few friends among the troops. Historians have in recent years poured scorn on the Nazi myth of the heroic Corporal Hitler running messages from one frontline trench to another. In fact, other soldiers regarded him as a 'rear area pig', taking his messages between HQs a few miles behind the front. Ernst Moritz Hess, born in 1890, had joined the 2nd Royal Bavarian Reserve Infantry as an officer at the beginning of the First World War, the same regiment that Austrian-born Hitler volunteered for. Both men were deployed to the Flanders front in autumn 1914, serving in what was known as the List Regiment until 1918. Hess was seriously wounded in October of 1914 and again two years later in October 1916. In the summer of that year, the highly decorated officer had temporarily been Hitler's company commander. Although baptised a protestant, his mother was Jewish and the Nuremberg Race Laws of 1935, introduced by the Nazis, classified him as a 'full blooded Jew'. Hess, standing far right, with his unit during the Great War . Hitler (pictured far right) and Hess were both deployed to the Flanders front in the fall of 1914, serving in what was known as the 'List Regiment' until 1918 . The letter which was sent by Heinrich Himmler, . reichsführer of the SS and overlord of the death camps, dated 27 August . 1940, granting Hess 'relief and protection as per the Führer's wishes' Hess with his wife Margarethe and daughter Ursula in the early Thirties . Hitler pictured in 1934. He remembered his time in the army fondly and was proud of his service in the war . Hess was forced by the laws to quit . his post as a judge in 1936. His family saw him being beaten up outside . his house by Nazi thugs the same year. He had petitioned Hitler in June of 1936 asking for an exception to be made for him and his daughter under the race laws. In his letter Hess said: 'For us, it is a kind of spiritual death to now be branded as Jews and exposed to general contempt.' Hess ended up as a slave labourer, . building barracks. This time he escaped extermination because of his . 'privileged miscegenated marriage' to Margarete Hess, a Protestant. His sister Berta was gassed at Auschwitz, wrongly believing that the protection afforded to her brother extended to her. Hess died in Frankfurt after a successful career in post-war West Germany on September 14, 1983. Hess moved his family to Bolzano, . Italy in October 1937, but was forced to return in 1939. Hoping that . his connections to Hitler would keep him safe, he moved his family to a . remote Bavarian village in mid-1940. A copy of the letter Himmler sent to . the Gestapo in Dusseldorf was given to him. But in late June 1941, Hess . was summoned to appear before the SS in Munich. When he submitted his letter of . protection it was taken from him and he was told it had been revoked in . May of 1941, and that he was now 'a Jew like any other'. | Ernst Hess commanded Adolf Hitler's unit during the First World War .
Baptised a Protestant, he had a Jewish mother and was thus regarded a 'full-blooded Jew' by Nazi race laws .
Although finally thrown in concentration camp in 1941, he survived the war to become president of the German Federal Railways Authority . |
172,818 | 6bacd5a11d4808a465e8191f6c589604bebb57fc | Oxford created Varsity Match history at Twickenham as they crushed Cambridge 43-6. The Dark Blues' landslide success was Oxford's biggest winning margin since the fixture began in 1872. It was also Oxford's fifth successive Varsity Match victory - the first time for them to achieve such a feat. First-half tries by scrum-half Sam Egerton and centre Alexander Macdonald put Oxford in charge as they built a 17-6 interval advantage, before scoring 26 unanswered points after the break. Jacob Taylor, the Oxford captain, lifts the trophy after his side's victory in the Varsity match . Oxford University celebrate after their victory over Cambridge University at Twickenham Stadium . The captains lead their teams onto the pitch on Thursday afternoon at the home of English rugby . Egerton, who was sent off in last year's game following an incident in a ruck, set the tone by claiming a brilliant solo try after just 10 minutes, and Macdonald crashed over on the stroke of half-time. Fly-half George Cullen converted both tries and kicked a penalty, while Cambridge replied with two Don Stevens penalties, although Stevens was then carried off injured early in the second period. And it did not get any better for Cambridge as they saw a second player carried off - wing George Smith - after Oxford had made the game safe through further tries during a four-minute spell in the third quarter from lock Tom Reeson-Price and prop Ian Williams. Oxford were in no mood to let up, though, and with Cambridge out on their feet, Cullen and flanker Gus Jones claimed touchdowns to complete the rout. Cullen finished with a personal points tally of 18, and Cambridge did not even enjoy the satisfaction of a consolation try as Oxford retained a vice-like grip on proceedings before once again getting their hands on the trophy. Scrum half Sam Egerton of Oxford dives over for the first try of the 2014 Varsity . Harry Peck of Cambridge passes the ball from the base of a breakdown . Donald Stevens of Cambridge looks for support as he makes a break in the university fixture . | First-half tries by scrum-half Sam Egerton and centre Alexander Macdonald put Oxford in charge .
Egerton was sent off in last year's university fixture at Twickenham .
It was Oxford's fifth successive Varsity Match victory - the first time for them to achieve such a feat . |
1,416 | 040d44476f1bae1672942c255d494607001c076b | It roamed the countryside spreading death and terror – a giant, ferocious hell-hound with flaming eyes and savage claws. For centuries, the beast that came to be known as Black Shuck struck fear into the hearts of all who crossed its path. Just a single glimpse was enough to impart a fatal curse; the briefest encounter sufficient to suck the life from any hapless victim. Discovery: These remains of a giant dog were found during a dig among the ruins of Leiston Abbey in Suffolk . Is it him? The bones are believed to date back to the 16th century, when the legendary hell hound Black Shuck (pictured in an artist's impression) was rumoured to roam East Anglia. They show the dog was a 'large male' One thing, however, has always been . absent from the many tales of the dog-like entity and its sinister . appearances in the East of England flatlands: A single fact. Now that may be about to change with an answer to the question: Did it exist only in folklore ... or was it flesh and blood? Yesterday, . 500 years after Black Shuck first went on the prowl, archaeologists . were examining the skeleton of a 7ft long dog unearthed in the remains . of an ancient abbey. It was . discovered a few miles from two churches where Black Shuck is said to . have killed worshippers during an almighty thunderstorm in August 1577. What’s . more, it appears to have been buried in a shallow grave at precisely . the same time as Shuck is said to have been on the loose, primarily . around Suffolk and the East Anglia region. Site: The bones were uncovered in a 20-inch deep unmarked grave among the ruins of Leiston Abbey (pictured) Experts will subject the bones and surrounding material to 21st century dating techniques. But . first, the legend. The beast’s most celebrated attack began at Holy . Trinity church, Blythburgh. A clap of thunder burst open the church . doors and a hairy black ‘devil dog’ came snarling in. It . ran through the congregation, killing a man and boy and causing the . church steeple to fall through the roof. Scorch marks still visible on . the church doors are purported to have come from Shuck’s claws as it . fled. Local verse records . the event thus: ‘All down the church in the midst of fire, the hellish . monster flew, and, passing onward to the quire, he many people slew.’ Next . stop was 12 miles away in Bungay, where two worshippers were killed at . St Mary’s church. One was left shrivelled ‘like a drawn purse’ as he . prayed. Brendon Wilkins, projects director of Dig Ventures, which organised the dig, pictured, said he believed the dog could have lived around 1577 because it was buried alongside pottery fragments from the period . Ruins: Dig Ventures projects director, Brendon Wilkins, said the grave was dug partly over the foundations of what appeared to have been a kitchen area - indicating it had been created after the abbey fell into disrepair . In his 1577 pamphlet . A Straunge And Terrible Wunder, the Rev Abraham Fleming told how the . Satan-like beast came ‘running all along down the body of the church . with great swiftnesse and incredible haste, among the people, in a . visible fourm and shape’, wringing the necks of two parishioners as they . knelt. Spookily, a later work reveals: ‘Although his howling makes the hearer’s blood run cold, his footfalls make no sound.’ Subsequent . appearances of Shuck – a name believed to derive either from an old . English word for demon, or from local dialect meaning ‘shaggy’ – have . immortalised it. An image of Black Shuck is incorporated in Bungay’s . coat of arms, and the nickname for equally legendary Bungay Town FC is . the Black Dogs. The bones of the giant dog were found during a dig among the ruins of Leiston Abbey in Suffolk . The bones . uncovered in the ruins of Leiston Abbey, Suffolk, were first found by . archaeological group Dig Ventures in a project last year. Painstaking . work revealed the skeleton of an extremely large dog. Estimates suggest . it would have weighed more than 14 stone and stood 7ft tall on its hind . legs. The grave was less than 20 inches deep and unmarked. Pottery . fragments found at the same level date from the height of Shuck’s . alleged reign. Radio carbon . dating tests will now give an exact age for the bones, results that will . serve either to enhance the shaggy dog stories – or perhaps to support . the far less entertaining theory that here lies a 16th century abbot’s . beloved old hunting dog. Folklore: The legend of Black Shuck is now so popular that images of the dog have been put up across Bungay. Above, a weather vane in the town . According to folklore, Black Shuck appeared during a storm on August 4, 1577, at Holy Trinity Church in Blythburgh, about seven miles from Leiston in Suffolk. Villagers were reportedly sheltering inside the church when a huge clap of thunder caused the doors to burst open and the snarling dog crashed in. It ran through the congregation, killing a man and a boy, before the steeple crashed through the roof. The dog then fled, leaving scorch marks from its claws on the church door which are still visible today. Later the same day, Black Shuck is said to have struck again 12 miles away, killing two worshippers during a service at St Mary’s Church, Bungay, while the storm was still raging. Clergyman, . the Rev Abraham Fleming, is believed to have described the appearance of the legendary hell hound in a pamphlet written in 1577, entitled ‘A Straunge and . Terrible Wunder’. He wrote: 'This black dog, or the divel in such a . linenesse (God hee knoweth al who worketh all,) running all along down . the body of the church with great swiftnesse, and incredible haste, . among the people, in a visible fourm and shape, passed between two . persons, as they were kneeling uppon their knees, and occupied in prayer . as it seemed, wrung the necks of them bothe at one instant clene . backward, in somuch that even at a moment where they kneeled, they . strangely dyed.' Historian W. A. Dutt also wrote about Black Shuck in his 1901 book, Highways and Byways, set in East Anglia. 'He takes the form of a huge black dog, and prowls along dark . lanes and lonesome field footpaths, where, although his howling makes . the hearer’s blood run cold, his footfalls make no sound,' he wrote. The legend of Black Shuck is now so popular that images of the dog have been put up in buildings across the town - and the animal is even being . incorporated into Bungay’s coat of arms. There is also a Black Dog Running . Club and a Black Dog antiques shop, while the nickname for the town's football club is 'The Black Dogs'. And the legend has even infiltrated popular culture - with British rock band The Darkness featuring a track inspired by the devil dog on their debut album, Permission To Land. The track, named 'Black Shuck', includes the lyrics: 'In a town in the east, the parishioners were visited upon by a curious beast. 'And his eyes numbered but one and shone like the sun, and a glance beckoned the immediate loss of a cherished one.' | According to folklore, Black Shuck terrorised East Anglia in 16th century .
