Announcement

DC5m United States science in english 100 articles, created at 2016-12-11 06:26 articles set mostly positive rate 3.6

1 3.4 Bob Dylan Sends Warm Words but Skips Nobel Prize Ceremonies (10.99/11) The musician’s statement, read in Stockholm by the American ambassador to Sweden, explained his two-week silence after the honor was announced in October. 2016-12-10 19:56 6KB www.nytimes.com

2 5.3 The Latest: Trump's favorite for State an accomplished exec (8.99/11) The Latest developments on Donald Trump's transition to the presidency (all times local): 2016-12-10 23:44 6KB www.cbs46.com

3 0.0 Who is Rex Tillerson, tipped as next secretary of state? So far, US President-elect Donald Trump's Cabinet picks have mostly been either (8.99/11) multimillionaire and billionaire executives or retired generals. In that context, it's probably less of a surprise that Trump may be close to selecting...... 2016-12-10 18:44 848Bytes article.wn.com

4 3.2 More than 30 feared dead as gas trailer rams into vehicle in Kenya (3.99/11) More than 30 people are feared dead after a trailer carrying chemical gas rammed into another vehicle on a major Kenyan road, officials said. 2016-12-10 19:46 1KB www.independent.ie

5 5.9 Feature: Michigan's Jabrill Peppers turns heads — in every direction

(2.54/11) Wolverines redshirt sophomore Peppers amazes peers with 2016 season 2016-12-10 19:43 10KB rssfeeds.freep.com

6 0.9 Tom Holland, 20, posed as student at Bronx high school to hone ‘Spider-man: Homecoming’ role (2.11/11) The star of the new Spider-man movie found himself in a web of deceit when he enrolled in a Bronx high school to prepare for the role. 2016-12-10 22:47 2KB feeds.nydailynews.com

7 3.7 Obituary: John Glenn John Glenn, the astronaut, fighter pilot and politician, who has died aged 95, became in 1962 the first American to orbit the Earth; almost four decades later, at the age of 77, he beca 2016-12-10 22:30 9KB www.independent.ie (2.06/11) 8 2.5 Hong Kong hospice supporting people to die in their own homes (1.05/11) With her daughter taught how to administer medicine and measure oxygen levels, Yiu Popo can spend her final days with her loved ones by her side 2016-12-10 19:02 3KB www.scmp.com

9 6.7 What's cooking: My Christmas dinner This Christmas meal proves just how much you can achieve with my

(1.04/11) @OnePoundMeals approach 2016-12-10 20:03 2KB www.dailymail.co.uk

10 2.1 Ghana's next leader under pressure to deliver for impatient voters

(1.02/11) By Matthew Mpoke Bigg ACCRA, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Ghana's President-elect Nana Akufo-Addo needs to act fast to deliver on his campaign promise to create jobs,... 2016-12-10 21:00 3KB www.dailymail.co.uk

11 2.2 Oil cartel seeks output cutbacks by non-member countries OPEC member states are meeting with Russia and other non-OPEC countries in (1.02/11) Vienna for talks about a reduction in oil production. Secretary General Mohammed Barkindo said the discussions began Saturday in a "positive atmosphere" at the headquarters of the oil producers' cartel. ... 2016-12-10 20:05 878Bytes article.wn.com

12 2.1 Freezing Rain Downs Trees, Powerlines in Portland Freezing rain downed trees and power lines and stranded some light-rail passengers in (1.02/11) Portland for about three hours Saturday as the first winter storm of the season continued. The Oregonian/OregonLive reports ( http://bit.ly/2gx9a6G ) nearly 24,000 Portland General Electric... 2016-12-10 18:41 2KB abcnews.go.com

13 1.2 Venezuela seizes almost 4mn toys to distribute among poor children at Christmas — RT News (1.02/11) Venezuelan authorities seized 3.8 million toys from one of the country’s main distributors, accusing it of hoarding and hiking prices. They promised that the seized goods would be distributed among poor children. 2016-12-10 18:19 2KB www.rt.com

14 3.5 Simon Cowell Honors Louis Tomlinson's Late Mom on 'X Factor' (1.02/11) Simon Cowell remembered Louis Tomlinson's mom, Johanna Deakin, who died of leukemia, after the One Direction singer's emotional performance on 'The X Factor' on Saturday, December 10 — watch 2016-12-10 18:06 3KB www.usmagazine.com

15 10.0 Days of wine & spices: Essential mulled wine The ultimate winter warmer made easy. 2016-12-10 20:03 1KB www.dailymail.co.uk

(0.05/11) 16 0.0 Democrats Say Military People Have No Place In Government, Lash Out At Trump Appointments The left hates the military because military people love America to the point that they would risk their lives for Her. Excerpted From The Hill: Democrats are growing uneasy (0.03/11) with the number of generals President-elect… 2016-12-11 03:28 5KB www.patdollard.com

17 7.1 Saturday’s Maine women’s roundup: Unbeaten Bowdoin routs Bates

(0.01/11) The Polar Bears improve to 8-0 with a 76-43 victory. 2016-12-10 21:12 3KB www.pressherald.com

18 1.4 Buccaneers vs. Saints Odds: Point Spread, Total & Prediction (0.01/11) The Tampa Bay Buccaneers host the New Orleans Saints for a Week 14 NFC South showdown. Keep reading here to… 2016-12-10 18:45 4KB heavy.com

19 0.7 Adama Barrow urges Yahya Jammeh to accept defeat Appeal by Barrow followed by unanimous statement by UN Security Council calling for transfer of power with undue delay. 2016-12-10 23:33 3KB mwcnews.net

20 2.1 Macedonia votes hoping to end political crisis Macedonia votes in an early general election on Sunday in a bid to end a deep political crisis that has roiled the small Balkan country for nearly two years. 2016-12-10 23:30 4KB www.digitaljournal.com

21 0.0 Are Monsanto And The Ajinomoto Company Poisoning Africa? Aspartame, MSG Danger Revealed Ajinomoto is in the process of purchasing a 33 percent stake in an African food distribution outfit called Promasidor. Should you worry? Probably. 2016-12-10 23:15 6KB www.inquisitr.com

22 1.0 Six Flags Over Georgia joins in second world record- setting event One year after setting a world record for couples kissing under mistletoe, Six Flags Over Georgia joined with fellow parks around the country to set a similar record on an even grander scale. 2016-12-10 23:01 2KB rssfeeds.11alive.com

23 2.7 Swarthmore joins list of ‘sanctuary’ campuses in Delco SWARTHMORE >> Swarthmore College has joined a growing list of self-declared sanctuary campuses in a pledge to protect students from immigration laws. 2016-12-10 22:53 4KB www.delcotimes.com 24 3.0 Opinion Editorial: Why don’t they move the Pa. Society back to Pa.? You would think a state that makes you visit three different places to secure beer, wine and liquor would know how to throw a party. 2016-12-10 22:50 5KB www.delcotimes.com

25 2.0 Three with serious to critical injuries after crash in Salt Lake City SALT LAKE CITY -- Two people are in critical condition and one person is in serious condition Saturday night after a two-vehicle crash in Salt Lake City. Lt. Robin Heiden of the Salt Lake City Police Department said the crash occurred around 6:30 p... 2016-12-10 22:49 1KB fox13now.com

26 2.9 The Gambia's answer to Coco Chanel Those who do find work in Europe often wire some of their earnings back home. In Tida's village today, women in what are nicknamed "Western Union Marriages" often have smarter clothes and satellite TV dishes. But 2016-12-10 22:45 723Bytes article.wn.com

27 1.1 Taiwan says China air force conducts long-range drills TAIPEI, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Chinese military aircraft on Saturday flew over waterways near Taiwan as part of long-range exercises, Taiwan said, the first such... 2016-12-10 22:37 2KB www.dailymail.co.uk

28 5.6 Obituary: Michael 'Jim' Delligatti Michael "Jim" Delligatti, who has died aged 98, invented the Big Mac and ate at least one of the double-decker hamburgers a week for decades. 2016-12-10 22:30 4KB www.independent.ie

29 1.9 Amy Adams is off-duty chic as she goes Christmas tree shopping with daughter Aviana With Christmas fast approaching Amy Adams made shopping for a spruce her top priority on Saturday. 2016-12-10 22:23 2KB www.dailymail.co.uk

30 1.3 Is that Yoda or a garden gnome? Original design of Jedi Master that was scrapped by Star Wars bosses is revealed after 26 years The Jedi Master, who made his debut in The Empire Strikes Back, could have looked very different if the makers had followed the original design, which is revealed here for the first time. 2016-12-10 22:18 2KB www.dailymail.co.uk 31 0.6 American life expectancy sees first drop in over 20 years For over 20 years Americans could expect to live and average of 78.9 years, but recent studies are showing the first drop in life expectancy since then. 2016-12-10 22:17 1KB www.chron.com

32 2.1 Air Miles Andy is at it again! Duke of York takes £3,000 helicopter flight for royal visit which would have cost him £34.60 on the train The Duke of York, dubbed 'Air Miles Andy', splashed out on the journey to get to a construction site in Bircham Newton on Thursday. 2016-12-10 22:14 2KB www.dailymail.co.uk

33 1.7 Suzi Taylor displays fuller figure in skimpy bikini as she soaks up the summer sun in Brisbane Former The Block contestant Suzi Taylor displayed a fuller figure in a skimpy black bikini as she soaked up the summer sun at Brisbane's South Bank beach last Tuesday. 2016-12-10 22:02 1KB www.dailymail.co.uk

34 1.1 The robot that can diagnose cancer: Supercomputer dubbed Watson can treat the disease in 40 seconds - faster than 15 leading medics working together A 'robot' doctor called Watson has been pitted against a panel of 15 leading medics – and found to be just as good as them at treating cancer. 2016-12-10 22:00 2KB www.dailymail.co.uk

35 0.4 Sofia Vergara left out in the cold by ex Nick Loeb and lawsuit from her own frozen embryos Get over it, Nick Loeb. There are plenty of other women you can donate sperm to. 2016-12-10 22:00 8KB feeds.nydailynews.com

36 0.0 ‘Logan,’ ‘Deadpool 2’ Could Introduce Mutant Universe For Fox Studios [Rumors] Twentieth Century Fox could use next year’s X-men installment Logan and the following year’s Deadpool 2 to help create a mutant movie universe intertwining 2016-12-10 21:55 1KB www.inquisitr.com

37 1.9 Water infrastructure bill includes money for Portsmouth Harbor project

The legislation now goes to President Obama for his signature. 2016-12-10 21:51 1KB www.pressherald.com 38 1.1 ’ Israeli coalition chairman triggers uproar with provocative remark — RT News The Israeli ruling coalition chairman’s controversial statement that it would be “preferable” if Arabs “weren’t able to come” to polls since they “make no difference” anyway, was branded as “racist” and “antidemocratic” by opposition politicians and minorities. 2016-12-10 21:47 3KB www.rt.com

39 1.7 'I've been scared Mum would die so many times': Danniella Westbrook's son Kai talks of terrifying moment he saw her overdose on drugs... but reveals she 'wants to get better' The 20-year-old recalled the terrifying moment to The Sun on Sunday, emotionally confessing that he's been 'scared she will die so many times' and that he watched her overdose at 4 years old. 2016-12-10 21:44 4KB www.dailymail.co.uk

40 1.3 Just one thing makes Mick, the desiccated Shar Pei, attractive writes LIZ JONES It was announced last week that Mick Jagger, at the grand old age of 73, has become a father for the eighth time. The mother is Melanie Hamrick, a ballet dancer. 2016-12-10 21:44 4KB www.dailymail.co.uk

41 3.3 Perseverance, patience pays off for Ducks' Noesen If it had worked out like originally planned, Stefan Noesen would have slipped on a Ducks jersey and hat and posed for the cameras, on stage under bright lights. 2016-12-10 21:30 3KB www.latimes.com

42 0.4 New low for Corbyn's reign as ambitious MP plots to succeed him as Labour leader New MP Clive Lewis, who has represented Norwich South since last year's election, is said to be planning to take over as leader, with several people touting him as a serious candidate. 2016-12-10 21:29 3KB www.dailymail.co.uk

43 2.2 Levy: Tough final month gives Lions chance to earn our position We're in first place going into the last month of the regular season, which is great. 2016-12-10 21:26 1KB rssfeeds.freep.com

44 0.4 Pucker up! Iggy Azalea shows off plumped pout as she goes street chic in fuzzy olive coat and Chanel bag The 26-year-old Australian rapper showed off a new look when she stepped out in Calabasas on Saturday with what appeared to be lip injections as she opted for a casual cool ensemble. 2016-12-10 21:22 3KB www.dailymail.co.uk 45 1.3 Lord Howe leaves £2.2m estate to his wife of 62 years: Tory chancellor, 88, avoids half a million inheritance bill by leaving fortune to his spouse Lord Howe, who died aged 88 in October last year, avoided an inheritance tax bill of at least £500,000 by leaving most of his estate to his wife of 62 years, Elspeth, 84. 2016-12-10 21:21 1KB www.dailymail.co.uk

46 1.3 Tar Heel of the Week: Michelle Blackmon helps the most vulnerable students graduate Michelle Blackmon leads Wake Tech’s Fostering Bright Futures program, which helps college students who have aged out of foster care and have no family to support them. 2016-12-10 21:20 7KB www.newsobserver.com

47 0.6 Concern grows over consequences of Brexit and food price rises, says survey Concern is growing over the consequences of Brexit and food price rises, a new survey shows. Research for consumer magazine Which? shows that nearly six mont... 2016-12-10 20:57 2KB www.dailymail.co.uk

48 0.2 Central Bank Gold Demand Could Accelerate on Growing Federal Debt Inflation can be understood as the destruction of a currency’s purchasing power. To combat this, investors, central banks and families have historically stored a portion of their wealth in gold. I call this the Fear Trade. The Fear Trade continues … 2016-12-10 20:40 7KB www.valuewalk.com

49 3.3 Edward Snowden backers beam calls for pardon on Washington news museum Activists display almost 4,000 notes from backers on the side of the Newseum, an institution celebrating free speech near the White House 2016-12-10 20:39 4KB www.theguardian.com

50 0.6 MAIL ON SUNDAY COMMENT: Being a seven-year- old is tough enough without ‘gender studies’ MAIL ON SUNDAY COMMENT: Can we really contemplate schools in which teachers will hesitate – or even fear – to use the time-worn phrase ‘boys and girls’ in daily life? 2016-12-10 20:39 3KB www.dailymail.co.uk

51 2.4 Trump Adds Another Climate Change Denier To His Cabinet By Tapping Cathy McMorris Rodgers For Secretary Of The Interior President-elect Donald Trump added another climate change denier to his incoming cabinet by tapping Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) to be his new 2016-12-10 20:35 3KB www.inquisitr.com 52 1.4 IFFAM: ‘Pandora’ Director Lets Audience Take Political Approach Park Jung-woo, director of disaster film “Pandora” says he now accepts that South Korean audiences will view his film through a political lens. “At first, I wanted the audience to pay attention to … 2016-12-10 20:31 3KB variety.com

53 0.0 'Kejriwal can't tell between wheat and paddy': CM Badal takes a dig at AAP chief's scant knowledge on Punjab Arvind Kejriwal could not even differentiate between wheat and paddy as AAP national convener was not aware of the basics of the agrarian state, Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal, while addressing a gathering. 2016-12-10 20:28 3KB www.dailymail.co.uk

54 5.6 Senate Democrats Exploit Miners in Failed Government Shutdown Bid

Senate Democrats Exploit Miners in Failed Government Shutdown Bid 2016-12-10 20:22 6KB feedproxy.google.com

55 0.0 Under Obama, total public construction spending dropped relative to Bush And Clinton Earlier I shared with you that when it comes to President-elect Donald Trump, the media takes him literally but not seriously. His supporters, on the other hand, take him seriously but not always literally. We saw an example of this … 2016-12-10 20:20 7KB www.valuewalk.com

56 1.9 The day before Pulse mass shooting was a celebration of life Fun, sun, music, love — the day before the mass shooting at Pulse was a celebration of life... with some haunting twists. 2016-12-10 20:20 14KB www.orlandosentinel.com

57 2.0 'Safety of villagers and animal is important': Leopard that strayed to villages near Delhi is sent to Haryana's Kalesar National Park The big cat was temporarily kept at the National Zoological Park on Mathura Road, but was later released in Haryana's Kalesar National Park, which was believed to be its home, near river Yamuna. 2016-12-10 20:17 3KB www.dailymail.co.uk

58 1.7 Coca-Cola’s next big challenge: cutting calories Coca-Cola Co.’s incoming CEO is under pressure to dramatically cut the calories of Coca-Cola’s lineup 2016-12-10 20:14 4KB rssfeeds.detroitnews.com

59 2.9 Understanding Jayalalithaa: The leader who balanced democrtic power with the rule of law Rajeev Dhavan on late J Jayalalithaa, who had a clarity with compassion and an unerring belief that she belonged to the people whom she loved and who loved her in return. 2016-12-10 20:12 6KB www.dailymail.co.uk 60 1.6 5 pillars of AI innovation over the past 40 years Artificial intelligence came alive in the 80s with many startups, governments, and large enterprises deploying new systems that executed tasks typically performed by human experts. These were largely rule-based systems that encoded behaviors in rules versus the strict procedural logic of traditional programming languages. Then... 2016-12-11 03:29 5KB feedproxy.google.com

61 3.6 Jorgos becomes Honorary Member in the Greek Academy of Magicians (Includes interview) Acclaimed magician Jorgos has a major reason to celebrate. He becomes an Honorary Member in the Greek Academy of Magicians. 2016-12-10 20:09 1KB www.digitaljournal.com

62 0.3 Nurse is sacked for offering to pray with her patients despite call by equality watchdog to end persecution of Christians A nurse with 15 years’ experience has been sacked after offering to pray with patients before operations. The mother-of-three is now suing the Darent Valley hospital in Dartford, Kent. 2016-12-10 20:07 4KB www.dailymail.co.uk

63 2.6 So optimists are healthier. And more deluded, perhaps? A study suggests that positive thinking helps you live longer, but it’s getting harder to look on the bright side 2016-12-10 20:05 8KB www.theguardian.com

64 2.3 Romanian PM tries the tieless look ahead of a national vote Romanian PM tries the tieless look ahead of a national vote Associated Press - 10 December 2016 16:38-05:00 News Topics: General news, Lifestyle, Government and politics, Fashion, Beauty and fashion, Parliamentary elections, Elections People, Places and Companies:... 2016-12-10 20:05 1KB article.wn.com

65 4.3 Cities can provide a sanctuary against Trump – and Brexit Cosmopolitanism is not a dirty word – it can provide a vital bulwark against intolerance in both Britain and the US 2016-12-10 20:04 5KB www.theguardian.com

66 3.7 Beauty Buzz: a party-season pep talk with Twiggy As queen of style Twiggy launches her first beauty gift collection for Marks & Spencer, she tells us how she survives the rigours of the social whirl… 2016-12-10 20:02 2KB www.dailymail.co.uk 67 5.6 Fashion: It's Showtime Roll up, roll up – spectacular partywear has come to town! Here's our pick of the season's showstoppers 2016-12-10 20:02 1KB www.dailymail.co.uk

68 1.5 HOROSCOPES: Look to the past to put things right, Sagittarius If you are experiencing difficulties in a relationship then you must look to the past to discover the cause. Only then will you be able to put things right. 2016-12-10 20:02 4KB www.dailymail.co.uk

69 2.3 YOU report: When the will won’t go your way More parents favouring one child over another, multiple marriages and rising property prices have led to a huge increase in inheritance disputes. YOU reports on the anguish these feuds can cause. 2016-12-10 20:02 11KB www.dailymail.co.uk

70 0.4 HEALTH: Ease away a sore head Scalp massage has been practised in cultures worldwide for millennia to release tension. It can help banish neck ache, diffuse niggling headaches and be a potent aid to deep relaxation. 2016-12-10 20:01 4KB www.dailymail.co.uk

71 1.1 Jonathan Cahn's 'The Book of Mysteries' – $4.95 today only! Contact WND Imagine if you discovered a treasure chest in which were hidden ancient mysteries, revelations from heaven, secrets of the ages, the answers to man’s most enduring, age-old questions, and the hidden keys that can transform your life to joy, success, and blessing... 2016-12-10 20:00 7KB www.wnd.com

72 0.3 JCPenney, Kohl’s, Macy’s and Sears sued over misleading prices By Kathryn Vasel NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Ever wonder just how good that sale price is? Turns out, some deals might not be as good as they look. The Los Angeles city attorney is suing four major retailers over claims that they... 2016-12-10 19:52 2KB fox13now.com

73 3.1 ‘RHONY’ Star Dorinda Medley Co-Hosts Holiday Charity Event In The Fight Against Human Trafficking Dorinda Medley co-hosts a benefit for anti-trafficking non-profit, Beauty for Freedom. 2016-12-10 19:47 4KB www.inquisitr.com

74 3.7 Report: Trump to Nominate Democrat Heidi Heitkamp to Agriculture Secretary President-elect Donald Trump is expected to name North Dakota Democratic Sen. Heidi Heitkamp Agriculture Secretary, according to news reports. 2016-12-10 19:44 943Bytes www.newsmax.com 75 1.1 Darwin and the XY chromosome A provocative new book by an American anthropologist about the influences of evolutionary biology on men’s health will cause both genders to think about the past and the future. 2016-12-10 19:43 12KB www.jpost.com

76 1.2 The Eurodollar Market: It’s Not Working! Today we discuss the largest wholesale funding market in the world, the eurodollar market, and how its “normal” form of functioning has dramatically changed, causing all manner of problems in the global economy. In last week’s post we discussed shadow … 2016-12-10 19:25 7KB www.valuewalk.com

77 0.0 Funds allocated for public land projects More than $79 million set aside under the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act will fund 30 conservation and recreation initiatives. 2016-12-10 19:24 1KB www.washingtontimes.com

78 1.9 Pet cat disappears from Illinois home, turns up 700 miles away in NC RALEIGH, N. C. – A pet cat disappeared from his home in Illinois and somehow ended up more than 700 miles away in North Carolina. The News & Observer reported that Roy Finley recently drove 24 hours to be reunited with his pet cat Lazarus... 2016-12-10 19:21 1KB myfox8.com

79 0.3 Carrie Bickmore says raising $1.2 million for brain cancer research has helped her feel connected to her late husband Greg Lange Carrie Bickmore recalls the devastating loss of her husband Greg Lange to brain cancer in 2010 and how fundraising has helped her deal with her emotions. 2016-12-10 19:10 1KB www.dailymail.co.uk

80 0.0 Health Scan: Potential therapy to eliminate HIV virus Also included: Which gender has better memory? 2016-12-10 19:10 4KB www.jpost.com

81 4.2 Decade-long drug war has left deep scars on Mexican society but brutal turf wars continue Government has no events plans to commemorate the controversial military deployment by Felipe Calderon on December 11, 2006 2016-12-10 19:02 4KB www.scmp.com

82 2.6 Artificial Intelligence Program Writes A Christmas Carol With Moments Of Cheer And Darkness [Video] An artificial intelligence program has written a Christmas carol. Sort of. Researchers at the University of Toronto used their “neural karaoke” program to 2016-12-10 19:00 3KB www.inquisitr.com 83 1.9 Man builds incredible DRAGON shaped castle for his cat A pet owner has gone to extreme lengths to keep his cat happy! The man built a huge dragon structure made entirely of cardboard purely for his cat's entertainment. 2016-12-10 18:56 2KB www.dailymail.co.uk

84 3.1 A neighbor was asked to clean a home. She found a grenade in the oven. A neighbor helping to clean a vacated mobile home discovered a grenade strapped to a package with a highly flammable substance Saturday morning, according to the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office. 2016-12-10 18:54 3KB www.heraldonline.com

85 4.2 ‘Ark: Survival Evolved’ PS4 Update — Here’s What Gamers Can Expect Earlier this week PS4 gamers were finally able to get their hands on a PlayStation 4 version of Ark: Survival Evolved. 2016-12-10 18:50 1KB www.inquisitr.com

86 2.1 Giraffes At Risk Of Extinction As Population Plummets 40 Percent, Scientists Warn In the latest animal news, the world’s tallest animal, giraffes, are now listed as vulnerable species on the brink of extinction after the International Union 2016-12-10 18:45 5KB www.inquisitr.com

87 1.5 Nick Tangorra talks benefit concert at The Paramount (Includes interview) Epic Records artist Nick Tangorra chatted with Digital Journal about his benefit concert at The Paramount on December 8. 2016-12-10 18:44 3KB www.digitaljournal.com

88 2.4 Guyana reports record gold production of 700,000 troy ounces GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AP) " Officials in Guyana say the South American nation will post record gold production this year. Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman says production has surged 22 percent over last year to nearly 700,000...... 2016-12-10 18:44 822Bytes article.wn.com

89 2.9 Ground broken on Omaha Children's Hospital expansion Children’s Hospital and Medical Center has broken ground on a $450 million, 10-story clinical facility in the heart of Omaha. 2016-12-10 18:36 1KB www.washingtontimes.com

90 8.0 Man injured at Burlington food plant dies from injuries Authorities say a Burlington man injured earlier this week in an industrial accident at a snack food packaging plant has died. 2016-12-10 18:25 1KB www.washingtontimes.com 91 0.0 Cubans streaming into U. S. before Trump can take office

Experts say the current influx will rival the previous peak in 1980. 2016-12-10 18:21 2KB www.pressherald.com

92 0.6 Evanston Fire Department Accepts Donations For Families Displaced The Evanston Fire Department is accepting donations for the families impacted by the Sherman Avenue fire, that occurred on Monday. 2016-12-10 18:09 1KB chicago.cbslocal.com

93 0.0 Chris Thile on unexpected career as host of "A Prairie Home Companion" Musician, who first appeared as a guest on the radio show in 1996 at age 15, explains why the "pressure is off" being Garrison Keillor's successor 2016-12-10 18:07 4KB www.cbsnews.com

94 2.8 9 Artificial Intelligence Stats That Will Blow You Away Image Source: Getty Images As the AI era continues to unfold, the idea of a future driven by artificial intelligence can evoke mixed emotions. Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) co-founder and Chairman Bill G 2016-12-10 18:07 6KB dailycaller.com

95 0.0 Professors Take A Different Approach In Responding To 'Leftist Propaganda' Claims An online "professor watchlist" claims to expose those who promote "leftist propaganda. " Notre Dame professor John Duffy and colleagues asked to have their names added to the list in solidarity. 2016-12-10 18:06 793Bytes www.npr.org

96 0.0 9 officers fired for reporting traffic stops they never conducted Suburban Dallas officers were suspended in May after review identified several individuals who made false claims about traffic stops 2016-12-10 18:02 1KB www.cbsnews.com

97 0.0 Here’s how fintech will impact emerging markets in 2017 Mobile payments, digital wallets, and other forms of financial technology (fintech) have seen widespread adoption in the West, but fintech has a whole new meaning for the developing world. 2016-12-11 01:08 6KB feedproxy.google.com 98 0.7 Rod Stewart restores confidence in the vitality of our rocking elder gentlemen as he sings flanked by ladies and under the healthiest hair seen on an OAP Even in a year that has dealt blows to younger rock stars than him, you all but forget Rod Stewart is part of an endangered species until he closes his show with Enjoy Yourself (It’s Later Than You Think). 2016-12-10 18:01 2KB www.dailymail.co.uk

99 1.3 It's sold nine million copies and enchanted children for decades – so can a star-studded £2 million TV version turn We’re Going On A Bear Hunt into a Christmas classic to rival The Snowman? This Christmas Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury's classic story of five children hunting a bear in the English countryside follows the in tradition of The Snowman as it is brought to life in a new animated film. 2016-12-10 18:01 7KB www.dailymail.co.uk

100 0.8 Office Christmas Party starring Jason Bateman and Jennifer Aniston may be stuffed with Christmas comedy cliches but it will definitely make you laugh Like Bad Santa 2, Office Christmas Party is set in the reliably wintry city of Chicago, but it differs from it completely in one crucial respect: this is actually funny. 2016-12-10 18:00 6KB www.dailymail.co.uk Articles

DC5m United States science in english 100 articles, created at 2016-12-11 06:26

1 /100 3.4 Bob Dylan Sends Warm Words but Skips Nobel Prize Ceremonies (10.99/11) For Bob Dylan, the nagging question of whether his songs qualify as literature was settled for good on Saturday at the Nobel Prize ceremony in Stockholm — and his presence was not required to make the case.

As the always-slippery folk singer forewarned , he was not there to receive the 2016 prize in literature, but he sent a warm, humble statement accepting the honor, which was read by Azita Raji, the American a mbassador to Sweden , at an evening banquet in Stockholm.

Invoking William Shakespeare, whom Mr. Dylan imagined to have been too consumed with practical matters — “How should this be staged?” “Where am I going to get a human skull?” — to bother with whether what he was doing was literature, Mr. Dylan wrote: “I too am often occupied with the pursuit of my creative endeavors and dealing with all aspects of life’s mundane matters. ‘Who are the best musicians for these songs?’ ‘Am I recording in the right studio?’ ‘Is this song in the right key?’ Some things never change, even in 400 years.

“Not once have I ever had the time to ask myself, ‘Are my songs literature?’” Mr. Dylan, 75, concluded. “So, I do thank the Swedish Academy, both for taking the time to consider that very question, and, ultimately, for providing such a wonderful answer.”

Earlier in the day, the Swedish Academy defended its nontraditional selection of a musician — and a seemingly uninterested one , at that — for the literary honor. (In his prepared remarks, Mr. Dylan would acknowledge his own inscrutable silence for two weeks after the prize was announced in October: “I was out on the road when I received this surprising news, and it took me more than a few minutes to properly process it.”)

In a speech in front of about 1,500 guests, including the Swedish royal family, Horace Engdahl, a member of the Nobel Committee, called Mr. Dylan “a singer worthy of a place beside the Greek bards, beside Ovid, beside the Romantic visionaries, beside the kings and queens of the blues, beside the forgotten masters of brilliant standards.

“If people in the literary world groan,” Mr. Engdahl added, “one must remind them that the gods don’t write, they dance and they sing.”

Mr. Engdahl’s speech was followed by a fittingly imperfect Patti Smith , who delivered an estimable Dylan impression on his 1963 song, “A Hard Rain’s a-Gonna Fall,” but also proved his inimitable nature, flubbing a lyric and halting the performance midway through. “I’m sorry,” she said before resuming. “I’m so nervous.” Still, some in the audience could be seen crying as she finished the song accompanied by a string section.

At the same time, Mr. Dylan, who cited only “pre-existing commitments” when he finally declined the Nobel invitation, was being spoken about in near-mythical terms outside of Stockholm, as well.

Exactly where the singer was on Saturday during the Scandinavian festivities — which included an evening banquet, with its traditional parade of desserts, after the afternoon white-tie award ceremony — remained a mystery. He was not where he can most reliably be found these days — onstage — as his most recent batch of tour dates ended before Thanksgiving.

But even with no public appearances scheduled, Mr. Dylan was also a spectral presence around his other, more private, known haunts. Neighbors at properties across the country that are registered in Mr. Dylan’s name or that of his management company described a local legend who was hard to pin down and rarely, if ever, seen — somewhere between Thomas Pynchon and Sasquatch.

Outside of a gated home in Malibu, Calif., owned, according to local tax records, by Robert Dylan, a self-described security guard offered cryptically, “What you’re looking for doesn’t exist here anymore.”

Locals, however, described the folk legend as a phantom-like presence who had been seen intermittently in recent years.

On Saturday morning during the Nobel ceremony, the home where Mr. Dylan is thought to live received visitors, including a white pickup truck advertising plumbing services. Two S. U. V.s also gained entrance beyond the prominent “No Trespassing” sign and security cameras, but a voice on the intercom denied Mr. Dylan was inside.

About 2,000 miles away, in Hanover, Minn., a few hours south of his native Hibbing , Mr. Dylan’s legend also loomed, though his corporeal presence remained elusive. At a property associated with Mr. Dylan’s companies, where is brother, David, is thought to live, a private drive lined with pine trees led to multiple buildings decorated for the holidays with lights and blowup Christmas characters.

A half-mile down the road was the Hilltop Bar, the one place in town that locals could agree Mr. Dylan had patronized. But the owner, who declined to give his name, said he had not served Mr. Dylan in a few years.

Nearby, at the Tom Thumb gas station, there were whispers that Mr. Dylan had been around town over Thanksgiving, though no one could say why he missed the Nobel events, which also included news conferences and an earlier meeting with President Obama.

Still, Mr. Dylan has not yet entirely ducked the Swedish Academy. To receive the award, which comes with 8 million Swedish krona, or about $870,000, Nobel laureates are required to give a lecture on their subject within six months of Saturday’s ceremonies, and though the academy said it had nothing on the books yet, there was hope.

“There is a chance that Bob Dylan will be performing in Stockholm next year, possibly in the spring,” the academy said in a statement, “in which case he will have a perfect opportunity to deliver his lecture. We will post more information as soon as we have it.”

Bob Dylan 'Honoured' To Patti Smith blanks out during Dylan expresses awe over Bob Dylan Nobel prize Receive Nobel Despite No- Bob Dylan Nobel Prize Nobel Prize speech: this is 'truly beyond Show performance – Twin Cities rssfeeds.detroitnews.com words' article.wn.com twincities.com theguardian.com

Bob Dylan welcomes Dylan expresses awe over Nobel winner Bob Dylan a Patti Smith covers, bungles 'wonderful' Nobel Prize for Nobel Prize, alludes to no-show at ceremony Bob Dylan’s song upon literature Shakespeare cnn.com accepting his Nobel Prize at independent.ie article.wn.com ceremony in Stockholm feeds.nydailynews.com

2016-12-10 19:56 JOE COSCARELLI www.nytimes.com

2 /100 5.3 The Latest: Trump's favorite for State an accomplished exec (8.99/11) NEW YORK (AP) - The Latest developments on Donald Trump's transition to the presidency (all times local): 10 p.m. President- elect Donald Trump has found an accomplished American executive in Rex Tillerson, a supporter of free trade, international law and an expansive U. S. presence in the Middle East. A native of Wichita Falls, Texas, Tillerson came to Exxon Mobile Corp. straight out of the University of Texas at Austin in 1975 and never left. He came up in the rough-and-tumble world of oil production, holding posts in the company's central United States, Yemen and Russian operations. Under Tillerson's leadership, oil prices broke records and strong profits helped make Exxon the most valuable public company in the world. It has a security force totaling thousands of employees, direct channels with governments worldwide and a strong aversion to American sanctions or limitations on where it could operate. ___ 4:30 p.m. President-elect Donald Trump is moving closer to nominating Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson as his secretary of state, following a private meeting with the business leader. That's according to several people who have spoken with Trump and his transition team. Trump has privately signaled to associates that he plans to tap Tillerson for the powerful Cabinet post, but had not formally offered him the job as of Saturday afternoon. Some advisers worry that Tillerson's ties to Russia would lead to a contentious Senate confirmation hearing and keep alive questions about Trump's own relationship with Moscow. The people who have spoken with Trump and his transition team insisted on anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly disclose the internal deliberations. ___ 3:50 p.m. President-elect Donald Trump is being greeted with cheers at the annual Army-Navy football game in Baltimore. The incoming president waved to the crowd from outside a private box as he arrived at the stadium during the first quarter of the storied rivalry. Trump was inside the box of a West Point graduate and planned to spend the second half in the box of retired Marine Lt. Col. Oliver North. He was joined by former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, incoming White House chief of staff Reince Priebus and top adviser Steve Bannon. ___ 1:20 p.m. Donald Trump has met with Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson as the incoming president considers his options for secretary of state. Tillerson is under serious consideration to lead the State Department and also met with Trump earlier this week. Trump is also considering former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker and former United Nations ambassador John Bolton. Trump's transition team said Friday that former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani had withdrawn from consideration for the post. Tillerson's meeting Saturday was described by a person familiar with the private gathering who was not authorized to discuss it. ___ 11:20 a.m. President-elect Donald Trump will spend the first half of Saturday's Army-Navy game in the box of David Urban, a West Point graduate and Republican adviser and the second half in the box of retired Marine Lt. Col. Oliver North, a graduate of Annapolis. A Trump transition official says Trump will not formally switch sides at halftime in the traditional symbol of commander-in-chief neutrality because he is not the sitting president. The team member spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the president-elect's plans. Trump is expected to join several advisers, including incoming White House chief of staff Reince Priebus and senior adviser Steve Bannon. Trump is a 1964 graduate of the New York Military Academy near West Point. ___ 10:40 a.m. President-elect Donald Trump has deleted and reissued a tweet after receiving criticism on social media for bad spelling. Trump put out a fresh tweet accusing CNN of reporting "ridiculous" fake news, arguing he won't let his television show conflict with his presidency. Hours earlier, he had misspelled the word as "rediculous. " "Reports by @CNN that I will be working on The Apprentice during my Presidency, even part time, are ridiculous & untrue - FAKE NEWS! " he wrote in the corrected tweet. The latest tweet drew some commentary about the president-elect, who has flubbed words on previous occasions on Twitter. "Are they still rediculous, too as per the original tweet? " tweeted @JoelNihlean in response. ___ 6:45 a.m. Donald Trump is tweeting about television again - this time accusing CNN of reporting "rediculous" fake news and asserting that he won't let his television show conflict with his presidency. Trump's Saturday morning tweets follow an announcement by Mark Burnett, the creator of "The Apprentice," that the president-elect remains an executive producer on the show. Trump's spokeswoman, Kellyanne Conway, said on CNN Friday that Trump's ties to his reality show are being reviewed for potential conflicts of interest. At 6:28 a.m., the president-elect tweeted that he has "NOTHING to do with The Apprentice except for fact that I conceived it with Mark B & have a big stake in it. Will devote ZERO TIME! " Ten minutes later, he tweeted again, saying that "reports by @CNN that I will be working on The Apprentice during my Presidency, even part time, are rediculous & untrue - FAKE NEWS! " ___ 2:50 a.m. President- elect Donald Trump is partaking in one the nation's most storied football rivalries, saluting U. S. troops at the annual Army-Navy game on Saturday as he prepares to enter the White House. The future commander-in-chief planned to attend the 117th game between the military academies at West Point and Annapolis, which is being held on relatively neutral ground, at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Md. The appearance caps a week of rolling out Cabinet picks, holding "thank you" rallies in North Carolina, Iowa and Michigan, and trying to cement his incoming Senate majority with Saturday's runoff election in Louisiana. Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Carbon Tax, Climate, Trade, Trump Bets In U.K. Still Trump's pick for State is an Trump’s pick for State is an Education Policy Concerns Predict He Will Not Become accomplished executive accomplished executive Arise with Trump’s Likely President charlotteobserver.com wtop.com Secretary of State Selection inquisitr.com Tillerson feedproxy.google.com

'Oil tycoon for Trump's Alphabet execs said to Trump says Exxon Mobil’s Trump set to pick Tillerson Secretary of State' attend Trump tech meeting Tillerson more than as secretary of state independent.ie rssfeeds.detroitnews.com executive article.wn.com rssfeeds.detroitnews.com

2016-12-10 23:44 www.cbs46.com

3 /100 0.0 Who is Rex Tillerson, tipped as next secretary of state?

(8.99/11) So far, US President-elect Donald Trump's Cabinet picks have mostly been either multimillionaire and billionaire executives or retired generals. In that context, it's probably less of a surprise that Trump may be close to selecting......

Carbon Tax, Climate, Trade, Education Policy Concerns Arise with Trump’s Likely Secretary of State Selection Tillerson feedproxy.google.com Rex Tillerson leading Donald Trump closing in on Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson Trump set to pick Tillerson candidate for secretary of Exxon Mobil chief Rex emerges as State as secretary of state state Tillerson as secretary of Department frontrunner article.wn.com cnn.com state rssfeeds.usatoday.com independent.ie

Rex Tillerson is Donald 'Oil tycoon for Trump's Trump expected to name Trump's leading candidate Secretary of State' Rex Tillerson, Exxon Mobil for secretary of state independent.ie CEO, as next secretary of cbsnews.com state jpost.com

2016-12-10 18:44 system article.wn.com

4 /100 3.2 More than 30 feared dead as gas trailer rams into vehicle in Kenya (3.99/11) More than 30 people are feared dead after a trailer carrying chemical gas rammed into another vehicle on a major Kenyan road, officials said.

