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Stanford NLP 15

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One evening,June Griffith was on her way to pick up her son.Almost immediately,she realized that she had gone the wrong way.She'd driven onto railroad tracks and the underside of her car was caught. As Griffith tried to remove the car,its headlights attracted the attention of a passerby,Jordan Ricks,a college student.He ran over. Ricks,22,tried to appear calm as he instructed Gdmth to remove the car.Both of them could now see the wheel between the rails and the uneven track bed.Ricks put his hands under the front fender and gave it a push.It didn't move. He pushed it again with all his strength,Still,no movement. From about 50 feet away,a group of students from the nearby university watched the scene.Ricks signaled to them,and five of the guys came over. He directed them to different sides of the car,and they all put their hands under the flame. "One,two,three" Ricks yelled.They all pushed. "One,two,three!" he yelled again.The car didn't move. At that moment,they felt the ground begin to shake.Then four dings signaled an on coming train,apd the railroad gates dropped down.In the distance,an unclear line of light appeared,followed by the loud noise of a horn . The guys started yelling,"Get out of the car!Get out of the car!"But Griffith felt _ . When Griffith glanced in the mirror,she saw the train lights approaching.But she worried that the Arthritis in her feet would prevent her from escaping in time and that her car would bedamaged.One of the students,Tommy Stackhouse,20,saw her shocked face and knew he had to act.He reached for the car door and forced it open. The train was just a few hundred feet away.In the last few seconds,Stackhouse grasped Griffith's arm and pulled her from the car.His friend,Frank DiPietrapaul,18,grasped her other arm,and the pair pulled Griffith aside. They watched as the train,crashed into the car,cutting it into half its original size and sending metal pieces flying.Griffith sat crying as the police arrived and sorted through the ruins--and wrote her a ticket for no attention to driving.Eventually,the students went home. A few days later,a reporter asked the young men and Griffith to reunite at a local coffee shop.There a tearful Griffith hugged her rescuers."These boys are heroes,"she would later tell anyone who would listen."They saved my life." Ricks feels only grateful for the outcone."It was one of those moments," he says,"when we could have been gone together.It makes you think how precious life is."

wikipedia

Torx (pronounced ), developed in 1967 by Camcar Textron, is the trademark for a type of screw head characterized by a 6-point star-shaped pattern. A popular generic name for the drive is "star", as in star screwdriver or star bits. The official generic name, standardized by the International Organization for Standardization as ISO 10664, is hexalobular internal. This is sometimes abbreviated in databases and catalogs as 6lobe (starting with numeral, "6", not a capital letter, "G"). Torx Plus is an improved head profile. Torx screws are commonly found on automobiles, motorcycles, bicycle brake systems (disc brakes), hard disk drives, computer systems and consumer electronics. Initially, they were sometimes used in applications requiring tamper resistance, since the drive systems and screwdrivers were not widely available; as drivers became more common, tamper-resistant variants, as described below, were developed. Torx screws are also becoming increasingly popular in construction industries. By design, Torx head screws resist cam-out better than Phillips head or slot head screws. Whereas Phillips heads were allegedly designed to "cause" the driver to cam out, to prevent overtightening, Torx heads were designed to "prevent" cam-out. The development of better torque-limiting automatic screwdrivers for use in factories allowed this change. Rather than rely on the tool to slip out of the screw head when a desired torque level is reached (which risks damage to the driver tip, screw head, and/or workpiece), torque-limiting driver designs achieve a desired torque consistently.

wikipedia

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an independent agency of the United States government charged with preserving and documenting government and historical records and with increasing public access to those documents, which comprise the National Archives. NARA is officially responsible for maintaining and publishing the legally authentic and authoritative copies of acts of Congress, presidential proclamations and executive orders, and federal regulations. The NARA also transmits votes of the Electoral College to Congress. The Archivist of the United States is the chief official overseeing the operation of the National Archives and Records Administration. The Archivist not only maintains the official documentation of the passage of amendments to the U.S. Constitution by state legislatures, but has the authority to declare when the constitutional threshold for passage has been reached, and therefore when an act has become an amendment. The Office of the Federal Register publishes the Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, and United States Statutes at Large, among others. It also administers the Electoral College.

gutenberg

CHAPTER II A fat, unwholesome--looking creature, half native, half Belgian, waddled across the open space towards the hut in which the two strangers had been housed. He was followed at a little distance by two sturdy natives bearing a steaming pot which they carried on a pole between them. Trent set down his revolver and rose to his feet. "What news, Oom Sam?" he asked. "Has the English officer been heard of? He must be close up now." "No news," the little man grunted. "The King, he send some of his own supper to the white men. 'They got what they want,' he say. 'They start work mine soon as like, but they go away from here.' He not like them about the place! See!" "Oh, that be blowed!" Trent muttered. "What's this in the pot? It don't smell bad." "Rabbit," the interpreter answered tersely. "Very good. Part King's own supper. White men very favoured." Trent bent over the pot which the two men had set upon the ground. He took a fork from his belt and dug it in. "Very big bones for a rabbit, Sam," he remarked doubtfully. Sam looked away. "Very big rabbits round here," he remarked. "Best keep pot. Send men away." Trent nodded, and the men withdrew. "Stew all right," Sam whispered confidentially. "You eat him. No fear. But you got to go. King beginning get angry. He say white men not to stay. They got what he promised, now they go. I know King--know this people well! You get away quick. He think you want be King here! You got the papers--all you want, eh?"

mctest

Johnny was in his backyard. He held a big basket full of clean clothes for his mother to hang. A little spotted dog ran into their backyard. He jumped up and grabbed a sock from Johnny's basket! He ran as fast as he could and disappeared into the bushes. "I must get that sock back!" Johnny said. "That sock is my favorite!" He ran into the bushes after the little spotted dog. Johnny saw Mr. Wilson in the next yard over cooking at his grill. "Mr. Wilson," Johnny said. "Did you see a dog with a sock?" "I sure did!" Mr. Wilson said. "The little dog ran around and around and then ran into the next yard!" Johnny ran after the dog into the next yard. He saw Mrs. Tomly reading a book on a chair. "Mrs. Tomly," Johnny said. "Did you see a dog with a sock?" "I sure did!" Mrs. Tomly said. "The little dog ran around and around then ran into the next yard!" Johnny ran after the dog into the next yard. There, he saw a cat laying on a table. "Mr. Cat," Johnny said. "Did you see a dog with a sock?" The cat opened one eye. Then it pointed to the next yard over with his tail. Johnny ran into the next yard. He saw Mrs. Han sitting on a chair petting the little spotted dog. The dog had his sock. "That is my sock!" Johnny said. Mrs. Han smiled and gave Johnny back his sock. "Sparky here only wanted to play." Johnny petted Sparky. "I want to play too," he said to the dog. "As long as you do not steal my socks!" Sparky barked happily. He and Johnny played the rest of day together.

mctest

Sarah is a girl. Sarah has one brother. Sarah's brother's name is Timothy. Sarah has one sister. Sarah's sister's name is Annabelle. Their last name is MacGregor. One day Sarah went to the park with her brother Timothy. They swung on the swings for a short time. Then Annabelle came out and swung with them. They all sang some nice songs together. They all became very happy. Then Timothy's friend came. Timothy liked his friend very much. Timothy went off the swing and went away with his friend. Then Annabelle and Sarah felt very very sad. Happily then Annabelle and Sarah's friend came. Their friend's name was Kate Smith. She was the same age as Sarah. They wanted to go to the slide together. So they went to the slide and played for a long time. Then Annabelle became happy. And Sarah also became happy. Then they went home together and had some food.

race

I'm sitting here in this coffee shop. You know the one there by Allen street. The town is filled with thousands of middle class college kids living off their parent's money. The coffee shop is where the ones come to play the part of sophisticated bohemians . The pretensions glow from their line-less faces as they sip cappuccinos and chew strawberry cookies. The boys to my right are discussing Nabokov with a serious air, a copy of Sartre's Cuba lies on the table. The young woman on my left is declaring that she can never allow her creativity to be killed by entering the work force. The man with her scratches his goatee in agreement, occasionally suggesting they go back to his place to hear his new Washington Squares CD. Matt has just designed a new international symbol for peace. He moves from table to table trying to sell hand painted T-shirts that bear the design. Tomorrow he's leaving for the 25th anniversary Woodstock concert where he hopes to strike it rich with his creation. Gopha the skinny Indian boy feels like singing me a verse of 'It Ain't Me Babe' when I ask him if he's a friend of Monica's. Jason is trying to talk Gopha into a dollar bet on a game of chess. Between times Jason will chew your ear off with his plans to conquer the music industry while studying entertainment law, but when it comes to his never ending dollar chess matches he's quiet as a church mouse. I sit among them. To all surface appearances one and the same. If they could only see I would rather reach into their flesh and tear out their shallow little hearts than listen to another second of their prattle . With no job, no gigs, and my girlfriend's so far gone she might as well be on another planet, I've been leading the writer's quiet cafe life, spending my free time outdoors drinking iced teas and cheap wines. I chat warmly with whoever decides to squander away their hours in my surrounding area. But behind my eyes is an unspoken challenge to any and every one of these social elites to just once say one thing that would inspire me. Just one little idea which is new and meaningful. Unfortunately original thoughts are zero here. In my secret mind I wish to run like a madman banging gongs and speaking in tongues. Or maybe jump on a table and sing the Star Spangled Banner in the forgotten language of the Hottentots. I know these thoughts only reveal me as a fool because the spark I search for cannot be found in acts of shocking performance art. Where it truly comes from is one of the mysteries which will always hang around me.

wikipedia

It is classified as a Beta World City, ranking seventh in Latin America and 73rd in the world. Described as a "vibrant, eclectic place with a rich cultural life", and "a thriving tech center and entrepreneurial culture", Montevideo ranks 8th in Latin America on the 2013 MasterCard Global Destination Cities Index. By 2014, is also regarded as the fifth most gay-friendly major city in the world, first in Latin America. It is the hub of commerce and higher education in Uruguay as well as its chief port. The city is also the financial and cultural hub of a larger metropolitan area, with a population of around 2 million. A Spanish expedition was sent from Buenos Aires, organized by the Spanish governor of that city, Bruno Mauricio de Zabala. On 22 January 1724, the Spanish forced the Portuguese to abandon the location and started populating the city, initially with six families moving in from Buenos Aires and soon thereafter by families arriving from the Canary Islands who were called by the locals "guanches", "guanchos" or "canarios". There was also one significant early Italian resident by the name of Jorge Burgues.

wikipedia

Napoléon Bonaparte (/nəˈpoʊliən, -ˈpoʊljən/; French: [napɔleɔ̃ bɔnapaʁt], born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821) was a French military and political leader who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led several successful campaigns during the Revolutionary Wars. As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 until 1814, and again in 1815. Napoleon dominated European and global affairs for more than a decade while leading France against a series of coalitions in the Napoleonic Wars. He won most of these wars and the vast majority of his battles, building a large empire that ruled over continental Europe before its final collapse in 1815. Often considered one of the greatest commanders in history, his wars and campaigns are studied at military schools worldwide. He also remains one of the most celebrated and controversial political figures in Western history. In civil affairs, Napoleon had a major long-term impact by bringing liberal reforms to the territories that he conquered, especially the Low Countries, Switzerland, and large parts of modern Italy and Germany. He implemented fundamental liberal policies in France and throughout Western Europe.[note 1] His lasting legal achievement, the Napoleonic Code, has been adopted in various forms by a quarter of the world's legal systems, from Japan to Quebec.

race

Jamie Oliver has been invited by Gordon Brown to prepare a banquet at No.10 for President Barack Obama and other leaders of the G20, offering a cut-price menu to reflect times when trade and industry are far from prosperous and the rate of employment is decreasing. Downing Street sources say Oliver, the well-known chef, will cook using "honest high-street products" and avoid expensive or "fancy" ingredients. The prime minister is trying to avoid a repeat of the embarrassment last year when he sat down to an 18-course banquet at a Japanese summit to discuss world food shortages. Obama, President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and other leaders will be served by apprentices from Fifteen, the London restaurant Oliver founded to help train young people in poverty in order to make a living by mastering a skill. Brown wants the dinner to reflect the emphasis of the London summit, which he hopes will lead to an agreement to lift the world out of recession."To be invited to cook for such an important group of people, who are trying to solve some of the world's major problems, is really a privilege," said Oliver. "I'm hoping the menu I'm working on will show British food and produce is some of the best in the world, but also show we have pioneered a high-quality apprentice scheme at Fifteen London that is giving young people a skill to be proud of." The chef has not yet finalized me menu, but is expected to draw inspiration from his latest book, Jamie's Ministry of Food, which has budget recipes for beef and ale stew and "impressive" chocolate fudge cake. ( )

mctest

Sally liked going outside. She put on her shoes. She went outside to walk. She walked on the green grass. The sun was warm. The trees were tall. The birds sang in the trees. Sally liked how the birds can sing. Sally likes to sing with the birds, outside. Ring, ring, is how the birds sang. Sally sang ring, ring, with the birds in the trees. Sally took off her shoes. Sally liked how the green grass was on her toes. Sally's toes liked the green grass. Sally walked on the green grass some more. She saw Missy the cat. Missy the cat meowed to Sally. Sally waved to Missy the cat. Sally likes Missy the cat. Sally likes to meow to Missy the cat. Meow, meow, Sally says to Missy the cat. Missy the cat walks away from Sally. Sally hears her name. Sally, Sally, come home, Sally's Mom calls out. Sally runs home to her Mom. Sally liked going outside.

race

Martin Lynch, an American businessman, had been going on vacation to a small Mexican fishing village for a number of ears. One morning while going for a walk along the beach, he saw his friend Pablo Perez, a local fisherman. Martin watched Pablo _ his boat and pack the fish in a box. Martin noticed Pablo was smiling and looked very happy. He could also see several large fish in the boat. Martin greeted Pablo and asked how long it took to catch the fish. "Just a few hours," replied Pablo. Martin asked, "Why didn't you stay longer and catch more fish?" "I have enough for my family," Pablo said. "And what do you do with the rest of your day?" asked Martin. "I take a nap, play with my children, spend time with my wife, and go into the village to see my friends and play cards, I have a full and busy life." Martin explained that if Pablo worked longer hours and caught more fish, he could make more money. With the extra money, Pablo could buy more boats and catch money more fish. By selling the fish, Pablo could open his own factory and sell direct to supermarkets. "Then what?" asked Pablo. "Well you would probably have to move to Mexico City to run the business. Finally, you would be able to sell your business and make millions of dollars," replied Martin. "How long will that take?" asked Pablo. Martin thought for a while and said it would probably take at least 15 years. "And then what" asked Pablo. "Well, that's the best part," Martin said. "You will be able to retire, buy a house near the ocean, sleep longer, play with your children, spend more time with your wife, see your friends, and play cards."

mctest

A cowboy named Steve wanted to take a vacation from his farm that was named Raindrop. He could not make up his mind where to go, so he saddled his horse and rode east. The sun was setting in the west and it was orange. A cold wind was blowing from north to south. Steve rode through a forest of pear trees next to his farm. The first place he came to was a small town full of quiet people and its name was Silence. No one would talk to Steve. He kept riding. The town was next to a forest of maple trees. The second town he came to was very cold and its name was Ice. Steve was afraid his horse would freeze if he stayed there. Everyone in the town was wearing large coats and mittens. The second town was next to a forest of pine trees. The third town he came to was warm and it was named Sunny. There were palm trees on the beach. Steve and his horse went to the beach and played in the ocean. Steve took off his boots. Steve's hat got wet in the water. He had to leave it on the beach to dry. Eventually Steve and his horse got hot. They rode east again. Eventually Steve arrived back at his farm. This confused him because he thought he had been riding in a different direction. Steve learned that there really was no place like home. He put his horse in the barn and went back into his house.

