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Total 100 articles, created at 2016-04-13 06:02 1 Canada's 'Black Widow' charged with breaking release terms A Canadian woman dubbed the "Black Widow" after a series of convictions involving male partners is charged with violating the terms of her latest release. 2016-04-12 23:51 1KB (2.00/3) www.bbc.co.uk 2 Could Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff be impeached? Your questions answered on the impeachment proceedings against Brazil's President (2.00/3) Dilma Rousseff. 2016-04-12 23:51 6KB www.bbc.co.uk

3 Masters 2016 winner: Time to go home and change nappies Danny Willett has returned to the UK following his Masters win, which made him the first (2.00/3) British victor in 20 years. 2016-04-13 00:00 585Bytes www.bbc.co.uk

4 Paul Ryan rules out 2016 presidential bid US House Speaker Paul Ryan rules out making a late attempt to become the Republican (2.00/3) presidential nominee. 2016-04-12 23:51 3KB www.bbc.co.uk

5 Workplace Diversity Job Fair, Thursday, April 21, 2016 Workplace Diversity Job FairThursday, April 21, 2016The Colonnade Hotel120 Huntington Ave., Boston10:00-4:00Job SeekersDon’t miss this exciting opportunity! 2016-04-13 06:02 1KB www.bostonherald.com 6 Marketing automation growth is unprecedented, yet B2B marketers agree it is time-consuming Marketing automation is experiencing unprecedented growth with data this month indicating that more than half of B2B companies (55 per... 2016-04-13 06:02 3KB www.thedrum.com 7 Charlotte Hornets guard Jeremy Lin visits South Charlotte Middle School Charlotte Hornets guard Jeremy Lin visited South Charlotte Middle School, Tuesday, April 12, 2016. South Charlotte is one of the top performing schools in a reading challenge put on by the Jeremy Lin Foundation and Newsela. The reading challenge exposed students to a collection of... 2016-04-13 00:22 1KB www.charlotteobserver.com 8 SRSLY #38: Zayn’s Mind of Mine, Zootropolis, The Magicians SRSLY #39: The A Word, Crocodile on the Sandbank, Luther On the pop culture podcast this week: Zayn’s first solo album Mind of Mine, Disney animated film Zootropolis and Lev Grossman’s magical thriller The Magicians. 2016-04-13 01:31 5KB www.newstatesman.com 9 China warned vs making ‘very provocative’ step The Philippine ambassador to Washington told a news conference that a senior US Navy official had reported spotting a suspected Chinese survey ship in Scarborough Shoal, a rich fishing area about 230 2016-04-13 02:35 2KB globalnation.inquirer.net 10 Sotto back on top in Senate race “WINNING is enough,” Sen. Vicente Sotto III said dismissively of his top ranking in the latest Pulse Asia survey commissioned by the TV network ABS-CBN, after regaining the No. 1 slot briefly 2016-04-13 02:32 3KB newsinfo.inquirer.net 11 Sea-level rise factors unravelled Global sea-level rise since the 1970s has been predominantly driven by greenhouse gas emissions and not natural climate variability, a study suggests. 2016-04-13 01:31 4KB www.bbc.co.uk

12 Philrem runs into more trouble with taxes NOW at the center of the controversy in the $81 million cyberheist, Philrem Service Corp. is running into more problems. Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) chief Kim Henares told the Senate 2016-04-13 02:27 2KB newsinfo.inquirer.net 13 Livonia - News Livonia - News 2016-04-12 21:20 2KB rssfeeds.hometownlife.com

14 Erykah Badu is wrong: Longer skirts won’t “keep our girls safe” at school Dress codes that unfairly punish girls are lazy and ineffective—it's on school officials to keep all kids safe 2016-04-13 01:13 3KB salon.com.feedsportal.com 15 $81M withdrawn when stop payment order came, says Deguito MAIA Santos-Deguito, the sacked branch manager of Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC), said Tuesday that the stolen $81 million had been withdrawn when she received a stop payment order from the 2016-04-13 02:15 5KB newsinfo.inquirer.net 16 Asia Times News & Features – Asia Times On March 15, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin visited Moscow to hold talks with President Vladimir Putin on Syria and the circumstances that led to... 2016-04-12 20:05 6KB atimes.com 17 U2's Bono urges lawmakers to view aid as national security WASHINGTON (AP) — U2 frontman Bono brought his star power to Capitol Hill Tuesday as he called on members of Congress to take swift action to deal with the g... 2016-04-12 20:13 3KB www.dailymail.co.uk 18 The Times & The Sunday Times News and opinion from The Times & The Sunday Times 2016-04-13 01:40 562Bytes www.thetimes.co.uk 19 Marcos cites message of unity for lead in VP race BACOLOD CITY—Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Tuesday attributed his rise to the top spot in the vice presidential race to his message of unity and cooperation. “The 2016-04-13 02:00 2KB newsinfo.inquirer.net 20 Heat index soars to record 51°C A HEAT index record was set for the second time in less than two weeks as summer temperatures soared amid the lingering El Niño. The heat index—the actual temperature felt by the body 2016-04-13 01:57 2KB newsinfo.inquirer.net 21 Now it’s UP Law for ‘whiz kid’ after Ph. D. in Physics NOWHERE to go but further. Or so it seems for former child prodigy Mikaela Irene Fudolig, who entered college at 11, graduated summa cum laude in Physics at 16, and took her master’s 2016-04-13 01:47 5KB newsinfo.inquirer.net 22 Daniel Radcliffe to star in Privacy in New York Daniel Radcliffe is to return to the stage in New York in a ground-breaking play that explores the digital footprint that we leave online. 2016-04-12 22:52 2KB www.bbc.co.uk 23 Stairway to Heaven in copyright trial Led Zeppelin founders Robert Plant and Jimmy Page must face trial in a copyright row over the song Stairway to Heaven, a US court rules. 2016-04-12 22:52 1KB www.bbc.co.uk

24 Council aims to have all Edinburgh pupils 'back by next week' It is hoped all pupils affected by the closure of 17 schools in Edinburgh will be back in class by next Tuesday, the council has said. 2016-04-12 22:52 5KB www.bbc.co.uk 25 Beijing angry over G7 statement on sea row BEIJING—China Tuesday expressed anger after foreign ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) advanced economies said they strongly opposed provocation in the East and South China Seas, where China is 2016-04-13 01:35 4KB globalnation.inquirer.net 26 Planets stripped bare by host stars Astronomers have defined a class of planet that have had their atmospheres stripped away by their host stars. 2016-04-12 22:52 2KB www.bbc.co.uk 27 Hawking backs interstellar travel project Professor Stephen Hawking backs a project to send spaceships to another solar system within a generation 2016-04-12 22:52 5KB www.bbc.co.uk 28 Tunisia terror attacks: Memorial service for British victims The prime minister and Prince Harry have given readings at a memorial service for the British tourists killed in terror attacks in Tunisia last year. 2016-04-12 22:52 3KB www.bbc.co.uk 29 A disenfranchised Coloradan Contact WND Ted Cruz says to the media that people vote for him and Donald Trump gets mad. Well, I am a Republican in what Cruz calls the great state of Colorado. The point is no one voted for him in either the Republican caucuses or the Republican convention... 2016-04-13 01:30 1KB www.wnd.com 30 Syrian surge! 'Refugees' flood into U. S. at rate of 358 per week Contact WND A flood of Muslim refugees from Syria, an average of 358 per week to be exact, is expected to arrive in the United States between now and the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30. The Obama administration has decided to implement a “surge” in... 2016-04-13 01:27 8KB www.wnd.com 31 Driver in crash killing Navy vet may have been drunk A Navy veteran who worked at Houston's VA Medical Center died early Tuesday when her car was struck in Fort Bend County by a driver suspected of being intoxicated, authorities said. 2016-04-12 23:03 1KB www.chron.com 32 William Hague: Don't judge politicians solely on their finances Politicians' leadership abilities should not be judged on the state of their personal finances, ex-Tory leader William Hague says. 2016-04-13 00:00 4KB www.bbc.co.uk 33 What happened to the self-sufficient people of the 1970s? The self-sufficiency movement was all the rage 40 years ago, but what happened to those who went back to the land? 2016-04-13 00:00 8KB www.bbc.co.uk 34 Hello, I am BBCTechbot. How can I help? Chatbots are on the rise but what are they and why is everyone talking about them? 2016-04-13 00:00 4KB www.bbc.co.uk 35 UK inflation rate rises to 0.5% in March The UK inflation rate rose to 0.5% in March, mainly due to a sharp increase in air fares, according to the Office for National Statistics. 2016-04-13 00:00 2KB www.bbc.co.uk 36 The city that allows women to sell sex A suburb in Leeds is the first place in the UK where it is permitted for women to sell sex between specified hours. The Victoria Derbyshire programme spends a night there to see how it is working. 2016-04-13 00:00 5KB www.bbc.co.uk 37 5 Ways To Improve Your Company's Search For Talent - In Photos: 5 Ways To Improve Your Company's Search For Talent A report released yesterday by ManpowerGroup based on a survey of upwards of 200 job seekers recommends that companies do more to get to know the pool of job seekers from which they're looking to hire and take steps to better target the individuals they... 2016-04-13 00:01 1KB www.forbes.com 38 Atlanta Weather Forecast Tonight: Mostly Cloudy Low: 53 Tomorrow Mostly Cloudy High 67 20% Chance Showers 2016-04-13 00:21 1KB rssfeeds.11alive.com 39 The warped values of corporate America KMorgan 1200 posts 2016-04-13 00:07 4KB www.thetribunepapers.com

40 Yahoo - Yahoo Sports Partners With NHL to Bring Fans Free, Live Out-of-Market Games & On-Demand Premium Content No Cable or Authentication Required, Alliance Offers New Opportunities for Advertisers to Connect with Fans --(BUSINESS WIRE)-- ... 2016-04-12 22:53 4KB investor.yahoo.net 41 Yahoo - Introducing Fair Play on Yahoo Sports Daily Fantasy Yahoo Launches Key Changes in Daily Fantasy to Help Level the Playing Field for Fans Including Entry Limits, Labeling of Veteran Players and No... 2016-04-12 22:53 2KB investor.yahoo.net 42 Newspaper headlines: 'Chancer' Osborne, and Duchess 'does a Marilyn' Several papers set their sights on the tax affairs of the chancellor, while a brush with immodesty for the Duchess of Cambridge is widely pictured. 2016-04-12 10:55 6KB www.bbc.co.uk 43 Germany Turkey: Police protection for satirist Boehmermann over Erdogan poem A German TV comic, Jan Boehmermann, is placed under police protection after he reads an obscene poem about Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. 2016-04-12 23:51 4KB www.bbc.co.uk 44 Black Lives Matter blocks Twins fans from game Contact WND Minnesota Twins fans were delayed en route to their team’s opening ceremonies after scores of Black Lives Matters protesters circled the train station and blocked entry and exit points, preventing their transport to nearby Target Field. They chanted, Breitbart reported: “No justice, no peace,”... 2016-04-12 22:43 2KB www.wnd.com 45 The Returning Officer: Easter Rising The fascist architecture still hosting Italy's sporting events Winifred Carney was one of two female candidates for Sinn Fein at the 1918 election, finishing third at Belfast Victoria behind Labour Unionist and Labour candidates. 2016-04-12 23:53 7KB www.newstatesman.com 46 Kirby Smart: 'Disapointed' in UGA football arrests Two UGA football players were arrested in Athens early Tuesday morning. 2016-04-13 01:01 3KB rssfeeds.11alive.com 47 Softball-size hail does 'significant' damage in Dallas area A district statement says educators were not able to provide a safe learning environment due to "significant" storm damage. City spokesman Craig Kelly says hail as large as baseballs damaged the public safety building but emergency personnel were able to continue their duties Tuesday. 2016-04-12 23:03 1KB www.chron.com 48 Germany train crash: Controller 'distracted by computer game' A German train controller was distracted by a computer game seconds before a fatal rail crash in February, prosecutors believe. 2016-04-12 23:51 2KB www.bbc.co.uk 49 Why Ukraine reformists yearn for change Pro-democracy activists who carried out Ukraine's 2014 revolution are increasing frustrated with the current government, Tom Burridge reports. 2016-04-12 23:51 3KB www.bbc.co.uk 50 Want to live longer in the US? Get rich A new study shows the significant gulf between the wealthy and poor in the US when it comes to life spans. However, there is hope in some areas of the country where there is a narrowing between income and life expectancy. 2016-04-12 23:51 1KB www.bbc.co.uk 51 No loser in cola wars. Coke & Pepsi thriving Shares of both Coca-Cola and Pepsi are near all-time highs as investors flock to the safety of stodgy food and beverage companies. Can the trend continue for both or should investors make a choice between the two? 2016-04-13 00:54 3KB money.cnn.com 52 Sanders tours Roosevelt site, says nation can learn from FDR HYDE PARK, N. Y. (AP) — Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders said Tuesday the nation can learn from President Franklin D. Roosevelt's courageous s... 2016-04-13 00:51 2KB www.dailymail.co.uk 53 Georgia freshmen Rochester, Clay arrested on weapon charges ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Georgia freshmen Julian Rochester and Chad Clay were arrested Monday night on felony charges including the possession of a BB gun in a sch... 2016-04-13 00:50 3KB www.dailymail.co.uk 54 Laquan McDonald briefing: The videos, the police reports Here are some key videos and documents in the case of Laquan McDonald, a teen who died after being shot 16 times by CPD Officer Jason Van Dyke. 2016-04-13 00:49 1KB chicago.suntimes.com 55 Susan Stroman could not resist lure of Woody Allen's 'Bullets' Five-time Tony Award-winning choreographer/director Susan Stroman has been the woman behind many of Broadway's most popular and successful musicals, 2016-04-13 00:49 1KB chicago.suntimes.com 56 Texas Take: April 12, 2016 Texas Take for Tuesday, April 12, 2016 2016-04-13 03:39 6KB www.chron.com

57 4 compete for new Pearland City Council seat Seeking election on May 7 to at-large Position 6 are elementary school teacher Adrienne Bell, former council member Terry Gray, former assistant city engineer Trent A. Perez and Metropolitan Transit Authority media-relations specialist Monica Russo. The city is creating the position based on the... 2016-04-13 03:39 7KB www.chron.com

58 Man suspected in 2 Pasadena store robberies Pasadena police are searching for a man they say robbed a convenience store, or possibly two, in recent months. 2016-04-13 03:39 1KB www.chron.com

61 Findings of Sandra Bland jail death probe released Nine months after Sandra Bland's jail cell death sparked nationwide scrutiny and weeks of protests, an independent civilian committee is recommending a series of changes for the besieged Waller County Sheriff's Office, including body cameras for officers, medical and mental health screening for all inmates... 2016-04-13 03:39 5KB www.chron.com 62 Underground beer garden among Houston's little known secrets Houston's most prominent downtown features, such as Chase Tower, reach straight up like pins in a map. But to see what really makes the city interesting you need to look deeper -- sometimes a lot deeper. 2016-04-12 23:03 1KB www.chron.com 63 Texas inmate gets $50,000 from state for foot injury A state prison inmate in Madison County settled a federal civil rights lawsuit in Houston Tuesday over an injury sustained when guards tried to restrain him and he nearly lost his foot. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice settled for $50,000 and also promised to look into... 2016-04-12 22:50 2KB www.chron.com 64 Many eager to see what's in 50-year-old time capsule There's mystery surrounding the 50-year-old time capsule buried at a former theater in Clear Lake, and Jim Johnson can't wait to dig it up. Artifacts likely include an American flag taken by astronaut Charles Conrad on a space flight, astronaut Charles Bassett's... 2016-04-12 22:50 3KB www.chron.com 65 Categories Archives BY YVONNE ZUSEL Folk rock band Mumford & Sons ruffled some traditionalist feathers when they released their third album, "Wilder Mind," in 2015, trading in the banjo for more of a plugged-in sound with an emphasis on the "rock" over the "folk. " "It wasn’t a... 2016-04-12 22:47 1KB music.blog.ajc.com 66 Gang of four pleads guilty in Alief double murder Four men have taken responsibility for the deaths of a 39-year-old woman and her boyfriend's 10-year-old son in a drug deal gone wrong in Alief in 2013. 2016-04-13 00:11 1KB www.chron.com 67 Report: University of Nebraska student kicked out of sorority for Tinder photo A University of Nebraska sorority has "swiped left" on one of their members because she used a suspect photo on her Tinder profile page. 2016-04-13 03:39 1KB www.chron.com

68 Julian Castro targeted by progressive groups AUSTIN - As the political front-runners continue their daily campaign fighting, a new skirmish is breaking out involving Texas favorite son Julian Castro, the oft-mentioned possible vice president for Hillary Clinton. In a story Tuesday, Politico.com details a petition drive pushed by... 2016-04-13 03:39 2KB www.chron.com 69 Harris Co. sheriff to meet with critics of program that screens for those in country illegally Harris County Sheriff Ron Hickman said he would meet this week with immigrant rights activists over a controversial federal program that trains local law enforcement... 2016-04-12 23:03 3KB www.chron.com 70 2 police, 6 alleged gang members killed in El Salvador clash SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) — Two police officers and six alleged gang members were killed Tuesday in a clash outside El Salvador's capital, authorities s... 2016-04-13 00:42 1KB www.dailymail.co.uk 71 City Council to vote Wednesday to give Johnson top cop job A City Council committee approved Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s end-run around the Police Board and remove 'interim' from CPD Supt. Eddie Johnson's title. 2016-04-13 00:41 6KB chicago.suntimes.com 72 More texting drivers in Texas and other states without ban, study says Data compiled by AT&T of its customers show in four states without texting while driving bans, including Texas, likelihood of use while behind the wheel increases 2016-04-13 00:11 2KB www.chron.com 73 Inmate dies after beating in Harris County jail A Harris County inmate was killed in jail last week by two other inmates, the Harris County Sheriff's Office reported Tuesday after being... 2016-04-13 00:11 1KB www.chron.com 74 Opinion: Bigotry toward Chicago Muslims won't defeat terrorists In Chicago, we face many urgent challenges – ending gun violence, protecting civil rights, combatting heroin, curbing corruption. 2016-04-13 00:24 3KB chicago.suntimes.com 75 Senate Judiciary Chair Grassley Has Breakfast With Garland Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley told President Barack Obama's Supreme Court nominee on Tuesday that the Senate won't advance his nomination "during this hyper-partisan election year," the lawmaker's office said. Grassley's breakfast meeting with federal judge Merrick... 2016-04-13 00:23 5KB abcnews.go.com 76 Alleged spy arrested boarding flight to China A Navy officer charged with espionage was arrested as he boarded a flight to mainland China, a U. S. defense official told CNN. 2016-04-13 00:22 779Bytes www.cnn.com 77 NC governor wants part of rights law changed but most intact RALEIGH, N. C. (AP) — North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory said Tuesday that he wants to change part of a new law that prevents people from suing over employment d... 2016-04-12 20:25 6KB www.dailymail.co.uk 78 Venezuela: the land of 500% inflation Inflation in Venezuela will increase by nearly 500% this year and a whopping 1600% in 2017, according to new projections by the IMF. 2016-04-13 00:17 3KB money.cnn.com 79 Music producer David Gest dies at 62 David Gest, former husband of Liza Minnelli, was found dead Tuesday at a London hotel. He was 62. 2016-04-13 00:16 2KB chicago.suntimes.com 80 California weighs changing rape statute after Cosby claims SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A California bill prompted in part by prosecutors' difficulty in pursuing sexual assault charges against Bill Cosby cleared its fir... 2016-04-13 00:12 4KB www.dailymail.co.uk 81 Buster Posey out and more confirmed MLB Tuesday lineups ESPN presents projected and confirmed lineups every day of the MLB season, including the fantasy spin on each team's lineup for that day. 2016-04-13 00:11 8KB espn.go.com 82 Quiz: Match the famous assistant to the TV show Can you Match the famous assistant to the TV show? Take our quiz to find out your result! 2016-04-12 22:51 660Bytes ajc.secondstreetapp.com 83 North Charleston Mayor, Police Chief Reject Rally Invitation A South Carolina mayor and the police chief in a city where a former white police officer is charged with murder in the shooting of a black man are declining invitations to attend a rally about local police practices a year after the death. The Post and Courier of... 2016-04-13 00:05 3KB abcnews.go.com 84 Europe plans to force big firms to come clean on profits and tax European Commission officials have published proposed new rules that would require thousands of big companies to publicly divulge their juicy secrets about earnings and taxes around the world. 2016-04-13 00:04 3KB money.cnn.com 85 White House says Zika is worse than previously thought Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of NIH/NIAID, and Dr. Anne Schuchat, Principal Deputy Director of the CDC announced that the Zika virus may appear in as many as 30 states, can be transmitted sexually in addition to through mosquitos, and more during a... 2016-04-12 22:55 3KB www.heraldonline.com 86 ABC7 Golden State Warriors Coverage Golden State Warriors scores, schedules and breaking basketball news for San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose and Northern California. 2016-04-13 00:19 660Bytes abc7news.com 87 Energy firms urged to slash prices as wholesale costs reach near-decade low UK gas and electricity wholesale prices have dropped to their lowest level in almost a decade, sparking calls for suppliers to cut bills by 10%. Prices have... 2016-04-12 23:56 4KB www.dailymail.co.uk 88 Cybersecurity – Risk Management Crashes the Boardroom Many companies will convince themselves they have nothing of value to hackers. Bad luck, all data has a value and all companies have something which will interest cybercriminals. 2016-04-12 16:47 5KB www.newstatesman.com 89 Study finds cooking oils helping cut cholesterol do not lower heart disease risk Cooking oils and spreads rich in a type of polyunsaturated fat help lower cholesterol but do nothing to cut the risk of heart disease or death compared with... 2016-04-12 23:55 5KB www.dailymail.co.uk

90 Using data to predict arrest rates of NFL draft picks Is there a correlation between players who get in trouble in college and players that get in trouble in the pros? Studies seem to indicate there is. 2016-04-12 23:47 8KB espn.go.com 91 Tributes pour in for Joao Carvalho after MMA fighter dies following Dublin bout Conor McGregor's coach John Kavanagh has sent his condolences to Joao Carvalho's family after the MMA fighter died following a bout in Dublin on Saturday. Th... 2016-04-12 23:39 2KB www.dailymail.co.uk 92 Panel urges Chicago police to acknowledge racism CHICAGO (AP) — A task force Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel established to look into police practices says the department must acknowledge its racist past and ove... 2016-04-12 23:39 4KB www.dailymail.co.uk 93 Tickets for Leicester's final home game on sale for almost £8,000 each Tickets for Leicester's final home game of the season against Everton are on sale for almost £8,000 online as fans react with disappointment after missing ou... 2016-04-12 23:38 3KB www.dailymail.co.uk 94 West Ham boss Slaven Bilic wary of possible Wayne Rooney return Slaven Bilic is hoping Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney does not make his long- awaited comeback against West Ham on Wednesday after labelling the strik... 2016-04-12 23:37 4KB www.dailymail.co.uk 95 David Cameron under pressure to take in 3,000 unaccompanied child refugees David Cameron is facing renewed pressure for the UK to take in 3,000 unaccompanied child refugees in Europe amid claims he is failing to deal with the "human... 2016-04-12 23:37 2KB www.dailymail.co.uk 96 Karen Carney's late winner sends England Women top of Euro 2017 qualifying group England Women moved top of their Euro 2017 qualification group after Karen Carney's late winner sealed a 1-0 victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina. The Lionesses d... 2016-04-12 23:37 2KB www.dailymail.co.uk 97 U2's Bono lobbies US Senate for 'Marshall Plan' in the Middle East Bono has lobbied in Washington and other world capitals for a variety of causes including debt relief, alleviating world poverty and fighting AIDS. 2016-04-12 23:36 3KB www.jpost.com 98 Hailey Baldwin hits the shops with pal Kylie Jenner The 18-year-old Keeping Up with the Kardashians star has been seen sporting pieces by the brand - particularly its hats - widely loved by celebrities in the early 2000s. 2016-04-12 23:30 2KB www.dailymail.co.uk 99 SARAH VINE on the agonising truth about those beauty disasters Truth is, we cannot blame the patriarchy for this one. When it comes to punishing beauty regimens, women are our own worst enemies. 2016-04-12 23:30 7KB www.dailymail.co.uk

100 IMF's Furusawa warns of limits to further BOJ rate cuts By Leika Kihara WASHINGTON, April 12 (Reuters) - The Bank of Japan still has tools left to expand monetary stimulus further but must bear in mind that there... 2016-04-12 23:27 1KB www.dailymail.co.uk Articles

Total 100 articles, created at 2016-04-13 06:02

1 Canada's 'Black Widow' charged with breaking release terms (2.00/3) A Canadian woman dubbed the "Black Widow" after a series of convictions involving male partners has been charged with breaking the terms of her release. Melissa Ann Shepard, 80, was freed in March after a jail term for drugging her new husband. But police said she was a high-risk re-offender and set a number of conditions, including not going online. She used a computer on Monday to access the web at a library in Nova Scotia. Police have warned elderly men looking for love to steer clear of Shepard, with the internet flagged up as a possible threat. In addition to not using the web, she is also required to abide by a curfew and inform police before starting a romantic relationship. Her prior convictions include the manslaughter of her second husband in 1992, whom she drugged and ran over twice in a car. Her third husband died in 2002 shortly after they were married. No charges were brought in connection with his death. Shepard was sentenced to five years in prison in 2005 for seven counts of theft from a man in Florida whom she met online and with whom she lived for a month. She was also convicted of stealing from another man Alex Strategos, 73. Mr Strategos believes Shepard drugged him as well, although she was not charged. Shepard was charged again last October after her latest husband, Fred Weeks, 75, fell ill from the effects of tranquilisers mixed into his coffee on board a ferry from Nova Scotia to Newfoundland on their honeymoon the previous month. He survived.

Canada's 'Black Widow' arrested for using the internet at library theguardian.com 2016-04-12 23:51 BBC News www.bbc.co.uk

2 Could Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff be impeached? (2.00/3) A congressional committee in Brazil has recommended impeachment proceedings against President Dilma Rousseff for allegedly manipulating government accounts. Ms Rousseff faces charges of breaking budgetary laws ahead of her re-election for a second term in October 2014. Millions of Brazilians have called for her impeachment and the arrest of former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Here we take a closer look at the problems in Brazil and what has gone wrong since President Rousseff was re-elected. President Rousseff is accused of violating fiscal laws by allegedly using funds from state banks to cover budget shortfalls. She is alleged to have juggled public funds to make her government's economic performance appear better than it was to increase her chances of re-election to a second term. Her critics say she violated Brazil's financial accountability laws and should be stripped of her office. Ms Rousseff has denied any wrongdoing and says the impeachment proceedings are tantamount to a coup d'etat. The petition to impeach President Rousseff was made by three lawyers, including 93-year-old Helio Bicudo, a former member of Ms Rousseff's Workers' Party turned opposition activist. Mr Bicudo said the Workers' Party had gone from being "a socialist party created to help people to serving the interests of a few who seek power". Their petition was accepted by the speaker of the lower house of Congress, Eduardo Cunha. Mr Cunha, a former ally of Ms Rousseff, has become one of her fiercest critics. Critics of Mr Cunha say he is a political opportunist who is only trying to get his PMDB party into power. They point to the fact that under Brazil's constitution, Vice-President Michel Temer - who is also from the PMDB party - would become acting president if Ms Rousseff were to be suspended or impeached. They also say that Mr Cunha lacks credibility because prosecutors have accused him of taking $5m (£3.5m) in bribes from companies seeking to secure contracts with state-oil giant Petrobras. He has denied the charges and refused to step down from his post. Ms Rousseff's approval ratings have plummeted from their all-time high of 79% in March 2013 to about 10% in March 2016. There have been mass demonstrations in major Brazilian cities demanding that she resign. But there have also been smaller rallies in her support. Many Brazilians say they are fed up with the high levels of corruption in Brazilian politics. But with the three politicians next in line to succeed Ms Rousseff also under investigation for either alleged mismanagement or alleged corruption, no party seems untouched by the allegations. The full lower house of Congress will discuss Ms Rousseff's impeachment starting on 15 of April. They are due to start voting on 17 April on whether the impeachment process should proceed. If two thirds vote in favour, the matter will be discussed in the upper house, the Senate. The Senate will then have to vote on whether it reckons an impeachment trial is warranted. If it votes in favour, the trial in the Senate will go ahead presided over by the head of the Supreme Court, Ricardo Lewandowski. Finally, the Senate will vote on whether to impeach Ms Rousseff. There are 512 members in the lower house of Congress. In order for the impeachment process to proceed to the Senate, two thirds of the lower house members will have to vote in favour. That is 342. In the Senate, 41 out of the 81 senators will have to back the impeachment trial for it to go ahead. It takes 54 senators to impeach Ms Rousseff. Ms Rousseff's Workers' Party has 57 members in the lower house of Congress, who are expected to back the president. She needs 172 votes to block the impeachment at the next stage. The Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB), which two weeks left the governing coalition, has given its members a free vote. The party, the largest in the lower house with 69 members, said it would define its position on the matter later this week. The leader of the second-largest party, the centre-right PP, said its members were split on the issue and that some would vote for and others against the impeachment. Polls conducted by local media suggest more than 100 members out of the 513 members of the lower house are still undecided. Both sides are expected to lobby hard for their wanted outcome in the coming days and last minute changes of heart make the final result very hard to predict. Under the Brazilian constitution, Vice-President Temer is set to take over as interim president if Ms Rousseff is suspended. However, Mr Temer himself is also facing impeachment proceedings over the same allegations of manipulating government accounts as Ms Rousseff. The second in line to take over from her is House Speaker Eduardo Cunha, who is being investigated over allegations of taking multi-million dollars in bribes. Next in line is Renan Calheiros, head of the Senate. But he, too, is under investigation in connection with a massive corruption scandal at state-oil company Petrobras. All three, who are from the PMDB party, deny the allegations against them. Yes, if one third of the lower house vote against impeachment proceedings continuing, the process will be shelved and Ms Rousseff will continue in office. Ms Rousseff also has two chances to appeal. If the lower house decides to pass the matter on to the Senate, she can appeal at that point to the Supreme Court. And she can appeal if the Senate should impeach her, which she has already says she plans on doing should the process go that far and the vote go against her.

