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Total 100 articles, created at 2016-08-20 00:02 1 CDC: Pregnant women should avoid part of Miami Beach affected by Zika (2.18/3) 5 Zika cases are now linked to Miami Beach, infecting travelers from New York and Taiwan 2016-08-19 16:46 5KB rssfeeds.usatoday.com 2 Pets headed to Atlanta after Louisiana flooding

(2.14/3) More than a dozen dogs are headed to Atlanta after catastrophic flooding displaced thousands of people and led to at least 13 deaths in Louisiana. 2016-08-19 23:38 1KB www.ajc.com 3 Colombia Issues 50,000-Peso Note With Writer Garcia's Image (1.20/3) Colombia has released a new 50,000-peso note bearing the image of the celebrated late writer and Nobel laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez. The bill is worth roughly $17.30. One side features the image of the author of the novel "One Hundred Years of Solitude... 2016-08-19 15:42 1KB abcnews.go.com 4 Rio Olympics: Day 14 The best photos from Friday's action at the Rio Olympics. (1.12/3) 2016-08-19 23:37 4KB newyork.cbslocal.com

5 Olympics-Athletics-China's Liu Hong wins women's 20km walk gold

(1.07/3) RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug 19 (Reuters) - China's Liu Hong won women's 20km walk final on Friday, fending off Mexico's Maria Guadalupe Gonzalez in a thrilling final... 2016-08-19 20:06 2KB www.dailymail.co.uk 6 Steady on, it's Olympic basketball, not wrestling! US men's team march into gold

(1.06/3) medal round after ugly semi-final win over Spain with 26 fouls alone in the first half The US men's basketball team was made to work for their place in the gold medal match on Friday, beating Spain XX-XX in an ugly contest that at times resembled a wrestling match 2016-08-19 20:15 5KB www.dailymail.co.uk 7 Russia’s synchronized swimming team wins country’s 13th gold in Rio — RT Sport (1.06/3) The Russian synchronized swimming team has won the gold medal at the Rio Olympics. The victory puts the Russian gold medal tally for the Games at 13, with a total of 46 medals won overall. 2016-08-19 16:27 1KB www.rt.com

8 Meet Ryan Lochte, the latest 'ugly American' It is Ryan Lochte's turn to be scorned as the world's ugliest American: a man wrapped in shame for his concocted story of 2016-08-19 21:51 4KB (1.02/3) being robbed at gunpoint at the Rio Olympics. www.sport24.co.za 9 Rio Olympics 2016: Britain's Joe Joyce reaches men's super-heavyweight final (1.02/3) Joe Joyce beats Kazakhstan's Ivan Dychko to guarantee Great Britain at least a silver medal in the men's super-heavyweight division. 2016-08-19 19:09 1KB www.bbc.co.uk 10 No more blue lights in Tshwane - Msimanga Newly elected mayor of Tshwane Solly Msimanga says no one will (1.02/3) be allowed to use blue lights in traffic in the city except the President of the Republic. 2016-08-19 19:06 2KB www.news24.com 11 US STOCKS-Wall St dips as investors assess rate outlook

(1.00/3) By Caroline Valetkevitch NEW YORK, Aug 19 (Reuters) - U. S. stocks edged lower on Friday, led by declines in utility shares as investors weighed prospects for... 2016-08-19 20:37 3KB www.dailymail.co.uk 12 Sheriff: Student facing murder charges in face-biting attack

(0.01/3) FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida sheriff's office said Friday that a college student caught trying to bite the face off a victim after stabbing the man... 2016-08-19 15:35 4KB www.dailymail.co.uk 13 Ivanka Trump gets burned as company donates her money to Clinton — RT America Ivanka Trump received a surprise when her jewelry purchase arrived with a note informing her that the company donated her money to the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign, a pro- immigration charity and a gun control group. 2016-08-20 00:01 1KB www.rt.com 14 Filipino soap operas a hit in Sierra Leone FREETOWN—Very rainy season in the capital of Sierra Leone. The West African country is in the midst of its seasonal rains divided into two—rainy and very rainy, and we arrive at the time 2016-08-20 00:01 6KB globalnation.inquirer.net

22 Naked Trump Statues Pop Up Around U. S. Naked Donald Trump Statues Appear In Various U. S... 2016-08-19 23:37 4KB cbsloc.al 23 Ballymena tractor films are worldwide phenomenon A Northern Ireland firm is reaping the benefits of an apparent worldwide fascination with tractors. 2016-08-19 23:35 2KB www.bbc.co.uk 24 Sainsbury’s boss, Mike Coupe, slams Theresa May’s childhood obesity plan Sainsbury’s chief executive, Mike Coupe, is the latest high profile figure to condemn the lack of assertiveness around Theresa May’s childhood obesity plan. 2016-08-19 23:38 2KB www.thedrum.com 25 The dangerous criminal helped by hospital where Ian Brady lives Ashley Power describes his time at Ashworth Hospital on Merseyside, which also houses Moors murderer Ian Brady. 2016-08-19 21:05 930Bytes www.bbc.co.uk 26 It's a Wonder Contact WND Editor’s note: Do you need something to smile about? Every day, WND selects the best joke offered up by readers and contributors to its Laughlines forum and brings it to you as the WND Joke of the Day. Here is today’s offering: You may have... 2016-08-19 20:35 1KB www.wnd.com 27 Chuck Norris wrestles with 'feat of Olympic proportions' Contact WND Many things influence a person’s eating habits. Knowledge of what is considered healthy and what is not would be one, but I doubt it would make it to the top of the list. Certainly, at this moment, headline news about what the elite athletes in... 2016-08-19 20:35 6KB www.wnd.com 28 Watford clinch signing of defender Younes Kaboul from Sunderland Watford have completed the signing of defender Younes Kaboul from Sunderland. The 30-year-old centre-back has signed a three- year contract after the Frenchma... 2016-08-19 20:32 2KB www.dailymail.co.uk 29 Park takes 2-shot lead into final round at Olympics RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Inbee Park kept her composure in strong wind Friday and made two late birdies to regain the lead, posting a 1-under 70 for a two-shot l... 2016-08-19 20:30 4KB www.dailymail.co.uk 30 After the Olympics: The next paths for elite athletes After the Olympic flame goes out, what happens to the athletes we've come to know and love over the past two weeks? 2016-08-19 20:29 9KB rss.cnn.com 31 Angolan president Dos Santos re-elected leader of ruling MPLA party LUANDA, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Angola's long-ruling president Jose Eduardo dos Santos was overwhelmingly re-elected leader of the People's Movement for the Liber... 2016-08-19 20:20 1KB www.dailymail.co.uk 32 Feds say courts' bail-or-jail policies are unfair to poor ATLANTA (AP) — Local courts that jail poor defendants because they can't afford to pay bail are unlawfully discriminating against the poor, federal attorneys... 2016-08-19 20:15 3KB www.dailymail.co.uk 33 Judge in bridge case weighing whether docs should be sealed NEWARK, N. J. (AP) — A federal judge hearing the case of two former allies of Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie in the George Washington Bridge lane c... 2016-08-19 20:05 2KB www.dailymail.co.uk 34 Over 17,000 firefighters battle monster fires in US More than 17,000 firefighters struggled Friday to contain dozens of large fires that have burned huge swaths of land and destroyed hundreds of buildings acro... 2016-08-19 20:00 2KB www.dailymail.co.uk 35 Courteney Cox eats rotting sheep carcass on Running Wild With Bear Grylls The brave Friends actress took part in the survival expert's TV show Running Wild With Bear Grylls and was horrified when she learnt she would be feasting on a sheep carcass for the evening. 2016-08-19 19:51 2KB www.dailymail.co.uk

36 Brown demands review of safety procedures after horror rail crash Minister of Public Enterprises Lynne Brown has requested Transnet to continuously review its safety procedures at its depots and rail routes to prevent a recurrence of the horror train accident in Noupoort. 2016-08-19 19:45 1KB www.news24.com 37 GRAINS-Weather forecast weighs on soybeans; corn, wheat rise By Mark Weinraub CHICAGO, Aug 19 (Reuters) - U. S. soybean futures fell on Friday as the weather outlook for the Midwest bolstered expectations of a huge harv... 2016-08-19 19:44 2KB www.dailymail.co.uk 38 Fall crafts to do with your grandkids Nina Lewis, the blogger behind Grandma Ideas showed us a few of the fun (grand kid approved) crafts you can find on her blog. You can also find games, activities, recipes, free educational apps for… 2016-08-19 19:30 924Bytes fox13now.com 39 Charges: Producer hit sour note with fake play on opera star NEW YORK (AP) — A Broadway producer has been charged with scamming seven people by getting them to invest $165,000 in a nonexistent play about opera star Kat... 2016-08-19 19:30 2KB www.dailymail.co.uk 40 Congolese family in refugee limbo The Department of Home Affairs has distanced itself from a Tutsi family from the Democratic Republic of Congo seeking refuge in South Africa. 2016-08-19 19:15 2KB www.timeslive.co.za 41 Mortar bomb suspects' case postponed The case against two men found in possession of an active mortar bomb has been postponed in the Johannesburg Magistrateâs Court. 2016-08-19 19:06 1KB www.news24.com 42 Canada's Trudeau promotes rookie politician in cabinet shuffle OTTAWA, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Canada's Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweaked his cabinet on Friday, promoting a rookie female member of parliament to fi... 2016-08-19 18:59 2KB www.dailymail.co.uk 43 Nine things you need to know about the prison with 'a deadly reputation' where Pat Hickey is detained From a luxurious hotel, to one of the most feared prisons in a country full of feared prisons; Pat Hickey’s stay in Rio has been nothing if not varied. 2016-08-19 18:58 2KB www.independent.ie

44 Lightning strikes Texas family at their home An East Texas family was struck by lightning at home on Saturday. 2016-08-19 23:37 1KB www.chron.com 45 Azerbaijan holds 4 over links to Turkey 'nemesis' Gulen Officials in Azerbaijan on Friday said they had arrested four men over suspected ties to US-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen, accused by Ankara of master... 2016-08-19 18:49 1KB www.dailymail.co.uk 46 Actor says he impersonated Russian mercenary in Syria for Sky News report — RT News A Russian actor claims the recent Sky News documentary about undercover Russian mercenaries in Syria was staged. RT spoke a man who claims to have impersonated one of the fighters the British outlet spoke to. 2016-08-19 18:45 3KB www.rt.com 47 Funeral home duo arrested after 16 bodies due for cremation 'found decaying in warm fridge' A man and woman left more than a dozen bodies due for cremation decaying at a Florida funeral home "because they had run out of body bags", according to police. 2016-08-19 18:42 2KB www.independent.ie 48 Thousands flee homes as California burns Firefighters battled to douse a series of wildfires fueled by high winds, scorching temperatures and dry vegetation, which have forced tens of thousands of C... 2016-08-19 18:09 2KB www.dailymail.co.uk 49 Domestic violence and family law focus of Reeva Steenkamp foundation The Reeva Rebecca Steenkamp Foundation is being officially launched in Port Elizabeth on Friday‚ on what would have been Reeva’s 33rd birthday. 2016-08-19 17:51 965Bytes www.timeslive.co.za 50 ATHLETICS-First Soviet Olympic champion Ponomareva passes away By Dmitriy Rogovitskiy MOSCOW, Aug 19 (Reuters) - The first Olympic champion in the history of the Soviet Union, the discus thrower Nina Ponomareva, has died... 2016-08-19 17:49 1KB www.dailymail.co.uk

51 They're sure going to light up the stage! Team GB to wear shoes that will flash red, white and blue at Olympic closing ceremony in Rio The 366 athletes in Rio will walk out on Sunday night with red, white and blue lights built-in to the soles of their shoes. 2016-08-19 17:47 3KB www.dailymail.co.uk 52 Murdered DA councillor was a family man and a spiritual leader Apart from being a politician and a family man‚ the Democratic Alliance (DA) councillor gunned down on Thursday was also a spiritual man. 2016-08-19 17:42 2KB www.timeslive.co.za 53 New 'Flash Boys' market IEX opens on Wall Street The new IEX stock exchange, aimed at leveling the field for investors disadvantaged by high-speed traders, opened for business Friday in a potent challenge t... 2016-08-19 17:34 3KB www.dailymail.co.uk 54 The Red Devil: Rapist who was caught by his distinctive Manchester United tattoo after attacking 78-year-old grandmother in her home is jailed for 12 years Jason Batchelor, 46, forced his way into the grandmother's home in Purley, south London before punching her in the face, knocking her to the floor and brutally raping her. 2016-08-19 17:33 5KB www.dailymail.co.uk 55 Iraqi forces push Islamic State out of western Iraqi town BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi forces pushed Islamic State fighters out of a pocket of territory near the key western city of Ramadi on Friday evening, the military sa... 2016-08-19 17:21 2KB www.dailymail.co.uk 56 First Republican National Convention in Texas led to Ronald Reagan landslide This week in 1984 the 33rd Republican National Convention kicked off in Dallas at the Reunion Arena. It was the first Republican convention held in Texas and sealed Ronald Reagan's conservative legend. 2016-08-19 23:37 4KB www.chron.com 57 Watch this Dallas Zoo baby elephant freak out about a huge ball The Dallas zoo's "small," 225-pound baby elephant was filmed playing with a ball for the first time this week. The 3-month-old named Ajabu rolls the ball around with his feet and trunk while kicking up sand. 2016-08-19 23:37 1KB www.chron.com 58 Kelly Gale shows off her incredible figure in a VERY busty selfie The 21-year-old earns a living off her flawless bikini body 2016-08-19 16:47 1KB www.dailymail.co.uk 59 MLB Baseball Preview James Shields is close to matching his career-worst total for losses in a season and attempts to sidestep that dubious feat when the Chicago... 2016-08-19 23:39 2KB scoresandstats.chicago.cbslocal.com 60 Roswell teen murders | What we learned from Friday's court hearing ROSWELL, Ga. -- Many new details were revealed Friday in the investigation into the deaths of two Roswell teenagers who were found behind a Publix grocery. 2016-08-19 16:36 4KB rssfeeds.11alive.com 61 Pentagon sends jets, warning as Syria bombs near US-backed Kurds — RT America The US-led coalition scrambled planes near the northeastern Syrian city of Hasakah, after Syrian SU-24 airplanes dropped bombs “dangerously near” the US Special Forces operators embedded with the Kurdish YPG militia in the area. 2016-08-19 16:34 2KB www.rt.com 62 Kim Kardashian tries to make peace between Kourtney and Rob following their fight The 35-year-old attempts to smooth things over between siblings following the Chymoji drama. The 37-year-old got into a fight with her younger brother after his fiance released her emojis. 2016-08-19 16:32 1KB www.dailymail.co.uk 63 Justice Ginsburg laments deadlocks on short-handed court U. S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said split 4-4 decisions by the short-handed high court have left important public policy issues up in the air, including the president's immigration plan, that are likely to be revisited by the court in the future. 2016-08-19 16:32 2KB www.charlotteobserver.com

64 Police: Mom left child in car to take exam Police have a charged a mother accused of leaving a toddler inside a car while she took an exam. 2016-08-19 16:30 1KB rssfeeds.11alive.com 65 Sophie Turner teases Sansa's 'options' in 'Game of Thrones' "Game of Thrones" star Sophie Turner said her character, Sansa Stark, has the choice of becoming a villain or a hero in Season 7. 2016-08-19 16:22 2KB www.upi.com 66 Years of race insults preceded slaying of Lebanese neighbor When an Oklahoma man befriended his Lebanese neighbors, his husband lashed out at the family, hurling epithets and at one point allegedly running over the mother with a car. 2016-08-19 16:21 5KB www.heraldonline.com 67 Syria's first responders: 'Most dangerous job in the world' It took Mahmoud Fadlallah and the team of seven rescue workers 30 minutes to reach the middle-aged couple trapped beneath the rubble of their apartment building in the contested Syrian city of Aleppo. They had been notified a rocket had struck the building, and they had to... 2016-08-19 16:16 6KB www.charlotteobserver.com 68 Book reveals Kansas serial killer's plans for 11th victim The BTK serial killer planned to kill an 11th victim by hanging her upside down in her Wichita, Kansas, home, according to a new book by a professor of forensic psychology. It's a story police heard from Dennis Rader himself in 2005, but decided... 2016-08-19 16:14 3KB www.charlotteobserver.com 69 George Osborne fires machine gun on holiday in Vietnam – video Former Chancellor George Osborne fires automatic weapon at a former Viet Cong base near Ho Chi Minh city 2016-08-19 16:13 1KB www.theguardian.com 70 U. S. searches for new Venezuela strategy as Maduro government hangs on The U. S. has stepped up its rhetoric as it acknowledges that entrenched Venezuelan leaders are more willing to fight to remain in power than the administration had hoped after the opposition took control of the country’s legislature in voting last year. 2016-08-19 16:12 6KB www.charlotteobserver.com 71 Steroid treatments may boost preemies' risk of eye problems Steroids used to help premature babies' lungs work may increase their risk of eye problems, a new study suggests. 2016-08-19 16:10 2KB www.upi.com 72 New ceramic is resistant to temperature extremes Scientists in Russia are currently perfecting a new type of ceramic that can withstand temperatures of more than 3,000 degrees Celsius. 2016-08-19 16:04 1KB www.upi.com 73 Driver, passenger killed, 19 hurt when buses collide in New Jersey A bus driver and a passenger were killed early Friday morning after two transit buses near New York City collided close to rush hour, authorities said. 2016-08-19 16:03 1KB www.upi.com 74 Here's how much Google has grown since going public 12 years ago CNBC looked at Google parent Alphabet's exponential growth on the 12th anniversary of its initial public offering. 2016-08-19 16:00 1KB www.cnbc.com 75 Syrian Bassel Mcleash with Justin Trudeau at Toronto’s Pride: ‘I wanted to thank him for the chance to be free’ Working up the courage to talk to him took an hour. I was thinking, ‘Should I call him Mr Trudeau? Mr Prime Minister? Justin?’ 2016-08-19 16:00 3KB www.theguardian.com 76 Troopers: Bear Mauls Guides After Group Got Close to Cub A brown bear mauled two wilderness guides who were leading a hiking excursion in Alaska after the group came between the female animal and her cub, state troopers said Friday. The guides — a man and a woman — were rescued by the Coast Guard after being injured... 2016-08-19 15:59 2KB abcnews.go.com 77 HPD chief says agency plans to fire officer charged with intoxication manslaughter "He had a second chance," Montalvo said Thursday of the 6-year department veteran, "and I'm horrified that a life was taken because of his behavior. " 2016-08-19 23:37 2KB www.chron.com 78 GOP: Gilbert physically fit enough to run for Congress Attorneys: The Board of State Canvassers should decide whether Melissa Gilbert is medically unfit to run for Congress 2016-08-19 15:52 4KB rssfeeds.detroitnews.com 79 UN Panel Seeks Push Toward Nuclear Disarmament A majority of countries on a U. N.-mandated panel on Friday called on the U. N. General Assembly to consider launching multilateral negotiations on nuclear disarmament, voting in a process that has been boycotted by the world's nuclear-armed powers. Thai ambassador Thani Thongthakdi, who... 2016-08-19 15:52 3KB abcnews.go.com 80 Turkey's post-coup crackdown – in figures Information from Turkish government and media sources shows the extent of arrests and sackings since last month’s failed coup 2016-08-19 15:51 3KB www.theguardian.com 81 Olympics-Athletics-Men's 50km walk results Aug 19 (Gracenote) - Olympic athletics men's 50km walk result in Rio de Janeiro on Friday. 1. Matej Toth (Slovakia) 3 hours 40 minutes 58 seconds 2. Jared Ta... 2016-08-19 15:48 3KB www.dailymail.co.uk 82 Brothers accused in Kush case ask judge for lower bail Two brothers accused of selling Kush and other illegal drugs out of three Houston smoke shops asked a judge Friday to reduce their bail. 2016-08-19 23:37 2KB www.chron.com 83 Iran hails first woman Olympic medallist Iran on Friday cheered Kimia Alizadeh who became the first Iranian woman ever to win an Olympic medal with President Hassan Rouhani leading the praise over h... 2016-08-19 15:45 3KB www.dailymail.co.uk 84 Trump hammers claim of fraud in new ad as early voting nears WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump's first-of-its-kind campaign ad begins with a warning: "In Hillary Clinton's America, the system stays rigged against American... 2016-08-19 15:38 6KB www.dailymail.co.uk

85 Half-Indian man escorted out of Trump rally A man who identified himself as half-Indian was escorted out of a Donald Trump rally on Thursday out of concern that he was a protester, but the man insisted he was a Trump supporter and said he feels that he was racially profiled. 2016-08-19 15:34 2KB rss.cnn.com 86 Hatch Detroit competition down to 4 finalists The public has until Aug. 26 to vote for their favorite business concept 2016-08-19 15:31 1KB rssfeeds.detroitnews.com 87 Over half of British parents are letting their kids drink booze at home – study — RT UK Half of British parents with children under the age of 14 allow them to drink alcohol at home, according to a new study. One-quarter of those said they see nothing wrong with letting them do so. 2016-08-19 15:30 2KB www.rt.com 88 Controversial 'bulk' spying powers have repeatedly foiled terror attacks on British soil, according to review Terrorism laws watchdog David Anderson QC found mass data collection deployed by MI5, MI6 and GCHQ has a 'clear operational purpose'. 2016-08-19 15:27 7KB www.dailymail.co.uk 89 Shocking bodycam footage shows cop pull passenger from car inferno (VIDEO) — RT America Dramatic footage has captured the terrifying aftermath of a high- speed accident as a brave Georgia cop saved a passenger trapped in an SUV engulfed by flames. The car’s driver was killed in the incident. 2016-08-19 15:26 1KB www.rt.com 90 Security Council Regrets Election Delay in Somalia The U. N. Security Council expressed regret Friday at the delay in presidential and parliamentary elections in Somalia and called on all parties to implement the new calendar without delay. The council stressed in a presidential statement approved by all 15 members and read at an open... 2016-08-19 15:25 3KB abcnews.go.com 91 Son is cheated out of £40,000 car accident compensation by his bingo addict mother then family turn on him when he insists on taking her to court A family has been torn apart after Jamie Martin, from Barnsley, took his mother and brother to court for stealing £40,000 of his compensation money after he was hit by a car in 2009. 2016-08-19 15:25 5KB www.dailymail.co.uk

92 Can we defeat the world's deadliest creature? (opinion) As Zika cases soar and malaria makes a resurgence, Martin Edlund writes that we must continue to invest in research and technology to combat mosquito-borne illnesses. 2016-08-19 15:23 7KB rss.cnn.com 93 NASA: Sea ice settling into 'new normal' The latest sea ice data collected by scientists at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center suggests a dire state of affairs. 2016-08-19 15:19 2KB www.upi.com 94 10 Bears questions: What's wrong with Brian Hoyer? FOXBOROROUGH, Mass. — Akiem Hicks invoked 400-meter dash runner Shaunae Miller, who lunged across the tape to win gold, on Thursday. 2016-08-19 15:19 3KB chicago.suntimes.com 95 Supreme Court won't hear fight over Oakwood home The fight over a modern home built in Raleigh's historic Oakwood neighborhood appears to be over after the North Carolina Supreme Court said Friday that it won't hear an appeal in the case. 2016-08-19 15:18 1KB www.wral.com 96 '22 Pushup Challenge': The story behind the disturbing stat If you're wondering why your social media timeline looks like a Crossfit box, you can thank the newest online activism trend: The #22PushUpChallenge. Let's discuss that number. 2016-08-19 15:17 4KB rss.cnn.com 97 Mo Farah leaves no stone unturned in bid to clinch historic Olympic gold Mo Farah has worked to ensure he will not be taken by surprise by a rival as he bids to complete a historic 'double double' of Olympic long-distance titles in Rio on Saturday. 2016-08-19 15:14 3KB www.dailymail.co.uk 98 Bridge inspection scheduled on Torrance Ave. in Lansing Saturday A bridge inspection will shut down multiple lanes of Torrence Avenue Saturday morning over I-80/94 in south suburban Lansing. 2016-08-19 15:13 960Bytes chicago.suntimes.com 99 Illegal marijuana operations smoked out by growing 80,000-acre California wildfire Crews fighting a month-long California wildfire have come across perhaps more than they expected to find -- illegal marijuana operations deep in the forest. 2016-08-19 15:12 3KB www.upi.com 100 Russian drill calls for ‘NATO’ soldiers ‘to lay down arms, stop being pawns’ — RT News Russian troops were allegedly on the hunt for NATO soldiers during a mission in the northwest of the country. However, there is no need to panic. The alliance is not invading, as it was merely a mock exercise to simulate a hypothetical incursion into Russia. 2016-08-19 15:12 2KB www.rt.com Articles

Total 100 articles, created at 2016-08-20 00:02

1 CDC: Pregnant women should avoid part of Miami Beach affected by Zika (2.18/3) MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — Pregnant women should now avoid a popular section of this tourist district where Zika is spreading, in addition to a smaller area north of downtown Miami, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Friday. Pregnant women and their sexual partners who are concerned about the virus could also consider avoiding "nonessential travel" to all of Miami- Dade County, according to the CDC. Although Zika mostly spreads through mosquito bites, both men and women can transmit the virus sexually. Florida health officials, who have been grappling with a Zika outbreak in Miami's Wynwood neighborhood, confirmed Friday that five people also have been infected in South Beach, the vibrant community that's located across Biscayne Bay from the rest of Miami and known for its pastel- colored buildings and art deco architecture. The new cases bring the total number of infections spread by local mosquitoes to 36, Gov. Rick Scott said. The five latest patients were infected within a 1.5 square mile area of Miami Beach, said Scott, whose state is the first to experience a Zika outbreak from native mosquitoes. The bulk of the USA's more than 2,200 cases of the virus are related to travel. The affected area of Miami Beach stretches from the beach to the Intracoastal Waterway, from 8th Street to 28th Street, Scott said. People who live in or who have traveled to this area since July 14 should be "aware of active Zika virus transmission," the CDC said. Pregnant women who have been to this area since that date should see their doctor or other healthcare provider about getting tested for Zika. Men and women with a pregnant sex partner who have visited the area since July 14 "should consistently and correctly use condoms to prevent infection during sex or avoid having sex for the duration of the pregnancy. " The CDC recommends all pregnant women be assessed for possible exposure to Zika virus, although not all of them need to be tested. Testing for Zika is time-consuming and the number of lab staff available to perform the tests is limited. Mosquitoes could be spreading the virus in other areas in Miami-Dade County that haven't yet been recognized, said CDC Director Thomas Frieden. "There are undoubtedly more infections that we’re not aware of right now," he said. Frieden notes that 80% of Zika patients have no symptoms, making the disease difficult to diagnose. Patients can incubate the virus for up to two weeks before showing signs of the disease, which can include fever, rash, joint pain, pink eye, headache and other problems. The CDC took the unprecedented step earlier this month to warn pregnant women to avoid the Wynwood neighborhood that's located north of downtown. The area of concern in Wynwood has since shrunk as officials investigated the outbreak. USA TODAY What you need to know about Zika and pregnancy Pregnant women are at greater risk than others from Zika because the virus can cause devastating birth defects in fetuses, including serious brain damage. "I ask every Floridian to take proper precautions," Scott said. "We all have to do our part to wear bug spray and dump standing water," where mosquitoes can breed, he added. "If you see standing water, no mater how small, dump it. " The new Miami Beach cases include two people from Miami Beach, one from New York, one from Texas and one from Taiwan. Florida "will do everything we can to help pregnant women all across our state. We have a safe state and we are going to keep it that way," Scott said. Scott, who has requested additional help from the CDC to deal with the outbreak, said officials are taking aggressive mosquito-control measures. The large number of high-rise buildings in Miami Beach makes it difficult to kill mosquitoes by spraying from the air, Frieden said. That's because the airplanes that spray pesticide tend to fly at altitudes of only about 100 feet. Mosquito-control workers will likely have to spray pesticides by hand, using "backpack" pesticide containers. The pesticides used in Wynwood appear to kill about 90% of mosquitoes hit with the spray. USA TODAY Controlling Zika mosquitoes may be 'lost cause' "We're just impressed by the resilience of this mosquito," Frieden said. "It's a tough mosquito to spray. " Scott has asked the CDC for an additional 5,000 Zika antibody test kits "to ensure we can quickly test people for the virus and additional lab support personnel to help us expedite Zika testing," he said. He has also asked the Obama administration for an additional 10,000 Zika prevention kits. Scott said he's waiting for a "detailed plan" on how to work with FEMA. At least 529 pregnant women in the continental U. S. and Hawaii have been infected with Zika, according to the CDC. Seventeen American women have given birth to babies with Zika-related birth defects and six have lost pregnancies due to the disease, according to the CDC. More than 13,000 people have been diagnosed with Zika in Puerto Rico, including at least 1,106 pregnant women, according to the Puerto Rico health department. About 100 Puerto Ricans with Zika have been hospitalized and two have died.