gutenberg

CHAPTER XXXI. AN INTERLUDE It was close on midnight now, and still they sat opposite one another, he the friend and she the wife, talking over that brief half-hour that had meant an eternity to her. Marguerite had tried to tell Sir Andrew everything; bitter as it was to put into actual words the pathos and misery which she had witnessed, yet she would hide nothing from the devoted comrade whom she knew Percy would trust absolutely. To him she repeated every word that Percy had uttered, described every inflection of his voice, those enigmatical phrases which she had not understood, and together they cheated one another into the belief that hope lingered somewhere hidden in those words. "I am not going to despair, Lady Blakeney," said Sir Andrew firmly; "and, moreover, we are not going to disobey. I would stake my life that even now Blakeney has some scheme in his mind which is embodied in the various letters which he has given you, and which--Heaven help us in that case!--we might thwart by disobedience. Tomorrow in the late afternoon I will escort you to the Rue de Charonne. It is a house that we all know well, and which Armand, of course, knows too. I had already inquired there two days ago to ascertain whether by chance St. Just was not in hiding there, but Lucas, the landlord and old-clothes dealer, knew nothing about him." Marguerite told him about her swift vision of Armand in the dark corridor of the house of Justice.

mctest

Sammy, Kate and Ben were planning a birthday party for their friend Stew. This party was going to be a surprise. They were going to have the party in Stew's house. Sammy's job was making the house look nice. Kate's job was to get a clown to come to the party. Ben's job was to make enough food for all of the guests. Also, each of the three friends got Stew a gift. Sammy got Stew a few goldfish in a bowl. Kate got Stew a really cool little tree in a pot. Ben got Stew a new shirt with people from Stew's favorite television show on it. His favorite television show is Crazy Town, by the way. On the day of the party, Sammy was taping signs on the walls, Kate was on the phone with the clown and Ben was cooking in the kitchen. There was a storm outside, so they were worried that all their friends might not show up. There was thunder and lightning, wind and rain. They even lost power for a little bit! But everything turned out okay in the end. All their friends showed up and Stew was very surprised. He loved all of his gifts and he thought the clown was funny. Everyone loved the food Ben made, too.

mctest

Paul and George wanted to get something to eat for lunch. Sam and Ralph went to school lunch room, but Paul and George wanted to leave and get something outside. They both go to the same school and have the same lunch period, which is how they know each other. They are allowed to leave school for 1 hour for lunch. They get together and rule out pizza, pasta, spicy food and chips. They also want to go somewhere close because they only have an hour. They know there are two places that have burgers and fries close by. Paul loves burgers and George loves fries. Paul says that Great Burger has good burgers. George says that Best Burger has good fries. They now have a problem. "How are we going to pick where we are going to go?" says George. Paul answers "Let's go to Great Burger today and tomorrow let's go to Best Burger." George, being a good friend, says OK. They leave school and go to eat burgers and fries.

race

Thirty years ago, the Earnshaw family lived at Wuthering Heights, with two teenaged children Hindley and Catherine. Mr. Earnshaw travels to Liverpool, where he adopts a homeless Gypsy boy, naming him "Heathcliff". Hindley finds himself robbed of his father's love and care and becomes bitterly jealous of the newcomer. However, Catherine grows very attached to him. Soon, the two children spend hours on the moors together and hate every moment apart. Because of the conflict , Hindley is eventually sent to college. However, he marries a woman named Frances and returns three years later, after Mr. Earnshaw dies. He becomes master of Wuthering Heights, making Heathcliff their servant instead of a family member. Months after Hindley's return, Heathcliff and Catherine travel to Thrushcross Grange to spy on the Linton family. However, they are found and try to escape. Catherine is caught by a dog, and then brought inside the Grange to have injuries tended to while Heathcliff is sent home. Catherine eventually returns to Wuthering Heights as a changed woman, looking and acting as a lady. She laughs at HeathcIiff's dirty appearance. When the Lintons visit the next day, Heathcliff dresses up to impress her. It fails, however, when Edgar, one of the Lintons' children, argues with him. Heathcliff is locked in the attic, where Catherine later tries to comfort him. He swears revenge on Hindley. In the summer of the next year, Frances gives birth to a son, Hareton, but she dies before the year is out. This leads Hindley to fall into a life of drunkenness and waste. Two years pass and Catherine has become close friends with Edgar, growing more distant from Heathcliff. One day in August, while Hindley is absent, Edgar comes to visit Catherine. Before long, they declare themselves lovers. Catherine explains to Nelly, her servant, that she does not really love Edgar but Heathcliff. Unfortunately, she could never marry Heathcliff because of his lack of status and education. She therefore plans to marry Edgar and use that position to help raise Heathcliff's status. Unfortunately, Heathcliff has overheard _ and runs away, disappearing without a trace. After three years, Edgar and Catherine are married. Six months after their marriage, Heathcliff returns as a gentleman, having grown stronger and richer. Catherine is delighted to see him although Edgar is not so keen. Edgar's sister, Isabella, now eighteen, falls in love with Heathcliff. He looks down upon her but encourages the adolescent love, seeing it as a chance for revenge on Edgar. When he embraces Isabella one day at the Grange, there is an argument with Edgar, which causes Catherine to lock herself in her room and fall ill. Heathcliff has been staying at the Heights, gambling with Hindley and teaching Hareton bad habits. Hindley is gradually losing his wealth, mortgaging the farmhouse to Heathcliff to repay his debts. While Catherine is ill, Heathcliff leaves with Isabella, causing Edgar to disown (......) his sister. The two marry and return two months later to Wuthering Heights. Heathcliff hears that Catherine is ill and arranges to visit her in secret. In the early hours of the day after their meeting, Catherine gives birth to her daughter, Cathy, and then dies. Hindley dies six months after Catherine. Heathcliff finds himself the master of Wuthering Heights and the guardian of Hareton.

cnn

(CNN) -- The feat has not been achieved since 1936 but with every victory, the pressure on Andy Murray to deliver a first British winner of the men's singles at Wimbledon since Fred Perry grows. The expectation is always there for any leading British player but with Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer having unexpectedly dropped out of his section of the draw, Murray is fancied like never before to finally rewrite history. The beaten finalist in 2012, the 26-year-old survived a second set scare to beat Russian 20th seed Mikhail Youzhny 6-4 7-5 (7-5) 6-1 and reach the quarterfinals for the sixth straight year. The second seed will meet the unseeded Fernando Verdasco for a place in the semifinals, with the Scot boasting an 8-1 winning record against the Spaniard, who beat Kenny de Schepper in straight sets. "It was a tough match," U.S. Open and Olympic champion Murray said later. "The first couple of sets especially -- and he also had a chance at the start of the third. "But once I got ahead in the third set, I concentrated really hard not to let him back into the match like I did in the second set." The turning point of a contest that lasted two hours and 37 minutes came in the second set when Murray managed to turn around a 2-5 deficit to win on a tie break. Youzhny needed treatment on a shoulder injury early in the third set and faded soon after, so allowing the British number one to reach the last eight without dropping a set.

cnn

(CNN) -- A former Utah policeman is a suspect in at least three of Monday's four rush-hour shootings near Dallas, Texas, including one of two fatal attacks, police said Tuesday. CNN affiliate KSL in Salt Lake City, Utah, provided this file photo of the Dallas suspect, Brian Smith. The suspect, Brian Smith, tried to commit suicide after the Monday-evening shootings and was in a hospital in serious condition, Dallas police detective Lt. Craig Miller said. Police used ballistic tests to link Smith, a Utah state police officer for 12 years, to the shootings in which one driver was killed, one was injured by shattered glass and one escaped uninjured, Dallas police detective Lt. Craig Miller said. Miller said it is unclear if Smith was involved in the other fatal shooting, which was the first attack of the evening. Four motorists were attacked along a three-mile stretch near and on the LBJ Freeway, about 10 miles northeast of downtown Dallas, on Monday evening, police said. The first attack, which happened in Garland, Texas, about 5:41 p.m., killed Jorge Lopez. Garland police said Lopez, 20, was sitting in his Nissan at a traffic light when a man in a pickup pulled alongside him and fired shots into his car, killing him. A few minutes after the Garland shooting and two miles away on LBJ Freeway, a gunman fired at two tractor-trailers. While one driver escaped injuries, William Scott Miller, 42, of Frankfort, Kentucky, was shot to death behind the wheel of a United Van Lines truck, police said.

wikipedia

São Paulo (; ; "Saint Paul" in English) is a municipality in the southeast region of Brazil. The metropolis is an alpha global city—as listed by the GaWC—and is the most populous city in Brazil and Americas as well as in the Southern Hemisphere. The municipality is also the largest in the Americas and Earth's 12th largest city proper by population. The city is the capital of the surrounding state of São Paulo, one of 26 constituent states of the republic. It is the most populous and wealthiest city in Brazil. It exerts strong international influences in commerce, finance, arts and entertainment. The name of the city honors the Apostle, Saint Paul of Tarsus. The city's metropolitan area of Greater São Paulo ranks as the most populous in Brazil, the 11th most populous on Earth, and largest Portuguese language-speaking city in the world. Having the largest economy by GDP in Latin America and the Southern Hemisphere, the city is home to the São Paulo Stock Exchange. Paulista Avenue is the economic core of São Paulo. The city has the 11th largest GDP in the world, representing alone 10.7% of all Brazilian GDP and 36% of the production of goods and services in the state of São Paulo, being home to 63% of established multinationals in Brazil, and has been responsible for 28% of the national scientific production in 2005. With a GDP of US$477 billions, the Sao Paulo city alone could be ranked 24th globally compared with countries. (2016 Estimates).

gutenberg

CHAPTER XXIII HOPE "Faith, Madame!" said Sir Andrew, seeing that Marguerite seemed desirous to call her surly host back again, "I think we'd better leave him alone. We shall not get anything more out of him, and we might arouse his suspicions. One never knows what spies may be lurking around these God-forsaken places." "What care I?" she replied lightly, "now I know that my husband is safe, and that I shall see him almost directly!" "Hush!" he said in genuine alarm, for she had talked quite loudly, in the fulness of her glee, "the very walls have ears in France, these days." He rose quickly from the table, and walked round the bare, squalid room, listening attentively at the door, through which Brogard has just disappeared, and whence only muttered oaths and shuffling footsteps could be heard. He also ran up the rickety steps that led to the attic, to assure himself that there were no spies of Chauvelin's about the place. "Are we alone, Monsieur, my lacquey?" said Marguerite, gaily, as the young man once more sat down beside her. "May we talk?" "As cautiously as possible!" he entreated. "Faith, man! but you wear a glum face! As for me, I could dance with joy! Surely there is no longer any cause for fear. Our boat is on the beach, the FOAM CREST not two miles out at sea, and my husband will be here, under this very roof, within the next half hour perhaps. Sure! there is naught to hinder us. Chauvelin and his gang have not yet arrived."

race

He may not have an "S" across his chest but this dog is most certainly a hero. Harley, who was rescued from a puppy mill four years ago, was named the American Humane Association's 2015 American Hero Dog. Harley, who is missing an eye and has other medical issues from his time at the mill, is now a "spokes-dog" against puppy mills. He serves as the adorable furry face of the"Harley to the Rescue"campaign, which raises funds for the National Dog Mill Rescue, according to a press release. The pup was rescued back in 2011 and adopted by Rudi and her husband, Dan. "It was just four years ago that he was pulled from the cage in the puppy mill and left to die," Harley's owner, Rudi, said during the awards show at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles this past weekend, according to Today. com. "We never would have ever thought he would live this long and make such a difference for so many puppies. " The dog was one of eight finalists up for the American Hero Dog and was chosen as the winner through public votes. The finalists all won $ 1,500 to be donated to one of American Humane Association' s charity partners, with Harley receiving another $ 5 ,000 to go toward his charity partner, New Leash On Life. According to the release, Harley spent 10 years at the puppy mill, and endured rough treatment there, which led to his many medical issues. He lost his eye as a result of his cage being power-washed with him inside. The dog isn't just the face of his campaign, he also goes on rescue missions and makes public appearances at events and schools to raise awareness for puppy mills. This incredible work is all due to the dog' s fighting spirit. That spirit is allowing him now to be the voice for dogs who cannot speak for themselves and give everybody hope that tomorrow's going to be a better day.

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Having just quit a highly moneymaking job with tech giant Microsoft in the United States,where he'd made millions working as a program manager, _ What Awuah wanted was to create a university in his native Ghana.a state-of-the-art education centre that would help educate the country's next generation of leaders.Awuah moved with his family,back to Ghana.There,he invested his own money and with the help of other donors he founded Ashesi University. "Africa needs to have a renaissance ," says Awuah as he explained what drove him to take the risky decision."The world needs to change in this way and I strongly believe that people like me need to be part of the solution;I need to be really actively involved in helping to drive this change in Africa'' Located about an hour's drive from the capital Accra,Ashesi,which appropriately translates to "beginning," is the first Ghanaian university to combine technical majors with a liberal arts approach.Its campus,set on 100 acres in a town called Berekuso,was designed to be inspiring for the more than 500 young Ghanaians studying there. "So when I look at universities I see Africa fast--forward 30 years.When this 20-year-old is now in his or her 50s,that person is going to be a leader." Today Ashesi,which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year,offers degrees in business, information systems and computer science.There are plans to offer engineering and economics majors in the near future.The school's graduation rate is between 70%and 90%,according to Awuah. In our last freshman class,50% of the students paid full tuition ,25%were on full scholarships and 25%on partial scholarships ,"he said."The reason why variety is so important is that the most important conversation on campus is a conversation about the good society--what is the good society we would like to see in Africa? That conversation is a lot more interesting if you have variety in the classroom,"adds Awuah. .

mctest

There once was a dog named Bruno. Bruno belonged to a family, the Smiths, but he was most loved by Sarah. Sarah was the youngest child in the house, she lived there with her mom, dad and older brother Fred. Bruno would sleep with Sarah every night, and wake up with her every morning. Together they would eat cheese and ham for breakfast every day! One day after breakfast Sarah was getting ready to go to school, but something scared her! There was a big storm. Sarah was too scared to go to school with all of the thunder and lighting. Bruno could tell Sarah was scared, and did the only thing a dog could do, Bruno walked with Sarah to school the whole way so she was no longer scared!

gutenberg

CHAPTER XIX. JANE FINN "MY train got in half an hour ago," explained Julius, as he led the way out of the station. "I reckoned you'd come by this before I left London, and wired accordingly to Sir James. He's booked rooms for us, and will be round to dine at eight." "What made you think he'd ceased to take any interest in the case?" asked Tommy curiously. "What he said," replied Julius dryly. "The old bird's as close as an oyster! Like all the darned lot of them, he wasn't going to commit himself till he was sure he could deliver the goods." "I wonder," said Tommy thoughtfully. Julius turned on him. "You wonder what?" "Whether that was his real reason." "Sure. You bet your life it was." Tommy shook his head unconvinced. Sir James arrived punctually at eight o'clock, and Julius introduced Tommy. Sir James shook hands with him warmly. "I am delighted to make your acquaintance, Mr. Beresford. I have heard so much about you from Miss Tuppence"--he smiled involuntarily--"that it really seems as though I already know you quite well." "Thank you, sir," said Tommy with his cheerful grin. He scanned the great lawyer eagerly. Like Tuppence, he felt the magnetism of the other's personality. He was reminded of Mr. Carter. The two men, totally unlike so far as physical resemblance went, produced a similar effect. Beneath the weary manner of the one and the professional reserve of the other, lay the same quality of mind, keen-edged like a rapier.