Mwachi Pius Mwachi, deputy director and communications officer for the National Disaster Management Unit, said the tanker lost control while going downhill on the road from Nairobi to Naivasha.

It rammed into a number of vehicled before exploding in flames. Mr Mwachi said 11 more vehicles were burnt and scores of people were injured.

AP Kenya: Over 30 feared dead Kenya official: Over 30 More Than 30 Dead as More than 30 dead as tanker as gas trailer rams into feared dead after tanker Tanker Rams Into Vehicles rams into vehicles on Kenya vehicle ferrying chemical gas on Kenya Road road article.wn.com rammed into other vehicle ... abcnews.go.com article.wn.com article.wn.com

More than 30 killed More than 30 dead as tanker Over 30 feared dead as gas Kenya Official: Over 30 as tanker rams into vehicles rams into vehicles on trailer rams into vehicle Feared Dead After Tanker on Kenya road Kenyan road lasvegassun.com Ferrying Chemical Gas article.wn.com independent.ie Rammed Into Other Vehicle in Rift Valley abcnews.go.com

2016-12-10 19:46 Press Association www.independent.ie

5 /100 5.9 Feature: Michigan's Jabrill Peppers turns heads — in every direction (2.54/11) Coming out of Gardena, Calif., in 2014, Adoree Jackson had no doubt he was as talented as any player in the country.

Rated No.7 overall and the No.1 cornerback in the 247Sports Composite rankings, he had boundless ability and thought he was setting a standard. Then he got to the Under Armour high school All-Star game and realized there was another level.

Jabrill Peppers’ level.

“I knew he was special in high school,” Jackson said of Peppers this past week in Atlanta before the College Football Awards show. Peppers was No.2 overall in that class.

“They let him go both sides of the ball at the Under Armour game. I was like, ‘OK, they didn’t let me go, so he’s got to be legit.’ Then I’ve seen his highlights his senior year: all offensive plays. And I was like, ‘I thought he was a defensive back?’ I said, this guy’s got to be legit.”

They met at the game in Florida, connected and have been bonded ever since, mostly because they understood each other in a way few others could.

Playing in all three phases — offense, defense and special teams — takes rare ability. But while Jackson had flashes, like a three-touchdown game against Notre Dame and played essentially one position in each, Peppers did it all season at many spots.

That’s why, even though Jackson won the Jim Thorpe Award, Alabama’s Jonathan Allen won the Nagurski and Bednarik awards, and Alabama’s Reuben Foster won the Butkus Award, they’re all jealous of Peppers.

Because Peppers was set to spend Saturday night in Manhattan near the Heisman Trophy as the eighth defensive finalist in the past 35 years.

That’s why he won the national award that suits him best: the Hornung Award for the most versatile player .

“I couldn’t do it, because me and Jabrill are way different in body size,” Allen said, grinning knowing that his 291-pound frame is all that’s restricting him. “What he does is incredible. I couldn’t do it. You’ve got to respect a man for what he does. That’s why he got the trip to New York.”

To the college football world, Peppers’ achievements are stunning mostly because they are so rare.

At every position, he seems to be an outlier.

There are few 205-pound linebackers because they’re too small. There aren’t many 205-pound return men because they’re too slow.

And there aren’t many (any?) defensive players lining up as a wildcat quarterback because they can’t be trusted to make decisions.

Somehow, it all seems natural to Peppers.

“Most guys when you talk about they have the skill to play on the back end, but that means they can run,” Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher said at last week’s Orange Bowl news conference in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. “This guy can run, he can bend, he knows how to play on the back end at safety and corner. Then you say, you take these big safeties and you say, we’re going to play them at linebacker. That’s all fun until one of them 310-pound tackles comes strolling out on you. This guy plays. He knows how to leverage the ball, he knows how to take them on when he has to, he knows how to avoid them when he has to.”

As Fisher spoke, he sounded wistful, like coaches across the country, imagining how many holes Peppers can fill on a team.

Michigan had him for 933 snaps (almost 78 per game), lining up at 15 positions.

The glamour spots made sense, because every safety wants to move to linebacker and rush the passer. And every defensive player wants to get to play the wildcat or get carries as a tailback.

But how many are interested in being the gunner or the holdup man on special teams?

That’s what has consistently impressed coach Jim Harbaugh — whose pet phrase for Peppers is “it’s the darndest thing....” Heavy words coming from a 15-year NFL veteran and 14-year head coach who has seen most of everything football.

Fisher said they’ve never had a scouting report like this.

“When you look up the definition in the dictionary, you say football player,” said Fisher, whose team will face Peppers on Dec.30 in the Orange Bowl . “He can run, he can tackle, he can throw, he can catch, he can block — there’s nothing he can’t do. Be a special-teams threat, be an offensive threat, be a defensive threat in all phases. To me, he’s the epitome of what you think of a football player. Then when you bring the toughness with it, this guy’s a physical guy now. He’s not huge, he’s big but he’s not huge. His skill set is so diverse. He will be a heck of a pain for us, there’s no doubt about that.”

For coaches and fans, Peppers’ workload is impressive.

He’s always on the field, moving around.

But to his peers on the field, the players who are training and preparing during the week and playing on Saturday, it’s mind-boggling.

The most intriguing part: Each sees a different trait.

“He does a good job of training hard and putting himself in position to play all those positions,” Florida State tailback Dalvin Cook said. “You’ve definitely got to be well-conditioned to do it, and you’ve got to have a different mind-set to go out there and play all those positions.”

Texas A&M defensive lineman Myles Garrett considered himself a Peppers-type player at one point. But then he grew up.

“I haven’t done all this since high school,” Garrett said. “In high school, I played receiver, tight end, fullback, all special teams. I played linebacker, defensive end. To do that at the next level, that’s amazing.”

Allen met Peppers at the Under Armour game, and he saw the talent at that time. Doing it all at 205 pounds sets Peppers apart.

“That’s what makes it so much more incredible what he’s doing,” Allen said, realizing how much Peppers gives away when battling an offensive lineman or tight end. “He’s a beast. He’s all over the field for offense, defense and special teams.”

For all the impressive physical skills — the high school sprint championship, the relentless ability to hit and still run, the sense and athleticism to hurdle a player on one return, juke a few on another and duck a tackler on another — the consensus among the other great players is that Peppers lives on another mental level.

“Everybody wants to do it, everybody wants to play all the aspects of football, but when you think about it, it’s really difficult,” said U-M cornerback Jourdan Lewis, who sees it daily yet is still impressed. “You’ve got to coordinate with the offensive coordinators, Coach (Chris) Partridge, the special-teams coach and Coach (Don) Brown. You’ve got to think about those three components, and all of that stuff isn’t simple. There’s interesting parts of the game plan which we have to specialize in something. When you think about that, it’s actually a lot. When you think about how much he has to take on mentally, it’s unbelievable.”

Except for Jackson, the rest of the elite players this season primarily play one spot.

They’ve all excelled in their location, with hours of intense preparation and film study, looking for any edge.

Which is why nearly all of them think it’s much tougher on his mind than his body. “For him to memorize everything, that just shows he’s a freak of nature,” said Oklahoma receiver Dede Westbrook, another Heisman finalist. “It’s crazy. I sit back there and say maybe I can play quarterback or I can play running back. Anybody can say anything. But for that guy to physically get out there and do it and show you each and every week why he’s the best at what he does, that’s crazy.”

Cook is extremely impressed but stopped just short of being surprised.

He never considered anything beyond running back, because he “just fell in love with running the ball and scoring touchdowns.” Which has worked out over his three-year career, becoming the school’s all-time leading rusher.

But the Peppers trait that impressed him most was apparent the first time they met in an All-Star game.

“His confidence is out the roof,” Cook said. “When you’ve got a guy with that much confidence, when they step on the football field, they can be able to do things like that, utilize their talent in different ways.”

Jackson is the only player who can relate to Peppers’ situation.

As an elite cornerback, he also worked the return game, making explosive plays.

But the heavy offensive load he took last year backed off considerably. After 157 offensive plays in 2015, he had 13 this year.

Though there always was an eye to the east, since high school when they began texting and messaging each other.

“Every time I see him play, I comment on him, and he says something to me,” Jackson said. “I know I’m doing something that he’s doing and he’s doing something that I’m doing, and it’s great to see things like that happen.”

Peppers has dropped Jackson’s name a number of times this year, including Friday when he spoke to reporters in New York, saying he thought Jackson would get the Hornung Award for his versatility. And Jackson said he viewed it as a competition all year, with each measuring himself against the other.

It’s part of their shared mind-set.

While other players explain why it would be so difficult to play so many spots, Jackson said he and Peppers need to do it.

“I think it’s about wanting to affect the game and help out the team as much as possible,” Jackson said. “Great athletes that we are, blessed by God with such nice ability that we want to use it as much as possible. We want to go out there, and if we lose a game we don’t want (to think) ‘if I could have only did this.’ When we’re put in a situation where we go offense, kick return, punt return, defense, we’re already in all three phases of the game. So, if we don’t do it, we can’t say, ‘(if) I was in that position.’

“It’s all about taking advantage of the opportunity.”

Throughout this season, Peppers has seized it in one of the most unique ways in modern college football history.

As he told reporters in New York on Friday: “Wherever you need me to play, I’ll play. Just give me two weeks to master the position, if that’s all you need me to do. But I was always told to be a guy who’s hard to take off the field.”

Contact Mark Snyder: [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @mark__snyder.

Download our Wolverines Xtra app for free on Apple and Android devices!

Louisville's Lamar Jackson Watch Jabrill Peppers Jabrill Peppers finishes fifth Michigan's Jabrill Peppers wins Heisman, Jabrill discuss his Heisman Trophy in Heisman Trophy voting finishes fifth in Heisman Peppers fifth moment mlive.com Trophy voting rssfeeds.detroitnews.com mlive.com rssfeeds.freep.com

2016-12-10 19:43 Mark Snyder rssfeeds.freep.com

6 /100 0.9 Tom Holland, 20, posed as student at Bronx high school to hone ‘Spider-man: Homecoming’ role (2.11/11) The young star of the new Spiderman movie found himself in a tangled web of deceit when he enrolled in a Bronx high school to prepare for the role.

British actor Tom Holland, 20, says he spent three days incognito at the unnamed city school to help him play Peter Parker in the upcoming “Spider- Man: Homecoming.”

“No one knew who I was or what I was doing,” Holland said in a Facebook Live Q&A session. “I had a fake name and a fake accent.”

Holland admitted that he let his secret slip to one fellow student.

“I was like ‘Hey man, listen, I'm actually Spider-Man,’” Holland recalled. “He did not believe me.”

Holland said the experience was eye-opening for a guy who went to an all-boys school where he was forced to wear a uniform.

“It was the first time that I was in a classroom with girls,” he said. “It was a really strange experience.” While Holland did not name the school, he visited the Bronx High School of Science in February.

The school posted photos of Holland surrounded by students and identified him as a “future SpiderMan movie star.”

The film, slated to be released in July 2017, is a coming-of-age story about Parker’s life as a teenager attending a Queens high school for gifted students.

As he navigates life as an ordinary high schooler, Parker’s superhero alter-ego faces a new villain — the Vulture played by Michael Keaton.

Tom Holland Recalls Worst ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ New Spider-Man Tom Day On Set Of ‘Spider-Man: News: Tom Holland Goes Holland went undercover in Homecoming’ Undercover As A High Bronx high school to inquisitr.com School Student research role inquisitr.com dailymail.co.uk

2016-12-10 22:47 Rich Schapiro feeds.nydailynews.com

7 /100 (2.06/11) 3.7 Obituary: John Glenn John Glenn, the astronaut, fighter pilot and politician, who has died aged 95, became in 1962 the first American to orbit the Earth; almost four decades later, at the age of 77, he became the oldest person to venture into space when he blasted off once more aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery.

As a fighter pilot in World War II and the Korean War, Glenn won four Distinguished Flying Crosses and 18 Air Medals. He was also the first pilot to make a supersonic transcontinental flight. Having embarked on a political career, he served as Senator for Ohio from 1974 to 1998 and sought the Democratic nomination in the 1984 presidential election.

As the quintessential all-American hero, Glenn might have been expected to scale the summit of the US political system. A politician of conviction and integrity, his strength lay in his sense of duty and his commitment to his country. But he was hampered by a certain lack of charisma, and a plodding delivery at odds with his status as a daredevil flying ace.

John Herschel Glenn was born on July 18, 1921 at Cambridge, Ohio, the son of a conductor on the railways who also ran a plumbing business. After the family moved to New Concord, Ohio, John was educated at the local high school - since renamed the John Glenn High School - and Muskingum College, where he read engineering and learned to fly.

When the US entered the war Glenn joined the US Marines as a flight lieutenant. "We took patriotism very seriously," he later recalled. "[We] celebrated Armistice Day and Memorial Day... I believed deeply in such things, and I joined the Marine Corps because that was the place to let it all hang out for your country. " He flew 59 missions in the Pacific and was extensively decorated for valour.

After the war Glenn remained with the Marines, serving in the US and undertaking a further two- year tour of duty in the Pacific. From 1949 to 1951, he was a flight instructor at Corpus Christi before attending the Amphibious Warfare School at Quantico, Virginia. Promoted to major, he served in Korea, flying 90 missions between February and September 1953, winning more decorations and earning himself the nickname "the MiG-mad Marine" for his venom.

As a military test pilot after the war, Glenn was able to fly some of the fastest planes in existence. On July 16, 1957 he piloted an F8U-1 Crusader from Los Angeles to New York at 726mph, establishing a transcontinental record of three hours, 23 minutes and 8.4 seconds. He became even more widely known when he won $12,500 on the game show Name That Tune.

In 1957 the space race began when the Soviets launched Sputnik, the world's first satellite. The US government immediately responded with its own programme, and Glenn was one of seven military test pilots chosen by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) to undergo training at Cape Canaveral, Florida. All were men who exhibited what Tom Wolfe described, in his book of that name, The Right Stuff. After Yuri Gagarin had achieved another Soviet "first" by successfully orbiting the earth on April 12, 1961, Glenn was selected to be his US equivalent.

Despite delays and technical hitches, his capsule Friendship 7 was launched on February 20, 1962 at 9.47 EST. Even once under way, the mission was not without its complications. During the first orbit the automatic jet stabilisers failed, and Glenn - cramped inside his 9ft by 7ft capsule - had to operate them manually. There were also fears that the heat shield would not be adequate for the capsule's re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere.

In the event, the craft landed successfully in the Atlantic after completing three orbits in a flight of four hours and 55 minutes. Wobbling national confidence in the space programme was restored, and overnight Glenn became a national hero, awarded a ticker-tape parade in New York City. He later observed: "No matter what preparations you make, there comes a moment of truth… The important thing for me wasn't fear, but what you can do to control it. "

Although he was keen to participate in future space missions, Glenn encountered a mysterious resistance. He believed President John Kennedy feared the political fallout should Glenn be sent on a hazardous mission from which he never returned. Whether this was the case, or whether Nasa was reluctant to have its programme somewhat eclipsed by the fame of one individual, in 1964 Glenn resigned from the Marines.

His motive for running for the US Senate was "to make a better place for the people yet to come". He entered the Ohio Democratic primary, but was forced to withdraw after injuring himself in a bathroom fall. Instead, for the time being, he pursued business interests.

He was a director of Royal Crown Cola and of Questor Corporation; he invested in several Holiday Inn franchises; and hosted a television series, called Great Explorations, that traced the footsteps of such men as David Livingstone, Captain Cook and Marco Polo.

But Glenn continued to keep his finger on the political pulse, helping Bobby Kennedy in his ill- fated attempt to win the Democratic presidential nomination in 1968. Two years later he stood for the Ohio Democratic Senate ticket , but ran a naive and unsuccessful campaign against Howard Metzenbaum. In Glenn's view, his fame was less of a help than a hindrance. "I had studied the issues," he said, "but I'd walk into a meeting and the first question I'd hear would be 'Do astronauts really drink Tang?'"

Undeterred, however, Glenn again stood against Metzenbaum in 1974, and, after a bitter campaign, won the Democratic nomination. It had been a sharper performance than in 1970, and the clinching factor had been Metzenbaum's use of tax shelters which meant that he had paid less tax than Glenn despite his significantly higher earnings and wealth. Empowered by this victory, Glenn duly crushed his Republican opponent, Ralph J Perk, and entered the Senate.

Selected as the keynote speaker at the 1976 Democratic Convention, Glenn was considered by some as a potential partner for Jimmy Carter in his quest for the presidency. Glenn's leaden style, however, ensured that despite his popularity he was not considered vice-presidential material, and the role went to Walter Mondale.

Glenn's popularity in Ohio remained high, and in 1980 he was returned to the Senate with an impressive 69pc of the vote. He then decided to seek the Democratic nomination for the 1984 presidential election.

In a film of Tom Wolfe's The Right Stuff (1983), Glenn had been played sympathetically by Ed Harris, and many commentators considered Glenn to be a strong candidate. Once again, however, his desultory performances as a public speaker fatally undermined him; he dropped out of the race, $3m in debt.

Glenn returned to the Senate, and continued to focus on the issues that concerned him. Initially he had concentrated on three areas: foreign relations, governmental affairs, and the elderly. After 1984 be broadened his brief, clashing regularly with Ronald Reagan over nuclear proliferation issues as well as becoming an expert on defence and energy. While his attention to detail buttressed his arguments, his speeches seldom electrified his audiences.

Glenn was once again re-elected in 1992, after a bitter battle in which his name was tarnished by his links with Charles Keating, a subsequently convicted Savings and Loans fraudster. Although exonerated from any blame, Glenn was deemed to have exercised poor judgment by introducing Keating to the Speaker of the House after regulators had informed him that Keating was being prosecuted.

On February 20, 1997, the 35th anniversary of his orbit, Glenn announced that he would not seek re-election, and in January the following year, Nasa announced that, in his final year in office, Glenn would become the oldest person to go into space. The aim was to study the effects of space flight on the elderly.

Glenn and six scientists were launched into space on Space Shuttle Discovery's STS-95 on October 29, 1998. The flight lasted nine days and completed 134 orbits of the Earth before landing at Cape Canaveral on November 7. During it, Glenn underwent multiple physiological examinations, and afterwards he was monitored for a further 17 days.

In 1998 Glenn helped to found the John Glenn Institute for Public Service and Public Policy (later the John Glenn School of Public Affairs) at Ohio State University.

He was awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honour; the Nasa Distinguished Service Medal; and, in 2012, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He was inducted into the Astronaut Hall of Fame in 1990.

In 1943, John Glenn married Anna Castor, whom he had met when she was four and he was three. She survives him with their son and daughter.

© Telegraph

How three black women Remembering John Glenn helped send John Glenn into [VIDEO] orbit dailycaller.com theguardian.com

2016-12-10 22:30 Telegraph.co www.independent.ie

8 /100 2.5 Hong Kong hospice supporting people to die in their own homes (1.05/11) With her generous smile, energetic and hospitable nature, it’s easy to forget that granny Yiu, 77, has been battling terminal bone cancer for almost a decade. Suffering such a condition would easily bring the toughest of people down. But Yiu is content and happy that she is able to spend her final days at home with her family. “I like to stay home as my family members can give me warmth,” said Yiu, who has been receiving palliative care at home since September. “At home, if I say I need water, my family immediately give me water,” she said. “I love staying at home, and would rather pass away here.” Recalling her first day back home, Yiu said she immediately felt “so much happier”. Her daughter, named Flora, said her mother was more rejuvenated. Yiu’s return was made possible by the Society for the Promotion of Hospice Care, which runs a 24-hour support service out of its Jockey Club Home for Hospice. The help has saved Yiu from regular trips to the hospital and enduring unnecessary check-ups. “We strongly believe family offers the best care for patients,” Connie Chu Ho-nee, chief operating officer of the hospice, said. The Sha Tin hospice is equipped with home-like single rooms for patients. But for those, like Yiu, deemed suitable to receive care at home, their families may be provided basic knowledge and support to take care of them. “I am relieved to see her at home,” said Flora, who was taught by the society’s care team how to administer medication and monitor her mother’s oxygen levels. The team’s support has ensured Yiu’s family will be prepared for her death at home – a practice not yet popular in Hong Kong as about 90 per cent of deaths still take place in public hospitals. So far the society has supported two in-home deaths. Based on those experiences and with the right support and planning, Chu said in-home end-of-life care was possible, and it could ease increasing pressure on the 360 palliative care beds in public hospitals. And with and an increasing number of patients with chronic illnesses, demand for such beds is continually on the rise. But the cost of in-home palliative care, among other barriers, makes the practice difficult for many people. Twelve nurse and two doctor visits over a six-month period from the society costs about HK$25,000. Legal barriers, such as the death certificate for a person who has passed away at home, which must be completed by a doctor who has seen the patient in the 14 days prior, also make it hard. The results of a government- commissioned study, which examined how end-of-life care in Hong Kong could improve, are expected to be released next year.

Is this proof Hong Kong’s Hong Kong holds election for 'Umbrella Protests' failed? panel to pick next leader article.wn.com article.wn.com

2016-12-10 19:02 Elizabeth Cheung www.scmp.com

9 /100 (1.04/11) 6.7 What's cooking: My Christmas dinner This Christmas meal proves just how much you can achieve with my @OnePoundMeals approach. With clever cheats and handy tips, you can transform a chicken leg and a few everyday ingredients into this stunning Christmas dinner for 1. You can stuff and poach the chicken the night before if you like, ready for pan-frying on the day. And it’s no trouble to multiply up the quantities for as many guests as you have. TO MAKE 1 PORTION 1 chicken leg, de-boned ½ red onion, finely diced 1 tsp cranberry sauce small handful of breadcrumbs (grated stale bread) 1 large potato, peeled and roughly chopped 3 tbsp dry stuffing mix approx 20ml water 1 rasher of smoked streaky bacon, cut into three 3 brussels sprouts, separated into leaves 1 tsp gravy granules olive oil salt and pepper ★ Lay the chicken skin-side down on foil and stuff with a mixture of the onion, cranberry sauce and breadcrumbs. Wrap into a tight cylinder and twist the foil, then secure with string. ★ Poach in boiling water for 25 minutes, then cool under cold running water, set aside until cold and refrigerate for 30 minutes minimum (you can do this the night before). ★ Preheat your oven to 190°C/gas mark 5. ★ Rinse the chopped potato under cold running water, place in cold salted water, bring to the boil and cook until soft. Drain, then return to the empty saucepan and immediately drench in generous glugs of olive oil. Tip into a baking tray and roast for about 40 minutes, turning occasionally, until golden. ★ Mix the stuffing mix with the water, roll it into 3 sausage shapes and wrap in bacon (secure with toothpicks, if necessary). Bake in a separate tray for about 20 minutes. ★ Carefully peel the foil off the chicken (foil only: don’t remove the string) and pan-fry the chicken in a splash of oil for about 25 minutes, turning to brown the skin (make sure it is hot throughout). ★ Just before serving, pan-fry the sprout leaves, seasoned generously, in a splash of oil. ★ Mix the gravy granules with boiling water (according to the packet instructions) and serve with the sliced stuffed chicken and trimmings.

Indiantown Christmas What's cooking: Christmas What's cooking: My stilton Parade butternut squash portobello Christmas starter rssfeeds.tcpalm.com dailymail.co.uk dailymail.co.uk

2016-12-10 20:03 Miguel Barclay www.dailymail.co.uk

10 /100 2.1 Ghana's next leader under pressure to deliver for impatient voters (1.02/11) By Matthew Mpoke Bigg ACCRA, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Ghana's President- elect Nana Akufo-Addo needs to act fast to deliver on his campaign promise to create jobs, restore rapid growth, build a dam in every village and a factory in every district if he is to satisfy an electorate eager for change. Voters gave President John Mahama just one four-year term before they wielded the axe, rejecting him in an election on Wednesday that cemented Ghana's reputation for democratic accountability in a region scarred by civil wars and coups. "If in three years they (the New Patriotic Party) haven't created enough jobs they could face the same voter backlash that Mahama faced," pollster and newspaper publisher Ben Ephson told Reuters. Falls in prices for Ghana's gold, cocoa and oil exports helped sink Mahama. The country is emerging from a fiscal crisis of elevated inflation and debt under the supervision of an International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme. But new oil and gas is set to come onstream in 2017 and 2018 from a $7.9 billion offshore field being developed by Italy's ENI which the government says will boost revenue and aid longstanding domestic power problems. At the same time, a recovery in gold prices in the past year should help Ghana's major gold producers who include Newmont , while cocoa farmers say they are hoping for a strong 2016-17 crop. In a victory speech on Friday, Akufo-Addo, a former foreign minister, acknowledged the pressure to deliver for impatient voters. "I make this solemn pledge to you tonight: I will not let you down. I will do all in my power to live up to your hopes and expectations," he said. FRESH SCRUTINY His New Patriotic Party (NPP) supports the IMF programme and says it will manage national finances more tightly than the outgoing government. But it could face a nasty surprise when it takes office early next year if it turns out budget deficit reduction targets have been missed, economists said. This is possible because Mahama cut the ribbon on some big-ticket infrastructure projects during the election campaign, suggesting increased spending. At the same time, revenue from the Jubilee offshore field operated by British company Tullow dipped in 2016 due to a technical fault on its oil ship. Even so, they said there is little chance the new government will face the scale of fiscal problems that emerged after the last election when the fiscal deficit jumped to over 11 percent. "What we know is that there has been a stepped up effort of fiscal consolidation. What we don't know is how much arrears have crept up due to the decline in oil production," said Razia Khan, head of Africa Research at Standard Chartered. Some business leaders say they are nervous that the new government will want to scrutinise existing contracts. In particular, senior advisers to the NPP have criticised the ENI deal, arguing that Ghana will overpay for its gas. Even if business leaders do not have to renegotiate contracts, they say government decision-making will be on hold while a new team is put in place, and then they will have to forge relationships with a fresh administration. "There is an inevitable slowing down any time a new government takes over," said one business executive who declined to be identified. (Editing by Ros Russell)

Voters in Ghana hope for economic reform from president-elect article.wn.com

2016-12-10 21:00 Reuters www.dailymail.co.uk

11 /100 2.2 Oil cartel seeks output cutbacks by non-member countries (1.02/11) OPEC member states are meeting with Russia and other non-OPEC countries in Vienna for talks about a reduction in oil production. Secretary General Mohammed Barkindo said the discussions began Saturday in a "positive atmosphere" at the headquarters of the oil producers' cartel. ...

OPEC persuades non- members to cut oil production lasvegassun.com

2016-12-10 20:05 system article.wn.com

12 /100 2.1 Freezing Rain Downs Trees, Powerlines in Portland

(1.02/11) Freezing rain downed trees and power lines and stranded some light-rail passengers in Portland for about three hours Saturday as the first winter storm of the season continued.

The Oregonian/OregonLive reports ( http://bit.ly/2gx9a6G ) nearly 24,000 Portland General Electric customers remained without power.

Light-rail lines were delayed primarily because of ice on the east side of town and downed power lines closed a number of streets.

The ice followed snow that fell Friday.

All lanes of Interstate 84 were closed Saturday morning from Troutdale to Hood River because of icy conditions.

Portland General Electric spokesman Steve Corson says there was quite a bit of ice that weighed down the trees and frozen limbs started to drop.

The National Weather Service also issued an ice storm warning and winter storm warning for much of the Columbia River Gorge through early Saturday and said travel would be difficult.

In Washington, the State Patrol said Friday night that troopers had investigated 113 collisions in the past 24 hours in King County.

A winter storm warning was issued through Saturday afternoon for Southeast Washington and Northeast Oregon .

———

Information from: The Oregonian/OregonLive, http://www.oregonlive.com

Freezing rain downs trees, powerlines in Portland article.wn.com

2016-12-10 18:41 By abcnews.go.com

13 /100 1.2 Venezuela seizes almost 4mn toys to distribute among poor children at Christmas — RT News (1.02/11) Venezuela’s country fair pricing watchdog Sundde seized toys that distributor Kreisel kept in three warehouses located in Caracas and Guarenas on Friday, local media reported.

Meanwhile, authorities ensured local supply committees (CLAPs), created in April, would distribute subsidized food and commodities, to “fairly” spread the confiscated toys among poor children. “Children in our country will have a happy Christmas,” Sundde’s chief William Contreras told reporters after the seizure.

Kreisel underreported its inventory, planning to sell the toys at higher prices, Contreras said. Kreisel has not officially responded to the allegations, although it answered to messages of support on Twitter.

“Kreisel abuses its dominant position and we will activate all legal mechanisms to defend our people,” one of Sundde’s tweets says.

The operation is expected to teach other companies in Venezuela that it’s prohibited to “play with the rights of Venezuelans,” Contreras said, according to AFP.

Kreisel’s two managers were arrested and accused of fraud and economic boycott. Sundde is also calling to ban them from leaving the country.

Venezuela is currently struggling with the highest inflation in the world, estimated at 475 percent by 2016, according to the IMF. Its Bolivar lost 75 percent of its value since last September.

The toys imported to Venezuela between 2008 and 2014 were stored in Kreisel warehouses to be sold with surcharges of up to 34,000 percent, Contreras said.

Last week, the government ordered stores to slash prices by 30 percent, with business owners complaining that the move pushes them to bankruptcy. However, many customers welcomed the decision.

Venezuela seizes 4 million toys, will give them to poor kids newsinfo.inquirer.net

2016-12-10 18:19 www.rt.com

14 /100 3.5 Simon Cowell Honors Louis Tomlinson's Late Mom on 'X Factor' (1.02/11) Simon Cowell paid tribute to Louis Tomlinson 's mother, Johanna Deakin, who died of leukemia on December 7, after the former One Direction singer performed his new song with Steve Aoki , "Just Hold On," on the season 13 finale of The X Factor.

"I've known you now for six years [and] what you've just done, and the bravery, I respect you as an artist, I respect you as a person," the TV judge, 57, said on Saturday, December 10. "Your mum was so proud of you, Louis, and she was so looking forward to tonight. She's looking down on you now. She's so proud. "

At the end of the performance, Tomlinson, 24, appeared to tear up and blew a kiss to the sky as the audience gave him a standing ovation.

Countless fans took to Twitter throughout the night to show their support for the singer with the hashtag #ProudOfLouis, which quickly became a worldwide trending topic. Several fans also claimed that One Direction members Zayn Malik , Niall Horan , Liam Payne and Harry Styles were spotted at SSE Arena, Wembley in London to cheer on Tomlinson at X Factor with a surprise reunion.

"I honestly am so happy that all the boys came to support Louis tonight, including Zayn," one fan wrote, referencing Malik's March 2015 departure from the band. Another fan wrote, "One Direction isn't just a band. One Direction is a big family who support every single member no matter what! "

Olympic gold medalist Sam Quek shared a photo of herself with Styles, 22, backstage at X Factor.

As fans know, One Direction finished in third place on season 7 of the British singing competition in 2010. They later became a worldwide success, winning numerous awards and becoming the first band in U. S. Billboard 200 history to have their first four albums debut at No. 1. The group announced an extended hiatus last year, but Us Weekly exclusively reported in January that the split would be permanent.

After the news of Tomlinson's mother's death broke, the members of One Direction took to social media to send their support. "Love you bro! All of your family is in my prayers," Malik, 23, tweeted to Tomlinson on Friday, December 9. "Proud of your strength and know your mum is too. "

Tomlinson later broke his social media silence , writing on Twitter: "All the support has been incredible! Let's do this [performance] together tonight. "

Sign up now for the Us Weekly newsletter to get breaking celebrity news, hot pics and more delivered straight to your inbox! Louis Tomlinson: X Factor song harder than I ever imagined dailymail.co.uk

2016-12-10 18:06 Nicholas Hautman www.usmagazine.com

15 /100 (0.05/11) 10.0 Days of wine & spices: Essential mulled wine SERVES 6 Go for a middle-of- the-range wine: anything too low down the scale will show its roughness but equally there is no point in using a top bottle. Place 150ml smooth orange juice and 75g golden caster sugar in a medium pan. Add mulling spices as follows: 1 cinnamon stick , 1 star anise , ½ tsp whole cloves , 2 thin slices root ginger , 1 bay leaf , ⅓ vanilla pod (slit, optional) and 1 piece blade mace (if available). Bring to the boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat, add 3 thin slices clementine , mandarin or small orange and 3 thin slices lemon and leave to infuse for 15 minutes. Pour 1 x 75cl bottle red wine into the pan, stir and gently heat until steaming, and just starting to show signs of movement but without bringing it to the boil. Ladle into cups or mugs.

Days of wine & spices: Days of wine & spices: Food: Days of wine & Days of wine & spices: Mulled wine trifle with Spiced wine truffles spices Classic pain d’épices chestnut cream dailymail.co.uk dailymail.co.uk dailymail.co.uk dailymail.co.uk

Days of wine & spices: Ginger wine cake dailymail.co.uk

2016-12-10 20:03 Annie Bell www.dailymail.co.uk

16 /100 0.0 Democrats Say Military People Have No Place In Government, Lash Out At Trump Appointments (0.03/11) The left hates the military because military people love America to the point that they would risk their lives for Her.

Excerpted From The Hill : Democrats are growing uneasy with the number of generals President-elect Donald Trump has tapped for his administration, citing concerns about the amount of sway the military will have in the government.

“Frankly, I’m concerned by the number of generals President-elect Trump has chosen to serve in his administration,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said. “Each of these individuals have great merit in their own right. But as we’ve learned over the years, particularly in the past two decades, viewing problems in the world primarily through a military lens can be disastrous.”

Trump has so far named three generals to top positions: retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn for national security advisor, retired Gen. James Mattis for Defense secretary and retired Gen. John Kelly for secretary of Homeland Security.

There’s the potential for more. Retired Gen. David Petraeus and retired Adm. James Stavridis have been under consideration for secretary of State, and Adm. Michael Rogers, current head of the National Security Agency, is being considered for director of national intelligence.

It’s unclear whether the Democratic disquiet over the military appointees will translate into “no” votes in the confirmation process.

Mattis is highly respected for his time in the military, while Kelly is seen as a less controversial pick than other names floated for Homeland Security. Flynn’s position does not require Senate confirmation.

Mattis, who retired in 2013, would be easiest to block since he requires an exemption from Congress to bypass a law that says Defense secretaries must be out of uniform for at least seven years. The waiver must pass both chambers of Congress and requires 60 votes to pass the Senate.

But so far just two Democrats have explicitly said they’ll vote against the waiver —Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (N. Y.) and Rep. Ruben Gallego (Ariz.).

It’s not uncommon for incoming presidents to tap retired generals. President Obama had three when he first took office: retired Gen. Jim Jones as national security adviser, retired Gen. Eric Shinseki as Veterans Affairs secretary and retired Adm. Dennis Blair as director of national intelligence.

But the selection of Mattis for Defense secretary, in contravention to the required cooling-off period, has given the impression that the military will have far more power in Trump’s administration, said retired Lt. Gen. David Barno, who commanded U. S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan from 2003 to 2005.

“That’s what got people’s attention right away, and then there was the continued drum beat of other senior military officers being considered and going in for meetings,” Barno said.

Concerns also center on Trump himself — an unpredictable businessman with no government, national security or foreign policy experience.

“You’ve got a president whose judgment at least some people have questioned, who seems to be an instinct improviser, surrounding himself with people who see the world through a military filter,” said Gordon Adams, who oversaw defense budgeting for the Clinton administration. “Not a good idea.”

The problem with relying on too many generals is twofold, Adams said. First, it narrows the diversity of viewpoints advising the president. Second, he argued, it plays into the increasing militarization of the government that been seen since 9/11.

“It’s not just about expertise,” Adams said. “You don’t want to reinforce the broader trend that every problem looks like a nail, because then what we use is a hammer.”

Trump’s team has defended his Cabinet choices and the number of generals receiving top posts.

“There is no quota for the number of tough-minded, accomplished people who are qualified to do these jobs,” senior Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway said Friday on Fox News.

Sean Spicer, spokesman for the Republican National Committee, also downplayed the concerns, saying Trump’s Cabinet picks come from diverse backgrounds, including business and government.

“This is a very, very broad group, diverse group of high-quality, high-caliber people who, in their own respective fields, whether it’s academia, business or government, have shown that they know how to get the job done,” Spicer said on PBS Newshour on Wednesday.

Republican lawmakers, too, have brushed off concerns. Keep reading

Romney Stooge McMullin Lashes Out Within Mins Of Tillerson Appointment: “Trump Not Loyal American” patdollard.com

2016-12-11 03:28 Lorrie Thomas www.patdollard.com

17 /100 17 /100 7.1 Saturday’s Maine women’s roundup: Unbeaten Bowdoin routs Bates (0.01/11) BRUNSWICK — Kate Kerrigan led a balanced attack with 13 points as Bowdoin rolled to a 76-43 victory over Bates in a nonconference women’s basketball game Saturday afternoon.

Abigail Kelly contributed 12 points off the bench to go along with six rebounds. Her buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of the first quarter capped a 10-0 run that gave Bowdoin (7-0) a 24-10 lead.

The Polar Bears, ranked 11th in NCAA Division III, went on a 13-3 run early in the second quarter to increase their lead to 22.

Madeline Foote scored 11 points and Bernadette Connors had 10 for Bates. Allie Coppola added six points and 13 rebounds.

The game did not count in the New England Small College Athletic Conference standings.

Benway added 13 rebounds, three assists and three steals, while Kelsi McNamara scored 15 points for the Monks, who got the game’s last eight points after leading 50-47 with 5:41 left.

Emily Davis scored 13 points to lead Colby. Katie McCrum had nine points, nine rebounds and five assists.

North added 12 rebounds, five assists and three steals, while Melissa Baptista added 11 points. Tufts started the third quarter on a 13-2 run to push its 12-point halftime lead to 49-26.

Alicia Brown scored 16 points and grabbed six rebounds to lead UNE. Kristie McNail added 14 points off the bench.

Samantha Smith added 14 points off the bench, while Kaitlyn Labonte scored 12 points for Western Connecticut, which jumped out to an 18-3 lead after the first quarter.

Kimberly Howrigan had 10 points and eight rebounds to lead USM.

Conrad hit a 3-pointer with 5:01 left to gave SMCC a 49-46 lead. She also had eight rebounds and six steals.

Vanisova put Maine on the board in the second period, assisted by Jessica Vallotton and Brooke Stacey. Union got a goal from Caitlyn McLaren off a feed from Emily Erickson with just 22 seconds left in the period, but Vanisova struck again 4:18 into the third, converting a pass from Brooke Stacey.

Vendula Pribylova extended Maine’s lead six minutes later off a pass from Vanisova.

Michaela Martin gave Becker a 1-0 lead in the second period.

UNE pulled even when Gabby Crugnale scored on a tip in at 6:39. Mullen and Shannon Smith were credited with assists.

Just nine seconds later, Tatum Gietl scored on a wrist shot from the right circle after the puck was tapped ahead by Cassandra Connolly.

UNE added another goal at 9:00 when Mullen poked home a rebound during a power play after a shot by Smith hit the post. Kierra Wright also assisted on the goal.

Bailey Coons answered with a power-play goal at 12:25 to cut UNE’s lead to 3-2.

Sydney Helmbrecht made 13 saves for UNE, while Julia Johnson racked up 37 saves for Becker.

Colby took a 1-0 lead 2:44 into the game. Kailey Buxbaum won a faceoff and pushed the puck forward to Delaney Flynn, who immediately fed Cassidy Holzer for a one-timer.

Holy Cross answered at 5:05 on a goal by former Leavitt High player Kara Violette.