Five local Zika cases reported in Miami Beach upi.com

Officials Say Zika Transmission Identified In Miami’s South Beach newyork.cbslocal.com 2016-08-19 16:46 Liz Szabo rssfeeds.usatoday.com

2 2 Pets headed to Atlanta after Louisiana flooding (2.14/3) Just One More Thing... We have sent you a verification email. Please check your email and click on the link to activate your profile. If you do not receive the verification message within a few minutes of signing up, please check your Spam or Junk folder. Close

Louisiana flooding: How Atlantans can help flood victims ajc.com Mental scars showing on youngest victims of Louisiana floods cbs46.com 2016-08-19 23:38 Lauren Foreman www.ajc.com

3 Colombia Issues 50,000-Peso Note With Writer Garcia's Image (1.20/3) Colombia has released a new 50,000-peso note bearing the image of the celebrated late writer and Nobel laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez. The bill is worth roughly $17.30. One side features the image of the author of the novel "One Hundred Years of Solitude" and the other side shows Colombia's "Ciudad Perdida," or "Lost City," in the country's Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta. The bill was released in the port city of Santa Marta. Considered one of the most important Spanish-language writers of all time, Garcia Marquez was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1982. The man known for numerous novels written in his style of "magic realism" died in Mexico City two years ago.

Colombia issues 50,000-peso note with writer Garcia's image cbs46.com 2016-08-19 15:42 By abcnews.go.com

4 Rio Olympics: Day 14 (1.12/3) Rio Olympics: Day 14 Sabrina Hering, Franziska Weber, Steffi Kriegerstein and Tina Dietze of Germany compete in the Women's Kayak Four 500m on Day 14 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Lagoa Stadium on August 19, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Paul Gilham/Getty Images) Rio Olympics: Day 14 Sabrina Hering, Franziska Weber, Steffi Kriegerstein, and Tina Dietze of Germany compete in the Women's Kayak Four 500m on Day 14 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Lagoa Stadium on August 19, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images) Rio Olympics: Day 14 Elvina Karimova #4 of Russia and Ekaterina Lisunova #2 of Russia celebrate winning the bronze during the Women's Water Polo Bronze Medal match between Hungary and Russia on Day 14 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium on August 19, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Adam Pretty/Getty Images) Rio Olympics: Day 14 From left, Filippo Lanza, Emanuele Birarelli and Ivan Zaytsev of Italy in defence against the united States during the Men's Volleyball Semifinal match on Day 14 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Maracanazinho on August 19, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) Rio Olympics: Day 14 Tony Victor James Yoka of France reacts after fighting Filip Hrgovic of Croatia in the Men's Super Heavy 91kg Semifinal 1 on Day 14 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Riocentro arena on August 19, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) Rio Olympics: Day 14 Raquel Gonzalez of Spain, Erica de Sena of Brazil and Shijie Qieyang of China compete in the Women's 20km Walk final on Day 14 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at Pontal on August 19, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images) Rio Olympics: Day 14 Pau Gasol #4 of Spain goes to the basket against Carmelo Anthony #15 of United States during the Men's Semifinal match on Day 14 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at Carioca Arena 1 on August 19, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Jim Young - Pool/Getty Images) Rio Olympics: Day 14 Makenzie Fischer #11 of United States during the Women's Water Polo Gold Medal match between the United States and Italy on Day 14 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium on August 19, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images) Rio Olympics: Day 14 Joe Joyce of Great Britain celebrates after defeating Ivan Dychko of Kazakhstan in the Men's Super Heavy Semifinal 2 on Day 14 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Riocentro arena on August 19, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) Rio Olympics: Day 14 American fans show their support in the Women's Water Polo Gold Medal Classification match between the United States and Italy on Day 14 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium on August 19, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images) Rio Olympics: Day 14 Fom left, Gold medalist Mariana Pajon of Colombia and silver medalist Alise Post of the United States celebrate during the Women's BMX Final on day 14 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Olympic BMX Centre on August 19, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images) Rio Olympics: Day 14 Simone Giannelli of Italy shows his emotions following victory over the United States in the Men's Volleyball Semifinal match on Day 14 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Maracanazinho on August 19, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Buda Mendes/Getty Images) Rio Olympics: Day 14 Kk Clark #5 of United States and Melissa Seidemann #3 of United States celebrate in the Women's Water Polo Gold Medal Classification match between the United States and Italy on Day 14 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium on August 19, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Adam Pretty/Getty Images) Rio Olympics: Day 14 Pau Gasol #4 of Spain goes to the basket against Demarcus Cousins #12 of United States during the Men's Semifinal match on Day 14 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at Carioca Arena 1 on August 19, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) USA's Connor Fields wins gold in Rio Olympics BMX final rssfeeds.usatoday.com 2016-08-19 23:37 newyork.cbslocal.com

5 Olympics-Athletics-China's Liu Hong wins women's 20km walk gold (1.07/3) RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug 19 (Reuters) - China's Liu Hong won women's 20km walk final on Friday, fending off Mexico's Maria Guadalupe Gonzalez in a thrilling final kilometre dash to the finish line to snatch gold. World champion Liu was touted as the hot favourite heading into the Rio Games and she lived up to the billing, powering away from Gonzalez as the finish line came into sight to win in 1:28:35. Gonzalez entered the final kilometre in the lead but she was powerless to stop Liu's late onslaught on a hot and humid day, crossing the line 0.02 seconds behind the 29-year-old world record holder. "It was hard because the weather wasn't that good. The only thing I could do was keep going, do my best and try to make it perfect," Liu told reporters. "(Winning gold) means a lot to me. I have been doing this sport for more than 10 years now. " Gonzalez's victory made her only the second woman ever to win a medal in athletics for Mexico and brought the Latin American nation its first medal at the Rio Games. China's Lu Xiuzhi, who won silver at last year's world championships, had to settle for bronze. Russia's London Games Olympic champion Elena Lashmanova, who was handed a two-year doping ban in 2014, did not defend her crown in Rio, where the entire Russian team athletics was prevented from competing due to doping concerns. (Reporting by Drazen Jorgic; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli) USA's Connor Fields wins gold in Rio Olympics BMX final rssfeeds.usatoday.com

Olympics-Boxing-Mossely takes women's lightweight gold for France dailymail.co.uk 2016-08-19 20:06 Reuters www.dailymail.co.uk

6 Steady on, it's Olympic basketball, not wrestling! US men's team march into gold medal round after ugly semi-final win over Spain with 26 fouls alone in the first half (1.06/3) The US men's basketball team is through to yet another Olympic gold medal match, beating the European champions Spain in a hard-fought, bad- tempered contest. Spain, who have never won a gold medal at the Olympics, put up a spirited display, and held their opponents to a six-point deficit, outscoring them in both the second and fourth quarters. Pau Gasol, a two-time former NBA champion put in a monster display, scoring 23 points from center, more than the rest of Spain's starters combined. But USA's quality ultimately counted for more in the end, as they held on to win 82-76 in yet another close encounter. Their reward is a gold medal bout against either Australia's 'Boomers', led by Andrew Bogut, or Serbia. They struggled against both teams in the group stages. Scroll down for videos The bad-tempered contest saw 26 fouls, five technical in the first half alone, with the team coaches and captains called to mid-court at the start of the second half for a warning. DeMarcus 'Boogie' Cousins fouled out in the third quarter. Kevin Durant, who moved from the Oklahoma Thunder to the Golden State Warriors in the off-season, overtook LeBron James in the first quarter, becoming second in USA's all-time leading Olympic scorer list. James, who won the NBA championship with the Cleveland Cavaliers this season, opted not to travel to Rio. The newly-minted Warrior finished the game with 14 points but his new teammate Klay Thompson led scoring with 22. He was four from eight from the three-point line. DeAndre Jordan put in another huge shift, with 16 rebounds, nine points and an outrageous putback dunk. Durant, who caught fire in the quarter final against Argentina after a relatively mediocre tournament for his high-standards, told USA Today on Thursday: 'I told myself before I left my room, I’m at my best if I don’t care if we win or lose. 'It might be different for other players. But for me, I’m more free and aggressive, and it's way more fun for me if I don’t care about the outcome. I know if I go out there and be who I am, the outcome will dictate itself.' Point guard Kyrie Irving added: 'In the first five games, he was feeling it out. This is the stage he thrives on, and we can count on KD being KD in the biggest moments. I know he'll be a big part of our games going forward.' Team USA's aura of invincibility had been chiseled away after struggling in the group stages with just three-point wins over both France and Serbia and a close victory over Australia. They appeared to find their form however in the quarter finals against Argentina, thrashing them 105-78. Spain however, have a formidable pedigree of their own, Second in the world rankings behind the USA, they are the reigning European champions and are the last team not named USA to win the FIBA basketball world cup in 2006. They also boast a number of NBA players, led by center and former NBA champ Pau Gasol of the Chicago Bulls. They have also raised eyebrows with their behavior, seemingly enjoying the sun, sand and sights of Rio more than their training regime. Earlier this week, the team had a blast taking part in a beach volleyball game that drew a large crowd with the players stopping to take pictures with fans and interact with excited locals, all the while sipping from coconuts. They were similarly seen cheering on Kerri Walsh-Jennings and April Ross in the beach volleyball, while DeAndre Jordan and co also whooped with delight as they watched Michael Phelps in the pool during week one. Their choice of accommodation was also questioned, with the millionaire superstars of the NBA shunning the athletes village for a cruise ship. USA Basketball and their sponsor, Cisco, have rented out the entire Silver Cloud cruise ship, to provide enhanced security to such world-famous players as Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Durant. The team has also been the subject of controversy since arriving in Rio, with at least three players making headlines for being caught at a Brazilian brothel. Photos last week appeared to show Jordan and other players in Termas Monte Carlo, a 'high- end brothel' in the Olympic city. Jordan and at least two other members of the team - DeMarcus 'Boogie' Cousins and DeMar Derozan - were spotted in the fake 'spa' last week, although the players insist they thought it was a 'spa'. The US women's team by comparison has flown under the radar as they march imperiously to another gold. Sylvia Fowles, 30, of the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx, said earlier this week that when the gold medal has been won ‘we are going to party hard.’ ‘We are going to go hard if we win gold. Just enjoy when we can let our guards down,’ she said. It was a very pointed contrast to the men’s team – although Fowles was careful to defend their right to enjoy themselves. She added that ‘nobody cares’ when she and her teammates venture out of the same luxury cruise liner and the women prefer it that way. She said: ‘I wouldn’t say we keep a low profile. They [the men] are just more seen. ‘I have been to the beach. Nobody cares. But if [Kevin] Durant goes to be the beach everybody is going to be all on it.’

US Men’s Basketball Team Edges Spain, Will Play For Gold newyork.cbslocal.com 2016-08-19 20:15 Chris Irvine www.dailymail.co.uk

7 Russia’s synchronized swimming team wins country’s 13th gold in Rio — RT Sport (1.06/3) Victory was achieved with a total score of 196.1439 points in technical and free routines. China claimed the silver with 192.9841 points, while Japan won the bronze with a score of 189.2056 points. The result means Russia returns to fourth place in the overall medal table, level on the number of golds with Germany, but with 15 silver medals to the Germans’ eight. There was synchronized swimming success at the Games for Russia earlier in the week, when Natalia Ishchenko and Svetlana Romashina won gold in the duet event.

USA's Connor Fields wins gold in Rio Olympics BMX final rssfeeds.usatoday.com 2016-08-19 16:27 www.rt.com

8 Meet Ryan Lochte, the latest 'ugly American' (1.02/3) Get the Sport24 daily newsletter delivered to your Inbox! Washington - It is Ryan Lochte's turn to be scorned as the world's ugliest American: a man wrapped in shame for his concocted story of being robbed at gunpoint at the Rio Olympics. America and the world have watched in disbelief as the flashy, 12-time Olympic medal winner's shocking account and that of three other US swimmers in Rio - initially a howling embarrassment for the Brazilian hosts of the Games - gradually fell apart. Rather, it turns out they were detained at a gas station by a security guard after vandalizing a rest room and urinating on a wall in a state of inebriation while coming home from a party at dawn last weekend. On Friday, the 32-year-old Lochte - who once tried to trademark his bro-speak catchphrase 'Jeah!', meaning cool - apologized. He said he was sorry for "for not being more careful and candid" in his account of what happened. But he seems to have all but self-destructed as a public figure. Surf the Internet and the comments are universally scathing. There's Lochte the national embarrassment, Lochte the real-life Pinocchio, Lochte the rich, handsome, dim-witted and attention-crazed jock who treated the world's largest sporting event as a night out with the guys, and then left his drinking buddies holding the bag as he quickly left Brazil. Eventually, they ratted him out. "Ryan Lochte is everything the world hates about Americans," reads a headline in the New York Post. The paper's definition of the ugly American abroad? "A sense of entitlement, however subtle; a feeling of superiority, however unintended. " Washington Post columnist Sally Jenkins put it this way: "There is a special category of obnoxious American 'bro' that Lochte represents, in his T-shirt and jeans and expensive suede footwear, which he showed off on social media that night at the party along with the price tag. 'We’re 6k deep here,' he captioned it. " Perhaps not since a Minnesota dentist and trophy hunter named Walter Palmer shot and killed a prized black-maned lion named Cecil in Zimbabwe last year has a single American wallowed in such global ignominy. Palmer went underground for months and shut down his dental practice. He was loathed on social media. Eventually, he apologized too. Everyday people are mercilessly laying into Lochte as he goes into damage control mode. It could be only a matter of time before companies with which he has endorsement deals start dumping him. One tweet says the reason the diving pool at Rio turned green - it did - is that Lochte urinated there as well. A newspaper cartoon shows Lochte being dragged to the bottom of a pool by a ball and chain, with the word 'lies' written on the ball. Lochte and his three friends are also reviled as having insulted the intelligence of Brazilian police, exploiting Rio's reputation for rampant street crime and violence and then acting stupefied by all the fuss they made. "That's one problem with obliviously arrogant Americans. They just don't get it," the Miami Herald said. "In crafting their story as victims, Lochte and friends gave off the same air of entitled superiority as Donald Trump: The USA is No. 1 and your third-world banana republic is uncivilized compared to us," it said. Jenkins, of The Washington Post, said Lochte is toast and he deserves it. "Lochte's done as a public figure, of course. Which is probably the most effective form of justice for someone who apparently so craves attention. Oblivion is what he deserves," she wrote. Ryan Lochte dubbed "Ugly American" as Rio robbery tale collapses timeslive.co.za 2016-08-19 21:51 www.sport24.co.za

9 Rio Olympics 2016: Britain's Joe Joyce reaches men's super-heavyweight final (1.02/3) Great Britain's Joe Joyce will fight for an Olympic gold medal after beating Kazakhstan's Ivan Dychko to reach the men's super- heavyweight boxing final at Rio 2016. The 30-year-old lost the first round of three but Dychko, 26, tired and Joyce took a unanimous win. Joyce will face Frenchman Tony Yoka for the gold medal at 19:15 BST on Sunday. "I'm staying hungry and staying humble," said Joyce. "One step closer - keep it simple and keep on winning. " Losing semi-finalists Dychko and Croat Filip Hrgovic both receive a bronze medal. Team GB are aiming for a second successive men's super-heavyweight Olympic title after Anthony Joshua won gold at London 2012. British Olympic boxing champion Anthony Joshua: "Dychko came out jabbing at the start but Joe broke him down. I am so happy for him. He has come from grassroots and is in the final. I am so happy. "He is like a steam train, he was flying at the end. We are going to call him 'Steam-train Joe'. " Subscribe to the BBC Sport newsletter to get our pick of news, features and video sent to your inbox. Fri 19 Aug, 06:00 BST, BBC One Fri 19 Aug, 06:30 BST, BBC Radio 5 live Fri 19 Aug, 07:00 BST, BBC Radio 5 live sports extra Fri 19 Aug, 09:15 BST, BBC Two Fri 19 Aug, 13:00 BST, BBC Radio 5 live Fri 19 Aug, 13:45 BST, BBC One, BBC Two, BBC Four, BBC Red Button & Connected TV Fit for Sport Kids Activity Camp Fit for Sport Kids Activity Camp

Men's Olympic basketball semifinals stream.nbcolympics.com 2016-08-19 19:09 www.bbc.co.uk

10 No more blue lights in Tshwane - Msimanga (1.02/3) Pretoria - Newly elected mayor of Tshwane Solly Msimanga says no one will be allowed to use blue lights in traffic in the city except the President of the Republic. "Blue lights will be a thing of the past in the city. The only person who will have blue lights will be the president of the country," Msimanga told reporters on Friday. "Gone are the days where publicly-elected officials will think they are VIPs. The only VIPs will be the people of the city. " Msimanga said that was to ensure that leaders never get to think they are more important than the people who put them in office. "The moment people feel like they are more important that's when they start serving themselves instead of serving the communities. Our officials will also need to be engaging with our communities more instead of only when there are service delivery protests,” he said. “That is saying to our people that we value you, you are more important and we will come listen to you and we will act on what you are saying. " ANC threat Msimanga responded to the African National Congress' threat that it was in charge of the majority of wards where he would have to engage residents. The ANC chairperson in Tshwane Kgosientso Ramokgopa pointed out that the party was in charge of 69 wards in the municipality and Msimanga would have to address them and be introduced by ANC councillors who can decide to "throw him under the bus" in their introductions. Msimanga said that was nothing more than trying to disturb the rolling out of service to settle a score. "I want our residents to know that the ANC will halt service delivery in areas they think is their home. This is something that is very telling that they will want to risk our people receiving services just to prove a point. We will ensure that service delivery takes place even in those wards," said Msimanga. WATCH the video:

Blue light ban applies even to Jacob Zuma‚ Tshwane mayor Solly Msimanga says timeslive.co.za 2016-08-19 19:06 Karabo Ngoepe www.news24.com

11 US STOCKS-Wall St dips as investors assess rate outlook (1.00/3) By Caroline Valetkevitch NEW YORK, Aug 19 (Reuters) - U. S. stocks edged lower on Friday, led by declines in utility shares as investors weighed prospects for an interest rate increase in the coming months. Energy shares also weighed on the market, even though U. S. crude oil prices settled higher. The S&P utility index, which tends to fall as investor rate hike expectations rise, ended down 1.2 percent. The telecommunications index, also sensitive to changes in interest rates, fell 0.9 percent. San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams late on Thursday said if the U. S. central bank waited too long to raise rates, it could be costly for the economy and that a possible rate hike in September should be in play. The comments added to statements perceived as hawkish from New York Fed President William Dudley earlier in the week. Investors also are bracing for next week's meeting of global central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where Fed Chair Janet Yellen may provide insight on the rate outlook. The market's recent run-up to record highs has been partly supported by expectations that the Fed will continue to keep rates low, as well as by some upbeat earnings and economic news. "Equities are ending this week largely unchanged. The dog days of summer are among us, earnings season is over and investors are in pause mode with the popular indices near all-time highs," said Terry Sandven, chief equity strategist at U. S. Bank Wealth Management in Minneapolis. "I think we're going sideways for a month or so as we await visibility. In the absence of earnings data, I think the Fed will take center stage. " The Dow Jones industrial average ended down 45.13 points, or 0.24 percent, to 18,552.57, the S&P 500 lost 3.15 points, or 0.14 percent, to close at 2,183.87 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.77 points, or 0.03 percent, to 5,238.38. For the week, the Dow was down 0.1 percent, the S&P 500 was down 0.01 percent and the Nasdaq was up 0.1 percent. The benchmark S&P 500 index remains up 6.8 percent for the year so far. The energy index was down 0.8 percent. Among the day's gainers, Applied Materials rose 7.1 percent to $29.64 after the chip equipment maker gave a strong current-quarter profit forecast. Also, Deere was up 13.5 percent at $87.32 after the farming machinery maker raised its full-year profit outlook. Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a 1.45-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.11-to-1 ratio favored decliners. The S&P 500 posted 20 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 102 new highs and 22 new lows. Volume was low. Just 5.7 billion shares changed hands on U. S. exchanges, compared with the 6.4 billion daily average for the past 20 trading days, according to Thomson Reuters data. (Additional reporting by Tanya Agrawal in Bengaluru; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and James Dalgleish)

Pricey U.S. stock valuations may warrant second look dailymail.co.uk 2016-08-19 20:37 Reuters www.dailymail.co.uk

12 Sheriff: Student facing murder charges in face-biting attack (0.01/3) FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida sheriff's office said Friday that a college student caught trying to bite the face off a victim after stabbing the man and his wife will be charged with first-degree murder, meaning he'll face capital punishment or life without parole. Austin Harrouff, 19, will be charged with two counts of first-degree murder, one count of attempted murder and burglary, according to a statement from Trisha Kukuvka, a spokeswoman for Martin County Sheriff William Snyder. He also will face an attempted first-degree murder charge for allegedly stabbing their neighbor, Jeff Fisher, who came to their aid. The Florida State University student is conscious but heavily sedated and under armed guard in a hospital, according to the sheriff's office. Snyder suggested earlier in the week that he's in no hurry to make the charges official, since the man's family or insurance must pay his hospital bills until he's formally charged. Snyder also has said that investigators "know the who, the what, the when, the where and the how" of the attack, but the why remains a mystery. Solving that mystery doesn't matter so much to the children of John Stevens III, 59; and his wife Michelle Mishcon, 53, who were stabbed in the garage and driveway of their house in a quiet community north of Jupiter. Stevens' children said they want him to face execution. "It is not super important to me what his mindset was," John Stevens IV told the SunSentinel (http://bit.ly/2bOMZZz) on Thursday. "I just want to see the prosecutor ask for the death penalty. I want him to go through that process and to pay for what he did. " Ivy Stevens agreed: "I hope he makes a full recovery so he can be put through the justice system. " Snyder said tests for substances in Harrouff's system may help explain why the student with no history of criminal behavior became extraordinarily violent. Hospital blood tests showed no signs of methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin or other common drugs; it will take longer to test for less common hallucinogenic drugs such as flakka or bath salts. In a video he recently posted online, Harrouff suggested he may have taken steroids in the past, but said he doesn't use them now. Attorney Robert Watson, who said he's representing Harrouff, told TC Palm (http://bit.ly/2b3AAkH) that the student's parents saw "indications of odd and unusual behavior" in him recently, but he declined to elaborate on possible mental health issues. Officials have pieced together a timeline of events that led up to the Monday night attack. The sheriff said Harrouff was having dinner with his father and sister at Duffy's, a popular sports bar about three miles from the crime scene, and stormed out, apparently agitated about slow service. His parents were so worried about his behavior they called police and some of his friends in a futile attempt to find him. His mother, Mina Harrouff, still unaware of the attack, told Jupiter Police Offficer Luis Rocha that her son had been acting strangely for about a week, claiming he had superpowers and that he was "here to protect people," the report said. She also said her son had no history of mental illness nor heavy drug use. Mischon's screams alerted Fisher, who told investigators they were both alive when he tried to intervene, but that he ran home to call 911 after Harrouff stabbed him repeatedly. Fisher was released from the hospital on Thursday, his brother-in-law told news outlets. The sheriff said Harrouff was growling like an animal and was abnormally strong. Despite being stunned by a Taser, it took multiple deputies and a police dog to pull him off Stevens' body. The Latest: Death penalty to be sought in face-biting attack dailymail.co.uk 2016-08-19 15:35 Associated Press www.dailymail.co.uk

13 Ivanka Trump gets burned as company donates her money to Clinton — RT America The beautifully-written burn from Lady Grey jewelers was included with her web order by the brand’s co-founders. “Dear Ivanka,” the note read, “Thank you so much for your web order! We’re happy to let you know that the proceeds of your sale have been generously donated to the American Immigration Council, the Everytown for Gun Safety Organization, and the Hillary Clinton campaign. We hope you enjoy your new Lady Grey #helixearcuff. Best, Jill and Sabine.” The girls then tweeted a picture of the note with the accompanying hashtags, #thanksbutnothanks, #payitforward and #hillary2016. READ MORE: Champion of women? Ivanka attempts liberal sales pitch of Trump The company explained that Trump’s political statements were so at odds with their own views that they felt “instantly felt compelled to take the money and donate it” to a number of causes “that were more aligned” with their own. Ivanka was registered as an independent before the conventions, rendering her unable to vote for her father in the New York primaries. She has been advising Trump during his campaign.

2016-08-20 00:01 www.rt.com

14 Filipino soap operas a hit in Sierra Leone FREETOWN—Very rainy season in the capital of Sierra Leone. The West African country is in the midst of its seasonal rains divided into two—rainy and very rainy, and we arrive at the time where each blade of grass is soaked and fat with moisture, each gutter in the city streets rushing with brown rain water with sows and piglets foraging in hock- high streams. Right in the middle of organized melee and within sniffing distance from the nearby wharf sprawls Freetown’s Big Market. We jump across puddles and hike up a couple steps on splintered wood wet at its seams and enter a dark building and wait for our eyes to adjust. Not enough light was streaming in and the air smelled like what was outside, wet and musty and peppered with the wafts of half-eaten spiced meals. West African masks stared from the dark, necklaces of beads and glass twinkled gently under the low lights, and fabrics in a kaleidoscope of colors and patterns of optical illusion prints hung low. Out of the muted lights and murmurs of men chatting quietly in the darkened hallways, a woman came out, then one, then two until a group of women stared at two Filipinas, pale and confused in the midst of fabrics. They said the word “Filippine” in awe and giddy delight normally given to B grade celebrities or toothpaste TV commercial models. Perturbed with the minor commotion, we let the women drag us into one stall and there on the piles of brilliant fabrics lay a stack of DVDs with titles ranging from “Be Careful with My Heart” to “The Promise (Pangako sa Iyo)”. How can a West African nation beaten to its knees with its decade-long civil war and recent debilitating Ebola crisis that left thousands dead relate to Philippine drama? How can these women struggling to make a living in a half darkened market feel so strongly about an Asian girl pining for someone outside her economic marriage zone? All about love and oppression The answer lies in the eyes of the women as they describe giddily in a mix of Creole English the plot line of each DVD. Love and oppression can indeed cut across languages, cultures and geography. Globalization does not just encompass the crisscrossing of products and the data traversing the Internet but it also covers those flimsy bootlegged DVDs that have the power to bring down hostility, cut across cultural barriers, and forge a connection between strangers coming from alien cultures. The soap operas are bootlegged DVD darlings in Sierra Leone. Martha, the woman from the fabric stall, strongly relate to Philippine stories and as she vividly explained, “I love Sir Chief (in ‘Be Careful with My Heart’), the stories make me forget about my struggles, and I can feel that I am not alone in the things I go through.” Sierra Leone, with a population of around seven million with majority of the people Muslims, has a number of things in common with the Philippines— stories of leaving the village for the city for a better life, poverty, patriarchal values, poor girl meets rich man, natural disasters, old family values, and other salient themes about love and oppression. Inner Cinderellas When prodded on the obsession about the Filipino soap operas, Hilda, a civil society worker living upcountry, hundreds of miles away from the capital, said, “Who does not relate to a fairy tale story? A poor girl from the country wanting to take care of her family she left behind in the village and dreaming to marry a rich man? It is every woman’s wish, right? And when we watch your shows…yes, the actors may look exotic to us but then we realize that they suffer through the same issues like what we have and it just resonates.” While other soap operas from other countries are available, Sierra Leonians prefer the Philippine-produced ones. Hilda continued, “The ones from Mexico are a bit farfetched for us, they look beautiful with nice cars and they look like they are straight from magazines. The same case with the American ones. But the Philippine stories are much more raw, more realistic, and we can easily identify with their challenges because that is what we go through every day. The family values are there and we can see there is a strong connection to old traditions.” Soap operas may run along the story lines of a Cinderella story but what makes Philippine soap operas catchy is the ability to leave the audience hanging. Cisse, another vendor in the Big Market, said, “It is crazy, we talk about this every day, it is something else we can talk about besides our problems. And it is more interesting, even the children watch it and they are fascinated. Our culture revolves around stories and we just love the way how the surprising turns are weaved into the stories and it catches us off guard the whole time.” Sierra Leone is just one of the handful countries in Africa that got bitten by the Philippine soap opera bug and it has been reported that on the other side of the coast in East Africa, from Kenya to Uganda, these soap operas have caused minor uproars—traffic jams have been reported when female employees rush home because the TV drama starts in the early evening or wives would not serve dinners when the husbands commandeers the TV for a football match. Quite a phenomenon and love is indeed universal. As Shakespeare, the pioneering soap opera writer in Othello scribbled, “I know a lady in Venice would have walked barefoot to Palestine for a touch of his nether lip.” So from Manila to Freetown—love it is then. TVJ (The author is a former journalist in Manila. She is now working for an international development organization. She is covering the 54-state African region and currently posted in northeast Africa.) RELATED STORIES PH telenovelas, actors gain huge following in Cambodia Filipino priest opts to stay in Sierra Leone despite Ebola risk Ebola outbreak ends, but stigma stalks survivors

2016-08-20 00:01 Daisy Diamante globalnation.inquirer.net

15 Two Vets Groups Want The VA To Stop 'Lavish' Art Spending Two veterans groups joined the growing throng of representatives and senators calling for a halt to art spending by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) until a more transparent procurement process is put in place. Concerned Veterans for America and Veterans for Common Sense backed Rep. Vern Buchanan’s call for “an immediate freeze on all artwork purchases made by the VA,” according to a press release. “While veterans nationwide are struggling to receive basic health care, the VA is spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on sculptures,” Dan Caldwell, vice president of policy and communications at Concerned Veterans for America, said in the statement. “The VA’s flawed priorities are actively hurting our veterans – on the backs of American taxpayers.” Both groups commended Buchanan for his efforts to halt spending on artwork, and said the VA’s focus should be on ensuring veterans receive the best care. “There are much more pressing needs and systemic problems at VA facilities around the country that need to be addressed before the VA spends millions of taxpayer dollars on lavish new artwork, including fixing VA’s suicide hotline so it can always provide immediate assistance,” said Anthony Hardie, director of Veterans for Common Sense. More than 1.6 million veterans reside in Buchanan’s home state of Florida, and account for 12 percent of the population according to Florida Department of Veteran’s Affairs. “It’s disgraceful that the VA put money toward these purchases as veterans waited weeks, sometimes months, on end to see a doctor,” Buchanan said. “The VA’s repeated failure to provide veterans with urgently-needed care is unacceptable. The agency should focus on fulfilling its obligation to our nation’s veterans instead of buying fancy artwork.” The department’s $115,600 contract with “art consultants” for the VA’s Palo Alto hospital, the $330,000 for glass-art installation and $21,500 for an artificial, 27-foot Christmas tree, augment Buchanan’s call for the freeze. (RELATED: Deadly, Scandal-Ridden VA Hospital Addresses Crisis With … Interior Designer) Rep. Jeff Miller, also of Florida, threatened to subpoena VA Secretary Robert McDonald over the department’s art purchases earlier this month. (RELATED: Senator Tells VA To Stop ‘Extravagant Spending’ On High- End Art) A spokesperson for the VA told The Daily Caller News Foundation that the department is developing a national policy for purchasing artwork. “While we must be stewards of taxpayer dollars, we also know that providing comprehensive health care for patients goes beyond just offering the most advanced medical treatments,” the spokesperson said. The VA plans to continue purchasing artwork for veteran’s hospitals. “Artwork is one of the many facets that create a healing environment for our nation’s Veterans,” the spokesperson continued. “We want an atmosphere that welcomes them to VA facilities, shows them respect and appreciation, honors them for their service and sacrifice and exemplifies that this is a safe place for them to receive their care.” (RELATED: This Is How The VA’s ‘Extravagant’ Art Spending Once Helped A Veteran) Follow Thomas Phippen on Twitter Send tips to [email protected] . Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact [email protected].