He towered at seven feet tall, with flaming red eyes and shaggy black hair .
Now, remains of legendary hound may have been unearthed during a dig .
Bones found by archeologists among ruins at Leiston Abbey in Suffolk .
They belong to 'male dog', standing at seven feet tall and weighing 200lbs .
Experts are currently carrying out radio carbon dating tests on remains . |
142,139 | 43cde645ef84ac75a933113b06c0ccb8df2cdfba | Once-pristine lakes in Ontario, Canada, are now coated by a jello-like layer of slime caused by decades of industrial activity, a new study reveals. The scum coating now present on vast bodies of water in the province is due to the rapid growth of a new type of plankton which secretes the unpleasant goo, according to a team of researchers. Years of industrial activity has eaten away at nutrients around the lakes, killing off species that used to live there and allowing the Holopedium gibberum plankton to thrive. 'Jellification': A researcher holds up a scoop of the jello-like scum produced by a type of plankton which has multiplied rapidly thanks to industrial processes . After-effects: A decline in calcium, caused by effects like acid rain, killed off competitors and allowed the scum-producing Holopedium gibberum to expand . Researchers - who pictured themselves scooping gelatinous handfuls of the scum out of the lakes - said they found calcium levels in the earth by the lakes had plummeted in recent decades. Chemical waste from factories - spread by weather phenomena like acid rain - can eat away at minerals usually present in soil, causing profound changes to the animals and plants that live nearby. According to the researchers - a mixture of government scientists and academics from the universities of Cambridge and Ottawa - populations of the plankton which produce the substance has doubled since the 1980s. It has corresponded with a decline in the calcium levels in surrounding soil, which began with the rise of industry in the 1850s, but picked up significantly in the late 20th Century. Their findings were published this month in a journal by the Royal Society, which said the effect could take thousands of years to reverse. Once-pristine: The jello-like layer is covering lakes in Canada. Pictured is a body of water in Muskoka . The lakes used to be full of a different species of plankton - called Daphnia - which had lived there for centuries and thrived on the calcium which made its way into the water from surrounding soil. The tiny animal needed the calcium to build a thick exo-skeleton that stopped it from getting eaten by midges - but when the deposits started to run out they struggled to survive. While populations declined, the Holopedium gibberum - which doesn't need as much calcium - began to thrive instead. Their defensive mechanism is to surround themselves with a jello-like scum, which is now spreading over the lake. Invader: The Holopedium gibberum is producing the 'jelly' substance as a defense against predators . As well as contributing to the 'jellification' effect, falling calcium levels could have a knock-on effect on public health, as these nutrients can make their way up the food chain into humans. The water could also become less safe to use. Dr Andrew Tanentzap, a Cambridge University plant scientist, said: 'As calcium declines, the increasing concentrations of jelly in the middle of these lakes will reduce energy and nutrient transport right across the food chain, and will likely impede the withdrawal of lake water for residential, municipal and industrial uses.' 'In Ontario, 20% of government-monitored drinking water systems now come from landscapes containing lakes with depleted calcium concentrations that favour, and this is only set to increase.' Environment laws have stopped many of the processes which led to the removal of calcium, but the slow-moving effects are still being felt, and could prove difficult to shift. Tanentzap said: 'Pollution control may have stopped acid deposits in the landscape, but it’s only now that we are discovering the damage wasn’t entirely reversed'. 'It may take thousands of years to return to historic lake water calcium concentrations solely from natural weathering of surrounding watersheds'. | Jelly layer in Canadian lakes expanded in recent years, study found .
Caused by rapid growth of plankton which secretes the gunk as defense .
The species has been thriving in past decades due to rise of industry .
Factories chemicals destroy minerals in soil, causing ecological change .
Experts say it could be thousands of years until the situation is reversed . |
125,578 | 2e5a1e7c706e408fa96e32d37ae9bf281d702df6 | By . Daniel Martin . PUBLISHED: . 19:38 EST, 12 August 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 05:25 EST, 13 August 2013 . Justine Greening yesterday defended giving vast amounts of taxpayers’ cash to Nigeria while the oil-rich country is pouring money into its own space programme. The International Development Secretary said it was sensible for Nigeria to invest in satellites it could use to check the weather and help its agriculture-based economy. Critics will point out that it is possible to track the weather using a range of meteorological websites, not least the BBC. Justine Greening yesterday defended giving vast amounts of taxpayers' cash to Nigeria while the oil-rich country is pouring money into its own space programme . Nigeria, which has set in train ambitious plans to launch its own rockets and even put a man in space, has accepted £300million in British aid this year alone and taxpayers are sending £1.14billion over the five years of the Coalition. The cash is being sent even though the country has enough money to fund the first Nigerian astronauts who are being trained to join Russian, Chinese or American missions within the next two years. Some have asked why Britain is, in effect, subsidising a space programme for a nation where 70 per cent of people live below the poverty line. But Miss Greening insisted that Britain’s aid would ‘help Nigeria progress and develop as a country’.She told BBC Radio 4: ‘I believe it is being well spent but we obviously have to make sure that we critically assess the projects under way. ‘We do expect them to invest in their country as well. The so-called space programme was in fact investment in satellites, weather satellites and for communication. ‘So actually this investment that they’re making in the so called “space programme” which is actually satellite technology, some of which actually has been provided by UK companies based in Surrey, is a sensible investment and actually one that we would be expecting them to be making alongside the investment that we make.’ Nigeria’s space programme started in 2003 but its first satellite lost power and disappeared from orbit. It now has three in space. A Russian rocket of the type used by Nigeria to launch satellites . Although it has bought satellites and launched them on Russian rockets, Nigeria has built laboratories which it hopes will produce its own spacecraft by 2028. The country’s National Space Research and Development Agency has confirmed Nigerian astronauts should be trained and ready for space travel within two years. The agency’s director general, Professor Seidu Onailo Mohammed, said last month: ‘By our road map we are supposed to have astronauts prepared by 2015. ‘Before the end of the year, the recruitment of astronauts will begin so that we have them handy and as soon as we get the nod we can pick from that number.’ The £1.14billion Nigeria is receiving over five years is more than double the £500million set aside to prop up struggling accident and emergency departments at our own hospitals. Matthew Sinclair, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: ‘The Nigerian authorities have been quite clear that they are working towards sending their own astronauts into space within a couple of years, so Justine Greening cannot bat away the public’s concerns with talk about weather satellites. ‘Questions still remain as to why UK taxpayers should be expected to subsidise this advanced technology when the Nigerian government is not ensuring that some of its citizens’ most basic needs are met.’ Miss Greening received strong backing from Downing Street. The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: ‘These satellites are designed to supply better information about weather and climate which for a country so dependent on agriculture is hugely important. ‘There are a number of programmes operating in that country, but fundamentally the point that the International Development Secretary was making this morning is that it will aid the growth of the economy and will help the country provide more food.’ | Justine Greening defended vast amounts of taxpayers’ cash to Nigeria .
Comes as oil-rich country is pouring money into its own space programme . |
33,827 | 602f957d3cdc984f5cee921c6cafef9df4f80943 | By . Alice Smellie . PUBLISHED: . 16:00 EST, 31 August 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 16:03 EST, 31 August 2013 . A hand-held gadget that costs less than an iPhone is offering new freedom to millions of Britons on ‘blood-thinning’ medicine. The drugs, the most common of which is warfarin, are given to those with a variety of heart and circulatory problems. But they require constant monitoring to help limit severe side effects, such as heavy bruising and internal bleeding, and often patients must visit their doctor on a weekly basis. Home help: The CoaguChek XS allows deep vein thrombosis patients to test their blood levels instead of visiting a clinic . The £300 CoaguChek XS allows patients to test warfarin levels in their blood at home, which means clinic check-ups can be carried out only when there’s a cause for concern. Research has shown the device could save the NHS an estimated £62 million a year in blood test costs and GP time. Warfarin, which is taken by 1.2 million people in the UK, is used to reduce the risk of blood clots in those suffering conditions such as deep vein thrombosis (DVT). Although many people think it thins the blood, it actually inhibits the production of vitamin K in the liver, which affects the time it takes blood to clot. New way: Blood test in clinics are costly and time consuming . The speed at which clotting takes place is monitored via a test called International Normalised Ratio (INR). ‘If your INR is below the optimal range you risk suffering a blood clot. If it’s over it means you may have a bleed,’ says Eve Knight, of AntiCoagulation Europe, a charity that helps thrombosis sufferers. Currently, only two per cent of patients test themselves. It takes a minute to ascertain the correct INR using a CoaguCheck XS. Patients apply a drop of blood to a test strip and call their nurse with the result. The nurse can then advise if the warfarin dose needs to be adjusted. ‘Doing it this way means that you can pick up on fluctuations quickly,’ says Ms Knight. l acsma.org.ukpidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. | New device will help DVT patients .