The Crusaders built a 4-1 lead before Colby’s McKayla McLaughlin scored on a shot from the right point in the third period.

Former North Yarmouth Academy goalie Alex Barnes made 19 saves for Holy Cross.

Were you interviewed for this story? If so, please fill out our accuracy form

Send questions/comments to the editors.

Saturday’s Maine men’s college roundup: Maine hockey has no problem with AIC pressherald.com

2016-12-10 21:12 Staff report www.pressherald.com

18 /100 1.4 Buccaneers vs. Saints Odds: Point Spread, Total & Prediction (0.01/11) The New Orleans Saints visit the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday for an NFC South showdown.

Kickoff is set for 4:25 p.m. Eastern from Raymond James Stadium and the game will be televised by FOX.

Here’s a complete look at all the betting info you need to know, as well as a prediction of the Week 14 NFL game below:

Note: All odds and numbers courtesy of OddsShark.com and are updated as of December 10

Spread: Buccaneers (-2) Betting Percentages: 55 percent for the Buccaneers (- 2)

Over/Under: 51

Betting Percentages: 68 percent for the OVER

Season Results: Buccaneers 7-5 straight up; 7-5 against the spread; 6-5-1 for the OVER — Saints 5-7 straight up; 7-4-1 against the spread; 6-6 for the OVER/UNDER

The Buccaneers have won four straight games, including victories over the Chiefs and Seahawks, teams probably headed to the playoffs. They are 5-1 on the road, but just 2-4 at home, where they’ll take on the 5-7 Saints.

Once again the Saints have one of the league’s top offenses, thanks to Drew Brees. And once again the Saints have one of the worst defenses. The Bucs are not defensive stalwarts either and they do have the capabilities and weapons to put up some points.

So, in a nutshell, this feels like it’s going to be a shootout.

This is the first meeting of the season between the division rivals. They play again in New Orleans in Week 16.

Brees is coming off his worst game of the season , a three-interception, zero-touchdown clunker vs. the Lions. That won’t happen again this Sunday. The Bucs have allowed 22 touchdown passes, tied for 24th most in the NFL. Brees is going to make that total go up. It should be noted, though, Tampa has allowed an average of just over 13 points per game over the past four.

Over the four-game winning streak, Jameis Winston has 6 touchdowns passes and 3 interceptions. He will also add to that TD total as New Orleans has given up 19 touchdown tosses.

Bucs running back Doug Martin returned four games ago , but is averaging just 2.85 yards per carry over that time. With Mark Ingram and Tim Hightower, the Saints rushing game has been pretty inconsistent, too.

Here are some recent betting trends for the teams. The Saints are 6-2-1 against the spread over the past 9 games, the Bucs are 4-1 ATS over the last 5. New Orleans is 8-1 straight up against Tampa Bay in the past 9 games. The UNDER has won in 5 of the Saints’ past 7 games. The OVER has won in 5 of the Buccaneers past 7 home games.

So how will this one shake out?

The Bucs are a team on the rise with NFC South title hopes dancing in their heads. The Saints have dominated Tampa Bay in recent years, but this season is different. Winston, Mike Evans and Cameron Brate will make some plays and Tampa’s defense will do just enough to get the Buccaneers a rare win over the Saints.

The Pick: Buccaneers 34-28 (Buccaneers win straight up, Buccaneers cover the spread, the OVER wins)

The Seattle Seahawks go to Green Bay for a Week 14 matchup with the Packers. Keep reading to see the game's odds and our prediction.

Looking to improve your golf game? Choosing the right golf ball for your swing is the first step and we have a list of the top 5 best balls on the market.

Lions vs. Bears Odds: Point Spread, Total & Prediction heavy.com

2016-12-10 18:45 Craig Bennett heavy.com

19 /100 0.7 Adama Barrow urges Yahya Jammeh to accept defeat Appeal by Barrow followed by unanimous statement by UN Security Council calling for transfer of power with undue delay.

Adama Barrow, president-elect of The Gambia, has called on Yahya Jammeh to accept the outcome of last week's election after the incumbent overturned the result in a sudden political U-turn.

Jammeh, who has ruled the West African country for 22 years, conceded defeat in a public address last week, but rejected the outcome early on Saturday citing "abnormalities" with the electoral process.

Changing his position on the election results, Jammeh said: "after a thorough investigation, I have decided to reject the outcome of the recent election. I lament serious and unacceptable abnormalities which have reportedly transpired during the electoral process. "

Barrow said that Jammeh had no constitutional right to reject the results and appealed to him "to facilitate a smooth transfer of executive power".

"I urge him to change his current position and accept the verdict of the people in good faith for the sake of the Gambia our homeland. "

Later on Saturday, in a unanimous statement the 15-member UN Security Council demanded Jammeh "respect the choice of the sovereign people of The Gambia, and to transfer, without condition and undue delay, power to the President-elect, Mr Adama Barrow".

Jammeh's announcement presents an unexpected and severe challenge to the incoming Barrow administration, which was already grappling with how to take the reins of power and deal with the army, which for two decades was loyal to the president.

The latest official figures gave Barrow a narrower win than initially announced - 43.29 percent of the votes for Barrow and 39.64 for Jammeh. Voter turnout was at 59 percent.

The African Union called Jammeh's rejection of the results "null and void" since he had already conceded defeat.

"The Chairperson of the Commission strongly urges President Yahya Jammeh to facilitate a peaceful and orderly transition and transfer of power," Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, AU chief, said, also calling on The Gambia's security forces to remain neutral.

Widespread unease

Soldiers were seen placing sandbags in strategic locations across the capital Banjul on Friday, a development that prompted widespread unease among the population, who had been panic- buying food before the vote, due to fear of unrest.

Witnesses told Reuters news agency that there was particular nervousness about Jammeh's statement that he would deal harshly with any troublemakers who took to the streets.

Reacting on social media, Isatou Touray, Opposition spokesperson, criticised what she called a "violation of democracy" and called on the people to "remain calm, lucid, vigilant and not retreat".

The US state department said in a statement that Jammeh's rejection of the results was an egregious attempt to undermine a credible election and remain illegitimately in power.

Mankeur Ndiaye, Senegal's foreign minister called for an emergency meeting of the Security Council and "solemnly" warned Jammeh not to harm Senegal's interests or its citizens in Gambia.

Senegal, which has Gambia's only land border, and entirely surrounds the small riverside country, is a non-permanent member of the Security Council. Its army intervened in Gambia in 1981, during a coup.

2016-12-10 23:33 Agencies mwcnews.net

20 /100 2.1 Macedonia votes hoping to end political crisis Macedonia votes in an early general election on Sunday in a bid to end a deep political crisis that has roiled the small Balkan country for nearly two years.

The vote was called as part of a European Union-brokered deal between Macedonia's four main political parties after a mass surveillance scandal erupted in February 2015 and sparked rival street protests.

The turmoil led Nikola Gruevski of nationalist VMRO-DPMNE party to step down, after nearly 10 years in power, to pave the way for a snap election.

Sunday's vote, which was twice delayed owing to opposition and international concerns of fraud, pitches the ex-PM against his nemesis, Social Democrat Zoran Zaev.

It was Zaev who released tapes last year that appeared to show government wiretapping of thousands of people, including journalists and religious officials, along with corruption at the highest level.

Gruevski denied the claims and accused Zaev of planning a coup with foreign support.

"Zoran Zaev underestimates the citizens of Macedonia... He underestimates everyone with his games," the defiant former premier told a flag-waving crowd of supporters in a Skopje suburb on Thursday night.

Zaev has pitched the vote as a choice between "doom or life" and pledged to stop an exodus of young people from the former Yugoslav republic, which remains one of Europe's poorest countries.

- Unpredictable -

Although critics describe 46-year-old Gruevski as a corrupt authoritarian who has clamped down on democracy and media freedom, his party topped opinion polls ahead of the election.

There also remained a substantial number of undecided voters, who could swing the result in the country of two million people.

"This election is one of the most unpredictable to take place in Macedonia," Zaneta Trajkoska, director at the Institute of Communication Studies, told AFP.

"Whoever wins the election will have huge challenges and issues to solve. "

A handful of ethnic Albanian political groups are vying to become the junior partner in the new ruling coalition, in a country where a quarter of the population is Albanian.

Albanian insurgents fought Macedonian forces in an uprising 15 years ago, leading to an agreement giving the minority group more rights.

- 'Under pressure' -

Macedonia aspires to join both the EU and NATO but accession has been blocked by Athens owing to a dispute over the country's name -- Greece has a northern region also called Macedonia.

The latest EU progress report on Macedonia said democracy and rule of law had been "constantly challenged" in particular by "state capture", meaning the considerable influence of private interests on decisions of the state.

Analysts however suggest Europe has pushed aside concerns because of Gruevski's role as a "gatekeeper" in the refugee crisis, in which hundreds of thousands of migrants have entered landlocked Macedonia from Greece on their way to western Europe.

The refugee wave has put added pressure on the already strained budget in Macedonia, where the average net wage is around 360 euros a month and unemployment stands at nearly 24 percent.

In central Skopje, where Christmas decorations overshadow political billboards, engineering professor Predrag Gavrilovic said it would be the "biggest tragedy" if the election did not bring an end to political instability.

"I think the people are under extraordinary pressure, which we have to get rid of," he told AFP. Polls open at 7.00 am (0600 GMT) and close 12 hours later.

2016-12-10 23:30 www.digitaljournal.com

21 /100 0.0 Are Monsanto And The Ajinomoto Company Poisoning Africa? Aspartame, MSG Danger Revealed With so much to read about Kanye and the K-K- Kardashians, it’s no wonder that news of actual import gets overlooked. After all, why should anyone care about dangerous food additives and questionable growing practices when there are celebrities to watch and selfies to post? Truth is, there’s a whole lot of creepy stuff going on, and precious little of it makes headlines.

Take, for instance, MSG and aspartame. Both are suspected of contributing to and even causing a number of devastating health conditions, including Parkinson’s disease, chronic migraine headaches, and even cancer. When was the last time you heard a news report about either product? The fact that multinational corporations such as Ajinomoto and Monsanto knowingly add potentially deadly chemicals to the foods you eat should scare you into action.

Ajinomoto products have been imported to Africa for years. This big buyout, however, marks the first time that the largest manufacturer of aspartame on the planet has made such a bold money maneuver in Africa. Corporate investments on the continent are not unheard of, however. In 2015, Kellogg’s shelled out several hundred million dollars to buy a 50 percent stake in Nigeria’s largest food distributor.

“The General Assembly must recognize that there must be henceforth a cessation of all manufacturing of and addition to foods of carcinogens, neurotoxins, mercurial fungicides used in the international transport of coffee beans, bovine growth hormones, pesticides, herbicides, alcoholic beverages, tobacco, cottonseed oil, steroids, chemicals fed to chickens to accelerate the frequency of their egg laying, bleach used to whiten flour and sugar, “anti-caking agents” like sodium silicoaluminate added to flour, chemicals added to color and preserve meat, artificial sweeteners, hundreds of manufactured food products containing aspartame (also called NutraSweet), methyl bromide, calcium propionate, malathion, parathion, dieldrin, food coloring, sodium erythorbate, BHA, BHT, TBHQ, sulfides and sulfates added to dried fruits, and foods irradiated with radioactive strontium and cesium, just to name a few.”

In a November 17, 2006, press release , Fox offered an open letter to United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon of South Korea. Fox noted that when the United States acts alone, they move too slowly on public health matters and had thus far failed to remove “such ghastly additives like aspartame, sodium nitrites, bovine growth hormones, and hundreds of other harmful chemicals from its own manufactured food products.” But that’s not all Fox had to say to the UN.

“Other nations are not so slow. Even Republics in the most “disadvantaged” parts of the world, even those with the shortest life expectancy, like Somalia, Nepal, Haiti, Liberia and 8 other African nations, recognize what the intolerable biochemical mess USA manufacturers have gotten the USA into. By preventing these corporate errors in their nations, the life expectancy in poorer nations will increase; even while the USA’s decline.”

The resolution, which, according to Fox, was supported by India and 53 co-sponsoring nations, failed to pass.

In October 2016, Dr. Betty Martini of Mission Possible World Health International published an open letter to Michelle Ramirez of California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment. Dr. Martini also filed a Citizen Petition to amend Proposition 65 to include aspartame in the Carcinogen Identification Committee (CIC)’s official List of Chemicals Known to the State to Cause Cancer or Reproductive Toxicity. Had the petition been approved, product packaging would have changed to include a warning about the potential health risks of the ubiquitous artificial sweetener. Dangerous or not, aspartame failed to be added to the list.

One of the most frightening things we know about aspartame is the way that Ronald Reagan forced its approval on his first full day as United States president on January 21, 1981. On that day, Reagan signed an executive order that severely limited the protective power of the Food & Drug Administration. Simultaneously, Reagan’s personal friend, Donald Rumsfeld, who happened to head the G. D. Searle company at the time, applied (yet again) to have aspartame approved for human consumption. Suddenly, after seven years of being turned down for FDA approval, aspartame became a legal food additive. Four years later, Monsanto bought the Searle company and Donald Rumsfeld received a hefty $12 million bonus.

This Is How Aspartame Causes Obesity https://t.co/YuCJOHrpms

— Dr. Joseph Mercola (@mercola) December 6, 2016

MSG (Monosodium glutamate) was discovered by Japanese scientists in 1908 and patented as a flavor enhancer by Ajinomoto shortly thereafter. Recognized by the FDA as “generally safe,” the powdery flavor booster is known to cause a number of adverse reactions in humans. Mayo Clinic says the most commonly reported MSG reactions include severe headaches, heart palpitations, flushing, sweating, chest pain, nausea, and facial tingling, burning or numbness.

MSG or Monosodium Glutamate And Your Health https://t.co/qmu5JPn7c7 — Chiropractor Dr Burt (@chiropracticrss) December 7, 2016

Stephen Fox was right when he told the UN that the United States takes too much time to protect consumers from potentially dangerous products like aspartame and MSG. Perhaps someday, Fox’s vision of a nutritionally aware United Nations undersecretary general for nutrition will come to fruition. In the meantime, it’s up to each global citizen to make their own consumer health decisions.

[Featured Image by JK1991/Thinkstock/Getty Images]

2016-12-10 23:15 Kaanii Powell www.inquisitr.com

22 /100 1.0 Six Flags Over Georgia joins in second world record- setting event AUSTELL, Ga. -- One year after setting a world record for couples kissing under mistletoe, Six Flags Over Georgia joined with fellow parks around the country to set a similar record on an even grander scale.

Officials with Six Flags Over Georgia confirmed that the local metro Atlanta theme park helped five other Six Flags parks set the record for couples kissing from coast to coast.

That record now stands at 839 couples (or 1,678 people).

“For the second year in a row at our park, hundreds of guests were a part of this world record and created a lifelong memory by kissing their loved one under the mistletoe during Holiday in the Park, which is a tradition in Atlanta,” Six Flags Over Georgia Park President Dale Kaetzel said in a written statement.

It was all part of the park's annual Holiday in the Park wintertime celebration.

The Atlanta park set its own world record in 2015 with most couples kissing under mistletoe at a single venue with 201 couples. Both the 2015 record and this year's nationwide endeavor were verified by the Guiness World Records organization.

“Six Flags really outdid itself this year by making history and celebrating the holidays by bringing people together from coast to coast to set a new world record for the most couples kissing under the mistletoe,” said Guinness World Records Adjudicator Christina Conlon.

Holiday in the Park at Six Flags Over Georgia features more than one million lights in 15 holiday-themed areas. There are also 29 rides including nine roller coasters. The event also includes shows food and more through Jan. 4, 2017.

(© 2016 WXIA)

2016-12-10 23:01 Christopher Buchanan rssfeeds.11alive.com

23 /100 2.7 Swarthmore joins list of ‘sanctuary’ campuses in Delco By Rick Kauffman, [email protected] , @Kauffee_DT on Twitter

Posted:

12/10/16, 9:53 PM EST | Updated: 52 secs ago

SWARTHMORE >> Swarthmore College has joined a growing list of self-declared sanctuary campuses in a pledge to protect students from immigration laws.

The response came just weeks after students staged a walkout to demand a formal declaration of a Sanctuary Campus by the college.

In reference to the forthcoming Donald Trump presidency, a letter addressed to members of the Swarthmore community acknowledged that sanctuary may be needed in the “coming months and years.”

“At this moment, when there is a rising national rhetoric of intolerance and acts of hate that threaten people of color, Muslims, LGBTQ individuals, Jews, women, and immigrants, among others, we affirm our protection of these groups to pursue their education without government interference,” read the letter, authored by Board of Managers Chairman Thomas E. Spock and college President Valerie Smith.

The letter states that nearly 2,000 members of the community asked that Swarthmore become a sanctuary campus — Swarthmore has only a population of 6,000 people — and on Dec. 2, the college pledged to protect its immigrant population.

The college will not voluntarily share student information with immigration authorities and will not grant access to college property by immigration enforcement, among other safety measures to protect its student body from federal officials.

Of the highest priority that many sanctuary campuses and sanctuary cities have supported is the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which was President Barack Obama’s sole piece of legislation passed in his tenor to protect undocumented immigrants.

“These are young people who study in our schools, they play in our neighborhoods, they’re friends with our kids, they pledge allegiance to our flag,” Obama said in 2012. “They are Americans in their heart, in their minds, in every single way but one: on paper.”

Presidential-elect Trump has promised to “immediately terminate” DACA. Trump’s Attorney General pick, Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, has been described as a “vigorous opponent” to the policy.

DACA was designed to protect the undocumented immigrants who were brought into the country as young children. It is estimated that there are 750,000 immigrants in the program, which protects them from deportation, offering them two-year renewable work permits, but no official immigration status. Those eligible for this deferment are under 31-years-old and came to the United States while under the age of 16.

Swarthmore College supports DACA and has urged its continuation in the next administration.

“We reaffirm our commitment to ensure that undocumented and DACA students continue to be admitted without regard to their financial status and continue to have full access to financial aid,” the letter continued.

In Delaware County, Swarthmore College joins Haverford College and Villanova University as schools who have pledged to protect undocumented immigrant students. “We, the undersigned presidents of Catholic colleges and universities, express hope that the students in our communities who have qualified for DACA are able to continue their studies without interruption and that many more students in their situation will be welcome to contribute their talents to our campuses,” read a statement from Villanova University President Rev. Peter M. Donohue.

2016-12-10 22:53 By Rick www.delcotimes.com

24 /100 3.0 Opinion Editorial: Why don’t they move the Pa. Society back to Pa.? Posted:

12/10/16, 9:50 PM EST | Updated: 28 secs ago

You would think a state that makes you visit three different places to secure beer, wine and liquor would know how to throw a party.

Apparently not.

Yes, it’s once again that festive time of year when our elected representatives, along with assorted other movers and shakers in Pennsylvania politics, gather to slap each other on the back and make merry.

And what’s wrong with that? Nothing really. We like a good party as much as anyone.

All except for one thing.

As they have done for decades, the swells – Pennsylvania’s elite – collectively thumb their nose at the rest of us schlubs by gathering not Philly or Pittsburgh – hell, not even in Harrisburg or Punxsutawney. No, make the trek 190 miles north to gather in New York City. Yes, this weekend once again our statewide inferiority complex is underscored by the annual gathering called the Pennsylvania Society.

That is not a typo. You read it right. The Pennsylvania Society meets in the New York City. The Big Apple. No wonder so many people back here in Pennsylvania get themselves twisted into a pretzel over this annual exercise in having your nose rubbed in it.

And we’re not the only ones that feel this way.

An unscientific poll conducted by the PoliticsPA website showed most respondents were not exactly in a party mood when it comes to this annual display of extravagance outside the state’s borders.

A plurality, 35 percent of those who responded, said the party should be moved to Pennsylvania. Ironically enough, another 24 percent said the fete should be scrapped altogether. Another 18 percent said they had no problem with the party, and still 17 percent more said they actually support it. Six percent said it sparked fears of cronyism. Probably those do-gooder liberals again.

This is not the first time we have wagged our finger at this annual excess. It’s one thing for Pennsylvania’s power players to be wined and dined by lobbyists and others looking to bend the ears of those who write our laws. In fact, as sad as it sounds, we’ve come to expect it. Yes, there is more than a little wink-wink, nod-nod in all this glad-handing and back-slapping. We’re not saying there is any quid pro quo in all this frivolity; we’d also be fools to believe that those who are shelling out big bucks to foot the tab for this ritzy shindig don’t expect to get a little bang for their buck.

It’s called influence. And it don’t come cheap. In Pennsylvania, or New York.

The truly galling thing in all this continues to be the fact that all of this money is being spent not here in the Keystone State, not helping the bottom line of these folks’ constituents, but rather in the Big Apple.

They put the Monongahela, Susquehanna and Schuylkill in the rear-view mirror and set sail for the weekend in the Big Apple.

The Plaza and Waldorf-Astoria’s gain is Pennsylvania hotels’ loss.

It takes a special kind of gall to pull off that kind of insult to injury.

Meet the Pennsylvania Legislature, one of the biggest and most expensive such cabals in the nation.

And what do we get for it? A balanced budget? A decent, fair education funding plan? Stable property taxes? A solution to a ticking time bomb that is our two massively underfunded public employee pension plans?

Not exactly. We get to buy wine in some supermarkets.

Welcome to Pennsylvania, Land of Giants.

All of this must be especially galling to the 450 state workers who recently received layoff notices from their jobs at the state Department of Labor & Industry. They’ll be out of work effective Dec. 19. They’re pawns in just one more standoff between Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf and Republicans in the state Legislature.

They probably will be doing their holiday partying in slightly less extravagant digs closer to home than their elected representatives.

Come February, Wolf will once again present a spending plan which will immediately be greeted with guffaws from Republicans in Harrisburg.

They don’t like the governor’s penchant for seeking new taxes to fund programs, in particular his gambit – which he now has tried unsuccessfully twice – to raise both the sales and personal income taxes.

In recent years we have lauded the governor for eschewing this annual exercise in excess that amounts to a huge slap in the face of Pennsylvania taxpayers. Once again this year the governor is stepping up, donating $10,000 to each of three state food banks in lieu of rubbing elbows with the elites in the Big Apple. We wish more of his counterparts did likewise.

At a minimum, they should move the party back here to Pennsylvania. Spread the money around. Alternate it in different parts of the state each year.

Maybe they could event add a few “commoners” to the guest list.

After all, eventually, they’re the ones who pick up the tab.

2016-12-10 22:50 www.delcotimes.com

25 /100 2.0 Three with serious to critical injuries after crash in Salt Lake City SALT LAKE CITY — Two people are in critical condition and one person is in serious condition Saturday night after a two- vehicle crash in Salt Lake City.

Lt. Robin Heiden of the Salt Lake City Police Department said the crash occurred around 6:30 p.m. at the intersection of 500 South and Redwood Road. Heiden said a Ford F-150 was southbound when a northbound passenger car made a left turn onto Redwood Road in front of the truck, and the two vehicles collided.

Three occupants of the passenger car were taken to area hospitals, one of whom had to be extricated from the vehicle by rescue crews. Two of the injured are in critical condition while the third is in serious condition. The occupants of the truck were not injured.

Heiden said the cause of the crash remains under investigation, but at this point it appears to have been caused by a failure to yield. Heiden said it was raining at the time of the crash, but it’s unclear at this point if weather was a factor.

2016-12-10 22:49 Mark Green fox13now.com

26 /100 2.9 The Gambia's answer to Coco Chanel Those who do find work in Europe often wire some of their earnings back home. In Tida 's village today, women in what are nicknamed " Western Union Marriages " often have smarter clothes and satellite TV dishes.

2016-12-10 22:45 system article.wn.com

27 /100 1.1 Taiwan says China air force conducts long-range drills TAIPEI, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Chinese military aircraft on Saturday flew over waterways near Taiwan as part of long- range exercises, Taiwan said, the first such flights since a telephone call between Taiwan's leader and U. S. President-elect Donald Trump irked China. China claims self- ruled Taiwan as its own and has never renounced the use of force to take back what it deems a wayward province. Trump's call with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen on Dec. 2 was the first between a U. S. president-elect or president and a Taiwan leader since President Jimmy Carter switched diplomatic recognition to China from Taiwan in 1979. China lodged a diplomatic protest over the call and blamed Taiwan for what it called a "petty" move. But there was no indication the exercise by its military aircraft was a response to the telephone call. The Chinese jets flew north to south and entered the Miyako Strait around Japan's southern islands as well as the Bashi Channel south of Taiwan, but did not enter Taiwan's air defence identification zone, Taiwan's defence ministry said in a statement. Japan sent out two of its fighter jets in response to the Chinese flight, China's defence ministry said. The two Japanese F-15 fighter jets flew over the Miyako Strait and conducted "close range interference" and fired decoy flares, "jeopardizing the security of Chinese aircraft and pilots", ministry spokesman Yang Yujun said in a statement on his ministry's website. Yang said China had grave concerns and lodged a protest over the behaviour of the Japanese aircraft during what he called "routine" drills in international waters. "The behaviour of the Japanese military aircraft was dangerous, unprofessional, and damaged freedom of navigation and overflight under international law," he said. China's drills, lasting for about four hours, involved more than 10 aircraft, including four electronic surveillance planes that flew through the Bashi Channel between Taiwan and the Philippines, Taiwan said. China, which has in recent years become more assertive in the western Pacific and South China Sea, has carried out similar exercises in the area since September. The Chinese air force has described the exercises as part of regular, annual drills which accord with international law and practice. (Reporting by J. R. Wu in Taipei and Michael Martina in Beijing; Editing by Robert Birsel)

2016-12-10 22:37 Reuters www.dailymail.co.uk

28 /100 5.6 Obituary: Michael 'Jim' Delligatti Michael "Jim" Delligatti, who has died aged 98, invented the Big Mac and ate at least one of the double-decker hamburgers a week for decades.

"You have to have some responsibility for what you do," he told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in 2007. "I eat at McDonald's all the time and it makes me healthy. "

He had started out in the mid-1950s owning a McDonald's franchise in a Pittsburgh suburb and by the early 1960s his stable of restaurants had grown to about a dozen.

Sensing that he needed a new product to boost stagnant sales, he decided - after several years and discussions with other McDonald's operators - that the answer was a double-decker sandwich similar to the popular Big Boy chain's flagship burger.

Delligatti himself had managed a Big Boy drive-in restaurant in the early 1950s and his invention, he conceded, "wasn't like discovering the light bulb. The bulb was already there. All I did was screw it in the socket".

The recipe, later immortalised in a 1970s advertising jingle, combined "two all-beef patties" garnished with "special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, on a sesame seed bun".

Under instructions from head office, Delligatti initially tried to save costs by doing without the larger bun, with its sesame seeds and central slice of bread. But he found that the middle layer, known in the trade as the "club slice", was a crucial component, because, without it, the mucilaginous 'special sauce' made the sandwich too messy. (The lid of the bun is called the "crown" and the base "the heel".)

The formula of the tangy special sauce was supposed to be a secret, but in 2012 a promotional film from McDonald's Canada, featuring executive chef Dan Coudreaut, demonstrated a home- made approximation containing mayonnaise, sweet pickle relish, yellow mustard, white wine vinegar, onion powder, garlic powder and paprika.

The "Big Mac Super Sandwich" was sold for the first time from Delligatti's Uniontown outlet on April 22, 1967.

At 45 cents it was considerably more expensive than the basic burger (18 cents), but customers were undeterred and sales boomed, increasing by 12pc at that one restaurant within a matter of months.

Cautious executives - anxious to avoid a repeat of disastrous earlier innovations, such as the pineapple-based Hula Burger - authorised Delligatti to sell the new line in the rest of his chain, and only after a year of sales improvement was the Big Mac added to menus nationwide.

It was promoted by a television commercial in which a man in a beige suit assembled a Big Mac and said: "This is the sandwich. McDonald's new Big Mac sandwich. For the bigger than average appetite. "

By 1969 Big Macs represented one fifth of total sales.

The "Meal Disguised as a Sandwich" widened McDonald's appeal, attracting more grown-up customers, and grew into a potent symbol of the company throughout the world. Economists now use the "Big Mac Index" to compare the value of currencies against the dollar.

Moreover, the Big Mac sold in Ireland today contains a relatively modest 508 calories. Over the years the total fat content has been cut by more than a third, and a Which? report in 1992 hailed it as "nutritionally quite a good choice".

Michael James Delligatti was born in Uniontown, an hour's drive south of Pittsburgh, on August 2, 1918, the son of James, who had various jobs including that of cobbler; and Lucille.

James attended Fairmont High School, West Virginia, before wartime service in Europe with the 26th Infantry Division. Returning to the US after the war he hitchhiked to California and soon started working in the fast food business, settling at Big Boy in the early 1950s.

In 1953 he went into partnership, opening Delney's Drive-In Restaurant in Pittsburgh. Two years after that he met Ray Kroc - who had recently founded McDonald's - at a restaurant convention, and Kroc signed him up as a franchisee.

According to company lore, when Delligatti consulted Kroc a few years later about his new double-deck hamburger, the founder asked: "Does it have tomatoes on it? "

The answer was "No". "Good," replied Kroc, who disliked tomatoes. "Let's roll with it. "

Jim Delligatti, who died on November 28, is survived by his wife Ellie and two sons, both of whom own McDonald's franchises.

© Telegraph

2016-12-10 22:30 Sunday Independent www.independent.ie

29 /100 1.9 Amy Adams is off-duty chic as she goes Christmas tree shopping with daughter Aviana With Christmas fast approaching Amy Adams made shopping for a tree her top priority on Saturday. The 42-year-old actress wore stylish layers as she headed out with her six-year-old little girl in West Hollywood. Donning oversize sunglasses the Golden Globe-winner looked relaxed as she browsed trees before heading to a pet store with her little one. The star wrapped up with a patterned pashmina over a smart blazer and skinny jeans with suede boots. She wore her strawberry blonde locks up in a ponytail. Amy recently said that becoming a mother allowed her to really get stuck in to her role in Arrival. She said recently: 'It would have been a very different performance. I just have a different relationship with compassion since becoming a parent, and compassion for other people - not just my daughter. It opened up my eyes and got me outside of myself. I hate to think that I was so wrapped up in my own stuff before I had her but I was, so now I'm able to look at things from a different lens. It took me out of myself.' Meanwhile the actress recently revealed that she thinks her hair colour has pigeon-holed her career. The 42-year-old actress dyed her long luscious locks from blonde to red for the short-lived 2004 TV drama, Dr. Vegas and noticed a huge change in the roles she was offered afterwards. She explained during TimesTalks: 'Based on roles that I was getting, called in for, people were responding to certain types of characters with me as a blonde and the minute I went red, it was quirky and fun instead of flirtatious and dumb. It was great, I liked that. But in all seriousness, it's just hair colour. 'It was really fascinating to see just one element of yourself change people's perception and that became a very powerful tool for me even in my acting. If you can change one very small thing and create an entirely different perception to the outside world based on one thing, and that was actually an important lesson for me to learn, I didn't quite get that before then.' Amy met actor Darren Le Gallo in 2001 and the couple finally tied the knot in May 2015.

2016-12-10 22:23 Dailymail.com www.dailymail.co.uk

30 /100 1.3 Is that Yoda or a garden gnome? Original design of Jedi Master that was scrapped by Star Wars bosses is revealed after 26 years With his green, wrinkled skin, pointed ears and distinctive way of speaking to impart his ancient wisdom in the Star Wars saga, Yoda is one of the most memorable film characters. But the Jedi Master, who made his debut in The Empire Strikes Back, could have looked very different if the makers had followed the original design, which is revealed here for the first time. The drawing, by art director Joe Johnston, is quite unrecognisable as the Yoda that eventually hit the screens. With a snub nose, short ears, pale skin and more human features, he resembles a garden gnome. It was a vision that was completely overhauled by Star Wars mogul George Lucas and other executives. The final character was operated by puppeteer Frank Oz, who had found success on The Muppets, in the 1980 sequel to the original Star Wars film. The 900-year-old Yoda tutors hero Luke Skywalker in the ways of the supernatural powers known as the 'Force', and has an idiosyncratic way with language. In the third film, Return Of The Jedi, he declares: 'When nine hundred years old you reach, look as good you will not.' Johnston's watercolour is on display at the exhibition Star Wars Identities at London's O2. About 200 props, costumes and models are also on show. A spokesman for the exhibition said: 'In the early story development of Yoda, the initial descriptions varied from a large alien to a tiny one. 'Once the design was settled, Yoda was realised by make-up and creatures supervisor Stuart Freeborn, who designed the alien as an intricately detailed puppet.'

2016-12-10 22:18 Sanchez Manning www.dailymail.co.uk

31 /100 0.6 American life expectancy sees first drop in over 20 years For over 20 years Americans could expect to live and average of 78.9 years, but recent studies are showing the first drop in life expectancy since then.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) , the U. S. population as a whole is now living an average of 78.8 years, which means people are passing away about a month earlier.

THINK AGAIN: These healthy foods just aren't worth it

The leading cause of death in adults remains heart disease, followed closely by cancer.

According to an article on USA Today , obesity is likely to have a role in the decline.

(Story continues below...)

SLIDESHOW: Your 20 biggest health question answered

"Heart disease, stroke, diabetes — the impact of obesity is across the board," S. Jay Olshansky, a public health researcher at the University of Illinois School of Public Health, told USA Today. "And people are living long enough to show the long-term effects. "

Of course, it's no secret that a healthy lifestyle is a relatively sure fire way to make it to the average age and beyond.

Take a look through the gallery to see answers for some of the most common health questions and help improve your life.

2016-12-10 22:17 Daniela Sternitzky www.chron.com

32 /100 2.1 Air Miles Andy is at it again! Duke of York takes £3,000 helicopter flight for royal visit which would have cost him £34.60 on the train Prince Andrew is underfire after spending £3,000 on a helicopter flight from London to Norfolk when he could have gone by train. The Duke of York, dubbed 'Air Miles Andy', splashed out on the journey to a construction site in Bircham Newton on Thursday. He is due to be in Sandringham, the Queen's Christmas residence, in two weeks' time. Sovereign Grant, taxpayers' money given to the Queen through income made on royal land and property. The helicopter could be seen taking off from Buckingham Palace at around 2pm on Thursday. Prince Andrew was taken around the Bircham Newton site run by Constructionarium and was 'clearly interested' in its expansion, according to boss Robin Holdsworth. The 56-year-old royal was dressed in wellington boots and a high visibility jacket for the tour. A Buckingham Palace spokesman told the Express: 'From time to time the Duke of York, like other members of the Royal Family, uses a helicopter to travel to official engagements. The Duke has also used public transport in the past.' Andrew's fondness for traveling by air has seen him visit six countries, including China and Estonia since April, even though he stepped down as the UK's special representative for trade and investment in 2011. The spokesman said the Duke's role meant he had to represent the Queen at international engagements. The Court Circular, which records the Royal Family's activities, notes that the Duke also used a helicopter to visit the production set of Journey's End in Cardiff on December 2, which cost another £3,000. A train from London to Cardiff would have cost just £43. On Friday, Prince Andrew released a statement denying there is a rift between him and the Prince of Wales. This comes after Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie were at the centre of a royal battle because their father reportedly raised fears any children they have could be classed as 'commoners'. However in an impassioned letter, the Duke of York vehemently denied a family feud and said it was a 'complete fabrication' to suggest he had demanded future husbands of his daughters be given titles. 2016-12-10 22:14 Matt Hunter www.dailymail.co.uk

33 /100 1.7 Suzi Taylor displays fuller figure in skimpy bikini as she soaks up the summer sun in Brisbane While she is infamously known for stripping off her pink bikini on a boat during Oaks Day celebrations last year, the busty brunette had no intentions of removing her costume at the family-friendly beach. However, the small two-piece didn't leave much to the imagination, as it struggled to contain her surgically enhanced assets. As she walked along the soft white sand to the water's edge of the manmade 'beach', the former glamour model was seen looking down at her more rounded figure of late.

2016-12-10 22:02 Candice Jackson www.dailymail.co.uk

34 /100 1.1 The robot that can diagnose cancer: Supercomputer dubbed Watson can treat the disease in 40 seconds - faster than 15 leading medics working together A 'robot' doctor called Watson has been pitted against a panel of 15 leading medics – and found to be just as good as them at treating cancer. In a development that will send a chill down the spine of health professionals everywhere, the IBM-designed computer program worked out the best way to treat patients in a fraction of the time that it took the highly paid specialists. Working together, 15 consultant oncologists took 12 minutes on average to recommend a treatment plan for each patient. But it took the supercomputer, dubbed Watson For Oncology, just 40 seconds. Man and machine were each given notes from 638 former breast cancer patients to assess – minus one vital piece of information: the treatment plan their doctors had chosen. In nine out of ten cases of early-stage breast cancer, both human and artificial intelligence came up with identical recommendations, according to the results of the study. Watson, which works in a similar way to mobile phone personal assistants such as Siri, has been 'taught' to weigh up evidence by doctors at the world-renowned Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre in New York. It has already assimilated 200 medical textbooks, the case files of four million patients, and has access to cutting-edge research. Cancer expert Dr Andrew Nordon, deputy chief health officer at IBM Watson Health, said: 'It doesn't get tired, it isn't susceptible to human biases, and it has a limitless capacity.' But Watson and the human panel had to agree to differ when it came to treating more advanced disease, where breast cancer had spread. In such cases they disagreed 55 per cent of the time. Dr Nordon also conceded: 'It can't look a patient in the eye and understand their emotional state – yet.' Nevertheless, Watson is already being used in a number of leading US cancer centres, and some in India and Thailand. But top UK cancer doctor Professor Jack Cuzick remained unfazed. He said: 'Real doctors will always be one step ahead of a machine that can only review data retrospectively.'

2016-12-10 22:00 Barney Calman www.dailymail.co.uk

35 /100 0.4 Sofia Vergara left out in the cold by ex Nick Loeb and lawsuit from her own frozen embryos Do embryos have rights?

Before you answer that question, heed this warning: Be careful who you have sex with — it could leave you out in the cold. Literally. Like it did to the world’s most beautiful woman.

That would be Sofia Vergara, who is now being sued by the world’s most vindictive, ne’er-do-well ex-fiancé, rich heir Nick Loeb, who wants to prevent her from destroying the frozen embryos conceived while they were still a “they.”

Well, to be accurate, Vergara’s being sued not by said vindictive ex-twit, but by the frozen embryos themselves. The fact that the ex-boyfriend Loeb must be picking up the freight for the suit? Hey, twits happen.

Sofía Vergara sued by her frozen embryos in custody battle

This insane suit pre-supposes that frozen embryos have the same rights as living, breathing fully formed humans. But do they?

No. For God’s sake, they’re frozen!

But that hasn’t stopped Loeb’s New Orleans ambulance chasers, or make that lab jockeys, from filing a right-to-life petition from Vergara’s frozen embryos, “Emma and Isabella.” The embryos, the suit alleges are, yes, being denied their inheritances by not being alive. What? But this is really about a man who’s lost control, no? So he’s behaving like some ISIS kidnapper, trying to force Vergara to become a mother against her will. Americans don’t play that way.

Sofia Vergara, former fiancé Nick Loeb fight over frozen embryos

Or do we?

Who’d know better than Dr. Arthur Caplan, director of the division of medical ethics at the NYU School of Medicine? No one, that’s who.

“Well, many states have refused to assign rights, while many state courts have declared that life begins at conception,” he said. “But as an ethics guy, I think it’s meshugana!” Good point, doc.

“A ruling like this could lead to embryos suing mothers for not feeding them properly or not singing to them enough.

Russia helped Donald Trump win the White House: report

“The people who make the embryo get to control its fate, so what happens if they get divorced, become mentally disabled or die? What happens then, what happens if they’re never used?

“I think something else is going on in this case,” he added.

You think?

“He seems like a very angry guy using the embryos to punish her. It’s starting to sound like harassment.” Amen, brother.

Trump allies brush off CIA report of Russia’s hand in election

So if the frozen embryos aren’t used, do they get destroyed?