2016-08-19 23:39 dailycaller.com

16 Promising News For California's Legal Pot Vote In November Californians will be voting on full recreational marijuana legalization this November, and a new poll shows it has a good chance of passing. The Institute of Government Studies at the University of California, Berkeley has released a new poll which shows two out of three Californians favor legalization, NORML reported Thursday. The “Adult Use Of Marijuana Act,” also known as Prop 64 , would allow for the state to, “regulate and tax responsible adult use, sale and cultivation of marijuana.” The Golden State was the first state in the country to legalize medical marijuana in 1996. In early August , a pro-pot group called “Yes On 64” filed a lawsuit against the “No On 64” campaign over what it said were “obvious falsehoods” in No On 64’s representation of facts that would be on a pamphlet to educate voters ahead of the vote. Specifically, a claim that advertising for pot would expose children to “ads promoting marijuana gummy candy and brownies.” Yes No Completing this poll entitles you to Daily Caller news updates free of charge. You may opt out at anytime. You also agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein has tried to build support against legalization. She made a claim Aug. 5 that Prop 64 “allows marijuana smoking ads in prime time, on programs with millions of children and teenage viewers,” a claim that garnered her a “ mostly false ” rating from Politifact. The reason for its rating was due to the fact that pot is illegal under federal law, so no advertisements can be made. Legalization in the nation’s most populous state could be a major financial windfall. The Daily Caller News Foundation reported Aug. 16 that the Colorado marijuana industry is on pace to make more than $1 billion this year, and that is a state with only about 5.3 million people. California, on the other hand, has a population of nearly 39 million, and a CBS News poll from 2009 showed just under five million people in the state smoke weed — nearly the entire population of Colorado. Follow Craig Boudreau on Twitter . Send tips to craig@ dailycallernewsfoundation.org . Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact [email protected].

2016-08-19 23:39 dailycaller.com

17 Training Teachers And Students To Fight Active Shooters By Barbara Baird/Carrie Lightfoot Podcast With schools opening their doors to incoming students, it’s the perfect time to check out not only school-supply lists, but also your school’s security policies – especially when it comes to an active shooter event or terrorist attack. Barbara Baird and co-host Carrie Lightfoot discussed the #1 active shooter civilian response training program, ALICE Training Initiative, on a recent “Women’s Gun Show” podcast, sponsored by Ruger. Baird interviewed Dan Huffman, executive director of business services of the Centennial School District #12, located in the northwest metro area of the Twin Cities in Minnesota. His duties include a responsibility for building security and student safety. Huffman explained how local first responders approached the school district last year, and asked it to consider the ALICE style of training. ALICE stands for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter and Evacuate. As you may suspect, this type of training contradicts the old-style pull-the-shades, lock the door, turn off the lights and hide-under-desks method. “It’s a program that is designed to allow us as human beings to react in ways that are more natural to how we’re wired,” said Huffman. “We’re not wired to cower under a desk and wait for something bad to happen. We’re wired for fight or flight. That’s the premise behind ALICE.” For example, under the old way of responding to a school shooting, teachers were trained that upon hearing a code word for a “shooter in the building,” they were to lock their doors, turn out the lights and hide. If there is an active shooter in the school building, here’s what the Centennial District #12 will do, according to Huffman: “We come on the intercom and we give as much information as we can possibly give about the exact location and movement of the shooter, and we continue to provide updates through the events. Our challenge is to survive that first 4 to 6 minutes that it takes for our first responders to get to us.” In the meantime, areas of the school not under attack will immediately evacuate the building, meeting in rally points. Meanwhile, school buses will be enroute to those points and can be on the location in 7 to 9 minutes to whisk students to a safe area at a large local church, the school district’s reunification point. If there is a shooter in a certain area, those faculty and staff have been trained to keep the lights on (so first responders can see inside the rooms), lock the doors, barricade the doors and get prepared to fight – to throw items and distract a shooter. “We’re doing what they’re [the shooter] is not prepared for us to do,” explained Huffman. The school district holds monthly meetings with its first responders – including police and fire departments. The school faculty and staff, along with first responders, have been trained in the ALICE training. Other ALICE training pieces include the following responses: More than ALICE “ALICE, for us, is one part of our emergency response,” said Huffman. Other pieces include the following: “We went from a very passive approach to a very pro-active response,” said Huffman. “We rolled this out to our parents at back-to-school nights. They love it. … Our faculty loves it.” The school district has tailored the program and explanation of it to children’s ages, as well. “We’ve been doing an injustice to kids for a very long time by practicing this passive response. This is something we should have been doing a long time ago,” said Huffman. “We’ve finally getting it right.” Listen and subscribe to the podcast titled “ALICE Goes to School,” on “ The Women’s Gun Show .” Find it on Stitcher and on iTunes . Check out the website, www.womensgunshow.com . Learn more about ALICE: http://www.alicetraining.com – Click here to follow WomensOutdoorNews.com .

2016-08-19 23:39 dailycaller.com

18 With Manafort out, what comes next for the Trump campaign? - Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort resigned on Aug. 19. The Fix's Chris Cillizza explains what comes next for the Republican presidential nominee. () With Manafort out, what comes next for the Trump campaign?

2016-08-19 23:44 The Washington www.washingtonpost.com

19 Boy, 3, dies after being bitten by dog in Halstead A three-year-old boy has died after he was attacked by a dog in Essex. Dexter Neal was bitten by an American Bulldog in Parker Way, Halstead, at 17:40 BST on Thursday. An air ambulance was called to the scene and the boy was airlifted to Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge. A 29-year-old woman arrested for allowing a dog to be dangerously out of control has been released on bail until 19 October. The dog was seized by police and placed in kennels. Live updates: Boy dies following dog bite Can you ever trust a dog around children? Dexter lived in Ronald Road, Halstead, police said. Neighbour Phyllis Younger said: "I heard this screaming. I did not really associate it with anything terrible - it was like children having a bit of fun. But then I thought it might not be quite right. "Then it was quiet. I looked out of the window and saw a police car and paramedics and neighbours looking along the road. " Mrs Younger went outside and asked what had happened. "They told me the dog had attacked the little boy and he was in a bad way. " She said the family involved had not lived in the street for very long and "kept themselves to themselves". Shirley Diver, mayor of Halstead, said the incident was heartbreaking. She said: "It's dreadful news, it really is. I've had dogs all my life and I don't think you can ever trust a dog 100% with any child. "It's so sad. I feel so sadly for the family who are involved. Words can't express how it affects anybody. The whole town is in shock. " Scott Nowell, 19, who dialled 999, described "terrible scenes" and said neighbours had gathered around Dexter's "distraught" mother as people tried to save her son. Braintree MP James Cleverly was briefed about the incident by police. He said: "I have got children of my own, and this is both shocking and heartbreaking. For any parent, this is the most terrible news. "I'm very conscious that the original Dangerous Dogs Act was brought in in response to incidents just like this and I think most people agree it was not a particularly well-drafted piece of legislation. There's a number of gaps. "So I think the last thing we should do now is any kind of knee-jerk reaction, but we do need to look at the rules around dog ownership and also about how dogs are looked after and particularly when there are children involved. " Dexter Neal's death comes just days after a 52-year-old man was attacked and killed by a dog which had been returned to its owner despite concerns that it was dangerous. David Ellam was out walking with his Yorkshire terrier close to his home in Huddersfield on Monday when he was attacked by another dog. He later died in hospital. West Yorkshire Police said the animal had been seized by police following a visit by a dog warden in June, but had been returned to its owner on 8 August after it was determined that it was not a banned breed. Pet owners convicted of dangerous dogs offences will face harsher punishments under new sentencing guidelines in England and Wales. The guidelines , which came into force from July, reflect 2014 changes to the law that increased maximum sentences. The Sentencing Council said sentences were "likely to be higher than in the past" but must be "proportionate". Fatal attacks on children by dogs from recent years Changes to sentencing guidelines in 2014 raised the maximum jail sentence for a fatal dog attack from two years to 14. The amendments to the Dangerous Dogs Act also extended the law to include attacks which happen on private property and introduced a new offence of attacks on assistance dogs such as guide dogs. Banned breeds are pit bull terriers, the Japanese tosa, dogo Argentino and fila Braziliero. Do you live in the area? Did you witness the incident? You can email [email protected] with your comments. Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also contact us in the following ways: Or comment below.

2016-08-19 23:35 www.bbc.co.uk

20 Ten things you can't do in Dubai Laws in the United Arab Emirates have again been thrust into the spotlight after a British citizen in Dubai was arrested for sharing a charity post on his Facebook page. Most people know Dubai is tough on drugs; that tourists can get in trouble for drinking alcohol outside designated areas; and people who have sex in public can find themselves facing the full force of the law. There are some other unpredictable ways of falling foul of the law in Dubai - even if the authorities rarely enforce some of the laws. Scott Richards promoted a charity drive to buy blankets and tarpaulins for refugees in Afghanistan. He was held for 22 days and has now been charged with fundraising without permission. However, he is not the first foreigner to find themselves in trouble over entries on social media. People have been warned to be careful how they use social media following the introduction of a strict cybercrimes law in 2012. The following year, an American was jailed for making a spoof video about Dubai youth culture . Also in 2013, police in Dubai arrested a man who filmed an incident in which a government official attacked an Indian van driver. The man was arrested for sharing footage of a crime, after his video was posted on YouTube. Charges were eventually dropped. Dubai is very conservative when it comes to bad language. Swearing, profanities, insults and "all kind of vulgar language" are considered obscene acts - as is making rude gestures - and offenders can be fined or jailed. In June, one local website reported that a court had ordered the retrial of a man convicted of swearing at a colleague in a WhatsApp message. The UK Foreign Office's advice to British travellers states that kissing and hugging in public are strictly prohibited. The UK Foreign Office says married couples holding hands "is tolerated", but suggests all open displays of affection are "generally not tolerated". Rape is illegal in Dubai of course. However, alleged victims have also occasionally found themselves facing arrest. In 2013, Norwegian woman Marte Deborah Dalelv said she had been raped by a colleague while on a business trip in Dubai. She reported the attack to the police, but was charged with having extra-marital sex, drinking alcohol illegally and perjury after prosecutors dismissed her rape allegation. She was given a 16-month prison sentence - but was later "pardoned" and told she was free to leave the country . Ms Dalelv said her attacker was given a 13-month jail sentence for extra- marital sex and illegal alcohol consumption. Dubai has bars and nightclubs, but the Foreign Office says you should not dance in public. "Dancing is allowed in the privacy of your home or at licensed clubs," the advice says. The Dubai Code of Conduct says dancing and loud music is forbidden in public places, such as beaches, parks and residential areas. It is classed as "indecent and provocative", the FCO adds. It is against Dubai law to live together, or to share the same hotel room, with someone of the opposite sex if you aren't married or closely related, according to Foreign Office guidance. So, in theory, any unmarried couple staying in a hotel room together is breaking the law, although tourists are rarely prosecuted. Taking pictures of women in public without consent is "strictly frowned upon", as is randomly addressing women in public, the Foreign Office states. Showing any disrespect towards religious beliefs or practices is considered deeply offensive and very likely to result in a heavy fine or imprisonment. Non-repayment of debt is a criminal offence and can get people sent straight to jail. Having a cheque bounce and not paying bills - including a hotel bill - can also result in imprisonment. Unsurprisingly drugs are strictly illegal in Dubai. However, the Foreign Office says authorities are also likely to prosecute if they find traces of illegal drugs in someone's blood or urine. In 2008, British tourist Keith Brown was sentenced to four years in prison after Dubai customs officers found a speck of cannabis , weighing just 0.003g, stuck to his shoe - although he was reportedly freed a few weeks later. Bringing some medicines into the country is also forbidden, including some containing psychotropic substances. The Foreign Office says if you are using prescribed drugs it is advisable to carry a doctor's note and you may need to seek prior agreement from the authorities.

2016-08-19 23:35 www.bbc.co.uk

21 Reality Check: Is Oxford Street the world's most polluted? The claim: On some days Oxford Street in London is the world's most polluted street. Reality Check verdict: This was true of Nitrogen Dioxide pollution in 2013. But on average in 2014, Brixton Road in Lambeth was worse than Oxford Street. Mayor of London Sadiq Khan told Radio 4's Today Programme on Friday: "Oxford Street on some days of the year is the most polluted street in the world. " He unveiled a plan to deal with London's pollution problems last month. His claim comes from research by King's College London , and it only refers to one pollutant: Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2). NO2 pollution is mainly caused by diesel traffic and most of Oxford Street is only open to buses and taxis, which means a very high proportion of the traffic is using diesel. Also, researchers at King's explain that a high proportion of the bus fleet on Oxford Street uses technology that burns off sooty particles but at the cost of increasing NO2 emissions. In 2014, which is the latest full year for which data is available, Oxford Street had an average of 143 micrograms of NO2 per cubic metre and there were 1,532 hours during the year when that figure was above 200, although there were gaps in the data collected from Oxford Street. The EU limit based on World Health Organisation guidelines is that the average NO2 should be below 40 micrograms per cubic metre and there should be no more than 18 occasions when that figure is above 200. In 2013, researchers at King's said that average NO2 levels on Oxford Street were clearly the highest in Europe and that data available in the rest of the world suggested there were unlikely to be higher levels anywhere else, particularly because the heightened levels of NO2 were being caused by particular types of diesel engines. But in 2014, Brixton Road in Lambeth was even worse, with an average of 153 micrograms per cubic metre, and 2001 hours above the 200 microgram limit. So there may have been days when Oxford Street had the highest level of NO2 in the world, but overall, in 2014 Brixton Road in Lambeth was worse. The final report for 2015 is not yet out, but from the raw data it seems that Oxford Street was back in top spot, although this time there are gaps in the data from Brixton Road.

2016-08-19 23:35 www.bbc.co.uk

22 Naked Trump Statues Pop Up Around U. S. Naked Donald Trump Statues Appear In Various U. S. Cities SAN FRANCISCO, CA - AUGUST 18: A passerby looks at a statue depicting republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in the nude on August 18, 2016 in San Francisco, United States. Anarchist collective INDECLINE has created five statues depicting Donald Trump in the nude and placed them in five U. S. cities on Thursday morning. The statues are in San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, Cleveland and Seattle. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Naked Donald Trump Statues Appear In Various U. S. Cities SAN FRANCISCO, CA - AUGUST 18: A view of a statue depicting republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in the nude on August 18, 2016 in San Francisco, United States. Anarchist collective INDECLINE has created five statues depicting Donald Trump in the nude and placed them in five U. S. cities on Thursday morning. The statues are in San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, Cleveland and Seattle. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Naked Donald Trump Statues Appear In Various U. S. Cities SAN FRANCISCO, CA - AUGUST 18: A passerby takes a selfie with a statue depicting republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in the nude on August 18, 2016 in San Francisco, United States. Anarchist collective INDECLINE has created five statues depicting Donald Trump in the nude and placed them in five U. S. cities on Thursday morning. The statues are in San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, Cleveland and Seattle. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Naked Donald Trump Statues Appear In Various U. S. Cities SAN FRANCISCO, CA - AUGUST 18: Train passengers look at a statue depicting republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in the nude on August 18, 2016 in San Francisco, United States. Anarchist collective INDECLINE has created five statues depicting Donald Trump in the nude and placed them in five U. S. cities on Thursday morning. The statues are in San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, Cleveland and Seattle. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Naked Donald Trump Statues Appear In Various U. S. Cities SAN FRANCISCO, CA - AUGUST 18: People gather around a statue depicting republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in the nude on August 18, 2016 in San Francisco, United States. Anarchist collective INDECLINE has created five statues depicting Donald Trump in the nude and placed them in five U. S. cities on Thursday morning. The statues are in San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, Cleveland and Seattle. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Naked Donald Trump Statues Appear In Various U. S. Cities SAN FRANCISCO, CA - AUGUST 18: A passerby takes a picture of a statue depicting republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in the nude on August 18, 2016 in San Francisco, United States. Anarchist collective INDECLINE has created five statues depicting Donald Trump in the nude and placed them in five U. S. cities on Thursday morning. The statues are in San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, Cleveland and Seattle. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Naked Donald Trump Statues Appear In Various U. S. Cities NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 18: Park authorities haul away a statue of a naked GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump that appeared in Union Square Park this morning on August 18, 2016 in New York City. The illegally placed statue drew hundreds of curious onlookers, who took selfie picture with the statue, which was signed "Ginger. " A published report attributed the work to the anarchist collective INDECLINE, which titled the project "The Emperor Has No B--s. " (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) Naked Donald Trump Statues Appear In Various U. S. Cities NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 18: A molded foot is all that remains of a statue of naked GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump that appeared in Union Square Park this morning on August 18, 2016 in New York City. The illegally placed statue drew hundreds of curious onlookers, who took selfie picture with the statue, which was signed "Ginger. " A published report attributed the work to the anarchist collective INDECLINE, which titled the project "The Emperor Has No B--s. " (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

2016-08-19 23:37 cbsloc.al

23 Ballymena tractor films are worldwide phenomenon They're movie makers, but not as we know it. A Northern Ireland company is reaping the benefits of an apparent worldwide fascination with tractors. Gareth Gault is the brains behind Grassmen, a business built on the appeal of John Deere and Massey Ferguson tractors. To his fans around the world, Gareth is better known as Donkey, the man behind the wheel of some powerful machinery. It all started when he began watching farming videos with a friend. Gareth explained: "We watched some DVDs that had been made about farming locally and we thought we could do that. Slowly, we built up the courage and made one and it's just grown and grown. " The company's videos on YouTube have more than a million views. It is a simple premise - big machines cutting grass. So what's the attraction? "It's all around you," said Gareth. "The sunshine, the tractors... it's diesel, it's the noise. It's in the blood. "The contractors that we videoed, I asked them the question why do you do it? It's a disease; it's in the blood. The business employs three people and has ambitions to increase its workforce in the near future. It has received a helping hand from the development agency, Invest NI, which describes Grassmen as a "dynamic" company that is "really capitalising on social media channels". Their online fans are global - outside the UK and Ireland, their biggest fans are from Norway. Christian Lester from Scarva in County Armagh is a huge Grassmen fan. "I watch the videos because they're class, and they show you how to do everything. The harvesting is my favourite thing to watch because it's a bigger operation," he said. "It raises hairs on the back of your spine. It's awesome. "My friends watch them too, they're mad about Grassmen. We talk about all the videos and the tractors, we'd argue about which is better. "I don't think city people get it. There's a few would look at me when I have a Grassmen t-shirt on in Belfast, but everyone in the countryside gets it. " Twenty-three-year-old farmer Kirstie Ward, who features in many of the Grassmen films, explained why the field is her sanctuary. "The world's locked out - you're at your own pace," she said. "Of course you're concentrating, but you've nobody to answer to and everybody's good craic, everyone looks after one another and it's just... peace. "

2016-08-19 23:35 By Sara www.bbc.co.uk

24 Sainsbury’s boss, Mike Coupe, slams Theresa May’s childhood obesity plan Sainsbury’s chief executive, Mike Coupe, is the latest high profile figure to condemn the lack of assertiveness around Theresa May’s childhood obesity plan. The government’s latest strategy aimed at tackling the culture of unhealthy eating in the UK has been widely criticised by medical experts and campaigners over the lack of enforcement over the policies. Coupe criticised the plan in a letter to The Times saying: “We need compulsory and measured targets for the reduction of sugar (and other nutrients such as saturated fat) across the whole of the food and drinks industry. Nothing less will work. ”We have seen this with voluntary targets on reformulation and labelling, which led to a piecemeal response from business.” The British Retail Consoritum supported Coupe’s views, arguing that it was “vital that this be adopted by all food companies, which is why we have argued for a mandatory approach," it said. “The government needs to demonstrate its proposals will be equally effective and will have the same impact as would mandatory targets.” The British Medical Association also discredited the government’s attempts to alleviate the problems burdening the NHS, saying that it May’s government had "rowed back on its promises by announcing what looks like a weak plan rather than the robust strategy it promised". The main criticisms of the government’s measures have largely centred on the voluntary action by the food and drink industry and the absence of any restrictions on junk food marketing and advertising.

2016-08-19 23:38 www.thedrum.com

25 The dangerous criminal helped by hospital where Ian Brady lives They're home to some of the most violent offenders in the country. High-security psychiatric hospitals, including Broadmoor in Berkshire and Ashworth on Merseyside, have housed prisoners such as the Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe, the Moors murderer Ian Brady. Both of them will never be released, but many others who commit lesser crimes are are eventually freed. Our social affairs correspondent Michael Buchanan joined one of them for a rare look inside Ashworth, and he sent this report.

2016-08-19 21:05 www.bbc.co.uk

26 It's a Wonder Contact WND Editor’s note: Do you need something to smile about? Every day, WND selects the best joke offered up by readers and contributors to its Laughlines forum and brings it to you as the WND Joke of the Day. Here is today’s offering: You may have heard that Hostess Bakery plants shut down due to a workers’ strike. But you may not have heard how the company was split up. The State Department hired all the Twinkies, the Secret Service hired all the HoHos, the generals are sleeping with the Cupcakes and the voters sent all the Ding Dongs to Congress. Gives you lemons Football widow Of thunder Scores bonus Floors shoppers On a plane And games Best epitaph Bill Clinton Thwarts robber

2016-08-19 20:35 www.wnd.com

27 27 Chuck Norris wrestles with 'feat of Olympic proportions' Contact WND Many things influence a person’s eating habits. Knowledge of what is considered healthy and what is not would be one, but I doubt it would make it to the top of the list. Certainly, at this moment, headline news about what the elite athletes in Rio consume to help them reach peak performance (devised with the help of dieticians and nutritionists) might be another. Yet in the end, such information may only serve as just one more fact to feed our curiosity about a sports star. Let’s face it: so much of what we consume is not driven by knowledge, but by basic craving and impulse. The process of what we eat starts in our heads. And no one is more in our heads than a food industry that spends billions of dollars in marketing its message in every means possible. Says research from the Monell Chemical Senses Center, food cravings often arise to satisfy emotional needs, such as calming stress and reducing anxiety. And cravings that are spurred by emotions are typically for foods containing fat, sugar, or both. Now think of how often during these Olympic Games a moment of emotional triumph, of peak fitness and performance, has been followed by a warm and fuzzy word from the sponsors of a popular tempting pleasure. I think it’s lost on no one that, as we bid the games adieu, the tally of medals handed out at the Rio Olympics will pale in comparison to the number of commercials viewers will have endured. And when it comes to world records, NBC hit theirs before the first event took the stage – $1.2 billion in national ad sales. And high among the biggest spenders were quick- service restaurants, beverages and package goods. Nutrition experts long ago conceded the effectiveness of such marketing. But its impact is more than just selling products; the sheer tonnage of commercial messages serves to create a disconnect between what nutrition experts and the public perceive to be healthful foods. An example of this was found in a recent poll by the New York Times. Among those surveyed, 71 percent believed granola bars to be healthy, while only 28 percent of the hundreds of nutritionists surveyed agreed with that assessment. Is it any wonder that, despite evidence to the contrary, most Americans say they have a healthy diet while more than 80 percent of Americans fail to eat the recommended amounts of fruits and vegetables? And why, at the same time, so many Americans overeat refined grains and sugar? You also have to wonder if publicizing the eating habits of Olympic athletes will help overcome this problem or will it merely add to the confusion. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the average woman should typically consume no more than about 2,000 calories per day, while the average man should consume about 2,400 calories a day. As recently reported in Live Science, a four-hour gymnastics workout burns a mere 1,000 calories, far less than the 2,400 calories burned during a brisk, four-hour jog. An athlete’s diet is a complicated thing. What Olympians eat can vary tremendously depending not only on the events they’re competing in, but also their body type and lifestyle outside the Olympic arena. Their diets are affected not only by the demands of their sports, but by everything else in their lives, things that are almost impossible to accurately measure and factor in. In an article in the New Yorker, former gymnast Dominique Moceanu said her former coaches, Bela and Marta Karolyi, had her on a meager diet of 900 calories a day. Meanwhile, superstar Simone Biles was said to have fewer restrictions; eating foods such as pork chops, chicken sandwiches and even the occasional soft drink. Although we’re told by trainers the ideal diet is one full of minimally processed foods, healthy whole grains, fruits and vegetables, not all elite athletes are consuming such healthful fare. In his book “ Faster than Lightning: My Autobiography ,” Usain Bolt, one of the best athletes on the planet, said he subsisted at the 2008 Beijing Olympics almost exclusively on chicken nuggets, french fries and fast food apple pies – to the tune of about 1,000 nuggets during his 10-day stay. “We don’t know how to measure diet or exercise,” Dr. Barnett Kramer, director of the National Cancer Institute’s division of disease prevention once noted. So where does that leave us in trying to answer this question about how to eat or how much to exercise? New York Times reporter Gina Kolata recently described the disconnect as a problem of signal to noise. We have trouble discerning the signal – such as an ideal diet is one full of minimally processed foods, healthy whole grains, fruits and vegetables – because of the conflicting noise of differing views, opinions and competing clinical reports surrounding the question. While well-intentioned experts in health and nutrition battle it out to establish the true gold standard of measurement for diet and exercise, the food industry’s marketing message continues right along in full stride. As Kelly D. Brownell, director of the Yale Center for Eating and Weight Disorders recently noted: “Unhealthy food is highly accessible, it’s convenient, it’s engineered to taste good, it’s heavily promoted, and it’s inexpensive. If you wanted to engineer a good food environment, you’d have the reverse of all that.” Now there’s a feat of Olympic proportions. Write to Chuck Norris with your questions about health and fitness. Follow Chuck Norris through his official social media sites, on Twitter @chucknorris and Facebook’s “Official Chuck Norris Page.” He blogs at ChuckNorrisNews.blogspot.com .