Patients can now test blood levels at home . |
84,865 | f0c24ec0341a2dabf8329d3ae914bc318684cdd1 | By . Graeme Yorke . Ravel Morrison posted a cryptic tweet on Wednesday night as speculation grows over his future at West Ham. The midfielder, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Queens Park Rangers, is recovering from minor groin surgery. But he took to Twitter to say: ‘Decisions, decisions’ as he recuperates while his Hammers team-mates are on tour in New Zealand. Uncertain future: Ravel Morrison could yet find himself on the way out from West Ham this summer . Cryptic message: Morrison posted this message in the early hours on Thursday morning, fuelling talk he is set to leave Upton Park . Morrison has one year left on his contract at Upton Park and has been spending time at St George’s Park as he bids to be ready for the new campaign. He started last season superbly in the Premier League and scored the Hammers Goal of the Season against Tottenham in November, but fell out of favour soon afterwards. Interest: Morrison helped QPR win promotion to the Premier League during a successful loan spell last season . Six goals in 17 appearances helped QPR win promotion from the Championship via the play-offs. The 21-year-old is expected to begin his pre-season when Sam Allardyce’s squad return to London. West Ham take on Sydney FC on Saturday before facing Schalke in Germany a week later. Man in charge: West Ham boss Sam Allardyce must decide whether Morrison will play a part of his plans . | Ravel Morrison undergoing rehab at St George's Park after groin surgery .
England Under 21 midfielder's West Ham future remains uncertain .
QPR could be keen to have him back after successful loan spell last season . |
193,376 | 8655c4ef4cef4fdadcfb3bc646820e00991a96be | By . Associated Press . PUBLISHED: . 12:01 EST, 12 December 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 14:30 EST, 12 December 2013 . An aircraft fleet owned by Google's founders and former CEO received improper discounts on jet fuel that saved the three billionaires up to $5.3 million dating back to depths of the Great Recession in 2009, according to a government report released yesterday. The findings by NASA's inspector general surfaced during a review of a government airfield lease for seven planes and two helicopters controlled by Google's founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, and the Internet search company's former CEO, Eric Schmidt. The aircraft are managed through a company called H211 set up by the three men through the tremendous wealth that they have accumulated as Google Inc.'s stock price has soared from $85 in 2004 to nearly $1,100. Billionaire business men: Google's former CEO Eric Schmidt (left) is worth about $8 billion and Google founder Sergey Brin (right) is worth about $25 billion . Page, who is Google's current CEO, and Brin, who heads the company's special projects division, are each worth about $25 billion, according to Forbes magazine. Schmidt, who became executive chairman after stepping down as CEO in 2011, is worth about $8 billion. H211 has been paying $1.4 million annually since 2007 to lease hangar space from NASA at Moffett Federal Airfield, a former U.S. Navy base 4 miles from Google's Mountain View, Calif., headquarters. NASA's inspector general concluded that the rent for the hangar space represented a fair rate, but the inspector general's report flagged the bargain that Google's jet-setting executives got on the fuel for their flights around the world. The H211 aircraft saved somewhere from $3.3 million to $5.3 million beginning in 2009 by buying fuel through an arm of the U.S. Department of Defense at below-market prices that allowed them to avoid state and local taxes, according to the report. Google founder Larry Page is worth about $25 billion . The discounts didn't result in any losses for NASA or the Department of Defense, the report said, but probably deprived the state of California and local government agencies of tax revenue. Other fuel suppliers probably missed out on an opportunity to make money had H211 not worked out the special arrangement with the government. The inspector general recommended that NASA and H211 discuss possible ways to address a situation that 'engendered a sense of unfairness and a perception of favoritism.' H211 spokesman Ken Ambrose said the company was reviewing the audit's findings. The report said the improper fuel discounts stopped in September after questions were raised about the bargain prices. The discounts given to H211 stemmed from a 'misunderstanding' about the relationship between NASA and the aircraft used by the Google executives, according to the inspector general. As part of its lease, H211 agreed that its planes would carry instruments to collect climate data for NASA at no cost to the space agency. The planes doing work for NASA qualified for the discounts, the report said. But the jet fuel was also sold to the H211 planes even when the Google executives were using the aircraft for recreation and other business with no benefit to NASA. A snapshot of flight activity taken between August 2012 and July of this year found nearly three-fourths of the H211 excursions of out Moffett Field had no connection to NASA. Of the 229 total flights during that time, 59 involved a NASA science mission and most of them were handled by an Alpha Jet that the Google executives obtained to fulfill their obligations to the space agency. H211 also owns or leases six Boeing or Gulfstream planes. Racking up the air miles: Google owns several aircraft, including this Gulfstream V private jet . Since the NASA lease began, H211 has flown more than 200 science flights for the space agency. The inspector general calculated that NASA would have had to pay $668,000 if it had been billed for the H211 flights taken from September 2010 through July of this year. Despite that benefit, a consumer group frequently critical of Google blasted the airfield lease as a 'sweetheart deal' for some of the world's richest people at time when millions of other people are struggling to make ends meet in a still-fragile economy. 'We think it's pretty outrageous,' said John Simpson of Consumer Watchdog. 'Basically, it's just another example of preferential treatment for the Google guys.' H211's lease at Moffett Airfield Field expires in July. The Google executives are working with a private contractor to build another space for their planes at the Mineta San Jose International Airport located about 10 miles from Moffett. Google logo is displayed on the company's headquarters in Chelsea, New York City . | Larry Page, Sergey Brin and Eric Schmidt saved up to $5.3m on jet fuel dating back to the 2009 recession .
Aircraft fleet owned by the billionaires consisted of seven planes and two helicopters .
They saved on fuel by buying it through an arm of the U.S. Department of Defense at below-market prices and avoided state and local taxes . |
4,822 | 0dd1c0765a41d1581f92841875f7e6aa6a1e7f23 | London (CNN)A UK public inquiry into the 2006 death of Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko opened Tuesday at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, after years of wrangling over what evidence can be heard. In a deathbed statement, Litvinenko blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin for ordering his poisoning by tea at a London hotel. The Kremlin has always strongly denied the accusation. Sir Robert Owen, who's chairman of the inquiry, said Tuesday that sensitive material relating to possible Russian state involvement in Litvinenko's death would be heard behind closed doors. The British government initially rejected requests to hold a public inquiry, but the decision was reversed last summer after Litvinenko's widow, Marina Litvinenko, challenged it in court. She argued that a public inquiry would enable the fullest possible investigation. An inquest -- a coroner-led investigation that is held as a matter of course in the case of unnatural deaths in England -- had been opened after her husband's death. But unlike a public inquiry, it cannot hear evidence behind closed doors. In Alexander Litvinenko's case, such evidence could involve matters of national security. "The issues to which his death gives rise are of the utmost gravity and have attracted worldwide interest and concern," Owen said. Litvinenko, a former KGB agent and fierce critic of Putin, came to Britain in 2000 after turning whistle-blower on the FSB, the KGB's successor. He died at a London hospital on November 23, 2006, after being poisoned by the radioactive material polonium-210 while drinking tea at the Millennium Hotel in London's Grosvenor Square. UK prosecutors have asked for the extradition of two men, Andrei Lugovoi and Dmitry Kovtun, from Russia in connection with Litvinenko's murder. But Moscow has refused, saying Russia's constitution does not allow the extradition of Russian citizens. Both men deny involvement in Litvinenko's death. Owen said that Lugovoi and Kovtun had been invited to give evidence to the inquiry by video link from Russia and that he hoped they would do so. The public inquiry will look at possible Russian state involvement in Litvinenko's death. However, it will not address the question as to whether the UK government could, or should, have taken steps to prevent the murder. Litvinenko is said by his widow to have been a British agent, with a handler at MI6, Britain's foreign security service. In 2012, the counsel to the inquest, Hugh Davies, said evidence provided by the UK government showed Russian involvement and "does establish a prima facie case as to the culpability of the Russian state in the death of Alexander Litvinenko." The inquest has been put on hold while the public inquiry is held. Owen, the coroner in the inquest, said the open hearings in the inquiry should conclude before Easter; that is, early April. More than 70 witnesses are due to be called over the coming weeks, including family and friends of Litvinenko, those who worked with him before his death, medical staff who treated him after he fell ill and the pathologists who conducted his autopsy, the court heard. The pathologists will testify Wednesday on the postmortem results. The presence of radiation in Litvinenko's body complicated the autopsy, the inquiry heard. A nuclear scientist will also give evidence Wednesday about polonium-210, its qualities, where it can be found and what effect it has on the body once ingested. In the course of the inquiry, evidence may also deal with the contamination risk posed to the wider public by the transfer of such highly radioactive material. Owen said polonium could have been used to "kill large numbers of people or spread general panic and hysteria among the public." | A public inquiry into the former KGB agent's poisoning death opens in London .