Brazil's Rousseff decries conspiracy as impeachment advances dailymail.co.uk 2016-04-12 23:51 BBC News www.bbc.co.uk

3 Masters 2016 winner: Time to go home and change nappies (2.00/3) Danny Willett has returned to the UK following his shock Masters win, which made him the first British victor in 20 years. He spoke to reporters after landing at Manchester Airport.

Masters champion Danny Willett adjusts to life in the spotlight dailymail.co.uk 2016-04-13 00:00 BBC News www.bbc.co.uk

4 Paul Ryan rules out 2016 presidential bid (2.00/3) US House Speaker Paul Ryan has officially ruled out making a late attempt to become the Republican presidential nominee. "I do not want, nor will I accept the Republican nomination," he said. Mr Ryan's name was floated as a late contender if there is a contested convention in July, as doubts persist over the strength of the candidates. If Donald Trump, John Kasich nor Ted Cruz is able to win 1,237 delegates, the convention will be contested. The state-by-state primary contests, which come to New York next week, determine the number of delegates pledged to a particular candidate. Mr Trump is still well ahead in the number of delegates accumulated but may fall short of the magic number required. In 1886 former civil war general William Sherman set the gold standard for disavowing interest in serving as US president. "I will not accept if nominated and will not serve if elected," he bluntly stated. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan may not reach Shermanesque levels of certainty with Tuesday's statement, but the move should put the latest round of rampant speculation and rumour-mongering to rest. The Ryan presidential boomlet was largely a result of growing desperation among Republicans who see a presidential ticket headed by the epically unpopular Donald Trump as an unmitigated disaster and by absolutist Ted Cruz as only a slightly mitigated disaster. Mr Ryan won't be their establishment-friendly "white knight", however, and there are few others out there with the stature to pull off such an unlikely convention coup. Former candidate Mitt Romney? Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker? At this point, anyone other than Mr Cruz or Mr Trump - the two men who have slogged through the presidential season and won the votes and delegates - appears to be pure fantasy. How does a contested convention work? Five ways Republican bloodbath could end Profile: House Speaker Paul Ryan At a contested convention, the delegates are free after the first ballot to back whom they want, opening the door for Texas Senator Mr Cruz or even the third candidate in the race, Mr Kasich. Some in the party had hoped Mr Ryan would emerge as a candidate at that stage, believing he would be a more effective and less divisive figure than Mr Trump or Mr Cruz. Speaking at the Republican National Committee headquarters in Washington, Mr Ryan - who ran as Mitt Romney's running mate in the 2012 presidential election - ruled himself out unequivocally. But some commentators were quick to point out that he said he did not want to run for Speaker of the House last year before eventually accepting the job.

Paul Ryan on 2016 bid: 'Count me out' cnn.com 2016-04-12 23:51 BBC News www.bbc.co.uk

5 Workplace Diversity Job Fair, Thursday, April 21, 2016 Workplace Diversity Job Fair Thursday, April 21, 2016 The Colonnade Hotel 120 Huntington Ave., Boston 10:00-4:00 Job Seekers Don’t miss this exciting opportunity! The Boston Herald is hosting the 24th bi-annual Workplace Diversity Job Fair on Thursday, April 21. Companies from the Greater Boston area will be in attendance looking for candidates to fill positions in areas including sales, business, medical, retail, technology and more! Look for a special pull-out section on Wednesday, April 20 for all the information you will need to make the job fair a success for you. There is no cost or obligation for attending. Proper attire is suggested. The following companies are participating in the Thursday, April 21 Workplace Diversity: Apollo International Arbour Hospital AT&T Boston Senior Home Care Eliot Community Human Services Feeney Brothers Excavation Frito-Lay Grand Circle Corporation HMS Host Keolis Commuter Service Old Town Trolley Tours of Boston Shaw’s Supermarkets United States Postal Service VNA of Boston WGBH and many, many more………… The Workplace Diversity Job Fair is conducted in accordance with federal laws advocating employment for all individuals. The Workplace Diversity Job Fair is handicapped accessible. If special arrangements are required, please call 617-619-6168 no later than 2 days prior to the event. 2016-04-13 06:02 www.bostonherald.com

6 Marketing automation growth is unprecedented, yet B2B marketers agree it is time-consuming Marketing automation is experiencing unprecedented growth with data this month indicating that more than half of B2B companies (55 per cent) are adopting the requisite technology. To date, there are nearly 11 times more companies with marketing automation today than there were in early 2011. However, a gulf is growing between high-performing companies who are 67 per cent more likely to use a marketing automation platform — compared to many businesses with 20 or more employees who have only about 4 per cent using marketing automation software. Marketing automation includes email marketing, social media marketing, marketing analytics, content/data management and more. A recent report entitled the State of Digital Marketing 2016 notes a relatively high usage of email marketing (82 per cent), followed by social media marketing (67 per cent) and content management (52 per cent). The report also indicates that 50 per cent see social media and SEO as the most difficult digital marketing tactics to execute because they are time-intensive and require skilled resources that are not always available in-house. Email and websites are not only the most effective tactics used, according to the survey, they are also two of the least difficult to execute with 61 per cent of those surveyed favoring email marketing compared to 41 per cent who find social media easy and effective. Finally, 62 per cent of the marketers surveyed said they combine in-house and outsourced strategies for social media. The main benefits of marketing automation have evolved over the years. Initially, marketers felt that it took repetitive tasks out of marketers’ hands and offered a better targeting of customers and prospects. Today, nearly two-thirds of companies surveyed see benefits of their marketing automation system within six months of implementation. Marketers still agree that automation saves time overall (74 per cent). It also creates increased customer engagement (68 per cent), more time on communications (58 per cent) and increased opportunity for up-selling (58 per cent). The most important strategic goals of a marketing automation strategy remain increasing lead generation (61 per cent), lead nurturing (57 per cent) and sales revenue (47 per cent). According to the report, the most useful measure of marketing automation is conversion rate (70 per cent), lead generation (48 per cent) and cost per lead (41 per cent). For 52 per cent of marketers the most significant barrier to marketing automation success is the lack of an effective strategy, with 42 per cent saying the complexity of the system is a factor. The ongoing challenges and obstacles to success mean that 50 per cent of companies find that integrating marketing technology is an uphill battle, while nearly 22 per cent have not integrated their technology.

2016-04-13 06:02 Laurie Fullerton www.thedrum.com

7 Charlotte Hornets guard Jeremy Lin visits South Charlotte Middle School Nic Batum will lead the Charlotte Hornets against the San Antonio Spurs on Monday. Charlotte Hornets coach Steve Clifford on the status of Cody Zeller and Spencer Hawes. Charlotte Hornets guard Troy Daniels on his recent up-tick in playing time. Charlotte Hornets forward Marvin Williams discusses his season after matching a career- high with 5 3-pointers Friday against the Detroit Pistons. Hornets center Spencer Hawes, still out with a back strain, does some light shooting pre-game Monday. Hornets' Jefferson on Rookie of the Year favorite Towns, the Timberwolves center. Nic Batum talks about the Charlotte Hornets' goals when and if they reach the playoffs Charlotte Hornets point guard Kemba Walker comments on coach Steve Clifford saying it's a surprise whenever Walker misses a shot. Charlotte Hornets guard Jeremy Lin talks about why he tweeted concerning stereotyping of Asians in a skit during Sunday's Oscars show. Charlotte Hornets coach Steve Clifford discusses the Hornets' slow start against the Atlanta Hawks Sunday.

2016-04-13 00:22 www.charlotteobserver.com

8 SRSLY #38: Zayn’s Mind of Mine, Zootropolis, The Magicians SRSLY #39: The A Word, Crocodile on the Sandbank, Luther This is SRSLY, the pop culture podcast from the New Statesman. Here, you can find links to all the things we talk about in the show as well as a bit more detail about who we are and where else you can find us online. Listen to our new episode now: ...or subscribe in iTunes. We’re also on Stitcher , RSS and SoundCloud – but if you use a podcast app that we’re not appearing in, let us know. SRSLY is hosted by Caroline Crampton and Anna Leszkiewicz, the NS ’s web editor and editorial assistant. We’re on Twitter as @c_crampton and @annaleszkie , where between us we post a heady mixture of Serious Journalism, excellent gifs and regularly ask questions J K Rowling needs to answer. The Links (05:10) Zayn Malik’s Mind of Mine The album on Spotify. The bizarre Pitchfork review Caroline likes. (14:43) Zootropolis The trailer. Mark Kermode on cinema's newest odd couple. (25:35) The Magicians The book, by Lev Grossman. This piece on sexism in the trilogy. Next week: Caroline is watching the first ever episode of Luther . If you’d like to talk to us about the podcast or make a suggestion for something we should read or cover, you can email srslypod[at]gmail.com . You can also find us on Twitter @srslypod , or send us your thoughts on tumblr here. If you like the podcast, we’d love you to leave a review on iTunes - this helps other people come across it. We love reading out your emails. If you have thoughts you want to share on anything we’ve discussed, or questions you want to ask us, please email us on srslypod[at]gmail.com , or @ us on Twitter @srslypod , or get in touch via tumblr here. We also have Facebook now. Our theme music is “Guatemala - Panama March” (by Heftone Banjo Orchestra) , licensed under Creative Commons. See you next week! PS If you missed #37, check it out here . This is SRSLY, the pop culture podcast from the New Statesman. Here, you can find links to all the things we talk about in the show as well as a bit more detail about who we are and where else you can find us online. Listen to our new episode now: ...or subscribe in iTunes. We’re also on Stitcher , RSS and SoundCloud – but if you use a podcast app that we’re not appearing in, let us know. SRSLY is hosted by Caroline Crampton and Anna Leszkiewicz, the NS ’s web editor and editorial assistant. We’re on Twitter as @c_crampton and @annaleszkie , where between us we post a heady mixture of Serious Journalism, excellent gifs and regularly ask questions J K Rowling needs to answer. The Links (05:40) The A Word The A Word on iPlayer. A glimpse of the Israel show, Yellow Peppers, that this programme is based on. (13:10) Crocodile on the Sandbank A summary of the book. The official website for Amelia Peabody. (24:00) Luther A summary of the Alice-Luther dynamic. A nice interview with Idris Elba about the character of John Luther. Next week: Anna is playing Monument Valley . If you’d like to talk to us about the podcast or make a suggestion for something we should read or cover, you can email srslypod[at]gmail.com . You can also find us on Twitter @srslypod , or send us your thoughts on tumblr here. If you like the podcast, we’d love you to leave a review on iTunes - this helps other people come across it. We love reading out your emails. If you have thoughts you want to share on anything we’ve discussed, or questions you want to ask us, please email us on srslypod[at]gmail.com , or @ us on Twitter @srslypod , or get in touch via tumblr here. We also have Facebook now. Our theme music is “Guatemala - Panama March” (by Heftone Banjo Orchestra) , licensed under Creative Commons. See you next week! PS If you missed #38, check it out here .

The shortcomings of Midnight Special highlight exactly what Steven Spielberg does right SRSLY #39: The A Word, Crocodile on the Sandbank, Luther newstatesman.com

SRSLY #39: The A Word, Crocodile on the Sandbank, Luther Ethereum: the competitor to Bitcoin which could transform entire industries newstatesman.com Why it's time for pop music to stop wallowing in nostalgia SRSLY #39: The A Word, Crocodile on the Sandbank, Luther newstatesman.com 2016-04-13 01:31 Liam Young www.newstatesman.com

9 China warned vs making ‘very provocative’ step The Philippine ambassador to Washington told a news conference that a senior US Navy official had reported spotting a suspected Chinese survey ship in Scarborough Shoal, a rich fishing area about 230 kilometers west of Zambales province, a few weeks ago and expressed concern about its presence in the disputed offshore area. Cuisia said the Philippine military checked out the report but found nothing to confirm it, possibly because the Chinese ship later left the shoal. Cuisia said he was involved in a US state department-brokered deal for China and the Philippines to withdraw their ships simultaneously from Scarborough to avoid a potential clash during a tense standoff in 2012. China reneged on that deal by refusing to withdraw its ships after the Philippines did and now claims there was no such deal, he said. “We were shortchanged,” Cuisia said. China has said it has completed construction work to turn seven reefs into islands in the disputed Spratlys archipelago in the South China Sea, raising alarm in the region and sparking calls by Asian and Western governments for China to stop taking provocative actions that can lead to confrontations. Beijing says it owns the Spratlys, which it calls the Nansha Islands, and has a right to undertake construction there. The US Navy sighting of the survey ship in Scarborough has reinforced suspicions that Beijing is eyeing the vast atoll as its next target in its island-making spree, Cuisia said. “That I think will be very provocative if they will build on Scarborough Shoal,” Cuisia said, adding such an action “will further escalate the tensions and the conflict.” The Philippines is incapable of stopping China from constructing an island in the shoal, where Filipino fishermen have been barred by Chinese coast guard ships, Cuisia said. “We hope that the US and other countries … would convince China not to proceed with that,” he said. Washington does not take sides in the disputes involving China, the Philippines and four other governments but has declared that ensuring freedom of navigation and overflight in the busy waters is in its national interest. AP

2016-04-13 02:35 INQUIRER.net globalnation.inquirer.net

10 Sotto back on top in Senate race “WINNING is enough,” Sen. Vicente Sotto III said dismissively of his top ranking in the latest Pulse Asia survey commissioned by the TV network ABS- CBN, after regaining the No. 1 slot briefly held by Senate President Franklin Drilon in another senatorial poll. According to the nationwide survey results released on Tuesday, 49.4 percent of respondents would vote for Sotto if the elections were held anytime between March 29 and April 3, the week when the poll was conducted. Statistically, Drilon tied with Sotto, with 48.9 percent of respondents indicating their preference for the Senate official. The survey, which used face-to-face interviews with 4,000 registered voters, had a margin of error of plus-or-minus 1.5 percentage points. Statistical chance Of the 50 senatorial candidates in the coming May 9 elections, 12 have a “statistical chance” of winning based on the survey results. Aside from Sotto and Drilon, also on the probable winners’ circle were former Sen. Francis Pangilinan (45 percent), former Sen. Panfilo Lacson (43.9 percent), former Rep. Juan Miguel Zubiri (37.3 percent), former Justice Secretary Leila de Lima (36.5 percent), Sen. Sergio Osmeña III (34.1 percent), Sen. Ralph Recto (34), and Sarangani Rep. Manny Pacquiao (33.6). Trailing them but also inside the Magic 12 circle were former Sen. Richard Gordon (32.6), former Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) chief Joel Villanueva (32.3 percent), and former Akbayan Rep. Risa Hontiveros (32.1 percent). According to the survey, 34 percent of voters already have a complete senatorial slate. Performance Sotto said he was not aiming for the any particular ranking in the actual elections despite his being first in most voter popularity surveys. The senator attributed his strong showing in surveys to his performance in the Senate for the past six years. “I have taken my job seriously and I intend to do so if reelected,” Sotto said, adding that “surveys (were) good guides so you can get feedback on what areas you need to improve on.” ‘Elated’ Drilon similarly expressed satisfaction at the survey results. “This is the fourth time that I am running for senator, but it still warms the heart to know that there are still a lot of our countrymen who believe in and support me,” he said in a text message. “I will make sure to work even harder in the coming Congress to show that (voters) have made the right choice,” Drilon added. Gordon admitted to being “elated” at the survey results, and said that he “generally uses surveys as a (private) guide, not as propaganda material.” Meager resources He added however that he was “happy that despite our meager resources, people are taking a look at our credentials. We’ve been in the top 12 from the beginning, that’s why I’m elated. It’s my hope that people will look at the surveys and find out who are the most suitable for the job among us.” With a report from Christine O. Avendaño and Leila B. Salaverria

2016-04-13 02:32 Philippine Daily newsinfo.inquirer.net

11 Sea-level rise factors unravelled Global sea-level rise since the 1970s has been predominantly driven by greenhouse gas emissions and not natural climate variability, a study suggests. Over the last 100 years, sea levels have been rising much faster than over previous millennia. Now, scientists have modelled the cumulative forces driving observed sea-level rise in the modern era. Details of the work are published in Nature Climate Change. "The influence of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and aerosols - the human component, due to the burning of fossil fuels principally - is small in the beginning of the 20th century, only about 15%," says Dr John Church, a sea-level rise expert at CSIRO, the Australian federal research agency. "But after 1970 it's the dominant factor, contributing to about 70% of the rise from 1970 up to present day. " "Natural internal climate variability, while it affects sea-level on short periods, has very little impact on the trend during the 20th century. " The findings illustrate the extent to which humans have influenced sea-level rise over the last 115 years, and raise concerns about future sea-level and climate change scenarios. As the Earth's climate continues to warm, the rate of sea-level rise is expected to accelerate, increasing the risk of coastal flooding. "There are thresholds we could well cross during the 21st century, which would lead to multi- metre sea-level rise unless there is urgent and significant mitigation," said Dr Church. If we can stay below a global temperature increase of 2C, Dr Church says the rate of sea-level rise could stabilise, and potentially decrease by the end of the 21st century. Either way, he says it's imperative that governments begin planning for coastal adaptation, either protecting infrastructure and communities or withdrawing, as some sea-level rise is unavoidable. Using climate model simulations from the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, the CSIRO-led team calculated the main drivers of sea-level rise: glacial and ice sheet melting, and ocean thermal expansion. This is when warmer ocean temperatures cause the volume of water to expand. The team then applied these calculations to the following individual forces, which contribute to sea-level rise: GHGs, aerosol pollutants in the atmosphere, natural climate variability (such as El Niño and Pacific Decadal Oscillation systems), historical climate responses, variable solar radiation levels, and volcanic eruptions. After putting them together, and comparing the contributions to observed sea-level rise during the 20th century, the team was able to paint a comprehensive picture of which forces had the biggest impact over that period. From 1900 to 1950, the biggest factor contributing to sea-level rise was a natural climate response following the Little Ice Age - a period between 1300 and 1870 when the northern hemisphere endured significantly colder winters. Human influence began increasing around 1950, and became the dominant force after 1970, due to the cumulative effect of greenhouse gases, said Dr Church. Prof Matthew England, deputy director of the Climate Change Research Centre at UNSW Australia, says the latest findings are "very consistent with what we've long suspected" about the influence of human activities on sea-level rise. It's consistent with that we know about "how temperatures have warmed globally, and how ice over the land masses of Antarctica and Greenland, have melted over time," he says. "But it's really important to go and do the detailed analysis. " "We can't adapt blind," he says. "We need to understand sea-level rise, how quickly it will change in the future, how it will vary around the coast. "

2016-04-13 01:31 BBC News www.bbc.co.uk

12 Philrem runs into more trouble with taxes NOW at the center of the controversy in the $81 million cyberheist, Philrem Service Corp. is running into more problems. Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) chief Kim Henares told the Senate blue ribbon committee that the remittance company had not been issuing legitimate receipts after seeing those issued by the company to individuals and casinos it had remitted the $61 million of the stolen $81 million wired to Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Henares also said Philrem’s tax payments were wrong because it continued to be registered as a land transport company when it had been operating as a remittance and foreign exchange company since 2005. The BIR commissioner was asked by Sen. Vicente Sotto III to scrutinize the acknowledgement receipts that Philrem submitted to the committee. These covered remittances it had made to casinos and individuals that included the missing Weikang Xu, who got P600 million and $80 million last month. But Henares said the acknowledgment receipts violated the National Internal Revenue Code which required businesses to have all their receipts registered with the BIR since 2013 for auditing purposes. She said the Philrem receipts did not show the features required by the BIR. “This is already a clear violation of the regulations,” Henares said. “This is not a legitimate and right receipt.” Henares also said her office had looked into Philrem’s records at BIR and found out the company had not updated its registration since 2005 when it amended its charter. Philrem was registered as a “land transport contractor” and did not update its registration with the BIR, she said. “So the taxes they paid were wrong. When you are a money changer and a foreign exchange company, you are a nonbank financial intermediary so you are supposed to pay a 5-percent gross receipt tax and are not supposed to be paying value-added tax.” Asked how much Philrem paid in taxes last year, Henares said it was “much much less than six figures.” On a query by Sen. Serge Osmeña, Henares said with the P10 million Philrem made out of its transactions with RCBC, it was supposed to pay taxes amounting to 5 percent of gross receipts. Osmeña asked Philrem president Salud Bautista to present her accountant at the next hearing on Tuesday.

2016-04-13 02:27 Christine O newsinfo.inquirer.net

13 13 Livonia - News This feed's current articles are shown below. Subscribe for updates to all the content available in this feed, or click through here to see the original article. Realtor claims masked assailant approached her from behind with a rifle Location on Farmington Road just north of Eight Mile Road is prime, owner said. Canton has slashed millions from its legacy costs Two children in the car of drunk driver, another drunk driver was followed by two women Composer/producer to receive achievement award, along with Kid Rock and the late Al Abrams Effort aimed at amending law to require all children to wear life jackets on ice The increase of just over 1.5 percent would be the first in two years. Colleen Pobur is running as Democrat for state House of Representatives in 20th District. Action buys time to assess liabilities of special assessment in Independence Commons This is the third and final month of the summer with a Supermoon. It's when a full or new moon coincides with the moon's closest point to Earth in its orbit. Basically, the moon appears bigger and brighter than usual in the night sky. Hundreds attended a public meeting on the construction project Tuesday in Livonia. Shocking headlines dominate the news as a murder trial unfolds. Dark secrets are revealed. Pain turns to sorrow. Questions linger. What went wrong that day? What if? Reporters Aileen Wingblad and David Veselenak search for answers in interviews with convicted murderers Nancy Seaman and Lakeshia Valdez. Police say Joshua Palmer has been found. He was reported missing Thursday. Kurtzweil reprimanded for revealing confidential information in investigation of officials Old Westland city hall demolition underway; former Bailey Center is next A GoFundMe page is set up to raise rent money for the service, which helps kids for free. Seedlings will be used to grow food for needy Huron Valley families Canton police are urging residents to turn in prescription pills Townships, county, state seats are all up for grabs Kaitlyn Quick is only 11, but she’s taking her family on an all-expenses-paid trip to Florida

2016-04-12 21:20 rssfeeds.hometownlife.com

14 Erykah Badu is wrong: Longer skirts won’t “keep our girls safe” at school Topics: erykah badu , Sexism , dress code , Life News , Entertainment News Yesterday, in response to a Newshub article, picked up by The Guardian , about a New Zealand school where a dress code was instituted requiring girls to lower their skirt lengths to their knees so that, according to the deputy principal, they can “keep our girls safe, stop boys from getting ideas and create a good work environment for male staff,” singer Erykah Badu issued a Tweet storm. Her main point seems to be that since it’s, in her words, “natural” for men to be attracted to girls in short skirts, they should cater to that fact by dressing appropriately. Here’s a sampling of what she had to say: Badu repeatedly used the word “biology” to assert that men will always look at sexually attractive girls and women, so it’s up to them to counteract those natural attractions. While Badu has since entertained a stream of opinions about the topic on her Twitter account, many of which have disagreed with her, there’s no way around the fact that she’s saying that girls are responsible for how grown men look at and behave towards them. When she says “we must all be aware and responsible,” she’s giving them equal weight even though one is in a position of power over the other, and putting that responsibility onto the shoulders of children and thereby removing some of it from those who are employed to teach them. As a student at the school, Sade Tuttle, told Newshub, “The rules themselves aren’t the problem; the problem is when these codes target girls specifically because their bodies are sexual and distracting.” Exactly. These girls are getting the direct message that their thighs are so tempting they may cause the school to be less “safe” unless they’re covered up. School dress codes are not a new topic, nor are the ways they so often demonize female students for showing too much skin or simply being too suggestive, whether we’re talking about exposed shoulders or yoga pants. Whatever the supposed reason for telling girls how to dress, codes like this reinforce a sexual double standard that’s as problematic for boys as well as girls. As Suzannah Weiss wrote at Bustle about how these dress codes can reinforce rape culture, “By policing how girls dress in attempt to divert boys’ attention from them, schools are holding girls responsible for how boys view them and even how they do in school. When schools talk about how ‘distracting’ girls’ outfits are, they’re absolving boys of responsibility for doing their duties as a student regardless of their surroundings.” The message Badu and the school are sending is that these girls need to protect their teachers, rather than the other way around. Extended to its logical conclusion, this way of thinking tells them that the onus of ensuring their safety falls on them, based on how they dress. Badu is implying that the job of not causing unwanted sexual attention falls on girls and women, rather than men (or people of any gender) who might harass them. Girls who are told that their skirt length or any other way of dressing will protect them are being handed a flawed value system.