Not really. “There are probably millions of frozen embryos in the world. They are kept in a frozen state and the company sends out bills for storage, but a lot of people simply don’t pay.” Then what?

“Their fate is in the hands of the utility companies — to keep the power on. Me? I suggest that after 10 years they be used for research.”

That probably won’t happen because the right-to-life right will fight it. Pro-life groups apparently think it’s better to keep the embryos in a frozen state forever, leaving them neither technically alive nor dead.

FBI knew about Russia interference with election, Harry Reid says

“In this case,” Caplan said, “Loeb can’t use them without Vergara’s permission and she can’t destroy them without his permission.”

This isn’t going to be over easy.

Dr. Caplan snidely remarked, “So if an embryo can sue, can they also represent themselves?”

Only if they have a fool for a lawyer. Ex-Clinton staffer launches anti-Trump website: ‘Corrupt.af'

Get over it, Loeb. There are plenty of other women you can donate sperm to.

Whose bright idea was it to reconsider allowing passengers to use cell phones on planes?

It’s actually being considered by U. S. aviation regulators, that’s who. Aren’t they supposed to be concerned with our safety? They won’t let you take your shampoo, but they’ll allow boors to use cell phones?

It’s horrible enough — and horribly rude — when morons wait to get onto public ground transportation to make their calls, let alone being stuck in a flying metal tube 40,000 feet in the air with a loudmouth next to you yakking on the cell.

Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson is Trump's Secretary of State pick

Can you imagine having to endure this on an hours-long flight? And you thought sitting next to the screaming toddler was tough. At least babies don’t know better.

The industry must not force this on us already miserable, overcharged flyers.

Well, not unless they believe that nothing will liven up a flight like a good fist fight at 40,000 feet. Watch — they’ll make us pay more to be in the “quiet” section — as though there is such a thing as quiet in a tight space filled with gasbags.

Talk about counter-intelligence! A CIA report reveals that, yes, Russia leaked info to WikiLeaks to help Trump win the election. Reality check in aisle nine.

Giuliani removes himself from Trump Secretary of State contention

Does anyone honestly believe that John Podesta’s limp emails changed the course of the election? Did finding out that Clinton staffers thought Chelsea Clinton was a spoiled brat really change your vote? Americans are not that shallow.

The government is shocked that Russia hacked the personal emails of Clinton loyalists, but didn’t do anything about the fact that the CIA didn’t notice until it was too late that the Chinese hacked the personal “secure” information of over 22 million federal employees back in June?

The CIA truly gives new meaning to “counter-intelligence.”

Mark this down as yet another failure for the ghoul of Ground Zero, Rudy Giuliani. Despite his wife’s allegedly bragging early on that he had the secretary of state gig in the bag, the only bag Ghouliani was holding was the garbage bag.

Cops find missing Muslim student harassed by Trump supporters

In a statement that was as transparent as Kim Kardashian’s clothes, Team Trump announced on Friday that Giuliani had “removed his name from consideration for a position in President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet.”

Right.

Like Trump would have been so clueless as to give the job to a man with ties to international human rights violators? Right. The chance of Rudy getting “state” was as much of an “are you serious?” as was the shot of Chris Christie getting a cabinet position despite jailing the father of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.

How dumb would you have to be to think this would work out for you?

Yet hubris allowed “America’s Mayor” to believe he could dictate his terms to the President- elect, and demand the job. Why? Because he’d humiliated himself by ranting like an unhinged lunatic during the campaign? Rudy would have to be as frighteningly nutty as he seemed to be to think that was a good plan.

Instead he got the big “screw you.”

Trump tweeted at 3 am on Saturday morning, “@RudyGiuliani, one of the finest people I know and a former GREAT Mayor of N. Y. C., just took himself out of consideration for ‘State.’” Just? Or was that decided back in November?

Rudy issued his own statement: “This is not about me, it is about what is best for the country and the new administration.”

You bet.

What’s wrong with this story? A Muslim student, Yasmin Seweid, 18, who claimed that three men screaming “Donald Trump!” had harassed her on the subway, went missing for two days last week. But she was found on Saturday, Nassau County police reported.

So wait, a week after getting viciously slurred and attacked, you leave your family’s safe New Hyde Park home with a bag of clothes and go missing? What don’t we know here?

2016-12-10 22:00 Linda Stasi feeds.nydailynews.com

36 /100 0.0 ‘Logan,’ ‘Deadpool 2’ Could Introduce Mutant Universe For Fox Studios [Rumors] “With Cable being a time- travel savvy character, he could be the one to finally connect the streams and tie the universe together! But it’s not just the time traveling aspect of the character that Cable’s story has in common with Logan’s; they also share a common villainous element in Mr. Sinister.”

Ryan Reynolds says ‘Deadpool 2’ begins production soon, still casting for Cable and Domino: https://t.co/s1MJSJp7He pic.twitter.com/CsLWns1rLF

— ScreenCrush (@screencrushnews) December 8, 2016 Cable and his pupils later broke away from the X-Men to create the X-Force team under his command. Reportedly, the X-Force group is also garnering attention as a potential movie for Fox, adding even more fuel to the rumors that the mutant universe could develop to allow wider character use in future Fox movies.

RYAN REYNOLDS Wants A DEADPOOL/WOLVERINE Movie https://t.co/wkw2KYPDFv pic.twitter.com/XZdNb5LT41

— ComicBook NOW! (@ComicBookNOW) December 9, 2016

“I want Deadpool and Wolverine in a movie together. What we’re gonna have to do is convince Hugh. If anything, I’m going to need to do what I can to get my Internet friends back on board to help rally another cause down the line.”

[Featured Image by Kevin Winter/Getty Images]

2016-12-10 21:55 Ernie Howell www.inquisitr.com

37 /100 1.9 Water infrastructure bill includes money for Portsmouth Harbor project The U. S. Senate has passed a bill to fund 31 water infrastructure projects across the country, including a project to improve navigation for large ships in Portsmouth Harbor and the Piscataqua River between New Hampshire and Maine.

The Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act will now go to President Obama to be signed into law. Maine Sen. Angus King, an independent, released a statement Saturday praising the legislation.

“The authorization of the Portsmouth Harbor and Piscataqua River Navigation Project is also a victory for the safer and more efficient flow of commercial goods into the state, which will bolster our economy and help contribute to economic growth,” he said.

Portsmouth Harbor handles about 3.5 million tons of shipping each year for southern Maine, New Hampshire and eastern Vermont. The project would expand the turning basin, so larger ships can navigate the harbor safely.

Were you interviewed for this story? If so, please fill out our accuracy form

Send questions/comments to the editors.

2016-12-10 21:51 Staff report www.pressherald.com

38 /100 1.1 ’ Israeli coalition chairman triggers uproar with provocative remark — RT News The provocative remark was made by the Israeli parliament’s coalition chairman, Likud MK David Bitan, while attending a cultural event in Mevasseret Zion, suburb of Jerusalem on Sunday.

“What I’m saying is, if they [Arabs] weren’t able to come [to vote], that would be preferable, but it makes no difference; it’s not for me to tell them whether to come or not to come [to vote],” the Times of Israel quoted Bitan as saying.

“Ninety-five percent of Arab Israelis vote for the Joint List, which does not represent the Arabs of Israel but rather Palestinian interests,” added Bitan, referring to the coalition of four Arab parties, which is the third largest faction in the Knesset.

The remark swiftly drew the attention of opposition politicians, both Jewish and Arab, who accused Bitan of being racist and undemocratic.

“In a normal country, such racist comments would lead to the immediate dismissal of the coalition chairman,” Joint List MK Youssef Jabareen said, calling for removal of Bitan from office. The Joint List chairman, MK Ayman Odeh said that it was not a surprise to hear such statements from the “great democrat” Bitan, but stressed that “his and the government’s racism is just [something] I engine to increase [Joint List’s] political power.”

Opposition leader Isaac Herzog of Zionist Union harshly criticized Bitan’s words, ultimately comparing them with Nazi policy.

“The coalition chairman in the Jewish state calls to deny voting rights to minorities, just as the anti-Semitic leaders of Europe did in the past to the Jewish people,” Herzog said.

“Likud in 2016 is light years away from its roots and what Likud used to stand for,” the Times of Israel quoted Zionist Union MK Tzipi Livni as saying.

“Netanyahu lost all shame in the [2015] election,” Livni stressed, probably referring to similar remarks of PM, who warned his supporters on the election day of "Arab voters going in droves to the polls.” Netanyahu’s remarks also drew accusations of racism, and he had to retract them and apologize.

Likud party members tried to soften the controversial remarks made by their colleague David Bitan.

“I very much hope that the Arabs do vote. I hope that we are attractive enough that the Arabs also to want to vote for Likud,” Likud MK Yehudah Glick produced a gentle comment on his fellow party member’s controversial remarks.

David Bitan, in his turn, declined to retract his original remark and produced a new one, showing quite an interesting understanding of the concept of democracy. “I do not understand what the fuss is about,” the Times of Israel quoted Likud MK as saying. “No political party wants to see its opponents going to the polls.”

2016-12-10 21:47 www.rt.com

39 /100 1.7 'I've been scared Mum would die so many times': Danniella Westbrook's son Kai talks of terrifying moment he saw her overdose on drugs... but reveals she 'wants to get better' Danniella Westbrook's son Kai has revealed that he once watched his mother overdose on cocaine. The 20-year-old recalled the terrifying moment to The Sun on Sunday, emotionally confessing that he's been 'scared she will die so many times'. However standing by her through her famous struggle with addiction, the youngster also admitted that while many have lost confidence in her, she is desperate to recover. Scroll down for video Talking to the paper, Kai revealed the moment he watched his mother almost die when he was just four years old - and admits the memory has troubled him for years since. He said: 'When I was little, I found Mum having a fit after an overdose and the memory is vivid.' Continuing that the moment has scarred him for life, he added: 'I still have flashbacks. I've been scared Mum would die so many times.' He also revealed that his mother's condition had physical affect on his life, too -admitting that while he stays away from cocaine he has used cannabis in the past, and has battled a constant anger which resulted in him being kicked out of several schools. His mother Danniella's struggle with drug usage, particularly cocaine, has been well documented over the years. The star has previously estimated that she has spent over £250,000 on drugs with her £400-a-day habit, and used 5g of cocaine every single day when pregnant with Kai. She has also admitted in the past that she first tried the toxic drug at just 14 years old on a wild night out - a trend which then continued during her run on BBC soap EastEnders, which she first starred in two years later. However her first born Kai, who she welcomed with ex-boyfriend Robert Fernandez, further admitted that despite her issues the actress' desire is to be clean and healthy once and for all. He added of her lifelong battle: 'She's a fighter. She wants to get better, but a lot of people have lost confidence in her.' Danniella's illness emerged when she was pictured leaving a London club without a septum, which had collapsed due to excessive usage - spurring her on to seek help and become 'clean' in 2001. However the 43-year-old was forced to recently deny reports she is using cocaine once again, claiming she suffered at the hands of a hacker. The EastEnders star revealed in October that sick trolls had hacked her emails and social media, and falsely released information which claimed she had suffered a drugs relapse. Talking to the MailOnline, the actress said she is hoping the police will take swift action and 'send this crank to prison.' She added: 'It's not nice to think they are fixated on pretending to be me and getting access to all my private emails.' An email to the MailOnline earlier that week had read: 'I really need help. I'm relapsing so bad.' Adding further fuel to the fire, it was reported that she had told Daily Star Online the same day: 'I have relapsed and I'm trying to stop using, but it's a long road ahead. 'I feel broken and that I'm back to square one and my first form of defence is cocaine.' The star has suffered a turbulent time recently, after she split from her toyboy lover George Arnold. She previously revealed that she was so devastated following the breakup earlier this year that she was left feeling suicidal and even attempted to take her own life on many occasions through the use of drugs. Appearing on This Morning recently, she explained: 'I tried to overdose a lot when George walked out.' 'I was so depressed with everything... George just got up one morning and left, and I realised I didn’t know you at all then. 'He had his reasons but at the time I couldn’t see it that way because I was so depressed. 'I did relapse [because I] thought my whole world was over when he left.'

2016-12-10 21:44 Julia Pritchard www.dailymail.co.uk

40 /100 1.3 Just one thing makes Mick, the desiccated Shar Pei, attractive writes LIZ JONES I don’t meet many women who are like me: barren and proud of that fact, with no maternal instincts at all. But one that I count as a friend, my favourite supermodel of them all, is Marie Helvin. We were talking about her new book, and she told me how she had just been a guest on ITV’s This Morning, where she had been subjected to a sexist, barrenist (is that a real word? It should be) assault. The presenter said to her: ‘Eric Clapton, Peter Gabriel, Jack Nicholson, Tom Selleck, David Bailey, gosh you’ve been through a lot of men… is that the reason you’ve never had kids?’ And Marie blurted out: ‘No, I just can’t stand children!’ She can’t stand mums, either, even if they are 6ft supers called Jerry Hall, Marie’s former BFF, who married Mick Jagger and had four kids with him. The two women stopped talking because, Marie told me: ‘I just had nothing in common with her and, you know, I was at the time of my life when I wanted to go out and have fun. I didn’t want to talk about breasts leaking’. Nobody wants to talk about breasts leaking. The best line in Sex And The City was the following: Charlotte announces that she and Harry are trying to have a baby, and Samantha responds, deadpan: ‘Why?’ Why, indeed. But I can sort of understand why women want a baby with a rich, charismatic, famous man. You want to hang on to a little bit of him, something that lasts, like a really expensive Swiss watch. When he moves on to a younger model, literally, he is still tied to you, on an umbilical cord of maintenance payments. You believe, too, that your children will be really good looking, and talented, and thus able to support you in later life if he ever brings up the pre-nup, or claims that you were never legally married in the first place. You will have proof you actually had sex with him when you come to pen your memoirs. But why, exactly, men – especially old, rich men – want to have millions of children is beyond me. It was announced last week that Mick Jagger, at the grand old age of 73, has become a father for the eighth time. The mother is Melanie Hamrick, a ballet dancer (men are obsessed with dating ballet dancers; it’s the body, and the fact they’re not too cerebral) aged 29. That makes her 17 years younger than Mick’s eldest daughter. Now, why would a 29-year-old want to have sex with a man in his 70s? I imagine Mick resembles Gollum when he takes off his clothes. He must dye his hair, too, surely? I suspect Richard Hammond does this, too; short men always overcompensate. Who could possibly have sex with a man who stands in front of the bathroom mirror with a packet of Grecian 2000, complaining he can’t lift his arms to do it properly because his arthritis is giving him gip? Well, I can think of one good reason why somebody might – the money. (If the Jagger clan are anything like mine, they will have all been getting the calculator out last week, figuring out how much their inheritance has plummeted in value because of the new arrival). I’m always amazed, too, how famous people ricochet into the next relationship, so soon after the last one. Why is this? I went for 32 years without even a sniff of sex, and yet a man who resembles a desiccated Shar Pei has to beat off bendy ballerinas with his Zimmer frame. His future child will only get to know his or her dad via YouTube and downloads, I suppose. What kind of childhood is that? Yeah, OK, the Stones were brilliant. And, really, what’s one more Jagger in the scheme of things? But if Jumpin’ Jack Flash thinks siring a child at his age helps prove his potency, he’s mistaken. It just shows that there’s no fool like an old fool. PS. Plus-SIZE (ie, normal, not stick insect) model Ashley Graham graces the new cover of British Vogue. But it’s a missed opportunity. Just as the fashion bible only deigned to put Adele’s face on the cover, it’s kept Ashley’s incredible curves – pictured right – covered up. Only inside do we see some full-figure shots. I wish we had seen her in all her glory on the cover… But it’s a missed opportunity. Just as the fashion bible only deigned to put Adele’s face on the cover, it’s kept Ashley’s incredible curves – pictured right – covered up. Only inside do we see some full-figure shots. I wish we had seen her in all her glory on the cover…

2016-12-10 21:44 Liz Jones www.dailymail.co.uk

41 /100 3.3 Perseverance, patience pays off for Ducks' Noesen If it had worked out like originally planned, Stefan Noesen would have slipped on a Ducks jersey and hat and posed for the cameras, on stage under bright lights.

It was 2011, and Anaheim was set to take Noesen in the NHL draft. But the Ottawa Senators , positioned one spot ahead of the Ducks, nabbed Noesen with the 21st pick. Noesen still has the Senators jersey he posed with that day.

“It’s still at home,” Noesen said. “It’s in a closet. It’s tucked away.”

Five years later, no one knows better than Noesen how paths veer. Since that draft day, he's been traded to the Ducks and endured two major leg injuries to make it to the NHL for an extended look with Anaheim, which hosts Ottawa on Sunday afternoon. Although he’s a fourth-line plugger and hardly a household name, Noesen is a story of resolve and patience, starting with torn knee ligaments in his second game that almost washed out his first professional season. The next season, he lacerated his Achilles’ in his fourth game, on an freak faceoff play in which former Kings prospect Jordan Weal stepped on the back of his foot.

Ducks teammate Joseph Cramarossa was roommates with Noesen at the time and remembers the four-month rehabilitation, from a hard cast to a walking boot and frequent trips to the doctor’s office.

“Obviously he wasn’t the happiest and you can’t blame him,” Cramarossa said. “No one wants to be out for that long. But he stuck with it. A lot of guys, it can get to them mentally. He just kept pushing, pushing. Every time he came back, he was strong.”

Noesen said it never crossed his mind that his career could be in doubt. He’s taken an unorthodox road to begin with, from growing up in football-mad Plano, Texas, where perhaps some of that gridiron toughness was grooved into him.

“I have a good sense of perseverance, where I like proving people wrong,” Noesen said. “If someone tells me I can’t do it, I’m going to laugh at them and say, ‘OK, I’m going to do it.’ ”

Noesen is one of several intertwined subplots in Sunday’s game. In 2013 he was traded to the Ducks, along with Jakob Silfverberg and a draft pick that turned out to be Nick Ritchie, for former Ducks wing Bobby Ryan.

That 2011 draft? The Ducks traded their 22nd pick down to get forward Rickard Rakell and goalie John Gibson, two major pieces of the Ducks’ future.

Noesen’s dream came true Wednesday with his first NHL goal, almost five years to the day he signed an entry-level contract with Ottawa. He takes all this in with the healthy attitude that got him to this point.

“That’s how weird life is,” he said. “You never know when you’re going to come back. You never want to burn too many bridges or any bridges because it will come back and bite you in the butt every now and then. I thought I had a great time with Ottawa, way back when now, it feels like. It will be exciting to get a chance to play against them again.”

2016-12-10 21:30 Curtis Zupke www.latimes.com

42 /100 0.4 New low for Corbyn's reign as ambitious MP plots to succeed him as Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour leadership hit a farcical new low yesterday as reports emerged that ambitious young Corbynista MP Clive Lewis is plotting to succeed him. Mr Corbyn was branded ‘hapless’ after a protest by veteran gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell brought a human rights speech by the Labour leader to a halt. And while rising party star Mr Lewis, 45, entered the Commons only at the 2015 General Election, the Shadow Business Secretary is now being touted by supporters as a serious candidate for the leadership. The farce unfolded as a group led by Tatchell held up banners calling on Mr Corbyn to do more to stop the bombings in Aleppo. But after appearing uncertain how to react or of what his policy on Syria was, the Labour leader could be heard asking Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry, sitting near him: ‘When did we condemn the bombing?’ And Shadow Attorney General Shami Chakrabarti, ennobled by Mr Corbyn, tried to help by advising him: ‘Just let them do this.’ As the banner-holding protesters stood in front of him, Mr Corbyn said: ‘It’s all right, it’s OK.’ Mr Tatchell said: ‘What is happening in Aleppo is a modern-day Guernica. We haven’t heard the leader of the Labour Party speak out enough to demand UK air drops to besieged civilians who are dying in their thousands.’ After speaking to Ms Thornberry, Mr Corbyn responded: ‘Emily has made it clear we think there should be aid given to people in Aleppo. We do think the bombing should end, there should be a ceasefire.’ Mr Tatchell, who stood as a Labour candidate in the 1980s, has previously criticised Mr Corbyn for failing to speak out loudly enough against Russia, which is propping up Syrian President Bashar Assad’s dictatorship. He has also criticised the Stop the War Coalition, previously led by Mr Corbyn, for opposing Western military action while failing to protest against the Syrian regime. And one senior Labour MP said: ‘Only a party led by hapless Corbyn could give the impression for several minutes that we didn’t have a policy on ending the bombing of innocent civilians in Syria or he didn’t know what it was.’ Another Labour MP said last night: ‘More and more of us feel that even though he was only re-elected as leader just over three months ago, Corbyn will stand down in 2018 to give a successor a fair chance to bed in before the 2020 General Election. ‘Clive Lewis’s camp are putting his name around as that replacement on the basis that he – or she – will have to come from the Left of the party.’ Norwich South MP Mr Lewis, a former Army reservist, was promoted to the Shadow Cabinet as defence spokesman last summer after a wave of resignations by anti-Corbyn frontbenchers. A second reshuffle in October then saw him moved over to his current post. Last night he denied plotting to succeed Mr Corbyn.

2016-12-10 21:29 Brendan Carlin www.dailymail.co.uk

43 /100 2.2 Levy: Tough final month gives Lions chance to earn our position We're in first place going into the last month of the regular season, which is great. An ideal situation this late in the season is to be in control of your own destiny, as I always hear said in football.

Nothing is guaranteed, I know, but for what it is, it feels great.

► Related : Levy questionable for Sunday, but signs point to return

► Related : Lions vs. Bears: Scouting report, prediction

We have some good teams ahead and I wouldn't want in any other way. It's an opportunity each week to earn our position. Taking a look at this week’s opponent, they cannot be discounted or overlooked because of their record. Chicago has been running the ball better and have a very tough running back in Josh Howard, who is gaining steam the last several games. NFC North games are always tough, especially late in the season and are competitive regardless of each team’s record.

It’s an important stretch this next month. Our collective focus is tighter than ever. It feels different. Less uncertainty and less questioning. I like where we’re at right now, but certainly want more.

Playoffs are a rare opportunity and each game really just a step to an ultimate goal. We all know what that ultimate goal is but for now, the focus remains on finishing the season strong to have an opportunity to play at in the playoffs and even greater hosting a home game at Ford Field!

We have to take care of business to make this happen. Starting with Chicago.

2016-12-10 21:26 By DeAndre rssfeeds.freep.com

44 /100 0.4 Pucker up! Iggy Azalea shows off plumped pout as she goes street chic in fuzzy olive coat and Chanel bag Iggy Azalea is known for her signature beauty mark that stands out wherever she goes. But it was the 26-year-old rapper's new overdone plumped up pout that made heads turn when she stepped out in Calabasas on Saturday. The Fancy singer went street chic in a cosy olive coat and designer Chanel backpack for her afternoon outing. The Australian beauty - born Amethyst Amelia Kelly - donned the oversized green wool which included a white fuzzy trim. She stayed warm with a light grey sweater beneath while stopping at a petrol station to fuel up her large black SUV. A pair of skintight white trousers encased the Mullumbimby-born bombshell's lean limbs. The Grammy nominee left her platinum blonde locks cascade past her shoulders in relaxed waves and finished her look off with stylish beige boots. Iggy showed off her luscious lips with a shiny gloss to ensure her new cosmetic enhancements would not be overlooked. But the Pretty Girls hit-maker has never been shy when it comes to flaunting her love of plastic and cosmetic procedures. On Thursday Iggy posted an Instagram selfie from Dr. Ashkan Ghavami's clinic, where she was receiving some kind of laser skincare treatment. 'Just being a little weirdo getting laser beams shot into my head and stuff,' she captioned the image of herself with lines and number written across her face. The Beverly Hills M. D., Ashkan Ghavami, was also behind her rhinoplasty and breast augmentation. Iggy recently gushed about Dr. Ghavani on social media, writing: 'It might seem obvious I'd hold the man I owe my fabulous nose and breasts to in high regard. Ghavani has also been open about the ex-rapper's surgery, telling People magazine how he fixed her 'very twisted and very wide and boxy' nose and 'super small and super wide apart' breasts. Speaking on The Ellen DeGeneres Show back in April, Iggy said: 'I think it's a personal choice and anybody, man or woman, they should be able to make an informed decision. And if you want to change something, then that's up to you.' She added: 'I changed my nose and I got boobs. I didn't have boobs before, I just had nipples, and now I have breasts. Thought I could use some - that would be a good addition.' The one-time rapper previously urged other celebrities to follow her lead by being more open about their procedures. Speaking to Elle Canada in March, she said: 'I think in 2016 people should be more accepting of the fact that both famous and non-famous women are having cosmetic procedures.' 'That's just the reality. And I think more people need to admit that s*** so it doesn't have to be so taboo - because we're all doing it anyway.' With her music career winding down, the blonde beauty is currently focused on her new career as a professional TV talent judge following a stint on The X Factor Australia. She's also working on her sophomore album, Digital Distortion, although it's currently unclear when it will be released following several delays.

2016-12-10 21:22 Sarah Jones www.dailymail.co.uk

45 /100 1.3 Lord Howe leaves £2.2m estate to his wife of 62 years: Tory chancellor, 88, avoids half a million inheritance bill by leaving fortune to his spouse Former Tory Chancellor and Foreign Secretary Geoffrey Howe left more than £2.2 million in his will. Lord Howe, who died aged 88 in October last year, avoided an inheritance tax bill of at least £500,000 by leaving most of his estate to his wife of 62 years, Elspeth, 84. The father- of-three was the longest- serving member of Margaret Thatcher’s Cabinet before triggering her downfall with his resignation speech in 1990 in which he attacked her attitude to Europe. He was known for his courteous manner, and former Labour Chancellor Denis Healey once famously said an attack from him was like being ‘savaged by a dead sheep’. Probate records show Lord Howe left £3,000 each to his old school, Winchester College, and Cambridge University’s Trinity Hall, where he studied law.

2016-12-10 21:21 Mail on www.dailymail.co.uk

46 /100 1.3 Tar Heel of the Week: Michelle Blackmon helps the most vulnerable students graduate Clarissa Epps did not have a straight path to college. She spent her youth in a series of foster homes, and for a few years after high school worked in fast food. But she eventually found her way to Wake Technical Community College – and Michelle Blackmon. Blackmon leads Wake Tech’s Fostering Bright Futures program, which helps some of the county’s most vulnerable college students, many of whom aged out of foster care at 18 with no family to help them make the next step. The program helps students financially, but also provides emotional support and guidance through the many small catastrophes that can derail their hopes to earn college degrees.

“She’s like our school mom who does anything and everything for us,” says Epps, 23, who graduated Saturday with an associate’s degree. “She’s taught us everything from proper etiquette to managing time and money to cooking Thanksgiving dinner. She’s there anytime we need her.”

Fostering Bright Futures, funded through the Wake Tech Foundation, is the state’s only support program focused on students who have aged out of foster care – a particularly vulnerable group. Only about 6 percent of former foster children will earn a 2- or 4-year degree by the age of 24, according to a 2010 University of Chicago study – though some advocacy groups peg that percentage even lower. Half are unemployed at the age of 24, and one in five will become homeless.

Blackmon is fighting against these numbers. That means weekly one-on-one meetings with more than a dozen students at several Wake Tech campuses. It means working with mentors who also support students as they deal with roadblocks to their success, such as domestic abuse or unreliable transportation.

She devised and runs a program that gives students financial incentives for their grades and class attendance. She’s also forged partnerships with community organizations that help students with housing, mental health and other issues.

This year, she’s focused on helping students interact with one another and the community through a wide range of events, including a Christmas party this week and a Thanksgiving event where they cooked and shared a meal provided by Butterball at their headquarters.

Youths have the option of remaining in foster care through the age of 21, but Blackmon says most are eager to become independent after years of shuffling from home to home. But unlike most high school graduates, they have no safety net.

“They don’t have adults they can go back to, so that’s where we come in,” says Blackmon. “They’re looking for that support, the motivation and encouragement to keep them going.

Blackmon grew up in Lumberton and came to Raleigh when she married her childhood sweetheart.

In Raleigh, she attended Meredith College, where she earned a degree in sociology and elementary education. She later earned a master’s in education as well, though she says she was always a social worker at heart.

She started working at Wake Tech in 1997, in the registrar’s office, and has held several jobs since. She was working as a counselor when then-County Commissioner Kenneth Gardner started working out plans for a program to help foster children.

Blackmon says the job is a natural fit. The program started as a pilot with five students that she would take some extra time to work with on top of her advising duties. Those students started getting better grades, so they worked on expanding the program’s reach.

While the program has evolved over the years, her priority is to give students one place where they can find answers to all of their questions, from financial aid to transportation to tutoring.

“It’s one-stop advising, mentoring,” she says. “You name it, that’s what we do.”

Students apply for the program. They all work, most full time, in addition to taking at least nine hours of classes. Each is assigned a mentor, though Blackmon remains their point person, traveling to each campus, their homes or work to help however she’s needed.

“Wherever my students go, that’s where I go,” says Blackmon.

Sometimes her role has an almost investigative slant, particularly when students seemingly disappear. She’s sought them out at their homes, their work, through calls and texts to family members and boyfriends.

Usually, she finds they are too embarrassed about their problems to come to her.

“They don’t want to bother me, so they go MIA,” she says.

So far seven students have graduated, with five going on to universities and two working in their fields. Epps, the eighth, plans to attend N. C. Central University.

The students receive Pell grants to cover their tuition, but usually must work to pay their expenses. If they start to earn poor grades or miss classes, they can lose their federal funding.

If need be, Blackmon says, her program can help pay their tuition. The program gives each student a donated laptop, cellphone and monthly cellphone stipend.

But over time Blackmon says the program has come to rely heavily on incentives, essentially paying students to attend classes and earn good grades. Early on, she says, the biggest problem she found was student attendance.

Now, instructors give her a mid-term report; students who miss no classes and earn an A receive $100, and those with a B receive $50. The incentives apply again at the end of the semester, and are doubled for students who have met all qualifications.

Since she instituted the “Learn and Earn” program in 2010, the average GPA of her students has risen from .09 to 2.5. She also works with them on creating savings accounts and other financial issues.

“This is a way for them to make money and save money,” she says. “When they start to see that account grow, it will motivate them.” All students take a study skills course, which Blackmon sometimes teaches, and are trained in managing their time using calendars and lists.

In recent years, she’s also expanded the group’s partnerships and events. They work closely with Wake County Health and Human Services, which refers students to the program and provides training for mentors and other support. The Hope Center at Pullen assists students in finding places to live as they attend classes.

She has brought in speakers, such as former NFL player Marquez Ogden who spoke to students about his experience becoming a millionaire and then losing his fortune.

The Thanksgiving meal arose after she realized last year that many students weren’t really celebrating the holiday.

“I said then that I didn’t want another holiday to go by when I was enjoying spending time with my family and they weren’t enjoying themselves,” Blackmon says.

2016-12-10 21:20 By Marti www.newsobserver.com

47 /100 0.6 Concern grows over consequences of Brexit and food price rises, says survey Concern is growing over the consequences of Brexit and food price rises, a new survey shows. Research for consumer magazine Which? shows that nearly six months after the EU referendum almost half the population (47%) are worried about withdrawal, up eight points since September. Those concerned about the cost of food has also climbed from 50% to 58% in the same period, according to the bi- monthly Consumer Insight Tracker online survey of around 2,000 households. The number of people expressing fears over the exchange rate of sterling has increased from 44% to 53%, and 39% said they were anxious about holiday prices, a question not previously asked. The research also found worries that the impact on consumers would not be paramount in withdrawal negotiations, with just 31% saying their interest would be represented in the divorce talks with Brussels. This compares with 72% who believe that consumer interests are either very or fairly important in the Brexit negotiations. This is higher than the amount of people, 62%, who think the interests of large businesses are either very or fairly important in the talks. Which? called for the Government to champion the interests of consumers in the strategic negotiations, including gaining agreements on prices, protections, and roaming charges. Vickie Sheriff, director of campaigns and communications at Which?, said: "Consumer confidence is key to economic stability and growth so the uncertainty about Brexit that increasing numbers of people in the UK are feeling must be addressed. "We have found there is a growing concern about the impact of Brexit and worry that consumers' interests will not be represented in the negotiations. The Government must ensure that consumers have a seat at the table and are not unduly squeezed by price rises or lose key rights and protections. "

2016-12-10 20:57 Press Association www.dailymail.co.uk

48 /100 0.2 Central Bank Gold Demand Could Accelerate on Growing Federal Debt Inflation can be understood as the destruction of a currency’s purchasing power. To combat this, investors, central banks and families have historically stored a portion of their wealth in gold. I call this the Fear Trade.

The Fear Trade continues to be a rational strategy. Since President-elect Donald Trump’s surprise win a month ago, the Turkish lira has plunged against the strengthening U. S. dollar, prompting President Recep Erdogan to urge businesses, citizens and institutions to convert all foreign exchange into either the lira or gold. Most obliged out of patriotism, including the Borsa Istanbul, Turkey’s stock exchange, and the move has helped support the currency from falling further. click to enlarge

Venezuela, meanwhile, has dire inflationary problems of its own. Out-of-control socialism has led to an extreme case of “demand-pull inflation,” economists’ term for when demand far outpaces supply. Indeed, the South American country’s food and medicine crisis has only worsened since Hugo Chavez’s autocratic regime and the collapse in oil prices. The bolivar is now so worthless; many shopkeepers don’t even bother counting it, as Bloomberg reports. Instead, they literally weigh bricks of bolivar notes on scales.

“I feel like Pablo Escobar,” one Venezuelan bakery owner joked, referring to the notorious Colombian drug lord, as he surveyed his trash bags brimming with worthless paper money.

Because hyperinflation has destroyed the bolivar, the ailing South American country sold as much as 25 percent of its gold reserves in the first half of 2016 just to make its debt payments. Venezuela’s official holdings now stand at a record low of $7.5 billion.

The U. S. is not likely to experience out-of-control hyperinflation anytime soon, as the dollar continues to surge on bets that Trump’s proposals of lower taxes, streamlined regulations and infrastructure spending will boost economic growth. But I do believe the market is underestimating inflationary pressures here in the U. S. starting next year.

As I explained to Scarlet Fu and Julie Hyman on Bloomberg TV today, inflation we might soon see is largely caused by rising production costs, which is different from the situation in Turkey and Venezuela. Nevertheless, it still serves as a positive gold catalyst for 2017.

Consider Trump’s recent Carrier deal—the one that saved, by his own estimate, 1,100 jobs from being shipped to Mexico. We should applaud Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence for looking out for American workers, but it’s important to acknowledge the effect such interventionist efforts will have on consumer prices.

As I see it, the Carrier deal is indicative of the sort of trade protectionism that could spur inflation to levels unseen in more than 30 years. The Indiana-based air conditioner manufacturer has already announced it will likely need to raise prices as much as 5 percent to offset what it would have saved by moving south of the border.

We can expect the same price inflation for all consumer goods, from iPhones to Nikes, if production is brought back home. That’s just the reality of it. Prices will go up, especially if Trump succeeds at levying a 35 percent tariff on American goods that are built overseas but imported back into the U. S. The extra cost will simply be passed on to consumers.

What’s more, Trump has been very critical of free trade agreements, threatening to tear them up after blaming them—NAFTA, specifically—for the loss of American jobs and stagnant wage growth. There’s some truth to this. But trade agreements have also helped restrain inflation over the past three decades. This is what has allowed prices for flat-screen, plasma TVs to come down so dramatically and become affordable for most Americans. click to enlarge

In its 2014 assessment of NAFTA, the Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE) calculated that for every job that could be linked to free trade, “the gains to the U. S. economy were about $450,000, owing to enhanced productivity of the workforce, a broader range of goods and services, and lower prices at the checkout counter for households.”

Additional tariffs and the inability to import cheaper goods are inflationary pressures that could result in a deeper negative real rate environment. And as I’ve pointed out many times before, negative real rates have a real positive effect on gold, as the two are inversely correlated. click to enlarge

Macquarie research shows that last year, ahead of the December rate hike, gold retreated about 18 percent from its year-to-date high. Afterward, it gained 26 percent in the first half of 2016. The decline so far this year has been about 15 percent from its year-to-date high. Gold, according to Macquarie, is setting up for another rally in a fashion similar to last year.

The U. S. government is currently saddled with $19.9 trillion in public debt. Since 2008, federal debt growth has exceeded gross domestic product (GDP) growth. And according to a Credit Suisse report this week, Trump’s tax proposal, coupled with deficit spending, could cause federal debt to grow even faster than under current policy.

After analyzing projections from a number of agencies and think tanks, Credit Suisse “estimates a federal debt-to-GDP of 92 percent by 2026, including a GDP growth offset from the lower tax tailwind, and 107 percent excluding the GDP growth offset.” click to enlarge The U. S. dollar accounts for about 64 percent of central banks’ foreign exchange reserves. With the potential for higher U. S. budget deficits and debt risking dollar strength, central banks around the globe could be motivated to increase their gold holdings, says Credit Suisse.

As I mentioned last week, gold is looking oversold in the short term and long term, down more than two standard deviations over the last 20 trading days. Statistically, when gold has done this, a return to the mean has often followed. This has been an attractive entry point for investors seeking the sort of diversification benefits gold and gold stocks have offered.

In a note to investors this week, ETF Securities highlighted these diversification benefits, writing that a gold allocation has “historically increased portfolio efficiency—lowering risk while increasing return—compared to a diversified portfolio without an allocation to precious metals.”

As always, I recommend a 10 percent weighting: 5 percent in gold bullion, 5 percent in gold stocks, then rebalance every year.

When I visited New York in the spring, the media was negative on airlines because Warren Buffett didn’t like the industry. Now, the Oracle of Omaha has changed his mind about airlines, having invested $1.3 billion in the big four American carriers—but the media’s still down on the group. I’ve been in New York all week, and they say airlines have gone up too much.

I’m afraid they’re missing a great opportunity here. Today, the industry is surrounded by what Buffett calls a “moat,” meaning

2016-12-10 20:40 Frank Holmes www.valuewalk.com

49 /100 3.3 Edward Snowden backers beam calls for pardon on Washington news museum Edward Snowden has been the subject of several high-profile appeals this year, calling on Barack Obama to pardon the National Security Agency whistleblower and allow him to return home to the US. Writers , intelligence experts , film stars and tech tycoons have all joined the chorus.

Now the most audacious display of support for Snowden is under way. Messages calling for his pardon are being beamed on to the outside wall of the Newseum, the Washington institution devoted to freedom of speech and the press that stands less than two miles from the White House.

The event is a guerrilla action carried out without the knowledge or approval of the Newseum itself, though the organisers of the stunt from the Pardon Snowden campaign are hoping they will be given a sympathetic reception. “We sincerely hope that the Newseum supports what we are doing as an affirmation of the significance of a free press,” Noa Yachot, the campaign’s director, told the Guardian before the event.

Almost 4,000 messages backing Snowden’s decision to expose mass government surveillance of emails and phone calls have been gathered by the campaign, from across the US and around the world.

The messages include this one, from Casey: “I’m a 69-year-old vet and applaud your guts, we owe you lots and let’s hope you can come home to your family and friends.”

And this, from Tess: “Ed, I’m on your side. You’re a hero and an example of what it means to be an American. Thank you for making such an incredible sacrifice in order that we might move a bit more toward the truth.”

Frank offers: “True patriotism: speaking up when your government loses its moral compass.”

The messages are being projected onto the 74ft-high marble tablet that is attached to the facade of the Newseum and which has the words of the first amendment carved into it.

Written in 1791 as part of the bill of rights, it states: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

Saturday night’s action in Washington comes at a critical time for Snowden, who remains in exile in Russia where he has been granted asylum, having been charged in the US with offences under the Espionage Act.

Obama has less than six weeks left in office, meaning that if he is to use his power to pardon the whistleblower or extend some other form of leniency that would allow him to come home, he has to do so quickly.

Obama’s successor, President-elect Donald Trump, has hinted that he would sooner see Snowden executed than pardoned.