Alexander Litvinenko died in 2006 after being poisoned by radioactive material .
He blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin; the Kremlin denies involvement . |
278,024 | f42f8eb41ea8aad28301d496d51c1862f30e58b2 | Mark Cavendish won the seventh and final stage of the Tour de San Luis after beating rival Fernando Gaviria in a frenzied sprint for the finish line. Cavendish went into the last day of the tour way down in 90th place after being pipped to the line by Gaviria in the first and third stages of the race in Argentina. But the Manxman used all his sprinting expertise to beat the 20-year-old Colombian by a fraction of a second on Sunday and claim the final stage. Mark Cavendish (centre) won the seventh and final stage of the Tour de San Luis . Cavendish completed the final leg of the tour in a time of two hours, 33 minutes and 29 seconds. Afterwards he paid tribute to Argentinian Dani Diez, who won the overall tour. 'This is the second time he has won this race and the Argentinians have a strong team,' Cavendish told ESPN. Nairo Quintana (left) of Colombia finished third in the overall standings of the event . 'It's the height of their season so it's good for the European pros to race here. It's very hot here. 'It was a good race for the fans and the riders.' Rodolfo Torres came second overall and his Colombian compatriot Nairo Quintana finished third. | Mark Cavendish beat Fernando Gaviria for Tour de San Luis seventh stage .
But Cavendish paid tribute to overall winner, Dani Diez of Argentina .
Colombians Rodolfo Torres and Nairo Quintana second and third . |
57,233 | a22b7ba4dc6fb0c01a673527991e9efd81a2470c | A care home where vulnerable patients were subjected to horrifying ‘institutional abuse’ put shareholder profit ahead of the ‘humane delivery of treatment’, a devastating report found yesterday. An independent inquiry into the Winterbourne View scandal also revealed that residents of the home attended accident and emergency departments 76 times in three years – yet no medics alerted the authorities. The report lambasted the local NHS, police, and health watchdogs for not acting on dozens of complaints by patients and their families dating back up to five years. Scroll down for video . Inquiry: Panorama filmed residents at Winterbourne View being assaulted . and bullied. This poor woman was dragged across the floor in this undercover footage obtained by a whistleblower . Disgusting: Staff played games with the patients, shown here placing one . person under furniture with the other sat in the seat above. Campaigners have warned that another scandal like this could happen again . But some of the most scathing . criticism was reserved for Castlebeck Ltd, the firm which owned the home . – and was paid £3,500 a week by the NHS for every mentally ill patient . placed in the home, which is technically classed as a secure hospital. The report, by independent expert Dr . Margaret Flynn, said the company ‘appears to have made decisions about . profitability, including shareholder returns, over and above decisions . about the effective and humane delivery of assessment, treatment and . rehabilitation’. It said Castlebeck – which is owned . by a Swiss private equity group – ‘took the financial rewards without . any apparent accountability’. Dr Flynn said: ‘Unwittingly, the hospital has become a case study in institutional abuse.’ The report was commissioned after . Winterbourne View, which was on a business park outside Bristol, was . exposed by BBC1’s Panorama last year. An undercover reporter recorded secret footage of patients being abused by carers. The video appeared to show sickening scenes of vulnerable residents being pinned down, slapped, doused in water and taunted. Since the broadcast, Castlebeck has . closed Winterbourne View, at Winterbourne in South Gloucestershire, and . two other of its string of residential homes in the UK. On Monday, Michael Ezenagu, 29, . became the 11th ex-member of the home’s staff to admit offences relating . to the ill-treatment of patients. They will be sentenced at Bristol . Crown Court at a later date. Yesterday’s report laid bare the catalogue . of failings which allowed the abuse to go unchecked for years. Between January 2008 and May 2011, . residents at Winterbourne View were taken to hospital 76 times – . including to be treated for epileptic seizures, injury, self-harm, . lacerations, removal of a foreign body and for a fall. Abusers: (Left to right) Kelvin Fore, Michael Ezenagu, Neil Ferguson, Sookalingun Appoo and Wayne Rogers. (Bottom left to right) Alison Dove, Charlotte Cotterell, Danny Brake, Graham Doyle, Holly Draper and Jason Gardiner. Horrific: This member of staff stamps on the patients hand in yet another shocking image from the now-closed home. The private hospital should have been a safe place for patients to be treated with compassion and care . But the report said: ‘Putting to one . side emotional, verbal and psychological harm… there was considerable . visible, physical and quantifiable violence at Winterbourne View for . which patients required hospital treatment and yet there were no . safeguarding alerts from accident and emergency.’ Brave: The abuse at Winterbourne was uncovered after this whistleblower spoke out . Meanwhile, South Gloucestershire . Council received 27 allegations of abuse by staff to patients at the . hospital, ten allegations of patient-on-patient assaults and three . family-related alerts. Avon and Somerset Police recorded 29 . incidents – including nine carer-on-patient incidents. These included . staff head-butting and punching patients. Castlebeck itself recorded a total of . 379 physical interventions – such as restraint – during 2010 and 129 . for the first three months of 2011. Yet it was only after the Panorama investigation that the authorities woke up to the true scale of the abuse. Complaints had either been viewed in . isolation, or the authorities had sided with the accounts given by staff . rather than patients. Dr Flynn said the ‘silencing’ of complaints by the victims was ‘scandalous’. Peter Murphy, chairman of the South . Gloucestershire Safeguarding Adults Board, expressed the ‘deep regret’ of the organisations that make up the board for what happened at the . home. A Castlebeck spokesman said: ‘We . believe we have responded [to the criticisms in the report] in a way . that demonstrates our resolve to ensure that the events of Winterbourne . View will not be repeated.’ Failure: The local primary care trust said many of the systems that could have stopped the shocking abuse of patients at Winterbourne View hospital failed but insisted standards had now improved . | Winterbourne View condemned by an independent inquiry for putting profitability before care .
Residents attended A&E 76 times, yet no medics alerted the authorities .
'Hospital has become a case study in institutional abuse' - report . |
69,294 | c47e0d4a89cdbfbd2f66079b70d7406950825ecd | By . Jaya Narain . PUBLISHED: . 03:58 EST, 20 March 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 11:48 EST, 27 March 2013 . A boy of six looked on helplessly as his twin sister disappeared under the surface after falling into a freezing canal. Imie Harrison stumbled while clambering over lock gates with her brother CJ and their two friends. CJ could not reach her from the towpath and when she slipped under the water he ran the half mile home to raise the alarm. Their mother Lisa, 45, rushed to the scene and screamed: 'My angel, please not my angel.' Imie was pulled from the freezing water and paramedics fought to resuscitate her before she was flown to hospital. Scroll down for video . Imie Harrison, six, was in cardiac arrest when police rescued her from the canal after her twin brother raised the alarm . The six-year-old was pronounced dead a few hours after the accident early on Tuesday evening. Imie, . CJ and two six-year-old friends were playing together on a remote . stretch of the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal near . Kidderminster. It is . believed the four children were clambering across the narrow lock gates . when Imie fell into the water along with another girl. The . third girl jumped in and managed to save that child while CJ tried to . rescue Imie by lying on the towpath and reaching for his sister with his . arm. Imie tried to scramble up the steep sides of the lock but vanished under the water after suffering a suspected cardiac arrest sparked by the freezing water and shock. CJ raced back to the family home to raise the alarm and rescue teams, including 12 police cars, a force helicopter and three ambulances, rushed to the scene. Imie was dragged unconscious from the water and a police helicopter with a paramedic on board flew her to hospital. Eyewitness Ally Scott, 46, from Kidderminster, said: 'I saw this woman come from out of the crowds by the canal in a right state. The four children had been playing near Wolverley Court Lock on the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal . A police officer walks across Wolverley Court Bridge over the canal near where Imie fell into the water . 'I didn't know who she was at first because police were chasing her but then paramedics took her to an ambulance. 'But . as the helicopter left that's when this lady got really upset. She was . absolutely hysterical and crying. She was screaming and screaming, . shouting, “My angel, please not my angel''. She said: 'From where we were stood, . people said three girls had gone into the canal. They said they had . found one but one had gone under. 'One of my friends said the little boy . had lain down across the towpath and tried to haul the girls out but . couldn't reach his sister. He ran to his mother's house to get help. 'It was chaos. There were 12 police . cars and three ambulances. I saw the police get into their wetsuits and . go in the canal. Then I saw police carrying a little girl wrapped in . silver foil. They took her to an ambulance but it didn't rush off and I . don't think she was as serious. I didn't see the other girl.' West Mercia police said it was unclear . whether the children fell into the water or jumped in, but police . sources said Imie's rescue was a joint effort by officers and members of . the public. It is the second time in two years a child has died after falling in the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal. Police yesterday cordoned off the remote lock and warned parents not to let their children play there without supervision. 'Little angel' Imie Harrison's family are said to be 'absolutely devastated' by her death . Two other children fell into the canal but managed to get out and were treated for hypothermia . Police said the girl's family are 'absolutely devastated' at her death at the canal near Springhead Park . Superintendent Kevin Purcell said: . 'They weren't playing in the water but an incident occurred that caused . two of them to fall in the canal. 'The message is to make sure you know where your children are and keep them away from water because it's dangerous.' Imie's grandmother, Tracey Ridewood, paid a touching tribute to her granddaughter on Facebook beneath a picture of an angel. She wrote: 'You have another little . angel to take care of Donna (Imie's late aunt). Tell Imie her nanny . loves her and give her lots of love and kisses.' A neighbour, Jean Flanagan, 71, said: . 'The little girl used to play outside with her friends a lot – we would . see her playing with her twin brother. They were inseparable. 'It's an absolute tragedy what has . happened. Kids go down there a lot, but there are no safety barriers. Her mum is inconsolable.' A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman said: 'A female was recovered from the water and found to be in cardiac arrest. 'Resuscitation was immediately carried . out on the child before the patient was later taken to Birmingham . Children's Hospital. Two further children were treated at the scene for . hypothermia.' In 2011, Robert Fidoe, 12, died after . he slipped from his bike and went into Stourport lock, Worcestershire. He called for help shouting: 'I can't swim.' Passers-by struggled to pull the boy . out because no life-rings were installed nearby. An investigation ruled . the death to be accidental. Imie was airlifted to Birmingham Children's Hospital but was pronounced dead shortly after . | Imie Harrison and two other children ended up in the water last night .