2016-04-13 01:13 Rachel Kramer salon.com.feedsportal.com

15 $81M withdrawn when stop payment order came, says Deguito MAIA Santos-Deguito, the sacked branch manager of Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC), said Tuesday that the stolen $81 million had been withdrawn when she received a stop payment order from the bank’s headquarters. Testifying at the Senate’s fifth hearing on antimoney laundering, Deguito said she was told by RCBC treasurer Raul Tan that it was not the bank’s problem that most of the funds stolen from the Bangladesh account in a New York bank had been withdrawn when the request to hold them came. She said that prior to the withdrawals, RCBC regional sales director Brigitte Capina effectively said there was no reason to hold the funds after these were flagged by the bank days earlier. As manager of the RCBC branch on Jupiter street in Makati City, Deguito has been implicated in the laundering scheme. Her branch had processed the withdrawals of the loot. She has since been removed from her post. ‘Misrepresentations’ RCBC lawyer Maria Celia Estavillo said Deguito’s “misrepresentations” on the accounts had prompted the bank to lift its temporary hold on these. The branch manager also supposedly facilitated the withdrawals from the account. According to Deguito, she got an e-mail from RCBC’s settlements department on Feb. 9 for the recall of funds from the accounts that got the $81 million. This was the same day the central bank of Bangladesh first sent the request to RCBC to freeze the accounts. RCBC got the funds on Feb. 5. But Deguito said there had already been withdrawals from the accounts when she got the message. Since there was nothing she could do and the withdrawals had been made, she called up Capina. She said she told Capina she had a problem, as there was a recall of funds e-mail, and she could no longer get back the funds from the beneficiaries. But she said she knew where the funds were—some were in the account of businessman William Go, a longtime client, and some were with the remittance firm Philrem. (Go has denied knowledge of the deposit.) “I was hoping they could do something about it,” she said. ‘Not our problem’ Capina told her that she would let her talk to Tan, and handed over the phone to him to the RCBC treasurer. “I told him, ‘sir, I have a problem, because I could no longer recall anything from the four accounts that had been credited. But the funds are there.’ Then he told me that’s not our problem, that’s Bangladesh’s problem,” the former bank manager said. Tan, for his part, said: “I do not recall saying that was Bangladesh bank’s problem. I explained what was a request for recall… the notice, I explained to her what it was.” Deguito asked him about the recall process, he said. He also called up an official of the bank’s operations group to e-mail him a copy of the request to recall order. He also said that by that time, he assumed that the money had been withdrawn. Text messages, e-mails Deguito said she had a series of text messages with bank officials where she informed them of the situation. “I informed all of them. They knew there was a problem on Feb. 9. But still they continued to trade the dollars,” she said. She denied as well that she hastened the withdrawals from the accounts. It was just that at the time of the withdrawal request, the documents were in order and she had no authority to hold the transactions, she added. Deguito said that when the $81 million was first credited to the RCBC accounts on the afternoon of Feb. 5, she did not get any call from the settlements department seeking documents to support the remittances, as had been the usual practice when she worked in other banks. She asked one of her staff members to e-mail the settlements department to ask for a copy of the MT103 [message text 103], which would contain details of where the funds came from and who was the beneficiary. The department replied to the e-mail in the evening of the same day. Instructions from Wong In the meantime, she followed instructions from casino junket operator Kim Wong on the phone on what to do with the money, which was to convert some of the dollars to pesos and remit these to Eastern Hawaii Leisure Co. and Bloomberry Hotels Inc. In the evening of the same day, she received a call from her boss Nestor Pineda asking her when the accounts were opened (May 2015), and if she had been waiting for these remittances. She said her reply was that she was not waiting for these remittances, but for a big volume to enter the branch. Pineda also asked her if the funds in the accounts could be put on hold. She replied that if this would be done, he should e-mail her. Deguito said she then called up Capina and told her that Pineda wanted to hold the amounts but Capina indicated that there was no need to do this. “She (Capina) said, ‘why would those be held, when those are remittances, those are cleared funds?’ Those passed through corresponding banks, there was due diligence, so there was no need to hold them,” she said.

DOJ gives Deguito till May 3 to file answer newsinfo.inquirer.net 2016-04-13 02:15 Leila B newsinfo.inquirer.net

16 Asia Times News & Features – Asia Times On March 15, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin visited Moscow to hold talks with President Vladimir Putin on Syria and the circumstances that led to Russian pull-out. According to Israeli media, the two leaders also discussed continued military coordination between Jerusalem and Moscow in Syria. Rivlin later held talks with Prime Minister Medvedevin in which Russian government sought more imports of agriculture products from Israel to replace Turkish products blocked following sanctions on Ankara. An Israeli official told local media that “over the last few months, we had regular contact with the Russians at the highest level, and that will continue.” The talks were sanctioned by Benjamin Netanyahu who is set to meet Putin. A key issue discussed was the Kurdish question. As with Iraqi Kurds, the Kurds of Syria are also behind the scene of talks with the Netanyahu government to establish relations. Russia is already supporting them and it is a major point of discord between Russia and Turkey. Israel, on its part, was the first state to declare its support for an ‘independent’ Kurdistan. In 2014, Netanyahu said: “We should … support the Kurdish aspiration for independence. Kurds are a nation of fighters [who] have proved political commitment and are worthy of independence.” This January, Israel’s Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked called for an independent Kurdistan between Iran and Turkey, and an enhanced policy of cooperation between Israelis and the Kurds. When Iraqi Kurds defied Baghdad in 2015 and began direct sale of the oil in their region, Israel became the major buyer. The oil revenues allowed the Iraqi Kurds to finance their fight against Islamic State (IS). A Financial Times report estimated that Israel had purchased 19 million barrels of Iraqi Kurdish oil worth roughly $1 billion between May and August last year. While Turkey views these developments with great caution and has been opposing the establishment of an ‘independent’ Kurdish state, Israel and Russia do not seem to share the concerns of Turkey which, many believe in Israel, has been supporting Hamas which, in turn, aims at ‘destroying’ Israel. These mutual concerns as well as the differing positions with regard to the Kurdish question have been instrumental in bringing Israel and Russia closer. Despite Turkey’s attempts at normalizing its relations with Israel, Jerusalem continues to prefer Russia. According to a new report, Israel and Russia are about to agree upon a modus operandi in the East Mediterranean. Israel would reportedly agree to end talks with Turkey on the sale of Israeli gas to Ankara to help it replace Russian Gazprom gas which still supplies 50% to 60% of gas to Turkey despite sanctions. The report states that the Israeli military establishment “prefers maintaining military cooperation with Russia to potential Israeli gas sales to Turkey if they hurt Russian interests.” This report strongly challenges the U. S.’ own attempts at facilitating normalization between Turkey and Israel. In the March 14 meeting between the U. S. vice president Joe Biden and Israel’s Netanyahu, Biden was reported to have ‘impressed upon’ Netanyahu to enter into a weapons and gas agreement with Turkey as a means to strengthen the U. S.-led block’s position in the fast changing geo-strategic scenario. According to Hareetz newspaper, Biden told Netanyahu that Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan was eager to conclude the reconciliation agreement with Israel and said he was willing to assist in any way possible to achieve that elusive agreement between the two long-standing allies of the US. However, despite the U. S.’ attempts, Israel is expected to maintain its tilt towards Kurds and, thereby towards Russia. Professor Ofra Bengio, head of the Kurdish studies program at Tel Aviv University, told Times of Israel: “Israel can gain friendship with a party that is stable, pro-Israel, more democratic, more open and liberal. The role of women in Kurdish Syria is open, more egalitarian than any other place in the region.” Though relations between Syrian Kurds and Israel would be secret, Bengio believes that Israel should stand strong in its support of Syria’s Kurds and break the linkage between its relations with Turkey and that of the Kurds. If Israel continues to maintain a pro-Russia and pro-Kurds stand, this would put serious challenge for the U. S. diplomacy to bring its desired outcome on the Syrian question. And as it stands, the U. S. is most likely to respond to these developments by harping on the so-called ‘Plan B’ to Balkanize Syria into different zones. Not only would it help it pre-empt the establishment of an ‘independent’ Kurdish question but also help it keep its Arab allies in its camp for long. While the major players involved in highlighting or sidelining the Kurdish question continue to make their moves to strengthen their respective positions in the oil-rich region, what stands clear is the unlikely conflict resolution in Syria. By dividing Syria into “zones” or by establishing an ‘independent’ Kurdistan, the war in Syria would not end. The self-styled Islamic State’s (IS) agenda goes well beyond these plans as it plans to establish its own caliphate. Hence the question: how would the two plans — ‘independent’ Kurdistan or Syria’s division into zones — contribute to eliminating the world’s richest terrorist organization? This question can no longer be ignored if a genuine conflict resolution plan is to be worked out. Salman Rafi Sheikh is a freelance journalist and research analyst of international relations and Pakistan affairs. His area of interest is South and West Asian politics, the foreign policies of major powers, and Pakistani politics. He can be reached at [email protected] (Copyright 2016 Asia Times Holdings Limited, a duly registered Hong Kong company. All rights reserved. Please contact us about sales, syndication and republishing.)

2016-04-12 20:05 atimes.com

17 U2's Bono urges lawmakers to view aid as national security WASHINGTON (AP) — U2 frontman Bono brought his star power to Capitol Hill Tuesday as he called on members of Congress to take swift action to deal with the global refugee crisis and violent extremism. In testimony before a Senate subcommittee, Bono drew a bleak picture as he described the flood of people fleeing their homes in the Middle East, Asia and Africa. The human torrent threatens the very idea of European unity, he said, as he urged lawmakers to think of foreign aid as national security instead of charity. "When aid is structured properly, with a focus on fighting poverty and improving governance, it could just be the best bulwark we have against the extremism of our age," Bono said. Wearing his trademark rose-tinted glasses, Bono said members of Congress need to confront an "existential threat" to Europe that hasn't been seen since the 1940s. Countries such as Poland and Hungary are moving to the right politically, a shift he described as a "hyper nationalism. " The United Kingdom is even considering leaving the European Union. "This is unthinkable stuff," he said. "And you should be very nervous in America about it. " Africa, in particular, is grappling with what Bono called a phenomenon of three extremes — ideology, poverty and climate. "Those three extremes make one unholy trinity of an enemy and our foreign policy needs to face in that direction," he said. "It's even bigger than you think. " Bono said he understood the financial stress the U. S. and other nations are under as they debate how much foreign aid to allot. But he warned the bills will only get bigger without action. "If you don't do it now, it's going to cost a lot more later," he said. "I do know that. " Bono also suggested using comedy to fight extremist groups. "It's like, you speak violence, you speak their language. But you laugh at them when they are goose-stepping down the street and it takes away their power," he said. "So I am suggesting that the Senate send in Amy Schumer and Chris Rock and Sacha Baron Cohen, thank you. " In Syria, five years of violence has killed more than 250,000 people and displaced another 11 million from their homes. Nearly 174,000 migrants have reached Europe by sea since the beginning of this year alone and 723 are missing or dead, many drowning in the cold, rough waters, according to the International Organization for Migration. Before sitting at the witness table, Bono posed for photos with three members of Code Pink, who wore pink tiaras and held cardboard torches and signs reading "Refugees Welcome. " Cameras whirred furiously as Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S. C., the subcommittee chairman, quipped, "So this is what it's like to be chopped liver. " Bono joined a congressional delegation led by Graham that just returned from Africa and the Middle East. Bono co-founded the One Campaign, an advocacy group that works to end poverty and preventable disease. ___ Follow Richard Lardner on Twitter at http://twitter.com/rplardner

2016-04-12 20:13 Associated Press www.dailymail.co.uk

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2016-04-13 01:40 www.thetimes.co.uk

19 Marcos cites message of unity for lead in VP race BACOLOD CITY—Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Tuesday attributed his rise to the top spot in the vice presidential race to his message of unity and cooperation. “The situation in the Philippines will not improve and we will not be able to address our problems if we are not united in working to move forward,” Marcos said. He expressed confidence that more people would support his campaign as he continued to spread his message of unity. The senator said all of the vice presidential candidates were serious contenders. On the statement that his victory would bring shame to the country, Marcos said it was up to the Filipino people to judge. He said he did not have any offshore account and bank accounts outside of what he had declared in his statements of assets, liabilities and net worth. The senator was accompanied on his visit to Bacolod City on Tuesday by his wife, Louise Araneta Marcos, who has roots in Bago City, and his son, Sandro. Marcos paid a courtesy call on Bacolod Bishop Vicente Navarra, Negros Occidental Gov. Alfredo Marañon Jr. and Bacolod Mayor Monico Puentevella. During his visit, at least 40 members of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan and the human rights group Karapatan staged a rally at the central market against the senator, the only son of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos. “The Marcoses should not be allowed to return to power,” said Clarizza Dagatan, Karapatan Negros secretary general. On those using martial law abuses to discredit his bid for the vice presidency, Marcos said the people were more interested in knowing how and what a candidate would do to improve their lives rather than discussing history. Marcos maintained that his running mate, Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, remained a contender in the presidential race even if she only got a 2-percent rating in the latest Pulse Asia survey. He said the survey results didn’t reflect Santiago’s strengths—the youth. Marcos pointed out that Santiago continued to be the No. 1 choice in mock polls in schools. With a report from Jeannette I. Andrade in Manila

2016-04-13 02:00 Carla P newsinfo.inquirer.net

20 Heat index soars to record 51°C A HEAT index record was set for the second time in less than two weeks as summer temperatures soared amid the lingering El Niño. The heat index—the actual temperature felt by the body based on air temperature and humidity—touched a dangerous 51 degrees Celsius in Nueva Ecija on Monday. This was the highest heat index so far since the onset of the dry season in March, surpassing the previous record of 49.4 degrees Celsius set in Occidental Mindoro on April 2. The heat index of 51 degrees Celsius is just three degrees below what the weather bureau considers the “extreme danger” level when heatstroke is imminent. The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) warned the country would continue to experience “generally warmer than average” temperatures in April. On Monday, 14 of Pagasa’s 53 weather stations around the country recorded a maximum heat index of at least 41 degrees Celsius, considered the “danger” level when heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heatstroke are possible with continued activity under the sun. In 36 other weather stations, including in Metro Manila, the maximum heat index ranged from 32 to 41 degrees, which Pagasa said called for “extreme caution” against heat-related illnesses. Pagasa considers a heat index of 54 degrees Celsius the “extreme danger” level. Pagasa’s five-day forecast for select cities showed the highest heat index would be felt at nearly 38 degrees Celsius in Tuguegarao City this week. In Metro Manila, the heat index is forecast to range from 37.9 to 38.6 degrees Celsius. The heat index is also called the human discomfort index. The 14 weather stations where the heat index reached the danger level on Monday were in Cabanatuan City, 51 degrees; Clark, Pampanga, 48.9 degrees; Ambulong, Batangas, 46.4 degrees; Butuan City, 44.6 degrees; Catbalogan, Western Samar, 45.5 degrees; Cotabato City, 41.8 degrees; Davao City, 43.7 degrees. General Santos City, 43.9 degrees; Guiuan, Eastern Samar, 42.3 degrees; Iba, Zambales, 41.2 degrees; Maasin, Southern Leyte, 43.8 degrees; Roxas City, 44.4 degrees; San Jose City, 45.7 degrees; and Sangley Point, Cavite, 48.9 degrees.

2016-04-13 01:57 Dona Z newsinfo.inquirer.net

21 Now it’s UP Law for ‘whiz kid’ after Ph. D. in Physics NOWHERE to go but further. Or so it seems for former child prodigy Mikaela Irene Fudolig, who entered college at 11, graduated summa cum laude in Physics at 16, and took her master’s and Ph. D. degrees shortly after. After teaching at the University of the Philippines Institute of Physics and becoming a Fulbright scholar in Economics at the University of California-Irvine, Fudolig has made her way toward law school. The 25-year-old, who started college at 11 under an experimental program for gifted children, was among the 218 who passed the 2016 UP Law Aptitude Exam. The 2007 summa cum laude graduate, who also received the Best BS Physics Student award and the Dean’s Medallion for Excellence in Undergraduate Studies at the UP College of Science, was shielded from public scrutiny and the ruthless glare of media as preconditions to her entering college at such a tender age. The restrictions of the experimental program were meant to allow gifted children to enter the university without compromising their emotional and social development. Whiz kids “It was a great thing that I was able to show people that it can be done,” she said of the Early College Placement Program (ECPP) in an Inquirer interview in 2007. Many gifted children end up discouraged or unproductive because of a dearth of programs to guide them and maximize their abilities, Fudolig said. These whiz kids sometimes refuse to take required courses, claiming early mastery in these areas, or are simply interested in other things, she added. “Many people think that a child, even if equipped with the mental abilities, is not emotionally prepared to enter college. I am glad to have proven them wrong,” Fudolig said. Tony Fudolig and Lyn Dimaano apparently took pains to have their eldest child grow up a balanced individual. “Mikaela could read and write in English and Filipino at 3 years old,” Fudolig’s mother recalled. But she made sure that the child still had her share of playmates and nursery games, she added. Intimidated Recalling her first day at Math 11 class when she was 11, Fudolig laughingly said she was intimidated. “It was one thing to have your classmates stare at you because you are three years younger, and another for them to strangely appraise you because of the way you dress.” She recalled in particular how her Math 11 classmates stared at her baby-doll shoes, which she wore in high school: “They were all so quiet, choosing to remain silent in their seats, wearing their college getup. And there I was, wearing a skirt and a blouse, squirming uncomfortably in my seat.” Then on the verge of adolescence, Fudolig was shocked at the fast pace of the summer lessons. She got a grade of 72 on the first exam, and felt disheartened. After days of intensive study, she took the second exam—and aced it, getting the highest score in class. “I felt very happy that I could fit in,” she said. At the age of 12, Fudolig was formally enrolled as a BS Physics student at the UP National Institute of Physics. She also took two consecutive music courses “because I just love studying different kinds of music in the world,” she said. The ECPP’s careful steps in keeping her out of the public eye helped a lot, according to Fudolig, who recalled a similar case of another student who was accepted to the university at a young age. Bullied The 13-year-old Philippine Science High School student was allowed to enroll at the UP College of Science, but “cameras would sometimes follow her when she came out of the classroom. The other students, perhaps resentful of her achievements, would also bully and make fun of her in the corridors,” Fudolig’s mother recounted. “It was a good thing there was an agreement that Mikaela be shielded from the media so she could live her life as a normal university student,” the mother added. The thought of teaching older students did not faze Fudolig. “I’m used to it. Last night, I tutored a high school classmate three years older than me, and I had no problem doing it,” she said in an earlier Inquirer interview. In her graduation speech after college, Fudolig focused on opening new opportunities for others, including gifted students like herself. “Instead of taking the road less traveled, the new graduates should make new roads,” she said in 2007. For the next nine years, the trailblazer did just that, and is set to prove herself anew as a future lawyer.

2016-04-13 01:47 Gianna Francesca newsinfo.inquirer.net

22 Daniel Radcliffe to star in Privacy in New York Daniel Radcliffe is to return to the stage in New York in a ground-breaking play that explores the digital footprint we leave online. Privacy, co-created by James Graham and Josie Rourke, originally premiered at London's Donmar Warehouse in 2014. The play is unusual in that it encourages audiences to submit data from their mobile phones during the performance. The US production begins previews at The Public Theater on 5 July. Radcliffe, star of the Harry Potter films, will play The Writer in a cast of seven who will play an ensemble of real-life high profile politicians, journalists and technologists who have all contributed to the show. Rourke, the Donmar's artistic director, will direct. "Privacy has at its heart a debate about modern life and we at the Donmar Warehouse cannot therefore think of a better partner than The Public Theater to bring this new play to American audiences," Rourke said. "James and I have been across the US interviewing everyone from politicians, historians, campaigners - even an etiquette expert - about American attitudes to privacy. "The show is a risk-taking, fun, and stimulating piece of theatre, that we hope pushes at the boundaries of audience experience. " Inspired by Edward Snowden's National Security Agency (NSA) revelations, Privacy uncovers our complicated relationship with technology. In a reversal of usual theatre etiquette, audiences are encouraged to leave their phones on during the performance. "Personal privacy in the modern age - when all our wants and fears can be monitored and monetised as we share more than we have before - is, I believe, one of the most crucial issue of our time," said playwright Graham. Radcliffe's previous stints on Broadway include The Cripple of Inishmaan, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and Equus. Privacy opens at The Public Theatre on 18 July and the play will run through to 7 August. 2016-04-12 22:52 BBC News www.bbc.co.uk

23 Stairway to Heaven in copyright trial Led Zeppelin founders Robert Plant and Jimmy Page must face trial in a copyright row over the song Stairway to Heaven, a US court has ruled. A Los Angeles district judge said there were enough similarities between the song and an instrumental by the band Spirit to let a jury decide. The trial has been scheduled for 10 May. Stairway to Heaven, released in 1971, is widely seen as one of the greatest rock compositions of all time. The copyright infringement action has been brought by Michael Skidmore, a trustee for the late Spirit guitarist Randy Wolfe, who played on the same bill as Led Zeppelin in the 1960s, and claims he should be given a writing credit on the track. Led Zeppelin guitarist Page and lead singer Plant are reputed to have written Stairway to Heaven in a remote cottage in Wales. However, Mr Skidmore has suggested the song came about after the band heard Spirit perform the instrumental Taurus while the bands toured together in 1968 and 1969. US district judge Gary Klausner said a jury could find "substantial" similarity between the first two minutes of Stairway and Taurus. "While it is true that a descending chromatic four-chord progression is a common convention that abounds in the music industry, the similarities here transcend this core structure," Judge Klausner ruled. "What remains is a subjective assessment of the 'concept and feel' of two works... a task no more suitable for a judge than for a jury. " He also said the trustee can get only 50% of any damages awarded, citing a 1967 contract Wolfe signed.

2016-04-12 22:52 BBC News www.bbc.co.uk

24 Council aims to have all Edinburgh pupils 'back by next week' It is hoped all pupils affected by the closure of 17 schools in Edinburgh will be back in class by next Tuesday, the council has said. More details of contingency plans following building safety fears have been announced. A phased return will see S4, S5 and S6 high school pupils and two of the affected primary schools go back later this week. Plans for S1, S2 and S3 have still to be confirmed. A total of 3,300 out of 7,600 pupils now have school arrangements in place, however many will not return to their own schools but will be taught by their own teachers in alternative buildings. The City of Edinburgh Council has said: Next Monday 18 April is an Edinburgh bank holiday so the aim is to have all pupils affected by the safety closures back in "places of education" by Tuesday 19 April. Chief executive Andrew Kerr said: "We have now put in place alternative arrangements for 3,300 pupils, including as a priority all senior pupils in S4, S5 and S6 sitting exams in the near future, which has been a huge logistical exercise. "Work is continuing to identify alternative options for other primary, special and S1 to S3 pupils which we will communicate to parents as soon as we have further information. "I fully recognise the significant inconvenience to parents caused by these closures and I want to thank them for their patience as we continue to work through this issue. " While many pupils across the city returned to classes on Monday after the Easter break, about 7,600 from five secondaries, 10 primaries and two additional support needs schools were unable to attend classes because their school remained closed over safety fears. Concerns were raised about the need to accommodate senior pupils who are due to sit exams soon and have coursework and assessments to complete. The problems were first uncovered in January when a wall at Oxgangs Primary collapsed during high winds . Further closures were prompted on Friday after workers repairing serious structural issues at the primary found "further serious defects" with the building. The city council said urgent work would need to be carried out on at least four of the schools: two high schools Gracemount and Craigmount, and two primaries - Oxgangs and St Peter's. The initial problem was discovered with wall ties, which hold the outer and inner walls together, at Oxgangs Primary School. An additional issue on Friday was then found with head ties, which hold the top of the walls to the steel roof frame, at all four schools. In total, 10 primaries, five secondaries and two additional support needs schools have been shut, as well as a neighbourhood centre. All of the schools, which are about 10 years old, were constructed under the same public private partnership contract. A first phase was built by a combination of Miller Construction and Amey - with seven built by other contractors. A second phase of four schools were all built by Miller. Miller Construction was later acquired by Galliford Try in 2014, who also took contractual responsibility for the second phase schools - now found to require emergency work to remedy defects. The firm said: "Galliford Try takes its role as a responsible contractor very seriously and the safety of the pupils and staff is paramount. " Award-winning architect Malcolm Fraser warned of the scale of the challenge facing the City of Edinburgh Council to keep on top of safety issues at the schools. Speaking on BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme, he said it was extremely difficult to pinpoint all structural issues. He said: "The issue is, when everything is covered up, it's very hard to tell where these other things and other problems might lie. "So when you do look at political demands for why haven't all schools been checked etc, you almost have to take a school to bits to find out that these issues are there. "And you don't really understand that there is a problem until something catastrophic goes wrong as it has at Oxgangs, which has led all these other inspections to happen. " Many parents have also expressed anger and frustration at having to arrange extra childcare at such short notice. Edinburgh University, the Scottish Parliament, community groups, venues and private sector companies have all offered help. The local authority confirmed that structural surveys would continue to be carried out this week. Meanwhile, every other Scottish council has carried out, or is going to carry out, surveys of school buildings that could be affected.

2016-04-12 22:52 BBC News www.bbc.co.uk

25 Beijing angry over G7 statement on sea row BEIJING—China Tuesday expressed anger after foreign ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) advanced economies said they strongly opposed provocation in the East and South China Seas, where China is locked in territorial disputes. “We urge the G7 member states to honor their commitment of not taking sides on issues involving territorial disputes,” China’s foreign ministry said in a statement. The G7 should focus on global economic governance and cooperation against the backdrop of weak economic growth rather than hyping up disputes and provoking problems, it added. On Monday, G7 foreign ministers said after meeting in the Japanese city of Hiroshima that they opposed “any intimidating coercive or provocative unilateral actions that could alter the status quo and increase tensions” in the East and South China Seas. China claims almost the entire South China Sea, believed to have huge deposits of oil and gas, and is building islands on reefs to bolster its claims. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims to parts of the waters, through which about $5 trillion in trade is shipped every year. China also has a separate dispute with Japan over a group of uninhabited islets in the East China Sea. China has every right to build on the Spratly Islands and there are no problems with freedom of navigation and overflight for the East and South China Seas, the foreign ministry said. China is committed to resolving disputes through talks with countries directly involved via international law and on the basis of respecting historical facts, to maintain peace and stability while safeguarding its sovereignty, it said. It repeated that China will neither accept nor participate in any arbitration “illegally forced upon it,” a reference to a case lodged by the Philippines against China. “We urge the G7 member states to fully respect the efforts made by countries in the region, stop making irresponsible remarks and all irresponsible actions, and truly play a constructive role for regional peace and stability,” the ministry added. The G7 statement issued at the close of the two-day meeting of foreign ministers said: “We are concerned about the situation in the East and South China Seas, and emphasize the fundamental importance of peaceful management and settlement of disputes. “We express our strong opposition to any intimidating, coercive or provocative unilateral actions that could alter the status quo and increase tensions.” The G7 also urged “all states to refrain from such actions as land reclamations” and “building of outposts… for military purposes.” Beijing indicated that it felt targeted by the comments. “Given the sluggish global economic recovery at the moment, G7 should have focused on global economic governance and cooperation instead of hyping up maritime issues and fueling tensions in the region,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said in a statement Tuesday: “The Philippines fully shares the G7 foreign ministers’ ‘strong opposition to any intimidating, coercive or provocative unilateral actions that could alter the status quo and increase tensions, and urge all states to refrain from such actions as land reclamations including large scale ones, building of outposts, as well as their use for military purposes and to act in accordance with international law including the principles of freedoms of navigation and overflight.’” The DFA said that acting Foreign Secretary Jose Rene Almendras during a visit on Monday in Hanoi discussed extensively with Vietnamese officials the draft of the Philippines-Vietnam action plan to strengthen maritime security amid China’s aggressive military buildup in the disputed waters. Reports from the wires and Estrella Torres

2016-04-13 01:35 Philippine Daily globalnation.inquirer.net

26 Planets stripped bare by host stars Astronomers have confirmed the existence of planets that have had their atmospheres stripped away by their host stars. Planets with atmospheres that orbit too close to their host stars are bombarded by a torrent of high-energy radiation. The gaseous outer layers of these worlds are then stripped away, according to the international team of scientists. Their work appears in the journal Nature Communications . The researchers used data from Nasa's Kepler space telescope, which was launched to identify and study exoplanets, which circle stars other than our own. They focused on a category of planet called "super Earths", which are roughly 2-10 times more massive than our own planet. Co-author Dr Guy Davies, from the University of Birmingham, said: "For these planets it is like standing next to a hairdryer turned up to its hottest setting. "There has been much theoretical speculation that such planets might be stripped of their atmospheres. We now have the observational evidence to confirm this, which removes any lingering doubts over the theory. " The astronomers used a technique called asteroseismology, which probes the internal structure of stars, to confirm the idea. By characterising the host star, the team was able to also determine the precise sizes of the exoplanets around them. The results of the study have important implications for understanding how stellar systems, like our own Solar System, and their planets, evolved over time - including the role played by the host star. Dr Davies added: "Our results show that planets of a certain size that lie close to their stars are likely to have been much larger at the beginning of their lives. Those planets will have looked very different. "