Yachot said the Newseum had been chosen as the location of the guerrilla action as a way of highlighting Snowden’s careful and responsible use of global news organisations as a way of disseminating his leaks.

“Snowden’s work with journalists, including the Guardian, enabled the release of information into the public domain,” she said. “It showed that we need a strong and adversarial media, working with whistleblowers, to inform the public about what the government is doing without anyone’s knowledge.”

Yachot added that though time was running out, history suggested that US presidents often reserved their most contentious pardons until the last minute.

“There are only six weeks left,” she said, “but we know that controversial pardons often come at the end of a president’s term, so we are still hoping.”

2016-12-10 20:39 Ed Pilkington www.theguardian.com

50 /100 0.6 MAIL ON SUNDAY COMMENT: Being a seven-year-old is tough enough without ‘gender studies’ It is alarming to see the Government and the education establishment looking seriously at plans to stop using the terms ‘boys’ and ‘girls’ in schools, supposedly because doing so ‘discriminates’ against transgender pupils. Can we really contemplate schools in which teachers will hesitate – or even fear – to use the time-worn phrase ‘boys and girls’ in daily life, in case it is deemed to be offensive, or even a trigger for some sort of legal or disciplinary action? Yet experience shows just how quickly such things can spread, once they have begun. Even more radically, promoters of the new book Can I Tell You About Gender Diversity? propose to introduce seven-year-olds to the complexities of gender categories – including ‘genderqueer’, ‘panromantic’ and ‘transwoman’. Nobody would seek to deny some children become troubled about such things, or that they need sympathy and care when they do. But that does not mean our school system should accept without question the contentious beliefs of some that the best way to deal with this is to introduce children as young as seven to ‘medical transition’ and hormone blockers. Our main concern must be for the wellbeing of those children involved. Surely we would be better off keeping an open mind about their doubts, and dealing with them individually, rather than officially endorsing a controversial theory about the nature of gender. Our schools have accepted many radical and controversial changes in thought over the past 20 years, especially over what we regard as normal in sexual relations. In many such cases, we have simply become more tolerant of our differences from each other. But here we are asked to accept a powerful medical intervention in the life of a small child is normal. This is far more contentious, and goes a good deal further than previous changes. It is hard enough being seven years old in 2016, without being instructed to believe that boys will be girls, and girls will be boys, or perhaps neither – and that it may be necessary to take drugs to decide. This is a step too far. Trousergate? Zip it! Theresa May’s Government is showing signs of strain, just when it needs to be determined and unified. Peace and harmony are now threatened by ‘Trousergate’ – an inelegant squabble sparked off by the Prime Minister’s new leather legwear. Former Education Secretary Nicky Morgan has been dropped from an important meeting about Brexit after she made some admittedly catty remarks about the notorious trousers. Trivial? It ought to be. But messages on the subject sent by Mrs May’s adviser reveal genuine pique. Better to just let it pass. This is an odd way to conduct a government when you have a majority of 15 and one of the toughest international negotiations in modern history to handle. But it reveals a Conservative Party which is nervous and touchy on both sides of the argument – because it is far more divided than last week’s Commons vote seemed to suggest. There is currently no majority in Parliament for a ‘hard Brexit’ or necessarily for the ‘Red, white and blue Brexit’ which Mrs May says is her aim. So the premier is going to need Mrs Morgan and her fellow advocates of a ‘soft Brexit’, long after her famous trousers have been consigned to the back of the wardrobe. 2016-12-10 20:39 Mail on www.dailymail.co.uk

51 /100 2.4 Trump Adds Another Climate Change Denier To His Cabinet By Tapping Cathy McMorris Rodgers For Secretary Of The Interior Earlier this week, Trump announced that he had chosen Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to head the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Pruitt is also a climate change denier, and he is known for favoring deregulation.

Though Trump has said he values clean water, his choices of Scott Pruitt and McMorris Rodgers suggest otherwise. https://t.co/5SK7sU1Pp2

— The Intercept (@theintercept) December 9, 2016

Naming Pruitt to head the EPA, an agency that many feel he would rather disband than effectively lead, seemed like a cruel irony perpetrated by Trump. It left environmentalists and conservationists in a rage.

Putting McMorris Rodgers at the helm of the Interior has added fuel to the fire of the environmentalists’ rage.

“Selling off our public lands to the highest bidder and opening them to drilling, mining and logging is not in the best interest of our country, but that is exactly what Rep. McMorris Rodgers has voted to do over and over again,” the Sierra Club said in a Facebook post calling for senators to oppose McMorris Rodgers nomination. “America’s public lands are vital to our shared history, our national identity, our economy, and perhaps most importantly, our future.”

Other critics of Trump’s choice were not so diplomatic.

McMorris Rodgers will be replacing Sally Jewell as head of the Department of the Interior.

President Barack Obama nominated Jewell for the position in February of 2013. Prior to serving at the Interior, Jewell was CEO of Recreational Equipment Inc., a retailer specializing in sporting goods and outdoor recreational services based out of Kent, Washington. She had also worked as an engineer for an oil company.

Obama felt that this combination of knowledge from two areas that often come into conflict at the Department of the Interior made Jewell uniquely qualified.

In the midst of the Standing Rock protests and debate over the future of the Dakota Access Pipeline, the appointment of McMorris Rodgers may be particularly troubling to Native American activists and their allies. McMorris Rodgers supported the Native American Energy Act, which would have made it easier for oil and natural gas companies to drill on Native American lands. President Obama ultimately vetoed the bill. It is unlikely that Trump would veto a similar bill should one pass.

[Featured image by Drew Angerer/Getty Images]

2016-12-10 20:35 Darien Cavanaugh www.inquisitr.com

52 /100 1.4 IFFAM: ‘Pandora’ Director Lets Audience Take Political Approach Park Jung-woo , director of disaster film “ Pandora ” says he now accepts that South Korean audiences will view his film through a political lens.

“At first, I wanted the audience to pay attention to the film’s core material, the lack of trust and the safety issue surrounding nuclear power plants, rather than focusing on the film’s parallels with the reality. So, I deleted a few scenes and lines that could have been understood as a parallel for a certain circumstance, or a particular person,” Park told Variety.

“But now I’ve come to see that people fear the nuclear power plants, not just because the plants are dangerous, but also because they all have experienced and realized that the government would not protect them. That’s why they’re taking the film politically, and I am grateful that they’re further expanding the discourse.”

The film was released in Korean cinemas on Wednesday and has scored $6.76 million from $996,000 admissions in four days. In the rest of the world it will be screened online only, on Netflix. Park was speaking at the International Film Festival & Awards Macao ahead of the film’s international premiere.

Kim Nam-gil, the film’s lead actor, said that none of the cast had thought “Pandora” would receive so much political attention and hence had no fear about being in the film. “None of us expected reality to become so similar to [the extreme situations in] the film, but it did,” he said.

Despite “Pandora” being a commercial movie that uses a disaster theme, as this year’s hit films “Train to Busan” and “Tunnel” have already this year, Park said he would not want “Pandora” to be seen as the next “Train.”

“It’s much less experimental, and it’s much closer to the reality [than ‘Train’ and ‘Tunnel’],” said Park. “I chose to make it as a big commercial film only because I wanted more people to watch it and think about the message. I had to direct it the way the audience can focus on it.”

“I honestly wanted Park to put more commercial codes in the film, so that it looks more like a Hollywood disaster movie,” said Kim. “I thought the audience would not choose to watch it if it’s not entertaining or cool enough, no matter how sincere the message is. But Park was stubborn about not making it as a simple, polished piece of entertainment.”

“When I read the script, I thought ‘Pandora’ would become the film of my life, and it did,” said actor Jung Jin-young. “It tells the audience about such a sensitive issue, in a very familiar yet comforting way. I have a feeling that the audience will support it and be with it,” he continued.

“It took us four years and tremendous courage to make and release this film. I hope it is taken seriously and brings a little change to the society so that things in the movie won’t ever happen,” said Park.

SEE ALSO: Film Review: 'Pandora'

2016-12-10 20:31 Sonia Kil variety.com

53 /100 0.0 'Kejriwal can't tell between wheat and paddy': CM Badal takes a dig at AAP chief's scant knowledge on Punjab Arvind Kejriwal could not even differentiate between wheat and paddy as AAP national convener was not aware of the basics of the agrarian state, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal said on Saturday. Badal said Kejriwal's repeated utterances that SAD and Congress being hand-in-glove reflects that he not only has scant knowledge about Punjab's geology and topography but also about the state's polity. 'Every Punjabi knows that Congress was a sworn enemy of Punjab and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). Any compromise (by SAD for the polls) with Congress is unimaginable,' Badal told reporters in Raikot on the sidelines of his Sangat Darshan programme. The 89-year-old CM alleged AAP was also suffering from the anti-Punjab syndrome which has been exposed by the policies pursued by the Kejriwal government in Delhi. 'AAP government in Delhi discontinued teaching of Punjabi language in schools, didn't observe a holiday on sacred Baisakhi festival, demolished the 'Piau' outside Gurdwara Sisganjh Sahib and above all have submitted an affidavit against the state in Supreme Court on SYL issue. 'Disguised in robe of Aam Aadmi (common man), these people were working overtime against the interests of the state,' he said. Badal alleged that Congress was solely responsible for ruining the state by meddling in its social, economic, political and even religious affairs and no Punjabi could ever forgive it for these sins. 'While it is on record that Akali leadership was put behind the bars by successive Congress governments, everyone also knows that Kejriwal became Delhi's Chief Minister first time from Congress' support.' 'He is just trying to mislead the people by making frivolous statements.' 'However, wise people of Punjab will not get swayed away by tantrums of Delhi chief minister as they know well that Congress and AAP are two sides of the same coin,' he said. Notably, AAP is eyeing to wrest the power from SAD-BJP combine in Punjab in the upcoming Assembly polls early next year. Replying to another query, the chief minister said that the demonetisation move of the BJP-led NDA government was in the larger interest of the country. He said the decision was aimed at eliminating parallel economy propelled by the black money. Any good step does have initial problems but in the long run, country will be immensely benefited by this visionary step taken by the Prime Minister, the five-time CM said. Asked about some SAD leaders including a few sitting MLAs switching loyalties just before the assembly polls, Badal said: 'it was some disgruntled and over ambitious people who failed to get ticket for the elections or the positions desired by them because of which they deserted the party.' Earlier, addressing the gatherings during 'Sangat Darshan' in villages Sudhar, Halwara, Barhundi and Raikot, CM Parkash Singh Badal said Congress and AAP were just raising hollow slogans and false promises with a single aim of assuming power in the state. (With inputs from agencies)

2016-12-10 20:28 Mail Today www.dailymail.co.uk

54 /100 5.6 Senate Democrats Exploit Miners in Failed Government Shutdown Bid Funding for the federal government expired midnight Dec. 9 and the House approved its version of a new continuing resolution, 345-to-96. The Senate needed to approve the House language or force the House members to return to Washington to approve the Senate’s language or cobble together a new bill along with Senators in conference. It is difficult to overemphasize the institutional pressures working against not passing the House version, if only to consider the time it would take for congressmen to return from their districts and assemble. The Senate voted 61-to-38 to end debate and 63-to-36 to pass the House bill without the renewed benefits for the coal workers. President Barack Obama signed the new funding bill that carries funding forward virtually unchanged through April at or around 2:00.a.m.–ending the final government shutdown of his turbulent presidency two hours on. In the Senate every bill goes through a two-vote process. The first vote is to end debate, which requires 60 votes. The second vote is on the actual approval-disapproval of the motion, which is decided by a simple majority. Often, the real battle over legislation is centered on the first vote. An effort to keep debate extended and delay or even block the second vote is called a “filibuster.” The vote to end Senate debate was called at 10:00 p.m., but it was not final until an hour or so later. The word had been that Senate Democrats had given up their battle to extend federal support of coal worker pension and health benefits after they were pressured by their Democratic colleagues to beat retreat and allow everyone to go home. But, 15 minutes into the 15-minute vote there were 30 votes against closing debate and not yet 60 in favor, and the second-ranking Republican, Minority Whip was quietly standing at a clerk’s table in the chamber’s well. There the tall Texan counted and recounted the tally, while Democrats huddled around at clerk’s table on their side of the well. With the clock stopped at 00:00:00, senators continued to pour in as if they had been told their votes were not needed. In a similar situation, Republican leaders sent for a reclining , who came onto the floor and cast his vote at the well dressed in his slippers and pajamas. This night, there were no senators in bedclothes, but Trump’s choice for attorney general and one of Trump’s top campaign surrogates walked out of the elevator together and entered the Senate chamber still bundled up in their heavy wool overcoats 30 minutes into the vote to end debate. As Schumer coached his players on what to do next, the absent man was. Schumer is Reid’s designated successor in the next congressional session. During past battles, it was Reid holding court, looking at his shoes and speaking in hushed tones,while he anxiously rolled together four or five pencils in his hands. For most of the night, Reid was off the floor. Slight and wiry, Reid was unbending in his determination to support or oppose, and when he did agree to relent, it was only after extracting big promises from the Republicans that he never let them forget. Schumer is a schmoozer. While Reid would stay on his side of the aisle as if held back by a force field, Schumer glides across to the Republican desks and works over the GOP senators with handshakes, pats on the back, and small jokes meant to both persuade and flatter. Reid and Obama bonded during the president’s brief tenure in the upper chamber and they shared a tenaciousness, a willingness to stick it out, to call bluffs, ignore ultimatums, and let events play out longer than most Washington operators were used to or could tolerate. During the partial shutdown of the federal government in October 2013, Reid and Obama did not seem to care if it would ever end, as Republicans flailed for a narrative. Now, it is Schumer’s turn. Schumer does not hold out. He thrusts and parries and then, he cuts his best deal and moves on. It was Schumer, who led Senate efforts to restrict gun rights and grant amnesty to illegal aliens, but he cut his losses. He championed the president’s health care reform, but since he recognized it was political poison, he talks as if he opposed the bill from the start. With the fight over the benefits for coal miners, Schumer flipped the script on the Republicans. Another tactic of Schumer’s is to delegate fights to someone else. Schumer’s staff does the work, but he finds someone else to take the spotlight, like when he convinced Sen. Marco Rubio (R.-Fla.) to take lead on his amnesty bill. This time his front man was. “Washington has bailed out banks and billionaires, but now that coal miners and widows need healthcare, Congress is taking a vacation,” said Brown, who was nearly chosen by 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary R. Clinton to by her running mate. “These hard-working Americans gave their lungs and their backs to power this country. They paid for their healthcare and they were promised it would be there for them. Our refusal to keep that promise is shameful – it’s everything that’s wrong with Washington and it’s why I cannot support this bill,” he said. , who famously fronted Schumer’s bill to restrict gun rights in 2013 with. Basking in the glow of Trump’s support among the working people, Republicans ignored bills meant to resolve the expiration of coal worker benefits, so much so that Schumer set them up as the bad guys willing to hurt working pe0ple in the middle of the Christmas season. Of the 38 votes to extend debate, 10 were Republicans. Among the Republicans were Toomey and Manchin’s West Virginia colleague , and Brown’s other half. Depending on Louisiana, the GOP is looking at 52 or 53 senators going into the 115th Congress. All Schumer needs to beat the Republicans is three or four turncoats–and before the new Congress starts, he picked up 10.

2016-12-10 20:22 by feedproxy.google.com

55 /100 0.0 Under Obama, total public construction spending dropped relative to Bush And Clinton Earlier I shared with you that when it comes to President-elect Donald Trump, the media takes him literally but not seriously. His supporters, on the other hand, take him seriously but not always literally.

We saw an example of this polarity Tuesday morning when Trump took a shot at Boeing, tweeting to his nearly 17 million Twitter followers that the jet- manufacturer “is building a brand new 747 Air Force One for future presidents, but costs are out of control, more than $4 billion. Cancel order!”

When journalists sought clarification, Trump said he wants Boeing to make money, “but not that much money.”

As the Wall Street Journal pointed out, the current Air Force One has been in use for 30 years— since Ronald Reagan’s administration—and includes many cutting-edge modifications for communications and defense. It’s designed to withstand a nuclear blast. For the value we get out of the president’s main ride, in other words, the exorbinant sticker price might not be so exorbinant as it initially appears.

But then, the $4 billion Trump refers to couldn’t be confirmed. Boeing responded by saying it’s currently under contract to build the jet for only $170 million, and production hasn’t even begun yet.

Again, in questioning the details of Trump’s tweet, the media might be missing the forest for the trees. It’s possible the president-elect means simply that we need to keep government cost overruns in check—not literally cancel the Air Force One order—something we can all agree with.

Investors have so far managed to find the right balance between taking Trump seriously and literally, to a certain extent. Since Election Day, small-cap stocks have rallied more than 12 percent, suggesting the market sees Trump’s “America First” policies benefiting them the most. Because they have less exposure to foreign markets than blue-chip companies, small caps are in an attractive position to take advantage of lower corporate taxes, streamlined regulations and a stronger U. S. dollar.

The market’s also betting big on Trump’s proposal to spend $1 trillion on infrastructure over the next 10 years. For the one-year and three-month periods, the energy and materials sectors were among the best performers in the S&P 500 Index. Both landed in the “leading and gaining” quadrant in the chart below. click to enlarge

We see similar results in the small-cap Russell 2000 Index. Materials and processing was the best performer for the one-year period while energy led over the past three months. click to enlarge Granted, a lot of the growth in energy can be attributed to OPEC’s recent announcement that it would trim production for the first time since 2008. Such an agreement was rumored back in October. Oil rallied sharply following the announcement but has retreated slightly on news that the cartel raised production to more than 34 million barrels a day in November. Speculation is also high on whether non-OPEC countries such as Russia will join the coordinated effort to help prices recover.

But like small-cap stocks, energy and materials appear to be getting a boost on hopes that Trump will make good on his commitment to opening the fiscal valves. If he succeeds at getting what he wants from Congress, we could very well see another major infrastructure boom and commodities bull market similar to the one led by China a decade ago.

It’s worth noting that Trump will likely face some tough opposition from Congress. Even though most of the $1 trillion will allegedly come from private investment, the same fiscal conservatives who said no to President Obama’s 2009 stimulus package, worth over $800 billion, might also balk at Trump’s request.

But if the government is serious about rolling out such a monumental spending package, there’s really no better time than now, with borrowing costs still at near-historic lows.

As Steve Bannon, Trump’s controversial advisor, told the Hollywood Reporter: “With negative interest rates throughout the world, it’s the greatest opportunity to rebuild everything. Shipyards, ironworks—get them all jacked up. We’re just going to throw it up against the wall and see if it sticks.”

I don’t know if I’d be so flippant about $1 trillion, but most everyone agrees that more needs to be done about our nation’s infrastructure. According to the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), each American household could lose as much as $3,400 per year if roads, bridges and tunnels never see an upgrade. The longer we put off repairing our infrastructure, the more expensive it might get.

In a report this week, Deutsche Bank agreed that the U. S. should dream big or go home:

To drive strong infrastructure spending growth, the country will need to get much more aggressive in building new (or replacing) major transport bridges and tunnels, and to reach for Earth-altering infrastructure that addresses national risks like floods, droughts… If the U. S. is to meaningfully stimulate its economy via infrastructure, it must think bigger and act quicker.

Besides roads and bridges, Deutsche writes, the U. S. should pursue “ten-figure projects” such as levee systems, storm protection systems, water tunnels and river dredging, not to mention “new science and technology super structures like new rocket building and launch facilities, biotech labs,” and “next-generation communication and air traffic control.”

Such projects would benefit many more people than those using them. According to BCA Research, public spending on infrastructure has one of the highest multiplier effects, making it more effective at stimulating the economy than tax cuts.

Finally, the U. S. is due for another major infrastructure build. Under Obama, total public construction spending dropped relative to spending during his two predecessors’ administrations click to enlarge Increasing infrastructure investment would be good not just for the U. S. but also the world economy, which has struggled to gain traction for the past couple of years. In its just-released Global Economic Outlook, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) strongly endorsed the idea of “using the fiscal levers to escape the low-growth trap”— similar to what Trump has proposed.

With the U. S. and China both planning sweeping stimulus efforts in the next one to two years, the Paris-based group sees global GDP growing 3.6 percent in 2018, the fastest pace since 2011. The OECD also revised its earlier 2017 growth estimate to 3.3 percent, up from 3.2 percent.

1, 2 - View Full Page

2016-12-10 20:20 Frank Holmes www.valuewalk.com

56 /100 1.9 The day before Pulse mass shooting was a celebration of life Dec 10, 2016

On the last day of his life, Juan Guerrero rises soon after the sun and heads out for a jog. Twenty-two and devout in his fitness, he isn't going to miss a morning workout just because he stayed up late.

His boyfriend, Christopher "Drew" Leinonen — a charismatic Star Wars nerd — is still in bed, but not for long.

The two have a full weekend planned.

"Seize the day" is Drew's mantra. Though he is nine years older than Juan, Drew has a boyish face and enormous energy that makes them seem the same age.

"Romeo and Romeo," friends call them.

It is Saturday, June 11.

SeaWorld has just opened its new 73-mph roller coaster, Mako, and Drew — who had boycotted the theme park after seeing the documentary "Blackfish" — decides the park has sufficiently rehabilitated itself by ending the captive breeding of orcas.

"They've fixed things," he tells his mom.

By 10 a.m., the men are at SeaWorld and snapping selfies. "How are you already there? " a friend texts. Brittany Sted, 28, a mental health therapist like Drew, had been up with them, dancing and talking, until well past 3 a.m.

"Juan was the first boyfriend who could keep up with Drew," she says later. "They were sort of like little Swiss Army knives, always balancing each other out and pulling out whatever they needed. "

Shortly after 7 a.m., Shane Tomlinson, 34, wakes to news that leaves him shaken.

Christina Grimmie, a contestant on TV's "The Voice," was meeting fans after her show at Orlando's The Plaza Live the night before when a disturbed admirer shot and killed her, then killed himself.

Shane — personable, energetic, ambitious — is a singer, too, and he likes to spend time with the crowd after his performances.

"As a stage performer, you can't help but keep questioning … how did this get past security? " he writes on Facebook at 7:24 a.m. Then, a moment later: "The only complete protection we have is God, and sometimes he needs you more than this evil world. "

Music has always been a big part of Shane's life. He grew up in a church-going family, and as a young boy he would climb onstage and join his grandmother in the choir. In college at East Carolina University , he sang in a gospel choir and took part in a student modeling group while earning his degree in communications.

He moved to Orlando six years ago and in 2012 co-founded Frequency Band, which has a loyal following at Blue Martini locations throughout the state — when it isn't doing weddings and corporate gigs. Shane is band manager and lead male vocalist.

At 6 feet tall and a muscular 202 pounds, he is beautifully sculpted. His hair is always perfectly cut — short, with a razor-thin part — and he sports a precise, narrow beard rimming his face, connected to a pencil mustache. When people describe him, they invariably use the word "hot. "

With a standing Saturday show at Blue Martini in Orlando, Shane plans to spend the day preparing: get a haircut, make a song list, shop for a new outfit — either at the mall or by raiding the closet of a close friend.

He doesn't like to wear the same thing twice, and he doesn't want to clash with the lead female vocalist, Ginelle Morales.

In the afternoon, he sends her a text: "Girl, what are you wearing [tonight]? "

About 9 a.m., Peter O. Gonzalez Cruz — Ommy to his friends — catches a ride to the beach. He's 22, extroverted, the life of the party.

Darian Rivera, his best friend since Liberty Middle School in Orlando, picks him up at the apartment he shares with his mom and two brothers. Her boyfriend at the time is driving, and Ommy climbs into the back seat.

In typical Ommy fashion, he wears a pink hat, pink shorts, navy blue Tom's shoes and a navy T- shirt that reads: "Let's play a game. " He and Darian have been through a lot together. When she got pregnant at 18, Ommy was there to support her, even standing behind a curtain in the delivery room to cheer her on.

And as her daughter, Miah, grows up, Ommy is the one who plans the birthday parties and makes the decorations. The last one had an Alice-in-Wonderland theme. Miah would turn 5 in a few months.

Maybe a Peter Pan party, Ommy offers as they drive. Maybe different areas of the house could be different parts of Neverland …

But he is also thinking about his own future, talking about enrolling in a class for first-time homebuyers. He works in customer service at a UPS Store, a job Darian helped him get. But perhaps he should go back to school for business, he muses. He tells Darian she should consider going back to school, too. He wants them both to be successful.

They arrive in Melbourne after 10, and Ommy finds a pair of Hawaiian leis, one pink, one blue. He drapes them around his neck and snaps a selfie.

By noon, Juan and Drew have done the first of many coaster rides and are nearing the penguin exhibit.

The flightless birds have a special draw.

In December of last year, the couple bought a little ornament featuring a pair of penguins wearing Santa caps and holding a star between them: "Our First Christmas," it reads.

Penguins, after all, are said to mate for life. And after a string of pretty but mostly short-lived boyfriends, Drew has met the man he expects to marry. Juan has only had one previous relationship, and it had ended badly not long before he met Drew. He wasn't particularly looking for a replacement.

But Drew surprised him.

"The first time you saw them together, you just kind of knew that they would end up together forever," says their friend Brandon Wolf, 28. "They never fought. They never had issues. When they were together, there might be 50 people in the room, but Juan and Drew were in their own world. "

Drew was a love child, born to a maverick of a woman — a pipefitter turned state trooper who went to law school when Drew was in sixth grade. Drew's father was a Detroit police officer whose Japanese-American parents had been forced into an internment camp during World War II.

The two never married, but Christine Leinonen, now 59, built her world around her son. When he was 8, she moved to Florida to keep him away from the anti-Asian sentiment festering in Detroit, the nation's struggling automotive capital, where many resented the intrusion of Japanese and Korean imports.

Leinonen settled in the community of Seminole, in Pinellas County, and Christopher, as she calls him, seemed to thrive. Quirky, funny, intelligent and extroverted, he was entirely comfortable with himself, even as the only openly gay student in a school of 2,500 at Seminole High. There, he launched one of the state's first gay-straight alliance clubs, despite hate-laced name-calling and having the club's posters ripped down.

For his activism, he was given the Anne Frank Humanitarian Award from the Florida Holocaust Museum in 2002, its inaugural year. It was an honor created in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks "as a way to move our community's eyes and hearts away from the violence that had sprung out of insensible hatred, and to focus on the good that was being done. "

The words would later hold a certain irony.

When it was time for college, Drew picked the University of Central Florida and moved to Orlando, eventually earning a master's degree in clinical psychology.

He met Juan at a gym.

He adores his mother, often taking time between his job at a bank call center and his studies in finance at UCF to chauffeur her to appointments. If she wants to get her nails done, he sits quietly in the salon and waits.

"He is the best thing God ever brought to this life," his mother says.

Juan realized he was gay in 10th grade. But he was afraid his family might not understand. In the Dominican Republic, gay men and women often face violence, discrimination, arbitrary arrests and even extortion by police.

"When I found out, I was, like, 'Oh, OK,'" says his aunt, Lourdes Morales. "And his mother was the same. She just told him, 'Well, we love you, and we just want you to be happy. You are our son.' Nobody made a big deal out of it. "

Kimberly Schottborgh Mendez, 22, Juan's best friend since they met at Hunter's Creek Middle School a decade ago, used to tease him about being a virgin, though he dated girls.

When he finally told her the truth about himself, she only wished he had confided sooner.

The two talk almost daily, though she is in the Army now, stationed in Texas.

Sometime Saturday afternoon, Juan sends her a series of photos, mostly of himself and Drew on the SeaWorld roller coasters, making silly faces.

"Oh, my God, you're so beautiful! " she replies, teasing.

Then he sends a final text: "Please come back. "

"I'm going to," Kimberly answers. "I want to get out of the Army, and I want to go back to school, and we're going to live close to one another again. "

At 7 p.m. Shane arrives at the Blue Martini, the upscale lounge at Pointe Orlando crowded with tourists and young professionals. He sets up the stage and instruments, does a sound check and makes some final adjustments to the song list.

He drinks water to keep hydrated during the three-hour show, slathers ChapStick on his lips and sprays peppermint oil on his throat to ward off hoarseness. He is still unnerved by the Grimmie shooting, he tells Ginelle, the woman who sings with him. How could someone do that, he wonders, especially here in Orlando, his adopted hometown. Orlando is supposed to be the place where dreams come true.

But he can't hold onto the fear and perform at the same time, so he pushes it back. He is never more alive than when he's in front of an audience, and for the next few hours he is nonstop motion, mesmerizing the crowd, with covers of Top 40, pop, R&B and even a few '70s classics sprinkled into the mix.

Most people would be exhausted by such a night. But Shane is exhilarated. He hangs out with Ginelle until she kisses him goodbye at 1 a.m.

Koreen Green, a 32-year-old hairstylist and friend, stops by Blue Martini to have a drink with him.

Shane tells her he is bored and wants to go somewhere else to unwind. Some friends are already at Pulse, where it's Latin night, and later, when Koreen heads to the bathroom, Shane leaves.

She figures she'll speak to him tomorrow.

At the beach, the sun is beginning to sink, and Ommy's piña coladas — heavy on the alcohol and a little light on the pineapple juice — have left the friends especially affectionate.

"I love you," Ommy says to Darian.

Darian's mother has agreed to babysit her granddaughter so Darian will be free to go out to Pulse. Nobody else in their group of friends has to work that night — an occasion rare enough to celebrate.

But then Darian's mother changes her mind. The friends drive back to Orlando, Miah in tow, dropping Ommy off at his apartment near midnight.

"OK, I'm going to sleep," he says. He tells Darian to call in the morning.

"I love you," Darian says.

"I love you, too," Ommy yells back.

Maybe it's a text from a friend. Maybe it's restlessness. Maybe he just has his heart set on dancing. But Ommy doesn't go to bed. Instead, sometime after midnight, he changes into a white T-shirt, blue jeans and a pair of shiny black sneakers and heads out the door to Pulse.

A little after 6, Juan and Drew head home from SeaWorld. Juan had moved into Drew's apartment, about a mile from downtown Orlando, only a few months earlier.

The two are meticulous — Drew even alphabetizes their extensive film collection, and they hang their shirts by color and type. Both are small and slightly built. Juan pushes Drew to go to the gym more and Drew persuades Juan to become a vegetarian. Their lives are an intricate balance of work, study, friends and travel.

Saturday, though, is supposed to be a quiet night at home: a simple meal, maybe a little wine, a movie. But at 10 p.m., friend Brandon Wolf sends a text. Earlier in the week, Brandon and his boyfriend had split up, but now Brandon's ex was texting him, wanting to go out. Brandon wants to see him — but he also wants moral support.

"Hey, know you went to SeaWorld. What do you think about going out tonight? " he messages Drew.

"Wasn't really planning on it. What are you thinking? " Drew answers.

Brandon explains. "I don't really want to be alone with him. Can I get your support and we just all go out? "

"Yeah, I guess we can do that," Drew says — but there is never really any doubt. Whenever his friends need him, Drew is there.

The four of them meet at Brandon's apartment, call Uber and plan to go to Parliament House. But by the time the car picks them up, it is well past midnight and Pulse is closer, so they head there instead.

They arrive to find the place mobbed. They can barely hear each other talk. Drew, sensing the tension and awkwardness between Brandon and his ex, motions for them to go out on the patio.

Stop letting all the little things get in the way and just be your true selves, he tells them. You can't get caught up in your insecurities.

"Look, we never say enough how much we love each other," Drew offers finally. "So I'm going to be the kind-of-cheesy one for the moment and tell you that I love all of you very much. "

The men hug. The tension breaks. Moments later, they all head back inside the club, where Shane and Ommy have already met up with their own friends.

At 2:02 a.m., a gunman begins firing on the crowd.

2016-12-10 20:20 Kate Santich www.orlandosentinel.com

57 /100 2.0 'Safety of villagers and animal is important': Leopard that strayed to villages near Delhi is sent to Haryana's Kalesar National Park Delhi's first 'resident' leopard, who had made Wazirabad's Yamuna Biodiversity Park (YBP) home, was finally captured on Saturday morning. The big cat was temporarily kept at the National Zoological Park (NZP) on Mathura Road, but was eventually released in Haryana's Kalesar National Park, where it strayed from, following the course of river Yamuna. It was believed that the leopard originally inhabited the forests in Haryana. After complaints from fearful locals, the Delhi Government forest officials had placed two big cages with live lambs as bait. The feline fell for it after a hide-and-seek game which lasted for 30 days, as it was first reportedly sighted on November 21. Many ecologists and wildlife enthusiasts had protested the move, but the forest officials were worried about the safety of the animal as well as the surrounding villagers. The DDA park is nestled around Jagatpur floodwaters Bund, which is surrounded by five-six villages, including Sangam Vihar, Baba Colony, etc. consisting of a population of at least 5000 people. Recently, locals in Haryana's Sohna district had mercilessly beaten a leopard to death, scaring the authorities about the presence of the big cat in the crowded heart of the city. Chief Wildlife Warden of Delhi, AK Shukla said: 'The leopard finally ventured inside one of the cages about 8-8:30 this morning, and was caught. Large number of people gathered to see it.' The Forest department took help of the DCP North and local SHO to control the crowd from harming the leopard. 'It is a young sub-adult male of about 3 years,' said Shukla. 'The leopard was tranquilised and preliminary examination of paws and canine were done in the field itself to check if the animal had any external injuries.' Thereafter, the animal was shifted to NZP in an ambulance, where the blood samples collected to check if it was suffering from any diseases, informed a forest officer. YBP scientists, however, were unhappy that the animal was moved to a different location. CR Babu, Professor Emeritus at Delhi University's 'Centre for Environmental Management of Degraded Ecosystems,' who was also instrumental in setting up the park, said: 'As there is a ready habitat in YBP, big cats will keep coming. How will they stop them? This action was arbitrary. There is still no policy in place.' Scientist-in-charge, Faiyaz Khudsar, said: 'This prevented an ecological climax succession which comes with the arrival of a top carnivore. However, it is the decision of the government.'

2016-12-10 20:17 Mail Today www.dailymail.co.uk

58 /100 1.7 Coca-Cola’s next big challenge: cutting calories Coca-Cola Co.’s incoming CEO has his work cut out for him to bring the 130-year-old company into a millennial-dominated era.

James Quincey, who takes over as chief executive officer next year, is under pressure to dramatically cut the calories of Coca-Cola’s lineup — a move necessitated by shifting consumer tastes and anti-obesity efforts. And he can’t rely as much on the current crop of artificial sweeteners to get the job done, since many customers have turned away from aspartame and other additives.

The 51-year-old executive, who currently serves as Coca-Cola’s chief operating officer, also has pledged to modernize the company’s marketing and distribution at a time when moreshoppers are researching and buying products online. And shares of the Atlanta-based company have lagged behind those of PepsiCo Inc. and the broader market this year.

“He will push toward healthy,” said Jack Russo, an analyst at Edward Jones. He’ll probably “get the core company focused on doing what it needs to do, and that’s new products, innovation — maybe better marketing.” Consumers in the U. S. and other developed markets are eschewing sugar and artificial ingredients, forcing Coca-Cola to diversify its product offerings. The company is relying less on soda and pushing into healthier segments, including ready-to-drink coffee, plant-based protein drinks, cold-press juices and dairy. As operating chief, Quincey also has promoted smaller package sizes for soft drinks — an effort that has cut calories per purchase and improved profit margins.

The company already has 200 reformulations in the works that are aimed at reducing the sugar content of its existing products. Fanta and Sprite with 30 percent less sugar are on shelves in the U. K., and a new version of Coca-Cola Zero Sugar has been introduced in several markets. As he settles into the CEO job, Quincey plans to accelerate efforts to develop new products.

“Smaller packages, less sugar, more variants, better marketing,” he said on a conference call Friday. “We’re going to adapt to the changing customer landscape.”

Though current CEO Muhtar Kent was seen as a diligent steward of the brand, Quincey looks at Coca-Cola’s problems through a more “realistic lens,” said Vivien Azer, an analyst at Cowen & Co.

He is “much more transparent about the challenges that Coke faces — in terms of concerns around their products, in particular both sugar and aspartame,” she said.

The stakes are high: Per capita consumption of carbonated soft drinks fell to a 30-year low in the U. S. in 2015, according to Beverage Digest, a trade publication.

Coca-Cola’s stock has declined 2.2 percent this year, compared with a 11 percent gain for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index. PepsiCo is up 3.7 percent in that time frame.

Calories are a bigger concern for consumers these days, but the beverage industry has been slow to slim down its drinks so far. The intake of calories from beverages dropped just 0.2 percent in 2015, according to a report released last month by consulting firm Keybridge LLC.

To get back in consumers’ good graces, Coca-Cola is going to accelerate product development — even beyond its blitz of new drinks in recent years.

“That pace in the next 10 years is just going to continue to increase,” Kent said on Friday.

Many of Coca-Cola’s billion-dollar brands are now waters and other still beverages — as opposed to solely its hallmark sparkling drinks.

The British-born Quincey has spent two decades at Coca-Cola, where he previously ran the company’s European group and Mexican division. He also led the 2009 acquisition of Innocent juice, a brand that’s now sold in more than 14 countries.

Coca-Cola’s makeover may involve more acquisitions of upstart brands, Quincey said.

Already, the company has made investments in juice company Suja Life LLC, aloe-water maker L. A. Aloe LLC and dairy company Fairlife. And it’s teaming up with Dunkin’ Donuts to sell more bottled iced coffee.

Its rivals also are making deals to expand further into healthy drinks.

Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc. agreed last month to buy Bai Brands for $1.7 billion, snapping up a maker of fruit-flavored, antioxidant-infused beverages. PepsiCo, meanwhile, is acquiring KeVita, which makes fermented probiotic and kombucha beverages.

“There’s been a big broadening of the portfolio,” Quincey said. “We’d like to go faster.”