Her brother ran half a mile home to raise the alarm and call 999 .
Imie was in 'cardiac arrest' when police pulled her from the canal .
She was airlifted to Birmingham Children's Hospital but died soon after .
Police said the young girl's family are 'absolutely devastated' at their loss . |
186,027 | 7ceaafd37d1705889b453a4ce50f1a3fdb24e81c | By . Jenny Hope . PUBLISHED: . 20:25 EST, 27 January 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 20:26 EST, 27 January 2014 . Three nurses have been arrested amid claims of serious neglect at the hospital where a patient died after being left in an ambulance for four hours last week. They are accused of falsifying records to cover up poor care at the Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend, south Wales. The hospital is already at the centre of an investigation following the death of former miner Michael Bowen, 58 – who was forced to remain in a queuing ambulance. The nurses are accused of falsifying records to cover up poor care at the Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend, south Wales (pictured) And there are fears that problems are continuing at the hospital- where only last Thursday queues of up to 14 ambulances were seen outside its Accident and Emergency department. The arrests came as campaigners demanded urgent action over mounting claims of ‘cruelty’ and ‘unnecessary suffering’ at the hospital. An independent review has now been ordered by the Welsh Government into the claims. Last night a whistleblower said she had been ignored when she raised concerns about poor care – and that reports she filed about dangerous incidents went missing. Former nurse Glenda Rodriguez-Noza said she saw a room being poorly cleaned, a dementia patient being roughly handled and a patient given the wrong medication. ‘I would fill out an incident form and later be told they had no record of it,’ she said. ‘I have kept copies of them so I have them. An internal investigation found there was not enough evidence to support my claims and in the end it all became too stressful. ‘I want to speak out because I want these people to be held to account and to stop these mistakes happening again and again.’ Former nurse Glenda Rodriguez-Noza . Mrs Rodrigeuz-Noza, who worked at the Princess of Wales Hospital for eight years and left in 2009, is now involved in tribunal proceedings against the ABMU health board. Patients have also made allegations about care at the hospital. One pensioner was left in the resuscitation room for almost three hours, while an elderly amputee died after she was left nil by mouth for two days. Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board, which runs the hospital, said: ‘We apologise sincerely to the patients and families who we have let down at the Princess of Wales Hospital. ‘In May 2013 we invited an external team, Advancing Quality Alliance (AQuA), to review quality and safety at the Princess of Wales Hospital. ‘This was in response to serious complaints about care provided to some patients; critical Ombudsman’s reports; mortality rates, and a police investigation into allegations of falsification of records by some of our nurses. AQuA’s recommendations will be presented to our Board shortly, backed by an action plan.’ | Nurses accused of falsifying patient records to cover up poor care .
Families have accused Princess of Wales Hospital, Bridgend of 'cruelty'
Hospital already under investigation after former miner Michael Bowen was left in an ambulance for four hours last week . |
27,205 | 4d25cecfdef180cd63bf6209579df610d7852586 | By . Daily Mail Reporter . Artist Tracey Emin’s controversial unmade bed caused outrage when it was included in the 1999 Turner Prize exhibition. Now it is going under the hammer and is expected to reach up to £1.2million after its owner, multi-millionaire art collector, Charles Saatchi, decided to sell it. My Bed - complete with soiled sheets, empty vodka bottles and cigarette butts - is worth nearly ten times more than what Mr Saatchi bought it for in 2000. Despite disagreeing with his politics, Ms Emin sold the bed for £150,000. My Bed - complete with soiled sheets, empty vodka bottles and cigarette butts - is now worth nearly ten times more than what Charles Saatchi bought it for in 2000. He paid £150,000 but it is now set to fetch up to £1.2m . The piece is a ‘confessional self-portrait’ that was created in Ms Emin’s Waterloo flat in 1998 after the artist suffered a bout of severe depression accompanied by excessive drinking and bouts of casual sex. The 50-year-old artist told The Telegraph the sale feels ‘like the end of an era. Saatchi’s had this Nineties thing in his house like a time capsule. Now it’s historical.’ Last weekend, David Maupin, Emin’s dealer in New York, who sold the bed to Saatchi, said he thinks the estimate of £800,000 to £1.2 million is too low for such a significant work. ‘It’s historic,’ he said. ‘It’s priceless.’ My Bed is going to be sold at auction this summer, when Christie’s offers Tracey Emin’s My Bed from Charles Saatchi’s collection. The bed is a 'confessional self-portrait' which was created in the Waterloo flat of Tracey Emin (pictured) in 1998 after the artist suffered a bout of severe depression accompanied by excessive drinking and bouts of casual sex . | Unmade bed caused outrage when it featured in 1999 Turner Prize exhibition .
It is expected to fetch up to £1.2million when it is auctioned in the summer .
'My Bed' now worth ten times more than what Charles Saatchi paid in 2000 . |
112,193 | 1cb902083d539cb7c8ddf4eef11d016b2c15c17f | By . Bianca London . PUBLISHED: . 06:52 EST, 20 February 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 12:15 EST, 20 February 2014 . With his sporting prowess and undeniable good looks, David Beckham is widely regarded as one of the most desirable men in the world. But what would he look like if he didn't have the luxury of all the grooming products and stylists that fame brings with it? One company decided to . look into what some of the . biggest celebrities would look look like if they hadn’t found fame - . and the team of hair stylists, make-up artists, cosmetic surgeons and . fashion consultants that come with the package. What would Victoria say? International sex symbol David Beckham has been treated to a make-under by a team of experts who wanted to see what celebrities would look like if they hadn't found fame . The design . team created some concept images . using existing pictures of a selection of celebrities showing . what they may look like if they lived in the mundane world and the results are hilarious and ridiculous in equal measure. The best makeunder of the bunch is . undoubtedly 38-year-old David Beckham. With his fluffy hair, bushy unkempt beard and furrowed brow, David looks more like a loveable and rugged hillbilly than an international sex symbol. Can you beliebe this? Without his trademark quiff and million dollar bling, teen heartthrob Justin Bieber is akin to a small alien . Not so super: Cara Delevingne has been stripped of her model makeover and looks like your average girl next door rather than a world-famous model . Teen heartthrob Justin Bieber too has been treated to a 'unbeliebable' transformation. Without his diamond earrings, quaffed quiff and Hollywood smile, the 19-year-old popstar resembles a tiny alien. Complete with a giant afro and more natural beauty look, superstar Beyonce looks more like her less famous sister Solange Knowles in her make-over. Supermodel Cara Delevingne has also been given a makeunder and is shown with blotchy skin (perhaps from all the partying), chapped lips and badly-dyed hair. Not so flawless: Without her perfectly styled locks and impeccable make-up, Queen Bey wouldn't be Crazy In Love with this look . What a poker face! Lady Gaga, known for her eccentric style, looks like an average 20-something without her . ice-blonde hair and heavy make-up . Speaking about the project, . www.vouchercodespro.co.uk, who helped create the images, said: 'Have you . ever caught yourself in the middle of a daydream wondering how you . would look if you had millions in the bank and an endless amount of . fashion and beauty help at your fingertips? 'No . wonder the A-listers all look so perfect when you take into the account . the ridiculously long list of people whose job it is to make the . Hollywood elite look effortless whilst they walk up and down the red . carpet. 'This time around, we decided to . focus on some of the most famous A-listers in the world, and the . elements of their image that signify their international fame. 'Examples . of this included reducing Cara Delevingne and her prominent eyebrows, . as well as highlighting how David Beckham would look if he embraced the . more rugged look of a beard and scruffy hair. 'Lady . Gaga was indeed a tricky one, we attempted to emphasize how she may . look with less make-up and a plain, brunette hairstyle, although I’m not . sure if that woman could ever look normal if she tried!' Just your average girl: The same design team decided to . create what they think Kim Kardashian would look like if she wasn't . famous - and the result went viral . Not such a bad gal now: Rihanna looks fresh-faced and innocent in the design team's 'non famous' version of the singer . Sharon, is that you? Mrs O, who has admitted to . having plastic surgery, looks much older with her grey hair and winkles . in the images . Taking it too far: The design team focused on . features on the celebrities that they believed had clearly been . professionally worked on, such as Tom Cruise and his perfect teeth . Haggered: Nicholas Cage, 50, looks old beyond his years in the virtually adapted image . | Designers created images of what stars would look like if not famous .