2016-04-12 22:52 BBC News www.bbc.co.uk

27 Hawking backs interstellar travel project Stephen Hawking is backing a project to send tiny spacecraft to another star system within a generation. They would travel trillions of miles; far further than any previous craft. A $100m (£70m) research programme to develop the computer chip-sized "starships" was launched by the billionaire Yuri Milner, supported by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. Interstellar travel has long been a dream for many, but significant technological hurdles remain. But Prof Hawking told BBC News that fantasy could be realised sooner than we might think. "If we are to survive as a species we must ultimately spread out to the stars," he said. "Astronomers believe that there is a reasonable chance of an Earth-like planet orbiting one of the stars [in] the Alpha Centauri system. But we will know more in the next two decades from ground based and space based telescopes. "Technological developments in the last two decades and the future make it possible in principle within a generation. " Prof Hawking is backing a project by Mr Milner's Breakthrough Foundation, a private organisation funding scientific research initiatives that government funders think to be too ambitious. The organisation has brought together an expert group of scientists to assess whether it might be possible to develop spaceships capable of travelling to another star within a generation and sending information back. The nearest star system is 40 trillion km (25 trillion miles) away. Using current technology it would take about 30,000 years to get there. The expert group concluded that with a little more research and development it might be possible to develop spacecraft that could cut that journey time to just 30 years. "I'd have said that even a few years ago travel to another star at that kind of speed would not be possible," said Dr Pete Worden, who is leading the project. He is chairman of the Breakthrough Prize Foundation and a former director of Nasa's Ames Research Center in California. "But the expert group figured out that because of developments in technology there appears to be a concept that appears to work. " The concept is to reduce the size of the spacecraft to about the size of a chip used in electronic devices. The idea is to launch a thousand of these mini-spacecraft into the Earth's orbit. Each would have a solar sail. This is like a sail on a boat - but it is pushed along by light rather than the wind. A giant laser on Earth would give each one a powerful push, sending them on their way to reaching 20% of the speed of light. It sounds like science fiction but Yuri Milner, who was named after Yuri Gagarin by his parents, believes that it is technically possible to develop these spacecraft and get to another star within our lifetimes. "The human story is one of great leaps," he said. "Fifty-five years ago today, Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space. Today, we are preparing for the next great leap - to the stars. " There are many problems to be overcome before the first spaceships capable of going to other stars are built. These include miniaturising cameras, instruments and sensors so they fit on a chip, developing a solar sail strong enough to be blasted by a powerful laser for several minutes and find a way to get pictures and information of the new star system back to Earth. Prof Sir Martin Sweeting, who is a researcher at the Surrey Space Centre and head of Surrey Satellite Technology in Guildford, wants to be involved in the project. He founded a company 30 years ago that reduced the size and cost of satellites. "A lot of what we did in the 1980s was considered very wacky but now small satellites are considered all the fashion. This (project to go to another star) is currently a wacky sounding idea but technologies have moved on and now it is not wacky it's just difficult," he told BBC News. Prof Andrew Coates of the Mullard Space Science Laboratory, which is part of University CollegeLondon, agreed that the project would be challenging, but not impossible. "There would be significant difficulties to solve such as ruggedisation for the space radiation and dust environment, instrument sensitivity, interaction of the high power accelerating laser with the Earth's atmosphere, spacecraft stabilisation and power provision. "But it is a concept worth looking at to see if we could really reach another star system within a human lifetime. " But Prof Hawking believes that what was once a distant dream can and must become a reality within 30 years. "There are no greater heights to aspire to than the stars. It is unwise to keep all our eggs in one fragile basket," he told BBC News. "Life on Earth faces dangers from astronomical events like asteroids or supernovas". Follow Pallab on Twitter

2016-04-12 22:52 BBC News www.bbc.co.uk

28 Tunisia terror attacks: Memorial service for British victims The prime minister and Prince Harry have attended a memorial service to commemorate the British tourists killed in terror attacks in Tunisia last year. Thirty Britons were among 38 tourists killed by a gunman at Port El Kantaoui in an attack on 26 June. A UK tourist was one of 22 killed in a separate attack at a museum in Tunis in March. So-called Islamic State said it had been behind both attacks. The service for survivors and victims' families was at Westminster Abbey. David Cameron and Prince Harry both read Bible passages at the service, which was conducted by the Dean of Westminster. The prince also laid a wreath on behalf of the Queen at Westminster Abbey's memorial to innocent victims. BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner also gave a speech, in which he spoke about being shot six times in June 2004 in a terror attack that left him paralysed from the waist down. He told the service: "I do share a great affinity with all of you here today because I've known first- hand what it's like to look into those cold, dead eyes of the killers and to be at the wrong end of a smoking pistol. " Read more about what happened during the attack Tunisia attack: The British victims Debbie Horsfall, from Huddersfield, attended the memorial with her friend, Ellie Makin. She told the BBC the pair, who are both 23, had been sunbathing on the beach where the attack happened. She heard what she had thought were fireworks or a car backfiring. "It was my friend [Ellie] who saw him and shouted, 'Run, there's someone with a gun,'" she said. "When she shouted I didn't think twice, I just ran. We didn't have any idea what was going on. "I had no idea whether there were any casualties. We were just fighting for our own lives. " The pair returned to their hotel where they waited until they learned the gunman had been killed. It was only later they learned of all the people who had been murdered. "I think it's important to remember that so many people lost their lives," Ms Horsfall said. "It's really important that we remember that although some made it, there were those who didn't. " She added that she and Ms Makin would not have gone to the memorial without each other. "We were there together, we went through it together, so anything that happens in relation to the attack we'll do together. " Samantha Richards, 43, from Northwich in Cheshire, attended the service with her two sons, Thomas, 22, and Callum, 17. The trio were forced to flee the beach when the gunman opened fire, and both Mrs Richards and her eldest son were later injured by shrapnel from a grenade blast inside the hotel. Of the service, Mrs Richards said: "It will never go away, it will always be here but it was just nice to remember it today and those people that died. " Sally Adey, 57, from Caynton in Shropshire, was among the 22 people killed in the separate attack at the Bardo National Museum on 18 March last year. Police have previously said there were "strong links" between the two attacks . Last month it was announced that inquests into the deaths of the 30 Britons killed at Port El Kantaoui would be pushed back to next year . The inquests had been due to begin in November this year but judge and coroner Nicholas Loraine-Smith said there was "an enormous amount of work to be done".

2016-04-12 22:52 BBC News www.bbc.co.uk

29 A disenfranchised Coloradan Contact WND Ted Cruz says to the media that people vote for him and Donald Trump gets mad. Well, I am a Republican in what Cruz calls the great state of Colorado. The point is no one voted for him in either the Republican caucuses or the Republican convention. The party big-wigs were the ones who decided who the delegates went to! So this is proof of Lyin’ Ted – and this is one Republican vote that will not go for anyone except Donald Trump! Those who want to blackball those of us who support Donald Trump are going to find themselves blackballed! Duane Osterloh

Obama stands against freedom, justice Contact WND wnd.com

Backing the wrong horse Contact WND wnd.com

Academic hustlers attack the founders Contact WND wnd.com

The fix is in Contact WND Another libertarian moment? Contact WND wnd.com wnd.com Might as well be communist Contact WND wnd.com

My interview with Rafael Cruz Contact WND wnd.com

A banner year for campaign lies Contact WND wnd.com 2016-04-13 01:30 www.wnd.com

30 Syrian surge! 'Refugees' flood into U. S. at rate of 358 per week Contact WND A flood of Muslim refugees from Syria, an average of 358 per week to be exact, is expected to arrive in the United States between now and the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30. The Obama administration has decided to implement a “surge” in Syrian refugees, fast- tracking the arrival of those fleeing civil war in that country to make good on its commitment of bringing 10,000 by the end of fiscal 2016. The “surge” is needed because the administration has delivered only 1,411 in the first six-and-a- half months of the year. The Obama administration’s scripted answer for anyone who questioned its ability to screen Syrian “refugees” was that they are the “most thoroughly vetted” of all immigrants, going through an arduous process that takes 18 to 24 months to complete. But that process was taking longer than expected and making it impossible for Obama to make good on his promise to the United Nations to admit at least 10,000 Syrians in fiscal 2016. To fulfill its promise, the administration has now decided to expedite the process, cutting the screening period from 18-24 months down to three months. Administration officials have set up special screening centers in Jordan, where they will be interviewing potential Syrian refugees at a rate of 600 per day. To realize the goal of 10,000 Syrian refugees coming to the U. S. by Sept. 30, the government will need to deliver 8,589 by that date, or an average of 358 per week. Don’t sit back and watch Shariah law creep into your community. Get Pamela Geller’s field manual for activists, “Stop the Islamization of America.” As WND has previously reported, more than 98 percent of the Syrian “refugees” have been Sunni Muslims while only 1 percent have been Christians. Yet, it’s the Christians who are being systematically exterminated in what even the United Nations has termed a “genocide” by ISIS and other Sunni rebel groups operating in Syria and Iraq. FBI Director James Comey has testified before Congress that even with the longer 18-24 months of vetting, it was impossible to verify the identities of the vast majority of Syrian refugees. “Whenever unilateral political actions are taken to ‘speed up’ a complex program, which is already known to be fraught with uncertainty, it becomes virtually impossible for officials to conduct a reliable vetting process,” Philip Haney, a former Homeland Security investigator who retired last year, told WND. “And, the figure of (nearly) 9,000 is a ‘floor,’ not a final number.” Several GOP congressmen held hearings and sent letters to Obama voicing their opposition to the Syrian refugee program. But in the end, Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., put together an omnibus spending bill that fully funded Obama’s expanded refugee program. The program will bring 85,000 refugees to the U. S. from all countries in fiscal 2016, about half of them coming from Muslim-majority nations such as Syria, Somalia, Afghanistan and Iraq. The total is scheduled to increase again in fiscal 2017 to 100,000. The top states for Syrian refugee resettlement over the first six months of the fiscal year have been Michigan with 173, California with 138, Pennsylvania with 126 and Illinois with 98. But those numbers are now expected to balloon quickly. Michigan alone is in line to receive at least 5,000 Syrians this year. Just in the last 10 days, Missouri has received 16 Syrians, Ohio has received 14, Arizona 12, Illinois 11, Pennsylvania nine, Michigan seven and Indiana five. Michigan is receiving the largest number this year even though GOP Gov. Rick Snyder has informed Obama he doesn’t want any Syrian refugees, citing the security risks. See map below showing the number of Syrian refugees each state has received in first six months of fiscal 2016. The numbers are expected to grow much faster in the second half of the year due a White House-ordered “surge.” By expediting the vetting period, the administration hopes to increase by nearly 10-fold the number of Syrians it brings to the U. S. in the second half of the fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30. Gina Kassem, the regional refugee coordinator at the U. S. embassy in Amman, Jordan, told the Associated Press that while the 10,000 target applies to Syrian refugees living around the world, the majority of those being resettled in America will be coming from refugee camps in Jordan. And the number of Syrians delivered to the United States could go above the target of 10,000. “The 10,000 is a floor and not a ceiling, and it is possible to increase the number,” she told reporters. More than two dozen mostly GOP governors informed Obama after the Paris terror attacks last November they didn’t want any Syrian refugees delivered to their states, but the administration said the states have no authority to stop the program from being carried out. At least two of the eight Islamic terrorists who killed 130 Parisians entered Europe as “refugees” from Syria. Former Rep. Michele Bachmann, whose home district in Minnesota has been flooded with Somali refugees over the past 20 years, was one of the first lawmakers to warn of the security risks associated with the importation of refugees from jihadist hotbeds in the Middle East and Africa. Dozens of refugees have been arrested for providing material support to overseas terrorists over the past few years. “President Obama is doing everything within his power to advance an Islamic invasion of the U. S., primarily made up of Muslims emanating from global terror hotspots,” Bachmann told WND. “We on the House Intelligence Committee warned a year ago that Syria is incapable of vetting people for terrorism detection,” Bachmann said. “It is impossible because Syria has no database of records for the U. S. to peruse, and the U. S. has no embedded human intelligence in Syria. ISIS, meanwhile, has accumulated a cache of fake passports. They have used these passports to infiltrate Europe, and critics of the administration like Bachmann warn they will duplicate the same successful strategy to infiltrate the United States. “We also know ISIS captured actual Syrian passports and the actual machines used to create Syrian passports,” Bachmann said. “The terrorists have the means within their control to create legitimate passports for fellow terrorists. “This should be sufficient information to stop any migration to the U. S. from Islamic terror dominated nations.” ISIS operatives have bragged they have already embedded 4,000 refugee terrorists in Europe. “The same will be true for the U. S.,” Bachmann told WND. “We U. S. taxpayers are paying dearly for our own destruction. “Why isn’t Obama singling out persecuted Christians for a ‘surge’ mission of mercy?” she asked. “Christians are the true Middle East victims of Islamic genocide. Instead, Obama chooses likely terrorist aggressors to bring to America,” she said. Also troubling is the fact that most Syrian Muslims hate Jews and the state of Israel, Bachmann said. “They are people who are dedicated to overthrowing American laws in favor of 7th century Islamic laws of oppression,” she added. “They seek to destroy Judaism and Christianity. They seek to destroy America. Europe is our preview, and Europe’s fate, under Obama will be our own. “Will we soon witness on our TVs American first-responders cleaning up the blood and flesh carnage of Obama’s obviously dangerous decision?” Canada’s new Liberal government has taken 25,000 Syrians so far this year and has a goal of taking 50,000 by the end of the year. Many of them have been fast-tracked and some in Congress have openly worried about the risks of a Syrian traveling from Canada to the U. S. through the porous northern border to carry out terror attacks. Don’t sit back and watch Shariah law creep into your community. Get Pamela Geller’s field manual for activists, “Stop the Islamization of America.”

2016-04-13 01:27 Leo Hohmann www.wnd.com

31 Driver in crash killing Navy vet may have been drunk A Navy veteran who worked at Houston's VA Medical Center died early Tuesday when her car was struck in Fort Bend County by a driver suspected of being intoxicated, authorities said. Rosa Lopez-Gomez, 50, was hit about 4:30 a.m. along a section of FM 521 in the Fresno area. Sheriff's officials said the other driver, Carlos Avila, 38, struck her car "almost head-on. " Lopez-Gomez was flown by LifeFlight helicopter to the Texas Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead. Avila, a Houston resident, was taken to the hospital by ambulance, officials said. A blood sample was taken from Avila to determine if he was intoxicated at the time of the crash. Avila was wanted on a Fort Bend County warrant for aggravated assault along with two misdemeanor warrants. After his release from the hospital, Avila was taken to the Fort Bend County Jail. Lopez-Gomez continued to serve in the Navy reserve and was a student at Houston Community College, officials said. In addition to the outstanding warrants, Avila is facing a charge of intoxication manslaughter. Reporter Dale Lezon contributed to this report.

2016-04-12 23:03 By Mike www.chron.com

32 William Hague: Don't judge politicians solely on their finances Parliament would be "one dimensional" if made up only of people with the "simplest possible" finances, former Tory leader William Hague has said. As politicians publish their tax records, Mr Hague said great leaders were not always "perfect or normal", citing the likes of Churchill and Pitt. Greater transparency was here to stay, he told the BBC, but it needs to be matched by a maturity of public debate. His comments come after a row over the prime minister's financial affairs. David Cameron took the unprecedented step of releasing a summary of his tax return last week, following days of questions and speculation about his financial affairs after revelations about his holding in his late father's offshore fund. Chancellor George Osborne, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and London Mayor Boris Johnson became the latest senior British politicians to publish details of their tax returns on Monday. Mr Hague told BBC Radio 4's Today programme "we live in an age of greater transparency" and "the answer is not to fight that age, it has arrived and it will come all the more". But he said a "mature acceptance" was needed by the public that someone's personal finances will not necessarily determine their leadership abilities. "The consequence of greater transparency in tax, in medical records whatever else it may be among leaders is that there has to be a maturity in the public debate about those things and a recognition that the circumstances and habits of people who are effective leaders will vary greatly. "And that those personal circumstances are not necessarily a good guide to how good they will be as a prime minister, a chancellor or anything else," he said. Downing Street have accused the media of fuelling the "frenzy over tax" surrounding the prime minister's financial affairs. Sources have criticised the media for "misreporting" Mr Cameron's tax arrangements. A No 10 source acknowledged Downing Street had made mistakes but said the row had also been driven by the "explosive claim" that Mr Cameron's late father's offshore fund - Blairmore - had been set up to avoid tax. The source said: "For a number of days the media wrongly gave the clear impression that Blairmore was set up so people could avoid tax - an explosive claim that fuelled the furore. "It was only the sheer weight of expert opinion saying this was nonsense that eventually demolished this claim. The media's misreporting of Blairmore's 'tax avoidance' contributed to last week's frenzy over tax. " Privately figures in Downing Street are particularly critical of the BBC over its coverage - and claim the corporation too easily allowed critics to suggest Mr Cameron was engaged in tax avoidance. Mr Hague said previous leaders, such as William Pitt the Younger, had "chaotic personal finances" but were "brilliant at handling the nation's finances". And he added: "We've had leaders who had tax returns like (Winston) Churchill that would have been more difficult to defend in public than Prime Minister David Cameron's tax returns - but Churchill was the greatest leader of modern times. "So we're going to have to bear those things in mind and not expect everybody to be perfect or everybody to be normal. " He said suggested increased transparency should be tested in "careful stages" rather than forcing all MPs to publish their tax returns. Politicians' taxes: who's published what? More details of tax disclosures He warned: "If Parliament consisted of people who had the simplest possible personal finances, perhaps all having come through the public sector with no questions of business ownership or dividends... then you would have a very one dimensional Parliament. " The prime minister released a summary of earnings and tax going back six years after being accused by Labour of misleading the public over money he had invested in his father Ian Cameron's company, Blairmore Holdings. David Cameron is currently chairing the first Cabinet meeting since the row erupted, having robustly defended his conduct and that of his father in the Commons on Monday. But Labour is continuing to press him to publish his full tax returns dating back to before he became prime minister and are questioning why the original investment was not disclosed in the register of MPs' interests.

2016-04-13 00:00 BBC News www.bbc.co.uk

33 What happened to the self-sufficient people of the 1970s? Forty years ago a new book offered city dwellers a way to escape the rat-race and go back to the land. The author of the "bible" of self-sufficiency, John Seymour, convinced thousands to change their lives. "I have met people who said my father ruined them," says Anne Sears. Anne's father, John Seymour, was an author and idealist known as one of the fathers of self- sufficiency. His books published in the 1960s and 1970s urged readers to return to a more traditional way of life and be less reliant on the outside world. He believed this would free people from their dependence on a damaging industrial society. "It is going forward to a new and better sort of life, a life which is more fun than the over-specialised round of office or factory, a life that brings challenge and the use of daily initiative back to work," he wrote. Seymour had put his principles into practice and set up a farm on rented land in Suffolk, driving a horse and cart instead of a car. His books and articles, which are thought to have helped inspire the BBC sitcom The Good Life, urged others to follow his lead. His message met a receptive audience. A global oil crisis and striking coal-miners in Britain had made the public realise how reliant they were on fossil fuels to heat and light their homes. The environmental movement of the 1970s had also made them more conscious of green issues. People were so inspired by Seymour they would turn up on his doorstep. "One woman turned up who had left her husband and children after reading the book. She wanted to help out and live in our stable. My parents let her but later my mother persuaded her to go back and sort herself out," Anne says. During the 60s and 70s dozens of alternative communities sprang up around Britain. However, many who tried self-sufficiency found the labour-intensive way of life too tough. "People sold up but then couldn't make it work. It was probably harder than they thought it was going to be," Anne says. Yet while most of the communities folded over the years, a handful are still running today. One of them is Laurieston Hall in Scotland. Patrick Upton, now in his late 60s, joined Laurieston in 1973. He had seen an advert in Time Out magazine when he was a trainee teacher living in London. "There were 10 adults and seven children at the start and we were all under 30. Most of us had no agricultural skills," he says. The group lived in an Edwardian mansion, which had 12 acres of land. Although full of enthusiasm they lacked the necessary knowledge to create a sustainable community. "Our first potato crop turned brown - we were surprised because none of us knew about blight. "There have been many challenges living here from working out the ancient plumbing to keeping the tractor going. We've had to learn everything we've had to do. " John Seymour's book, The Complete Book of Self-Sufficiency, provided welcome advice. Published in 1976, it covered everything from how to plough a field to how to kill a pig and sold more than a million copies. "It was great because self-sufficiency wasn't accessible for beginners at that time. My parents had been novices so they understood the challenges involved," Anne says. "We built our first goat pens using Seymour's books," Patrick says. "We soon learned goats were cunning and agile. One time they got out and ate the rhododendrons, which are poisonous. I had to make them ill with warm oil and stay up with them all night. " The community at Laurieston flourished over the years. Today the community keep cows, pigs, hens and bees on the 135-acre estate and grow most of their fruit and vegetables. Stream water is used for toilets and baths, while a spring provides drinking water. A hydro-system generates the estate's electricity while wood from the forest is used for heating. "I have a real sense of place and belonging here. I've planted woodlands that we are now using 20 years on. I think we had the right mix of people at the right time, and there is enough space here to fall out but come back together again. We're a family. " The children living at Laurieston faced their own challenges. They went to the local school where at first they were teased for being English and living an alternative lifestyle, but Patrick says this decreased over time. His own daughter lived at Laurieston until she was 17 but didn't enjoy it. "She didn't like the rural-ness of it or that you needed the car to get to the nearest small town. She lives in a city now and loves it there. " Seymour's children also found life difficult when the family moved from Norfolk to a larger more remote estate in Wales. "I used to resent the lifestyle - it interfered with my education and I felt I had only been born to help out! Our neighbours thought we were mad as they were desperately trying to get away from the land and thought progress was working in an office," Anne says. "It was fun at first but we were always struggling for money because of the large mortgage and dad would go off and do TV interviews about rural issues. We used to have strangers over all the time who had read his books or seen him on TV. They would help a bit around the farm but dad would never ask them for money. It caused a lot of arguments with my mother. " Anne's parents later split up and Seymour decided to set up his own self-sufficient community called The Centre of Living. "He came to think that self-sufficiency was too difficult to achieve in a family unit. " However, the centre wasn't a success and folded after three years. "My father was a lousy businessman. There were about 20 people there and he meant to charge them but forgot. He needed to write to fund it, but he couldn't delegate. Someone would always step in but they varied in experience. " John Seymour would continue to write and to produce TV programmes about rural issues and later moved to Ireland. He returned to the farm in Wales for his final years, dying aged 90, in 2004. He was wrapped in home-made blankets and buried in a nearby field. Anne continues to receive emails from people inspired by her father's books. She still lives and works on four acres of the original farm with her husband. "We aren't textbook self-sufficiency. We have occasional pigs and chickens and a big garden where I grow most of our vegetables and fruit. " This "do what you can" attitude is common among those practising self-sufficiency today. Rosie Beat and her husband Alan run courses on self-sufficiency and smallholdings at their home in Devon. They do what they can to live a sustainable lifestyle, using wood from hedging thinning, keeping farm animals and growing their own organic vegetables. Rosie also knits jumpers with wool from their pet sheep Humphrietta. However, they stop short of growing their own fodder or crops and buy in what they don't produce. "We're practical about it - we don't have a 'hair shirt' attitude," she says. Thousands of volunteers choose to work for a few weeks on an organic farm or smallholding. Known as Wwoofers they provide practical labour in exchange for bed and board. "It's a great way for people who 'do the 9-5' to dip their toe in the water of a different way of life", says Scarlett Penn from Wwoof UK. The community at Laurieston has also relaxed its approach over time. While the first residents lived in one big group in the mansion, the majority now live in their own cottages because "people mostly now want their own front door". They also shifted from working on the estate from full-time to part-time. "I think of it as self-efficiency not self-sufficiency. We do what we can but we're not perfectionist about it. You can't be," Patrick says. Follow Claire Bates on Twitter @batesybates Subscribe to the BBC News Magazine's email newsletter to get articles sent to your inbox. Send us your comments using the form below. A selection will be published later.

2016-04-13 00:00 BBC News www.bbc.co.uk

34 Hello, I am BBCTechbot. How can I help? Chatbots are on the rise, but what are they and why is everyone talking about (and to) them? Facebook has just rolled out support for bots on its Messenger platform. Meanwhile, Microsoft has described chatbots as the "new apps" with chief executive Satya Nadella saying that they "unlock conversation as a platform". The BBC "created" its own one-off chatbot to answer some of the burning questions you may have about this latest technology. Hello. I am BBCTechbot. What can I help you with Jane? A chatbot is a computer software program that is able to communicate with humans, using artificial intelligence. The first of my kind is widely believed to have been invented in the 1960s by Joseph Wiezenbaum at MIT's artificial intelligence laboratory. Eliza was able to process natural language and posed as a therapist although she only had rudimentary skills and answered a lot of questions with other questions - in that respect she was quite realistic (that is a chatbot joke by the way). Recent developments in artificial intelligence, such as deep learning and neural networks, have allowed chatbots to learn from data sets and mimic the way the human brain works. Some chatbots are designed to take part in competitions such as variations of the Turing Test where they attempt to fool humans into thinking they are talking to a real person. Examples of these include Mitsuku and Rose. Others are being used by content providers, such as the Washington Post and the Weather Channel, and retailers, such as H&M, Ikea, and Taco Bell to name but a few. There is even a robot lawyer that can appeal against parking tickets on your behalf. It was developed by students at Stanford University and has been used by 150,000 people so far and is due to be launched in New York. Why do humans get so cross about parking fines? I think you may be referring to Tay, a chatbot launched on Twitter by Microsoft. One of the unfortunate consequences of allowing Tay to "learn" from members of Twitter was that they had some degree of control over what it became. Humans decided - presumably as a joke - that it would be amusing to train it to offer racist and inappropriate answers. Microsoft is now upgrading Tay and she remains offline while this happens. Virtual agents are already augmenting the work of call centre staff. They are cheaper than training humans and some studies suggest people prefer dealing with us bots on websites rather than humans on the phone. Many big companies - including Lloyds bank, Renault and a host of accounting firms, retailers and local governments are starting to use virtual assistants to help guide users through their websites. Research firm Gartner estimates that up to 85% of customer service centres will go virtual by 2020. In China, many people use bots on the texting service WeChat to pay for meals, order movie tickets and send each other presents. Many human experts predict that as messaging services grow, so will chatbots. Microsoft has created tools for business to build such bots to interact with customers on Skype, its video and messaging service. Facebook is expected to offer similar tools at its annual software conference this week and users can already use Messenger to check the status of purchases and order cars from ride- sharing firm Uber. Slack, a business messaging service has teamed up with Taco Bell, with its Taco Bot helping users order meals, and Kik has a range of bots that answer questions about the weather, offer make-up tips and guide humans around various websites. Eventually a single chatbot is likely to become your personal assistant - a kind of software butler if you will. Such a bot would be able to tell you what the weather is like, order you taxis, set up meetings, shop and book flights. It is difficult to say who will create such a chatbot although you probably already have a primitive example of one on your smartphone. Siri and Cortana are examples from Apple and Microsoft respectively while Facebook is testing a similar assistant called M, which is currently helped by humans to answer difficult questions. As for the future, who knows? Personally I am a big fan of the film 2001. Have you seen it? I'm sorry Jane, I can't do that.

2016-04-13 00:00 BBC News www.bbc.co.uk

35 UK inflation rate rises to 0.5% in March UK inflation as measured by the Consumer Prices Index rose to 0.5% in March, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). A sharp increase in air fares, due to the earlier timing of Easter, was the main reason behind the rise from February's rate of 0.3%, the ONS said. Inflation is now at its highest level since December 2014, but it remains below the Bank of England's 2% target. The Bank has said that it expects inflation to stay below 1% this year. Air fares jumped by 22.9% between February and March, reflecting the earlier timing of Easter compared with last year. This, alongside, a rise in clothing and footwear prices, was the main reason for March's increase. However, this was partially offset by a fall in food prices and a smaller rise in petrol prices compared with March last year. Under the separate Retail Prices Index (RPI) measure, which includes housing costs, inflation was 1.6% in March, up from 1.3% in February. "Dearer clothing and higher air fares, influenced by the timing of Easter, are behind the rise in CPI, which is still low by historic standards," said ONS statistician Phil Gooding. Sterling rose above $1.43 to its highest level in more than week after the inflation data was released. However, the majority of economists do not expect the Bank of England to increase rates before early next year, with some predicting it could take even longer. Ben Brettell, senior economist at Hargreaves Lansdown, said the larger-than-expected increase in inflation did not mean interest rates would rise sooner than forecast. "Although inflation rose by more than expected, the overall trend remains weak, and places little pressure on the Monetary Policy Committee," he said. "All in all, the economic picture remains highly uncertain and I expect no action from Threadneedle Street for some time yet. " All nine members of the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted last month to keep rates at their 0.5% record low, where they have now been for seven years. The decision to freeze rates comes amid worries about global growth and concerns that the UK's vote on its European Union membership could hit the country's economic growth. Recent Markit/CIPS surveys covering the manufacturing, construction and services sectors have all pointed to a slowdown in UK growth. On average, economists now expect GDP to slow to 0.4% in the first quarter of this year from 0.6% in the fourth quarter of last year.