2016-12-10 20:14 Jennifer Kaplan rssfeeds.detroitnews.com

59 /100 2.9 Understanding Jayalalithaa: The leader who balanced democrtic power with the rule of law Of all the women politicians in India, J Jayalalithaa surpasses them all. My own encounter with her was peripheral. The first as a lawyer, the second as a lobbyist against the WTO. Sometime in the mid- 1990s, the DMK wanted to make a huge tamasha (ruckus) of the Jayalalithaa trial. A new modernised court had been created with a structure designed to dramatise with Mess gallery. The absence of a good lawyer in Delhi found me in Chennai demanding bail for her while M Karunanidhi was savagely gunning for her incarceration. What he had done was sneaky. Her 13-odd cases were distributed all over Tamil Nadu. The big bonanza was to get all of them to Chennai so that the spectacle could begin. Argument The Acting Chief Justice acceded to Karunanidhi's request to continue all cases in Chennai by an administrative order. Politics disrupts law. My simple argument was that 'transfer' of cases is a judicial process and not a conspiracy between Karunanidhi and the Acting Chief Justice. It worked. She got bail. Then the case was fought over three years. Eventually we lost, but I spent months on end at the Adiyar Sheraton expanding the case so that it would extend to the end of the Assembly's term. I had given her 'political oxygen' at a time she needed it. The arguments reached a crescendo when I spoke of Karunanidhi's tamasha court as just a case of 'regime revenge'. Jayalalithaa sent a message summoning me to Poes Garden. Around the time I was doing NTR's case. He had the grace to talk to me personally. Jayalalithaa's third party messages to me were insulting. All it needed was a phone call. She did not make it. I refused the journey to Poes Garden, 'to her surprise and chagrin'. She had her spies in court taking notes. She was well informed about what I was arguing. I do not grudge her imperiousness. My PIL friends teased me for appearing for a tyrant. One of them kindly agreed that bail was a matter of civil liberty even for her. Unfortunately, sending a person to jail is a political event designed to humiliate. Strangely for these three years, I learnt to respect her clarity, her self-respect, and her re-definition of herself as a mass leader concerned about her people. We eventually lost, but she savoured the political oxygen I got her. My second interface with Jayalalithaa was when George Fernandes, Mr Keyala and I went to persuade her to oppose the 'World Trade Organisation' (WTO) which would open the country to economic pillage and surrender India to global corporations. The meeting was in the Cabinet room. Food was set out. Officers were in attendance. She presided and, insisting that we eat first while she looked on. Hospitality? Heavens no. Another little political power game. Lalu Prasad in Bihar had his meeting with him in a circuit house bedroom. In the discussion, she was politically aware of both the opposition and support for WTO. Why should she file in the Supreme Court? Then I pressed the argument that the agriculture treaty eventually capped agriculture subsidies including 'revenue for gone' up to 10 per cent (still a distance away). Relationship This, according to her, interfered with her relationship with farmers. The official experts made calculations to present figures. Her voice stepped in emphatically: 'No Mr Secretary, these were last year's figures'. She asked me to make an exception and get the materials I needed. From the ministry I examined the figures. Jayalalithaa was right. The subject of subsidy was not scheduled. She was truly the head of her administration. My two interfaces tell a lot about the lady. She was of course a cult leader who had strayed into more than temptation. Lonely by herself, she adopted Shashikala, a wheeler dealer who brought companionship but also the charge of corruption against Jayalalithaa. She destroyed Jayalalithaa's career. Obviously prone to the evil to abuse of power that belonged to the people, Shashikala played on her loneliness. Jayalalithaa also lost a friend and strategist in Cho Ramaswamy contemporaneously. The thought of Shashikala succeeding her destroys Jayalalithaa's legacy. Democracy Jayalalithaa was not another woman political leader who had built a cult around herself. She was not another Nandini Satpathy, Sucheta Kripalani, Shiela Dixit, Vasundhara Raje or Rabri Devi or even Mayawati. She was not somebody's appointee. Her place belongs above the dynamic Indira Gandhi. A politician who had to find her following, created a bond of love with her people, thought through political and administrative decisions, had clarity with compassion and an unerring belief that she belonged to the people whom she loved and who loved her in return. Her iconic status eclipses the travails of her sad but gigantic figure in politics; she took it as a responsibility and not just a game of thrones. To govern is one thing, to do so with a sense of justice is quite another. Democracy and the rule of law are the two axles which drive Indian governance. Our politicians sometimes forget the need to maintain the balance. Democratic power without the rule of law is tyranny. The rule of law without democracy is meaningless. Jayalalithaa understood this balance better than most Indian politicians, but she transgressed the law and paid heavily by the process which is in itself a punishment. Jayalalithaa lies off Marina Beach in a silence of mind and spirit. But she was and will remain one of the greatest contributors to Indian governance. Good bye Jayalalithaa. The writer is a Supreme Court lawyer

2016-12-10 20:12 Rajeev Dhavan www.dailymail.co.uk

60 /100 1.6 5 pillars of AI innovation over the past 40 years Artificial intelligence came alive in the 80s with many startups, governments, and large enterprises deploying new systems that executed tasks typically performed by human experts. These were largely rule-based systems that encoded behaviors in rules versus the strict procedural logic of traditional programming languages. Then, as memory became more affordable, systems were able to handle much more computationally-intense tasks such as machine learning, planning and scheduling, and natural language understanding. Now in the age of Big Data, many believe AI has completely changed the tech landscape, but in some ways, as the Talking Heads song goes, it’s the “same as it ever was”.

What remains the same are the core elements of an intelligent application. The technology behind the applications I deployed at NASA in the late 80s and 90s in the Space Shuttle program, the unmanned probes, the space telescopes, the Space Station, and ultimately, the planetary rover programs, was then subsequently commercialized in the supply chain for the applications we later deployed in the ERP industry and to the marketing applications deployed in the e-commerce, CRM, and programmatic advertising spaces. Now, I’ve recently been working with AI applications that have to handle massive amounts of data, and while they are in very different domains, they are all built on common themes.

These applications include:

Plus, there are systems we all interact with or hear about every day: Siri and Alexa listen to our instructions, Amazon and Netflix recommend products, cars park themselves, some cars drive autonomously, unmanned trains transport us in many cities and airports, computers play chess, GO, or Jeopardy! — and the list goes on.

Across all of these examples, five core elements have endured, connecting the dots over almost 40 years of AI advancement. They must ingest huge amounts of data, be reactive to their surroundings, adapt over time by learning to perform better, project into the future, and serve many people and systems simultaneously.

Data-intensive AI systems deal with voluminous amounts of data, often in excess of billions of records coming in at high velocity. Ingesting this data in real-time is one of the most demanding things that an AI application has to do. Plus, it has to be adept at ingesting continuous streaming data (lots of small items, like IoT sensor measurements) and batch data (a few large items, like historical data tables).

Adaptive applications use machine learning to improve themselves. Over time, they observe their results and learn to do better. The machine learning workflow requires data scientists to perform model selection, an iterative process of feature engineering, algorithm selection, and parameter tuning in an experimentation environment. Application developers then deploy models, and as new data come in, the model can classify them, and behave based on that classification. Then the application reviews the outcomes of the classification and uses these outcomes to re-train.

Modern AI systems react to the changing data around them in real-time. Unlike traditional applications that are more batch-oriented (you schedule them, they run, store their results, and are then shut down), AI applications continuously monitor their inputs, often from streaming data platforms, and when certain conditions apply, they invoke procedures, rules, and behaviors, or compute scores and make decisions. Put simply, they are always on, reacting to their inputs.

Many AI systems don’t just react. They also have to project possible futures to determine the best course of action now. Planning systems, games, and even language-parsing systems need to project in a forward-looking way to get the best answer. The systems have to be able to quickly switch between scenarios as new inputs come in (e.g. a typhoon has delayed shipping of components from China, requiring re-optimization of the manufacturing plan based on a variety of assumptions).

AI systems, just like traditional applications, must handle multiple people or systems interacting simultaneously. They use techniques adopted by those developing distributed systems in the fields of operating systems and databases to maintain ACID properties , a long-standing principle of traditional transactional databases.

For modern AI systems, these five attributes enable them to perform with the speed and scale needed to meet the demands of both human and electronic users. Plus, as data volumes grow and response times shorten, properly constructed systems can simply scale out their technology infrastructure rather than having to rework their approach. Considering the pivotal role these applications perform for both individuals and businesses, staying online and operational might be the best attribute of all for an AI system.

2016-12-11 03:29 Monte Zweben feedproxy.google.com

61 /100 3.6 Jorgos becomes Honorary Member in the Greek Academy of Magicians (Includes interview) Acclaimed magician Jorgos has a major reason to celebrate. He becomes an Honorary Member in the Greek Academy of Magicians. Most recently, as Digital Journal In 2008 and 2012, Jorgos was honored with two prestigious Merlin awards for "Best Stage Magician of the Year," and in 2012, his then-magic assistant, Heidi, was awarded "Best Magic Assistant. " Digital Journal chatted with To learn more about world renowned magic sensation Jorgos, check out his Jorgos revealed that this new milestone is very gratifying and humbling, especially since it comes from his own ethnic background (being of Greek origin). "This is such a big honor for me," Jorgos said, effusively. Most recently, as Digital Journal reported , Jorgos celebrated the news of having his own television magic show in Germany, which is set to be televised on Hamburg 1 TV. His forthcoming television show, which spans 45 minutes, will be comprised of magic (especially street magic), comedy and fun, with the addition of a few special studio guests. In 2008 and 2012, Jorgos was honored with two prestigious Merlin awards for "Best Stage Magician of the Year," and in 2012, his then-magic assistant, Heidi, was awarded "Best Magic Assistant. "Digital Journal chatted with Jorgos about his career and two Merlin awards. To learn more about world renowned magic sensation Jorgos, check out his official website , and follow him on Facebook

2016-12-10 20:09 www.digitaljournal.com

62 /100 0.3 Nurse is sacked for offering to pray with her patients despite call by equality watchdog to end persecution of Christians A nurse with 15 years’ experience has been sacked after discussing Christianity and offering to pray with patients before operations. Sister Sarah Kuteh was dismissed for breaching guidelines, even though her job involved asking people preparing for surgery about their religion. The mother-of- three, who is now suing the hospital for unfair dismissal, said she was offering solace to patients she believed were happy to chat about their beliefs, and described her sacking as ‘disproportionate and punitive’. The row comes after Theresa May told MPs that Christians should feel able to speak about their faith at work. The Prime Minister’s comments followed criticism by Government watchdog the Equality and Human Rights Commission, highlighted by The Mail on Sunday, of politically correct organisations that curb freedom of expression. Mrs Kuteh broke down in tears as she recalled being suspended and escorted from Darent Valley hospital in Dartford, Kent. She said: ‘It was embarrassing for me – and painful after all I had done in my years as a nurse. I was told I couldn’t even speak to my colleagues. All I had done was to nurse from my heart. How could it be harmful to tell someone about Jesus?’ But bosses at Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust said her ‘unwanted discussions’ had upset patients and she had also failed to heed warnings that she was being unprofessional. Mrs Kuteh, a committed Christian who started nursing in London before moving to Dartford in 2007, became a sister in 2012 while working in the intensive care department. She started a new role in November 2015, assessing patients’ health before they underwent surgery. Part of her job was helping them complete a questionnaire, which included a question on religion. She admitted she may have spoken to a few patients without their express permission when she first began the job. But she was more careful after a warning in April this year that there had been complaints and her approach breached conduct guidelines about discussing personal beliefs. Mrs Kuteh said conversations sometimes arose if a patient failed to put anything in the box marked Religion, and she might ask them why and even tell them how her faith had helped her overcome adversity. But she added that it was often the patients who spoke about their faith first, and she had no intention of imposing her beliefs on others. In June, Mrs Kuteh was ‘shocked’ to be told three further complaints had been made, after which she was told to stop assessing patients and was suspended a few days later. She was sacked in August after an investigation, and her appeal was rejected. During the investigation the nurse was told one patient had complained she had given her a Bible she did not want and had said she would pray for her. Another allegedly said she had felt uncomfortable that Mrs Kuteh was ‘preaching’ at her. Mrs Kuteh, who is taking the trust to an employment tribunal with the backing of the Christian Legal Centre, claimed her disciplinary process was flawed as she was not initially shown the complaints. The trust said: ‘We have a duty to our patients that when they are at their most vulnerable they are not exposed to unsolicited beliefs and/ or views, religious or otherwise. We feel we have acted appropriately in this case.’

2016-12-10 20:07 Jonathan Petre www.dailymail.co.uk

63 /100 63 /100 2.6 So optimists are healthier. And more deluded, perhaps? W hether through luck or a great sense of humour, academics at Harvard chose the close of 2016 to publish a paper confirming the huge health benefits of optimism. In a widely publicised study of more than 70,000 women aged 58 to 83, they established that higher optimism was linked to a lower death risk from conditions including heart disease, stroke, cancer, respiratory disease and infection. “Given that optimism was associated with numerous causes of mortality,” say the researchers, “it may provide a valuable target for new research on strategies to improve health.”

Then again, news of their own, increased, mortality risk may well deepen despondency in people who are already struggling to see the cup-half-full aspects of Aleppo , of Brexit, of Corbyn, of Trump, of the losses, punctuating 2016, of individuals who made the world a better place, while the unspeakable went from strength to strength. It’s splendid, of course, for the Harvard researchers to bring news of the potentially life-extending effects of irrepressible jollity. But how, other than by using, say, drugs and alcohol to achieve a personal current affairs blackout, both retrospective and current, is this to be achieved?

Who but an idiot – or a Trump – could remain entirely cheerful, upon hearing, for instance, about Ivanka’s ambitions in the field of climate change, or that the word “bollocks” has a prominent place in our foreign secretary’s diplomatic repertoire? What kind of person keeps intact their positive thinking in the face of the BBC’s relentless, if mysterious, exaltation of its pet demagogue, Nigel Farage? Who would not feel their mood even marginally lowered when a woman MP is threatened , on social media, with meeting the same end as the murdered MP, Jo Cox?

True, the rehabilitation of Ed Balls appears to have lifted some spirits , ditto the joyful, Richard Curtis-scripted narrative that is Prince Harry and Meghan at Christmas time, accessorised with dogs in adorable knitwear. But it may take more than the above to alleviate, for those in the categories remoaners, sore losers and snowflakes , a low mood that is probably not confined to academics at Nottingham University, where counselling is on offer to sufferers from Brexit- related “stress and anxiety”. One suggested intervention being to work on “news addiction”.

It may be yet another reason to despair, for those yet to complete news rehab, that the Nottingham programme has been ridiculed for suggesting that a country’s galloping descent into ugliness, insecurity and insularity – accompanied by democratic exhortations to “suck it up” – should be any reason for pessimism, that defining quality of losers. Optimism, by contrast, has emerged from a referendum campaign during which it substituted for argument among Brexit campaigners, as a superpower more awesome, even, than is being claimed by the Harvard researchers. “I say knickers to pessimists” was the insight that ushered Boris Johnson into great office. His former ally, Michael Gove, urged Remainers to abjure pessimism and negativity. “The case for leaving is positive and optimistic.” Doubters were further assured, by Brexit’s details man, that Britain would “enjoy a relationship of free trade and friendly co-operation” with Europeans, whose continued pessimism on that score cannot, in this best of all possible post-Brexit worlds, be a matter for regret.

The only cheering news, for people still unable to see the bright side, would have been Harvard research demonstrating – along with the political risks of vacuous optimism – the proven health and social benefits of doubt; the superiority of ever-deepening dismay, to the Mediterranean diet, in conferring longevity; an association between sustained, demagogue-related horror and reduced cause-specific mortality.

Instead, perhaps appreciating that to ask many 2016 survivors to learn optimism is like asking Michael Gove to develop a sense of shame, the Harvard researchers have been good enough to share some reprogramming hints. For instance, the study’s Dr Eric Kim suggests, think about what your “best possible self” should look like in key areas of your life. Or write down three things each day that you are grateful for. Before long, the trainee optimist should be quietly cultivating her Instagram account, totally #happy, #blessed #I’malrightJack, having acquired the resilience to block out any number of doomy thinkpieces.

Should these arguably solipsistic exercises not do the trick, the modern pessimist is lucky to be living in a golden age for optimistic literature. Writers such as Steven Pinker and Matt Ridley invite her to reflect on the joys of progress – the authors understandably imagine that their reader is also getting the benefit – in comparison to the barbarism of the past, and to trust in mankind’s continued ingenuity.

Latest to counsel optimism is Johan Norberg, whose well-received book, Progress: Ten Reasons to Look Forward to the Future , recently arrived with a big smiley face on the cover and any number of pessimism-dispelling factoids. For instance, he points out, there hasn’t been human sacrifice for absolutely ages. Same with duelling. “More than a quarter of English aristocrats faced a violent death in the 14th and 15th centuries.” Just look at them now! And genocide: “It used to be so common that historians didn’t care much about it.” Plus these days, Norberg reminds us, there is better farming with combine harvesters, so no excuse for hunger. “A hundred and fifty years ago, it took 25 men all day to harvest and thresh a ton of grain. With a modern combine harvester, a single person can do it in six minutes.” Though before long, let’s not forget, what used to take the 21st-century optimist only six minutes to write, may become, if disintegration takes hold, not only exhausting, but impossible.

Meanwhile, even after Trump’s victory (before which Progress was optimistically published), just thinking about all those combine harvesters, along with the universities in which today’s rational optimists are able to research their books without fear of becoming human sacrifices, should perhaps be enough to dispel political and economic pessimism. On climate change, we should remember, as Norberg says, that scientists and entrepreneurs are “hard at work” on new technologies. In Britain, it can’t be any time before they invent ways of stopping the banks leaving and getting the fruit picked.

And yet, remembering how Nora Ephron, though receptive to good news on the subject, found upbeat books for older women “utterly useless” , I don’t see how any of this stuff about the vileness of the past and the marvellousness of the future diminishes the impact of current reversals. If anything, it underlines what’s being lost. How do assurances about scientists work when Ivankas are experts? How does the obsolescence of the iron maiden make you feel better about the arrival of the US pussy-grabber, with his views on “enhanced interrogation”? As in: “Torture works. OK, folks?”

Still, optimism is good for health; let’s be positive. The Harvard research is tremendous news for self-proclaimed optimists Gove and Farage, Cameron and Johnson, and anyone who wishes they would live for ever. It’s the impact of their optimism on everyone else that depresses me.

2016-12-10 20:05 Catherine Bennett www.theguardian.com

64 /100 2.3 Romanian PM tries the tieless look ahead of a national vote Romanian PM tries the tieless look ahead of a national vote Associated Press - 10 December 2016 16:38-05:00 News Topics: General news, Lifestyle, Government and politics, Fashion, Beauty and fashion, Parliamentary elections, Elections People, Places and Companies: Dacian Ciolos, Victor Ponta, Nicolae Ceausescu, Romania, Europe Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

2016-12-10 20:05 system article.wn.com

65 /100 4.3 Cities can provide a sanctuary against Trump – and Brexit I n Washington DC, the Democrats are still in trauma. With all branches of government, from the White House to the Congress, in Republican hands, thousands of staffers are being let go. “It’s like the local steel mill has closed,” moped one Senate aide. Meanwhile, they watch in slack-jawed shock as president-elect Trump’s transition team mix humiliation with farce , corruption, bluster and incompetence. No wonder the Chinese president has decided 2017 is the time to turn up to Davos and pronounce the end of Pax Americana. Amid the gloom, it is America’s cities on the hill that still provide the glimmering light. From Los Angeles to New York city, progressive mayors have badged their metropolises “sanctuary cities”, determined to resist Trump’s hard-right Republicanism. Just as Sadiq Khan announced “Open London” after the Brexit vote, so when it comes to immigrant rights, minimum wage legislation and the abolition of Obamacare, the cities are set to take a stand.

On Friday morning, Rahm Emanuel, the brilliantly pugnacious mayor of Chicago, and former White House chief of staff, told me that, as the grandson of a migrant, he would not assist Trump’s attempts to entrap undocumented children, but instead continue to support them through his community college programme. “Administrations may change but our values and principles when it comes to inclusion do not.” Rahm has reduced poverty and rebuilt Chicago’s riverside, and he’s not going to let Trump tear that down. On climate change, he has already struck a deal with eight Chinese cities to work together to bring down emissions.

It is leadership needed now more than ever as, on both sides of the Atlantic, the centre-left coalition is fracturing. Thursday’s Sleaford by-election only confirmed the fact that progressive politics is being rent asunder by a growing divide between metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas – and post-Brexit Labour, like Clinton’s Democrats, doesn’t have the language or politics to speak to rural, small-town England.

In Britain and America, it is cities with higher levels of educational attainment, standards of living, employable skills and open, cosmopolitan cultures which voted to remain in Europe and for Hillary Clinton as president. In contrast, non-metropolitan areas with historic manufacturing economies, poor school results, low incomes, high levels of manual jobs (easily subject to automation) and a more hostile attitude towards immigration voted Republican and out of the EU. In the words of the Brookings Institution think tank, victory by Trump, the quintessential New Yorker, “would not have been possible without the influence of rural areas and smaller metropolitan areas”.

Since ancient Rome, large cities – with their experts, elites and foreigners – have been the object of populist fury. In Britain, the Brexit vote was closely connected to a broader sense of hostility towards London. In America, the big cities’ disregard for the flyover states and middle- America norms drove the Trump vote. Globalisation has exacerbated these cultural divides, with the urban embrace of technological disruption and immigration often at odds with a non- metropolitan respect for stability and less obvious admiration for the pace of change. The US presidential election proved as much a battle between communitarian and cosmopolitan identities as a traditional left v right struggle.

Yet, at the same time, the American public also gave a huge vote of confidence to US cities. In Columbus in Ohio, Seattle and Los Angeles, residents approved more than $180bn in additional taxes to spur ambitious transit plans and regeneration schemes. In fact, there is a lot of interest in the British experience of “city deals”, with their block allocation of central funding to metropolitan areas. For this is the conundrum that Trump faces: if he wants to deliver 4% growth, then he will have to engage with Democrat cities. The United States’s 388 metropolitan areas generate 91% of its gross domestic product and hold the key to “make America great again”.

Where Trump and the city bosses might agree is on the need for more infrastructure expenditure. For Rahm Emanuel, urban infrastructure spend is the most effective tool to promote equity and productivity. Similarly, the mayors are not against a reform of the tax code to promote innovative forms of metropolitan finance and urban bonds.

But, in truth, the space for consensus is small. Quite rightly, sanctuary cities are gearing up to battle Trump’s coming assault on social housing, clean air, public schooling, minority rights, affordable health care, and economic justice. But if metropolitan America is going to win the broader war, then it will need to look to its own sense of cultural superiority. Perhaps only when Beltway insiders can understand the loss of a real steel mill to communities in the midwest will the Democrats enjoy a national revival.

Tristram Hunt is the Labour MP for Stoke-on-Trent Central

2016-12-10 20:04 Tristram Hunt www.theguardian.com

66 /100 3.7 Beauty Buzz: a party-season pep talk with Twiggy As queen of style Twiggy launches her first beauty gift collection for Marks & Spencer, she tells us how she survives the rigours of the social whirl… Go-to party make-up? Smoky grey and brown eyeshadows or a cobalt-blue eye pencil and mascara. Hair quick fix? It has to be a good blow-dry. My favourite salon is Gielly Green in London’s Marylebone. I see Poppy for my highlights and Fred for a blow-dry. Signature party scent? My own Twiggy Amber Blossom eau de toilette [£16] with sweet lily, freesia and orange blossom notes. It reminds me of wonderful family holidays in the Mediterranean. Essential recovery tip? I love to soak in a bath of Himalayan sea salt as it relaxes tired, aching muscles after a long night. Twiggy’s beauty gift collection is available now at marksandspencer.com As both the brains and beauty behind celebrated brand Lipstick Queen, Poppy King is make-up royalty. Her new beautifully illustrated book The A to Z of Lipstick (Atria Books, £8.99) is full of facts and tips that are characteristic of Poppy’s wit – and based upon her philosophy that the link between women and lipstick is complex, emotional and ultimately empowering. An ideal stocking filler for the pout perfector in your life. To order a copy for £6.29 until 26 December, visit you-bookshop.co.uk or call 0844 571 0640; free p&p on orders over £15 Introduce the sybarite in your life to skincare with a difference with Malée Conditioning Body Scrub (£36) and Moisturising Oil (£38, both maleeonline.com ). Inspired by the culture, history and climate of Africa, the formulas from Malée – a term meaning ‘strong, learned woman’ – are potent and decadent with a scent that evokes the continent’s fresh, earthy wetlands. Still life photographs: Tobi Jenkins Beauty assistant: Alice Robertson

2016-12-10 20:02 Bella Blissett www.dailymail.co.uk

67 /100 5.6 Fashion: It's Showtime Roll up, roll up – spectacular partywear has come to town! Photographer Elisabeth Hoff Contributing Fashion Editor Hannah Hughes Fashion Assistant Alisha Hockenjos Make-up Angela Davis Deacon using BareMinerals BarePro Hair Oliver DAW at Frank Agency for blowtogo.net Model Sophia Wassermann at Wilhelmina Producer Lucy Coghlan Shot on location at Giffords Circus, giffordscircus.com , a unique village green circus that tours from May to September throughout the Cotswolds and London. Stockists Chanel, chanel.com Christian Louboutin, christianlouboutin.com Dolce & Gabbana, dolcegabbana.com Emilia Wickstead, 020 7235 1104 Jane Koenig, janekoenig.co.uk Jimmy Choo, jimmychoo.com Joon, joonjewellery.com Karma Designs, karmadesigns.co.in Konplott, konplott.com Missoni, missoni.com Paule Ka, pauleka.com Sock Shop, sockshop.co.uk Zimmermann, zimmermannwear.com

2016-12-10 20:02 Hannah Hughes www.dailymail.co.uk

68 /100 1.5 HOROSCOPES: Look to the past to put things right, Sagittarius Sagittarius 23 NOV-21 DEC This week’s Full Moon in your opposite sign of Gemini is a timely reminder that nothing is said or done that doesn’t affect the future in some way. In other words, if you are experiencing difficulties in a relationship then you must look to the past to discover the cause. Only then will you be able to put things right. CALL 0904 470 1169 (65p per minute)* Capricorn 22 DEC-20 JAN The reason someone you live or work with is behaving badly is not because they are made that way, but because they are out of their depth. Once you’ve recognised their dilemma, it will be relatively easy to reason with them. You’ll find they are not so unpleasant after all. CALL 0904 470 1170 (65p per minute)* Aquarius 21 JAN-19 FEB The Sun in Sagittarius does wonders for your ability to tune in to the spirit of the times. And with this week’s Full Moon heightening your perception further, everyone will be amazed by the accuracy of your insights. Don’t doubt your hunches – they are as reliable as facts. CALL 0904 470 1171 (65p per minute)* Pisces 20 FEB-20 MARCH This may be a difficult week for you because the Full Moon falls in one of the most volatile areas of your solar chart. Consequently, you could easily lose your temper over something trivial. As always, you will regain your composure, but loved ones may not be so forgiving. CALL 0904 470 1172 (65p per minute)* Aries 21 MARCH-20 APRIL Tomorrow’s Sun-Uranus aspect will bring to the fore all that is best in your birth sign – and it is odds-on you’ll do something so surprising that not even an astrologer could predict it. Whatever it is, it will make a difference far beyond your personal environment. CALL 0904 470 1161 (65p per minute)* Taurus 21 APRIL-21 MAY Both the Sun in Sag and the Full Moon in Gemini mean you’re well aware that some difficult decisions have to be made. But you’re also reluctant to part with more than you can afford. Unfortunately, unforeseen expenses mean you don’t have much choice in the matter. CALL 0904 470 1162 (65p per minute)* Gemini 22 MAY-21 JUNE This could be one of those annoying weeks when the more you learn about a situation, the less you seem to know. But is it really as complicated as it seems, or are your emotions confusing the issue? Leave it until the end of the week and the question will answer itself. CALL 0904 470 1163 (65p per minute)* Cancer 22 JUNE-23 JULY The best time to relax is when you don’t have time for it, because that’s exactly when you’re doing too much and must slow down. Your mind, body and emotions are all closely linked – if one is suffering just now, it’s only because you’ve pushed the others a bit too hard. CALL 0904 470 1164 (65p per minute)* Leo 24 JULY-23 AUG Don’t keep your good ideas to yourself – the more you share them, the more you increase your chances of success. A part of you may be reluctant to reveal what you have discovered, but another part knows you will need all the help you can get to turn your dreams into reality. CALL 0904 470 1165 (65p per minute)* Virgo 24 AUG-23 SEPT Do you have a fatalistic or an inflated view of yourself? Are you selling yourself short or expecting too much? This week’s Full Moon may cause you to doubt what you are doing, but only because you are thinking in absolutes. A more balanced view will calm your fears. CALL 0904 470 1166 (65p per minute)* Libra 24 SEPT-23 OCT Talk to someone as a friend rather than a potential enemy and you’ll find you’ve a lot more in common than either of you realised. With any luck, it will make you think twice in future before deciding if you like or dislike someone without getting to know them. CALL 0904 470 1167 (65p per minute)* Scorpio 24 OCT-22 NOV The longer you put off making changes that you know are necessary, the more painful they will have to be. So maybe it’s a blessing in disguise that a major issue is about to be taken out of your hands. However, don’t criticise others for doing what you couldn’t face. CALL 0904 470 1168 (65p per minute)* To discover more about yourself, visit sallybrompton.com *For a fuller forecast, call the number next to your star sign above. Calls cost 65p per minute plus your telephone company’s network access charge and will last no longer than 6 minutes. SP: DMG Mobile & TV. HELPLINE: 0808 272 0808

2016-12-10 20:02 Sally Brompton www.dailymail.co.uk

69 /100 2.3 YOU report: When the will won’t go your way More parents favouring one child over another, multiple marriages and the rise in property prices have led to a huge increase in inheritance disputes. Anna Moore reports on the anguish these family feuds can cause Although it was more than a decade ago, Marianne can still recall the moment she learned the contents of her late mother’s will. ‘My brother sent me a copy in the post,’ she says. ‘Until then, it had never crossed my mind that our mother would do anything other than share her possessions equally between my brothers and me. But I couldn’t see my name mentioned in the will. I kept reading and rereading it. And then, when I realised that my mother had left everything to my brothers, it felt as though I’d been physically attacked. Time stood still. I couldn’t stand up; I couldn’t breathe. I was in shock. I’ve been in therapy on and off ever since.’ Marianne is the only child from her mother’s first marriage. Her father died when she was two, and her mother remarried and had two sons. ‘They were my brothers, and their dad was the only dad I’d known,’ she says. ‘I thought we were a solid unit, a normal family.’ Marianne’s stepfather died first, leaving everything to her mother who lived until her late 80s. ‘I remained close by and had been there for her – visiting, doing shopping, collecting medicines,’ says Marianne, who is divorced with no children. ‘In the will, it was as if I’d never existed. Mum’s house, her savings, her belongings all went to her sons. I looked back at holidays, Christmases, birthdays in a different way. All those years, had I never been loved or wanted? My brothers accepted the terms of the will, and made no effort to contact me again. We haven’t spoken since – and I’ve never seen their children, my nieces and nephews. It wasn’t only about the money. I lost absolutely everything that day.’ While Marianne decided against challenging the will – fearing the financial and emotional cost – others do translate their pain and anger into legal action. There are few reliable figures on the number of inheritance disputes currently flying between solicitors, but lawyers across the country agree they are rising. Although cases reaching the High Court are the tip of the iceberg, figures revealed in 2013 showed a 700 per cent increase in these family feuds over the previous five years, while the latest figures show an 11 per cent hike between 2014 and 2015 of people challenging their parents’ estates. Ian Lane, head of wills and probate at London solicitors Hodge Jones & Allen, says it’s a ‘sign of our age. My experience in more than 40 years of practice is that challenging wills has become pretty commonplace,’ he says. ‘It used to happen with about one in 100 wills. Now it’s closer to ten in 100. We live longer, property is worth more, but I think the main reason is that families are more complicated now, with multiple marriages and competing interests.’ Occasionally, a bitter inheritance feud will burst into the headlines. The family of music producer and so-called ‘fifth Beatle’ George Martin is one example. George had left his first wife and two children Alexis and Greg in the 1960s for his secretary Judy Lockhart-Smith, and the couple went on to have two children together. When he died in March, aged 90, George left nothing to Greg in his will, while a sum of £325,000 was to be shared between Alexis, his former chauffeur, his secretary, three grandchildren and a niece. The remainder of his estate went to his wife Judy – and if she had died before him, he wanted it shared between their two children Giles and Lucie. Alexis, now 63, who had already felt sidelined by her father’s second family and frozen out of funeral plans, is now contemplating legal action. An emotional email sent to her half-sister Lucie shows that the will was simply the final layer in a lifetime of hurts. ‘There were so many examples I could cite over the years, both big and small, of how we were…treated as second class compared to you two and your kids,’ she wrote. In fact, children from first marriages feature heavily in recent cases. The aristocrat Jonathan Kemp, Lord Rochdale, has been embroiled in legal lockdown since his father left his £11.3 million estate to his second wife and her eldest son from a previous marriage. Lord Rochdale claims that his stepmother was ‘controlling, overbearing and forceful’ and poisoned his father’s mind. Meanwhile, magician Paul Daniels’s eldest son from his first marriage is at the centre of a furious row over his late father’s estate, which was left to his second wife of 28 years, Debbie McGee. In another recent example, Danielle Ames lost her challenge to her father’s £1 million legacy. Danielle provides care for her mother and her father’s elderly mother, and although she says her father had promised she would be ‘looked after’ in his will, he left everything to his second wife. (This in spite of his business being originally a family enterprise from his first wife’s – Danielle’s mother’s – side.) The ruling judge dismissed Danielle’s claim for a £300,000 share and advised her to get a job instead. But cases like this really aren’t about the pound signs, says psychologist Dr Lynne Jordan. ‘I’d say it’s rarely about the money itself, or at least not solely,’ she says. ‘Wills are seen as the “final message” from an important person in our lives so they carry a significance that goes far beyond financial matters. To family members, these can seem to set out on paper how much they were valued by the person who died.’ And when it comes to wills, that first rule of parenting – that you love and treat your children equally – can fly out of the window. ‘Some people do want to leave things equally,’ says Stephen Lawson, partner at FDR Law in Cheshire and member of the Society of Trust & Estate Practitioners. ‘Others may think one child needs it more, or that they have already given substantial financial aid to one child while they were alive and not the other. Sometimes, it’s a way of settling old scores and sometimes people are mischievous, too. They tell their child, “You’ll be all right in my will” as they want to keep you on your toes and may need you to do their shopping. ‘If there have been tensions bubbling for years, a will can bring these to the surface. Other times, it can create rifts that weren’t there before. Families who’d had Christmas dinner together last year find the next time they’re all together is around a lawyer’s table.’ Children of first families seem most likely to lose out. ‘It happens so often,’ says Ian Lane. ‘The children of the second marriage, or the current marriage, are much closer to the surviving spouse. Over the years, the children of the first marriage can become “the opposition”. I’ve seen it many times.’ Sometimes the current spouse can prevent someone from leaving anything to the children from a former marriage. It’s not that those children are loved less – more that the person acquiesces for an easy life. Chris Partington from Slater Heelis solicitors has such a client now. ‘This man has one child from his first marriage and two with his second wife,’ he explains. ‘When he and his wife die, he wants their estate split equally three ways – but when they come to the office, his wife says no. She says that he made a payout to his ex-wife when they divorced so the rest should be for their children alone. ‘This has been going on for a while and seems to be in stalemate. I have to say, I’m with him. Love comes in many guises and if he doesn’t leave things equal, his first child may see his legacy as proof that she wasn’t valued as highly as his other children.’ This is exactly how Jenny and her sister felt when their father left everything to his second wife – who then passed it on to their two children. ‘Dad walked out when we were teenagers,’ says Jenny. ‘Our relationship had been difficult, especially in the first five years after he left, as we were angry teens and the way Dad handled everything had been pretty despicable.’ Slowly, over decades, the relationship improved. When the sisters married, their father walked them down the aisle and when they had children of their own, he was a doting grandfather. ‘Getting nothing in his will – not even any kind of keepsake – was devastating,’ says Jenny. ‘It was as if all the years where we thought time had healed had never happened. Instead, you think of all the small hurts, the signs of what was to come, that we’d brushed aside. Dad had never spent a Christmas with us since the day he left. He often forgot our birthdays – whereas he always took his other children for meals on theirs. The will was final proof of what we really knew but never acknowledged: he loved us less.’ London-based psychotherapist Wendy Bristow began her training as a Cruse counsellor and has experience of clients reeling from unexpected wills. ‘One of the first things we’re told is that while you may think that bereavement will bring a family together, more often than not it can drive a wedge,’ she says. ‘The expression “maddened by grief” can be very accurate,’ she continues. ‘Death is an impossible thing to get your head around anyway – and at the same time you’re having to manage tricky family relationships, organise funerals and make practical decisions. Everyone can go a little bit crazy and if there’s something unexpected in the will, it can be very hard to think straight.’ The fact that any legal challenge usually needs to start within six months from the grant of probate means that decisions may be made under huge stress when emotions are sky high. ‘Going along to a solicitor and launching a battle can be a way of translating all the grief, hurt, anger and rejection into action,’ says Bristow. ‘It’s something you can do to express what you’re feeling – and also a way of punishing the people who have been favoured. But it can be punishing to you as well. ‘Ask yourself whether this is the best way to protect yourself. It means you’ll be living the issue for months or years in a protracted legal battle.’ Bristow advises anyone in this position to do a lot of talking first and, most crucially, to challenge the meanings they are drawing from the will – ‘this means he never loved me’, ‘everything has been a lie’. (See box, right.) ‘There are numerous explanations – pressure from a current partner, a desire to punish the ex, a belief that you don’t need the money, simply not wanting to rock the boat,’ she says. ‘Try not to get stuck in black-and-white thinking as it will make it very hard to move forward.’ ‘The way to avoid all of this, if you’re the person making the will, is to talk about it before you die,’ urges Chris Partington. ‘Writing a separate “letter of wishes”, which sets out exactly why you’re doing what you’re doing, can prevent a messy legal battle – but it’s still one step removed from actually saying it. We don’t like talking about money and we don’t like talking about death. But if you’re brave enough to do it, there’ll be no nasty surprises, no misunderstandings, no unanswered questions when you’re gone.’ Troubled legacies

2016-12-10 20:02 Anna Moore www.dailymail.co.uk

70 /100 0.4 HEALTH: Ease away a sore head Scalp massage has been practised in cultures worldwide for millennia to release tension. It can help banish neck ache, diffuse niggling headaches and be a potent aid to deep relaxation, as YOU tester Rosalind discovered when she had a treatment at the refurbished Macdonald Randolph Hotel spa in Oxford. Warmth helps release knots in muscles, so Rosalind relaxed in the steam room first. Spa therapist Elisha Charles started by stroking her feet with warm mitts dipped in scented water, then gently massaged her soles. Before starting the head massage, Elisha applied fragrant Elemis Frangipani Monoi Oil (£35, elemis.com ) to her scalp. Rosalind recommends having the treatment in the late afternoon before an early night. ‘The blissful sensations helped quieten the to-do list in my brain,’ she says. ‘I drifted off during the 25-minute treatment and slept really well later on, so I began the working week with a lovely clear head.’ Tranquil Touch Scalp Massage, from £37 for 25 minutes. Spa packages from £74; macdonaldhotels.co.uk The at-home scalp massage Nurture yourself – or another deserving person – with these simple techniques, perfect for reducing pre-Christmas frazzle. Use very gentle pressure and check with your doctor first if you have any health concerns, including recent head or neck injuries. 1 Link the fingers of both hands and place palms flat over the centre of the scalp, near the hairline. Gently press together for a few seconds and repeat along the centre line to the back of the head. Slowly take three deep belly breaths, inhaling for a count of four, holding for a moment and then exhaling to eight. 2 Separate your hands then walk your ring fingers alternately along the centre line from front to back, pressing gently on each ‘step’ for a few seconds. 3 Place the fingertips of each hand on either side of the centre line, just above the forehead. Using small circular movements, massage down and round both sides of the skull to the back. Then place fingertips a little further back on the centre line and repeat until you have covered the whole scalp. 4 Using your fingertip, press the bone behind the right ear from top to bottom. Then gently tilt the head towards the opposite ear. With long sweeping motions, move your fingers down the side of the neck and along the top of the shoulder. Massage along the muscle at the back of the shoulder and then sweep up the centre of the neck towards the back of the skull. Repeat on the other side. 5 Massage both temples simultaneously, working your fingertips in a circular motion. Q I am about to start my first round of IVF for unexplained infertility. I am anxious about the process and wonder if you can suggest anything to help? A Consultant gynaecologist and fertility expert Michael Dooley ( thepoundburyclinic.co.uk ) says it is vital to create time to accommodate the inevitable stress both at this stage and later. Vouchers for spa treatments make a wonderful present, but many spas are unwilling to take people who have been treated for cancer. One notable exception is Surrey’s Grayshott Spa, which offers the four-night Nurture & Support Post Cancer programme, specially designed by Espa founder Susan Harmsworth with Elaine Williams, Grayshott’s director of natural therapies. From £1,165 for four nights in a single room (grayshottspa.com). Spabreaks.com also offers Recovery Retreat packages, including spa days, for clients with cancer ( spabreaks.com/recovery_retreats ).

2016-12-10 20:01 Sarah Stacey www.dailymail.co.uk

71 /100 1.1 Jonathan Cahn's 'The Book of Mysteries' – $4.95 today only! Contact WND Imagine if you discovered a treasure chest in which were hidden ancient mysteries, revelations from heaven, secrets of the ages, the answers to man’s most enduring, age-old questions, and the hidden keys that can transform your life to joy, success, and blessing.

That is exactly what Jonathan Cahn delivers in his latest book, and today only, WND readers can get a copy of “The Book of Mysteries” for only $4.95 – an incredible $17 discount off the $21.99 retail price!