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CHICAGO ---Call it a reward, or just "bribery ". Whichever it is, many parents today readily admit to buying off their children, who getgoodies for anything from behaving in a restaurant to sleeping all night in their own beds. That's what worries parenting experts. "I think that reward systems have a time and a place and work really well in certain situations," says Marcy Safyer, director of the Adelphi University Institute for Parenting. "But what often gets lost for people is being able to figure out how to communicate to their kids that doing the thing is rewarding enough," Safyer says. Parents and experts alike agree that thedynamic is partly a reflection of the world we live in. It's unrealistic to think a parent wouldn't reward their children with material things sometimes, says Robin Lanzi, a clinical psychologist and mother of four who's the research director at the Center on Health and Education at Georgetown University. "But you want to make sure that they match the behavior, so it's not something huge for something small," Lanzi says. She recalls hearing about a father who offered his child a Nintendo Wii game system for scoring a couple goals in a soccer game. Elizabeth Powell, a mother of two young daughters in Austin, Texas, knows what she means. "You want to raise them in a way that they're respectful and appreciate things," Powell says of her children. "But sometimes, you wonder now if kids appreciate even a new pair of shoes. "

wikipedia

Southern California, often abbreviated SoCal, is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises California's southernmost 10 counties. The region is traditionally described as "eight counties", based on demographics and economic ties: Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara, and Ventura. The more extensive 10-county definition, including Kern and San Luis Obispo counties, is also used based on historical political divisions. Southern California is a major economic center for the state of California and the United States. The 8- and 10-county definitions are not used for the greater Southern California Megaregion, one of the 11 megaregions of the United States. The megaregion's area is more expansive, extending east into Las Vegas, Nevada, and south across the Mexican border into Tijuana. Southern California includes the heavily built-up urban area stretching along the Pacific coast from Ventura, through the Greater Los Angeles Area and the Inland Empire, and down to Greater San Diego. Southern California's population encompasses seven metropolitan areas, or MSAs: the Los Angeles metropolitan area, consisting of Los Angeles and Orange counties; the Inland Empire, consisting of Riverside and San Bernardino counties; the San Diego metropolitan area; the Oxnard–Thousand Oaks–Ventura metropolitan area; the Santa Barbara metro area; the San Luis Obispo metropolitan area; and the El Centro area. Out of these, three are heavy populated areas: the Los Angeles area with over 12 million inhabitants, the Riverside-San Bernardino area with over four million inhabitants, and the San Diego area with over 3 million inhabitants. For CSA metropolitan purposes, the five counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura are all combined to make up the Greater Los Angeles Area with over 17.5 million people. With over 22 million people, southern California contains roughly 60 percent of California's population.

cnn

Washington (CNN) -- The federal government said it will recommend that new cars have rear-view video systems, a move immediately denounced as "insufficient" by safety groups who say the cameras should be mandatory. The camera and monitor system enables drivers to see whether people or objects are in the blind spot behind vehicles. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Tuesday it will add the rear-view video systems to its list of recommended features under its New Car Assessment Program, designed to encourage car manufacturers to improve vehicle safety. But safety groups called the action a stalling tactic, saying the agency is dragging its feet in fulfilling a congressionally imposed deadline to issue a rule on rear visibility. Passed in 2008, the law had a 2011 deadline. The regulation is now two and a half years overdue. Death toll from backover accidents grows The NHTSA action "is an inadequate substitute for issuing a mandatory safety regulation," Jackie Gillan, president of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, said in a statement. "In fact, safety advocates are concerned that NHTSA's announcement is an attempt to divert attention from their failure to act." The NHTSA announcement Tuesday came just one day before a group of safety advocates, including two parents who unintentionally hit their children while backing up, was expected to file suit against the U.S. Department of Transportation, which includes NHTSA. The suit is to be filed Wednesday morning by Greg Gulbransen, who reportedly backed over his 2-year-old son, Cameron, in his driveway in 2002, killing him, and by Susan Auriemma, who backed over her 3-year-old daughter, Kate, in her driveway in 2005, injuring her.

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CHAPTER XXII--ANGEL AND BEAR "Enough of science and of art! Close up those barren leaves, Come forth, and bring with you a heart That watches and receives." - WORDSWORTH. A telegram had been handed to Mr. Mayor, which he kept to himself, smiling over it, and he--at least--was not taken utterly by surprise at the sight of a tall handsome man, who stepped forward with something like a shout. "Angel! Lance! Why, is it Robin, too?" "Bear, Bear, old Bear, how did you come?" "I couldn't stop when I heard at Clipstone that Angel was here, so I left Phyllis and the kid with her mother. Oh, Angel, Angel, to meet at Bexley after all!" They clung together almost as they had done when they were the riotous elements of the household, while Lance opened the front door, and Robina, mindful of appearances, impelled them into the hall, Bernard exclaiming, "Pratt's room! Whose teeth is it?" "Don't you want Wilmet to hold your hands and make you open your mouth?" said Lance, laughing. Gertrude, who had already received the Indian arrival, met Angela, who was bounding up to see to her charge, with, "Not come in yet! She is gone out with the children quite happily, with Awdrey's doll in her arms. Come and enjoy each other in peace." "In the office, please," said Angela. "That is home. We shall be our four old selves." Lance opened the office door, and gave a hint to Mr. Lamb, while they looked at each other by the fire.

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CHAPTER IV _Old Granny Fox Tries for Danny Meadow Mouse_ Danny Meadow Mouse had not enjoyed anything so much for a long time as he did that game of hide and seek. He tickled and chuckled all the afternoon as he thought about it. Of course Reddy had been "it." He had been "it" all the time, for never once had he caught Danny Meadow Mouse. If he had--well, there wouldn't have been any more stories about Danny Meadow Mouse, because there wouldn't have been any Danny Meadow Mouse any more. But Danny never let himself think about this. He had enjoyed the game all the more because it had been such a dangerous game. It had been such fun to dive into one of his little round doorways in the snow, run along one of his own little tunnels, and then peep out at another doorway and watch Reddy Fox digging as fast as ever he could at the doorway Danny had just left. Finally Reddy had given up in disgust and gone off muttering angrily to try to find something else for dinner. Danny had sat up on the snow and watched him go. In his funny little squeaky voice Danny shouted: "Though Reddy Fox is smart and sly, Hi-hum-diddle-de-o! I'm just as smart and twice as spry. Hi-hum-diddle-de-o!" That night Reddy Fox told old Granny Fox all about how he had tried to catch Danny Meadow Mouse. Granny listened with her head cocked on one side. When Reddy told how fat Danny Meadow Mouse was, her mouth watered. You see now that snow covered the Green Meadows and the Green Forest, Granny and Reddy Fox had hard work to get enough to eat, and they were hungry most of the time.

gutenberg

CHAPTER XLIV. THE GALIMAFRE Speats and raxes, speats and raxes, speat and raxes Lord Somerville's billet Never wont to let the grass grow under his feet, Henry of Navarre was impatient of awaiting his troops at Pont de Dronne, and proposed to hasten on to Quinet, as a convenient centre for collecting the neighbouring gentry for conference. Thus, early on Monday, a party of about thirty set forth on horseback, including the Ribaumonts, Rayonette being perched by turns in front of her father or mother, and the Duke de Quinet declaring that he should do his best to divide the journey into stages not too long for Philip, since he was anxious to give his mother plenty of time to make preparations for her royal guest. He had, however, little reckoned on the young King's promptitude. The first courier he had dispatched was overtaken at a _cabaret_ only five leagues from Pont de Dronne, baiting his horse, as he said; the second was found on the road with a lame horse; and the halt a day's journey remained beyond it. The last stage had been ridden, much to the Duke's discontent, for it brought them to a mere village inn, with scarcely any accommodation. The only tolerable bed was resigned by the King to the use of Philip, whose looks spoke the exhaustion of which his tongue scorned to complain. So painful and feverish a night ensued that Eustacie was anxious that he should not move until the Duke should, as he promised, send a mule litter back for him; but this proposal he resented; and in the height of his constitutional obstinacy, appeared booted and spurred at the first signal to mount.

cnn

Washington (CNN) -- Mexican drug cartels have used cash and sexual favors as tools to corrupt U.S. border and customs agents, an inspector general investigation has found. In exchange, agents allow contraband or unauthorized immigrants through inspection lanes, protect or escort traffickers or leak sensitive information, said Charles Edwards, acting inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security. Testifying before a Senate subcommittee, Edwards cited the Zetas drug cartel as one of the leaders "involved increasingly in systematic corruption." He did not elaborate on how non-cash methods of corruption, like sexual favors, have been used to corrupt agents. Since October 2004, 127 Customs and Border Protection employees have been arrested or indicted for acts of corruption, said agency Commissioner Alan Bersin, speaking at the same hearing of the Senate Subcommittee on Disaster Recovery and Intergovernmental Affairs. Mexican President Felipe Calderon's offensive against the drug cartels, combined with a surge in the hiring of border agents in recent years, have multiplied the risks of corruption, Bersin said. Today, the Border Patrol counts more than 20,700 agents, more than double its size in 2004. Bersin implied that the rapid hiring spree may have come at the cost of hiring less qualified agents. "The accelerated hiring pace under which we operated between 2006 and 2008 -- and, frankly, mistakes from which we are learning -- exposed critical organizational and individual vulnerabilities within CBP," he said. To face this challenge, the commissioner touted the passage of the Anti-Border Corruption Act of 2010, which requires that by 2013, all the agency's law enforcement applicants must receive a polygraph test before being hired. It also calls for periodic reinvestigations into the background of its agents.

gutenberg

CHAPTER XXXII. HOW KING WILLIAM TOOK COUNSEL OF A CHURCHMAN. If Torfrida was exhausted, so was Hereward likewise. He knew well that a repulse was not a defeat. He knew well the indomitable persistence, the boundless resources, of the mastermind whom he defied; and he knew well that another attempt would be made, and then another, till--though it took seven years in the doing--Ely would be won at last. To hold out doggedly as long as he could was his plan: to obtain the best terms he could for his comrades. And he might obtain good terms at last. William might be glad to pay a fair price in order to escape such a thorn in his side as the camp of refuge, and might deal--or, at least, promise to deal-- mercifully and generously with the last remnant of the English gentry. For himself yield he would not: when all was over, he would flee to the sea, with Torfrida and his own housecarles, and turn Viking; or go to Sweyn Ulfsson in Denmark, and die a free man. The English did not foresee these things. Their hearts were lifted up with their victory, and they laughed at William and his French, and drank Torfrida's health much too often for their own good. Hereward did not care to undeceive them. But he could not help speaking his mind in the abbot's chamber to Thurstan, Egelwin, and his nephews, and to Sigtryg Ranaldsson, who was still in Ely, not only because he had promised to stay there, but because he could not get out if he would.

cnn

Jerusalem (CNN) -- A wheelchair-bound Israeli veteran died Wednesday, days after setting himself on fire in a protest over his economic situation, a spokeswoman for Sheba Medical Center in Tel Aviv said. Akiva Mafa'i, who was badly injured two decades ago during his service in the Israel Defense Forces, had set himself alight Sunday. The 45-year-old poured gasoline over his body and ignited it at a bus station in the town of Yehud. Passersby extinguished the flames with bottles of water and a fire extinguisher but he was left with 70% burns. The veteran had spent four months in a coma at the Beer Sheva Medical Center after he was injured at age 23, according to local media reports. He was to be married a month after he was hurt but the marriage was canceled. Mafa'i is the second person to die in a self-immolation in Israel in less than a week. Moshe Silman, a bed-ridden member of a movement to lower the cost of living in Israel, set himself alight during a demonstration in Tel Aviv on July 14. He died two weeks later. Teenage monk self-immolates in China According to local media reports, he left a note accusing the conservative Netanyahu government of "taking from the poor and giving to the rich." Israeli media have reported other suicide attempts apparently motivated by economic hardship. The social protest movement has been gaining ground since large demonstrations were held in cities last summer, led by members of Israel's middle class, over soaring costs of living.

mctest

The birds chirped, the sun beat down on a nearby window, and the noisy sound of an alarm clock tried to let me know it was seven in the morning. Not only that, but the sound of a high pitched voice, announcing "It's here! It's here Janet, it's here!" That voice belonged to my sister, Karen. What she meant was that the day had finally come for our family trip to the nearby beach located beyond Eagle Point. She got our parents out of bed way before they were ready to be up, but they knew how much it meant to her so they put a smile on as mother made breakfast and father packed the family car with towels and umbrellas. We could barely hear him say how there wasn't much room for many items, but he fit it all together like every year. I warned him last go around to get something larger like a truck, or a van, even joking an airplane, but he stuck to his guns and stayed with cars. Truthfully, I had forgotten about the trip and made plans with my friends, Lauren and Matthew. As sad as I was to have to back out, I called the two of them and let them know of my mistake. They understood, and soon after we all entered the car and went on our way to the beach. The ride and the actual activities were pretty fun! We went swimming, met some new families, and got a little reading in. Karen wanted to play in the sand, but there was a piece of metal nearby so our mother wouldn't let her. Overall, we had a lot of fun and look forward to the next go around.

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I was the typical"I can't"child-whatever my mother told or asked me to do was immediately followed by my cry,"I can't."As a result,very few tasks or goals that I set out to achieve were ever completed. One evening,my mother called me into the family room."I want you to read this article,"Mother began."It's about Marlo Thomas.She tells how a simple poem that she was forced to learn by her father changed her life*She went from saying'I can't'to'I can'*According to this article,she was able to reorganize her life and her career by learning the principles in the poem." I took the small magazine from Mother and looked down at the pages.There was Marlo-my idol. Beside her photo was the poem my mother had spoken of,a simple poem entitled,"I Can"."I want you to memorize that poem,"Mother said firmly."Mama," _ ."I can't learn that poem.It's too long." "It's not too long and you can learn it.1 want you to know it perfectly by this time tomorrow,"said my mother. Unwillingly,I went back to my bedroom with the magazine.With a heavy heart,I threw myself into the bed and began my task. "Can't is a word that is the enemy to ambition,"I began.I repeated the line.I repeated it again and again."An enemy ambush to shatter your will..."I continued the process until I proudly recited the poem the following evening. It has now become my principle.Marlo 1 homas did not know me,but her story forever changed my life. Saying "I can" helped me to get through the worst moments of my life: Saying "I can" encouraged me to complete things I would have otherwise seen as out of my reach. A simple poem learned at seven is a poem that will support me to seventy-seven,maybe even longer.

mctest

One morning a girl named Ashely woke up before her Mom and Dad and started watching TV. Once her parents woke up, everybody got dressed to go food shopping for the week. Food shopping was one of Ashley's favorite things to do. The family got to the grocery store and grabbed a shopping cart. The first foods they ran into were the fruits. Ashley ran to pick her favorite fruit, apples, while her parents went and got other things that they needed, like the sour lemons. As the family kept walking through the grocery store Ashley begged for some candy that she saw, but the other things her parents bought were eggs, milk and bread. After all of the food was picked out, the family went up to the check-out line to pay for their food. Ashley never liked the check-out line, as it always took too long, but today was different. The checkout lady, Sarah, was extra nice to her and as she was waiting for her parents to pay, Ashley's father picked out a candy for her to have. It was her favorite, chocolate! Ashley was so excited that she thanked her parents the whole ride home, and even said she would make breakfast. When the family got home that afternoon and the food was in the house, the whole family made their lunch of eggs and toast together.

gutenberg

CHAPTER XX VALE LESTON 'The way to make thy son rich is to fill His mind with rest before his trunk with riches; For wealth without contentment climbs a hill, To feel those tempests that fly over ditches, But if thy son can make ten pounds his measure, Then all thou addest may be called his treasure.' GEORGE HERBERT. 'I say, Felix, you've not told me about Vale Leston.' The two brothers were established under the lee of an old boat, beneath the deep shadow of the red earth cliffs, festooned with ivy, wild clematis, everlasting pea, thrift, and samphire. Not far off, niched beneath the same cliff, were two or three cottage lodging- houses, two-storied, with rough grey slate roofs, glaring white walls, and green shutters to the windows that looked out over the shingly beach to the lazily rippling summer sea. Ewmouth was a lazy place. Felix had felt half asleep through the earlier days of his stay, and Lance seemed to be lulled into a continual doze whenever he was unoccupied, and that was almost always. It had grieved his elder brother to see this naturally vivacious being so inert and content with inaction, only strolling about a little in early morning and late evening, and languid and weary, if not actually suffering, during the heat and glare of the day. He was now, with his air-pillow and a railway rug, lying on the beach beside Felix, who with his safety inkstand planted in the sand, was at work condensing the parliamentary debates for the Pursuivant, and was glad to perceive that he was so far alive as to be leaning on his elbow, slowly shovelling the sand or smaller pebbles with the frail tenement of a late crab, and it was another good sign to hear his voice in a voluntary inquiry about Vale Leston.

cnn

(CNN) -- All eyes will be on the figure skating rink (and the judges panel), it's Round 2 for Canada and the United States in this women's hockey tournament and women's halfpipe ski makes its debut without one of its pioneers. Figure skating With expectations nearly as high as the men's hockey team, two Russian figure skaters are in position to medal Thursday. But instead of Julia Lipnitskaya being the Russian in the top 3 after the short program, it was Adelina Sotnikova who was just behind Yuna Kim, the current queen of the ice. A few U.S. journalists thought Sotnikova was the recipient of some generous scores from the judges, but she said she deserved the 74.64 total. "I'm very happy the first (technical element score of 39.09) mark was so high," she said. "I skated really well, and I got good levels on everything so I think they reflected my skate." Lipnitskaya fell on a triple flip but still sits in fifth position between Americans Gracie Gold and Ashley Wagner. "I don't know what happened. My preparation was all fine. I wasn't nervous. I didn't feel too much pressure," she said despite the immense hopes of her countrymen. "The marks weren't as low as I expected. I can still fight for a medal tomorrow." Yuna Kim still looks the part of champion despite her absence from many recent competitions. She'll be the final skater of the free skate, which she said will bring "extra pressure." Sotnikova, meanwhile, is the third skater of the final group. Third-place Carolina Kostner of Italy is just before the Russian.