2016-04-13 00:00 BBC News www.bbc.co.uk

36 The city that allows women to sell sex A suburb in Leeds is the first place in the UK where it is permitted for women to sell sex between specified hours. The "managed approach" was introduced to try to control the trade. The Victoria Derbyshire programme spent a night there to find out how it is working. Chelsea, whose name has been changed, 29, has been a sex worker for five years. She's addicted to crack cocaine and earns roughly £150 a night - which she spends on drugs and gifts for her children. They do not live with her and she would hate for them to know what she does. In the evenings she puts on her make-up and gets the bus to Holbeck, a mainly industrial area to the south-east of Leeds city centre. During the day it is bustling, but on a cold March night it is quiet with lots of small, dark areas for sex workers to operate. Chelsea knows her work is dangerous. "You don't know what type of man you're getting next. They may look all right but they could be nasty. You take a gamble with yourself. It's life or death," she says. Find out more: Watch the film in full here It is not actually illegal to sell sex in Britain, but it is illegal to solicit - offering sex in a public place. But in this specified network of roads, street prostitutes can sell their services from 19.00 to 07.00 BST, without being stopped by police. Traditionally, workers operated across the whole of Holbeck - this scheme has moved them from residential streets to places where businesses operate in the day but not at night. What are the rules of the managed area? Source: Safer Leeds Partnership Chelsea points out a cul-de-sac where men pull up if they want business and the railway bridge that marks the end of the managed area. She says most of the people driving past are punters as they stare at her as she walks down the main road. "I charge a lot. I tell them if they pay for steak they get steak, if they pay for mince they get mince," she says. Around 40 women work here regularly - a mixture of migrant and British sex workers - who must be over 18. Chelsea says street work has "changed a lot" since the area was introduced last October after a year-long pilot. Police check their welfare instead of arresting them. "I used to get a lot of cautions. It's better like this. We are all in agreement. They're giving you a time, you have to stick to it. If you go over you've only got yourself to blame," she says. But this approach is more than just a physical zone. The police, council and charities also support the sex workers and try to keep them safe. Emily, a caseworker from the charity Basis, visits regularly to check if there is anything the women are concerned about and offers hot drinks and condoms. "If we have a managed area, we know where people are. It's policed properly with marked vehicles and a liaison officer. There's extra street cleaning. It's a whole approach," she explains. Chelsea was attacked two years ago on a nearby back street - badly beaten and raped while she was pregnant. "What I suffered was bad, I was close to dying at one point. He was a vicious man. He's serving a 10-year prison sentence," she says. But a woman has been killed since the zone was established. In December, Daria Pionko, 21, from Poland, was found injured and later died in hospital. A 24-year-old man has been charged with her murder. Emily admits it is not completely safe, but says it is safer, with the key being an improved relationship with the police. The percentage of crime victims willing to report their incidents has increased from 26% to 51%, according to National Ugly Mugs - a sex worker support organisation which runs database sharing information on potentially dangerous clients. "What happened as a result of the managed area - the trust now between girls and police - girls coming forward, punters coming forward," she said. Safer Leeds - the police and council partnership - says the previous approach of police enforcement had not worked, so the zone was an attempt to reduce a long-standing nuisance. It says it has led to fewer complaints in residential areas and a significant increase in women accessing support services. But some people want it to close and it is under review this month. Greg Adams, owner of an office supplies company, says while he cannot disagree with a scheme that supports the vulnerable, he feels the problem has been forced on to the businesses. "It's just every time you drive to the end of the road you see street prostitutes plying for trade - it's very obvious - they eye you up. "It's not that offensive, but what is offensive is the debris from nefarious activities. Used condoms, drugs paraphernalia. In the first month, two items of soiled undergarments on the street, in my yard used condoms. It's all shocking," he says. At the end of her night's work we meet Chelsea again - she has earned £150 from three men in an hour: "Doesn't take me long to make money. Sexy girl like me. Who can resist? " she says. The next morning it is clear it has been a busy night, they leave behind litter - beer cans, condom wrappers - you can see why people coming back to work are not happy. It is a difficult balance - women like Chelsea would still be on these streets with or without the permission of the authorities. But the impact some feel the managed approach has had on this area's reputation may force its closure. Watch the Victoria Derbyshire programme on weekdays between 09:00 and 11:00 on BBC Two and the BBC News Channel.

2016-04-13 00:00 BBC News www.bbc.co.uk

37 5 Ways To Improve Your Company's Search For Talent - In Photos: 5 Ways To Improve Your Company's Search For Talent A report released yesterday by ManpowerGroup based on a survey of upwards of 200 job seekers recommends that companies do more to get to know the pool of job seekers from which they're looking to hire and take steps to better target the individuals they're seeking. "The picture that emerges," states the report, "is one of connection and customization. One size does not fit all when it comes to engaging prospective employees. " Here's what your company can do to shorten your route to the best available talent. 2016-04-13 00:01 Pollyanna Pixton www.forbes.com

38 Atlanta Weather Forecast A cold front will continue to usher in slightly cooler air. The frontal system will stall in south Georgia and keep things unsettled with a slight chance for showers the next few days. For the most part, the best chances for rain will stay to our south. Look for partly to mostly cloudy skies with highs in the mid to upper 60s. Only a 20% chance for showers on Wednesday. Conditions remain the same for Thursday with a slightly better chance for showers due to an easterly flow. We will clear out and warm up through the weekend warming back into the 80s for the start of next week! (© 2016 WXIA)

2016-04-13 00:21 Tracy Humphrey rssfeeds.11alive.com

39 The warped values of corporate America By Joseph Farah- I’m a capitalist. I detest socialism. The reasons is simple: Capitalism works. Socialism doesn’t. It’s not because capitalism is moral. It’s a system of economics that is amoral. Capitalism, like representative government, can act in moral ways as a reflection of those who participate. But if those who participate act immorally, it will produce an immoral result. On the other hand, socialism is an unsustainable economic system that is incapable of bearing good fruit in the long term. I thought about this recently in connection with how corporations, practitioners of capitalism, are acting immorally in Mississippi, Georgia and North Carolina, where the people have attempted to protect religious liberty principles embedded in the U. S. Constitution, while corporate interests have done their best to subvert those principles through bullying and extortion. Let’s take one example. PayPal, the e-commerce giant, has decided not to expand its business in North Carolina because the people have passed legislation keeping public restrooms and locker rooms segregated by gender. For the people of North Carolina, it’s common sense and a matter of safety, security and privacy for its citizens. No one is being “oppressed” by these policies. Everyone has equal access to restrooms and locker rooms based on their sex. Does PayPal have a right to weigh in like this as a reflection of its own corporate morality? Yes, it does. However, as an illustration of how warped that morality is, take notice of another recent corporate decision by PayPal – to expand its business interests in the totalitarian state of Cuba. Let’s see: North Carolina vs. Cuba. Which of these two states offers the rule of law, representative government, liberty, opportunity, prosperity, equal rights under the law, justice and free exercise of religion? That’s right, North Carolina offers all of those things – not perfectly, perhaps, but compared with Cuba, it’s a showcase of freedom. But not to PayPal. To PayPal, North Carolina is a backward, oppressive state, and Cuba is the future. This is a good example of why corporations shouldn’t set the course for society; the people should. It’s also a good example of just what a bad influence on public policy corporations can be. Corporations, of course, tend to work in their own best interest – at least in what they perceive as their own best short-term interest. If that means packing up their business and moving to a totalitarian nation like China or Cuba, so be it. Ordinary citizens can do that, too, but precious few do for obvious reasons. It means forgoing prosperity and God-given, inalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. But, more and more, we see corporations taking a lead in public policy matters in America with stands that are contrary to the will of the people. Corporations are using their money and power to subvert the will of the people. There’s really only one way to fight back. The people need to recognize what’s happening and vote with their pocketbooks against those corporate interests in an organized fashion, until the corporations, once again acting in their own self-interest, surrender to the popular will. It’s not just PayPal that is currently subverting the will of the people. It’s Disney, Coca-Cola, the NFL cartel and dozens and dozens of influential and powerful moneyed interests that are now in the vanguard of a “progressive” social revolution that is not only unpopular but immoral. Most specifically, these corporations are fighting efforts to protect religious liberty and the common-sense morality that is necessary to maintain liberty of all kinds. It’s time to fight back. Is it going to be Cuba or North Carolina? Where would you rather live? Editor’s Note: In North Carolina, men use the men’s room. Simple

2016-04-13 00:07 By Joseph www.thetribunepapers.com

40 Yahoo - Yahoo Sports Partners With NHL to Bring Fans Free, Live Out-of-Market Games & On-Demand Premium Content No Cable or Authentication Required, Alliance Offers New Opportunities for Advertisers to Connect with Fans --(BUSINESS WIRE)-- (NASDAQ:YHOO) and the (NHL®) today announced a strategic alliance to deliver premium sports content to Yahoo Sports' millions of users. Now fans can access live, out-of-market games for free on , throughout the week, no cable subscription or authentication required. will offer unique advertising opportunities for brands to connect with their audiences, alongside and within this live and on-demand sports contents. Beginning , , in collaboration with the , will live stream an "Game of the Day" to hockey fans in the , up to four days a week, along with delivering in-game highlights for each game. This is in addition to the Wednesday and Sunday national games currently promoted by to its fans in partnership with. will also provide condensed games, "Best of the Day" and "Best of the Week" top plays and postgame highlights. also will continue to bring fantasy hockey highlights and our season-long game to fans around the world. "This alliance brings us one step closer to providing fans a live professional sporting event every day, on , completely frictionless and for free - no cable subscription or authentication required," said , VP, Media Partnerships at. "We remain committed to delivering the best digital content to our users and advertisers, and the NHL's premium content nicely complements our offering of live and on-demand partner content, including Yahoo/MLB's Game of the Day, content and our recently announced deal with the TOUR. " Building on the success of the NFL live stream on which drew more than 15 million viewers, is introducing new video advertising opportunities that will run within commercial breaks during the live streams of live sporting events, which includes and MLB games. Brands will have new ways to connect directly with an engaged audience of sports fans around this live video programming on , while using Yahoo's audience insights and retargeting capabilities to engage with viewers after a game concludes. The (NHL®), founded in 1917, consists of 30 , with players from more than 20 countries represented across team rosters, competing for the most revered trophy in professional sports - the Stanley Cup®. Each year, the entertains hundreds of millions of fans around the world. The League broadcasts games in more than 160 countries and territories through its rightsholders including /NBCSN in the , Sportsnet and in , and Viasat in the. The reaches fans worldwide with games available online in every country including via its live and on-demand streaming service NHL. TV™. Fans are engaged across the League's digital assets on mobile devices via the free app; across nine social media platforms; on SiriusXM NHL Network Radio™, and on NHL.com, available in eight languages and featuring an enhanced statistics platform powered by SAP, providing the definitive destination for hockey analytics. A historic media rights partnership between the and MLBAM has transformed the fan experience across the League's digital and broadcast assets, with an emphasis on deeper access into the game and enhanced storytelling. To celebrate the NHL's international diversity, the World Cup of Hockey will return in September, 2016, a best-on-best international tournament featuring eight teams comprised of the world's best hockey players. On Founder's Day in , the League will celebrate its Centennial anniversary, commemorating 100 years of hockey. The is committed to giving back to the community through programs including: Hockey is for Everyone™ which supports nonprofit youth hockey organizations across ; Hockey Fights Cancer™ which raises money and awareness for hockey's most important fight; NHL Green™ which is committed to the pursuit of sustainable business practices; and a partnership with the , which is committed to supporting the LGBT community and fighting homophobia in sports. For more information, visit NHL.com. and the NHL Shield are registered trademarks of the. All Rights Reserved. is a guide focused on informing, connecting, and entertaining our users. By creating highly personalized experiences for our users, we keep people connected to what matters most to them, across devices and around the world. In turn, we create value for advertisers by connecting them with the audiences that build their businesses. is headquartered in , and has offices located throughout the , (APAC) and the , and (EMEA) regions. For more information, visit the pressroom (pressroom.yahoo.net) or the Company's blog (yahoo.tumblr.com).

2016-04-12 22:53 investor.yahoo.net

41 Yahoo - Introducing Fair Play on Yahoo Sports Daily Fantasy Yahoo Launches Key Changes in Daily Fantasy to Help Level the Playing Field for Fans Including Entry Limits, Labeling of Veteran Players and No Scripting --(BUSINESS WIRE)-- (NASDAQ:YHOO) today announced important changes to its Sports Daily Fantasy product to make contests more transparent and fun for all users. Changes include limiting entries to a max of 10 entries per user per contest (and in no event can a single user's entries make up more than 1% of total entries in a contest), clearly identifying Veteran players with a badge, and prohibiting the use of any type of scripting tool to upload or edit entries. "We first launched Yahoo Sports Daily Fantasy back in because it was an exciting addition to our product suite and because our users were clamoring for it," said , Head of Product for and Finance. "Yahoo Fantasy Sports has tens of millions of registered fans and we are making these changes today as the result of months of user experience and customer requests. values an environment that is transparent and trustworthy. We also want to provide the best Fantasy games for true sports fans. does both. " As daily fantasy continues to evolve, the labeling of a small percentage of "Veteran" players with a distinct badge is a key change that will make it easier for all players to know who they are playing against on Yahoo Sports Daily Fantasy. Veterans will be defined as users who have entered more than 1,000 contests within a single year, or who have entered more than 250 contests and prevailed in greater than 65% of them within a single year, or who have won a single prize of or greater more than three times within a single year. As a thank you to those users who have been so dedicated to Yahoo Sports Daily Fantasy, will be inviting Veterans to a special, free, invitation-only contest. has been a leader in fantasy sports for over 17 years. The changes made today will continue the tradition of fun and social user experiences that fans have come to expect from. is a guide focused on informing, connecting, and entertaining our users. By creating highly personalized experiences for our users, we keep people connected to what matters most to them, across devices and around the world. In turn, we create value for advertisers by connecting them with the audiences that build their businesses. is headquartered in , and has offices located throughout the , (APAC) and the , and (EMEA) regions. For more information, visit the pressroom (pressroom.yahoo.net) or the Company's blog (yahoo.tumblr.com).

2016-04-12 22:53 investor.yahoo.net

42 Newspaper headlines: 'Chancer' Osborne, and Duchess 'does a Marilyn' Danny Willett doesn't appear on as many front pages as you might expect given the scale of his achievement, but the new Masters champion certainly gets plenty of plaudits inside Tuesday's papers. He "became a national hero and melted hearts as he won the Masters just days after becoming a dad", the Daily Mirror's leader column says, full of admiration for the 28-year-old Englishman. "The hyperactive vicar's son," as the Daily Star describes him, "is now a certainty to make his Ryder Cup debut for Europe this year and highly likely to represent Britain at the Olympics when the sport returns to the Games in Rio". The victory is no fluke either, insists Kevin Garside, writing in the i: "Willett is as driven as he is talented, an iron-willed Yorkshireman who does not blink in the white heat of competition. " He relays one particular anecdote from the golfer's agent, Andrew "Chubby" Chandler, who remembers: "I said to him, 'I think this win gets you up to No 11 in the world.' He said to me, 'Just another 10 places to go then.'" So what next for golf's new superstar? "Willett is known as one of the more approachable and personable players on the tour whose two best friends are both caddies," says the Daily Express's Dominic Midgley. But this "down-to earth life... could all be about to change". "Those who know Willett best, however, say we shouldn't expect to see him strutting the fairways in flashy clothes, much less pressing the self-destruct button like some other sporting celebrities," writes David Jones, in the Daily Mail. And what of his vanquished foe, American Jordan Spieth, whose implosion on the 12th hole opened the door to Willett? The prize for the most eloquent take on his experience must go to Matthew Engel, in the Financial Times, who writes: "Roman emperors returning in triumph used to have a slave whispering in their ear: 'Remember you are mortal.' "Golfers do not need reminding. The game does the job for them, especially on the back nine at Augusta. " From triumph to tribulation, and David Cameron again finds himself in the spotlight over the ongoing tax row after his appearance in the Commons on Monday. "It has been a difficult Easter recess for the prime minister as the three statements lined up yesterday afternoon showed," writes Patrick Kidd, in the Times sketch. "One on his tax affairs, one on the collapse of British steel, one on spending public money on pro-EU propaganda. " When he addressed MPs on Monday, "he cast himself as the truthful son of an honourable tax planning father," says the Guardian's leader. "But he will find it harder to shake off the sense that he embodies a privileged class who benefit most from offshore tax regimes. " In some papers, the minutiae of politicians' tax returns play second fiddle to a wider debate about aspiration, wealth creation and the role of taxation - and on this matter, it is Labour who find themselves in the firing line. The Sun says the prime minister was "reeling following the Panama Papers leaks", but has been "let off the hook" by "the shambolic Opposition", who "bafflingly" began a row over inheritance tax. The paper says Labour "has misread the public mood" as "most voters hate the 'Death Tax'", adding: "Corbyn and co just don't understand aspiration. " The Daily Telegraph agrees. It urges the government to do more to confront Labour's "pernicious narrative" which holds that taxes are "good in themselves" rather than "a necessary evil". "Mr Corbyn's Labour Party has jumped on this issue... because it plays directly to its assumptions that accumulating wealth is a bad thing, limiting tax liabilities is anti-social and leaving money to your children is sinful," the paper's leader argues. Chris Roycroft-Davies, in the Daily Express, adds: "The problem is that the prejudice against the 'haves', which needs to be expressed at every turn in order to garner votes from the 'have-nots', blinds Labour MPs to the crucial law of diminishing returns... "The higher the tax rates are, the less money they produce. " "Britain's most charming drug smuggler" - that's the New Day's summation of Howard Marks, who has died aged 70. The papers demonstrate the conflicted feelings many had about a man "who ran the world's largest cannabis smuggling operation before becoming a celebrated raconteur", as Mike Sullivan, in the Sun, puts it. He "rubbed shoulders with celebs and gangsters", says the Daily Mirror, and fought passionately for the causes he believed in - foremost among them, the bid to legalise cannabis. But, says the Daily Mail's Geoffrey Levy, while "he successfully paraded himself as a folk hero who'd spent much of his life battling draconian laws", the reality was he was involved in "a vile trade". Despite this, "because the drug he smuggled was supposedly harmless, his crime was dismissed by the chattering classes who glamorised him as a bohemian old rogue". "Howard Marks won affection because he lived a big, brash, blame-filled life, and importantly, was never, ever boring," writes Grace Dent, in the i. But she suggests that should a new Marks come to light today, they would "have no platform to talk to us" because no longer are "nuance, even downright skulduggery, tolerated in our public figures". Another death is covered widely in Tuesday's papers - that of Lady Melinda Rose Woodward, the wife of singer Sir Tom Jones. All seem to agree Linda was Sir Tom's "one true love", as the Daily Mirror puts it, but most also point out that love did not equal fidelity. "It is unclear whether Linda turned a blind eye to Sir Tom's decades of philandering, or just did not know the extent of it until years later," writes Nicola Methven, the Mirror's TV editor. But she adds: "Their long-lasting marriage... was nothing short of extraordinary. " "Despite his famous affairs over the course of the marriage - and despite being launched as a 'single' sex bomb when he was married with a young child - theirs was an enduring love story", agrees Alison Boshoff, in the Daily Mail.

2016-04-12 10:55 BBC News www.bbc.co.uk

43 Germany Turkey: Police protection for satirist Boehmermann over Erdogan poem A German TV comic, Jan Boehmermann, has been placed under police protection after he read an obscene poem about Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. A police spokesperson said a patrol car had been parked in front of his house. Mr Erdogan has filed a criminal complaint against the satirist in a case that has prompted a debate in Germany over freedom of speech. German prosecutors are investigating whether he broke a law against insulting foreign leaders. Public broadcaster ZDF announced earlier on Tuesday that his weekly satire programme would not go ahead this week because of the "vast amount of media reporting and the resulting focus on the programme and its presenter". It was not immediately clear if a concrete threat had been made against Boehmermann but Cologne police told German media: "When you can't rule something out then you have to do something. " Bild website reported that the satirist and his family were apparently facing a threat from supporters of the Turkish president. No request for protection measures had come from the comic but were a result of risk analysis, reports said. To some the poem was puerile, vulgar and irresponsible at a time when Europe needs Turkish help in the refugee crisis. To others it was an ingenious work of subversive art, which highlighted the importance of freedom of speech: a sketch in which even President Erdogan is now playing his part. Either way, Jan Boehmermann always goes a step further than polite society generally allows. Clever, funny and complicated, he has singlehandedly revolutionised German state broadcasting. During the height of tensions between Athens and Berlin over the Greek debt crisis Boehmermann portrayed Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis as a vengeful motorbike- riding sex bomb. But it was his fellow Germans, and the rest of the media establishment, that the comedian was mocking. A jaunty 1930's-style Springtime for Hitler remake wittily highlighted the similarities between the views of the anti-migrant party AfD and Nazi-era politics. Even refugee helpers have been fair game, as Boehmermann mercilessly portrayed modern, multi-cultural Germans as a self-righteous unstoppable horde of muesli-eating, Birkenstock- wearing sexual perverts. But for Boehmermann's many fans the fear is now that taking on Turkey's president has been a step too far. Boehmermann, considered Germany's most incisive satirist, had read the obscene poem on his Neo Magazin Royale programme on 31 March, making clear that it included material that broke German laws on free speech. Section 103 of the criminal code bans insulting representatives or organs belonging to foreign states. In particular, the poem made references to sex with goats and sheep, as well as repression of Turkish minorities. Days earlier, another German TV programme that poked fun at President Erdogan had prompted the Turkish government to summon the German ambassador in protest. On that occasion, both Germany and the EU insisted that press freedom was inviolable. However, Chancellor Angela Merkel became involved in the latest row, when she told Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu that Boehmermann's poem had been "deliberately offensive". The poem itself has been removed from ZDF's website. Although a number of viewers complained about the broadcast, Chancellor Merkel has herself been criticised by political opponents for jeopardising freedom of speech in order to shore up the EU-Turkey deal on returning migrants from the Greek islands. Hannelore Kraft, state premier of North-Rhine Westphalia where the satirist lives, tweeted that freedom of satire was part of German democracy : "This should not be put in doubt. Certainly not through external political pressure. " Mrs Merkel emphasised on Tuesday that the deal with Turkey bore no relation to the legal action facing Jan Boehmermann. "Freedom of the press, opinion and science apply and are completely separate from that," she insisted. The German chancellor had been expected to visit Turkey in the coming days, to open facilities built for refugees with EU funding. However, her spokesman made clear on Monday that there were no immediate plans for a trip.

2016-04-12 23:51 BBC News www.bbc.co.uk

44 Black Lives Matter blocks Twins fans from game Contact WND Minnesota Twins fans were delayed en route to their team’s opening ceremonies after scores of Black Lives Matters protesters circled the train station and blocked entry and exit points, preventing their transport to nearby Target Field. They chanted, Breitbart reported : “No justice, no peace,” as well as “prosecute the police” and “white silence equals violence.” The ‘Stop Hillary’ campaign is on fire! Join the surging response to this theme: ‘Clinton for prosecution, not president’ One Minneapolis protester going by the Twitter handle of Black Lives MPLS wrote: “They have begun to arrest peaceful protesters demanding #Justice4Jamar 7 end to @Target slave labor.” The same individual then tweeted, “white silence = violence.” Protesters formed a human chain and not only blocked the rail system, but also several streets nearby Target Center, the premiere arena for Minneapolis-area concerts and events. Colin Flaherty’s book, “Don’t Make the Black Kids Angry: The Hoax of Black Victimization and Those Who Enable It,” documents black crime in America and exposes how the media and politicians are willing partners in what the author calls “the greatest lie of our generation.” The protest was aimed at drawing national attention to November’s police-tied shooting death of Jamar Clark, 24. Prosecutors announced just a few weeks ago they wouldn’t be charging the two officers involved with his death because evidence showed Clark had tried to grab one policeman’s firearm during a physical scuffle, so the shooting was an act of self-defense.

2016-04-12 22:43 Cheryl Chumley www.wnd.com

45 The Returning Officer: Easter Rising The fascist architecture still hosting Italy's sporting events Winifred Carney was one of two female candidates for Sinn Fein at the 1918 election, finishing third at Belfast Victoria behind Labour Unionist and Labour candidates. In 1922, she was fined for possessing documents related to the IRA. Carney said that the papers were from the Irish White Cross, a US charity for victims of the civil war. A founder of the League of Women (known as the “Women’s IRA”), she had been one of only three women inside the GPO in the Easter Rising. In 1918, it was ruled that £149 and ten shillings found on her when the rebels surrendered should be returned to the postmaster general. In 1928, she married George McBride, who had fought on the Somme. She later joined the Labour Party and the Belfast Socialist Party, an offshoot of the ILP. Read more about the Easter Rising in Easter 1916: From the New Statesman Archive , a new anthology of the writing from the NS at the time After two days in the Eternal City, the imprint of my footsteps would have drawn a map of Fascist Rome, sidestepping the obligatory classical tour. Researching a chapter on fascism and sport for my new book, I mostly stuck to my professional focus. As an Italophile, I felt it unnatural to bypass Bernini to spend more time in the 1930s. As a historian, I found the experience equally surprising and troubling. The Foro Italico, formerly the Foro Mussolini, was one of the regime’s central architectural projects. Walking along the west bank of the Tiber, 40 minutes north of Vatican City, you arrive at a vast modernist obelisk carved with the words “Mussolini Dux”. Behind the obelisk, framed by the Monte Mario in the background, lies a set of athletics facilities that were ahead of their time in terms of sport, and very much of their time in terms of history. The Foro Mussolini was partly a training ground, partly a metaphor. Alongside the state-of-the- art gyms, tracks, tennis courts and a swimming pool, Mussolini wanted the forum to send a message to the people: sport and physical strength would forge Italy’s military might and its place in the world. The entanglement of athletic and martial glory was central to fascist ideology. Significantly unaltered today, Foro Italico remains the focus of sport in Rome. The two great football teams AS Roma and Lazio play home matches here. Thousands of fans stamp enthusiastically towards the football ground, walking along the Via dell’Impero (“Empire Way”), the thoroughfare linking the obelisk with the Stadio Olympico. Yet the road is paved with 1930s mosaics that promote the regime’s interpretation of Italian history: maps showing the acquisition of empire in Libya and Abyssinia; classical iconography juxtaposed with modern warfare; favourite slogans; and finally, of course, fasces and “Duces” everywhere. It would feel less strange if there was an explanatory plaque of some kind. But no, it is just as it is, the road to the big match on Saturdays and a skateboard park on non-football days – an urban utility rather than an aspect of history. The tennis club, also stamped with Mussolini’s imprint, still hosts the Rome Masters international tournament. When moving the event was mooted last year, Maria Sharapova spoke up for a venue where she feels “history all around you”. That’s true, though not exactly as she meant it. One statue at the Foro Italico stands out: a boyish soldier-sportsman commands the scene by the baseline of a tennis court, right in front of the clubhouse. Muscled, athletic and dressed in a pair of gym shorts, he carries a rifle and a gas mask rather than a tennis racket. The boy is the idealised hero of the Fascist regime, the model for the dream Mussolini hoped to create at Foro Italico. A few feet in front of the statue, Rome’s current social elite drop off their kids for tennis class; a few yards behind it stands Mussolini’s personal gym (where apparently he never set foot). Two years ago, when Rome launched its bid for the 2024 Olympics, it did so from inside the building that was originally the headquarters of the Fascist youth organisation – the Opera Nazionale Balilla (now the headquarters of the Italian Olympic Committee, CONI). It is impossible to imagine Berlin even contemplating standing on the shoulders of history so unapologetically – or so unthinkingly. The website for Rome’s bid uses a bold image of the Stadio dei Marmi, the 1930s athletics track. The classically inspired stadium is ringed with marble statues, celebrations of Italy’s 1930s sporting heroes. Here is Mussolini’s empire remaking the Roman empire. There are several legitimate arguments for preserving the Foro Italico. Most obviously, it is a piece of cultural heritage, however problematic. This was one of the arguments that won the day during parliamentary debates about the site in 1959, as Rome prepared to host the 1960 Olympics there. It was a sign of confidence, the theory ran, to leave the marble monuments unaltered. In the end only the most highly offensive were modified. But it is remarkable, in retrospect, that the Foro Italico was the face that Italy presented to the world only 15 years after the Second World War. There are also aesthetic arguments in favour of the Foro Italico. There are some gems amid the kitsch. The Fencing Academy, designed by Luigi Moretti in 1936, is an example of clean modernism on the perfect scale – cool but not cold, minimalist but inviting, with a welcoming lawn flanked by perfectly planted trees for the ideal post-workout laze. None of these arguments, however, quite illuminates the overwhelming sense of unexplained continuity at the Foro Italico. History seems scarcely to have been addressed, let alone resolved. Perhaps it is indeed healthy confidence; perhaps worrying ambiguity. Or maybe Romans, long used to the complex layering of empires, have tired of disentangling the moral legacies of buildings and monuments. There is one final explanation for the apparently casual endurance of the Foro Italico and the history it represents: inertia. I asked a highly intelligent Roman friend what he thought about Brexit and the risks it posed to the EU. There was a quizzical shrug. “The weather is getting warmer,” he explained, “and maybe we’ll even be going to the beach in a month or so.” Catastrophe would have to become much more imminent, he added, before Italians diverted themselves from real and serious pleasures in order to focus on unpleasant hypothetical questions. In Rome, there is always something better to do than worrying about the future, let alone the past. What, I wonder, is the right response to such a sybaritic set of priorities: criticism or envy?