Cara Delevingne, Justin Bieber and Beyonce given makeunders . |
102,079 | 0f8c17e1ec811cc3ac10acad61c807982af8d929 | By . Lydia Warren . PUBLISHED: . 16:10 EST, 9 January 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 06:53 EST, 10 January 2013 . Accused killer Jodi Arias kissed her new love interest and laughed with his friends just 24 hours after she stabbed and shot her ex-boyfriend to death in his shower, the man testified in court today. Ryan Burns testified in her murder trial in Phoenix on Wednesday that he had exchanged long emails and phone calls with Arias after they met at a business conference in the spring of 2008. He invited her to his home in West Jordan, Utah in June 2008 - and she arrived a day later than planned, telling Burns she had got lost, driven the wrong way and slept in her car for a while, he said. In fact, she had spent the previous day with her former boyfriend, motivational speaker and insurance salesman Travis Alexander, at his Mesa, Arizona home as they had continued to have a sexual relationship. New love: Ryan Burns, left, testified that Jodi Arias, right, visited him at his Utah home 24 hours after she killed Travis Alexander - but she never mentioned the killing, despite claiming it was out of self defense . 'Obsessed': Arias, 32, stabbed Travis Alexander, pictured, 27 times and shot him in the head . Five days later, Alexander was found stabbed 27 times, his throat sliced and with a gun wound in his head. The prosecution has alleged that Arias, 32, was obsessed with Alexander and killed him after he revealed he wanted to start dating another girl. While at first denying that she had even seen him that day, Arias eventually claimed that she killed him in self defense after he had been abusive and possessive throughout their relationship. Yet when she visited Burns the day after the murder, she never once mentioned the ordeal she had supposedly been through the previous day, he said in court. When she arrived at his home, Burns noticed that she had bandaged hands, but she told him she had sustained the cuts after breaking a glass at her job, he said. In court: Arias' murder trial, pictured Wednesday, is underway in Maricopa County Superior court in Phoenix . Testimony: Burns said they kissed and laughed with his friends soon after she arrived at his home in June 2008 . They settled down to watch a film together - and soon got physical, he told the court. 'At some point we were talking and we kissed,' he said. 'Every time we started kissing it got a little more escalated. At some point she was kissing my neck, I was kissing hers, but our clothes never came off.' Burns said they resumed their kissing later that night when she climbed on top of him, but they stopped as he did not want her to regret the visit due to her Mormon beliefs about sex. Burns, who is also a Mormon, was unaware that just 24 hours earlier, she had been posing provocatively for photographs later found on her murdered ex-boyfriend's camera. Happier times: She met Travis Alexander, a Mormon and motivational speaker, at a Las Vegas conference . Suspect: Travis Alexander's friend and roommate who found his body in June 2008 told a 911 dispatcher that Jodi Arias had been stalking and threatening the man . While she was confident with Burns, he said she became 'shy' and a 'little awkward' around his friends, but that she never acted as if anything more significant was wrong. 'She was fine, she was laughing about simple little things like any other person,' he said. I never once felt like anything was wrong during the day.' Burns said he did not know Arias was still seeing Alexander when the two began talking and making plans to visit each other, ABC News reported. The prosecution showed parts of their online conversations to the court, including a message where Arias told Burns she had 'trust issues' with Alexander and had been cheated on twice in the past. Burns' testimony, which continues on Wednesday afternoon, comes one day after Arias sobbed as prosecutors displayed images of the horrendous wounds she inflicted on Alexander. 'Last photo': Among the images on the camera was this one showing Travis in the shower before his death . Possessive: The jury was shown a picture of Arias in a t-shirt Alexander made reading 'Travis Alexander's' She wiped away tears as the Maricopa County . medical examiner said Alexander 'may have' already been dead when she shot him in the head - a key detail that could make way for the death penalty. If . she did shoot Alexander after he was already dead it could qualify as a . 'heinous and depraved' murder, which would more likely send her to death row in Arizona. Yet the medical examiner said he could . not be fully certain Alexander was already dead from blood loss as the . body was already decomposing when it was found five days after the . killing. With the delicate brain tissue also . decomposing, he could not determine a bullet track through the skull or . how much hemorrhaging had occurred, which would signal whether Alexander . was still alive. The prosecution also showed images of Alexander's bloody bathroom and bedroom after the killing. Mess: Prosecutors said it appeared as if someone had tried to wipe the blood away after the murder . Blood-soaked: Another image shows blood stains on the carpet near his bathroom in his bedroom . Others showed defensive slash wounds on . Alexander's hands, sustained when he tried to fight back, and grazes on . his legs, suggesting his body was later dragged. They also displayed images found on . Alexander's camera, which included sexually explicit images of the pair, . photos of him in the shower moments before his death. In a bizarre twist, the camera also contained images of Alexander after the murder and a picture of Arias dragging his body - apparently taken accidentally when the camera was dropped. Alexander was found dead in his home in suburban Mesa on June 9, 2008 by two friends who went to check on him after he had been out of contact for days. 'Killer': She stands accused of stabbing and shooting Travis Alexander to death at his home in 2008 . Grief: Travis Alexander's sisters refuse to look at the images of the body in the trial on Tuesday . Arias originally claimed she had not . seen Alexander the day of his murder, before claiming she had seen two . men kill him, before eventually saying that she killed him out of self defense. The couple had met at a work . conference in Las Vegas in September 2006 and began speaking on the . phone every day. Court records show they exchanged as many as 82,000 . emails. They started dating . in . February 2007 and, because Alexander was a Mormon, Arias chose to be . baptized into the church. But they broke up in June 2007, with Arias . telling police jealousy on both sides was to blame. | Arias, 32, accused of stabbing ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander 'after he told her he wanted to date another woman'
She claims she killed him in self defense after an 'abusive' relationship .
Another love interest, Ryan Burns, testified that she arrived at his home 24 hours late but she never mentioned the killing . |
929 | 02a300f080fbcc72542d250b40220919af9d0c27 | Alex Salmond today conceded there are alternative . ‘options’ to the British pound as the crisis deepened over his plans for an . independent Scotland’s currency. The First Minister denied that he does not have a back-up . plan, signalling that he could go into this year’s referendum with a proposal . for a new Scottish currency. But Mr Salmond is coming under intense pressure to reveal . his chosen ‘plan B’, with the country’s top business leaders demanding answers. Under pressure: Alex Salmond said other options were presented by the Scottish Government's 'fiscal commission working group' ¿ which included a 'new Scottish currency' The row comes after Chancellor George Osborne, Shadow . Chancellor Ed Balls and LibDem Treasury chief Danny Alexander this week . comprehensively rejected any deal to share the pound in a ‘currency union’ with . a separate Scotland. The game-changing move has left the Nationalists in . disarray just seven months before Scotland’s future is decided on September 18. Mr Salmond said other options were presented by . the Scottish Government’s ‘fiscal commission working group’ – which included a . ‘new Scottish currency’, either with a fixed exchange rate to the pound or a . ‘floating’ exchange rate. A ‘Scottish pound’ could be pegged on a one-to-one basis . with the British pound, in the way the Irish pound was until 1979. There would . be a Scottish central bank to replace the Bank of England to ensure the . credibility of the currency, and there would need to be large reserve of . sterling. Mr Salmond’s fiscal commission found last year: ‘In the long . run, the creation of a new Scottish currency would represent a significant . increase in economic sovereignty.’ However, it would be a major challenge to decide how . contracts, savings, pensions and salaries would be converted at the start into . values in the new currency. 'Keeping millions of British pounds in reserve would . also limit Scottish ministers’ ability to invest in public services. And if the markets were unsure about a new Scottish . currency, a premium could be added to interest rates – forcing Scots to pay . more for loans and mortgages. Mr Osborne used a speech in Edinburgh to insist the currency was not like a CD collection to be divided up in the event of a 'messy divorce' During an exchange on BBC's Good Morning Scotland, First Minister Alex Salmond was keen to stress there were alternatives to an independent Scotland keeping the pound: . BBC's Jim Naughtie: Does that mean in the event of a yes vote you go into negotiations without another option in your back pocket? Alex Salmond: Well let me say for the third time Jim that the fiscal commission working group set out all of the monetary policy options for an independent Scotland but recommended the best one was a sterling area and that’s the one that we’re going to be articulating and that’s what you’d expect us to do…. Naughtie: OK Alex Salmond says there is no alternative... Salmond: No I didn’t say that Jim, I said... Naughtie: I’m just checking... Salmond: Try again, I said the Fiscal Commission Working Group set out a range of monetary policy options for an independent Scotland. Other currency options include unilaterally choosing to use . the pound with no control over monetary policy – adopting a formula used by . Panama, East Timor and the Federated States of Micronesia. Yesterday, a graphic . appeared on Yes Scotland’s Facebook page which stated: ‘An independent Scotland . would not need Westminster’s permission to continue using the pound.’ Or a separate Scottish Government could try to persuade . European nations to let the country join the Euro – which was once Mr Salmond’s . favoured option. Mr Salmond was interviewed on BBC radio show Good Morning . Scotland, after spending much of Thursday at his Aberdeenshire home . and avoiding the TV cameras as his independence plans crumbled around him. The First Minister was asked by presented Jim Naughtie if he . would go into negotiations following a ‘Yes’ victory ‘without another option in . your back pocket’? ‘The fiscal commission working group set out all of the . monetary policy options for an independent Scotland but recommended the best . one was a sterling area, and that’s the one we’re proposing and that we’re . going to be articulating and that’s what you’d expect us to do,’ Mr Salmond . replied. ‘OK Alex Salmond says there is no alternative,’ Mr Naughie . continued, before the SNP leader interrupted him and said: ‘No I didn’t say . that Jim.’ Mr Naughtie then challenged the First Minister: ‘So there is . an alternative. What is it?’ ‘The fiscal commission working group set out a range of . options,’ Mr Salmond conceded. Asked if the options were ‘off the table’, the First . Minister added: ‘They’re in the fiscal commission working group. They’re there . and have been there for the past year.’ Mr Osborne said it is clear that as Chancellor he could not recommend that the UK could share the pound with an independent Scotland . Conservative Chancellor George Osborne: The . evidence shows it wouldn’t work. It would cost jobs and cost money and . wouldn’t provide economic security for Scotland or for the rest of the . UK. People need to know – that is not going to happen.' Lib Dem Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander: 'This isn't bluff, or bullying, it's a . statement of fact. The SNP's claims that an independent Scotland could . or should be able to share the pound are pure fiction.' Labour shadow chancellor Ed Balls: . 'You’d be trying to negotiate a monetary union as Scotland is pulling . away from the UK. It won’t happen, I wouldn’t recommend it. Scotland . will not keep the pound if Scotland chooses independence.' Former Chancellor Alistair Darling said: ‘The . penny has dropped for Alex Salmond – he knows he cannot promise the pound. ‘Alex Salmond is offering us one of two options: a rush to . join the euro or a separate unproven currency. 'Both currency options would be . bad for jobs as every time we sold to our biggest customer, England, Scottish . firms would need to pay the costs of changing currency.’ Scottish LibDem leader Willie Rennie said: ‘The First . Minister has effectively conceded that the sterling currency with the UK will . not happen. ‘He pointed towards the options in his fiscal commission but . he needs to tell us which one he’d choose. 'Would it be the euro or a separate . Scottish currency? The clock is ticking.’ Owen Kelly, chief executive of Scottish Financial Enterprise . – whose members include Lloyds Banking Group, RBS, Aviva and Standard Life – . added: ‘It is as clear as it can be at this stage, that a currency union is not . an option for an independent Scotland. ‘It would now be prudent for businesses to consider the . specific effects adopting remaining options could have on their business.’ | First Minister insists he has a back-up plan if voters back independence .