wikipedia

The Getty Research Institute (GRI), located at the Getty Center in Los Angeles, California, is "dedicated to furthering knowledge and advancing understanding of the visual arts". A program of the J. Paul Getty Trust, GRI maintains a research library, organizes exhibitions and other events, sponsors a residential scholars program, publishes books, and produces electronic databases (Getty Publications). The GRI was originally called the "Getty Center for the History of Art and the Humanities", and was first discussed in 1983. Located in Santa Monica, its first director (beginning in 1985) was Kurt W. Forster. GRI's library had 30,000 volumes in 1983, but grew to 450,000 volumes by 1986. In a statement upon his departure in 1992, Forster summarized his tenure as "Beginning with the rudiments of a small museum library... the center grew... to become one of the nation's preeminent research centers for arts and culture...". In 1994, Salvatore Settis, a professor of the history of classical art and archeology in Italy, became the director of the Center. By 1996, the Center's name had been changed to "Getty Research Institute for the History of Art and the Humanities", and by 1999 it was known simply as "Getty Research Institute". Among GRI's special projects was "L.A. as Subject: The Transformative Culture of Los Angeles Communities" conducted between 1995 and 1999, whose purposes included "enhanc[ing] existing resources and develop new resources that support new research scholarship on LA and also encourag[ing] the preservation, conservation, and display of local material culture".

wikipedia

The Smithsonian Institution, established on August 10, 1846 "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge", is a group of museums and research centers administered by the Government of the United States. The institution is named after its founding donor, British scientist James Smithson. Originally organized as the "United States National Museum", that name ceased to exist as an administrative entity in 1967. Termed "the nation's attic" for its eclectic holdings of 154 million items, the Institution's nineteen museums, nine research centers, and zoo include historical and architectural landmarks, mostly located in the District of Columbia. Additional facilities are located in Arizona, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York City, Pittsburgh, Texas, Virginia, and Panama. More than 200 institutions and museums in 45 states, Puerto Rico, and Panama are Smithsonian Affiliates. The Institution's thirty million annual visitors are admitted without charge. Its annual budget is around $1.2 billion with 2/3 coming from annual federal appropriations. Other funding comes from the Institution's endowment, private and corporate contributions, membership dues, and earned retail, concession, and licensing revenue. Institution publications include "Smithsonian" and "Air & Space" magazines. The British scientist James Smithson (1765–1829) left most of his wealth to his nephew Henry James Hungerford. When Hungerford died childless in 1835, the estate passed "to the United States of America, to found at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an Establishment for the increase & diffusion of knowledge among men", in accordance with Smithson's will. Congress officially accepted the legacy bequeathed to the nation, and pledged the faith of the United States to the charitable trust on July 1, 1836. The American diplomat Richard Rush was dispatched to England by President Andrew Jackson to collect the bequest. Rush returned in August 1838 with 105 sacks containing 104,960 gold sovereigns (about $500,000 at the time, which is ).

gutenberg

CHAPTER V THE BATTLE ON THE SEA On the morrow Thorvald, my father, sent messengers to the head men of Agger, telling them of all that he and his House had suffered at the hands of Steinar, whereof those of their folk who had been present at the feast could bear witness. He added that if they stood by Steinar in his wickedness and treachery, thenceforward he and the men of the North would be their foes and work them mischief by land and sea. In due course these messengers returned with the tale that the head men of Agger had met together and deposed Steinar from his lordship over them, electing another man, a nephew of Steinar's father. Also they sent a present of gold rings in atonement for the wrong which had been done to the house of Thorvald by one of their blood, and prayed that Thorvald and the northern men would bear them no ill will for that in which they were blameless. Cheered by this answer, which halved the number of their foes, my father, Thorvald of Aar, and those Over-men of whom he was the High-lord, began to make their preparations to attack Athalbrand on his Island of Lesso. Of all these things Athalbrand learned by his spies, and later, when the warships were being prepared and manned, two messengers came from him, old men of repute, and demanded to see my father. This was the substance of his message, which was delivered in my hearing.

cnn

Kanye's "Fantasy" conquered reality; the Black Keys locked into a groove; Arcade Fire burned down the suburbs. (Rolling Stone) -- 5. Jamey Johnson, "The Guitar Song" 1: What does Jamey Johnson keep under all of that hair? Songs. Nashville's gruffest and grittiest star turns out to be its most reliable traditionalist, a Music Row pro who can write a song for every emotional season. Johnson pulled out a whole slew of them -- 25, clocking in north of 105 minutes -- for his double-disc fourth album: acoustic confessions and rugged boogie blues, big weepers and grim reapers, cover tunes and novelty ditties, not to mention "California Riots" and "Playing the Part," a pair of fiercely funny, unrepentantly redneck swipes at the frou-frou blue states. 4. Arcade Fire, "The Suburbs" Arcade Fire don't do anything small -- so leave it to the Montreal collective to make an album of vast, orchestral rock that locates the battle for the human soul amid big houses and manicured lawns. "The Suburbs" is the band's most adventurous album yet: See the psychotic speed strings on "Empty Room," the Crazy Horse rush of "Month of May," the synth-pop disco of "Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)." Win Butler and his wife, Régine Chassagne, sing about suburban boredom, fear of change and wanting to have a kid of their own -- always scaling their intimate confessions to arena-rock levels and finding beauty wherever they look. 3. Elton John and Leon Russell, "The Union" Two rock giants, one largely forgotten, rekindle a friendship and make music that ranks with their best. Producer T Bone Burnett delivers his most spectacular production in memory, filled with shining steel guitar, chortling brass and gospel-time choirs. Ultimately, it's Russell's voice that shines brightest, drawing on the entire history of American popular music in its canny, vulnerable, knowing croon.

gutenberg

CHAPTER XI THE VICTORIAN AGE (1850-1900) THE MODERN PERIOD OF PROGRESS AND UNREST When Victoria became queen, in 1837, English literature seemed to have entered upon a period of lean years, in marked contrast with the poetic fruitfulness of the romantic age which we have just studied. Coleridge, Shelley, Keats, Byron, and Scott had passed away, and it seemed as if there were no writers in England to fill their places. Wordsworth had written, in 1835, Like clouds that rake, the mountain summits, Or waves that own no curbing hand, How fast has brother followed brother, From sunshine to the sunless land! In these lines is reflected the sorrowful spirit of a literary man of the early nineteenth century who remembered the glory that had passed away from the earth. But the leanness of these first years is more apparent than real. Keats and Shelley were dead, it is true, but already there had appeared three disciples of these poets who were destined to be far more widely, read than were their masters. Tennyson had been publishing poetry since 1827, his first poems appearing almost simultaneously with the last work of Byron, Shelley, and Keats; but it was not until 1842, with the publication of his collected poems, in two volumes, that England recognized in him one of her great literary leaders. So also Elizabeth Barrett had been writing since 1820, but not till twenty years later did her poems become deservedly popular; and Browning had published his _Pauline_ in 1833, but it was not until 1846, when he published the last of the series called _Bells and Pomegranates_, that the reading public began to appreciate his power and originality. Moreover, even as romanticism seemed passing away, a group of great prose writers--Dickens, Thackeray, Carlyle, and Ruskin--had already begun to proclaim the literary glory of a new age, which now seems to rank only just below the Elizabethan and the Romantic periods.

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It was early morning. Peter Corbett helped Mark Wellman out of his wheelchair and onto the ground. They stood before El Captain, a huge rock almost 1.2 kilometers high. Mark had long dreamed to climb El Captain when he was a child. At the age of twentyone, he had fallen while climbing mountain, losing his legs. But he never lost his love for life. Mark knew he couldn't finish the climb alone, but his friend Peter would be there to lend a helping hand. They thought it would take seven days to reach the top. Now Peter climbed about 30 meters up and hit a piton into the rock. Fastening one end of a 50meter rope to the piton, he let the other end of the rope fall down. Mark caught the rope and fastened it to his belt. He next reached above his head and fastened a T-bar to the rope. Mark took a deep breath, pushed the Tbar up almost as far as his arms could reach, and began the first pullup. High above, Peter let out a cheer, "You're on your way." For the first four days the two men progressed upward without accident. But on the fifth day, a very strong wind began to blow, making it hard for Mark to hold on to his rope. But Mark kept on pushing up the T-bar and pulling himself up. It took them one day more than they had expected. But as the two heads appeared the group of people waiting on the top went wild with joy. Mark Wellman showed that if you set your heart and mind on something, no wall is too high, no dream impossible.

gutenberg

CHAPTER 15 Give unto me, made lowly wise, The spirit of self-sacrifice. When Arthur went with his regiment to Windsor, the ladies intended to spend their evenings at home, a rule which had many exceptions, although Violet was so liable to suffer from late hours and crowded rooms, that Lady Elizabeth begged her to abstain from parties, and offered more than once to take charge of Theodora; but the reply always was that they went out very little, and that this once it would not hurt her. The truth was that Theodora had expressed a decided aversion to going out with the Brandons. 'Lady Elizabeth sits down in the most stupid part of the room,' she said, 'and Emma stands by her side with the air of a martyr. They look like a pair of respectable country cousins set down all astray, wishing for a safe corner to run into, and wondering at the great and wicked world. And they go away inhumanly early, whereas if I do have the trouble of dressing, it shall not be for nothing. I ingeniously eluded all going out with them last year, and a great mercy it was to them.' So going to a royal ball was all Theodora vouchsafed to do under Lady Elizabeth's protection; and as her objections could not be disclosed, Violet was obliged to leave it to be supposed that it was for her own gratification that she always accompanied her; although not only was the exertion and the subsequent fatigue a severe tax on her strength, but she was often uneasy and distressed by Theodora's conduct. Her habits in company had not been materially changed by her engagement; she was still bent on being the first object, and Violet sometimes felt that her manner was hardly fair upon those who were ignorant of her circumstances. For Theodora's own sake, it was unpleasant to see her in conversation with Mr. Gardner; and not only on her account, but on that of Lord St. Erme, was her uncertain treatment of him a vexation to Violet.

wikipedia

Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. Among his novels are "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" (1876) and its sequel, the "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" (1885), the latter often called "The Great American Novel". Twain was raised in Hannibal, Missouri, which later provided the setting for "Tom Sawyer" and "Huckleberry Finn". He served an apprenticeship with a printer and then worked as a typesetter, contributing articles to the newspaper of his older brother Orion Clemens. He later became a riverboat pilot on the Mississippi River before heading west to join Orion in Nevada. He referred humorously to his lack of success at mining, turning to journalism for the Virginia City "Territorial Enterprise". His humorous story, "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County", was published in 1865, based on a story that he heard at Angels Hotel in Angels Camp, California where he had spent some time as a miner. The short story brought international attention and was even translated into French. His wit and satire, in prose and in speech, earned praise from critics and peers, and he was a friend to presidents, artists, industrialists, and European royalty.

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Washington (CNN) -- In the tight circle that surrounds President Obama, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs is in the inner bubble. He's the 3 a.m. wake-up call when North Korea fires a test missile, or when the Nobel committee picks the president for the top award. "Trust me, it is a job I would gladly give to anybody who would volunteer," Gibbs said. Or would he? After all, he's an adviser, a friend and a mouthpiece for the administration with more access than recent press secretaries. "I can walk in and ask him a question at any given time, pick up the phone and talk to him about anything at any given time. I think [that] makes my job easier," Gibbs said in an exclusive interview with CNN. The president and the press secretary first connected in 2004 when Obama was a virtual unknown outside of Chicago, Illinois, and was campaigning for the U.S. Senate. They clicked and grew close, leading Obama to tell the Wall Street Journal in a 2008 interview, "Robert is the guy I want in the foxhole with me during incoming fire. If I'm wrong, he challenges me. He's not intimidated by me." Gibbs chuckled while recalling the comment and quipped, "That is when we called him 'Senator' or by his first name." While challenging Obama when he was on a campaign bus is much different than pushing back in the Oval Office, Gibbs insists that Obama still seeks opposing opinions and dislikes an atmosphere where everyone tells him he's right.

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At Buya in Eritrea, one of the oldest hominids representing a possible link between Homo erectus and an archaic Homo sapiens was found by Italian scientists. Dated to over 1 million years old, it is the oldest skeletal find of its kind and provides a link between hominids and the earliest anatomically modern humans. It is believed that the section of the Danakil Depression in Eritrea was also a major player in terms of human evolution, and may contain other traces of evolution from Homo erectus hominids to anatomically modern humans. The Scottish traveler James Bruce reported in 1770 that Medri Bahri was a distinct political entity from Abyssinia, noting that the two territories were frequently in conflict. The Bahre-Nagassi ("Kings of the Sea") alternately fought with or against the Abyssinians and the neighbouring Muslim Adal Sultanate depending on the geopolitical circumstances. Medri Bahri was thus part of the Christian resistance against Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi of Adal's forces, but later joined the Adalite states and the Ottoman Empire front against Abyssinia in 1572. That 16th century also marked the arrival of the Ottomans, who began making inroads in the Red Sea area.

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A public high school in the rural town of Boonsboro,Maryland,offers a special program recently. Top students in the ninth and tenth grades can attend single-sex classes for math,science,English and social studies. The aim is to help teenagers keep their mind on their work by keeping males and females apart. Rebecca Brown chooses the students for what Boonsboro High School calls the Academy. "What we really want to do is take that top group of kids and take them to the very highest level they can achieve here,so that they're prepared for college," she said. They need high marks and test scores and strong teacher recommendations. They also need to be involved in activities. Michael Bair has been at Boonsboro High School for twenty years and directs the Academy. His ninth-grade English class for boys centers on books that he believes boys find interesting. "The novels they're reading now,are very manly novels. They're novels that deal with the arrogance of man and the pride of man." One of those books,for example,is "The Call of the Wild" by Jack London. This classic story tells of a dog stolen from his home and sold to work as a sled dog in Canada's Klondike Gold Rush. On this day,the students are working in small groups. Vincent and Logan explain why they're drawing pictures that relate to the story. Vincent said,"The main character,Buck,gets abducted , and they send him off to the Yukon in a train. So I'm drawing part of the story where he's in the train. It gets you to _ the setting of the story and gets you to think more about what's going on in the story,the important events of the story."" Instead of just doing work sheets about it,this is a lot more fun," Logan added happily. Morgan Van Fleet likes being in the Academy. She says boys and girls act differently when they are together in a classroom. "To me,it almost seems like it's hindering your chances at developing yourself because you're more focused on 'Oh,I wish they'd shut up. Oh,what do they think of me?' instead of focusing on what's the homework or what's going on in this class,what's the lesson."

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Lisa was running late. Lisa, 25, had a lot to do at work,plus visitors on the way: her parents were coming in for Thanksgiving from her hometown. But as she hurried down the subway stairs, she started to feel uncomfortably warm. By the time she got to the platform, Lisa felt weak and tired-maybe it hadn't been a good idea to give blood the night before, she thought. She rested herself against a post close to the tracks. Several yards away, Frank, 43, and his girlfriend, Jennifer, found a spot close to where the front of the train would stop. They were deep in discussion about a house they were thinking of buying. But when he heard the scream, followed by someone yelling, "Oh, my God, she fell in!" Frank didn't hesitate. He jumped down to the tracks and ran some 40 feet toward the body lying on the rails. "No! Not you! " his girlfriend screamed after him. She was right to be alarmed. By the time Frank reached Lisa, he could feel the tracks shaking and see the light coming. The train was about 20 seconds from the station. It was hard to lift her. She was just out. But he managed to raise her the four feet to the platform so that bystanders could hold her by the arms and drag her away from the edge. That was where Lisa briefly regained consciousness, felt herself being pulled along the ground, and saw someone else holding her purse. Lisa thought she'd been robbed. A woman held her hand and a man gave his shirt to help stop the blood pouring from her head. And she tried to talk but she couldn't, and that was when she realized how much pain she was in. Police and fire officials soon arrived, and Frank told the story to an officer. Jennifer said her boyfriend was calm on their 40-minute train ride downtown-just as he had been seconds after the rescue, which made her think about her reaction at the time. "I saw the train coming and I was thinking he was going to die." she explained.