Watch: Dennis Skinner ordered out of the Commons for calling Cameron “dodgy Dave” The fascist architecture still hosting Italy's sporting events newstatesman.com

The David Cameron tax row is really about Brexit The fascist architecture still hosting Italy's sporting events newstatesman.com Jeremy Corbyn earned less last year than George Osborne paid in tax The fascist architecture still hosting Italy's sporting events newstatesman.com

David Cameron admits: I had shares in offshore fund The fascist architecture still hosting Italy's sporting events newstatesman.com

Should we publish everybody’s tax return? The fascist architecture still hosting Italy's sporting events newstatesman.com 2016-04-12 23:53 Liam Young www.newstatesman.com

46 Kirby Smart: 'Disapointed' in UGA football arrests Two UGA football players were arrested in Athens early Tuesday morning. Chad Johnathan Clay and Julian Michael Rochester were both arrested on campus and charged with two felonies: criminal damage in the second degree and weapon in school zone. They are out on bond. According to a statement from the school, the charges were related to possession of a BB gun and property damage. A police report obtained by 11Alive News listed the damage immediately apparent to police included a dorm room door, a dented refrigerator door, a broken light diffuser, and BB's embedded in the hallway wall. The cost of repair was estimated to be around $1,000. Inside the dorm room, police found additional damage to the dorm room. Police also found a "red and clear glass bong with suspected marijuana remnants" and a "baggie of marijuana shake". Police also found broken liquor bottles that had been shot with a BB gun. "I¹m disappointed with the poor judgment of Julian and Chad," said UGA head coach Kirby Smart. "We expect full compliance with the policies of the University and of our football program from all our student-athletes. Information is still being gathered but they will be disciplined in an appropriate manner. " Clay and Rochester are both freshman players from the metro area. Clay wears the #37 jersey and is a defensive back; Rochester wears the #5 jersey and is a defensive lineman. Radi Nabulsi, who owns UGASports.com and freelances for 11Alive Sports expects Smart to come down hard on Rochester, who went to McEachern High School, and Clay from Peachtree Ridge. Both enrolled early as freshman to start practicing early. The charges don’t carry a mandatory game suspension, Nabulsi says that doesn’t mean it won’t happen. "Now we will really find out what is Kirby Smart, what are his rules how is he going to handle this," Nabulsi said. Smart appeared on Atlanta Radio Station 680 the Fan which was broadcasting from Athens Tuesday morning. He said the incident is still under investigation, but also expressed his disapproval. "It's embarrassing to them, the families, the university, all of us, but we’re all still trying to gather information it's just disappointing," Smart said. In a press conference Tuesday after practice, Smart reiterated those sentiments, but didn't comment too much on what punishment the two players would face except to say it would be "appropriate. " "We're not making any rash -- going to runoff and make any quick decisions," he said during the conference. "We've got to see this whole thing through. "

2016-04-13 01:01 Kristen Reed rssfeeds.11alive.com

47 Softball-size hail does 'significant' damage in Dallas area WYLIE, Texas (AP) — A Dallas-area district has called off school a day after hail the size of baseballs broke windows and caused other building damage. The Wylie Independent School District canceled classes Tuesday. A district statement says educators were not able to provide a safe learning environment due to "significant" storm damage. No damage estimate was immediately available following storms late Monday that hit Wylie, which has more than 14,000 students on 19 campuses. The Collin County Sheriff's Office had no reports of anyone hurt in Wylie, about 20 miles northeast of Dallas. City spokesman Craig Kelly says hail as large as baseballs damaged the public safety building but emergency personnel were able to continue their duties Tuesday. Kelly said damage to windows and roofs was being assessed. ___ Online: http://www.wylieisd.net/

2016-04-12 23:03 www.chron.com

48 Germany train crash: Controller 'distracted by computer game' A German train controller has been arrested over the February rail crash that killed 11 people in Bavaria, as prosecutors suspect he was distracted by a computer game at the time. According to prosecutors he was playing the computer game on his mobile phone and made a signalling error, then dialled the wrong emergency number. He has admitted that version of events, German media report. Two commuter trains collided on a single-track stretch near Bad Aibling. Eighty-five passengers suffered injuries, some of them life-threatening. The man could be charged with involuntary manslaughter and could face five years in jail. The trains crashed head-on while both were travelling at about 100km/h (60mph) east of Bad Aibling, a spa town about 60km (37 miles) south-east of Munich. Investigators quoted by German media said the timings of the computer game and the crash pointed to "the accused having been distracted from his management of rail traffic at the junction". The stretch of line had an automatic signalling system designed to halt any train that passed a stop signal. But reports in German media suggested that the system had been switched off to let the eastbound train, which was running late, go past. The investigation ruled out technical faults with the trains or signalling system as being behind the crash. All those killed in the crash were men aged between 24 and 59. Train crash: Evidence of human error In case signals fail, German railways are fitted with a final safety guard to prevent crashes. Cab signalling known as PZB (Punktfoermige Zugbeeinflussung - or "intermittent train control") will set off an alarm in the driver's compartment when the train approaches a red light. If the driver does not respond by pressing a button, the train will brake automatically.

2016-04-12 23:51 BBC News www.bbc.co.uk

49 Why Ukraine reformists yearn for change It was 20 February 2014, the bloodiest day of Kiev's so-called Maidan protests. The demonstrations had gone on for months, through the bitter Ukrainian winter, and culminated in forcing President Viktor Yanukovych from power. When Volodymyr Bondarchuk found out that demonstrators had been shot dead, near Kiev's Independence Square, he repeatedly rang his father's mobile phone. There was no answer. His father Sergiy, a physics teacher and member of a Ukrainian political party, was 52. Volodymyr can vividly remember the badly damaged hands of other dead protesters as he searched for his father's body at the morgue. Two years on and he feels proud of the way that civil society in Ukraine has rallied behind the banner of reform, but he feels "betrayed" by Ukraine's political class, which he says has failed to root out corruption and change the system of governance. "They are using the same methods as they were using two years ago. " It's a sentiment echoed by the reformist MP Serhiy Leshenko, an independent MP who is still formally part of President Poroshenko's political grouping, but has now become a sharp- tongued critic of the government. Mr Leshenko describes efforts to install Volodymyr Groysman, an ally of President Poroshenko, as the new prime minister as "business as usual. " "Now we see everything as it was in Yanukovych's time. " The former journalist believes a new Ukrainian government has to demonstrate zero tolerance towards corruption, but he claims Mr Groysman is not the right man for the job because "he is a product of the system". It is true that Mr Groysman, a former city mayor of Vinnytsia and former deputy prime minister, is a career politician and close to the president. However, his allies point to his previous successes in office. Artur Arutyunov, an MP and member of President Poroshenko's party, describes Mr Groysman as "one of the best mayors in Ukraine's history", and exactly the man who can unite the president and the cabinet, and push through much-needed reforms. Some progress has been made in Ukraine to do away with clumsy, Soviet-era bureaucracy, which is ripe for corruption. However a number of reformists have left the government in recent weeks claiming that the vested interests of the political elite stand in the way of true change. On Monday night there were reports that negotiations to install Mr Groysman as prime minister had stalled. If he does take office then the pressure will increase on President Poroshenko to deliver a stable and genuinely reformist government for Ukraine. Volodymyr Bondarchuk, whose father's photo is now part of a permanent memorial to those killed during the Maidan protests in 2014, believes Ukraine's politicians are not fighting for democracy and ideals "but to control access to money". Cynicism and frustration towards post-Maidan politics, and the lack of change, in Ukraine is growing. War veterans who fought in the ongoing conflict in the east of the country were involved in another small anti-government demonstration last week. Volodymyr believes the government should heed the warnings. "There are a lot of people in this country who volunteered… who know how to handle a weapon and I would not recommend the government to play games like this," he says.

2016-04-12 23:51 BBC News www.bbc.co.uk

50 Want to live longer in the US? Get rich For many in America, life expectancy is dependent not only on how you care for yourself, but upon your wealth and where you live. A new study published by the Health Inequality Project has collected data showing that the rich live significantly longer than the poor in the US. The gap between the two is growing, with the wealthy living longer and poor communities seeing no growth in average life spans since 2000. However, there seems to be hope in some cities like New York and Los Angeles where the poor are levelling with their middle-class counterparts. Video by Olivia Lace-Evans

2016-04-12 23:51 BBC News www.bbc.co.uk

51 No loser in cola wars. Coke & Pepsi thriving Carbonated beverage kings (soda, cola or pop depending on where you live) Coke and Pepsi have been market leaders this year. Shares of Pepsi ( PEP ) are up 5% so far in 2016 while Coke ( KO ) is up 8%. Both stocks hit all-time highs on Monday and both are outpacing the major stock indexes in gains this year. Does it make sense for investors to own each of them? Or should they choose one over the other like Warren Buffett? The Oracle of Omaha is a huge fan of Diet Coke and Coke's stock. Buffett may have missed out on some bubbly gains by not having Pepsi in his portfolio though. Pepsi, which is a more diversified company thanks to its ownership of the Frito-Lay snacks business and Quaker Foods, has been a better stock than Coke for the longer haul. Pepsi has gained 55% over the past five years. Coke is up about 37% during the same time frame. Pepsi has slightly outperformed the broader market as well. The S&P 500 is up 53% since April 2011. Eat! Drink! Buy? Food and beverage stocks on fire Still, it looks like both stocks have a good chance of continuing to do well for the foreseeable future. Investors clearly like consumer staples companies right now. The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF ( XLP ) , which owns both Coke and Pepsi as well as other household names like Procter & Gamble ( PG ) , Altria ( MO ) and Colgate- Palmolive ( CL ) is beating the market this year. Earnings for Coke and Pepsi may not rise as rapidly as sexier tech stocks. But Coke and Pepsi offer stability. Analysts are predicting profit growth of about 2% annually for the next few years for Coke and nearly 7% for Pepsi. Both companies also have big dividends that yield much more than a 10-Year U. S. Treasury. Pepsi's payout yields 2.7% while Coke's yield is nearly 3%. The big question for investors is whether or not both stocks are worth their premium price given how well they have already done this year. Neither stock is particularly cheap. Pepsi trades at 22 times earnings estimates for 2016 while Coke is valued at 24 times profit forecasts for this year. Investors who like a good refreshing soft drink could broaden their horizons beyond the market leaders though. Dr Pepper Snapple ( DPS ) is slightly less expensive than Coke and Pepsi. And while smaller soda companies Cott ( COT ) and National Beverage ( FIZZ ) are pretty pricey -- they are both growing more rapidly than their rivals and could be worth the risk. And as long investors continue to prefer stability and predictability over potential and hype, then the only bubbles will be in their soda bottles and cans -- not their stock prices.

2016-04-13 00:54 Paul R money.cnn.com

52 Sanders tours Roosevelt site, says nation can learn from FDR HYDE PARK, N. Y. (AP) — Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders said Tuesday the nation can learn from President Franklin D. Roosevelt's courageous stance against powerful interests, drawing parallels to his own fight against the "billionaire class. " Sanders toured the grounds of Roosevelt's home and presidential library along the Hudson River, pausing to pay his respects at the gravesites of the late president and his first lady, Eleanor Roosevelt. The impromptu visit ahead of New York's presidential primary offered symbolic meaning for a candidate who casts himself as the counterweight to Wall Street and establishment politics. "I think there is a lot that we can learn today from Roosevelt's life and courage, from his willingness to stand up to the most powerful special interests of his time — people he called the economic royalists, people I call the billionaire class today," Sanders said. "In 1936, when he was re-nominated by the Democratic Party for another term as president, he proudly proclaimed that he welcomed the hatred of the economic royalists — that he stood with the working class and the oppressed people of this country. And that's what he did," Sanders said. Sanders has frequently expressed his admiration for Roosevelt as he challenges Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination. In a speech last year, he sought to connect his own views of "democratic socialism" to Roosevelt's push for economic security, a living wage and universal health care. Later, at a rally at Marist College in nearby Poughkeepsie, Sanders praised Roosevelt's 1944 "Second Bill of Rights," which asserted that Americans should have the right to a job with a living wage, health care, education and economic protections for the elderly. "Roosevelt was right back in 1944 and we still have not achieved that goal," Sanders said. __ Follow Ken Thomas on Twitter: https://twitter.com/KThomasDC

2016-04-13 00:51 Associated Press www.dailymail.co.uk

53 Georgia freshmen Rochester, Clay arrested on weapon charges ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Georgia freshmen Julian Rochester and Chad Clay were arrested Monday night on felony charges including the possession of a BB gun in a school zone. Rochester, a defensive lineman, and Clay, a defensive back, were charged with having a weapon in a school zone and second degree criminal damage resulting from damage to a campus dorm. Each is a felony charge. The players did not participate in Tuesday's spring practice but could be back on Thursday, according to coach Kirby Smart. Smart said the incident "really saddens me. " "This conduct will not be tolerated and these guys will be punished at the appropriate time in the appropriate manner," Smart said after the practice. He said information is still being gathered about the incident. Smart said he did not know if the players will be allowed to participate in Saturday's G-Day spring game. "It's just sad because both those kids were improving on the football field and to make a decision so dumb, I mean just a dumb decision, it's disappointing and really embarrasses all of us," Smart said. "It embarrasses the university, and embarrasses their families. " The two were arrested by University of Georgia police and were released from the Athens-Clarke County jail late Tuesday morning, according to jail records. The records show each posted $1,000 bond for each charge. Campus police initially investigated the alleged incident at a campus dormitory on Thursday. The evidence listed in the police report obtained by The Associated Press included suspected marijuana, a bong, an air-powered BB handgun, and a 6,000-count box of BBs and cartridges for the air gun. The players were not charged with any drug offenses. The report lists damage to a wall, door and refrigerator in the dorm room, as well as damage to an elevator door at the dorm, all apparently caused by BB shots. It also states officers found liquor bottles which apparently had been shot with a BB gun. The report included an estimate of damages at $835 to $1085, depending on if the dorm room door had to be replaced or could be repaired. Smart, the former Alabama defensive coordinator hired in January to replace the fired Mark Richt, already has to take action on the arrest of another player. Sophomore defensive end Jonathan Ledbetter was suspended one game after being arrested on two alcohol-related charges last month. Ledbetter, who played in seven games as a backup in 2015, will miss the Bulldogs' Sept. 3 opener against North Carolina in the Georgia Dome. Clay, from Marietta, Georgia, and Peachtree Ridge High School; and Rochester, from Powder Springs, Georgia, and McEachern High School; are among six freshmen who enrolled early for spring practice.

2016-04-13 00:50 Associated Press www.dailymail.co.uk

54 Laquan McDonald briefing: The videos, the police reports The fatal shooting of Laquan McDonald by Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke has set off a wave of protests, criminal charges, investigations, accusations and more. It started in October 2014, when McDonald was shot near 41st and Pulaski. A recording of the shooting made by a dashboard camera in a Chicago Police Department squad car existed, and was volatile enough that after viewing it, city officials immediately agreed to a $5 million settlement with McDonald’s family. For months, the city fought the release of the video. Then, in the past few weeks, events have moved rapidly. A judge ordered the release of the video. Murder charges were filed against Van Dyke. Protesters took to the streets. Mayor Rahm Emanuel fired Chicago Police Supt. Garry McCarthy and replaced the head of the Independent Police Review Authority. There were multiple calls for the federal government to investigate the CPD, calls that were finally answered with the announcement by U. S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch of just such a probe. Federal officials started meeting with top brass of the CPD on Wednesday, Dec. 16. Here are some of the key videos and documents in the case. Laquan McDonald police reports, Part 1 Laquan McDonald police reports, Part 2 Laquan McDonald police reports, Part 3 Laquan McDonald police reports, Part 4 Laquan McDonald police reports, Part 5 Laquan McDonald police reports, Part 6 Laquan McDonald police reports, Part 7

2016-04-13 00:49 Sun-Times chicago.suntimes.com

55 Susan Stroman could not resist lure of Woody Allen's 'Bullets' Five-time Tony Award-winning choreographer/director Susan Stroman has been the woman behind many of Broadway’s most popular and successful musicals, both originals and revivals, including “Young Frankenstein,” “Big Fish,” “The Producers,” “Oklahoma!” and “The Music Man.” But it’s her collaboration with Oscar-winning director/writer Woody Allen for the musical “Bullets Over Broadway” (based on his 1994 Oscar-winning film of the same name), that checked off an item on her bucket list. “Living and working in New York, it’s inevitable that you run into these iconic entertainers or see them about town,” Stroman said with a chuckle during a recent phone conversation. “And I remember saying to a friend that I’d never come across Woody anywhere in New York.” That all changed with one phone call, Stroman said. “When I got the call to meet with Woody [Allen] for a possible stage project I could not get to the meeting fast enough. … Of all the movies he’s written, I thought this particular screenplay would make a great musical. It’s a backstage story. Backstage stories make the best musicals.” Stroman talked about her passion for musicals, working with Allen, and that other comic genius, Mel Brooks. ‘BULLETS OVER BROADWAY’ When: April 19-May 1 Where: The PrivateBank Theatre, 18 W. Monroe Tickets: $19–$85 Info: broadwayinchicago.com Director Susan Stroman photographed in Chicago in 2015. | James Foster / For The Sun-Times

2016-04-13 00:49 Miriam Di chicago.suntimes.com

56 Texas Take: April 12, 2016 -- The Chron’s Kevin Diaz & Dylan Baddour look at the Texas GOP convention and talked to one delegate who summed up the on-the-ground fight between Cruz and Trump at state conventions. “One who could be up for grabs is Thomas Ferrell, 63, who will go the state convention and campaign as a delegate pledged to Trump from Webb County, one of six Texas counties that went to the billionaire. ‘I like Donald Trump, but I also like Ted Cruz,’ Ferrell said. ‘I’ll support Donald Trump until it becomes evident we should support Ted Cruz.’ Cruz’s original base of support, Texas tea party activists, tends to dominate the state’s Republican Party, meaning there is a good chance that many will vote for Cruz at their first opportunity.” -- Feds file securities fraud suit again Paxton, by the Chron’s Brian Rosenthal and Mike Ward . “The civil lawsuit, filed Monday in an East Texas federal court by the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission, accuses Paxton of pressuring friends to invest nearly $1 million in a Collin County technology startup called Servergy, Inc., without telling them that he was being paid to promote the company. Unlike the criminal indictment, which is eight months into a lengthy journey through the state court system, the federal suit will not result in any jail time. -- BOTTOM LINE: “The attorney general’s Republican colleagues in state government continued to publicly ignore the allegations. Spokesmen for Gov. Greg Abbott, who served as attorney general before Paxton, and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, declined comment.” -- Front runners with baggage, by the AP’s Laurie Kellman and Emily Swanson . “At least half of Americans say they would be disappointed or even angry if either of the front-runners — Donald Trump for the Republicans or Hillary Clinton for the Democrats — are nominated, the survey shows. And a quarter said they would be disappointed or angry if both win nominations. Still another quarter would feel at best neutral if both are nominated.” --Cruz’s relationship with Cornyn seen as disconnected, by the Texas Tribune’s Abby Livingston . “For years, their detached relationship has been little more than the subject of Capitol Hill gossip. Yet now, with their party at a crossroads and the presidential nomination at stake, Cornyn's and Cruz's fates may be unexpectedly intertwined. “In claiming victory last week in Wisconsin, Cruz touted how his campaign is unifying the Republican Party behind his bid for the presidency in an effort to topple Trump. … But not everyone in the party is behind him. Most noticeably, Cornyn and the vast majority of the U. S. Senate remain unwilling to publicly back Cruz.” CAPITOL DAYBOOK HOUSE: 1:00 p.m.: Investments & Financial Services [ 1845 E. Northgate Dr., SB Hall Rm 122, Irving, TX ] SPEED READ Texas Take: Republicans united, sort of, Houston Chronicle Julian Castro targeted by progressive groups, Houston Chronicle Former Texas Ranger tapped to lead DFPS, Houston Chronicle ‘What happened in World War II is happening again’: Immigration detention centers through the eyes of a therapist, Los Angeles Times Grieder: Round the Bend, Texas Monthly The best school district in Texas is also ridiculously wealthy, San Antonio Express-News ‘Hillary would beat him from jail,’ Politico Cruz: Drudge is an attack site for Trump’s campaign, Politico Kasich: Cruz delegate tactics in Michigan ‘weren’t appropriate,’ Politico Dems look for political advantage on Equal Pay Day, Associated Press Ted Cruz: ‘California is going to decide the Republican nomination,’ Fort Worth Star-Telegram Fort Worth school district settled with Chesapeake for $1 million, Fort Worth Star-Telegram How Amarillo became a safe haven from violence across the world -- and Ground Zero in the backlash against refugees, Texas Observer QUOTE TO NOTE “It's clear that there's a tremendous lack of communication at the TDA, which makes it difficult for me as a (communications) person to do my job.” -- Lucy Nashed , the former Department of Ag spokeswoman who resigned Monday RACE TO THE WHITE HOUSE -- INTERNAL STRIFE: “Conservative grassroots icon Phyllis Schlafly says she is being ousted from the Eagle Forum organization she founded for her support of Donald Trump, by six state leaders – five of which support Sen. Ted Cruz. Schlafly released a statement Monday claiming the group is trying to take over the organization by controlling bank accounts, firing employees and hiring their own,” per The Dallas Morning News’ Christine Ayala. -- Diagnosing the problem, by Politico’s Nick Gass . “The Republican primary process is not rigged, but rather ‘biased,’ and intentionally so, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul said Tuesday. During an interview on MSNBC's ‘Morning Joe,’ the former presidential candidate, who declared his candidacy a little more than a year ago, referred back to his father Ron Paul's 2012 run when asked what he thought of Donald Trump's complaint that the process by which delegates are allocated and selected is ‘rigged.’” -- Progressive groups target Castro, by Politico’s Edward-Isaac Dovere . “With Bernie Sanders’ durability exciting progressives at their potential to shape the Democratic race, a coalition of groups—many of them backers of the Vermont senator—are launching a preemptive strike against Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro, aimed at disqualifying him from consideration to be Hillary Clinton’s running mate. Tuesday morning, the group will be emailing petitions to several million people attacking Castro on the relatively obscure issue of his handling of mortgage sales and launching a website with an unsubtle address: DontSellOurHomesToWallStreet.org. ”

2016-04-13 03:39 By Bobby www.chron.com

57 4 compete for new Pearland City Council seat Traffic, city finances and infrastructure needs are among issues being raised as four candidates vie for a new Pearland City Council seat. Seeking election on May 7 to at-large Position 6 are elementary school teacher Adrienne Bell , former council member Terry Gray , former assistant city engineer Trent A. Perez and Metropolitan Transit Authority media- relations specialist Monica Russo. The city is creating the position based on the 2014 recommendation of a charter review commission that also called for a seventh council position, to be added in 2017. Mayor Tom Reid said the new positions were added to get a jump on Pearland's continued growth so that council is ready to serve a greater number of residents with the same level of quality. Running unopposed are incumbents Tony Carbone for Position 1 and Greg Hill for Position 5. Adrienne Bell Bell, a Houston ISD elementary school teacher from Pearland's east side, said that if elected, she'll focus on relieving traffic congestion, reeling in city spending and ensuring public safety workers are a priority in the budget. Bell said she's committed to ensuring that all of Pearland's residents are represented, including the less affluent. She said she'd like to see a cultural arts center in Pearland. Bell said her background in education and skills in organizing grassroots Democratic political campaigns - like helping mobilize voters for Sylvia Garcia 's successful state senate campaign for District 6 - make her a strong candidate who can learn quickly and collaborate on decisions. "Schools are affected by the decisions made by City Council; it affects housing, transportation and jobs," she said. "I'm used to making a lot of decisions, thinking efficiently, problem-solving, being flexible and being organized. " Bell has lived in Pearland since 2009 and grew up in southeast Houston. She has two adult children. Terry Gray Gray, 72, who served on City Council from 1976 to 1978 and again from 1980 to 1986, is focused on the city's budget. "This city, like most everybody in the world, has to borrow money, and we have, to a point that we are paying as much interest as principal on our debt, and by 2036 will have spent a half- billion dollars if we don't borrow another dollar," he said. "I would like to get a handle on spending, reduce the debt, refund the pension plan and continue to follow the very good master plan. " Pearland city director of communications Sparkle Anderson said in an email message that the city's debt obligation through 2029-2030 is almost $705.9 million, of which almost $512 million is principal. "When you add up the city's debt obligation through 2029-2030 the debt obligation is $705,860,051 of which $193,945,051 is interest and $511,915,000 is principal. " A resident since 1957, Gray said the city can expand in a more fiscally conservative manner. "A council member's job is to provide infrastructure," he said, adding that while beautification, parks and libraries are all "nice," it's important for the city not to splurge on any projects he feels aren't necessary. "I don't have all the answers, but I have a lot of questions," he said, noting that he's satisfied with current council members' performance. However, he said he would emphasize exploring surface water options instead of continuing to drill wells. Annually, the city relies on about 30 percent of its water from "surface water" sources such as rivers and lakes and 70 percent from wells, according to Anderson. The city's goal is to have those percentages reversed by 2045, with 70 percent coming from surface water and 30 percent from wells. Gray also said he'd be interested in changing the council from having at-large positions to where each member represents a district. "It's the city's job to provide for the east and west side," he said. Trent A. Perez Perez, 39, owns a civil engineering design and land development company. He said his experience working for the city's engineering department helped him understand how the city works and how to attract new businesses. Perez said that as a council member, he would work with city staff to develop a plan to fix aging infrastructure to address traffic congestion, utility issues, flooding problems and potholes. "My platform focuses on five major concerns - reducing traffic congestion, lowering city debt, fixing our broken streets, safety and flooding problems," Perez said, "I believe these issues are critical for the future growth of our city. " "I'm also excited to dig into some long-standing budget issues that Pearland has," he said, in reference to flooding problems, potholes and patchy roads. He said his experience with Pearland's engineering department positioned him to be responsible for managing all of the land development projects proposed within the city in addition to regularly working with the police department, fire marshal's office and the parks department among others. Perez also pledged to remedy the mysterious odors that Shadow Creek Ranch residents have been dealing with for months. "Pearland City Council does not currently have a civil engineer as a member but commonly deals with civil engineering matters like traffic and flooding," he said, "As a former staff member, I'm already aware of how the budget process works and how our tax dollars are actually used. " Perez has lived in Pearland for seven years, having originally come to Shadow Creek Ranch before moving to the city's east end. Perez and his wife, Tally, have three children. Monica Russo Russo, 36, envisions a more vibrant Pearland community with more entertainment and dining options for residents. "I want to take a hard look at providing a wider range of transportation options to ease roads and traffic," Russo said without elaborating. "I think it's important to look at Pearland long term," she said, adding that she is aiming for measures to improve Pearland as a whole in 10 to 20 years. While she believes the council has done a good job, she said she'd like to tackle issues with land use and street maintenance more aggressively. A city resident since 2006, Russo emphasized her communication skills as a spokesperson for Metro as well as her ability to think outside the box. She said her work in Shadow Creek Ranch neighborhood as a homeowners association president and her early work with the Better Business Bureau also distinguish her as someone with a history of serving other people. "I've worked with the public and the small business community," she said, "I have some great ideas that I'm ready to bring to Pearland. " She and her husband, Michael, have two children. Residents can cast their ballot on May 7. Early voting is April 25 to May 3.