2016-08-19 20:35 Chuck Norris www.wnd.com

28 Watford clinch signing of defender Younes Kaboul from Sunderland Watford have completed the signing of defender Younes Kaboul from Sunderland. The 30-year-old centre-back has signed a three-year contract after the Frenchman asked to leave the Wearside club due to personal reasons. "I'm very happy and delighted to be a part of Watford Football Club, and I'm looking forward to the season," he told watfordfc.com. Kaboul played an integral role in helping the Black Cats avoid relegation, following last year's summer move from fellow Premier League club Tottenham. Watford are believed to have paid around £3.5million for their newest recruit. Kaboul said of his latest switch: "Just from outside, I can see it's a family club, there are some good players here and I'm very confident. "The club had a very good season last year, and we need to carry that on to be even better. " The Hornets, who play Chelsea in the Premier League on Saturday, are also close to signing Juventus midfielder Roberto Pereyra who underwent a medical on Friday. Argentina international Pereyra was heavily linked with a move to Vicarage Road having helped Juventus win the Italian domestic double in each of the past two campaigns. Watford manager Walter Mazzarri confirmed in an early- afternoon press conference that the 25-year-old was undergoing medical checks. "Yes. From what I heard, yes," he said, when asked if the medicals were taking place. "But I know that players, if there are other talks before the game, they can be distracted so now I just want to concentrate on the game. "I don't like to talk about transfers the day before a game, but now I want to concentrate on the game for (Saturday) and then from Monday I will speak about those players. "I say this because this afternoon after the training, the squad will be available for (Saturday) and I don't want the players to be distracted from other things. "

2016-08-19 20:32 Press Association www.dailymail.co.uk

29 Park takes 2-shot lead into final round at Olympics RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Inbee Park kept her composure in strong wind Friday and made two late birdies to regain the lead, posting a 1-under 70 for a two-shot lead going into the final round of the women's golf at Olympic Golf Course. Just as difficult as the 30 mph gusts was seeing the name of Lydia Ko right behind her. Ko, the No. 1 player in women's golf, made the first hole-in-one of her career as she raced into contention. The 19-year-old Kiwi made all pars on the back nine when the wind arrived and shot 65. She started the day seven shots behind and now has a solid chance at gold. "Some holes, when you are making par, you feel like you're making birdies," Ko said. "That's what the situation and conditions were like out there. I think I've done a good job of putting myself in there and still having the chance to be standing on that podium. " Gerina Piller, the American who narrowly qualified for the Olympics in her final event, shot a 68 and was in the final group, two shots behind. Piller has never won on the LPGA Tour, though there is something about playing for her country that brings out her best golf. Piller's signature moment was making the winning putt for the United States in the Solheim Cup last year in Germany. Shanshan Feng of China shot 68 and was three shots back. Park, however, is still the player to beat. The 28- year-old South Korean finally got her putter going, and she's among the best in women's golf on the greens. Her struggles were with the longer clubs, especially as the wind became fierce. Park tried to play short on the par-4 12th into the wind and hit into the sandy native area. On the par-3 14th, her hybrid went well over the green into more trouble, and she lost her lead. Park bounced back with two birdies, a pitch to tap-in range on the short 16th and a 20-foot birdie on the 17th to build a cushion. But on the par-5 closing hole, her tee shot found a bunker and it took three more shots to reach the green. She made one last bogey and was at 11-under 202. "I feel I hung in there, and I'm very happy I have a chance tomorrow," Park said. "It was hard to judge the distance, and on the green it was hard to concentrate because the ball was oscillating. I'm pretty exhausted. " Piller hit a bold pitch to 4 feet on the 16th to momentarily tie for the lead. She also went into the bunker on the 18th hole, and her next shot hit the top lip and only advance some 65 yards, leading to bogey. They weren't the only players to struggle. Charley Hull of Britain fell out of the chasing pack by missing three par putts inside 5 feet on the back nine. She shot 74 and was six shots behind. Brooke Henderson of Canada, the No. 2 player in women's golf, struggled even more. Henderson was still in the mix when she four-putted for double bogey on the 16th hole, taking three of those putts from 3 feet. She wound up with a 75 and was seven back. Ko is right where she wants to be and is the most seasoned of those going after the gold medal, the first for women's golf since 1900. She is a four-time winner on the LPGA Tour this year, the best player in women's golf and finally got some confidence in her putter. She used a 7-iron for her hole-in-one on the par-3 eighth hole — the second of the day after Lin Xiyu of China made an ace on that hole — as the highlight of a front nine in which she shot 29. Ko was stunned to hear the cheering when it dropped in. "I made my first ever hole-in-one, so to do that at the Olympics, it doesn't get any better than that," Ko said. "But to put myself back into good position going into tomorrow I think was a job well done going forward. " Stacy Lewis went backward. The American, who began the day one shot behind, made a bogey on the easy par-5 fifth by hitting into the water, and closed out her round with a double bogey on the 18th when her third shot sailed long into the native area, and she chipped back over the green. She shot 76.

2016-08-19 20:30 Associated Press www.dailymail.co.uk

30 After the Olympics: The next paths for elite athletes After upping his gold medal count to 23, swimmer Michael Phelps is retiring (for real this time). Gymnasts Aly Raisman and Simone Biles are enjoying their hard-earned achievements and taking some time off while thinking about the 2020 Games, which understandably seem " far away. " And other members of Team USA like Katie Ledecky, Simone Manuel and Devon Allen are either starting or returning to college. Over the next few months, a few familiar winning faces from Rio will still appear in commercials, interviews and even reality shows. Like the medals they earned, their achievements will shine to motivate others. For many, though, the return to a life off the world stage will feel unfamiliar and maybe even unpleasant. "There is no better all- access pass than an Olympic medal," said Steven Portenga, director of sport psychology services at the University of Denver. "It can get you anywhere or do anything for a very short time while you have it, and then it fades away, and you're out of the limelight. "It's amazing how many athletes struggle somewhere after the Games because they realize that being an Olympian or having a medal doesn't change their lives typically in a very significant way. " Stay or go? For many athletes, it means taking time off from the grueling training schedule that helped them reach the Olympics before preparing for the next competition within their respective sport. The four-year cycle to reach the next Olympics is not only a culmination of this preparation, it's a collection of other factors they may not be able to control, like age, injuries or overall health. It's also about funding their training. "A big misconception is that every Olympic athlete has big money sponsorship or can make a living through their sport," said Angel Bovee , former boxer and athlete career coach for the US Olympic Committee's Athlete Career and Education Program. "This couldn't be further from the truth. For every athlete that ends up on a cereal box, there are hundreds of others that do not get paid for their sport and have to struggle to make ends meet. " Bovee knows from experience. As a boxer who was once ranked No. 1 in the United States, she lived out of her car and worked multiple jobs to support her training schedule and chase her dreams. An athlete's health and sponsorships could determine the next step, whether it be walking a determined push toward a future as an elite athlete or retiring to begin a second career. And then there's the post-Olympics comedown that many athletes will endure. After focusing so closely on such a huge goal for four years -- often sacrificing time with family and friends or other opportunities -- it can be a shock to the system when it's over. And if they didn't achieve what they wanted over the course of one or two Olympics, it can feel like a waste of time, Portenga said. "It's not uncommon for a lot of Olympic athletes to come back and go through depression for a little while, because they don't know what's next," he said. But this kind of depression can begin during the quest for the Olympics. "Want to go to a place with a lot of depressed people? Go to the Olympic trials," former marathoner Ryan Hall said. "Everyone except the top three are going through a very severe and hard emotional moment. " Hall, who competed in the 2008 and 2012 Games and holds the record for the best American time in the half-marathon, retired from racing in January after a 20-year career. He knows firsthand what the grueling journey to be an Olympian is like. Running on faith Coming off of being named the first US runner to break the one-hour record for the half-marathon in 2007, Hall had high aspirations for medaling in Beijing. But going into the 2008 Olympics, his form didn't feel right, and his training hadn't clicked the way he wanted it to. He felt frustrated as he ran into the Olympic stadium, placing 10th in the marathon overall and making his mark as the second member of Team USA to cross the finish line. But he was able to connect with his faith and realize that the dream he had envisioned since he began running at age 13 was coming true: He was competing in the Olympics and able to wave to his family as he finished his marathon in the Olympic stadium. After fighting a downward spiral of disappointment in the weeks after the Games, Hall put his focus on the next marathon, to move forward mentally and physically with his training. He would go on to mark the best American time for a marathon in 2011 before setting his sights on 2012. He qualified during the trials, even while suffering from plantar fasciitis, but had to end his Olympic marathon 11 miles in due to a hamstring injury. What followed was a two-year period of injuries, as well as another two years of severe exhaustion and energy fatigue. Though his blood tests didn't reveal an expected cause like low iron levels, Hall has always had low testosterone, and it has been considered as a factor. He often flirted with over-training, running 100 miles a week for 16 years of his life. In those difficult two years, he was "a dead man walking. " After four years of suffering, Hall took a long, hard look at himself and decided it was time to retire ahead of Rio. His faith reassured him that he had fulfilled that purpose of the running "season" of his life. He looked forward to helping pace his wife, fellow marathoner Sara Hall, who still competes, and raise the four girls the couple adopted in 2015. "I was scared of retiring for a really long time, because running was everything to me," Hall said. "It was my identity and how I saw myself. That's what keeps people in the sport longer than their body wants to, because it's so rooted in who they are, and it's very difficult for them to move on. " Even though Hall no longer loved running, like many retired athletes, he still craved a physical challenge in which he could see improvement each day. Rough training days had always been his preference, compared with rest days. To give back to his body in a healthy way, Hall took up weight training and put on 25 pounds. The power and strength he gained have helped balance his energy levels, which once required nine hours of sleep each night in addition to daily naps. Now, Hall is rediscovering a love for running and starting to train again. Although he doesn't want to compete professionally anymore, he finds fulfillment in running for charity. In January, Hall will race in seven marathons across seven continents in seven days to raise money for Dream Center , which aims to help homeless people in Los Angeles. He and his wife also run the Hall Steps Foundation , a nonprofit focused on fighting global poverty while increasing health. Helping Olympians find the next step Hall knows firsthand how easy it is to make quick decisions in the wake of disappointment. As a student at Stanford University, he went through a tough two-year period where he wasn't performing well on the track or in the classroom. Depressed, he left for a quarter and went home, unsure that he would return. But his depression only worsened. He went back to school and kept pushing through. Hall said that it's important for athletes to give themselves time to work through it and involve other people, like trusted friends, family and coaches, in the decision process. The same qualities that make them elite athletes, like pushing through pain and placing high expectations on their own performance, can also cause them anxiety and depression when trying to support themselves, said Robert Smith, a sports psychologist and former athlete. "The US Olympic Training Center has a program in place that aims to point out that all of the goal-setting and planning that brought you to this extraordinary level of your sport might also reflect the same infrastructure for developing yourself in another way outside of your sport," Smith said. That's where Bovee, the former boxer, comes in. She helps athletes in a range of circumstances; they might have high school degrees or Ph. D.s. They might be looking for part-time jobs to support their training or a full- time career as they transition out of their sport. She works with athletes to let them know that their complex feelings are entirely normal and that they aren't alone. "Helping them identify transferable skills from sport and putting them into the language of business often helps them gain confidence to go after their next career opportunity," she said. "Elite athletes know how to set goals and be successful; they just need the confidence to apply these skills to the corporate setting. " And at the end of the day, it comes back to identity. They are incredibly talented athletes, but they're also much more. "The way we feel good about ourselves is usually through the different roles we have in our life," Smith said. "What I would recommend is to look for other ways to feel fulfilled. You've got the better part of your life ahead of you. And enjoy some time to celebrate what you do this for. "What you're doing it for isn't just the medal but the joy. "

2016-08-19 20:29 Ashley Strickland rss.cnn.com

31 Angolan president Dos Santos re-elected leader of ruling MPLA party LUANDA, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Angola's long-ruling president Jose Eduardo dos Santos was overwhelmingly re-elected leader of the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) party on Friday, results showed. Dos Santos, the sole nominee, won 99.6 percent of the vote, according to preliminary results gathered from delegates at the party's convention in the capital Luanda. Final results are expected late on Friday. There had been speculation before the congress that Dos Santos, who has ruled the oil-rich southern African nation since 1979, might not make himself available for re-election. He had said in March he intended to step down as party leader in 2018, without naming a preferred successor. Angola holds its next parliamentary election in 2017 and the leader of the winning party will become president. Dos Santos was appointed to a new five-year term as president in 2012 after the MPLA won national elections by a landslide. (Reporting Herculan Coroado; Writing by Mfuneko Toyana; editing by John Stonestreet)

2016-08-19 20:20 Reuters www.dailymail.co.uk

32 Feds say courts' bail-or-jail policies are unfair to poor ATLANTA (AP) — Local courts that jail poor defendants because they can't afford to pay bail are unlawfully discriminating against the poor, federal attorneys say in a legal brief in a Georgia lawsuit. The U. S. Justice Department says such policies are unconstitutional. The federal brief was filed Thursday with the 11th U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals in the lawsuit of a north Georgia man who spent six days in jail in the city of Calhoun because he couldn't afford $160 bail following his arrest on a misdemeanor charge. U. S. Justice Department lawyers argue that such policies "unlawfully discriminate" against poor defendants by using preset bail amounts that don't take into account the accused person's ability to pay. The department said it's the first time it has weighed in with a legal opinion in federal court on bail systems used by state and local courts. Maurice Walker, 54, sued Calhoun in U. S. District Court following his arrest last September on a misdemeanor charge of walking while intoxicated. Under a city ordinance, the offense carried a preset $160 bail for Walker to avoid jail before his first appearance before a judge. Walker says he lives on $540 a month in Social Security disability benefits and couldn't afford to post bail. He was jailed for six days until a municipal court judge could look at his case. Walker contends the city's bail policy violates the equal protection rights of poor defendants and should be found unconstitutional. A U. S. District Court judge in January suspended the policy until the case is settled, finding Walker had a "substantial likelihood" of winning. Attorneys for the city appealed that decision to the 11th Circuit. The Justice Department's brief, signed by Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta and U. S. Attorney John A. Horn of the Northern District of Georgia, argued defendants jailed because they can't afford bail often pose little risk of skipping court appearances and aren't considered a threat to their communities. The Supreme Court has ruled that jailing people just because they can't pay a fine or fee, without considering some other alternative, "effectively denies equal protection to one class of people within the criminal justice system," the Justice Department's 34-page legal filing said. A federal court struck down a similar bail policy in Moss Point, Mississippi, in 2015. In their own legal filings, attorneys for Calhoun have defended the city's bail practices and argued defendants such as Walker "should not be relieved from the requirement of having to attempt to make bail merely upon a bare claim of indigent status. " They also said misdemeanor and city ordinance violations for which defendants face preset bail "are not petty, trivial offenses," and that those arrested for violations do "pose a risk or danger to the community and, in some instances, themselves. " "We believe the city of Calhoun is in the right and is following state law," said Andy Davis, an attorney for the Georgia city. Groups that have filed legal briefs defending Calhoun's policy include the International Municipal Lawyers Association, the Georgia Municipal Association and the Georgia Sheriffs Association. Attorneys for the Southern Center for Human Rights, which represents Walker, had no comment on the Justice Department's filing, said Kathryn Hamoudah, a spokeswoman for the center.

2016-08-19 20:15 Associated Press www.dailymail.co.uk

33 Judge in bridge case weighing whether docs should be sealed NEWARK, N. J. (AP) — A federal judge hearing the case of two former allies of Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie in the George Washington Bridge lane closure scandal is considering whether recent filings are to remain under seal. U. S. District Judge Susan Wigenton was presented with a request on Thursday to keep unredacted filings under seal. Federal prosecutors in the case say the documents could implicate individuals who haven't been charged in the September 2013 lane closures. Bill Baroni and Bridget Kelly have pleaded not guilty to charges including wire fraud and civil rights violations. Prosecutors say they closed access lanes to the bridge in Fort Lee to punish that city's Democratic mayor for not endorsing Christie's re-election. The redacted documents hint that the defendants and David Wildstein also targeted Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop. Wildstein has pleaded guilty. Baroni and Wildstein were former appointees of Christie at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns and operates the bridge. Kelly was Christie's former deputy chief of staff. Christie has not been charged and has denied any wrongdoing. The proposed ruling comes after the publication last week in court filings of transcripts of a text conversation that indicated a former Christie aide believed Christie had lied to reporters about whether senior staffers were involved in the lane closures. Baroni's and Kelly's attorneys are expected to argue to a jury that the scheme extended well beyond their clients and that they are being scapegoated for the actions of others. The texts released last week might just be an opening round of new information that sheds light on who knew what and when. Prosecutors are asking that the unredacted filings remain sealed until a later ruling. ___ The story has been corrected to show that the judge is considering the prosecutors' request to keep the documents sealed, not that she has already ruled to keep them sealed.

2016-08-19 20:05 Associated Press www.dailymail.co.uk

34 34 Over 17,000 firefighters battle monster fires in US More than 17,000 firefighters struggled Friday to contain dozens of large fires that have burned huge swaths of land and destroyed hundreds of buildings across 10 US states, with parched California especially hard hit. On Thursday alone, 31 fires burned nearly 400,000 acres (162,000 hectares) in the affected areas, including seven blazes in California and six in Idaho, according to the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC). In California, the Bluecut Fire in the mountains of the Angeles National Forest near Los Angeles has swallowed up 37,000 acres in three days and is just 26 percent contained. More than 82,500 people are under evacuation warnings, and 34,500 homes are affected in the evacuation zone. "There is imminent threat to public safety, rail traffic and structures in the Cajon Pass, Lytle Creek, Wrightwood, Oak Hills and surrounding areas," the NIFC's InciWeb said. "Please follow the evacuation instructions, as this is a very quickly growing wildfire. " Authorities say 96 homes have burnt, along with 213 additional buildings. No victims have yet been reported, but search dogs are being deployed to search for possible bodies in burned-out buildings. Three people have been arrested for trying to loot evacuated homes, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department. Further north in California, massive blazes were burning through forests near Santa Barbara (Rey Fire), San Luis Obispo (Chimney Fire) and the tourist hub of Big Sur, where the Soberanes Fire has charred 81,400 acres. Nearly 1,000 homes have been destroyed and seven people have died since the start of the year due to fires in America's most populous state. Despite a growing number of large fires in recent weeks, this year's fire season is still the least destructive in recent years.

2016-08-19 20:00 Afp www.dailymail.co.uk

35 Courteney Cox eats rotting sheep carcass on Running Wild With Bear Grylls She leads a charmed Hollywood lifestyle, so it comes as no surprise that Courteney Cox was a little apprehensive about heading into the wilderness with Bear Grylls. The brave Friends actress took part in the survival expert's TV show Running Wild With Bear Grylls and was horrified when she learnt she would be feasting on a sheep carcass for the evening. In newly released stills from the upcoming episode, filmed in Ireland last month, Courteney, 52, nervously picks apart a sheep scrotum full of maggots. Scroll down for video She also faces her fears by strapping herself into a safety harness, pulling herself across a ravine on nothing but a wire. A teaser for the latest installment of the documentary sees Bear tell a shocked Courteney they will be foraging for their dinner. 'I could give you the Irish menu. Birds if you can catch em, worms (lots of), bugs, grubs, insects, flies, crickets, caterpillars,' he tells her. 'What are grubs?' a worried Courteney asks, adding, 'I would rather eat grass than any of the things you just named.' Grylls previously confessed that the A-list actress was left in flood of tears at the menu for the evening. 'She had tears pouring down her cheeks and I said, "Welcome to Ireland, this is what it's like",' he said. 'She emailed me since and I think she's got a bit of post-traumatic stress going on.' 'I found this rotting sheep carcass and I thought, "Oh, good, I can give her some lamb". I stuck the knife in and maggots exploded out. The blood drained from her face.' Running Wild With Bear Grylls airs Monday August 22 on NBC.

2016-08-19 19:51 Kate Thomas www.dailymail.co.uk

36 Brown demands review of safety procedures after horror rail crash Cape Town - Minister of Public Enterprises Lynne Brown on Friday requested Transnet to continuously review its safety procedures at its depots and rail routes to prevent a recurrence of the horror train accident in Noupoort. Train driver Alexander Flemming was killed when a runaway diesel locomotive smashed head-on into a freight train and burst into flames. Jan Swanepoel, also a train driver, was critically injured, along with two other workers. News24 earlier reported that they were on their way from Rosmead in the Eastern Cape, to Kimberley in the Northern Cape, on Thursday. READ: Runaway locomotive kills train driver, injures another United National Transport Union (Untu) general secretary Steve Harris said the crew had been waiting for about five minutes at a signal for the go-ahead from the train controller. Suddenly, they saw the locomotive bearing down on them at high speed from the Noupoort direction. The diesel locomotive, which did not appear to have any occupants, exploded on impact. Brown conveyed her condolences to Flemming's family. "I have asked Transnet to give the families the necessary support they would need during this period," she said in a statement.

2016-08-19 19:45 www.news24.com

37 GRAINS-Weather forecast weighs on soybeans; corn, wheat rise By Mark Weinraub CHICAGO, Aug 19 (Reuters) - U. S. soybean futures fell on Friday as the weather outlook for the Midwest bolstered expectations of a huge harvest in the fall, traders said. Chicago Board of Trade corn and wheat futures firmed, recovering from early weakness on short-covering and technical buying. The forecast for key growing areas of the U. S. Midwest showed moderate temperatures and some rain, beneficial for the final stages of development for the maturing soybean crop. The weather view outweighed continued signs of strong overseas demand for U. S. soybeans. The U. S. Agriculture Department on Friday morning said private exporters reported the sale of another 261,000 tonnes of soybeans to unknown destinations for delivery in the 2016/17 crop year. " (A) lack of weather threats to the crop hinders additional buying interest," CHS Hedging said in a note to clients. CBOT November soybean futures settled down 10 cents at $10.01 a bushel. "Production looks great and that is the problem," said Phin Ziebell, agribusiness economist at National Australia Bank. "Long-term story is of ample supplies. " Technical support for soybeans was noted near Thursday's low of $9.96-3/4 a bushel. For the week, CBOT soybean futures rose 2.3 percent, their third gain of the last four weeks. CBOT December corn futures ended up 1-3/4 cents at $3.43- 3/4 a bushel. Corn rose 3.3 percent this week and was on track for its sixth straight higher close. Corn futures posted intraday losses before recovering to close in positive territory every day during the streak. CBOT September wheat futures were flat at $4.27 a bushel while deferred contracts posted modest gains. Wheat prices, which rose 1.0 percent for the week, hit their highest since July 25 during Friday's trading session. Huge global supplies of wheat and the USDA's forecast for a record large U. S. corn harvest limited the gains in grains. (Additional reporting by Naveen Thukral in Singapore and Gus Trompiz in Paris; Editing by David Gregorio and Jonathan Oatis)

2016-08-19 19:44 Reuters www.dailymail.co.uk

38 Fall crafts to do with your grandkids Nina Lewis, the blogger behind Grandma Ideas showed us a few of the fun (grand kid approved) crafts you can find on her blog. You can also find games, activities, recipes, free educational apps for kids, books to read with grand kids, holiday ideas, product reviews, etc. She focuses on things that are inexpensive, easy to do, and easy to prepare for. For more ideas visit Grandma Ideas here.

2016-08-19 19:30 Amy Andre fox13now.com

39 Charges: Producer hit sour note with fake play on opera star NEW YORK (AP) — A Broadway producer has been charged with scamming seven people by getting them to invest $165,000 in a nonexistent play about opera star Kathleen Battle supposedly starring Oscar winner Lupita Nyong'o. Roland Scahill pleaded not guilty on Friday to charges of criminal possession of stolen property, grand larceny and scheming to defraud. His attorney, James DeVita, said he "stands on that not guilty plea. " Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance said Scahill "put on an elaborate performance" to steal from the victims between October 2014 and January 2015. Prosecutors said Scahill falsely claimed he had secured the rights to Battle's life story and had signed a contract with Nyong'o to star in the play, called "The KB Project. " Scahill also claimed that the Booth Theatre had been reserved for the play's Broadway run and that Netflix had agreed to film a performance, according to an indictment. Scahill owns a production company called RMS2 Productions. Prosecutors said the investors in the phony play included some of his closest friends. Battle is a celebrated diva who was fired from New York's Metropolitan Opera. She is scheduled to perform a concert at the Met on Nov. 13, her first appearance there since what she called an "unexpected dismissal" in 1994. Nyong'o won an Academy Award for her role in the 2013 film "12 Years a Slave. " She made her Broadway debut in 2016 in "Eclipsed," a drama about women caught up in the Liberian civil war. According to court papers, Scahill continued to insist that Nyong'o was going to star in his play even after her Broadway appearance in "Eclipsed" had been announced. Several investors demanded their money back, prosecutors said, and Scahill sent them checks that bounced. Scahill's next court appearance is scheduled for Sept. 20.

2016-08-19 19:30 Associated Press www.dailymail.co.uk

40 Congolese family in refugee limbo Speaking to TMG Digital on Friday afternoon‚ Home Affairs spokesperson Mayihlome Tshwete said the family is a matter being handled by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. "This particular case speaks to the issue of a Congolese who left Congo due to some political unrest and got refugee status in Zimbabwe with the assistance of the UNHCR. In 2010‚ while the UNHCR was still helping him with his settlement‚ he decided to come to South Africa where he also applied for refugee status. "Since then‚ there have been a number of complications relating to this matter and the UNHCR has been at the forefront of trying to resolve this issue. We can't give refugee status to a person who already has one in another country‚" said Tshwete. The man and his wife have been separated from their five children since June 3. The Star reported that three children were taken to Soshanguve‚ north of Pretoria while the two younger ones were taken to Ga-Rankuwa by the Department of Social Development. The man was reportedly advised by Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights to flee to South Africa to seek protection under the UNHCR regional office. "If there are any problems with that refugee status in that country‚ we have not seen any formal documents or any assessment that he requires refugee status away from Zimbabwe but in South Africa‚" added Tshwete. He said the UNHCR told Home Affairs that the situation in Zimbabwe is fine for the family to live there‚ but the man did not accepted this assessment because he said he his family were brutally abused while living there. "We sympathise with the family‚ but the UNHCR and the man need to sort out their matters because the law still applies‚" added Tshwete. The UNHCR could not be reached for comment by the time of publication.

2016-08-19 19:15 Neo Goba www.timeslive.co.za

41 Mortar bomb suspects' case postponed Johannesburg - The case against two men found in possession of an active mortar bomb was postponed in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on Friday, police said. Khethukuthula Mafutswa, 35, and Philani Madondo, 36, made a brief appearance on Friday, Captain Xoli Mbele said. The case was postponed to August 26 for a formal bail application. They were charged with possession of explosives. Police on routine crime prevention duties saw two men carrying a heavy bag and searched them near the Carlton Centre, in central Johannesburg, on Wednesday. They were searched and the bomb disposal unit was called.

2016-08-19 19:06 www.news24.com

42 42 Canada's Trudeau promotes rookie politician in cabinet shuffle OTTAWA, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Canada's Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweaked his cabinet on Friday, promoting a rookie female member of parliament to fill a gap left earlier this year by the resignation of a minister who sought treatment for addiction. Bardish Chagger was sworn in as the new leader of the government in the House of Commons. She also retains her previous role as minister of small business and tourism. Trudeau has emphasized the need for gender and ethnic diversity in his cabinet and Chagger's appointment to the prestigious role further highlighted that. Chagger, the daughter of Indian immigrants, first came to office in the 2015 election that swept the Liberals and Trudeau into power, ousting the previous Conservative government. She replaces previous house leader Dominic LeBlanc, who took over as minister of fisheries and oceans after Hunter Tootoo resigned in May to seek treatment for addiction issues. The mini cabinet shuffle comes a day after Health Minister Jane Philpott said she will repay taxpayers about C$3,700 ($2,875) for excessive costs related to work travel, including a C$1,700 limo ride. Opposition politicians have said the spending controversy is a reminder to voters of previous spending scandals that plagued the last Liberal government, which lost power in 2006. ($1=1.2869 Canadian) (Reporting by Leah Schnurr and Andrea Hopkins; Editing by Tom Brown)

2016-08-19 18:59 Reuters www.dailymail.co.uk

43 Nine things you need to know about the prison with 'a deadly reputation' where Pat Hickey is detained From a luxurious hotel, to one of the most feared prisons in a country full of feared prisons; Pat Hickey’s stay in Rio has been nothing if not varied. The 71-year-old, who temporarily stepped down from his position as president of the Olympic Council of Ireland, is being detained in Brazil's largest prison complex, Bangu. Mr Hickey is potentially facing three charges of facilitating ticket touting, formation of a cartel and ambush or illicit marketing. Here are nine things you should know about the Bangu prison complex where he is currently detained: 1. Bangu is located in West Rio de Janeiro and is the largest prison complex in all of Brazil. 2. It is a maximum security prison and holds 17 units. Pat Hickey is being held in Bangu 10, while Irishman Kevin Mallon (36) is currently being detained at the adjoining Bangu 8. 3. The Rio Times said the prison has "a deadly reputation" as it’s in the control of the deadly Commanda Vermelha gang. 4. The complex is home to some of Brazil’s most feared criminals, including murderers, drugs traffickers and gang members. Previous inmates include Brazilian druglord Fernandinho Beira-Mar. 5. According to an article on Bloomberg, the “outside, smells from sewage ditches blend with whiffs of deep-fried tidbits.” 6. Ray Whelan, a British executive was held at the prison as part of a World Cup ticket touting investigation in 2014. 7. Riots in the prison left 30 inmates dead in 2004. 8. Brazilian reality show “Fantastico” showed images of prisoners openly selling and taking drugs in the complex. 9. In 2005, a security chief at the Bangu 3 prison became the fifth official to be killed within five years. At the moment it is unclear how long Mr Hickey will stay in the prison.

2016-08-19 18:58 Cian Murray www.independent.ie

44 Lightning strikes Texas family at their home An East Texas couple can now say they've beaten odds greater than one in a million after being struck by lightning. Tim and Kayla Powell of Sabine County were unloading groceries from their sport utility vehicle Saturday when lightning struck the SUV. In a video posted on Kayla Powell's Facebook page, her husband collapses to the ground after lightning strikes. Tim Powell told KYTX in Bronson that he "didn't remember anything" and that he couldn't feel his legs for an hour after getting struck. The news station reported that the Powells refused an ambulance ride and have fully recovered from the lightning strike. According to the National Weather Service, a person has a one in 1.19 million chance of getting struck by lightning.