Cahn, who caused a national and international stir with the New York Times best-seller “The Harbinger” and then “The Mystery of the Shemitah,” now brings us a treasure chest containing some of the greatest mysteries of all time. The reader will discover life-transforming secrets, mind-blowing realities, and heart-changing revelations in such mysteries as the Face in the Waters, the Leper King, the Land of Gezarah, the Secret of the Third Prince, the House of Spirits, the Mystery of the Rains, How to Alter Your Past, the Second Scroll, the Similitude, the Mystery of the Eighth Day, and much more. “The Book of Mysteries” takes readers on a journey of divine revelation through ancient Scriptures, the laws of Creation, the deep of God’s Word, the hidden streams of history, the most important keys of spiritual truth, end-time mysteries, and the secrets of life.

“The Book of Mysteries” opens up with a traveler and his encounter with a man known only as “the teacher.” The teacher takes him on an odyssey through deserts, mountains, valleys, gardens and plains, encounters with nomadic tent dwellers, caverns and ancient ruins, chambers of scrolls and vessels, and more. The reader is taken along to partake in the journey and in all the teachings and revelations. The traveler keeps a journal in which he writes down each of the mysteries given to him by the teacher in his one-year odyssey – 365 different mysteries – one for each day of the year.

Thus, on top of everything else, “The Book of Mysteries” is also a daily devotional unlike any other. And each mystery contains a special mission for each day of the year, a mission that takes the revelation and applies it to reality for a life-changing journey. About the Author: Jonathan Cahn’s earth-shattering book “The Harbinger” became an instant New York Times best-seller and brought him to national and international prominence. It was followed by his second book, “The Mystery of the Shemitah,” which also became a New York Times best-seller. Long before these books he was known for opening the deep mysteries of Scripture and for teachings of prophetic import. He leads Hope of the World ministries, an international outreach of teaching, evangelism, and compassion projects for the needy. He also leads the Jerusalem Center/Beth Israel, a worship center made up of Jews and Gentiles, people of all backgrounds, just outside New York City, in Wayne, New Jersey. He is a much sought-after speaker and appears throughout America and the world.

Watch video trailer for “The Book of Mysteries” by Jonathan Cahn:

Save $17, get ‘The Book of Mysteries’ for only $4.95!

That’s right. Your eyes are not deceiving you. Right now, you can save a huge $17 off the cover price of Jonathan Cahn’s “The Book of Mysteries.”

Until tonight at 10 p.m. Pacific, you can get your copy for only $4.95 by taking advantage of this special offer, exclusively from WND.

But wait – it gets better. There’s another part to this deal. When you order “The Book of Mysteries” for just $4.95, we will also send you, FREE, three sizzling issues of WND’s critically acclaimed monthly magazine, Whistleblower.

Many readers consider Whistleblower to be simply the world’s best newsmagazine. Each issue focuses like a powerful laser on a single topic – from how to survive financial meltdown to understanding the secret agendas of America’s establishment elite – explored thoroughly, and with facts and insight such as you’ve never seen anywhere else. Recent issues include “KILLING JIHAD: Defeating the existential threat Obama says doesn’t exist”; “DEMOCRATS UNMASKED: A once-great political party has morphed into madness”; “AMERICA’S NURSE RATCHED: How President Hillary would turn the U. S. into an insane asylum”; “TRANS-MANIA: The left’s latest – and strangest – war on reality and normality”; and “PERSECUTION RISING: The growing abuse, imprisonment, torture and murder of Christians worldwide.”

So, for $4.95 you get a copy of “The Book of Mysteries,” plus you get three sample issues of Whistleblower – in hopes, of course, that you will do what most people do, which is to become a long-term Whistleblower subscriber.

(Note: This offer does not apply to current Whistleblower subscribers or those living outside the U. S. However, if you are already a Whistleblower subscriber, or if you want to subscribe now, we have an outstanding offer for you to check out! )

Important: For this very special $4.95 offer, you will receive “The Book of Mysteries” as well as three free issues of Whistleblower magazine. Also included with your free issues will be a renewal notice for a one-year Whistleblower subscription. If you wish to renew, do nothing, and your credit or debit card will be charged the low annual renewal rate of just $39.95. (There’s no risk, because at any time you can cancel your subscription for a full refund on the unused portion.) If you don’t want to renew, simply cancel by calling 1-800-4WNDCOM (800-496-3266) or by emailing [email protected] before the charge date printed on the renewal card you’ll receive. Either way, the book and the 3 free issues are yours to keep. (Only one copy of “The Book of Mysteries” at this price per household. Offer good only in the U. S.) Please note: If you like your three free Whistleblower issues and renew, when your Whistleblower subscription eventually expires, you’ll receive another renewal notice from us. To keep Whistleblower coming, do nothing and we’ll renew your subscription automatically at the low prevailing rate by charging your credit or debit card. As always, there’s never any risk, as you may cancel at any time for a full refund of the unused portion of your subscription.

Order your copy of “The Book of Mysteries” for only $4.95! Special offer ends tonight at 10 p.m. Pacific.

If you prefer to order by phone rather than online, call our toll-free customer-service line at 1- 800-4WND-COM (1-800-496-3266) between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Central.

Note: If you choose not to participate in this special promotional offer, you may order Jonathan Cahn’s “The Book of Mysteries” here.

2016-12-10 20:00 www.wnd.com

72 /100 0.3 JCPenney, Kohl’s, Macy’s and Sears sued over misleading prices By Kathryn Vasel

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Ever wonder just how good that sale price is?

Turns out, some deals might not be as good as they look.

The Los Angeles city attorney is suing four major retailers over claims that they deliberately inflated the original price on some items that misled customers into thinking they were getting a better deal.

“Customers have the right to be told the truth about the prices they’re paying — and to know if a bargain is really a bargain,” said Mike Feuer, city attorney for Los Angeles, in a release.

Feuer filed lawsuits against JCPenney, Kohl’s, Macy’s and Sears.

The lawsuits allege that the “misleading and deceptive false price advertising scheme” played a major role in the stores’ marketing strategies, and that the companies used false reference prices on “thousands of products.”

For instance, the lawsuit against Sears alleges it advertised a front-load washer with a false original price of $1,179.99, but the retailer never offered the item for more than $999.99 online in the roughly six months after it was first made available online for purchase.

The claim against Macy’s alleges it misleadingly offered a cross pendant necklace at 75% off. The lawsuit claims the necklace was first made available to purchase online in May for $30 with an original price of $120. However, it’s never been priced above $30 in the five months that followed, according the claim.

All four retailers declined to comment on the pending litigation.

California law prohibits retailers from advertising a price of an item unless it’s actually been on the market at that price within the last three months or the date when it was being sold at that price is made clear to shoppers.

Feuer is seeking injunctions to stop the retailers from continuing to advertise false reference prices along with a civil penalty of up to $2,500 for each violation.

The lawsuits claim that inflating the original price of items impacts consumer behavior since it can give a false perception of a sale’s value.

False prices are also an unfair method of competition, according to the lawsuits, since they can hurt competitors who sell the same or similar products with correct list prices.

2016-12-10 19:52 CNN Wire fox13now.com

73 /100 3.1 ‘RHONY’ Star Dorinda Medley Co-Hosts Holiday Charity Event In The Fight Against Human Trafficking It wouldn't be a party without these ladies! Thanks so much @ramonasinger @sonjatmorgan and @tinsleymortimer for supporting the @beautyforfreedom benefit x

A photo posted by Dorinda Medley (@dorindamedley) on Dec 9, 2016 at 1:21pm PST

“I’m so proud to be here. It’s a great cause to raise money for,” Dorinda told her guests, before noting that she owed quite a lot to her “partner” John Mahdessian in helping to organize the event. “I couldn’t have done it without him, really.”

Thank you for supporting our cause! #endhumantrafficking #givingback #beautiesforfreedom #Repost @johnmahdessian ・・・ Thanks for having us.

A photo posted by Beauty For Freedom (@beautyforfreedom) on Dec 8, 2016 at 4:47am PST

Beauty for Freedom founders Amer Nassar, MD, Nancy Qsorio-Batista, and Ford Model Monica Watkins, describe the non-profit as an “innovative, sustainable platform” that provides the industries of “beauty, entertainment and fashion with a means to raise awareness, accountability, and financial contributions for charitable foundations and non-profits who fight human trafficking globally through public campaigns, workshops, and fundraising events.”

According to the National Human Trafficking Hotline (NHTH), 5,357 calls have been made in New York alone since 2007, resulting in 1,521 cases and 1,744 victims. So far, 262 human trafficking cases have been reported in New York this year; 194 were reported as sex trafficking cases.

The NHTH lists the following as potential indicators in most trafficking cases:

Check out our @celebritypagetv holiday event teaser from the holiday party/fundraiser at @bagatellenyc this past Wed. and if you are in need of holiday gifts, visit our @charitybuzz online auction at https://www.charitybuzz.com/support/beautyforfreedom (link in bio) and place your bids on some of the fabulous items you see here! We are so grateful to @dorindamedley Mike Kelley @caroleradziwill and all of the incredible donors to the auction! Place your bids and support our advocacy programming and arts therapy programming for survivors globally! Video filmed and Edited by @therealemj

A video posted by Beauty For Freedom (@beautyforfreedom) on Dec 9, 2016 at 12:46pm PST

“There is nothing worse than a young woman or girl being ripped from her family and ‘sold’ into human slavery ending her quality of life,” Dorinda told Celebrity Page TV. “We must end this globally and I hope my small amount of notoriety can help end this huge epidemic.”

Celebrity Page TV filmed the event as a part of its “Giving Issue,” in which 12 of the most giving celebrities are honored. According to a press release, the segment will include interviews with celebrities Dorinda Medley, Carole Radziwill, Richard Kind, 8ky of LMFAO, and others, on the importance of giving back, their favorite charities, and ways viewers can donate.

Among glasses of LaCroix sparkling water and bottles of Blanc de Bleu provided by Bronco Wine Company, guests were greeted with holiday-themed hors d’oeuvres, pastries, and festive music. Deep Eddy Vodka also had a hand in sponsoring the bar, serving attendees with unique, holiday-themed cocktails including: Dorinda’s Dirty (Martini), made with classic Deep Eddy Vodka dirty martini, a touch of vermouth olive essence and olives; the Classic “Snow Cold” Martini, consisting of classic Deep Eddy Vodka, a touch of vermouth, olives or a twist; a Christmas Cranberry Cosmo, made with Deep Eddy Cranberry Vodka, a splash of Cointreau, cranberry juice, and a lime; the Merry Cranberry Spritzer, made with Deep Eddy Vodka, Deep Eddy Cranberry Vodka, pineapple juice, and a splash of lime topped with sparkling Santa’s Fizz; and finally, the Santa’s Fizz, chilled sparkling Deep Eddy Cranberry Vodka floater.

[Featured Image by Rob Rich/Society Allure]

2016-12-10 19:47 Tabitha Shiflett www.inquisitr.com

74 /100 3.7 Report: Trump to Nominate Democrat Heidi Heitkamp to Agriculture Secretary President-elect Donald Trump is expected to name North Dakota Democratic Sen. Heidi Heitkamp Agriculture Secretary, according to news reports. Trump has been considering Heitkamp for Agriculture or Energy secretary, according to Politico.

They met at Trump Tower in New York earlier this month.

2016-12-10 19:44 Todd Beamon www.newsmax.com

75 /100 1.1 Darwin and the XY chromosome Anthropologists usually investigate quaint indigenous human cultures of the present or past such as the Aleut people in Alaska, the Maasi of Africa, the New Zealand Maori or, for that matter, the ancient Hebrews in this part of the world. But few in this social sciences specialty look specifically at half of all people in the world – men. Richard G. Bribiescas, a professor of anthropology, ecology and evolutionary biology at Yale University in Connecticut, uses an evolutionary magnifying glass to study males and how they change as they get older. His 177-page hardcover book How Men Age: What Evolution Reveals about Male Health and Mortality, just published by Princeton University Press (around $22) will captivate men – and women – interested in what makes males tick at a variety of ages. It contains a lot of scientific language to digest in the fields of genetics, endocrinology and anthropology, but it is also provocative and full of humor and personal stories, plus it has 32 pages of careful notes and an index.

Be the first to know - Join our Facebook page.

The deputy provost for faculty development and diversity at the Connecticut university is in his 50s and self-described as having something of a paunch, no children by an intentional decision with his wife and a gift for understanding and assessing research. His most important academic work involves the evolutionary biology and endocrinology of human and comparative life histories, reproduction, aging and metabolism. He has conducted field research among the Ache people of Paraguay and populations in Japan, Venezuela, Ecuador and the US, as well as various species of non-human primates. Bribiescas received his bachelor’s degree in anthropology and psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles, followed by a master’s degree and PhD in anthropology from Harvard University. WHILE MUCH biomedical research has dealt with the health of older men, it did not include evolutionary biology of the type promoted by Charles Darwin. But Bribiescas is the first to investigate how evolutionary theory can improve our understanding of men’s health and well-being, how natural selection affected male aging and how older men may have contributed to the evolution of some of the very traits that make men human. Although the author and many others firmly believe in human evolution, Bribiescas notes that according to a Gallup poll two years ago, 42% of the American public believes that evolution had no part in the emergence of humans. “This is an astonishing and dreadful figure. Not only is evolution by natural selection a central to understanding our past, but it will surely affect our future.” No organism, he continues, “is immune to the effects of natural selection. What does change are the agents of selection. Death, morbidity and mortality are primary agents of change. We will all be cleared out, perhaps as a species, surely as individuals. The question is how that change will unfold and how older men will be enmeshed.” To the uninitiated, biological evolution is defined as descent with modification. According to evolution scholars at the University of California at Berkeley, this definition “encompasses small- scale evolution (changes in gene frequency in a population from one generation to the next) and large-scale evolution (the descent of different species from a common ancestor over many generations). Evolution helps us to understand the history of life.” It is not simply a matter of change over time. “The central idea of biological evolution is that all life on Earth shares a common ancestor, just as you and your cousins share a common grandmother. Through the process of descent with modification, the common ancestor of life on Earth gave rise to the fantastic diversity that we see documented in the fossil record and around us today.” Evolution, the California scholars continue, “means that we’re all distant cousins: humans and oak trees, hummingbirds and whales.” In general, evolutionary processes have affected the health of all mankind. But while women have their own problems from breast and ovarian cancer and a variety of autoimmune diseases, males age less successfully and live shorter lives than females. The author “vaguely remembers” already on page one that his father had black hair. Most of the time Bribiescas remembers him, Dad had a silver mane and moustache, “sort of a mix between Clark Gable and Cesar Romero.” Except for mild diabetes and minor back problems, he enjoyed relatively good health for most of his life. He didn’t smoke after the age of 40. “Charles Darwin and my father both lived to the age of 73. Both married, fathered children, had their share of health issues and were outlived by their wives,” he recalled. “While my father did not write any books, venture to the Galapagos or have the fame of Darwin, both ultimately succumbed to the effects of aging and died of heart failure... Although he was not a biologist and not very familiar with physiology, hormones or the biological bits and bobs of aging, I am certain that during his later years, he understood that he was not the man he had been when he was 20... By any measure, evolutionary or otherwise, my father was a success.” Discussing a variety of species, including birds and primates beneath man, the author offers new ideas on aging and even what roles senior-but-still-healthy males could fill in the future. He notes that chimpanzees are not very good fathers, as they leave provision of food and care of babies to the females. “With a few exceptions such as certain South American monkeys, most mammalian males are unlikely to earn a ‘World’s Best Dad’ coffee mug on Father’s Day.” Yet human males, despite their macho reputations, can be excellent fathers and help mothers with raising children rather than just supporting them financially or even – in the case of homosexual fathers, into which he does not go into depth – be excellent fathers without women. Women usually live longer than men, he said, even though couples “eat the same food, live the same sort of lives physically and pay the same attention to their health.” Nevertheless, he continues, his wife is “statistically liable to last right up to when she picks out my headstone” and beyond. Asking why it is that animal fathers invest so little in caring for their children, he answers that one evolutionary explanation is that “caring for offspring requires knowing who your offspring are – known to anthropologists as paternal uncertainty.” While perhaps one to 10 out of 100 people’s beliefs on who their biological father is turns out to be mistaken, animals of all kinds are usually unable to know who Dad is. Just getting married (or being in a longterm relationship with a woman) and knowing who their offspring are reduces the amount of testosterone they produce, making men less aggressive and even safer drivers, Bribiescas notes. Too much testosterone and other hormones can trigger shrinking muscles, prostate swelling and cancer, more body fat, erectile dysfunction, hair loss and shorter life expectancies than in women. In fact, if you’ve reached 30, your male hormone levels have already hit their peak, but men are not doomed to failure as a result of this decline. All these negative effects of male hormones may even have caused positive distinguishing features to come out in men such as high rates of fertility, positive parenting and improved longevity. He points out that the effects of testosterone involve a matter of averages. There are still fathers who abandon their children, get drunk and beat them or even murder them. Evolutionary theory, he continues, suggests that in environments with lots of hazards and a low probability of living a long life, caring for offspring may take a backseat to more risky reproductive strategies such as seeking out additional mates instead of investing in family. The author cites actors Robert De Niro and Rod Stewart as siring children when they were in their seventh decade. Having lower levels of testosterone can make older men have more fat, which is not necessary less attractive to females. Pudgy older fathers live longer, are more attractive to the opposite sex and are better at passing on their genes than their leaner counterparts, Bribiescas maintains. But at the same time, less testosterone makes it harder for males to fight off infections and various illness compared to females. In addition, women go to the doctor and undergo lab tests more than women, who generally take better care of themselves. Bribiescas works hard to explain why women go into menopause around their sixth decade, while men remain fertile even until death in senescence. Women commonly have a lifespan that extends decades beyond menopause. It has been suggested that women are unable to reproduce in middle age to increase their ability to survive and raise their children to adulthood. Being fertile for many more years but then dying after menopause would not make sense. “Menopause is a physiological constraint that emergences from the biochemical limitations of ova viability.” But the most commonly cited evolutionary explanation for menopause, he continues, is the “Grandmother Hypothesis,” in which women are “allowed” to live decades after their menstrual period ends so they have time to help their daughters take care of their children, allowing them to have even more. Bribiescas argues that older men have not only been affected by evolution up to now, but through natural selection, they are also “likely to play a major role in shaping our evolutionary future. Looking at the history of other organisms, we can draw some conservative predictions about the future of Homo sapiens.” Until recent centuries, bad eyesight used to be almost inevitable in the elderly, affecting their ability to hunt, forage, work and generally cope with the daily needs of life, the anthropologist continues. “Those with terrible eyesight, like me, would have been at a distinct disadvantage compared to those who could see clearly.” Eyeglasses, however, have factored into the future of the species… Technology and new tools will continue to play an important role in our evolution.” He points out that family planning also has the potential to change natural selection in humans. “Since older men tend to hold the reins of economic and political power in most societies, their role in controlling resources, including emerging technologies and shaping human fertility and mortality in a non-random fashion is all but certain. In other words, whatever evolution has in store for us, older men almost surely will have a major influence,” especially as they control conflict and warfare around the world. Bribiescas argues that given man’s aggressiveness over the millennia, it would be advisable to “amplify the role of women in positions of leadership and influence.” Concluding his thoughts about his father, Darwin and chimpanzees, the author writes that “they all shared the commonality of aging as a male and were the culmination of millions of years of evolution… Their reproduction likely accelerated their aging, hormones changed over time and caused them to get rounder around the middle, and more than a few hairs turned gray. But that’s OK. Natural selection does not form flawless organisms. It tinkers and muddles through with what was handed down from previous generations.” Considering all that has happened, he writes that humans and older men in general have done “pretty well and have a tremendous capacity to make the world better.”

While evolutionary biology and longer lives have awarded men with problematic health issues, older males have helped “make the human condition a bit more tolerable and maybe even improved it, such as the emergency of fathers caring for children, pudgy bellies for cats and grandchildren to snooze on and perhaps a few more years for everyone to enjoy the wonderful absurdity of life,” he muses.

Relevant to your professional network? Please share on Linkedin

Think others should know about this? Please share

| |

2016-12-10 19:43 JUDY SIEGEL www.jpost.com

76 /100 1.2 The Eurodollar Market: It’s Not Working! Today we discuss the largest wholesale funding market in the world, the eurodollar market, and how its “normal” form of functioning has dramatically changed, causing all manner of problems in the global economy.

In last week’s post we discussed shadow banking at its finest: the eurodollar market. It was the precursor to this article and so if you’ve not read it then it’ll be useful to do so here before reading this article.

In that article I mentioned that the eurodollar financing market has never returned to the levels prior to the GFC. Let’s first retrace the steps to understand what exactly has happened since the central banks all “saved us” from annihilation. In doing so I hope to lay the foundation for my belief as to why it is that some 8 years on the world is still mired in lacklustre growth, rising inequality, and this prolonged recession, which never seems to want to go away.

Everyone senses that things have changed, they’re different, out of sync… wrong. But why?

Let’s dig in…

Central bank responses to the GFC were that the federal funds target was at the zero lower bound as the Fed attempted to provide stimulus through unsterilized purchases of Treasury and mortgage-backed securities (MBS), or what is popularly referred to as quantitative easing (QE).

Between 2009 and 2014, the Fed threw three rounds of QE at the global economic wall praying that at least one would stick. And so, like trying to carve a pineapple with a plastic spoon, failing, and then attacking the pineapple with yet more plastic spoons, the Fed took something NOT working to be evidence that quantity and size is the problem rather than strategy. Genius.

The third round of QE was completed in October 2014 at which point the Fed’s balance sheet was $4.5 trillion — five times its pre-crisis size. Quite some price to pay, and for what?

The Fed weren’t alone in this. Our sake drinking friends were at it too, giving new meaning to the phrase “big in Japan”, as were the Europeans and Brits. All in all, quite simply unprecedented and extremely unorthodox coordinated central bank actions.

All this intervention by central banks was designed to get the credit markets cranking again. Lower interest rates being the primary mechanism and central bank balance sheets bearing the burden.

Let me just say that for anyone who’s spent some time understanding how an economy functions, you’ll realise that shifting rates to negative is bat shit crazy. If you think about how the capitalist system operates, you realise that we need a complete overhaul of education systems in the developed world, if all it does is puke up the kind of intellect currently running central banks.

Case in point:

Ask any money manager what the risk free discount rate should be and they don’t have an answer for you. Risk managers, you know those guys managing your pension funds, the insurance portfolios, mutual funds, and quite frankly every asset manager on earth with just a fraction of a clue, has to use some rate in whatever model he’s constructed. Since it’s now so difficult to know what the “real” rate is, asset prices are wildly skewed as a consequence.

Central banks, in trying to stimulate the global economy, created an environment where increasingly the risk free rate approaches 0%. I’ve seen some models whereby the risk free rate used accelerates towards infinity, using linear progression (I’ve spoken about linear thinking in a dynamic world before). Explain to me how that works because I can’t fathom it. In such a world or with such a theory risk disappears all together. Nirvana!

That’s a real consequence of central banks actions. Severe distortions in asset prices globally.

Although QE at the Fed has since ended, they announced the intention to maintain the balance sheet at its current level for the time being. In September 2014, the Fed announced a framework for normalizing monetary policy after QE, explaining that they would raise interest rates despite a large balance sheet.

The strategy was to mainly raise the rate of interest paid to banks on reserves and by engaging in reverse repurchase agreements (reverse repos). Quite a few money managers figured they were calling the markets’ bluff.

So we’re all familiar with the monetary policies but let me bring this back to the eurodollar market.

Some of the most notable signs that the interbank lending market, of which eurodollars plays the most significant part, isn’t functioning correctly is seen in the repo market.

Now think of all the government securities issued. Well, these securities can act as collateral much like your house can act as collateral for a mortgage. A repo is short for a repurchase agreement and they’re used for short term borrowing.

So a dealer or any holder of a government security such as T-bills sells them to a lender and agrees to repurchase them at an agreed price at a future date. In this respect it’s a simple forward rate agreement. They are therefore really attractive for 2 main reasons:

As a result they’re considered virtually risk free and typically super liquid. The problem, and this was highlighted to me by Jeff Snider at Alhambra Investment Partners (BTW, Jeff’s work is excellent) is that we’ve had repeated repo fails since 2014.

Essentially what we have is the market refusing securities as collateral. Hmmm…

Now, as a quick aside. Other collateral enters the system as reverse repos.

So for example, if you want to enter the market but don’t have treasuries to provide as collateral, you can go into the secondary market and purchase those Treasuries using, say, junk bonds. You post your junk bonds as collateral, receive the Treasuries, and then use those Treasuries as collateral in the repo market. This naturally involves a higher spread cost but that’s essentially how it works.

Now when any of the underlying collateral fails as happened in 2007 and 2008 when mortgage bonds were rejected as collateral the knock on effect is felt in the repo market and liquidity dries up in a hurry.

Generally speaking in any crisis it’s reasonable to expect particular assets to be rejected as collateral as those assets are being repriced by the market. After all, if you’re unsure of what the price of any asset used as collateral is going to be tomorrow morning, then you’re a few sandwiches short of a picnic if you enter into any agreement to repurchase the asset again without figuring out how much risk you’re taking on the ultimate market price of the asset.

Now, to be clear there are two reasons that the repo market can fail:

Credit risk would be a sign that the collateral is not of high enough quality. And liquidity risk would be a sign of a dollar funding shortage.

I believe that a combination of the two are at play. Government securities are still considered high quality collateral but other markets clearly are not. Junk bonds, mortgage backed securities, corporate paper, and so forth are in question.

So we’ve had repeated repo fails. This means that funding as it should function isn’t taking place which is contractionary despite all the easing central banks have

2016-12-10 19:25 Capitalist Exploits www.valuewalk.com

77 /100 0.0 Funds allocated for public land projects LAS VEGAS (AP) - More than $79 million set aside under the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act will fund 30 conservation and recreation initiatives.

The initiatives include improvements for visitors to Hoover Dam and the acquisition of a large conservation easement outside of Carson City to protect natural and cultural resources, reported the Las Vegas Review-Journal (http://bit.ly/2gg8dkH).

The land management act has distributed $3.5 billion for Nevada projects since 1998.

Projects in this latest round of funding include $12.4 million for the easement to protect Jacks Valley Ranch.

The only project outside the state will use $6 million to extend the Colorado River Heritage Trail into Arizona. The project will be located at the southern portion of Lake Mead National Recreation Area.

Bureau of Land Management Director Neil Kornze made the project funding announcement on Wednesday at Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.

“I am excited to be back in my home state to announce these important community projects,” said Kornze, who grew up in Elko. “These investments will strengthen outdoor opportunities in the Las Vegas Valley and in many of Nevada’s small towns.”

He said the program has funded $150 million in improvements at the site.

“That’s something that never would have happened otherwise,” he said.

___

Information from: Las Vegas Review-Journal, http://www.lvrj.com

2016-12-10 19:24 By www.washingtontimes.com

78 /100 1.9 Pet cat disappears from Illinois home, turns up 700 miles away in NC RALEIGH, N. C. – A pet cat disappeared from his home in Illinois and somehow ended up more than 700 miles away in North Carolina.

The News & Observer reported that Roy Finley recently drove 24 hours to be reunited with his pet cat Lazarus.

Finley lives in southern Illinois and is still trying to figure out how Lazarus ended up in Raleigh, N. C.

Lazarus was found in a Raleigh neighborhood a few weeks after disappearing and was taken to the vet for a microchip inspection.

Finley told the paper his cat may have hitched a ride with some hunters that were recently in Illinois.

Cats can sprint up to 30 mph, so it is possible Lazarus could have reached Raleigh in 24 days if he sprinted nonstop, according to the paper. “The main question I’ve been asked 100 times so far,” Finley said, “is how does a cat get to North Carolina. We asked him questions about what happened. Every so often, we get a meow out of him.”

2016-12-10 19:21 Web Staff myfox8.com

79 /100 0.3 Carrie Bickmore says raising $1.2 million for brain cancer research has helped her feel connected to her late husband Greg Lange It's been almost six years since Carrie Bickmore lost her husband Greg Lange to a long battle with brain cancer. But The Project host told Steallar magazine on Sunday, she still feels close to him as she continues his legacy through her established Carrie’s Beanies For Brain Cancer. 'It’s a strange thing, but I guess it’s wanting to know that person is still with you in some way,' she added. The TV personality used her Logie Awards acceptance speech in 2015 as a tribute to her late husband, encouraging everyone to wear a beanie the following day to show their support to brain cancer sufferers. The movement snowballed and soon the popular personality launched her charity, selling beanies to fund vital research against the disease. Carrie's Beanies For Brain Cancer then completely sold out over winter, with Carrie now announcing she has raised more than her goal of one million in the past year. 'I’m humbled by everyone’s support and generosity. I can’t believe we’ve raised $1.2 million in just over a year,' Carrie said.

2016-12-10 19:10 Candice Jackson www.dailymail.co.uk

80 /100 0.0 Health Scan: Potential therapy to eliminate HIV virus It may take years to benefit patients around the world, but an Israeli company says that a new HIV therapy has managed to eliminate 97% of the virus in 10 patients at Kaplan Medical Center in Rehovot. Called Gammora, the treatment has been produced by the Zyon Pharmaceutical company, which claims “the dramatic results give the company reason to believe Gammora will [also] be able to eliminate carcinogenic cells of all types. Clinical trials will start shortly in 12 cancer types in three medical centers; Zyon Pharmaceutical, in collaboration with drug developer Prof. Abraham Loyter from the Hebrew University’s Institute of Life Sciences and Prof. Zev Sthoeger, head of Kaplan’s AIDS Institute recently presented the results of initial small trials. In the next phase of the trial, the newly-developed drug will be given to patients as “compassionate use” with permission from the Health Ministry.

Be the first to know - Join our Facebook page. Zyon maintains that its method is a new way to eliminate cells that carry the HIV virus genome, which is the direct cause of AIDS. When a person contracts HIV, the virus enters the person’s cells, undergoing activation into that person’s genetic material. For various reasons, and unlike other viral infections, the body of the person infected with HIV cannot destroy the virus. Gammora works with unique peptides (short protein segments) derived from integrase proteins expressed by the HIV virus and required for the viral infection process. These peptides cause multiple replications of the viral DNA to enter the infected cell instead of just one. This, in turn, triggers the cell’s self-destruction mechanism in a process called apoptosis. Gammora impacts only the cells infected by the virus and not healthy ones. In this respect, the company says, it has an advantage over existing drugs since no adverse impact is expected to healthy cells, hence no side effects. The researchers concluded that increased integration of the viral DNA into the chromosomes of the infected cell can enable complete elimination of the HIV-infected cells. The company claimed that in view of the dramatic results and preliminary trials performed on carcinogenic cells, the drug under development will be able to destroy all types of carcinogenic cells. Its sister company Zyon Biomedic is expected to start clinical trials on 12 types of cancer in several Israeli medical centers. WHO HAS BETTER MEMORY – MEN OR WOMEN? In the battle of the sexes, women have long claimed that they can remember things better and longer than men can. A new study proves that middle-aged women outperform age-matched men on all memory measures, although memory does decline as women enter postmenopause. The study was recently published in Menopause, the journal of The North American Menopause Society (NAMS). Memory loss is, unfortunately a well- documented consequence of the aging process. Epidemiological estimates suggest that approximately 75% of older adults report memory-related problems. Women report increased forgetfulness and “brain fog” during the menopause transition. In addition, women are disproportionately at risk for memory impairment and dementia compared with men. Despite these conditions working against them, middle-aged women still outscore their similarly aged male counterparts on all memory measures, according to the study. The cross-sectional study of 212 men and women aged 45 to 55 years assessed episodic memory, executive function, semantic processing, and estimated verbal intelligence through cognitive testing. Associative memory and episodic verbal memory were assessed using a Face-Name Associative Memory Exam and Selective Reminding Test. In addition to comparing gender differences, the study also found that premenopausal and perimenopausal women outperformed postmenopausal women in a number of key memory areas. Declines in estradiol levels in postmenopausal women were specifically associated with lower rates of initial learning and retrieval of previously recalled information, while memory storage and consolidation were maintained.

“Brain fog and complaints of memory issues should be taken seriously,” said Dr. JoAnn Pinkerton, executive director of NAMS. “This study and others have shown that these complaints are associated with memory deficits.”

Relevant to your professional network? Please share on Linkedin

Think others should know about this? Please share | |

2016-12-10 19:10 JUDY SIEGEL www.jpost.com

81 /100 4.2 Decade-long drug war has left deep scars on Mexican society but brutal turf wars continue A decade after Mexican troops were unleashed against drug cartels, the country will mark the anniversary without fanfare on Sunday, with murders rising again and the military eager to return to barracks. President Enrique Pena Nieto, who inherited the drug war when he took office in December 2012, has promised his countrymen and women a “Mexico in peace”. His government has created a new federal police force and imprisoned or killed several drug kingpins, but Pena Nieto has kept troops on the ground despite allegations of abuses and criticism from human rights groups. The administration has no events planned to commemorate the controversial deployment that was launched by his predecessor, Felipe Calderon, on December 11, 2006. Only 10 days after taking office, Calderon deployed some 5,000 troops to his western home state of Michoacan – the start of a militarised campaign against drug trafficking. Calderon’s six-year term was marked by a surge in murders, rising from 10,253 in 2007 to a peak of 22,852 in 2011. The figure dropped in the first two years of Pena Nieto’s presidency, only to rise again in 2015. Although murders remain well under the worst years of Calderon’s presidency, there were 17,063 homicides in the first 10 months of 2016, already surpassing last year’s 12-month total of 17,034. Much of the bloodshed is blamed on ultra-violent turf wars between drug gangs. The government has captured major fugitives, such as the Sinaloa drug cartel’s powerful leader, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman. But the weakening of major drug cartels such as the Beltran Leyva, Zetas, Gulf and Knights Templar has led to. “The war has become much more complex. The level of death has escalated,” said Raul Benitez Manaut, a security expert at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. The drug cartels have terrorised the population by leaving the decapitated bodies of their rivals on roadsides or hanging them on bridges, while mass graves are regularly found in the countryside. Police have been accused of colluding with criminals while soldiers and marines have faced allegations of committing torture, extrajudicial killings and sexual abuse. Even Defence Minister Salvador Cienfuegos agrees that troops do not belong in a law enforcement role. “We didn’t ask to be here. We don’t like it. We didn’t study how to chase criminals,” Cienfuegos said. He said he would be the first to raise “not one, but two hands” in favour of returning troops to barracks. Although Pena Nieto acknowledged on Friday that the armed forces were doing tasks that “don’t correspond to them in the strictest sense,” he insisted that they are “determined to continue” policing the streets. But Javier Oliva, a Mexican security expert at the London School of Economics, said “there is no strategy” and the troops are always one step behind. Drug consumption in the US, meanwhile, has not ceased and the legalisation of marijuana in several US states has prompted drug cartels to step up production of heroin while synthetic drugs proliferate. In Mexico,. In 2010, 72 Latin American migrants were slaughtered by the Zetas drug cartel in the northeastern state of Tamaulipas after they refused to be recruited by the gang. In 2014, 43 students were abducted by corrupt police in the southern opium poppy-producing state of Guerrero. Authorities initially said the officers handed the students to the Guerreros Unidos drug cartel, which killed them, but independent experts have questioned that conclusion, leaving the mysterious case open. The 43 young men have become a symbol of the 28,000 people who have vanished in Mexico in the past decade. “The stories are terrible. We no longer know where the state starts and crime ends,” said Javier Sicilia, a poet-turned-activist who founded the Movement for Peace and Justice after his son was murdered in 2011. Sicilia, who led peace caravans across Mexico and the US, has lost faith in the government. “We want them to step aside,” he said. “There’s nothing to ask to the state. It must be changed, refounded.” A monument was built in Mexico City in honour of the victims of violence – a series of rusted metal slabs featuring quotes from famous writers. “It’s an insult to the victims,” Sicilia said. “It’s the monument to the common grave. There are no names, no stories.”

2016-12-10 19:02 Agence France www.scmp.com

82 /100 2.6 Artificial Intelligence Program Writes A Christmas Carol With Moments Of Cheer And Darkness [Video] An artificial intelligence program has written a Christmas carol. Sort of.

The scientists simply uploaded the photograph into a computer hosting the program and then “let it do its thing.” The artificial intelligence program then wrote several lines of lyrics and sang them to music it composed during the process.

All things considered, the results were impressive, but the artificial intelligence-generated Christmas carol still falls flat in many ways.

#ArtificialIntelligence writes its own Christmas song based on just 1 festive photo https://t.co/tVxEUrDpDI #AI #MachineLearning #BigData pic.twitter.com/WR2VKp6E7b

— Bismart (@Bismart2009) November 30, 2016

Despite the shortcomings of the carol, the researchers who developed the artificial intelligence that penned it are very proud of the accomplishment and see several possible applications for such a program.

Sanja Fidler, another professor in the University of Toronto Department of Computer Science, echoes Urtasun’s sentiment. “You can imagine having an AI channel on Pandora or Spotify that generates music, or takes people’s pictures and sings about them,” Fidler said. “It’s about what can deep learning do these days to make life more fun?”

“Once trained, the program can take a musical scale and melodic profile and produce a simple 120-beats-per-minute melody,” Sample writes. “It then adds chords and drums.”

While the researchers at the University of Toronto are pleased with the results of the Christmas carol their artificial intelligence created, others have pointed out that the song is, predictably, awkward and even has a bit of dark side to it.

#ArtificialIntelligence #AI attempt to write a #xmas #song ?!? https://t.co/PAJkXFcOwE #generative #music #technology #science #cognition

— Ephemeral Media (@EphemeralMedia) December 10, 2016

Looking at some of the lines the neural karaoke artificial intelligence program crafted, such as “I’ve always been there for the rest of our lives” and “I can hear the music coming from the hall,” Purdom takes a whimsical and perhaps exaggeratively anxious view on potential underlying themes in the song.

“Why the f*ck is there music coming from the hall?” Purdom asks.

“Who is out there, and what are they doing? Why will “you” always be here, singer? These are not lyrics, they are the moans of the damned, trapped between this world and something beyond it, just conscious enough to know they are not at rest.”

In reference to the researchers suggesting one could imagine a Pandora or Spotify station playing songs composed by artificial intelligence, Purdom jokes that might be a bad idea.

“They are correct: You can imagine that,” Purdom writes. “You just may not want to. Science fiction has taught us not to trust singing robots, let alone ones with tidings as dire as these.”

In the end, the Christmas carol produced by the neural karaoke artificial intelligence may not be perfect, but, like the researchers suggest, it definitely shows potential…for something.

[Featured image by Sean Gallup/Getty Images]

2016-12-10 19:00 Darien Cavanaugh www.inquisitr.com

83 /100 1.9 Man builds incredible DRAGON shaped castle for his cat It's any cat's dream. A devoted cat lover has built his spoilt feline a cardboard fortress in the shape of a dragon, complete with ramps, stepping planks and storage for his toys. The cat palace was built by a man called Sam for his pet cat Dinni, and incredible photos show just how far his devotion to his pet has taken him. I designed this new cardboard cat tower with moving parts, giving Dinni alternative movement around the tower,' he wrote. 'Some stepping planks that can be pulled out, ramps, sliding windows and some storage draws for his toys.' But, like all cats, Dinni soon lost interest in his dinosaur abode. No longer tempted by the design, Sam set out to build a second, even more elaborate, castle. 'Dinni liked his last tower. He liked being up high, surveying the room and us - but he didn’t use the stairs or the intricate walkway that I built,' Sam said. 'He just made his own way up, the quickest way.' Sam also admitted that perhaps some of the features were for his own sense of achievement and not Dinni's enjoyment. 'I must confess that the last cat house I made was more for me rather than the cat,' he said. 'At one point, Dinni had grown a lot bigger and needed more space. A new tower was in order. 'I tried to emulate a tree a little, with platforms extruding out and tall walls he can climb up, and, of course, added flags (which he hated and tore down).' Now that's one fussy cat.