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Humans have sewn by hand for thousands of years. It was said that the first thread was made from animal muscle and sinew . And the earliest needles were made from bones. Since those early days, many people have been involved in the process of developing a machine that could do the same thing more quickly and with greater efficiency. Charles Wiesenthal, who was born in Germany, designed and received a patent on a double-pointed needle that eliminated the need to turn the needle around with each stitch in England in 1755. Other inventors of that time tried to develop a functional sewing machine, but each design had at least one serious imperfection. Frenchman Barthelemy Thimonnier finally engineered a machine that really worked. However, he was nearly killed by a group of angry tailors when they burned down his garment factory. They feared that they would lose their jobs to the machine. American inventor Elias Howe, born on July 9, 1819, was awarded a patent for a method of sewing that used thread from two different sources. Howe's machine had a needle with an eye at the point, and it used the two threads to make a special stitch called a lockstitch. However, Howe faced difficulty in finding buyers for his machines in America. In frustration, he traveled to England to try to sell his invention there. When he finally returned home, he found that dozens of manufacturers were adapting his discovery for use in their own sewing machines. Isaac Singer, another American inventor, was also a manufacturer who made improvements to the design of sewing machines. He invented an up-and-down-motion mechanism that replaced the side-to-side machines. He also developed a foot treadle to power his machine. This improvement left the sewer's hands free. Undoubtedly, it was a huge improvement of the hand-cranked machine of the past. Soon the Singer sewing machine achieved more fame than the others for it was more practical. It could be adapted to home use and it could be bought on hire-purchase. The Singer sewing machine became the first home appliance, and the Singer company became one of the first American multinationals. However, Singer used the same method to create a lockstitch that Howe had already patented. As a result, Howe accused him of patent infringement . Of course, Elias Howe won the court case, and Singer was ordered to pay Howe royalties . In the end, Howe became a millionaire, not by manufacturing the sewing machine, but by receiving royalty payments for his invention.

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Originally based on the English alphabet, ASCII encodes 128 specified characters into seven-bit integers as shown by the ASCII chart on the right. The characters encoded are numbers 0 to 9, lowercase letters a to z, uppercase letters A to Z, basic punctuation symbols, control codes that originated with Teletype machines, and a space. For example, lowercase j would become binary 1101010 and decimal 106. ASCII includes definitions for 128 characters: 33 are non-printing control characters (many now obsolete) that affect how text and space are processed and 95 printable characters, including the space (which is considered an invisible graphic:223). The code itself was patterned so that most control codes were together, and all graphic codes were together, for ease of identification. The first two columns (32 positions) were reserved for control characters.:220, 236 § 8,9) The "space" character had to come before graphics to make sorting easier, so it became position 20hex;:237 § 10 for the same reason, many special signs commonly used as separators were placed before digits. The committee decided it was important to support uppercase 64-character alphabets, and chose to pattern ASCII so it could be reduced easily to a usable 64-character set of graphic codes,:228, 237 § 14 as was done in the DEC SIXBIT code. Lowercase letters were therefore not interleaved with uppercase. To keep options available for lowercase letters and other graphics, the special and numeric codes were arranged before the letters, and the letter A was placed in position 41hex to match the draft of the corresponding British standard.:238 § 18 The digits 0–9 were arranged so they correspond to values in binary prefixed with 011, making conversion with binary-coded decimal straightforward.

mctest

Emily was a princess that lived in a castle made out of rainbows and chocolate. Her mom and dad were very kind to her. Her favorite thing to do was to play on the swings on the chocolate tree in their front yard with her friend Daisy. Emily always got first turn on the swings, and Daisy always pushed her, until it was Daisy's turn, and Emily would push Daisy. One day, Daisy said that she wasn't going to push Emily on the swings if Daisy didn't get to swing first. This made Emily very mad. Her turn was always first, and Emily thought that it wasn't fair that Daisy wasn't going to push her if she didn't get to swing first. So she ran into the castle to tell her mom and dad the Queen and King. The Queen and King listened to Emily's story, and they told Emily that it was Daisy's turn. "What?" said Emily. She was so mad! Emily always got the first turn! "It's only fair to Daisy, Emily." said her mom. "Now go out there and push your friend on the swing." Emily went outside and pushed Daisy on the swing. After Emily pushed Daisy, Daisy pushed Emily, and Emily came inside still upset. "Why did you make me push her on the swing first?" said Emily. "Because that's how you keep friends, sweetie." said her mom the Queen. "If I were Daisy and I never got to get a turn first, I don't think I'd want to be friends." "Okay, I think I understand that." said Emily. From then on, Emily and Daisy took turns being first on the swing, and they were friends for the rest of their lives.

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Audrey Hepburn won an Academy Award as Best Actress for her first major American movie, Roman Holiday, which was showed in 1953. But she is remembered as much for her help as for her acting. Born in Belgium in 1929, Audrey's father was British and her mother was Dutch. Audrey was sent to live at a British school for part of her childhood. During World war II, she lived and studied in the Netherlands. Her mother thought it would be safe from German attacks. Audrey studied dance as a teenager and during college. But when she returned to London after the war she realized she wasn't going to be a ballet dancer. So she began taking acting parts in stage shows. Later she began to get small parts in movies. But it was Audrey Hepburn's move to America that made her truly famous. In 1951 she played the character "Gigi" in the Broadway play Gigi and won popular praise. Two years later, Roman Holiday made her a star at the age of 24. Audrey made more than 25 movies. Among her most popular roles was "Hoolly Golinghtly" in Breakfast at Tiffany's in 1961. Three years later she played "Eliza Doolittle" in My Fair Lady. She was married twice. In 1989, the UN Children's Fund named Audrey a goodwill ambassador. She travelled all over the world in support of UNICEF projects. The UN agency said she was a tireless worker. She often gave 15 interviews a day to raise money and get support for UNICEF projects. Audrey Hepburn often said her love to UNICEF was the result of her experiences as a child during World War II. She said she knew what it was like to be hungry and to be saved by international help. She was a goodwill ambassador until her death in 1993 from cancer.

cnn

Cairo (CNN) -- An Egyptian military court has sentenced an activist blogger critical of the army to three years in prison, and it did so without his lawyers present, a development that drew stiff condemnation by human rights groups. Maikel Nabil, who was sentenced Monday morning, had been arrested on March 28 and charged with defaming the army and spreading false information, according to his lawyer, Adel Ramadan. A general in charge of the "Morale Affairs Directorate" of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces said on television that "Nabil had used 'inappropriate language' and defamed the military, and that his calls for an end to military conscription would have a negative effect on the youth of Egypt," according to Human Rights Watch. Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, said the sentence "may be the worst strike against free expression in Egypt since the (Hosni) Mubarak government jailed the first blogger for four years in 2007." His group, which issued a statement on the sentence, said Nabil's trial "has serious implications for freedom of expression on the internet more generally and in particular the ability to expose military abuses." "The sentence is not only severe, but it was imposed by a military tribunal after an unfair trial," Stork said. State Department spokesman Mark Toner said Tuesday that the U.S. government is "deeply concerned" about Nabil's sentence. "This is not the kind of progress we're looking for," he said. Former State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said Nabil's imprisonment "calls into question whether a democratic transition is under way in Egypt."

cnn

(CNN) -- What started out as Chelsea's worst season since owner Roman Abramovich arrived in 2003 is now on the verge of becoming one of the English club's best. Saturday's FA Cup final success, the London side's fourth in six years in the world's oldest football competition, is the latest step in a revival that could end in the realization of the Russian billionaire's longheld dream. The nailbiting 2-1 victory at Wembley is but a tasty precursor to a Champions League final in Munich on May 19 that offers the chance for Abramovich to finally win Europe's top club prize. He brought Premier League success to Stamford Bridge in 2005 after spending millions on coach Jose Mourinho and a swathe of star players, achieving Chelsea's first English title in 50 years. Two more followed, but not before Mourinho departed after failing to repeat the European triumph at Porto that earned Abramovich's attention -- and Avram Grant, Luiz Felipe Scolari and Carlo Ancelotti also exited as Champions League success proved elusive. Andre Villas-Boas, "the new Mourinho," was bought out of his contract at Porto to replace Ancelotti -- a European champion as both player and coach -- but the Portuguese prodigy alienated Chelsea's powerful old guard of players as he sought to stamp his authority and rebuild the squad. His assistant Roberto di Matteo, a former Chelsea player himself, has had no such problems winning their respect as he has reverted to the style so successful under Mourinho, allowing the likes of veterans Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba to restore their pre-eminent roles in the team.

gutenberg

CHAPTER XIV. HENRY III., OF WINCHESTER. A.D. 1216--1272. King John left two little sons, Henry and Richard, nine and seven years old, and all the English barons felt that they would rather have Henry as their king than the French Louis, whom they had only called in because John was such a wretch. So when little Henry had been crowned at Gloucester, with his mother's bracelet, swearing to rule according to Magna Carta, and good Hubert de Burgh undertook to govern for him, one baron after another came back to him. Louis was beaten in a battle at Lincoln; and when his wife sent him more troops, Hubert de Burgh got ships together and sunk many vessels, and drove the others back in the Straits of Dover; so that Louis was forced to go home and leave England in peace. Henry must have been too young to understand about Magna Carta when he swore to it, but it was the trouble of all his long reign to get him to observe it. It was not that he was wicked like his father-- for he was very religious and kind-hearted--but he was too good- natured, and never could say No to anybody. Bad advisers got about him when he grew up, and persuaded him to let them take good Hubert de Burgh and imprison him. He had taken refuge in a church, but they dragged him out and took him to a blacksmith to have chains put on his feet; the smith however said he would never forge chains for the man who had saved his country from the French. De Burgh was afterwards set free, and died in peace and honor.

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Chicago (CNN)An Illinois teenager accused of trying to support ISIS pleaded not guilty Tuesday in federal court. Mohammed Hamzah Khan, 19, had invited his family to join him in his plans to travel to join ISIS in the Mideast, authorities said. The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria is using warfare and terror in an attempt to create an Islamic state across Sunni areas of Iraq and in Syria. The teenager's mother, Zarine Khan, condemned ISIS and accused it of using social media propaganda to brainwash Muslim youths. She cited last week's terror attacks in Paris that killed 17 people and allegedly involved a now dead suspect with ties to ISIS. "We condemn this violence in the strongest possible terms. We condemn the brutal tactics of ISIS and groups like them. And we condemn the brainwashing and the recruiting of children through the use of social media and Internet," the mother told reporters while reading tearfully from a statement. "We have a message for ISIS, Mr. Baghdadi and his fellow social media recruiters: Leave our children alone!" Zarine Khan said, as her husband, Shafi Ullah Khan, stood beside her. She was referring to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the mysterious boss of the terror group ISIS. Her son is charged with one count of attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization. The charge he faces carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. He wrote that he was leaving the United States to join ISIS, according to a criminal complaint. Authorities said they found a three-page letter in the bedroom he shared with a sibling in Bolingbrook, Illinois, in which he invited his family to join him. But he warned them not to tell anyone about his travel plans, the complaint said.

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(CNN) -- It's an itch he just hasn't been able to scratch. More than 54 years after he announced the success of Fidel Castro in the Cuban revolution, Larry King still hasn't been able to interview him. "The day Castro marched into Havana, I was on the air in Miami doing my morning show and I made the announcement," King told Ismael Cala in an interview for the "Cala" talk show on CNN en Español. Just two years ago, King was in Cuba to try to get that elusive Castro interview, but the Cuban leader remains the only major figure he hasn't interviewed, he said. "Forget politics, he has run a country for 50 years, he's a successful revolutionary, an intriguing person," said King about why he remains fascinated. One top interview he did secure -- with the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in 2009 -- came back into focus recently with Chavez's death. "What's funny is that he spoke perfect English off air, but once the interview started, we had an interpreter," King said. "He wanted to talk in his native language." King -- the last person to interview Chavez on CNN -- recalls Chavez being easy to be around and engaging, even remembering him as a hugger and singer. "He was a conflicted person. An enigma. Yes, he was against capitalism, but he helped a lot of people, especially in the Northeast (of the U.S.). When there was a shortage of oil, he gave a lot of free oil to that area."

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Around twenty years ago I was living in Seattle and going through hard times. I could not find a satisfying job and I found this especially difficult as I had a lot of experience and a Master's degree. To my shame I was driving a school bus to make ends meet and living with friends. I had been through five interviews with a company and one day between bus runs they called to say I did not get the job. Later that afternoon, while doing my rounds through a quiet neighborhood I had an internal(inside)wave--like a scream --come up from deep inside me and I thought "Why has my life become so hard?"... Immediately after this internal scream I pulled the bus over to drop off a little girl and as she passed she handed me an earring saying I should keep it in case somebody looked for it. The earring was stamped with words "BE HAPPY". At first I got angry. Then it hit me. I had been putting all of my energies into what was wrong with my life rather than what was right! I decided then and there to make a list of 50 things I was thankful to. At first _ was hard, then it got easier. One day I decided to up it to 75. That night there was a phone call for me, asking if I would do a one-day training for 200 hospital workers. I said yes and got the job. My day with the hospital workers went very well. I got a standing welcome and many more days of work. To this day I KNOW that it was because I changed my attitude to _ . By chance, the day after I found the earring the girl asked me if anyone had looked for it. I told her no and she said "I guess it was meant for you then." I spent the next year doing training workshops all around the Seattle area and then decided to risk everything and go back to Scotland where I had lived before. I closed my one man business and bought a plane ticket. One month later I met my wonderful English wife and best friend of 15 years now. We live in a small beautiful house in Scotland. "THE ONLY ATTITUDE IS GRATITUDE" has been my motto for years now and yes, it completely changed my life.

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Mexico City (CNN) -- Hours after Mexico's presumed president-elect, Enrique Peña Nieto, said it was time for his country to leave behind the political rancor of campaign season, his closest opponent in the polls refused to concede and said the vote had been "plagued by irregularities." Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who election authorities projected as the runner-up in Sunday's presidential vote, said Monday that he was awaiting the official election results, and prepared to contest them before judicial authorities if they didn't turn out in his favor. "The election was plagued by irregularities before, during and after the process," said Lopez Obrador. The Democratic Revolution Party candidate's declarations echoed comments he made in 2006, when election authorities said the leftist candidate narrowly lost the presidential race to Felipe Calderon. Lopez Obrador claimed election fraud and never conceded, referring to himself afterward as "the legitimate president of Mexico." His supporters protested nationwide. In Mexico City, they staged sit-ins and blockades. On Monday, Lopez Obrador called on his supporters to wait for the official results. The Federal Election Institute's verification of individual poll results begins Wednesday. Earlier, Peña Nieto, who election authorities projected as the winner of Sunday's presidential vote, told CNN en Español he was ready to work across party lines to build a better Mexico. "We have to be constructive and put aside our differences, which are only for competitions and electoral contests," Peña Nieto said Monday. "Yesterday I indicated that (after) this tense and divisive atmosphere, which is natural in all democratic contests, we have to turn the page and move on to enter another chapter, another moment in our political lives, with a willingness and spirit that are constructive and purposeful."

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Roman Britain ( or, later, "", "the Britains") was the area of the island of Great Britain that was governed by the Roman Empire, from 43 to 410 AD. Julius Caesar invaded Britain in 55 and 54 BC as part of his Gallic Wars. The Britons had been overrun or culturally assimilated by other Celtic tribes during the British Iron Age and had been aiding Caesar's enemies. He received tribute, installed a friendly king over the Trinovantes, and returned to Gaul. Planned invasions under Augustus were called off in 34, 27, and 25 BC. In 40 AD, Caligula assembled 200,000 men at the Channel, only to have them gather seashells. Three years later, Claudius directed four legions to invade Britain and restore an exiled king over the Atrebates. The Romans defeated the Catuvellauni, and then organized their conquests as the Province of Britain (). By the year 47, the Romans held the lands southeast of the Fosse Way. Control over Wales was delayed by reverses and the effects of Boudica's uprising, but the Romans expanded steadily northward. Under the 2nd century emperors Hadrian and Antoninus Pius, two walls were built to defend the Roman province from the Caledonians, whose realms in the Scottish Highlands were never directly controlled. Around 197, the Severan Reforms divided Britain into two provinces: Britannia Superior and Britannia Inferior. During the Diocletian Reforms, at the end of the 3rd century, Britannia was divided into four provinces under the direction of a vicarius, who administered the . A fifth province, Valentia, is attested in the later 4th century. For much of the later period of the Roman occupation, Britannia was subject to barbarian invasions and often came under the control of imperial usurpers and imperial pretenders. The final Roman withdrawal from Britain occurred around 410; the native kingdoms are considered to have formed Sub-Roman Britain after that.