2016-08-19 23:37 Will Axford www.chron.com

45 Azerbaijan holds 4 over links to Turkey 'nemesis' Gulen Officials in Azerbaijan on Friday said they had arrested four men over suspected ties to US-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen, accused by Ankara of masterminding last month's attempted coup. The four are accused of an "abuse of power" while working for a mobile phone company for having passed on private information about subscribers and their call history, Azeri prosecutors said. During a search of the home of one of the accused, investigators discovered "religious literature, disks, brochures containing speeches by Fethullah Gulen and other documents," they said in a statement. A close ally of Ankara, Baku earlier this week opened a criminal investigation into supporters of Gulen, who is accused by Turkey of ordering the July 15 coup in a bid to remove President Recep Tayyip Erdogan from power. Gulen has consistently denied any involvement in the failed putsch. Azerbaijan last month shut down a private television channel over plans to broadcast an interview with Gulen, "in order to avoid provocations aimed at damaging the strategic partnership between Turkey and Azerbaijan". Gulen's Hizmet movement has affiliated schools around the world, including in ex-Soviet Kazakhstan, normally funded by wealthy Turkish businessmen. 2016-08-19 18:49 Afp www.dailymail.co.uk

46 Actor says he impersonated Russian mercenary in Syria for Sky News report — RT News In a recently-aired Sky News investigation the channel claimed it uncovered facts about Russian mercenaries in Syria operating undercover. One of the key pieces of evidence provided was an interview conducted by Sky News’ Moscow correspondent, John Sparks, who spoke to two males who allegedly comprised part of a secret Russian force, called “Wagner” operating in Syria. One of them, named Dmitry said that some 500 to 600 people of the unit died while serving in the country. The faces of the men were hidden and voices changed “to protect their identities.” Following the report, Russian television channel, NTV, aired its own investigation, claiming to have found Dmitry, who apparently turned out to be a Russian actor living in Moscow. RT also contacted a man, whose real name is Aleksandr Agapov, and he said that he played the role of a “Wagner” fighter at the request of the Sky News. “They said we have this information. You simply need to prepare yourself based on that information and make out you were in the military in Syria in a service of a private company,” Agapov told RT. In the interview, Agapov said he had been told by the clip would be part of a movie. However after getting suspicious Agapov decided to record a conversation with Sparks that supposedly took place in a Moscow hotel. The recording was initially passed to NTV. RT went on to check this claim as well. Our channel forwarded the recording to an acoustic analysis laboratory in Moscow for detailed information. Audio analyst Ivan Ursov said that the outcome clearly pointed to one of the voices belonging to Aleksandr Agapov. "The results of the analysis demonstrate a 75.5 percent match between the recordings. That's good enough to conclude they are indeed the same person," Ursov said. While analyzing the second voice the specialist found that with “85 percent certainty” it was that of Sky News correspondent John Sparks. To clarify Agapov’s allegations we reached out to the Sky News representatives. Sky News maintained its journalistic integrity. “Sky News stands fully behind the story which is the product of a detailed investigation over many months,” the media outlet said in an email. Another request on social media addressed to Sky News as well as personally to John Sparks did not yield any results. It’s not the first time that the media outlet has found itself in hot water over such a case. Recently, the outlet triggered outrage in Romania after suggesting in one of its reports that there was a thriving illegal arms trade in the country. In that case a Sky News reporter Stuart Ramsay spoke to two masked men, who was selling a number of weapons, including semi-assault rifles. According to Romanian officials, the outlet paid the men some £5,000 ($6,600) in what they called a “faked report”. Ramsay denied the allegations. Romania’s Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos reacted to the case saying that it is “unacceptable to denigrate a country without proof. ” Romania’s Secretary of State at National Audiovisual Council, Valentin Jucan, even vowed to bring Ramsay to court, posting a message on his Twitter feed.

2016-08-19 18:45 www.rt.com

47 Funeral home duo arrested after 16 bodies due for cremation 'found decaying in warm fridge' A man and woman left more than a dozen bodies due for cremation decaying at a Florida funeral home "because they had run out of body bags", according to police. Gregory Dunphy (64) and Felicia Boesch (39) were charged with a combined 16 misdemeanor counts of unlawful storage of human remains after 16 decaying bodies were discovered at the premises, local newspaper News Herald reports. According to the sheriff's office, the families of the deceased had requested cremation at Brock's Home Town Funeral Home. "We are horrified, devastated and emotionally cannot fathom this," Kimberly Gates, relative of one of the deceased, told the newspaper. "Now we can’t view her because the state she is in. " The corpses were found in a refrigeration unit that was set to 16 degrees Celsius. The fridge was required to be kept at a constant temperature of 4 degrees Celsius. Other remains were discovered elsewhere in the funeral home and none of the bodies had been embalmed, Bay County Sheriff reported. "They were still receiving people," sheriff spokeswoman Ruth Corley told the News Herald. "They weren't closed. " Dunphy reportedly told police that he had no access to additional supplies and he had run out of body bags. Boesch reportedly said she performed some cremations and then declined to answer more questions.

2016-08-19 18:42 Denise Calnan www.independent.ie

48 Thousands flee homes as California burns Firefighters battled to douse a series of wildfires fueled by high winds, scorching temperatures and dry vegetation, which have forced tens of thousands of Californians to flee their homes. A blaze scorching sections of the Angeles National Forest, in southern California, two huge infernos in the central part of the state and another fire further north have displaced entire towns. "Our fire activity has definitely picked up in past weeks in number and severity," said Daniel Berlant, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The Angeles forest fire -- dubbed "Blue Cut" -- has devoured 31,000 acres (12,545 hectares), an area more than twice the size of Bermuda, and is just four percent contained. The fire has been spreading at such an alarming pace that it appears as if it were "running at you," according to Michael Lopez, a spokesman for fire information website Inciweb. More than 82,500 people potentially in Blue Cut's path are under evacuation orders, including the entire populations of Wrightwood and Lytle Creek, towns of a few thousand people, and most of those in nearby Phelan. On Thursday evening some people in the towns of Hesperia, Oak Hills and Phelan will be allowed to return home, the San Bernardino sheriff's office said. Many had sought refuge with family or friends but motels in the area are full. Many businesses have doubled their prices, leading to a warning from the authorities that "price gouging" is against the law. Colette Martinez, 50, fled with her husband and son to a Red Cross center hastily installed at a school in Hesperia. "We don't know if we'll have a home to go back to," she told AFP, in tears. No deaths have been reported, although two firefighters surrounded by flames on Tuesday sustained minor injuries. Some 1,600 firefighters are committed to Blue Cut, while 5,000 are battling the larger Soberanes fire, which has charred 79,000 acres in the Big Sur tourist region, further north. Near Santa Barbara, north of Los Angeles, a new fire broke out Thursday afternoon and spread quickly, charring more than 500 acres. Meanwhile 4,000 people have fled the Clayton fire, started by an arsonist, according to police, in the northern Clear Lake area, near the wine regions of Sonoma and Napa. Since the beginning of the year, some 4,600 fires have ripped through some 300,000 acres of Californian scrub and forest.

2016-08-19 18:09 Afp www.dailymail.co.uk

49 Domestic violence and family law focus of Reeva Steenkamp foundation Swimmer Ryan Lochte was dubbed "The Ugly American" on Friday as U. S. media turned on the once beloved Olympic champion, saying his made-up tale of being robbed at gunpoint in Rio de Janeiro played into the worst stereotypes of Americans abroad.

2016-08-19 17:51 Deneesha Pillay www.timeslive.co.za

50 50 ATHLETICS- First Soviet Olympic champion Ponomareva passes away By Dmitriy Rogovitskiy MOSCOW, Aug 19 (Reuters) - The first Olympic champion in the history of the Soviet Union, the discus thrower Nina Ponomareva, has died at the age 87, the All-Russian Athletics Federation (ARAF) announced on its website www.rusathletics.com on Friday. At the country's debut Olympics in Helsinki in 1952, she won with an Olympic record of 51.42. Ponomareva also won a bronze at the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne and a gold four years later in Rome. After finishing her competitive career, she began coaching Soviet athletes. (Reporting By Dmitriy Rogovitskiy; Editing by Jan Harvey)

2016-08-19 17:49 Reuters www.dailymail.co.uk

51 They're sure going to light up the stage! Team GB to wear shoes that will flash red, white and blue at Olympic closing ceremony in Rio Team GB lit up the Olympic Games with glittering performances and will light up the closing ceremony - with illuminated shoes. The 366 athletes in Rio will walk out on Sunday night with red, white and blue lights built-in to the soles of their shoes. Using the South American city's reputation for being the home of the carnival as its inspiration, Accrington-based Simon Jersey has created the sports stars' Closing Ceremony outfits to help them draw their most successful ever away Games to a close. Scroll down for video Athletes will be wearing a pair of shorts - red for women and blue for men - and a white jacket, both of which incorporate the Team GB emblem of a lion's head. The jacket will also feature a 'thank you' to Brazil in Portuguese and a 'hello' to Tokyo, the host nation of the next Olympic Games in 2020. But to finish the outfit off, every athlete will be wearing a pair of red or blue shoes, with built-in lights in the sole - complete with a USB charger. A spokesman for Simon Jersey said: 'Rio 2016 has been another great Games for the team and after the buzz of London 2012, we wanted to mark the Closing Ceremony with something a little different. 'Rio is known for its love of parties and carnivals and wearable tech is becoming more popular, so we thought the most fun and patriotic way to use this in the outfits is through lights. 'The athletes all loved the shoes and are looking forward to wearing them. We just hope they remember to charge them before the ceremony. 'Creating two outfits which suit such a diverse team - from petite gymnasts to Amazonian rowers, has been a challenge, but it's what we do for our customers every day - uniting teams of any size across the globe through our designs.' Designers from Simon Jersey worked with the Athletes' Commission - a group of current and former athletes - to come up with the idea for the garments. Fashion students were also consulted on what they thought athletes should wear, while taking into account the Rio climate, current trends and technology. The canvas pumps, blue for men and red for women, will have red, white and blue flashing soles- with the lights lasting for around four hours. All athletes will also have a white jacket, featuring a lion's head design made up of 45,766 individual stitches. Men will also have a red polo shirt, while women will wear a navy sleeveless blouse, both with the Team GB logo. Bill Sweeney, British Olympic Association CEO, said: 'The welcome that we've had from the people of Rio has been fantastic, as we knew it would be. Therefore it's very fitting that Simon Jersey have made an outfit with a dedicated nod to one of the most symbolic things about Rio, known throughout the world, its carnival. 'The outfits, and especially the shoes, will provide an exciting and colourful end to what will have been a magnificent Olympic Games.' Team Great Britain's kit was drawn-up by world-famous fashion designer Stella McCartney. Adidas and Stella McCartney first collaborated in 2005 and McCartney also designed the attire for the Team GB athletes at the 2012 Olympics in London.

2016-08-19 17:47 Bianca London www.dailymail.co.uk

52 Murdered DA councillor was a family man and a spiritual leader Johannes Baatjies was a pastor in Danielskuil in the Northern Cape‚ 62km from Postmasburg. He was also the councillor of Ward 2 Baatjies and another DA councillor‚ as well as two Kgatelopele Community Forum councillors‚ were to form a coalition and take control of the Kgatelopele municipality from the African National Congress. He was to have been officially sworn in on Thursday. "He was a well-known person and a spiritual leader in the community of Danielskuil. When you spoke about Baatjies everybody knew him‚” said Northern Cape DA leader Andrew Louw. And it was not by default‚ but purely by design‚ that he won a ward that was staunch ANC for many years; that he won it away from them on the 3rd of August… we won that ward under the leadership of Baatjies. " Baatjies was found lying on his face on the main road between Danielskuil and Postmasburg on Wednesday evening. He had been shot twice in the head and once in the upper body‚ and dragged a distance before being dumped. It is suspected that his murder was politically motivated‚ because Baatjies had received death threats shortly after winning Ward 2. Police spokesperson Mariam Mochologi-Maleeme said police are still investigating the matter. “The passenger he was travelling with sustained gunshot wounds and was taken to hospital. He is in a critical condition. At this moment‚ he is our only hope for us to crack the case as he is the only witness‚" Mochologi- Maleeme said. "That community and we as the DA are bleeding … it is very unfortunate that we lost that man in such a sad and brutal manner. We all know we are going to die‚ but seeing him die in the manner that he did‚ is very unfortunate because he was killed like an animal‚" said Louw. But he said he was not in a position to confirm whether Baatjies’ killing was linked to the election results. "I don't want to cast any aspersions at this stage. We deliberately want to refrain from making any accusations especially because I don’t qualify to make such statements. The only thing we want to do is to allow the police to do their work and once that is done‚ we will be able to say what happened‚" said the provincial leader. Baatjies leaves behind his wife Dora and three sons. 2016-08-19 17:42 Neo Goba www.timeslive.co.za

53 New 'Flash Boys' market IEX opens on Wall Street The new IEX stock exchange, aimed at leveling the field for investors disadvantaged by high- speed traders, opened for business Friday in a potent challenge to Wall Street's old guard. After a long fight for approval against resistance from the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq exchange, IEX's public trading platform began trading in an initial two stocks, with plans to handle all 8,000 listed firms by the end of a two-week rampup. Already some 130 broker-dealers have signed up for trading, including the 40 top ATS members, the company told Markets Media. That demonstrated the attraction of IEX's key feature, a 350 microsecond "speed bump" on all orders that effectively prevents lighting-fast, computer-driven high-speed traders from cutting in front of slower orders and forcing up their costs. That issue had driven former Wall Street trader Brad Katsuyama to seek an alternative to the main exchanges that had increasingly allowed high-speed traders to dominate market action, leading to charges of unfairness from other market mainstays like pension and mutual funds. Katsuyama, whose fight against the high-speed traders was chronicled in the 2014 Wall Street best-seller "Flash Boys" by Michael Lewis, initially launched a private "dark pool" exchange with the automatic delay in trades, called ATS, that grew to capture up to two percent of total US market volume. In June, the Securities and Exchange Commission approved the IEX application to turn ATS into a public exchange over the opposition of NYSE and Nasdaq, saying it would "promote competition and innovation. " Volume in the two companies first quoted on IEX, Vonage Holdings (VG) and Windstream Holdings (WIN), was relatively small at midday Friday, less than two percent of total volume for the same companies on other exchanges. Over two weeks, the company will steadily begin adding quotes for other listed companies, and expects to have fully migrated ATS business over to the new IEX by September 2, according to spokesman Gerald Lam. Some around Wall Street view IEX as a curiosity for now, but with the potential to disrupt the broader system if it catches on. IEX could be a catalyst for change but its larger rivals will fight back if they lose significant market share, according to Morningstar analyst Michael Wong. "If it turns out that IEX becomes a competitive threat and starts gaining material market share from the other exchanges, I think the other exchanges would be quick copiers," he said.

2016-08-19 17:34 Afp www.dailymail.co.uk

54 The Red Devil: Rapist who was caught by his distinctive Manchester United tattoo after attacking 78-year-old grandmother in her home is jailed for 12 years A man who punched a grandmother in the face before brutally raping her in her own home has been jailed for 12 years. Jason Batchelor, 46, forced his way into the house while the 78- year-old woman was making breakfast in May. When asked what he wanted he told the grandmother 'you know what I want' before knocking her to the floor and raping her. After the vicious attack, he told his victim, 'If you tell the police I'll f***ing murder you', before stealing £20 in cash and fleeing the scene in Purley, south London. The woman, who is now 79, managed to call a friend and was taken to hospital. She later gave police a thorough description of her attacker - detailing his distinctive Manchester United crest tattoo. Unemployed Batchelor, of Wallington, south London, was arrested three days later, and a DNA match linked him to the scene. Batchelor had drinking heavily the night before, the Old Bailey heard today. His nephew, asked by police on a scale of 1-10 how drunk Batchelor had been, replied '12'. Batchelor pleaded guilty to rape, sexual assault, attempted rape, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and trespass with intent to commit a sexual offence on July 22. Stephen Shay, prosecuting, said: 'She was making breakfast at her home in Purley, when at about 7.35 in the morning, she heard a tap on her French doors from the garden area. 'She saw the defendant, who was a stranger to her, soaking wet. It had been raining heavily during the night. 'She waved the defendant away. He knocked on the back door, she told him to clear off. 'He then went to the front door. She took off the chain, opened the door slightly, saying 'what do you want, go away'. 'He replied, 'you know what I want'. She thought at that point he was referring to a dry shirt or perhaps a towel. 'She tried to push the door shut, telling him to get out. He pushed his way in, first with his arm then with his feet, before punching her in the face, knocking off her glasses.' Mr Shay then told the court how the victim begged for him to go away, saying she was an old lady, and he didn't want her. Batchelor then told her to shut her f****** mouth, that he had a knife and that he would kill her. After the attack, he agreed to leave the victim's home if she gave him £20 from her handbag. Mr Shay said: 'He threatened to 'f****** murder her if she told the police or anyone else.' A police interview with the victim was shown to the court, in which she said: 'He punched me to the floor, and he said 'you know what I want'. 'He said don't you scream, don't you make a sound. I will kill you if you do.' The court heard Batchelor, who has a long criminal record, has struggled with alcohol problems and heroin addiction for years. Susan Meek, defending, said the only mitigation was the early guilty pleas. She said: 'It is really the worst of the worst. And he understands that.' A victim impact statement read to the court said: 'I thought that he just wanted some dry clothes or a towel. My act of kindness ended in me suffering a living nightmare. 'The man told me on several occasions he had a knife and I thought he was going to kill me. 'I felt so helpless and that was really terrifying. I felt really vulnerable and scared. There was nothing I could do.' Following the attack, she said: 'I was petrified that the man was still out there. He knew where I lived. 'I could see how difficult it was for my children to witness what I had been through.' She said her face was still slightly swollen, and her bottom teeth are permanently wonky as a result. It added: 'I am reminded of what happened every day. I hope this man is locked up for a long time as I would hate for him to do this to anyone else.' Batchelor was jailed for 12 years, and was given an eight year extended licence. Judge Warwick McKinnon, the Recorder of Croydon, said: 'You uttered vile threats against her that you would murder her and said you had a knife. 'You physically assaulted her, violently punching her in the face and on to the ground. And there you had your evil way with her. 'The offences are not just immoral, they are utterly unspeakable. The psychological damage you have caused her in her advanced years is quite incalculable. 'You do present a significant risk of serious harm. This case has so many extreme aggravating features that a very substantial custodial sentence has to be passed.' Batchelor, wearing a blue short-sleeved checked shirt, showed no emotion as the sentence was passed, while the family of the victim looked on from the well of the court.

2016-08-19 17:33 Jake Polden www.dailymail.co.uk

55 Iraqi forces push Islamic State out of western Iraqi town BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi forces pushed Islamic State fighters out of a pocket of territory near the key western city of Ramadi on Friday evening, the military said, following a string of recent victories against the Sunni militant group in the sprawling western Anbar desert. Iraqi forces are now largely moving north, ahead of an eventual push on the country's second-largest city of Mosul, which has been under Islamic State group's control for the past two years. Mosul is also the IS's last remaining urban bastion in Iraq. The development came as a powerful Iraqi Shiite cleric in Baghdad expressed discontent with the country's new ministers appointed this week, after months of political wrangling — a reflection of the still simmering political crisis. The town retaken Friday from IS — Khaldiyah, 55 miles (90 kilometers) west of Baghdad — lies between Ramadi and Fallujah, the two key cities in Anbar province retaken from IS by Iraqi security forces over the last year. The Shiite cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr, issued a statement in which he repeated calls a complete government overhaul and trials for all corrupt politicians. He also accused Iraq's political blocs of standing in the way of reforms that the prime minister pledged to pursue more than a year ago. Iraq's parliament approved a partial Cabinet reshuffle this week, endorsing five new ministers. Over the past year Iraq's government has come under mounting public pressure. Anti-government protesters stormed Baghdad's highly fortified Green Zone once in April and a second time in May.

2016-08-19 17:21 Associated Press www.dailymail.co.uk

56 First Republican National Convention in Texas led to Ronald Reagan landslide The first Republican National Convention held in Texas kicked off 32 years ago this week at the Reunion Arena in Dallas. Beginning Aug. 20, the convention would see the party once again nominate Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush as its candidates. That November the pair would win a second term, sealing Republican dominance of the ‘80s and winning 49 of the 50 states. RELATED: Ronald Reagan loved 'Back to the Future' and once posed with the film's stars Reagan carried the endorsement of 2,233 of the 2,235 delegates to the Dallas convention. He would win nearly 99 percent of the votes along the way. He was beyond a lock, having no serious competition in the primaries. Dallas put on a great show for the visiting delegates and assembled media. According to the Dallas Morning News , a group of cowboys even conducted a two-mile cattle drive along the banks of the Trinity River the day before the convention's official kickoff. Members of the group “Women Running Against Reagan” raced through Dallas that Saturday in running shoes and athletic attire. The Jelly Bean Man accepted his party’s nomination on Aug. 23 to go up against Democratic challenger Walter Mondale and his running mate, Geraldine Ferraro. His speech was a rousing one, touching on all the talking points of the Reagan era. Self-reliance, patriotism and optimism. He reminded voters of all the promises made in 1980 when he defeated Jimmy Carter and proclaimed to have made good on most of them. RELATED: Trump praises police as protester is taken out of RNC “We came together in a national crusade to make America great again, and to make a new beginning,” Reagan said. “Well, now it's all coming together. With our beloved nation at peace, we're in the midst of a springtime of hope for America. Greatness lies ahead of us.” The full text of his speech can be read in full here , with the audience’s chanting included throughout. Conservative hero Barry Goldwater spoke at the event, two decades removed from his own (failed) presidential campaign, and responded to what he had heard at the Democratic National Convention earlier that summer. “Don't you Democrat leaders try to tell me that Americans don't love and honor America. And don't you Democrat leaders ever suggest we are not on the right path,” Goldwater pounded. “And one more warning, quit trying to divide America. There are too many millions of Americans who just won't take that guff. I've cleaned that one up. Guff.” RELATED: Ted Cruz sparks an uproar at RNC, on social media Jeane Kirkpatrick’s fiery “America First” speech came after an outdoor protest, in which Revolutionary Communist Youth Brigade member Gregory “Joey” Johnson burned an American flag. “Reagan, Mondale, which will it be? Either one means World War III,” he chanted as the flag flickered. This only seemed to have helped Reagan, as if he needed any assistance in winning over the American public at the polls. That November, he and Bush secured 525 of the available 538 electoral votes in the election. Mondale won only 13, and those came from the District of Columbia and his home state of Minnesota. After years of legal wrangling which ultimately reached the U. S. Supreme Court, it was found that Johnson’s flag-burning was protected by his First Amendment rights. During the course of his legal fight Johnson lived in Houston. RELATED: Appeals court invalidates state's flag-burning law This ruling would invalidate flag-desecration laws on the books in 48 states. Flag-burning was deemed a protected form of political expression. In response lawmakers passed the Flag Protection Act of 1989, which was struck down by the Supreme Court at the end of 1990. In July, Johnson and others were arrested for burning an American flag at the Republican convention in Cleveland. He was charged with disorderly conduct. The case is still pending.

2016-08-19 23:37 By Craig www.chron.com

57 Watch this Dallas Zoo baby elephant freak out about a huge ball The Dallas zoo's "small," 225-pound baby elephant was filmed playing with a ball for the first time this week. The 3-month-old named Ajabu rolls the ball around with his feet and trunk while kicking up sand. What else do elephants do for fun? Baby and adult elephants typically enjoy taking mud baths. The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust website explains that "aside from looking incredibly fun, mud baths serve a critical purpose for elephants. Under the harsh African sun, the heat and UV radiation can be deadly. Romping around in mud not only cools them down, but provides a protective layer to shield their body from the sun's rays. " In another video from the Dallas zoo, a 2-month-old baby elephant has its first experience inside a kiddie pool. Can't get enough baby elephant? Check out our gallery above to see dozens of cuties.

2016-08-19 23:37 Fernando Ramirez www.chron.com

58 Kelly Gale shows off her incredible figure in a VERY busty selfie She earns a living off her flawless bikini body. And Kelly Gale showed her Instagram followers the secret to her success when she posted a VERY busty selfie on Friday. With a tie- dye blue bikini barely containing her ample cleavage, the 21-year-old cast a sultry gaze at the camera. Her tanned skin was accentuated by the light blues and whites mixed in the designer swimwear. Appearing fresh faced, the Victoria's Secret model claimed this was her natural look. 'The ocean did my hair, the sun did my makeup,' she captioned the photo. The Playboy cover girl finished off the look with a plain silver necklace and pearl earrings. The photo was taken as the Swedish- Australian enjoys a sunny holiday in Croatia. The post soon caught the attention of her 447,000 Instagram followers, with many commenting on her natural beauty. She shows off her incredible figure in a scantily-clad 14- page pictorial and centrefold. Last year, Kelly was named as number one of the '50 Best Things In The World' by GQ India.

2016-08-19 16:47 Hannah Moore www.dailymail.co.uk

59 MLB Baseball Preview James Shields is close to matching his career-worst total for losses in a season and attempts to sidestep that dubious feat when the Chicago White Sox open a three- game series against the visiting Oakland Athletics on Friday. Shields lost 15 games for Tampa Bay in 2010 and is just one defeat shy of matching that amount with one-fourth of the season still remaining. Shields compiled seven of his 14 defeats when he was with San Diego but is 3-7 with a horrendous 7.34 ERA in 13 starts for the White Sox. Chicago, which suffered a 5-4 loss to Cleveland on Thursday, is opening a nine-game homestand. Oakland has lost five consecutive games - including three at Texas earlier this week - and possesses the fourth-worst record in the American League. The Athletics have struggled offensively, scoring three runs or fewer in nine of their last 13 games.8:10 p.m. ET, CSN California (Oakland), CSN Chicago PlusAthletics RH Kendall Graveman (8- 8, 4.37 ERA) vs. White Sox RH James Shields (5-14, 5.78)Graveman lost to Seattle in his last outing as he gave up four runs and seven hits over six innings. He has struggled over his last three turns, serving up four home runs while compiling a 5.82 ERA. Graveman lost to the White Sox in his lone career outing against them, giving up two runs and three hits in 5 1/3 innings on April 7. Shields has been smacked around for 21 runs and 25 hits (including six homers) over 9 1/3 innings in his last three outings. The terrible stretch follows a span in which he appeared to be getting on track with six straight starts of allowing two or fewer runs. Shields is 6-4 with a 3.82 ERA in 15 career starts against the Athletics but has shut down leadoff hitter Coco Crisp (3-for-24).1. White Sox 3B Todd Frazier is just 6-for-40 with one homer over his last 10 games.2. Oakland 1B Yonder Alonso is 1- for-12 with five strikeouts in his last four contests.3. Chicago 2B Brett Lawrie (hamstring) suffered quadriceps soreness during the fourth game of a rehab stint and manager Robin Ventura called it a setback that will affect how quickly he returns to the majors. Athletics 8, White Sox 4

2016-08-19 23:39 Sportsdirect Inc scoresandstats.chicago.cbslocal.com

60 Roswell teen murders | What we learned from Friday's court hearing Jeffrey Hazelwood, 20, is charged with murder in the deaths of Natalie Henderson and Carter Davis, both 17. They were found shot to death behind the grocery store in the early morning hours of August 1. Roswell Police Detective Jennifer Bennett took the stand on Friday in a probable cause hearing. Among the details revealed in Bennett's testimony: -- On the night of the murders, surveillance showed Hazelwood had been lurking around the Publix shopping center. He saw Henderson and Davis arrive and park nearby, and then followed them on foot. He told detectives he climbed up on an electrical box and got on the roof of the store to watch them before approaching the car. -- Bennett testified that in the initial interview with detectives on August 3, Hazelwood said he was present at the murders, and saw everything except for the person who shot the victims. He admitted to going into the vehicle and taking Henderson's debit card. -- In the initial interview, Hazelwood used a British accent and a "whiny-type voice" when talking about "tough subjects" -- In a second interview, conducted August 4, Hazelwood told detectives that he had driven someone else to the scene and that they instructed them to commit the crimes. Initially he said he didn't know the name of thatt person. He then "settled on the name Matt," Bennett said. He then he had met Matt in a parking lot several months before and they had smoke marijuana. Police have not located anyone named Matt. -- In the second interview, Hazelwood began to provide details of the murders. Hazelwood told detectives that after approaching Henderson's SUV, he had words with Davis, hit him with the gun and the gun went off. No one was hit by that bullet. Bennett testified that evidence indicated the gun was fired into the ground. Hazelwood said he shot Davis. He then made Henderson take her clothes off, sexually assaulted her and shot her. -- Hazelwood said he took jumper cables from Davis' car in case his vehicle broke down. -- After purchasing gas, Hazelwood returned to the crime scene for about seven minutes still wearing the mask, according to surveillance footage. -- No evidence of drugs was found at the scene of the crime. Bennett said she was not aware of any drugs in Hazelwood's system. -- Hazelwood allegedly stole the gun used in the murders from his grandfather. -- Hazelwood, who lived with his grandparents, had recently been kicked out of the home. -- Hazelwood's grandparents told detectives that he was mentally ill and they were scared of him. They had given him a deadline of August 1 to move out of the house. Most of his belongings had been moved by the night of the murders. -- Police tracked Hazelwood's vehicle to his girlfriend's house, and had him under surveillance for a few days before they arrested him at a nearby gas station. Before he was arrested, detectives said they observed him exhibiting "odd behavior" including changing his clothes and taking his shirt off in the parking lot. -- Hazelwood did not give a motive for the shooting. -- Hazelwood was friends with a male subject that Davis knew from school, but there was no indication that Davis and Hazelwood directly knew each other. -- In a writing found by detectives, Hazelwood described wanting to be an assassin and how he would go about fulfilling that role. -- Co-workers at Walmart and Michael's described Hazelwood as a good worker. The judge found probable cause to add new charges against Hazelwood: two counts of aggravated assault, two counts of aggravated sexual battery, identity fraud, two counts of theft, two counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.