George Osborne ruled out currency union with an independent Scotland .
Labour's Ed Balls and Lib Dem Danny Alexander then supported the move .
Scottish government accused Westminster politicians of 'bullying' |
85,334 | f20b2d6ba5b05bd7e26d33434e856791f2e37de6 | Amman, Jordan (CNN)For the first time since an international coalition began striking ISIS, one of its pilots has been shot down and taken captive by the Islamist extremist group. The captured F-16 pilot is Moaz al-Kasasbeh, a member of Jordan's military, according to his uncle, retired Jordanian Maj. Gen. Fahd al-Kasabeh. A source in Jordan's armed forces said that the pilot was downed carrying out a mission Wednesday around Raqqa, the militant group's de facto capital in northern Syria, according to Jordan's official PETRA news agency. "Jordan holds the terror organization and those who support it responsible for the safety of the pilot and the preservation of his life," the source said. The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights had reported earlier Wednesday that ISIS had shot down an unidentified warplane near Raqqa, a city that has been a chief target in the U.S.-led military coalition's air campaign. Photos purported to be of the downed pilot appeared on an ISIS-affiliated Twitter account, images that Fahd al-Kasabeh said showed his nephew. The retired general told CNN that he'd asked Maj. Gen. Mansour S. Al Jabour, head of the Royal Jordanian Air Force, to investigate the case and take all necessary actions. Jordan part of international coalition . The international coalition has been conducting airstrike after airstrike against ISIS in Syria since September, an effort that began weeks after first going after the group in neighboring Iraq. In that period, the coalition has claimed many successful hits that have damaged the militant group. But this time, it's the coalition that has taken a hit. While the United States has been at the head of this coalition, it's relied on a number of other countries to help militarily as well as to help legitimize the effort internationally. Many nations have signed up to do so in Iraq, whose government is actively partnering with the coalition to target ISIS. But Syria has been a bit more complicated. Officials from the United States and elsewhere support moderate forces in Syria's years-long civil war trying to unseat President Bashar al-Assad, despite the fact they are both fighting against ISIS. Some Middle Eastern nations, however, have joined the United States in going after ISIS in Syria. Jordan -- which borders Syria, Iraq and Israel, and has a history of working with Washington -- has been notable among them. ISIS' grisly reputation for atrocities . One big question now becomes what ISIS does with Moaz al-Kasasbeh, now that it has him in captivity. Their track record, unfortunately, speaks for itself. The beheadings of hostages, including American journalist James Foley, was one of the things that spurred the United States to step up its fight against ISIS. Those were just some of the many atrocities blamed on the Sunni extremist group, committed during its quest to create a caliphate -- which it calls the Islamic State -- under its strict form of Sharia law. ISIS has tried to justify its raping and enslaving of women and children, not to mention mass killings of civilians, as part of its campaign to purge "nonbelievers." The Jordanian military source cited by PETRA noted ISIS' past when talking about its capture of the F-16 pilot. "It is well-known that this organization does not hide their terrorist schemes," the source said. "And they have carried out many criminal acts of destruction and killing of innocent Muslims and non-Muslims in Syria and Iraq." Journalist Hadel Ghaboun reported from Amman, Jordan, and CNN's Greg Botelho reported and wrote this story from Atlanta. CNN's Salma Abdelaziz, Mohammed Tawfeeq and Jethro Mullen contributed to this report. | The captured F-16 pilot's name is Moaz al-Kasasbeh, his uncle says .
"Jordan holds the terror organization ... responsible," Jordanian source says .
The plane was reportedly shot down near the ISIS stronghold of Raqqa . |
177,742 | 721aa8212529709ee0c5b04b5725212c4983b1b0 | (CNN) -- I came to America as a transfer student in the fall of 2004. I did three years of computer engineering in India and then transferred to Purdue University Calumet. On July 2, 2005, just a month before graduation, a guy who lived on the first floor of my apartment building set fire to his place. He wrapped his baby in a blanket, put the baby in a car seat, put the car seat in the closet and then poured gasoline over the apartment with his baby and wife still in it. He then set the whole place on fire and left. The fire started at 4:30 a.m. My roommate and I could not jump out with the balcony and windows engulfed in flames. As my roommate fell unconscious in front of me, I started running down the stairs and passed out. A firefighter found my body and pulled me out. As the paramedics were taking me to the hospital, I heard one say, "This guy is 95% burned; he doesn't have a chance." At that moment, I thought about my family and how I came to America to get good education, and now I didn't have a chance to live. I was soon unconscious and later woke up in the University of Chicago burn unit after four months in an induced coma. The man's wife, his baby and my best friend and roommate, Prabhat Singhal, died in the fire. After seven months in Chicago, I was transferred to Wishard Health Services in Indianapolis for my rehabilitation. I don't have any family in America so I lived in a nursing home. I stayed there for 2½ years while I went through reconstructive surgeries to regain range of motion in my arms. For more than five years, I went through an intense therapy program. I wore a face mask for three years and pressure garments on my entire body; I wore dynamic splints on my hands, wrists and elbows to increase range of motion, daily dressing changes to my wounds and performing hourly exercises to restore function in all of my joints. I wanted to get an MBA so I studied in my extra time. I scheduled my Graduate Management Admission Test, or GMAT, exam and got a six-hour pass from the nursing home to take the test. I scored 700 on my GMAT and got accepted into the Indiana University Kelley School of Business Evening MBA program in Indianapolis. I wanted to go to a part-time program since I didn't know how much of a course load I would be able to take. Everyone gets their acceptance letter mailed to his home; I got my letter mailed to the nursing home. My doctors did everything they could to help me regain range of motion in my arms. Even after 54 surgeries, I am still very limited. I don't have any finger movement in my left hand and very limited finger movement in my right hand. I type with one finger. I rely on various adaptive equipments to perform my activities of daily living. This horrific crime not only left me with disabilities but also interfered with my visa. I have not seen most of my family in India since the accident seven years ago, because I am still waiting on a green card. My sister has been denied a visa four times in trying to visit me. I have been able to come out of this tragedy because of the values that my parents instilled in me and the help from my occupational therapist. My parents taught me the value of education, hard work and perseverance. They taught me to be content in life no matter what the circumstances. They taught me that "we can always find someone who is in worse condition than we are in. So be thankful for what you have." I call my occupational therapist, Shannon Hendricks, my guardian angel. God sent her into my life when I was in the deepest and darkest pit of my life. She took me to church every Sunday while I stayed in the nursing home, which brought some normalcy into my life. Today, I can live independently because of her hard work. After 3½ years, I graduated with my MBA on May 13. I am now seeking a job in finance. To give back to the community, I volunteered in the Wishard therapy department between many of my surgeries. I still visit the Wishard burn unit and talk to other burn patients about my experience. I also lecture at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis to occupational therapy students about all the adaptive equipment I use to live independently. I have had some wonderful people in my life who have helped me in my journey. I plan to do the same for other people. | Manoj Rana, a native of India, nearly died in an apartment fire after coming to study in the U.S.
Rana underwent 54 surgeries and five years of an intense therapy program .
He credits his parents and his occupational therapist for his recovery and survival .