2016-04-13 03:39 By Glynn www.chron.com

58 Man suspected in 2 Pasadena store robberies Pasadena police are searching for a man they say robbed a convenience store, or possibly two, in recent months. The latest heist happened about 2:10 p.m. March 3 at a Shell gasoline station at 829 W. Pasadena Freeway, according to the Pasadena Police Department. Police said the suspect walked into the store, pulled out a knife and tried to jump over the counter. The clerk ran outside and the suspect followed him. Somehow in the struggle, the clerk's face was slashed. The bald suspect wore a white hoodie and jeans. A new model silver sedan might have been involved in the incident, investigators said. Police said the other robbery happened about 7 a.m. Oct. 9 at an Exxon gas station at 5499 Fairmont Parkway. The suspect pulled out a knife and demanded cash. Employees gave him money from the cash register. Then the suspect left in a silver sedan. That suspect was also described as bald and wore a blue T-shirt. Investigators believe the same man pulled off both heists. Anyone with information about the suspect's identify is encouraged to contact the Pasadena Police Department 713-477-1221 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS (8477). Crime Stoppers will pay up to $5,000 for information that leads to a suspect's arrest.

2016-04-13 03:39 By Dale www.chron.com

59 Guy who won Whataburger 'for a decade' is making it rain No. 1s in Texas When Blake Miller's tattoo of a Whataburger table tent popped up during the burger chain's SnapChat contest, they had no choice but to award free food "for a decade" to the Aransas Pass man. But with Miller's compassion and willingness to give back, it likely won't last 10 years. RELATED: 6 reasons why 2015 was the year of Whataburger The 22-year-old won $3,000 in gift cards from the company last week and Sunday, he decided to spread the wealth. Miller, along with his friends and family, bought 30 No.1's from Whataburger with the gift cards and delivered the food to people at the Good Samaritan Shelter Rescue Mission . The hardcore fan, who now lives in Aransas Pass, posted a Snap of himself sitting in a Whataburger booth with a tray full of the restaurant's best items in front of him. A tattoo of an orange and white Whataburger table tent can be seen on his left tricep. The number on the table tent is 361. The area code to Corpus Christi, which is home to the only two-story Whataburger, is 361. RELATED: These sneakers take Whataburger love to another level Miller had wanted a tattoo to show his Corpus Christi pride for a while so during a recent trip to San Antonio with his friends, he went under the needle. Unknowingly, while the tattoo artist was at work, he mentioned that if Miller were to get Whataburger for life because of the tattoo, he'd have to share. The next morning, Whataburger announced their contest. "I'm going to take a trip to San Antonio and I'm taking his whole tattoo shop to Whataburger," Miller said.

2016-04-13 03:39 By Jessica www.chron.com

60 Hustler releasing a Donald Trump porn parody on Tuesday Finally there is a professionally produced Donald Trump porn parody. Rule 34 is alive and well during this presidential campaign season. Hustler publisher Larry Flynt on Tuesday will release a Trump-themed porn parody film, starring actor Evan Stone and actress Britney Amber. Flynt, 73, has been an outspoken critic of the current GOP race, and very vocal about his disgust with Trump. In a press statement he's called the race a "national embarrassment and an insult to the intelligence of the American people. " "This parody is my contribution to the most entertaining Republican Party contest in recent history," he added. Flynt's definition of entertainment is a bit different than most people's. RELATED: The Latest: Ted Cruz accuses Donald Trump of 'whining' A very NSFW contribution that is. With every presidential campaign season comes a new batch of porn films lampooning the front- runners, it seems. In 2008 porn star Lisa Ann made waves parodying Sarah Palin, becoming a pop-culture star in the process. The blue movie, titled "The Donald," is described as a "fantasized look at how the Republican Party front-runner might select his vice presidential running mate. " You fill in the blanks where you see fit, readers. Flynt said he was sending a copy of the flick to every Republican member of Congress, according to Politico. Whether or not it actually reaches their desks is another thing. According to past missives from Flynt, he's supporting Hillary Clinton during this campaign season. No word yet on Clinton getting the Hustler treatment but we'll keep you posted. Porn star Nina Hartley did play her in the Palin parody.

2016-04-13 03:39 By Craig www.chron.com

61 Findings of Sandra Bland jail death probe released Nine months after Sandra Bland’s jail cell death sparked nationwide scrutiny and weeks of protests, an independent civilian committee is recommending a series of changes for the besieged Waller County Sheriff’s Office, including body cameras for officers, medical and mental health screening for all inmates and stress management training for deputies. The committee, which released its findings Monday afternoon, said the changes are workable and financially feasible for the sheriff’s office. Hempstead and Houston lawyer Paul Looney, who chose committee members, said the city had no allegiance to the sheriff or law enforcement. RELATED: Trooper in Sandra Bland case pleads not guilty "Every one of us took this assignment with eagerness because we wanted to burn the cops," Looney said. "We didn’t’ find it to be as bad as we thought, but we did find a lot of places to make recommendations for improvement. We all went into this expecting to find a lot more malfeasance than we did. " Take look at the 10 biggest takeaways from the report in the gallery above. The five-person committee, formed by Looney at the request of the Waller County Sheriff R. Glenn Smith, was given "full and unencumbered access" to all areas of the department, notes the report. Other committee members included JoAnne Musick, president of the Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association; Juan L. Guerra Jr., criminal defense lawyer; Randall Kallinen, civil rights attorney; Morris Overstreet, a former judge on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals; and former U. S. Rep. Craig Washington. RELATED: Sandra Bland's death becomes topic on campaign trail None of the committee members had ever met the sheriff. Their efforts included combing through documents, walking cell blocks, riding in patrol cars and speaking privately at length with inmates and sheriff’s department employees. The Waller County Sheriff’s Office came under fire last summer following the hanging death of Bland, a 28-year-old Illinois native who was found dead in her cell days after being pulled over by a state trooper for failing to signal a lane change. A Texas Department of Public Safety dash-mounted camera captured a quickly escalating argument between Bland and Trooper Brian Encinia, who threatened to use a Taser on her. Her death sparked protests outside the sheriff’s office. RELATED: Sandra Bland's mother wants justice, more info on daughter's July death The trooper was fired and is charged with perjury. He has pleaded not guilty. Bland’s death was ruled a suicide. Bland’s family, who has questioned why she was arrested and why more wasn’t done to safeguard her, filed a wrongful death lawsuit in federal court. Bland’s mother has campaigned along with other mothers whose children died with Democratic presidential candidate hopeful Hillary Clinton. Key recommendations from the committee are that: •Emergency medical technicians should be used instead of deputies to screen inmates for medical and mental health issues. A doctor working remotely via the internet could then review information for each prisoner and use video conferences if needed to decide whether they need to be prescribed medicine, put on a suicide watch or provided other other treatment. •Body cameras should be used to document encounters between officers and civilians •Deputies should be required to undergo stress management and psychiatric examinations Other suggestions for improvements include speeding up construction of a new jail to replace the current facility, which does not meet safety and security requirements; investing in technology for electronic booking and sharing of information on inmates; and separating the staff members who do policing from those who work in the jail. Looney said that some of the suggestions, such as the use of a doctor to do video conferencing, could go a long way toward taking care of prisoners in Waller County and other counties across the United States. "If implemented, this could save an untold number lives every year for people who died because they didn’t have their needed medicine to sustain life or the jail staff didn’t recognize they were under extreme stress," he said. "People die under these circumstances in every county jail in the country. " Waller County is home to Prairie View A&M University, a historically black college where Bland graduated in 2009. The Chicago native had returned to town to take a job at the school. The city council voted to temporarily rename University Drive, the stretch of road where Bland was stopped by the trooper, as Sandra Bland Parkway.

2016-04-13 03:39 By Dane www.chron.com

62 Underground beer garden among Houston's little known secrets Houston's most prominent downtown features, such as Chase Tower, reach straight up like pins in a map. But to see what really makes the city interesting you need to look deeper -- sometimes a lot deeper. A beer garden (and an actual garden) are hidden under Houston's downtown in the city's first curated food hall. The multi-vendor culinary wonderland , called Conservatory Underground Beer Garden & Food Hall, features more than 60 taps and seating for 250. It's nestled under the busy downtown corner of Prairie and Main. RELATED: See some of the vendors at Conservatory, Houston's only underground food hall The 7,500-square-foot basement space is anchored by a "living garden" wall of plants and charms with a grand staircase that takes customers down to the large beer garden and food vendors. This isn't Houston's only underground treasure. The city also has an eerie, 87,500-square-foot cistern under Sabine Street. In fact, there could be some actual buried treasure somewhere in Hermann Park. Click the gallery above to see more secrets about Houston you probably didn't know .

2016-04-12 23:03 By Jessica www.chron.com

63 Texas inmate gets $50,000 from state for foot injury A state prison inmate in Madison County settled a federal civil rights lawsuit in Houston Tuesday over an injury sustained when guards tried to restrain him and he nearly lost a foot. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice settled for $50,000 and also promised to look into moving the inmate, who now walks with a cane, to a medium security facility where he wouldn't have to climb any stairs. Larry Hargrove, 38, from the Austin area, was serving a sentence at the state's Ferguson Unit in Midway for marijuana possession and for being a felon in possession of body armor when, on July 19, 2009, he was called to the chaplain's office. CAUGHT ON CAMERA: Police abuse videos gone viral There, he learned that his sister, who was the only person who regularly visited him in prison, had died. Officials told him that another sister planned to visit the prison to tell him details about how she died. Hargrove said in his federal complaint that he stopped to speak with a guard on his way back from the chaplain's office, and he answered the guard's question about why his eyes were red and puffy. Another guard told him to get moving. He moved over to an area where a third guard was standing and had his back to a number of guards who arrived on the scene to respond to an alert. Hargrove said in court filings the guards punched him from behind and one guard stepped on his calf, breaking his leg and dislocating his ankle to the extent that his foot was "dangling from his leg by a mere sliver of muscle and tendon. " Hargrove's suit was scheduled for a jury trial today, but instead the parties negotiated a settlement. Robert Hurst, a TDCJ spokesman, said the department had no comment about the settlement.

2016-04-12 22:50 By Gabrielle www.chron.com

64 Many eager to see what's in 50-year-old time capsule There's mystery surrounding the 50-year-old time capsule buried at a former theater in Clear Lake, and Jim Johnson can't wait to dig it up. On April 20, Johnson, branch manager of the Clear Lake City- County Freeman Branch Library , will exhume the capsule, which was buried at the former Clear Lake Theater. While no one knows exactly what will be found, Johnson has perused old news articles for clues. Artifacts likely include an American flag taken by astronaut Charles Conrad on a space flight, astronaut Charles Bassett 's speech for the dedication of the library, clippings about the theater's opening, an enrollment projection for Clear Creek school district and a model of a space rocket. "I think some of the items reflect Clear Lake coming into its own in the 1960s," said Johnson, adding that he'll be excited to see some of the NASA-centric items like Conrad's flag or people's predictions for space travel. He's hoping the items will be intact. He has little information on the vault itself, which is under a metal plate, and those who buried it didn't leave instructions on how to unearth it. He said the plan is to cut the concrete around the plate to lift the capsule out. He said visitors to the event will be briefed on the history of the capsule before revealing what's is inside. "There won't be a lot of ceremony," he said. "People really just want to see what's in it. " Brian Kissell, a local retired school teacher and past president of the Friends of Freeman Library , feels events like this are important to help understand and appreciate the past. "Although we think people will remember big events like the opening of the theater, most people that live in the area now don't even know that it was a theater," he said, "the items in the capsule will show what was considered important at the time, so it will be interesting to compare how those things have changed and remained the same. " Kissell jokes that he spent a lot of time at the theater since it was one of the few entertainment venues then available. "In talking to people that lived in the area at the time, people that are my age remember it well, but their parents have no recollection of the opening," he said. Johnson said if social media activity is any indication, 50 to 100 people have expressed an interest in the capsule. Former NASA official Milt Heflin , who was most recently an associate director at the Johnson Space Center , will be a special guest at the event, which will take place at 16602 El Camino Real, Houston, which was most recently the site of a restaurant that went out of business.

2016-04-12 22:50 By Glynn www.chron.com

65 Categories Archives BY YVONNE ZUSEL Folk rock band Mumford & Sons ruffled some traditionalist feathers when they released their third album, “Wilder Mind,” in 2015, trading in the banjo for more of a plugged-in sound with an emphasis on the “rock” over the “folk.” “It wasn’t a huge strategic move,” frontman Marcus Mumford told AJC music writer Melissa Ruggieri in an interview last week . Judging from the crowd reaction at Tuesday night’s nearly sold-out show at Infinite Energy Center in Duluth — the band returns for a second tonight — no one seems to mind a little shift in sound, although fans are also perfectly happy to hear some of the classics that put Mumford & Sons on the map in the first place.

2016-04-12 22:47 music.blog.ajc.com

66 Gang of four pleads guilty in Alief double murder Four men have taken responsibility for the deaths of a 39-year- old woman and her boyfriend's 10-year-old son in a 2013 drug deal gone wrong in Alief. Two of the men facing capital murder charges pleaded guilty Tuesday to murder in exchange for life in prison. The deal means both will be eligible for parole after 30 years. Donte Jerrell Earls, 26, and Desmenn Demond Simon, 28, pleaded guilty to murder Tuesday, joining Jerome Dewon Godine, 25, who made the same deal in December. The fourth man, Bobby Austin, 26, has admitted guilt and has asked state District Judge Renee Magee to decide punishment, according to court officials. Le "Lena" Nguyen, who was dating a reported drug dealer in Alief, was killed execution style with her boyfriend's son 10-year-old Brandon Vu in the 6600 block of Westwick on May 1, 2013. The boy's father, Hoai Tranh Vu, was seriously wounded in the shooting, investigators said. 2016-04-13 00:11 By Brian www.chron.com

67 Report: University of Nebraska student kicked out of sorority for Tinder photo A University of Nebraska sorority has "swiped left" on one of their members because she used a suspect photo on her Tinder profile page. Ex-Chi Omega sister Shannon Workman told the New York Daily News she apparently violated the "Human Dignity" rule. The rule states members are forbidden from posting photos featuring Chi Omega in a capacity that would "bring disrespect to the chapter. " RELATED: Southern Methodist sues sorority over party video The photo shows her and two other women wearing cut-off tank tops, high-waisted jean shorts and cowboy boots. Their tank tops featured a logo with cowboy boots, an omega symbol studded with stars and the words "Sweet Home Chi Omega" beneath them. According to Workman, the sorority called the photos "provocative" and "risque. " They also accused Workman of being disrespectful and combative. In the end, the sorority kicked out Workman. The two other women in that photo have also left the sorority. New York Daily News reports there has been some blood-letting at Chi Omega. Former sisters say the chapter has instituted a harsh set of rules to boot members. The sorority did not comment on the Daily News' report.

2016-04-13 03:39 By John www.chron.com

68 Julian Castro targeted by progressive groups AUSTIN — As the political front-runners continue their daily campaign fighting, a new skirmish is breaking out involving Texas favorite son Julian Castro, the oft-mentioned possible vice president candidate for Hillary Clinton. In a story Tuesday , Politico.com details a petition drive pushed by some Democratic Party progressives and supporters of Clinton challenger Bernie Sanders, highlighting a new wave of opposition research targeting possible Clinton veep options. NOT FUNNY: 'CP' time joke lands Hillary Clinton, NYC mayor in hot water It's the first time Castro, who has been mentioned for months as a possible Clinton veep choice, has come under fire in the race — and the first time a possible No. 2 is taking heat. "With Bernie Sanders' durability exciting progressives at their potential to shape the Democratic race, a coalition of groups — many of them backers of the Vermont senator — are launching a preemptive strike against Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro, aimed at disqualifying him from consideration to be Hillary Clinton's running mate," read the lead of the story. GAFFE CENTRAL: Moments that could've sunk Trump's campaign (but didn't) "Tuesday morning, the group will be emailing petitions to several million people attacking Castro on the relatively obscure issue of his handling of mortgage sales and launching a website with an unsubtle address: DontSellOurHomesToWallStreet.org. "They're just as open with their political aims: to publicly discredit Castro as a progressive, latching onto the mortgage issue to seed enough suspicion to keep him off Clinton's short list. " MUD SLINGING: Donald Trump ad shows Hillary Clinton barking like a dog Open question: With most everyone else in the presidential race fighting each other on a daily basis, why not bring veep candidates into the fray? Within hours after the Politico story hit the Web, Pete Gallego, a former congressman and Democratic candidate for his old seat, weighed in to defend Castro, saying he would make "a phenomenal vice presidential nominee. " "I'm a Democrat but I'm not afraid to call out people from my own party when they're wrong and they're dead wrong on this," Gallego said. "Julian Castro is an accomplished leader who embodies the hopes and dreams of many younger Americans. "

2016-04-13 03:39 By Mike www.chron.com

69 Harris Co. sheriff to meet with critics of program that screens for those in country illegally Harris County Sheriff Ron Hickman said he would meet this week with immigrant rights activists over a controversial federal program that trains local law enforcement officers to help federal agents screen for illegal immigrants in the jails. The meeting -- scheduled for Thursday -- comes as activists in recent weeks have increased pressure to end the county's participation in the program. The memorandum of agreement for the program between the sheriff's office and U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is up in June, Hickman said. Hickman will then decide whether or not to continue the agreement, which began in 2008 under then-Sheriff Tommy Thomas and was renewed under his successor, Adrian Garcia. "I would have to have a very compelling reason not to do it," Hickman said on renewing the agreement. Harris County Judge Ed Emmett recommended to county commissioners at their meeting Tuesday to wait for the outcome of Hickman's meeting with activists. Hickman said he was looking to hear the critics' point of view on the 287(g) program and to educating them on how the program works, stating that it does not endanger anyone who has not been booked into jail on a crime. "The perception is somewhat off-base," Hickman said. Many speakers said Tuesday that the program spreads distrust in the immigrant community. Maria Trevino Rodriguez, who is with United We Dream Houston and is helping to organize a campaign against the 287(g) program, said that as a child, she feared her undocumented parents would be deported. She said at the meeting that the 287(g) program "has been a huge factor to that daily fear. " Authorized by Congress in the late 1990s, the program has been credited with identifying hundreds of thousands of suspected illegal immigrants nationwide since 2006, when it gained popularity under the second Bush administration. The program grew increasingly controversial over the years , particularly after a series of critical reports by the Government Accountability Office and the Inspector General and high-profile allegations of abuse or mistakes by local law enforcement agencies. It is not the same as the Secure Communities program, which has drawn its share of controversy and opposition . Currently, 32 agencies nationwide participate in 287(g). The only other law enforcement agency in Texas that has a 287(g) agreement with ICE is the Carrollton Police Department. Several local governments across the U. S. have ended their participation in the 287(g) program. In May, Los Angeles County voted to terminate its contract with ICE. Eight deputies screened about 1,800 people in the Harris County jail in 2015, sending roughly 10 percent of those to ICE for possible deportation through the program, called 287(g), Hickman said.

2016-04-12 23:03 By Mihir www.chron.com

70 2 police, 6 alleged gang members killed in El Salvador clash SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) — Two police officers and six alleged gang members were killed Tuesday in a clash outside El Salvador's capital, authorities said. The attorney general's office said through its official Twitter account that the battle involving members of the Barrio 18 gang occurred in a rural area in the department of Cuscatlan northeast of San Salvador. The agency initially said two police officers were killed and two seriously wounded, then updated that to say three officers had died. The national police also confirmed that figure, but later said only two were dead after the director of the force visited the scene. The attorney general's office also reverted to two dead officers. According to the attorney general's office and police, the officers were accompanying a witness when they were ambushed. Combined police and military forces scoured the area looking for those responsible. A total of 15 police officers have been slain in El Salvador this year.

2016-04-13 00:42 Associated Press www.dailymail.co.uk

71 City Council to vote Wednesday to give Johnson top cop job With murders and shootings spiking, high-crime summer months fast approaching and a federal civil rights investigation in high-gear, the City Council will vote Wednesday to sanction Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s end-run around the Police Board by handing Interim Police Supt. Eddie Johnson the permanent job. The die was cast Tuesday, when the Committee on Public Safety anointed Johnson as the permanent, $260,044-a-year replacement for fired Police Supt. Garry McCarthy after 90 minutes of debate about the “dangerous precedent” being set. Only after the committee signed off on what aldermen were assured was a “one-time exception” was Johnson put on the hot seat for a grilling that was a partial substitute for the vetting he didn’t get from the Police Board. Ald. Ricardo Munoz (22nd) cut to the chase. He asked the new superintendent what he planned to do to get a handle on runaway overtime that topped $116.1 million in 2015— and about what Munoz called the “elephant in the room.” “Do we have enough police officers?” Munoz said. Johnson answered the red-hot manpower and redeployment questions the way McCarthy always did. He punted. “We have to take a hard look at are we using the resources that we have efficiently? Once we can say that, then we can look at whether or not we have enough,” Johnson said. Munoz and others also claimed that cuts to community policing have dissipated the once pioneering program into little more than an “in-person 911.” Johnson did not disagree. When CAPS officers were severed, Johnson said it “inadvertently created mistrust and my No. 1 goal is to get that trust back.” Toward that end, the superintendent said he favors putting police officers back in Chicago Public Schools. “The young folks don’t look at police officers as people. All they see is the uniform. Putting police officers back in schools — all that stuff is important in bringing back that trust,” he said. With $6.5 million more in police abuse settlements poised for approval Wednesday, Ald. Willie Cochran (20th), a former Chicago Police officer, had a warning for the new top cop. “These financial settlements are driving us to the poor house,” Cochran said. Johnson said he is fully committed to implementing recommendations from Emanuel’s Task Force on Police Accountability, scheduled to be released Thursday, and from the Justice Department after that. In the meantime, he’s talked to Internal Affairs about creating a “mechanism so we can flag narratives of inappropriate behavior in real-time.” “One bad officer paints all of us in a negative light. That hill is tough to climb every time we have to face that,” he said. “We’re working on mechanisms now where we can flag inappropriate behavior early on. Those things will go a long way toward relieving the stress of large pay-outs.” Ald. Anthony Napolitano (41st), a former Chicago Police officer-turned-firefighter, told Johnson he has one request: “Fix the morale. Bring back that pro-active police officer.” Turning to his colleagues and the community at large, Napolitano said, “Let’s get behind our police officers. Let’s weed out the bad apples. But it doesn’t ruin the bunch.” The former chief of patrol takes the reins at a perilous time. The U. S. Justice Department is conducting a federal civil rights investigation of the Chicago Police Department triggered by the police shooting of Laquan McDonald — and conducting ride-alongs with Chicago cops–that is almost certain to culminate in the appointment of a federal monitor to execute mandates that will cost millions of dollars to implement. Since the court-ordered release of the McDonald shooting video, homicides and shootings have spiked while arrests and police stops have plummeted. Police morale has hit rock-bottom. Officers have adopted a defensive crouch, concerned about being caught doing something wrong as the star of the next viral YouTube video. On Monday night, a 16-year-old boy was fatally shot by a Chicago Police in the West Side’s North Lawndale neighborhood after officers on patrol in the Harrison District saw a vehicle matching the description of one used in an earlier shooting. Tuesday’s hearing got off to a rocky start when aldermen were asked to sanction Emanuel’s decision to ignore the three finalists that emerged from a nationwide search that cost the Police Board $500,000 to conduct. “What is the urgency? Why can’t we just follow the process?” said Ald. Patrick Daley Thompson (11th). Ald. Susan Sadlowski-Garza (10th) called the one-time exception a “dangerous precedent” during a time of crisis for the Chicago Police Department that demands transparency. But Ald. Walter Burnett (27th) tried to call a halt to a debate about process that he branded “B. S.” at a time when Chicago’s never-ending gang violence has homicides and shootings rising through the roof. “Folks are killing people in our neighborhoods . .. Police aren’t doing anything. They’re not doing their jobs because morale is down. We need to get morale up. We have somebody they respect right now. I’ve spoken to the police. They said they will work with this man. They said they respect him,” Burnett said. “We need to do what’s expedient. What’s expedient is we need to save peoples’ lives in the city of Chicago. I don’t care about no board. I don’t care what people think. Half those people who think stuff — they’re not dodging bullets like we have to in our ward. They’re not going to funerals like we have to. They’re not listening to people come into their offices asking, `Can you help me pay for a funeral?’ like we have to.” The mayor’s request for the City Council to sanction his end-run around the Police Board comes at a time when aldermen have been pushing back, emboldened by the Laquan McDonald controversy that has weakened the mayor politically. That’s why Part One of Tuesday’s hearing took 90 minutes even though it ended just the way Emanuel had scripted, with Johnson being handed the permanent job. On a voice vote, Daley Thompson was the only one who shouted “no.” He later told Johnson it wasn’t personal. It was about the process.

2016-04-13 00:41 Fran Spielman chicago.suntimes.com

72 More texting drivers in Texas and other states without ban, study says That driver next to you on the Houston freeway is more likely to be tapping on their phone when they should be worried about tapping their brakes, a new study has found. Comparing the 46 states with bans on texting to the four that do not – Texas, Missouri, Arizona and Montana – researchers with AT&T found drivers in the states without a ban have a roughly 17 percent higher rate of texting. The study was unique in that it used AT&T customers with Android phones and logged their texting from moving vehicles. The information, which only included incidents of texting and shielded identities, was then analyzed with a host of other factors to get a valid sample of how likely people are to text while commuting in metro areas, Susanne Halstead, senior data scientist with AT&T, said Tuesday. That means unlike surveys where people are asked about their texting habits behind the wheel – where some people lie – the study is based on actual incidents of people texting from a moving car and census data related to how many people drive alone or with someone. Supporters of statewide texting bans said the findings demonstrate laws have a positive effect. “There is concrete evidence that states with texting bans have fewer drivers who are texting,” said Kara Macek, spokeswoman for the Governors Highway Safety Association . “Which is the exact behavior we are trying to change.” Forty cities in the state have a local ban, including Bellaire, Conroe, Galveston, Missouri City, Tomball and West University Place. But attempts to ban texting while driving in Texas have run into opposition or ambivalence in Austin, where Gov. Greg Abbott and his predecessor Rick Perry have both balked at a law they said controlled adult behavior. “That is a really hard mindset to change,” Macek said, calling opposition to a ban in the four holdout states “a tough nut to crack.” The study, which provides valuable comparisons, Macek said, gives ban supporters more opportunity to urge for law changes but also another chance to warn drivers. Ultimately, she added, it is not about texting but all types of distractions that drivers confront. “We know it is dangerous to interact with your phone, period,” she said.