2016-08-19 16:36 Staff , WXIA rssfeeds.11alive.com

61 Pentagon sends jets, warning as Syria bombs near US-backed Kurds — RT America Two Syrian Su-24 jets struck Kurdish positions in and near Hasakah, in northeastern Syria, on Thursday, Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis told reporters. The strike came close to US Special Forces operators, who were embedded with the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), comprised of the Kurdish YPG and local Arab militias. By the time the US jets arrived, the Syrian bombers had already departed. No Americans were wounded in the bombing, according to Davis. The Special Forces were ordered to retreat from the area as a precaution. When the strikes began, the “coalition forces on the ground” tried reaching the Syrian jets on a common radio frequency, but received no response, Davis added. US forces then reached out to the Russian military, using a previously established channel, and the Russians confirmed their aircraft were not involved. The Americans made it clear that the US would “take whatever action is necessary” to defend the special operators on the ground, Davis said. The US has increased air patrols in the area, Davis said. Local media report that the fighting in Hasakah broke out earlier this week between the pro-government National Defense Forces (NDF) militia and the Kurdish forces, with the Syrian Army role limited to 10 airstrikes against the Kurds. In a statement, the Syrian Army said it “responded appropriately” to the attempt by Kurdish militias to take over the city. The US-backed SDF was set up in October 2015, as a proxy force against Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL). The militia recently succeeded in ousting IS from Manbij, a strategic city in northern Syria near the Turkish border. While the Russian aerospace forces have been invited by the government in Damascus, the presence of US forces in Syria is not authorized under international law.

2016-08-19 16:34 www.rt.com

62 Kim Kardashian tries to make peace between Kourtney and Rob following their fight 'I cannot believe you haven't talked to him since then and I cannot believe he hasn't cared enough to call you,' Kim admits. Kourtney, who wore a blush button up blouse with a sparkling choker, admitted to her eldest sister that 'it took years for people to like Scott.' The mom of three became upset with Rob after she saw the Kylie Jenner lookalike slap emoji on Dailymail.com while on the set of a photo shoot. Keeping Up With The Kardashians airs Sunday night at 9pm on E! 2016-08-19 16:32 Sarah Sotoodeh www.dailymail.co.uk

63 Justice Ginsburg laments deadlocks on short- handed court U. S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said split 4-4 decisions by the short-handed high court have left important public policy issues up in the air, including the president's immigration plan, that are likely to be revisited by the court in the future. Addressing a gathering of attorneys in New Mexico on Friday, Ginsburg highlighted the impact of recent split decisions by the Supreme Court that left in place lower court rulings on immigration, organized labor fees and the ability of Native American tribal courts to decide controversies involving visitors. The Supreme Court has been working without a ninth justice since the death of Justice Antonin Scalia in February. Senate Republicans have refused to hold confirmation hearings for Obama's Supreme Court nominee ahead of the presidential election. Ginsberg said eight justices "was not good enough" to decide several crucial cases. "When we are evenly divided, it is equivalent to denying review," Ginsburg said. "There were important issues in these four cases that we were unable to decide, and they will come back again and one of them was the president's immigration policy. " The 83-year-old Brooklyn native, who was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1993 by Bill Clinton, made no mention Friday of the ongoing presidential campaign or her controversial comments last month about GOP nominee Donald Trump. In a series of media interviews in July, Ginsburg said she did not want to think about the possibility of a Trump presidency, describing the GOP presidential contender as a "faker" who "really has an ego. " She later said she regretted her "ill-advised" public criticism. Members of the New Mexico State Bar Association and their guests flocked to a casino resort north of Santa Fe to hear from Ginsburg, an anchor on the liberal wing of the current eight-member court and counterweight to conservative Chief Justice John Roberts. The Supreme Court deadlocked on a decision in March that threatened the ability of public-sector unions to collect fees from workers who don't want to join unions or pay for collective bargaining activities, in a victory for organized labor. In June, a 4-4 tie among justices effectively ended a federal program that would have shielded millions of undocumented immigrants from deportation to work legally in the U. S.

2016-08-19 16:32 By MORGAN www.charlotteobserver.com

64 Police: Mom left child in car to take exam SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. – Police have a charged a mother accused of leaving a toddler inside a car while she took an exam. This happened on August 2 at around 8:30 a.m. Sandy Springs police responded to a call about a juvenile left inside of a vehicle at Chamberlain School of Nursing located at 5775 Peachtree Dunwoody Road. Police say campus security was advised by a man that a child was seen strapped to a car seat in the vehicle crying for 15 minutes. The temperature was 74 degrees when the officer saw the 18-month old boy in the car. According to a police report, the child, who appeared to be OK, was wearing only pajamas, “but was very alert”. The report also states the vehicle was unlocked with keys in the ignition and the car’s air conditioning was on. The child was taken inside the school to safety. Police eventually discovered the driver was 19-year-old Destyni Triplett. The woman told police that she left her son in the car after her neighbor could not babysit him. Triplett was arrested at the school and charged with reckless conduct. Triplett did not appear to have a problem with leaving her child in the car, according to a police report. Her son was then taken to a hospital to be evaluated before the boy's father took custody.

2016-08-19 16:30 Ryan Dennis rssfeeds.11alive.com

65 Sophie Turner teases Sansa's 'options' in 'Game of Thrones' LOS ANGELES, Aug. 19 (UPI) -- Sophie Turner says Sansa will have "options" in Game of Thrones Season 7. The 20-year-old English actress, who plays Sansa Stark on the HBO series, revealed in an interview with Variety that her character will have the choice of becoming a villain or hero in future seasons. "I actually don't know [what direction she'll take] because of the way last season left off," Turner said at the publication's Power of Young Hollywood event. "There are so many options," she teased. "She could run with Littlefinger and become a villain and sadistic. Or she could also team up with her brother Jon. " Littlefinger and Jon Snow are played by Aiden Gillen and Kit Harington , respectively. Game of Thrones will return for an abbreviated seventh season in mid- 2017. The show, which is based on George R. R. Martin 's A Song of Ice and Fire book series, will come to a final close after Season 8. "It's really sad," Turner said. "It's really uncomfortable to think about my life without Game of Thrones. Not only has it been like a family -- going to see a family every summer -- but it's also been a safety net. " "When I finish this I don't actually know what's going to happen," she admitted. "I might slip into a deep, deep depression because I won't know what to do with myself. It's going to be very strange. I feel people are going to miss it dearly. " Gillen had told The Huffington Post in June that Littlefinger and Sansa will have "new potential" in Season 7. Season 6 ended with Jon being declared King of the North, although Sansa is technically the heir to Winterfell.

2016-08-19 16:22 Annie Martin www.upi.com

66 Years of race insults preceded slaying of Lebanese neighbor When an Oklahoma man befriended his Lebanese neighbors, his husband lashed out at the family, hurling epithets and at one point allegedly running over the mother with a car. The conflict went on for years until Aug. 12, when, authorities say, Stanley Majors shot and killed Khalid Jabara, whom his husband had come to think of as a kind of apprentice. "He killed my best friend," Stephen Schmauss lamented. The case received a brief mention in the presidential campaign from Hillary Clinton, who said her "heart breaks" for Jabara's loved ones. She shared a Facebook post Thursday from the family and urged the country to unite "to ensure that no other family loses a beloved son or daughter because of prejudice and bigotry. " Schmauss told The Associated Press that he took the 37-year-old Jabara under his wing after the family arrived in the south Tulsa neighborhood. Schmauss said he trained Khalid to use power tools and to take apart computer circuitry when he came over on some afternoons. His husband was never so welcoming. He repeatedly referred to the Jabara family as "filthy Lebanese," "dirty Arabs" and "Moo-slems. " They are actually Christian. Majors, 61, "was never what you would call a friendly neighbor," said Khalid's brother, Rami Jabara. Majors was verbally abusive and sent the family abusive letters and email. Lebanese immigrants have long been a visible part of the Oklahoma population, with many making their living as merchants, restaurateurs and grocers. Khalid Jabara's mother, Haifa, said Majors' venom was not reserved solely for her family. He would insult the lawn crews she hired, some of whom were black or Hispanic. She recalled him using the N-word to taunt them as they mowed. "He's the racist," Haifa Jabara pointed to Majors' house, the grief in her voice still evident. Schmauss tried to explain away Majors' comments: His husband, he said, is "textbook bipolar" and a diabetic who refuses to take any medication. "Anything that was said was done under the bipolar situation," Schmauss said. The abuse between the neighbors escalated to the point where Haifa Jabara obtained a protective order in 2013 that required Majors to stay 300 yards away and prohibited him from possessing any firearms until 2018. Majors — who had a 2009 felony conviction from California for threatening a crime with intent to terrorize — seemed undeterred. "It's just a piece of paper to some people. A judge said you can't do these things," said Tulsa Police spokesman Leland Ashley. There's a segment of the population that won't adhere to the order "unless they're behind bars. " Despite the court order, Majors was accused of plowing his car into Haifa Jabara last September. She suffered a broken shoulder, among other injuries. After Majors struck her, he kept driving. Officers who stopped him later reported that he was intoxicated. While awaiting trial on assault and battery charges, a judge freed Majors from jail on $60,000 bond, overruling strong objections by Tulsa County prosecutors, who called him "a substantial risk to the public" and pleaded with the court to set a higher bond of $300,000. Schmauss, 76, has been married to Majors for barely two years. He said his husband started Aug. 12 on a violent note, smacking him in the eye and pounding his wrist. Schmauss fled to a local motel for the rest of the day. Before Schmauss fled, he watched as Majors emptied at least five rounds from a handgun inside the couple's home, sending bullets in every direction. One hit the bed, another struck the carpet. A third shattered a cellphone. Then Majors reportedly tucked the weapon in the back of his shirt. Hours later, Khalid Jabara was found mortally wounded on his front doorstep. Police are still investigating the motive. "Every concern and fear in this family seems to have manifested itself," Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler said. "The system seems to have failed Khalid and his family, and we can and should be doing more. " Majors is now being held without bond in the county jail on a first-degree murder complaint. No formal charges have been filed. Calls to his attorney were not returned. On Friday, a group of friends and neighbors built a surprise memorial display in the Jabara family's front yard, with dozens of flowers, ferns and a Lebanese cedar tree, all circled around a statue of St. Francis of Asssisi. "I want them to think of this as a place where Khalid lived, not the place where Khalid died," said longtime family friend Rania Nasreddine. Schmauss, shifting his weight between a cane and metal walker in his foyer, said he viewed Khalid as a sort of woodworking apprentice. But his husband, who often went by the nickname Vern, could never accept the friendship. "Vern told me this time and time again," Schmauss said. "Vern told me that I am not to have any friends, and he repeated it over and over. I guess he was the only one who could have friends. " So why marry that kind of man? "Because he wanted to," Schmauss said. "If I wasn't going to, he was going to kick me out of the house. "

2016-08-19 16:21 By JUSTIN www.heraldonline.com

67 Syria's first responders: 'Most dangerous job in the world' It took Mahmoud Fadlallah and the team of seven rescue workers 30 minutes to reach the middle-aged couple trapped beneath the rubble of their apartment building in the contested Syrian city of Aleppo. They had been notified a rocket had struck the building, and they had to wait for the debris to fall and the dust to settle. "We called out: 'We are the Civil Defense, is anyone able to hear us?'" Fadlallah said of the rescue operation earlier this summer. "They were on the first floor, with four floors above them, but they were protected by the ceiling, which had collapsed at a slant. " It was routine work for the 3,000-strong Syrian Civil Defense, which mounts search-and-rescue operations under the unforgiving atmosphere of war in the shattered country's opposition areas, and whose supporters have nominated its first responders for the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize. Their rescuers were among those who pulled 5-year-old Omran Daqneesh and his family from the rubble of their apartment building Wednesday night. A photo of little Omran, sitting alone in an ambulance, confused and covered in debris and blood, has become the haunting image of the battle for Aleppo. The group's global following, which includes dozens of Syrian civil society groups operating in opposition areas as well as international organizations, says the Civil Defense rescuers — known as the White Helmets for their trademark headgear — is engaged in "the most dangerous job in the world. " "People are dying, and we run toward death," said Fadlallah, whose team was able to rescue the trapped couple in June and also pulled four corpses from the rubble, including one whose limbs had been blown off by the force of the blast. He has since lost two of his colleagues from that rescue mission. Rescue workers are targeted with such regularity by government forces that they have come up with a name for the tactic: "double tap" attacks. After an initial strike, government warplanes circle around and hit the target a second time, or lay siege to the area with overwhelming artillery fire. It was in such circumstances that Fadlallah lost a teammate last week. Khaled Omran Harrah had earlier captured international media attention for his dramatic 2014 rescue of a 10-day-old infant trapped in rubble for 16 hours. Harrah was on the job again last week, called along with Fadlallah and five other White Helmet rescuers to the scene of a blast. The men were working to extract a survivor from the rubble when they came under second attack. "They must have seen us coming, and they started striking us with a tank, mortars, and airstrikes," Fadlallah said. The group cowered in a building that could not provide enough cover, and Harrah was killed. Five others, including Fadlallah sustained shrapnel wounds. They were stuck for two hours, and the man they came to rescue died. The next day was a scheduled day off for Fadlallah. He returned to his duties for a standard 24-hour shift the day after that, his wounds still unhealed. The White Helmets have lost 134 rescuers in the line of duty, says director Raed Saleh, while participating in rescues the group says saved 60,000 lives. The figures could not be independently verified. Government sympathizers accuse the group of aiding "terrorists," a catch- all term the government uses to describe its armed opponents. Such associations are inevitable, however, in the Syria war, where after more than five years of fighting practically all sides have been fingered for war crimes. In many opposition-held areas where the White Helmets operate, they come under the jurisdiction of unsavory rebel factions, including the al-Qaida-linked Jabhat Fatah al-Sham in northwestern Idlib province. But civilians — 1.5 million by the pre-war population estimate — live there, too. The White Helmets grew out of networks of volunteer first responders who were rescuing victims from government shelling and bombardment in opposition areas. Since 2013, the group has grown to operate 119 centers across Syria, receiving substantial organizational support from Mayday Rescue, a Turkey- based NGO that grew alongside the White Helmets to organize training and deliver equipment to the first responders. Against the backdrop of the stalemated Syrian war, the group's international following says it's time it receives the recognition it deserves. "Honoring a group of brave, and for the most part, anonymous humanitarians represents the true values of the Nobel Peace Prize," said Wendy Chamberlain, president of the Washington-based Middle East Institute, who nominated the group to the Nobel committee, which will announce its selection in October. Saleh says winning the Peace Prize would be a "morale boost," though greater priorities loom. "Whether or not we win, we call for an end to the killing of civilians through indiscriminate attacks in any area in Syria," he said. Politicians around the world have praised the group's courage. Still, Saleh was denied entry to the United States to receive a humanitarian award in April, an incident supporters blame on a social media smear campaign connecting the group to al-Qaida. After that incident, the U. S. State Department said the U. S. government provides, through USAID, $23 million in aid to the White Helmets. Fadlallah was a construction worker before the war, but now nearly every able-bodied Syrian has become a rescuer. The White Helmets come from diverse walks of life; there are among them carpenters, students, lawyers, and doctors. "God watches over us," Fadlallah said. "And the best organization there is, is the Civil Defense. "

2016-08-19 16:16 By PHILIP www.charlotteobserver.com

68 Book reveals Kansas serial killer's plans for 11th victim The BTK serial killer planned to kill an 11th victim by hanging her upside down in her Wichita, Kansas, home, according to a new book by a professor of forensic psychology. It's a story police heard from Dennis Rader himself in 2005, but decided at the time to suppress to protect the woman. The story was made public in "Confession of a Serial Killer: The Untold Story of Dennis Rader, the BTK Killer," which has a scheduled release date of Sept. 6. The book was written by Katherine Ramsland, a professor at DeSales University in Pennsylvania who worked with Rader on it under an agreement that proceeds from its sale goes to the victims' families trust fund. Lust and a desire for fame and power drove Rader — he called himself BTK for "bind, torture and kill" — to murder 10 people in Wichita from 1974 to 1991, according to the book's author. Wichita police detectives who captured Rader in 2005 told the Wichita Eagle (http://bit.ly/2bDqQdF) they are incensed with the pride he exhibits as he goes into detail about the tortures he planned to inflict on the 11th victim. He was arrested before he was able to carry out the murder. "For him to reveal this information now is cruel," said Tim Relph, a former BTK task force investigator. Relph and fellow task force investigator Kelly Otis said the book allows Rader to carry out one more act of horror. Rader wrote three and a half pages of the book about his plans for his last kill. "This was supposed to be my opus, my grand finale, and to make it different, I would set the house on fire using propane canisters," he wrote. He said he got into the woman's backyard and knocked on her door, but aborted his plan when a city street crew showed up unexpectedly to work outside the house. He planned to kill her the following spring, but was arrested in February 2005. Otis said the problem with anything Rader says is that most of it is fantasy, although police found that a street crew did so up outside her house on Oct. 22, 2004. Police said they suppressed most of the details of the planned murder for 11 years because they feared what the shock of a public revelation might do to the woman. But authorities did inform the woman after finding out that defense attorneys for Rader had hired investigators who might contact her. "She's a pretty tough lady, but this shook her up quite a bit," Relph said. Rader's daughter, Kerri Rawson, told the newspaper that her father cooperated on the book because he's proud of his murders. She said the book feeds his ego and his narcissism, and disputed some of the accounts of his family life in the book. "He's a psychopath," she said. "You can't take anything he says as truth. " Ramsland said the purpose of her book was to give criminologists, forensic psychologists and others some insights into a serial killer's mind by relating the stories he tells and how he tells them.

2016-08-19 16:14 The Associated www.charlotteobserver.com

69 George Osborne fires machine gun on holiday in Vietnam – video Former Chancellor George Osborne fires an automatic weapon at a former Viet Cong base near Ho Chi Minh city. In footage shot by tourists, and obtained by the Daily Mirror, Osborne is helped by tour guides to fire the gun, which is believed to be an M60 light machine gun

2016-08-19 16:13 Source: www.theguardian.com

70 U. S. searches for new Venezuela strategy as Maduro government hangs on The Obama administration has intensified its push for a recall vote against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro even as the government there has made clear it’s unwilling to allow a vote that could put the opposition in power. Secretary of State John Kerry has escalated U. S. rhetoric against the Maduro administration in recent weeks during diplomatic visits to Colombia and Argentina. Speaking at the Palacio San Martin in Buenos Aires, home to the Argentine Foreign Ministry, Kerry accused the Venezuelan government of delaying tactics and called for the vote to happen this year – the first time he’d specified a timetable. “We have deep concerns right now about Venezuela’s unwillingness to engage in a robust, productive way in the dialogue and to heed the needs of the people of Venezuela,” Kerry said earlier this month at a joint news conference with Argentine Foreign Minister Susana Malcorra. The stepped-up rhetoric reflects U. S. acknowledgment that the entrenched Venezuelan leaders are more willing to fight to remain in power than the administration had hoped after the opposition took control of the country’s legislature in voting last year. An opposition takeover could place many of Venezuela’s leaders at risk of going to prison or being forced into exile. The Obama administration has grown increasingly concerned about the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, but it wants not to come across as interventionist by imposing its will. It’s a slippery slope for the administration, which has fought hard to overcome a damaging U. S. reputation of meddling in Latin American affairs during the Cold War. A senior State Department official said this week that the administration would continue to support dialogue between the Maduro administration and its opposition. But the Maduro government has shown over the last several months that it is “doing everything it can to obstruct” a referendum from happening this year, which would allow citizens to choose whether a new administration should take over. “At that point, yes, we’re intensifying the attention to what the government is doing,” said the official, who agreed to speak only anonymously, per department policy. Venezuela, which has the world’s largest proven oil reserves, is on the verge of economic collapse. Food riots have erupted as desperate Venezuelans ransack grocery stores in search of food. Hundreds have crossed the border into Colombia in search of basic goods. Medical officials have estimated that 80 percent of needed medicine and medical equipment are in short supply and that children have died because of the shortages. The situation has alarmed the Obama administration, which has been seeking ideas in private and public meetings with former officials, research centers and academics across Washington and Miami. On Monday, the head of the U. S. Southern Command , Adm. Kurt W. Tidd, convened a meeting of experts in Miami to discuss what might happen in Venezuela. Russ Dallen, an expert on Venezuela’s debt, said Tidd asked what would happen if Venezuela ran out of money. Dallen said he equated the situation to what would have happened to Greece if the International Monetary Fund had not come to the rescue when that country could no longer pay its debts. He also compared such an eventuality to Somalia, where authorities and international supporters have struggled to re-establish state structures after decades of civil war. “It means a civil breakdown of a country,” Dallen, a managing partner at Caracas Capital Markets, said in an interview. Eric Farnsworth, vice president of the Washington-based Council of the Americas and a former State Department official, sees conditions in Venezuela worsening and has urged U. S. and hemispheric leaders, including the Organization of American States , to get ready. He has proposed setting up humanitarian aid stations in Colombia where they can be reached by fleeing Venezuelans. They would also be well-positioned to enter the country if Venezuela collapses. “Everybody anticipates a social breakdown. Nobody is doing anything to prepare for it,” Farnsworth said in an interview. “I do think it’s time for some contingency planning. It’s probably past time. And this is one way, without forcing the issue into Venezuela. . . to have ready reserves available if and when they need to be deployed.” Polls find that Maduro would likely be trounced in a recall vote. But he has told supporters that if a vote happens, it won’t be until next year. Venezuela’s National Electoral Council confirmed this month that the opposition coalition had gathered enough signatures on recall petitions to move to the second phase of the process. But the timeline suggested by the Maduro administration means a vote would likely not occur until January or February, at the end of the 90-day period in which the council must call the vote. The timing is crucial. If the referendum is held by Jan. 10 and Maduro loses, a new election will be called. If it is held later and Maduro loses, his vice president likely takes over and remains in power until the end of Maduro’s term in 2019. U. S. officials argue that it’s still possible to have the referendum this year. The senior State Department official said the U. S. didn’t have enough information or access for such a crucial moment. Venezuelan officials have doubled down on self-destructive policies and behaviors, and the U. S. doesn’t have reliable interlocutors in the Maduro government. The official referred to the current dialogue efforts as “an empty room.” Still, the U. S. will press the idea of talks because “it just has to be the place that people arrive eventually,” the official said. “Because the recall could be the other end game. But it’s a little irrational to assume that the government will hasten its own exit. It’s not really how people act.”

2016-08-19 16:12 By Franco www.charlotteobserver.com

71 Steroid treatments may boost preemies' risk of eye problems Doctors often give corticosteroids to babies whose birth weight is very low to improve lung function, but it's long been suspected that the drugs may have harmful side effects. "Clinicians need to use their best judgment to balance the positive effects from steroids on developing lungs with potential negative effects on developing eyes in very premature infants," said lead investigator Dr. Tammy Movsas. For the new study, the researchers analyzed data from nearly 1,500 infants who weighed less than 500 grams (1.1 pounds) at birth. Although the study couldn't prove cause-and-effect, the risk of an eye condition called retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) was 60 percent higher for babies treated with steroids, the researchers found. And babies' risk of developing an advanced case of ROP was 70 percent higher if they were on the drugs, the findings showed. Movsas called the increased ROP risk modest, but significant. The study was published recently in the Journal of the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus. "This study has potential clinical significance since children with a history of ROP are not only at increased risk for visual impairments from the ROP itself, but are also at increased risk for developing other ocular disorders later in life," Movsas said in a journal news release. Movsas is medical director of the Midland County (Mich.) Department of Public Health and a clinical associate professor of pediatrics and human development at Michigan State University. The March of Dimes has more on retinopathy of prematurity . Copyright © 2016 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

2016-08-19 16:10 www.upi.com

72 New ceramic is resistant to temperature extremes TOMSK, Russia, Aug. 19 (UPI) -- Scientists in Russia are currently perfecting a new type of ceramic that can withstand extreme temperatures. The material could prove useful in space aeronautics and the construction of rocket engines. Researchers at Tomsk State University have developed several iterations of ceramics derived from hafnium carbide and zirconium diboride and oxide. Samples of the layered ceramic were on display at the Second International Conference and Expo on Ceramics and Composite Materials, held in July in Berlin. In testing , the ceramic was able to withstand temperatures of more than 3,000 degrees Celsius. The most resilient metal alloys can withstand temperatures of no more than 2,000 degrees Celsius, while most metals can handle no more then 1,500 degrees Celsius. The material will allow space and aviation engineers to push temperature limits inside the combustion chamber of jet engines. The ceramic could also better protect rocket components from the intense heat generated during re-entry into the atmosphere. Scientists hope to begin testing the potential applications for their ceramic at the laboratories of the Roscosmos State Corporation, Russia's space agency.

2016-08-19 16:04 Brooks Hays www.upi.com

73 Driver, passenger killed, 19 hurt when buses collide in New Jersey NEWARK, N. J., Aug. 19 (UPI) -- A bus driver and a passenger were killed early Friday morning after two transit buses in New Jersey collided, authorities said. The buses, operated by New Jersey Transit, crashed just before the morning rush hour Friday in Newark. According to investigators, one bus ran into the side of the other at the intersection of Raymond Boulevard, one of the largest thoroughfares in the city, and Broad Street at around 6 a.m. local time. About 20 passengers were aboard the bus that was T-boned, and all but one were injured -- seven seriously. The other bus, driven by Joseph Bathelus, carried no passengers. Bathelus, a 27-year employee of New Jersey Transit, was killed in the crash. The other was treated for minor injuries. New Jersey Transit said both drivers were in good standing. Friday afternoon, authorities said that an unidentified passenger had also died from their injuries. "By the grace of God, we're praying for all of the folks that are in the hospital, that they get a speedy recovery from this tragic accident this morning," Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said. The crash caused delays and detours around downtown Newark -- New Jersey's largest city, located about 10 miles west of New York City -- with about 20 bus routes affected. Officials did not initially speculate on the cause of the crash.

2016-08-19 16:03 www.upi.com

74 Here's how much Google has grown since going public 12 years ago CNBC looked at the company's growth over the years to see how exponential it's been. Since the IPO, those Class A shares, now traded under the ticker GOOGL , are 1,779 percent higher on a split- adjusted basis at $798.87 a share intraday Friday. That's a market cap of about $543 billion, just shy of Apple 's roughly $588 billion market capitalization. The deal size for Google's IPO was $1.7 billion. In comparison, that of Facebook was $16 billion, almost eight years later in 2012. Annual revenue last year was nearly $75 billion, up from $66 billion in 2014 and more than 20 times annual revenue in 2004 of about $3.2 billion. Last year's profit of $16.3 billion compared with profit of less than 400 million the year Google went public.

2016-08-19 16:00 Evelyn Cheng www.cnbc.com

75 Syrian Bassel Mcleash with Justin Trudeau at Toronto’s Pride: ‘I wanted to thank him for the chance to be free’ I lived in Syria until 2012, when I was 25. There was a lot of bombing in Damascus – most of the time it was hard for us to get to work as we couldn’t get out of our houses. The company I was working for in aviation services opened a branch in Cairo, so I moved. Being gay was a factor in wanting to leave. It’s forbidden to be gay in Syria. I was in Cairo for just under four years. I liked it at the beginning, but from the second half of 2013 there was a crackdown on the LGBT community – Egyptians were imprisoned and foreigners were deported. At the moment there are over 250 people in jail there because they are homosexual. I left my company because of a professional disagreement, and started working at a call centre, while waiting for my new work permit to come through. It was then I discovered I’m HIV positive – to get a work permit in Egypt you need to prove you’re HIV negative – so I was fired. I lived on savings, then started depending on friends and any jobs I was able to get; a translator, a tourist guide, whatever I could find. The oppression in Egypt made it impossible to meet people; you just couldn’t trust that someone wasn’t an informer. Mostly my LGBT friends and I stayed home. If we were meeting friends and someone was late, we would call and check reports to see if anyone had been picked up. I couldn’t see a future there. I contacted Rainbow Railroad , an organisation that helps LGBT people escape persecution, and they accepted my case. A little over a year after I first applied I opened my emails and saw the word “Congratulations”. I didn’t believe it. I started jumping while sitting; it must have looked hilarious. My friend said, “What’s happening?” I said, “I’m going to Canada!” I landed on 26 May, five days before Pride Month started on 1 June. It felt significant, and overwhelming. I kept thinking: “Am I allowed to do this?” I heard from Rainbow Railroad that Justin Trudeau would be at the march on 3 July. Early on, I realised there were only about 10 people between me and him. I thought, “I need to reach him.” I wanted to thank him for the opportunity to be here and be free. When I reached his side, I thought, “Now what?” Working up the courage to talk to him took an hour. I was thinking, “Should I call him Mr Trudeau? Mr Prime Minister? Justin?” In the end I said, “Uuuuh… I just want to thank you for everything. I’m Syrian. I arrived here a month ago.” He said, “Don’t thank me. Canada asked me to do this.” He didn’t even try to take credit for it. For me, it was the perfect answer. I was about to cry. The first time I saw the picture was on TV. It spread from there, on social media and blogs, and soon it was everywhere. I’m currently renting a room and looking for a job; I’d love to work in human rights, in the LGBT field. I miss my mum, who still lives in Syria, but I don’t miss living under fear of death. Canada is amazing, the weather is nice, the people are friendly; everything is amazing. I know I’m repeating “amazing” a lot, but it truly is. I already feel at home.

2016-08-19 16:00 Erica Buist www.theguardian.com

76 Troopers: Bear Mauls Guides After Group Got Close to Cub A brown bear mauled two wilderness guides who were leading a hiking excursion in Alaska after the group came between the female animal and her cub, state troopers said Friday. The guides — a man and a woman — were rescued by the Coast Guard after being injured Thursday. Troopers said the bears left the area after one of the victims used pepper spray. The names of the guides were not immediately released. Officials said they are crew members of the 74-passenger cruise vessel Wilderness Explorer and were leading 22 people on the hike in southeast Alaska. The injured woman was flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where she was listed Friday in serious condition in intensive care, according to hospital spokeswoman Susan Gregg. Both guides were initially transported by helicopter to Sitka for emergency medical treatment for multiple injuries and severe lacerations, the Coast Guard said. The male guide was treated and released, according to Sarah Scoltock, a spokeswoman with Seattle-based Un-Cruise Adventures, the vessel operator. No one else was injured, Scoltock said.