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My brother, Michael, was born one month before his due date and he also had cerebral palsy . He was _ . He never lost his baby teeth, never grew taller than about 30 inches and never weighed more than 28 pounds. They did estimate, however, that he would not live to see his 12th birthday. As a boy I learned to feed and clothe Mike. As a teenager, I babysat for my "big brother" and learned use the proper medicine to prevent the seizures that caused him to tremble. Many people said he would never walk or talk . He never did learn to walk, but he did learn to talk --not even in complete sentences, but he had the basics down. If he was hungry, thirsty, happy or sad, we knew. He knew names too. I was Kagun, not Kevin. But that changed with a beard I grew during the summer before college. Family members said it was ugly. Mike heard it. "Look who's at home. Who's that?" they'd say to Mike. "Ugly," he would respond with delight. All of which--to me--was normal, for he was the only brother I knew. The only time I thought of the differences between us was when others pointed them out. My circle of friends widened when I entered high school. One day Mom asked if my new friends would have a problem seeing Mike for the first time. "If they don't accept Mike, they don't accept me and they aren't welcome," I said. And if I didn't think of him as different, I never thought about him dying either. On a warm fall night in 1998, Mike had a seizure. With this first seizure, Mike's life was beginning to fade. On March 15, 1999, Mike died. Michael Patrick Harter--just 26 years old-- died in Mom's arms. We never had those great talks other brothers have about women, work and parents. We never played catch or talked about our dreams. But Mike taught me compassion and strength. He taught me respect for those less fortunate than myself. And he taught me an appreciation of the beauty in the simplest things. Physically and mentally, I was my brother's keeper. Spiritually, Mike was and is my keeper--a nearly silent guardian angel.

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Billy was like a king on the school yard. A king without a queen. He was the biggest kid in our grade, so he made all the rules during recess. He was a big bully. He told kids what to do, what to play, what to sing, and called them names like "Dork". He always had a smile on his face as he sat on the bench next to the big tree and watched his "kingdom". All of the other kids were scared of him. Even I was scared of him. He was mean and he could beat you up if you made him angry. Last week, a very, very stupid kid chose not to listen to Billy. Billy beat him up and Mr.Stupid Kid told the grownups that he tripped. No one would dare get Billy in trouble. Billy was mean, but he kept the school yard from getting too crazy. Well I had enough it. Billy had been picking on us for too long and we had to stop him. I grabbed some fishing line from home and brought it to school the next day. Before recess, I tied a long piece of fishing line around the tree by Billy's bench and tied the other end to a big rock. Then I went inside for class. When it was recess, Billy sat on his bench and started yelling at people. This was it. I called out, "Hey you big dummy! You're not so tough". Billy's face turned red with anger and he started marching my way. Billy marched and then tripped over the fishing line. Billy was lying face down and he seemed to be crying. Everyone cheered. The king was down.

wikipedia

The Qing dynasty (Chinese: 清朝; pinyin: Qīng Cháo; Wade–Giles: Ch'ing Ch'ao; IPA: [tɕʰíŋ tʂʰɑ̌ʊ̯]), officially the Great Qing (Chinese: 大清; pinyin: Dà Qīng), also called the Empire of the Great Qing, or the Manchu dynasty, was the last imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming dynasty and succeeded by the Republic of China. The Qing multi-cultural empire lasted almost three centuries and formed the territorial base for the modern Chinese state. The dynasty was founded by the Jurchen Aisin Gioro clan in Manchuria. In the late sixteenth century, Nurhaci, originally a Ming vassal, began organizing Jurchen clans into "Banners", military-social units. Nurhaci formed these clans into a unified entity, the subjects of which became known collectively as the Manchu people. By 1636, his son Hong Taiji began driving Ming forces out of Liaodong and declared a new dynasty, the Qing. In 1644, peasant rebels led by Li Zicheng conquered the Ming capital Beijing. Rather than serve them, Ming general Wu Sangui made an alliance with the Manchus and opened the Shanhai Pass to the Banner Armies led by Prince Dorgon, who defeated the rebels and seized Beijing. The conquest of China proper was not completed until 1683 under the Kangxi Emperor (r. 1661–1722). The Ten Great Campaigns of the Qianlong Emperor from the 1750s to the 1790s extended Qing control into Central Asia. While the early rulers maintained their Manchu ways, and while their official title was Emperor they were known as khans to the Mongols and patronized Tibetan Buddhism, they governed using Confucian styles and institutions of bureaucratic government. They retained the imperial examinations to recruit Han Chinese to work under or in parallel with Manchus. They also adapted the ideals of the tributary system in international relations, and in places such as Taiwan, the Qing so-called internal foreign policy closely resembled colonial policy and control.

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CHAPTER VIII Whilst Tallente, rejuvenated, and with a wonderful sense of well-being at the back of his mind, was on his feet in the House of Commons on the following afternoon, leading an unexpected attack against the unfortunate Government, Dartrey sat at tea in Nora's study. Nora, who had had a very busy day, was leaning back in her chair, well content though a little fatigued. Dartrey, who had forgotten his lunch in the stress of work, was devoting himself to the muffins. "While I think of it," he said, "let me thank you for playing hostess so charmingly the other night." She made him a little bow. "Your dinner party was a great success." "Was it?" he murmured, a little doubtfully. "I am not quite so sure. I can't seem to get at Tallente, somehow." "He is doing his work well, isn't he?" "The mechanical side of it is most satisfactory," Dartrey confessed. "He is the most perfect Parliamentary machine that was ever evolved." "Surely that is exactly what you want? You were always complaining that there was no one to bring the stragglers into line." "For the present," Dartrey admitted, "Tallente is doing excellently. I wish, though, that I could see a little farther into the future." "Tell me exactly what fault you find with him?" Nora persisted. "He lacks enthusiasm already. He makes none of the mistakes which are coincident with genius and he is a little intolerant. He takes no trouble to adapt himself to varying views, he has a fine, broad outlook, but no man can see into every corner of the earth, and what is outside his outlook does not exist."

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CHAPTER LVI. Ariadne My Lord Castlewood had a house in Kensington Square spacious enough to accommodate the several members of his noble family, and convenient for their service at the palace hard by, when his Majesty dwelt there. Her ladyship had her evenings, and gave her card-parties here for such as would come; but Kensington was a long way from London a hundred years since, and George Selwyn said he for one was afraid to go, for fear of being robbed of a night,--whether by footpads with crape over their faces, or by ladies in rouge at the quadrille-table, we have no means of saying. About noon on the day after Harry had made his reappearance at White's, it chanced that all his virtuous kinsfolks partook of breakfast together, even Mr. Will being present, who was to go into waiting in the afternoon. The ladies came first to their chocolate: them Mr. Will joined in his court suit; finally, my lord appeared, languid, in his bedgown and nightcap, having not yet assumed his wig for the day. Here was news which Will had brought home from the Star and Garter last night, when he supped in company with some men who had heard it at White's and seen it at Ranelagh! "Heard what? seen what?" asked the head of the house, taking up his Daily Advertiser. "Ask Maria!" says Lady Fanny. My lord turns to his elder sister, who wears a face of portentous sadness, and looks as pale as a tablecloth.

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CHAPTER XXV. MISS AMEDROZ HAS SOME HASHED CHICKEN. Clara felt herself to be a coward as the Aylmer Park carriage, which had been sent to meet her at the station, was drawn up at Sir Anthony Aylmer's door. She had made up her mind that she would not bow down to Lady Aylmer, and yet she was afraid of the woman. As she got out of the carriage, she looked up, expecting to see her in the hall; but Lady Aylmer was too accurately acquainted with the weights and measures of society for any such movement as that. Had her son brought Lady Emily to the house as his future bride, Lady Aylmer would probably have been in the hall when the arrival took place; and had Clara possessed ten thousand pounds of her own, she would probably have been met at the drawing-room door; but as she had neither money nor title,--as she in fact brought with her no advantages of any sort, Lady Aylmer was found stitching a bit of worsted, as though she had expected no one to come to her. And Belinda Aylmer was stitching also,--by special order from her mother. The reader will remember that Lady Aylmer was not without strong hope that the engagement might even yet be broken off. Snubbing, she thought, might probably be efficacious to this purpose, and so Clara was to be snubbed. Clara, who had just promised to do her best to gain Lady Aylmer's opinion, and who desired to be in some way true to her promise, though she thoroughly believed that her labour would be in vain, put on her pleasantest smile as she entered the room. Belinda, under the pressure of the circumstances, forgetting somewhat of her mother's injunctions, hurried to the door to welcome the stranger. Lady Aylmer kept her chair, and even maintained her stitch, till Clara was half across the room. Then she got up, and, with great mastery over her voice, made her little speech.

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(CNN) -- CNN's Piers Morgan calls the on-screen relationship between "The King's Speech" actors Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush "one of the great bromances we've ever seen in the movies." Firth, with his co-stars Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter, joins Morgan tonight at 9 to talk about their movie, which leads the Oscar race and has dominated the awards shows so far. All three lead performers and the film itself are nominated for Academy Awards, scheduled to be presented February 27 in Hollywood. When Morgan asked Firth to describe Rush, the actor said, "I would describe him as my geisha girl." Geoffrey Rush appeared via satellite from Australia. Firth also called Rush "one of the most thrilling actors I've ever worked with. And I've seen him be howlingly funny and absolutely heartbreaking. He's got the whole spectrum covered." "We have been texting one another at various points to try and keep sane about the madness that's gone on around the film," said Rush. "And we do tend to refer to each other as Abelard and Eloise or Thelma and Louise." Firth talked about playing King George VI. "I fell in love with him completely," he said. "I love hidden, glorious and secret heroes. I'm not very interested in people with superpowers." The film centers on the relationship between George VI (who went by the name "Bertie") and his speech therapist, played by Rush, who worked with the king to overcome what Firth called a "crippling stammer." The actor called it an "athletic feat just to get to the end of a sentence" for the king.

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June came and the hay was almost ready for cutting.On Midsummer's Eve, which was aSaturday, Mr.Jones went to Willington and got so drunk at the Red Lion that he did not comeback till midday on Sunday.The men had milked the cows in the early morning and then hadgone out rabbiting, without bothering to feed the animals.When Mr.Jones got back, heimmediately went to sleep on the living-room sofa with the "News of the world" over his face,so that when evening came, the animals were still not fed.At last, they could stand no longer. One of the cows broke into the door of the store-house with her horns and all the animalsbegan to help themselves to the grains.It was just then that Mr.Jones woke up.The nextmoment he and his four men were in the store-house with whips in their hands,whipping in all directions.This was more than the hungry animals would bear.Together,though nothing of the kind had been planned beforehand, they jumped upon their masters. Jones and his men suddenly found themselves being struck with horns and kicked from allsides.The situation was quite out of their control.They had never seen animals act like thisbefore, and this sudden uprising of creatures whom they were used to beating andwhipping just as they chose frightened them.After only a moment or two, they gave up tryingto defend themselves.A minute later all five of them were in full fright down the road, with theanimals running after them joyfully.

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(CNN) -- We've all done things in our past we might prefer the general public not talk about, but only the lucky few get to be the targets of whole industries dedicated to digging those things up. Targets like celebrities. Politicians. And apparently CEOs, that is if the abrupt resignation of Mozilla's new chief Brendan Eich is any indication. For many, the story of Eich -- who stepped down this week amid criticism of his contribution to a 2008 initiative to ban same-sex marriage-- is one of freedom of speech trampled by the intolerant. I don't see it that way. Don't get me wrong; to paraphrase Voltaire, I disagree with Eich's views on marriage equality but will defend to the death his First Amendment right to express them. But as I've written in the past, the First Amendment doesn't protect him, Mozilla, or anyone else from others' using their First Amendment right to signal their disapproval. To me, Eich's case is about the power of information, and how -- with technology, 24-hour news and social media- -everyone's past is just a hashtag away from being the present. Sometimes this is a good thing for the public, like the digging up of David Duke's KKK past as he attempted to climb the political ladder. Sometimes the information is significant, but used mainly to score points against a political opponent, as in the GOP's escalation of the Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky saga. But more often than not it's about gossip to sell magazines or get clicks on a website.

cnn

New York (CNN) -- More than 80 Michael Jackson collectibles -- including the late pop star's famous rhinestone-studded glove from a 1983 performance -- were auctioned off Saturday, reaping a total $2 million. Profits from the auction at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York's Times Square crushed pre-sale expectations of only $120,000 in sales. The highly prized memorabilia, which included items spanning the many stages of Jackson's career, came from more than 30 fans, associates and family members, who contacted Julien's Auctions to sell their gifts and mementos of the singer. Jackson's flashy glove was the big-ticket item of the night, fetching $420,000 from a buyer in Hong Kong, China. Jackson wore the glove at a 1983 performance during "Motown 25," an NBC special where he debuted his revolutionary moonwalk. Fellow Motown star Walter "Clyde" Orange of the Commodores, who also performed in the special 26 years ago, said he asked for Jackson's autograph at the time, but Jackson gave him the glove instead. "The legacy that [Jackson] left behind is bigger than life for me," Orange said. "I hope that through that glove people can see what he was trying to say in his music and what he said in his music." Orange said he plans to give a portion of the proceeds to charity. Hoffman Ma, who bought the glove on behalf of Ponte 16 Resort in Macau, paid a 25 percent buyer's premium, which was tacked onto all final sales over $50,000. Winners of items less than $50,000 paid a 20 percent premium.

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(Mental Floss) -- Over the centuries, people have had some very good reasons to dress up like a member of the opposite sex. After record-setting Olympics athlete Stella Walsh died in 1980, it was revealed that she had indeed been a man. And I'm not talking about people who live this way out of personal preference, or those who dress up for theater and entertainment. Here are just five examples. 1. Cross-dressing to join the army Until recently, women have rarely been allowed to serve as soldiers. So what was a gal to do if she wanted to serve her country? Naturally, disguise herself as a man and join the troops. At least 400 Civil War soldiers were women in drag. These included Union Army soldier "Frank Thompson" (also known as Sarah Edmonds), whose small frame and feminine mannerisms (rather than causing suspicion) made her an ideal spy, as she could spy on the Confederates disguised as... a woman! She wasn't the first woman to don a male disguise and join the army, though. During the Revolutionary War, women fought as men on both sides. Hannah Snell, for example, joined the British army to find her husband, who had walked out on her to enlist. Once her true sex was discovered (thanks to a pesky groin injury), she became a national celebrity in Britain, and made a post-war career of performing in bars as the "Female Warrior." Mental Floss: The Confederacy's plan to conquer Latin America 2. Cross-dressing to keep a royal family together

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(CNN)It was a story that sounded like something out of a horror film: Two young brothers strangled by a 100-pound snake that came crashing through the ceiling as they slept. But this was no work of fiction. It was the all-too-real fate suffered by brothers Connor and Noah Barthe in August 2013 at a sleepover in the home of Jean-Claude Savoie, a family friend who lived above an exotic pet store that he ran in New Brunswick, Canada. Though deemed a tragic accident from the outset, the incident nevertheless remained under investigation, and on Thursday, 18 months later, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police announced that it had "arrested an individual in connection with the deaths of Noah and Connor Barthe of Campbellton, (New Brunswick)." Leslie Matchim, an attorney for Savoie, confirmed that his client was the one arrested. "It remains to be seen if there will be charges," Matchim said on Thursday. A call and email to the Crown Prosecutor's Office was not immediately returned. Savoie was arrested in Montreal, where he has since relocated, some 500 miles away from his Reptile Ocean pet store, according to Matchim. He remained in custody there Thursday night. According to CBC, the African rock python was kept in a glass enclosure similar to an aquarium, but on the night of the sleepover it slithered into the ventilation system. It was above the living room, where Connor, 6, and Noah, 4, were sleeping, when the ceiling caved in. Autopsy results revealed that the boys died from asphyxiation.

mctest

Todd is a small boy in the town of Rocksville. Todd thinks his town is the best place in the world, and out of all the places in Rocksville, Todd loves to play in Lake Keet the most. Lake Keet is a small lake with fish, plants, and even little shells. Todd's favorite part was the big rock in the middle of the lake. Todd lives pretty close to the lake, so he gets to go there a lot, but could never to get to the rock in the middle. Todd's dad never lets him swim too far because Todd can't swim very well. During summer, Todd told his dad that he wanted to get to the rock before break ended. Todd's dad told him he had to try his hardest. If he did, then Todd's dad would watch him swim every day. If Todd wanted to try and get to the rock, his dad would follow him there to make sure he was safe. Todd's dad wrote this down in his notebook so he wouldn't forget. After a week, Todd made his first try to get to the rock, and his dad followed him like he said he would. Todd didn't make it to the rock before he got tired and had to turn around. He practiced even harder for the next two weeks and wanted to try again. So, a month after summer started, Todd tried to reach the rock again. This time, Todd gave it his all and got all the way to the rock. He was very happy, and his dad was very proud of his son's hard work. To celebrate, Todd's dad carved Todd's name and the date into a tree. This way, they would always remember Todd's hard work.