He graduated with his MBA this month and is looking for a job in finance . |
246,317 | cace921966f5200317f062a5f10aca040c58c36b | By . James Rush . PUBLISHED: . 05:53 EST, 3 April 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 09:12 EST, 3 April 2013 . A teenager accused of raping a girl at a sleepover claims he was sleepwalking during the alleged attack. The defendant, who can't be named for legal reasons, denies the offence, claiming he was suffering from a condition which has been termed 'sexsomnia'. A court heard that before the alleged rape the teenagers had been watching the 2008 film Taken. The 16-year-old girl alleges she woke up on a friend's sofa to find the 18-year-old on top of her. The defendant denies raping the 16-year-old girl, claiming he was suffering from 'sexsomnia', Leicester Crown Court (pictured) has heard . In a filmed police statement, played at Leicester Crown Court yesterday, she said: 'I remember just waking up and realising what he was doing. He was raping me. 'It was without my consent or knowledge beforehand because I was asleep and he woke me up. It was the middle of the night. 'I pushed his shoulders and chest. I was confused and afraid and managed to scramble away from him. 'I fell off the end of the sofa. He moved away and said, "I haven't done anything". 'He kept trying to grab me, saying I'd imagined it.' The alleged victim said she had slept fully dressed on the sofa of the house in Loughborough, while the teenager had slept on the floor. The court heard that before the alleged rape the teenagers had been watching the 2008 film Taken . She claimed the defendant later told a friend sleeping upstairs he had not done anything and suggested swapping rooms - and that if he left the room she would later wake up and think it was 'all a dream'. She claimed the defendant, also from Loughborough, had undone her belt buckle and pulled down her briefs, leggings and shorts to carry out the alleged attack while she slept on April 26, 2011. The girl claimed the accused was earlier 'staring' at her, making her feel uncomfortable, as she and others watched the film. She said she had been reluctant to share the lounge with the defendant overnight, but did not make 'a big deal' of it. 'I didn't think he'd do something like this,' she said. The girl claimed she fell asleep while watching television, after others had gone to bed. She said she last remembers the defendant, also a house guest, arranging his sleeping bag on the floor. Felicity Gerry, prosecuting, said: 'The defendant denies rape on the basis he was asleep and doesn't accept he penetrated her. 'The Crown says you can be sure he was not asleep, but she was. He raped her and got caught. He claims he was sleepwalking.' She said it was linked to a recognised condition known as 'sexsomnia.' Miss Gerry said: 'It wasn't a particularly rowdy evening, although there was some evidence cannabis had been smoked.' The trial continues. Sorry we are unable to accept comments for legal reasons. | Teenage girl alleges she woke up to find defendant on top of her .
Pair had earlier been watching 2008 film Taken at a friend's house .
Court hears she went to sleep on the sofa while he slept on floor .
Defendant denies the offence, claiming he was sleepwalking . |
82,800 | eac6001b809b8d100f48affe7721eb0e8f07e59f | Shocking: 30-year-old mother of three Ashley Tull was arrested on drug charges after her daughter brought a pack-pack filled with 249 bags of heroin to her daycare . A 4-year-old Delaware girl brought a backpack filled with 249 baggies of heroin to her day care on Monday then passed it out to other children in the belief it was candy. The girl took a different bag than usual to Hickory Tree Child Care Center after a household pet ruined her bag the night before. Day care workers immediately contacted police and even rushed some of the kids to a hospital as a precaution, but no injuries were reported. According to WPVI, police were contacted just before noon Monday. They found the bag contained 3.735 grams of a white powdery substance. Police say the substance, which was still enclosed in the bags, was removed by the teachers and immediately taken to the Selbyville Police Department where it was determined to be heroin. It is not known how pure or how much heroin was in each of the 249 bags . Police believe the bag belonged to the girl's mother, 30-year-old Ashley Tull. Tull was charged with maintaining a drug property and endangering the welfare of a child. Along with her 4-year-old daughter, Tull's two other children--a 9-year-old boy and an 11-year-old girl were left in the custody of a family member. Tull was released on $6,000 bond. Police continue to investigate the incident and said more charges could be filed. Had the wrong backpack: The 4-year-old girl handed out the packets of narcotic powder to her friends at daycare before staff realized what was happening and called police . | Police say a 4-year-old Delaware girl passed out packets of heroin she found in her mother's backpack to her day care mates .
Day care providers at the Hickory Tree Child Care Center in Selbyville called police when they noticed some children with the bags .
The girl's mother Ashley Tull, 30, faces charges of maintaining a drug property and endangering the welfare of a child . |
210,298 | 9c607f9613188c4947cad7f944789696f98a2b2b | By . Sarah Griffiths . PUBLISHED: . 10:30 EST, 8 August 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 10:19 EST, 9 August 2013 . The female orgasm is a sensation that . many people find complex and perplexing, but one woman claims to have had 11 orgasms in one day using the orgasmic meditation or 'om' method. Actress Karen Lorre claims orgasmic meditation, or 'OMing' enables her to be more sensitive - both physically and emotionally - appreciate men and experience multiple orgasms in a day. OMing is taught in 'orgasmic meditation centres' called OneTaste by long-time practitioner and founder Nicole Daedone. Scroll down for video . Actress Karen Lorre (pictured) claims orgasmic meditation, or 'Oming' enables her to be more sensitive and appreciate men as well as to experience up to 11 orgasms in one day . She believes that the orgasm fundamentally . roots the capacity for connection between people, 'hormonally, . emotionally and spiritually' and insists that her classes focus on this . rather than the goal of achieving orgasm. It is thought that one in 10 women never reach orgasm but Ms Lore is not one of them. Ms Lorre, 51, from Long Beach California, is a former Playmate and describes herself as a model, 'fun coach and love goddess,' as well as an actress, who has appeared in numerous TV programmes including Cheers and the X-Files. She told Medical Daily: 'I was already in a place of bliss - I had . been doing sit down meditation for 20 years but [OMing] opened up my ability . to sense more and more subtle things and my appreciation for men.' OMing is a 15-minute practice between two people where both people focus all their attention on the techniques used and sensations created when bringing a female to orgasm. In a video of a class, one 'student' called Rachel said she was told at the age of 25 that she could not orgasm but disproved the diagnosis having attended orgasmic meditation classes. She said: 'I felt a moment of electricity and thought that's what it feels like to be a woman - to be that safe and comfortable with another human being.' Ms Daedone said the idea of the practice is similar to Buddhist . Tantric sex, which aims is to extend the peak and like conventional . meditation, oming affects the same parts of the human brain. While it is possible to 'OM' individually or in private, OneTaste controversially organises 'OM circles', which is the group practice of orgasmic meditation. The website says partners can set up a 'nest' and have a 15 minute oming session before sharing their experiences. Dr Pooja Lakshmin, an associate researcher at a Rutgers University who studies orgasms, said: 'The same parts of the brain that are activated during deep meditative states get activated during orgasm.' She believes the way in which people think about the female orgasm is limited and the mechanics of what happen when a female reaches climax is not fully understood. Ms Daedone founded the OneTaste centres having had a tantric experience at a friend's party. Rachel is pictured who said she was told at the age of 25 that she could not orgasm but has since mastered 'Oming'. Nicole Daedone, founding or orgasmic meditation centres, believes orgasm fundamentally roots the capacity for connection between people . She said: 'The experience that I had was everything . that I had in sitting medication; cosmic connection, bliss, all of those . things.' She claimed that it was the most profound human connection she had ever experienced. While Ms Daedone accepts that the idea of Oming and Oming classes might seem strange to many people, she said that while Yoga was unusual in the West 30 years ago, it is now common and orgasmic meditation could become usual activities too. She established the first centre in San Francisco and now has 10 centres across the world, including a group in London. | Actress Karen Lorre claims orgasmic meditation enables her to be more sensitive and appreciate men as well as experiencing multiple orgasms .
The female orgasm is a sensation .
many people find perplexing and it is thought one in 10 women never experience one .
Founder of OneTaste orgasmic meditation centres, Nicole Daedone, said the concept of the practice is similar to Buddhist Tantric sex . |
77,217 | dae568199e9c453a7d2af272bf26cf3915eba3f4 | A football fan ended up in intensive care after suffering an allergic reaction to his post-match doner kebab. Ben Eason, 20, suffered an allergic reaction to the greasy takeaway that was so bad he was left choking and paramedics had to restart his heart with adrenaline. He was in a critical condition in intensive care for three days after. And worst of all, his team lost. Intensive care: Ben Eason in hospital after suffering an allergic reaction to a doner kebab . Mr Eason, a fan of Fulham FC, had decided to go for his favourite lamb doner after watching his team concede two goals in the dying moments to lose 2-1 away at Brentford. The insurance worker, who is in fact from Hastings, East Sussex, tucked into his kebab after sinking a few pints in Fulham, south west London, with friends following the November 21 defeat. 'I hadn't eaten anything all day, so I was starving,' he told South West News Service. 'I ate it pretty quickly. I got doner kebabs all the time and have never had a problem with them before. 'All of a sudden I couldn't breathe - I thought I was having an asthma attack. 'My mate ran to get me a bottle of water, but by the time he got back I had collapsed and they had to call 999. 'The paramedics had to use adrenaline to restart my heart - if they had got stuck in traffic on their way to see me, I would have died.' Goner kebab: A succulent doner kebab life the one Mr Eason, right, ate before his allergic reaction. He thinks there must have been some peanut residue on the kebab - the first he had ever bought from that takeaway . Mr Eason has spent his life knowing he has a potentially lethal peanuts allergy. He thinks there must have been some residue on the kebab - the first he had ever bought from that takeaway in Fulham. 'They took me to Charing Cross Hospital. I was in critical care for three days and then I was fine,' he said. 'Even the tiniest bit of peanut could set me off - I had my epi pen but it didn't look like an allergic reaction so we didn't use it. 'The whole situation was very scary, and it was a terrible end to a rubbish day out at the football. 'I'm definitely never eating a kebab again, but of course I will still go and watch Fulham.' | Paramedics had to restart Ben Eason's heart with adrenaline .
Mr Eason had just watched his team lose and was drowning his sorrows .
He has now vowed never to eat a kebab again . |
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