2016-08-19 15:59 By abcnews.go.com

77 HPD chief says agency plans to fire officer charged with intoxication manslaughter Acting Houston Police Chief Martha Montalvo said she plans to fire an officer charged with intoxicated manslaughter in a Fort Bend County crash this month. Fort Bend County authorities alleged this week that city police Officer James Combs was driving drunk around 6:30 a.m. on Aug. 12 when his Chevrolet Tahoe struck a Chevy Corvette driven by 36- year-old Brian Manring, who was killed. He leaves behind an 8-year-old daughter, for whom a gofundme site has been set up to support financially. Combs had been suspended indefinitely on July 2, 2012 after failing a random drug test, a department spokesperson said. But Combs appealed the punishment, which was later reduced by an independent arbitrator to a 60-day suspension. "He had a second chance," Montalvo said Thursday of the 6-year department veteran, "and I'm horrified that a life was taken because of his behavior. " Deputies responding to the crash said they detected alcohol on Combs, who Montalvo said was scheduled to work a shift later that morning. Sheriff's deputies arrested Combs this week. A relative posted his $100,000 bail Wednesday afternoon, and he was released later that evening. HPD is working to expedite the process for Comb's termination, Montalvo said. The department relieved Combs of duty on the day of the crash, meaning he would stay on paid leave pending an internal investigation. "We are terminating him," Montalvo said Thursday. "I think with a charge of intoxicated manslaughter, the least of his problems is worrying about his job. " The news comes as HPD on Friday kicked off a program focused on DWI enforcement and education to last through Labor Day. "This is just an example that individuals who commit this crime come from all walks of life, including police officers," Montalvo said. "So please help us get the message out: be a responsible drinker. If you do drink, get a designated driver, take a cab, but do not drive. Do not put the life of other people and yourself in danger. "

2016-08-19 23:37 By Emily www.chron.com

78 GOP: Gilbert physically fit enough to run for Congress The Michigan Republican Party is asking the Michigan Board of State Canvassers to review and reverse a Secretary of State Office’s decision to let Democrats replace actress Melissa Gilbert on the Nov. 8 congressional ballot as “physically unfit” to run. In a Monday letter to Michigan Democratic Party Chairman Brandon Dillon, State Director of Elections Christopher Thomas agreed to replace Gilbert in the 8th Congressional District race with Macomb County Assistant Prosecutor Suzanna Shkreli of Clarkston. She would face U. S. Rep. Mike Bishop, R-Rochester, in the general election. Gilbert abruptly ended her campaign in late May, citing unspecified debilitating health problems. The Michigan Democratic Party said then that Gilbert was scheduled to undergo spinal surgery and an Ann Arbor neurosurgeon deemed her “medically disabled.” But attorneys for the Republican Party argued in a letter dated Thursday that the Board of State Canvassers should review the matter at its Monday meeting, where the issue is not on the agenda, and demonstrate “conclusive evidence” that Gilbert couldn’t physically serve in Congress if elected. Tuesday was the deadline to change names on the November ballot. The Secretary of State’s move not only disenfranchises more than 27,000 voters who elected Gilbert in the Aug. 2 Democratic primary, the GOP’s lawyers argued, but was done without a “transparent review” indicating by what criteria state officials deemed the Livingston County actress “physically unfit.” Gilbert’s withdrawal letter, medical insurance records and a letter from her doctor about her physical inabilities were submitted to Secretary of State Ruth Johnson’s office. Thomas said in his Monday letter that under a 1950 attorney general’s opinion a political party’s county committee “determines the facts ... under which withdrawal is permitted to exist.” The state or “filing official has no authority to independently assess the dufficiency of the party’s nomination process,” he wrote. “The role of secretary of state and the county election commissions is limited to receiving the party’s certification of its new nominee,” Secretary of State spokesman Fred Woodhams said Friday. In July, Democrats recruited Shkreli to run for the congressional seat, which includes Ingham, Livingston and parts of northern Oakland County. Bishop previously warned a “dangerous precedent” would be set if Gilbert’s name were removed from the November ballot for vague health problems. The Republican Party’s attorneys argued in an Aug. 11 letter to the Secretary of State’s Office that Gilbert is physically fit enough to remain on the ballot. “Members of Congress often have illnesses or injuries that require hospitalization or time away from their official duties,” wrote Jason Hanselman and Gary Gordon of the Dykema Gossett law firm. “Such illnesses or injuries do not necessarily render a Member of Congress physically unfit to serve. The lawyers cited the examples of U. S. Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., continuing to serve after having a massive stroke and often being wheelchair-bound; quadriplegic U. S. Rep. James Langevin, D-Rhode Island; and three others serving while battling cancer. By contrast, they wrote, one of the few instances when the state’s unfit law was used in a 1950s case “of mental illness so severe that the nominee for county treasurer was placed in an insane asylum in a different county....” In arguing for the state canvassers’s review, the Republican Party said Gilbert’s medical issues need to be aired publicly to ensure they meet a strict standard of physical unfitness. “The threshold question here ... is whether the Legislature intended to allow party bosses to ignore the will of the people by allowing a select few to replace a democratically elected nominee,” Hanselman and Gordon wrote in the Aug. 11 letter. “... Allowing the Democratic Party to manipulate the election process opens the door to shenanigans in future elections.” The state board consists of two Democratic and two Republican members.

2016-08-19 15:52 The Detroit rssfeeds.detroitnews.com

79 UN Panel Seeks Push Toward Nuclear Disarmament A majority of countries on a U. N.-mandated panel on Friday called on the U. N. General Assembly to consider launching multilateral negotiations on nuclear disarmament , voting in a process that has been boycotted by the world's nuclear-armed powers. Thai ambassador Thani Thongthakdi, who chaired the Open-Ended Working Group on Nuclear Disarmament, hailed a "strong signal" but said many countries would have preferred consensus among voting members on an agreement that will have little impact unless nuclear powers are also on board. The panel voted 68 to 22, with 13 abstentions, on Friday on a broad- ranging text that among other things recommends that the General Assembly take up efforts toward launching multilateral negotiations on nuclear disarmament at its next meeting. Nuclear-armed powers including Russia , China and the United States have rejected the process. Japan, which is sensitive about nuclear issues after experiencing two atomic bomb strikes in World War II , abstained from the vote. Toshio Sano, Japan's ambassador to the U. N.'s Conference on Disarmament, praised "many positive elements" to the text, such as calling for education about nuclear disarmament, but said envoys didn't devote enough time toward trying to reach consensus. "We are deeply concerned that the adoption by voting will further divide the international disarmament community and undermine the momentum of nuclear disarmament for the international community as a whole," he told the body after the vote. Alyn Ware, who coordinates the advocacy group Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament, said the working group was split in two camps: A "hard- line" faction favoring a treaty that calls for the abolition for nuclear weapons right now, and another preferring "incremental measures. " Ware called the vote a "good thing," but said the countries that support a treaty will now face a tough task of convincing nuclear-armed nations to join the process. "If you just have a treaty adopted by non-nuclear states, the nuclear weapons states and allies could ignore it," he said, calling for pressure on nuclear-armed powers to adopt "no first use" policies, move toward banning use, cut their arsenals and "give up the idea that you have security by threatening to blow up others. " In the United States, the Obama administration has been considering instituting a "no first use" policy before Obama leaves office, but has faced criticism in Congress and beyond and isn't expected to move quickly to institute it. ——— Josh Lederman contributed from Washington.

2016-08-19 15:52 By abcnews.go.com

80 Turkey's post-coup crackdown – in figures Turkey’s wide-ranging crackdown since the attempted coup on 15 July has alarmed rights groups and observers. The situation is fast-changing, and comprehensive figures are not always available. The information used below, taken from Turkish government and media figures, was up to date as of 19 August. Turkish authorities say 173 of the 240 dead were civilians killed by gunfire or tanks in Istanbul and Ankara. Several people were killed when soldiers opened fire on civilian protesters on the Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul, since renamed as the 15th July Martyr’s Bridge. At least 18 died in clashes between rogue soldiers and local residents in Çengelköy, a district on the Asian side of Istanbul bordering the Bosphorus. Sixty-two police officers were killed by the coup plotters, 42 of whom died in twin attacks on police headquarters just outside the capital, Ankara, in the early hours of 16 July. Five soldiers died on the side of those who opposed the coup. The Turkish government says at least 24 putschists were also killed during clashes. According to the prime minister, Binali Yıldırım, 40,029 state employees have been detained since the night of the coup attempt, of whom 20,355 have been formally arrested. Of those in detention, 4,262 are awaiting a decision on whether they will be formally arrested or released. The overwhelming majority of those arrested are police officers and military personnel, including 157 generals. To date, at least 2,131 judges and prosecutors with suspected ties to the Gülen movement have been arrested. Outside the state professions, journalists have also been detained. According to data collected by the media platform P24 , 44 journalists have been formally arrested, while 14 others are in custody. These numbers do not include pro-Kurdish journalists who were detained under a state of emergency but outside the investigation into possible coup plotters. Additionally, the interior ministry says 75,000 people have had their passports cancelled. Tens of thousands of people have been dismissed from their posts in a purge of state and civic institutions. In addition to the sackings, almost 80,000 civil servants have been suspended, including thousands of teachers and academics. On 23 July, the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, signed an emergency decree that allowed for the closure of institutions linked to the exiled Islamist cleric Fethullah Gülen. In total, 4,262 institutions have been shut down.

2016-08-19 15:51 Constanze Letsch www.theguardian.com

81 Olympics-Athletics-Men's 50km walk results Aug 19 (Gracenote) - Olympic athletics men's 50km walk result in Rio de Janeiro on Friday. 1. Matej Toth (Slovakia) 3 hours 40 minutes 58 seconds 2. Jared Tallent (Australia) 3:41:16 3. Hirooki Arai (Japan) 3:41:24 4. Evan Dunfee (Canada) 3:41:38 5. Yu Wei (China) 3:43:00 6. Robert Heffernan (Ireland) 3:43:55 7. Havard Haukenes (Norway) 3:46:33 8. Yohann Diniz (France) 3:46:43 9. Caio Bonfim (Brazil) 3:47:02 10. Chris Erickson (Australia) 3:48:40 11. Wang Zhendong (China) 3:48:50 12. Quentin Rew (New Zealand) 3:49:32 13. Horacio Nava (Mexico) 3:50:53 14. Takayuki Tanii (Japan) 3:51:00 15. Adrian Blocki (Poland) 3:51:31 16. Omar Zepeda (Mexico) 3:51:35 17. Jorge Armando Ruiz (Colombia) 3:51:42 18. Serhiy Budza (Ukraine) 3:53:22 19. Brendan Boyce (Ireland) 3:53:59 20. Jesus Angel Garcia (Spain) 3:54:29 21. Marco De Luca (Italy) 3:54:40 22. Rafal Augustyn (Poland) 3:55:01 23. Jarkko Kinnunen (Finland) 3:55:43 24. Rafal Fedaczynski (Poland) 3:55:51 25. Jose Leyver (Mexico) 3:56:07 26. Dusan Majdan (Slovakia) 3:58:25 27. Koichiro Morioka (Japan) 3:58:59 28. Alexandros Papamihail (Greece) 3:59:21 29. Jonathan Riekmann (Brazil) 4:01:52 30. Ronald Quispe (Bolivia) 4:02:00 31. Narcis Stefan Mihaila (Romania) 4:02:46 32. Pedro Isidro (Portugal) 4:03:42 33. Tadas Suskevicius (Lithuania) 4:04:10 34. Rolando Saquipay (Ecuador) 4:07:29 35. Sandeep Kumar (India) 4:07:55 36. Miguel Carvalho (Portugal) 4:08:16 37. Arnis Rumbenieks (Latvia) 4:08:28 38. Marc Mundell (South Africa) 4:11:03 39. Ivan Banzeruk (Ukraine) 4:11:51 40. Brendon Reading (Australia) 4:13:02 41. Mario Alfonso Bran (Guatemala) 4:15:14 42. Vladimir Savanovic (Serbia) 4:15:53 43. John Nunn (U. S.) 4:16:12 44. Bence Venyercsan (Hungary) 4:19:15 45. Claudio Villanueva (Ecuador) 4:19:33 46. Nenad Filipovic (Serbia) 4:25:41 47. Han Yucheng (China) 4:32:35 48. Pavel Chihuan (Peru) 4:32:37 49. Predrag Filipovic (Serbia) 4:39:48. Kim Hyunsub (Korea) DNF. Ivan Trotski (Belarus) DNF. Ihor Hlavan (Ukraine) DNF. Miguel Angel Lopez (Spain) DNF. Carl Dohmann (Germany) DNF. Hagen Pohle (Germany) DNF. Matteo Giupponi (Italy) DNF. Mathieu Bilodeau (Canada) DNF. Artur Mastianica (Lithuania) DNF. Jose Leonardo Montana (Colombia) DNF. Alex Wright (Ireland) DNF. Jose Ignacio Diaz (Spain) DNF. Marius Cocioran (Romania) DNF. Sandor Racz (Hungary) DNF. Luis Henry Campos (Peru) DNF. Mario Dos Santos (Brazil) DNF. Veli-Matti Partanen (Finland) DNF. Yerenman Salazar (Venezuela) DNF. Joao Vieira (Portugal) DNF. Edward Araya (Chile) DSQ. Teodorico Caporaso (Italy) DSQ. Andres Chocho (Ecuador) DSQ. Lukas Gdula (Czech Republic) DSQ. Dominic King (Britain) DSQ. Luis Lopez (El Salvador) DSQ. Aleksi Ojala (Finland) DSQ. Park Chil-Sung (Korea) DSQ. Jaime Quiyuch (Guatemala) DSQ. James Rendon (Colombia) DSQ. Miklos Srp (Hungary) DSQ. Martin Tistan (Slovakia) DSQ

2016-08-19 15:48 Reuters www.dailymail.co.uk

82 Brothers accused in Kush case ask judge for lower bail Two brothers accused of selling Kush and other illegal drugs out of three Houston smoke shops asked a judge Friday to reduce their bail. Minh Dang, 42, and Tuan Dang, 46, have been in jail on $400,000 bail since their arrest last week on charges of engaging in organized criminal activity. Minh Dang, known as "Mike," and Tuan, known as "Josh," were arraigned Friday by state District Judge Jan Krocker. A hearing was then set on their request for lower bail; attorneys for the two men are expected to call family members and a bondsman to testify about how much the brothers can afford to post. The bail, requested by a prosecutor and set by a judge, has been treated like other white-collar crimes are traditionally handled in Harris County, with the amount tied to how much they are accused of accruing through ill-gotten gains. By comparison, first-degree violent felonies including a murder charge, generally have bail set between $30,000 and $50,000. Both men were arrested with four store clerks last week after a massive investigation that included GPS trackers on the brothers' vehicles and investigators digging through the brothers' trash. The clerks were arrested on minor charges, with the brothers' alleged criminal enterprise as the focus. Prosecutors believe the brothers amassed hundreds of thousand of dollars in cash and gold bars by selling synthetic drugs, including synthetic cannabinoids and increasing amounts of synthetic Viagra, at their smoke shops. Last month, a Chronicle investigation found growing use of the synthetic drug - and at least five deaths - in the Houston area. The drugs, sometimes incorrectly known as synthetic marijuana, are a mixture of leaves covered with chemicals. [email protected] twitter.com/brianjrogers

2016-08-19 23:37 By Brian www.chron.com

83 Iran hails first woman Olympic medallist Iran on Friday cheered Kimia Alizadeh who became the first Iranian woman ever to win an Olympic medal with President Hassan Rouhani leading the praise over her taekwondo bronze. "My daughter Kimia, you have triggered the happiness of all the Iranians, and particularly of the women. I wish you eternal joy," the president tweeted. The message is accompanied by a picture showing Alizadeh, 18, draped in the Iranian flag celebrating her Thursday victory in Rio, where she clinched bronze by beating Nikita Glasnostic of Sweden 5-1 in the taekwondo under-57kg division. Even conservatives voiced their satisfaction over the teenager's win. Fars news agency, which is close to the deeply conservative camp in Iran, hailed "Kimia who made history" and said in a report that the bronze medal she won "is worth gold". "What an honour... to be the first," wrote Fars, describing Kimia as the "lionness of Iran" and adding that "one must be a woman to totally feel this moment with pride". In keeping with Iran's strict Muslim custom, the teenager competed wearing a head scarf over with her taekwondo uniform and protective gear. Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossein Jaberi Ansari congratulated Alizadeh as well Hedaya Malak of Egypt, who landed the other women's bronze in taekwondo, in a statement on his Instagram page. He said the presence on the podium of the two veiled women was the "symbol of the unity and the efforts of Muslim women, who shine and yet respect their values". Alizadeh's victory was also celebrated on social networks by many of her compatriots, including popular actress Taraneh Alidoosti who sparked debate in Iran this year after she was pictured with a "woman power" symbol tattooed on her arm. "The future will tell what you have achieved for your peers," tweeted Alidoosti. "You have bolstered their faith and showed them that (sports) belongs to them as well," she wrote. Iranian women are banned from entering stadiums for major sporting events, including football, as part of a male-female segregation ushered in by Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution. In 1992, Lida Fariman was the first Iranian woman to compete at the Olympics in Barcelona in shooting. This year, the Iran team at the Olympics comprised nine women out of a total of 41 athletes. Alizadeh told Iranian television she was very excited about her victory in Rio and hopes Iranian women will be able to clinch gold at the next Olympics. Her father was likewise elated. "I hope that the Iranian people appreciate what Kimia has achieved," Keyvan Alizadeh told Mehr news agency. "She gave herself 100 percent". He said an injury had prevented the young woman from grabbing the gold.

2016-08-19 15:45 Afp www.dailymail.co.uk

84 Trump hammers claim of fraud in new ad as early voting nears WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump's first-of-its-kind campaign ad begins with a warning: "In Hillary Clinton's America, the system stays rigged against Americans. " The commercial, which aired Friday as part of his $5 million swing state ad buy, harkens back to a claim Trump has been hammering for weeks — that the general election is rigged against him. The questionable claim looks to mobilize Republicans, with the all-important start of early voting in some states just weeks away. The presidential nominee has voiced strong support for North Carolina's stringent voter ID law — struck down as discriminatory, but to be appealed — saying without it, voters will cast ballots "15 times" for Democrat Hillary Clinton. He also launched a new effort on his website last week seeking volunteers to root out fraud at the polls. Some things to know about voting fraud: ___ WHAT ARE VOTER ID LAWS? That ID law Trump referred to had involved a broader package of restrictions — among them, reducing early in- person voting, which is popular among blacks in particular. At the same time, it exempted tough photo ID requirements for early mail-in voters, who were more likely to be white and Republican. In all, 17 states were set to have restrictions for the first time in a presidential election, pending final appeals, such as voter ID or cuts to voter registration or early in-person voting. Among them: the battlegrounds of North Carolina, Virginia, Ohio, Wisconsin and Georgia. Florida and Iowa had restrictions in place since 2012. The potential impact is significant: Barack Obama's strength among early voters in 2012 helped him capture Florida and Iowa despite losing the election-day vote in those states, according to voting data compiled by The Associated Press. He narrowly lost North Carolina by 92,000 votes; in 2008, Obama had won all three states plus Colorado, thanks to early voters. ___ IS VOTING FRAUD A PROBLEM? Not the type that Trump is referring to. While fraud can occur, the number of cases is very small and the type that voter IDs are designed to prevent — voter impersonation at the ballot box — is virtually nonexistent. News21, a reporting project affiliated with Arizona State University, in 2012 found 2,068 cases of election fraud nationwide since 2000. Of those, just 10 involved voter impersonation — or one out of every 15 million prospective voters. More common was absentee mail-in ballot fraud, with 491 cases. None affected the outcome of an election. Lorraine Minnite, a political science professor at Rutgers University-Camden, says voter impersonation fraud is rare because it's difficult to do on a large-enough scale to tip an election. "It's so irrational to even try just for one or two more votes," said Minnite, author of "The Myth of Voter Fraud. " In court cases that temporarily invalidated some of the ID laws, including North Carolina, Wisconsin and North Dakota, election officials could barely cite a case in which a person was charged with in-person voting fraud. But Trump continued his warnings, calling on Friday for "election observers" on his official website to "stop Crooked Hillary from rigging this election. " Volunteers who sign up are directed to a donation page. ___ WHAT CAN WE EXPECT WITH EARLY VOTING? North Carolina is the first to kick off early voting on Sept. 9, when its residents may request and submit mail-in absentee ballots through election day for any reason. It will be followed by Georgia, Wisconsin, Virginia and Iowa. A total of 37 states also offer in- person early voting, typically in mid to late October. Over the years, mail-in early voters usually have been older, better educated and more likely white, while in-person early voters were often young people and black Americans, according to University of Florida professor Michael McDonald, an expert in election statistics. As a result, early voting will likely be concentrated heavily among registered Republicans initially before turning in the Democrats' favor in late October to early November. Those initial numbers will offer clues as to the depth of Trump's support among his biggest partisans, who vote right away, McDonald said. Meanwhile, in North Carolina, a potential wild card is its voter ID law. An appeals court recently invalidated restrictions that cut in person early voting from 17 to 10 days, but the governor has vowed to appeal, creating uncertainty about the extent of early voting this fall. Voter mobilization is a key part of Clinton's strategy to winning North Carolina, as it was for Obama. Seeking to build on its expanding ground game, the Clinton campaign sent out an email to supporters Friday asking for their help to get people registered and ready to vote with early voting just weeks away. ___ WILL RULINGS INVALIDATING VOTER ID INCREASE THE DEMOCRATIC VOTE? Not necessarily. More likely, it will prevent a net loss of would-be Democratic voters — the black Americans, young people and the poor, whom recent rulings said would be less able to vote if newly passed state voter ID laws remained. Based on rulings as they stand now, voters in North Carolina and North Dakota are ultimately unlikely to face new ID requirements, while those in Wisconsin and Texas will in some form. A number of factors can influence voter turnout, beyond ID laws, such as voter excitement for a candidate, as was seen in 2008 and 2012, when voters rushed to the polls to help elect the first-ever black president, said Richard Hasen, a law professor at the University of California at Irvine. ___ AP Director of Election Tabulations and Research Don Rehill contributed to this report. ___ On Twitter follow Hope Yen at https://twitter.com/hopeyen1 ___ What political news is the world searching for on Google and talking about on Twitter? Find out via AP's Election Buzz interactive. http://elections.ap.org/buzz

2016-08-19 15:38 Associated Press www.dailymail.co.uk

85 Half-Indian man escorted out of Trump rally Jake Anantha, an 18-year-old from Charlotte, was approached by a member of Trump's security team and then ushered out by police. He was told that he resembled another man who had previously disrupted Trump rallies. "I told him I've never been to another rally in my life," Anantha said. "I'm a huge Trump supporter. I would never protest against Trump. " Anantha is a registered Republican, according to state voter records, who registered to vote in March. Anantha, who said he's a student at Central Piedmont Community College, was wearing a pro-Trump shirt with another pro-Trump shirt underneath. Campaign reboot: Trump expresses regret for saying 'the wrong thing,' doesn't specify "I do think it's because I'm brown," Anantha said, explaining why he believes he was kicked out. He added that he was "totally shocked. " Trump's campaign did not respond to requests for comment about the incident. Requests for comment from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department have not been returned. It's not unusual for known demonstrators who have been previously spotted at Trump rallies to be asked to leave. A Muslim woman, Rose Hamid, was also kicked out of the rally Thursday night. She had been escorted from at least one Trump rally in the past for peacefully protesting and had previously been interviewed by major media outlets, including CNN. Attempting to verify his political beliefs, Anantha said he was a conservative and expressed views in line with those of Trump, including opposition to Black Lives Matter protesters, who were demonstrating Thursday night outside the venue, and his belief that "radical Islam is a large threat to our country. " Donald Trump's first general election TV ad draws contrast with Clinton on crime, security "I couldn't believe what was going on," he said of the incident. "Obviously now I'm very angry. I've wasted a bunch of time coming here. I may have wasted six months of my life supporting Donald Trump, who doesn't even let me come to his rallies. " While Anantha said he was now questioning his support for Trump, he maintained he won't be voting for the Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton. "I couldn't do that," he said.

2016-08-19 15:34 Ashley Killough rss.cnn.com

86 Hatch Detroit competition down to 4 finalists The competition for the 2016 Comerica Hatch Detroit grant has been whittled down to four businesses competing for $50,000 to help them open a brick-and- mortar business in Detroit, Highland Park or Hamtramck. Finalists are: The public has until noon Aug. 26 to vote for their favorite. Each person can vote online once every 24 hours at hatchdetroit.com/vote . People can vote in person at these locations: Kuzzo’s Chicken and Waffles, 19345 Livernois, 10 a.m. to noon 12 Saturday; Cadillac Square, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday; and Eastern Market’s Shed 2, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday. More than 150 businesses submitted applications to this year’s contest. Since 2011, Hatch Detroit was built on what it calls “crowd entrepreneurship.” Past winners include Sister Pie bakery in West Village, Corktown’s Batch Brewing and La Feria tapas restaurant in Midtown. Live Cycle Delight, a cycle studio that’s aiming to open in downtown Detroit, won last year.

2016-08-19 15:31 Ian Thibodeau rssfeeds.detroitnews.com

87 Over half of British parents are letting their kids drink booze at home – study — RT UK The research, conducted by Churchill home insurance, also found that 11 percent of parents with extremely young children – between the ages of five and seven – allow their kids to drink at home. Of the 1,000 parents surveyed with children under the age of 14 years of age, 34 percent of them said they use alcohol as a bribe to encourage good behavior. One-quarter of those surveyed said they saw nothing wrong with letting their children drink at home, and almost one-third said that allowing their children to do so means they can monitor their alcohol consumption. When asked about drinking at family occasions, 57 percent of the parents surveyed said they would allow it to happen, proving that some parents who are against allowing their children to drink on regular occasions would bend the rules in certain cases. But the study found that parents are also being lenient with other people’s children. One in five parents surveyed said they would allow minors who aren’t family members to drink alcohol in their home. Responding to the study, Martin Scott, head of Churchill home insurance, noted: “The relationship between children and alcohol in Britain always seems more fraught than for our continental cousins. Many parents want their children to have a responsible attitude to drinking and introduce alcohol in a safe, controlled environment.” He went on to state, however, that drinking in the home comes with a “greater risk of injury or property damage, as alcohol has a significant impact on co-ordination.” Although it is not illegal for children as young as five to drink alcohol on private premises, the Chief Medical Officer has warned that those who drink before the age of 14 are at increased risk of health problems, alcohol- related injuries, becoming involved in violence and attempting suicide.

2016-08-19 15:30 www.rt.com

88 Controversial 'bulk' spying powers have repeatedly foiled terror attacks on British soil, according to review Theresa May has insisted 'bulk' spying powers are vital after a review found they had foiled a series of terror plots on British soil. Terrorism laws watchdog David Anderson QC found mass data collection deployed by MI5, MI6 and GCHQ has a 'clear operational purpose'. He pointed to a 'sheer vivid range' of examples when they have averted disaster, including by identifying Isis extremists in the UK and rescuing hostages in Afghanistan. Mr Anderson also backed new powers to hack into phones and computers amid concerns about the development of tougher encryption systems. The findings are a boost to the Government after a raft of proposed new spying laws sparked privacy concerns. Mr Anderson's report said bulk powers 'play an important part in identifying, understanding and averting threats in Great Britain, Northern Ireland and further afield'. The techniques are used across the range of agency activity, from cyber-defence, counter- espionage and counter- terrorism to child sexual abuse and organised crime, the review found. Mr Anderson described the pace of technological change as 'breathtaking'. The inquiry recommended that a panel of independent academics and industry experts are appointed to advise on the impact of changing technology, and how the intelligence agencies could reduce the 'privacy footprint' of their activities. Bulk powers - covering a range of techniques used to gather large volumes of information - are among the most controversial tactics covered by the landmark Investigatory Powers Bill, which is going through Parliament. The review looked at four bulk powers which can only be used by the three intelligence agencies. Bulk Interception is used to intercept the communications of individuals outside the UK. The review said this power was of 'vital utility' and had played an important part in preventing bomb attacks, rescuing hostages and thwarting numerous cyber-attacks. Bulk Acquisition is deployed to access communications data - the who, when and where of an email or text message but not the content - in bulk. Only disclosed publicly in November last year, for MI5 it has 'contributed significantly' to the disruption of terrorist operations, Mr Anderson's report said. Bulk personal datasets are personal information relating to a number of people, the majority of whom are unlikely to be of intelligence interest. The report said: 'We were shown their utility in identifying... potential terrorists, including individuals who posed a threat to the London Olympics and to the UK in the wake of recent attacks in France and Belgium.' Bulk equipment interference includes hacking into suspects' smartphones and computers, which is seen as an increasingly important tool given the rise of encryption. The report said the power has never been used, but a 'thematic' capability has been used to identify dangerous extremists in Syria. Mr Anderson's review found a 'proven operational case' for the first three powers. On bulk equipment interference it said there is a 'distinct, if not yet proven' operational case in relation to counter-terrorism and cyber defence. Where alternatives to bulk powers exist, they are often less effective, more dangerous, more intrusive or slower, the report added. Among the examples highlighted were the leak of 20,000 Isil registration papers in 2014, which were cross-checked with bulk data to identify extremists in the UK. 'It was only when this information was combined with information obtained from BPDs that MI6 was able positively to identify a number of individuals on the list who posed a threat to national security,' Mr Anderson said. The review also found bulk data had been used to identify foreign spies. 'In 2013, BPDs were used to identify employees of an intelligence service potentially hostile to the UK,' Mr Anderson wrote. 'The Review team was given information which demonstrated that these identifications could not have made without the use of BPDs. The information was shared with intelligence partners. ' Earlier this year MI6, MI5 and GCHQ deployed the techniques to 'to identify individuals who posed a threat to the UK in the wake of the Paris and Brussels attacks'. 'The review team was given information which demonstrated that there was no viable alternative method by which these individuals could have been identified,' he said. MI6 also used bulk data to 'identify the travel to the UK of individuals of intelligence interest'. 'During the course of this year, six of these individuals have been identified as potential agents and been the subject of MI6 operational activity,' the review said. Shadow home secretary Andy Burnham called on Prime Minister Theresa May and Home Secretary Amber Rudd to accept the report it 'in its entirety', while Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Alistair Carmichael said the Government must table amendments to give effect to the recommendation for a new technical advisory panel. Campaign group Liberty hit out at the review. Policy director Bella Sankey said: 'Liberty called for an impartial, independent and expert inquiry into these intrusive powers - yet sadly this rushed review failed on all three counts.' No 10 said the Government is giving 'careful consideration' to the report. Mrs May said it demonstrates how bulk powers in the new Bill are 'of crucial importance to our security and intelligence agencies'. She said: 'These powers often provide the only means by which our agencies are able to protect the British public from the most serious threats that we face. 'It is vital that we retain them, while ensuring their use is subject to robust safeguards and world-leading oversight which are enshrined in the IP Bill.' Mr Anderson said: 'The sheer vivid range of the case studies – ranging from the identification of dangerous terrorists to the protection of children from sexual abuse, the defence of companies from cyber-attack and hostage rescues in Afghanistan – demonstrates the remarkable variety of (security agency) activity. 'Having observed practical demonstrations, questioned a large number of analysts and checked what they said against contemporaneous intelligence reports, neither I nor others on the Review team was left in any doubt as to the important part played by the existing bulk powers in identifying, understanding and averting threats of a national security and/or serious criminal nature, whether in Great Britain, Northern Ireland or further afield.'