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Rita was in shopping mall, looking for a gift for her little daughter. Suddenly she stopped before a store, inside which were all kinds of dolls. "Why not a lovely doll? Girls like dolls," she thought as she stepped into the store. Looking around ,she saw a grandma doll--one with gray and a pair of glasses. As she gazed at it, in her mind somehow appeared Linda, her mother. When Rita was a little girl, she got her first doll form Linda for her birthday. She was very happy. Then the second, the third......,Rita began to feel puzzled, When she asked her mum the reason, the answer was always "A girl can never have enough dolls." Year after year, Rita grew up and Linda aged, but a doll a year from Linda never arrived late. "But why always a doll?" This question had been in Rita's mind until one day her father gave the answer. Little Linda dreamed to have a doll. Her parents promised one for her fifth birthday. Sadly, they both died in a traffic accident before it arrived .The never--received gift was the most precious* in her eyes. That's why she thought dolls were the best birthday gifts for Rita. Her mother's story being recalled ,Rita got an idea...... It was Linda's sixtieth birthday. The whole family gathered around the sixty-year-old lady when the doorbell rang, Much to Linda's surprise ,a package was delivered* to her, with a card read: Dear Linda, I forget to send you the package that you should have received on May 20,1956,your fifth birthday. The gift inside has aged ,but I felt that you might still wish to have it. Sorry for the lateness! Love, Angel of Joy Linda opened the package and saw a lovely grandma doll. She _ the doll that she had waited so many years to receive ,tears coursing down her face. The doll, given by "Angel of Joy", made her the happiest "child "alive .

wikipedia

New York—often called New York City or the City of New York to distinguish it from the State of New York, of which it is a part—is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York metropolitan area, the premier gateway for legal immigration to the United States and one of the most populous urban agglomerations in the world. A global power city, New York exerts a significant impact upon commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and entertainment, its fast pace defining the term New York minute. Home to the headquarters of the United Nations, New York is an important center for international diplomacy and has been described as the cultural and financial capital of the world. Situated on one of the world's largest natural harbors, New York City consists of five boroughs, each of which is a separate county of New York State. The five boroughs – Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, the Bronx, and Staten Island – were consolidated into a single city in 1898. With a census-estimated 2014 population of 8,491,079 distributed over a land area of just 305 square miles (790 km2), New York is the most densely populated major city in the United States. As many as 800 languages are spoken in New York, making it the most linguistically diverse city in the world. By 2014 census estimates, the New York City metropolitan region remains by a significant margin the most populous in the United States, as defined by both the Metropolitan Statistical Area (20.1 million residents) and the Combined Statistical Area (23.6 million residents). In 2013, the MSA produced a gross metropolitan product (GMP) of nearly US$1.39 trillion, while in 2012, the CSA generated a GMP of over US$1.55 trillion, both ranking first nationally by a wide margin and behind the GDP of only twelve and eleven countries, respectively.

cnn

The 71-year-old ex-police officer accused of shooting dead a man inside a Florida movie theater won't get the chance to go home -- at least for now -- after a judge Friday decided not to grant him bail. Judge Pat Siracusa made his decision after two days of wrenching, evocative, at times seemingly contradictory testimony inside a Dade City, Florida, courtroom. "The state did, in fact, meet their standard," Siracusa said of prosecutors argument that Curtis Reeves shouldn't be allowed to post bond. "And I am going to detain Mr. Reeves, pretrial. He will remain in custody." Reeves' lawyer signaled his intention to appeal a decision that -- while not unexpected, given this is a homicide case -- he believes is unwarranted. The attorney, Richard Escobar, said that he's optimistic about not only the appeal on bail, but that a jury of six citizens will side with his client. "Mr. Reeves is truly an innocent man," Escobar told reporters. "And we look forward to proving that at a jury trial at some point." The widow of the man that Reeves killed, meanwhile, applauded Siracusa's decision. "I'm just very happy and relieved," Nicole Oulson said. "... I have no doubt in my mind that it was the right decision." No threats before shooting, widow says Was it self-defense or an overreaction? As Siracusa took pains to point out, his opting not to grant bail has nothing to do with his or others assessment of Reeves' guilt or innocence. That won't happen until trial.

wikipedia

The rivalries between the Arab tribes had caused unrest in the provinces outside Syria, most notably in the Second Muslim Civil War of 680–692 CE and the Berber Revolt of 740–743 CE. During the Second Civil War, leadership of the Umayyad clan shifted from the Sufyanid branch of the family to the Marwanid branch. As the constant campaigning exhausted the resources and manpower of the state, the Umayyads, weakened by the Third Muslim Civil War of 744–747 CE, were finally toppled by the Abbasid Revolution in 750 CE/132 AH. A branch of the family fled across North Africa to Al-Andalus, where they established the Caliphate of Córdoba, which lasted until 1031 before falling due to the Fitna of al-Ándalus. Ali was assassinated in 661 by a Kharijite partisan. Six months later in the same year, in the interest of peace, Hasan ibn Ali, highly regarded for his wisdom and as a peacemaker, and the Second Imam for the Shias, and the grandson of Muhammad, made a peace treaty with Muawiyah I. In the Hasan-Muawiya treaty, Hasan ibn Ali handed over power to Muawiya on the condition that he be just to the people and keep them safe and secure, and after his death he not establish a dynasty. This brought to an end the era of the Rightly Guided Caliphs for the Sunnis, and Hasan ibn Ali was also the last Imam for the Shias to be a Caliph. Following this, Mu'awiyah broke the conditions of the agreement and began the Umayyad dynasty, with its capital in Damascus.

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(CNN) -- From cyberspace to college campuses, many young conservatives are worried that Sen. John McCain is not appealing to their generation. Sen. John McCain says he knows how important young voters are. At a town hall meeting in Ohio this month, a student told McCain that Republicans were a dying breed on his campus. "I understand the challenge I have, and I understand that this election is really all about the people of your generation," McCain said. Many young Republicans said Sen. Barack Obama, the 46-year-old junior senator from Illinois, is inspiring voters their age, but McCain, the 71-year-old Arizona senator who has been in office since the early '80s, is not. Eric Perlmutter, a Republican and student at the at the University of Southern California, said the roaring enthusiasm that follows Obama is missing among conservatives his age. "We try to get people out to our college Republican meetings, but ... we can't seem to draw the same kind of vocal support," he said. At the July town hall meeting in Portsmouth, Ohio, McCain said he knows that he has "a lot of work to do" with the younger voters. The senator said he needs young conservatives to help spread his message for him, because "there's nothing that convinces young people like other young people." McCain also acknowledged the importance of using the Internet to reach out to a generation that stays in touch via social networking sites. On MySpace, Obama has more than 427,000 friends, compared with fewer than 60,000 for McCain.

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Los Angeles (CNN) -- MIchael Jackson and Dr. Conrad Murray tried to recruit an anesthesiologist to join them on his comeback tour, according to testimony in the AEG Live wrongful death trial. Murray arranged the meeting in March 2009 in which Jackson asked Dr. David Adams to travel with him to London, Adams testified. Adams said that after he offered to take the job for $100,000 a month guaranteed for three years, Murray stopped communicating with him. "I texted basically, you know, 'what's going on, I'm on board," Adams said. "And no response." Just weeks later Murray accepted an offer from an AEG Live executive to be Jackson's personal physician on his "This Is It" tour for $150,000 a month. Murray told investigators he began infusing Jackson with the surgical anesthetic propofol to treat his insomnia in April, a treatment that eventually killed the pop icon. Debbie Rowe: Paris Jackson 'has no life' since father's death Jurors in the trial of Jackson's last concert promoter viewed the video depositions of Adams and two other witnesses Wednesday ahead of a six-day break in testimony. Jackson's mother and children are suing AEG Live, contending the company's executives negligently hired, retained or supervised Murray, who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in Jackson's propofol overdose death. AEG Live's lawyers argue it was Jackson -- not its executives -- who chose and controlled Murray and that they had no way of knowing about the dangerous treatments he was giving the singer in the privacy of his bedroom.

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(CNN) -- A 32-year-old man downed dozens of roaches and worms to win a python at a Florida reptile store, then collapsed and died outside minutes later. Edward Archbold was among 20 to 30 contestants participating in Friday night's "Midnight Madness" event at Ben Siegel Reptiles in Deerfield Beach, authorities said. The participants' goal: consume as many insects and worms as they could to take home a $850 python. Archbold swallowed roach after roach, worm after worm. While the store didn't say exactly how many Archbold consumed, the owner told CNN affiliate WPLG that he was "the life of the party." "He really made our night more fun," Ben Siegel told the station. Soon after the contest was over, Archbold fell ill and began to vomit, the Broward County Sheriff's Office said Monday. A friend called for medical help. Then, Archbold himself dialed 911, the store said in a Facebook post. Eventually, he fell to the ground outside the store, the sheriff's office said. An ambulance took him to North Broward Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. The Broward Medical Examiner's Office conducted an autopsy and are awaiting test results to determine the cause of his death. No other contestant fell ill, the sheriff's office said. "Very saddened by this. I mean, it was a shock," Siegel told WPLG. "Eddie was a very nice guy. We just met him that night, but everybody that works here was very fond of him." Luke Lirot, who says he is legally representing the store, said in a post on the store's Facebook page that all participants "signed thorough waivers accepting responsibility for their participation in this unique and unorthodox contest."

gutenberg

CHAPTER XXXVI THE CHARLATAN UNMASKED There seemed for the next few minutes to be a somewhat singular abstention from any desire to interfere with the two people who stood in the centre of the little group, hand-in-hand. Saton, after his first speech, and after Lois had given him her hands, had turned a little defiantly toward Rochester, who remained, however, unmoved, his elbow resting upon the broad mantelpiece, his face almost expressionless. Vandermere, too, stood on one side and held his peace, though the effort with which he did so was a visible one. Lady Mary looked anxiously towards them. Pauline had shrunk back, as though something in the situation terrified her. Even Saton himself felt that it was the silence before the storm. The courage which he had summoned up to meet a storm of disapproval, began to ebb slowly away in the face of this unnatural silence. It was clear that the onus of further speech was to rest with him. Still retaining Lois' hand, he turned toward Rochester. "You have forbidden me to enter your house, or to hold any communication with your ward until she was of age, Mr. Rochester," he said. "One of your conditions I have obeyed. With regard to the other, I have done as I thought fit. However, to-day she is her own mistress. She has consented to be my wife. I do not need to ask for your consent or approval. If you are not willing that she should be married from your roof, I can take her at once to the Comtesse, who is prepared to receive her."

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Many students are under great pressure this term. There is some advice on studying and preparing for exams. Sciences Ask students what is the most difficult course, and most of them will give you the same answer: mathematics. This is also true for Dai Shuang, a 14-year-old student at No.1 Middle School. He says, "It's so difficult that I get a headache whenever I think about the math exam." According to Dai, studying this course is not easy. He usually studies math by himself and spends most of his free time reading math books and doing exercises. _ Qin Xia, a math teacher, offers some advice. "Most students fear mathematics because they think the class is too difficult or boring." he says, "These students don't listen carefully in classes or even sleep." In Qin's opinion, they can try to take notes. And they'd better ask teachers for help. It's difficult for students to teach themselves math, which will waste a lot of time. Besides, doing a lot of exercises is also important. Arts Zhu Tianjiao, a 13-year-old student at Megan Middle School, is very nervous because she doesn't know how to improve her English. _ Xia Bingcong, a top student at Tsinghua University shares some of her learning experiences. According to Xia, memorizing, listening and reading are important in language learning. "Studying on a daily basis is the best choice." Xia says.

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Nathan Phillips, who will formally begin his freshman year at the University of San Diego(USD) on Aug. 31, will arrive on campus in an unusual and philanthropic manner. Phillips is expected to arrive between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. Thursday on his bicycle, having pedaled 1,450 miles from Astoria, Ore. Phillips combined his desire to complete a long bike ride before entering college with his interest in helping the children of Uganda. He is raising funds for Invisible Children, a San Diegobased organization seeking to end conflicts annoying northern Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic and stop the use of children as soldiers. Phillips had raised $1,540 before embarking Aug.11 and hopes to reach $2,000. Phillips, who is from Redmond, Washington, visited Uganda during high school and worked in an orphanage there. He was also inspired by a presentation by Invisible Children at his high school. "I have been to Uganda and personally gotten to know some of the kids affected by the war," Phillips said in a statement released by the university."I would do anything to help these kids." Phillips' new roommate, Kyle Sharp, has joined him for the last 600 miles of the trip. Students and other members of the USD community are expected to join him for the last 13 miles. "Nathan's passionate commitment to improving the lives of children more than 8,000 miles away resonates with USD's mission to prepare future leaders to change the world for the better," Pamela Gray Payton, assistant vice president of public affairs at USD, said in a prepared statement."We are delighted to have Nathan as a member of our campus community." Supporters from USD and Invisible Children will greet Phillips and his followers when they arrive in front of Founders Hall on campus. The public is invited as well.

wikipedia

Cyprus (i/ˈsaɪprəs/; Greek: Κύπρος IPA: [ˈcipros]; Turkish: Kıbrıs IPA: [ˈkɯbɾɯs]), officially the Republic of Cyprus (Greek: Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία; Turkish: Kıbrıs Cumhuriyeti), is an island country in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, off the coasts of Syria and Turkey.[e] Cyprus is the third largest and third most populous island in the Mediterranean, and a member state of the European Union. It is located south of Turkey, west of Syria and Lebanon, northwest of Israel and Palestine, north of Egypt and east of Greece. The earliest known human activity on the island dates to around the 10th millennium BC. Archaeological remains from this period include the well-preserved Neolithic village of Khirokitia, and Cyprus is home to some of the oldest water wells in the world. Cyprus was settled by Mycenaean Greeks in two waves in the 2nd millennium BC. As a strategic location in the Middle East, it was subsequently occupied by several major powers, including the empires of the Assyrians, Egyptians and Persians, from whom the island was seized in 333 BC by Alexander the Great. Subsequent rule by Ptolemaic Egypt, the Classical and Eastern Roman Empire, Arab caliphates for a short period, the French Lusignan dynasty and the Venetians, was followed by over three centuries of Ottoman rule between 1571 and 1878 (de jure until 1914).

gutenberg

Chapter II Mr. Tulliver, of Dorlcote Mill, Declares His Resolution about Tom "What I want, you know," said Mr. Tulliver,--"what I want is to give Tom a good eddication; an eddication as'll be a bread to him. That was what I was thinking of when I gave notice for him to leave the academy at Lady-day. I mean to put him to a downright good school at Midsummer. The two years at th' academy 'ud ha' done well enough, if I'd meant to make a miller and farmer of him, for he's had a fine sight more schoolin' nor _I_ ever got. All the learnin' _my_ father ever paid for was a bit o' birch at one end and the alphabet at th' other. But I should like Tom to be a bit of a scholard, so as he might be up to the tricks o' these fellows as talk fine and write with a flourish. It 'ud be a help to me wi' these lawsuits, and arbitrations, and things. I wouldn't make a downright lawyer o' the lad,--I should be sorry for him to be a raskill,--but a sort o' engineer, or a surveyor, or an auctioneer and vallyer, like Riley, or one o' them smartish businesses as are all profits and no outlay, only for a big watch-chain and a high stool. They're pretty nigh all one, and they're not far off being even wi' the law, _I_ believe; for Riley looks Lawyer Wakem i' the face as hard as one cat looks another. _He's_ none frightened at him."