2016-12-10 18:56 Charlotte Mortlock www.dailymail.co.uk

84 /100 3.1 A neighbor was asked to clean a home. She found a grenade in the oven. A neighbor helping to clean a vacated mobile home discovered a grenade strapped to a package with a highly flammable substance Saturday morning, according to the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.

The device was removed safely, and no injuries were reported.

The 82-year-old resident of the mobile home in K and K Mobile Home Park in Bradenton, Florida, had moved out on Thursday, when his 56-year-old son came and took him back to Lufkin, Texas, with him, according to a news release.

Before they left, the son asked a neighbor to clean up the mobile home and pack up all of his father’s belongings, the release said.

On Saturday morning, the neighbor opened the home’s oven and found a pineapple-style grenade strapped to a package with duct tape, deputies said.

One of the gas burners on the stove was turned on, but the flame was not lit, the neighbor told deputies. The neighbor shut off the burner and left the mobile home, the release said. The sheriff’s office was called, and the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office bomb squad and the Manatee County hazardous materials team responded. Authorities said the smell of leaking natural gas was noticeable throughout the mobile home.

The bomb squad confirmed that the device was a grenade and that the substance secured to the grenade was highly flammable nitrocellulose in solid form.

The sheriff’s office contacted the Lufkin Police Department in Texas, which was then able to contact with the resident and his son.

The son was “understanding and cooperative assisting in any further searches necessary,” according to the release.

The Jasper County Sheriff’s Office in Texas was notified and along with Lufkin police and will be handling “any further issues” with the father because he lives in those jurisdictions, the release said.

K and K community manager John Va Houten said that around 9 a.m. Saturday, the man who lived in the mobile home was moving out and neighbors were helping him clean up when the suspicious object was discovered.

For hours, deputies and firefighters were seen walking in and out of the mobile home. Inside, a police K-9 was used to search the home, and no other explosive devices were located, authorities said.

Va Houten was making his rounds through the mobile home park as deputies had blocked entrance from 14th Street West.

Deputies had encouraged residents in the surrounding mobile homes to evacuate the area, but many refused.

“I’ve been walking around trying to keep people away,” Va Houten said.

2016-12-10 18:54 By Jessica www.heraldonline.com

85 /100 4.2 ‘Ark: Survival Evolved’ PS4 Update — Here’s What Gamers Can Expect “Whether you dream of being an intrepid explorer, a peaceful Parasaur breeder, or a battle- hardened T-Rex-riding warrior, we think you’ll find something to engage you within the vast, primal worlds of Ark,” were the words Jeremy Stieglitz, the co-founder of Studio Wildcard, used to describe what PS4 gamers could expect with the latest update on the PlayStation blog.

The game developer says gamers should expect additional creates, more items, as well as some tweaks in the overall mechanics of the game with each update they release.

[Featured Image by Studio Wildcard (Still of the game)]

2016-12-10 18:50 Trisha Faulkner www.inquisitr.com

86 /100 2.1 Giraffes At Risk Of Extinction As Population Plummets 40 Percent, Scientists Warn In the latest animal news, the world’s tallest animal, giraffes, are now listed as vulnerable species on the brink of extinction after the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s report indicated that giraffes are dying at a rapid rate due to “habitat loss, civil unrest, and illegal hunting.”

According to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species , global giraffe, who experts once listed as the “least concern,” population has decreased by 40 percent within the last 30 years and only about 97,600 remain.

Tall giraffes can be found in southern and eastern Africa with a smaller population found in West and Central Africa. However, most giraffes resides in national parks and reserves, where they should be protected but most are not.

As human life continues to expand, giraffes are becoming more vulnerable to extinction as the areas once used for wildlife has “turned into farmland or used for mining and development,” says David Banks, who is the regional Director for the Africa Region with the Nature Conservancy.

The giraffe, the tallest land animal, is now at risk of extinction, biologists say https://t.co/mLQQHKzqxp pic.twitter.com/lS8ckMzNP8

— The Boston Globe (@BostonGlobe) December 8, 2016

According to Liz Bennett, who is the vice president for species conservation for the Wildlife Conservation Society, “While global attention has been on threats to elephants and rhinos, giraffes have been off the radar, and we’ve been losing them in significant numbers.”

“People and governments need to start acting to save giraffes, fast.” Julian Fennessy, who is the co-chair of the IUCN SSC Giraffe and Okapi Specialist Group, added that “whilst giraffes are commonly seen on safari, in the media, and in zoos, people – including conservationists – are unaware that these majestic animals are undergoing a silent extinction.”

“With a decline of almost 40 percent in the last three decades alone, the world’s tallest animal is under severe pressure in some of its core ranges across East, Central and West Africa. As one of the world’s most iconic animals, it is timely that we stick our neck out for the giraffe before it is too late.”

Giraffe populations plummeted by nearly 40% over 30 years in what a conservation group calls "silent extinction" https://t.co/UGyVAnS89r pic.twitter.com/xWIFilDtIP

— CNN (@CNN) December 9, 2016

The Botanical Gardens Conservation International (BCGI) said, “The addition of new species to the IUCN Red List, some of them already threatened with extinction, emphasizes the urgency to produce conservation assessments to better prioritize species in need of conservation action as soon as the species are discovered.”

“The first assessments of many crop wild relatives also highlight the need for conservation action, both in situ and ex-situ, to ensure our future food security.”

“It is certainly a concern that iconic species like the loquacious African grey parrot (Endangered) and the giraffe, Giraffa camelopardalis (Vulnerable) are now listed as Threatened,” said Dr. Thomas Lacher, Jr. from Texas A&M University.

“In addition, four wild relatives of the common mango are now Endangered and an additional wild relative Extinct in the Wild. The loss of genetic diversity in the wild relatives of many of our domestic food crops only erodes future options for new crop resources under changing climates.”

Giraffe numbers dip below 100,000 – a 40% decline from 1985. They are undergoing a "silent extinction". https://t.co/9yM3DWU6Gh pic.twitter.com/cFSqyoTrmG

— Erik Solheim (@ErikSolheim) December 9, 2016

Since receiving reports about the tallest animal in the world facing extinction, the international community held a meeting in Hawaii, creating a resolution that would prevent giraffes from being extinct, such as protecting the areas where they life.

It was advised that the “parks and wildlife refuges in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cameroon and South Sudan” would need better security to protect against illegal hunting.

If nothing is done to protect animal extinction , Derek Lee, who an ecologist, stated that the world may see a decline in giraffes sooner than anticipated.

There are now more than 24,307 species being classified as “critically endangered, endangered or vulnerable.”

Banks added that “he wants to see these species continue” and hopes adding giraffes to the IUCN red list will be a wake-up call to the people around the world. [Featured Image By StanislavBeloglazov/iStock]

2016-12-10 18:45 Angelica N www.inquisitr.com

87 /100 1.5 Nick Tangorra talks benefit concert at The Paramount (Includes interview) Huntington - Epic Records artist Nick Tangorra chatted with Digital Journal about his benefit concert at The Paramount on December 8. He continued, "I performed a ton of new songs like 'Never Enough,' 'Dirty Habits,' and 'Secret' to name a few and of course my single ' Regarding the importance of this show at The Paramount, he said, "100 percent of the proceeds went to the Cohen's Children Medical Center. I have a friend, Emma, who unfortunately was re-diagnosed, and it breaks my heart. I recently visited a bunch of the kids at the Cohen's Children Medical Center and spoke with them, their families, sang with them, and tried to distract them from their current situation. The worst thing to witness is a child in pain. I knew I had to do something to help and I don't plan on stopping here. It's my life mission to help as many people out in this world that I possibly can. " On his future plans, he said, "Work work work! Music music music! Shows shows shows! I have a great team keeping me very busy to make the greatest music and live show for my fans. " Tangorra concluded that the year 2016 was a true blessing for him. "I learned a lot and I still am. I grew not only as an artist but more importantly as a person," he said. On playing a co-headlining show at The Paramount, he said, "It was surreal. My return to the stage, after spending the past 7 months writing every single day and spending each moment perfecting my craft, was in front of a sold-out crowd at the Paramount. It could not have been more perfect. "He continued, "I performed a ton of new songs like 'Never Enough,' 'Dirty Habits,' and 'Secret' to name a few and of course my single ' Boo Hoo.' I also teamed up with Dragonfly Productions in which we had belly dancers on stilts, dancers with LED light wings, and an aerialist. It was my own Cirque du Soleil. "Regarding the importance of this show at The Paramount, he said, "100 percent of the proceeds went to the Cohen's Children Medical Center. I have a friend, Emma, who unfortunately was re-diagnosed, and it breaks my heart. I recently visited a bunch of the kids at the Cohen's Children Medical Center and spoke with them, their families, sang with them, and tried to distract them from their current situation. The worst thing to witness is a child in pain. I knew I had to do something to help and I don't plan on stopping here. It's my life mission to help as many people out in this world that I possibly can. "On his future plans, he said, "Work work work! Music music music! Shows shows shows! I have a great team keeping me very busy to make the greatest music and live show for my fans. "Tangorra concluded that the year 2016 was a true blessing for him. "I learned a lot and I still am. I grew not only as an artist but more importantly as a person," he said.

2016-12-10 18:44 www.digitaljournal.com

88 /100 88 /100 2.4 Guyana reports record gold production of 700,000 troy ounces GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AP) " Officials in Guyana say the South American nation will post record gold production this year. Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman says production has surged 22 percent over last year to nearly 700,000......

2016-12-10 18:44 system article.wn.com

89 /100 2.9 Ground broken on Omaha Children's Hospital expansion OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - Children’s Hospital and Medical Center has broken ground on a $450 million, 10-story clinical facility in the heart of Omaha.

The Omaha World-Herald reports (http://bit.ly/2gKgM3i ) that officials broke ground Thursday on the front lawn of the existing hospital at 82nd Street and West Dodge Road - one of the city’s busiest intersections.

The new Hubbard Center for Children - named for the lead gift donated by the Theodore F. and Claire M. Hubbard Family Foundation - will add about 500,000 square feet to the hospital. The current hospital measures 225,000 square feet, not counting attached specialty clinics.

The center will include more than 70 inpatient beds, with space for more as needed. Construction is expected to start in the spring and be completed in early 2021.

___

Information from: Omaha World-Herald, http://www.omaha.com

2016-12-10 18:36 By www.washingtontimes.com

90 /100 8.0 Man injured at Burlington food plant dies from injuries BURLINGTON, Iowa (AP) - Authorities say a Burlington man injured earlier this week in an industrial accident at a snack food packaging plant has died.

The Hawk Eye reports (http://bit.ly/2ha9XeA ) that 36-year-old Patrick Tisor was hurt Monday afternoon at Shearer’s Foods. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration in Des Moines confirmed that Tisor died Thursday night from his injuries. OSHA is investigating the fatal workplace accident. The company says it’s cooperating with the investigation. Tisor’s father, Steven Tisor of Mediapolis, says he was told it appeared his son’s clothing became caught in a piece of equipment.

Burlington Fire Marshal Mark Crooks said Tuesday that rescue crews were called for a person who was caught in a roller system at the plant.

Patrick Tisor is survived by his wife and four children.

___

Information from: The Hawk Eye, http://www.thehawkeye.com

2016-12-10 18:25 By www.washingtontimes.com

91 /100 0.0 Cubans streaming into U. S. before Trump can take office WASHINGTON — The surge of Cubans fleeing to the United States could grow as uncertainty swirls around the island about whether Donald Trump will end the still nascent U. S. diplomatic relations with Cuba once he becomes president.

Experts say the current influx of Cubans, which is already double the rate that existed before relations were restored at the end of 2014, could rival the 1980 Mariel boatlift, especially if Trump fiddles with the special privileges Cuban immigrants receive from the United States. Trump and some Cuban-American leaders such as Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., have suggested curbs on those privileges.

“Our biggest fear should be another Mariel,” said Eduardo Gamarra, who helped arriving Mariel refugees in the 1980s and now is a professor of international relations at Florida International University. “I’m not saying it’s going to be another Mariel, but we should be prepared. The notion of opening gave people hope. Closing doesn’t give anyone hope. Closing gives them fear.”

The United States is already undergoing one of the greatest influx of Cubans since the 1980 Mariel boatlift when Fidel Castro allowed more than 125,000 Cubans to leave the country amid a weakened economy.

In the days since, there have been signs of anxiety among ordinary Cubans, who lined up outside the U. S. embassy in Havana on the day after Republican Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton in the Nov. 8 presidential election. The Cuban government followed with an announcement that the military would be conducting tactical exercises to prepare troops.

The death of revolutionary leader Fidel Castro a few days later and the struggles of the Cuban economy have increased uncertainty on the island.

Groups that assist Cuban migrants such as Church World Service have made sure they have additional places for refugees to stay if they see an uptick in arrivals. Miami schools are ready for another “potential influx.” Between July 2015 and January 2016, Miami-Dade schools enrolled more than 13,000 foreign-born students, most of whom were from Cuba.

Were you interviewed for this story? If so, please fill out our accuracy form Send questions/comments to the editors.

2016-12-10 18:21 By Franco www.pressherald.com

92 /100 0.6 Evanston Fire Department Accepts Donations For Families Displaced CHICAGO (CBS) — The Evanston Fire Department is accepting donations for the families impacted by the Sherman Avenue fire, that occurred on Monday.

– Evanston Fire Displaces 18 People

A fire in an apartment complex on Sherman Avenue in Evanston displaced 18 residents on Monday, Dec. 5. No injuries were reported, but many residents are without basic items, such as, clothing and shoes.

The Evanston Fire Department is accepting donations starting Saturday, Dec. 10 through Friday, Dec. 23 in an effort to help the families in need.

Items in need include, clothes (including socks, underwear and shoes) for boys, ages 4, 6, and 8; items for teen girls and items for parents. Gift cards will also be accepted.

Donations can be dropped at the following locations between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m.

– Fire Station 1, 1332 Emerson St

– Fire Station 2, 702 Madison St

– Fire Station 3, 1105 Central St

– Fire Station 4, 1817 Washington St

– Fire Station 5, 2830 Central St

Any overflow of items will be donated to American Red Cross.

2016-12-10 18:09 chicago.cbslocal.com

93 /100 0.0 Chris Thile on unexpected career as host of "A Prairie Home Companion" Chris Thile’s career has been marked by the unexpected and frequent bouts of reinvention. He’s performed with Nickel Creek -- a group he formed when he was just a child -- and later, the Punch Brothers. He’s also had a solo career, including collaborations with artists as varied as Béla Fleck and Yo-Yo Ma.

Now, in a whole new career turn, he’s in his first year as the new host of public radio’s “A Prairie Home Companion.”

Chris Thile has a new album with celebrated jazz pianist and long-time collaborator Brad Mehldau. It features both original material and interpre...

When Garrison Keillor chose Thile to succeed him as host of the series, it was a surprise to almost everyone -- especially the 35-year-old musician. “Did you have any idea this was coming?” Mason asked.

“Oh, absolutely not. Out of the clear, blue sky,” Thile said. “He starts outlining this plan: ‘I think I’m going to be leaving the radio pretty soon. I think maybe you should do it after I’m done.’”

And what was his first reaction to the idea? “When he says the words, my mind just exploded with all of the things I want to do on the show. ‘I could do this and I could do this and I could call this person...’” Thile replied.

As host, Thile has brought in an all-star cast of musical friends. Marcus Mumford was on last week’s broadcast, and Steve Martin will join him Saturday night. A virtuoso on the mandolin, Thile has been playing since he was five, when he begged his parents for the instrument. “Was it the sound of the mandolin?” Mason asked.

Chris Thile has a new album with celebrated jazz pianist and long-time collaborator Brad Mehldau. It features both original material and interpre...

“The sound of it I love. If you just think about a mandolin sound in your head, even that classic like ‘Lady & The Tramp,’ you know, it’s the precise knife’s edge kind of a sound,” Thile said. “I loved that as a little boy, and continue to love what it demands of a player in terms of precision.”

He was just eight when he formed the band Nickel Creek with California friends Sara and Sean Watkins. Their major label debut in 2000 went platinum, and the followup won them a Grammy for Best Folk Album.

Thile, who grew up listening to “A Prairie Home Companion,” first appeared on the broadcast in 1996 at age 15.

“I remember everything about that,” he said, laughing. “I remember walking to the department store on the way there to get a nice shirt because I didn’t have one!”

He would perform on the show 24 times, before becoming its host. Chris Thile has a new album with celebrated jazz pianist and long-time collaborator Brad Mehldau. It features both original material and interpre...

“What about the intimidation factor of succeeding Garrison Keillor?” Mason asked.

“My perception of other people’s perception of this handoff is that there is no way it could work,” Thile said.

“But somehow you like the challenge of that?”

“Well, think about it, the pressure is off.”

“Why? Because you’re a failure already?” Mason asked, laughing.

“Well, no, just because no one thinks it can happen. And so if it can, that would be a hell of a good surprise,” Thile said.

And as if he weren’t busy enough, Thile also has a new album out January 27th, with celebrated Jazz pianist and long-time collaborator Brad Mehldau. It features both original material and interpretations from a wide range of songwriters.

2016-12-10 18:07 CBS News www.cbsnews.com

94 /100 2.8 9 Artificial Intelligence Stats That Will Blow You Away Image Source: Getty Images

As the AI era continues to unfold, the idea of a future driven by artificial intelligence can evoke mixed emotions. Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) co- founder and Chairman Bill Gates referred to AI as the “holy grail” in computer science. On the other hand, and taking a far more apocalyptic perspective, Tesla CEO Elon Musk likened the development of artificial intelligence technologies to “summoning the demon.”

Regardless of our feelings on the matter, artificial intelligence is set to play an increasingly prominent role in our day-to-day lives. Let’s examine 9 statistics that speak to how artificial intelligence is set to become one of the most important technology trends of our lifetimes.

In a survey of corporate executives, 32% of respondents said voice recognition software like Apple ‘s Siri, Alphabet ‘s (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) Google Assistant, and Amazon.com ‘s (NASDAQ: AMZN) Alexa is the most used type of AI tech in their workplace. Many of these voice-powered AIs still leave something to be desired in terms of accuracy, and it was surprising that voice assistants outnumbered big data in overall popularity with businesses.

Bye bye, call centers and wait times. According to researcher Gartner , AI bots will power 85% of all customer service interactions by the year 2020. Given Facebook and other messaging platforms have already seen significant adoption of customer service bots on their chat apps, this shouldn’t necessarily come as a huge surprise. Since this use of AI can help reduce wait times for many types of interactions , this trend sounds like a win for businesses and customers alike. Also from Gartner , digital customer assistants will be able to “mimic human conversations, with both listening and speaking, a sense of history, in-the-moment context, timing and tone, and the ability to respond, add to and continue with a thought or purpose at multiple occasions and places over time.” Said another way, digital assistants will know and interact with you like a friend does today, or at least they’ll try to.

These 4 tech giants already have significant cloud computing businesses, a trend researcher IDC sees as likely to continue. By the start of the next decade, Amazon.com, Alphabet, IBM (NYSE: IBM) and Microsoft will control the majority of the market for AI software applications.

According to a study from leading consultancy McKinsey , the impact of self-driving cars will be tremendous, saving an estimated 300,000 lives per decade by reducing fatal traffic accidents. This is expected to save $190 billion in annual critical care and triage costs. Less miraculous (but still awesome), autonomous automobiles will also save their users as much as 50 minutes each day by allowing them to focus on other tasks while commuting.

In a potentially apocalyptic turn for members of the media reading (or writing) this, AI-powered software will write as much as 20% of business content in a mere two years’ time according to Gartner. Areas like “shareholder reports, legal documents, market reports, press releases, articles and white papers” are among the writing forms most likely to be automated.

In a research report to its investors, Bank of America argued that the rise of AI will lead to cost reduction and new forms of growth that could amount to $14-$33 trillion annually, in what it calls “creative disruption impact,” and that’s just the tip of the iceberg in some expert’s view.

According to Alphabet director of engineering Ray Kurzweil , machines will be smarter than us by 2029 (insert Terminator joke here). Kruzweil doesn’t necessarily see this as being a negative though. Among many other “bold” predictions about our AI-laden futures, he believes people will start living forever around the year 2029 as well. Whether that’s the result of some Matrix-like scenario coming to fruition isn’t immediately clear, but obviously leading experts in the field believe major changes to our social fabric are only a little more than a decade away.

Researching this article, I found all manner of predictions for how much AI will impact our daily lives, everything from imminent nuclear winter to global immortality waiting around the corner. So while it’s certainly easy to get wrapped up in the litany of predictions, it’s perhaps most useful to simply keep in mind that AI should have a major economic impact from which investors can undoubtedly benefit from today.

10 stocks we like better than Microsoft When investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor , has tripled the market.*

David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy right now… and Microsoft wasn’t one of them! That’s right — they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.

Click here to learn about these picks!

*Stock Advisor returns as of Nov. 7 , 2016

Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. The Mo Andrew Tonner owns shares of Apple. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), Amazon.com, Apple, and Tesla Motors. The Motley Fool owns shares of Microsoft and has the following options: long January 2018 $90 calls and short January 2018 $95 calls on Apple. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

2016-12-10 18:07 The Motley dailycaller.com

95 /100 0.0 Professors Take A Different Approach In Responding To 'Leftist Propaganda' Claims An online "professor watchlist" claims to expose those who promote "leftist propaganda. " Notre Dame professor John Duffy and colleagues asked to have their names added to the list in solidarity.

2016-12-10 18:06 www.npr.org

96 /100 0.0 9 officers fired for reporting traffic stops they never conducted ARLINGTON, Texas -- Nine police officers in a Dallas suburb have been fired for reporting traffic stops they never conducted. Arlington police said in a statement Friday that three other officers resigned before the investigation was finished. Four other officers remain under investigation. The fired officers have the right to appeal the department’s decision. The officers had been suspended in May after a review of officer activity in the field identified several individuals who claimed to have made traffic stops that actually never occurred. The department says its investigation confirmed that no fictitious citations were issued. Officials did not indicate why the traffic reports were falsified. The police department says its findings have been sent to the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office.

2016-12-10 18:02 AP www.cbsnews.com

97 /100 0.0 Here’s how fintech will impact emerging markets in 2017 Mobile payments, digital wallets, and other forms of financial technology (fintech) have seen widespread adoption in the West, but fintech has a whole new meaning for the developing world. Because of the largely unbanked populations in emerging markets, fintech companies serving those markets are facing a unique opportunity (and challenge) to entirely skip a whole generation of financial services (i.e., banks, cards) and rethink the payments ecosystem as it moves away from cash.

Take Africa, for example. As much as 80 percent of the continent is unbanked and up to 90 percent of retail payments are made using cash, meaning that the disruption opportunity for fintech startups is massive.

Here are a couple of key trends the fintech industry will likely see in 2017, particularly in emerging markets.

1. India will see a fintech boom, following in China’s footsteps

China was the first emerging market to experience rapid fintech growth in the last five years and quickly reached adoption levels that are, in many segments, higher than those we see in North America and Europe. For example, KPMG’s 100 Leading Global Fintech Innovators Report 2015 lists two China-based companies in the top five — ZhongAn, an innovative online insurance player backed by Alibaba and Tencent, and Qufenqi, a large online installment plan provider.

To understand the rise of Chinese fintech players, we need to look at the key enablers. A recent McKinsey article mentioned several factors, including a highly-developed e-commerce sector and latent demand for inclusive finance.

India seems to be in a similar position to where China was few years ago. The e-commerce market is the fastest growing in the world ( 51 percent annual growth), largely due to the competition between Amazon and several local players. There is clearly a large latent demand for financial services and a big push from the central government to increase financial inclusion. Just between 2011 and 2014, bank account penetration increased from 35 to 53 percent , and we will likely see much higher penetration rates next year due to the government’s demonetization measures. However, almost 60 percent of these accounts show negligible or no transactions, so there is clearly a significant opportunity for fintech companies to build consumer and business applications on top of this infrastructure.

If India follows China’s innovation pattern, we will likely see successful businesses in the following categories:

Looking beyond India, the next big opportunity for fintech companies is surely in Africa, with the primary focus on the large markets of South Africa, Nigeria, and Egypt, which account for about half of the continent’s economy. That said, it is unlikely we will see rapid growth and mass market adoption similar to China and India in this region in 2017, because the above-mentioned enablers are not in place yet. However, the situation is slowly starting to change. Governments are making financial inclusion a key priority, and big banks are finally partnering with fintech companies after years of very passive reception.

In the long run, African fintech solutions and services will look completely different from their Western counterparts and will play a crucial role in the future economic growth of the continent.

2. Growth in fintech will drive innovation in regtech

Among the key challenges of doing business in emerging markets is the fact that fintech companies cannot rely on the same payments and banking infrastructure that exists in developed markets. For example, fintech companies in emerging markets can’t depend on credit scores, unified bank infrastructure, or even more basic requirements such as having IDs to verify identity (KYC) or a reliable database of addresses. The broad availability of cloud computing, machine learning, and big data services have allowed companies to tackle these challenges in a much more cost effective way. Many people now refer to this segment of services as “regtech.”

The dependence of fintech companies on regtech services is clear: Fintech companies constantly need to improve and automate regulatory and other compliance processes as well as streamline customer onboarding and monitoring. The first wave of regtech companies has certainly helped companies in the US and Europe to become more efficient and reduce costs, but I would argue that there is a much bigger opportunity in India, Nigeria, or Egypt, where fintech companies desperately need these tools to operate. How do you identify Nigerian customers when adoption of the National Identity Card is still sparse? How do you score the risk of a loan to an Egyptian customer in the absence of an official scoring mechanism?

At the same time, regtech companies cannot build these tools and models without rich datasets, which have to come from fintech and other financial institutions. This really creates a case for a broad partnership between fintech, regtech, and potentially even governments to back such a large undertaking. The true opportunity for regtech in emerging markets goes beyond simple cost saving. Regtech has the potential to enable new solutions and products that serve new cohorts of customers traditionally ignored by incumbent financial institutions. Regtech companies can play an important role in figuring out how this can be designed as a shared service that any fintech company can turn to.

The global fintech industry is on the rise and shows no signs of slowing down. In fact, a study from Accenture found that global fintech investments increased 75 percent in 2015, exceeding $22 billion. A continued focus on emerging markets and close collaboration with regtech companies will set the fintech industry up for continued success and growth in 2017.

Tomas Likar is Vice President of Strategy and Business Development at Hyperwallet , a global payouts provider to independent workers. He joined Hyperwallet after six years with McKinsey & Company, where he advised payments firms in emerging markets strategy, mobile payments, corporate strategy, and M&A.

2016-12-11 01:08 Tomas Likar feedproxy.google.com

98 /100 0.7 Rod Stewart restores confidence in the vitality of our rocking elder gentlemen as he sings flanked by ladies and under the healthiest hair seen on an OAP Rod Stewart Sheffield Arena On tour until Dec 18 Even in a year that has dealt decisive blows to younger vintage rock stars than him, you all but forget Rod Stewart is part of an endangered species until he closes his show with the darkly jovial knees-up Enjoy Yourself (It’s Later Than You Think). By then, Rod has capered for two hours beneath some of the healthiest hair ever seen on a 71-year-old. In most respects, Sir Rod seems to have flown in specifically to restore confidence in the vitality of our rocking elder gentlemen. Gold-jacketed and typically raspy, he performs flanked by six matching female singers and accompanists, as if to dispel any notion that it isn’t still thoroughly fantastic to be Rod Stewart. Sung back at him by the faithful, the opening selection works conveniently as a series of toasts to our spry hero: You Wear It Well followed by Some Guys Have All The Luck... Some veteran stars avoid their gaudier crowd-pleasers, pretending only to have made the ones the critics love. Not Rod, who sings smashes such as Sailing and Da Ya Think I’m Sexy with enough brio to make you wonder if they haven’t been somewhat maligned. When Rod revisits his folky earlier years in an acoustic, seated section, it’s with a sentimental flourish. Handbags And Gladrags and Ooh La bring warmth. Maggie May, performed standing, feels a bit brusque. Stay With Me, ever lagery and ungallant, is Rod’s cue to boot footballs into the crowd, to show he’s not as soppy as his other songs suggest. But no one’s fooled. Most of his family pop up on the arena screens at some point, along with his beloved Celtic and some Japanese conductors stuffing commuters into a carriage at the end of an otherwise heartfelt Downtown Train. A little later, the Sheffield tram makes that clip look like a premonition. That fatalistic finale, you suspect, was not. rodstewart.com THIS WEEK'S CD RELEASES Neil Young Peace Trail Reprise, out now Peter Doherty BMG/Clouds Hill, out now Hamburg Demonstrations The Weeknd Starboy Island, out now

2016-12-10 18:01 Adam Woods www.dailymail.co.uk

99 /100 99 /100 1.3 It's sold nine million copies and enchanted children for decades – so can a star-studded £2 million TV version turn We’re Going On A Bear Hunt into a Christmas classic to rival The Snowman? This Christmas Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury's classic story of five children hunting a bear in the English countryside follows the in tradition of The Snowman as it is brought to life in a new animated film We’re Going On A Bear Hunt, the iconic bedtime story written by Michael Rosen and illustrated by Helen Oxenbury has enchanted generations of small children, sold more than nine million copies worldwide and implanted its memorable chorus: ‘We’re going on a bear hunt / We’re going to catch a big one / What a beautiful day! / We’re not scared’ into the minds of families across the globe. This Christmas, the timeless story of five children and a dog embarking on an unlikely adventure in the English countryside follows in a tradition established in 1982 when Raymond Briggs’ bestseller The Snowman was turned into an animated television special. The Oscar-nominated film has been shown every Christmas since. ‘It struck a nerve with families young and old,’ says Olivia Colman, who joins Mark Williams and Pam Ferris in the star-studded voice cast for a £2 million television adaptation. Williams, who voices Dad opposite Colman’s Mum – both characters created especially for the film – has fond memories of reading the book to his children, now in their teens. ‘When you’re little, it’s so unsatisfying when your fantasies don’t actually come true. But in this book, the children go on a bear hunt and they find a bear — it doesn’t get any better than that.’ The story’s origins lie in America, where it was sung around bonfires at summer camps for children. Rosen, who first heard it in the late Seventies, subsequently worked it into the routines he performed at primary schools across Britain. ‘The thing that really caught me about it is the pounding rhythm and repetition,’ says the man who was Britain’s Children’s Laureate between 2007 and 2009. ‘If you do it with young children, they learn it as they go along, and that’s very infectious.’ Joanna Harrison, the co-director of the new film, worked on The Snowman as an animator and went on to co-write and art direct the follow- up, The Snowman And The Snowdog. She pinpoints the life lessons contained within Rosen’s sparse text as key: ‘However difficult life is, you’ve got to keep going. We all have to face obstacles whether we like it or not and often they’re not as bad as you think they’re going to be. To me, that’s an essential truth in We’re Going On A Bear Hunt, and that’s why it works.’ Rosen, a poet and prolific children’s author, 70, says he originally imagined the story as a street carnival populated by kings, queens and court jesters. Oxenbury, 78, however, saw it very differently and only agreed to produce the illustrations on the condition she was allowed to work alone, without any direction from the author or the book’s publishers. After close to a year working on the project, she presented the results: alternating sets of black-and-white charcoal and pencil drawings and gloriously vivid watercolours that combined to take the story in a new direction; ‘bringing it back to a family’, she says – her own. Rather than the ‘raucous scenes’ Rosen describes from his live performances, Oxenbury decided the story’s protagonists should be a group of five young siblings, out on their own. ‘Most people think that the oldest boy in the book is the father,’ she smiles. ‘I had two children and then there was ten years or so before I had our youngest, so the big boy is based on my son. The children’s dog was my dear old Stanley, who was a mixture of collie and labrador.’ The landscapes they move through are also personal to Oxenbury. The book opens with the children descending a hill swathed in ‘swishy swashy’ grass, and is based, she reveals, on ‘a little place we had near Dorset’. Later in the book, the ‘thick oozy mud’ the children are required to negotiate is an homage to the mud flats of East Anglia where the illustrator spent her childhood. The ‘big dark forest’, meanwhile, is the woods on Hampstead Heath, visible from her house. Finally, the beach where the children find the ‘narrow gloomy’ cave housing the titular bear is based on a stretch of Welsh coastline where she and her husband, illustrator John Burningham, holidayed with their children. Rosen was stunned when he first saw the illustrations: ‘It was like she built a huge mountain on what was really a tiny little bit of paper,’ he says. ‘The countryside, the characters, the dog and the baby — that’s all come from Helen!’ The filming of the book was a slow, painstaking enterprise. By the time it was finished, more than 35,000 hand-drawn and coloured frames of animation had been pored over at Lupus Films, which also made The Snowman And The Snowdog. An equally formidable challenge was expanding the scope of Rosen’s words to sustain a multi- generational audience over 24 minutes. ‘It needed a back story, so I decided to have parents and a wider family,’ says Harrison. ‘We needed to take the mother and the father out to rescue Grandma [voiced by Pam Ferris] when her car breaks down on the way to their house. ‘The idea of leaving children on their own was fascinating because nowadays children so rarely get to go and have adventures in the countryside without their parents.’ At various stages of production the film was shown to children to gauge their response. ‘They all loved the cave,’ says Fielding of the sequence in which Rosie gets separated and meets the bear. The finished film includes every one of Rosen’s original 416 words and each of Oxenbury’s 26 sumptuous illustrations, which have been painstakingly re-created. So what do the people who will be forever associated with one of the great children’s books make of its new incarnation? ‘I’m very moved by it,’ says Rosen. Oxenbury’s verdict is almost as succinct: ‘I think they’ve done a marvellous job.’ And like the Queen’s Speech, James Bond and, of course, The Snowman, it now looks set to become a fixture on the TV Christmas schedules. e ‘We’re Going On A Bear Hunt’ is on Christmas Eve, 7.30pm on C4

2016-12-10 18:01 Dan Davies www.dailymail.co.uk

100 /100 0.8 Office Christmas Party starring Jason Bateman and Jennifer Aniston may be stuffed with Christmas comedy cliches but it will definitely make you laugh Office Christmas Party Cert: 15 1hr 45mins Like Bad Santa 2, Office Christmas Party is set in the reliably wintry city of Chicago, but it differs from it completely in one crucial respect: this is actually funny. While Billy Bob Thornton’s tasteless misadventure was pretty much a chuckle- free zone, the ensemble led here by the familiar pairing of Jason Bateman and Jennifer Aniston will definitely make you laugh. Not, I hasten to add, in a ‘drop everything, this is absolutely brilliant and you’ve got to go and see it’ kind of way, but in a way that acknowledges that, for many, Christmas just wouldn’t be Christmas without an undemanding, crowd-pleasing, unrepentantly commercial Yuletide comedy. Which, this year, is this. It’s set in a branch of Zenotek, a computer company having increasing trouble seeing off its better-known competitors. Branch president Clay Vanstone (T J Miller) is an eccentrically freewheeling and almost permanently perky surfer dude, who likes to quote Aerosmith and believes that if his employees keep having fun and enjoy coming to work, the good times will return. His spreadsheet- dissecting sister Carol (Aniston), however, is the polar opposite. Since being appointed interim group chief executive in the wake of their father’s death, she’s had her eye permanently glued to the bottom line. So when she sashays into the office three days before Christmas in her killer Louboutins, you know there’s going to be trouble. Profits need to be sharply up, bonuses are cancelled, and 40 per cent of the staff are to be laid off. And there’s worse – the office Christmas party is promptly cancelled too. As she departs for the airport (regular cinema-goers will recognise the slim chances of getting out of the often-snowbound O’Hare in a Christmas film), Clay and his chief technical officer, Josh Parker (Bateman), realise that the only way to save the Chicago branch is to land one last big contract. And the only way of doing that is to invite their client to the best office Christmas party ever; the sort of bash that companies used to have before the killjoy finance departments kiboshed them. Yup, the office Christmas party is definitely back on. Big time. Gosh, I hope Carol doesn’t find out. This isn’t a Judd Apatow film, but all his adult-comedy hallmarks are here – sex, drugs and, if not rock ’n’ roll, then certainly rap. But directors Will Speck and Josh Gordon – who worked with Bateman and Aniston on The Switch – serve it up in a commercial, Apatow-lite style that isn’t going to frighten us gross-out-hardened horses now. Cocaine being accidentally blown out of a snow machine? A tequila luge ice-sculpture of a naked male where the tequila has to be drunk from you-know-where? Fah! As long as we know what we’re in for, we take such things in our stride these days. With Bateman and Aniston sharing the top billing (this is the fifth time they’ve worked together), this could easily be mistaken for a star vehicle. But it’s not – indeed, it’s the talent of some of the lesser-known members of the ensemble that gives the film its comic oomph. While some will recognise Miller from Deadpool, he’s better known as a stand-up comedian, and that is definitely the sort of performance he gives. It’s a big one but, thankfully, a funny one too. Impressing too is Saturday Night Live and Ghostbusters remake star Kate McKinnon, who is a hoot as Mary, the uptight, rule-book-throwing dragon from HR, who – as is the way of such things in these sorts of films – becomes considerably less strait-laced and more unbuttoned the longer things go on. As does Carol, come to that. Amid the growing mayhem, as servers are tossed out of windows and jousting begins with burning Christmas trees, the unflappable Bateman is a small voice of comic calm, and all the funnier for it. Yes, his burgeoning relationship with his very pretty – and much younger – colleague, Tracey (Olivia Munn), smacks of middle-aged-male fantasy, but it’s not overplayed and they’ve made her a software engineer rather than a passing florist or maker of fairy cakes as per the usual formula. I think that has to go down as progress in this type of film. Good fun, for those who like this kind of thing. SECOND SCREEN Snowden (15) The Birth Of A Nation (15) The Pass (15) Snowden is the lumbering life story of Edward Snowden, who, depending on your point of view, is either the world’s greatest whistleblower or the man who leaked so much top-secret intelligence from America’s National Security Agency in 2013 that he might as well have handed the world’s terrorists a handbook called How Not To Get Caught. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, in the title role, and Shailene Woodley, as his long-time girlfriend Lindsay Mills, are decent enough, but there’s a smug, self-righteous air to proceedings that makes it hard to warm to. Just as D W Griffith’s controversial 1915 silent film The Birth Of A Nation used the course of the American Civil War to trace the origins of the Ku Klux Klan, so Nate Parker’s film of deliberately the same name takes the real-life story of an earlier slave revolt which, he’d argue, sparked a battle for racial equality that rages to this day. Parker writes, directs and stars in a film that initially seems mired in the familiar cliches of the Deep South, but gains real power as its violent, unpalatable story builds to its Braveheart-style climax. In The Pass, Russell Tovey and Arinze Kene are terrific as two young footballers whose lives are defined by what happened in a hotel room one night and what didn’t happen on the football field next day. But the film makes little effort to conceal its theatrical origins – the heightened-reality style works well on stage but struggles to convince here.

2016-12-10 18:00 Matthew Bond www.dailymail.co.uk

Total 100 articles.

Items detected: 1627, scanned: 1627, accumulated: 100, inserted: 100, empty media: 160, not matched limits: 160, skipped: {total: 1527, by unique value: 279, by limits: 34, by similarity: 26, by unicity: 0, dates: 17, by classifier: 1188, by blacklist: 1, by mandatory tag: 1527}, bad dates: 12, similar from same domain: 417; tag `description` the same value found 34 times; tag `title` the same value found 380 times; the same images URLs found 44 times; total 16 languages detected: {u'fr': 5, u'en': 1458, u'nl': 3, u'pt': 1, u'af': 5, u'ca': 4, u'de': 23, u'sv': 2, u'da': 4, u'tl': 2, u'so': 2, u'no': 7, u'it': 2, u'et': 1, u'ro': 1, u'es': 1}; {u'text': {u'chars': 635837, u'bytes': 2713336, u'words': 95670, u'sentences': 3741}}

Created at 2016-12-11 06:26