2016-08-19 15:27 James Tapsfield www.dailymail.co.uk

89 89 Shocking bodycam footage shows cop pull passenger from car inferno (VIDEO) — RT America Officer Dan Whitney was responding to a highway emergency in the early hours of the morning and arrived on the scene to find a vehicle which had left the road, crashed into a tree and erupted into flames. In the footage captured on Whitney’s bodycam, a trapped passenger is seen desperately calling for help as he tries to squeeze out the backseat window on the driver’s side with the door jammed shut. With no fire department personnel present, Whitney takes a small fire extinguisher from his patrol vehicle and tries in vain to douse the flames, while simultaneously attempting to extricate the man from the SUV. Realizing he’s in a losing battle, Whitney yells to the occupant of a nearby house: “I need a fire extinguisher or a garden hose. Get a garden hose.” He then returns to helping the trapped passenger and, after protracted pushing, pulling and dragging of the car door, he manages to yank the man through the broken window and free of the vehicle. Another explosion can then be heard as back-up arrives with Whitney telling colleagues “Get him (the passenger) out by the road.” The Athens-Clarke Police Department, Georgia released the footage following Whitney’s nomination Thursday for a ‘Protect Life’ Rise Award in recognition of his actions.

2016-08-19 15:26 www.rt.com

90 Security Council Regrets Election Delay in Somalia The U. N. Security Council expressed regret Friday at the delay in presidential and parliamentary elections in Somalia and called on all parties to implement the new calendar without delay. The council stressed in a presidential statement approved by all 15 members and read at an open meeting that Somalia should adhere to a political roadmap to reach one-vote, one-person elections by 2020. Elections had been scheduled in August, before the term of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud runs out, but were delayed because additional preparation is needed. Somalia's electoral commission chief, Omar Mohamed Abdulle, announced on Aug. 7 that parliamentary elections will now take place between Sept. 24 and Oct. 10, with a new speaker chosen on Oct. 25. The election of a new president will take place afterward, on Oct. 30, Abdulle said. The Security Council underscored "the need to maintain the momentum towards democratic governance, with an inclusive, transparent and credible electoral process in 2016 as a stepping stone to universal suffrage elections in 2020. " President Mohamud has said the new electoral process for the Horn of Africa nation will be far more democratic with an electoral college of nearly 14,000 people electing members of parliament — compared to just 135 elders who selected the current members in 2012. The council called the upcoming vote "an historic opportunity to deliver more representative governance to the people of Somalia and to reflect Somalia's diversity," noting the government's commitment to reserve 30 percent of seats in the upper and lower houses of Parliament for women and for minority representation. The Security Council had been pressing for the elections to be held on schedule in August. "We're disappointed that the elections have been delayed by a couple of months," Britain's U. N. Ambassador Matthew Rycroft told reporters. "It's really important that the new schedule which is elections by the end of October is maintained without any further delays and that that is then a stepping stone towards the full one-person, one-vote elections in 2020. " Somalia has been trying to rebuild after establishing its first functioning central government since 1991, when warlords overthrew a longtime dictator and turned on each other, plunging the impoverished nation into chaos. Al-Shabab rebels were ousted from Mogadishu in 2011 and have been pushed out of other key cities but they are not yet defeated, and the government remains weak. In recent months, Al-Shabab, which maintains a military presence largely in rural areas, has stepped up attacks on military bases across large parts of south and central Somalia.

2016-08-19 15:25 By abcnews.go.com

91 Son is cheated out of £40,000 car accident compensation by his bingo addict mother then family turn on him when he insists on taking her to court A family has been torn apart after a son was cheated out of £40,000 by his own gambling mother and deceiving brother. Jamie Martin, from Barnsley, in South Yorkshire, suffered serious head injuries when as a pedestrian he was struck by a car in 2009. Three years later he received just over £400,000 in compensation and despite giving some of the money to his family members, his own brother Phillip Martin, 33, and 52-year-old mother Mary Martin later stole about £40,000 from a trust fund set up in Jamie's name with his mother gambling her share of the proceeds on bingo. After a hearing at Sheffield Crown Court on Wednesday, Phillip Martin was jailed for 15 months and Mrs Martin was given a suspended jail term after they both admitted offences of fraud. The court heard how Jamie Martin has now been ostracised by the rest of the family for taking his mother and brother to court. 'What a very sad case this is,' said the judge Recorder Paul Isaacs as he sentenced the Martins. Prosecutor Laura Marshall said Jamie suffered the accident on February 23, 2009 and received his compensation in April, 2012. Financial arrangements were set up to administer the £400,000 pot including a trust fund which required the joint signatures of both Jamie and his brother Phillip to remove any money which was then paid into a bank account where Jamie had access to the cash. Jamie, who now lives with his partner and their first child, was cared for initially after the accident by family members and he gifted each of them £5,000 as well as buying an £80,000 house for his sister to rent from him and he also loaned her some money. Miss Marshall said Jamie gradually recovered and he left the family home and bought his own property but by January, 2015 found utility bills and his TV licence were not being paid although he had signed cheques for them. He looked into the paperwork for the trust fund and discovered that two cheques totalling £40,000 had been removed from his investment portfolio without his authority and the police were called in. It emerged that Jamie’s signature had been forged on cheques and Miss Marshall added: 'He took the view that money had been stolen from him.' After discovering the fraud, his mother telephoned and Jamie recorded the conversation with Mrs Martin 'confessing to embezzling funds from the account' said Miss Marshall. She had been cashing cheques without his knowledge and destroying statements to cover her tracks spending the money on her bingo gambling habit and repaying a loan. The prosecutor said: 'It has caused a division within the family and Jamie has been alienated from the remainder because of the decision to prosecute.' When arrested by police Phillip said he had not benefited at all and his brother was 'irrational'. Mrs Martin said 'she would never do anything to hurt or affect' her son whom she said had an 'expensive taste in clothes.' She even denied it was her on the phone to her son when a tape recording was played to her. Jamie Martin said in a victim impact statement that he had suffered 'great financial hardship' and had his bank accounts frozen while the fraud was untangled. He had to take out payday loans and ran up credit card debts to survive. 'He no longer has contact with his mother or brother who have never made any attempt to apologise,' said Miss Marshall. Jamie Martin said: 'I have no words for what they have done to me, I thought they could be trusted to look after my best interests' Katy Rafter, for Phillip Martin, said he knew nothing about his mother taking cheques and there was no evidence that he facilitated her offending. But as the trustee of the account and holder of the cheque book he bore full responsibility. 'Your honour will have no trouble in finding this was a mean offence,' she said. He had always been a hard-working man and would lose his job if jailed. Rebecca Stevens, for Mary Martin, said she had been caring for her son but found it difficult to handle and sought respite in gambling 'which took hold of her and spiralled out of control.' She had doorstep loans and found them difficult to repay and her health was suffering as well as that of her husband and she had to care for her grandson. Phillip Martin and Mary Martin, from Royston, in Barnsley, both admitted fraud. Recorder Isaacs said the £400,000 compensation was meant to be for Jamie Martin’s future but Phillip in particular as a trustee had reason to be careful over how the money was spent. They had each taken just under £20,000 and 'having fallen to temptation the probability is that you thought you would never be found out.' Phillip was jailed for 15 months and Mary Martin was given an eight-month jail term suspended for two years, 12 months supervision and an electronically-monitored night-time curfew for three months.

2016-08-19 15:25 Jessica Duncan www.dailymail.co.uk

92 92 Can we defeat the world's deadliest creature? (opinion) Forget lions, tigers and bears. The world's deadliest animal is small enough to squash between your fingers. Spanish for "little fly," the mosquito is the most lethal creature on the planet, killing more humans per year than every other animal combined. The lowly mosquito is a wily and pernicious foe, surviving and adapting as it infects us with a rogue's gallery of parasites and viruses, including malaria, Zika, Yellow fever, Dengue and West Nile virus. And the numbers are staggering. Each year, mosquitoes transmit disease to an estimated 700 million people -- or one out of every 10 people on the planet. More than half a million of those infected will die from their encounter with mosquitoes. Even when mosquito-borne diseases don't kill, they cause fevers, severe pain and keep children out of school and adults out of work. Around the world, these diseases disproportionately affect the poor, destabilizing communities and driving families and communities deeper into poverty with lost pay and high health costs. There's no doubt that the mosquito is one of the greatest threats to our global health security. Once they're armed with a new pathogen, they can spread disease with blinding speed. But while mosquitoes appear like a force of nature that cannot be beaten, there is another side to the story of humanity's battle with this tiny foe. It's a story of stunning progress that shows what we can do when we harness human will and ingenuity to confront this age-old enemy. It's the story of malaria, and it begins at least 20 million years ago -- some scientists say as far back as the Jurassic Period, when mosquitoes' ancestors mingled with the dinosaurs. Malaria fevers were then described in ancient writings by the Chinese, Greeks and Romans. And, in 1897, British doctor Ronald Ross definitively proved that mosquitoes transmitted the malaria parasite. While it's impossible to know how many hundreds of millions of lives have been cut short by mosquitoes spreading malaria, what we do know is that 15 years ago, the disease was still killing nearly 1 million people every year -- far more than all other mosquito-borne diseases combined. Thanks to bold leadership and smart, significant investments -- by the United States, the United Kingdom and other countries -- we have cut that number in half in just over a decade, a feat that World Health Organization (WHO) Director General Margaret Chan calls "one of the great public health success stories" since the turn of the millennium. Through widespread use of insecticide-treated bed nets, indoor residual spraying, better diagnostic tests and more effective treatments, we've slashed the rate of malaria deaths among children under five by 71% in Africa s ince 2000. According to WHO, 57 countries reduced new malaria cases by at least 75% between 2000 and 2015. In fact, more than 6 million people are alive today because of steadfast commitment in malaria- affected countries and ongoing financial support from the global community. Our job is not finished -- 438,000 people still die of malaria every year, mostly pregnant women and small children in Africa. But the end of this deadly disease is in sight. While the final chapter could be our most challenging, the story of malaria holds important lessons as we battle other global health scourges, particularly those carried by mosquitoes. Innovations in data, modeling, and mapping are revolutionizing our understanding of the range of mosquitoes, and by extension, the reach of the diseases they transmit. The Malaria Atlas Project has combined reams of environmental and mosquito species data with malaria infection rates in humans to create a heat map of malaria "sources" -- the places where mosquitoes naturally thrive -- and "sinks," the areas where the parasite ends up due to human travel, throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Now we're going further, overlaying human mobility patterns gleaned from mobile-phone usage to expose how the parasite moves within and between communities and countries, allowing us to better target our efforts to stop it. This same approach is being applied to other mosquito species, showing how variables like temperature, rainfall and breeding habitats define the potential reach of emerging mosquito-borne diseases. Maps of the two Zika-carrying vectors (Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus) showed a potential spread from southernmost Brazil to the US-Canada border, an area in which over 5.4 million births occurred in 2015 -- of particular concern because of the devastating effects of Zika exposure during pregnancy. And while the stories of malaria and now Zika remind us how much we already know about beating mosquitoes, they also serve as stark reminders of the dangers of losing focus. We have seen more than 75 instances of malaria resurgence around the world in the past century, most linked to decreases in funding. Worse yet, malaria flourishes when routine health services are disrupted. When the Ebola crisis broke out in West Africa in 2014, estimates in The Lancet suggested that malaria could claim as many lives as Ebola did in affected countries. More recently, the economic collapse in Venezuela has brought malaria roaring back. Mosquitoes and the diseases they carry continue to build resistance to the tools we have to fight them. Drug-resistant malaria in Southeast Asia is an urgent concern, as it threatens to spread to other parts of the world and rob us of our frontline treatment. As we face ever-adapting mosquitoes, we need to sustain our focus on the fundamentals of mosquito control. We need to continue our quest for an effective vaccine, and we need to realize the full potential of big data to target our approaches -- to detecting, tracking and treating malaria. We also need novel insecticides and other ways to keep mosquitoes from infecting us in the first place. In one promising approach, scientists are exploring how a new gene-editing technology called "gene drive" could be used to produce mosquitoes incapable of reproducing or transmitting disease. As with any new technology, there are valid questions about safety, ethics and environmental impact that need to be addressed thoughtfully and with broad participation from affected countries. But there are too many lives at stake to avoid these kinds of hard questions. Now, more than ever, it's crucial to sustain our commitment to ending malaria and expand scientific research to keep the world safe from our tiniest, deadliest foe.

2016-08-19 15:23 Martin Edlund rss.cnn.com

93 NASA: Sea ice settling into 'new normal' GREENBELT, Md., Aug. 19 (UPI) -- Arctic melting slowed enough in midsummer that scientists don't expect this year's sea ice minimum to set a new record. Yet, the latest sea ice data collected by scientists at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center suggests a dire state of affairs. Sea ice in the Arctic shows no signs of significant recovery, researchers say. Instead, this year's sea ice minimum offers a glimpse of the "new normal. " "It's still in a continued decline over the long term," Walt Meier, a sea ice scientist at Goddard, said in a news release. "A decade ago, this year's sea ice extent would have set a new record low and by a fair amount. Now, we're kind of used to these low levels of sea ice -- it's the new normal. " Melting was on another record-setting pace during the spring and early summer, but a large cold and cloudy low pressure system brought low temperatures to the Arctic through much of June, slowing melting. Warmer weather in August has once again accelerated melting, but researchers don't expect melting as dramatic as last year. Researchers say the last two years of melting show how much sea ice loss is dictated by weather patterns during June and July. "If you get the right atmospheric conditions during those two months, they can really accelerate the ice loss," Meier explained. "If you don't, they can slow down any melting momentum you had. " Currently, NASA relies on sea ice cover to track melting trends. Researchers are working on new techniques to measure ice thickness. Scientists are hopeful that the Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2, or ICESat-2, will improve their ability to measure sea ice thickness when it launches in 2018. Until then, researchers will have to rely on research vessels or submarines to make direct measurements. "If we want to estimate mass changes of sea ice, or increased melting, we need the sea ice thickness," concluded Thorsten Markus, Goddard's cryosphere lab chief. "It's critically important to understanding the changes in the Arctic. "

2016-08-19 15:19 Brooks Hays www.upi.com

94 10 Bears questions: What's wrong with Brian Hoyer? FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Akiem Hicks invoked 400-meter dash runner Shaunae Miller, who lunged across the tape to win gold, on Thursday. “Everybody’s all in,” the Bears’ defensive end said, “And everybody’s diving to the finish line.” While we wonder if anyone’s using Ryan Lochte for inspiration, here are 10 more Bears questions following the 23-22 loss to the Patriots: Bears quarterback Brian Hoyer struggled against the Patriots. (AP) After going 4-for-13 Thursday and throwing an ugly interception on his first ball, the backup boasts a 34.4 quarterback rating this preseason. He has the Bears’ only two picks. “I don’t know that I’d call it struggling,” coach John Fox said “He’s a new quarterback in our system. Everything is new to him. I’ve seen him improve since he’s been here.” Fourth-string quarterback Connor Shaw played Thursday — and third- stringer David Fales didn’t. Fales, who was 4-for-8 for 30 yards in the first game, said earlier this offseason he was struggling with the offense’s finer points. Shaw, who threw for a touchdown at the gun, played for coordinator Dowell Loggains two years ago in Cleveland. Impressive. But Mitch Unrein encapsulated the unfair expectations placed on the Rolling Meadows High School alum, who will replace Tom Brady for the first four games of the season. “He’s no Tom Brady,” the defensive end said, “But I feel like he’s a very capable guy.” The Bears have allowed 26 passing first downs, double what they’ve gained, this preseason. Jeremy Langford starred was the only Bears running back to play in the first quarter. “Jeremy does a great job, but we never really know who’s back there,” guard Kyle Long said of Langford, who had eight carries for 55 yards. “We know all our running backs can do the things they’re supposed to.” Kyle enjoyed practicing and playing his brother Chris more than their first matchup three years ago, where he found the attention stressful. Friday, he Tweeted: “Can’t wait to tell our kids about this one day.” Moeaki started for Zach Miller and left with a strained left hamstring, In between, Jay Cutler’s safety valve totaled only 28 yards but converted a third-and-11 pass to keep the first touchdown drive alive. His four Thursday marked his most in any game — preseason or regular season — since Nov. 23, 2014. He had three all last season. Not bad for someone with 11 regular-season catches since the end of 2012. “He’s a pro,” Cutler said. “He gets it. He doesn’t say much; he’s always in the right spot. He’s been around the league and he knows what’s expected of him and he goes out there and he produces.” Maybe. Rob Housler posted a 52-yard catch — the longest for either team — and caught a two-point conversion. The tight end missed an obvious block, too. Eleven Bears have more receiving yards this preseason than Braverman’s seven on two catches. Deonte Thompson’s ankle/knee injury could give him a shot to impress as a returner. The Bears’ light practice at 5:30 p.m. Saturday at Warren Township High School — followed by fireworks — sold out within three hours.

2016-08-19 15:19 Patrick Finley chicago.suntimes.com

95 Supreme Court won't hear fight over Oakwood home Posted 3:18 p.m. today Raleigh, N. C. — The fight over a modern home built in Raleigh's historic Oakwood neighborhood appears to be over after the North Carolina Supreme Court said Friday that it won't hear an appeal in the case. Marsha Gordon and Louis Cherry were granted necessary permits three years ago to build the contemporary house at 516 Euclid St., including a certificate of appropriateness from the Raleigh Historic Development Commission. Despite that, construction of the home irked neighbors, who argued that the house didn't fit with the character of Oakwood and would bring down property values. Neighbor Gail Wiesner filed a complaint over the home, leading the city's Board of Adjustment to reverse its certificate and suspend construction of the home. A Superior Court judge reversed that decision in September 2014, and the Court of Appeals unanimously upheld that ruling in February, stating that the possibility that the home would bring down property values on the street wasn't sufficient reason to block its construction.

2016-08-19 15:18 WRAL www.wral.com

96 '22 Pushup Challenge': The story behind the disturbing stat On its surface, the #22PushupChallenge is easy: Do 22 pushups, post a video and tag it. If you can't do 22, do 10 or five, or just try really hard. Yes, it's a cousin to 2014's #ALSIceBucketChallenge, and the mission is equally as important. The 22 represents the oft-repeated claim that, on average, 22 military veterans take their lives every day in the United States. We'll discuss this statistic in a minute. First, the point. There's a reason for the burn The #22PushupChallenge was started by the veteran empowerment group Honor Courage Commitment. The group's 22KILL movement works to build a community of support for veterans and raise awareness for mental health challenges they face. The #22PushupChallenge is one way to put a little sweat behind the always- nebulous motive of "awareness. " The ultimate goal of the project is to reach 22 million pushups, and the group uses people's tags to keep a live tally. Celebrities have brought it into the spotlight Though the project has been around for a few months, there's no doubt that a recent round of celebrity contributions has turned the cause into a full- blown phenomenon. Actors Dwayne Johnson, John Krasinski , Chris Pratt and Kevin Bacon and an ever-expanding number of celebrities are posting up on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter with their mini-workouts. As the trend grows, groups and organizations from all over the world are dusting off their palms to pitch in. All of this attention means there's a very real possibility the #22PushupChallenge is the next #ALSIceBucketChallenge. The statistics need clarification Let's revisit this "22 veterans a day" claim. If it sounds incredibly, tragically high, it's because it is -- slightly. The commonly cited figure was taken from the Department of Veteran Affairs' 2012 Suicide Data Report (PDF). From a survey of veteran deaths in 21 states, the report concluded that more than 22% of suicide cases recorded between 1999 and 2009 involved veterans. "If this prevalence estimate is assumed to be constant across all U. S. states, an estimated 22 Veterans will have died from suicide each day in the calendar year 2010," the report says. While this is a truly sobering statistic, it's important to note that the average age of these veterans at the time of death was between 54.5 and 59.6 years. This is notable because of other known suicide risk factors: White males are most likely to commit suicide, and middle-aged men are the highest at- risk demographic. (People under 35 represent the lowest-risk groups.) So these statistics could represent several causations. According to a more recent release from the VA Suicide Prevention Program (PDF), an average of 20 veterans died of suicide each day in 2014. This number did not distinguish between ages or the era of military service. Another recent study from the Department of Veteran Affairs examined the suicide risks of recent veterans. This study found that, although veterans have a much higher risk of suicide than the general US population, the average number of recorded suicides for recent veterans from 2001 to 2009 stood at fewer than one per day. Though the numbers definitely deserve some scrutiny, the message of the #22PushupChallenge is the same: Public support and appreciation can help veterans tackle the overwhelming challenges they sometimes face after they leave the uniform behind.

2016-08-19 15:17 AJ Willingham rss.cnn.com

97 Mo Farah leaves no stone unturned in bid to clinch historic Olympic gold Mo Farah has worked to ensure he will not be taken by surprise by a rival as he bids to complete a historic 'double double' of Olympic long-distance titles in Rio on Saturday. Already the first British track and field athlete to win three Olympic crowns, the 33-year-old will bid to continue his relentless global domination of distance running when he goes for gold over 5,000 metres. Success would make him only the second man after 'Flying Finn' Lasse Viren to win 5,000m and 10,000m gold at two Games. It would also, surely, make him Great Britain's finest ever athlete to grace the track. And he has done his research. Since he was shocked by an Ethiopian he had never even heard of, Ibrahim Jeilan, in the 10,000m final at the 2011 World Championships in Daegu - his last loss at a major - he has left no stone unturned in his preparations. 'I am a geek,' he said. 'I do watch races and I do try and learn something about it, look at it, see what I could do. 'I watch myself a little bit, just try and do my homework a bit. I had to learn the hard way, in Daegu. I didn't even have a clue who he was, nobody knew. 'From there I was like, "What do I need to do? Who do I need to be aware of? " You just have to understand a little bit more.' The Londoner knows, though, this one will be the toughest test of his career. Tougher than 2012, tougher than his back-to- back double world title triumphs in 2013 and 2015. The Ethiopians are out to end his reign. Getting over the 10,000m is becoming harder the older he gets, his legs taking longer to recover. And he knows the trio of challengers - Muktar Edris, Dejen Gebremeskel and Hagos Gebrhiwet - he will face this time around have the potential to upset him, provided they can run the finishing speed out of him by making the race quick. He is also wary of another trip, thanks to his long, loping stride, after having to drag himself off the track to win the 10,000m and only just keeping his balance following a clip in the heats of the 5,000m. Viren too fell on his way to 10,000m glory at the 1972 Munich Olympics, not that Farah is too aware of his place in history. 'I'm too young to know this,' said the die-hard Arsenal fan. 'When I started athletics I used to love football and didn't even know Steve Cram. The first time I met him I was like, "Who's this guy? " 'Then later on I watched him on YouTube and videos and understood about the sport. I had to learn about the sport.' Saturday night's race will also mark the end of an era - Farah's last on the track at an Olympics. His last on the track full stop will come at next year's World Championships in London. 'Good things must come to an end, right?' he said. 'Why not end it on the track where you started?'

2016-08-19 15:14 Guy Aspin www.dailymail.co.uk

98 98 Bridge inspection scheduled on Torrance Ave. in Lansing Saturday A bridge inspection will shut down multiple lanes of Torrence Avenue on Saturday morning over I- 80/94 in south suburban Lansing. The various closures will occur between 4 and 10 a.m. on the bridge carrying Torrance over the interstate, about a mile east of Route 394, according to statement from the Illinois Department of Transportation. At least two lanes will remain open at all times. Drivers should expect delays and allow for extra travel time, IDOT said.

2016-08-19 15:13 Sun-Times chicago.suntimes.com

99 Illegal marijuana operations smoked out by growing 80,000-acre California wildfire MONTEREY COUNTY, Calif., Aug. 19 (UPI) -- Crews fighting a raging wildfire in central California have come away from the blaze with perhaps more than they expected to find -- illegal marijuana operations in the Los Padres National Forest. The Monterey County Sheriff's Office has so far seized nearly 20,000 marijuana plants from the forest, officials said, after firefighters trying to extinguish flames in the area repeatedly encountered suspicious persons. Some fire crews reported to authorities that they were unable to enter some fire areas after meeting resistance from armed individuals. Investigators say they believe the armed men were trying to keep their marijuana grows secret, even as the Soberanes Fire roared around them. The blaze has been burning since July 22 and has destroyed more than 80,000 acres in Carmel Valley, Cachagua and Big Sur. Nearly 60 homes have been torched and the blaze is about 60 percent contained , officials said. The U. S. Forest Service has taken over command control of the fire. According to officials, 17,300 plants and 1,125 pounds of processed pot have so far been seized. Law enforcement agents were finally able to uncover and eradicate the secret grows when the people protecting them in the forest were forced to flee due to the growing fire. Some came out of the forest claiming to be hikers, officials said. "The stuff in the national forest have been kind of big because of the fire, and people are hearing about the 'hikers' that are coming out that we rescued when in fact, they are tenders of marijuana grows," Monterey County Cmdr. John Thornburg said. Authorities also expressed concern about the potential for additional risk for the hundreds of firefighters battling the stubborn fire. "If it is potentially big cartels, they may have a retaliation against our firefighters, who are here to help," U. S. Forest Service spokesman Joseph English said. Officials expect the fire, which was started by an illegal campfire, to be fully contained by Sept. 30. Several state and federal agencies are involved in fighting the fire and rounding up the illegal marijuana -- including Cal Fire, the U. S. Forest Service, Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Department of Justice. The Soberanes Fire is one of several large fires burning across California. Nearly 10,000 firefighters are working to extinguish them, officials said.

2016-08-19 15:12 Doug G www.upi.com

100 Russian drill calls for ‘NATO’ soldiers ‘to lay down arms, stop being pawns’ — RT News The opposing force was not specified, but messages played over loudspeakers as the drills took place left little room for the imagination. “NATO soldiers! You are being lied to! You are not peacekeepers! Lay down your arms,” a female voice warned the soldiers in a recording played on loudspeakers, according to RIA Novosti’s reporter on the scene. “Your treacherous attack is disturbing a peaceful country. You will suffer retribution and the anger of a people who have never suffered defeat in any war. Drop your weapons and stop being pawns for your leaders,” the Russian message added. It was then played in several other languages. The warning was thankfully just a drill which took place near St. Petersburg and Pskov. The training exercise, named ‘Cooperation-2016’, is partly aimed at preparing troops to protect the country’s borders and was part of a series of drills undertaken by the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). Apart from Russia, the CSTO includes Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Those countries were also undertaking counter-terrorism exercises. Away from the war games, NATO has carried out a number of exercises close to Russia’s borders. In June, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said that the alliance’s activity on Russia’s doorstep had “more than doubled,” meaning Moscow would have to take retaliatory measures. “Now NATO and the US have deployed about 1,200 pieces of military equipment, including 30 combat jets, as well as more than 1,000 soldiers on the territories of the Eastern European countries on a rotational basis. The US navy ships as well as military vessels of other NATO members regularly enter the Baltic and Black Seas,” Shoigu said. On June 14, NATO agreed to deploy a new 4,000-strong force in the Baltic States and Poland in addition to more than 1,000 soldiers already stationed there on a rotational basis.

2016-08-19 15:12 www.rt.com

Total 100 articles. Created at 2016-08-20 00:02