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My parents have certainly had their troubles, and as their child I'll never know how they made it to 38 years of marriage. They loved each other, but they didn't seem to like each other very much. Dad was too fond of his beer, and he talked down to Mom a lot. When she tried to stand up to him, a fight would unavoidably follow. It was my dad's disease that began to change things. The year 1998 was the beginning of a remarkable transformation for my family. My father, Jim Dineen, the always healthy, weightlifting, never-missed-a-day-of-work kind of dad, discovered he had kidney disease. The decision to go ahead with a transplant for my father was a long and tough one, mostly because he had liver damage too. One physician's assistant told him, "According to your file, you're supposed to be dead." And for a while, doctors mistakenly thought that he would need not just a kidney transplant, but a liver transplant too. _ When the donor testing process finally began in the spring of 2003, numerous people, including me, my uncle Tom, and my mom, came back as matches of varying degree. But Mom was the one who insisted on going further. She decided to donate a kidney to my father. She said she was not scared, and it was the right thing to do. We all stepped back in amazement. At last a date was chosen - November 11, 2003. All of a sudden, the only thing that seemed to matter Dad was telling the world what a wonderful thing Mom was doing for him. A month before the surgery, he sent her birthday flowers with a note that read, "I love you and I love your kidney! Thank you!" Financially, the disease was upsetting to them. So my sister and I were humbled and surprised when, shortly before his surgery day, Dad handed us a diamond jewelry that we were to give to Mom after the operation. He'd accumulated his spare dollars to buy it. At the hospital on the day of the transplant, all our relatives and friends gathered in the waiting room and became involved in a mean euchre tournament. My family has always handled things with a lot of laughter, and even though we were all tense, everybody was taking bets on how long this "change of conduct" would last in my parents. We would inform Dad that if he chose to act like a real pain on any particular day after the operation, he wasn't allowed to blame it on PMS just because he'd now have a female kidney. The surgeries went well, and not long afterward, my sister and I were allowed to go in to visit. Dad was in a great deal of pain but again, all he could talk about was Mom. Was she okay? How was she feeling? Then the nurses let us do something unconventional. As they were wheeling Mom out of recovery room, they rolled her into a separate position to visit Dad. It was strange to see both my parents hooked up to IVs and machines and trying to talk to each other through tears. The nurses allowed us to present the diamond jewelry to Mom so that Dad could watch her open it. Everyone was crying, even the nurses. As I stood with digital camera in hand, I tried to keep the presence of mind to document the moment. My dad was having a hard time fighting back emotion, and suddenly my parents unexpectedly reached out to hold each other's hands. In my nearly 35 years of existence, I'd never seen my parents do that, and I was spellbound. I snapped a picture and later rushed home to make sure I'd captured that enormous, life-defining moment. After so many years of disagreement, it was apparent to me that they finally understood how much each loved the other.

cnn

(CNN) -- South African pair Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel put their Augusta disappointments behind them to impress in the opening round of the Malaysian Open Thursday. Schwartzel finished 18 shots off the pace in his defense of the U.S. Masters crown, handing over the Green Jacket to Bubba Watson, who beat Oosthuizen in a dramatic playoff Sunday. Shrugging off jet lag after a 30-hour journey from Georgia to Kuala Lumpur, Schwartzel powered to an eight-under 64 to claim the first day lead. Oosthuizen, so close to winning a second major title until denied by Watson's brilliance, produced an excellent 66 to be tied for third. "Louis and I got off to a good fast start at the beginning and it is always nice when there are a couple of you in the group playing well and pulling each other a long a bit," Schwartzel told the official European Tour website. "Louis is playing so well right that it is impressive to watch and helped me on," he added. Oosthuizen conjured up six birdies and an eagle to continue the fine form he displayed in the first major of the season. "It was a long haul getting here," he said. "I think me and Charl knew the first round, concentration levels won't be great, but we did well. "I knew the swing was still good. It was just adapting to the weather and the green speed, but I putted beautifully again today and hope to keep it going for the week."

cnn

(CNN) -- China is proving home from home for Novak Djokovic as he demonstrated yet again by rebuffing the considerable challenge mounted by Juan Martin Del Potro to retain his Shanghai Masters title Sunday in another three set classic. Last year Djokovic also went the distance to beat Britain's Andy Murray in a riveting final rated as one of the best matches on the ATP Tour in 2012, this time around he showed all his battling qualities to see off the Argentine ace 6-1 3-6 7-6 at the Qizhong Tennis Center. Sixth seed Del Potro had stunned new World No.1 Rafael Nadal in the semifinals, but could not repeat these heroics despite forcing a third set. Neither player could gain the crucial break of service in the decider, but Djokovic opened up 2-0 and 4-2 leads in the tie-break and won the title with a backhand winner down the line after two hours 33 minutes. It was his seventh of the season and came hard on the heels of winning the China Open last week where he beat Nadal in the final. He paid tribute to Del Potro after his latest triumph. "He's a fantastic player and a great person," Djokovic told the official ATP Tour website. "All the way up to the last point, I didn't know if I was going to win the match. It was a very even match. My motivation is there always, especially when I'm playing finals of such a big event." The 26-year-old was winning his 20th straight match on Chinese soil and he improved to 62-9 for the season.

mctest

My name is Clyde. I am am a cat. I have had a life full of adventure. I started out as a small kitten living in a house. I lived with my human family. I also lived with my mother and brothers and sisters. There were some other animals there too. They were not cats but they were not humans. I am not sure what they were but they were big and friendly. I left his house and moved into different house. I had to leave my family. There were new humans now. They took me in this thing they called a car. It scared me! Everything was moving so fast. There was another one of those different animals. I think the humans called it a dog. His name was Rex. The humans were very nice to me but the dog was not. He would chase me around the house. I would have to hide under the couch or in some other small space. I heard the humans talk about taking me some place else to live. Next thing I know I am in the car again. I am living in another house. Uh oh! This house has a dog and other humans. This dog, who they call Sophie, was very nice to me. She smelled me and licked me like my mother used to do! We became close friends. I liked this new house. The humans were nice to me too. They had two small humans. Their names were Thomas and Nicole. I liked them because they like to play with me a lot. One day a big truck came to the house and the humans put me in a room and closed the door. I was in there for a long time. When I came out all the human stuff was not there. They had put it all into the truck. I was scared again that I would have to go with new humans. This time, the humans took me with them! We moved to a new apartment in the city. I knew that these were not my humans. They loved me. They were my new family.

wikipedia

The law of the United States comprises many levels of codified and uncodified forms of law, of which the most important is the United States Constitution, the foundation of the federal government of the United States. The Constitution sets out the boundaries of federal law, which consists of acts of Congress, treaties ratified by the Senate, regulations promulgated by the executive branch, and case law originating from the federal judiciary. The United States Code is the official compilation and codification of general and permanent federal statutory law. Federal law and treaties, so long as they are in accordance with the Constitution, preempt conflicting state and territorial laws in the 50 U.S. states and in the territories. However, the scope of federal preemption is limited because the scope of federal power is not universal. In the dual-sovereign system of American federalism (actually tripartite because of the presence of Indian reservations), states are the plenary sovereigns, each with their own constitution, while the federal sovereign possesses only the limited supreme authority enumerated in the Constitution. Indeed, states may grant their citizens broader rights than the federal Constitution as long as they do not infringe on any federal constitutional rights. Thus, most U.S. law (especially the actual "living law" of contract, tort, property, criminal, and family law experienced by the majority of citizens on a day-to-day basis) consists primarily of state law, which can and does vary greatly from one state to the next.

wikipedia

Standardization or standardisation is the process of implementing and developing technical standards based on the consensus of different parties that include firms, users, interest groups, standards organizations and governments Standardization can help to maximize , interoperability, safety, repeatability, or quality. It can also facilitate commoditization of formerly custom processes. In social sciences, including economics, the idea of "standardization" is close to the solution for a coordination problem, a situation in which all parties can realize mutual gains, but only by making mutually consistent decisions. This view includes the case of "spontaneous standardization processes", to produce de facto standards. Standard weights and measures were developed by the Indus Valley Civilisation. The centralised weight and measure system served the commercial interest of Indus merchants as smaller weight measures were used to measure luxury goods while larger weights were employed for buying bulkier items, such as food grains etc. Weights existed in multiples of a standard weight and in categories. Technical standardisation enabled gauging devices to be effectively used in angular measurement and measurement for construction. Uniform units of length were used in the planning of towns such as Lothal, Surkotada, Kalibangan, Dolavira, Harappa, and Mohenjo-daro. The weights and measures of the Indus civilisation also reached Persia and Central Asia, where they were further modified. Shigeo Iwata describes the excavated weights unearthed from the Indus civilisation:

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When Gretchen Baxter gets home from work as a New York City book editor, she checks her Blackberry at the door. "I think we are attached to these devices in a way that is not always positive," says Baxter, who'd rather focus at home on her husband and 12-year-old daughter. "It's there and it beckons . That's human nature (but)...we kind of get crazy sometimes and we don't know where it should stop." Americans are connected at unprecedented levels--93% now use cell phones or wireless devices; one third of those are "smart phones" that allow users to browse the web and check e-mails, among other things. The benefits are obvious: checking messages on the road, staying in touch with friends and family, efficiently using time once spent waiting around. The _ : often, we're effectively disconnecting from those in the same room. That's why, despite all the technology that makes communicating easier than ever, 2010 was the year we stopped talking to one another. From texting at dinner to posting on Facebook from work or checking e-mails while on a date, the connectivity revolution is creating a lot of divided attention, not to mention social anxiety. Many analysts say it's time to step back and reassess . "What we're going to see in the future is new opportunities for people to be plugged in and connected like never before," says Scott Campbell. "It can be a good thing, but I also see new ways the traditional social construction is getting somewhat torn apart." Our days are filled with beeps and pings--many of which pull us away from tasks at hand or face-to-face conversations. We may feel that the distractions are too much, but we can't seem to stop posting, texting or surfing. "We're going through a period of adjustment and rebalancing, " says Sherry Turkle and she wants to remind people that technology can be turned off. "Our human purposes are to really have connections with people," she says. "We have to reclaim it. It's not going to take place by itself."

gutenberg

CHAPTER III. THE END OF THE BALL. THE priest's long journey did not appear to have fatigued him. He was as cheerful and as polite as ever--and so paternally attentive to Stella that it was quite impossible for her to pass him with a formal bow. "I have come all the way from Devonshire," he said. "The train has been behind time as usual, and I am one of the late arrivals in consequence. I miss some familiar faces at this delightful party. Mr. Romayne, for instance. Perhaps he is not one of the guests?" "Oh, yes." "Has he gone away?" "Not that I know of." The tone of her replies warned Father Benwell to let Romayne be. He tried another name. "And Arthur Penrose?" he inquired next. "I think Mr. Penrose has left us." As she answered she looked toward Lady Loring. The hostess was the center of a circle of ladies and gentlemen. Before she was at liberty, Father Benwell might take his departure. Stella resolved to make the attempt for herself which she had asked Lady Loring to make for her. It was better to try, and to be defeated, than not to try at all. "I asked Mr. Penrose what part of Devonshire you were visiting," she resumed, assuming her more gracious manner. "I know something myself of the north coast, especially the neighborhood of Clovelly." Not the faintest change passed over the priest's face; his fatherly smile had never been in a better state of preservation.

wikipedia

William III (; 4 November 1650 – 8 March 1702), also widely known as William of Orange, was sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Gelderland, and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from 1672, and King of England, Ireland, and Scotland from 1689 until his death. It is a coincidence that his regnal number (III) was the same for both Orange and England. As King of Scotland, he is known as William II. He is sometimes informally known in Northern Ireland and Scotland as "King Billy". William inherited the principality of Orange from his father, William II, who died a week before William's birth. His mother Mary, Princess Royal, was the daughter of King Charles I of England. In 1677, he married his fifteen-year-old first cousin, Mary, the daughter of his maternal uncle James, Duke of York. A Protestant, William participated in several wars against the powerful Catholic king of France, Louis XIV, in coalition with Protestant and Catholic powers in Europe. Many Protestants heralded him as a champion of their faith. In 1685, his Catholic father-in-law, James, Duke of York, became king of England, Ireland and Scotland. James's reign was unpopular with the Protestant majority in Britain. William, supported by a group of influential British political and religious leaders, invaded England in what became known as the "Glorious Revolution". On 5 November 1688, he landed at the southern English port of Brixham. James was deposed and William and Mary became joint sovereigns in his place. They reigned together until her death on 28 December 1694, after which William ruled as sole monarch.

cnn

Reggie Hilaire was a rookie cop on September 11, 2001. He worked at ground zero for 11 days beside his colleagues -- many of them, including Hilaire, not wearing a mask. He was later assigned to a landfill in Staten Island, where debris from the World Trade Center was dumped. For about 60 days between 2001 and 2002, the New York police officer was surrounded by dust. In 2005, Hilaire was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. He underwent surgery and radiation. Just months later his doctor told him he also had multiple myeloma, a blood cancer that multiplies the body's plasma cells to dangerous levels. It's a cancer that usually strikes much later in life. Hilaire was 34. More than 1,100 people who worked or lived near the World Trade Center on 9/11 have been diagnosed with cancer, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A few months ago Hilaire received a letter from the CDC's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, officially offering him medical insurance under the World Trade Center Health Program. About 1,140 people have been certified to receive cancer treatment under the WTC Health Program, a representative told CNN. These are the first numbers released since the program was expanded a year ago. In September 2012, federal health authorities added 58 types of cancer to the list of covered illnesses for people who were exposed to toxins at the site of the World Trade Center in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. Dr. John Howard, administrator of the WTC Health Program, had said the year before that cancer treatments would not be covered by the compensation fund. At the time, he said there was inadequate "published scientific and medical findings" to link 9/11 exposures to cancer.

mctest

At the farm, the farmer found that he needed to go to the town to get some tools. He needed to pick up five things at the store. The farmer needed to get a shovel, some hay, extra string, feed for the horses and a tire for his truck. He also found that one of the steps on his ladder was broken and needed to be fixed. He would have to get some wood to fix the ladder. He thought he might like to look at new ladders and see if it was time to get a new one. He went into the house and found his keys. He started driving down the road when he found that he forgot his wallet and needed to go back to the house. He turned the truck around and went back to the house. While he was in the house, he remembered that he also needed to get some milk at the store. He picked up his keys and wallet and went back to his truck. He picked up all the items he needed in town and was still home in time for dinner.

cnn

(CNN) -- Chingaiz Khan was an unknown quantity when he arrived for a junior weightlifting tournament in South Waziristan nine years ago. Chaotic and intensely religious, the Pakistani region is known by locals as "the most dangerous place in the world." The 12-year-old Chingaiz, with his short, jet-black hair and smooth, unblemished skin, looked younger than the other boys. But, despite it being his first ever tournament, he was still stronger than everyone else. For his father Shams-Ul Wazir, a local college lecturer, the decision to register his son for the tournament paid off handsomely. Chingaiz was crowned the junior boys' weightlifting champion, the first step on a journey that would take him into the world of professional sport. Except Chingaiz wasn't really his name. Chingaiz was actually called Maria Toor Pakay. Chingaiz was a girl. "I suggested the name of Chingaiz Khan for her since she had always been like a boy," explained Al Wazir in an interview with HBO. "She liked the name very much." Girls and boys This isn't a story of deception, but rather a tale of necessity. Maria Toor Pakay is Pakistan's number one squash player, ranked 49th in the world. She also comes from an ultra conservative region in Pakistan that is home to the Taliban. Female participation in any form of public life is strongly discouraged, by both words and deeds. Education, working, sports; anything involving women leaving the house unaccompanied by a male relative was seen as the work of the devil. Teen athlete fled Taliban stronghold to pursue dream