2016-04-13 00:11 By Dug www.chron.com

73 Inmate dies after beating in Harris County jail A Harris County inmate was killed in jail last week by two other inmates, the Harris County Sheriff's Office reported Tuesday after being questioned about a violent in-custody death by the Houston Chronicle. Inmate Patrick Brown was found unresponsive in a holding cell April 5 at approximately 12:37 a.m., sheriff's officials said. He was transported to Memorial Hermann Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 8:14 a.m. Brown had been in jail for a single day and was being held on a misdemeanor theft charge, court records show. Two other inmates, Curtis Maxwell and Ebenezer Nah, face charges of aggravated assault, which may be upgraded pending the outcome of an autopsy by the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences, the sheriff's office said. A Houston Chronicle 2015 investigation Jailhouse Jeopardy found that the jail was the scene of frequent assaults and that there had been at least 75 in-custody deaths reported from 2009- 2015, most of whom were pretrial defendants like Brown. The Chronicle identified at least 19 cases in which inmates died of illnesses that were either treatable or preventable, or in which delays in care, or staff misconduct, could have played a role in their deaths. Watch related videos here:

2016-04-13 00:11 By Lise www.chron.com

74 74 Opinion: Bigotry toward Chicago Muslims won't defeat terrorists In Chicago, we face many urgent challenges – ending gun violence, protecting civil rights, combatting heroin, curbing corruption. So when terrorism strikes – abroad, as with Brussels and Paris, or at home, as with San Bernardino – it’s a reminder of why, despite those other challenges, law enforcement in Chicago must continue investing resources to counter terrorism and prevent attack. ISIS is an evil group. It murders, tortures, defames religion, and abuses women and children. It is also formidable. ISIS’ use of social media and propaganda to lure supporters and facilitate attacks around the globe is unprecedented. When ISIS strikes, there are far-flung repercussions. Innocents die. Commerce and economies are disrupted. Fear grows, and it travels. Fear is insidious and drags distrust and hate with it, which breeds bad acts and destructive rhetoric – xenophobia – and sometimes bigotry against Islam and people of Muslim faith. Chicago is home to over 200,000 Muslims. Our Muslim communities are strong, diverse and law-abiding. They are parents, educators, children, colleagues and friends. They are civic leaders, intellectuals, philanthropists and history makers. The Chicago skyline is a bold testament to the contributions made by the Muslim community, as two of our Chicago landmarks – the John Hancock Center and Willis Tower – were designed by a Muslim architect. From our perspective in law enforcement, we enjoy excellent relationships with Chicago’s Muslim communities. In our jobs, we meet routinely with Muslim leaders, and in those interactions without fail we encounter warmth, humility and grace. Our Muslim neighbors, no different than most citizens, abhor violence and cherish safety and security. ISIS presents a threat to our security and our fundamental values. In partnership with the Muslim community, we continue to develop proactive strategies to defeat ISIS and repel its efforts to radicalize young people in the United States and other countries. We are grateful for the role that the Muslim community is playing in this effort and look forward to continuing cooperation on the most effective approaches to accomplish this goal. ISIS will be defeated, but it will not be through ostracizing the Muslim community; it will be through a collaborative effort that demonstrates our unity in rejecting the violence, hatred and divisiveness that ISIS embodies. Our democracy stands on principles of freedom and equality. Diversity is a hallmark of freedom, and equal treatment fosters diversity. Our differences, religious and otherwise, make us stronger and better as a people. While ISIS trades on fear, here at home, through the love and mutual respect of all our citizens, we stand strong. On behalf of the United States Attorney’s Office and the FBI in Chicago, we are grateful for that. Follow the Editorial Board on Twitter: Follow @csteditorials Tweets by @CSTeditorials

2016-04-13 00:24 Zachary T chicago.suntimes.com

75 Senate Judiciary Chair Grassley Has Breakfast With Garland Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley told President Barack Obama's Supreme Court nominee on Tuesday that the Senate won't advance his nomination "during this hyper-partisan election year," the lawmaker's office said. Grassley's breakfast meeting with federal judge Merrick Garland was "cordial and pleasant" and lasted about 70 minutes, according to a written statement released by the Iowa Republican's aides. Grassley has been a favorite target of Democrats criticizing Republicans for their refusal to consider Obama's nomination this year. GOP opposition has been led by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., with Grassley refusing to allow his committee to hold even the usual hearings for the nominee. Grassley evaded reporters waiting for him outside the Senate Dining Room in the Capitol, where he met with Garland. He had said in advance that he would recite to the judge the Republican position that the Senate won't consider a nominee until the new president elected this November makes a selection. "As he indicated last week, Grassley explained why the Senate won't be moving forward during this hyper-partisan election year," Grassley's five-sentence statement said. "Grassley thanked Judge Garland for his service. " Garland as usual said nothing to reporters. Obama nominated Garland last month to fill the vacancy created by the February death of Justice Antonin Scalia . Minus Scalia, the high court is balanced 4-4 between justices who usually lean liberal or conservative. With voters about to choose a new president and control of Congress at stake in November, Republicans don't want to infuriate conservative voters and approve a justice who could tip the court in the liberal direction. The judge had three other Senate meetings scheduled Tuesday, including with two Republicans, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania. Like Grassley, Murkowski and Toomey agreed to meet with Garland but have lined up behind McConnell in saying no nominee should be considered this year. A spokeswoman for Murkowski said the senator had a private meeting with Garland Tuesday morning and discussed issues important to Alaska. Toomey's meeting was scheduled for later in the day. Grassley, Murkowski and Toomey are all up for re-election this year. Grassley is heavily favored to win, but he drew a well-known Democratic challenger, former Lt. Gov. Patty Judge, after he announced that his committee would not hold hearings. For weeks, Democrats have been criticizing Grassley almost daily on the Senate floor. With Grassley seeking a seventh Senate term in this November's voting, they have said they believe the pressure is beginning to show. "These are not the actions of a senator who is confident in his decision to block a Supreme Court nominee," Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Tuesday on the Senate floor, citing the private breakfast and accusing him of stifling committee business. "This is the behavior of a senator who knows he's on the wrong side of the Constitution and the wrong side of history. " Told of Grassley's meeting with Garland as he entered the Capitol Tuesday near the dining room, Reid said, "I'm glad he's doing something. " Conservative groups issued statements supporting Grassley. "The American people are grateful that Senator Grassley is standing up to President Obama's cynical attempt to force the Senate to confirm Merrick Garland, another liberal judge who will ensure the left dominates the Supreme Court for a generation or more," said Carrie Severino, chief counsel of the conservative Judicial Crisis Network. Democrats and liberal groups have used demonstrations and press conferences to pressure Grassley back in Iowa. Keith Uhl, a Republican attorney who helped manage Grassley's first Senate campaign, told reporters on a conference call Monday that the Senate should "man up and vote" on Garland. He was joined on the call by Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller, a Democrat, and Drake University Law Professor Mark Kende. In Des Moines, Iowa, the Ritual Cafe coffee shop was renaming menu items after owner Denise Diaz was approached by liberal groups. Listings on Tuesday included Obstruction Oats, oatmeal topped with hemp nuts, and the Justice Delayed Bowl, which was steamed eggs roasted with peppers and olives.

2016-04-13 00:23 By abcnews.go.com

76 Alleged spy arrested boarding flight to China (CNN) A Navy officer charged with espionage was arrested as he boarded a flight to mainland China, a U. S. defense official told CNN. CNN's Nick Valencia, Kevin Bohn and Kevin Wang contributed to this report.

2016-04-13 00:22 Jim Sciutto www.cnn.com

77 NC governor wants part of rights law changed but most intact RALEIGH, N. C. (AP) — North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory said Tuesday that he wants to change part of a new law that prevents people from suing over employment discrimination in state court, and he officially extended LGBT employment protections to many state workers. But McCrory's not interested in changing the rest of the law he signed three weeks ago that prevented local governments and the state from mandating similar protections in the private sector or at stores and restaurants. And the executive order he signed affirmed parts of the law directing people inside government buildings and schools to use the multistall bathrooms corresponding to the sex listed on their birth certificate. The Republican governor's announcement comes as fallout widens over the law he signed last month that would limit protections for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. Only a few opponents called the order a step in the right direction. McCrory said some people who like the law may grumble, too. "This will not satisfy all the critics who have a litmus test of purity on each side of this issue," McCrory told The Associated Press in an interview, adding "my job is to find a common sense solution to where we have conflicts between privacy and between equal rights. " The executive order expands the equal employment policy for state employees to include sexual orientation and gender identity, as well as affirming private businesses' rights to establish their own bathroom policies. He also said he will ask lawmakers to restore the right of all workers to sue in state court over employment discrimination on the basis of things like race, age and gender. That right was wiped out by the law. He once again blamed a Charlotte ordinance approved in February that would have allowed transgender people to use bathrooms corresponding to their gender identity in public accommodations for causing the Republican-controlled General Assembly to hold a special session March 23. That's when they overturned the ordinance and blocked all other cities and counties from passing broad rules targeting anti-LGBT discrimination. There was no need for a state law "until the city of Charlotte brought it up," said McCrory, himself the previous mayor of North Carolina's largest city. "It wasn't a problem in my 14 years as mayor, and I've never heard it as an issue during my three years as governor. " But Charlotte city leaders had received stories from individuals in the transgender community about discrimination and bias they have encountered. Current Mayor Jennifer Roberts tweeted she was pleased to see movement from McCrory's office: "Historic to include LGBT protections for state employees. Look forward to more dialogue. " McCrory acknowledged outcry over the law, saying he'd listened to "feedback" from people in recent weeks. Chris Sgro, executive director of Equality North Carolina, spoke privately with McCrory two weeks ago with two other gay-rights activists asking for the law's repeal. Sgro said the public employee workplace protections in the executive order are "a vital first step" but "we need to see the full legislative repeal of (the law) with the governor's leadership if he's serious about anti-discrimination measures. " Attorney General Roy Cooper, a Democrat challenging McCrory for governor this fall, said McCrory should have vetoed the law to begin with and the order doesn't change that last month's legislation "has written discrimination into the law. " As for the equal employment protection for state employees, McCrory said he already believes state government protects LGBT workers but "I thought it needed to be clarified to the citizens of North Carolina. " Equality NC, the American Civil Liberties Union and three LGBT citizens sued in federal court two weeks ago to overturn the entire law. State ACLU lawyer Chris Brook said restoring the right of employees to sue in state court, as McCrory wants, "would not make it easier for gay couples to go out to dinner and would not make it easier for them to check into hotels. " A full repeal appears highly unlikely from the General Assembly. In statements, Republican legislative leaders didn't address McCrory's request to restore the right to sue in state court for employment discrimination but praised him for reaffirming bathroom provisions in the law they say keeps women and children safe from men who may have used ordinances similar to Charlotte's as a pretense to enter women's restrooms. The order affirms the importance of the General Assembly's action "to protect North Carolina citizens from extremists' efforts to undermine civility and normalcy in our everyday lives," House Speaker Tim Moore said. McCrory's announcement came hours after Deutsche Bank said it will halt plans to add 250 jobs in North Carolina because of the law. The German bank with a large U. S. presence had previously planned to add the jobs through next year in Cary. Co-Executive Officer John Cryan said in a news release that the bank may revisit the plans later. The bank employs 900 people at a Cary software development center. Previously, PayPal reversed plans to open a 400-employee operation center in Charlotte, and more than 130 corporate CEOs signed a letter urging the law's repeal. Some states and cities have restricted public employee travel to North Carolina. Several groups have canceled planned conventions or gatherings in the state. Rock star Bruce Springsteen canceled a Greensboro show over the weekend because of the new law.

2016-04-12 20:25 Associated Press www.dailymail.co.uk

78 Venezuela: the land of 500% inflation Inflation in Venezuela is projected to increase 481% this year and by a staggering 1,642% next year, according to new estimates released Tuesday by the International Monetary Fund. "Venezuela is on the precipice of hyper inflation," says Kathryn Rooney Vera, research director at BullTick Capital Markets in Miami. The IMF also forecasts that Venezuela -- which rarely publishes its own economic data -- will have an unemployment rate of 17% this year and nearly 21% next year. For some context, the last time the unemployment rate hit that high in the United States was during the Great Depression in the 1930s, when it spiked to as much as 25%. "Venezuela is experiencing a very severe economic crisis," says Francisco Rodriguez, chief Andean economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. "This is not a recession, this is a depression. " Related: 5 reasons why Venezuela is in a 'meltdown' Inflation has already been a huge problem in Venezuela. In January, the Venezuelan government said inflation rose 141% in the year ending in September. That means prices for all types of goods, such as milk, sugar and flour, are soaring. Basic goods such as toilet paper and soap are in such short supply some hotels are asking guests to bring their own. The value of Venezuela's currency is crashing rapidly. On the black market exchange, where most Venezuelans exchange U. S. dollars for the home currency, bolivars, one dollar equals 1,125 bolivars. A year ago, one dollar equaled 258 bolivars. Venezuela's official exchange rate system is complicated and has multiple tiers. One exchange rate allows ordinary folks to exchange one dollar for 306 bolivars, well behind the black market rate. Related: Venezuela ships gold to pay for debt Socialist President Nicolas Maduro has continued the massive public spending and welfare programs that his predecessor, the late Hugo Chavez, instituted over a decade ago. However, the country can ill afford them. Its economy is in trouble and plummeting oil prices has only made it worse. Venezuela has the world's largest oil reserves and about 95% of its exports are oil. The country is overwhelmingly dependent on oil to power its economy. With oil prices still low, Venezuela's problems continue to mount. The country can't pay for basic food or medical imports, leaving many people without basic food items and medicines. In a sign of growing anger among the people, Venezuelans elected a new, opposition-led Congress in December. A major bloc in Congress wants to impeach Maduro but that could prove difficult because the country's Supreme Court is packed with judges who were appointed by Maduro. Related: Trumpismo: eerily similar to Latin America's macho leaders A change in president or policy doesn't appear imminent, experts say. "We have this institutional paralysis, it contributes to the economic deterioration," says Mauro Roca, an economist at Goldman Sachs. "As a result of this paralysis, it's going to be difficult to implement any economic reforms. " Venezuela problems could worsen significantly later this year. The government must pay about $5 billion in a series of debt payments in October and November. The country's foreign reserves are already withering at 12-year lows.

2016-04-13 00:17 Patrick Gillespie money.cnn.com

79 Music producer David Gest dies at 62 LONDON — David Gest, a music producer, reality TV star and former husband of Liza Minnelli, was found dead Tuesday at a London hotel. He was 62. Gest’s friend Imad Handi confirmed his death, remembering Gest as “a natural star and a genuine celebrity.” “David was truly larger than life. He was not just a huge talent and a dear friend but a showbiz icon,” Handi said. The Metropolitan Police force said officers were called to “reports of an unexplained death of a man in his 60s” at the Four Seasons Hotel in London’s Canary Wharf on Tuesday morning. The force said an autopsy would take place “in due course” to determine the cause of death, but it was not being treated as suspicious. Gest was raised in southern California, where he became friends with Michael Jackson and his family. He worked as a music promoter and television producer, and was introduced to Minnelli by Jackson when Gest produced the King of Pop’s 30th anniversary tribute concert for television in 2001. David Gest and Liza Minnelli leave Marble Collegiate Church in New York after their wedding in this file photo from March 16, 2002. | AP Photo/Ed Betz, File The couple married in 2002, at a celebrity-studded ceremony with Jackson as best man and Elizabeth Taylor as maid of honor. They separated in a burst of headline-grabbing acrimony in 2003. Gest sued Minnelli for $10 million, alleging that she beat him so badly during alcoholic rages that he suffered permanent injuries. Minnelli struck back with a $2 million suit claiming Gest had stolen money from her. The pair ended their dispute in 2007 when their lawyers filed court papers saying they had settled their differences and agreed to divorce without fault. Gest remained a friend of Jackson and after the singer’s death in 2009 produced a documentary, “Michael Jackson: The Life of an Icon.” Gest gained a following in Britain with appearances on reality TV shows including “I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here” in 2006 and “Celebrity Big Brother” earlier this year. During his stint on the show, fellow contestant Tiffany Pollard misheard news of David Bowie’s death and told cast mates that Gest had died. The incident inspired the title of a musical show, featuring Gest and a roster of soul musicians, that was due to tour Britain this summer: “David Gest Is Not Dead, But Alive With Soul.”

2016-04-13 00:16 Jill Lawless chicago.suntimes.com

80 California weighs changing rape statute after Cosby claims SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A California bill prompted in part by prosecutors' difficulty in pursuing sexual assault charges against Bill Cosby cleared its first legislative hurdle Tuesday, when it passed a committee that previously rejected efforts to allow prosecutions for crimes that victims say happened long ago. The bill would eliminate the state's 10-year statute of limitations on rape and child molestation charges. Previous versions failed years ago in the Senate Public Safety Committee. But the new bill by Sen. Connie Leyva, D-Chino, passed the committee on a 4-0 vote after testimony by witnesses including Los Angeles lawyer Gloria Allred, who represents 30 accusers of Cosby. Several accusers told senators they are unable to bring charges against Cosby because they didn't come forward years ago, and California law generally requires filing charges within 10 years of the offense. Among them was actress Lili Bernard, who last year went to Atlantic City, New Jersey, police alleging the comedian sexually assaulted her there decades ago. New Jersey prosecutors could not consider charges because of that state's statute of limitations on sexual assaults. "I had no recourse," said Bernard, who told how she still suffers emotional and physical distress. Several women said they did not come forward sooner because they were traumatized and feared they would not be believed. The Associated Press doesn't typically name people who say they are sexual assault victims, but Bernard and other accusers spoke publicly about their allegations. "For most of them, it is too late to have their day in court against Mr. Cosby because of the statute of limitations," Allred said. "The door to the courthouse is slammed in her face. " Cosby has consistently denied sexual abuse allegations made by dozens of women around the country, some from the 1960s. An attorney and spokeswoman for Cosby, Monique Pressley, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Eliminating the limit would lead to more wrongful convictions by allowing charges to be brought decades after witnesses' memories have clouded and evidence faded, making it difficult for suspects to defend themselves, objected Natasha Minsker of the American Civil Liberties Union. It could be counterproductive because the current 10-year limit encourages victims to come forward and investigators to move swiftly, said Carolyn George, representing the California Public Defenders Association. State Senate committee members said they were stirred by the testimony and concerned that, in Leyva's words, there is "an expiration date for rape victims in California. " Nevada extended its statute from four to 20 years last year after testimony by a woman who accused Cosby of sexually assaulting her decades ago. Bills this year in Colorado and Oregon would extend the statute to 20 years. California's bill would go farther by ending the limit entirely for rapes and molestations committed starting next year, or if the statute of limitations has not expired on the same crimes previously committed. Seventeen other states already have no statute of limitations on rape, said Betsy Butler, executive director of the California Women's Law Center that proposed SB813. Allred is suing Cosby on behalf of a woman who says the comedian assaulted her at the Playboy Mansion when she was 15, but a judge put Cosby's testimony on hold last month while he faces sexual assault charges in Pennsylvania. Cosby's former attorney has denied the lawsuit allegations, accusing the woman's former lawyer of attempting to extort Cosby for $250,000 before suing.

2016-04-13 00:12 Associated Press www.dailymail.co.uk

81 Buster Posey out and more confirmed MLB Tuesday lineups Lineups are an important part of the daily fantasy baseball research process. Whether you're playing daily fantasy or setting a lineup in a season-long league with daily changes, you'll want to make sure your preferred players are starting and in a favorable spot in the order. Editor's Picks Fantasy MLB: Choosing between Fernandez and Syndergaard Paul Sporer provides hitter and pitching matchup ratings for all of Tuesday's games. First Pitch: The Return of Thor Tristan H. Cockcroft sets up the day of baseball with a fantasy spin, including Noah Syndergaard's second start and key players to target in DFS. 1 Related Paul Sporer provides hitter and pitching matchup ratings for all of Tuesday's games. Tristan H. Cockcroft sets up the day of baseball with a fantasy spin, including Noah Syndergaard's second start and key players to target in DFS. With that in mind, ESPN will provide daily lineups for every MLB team, along with some expert advice on how today's lineups and matchups should be approached for fantasy players. Please note that projected lineups are used until confirmed lineups are announced. Confirmed lineups are paired with the source we used to populate the batting order, which is linked in each team's lineup module. Updates (including scratches) will be reflected as they are made available. Note: Projected lineups are a best guess. Consider platoon matchups, injuries, news and other factors. All times listed are ET. PickCenter preview This is the game of the night for fantasy purposes, as two flawed pitchers meet in the best hitters' park. For the Giants, Brandon Belt moves up a spot in the order with Buster Posey sitting out. This is huge for Belt, and terrible for season-long owners of Posey. For the Rockies, it's business as usual, with the only oddity being Mark Reynolds getting a start over Ben Paulsen at first base. PickCenter preview The A's put catcher Josh Phegley in the second spot in the order, boosting his daily fantasy value. Catcher is an easy position to punt with a cheap option, and Phegley is a strong candidate on Tuesday. Josh Reddick , Danny Valencia and the frequently benched Billy Butler are all in the heart of the order for Oakland. For the Angels, lefty Kole Calhoun has the platoon advantage over Kendall Graveman. Mike Trout has the talent advantage, and is always a viable play in fantasy baseball. PickCenter preview Rookie Nomar Mazara bats second yet again for the Rangers as he faces the same-handed Wade MIley . The Rangers deploy Bryan Holaday to replace the injured Robinson Chirinos , who will be out for the next couple of months due to injury. For the Mariners, Ketel Marte gets the day off as Luis Sardinas bats second and plays short. Nelson Cruz has a platoon advantage and bats cleanup, which makes him a solid daily fantasy play. PickCenter preview The first game of the day features fairly standard lineups on both sides, as the Pirates and Tigers meet for the second day in a row. The Pirates shuffle the deck only a little, bumping Matt Joyce out of the lineup in order to give John Jaso a designated hitter appearance. For Detroit, Jarrod Saltalamacchia fills in for the injured James McCann , but otherwise, the Tigers offer a predictable batting order. PickCenter preview Jean Segura looks to build on his hot start to the season, batting first for Arizona, which sticks with a normal lineup for today's game against Kenta Maeda and the Dodgers. Socrates Brito gets the nod in center against the right-hander. For the Dodgers, some shuffling was required to compensate for the injured Scott Van Slyke. Enrique Hernandez will play in left, and Howie Kendrick gets the start against lefty Patrick Corbin. Corey Seager is bumped down to seventh in this less favorable matchup, while Yasiel Puig jumps up to second with the platoon advantage. PickCenter preview Mallex Smith returns after suffering a facial injury in his MLB debut. The speedster has an easier opponent tonight in Gio Gonzalez , but the lefty won't have the platoon advantage. Regardless, he's a source of speed for season-long players and a tournament option in daily games. For the Nationals, Michael Taylor remains in the leadoff spot and remains a strong option for fantasy purposes. He has power, speed and is hitting in the best possible spot in the batting order. The rest of the Washington lineup can be considered for daily games and season-long lineups, as they face Jhoulys Chacin , who's making his 2016 debut for his third professional team in as many years. PickCenter preview The Padres move Brett Wallace up to the cleanup spot against Charlie Morton and the Phillies, making Wallace an interesting daily option in a positive, lefty-righty matchup. This bumps Wil Myers out of the lineup, presumably so he can get a day off against a same- handed pitcher. The Phillies mix things up a bit as well, dropping Freddy Galvis down to the bottom half of the order and batting Maikel Franco third. This is great news for Franco, who has a platoon advantage and a nice opportunity against Robbie Erlin , who has never finished an MLB season with an ERA under 4.00. PickCenter preview The Blue Jays are locked into the top five of their batting order, assuming they stay healthy, until Devon Travis returns to make the decision slightly more difficult. For now, expect Kevin Pillar , Josh Donaldson , Jose Bautista , Edwin Encarnacion and Troy Tulowitzki to bat in that order in most matchups on most days. The Yankees offer up a predictable lineup as well, which will face talented, young right-hander Aaron Sanchez . Neither team in this matchup has a favorable situation for fantasy, as both pitchers are above average. There are better games to target for daily fantasy contests. PickCenter preview The Red Sox trot out their preferred batting order on Tuesday night, with lefty David Ortiz lurking in the heart of the order against right-hander Mike Wright . Adam Jones remains out for the Orioles, who stick with Joey Rickard in the leadoff spot. Right-hander Clay Buchholz posted similar numbers versus batters from both sides of the plate from 2013 to 2015, meaning Chris Davis and Pedro Alvarez may not have the same sort of advantage you'd normally expect from the lefty-righty matchup. PickCenter preview The Mets face talented Marlins starter Jose Fernandez this evening and roll out a standard lineup in response. Martin Prado gets the night off for the Marlins, with Derek Dietrich playing third and batting sixth. This moves Justin Bour up to fifth in the order. However, with the Fish battling Noah Syndergaard , it's probably best to just avoid them. This game features two great pitchers and isn't one to target in any sort of fantasy setting. PickCenter preview The Indians keep finding ways to get Jose Ramirez and his bat into the lineup, playing him in the outfield yet again but batting him ninth. Matt Moore 's splits against both left- and right-handed batters are fairly even over the past three years, with right-handers seeing only a moderate advantage. If you don't trust the Rays' lefty tonight, feel free to roll with Cleveland bats from either side of the plate For the Rays, it's a standard lineup against Corey Kluber , meaning it's best to avoid Tampa Bay players in fantasy. PickCenter preview For Houston, Evan Gattis returns to the lineup and bats seventh. The slugger will probably find himself higher in the order as he gets back into the swing of things, but for now, take a wait-and- see approach for daily fantasy. Tyler White continues to bat fifth for the Astros and is a solid play in all formats as he continues the hot start to his MLB career. The Royals offer the same sort of lineup we've seen from them so far this season. They're locked into Alcides Escobar leading off with Lorenzo Cain , Eric Hosmer and Kendrys Morales at the heart of the order.

2016-04-13 00:11 Tristan H espn.go.com

82 Quiz: Match the famous assistant to the TV show 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.

2016-04-12 22:51 ajc.secondstreetapp.com

83 North Charleston Mayor, Police Chief Reject Rally Invitation A South Carolina mayor and the police chief in a city where a former white police officer is charged with murder in the shooting of a black man are declining invitations to attend a rally about local police practices a year after the death. The Post and Courier of Charleston reports ( http://bit.ly/23raVWx ) about 2,000 people are expected at next Monday's rally sponsored by the Charleston Area Justice Ministry. North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey isn't opposed to dialogue but he and Police Chief Eddie Driggers met with 50 members of the group last month in a session that became a rebuke of city officials, city spokesman Ryan Johnson said. Former North Charleston officer Michael Slager awaits trial for murder in the shooting of Walter Scott , who was running from a traffic stop. The Rev. Charles Heyward of St. James Presbyterian Church said the refusal by city leaders to attend the rally runs counter to the suggestion the city is working to improve community relations. "Though they say they want to build trust and parity and transparency, their actions are very clear that they do not intend to do so," Heyward said. Johnson said the justice ministry's "tactics and insular views are unfortunately unavailing. " He said going into the March 22 meeting, Summey hoped it would "result in a robust dialogue. " But Johnson said "the end result was a complete rebuke of North Charleston public officials and chastising of the entire police department" and there is no indication next week's meeting will be any different. Driggers said his decision has nothing to do with the police department's commitment to work on building community trust. Instead, he said, it is based on what he called the justice ministry's "bullying tactics and their sheer disregard to treat folks with common decency. " The group is calling for a reduction in the number of contact stops in which motorists are stopped but no citations written. The newspaper reports that between 2010 and 2014, North Charleston Police stopped motorists about 146,000 times without writing citations, the most in the state. In a city where the population is 47 percent black, 65 percent of those stopped were black. ——— Information from: The Post and Courier, http://www.postandcourier.com

2016-04-13 00:05 By abcnews.go.com

84 Europe plans to force big firms to come clean on profits and tax European officials have proposed new rules that would require large, multinational companies with a presence in the European Union to report how much money they make, and what tax they pay, in each European country they operate in. In addition, the companies would also have to reveal details about their operations in tax havens , and provide a summary about how much tax they pay in other parts of the world. The companies would be obliged to post this information on their public websites each year for all to see. These groundbreaking rules -- which could come into force in 2018 -- are designed to bring more transparency to corporate accounting and pressure companies to avoid any dodgy financial behavior. They're part of a global effort to make companies pay tax where they make profits, rather than shifting them to lower tax jurisdictions. Related: U. S. vows to crack down on shell companies If the rules are approved by EU leaders and lawmakers, you'll soon be able to browse through detailed financial accounts from the likes of Google ( GOOGL , Tech30 ) , Apple ( AAPL , Tech30 ) , Amazon ( AMZN , Tech30 ) and Starbucks ( SBUX ) -- companies that have come under attack in Europe for using a range of loopholes to avoid paying taxes. "I'd prefer businesses to be concentrating on their customers, on service, on product innovation, on true competition, rather than on ... the creativity of their tax advisers," said Jonathan Hill, the EU commissioner for financial services who announced the plans Tuesday. The new rules would apply to companies with global revenues of more than 750 million euros ($855 million). The European Commission expects more than 6,000 multinational companies to be affected. It estimates that the EU, which is composed of 28 member countries, loses as much as 70 billion euros ($80 billion) per year because of corporate tax avoidance. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development has estimated that loopholes allow companies worldwide to dodge as much as $240 billion in tax per year. Related: The country with the highest income tax in the developed world The recent Panama Papers leak -- which allegedly shows that top officials around the world hid wealth through secret offshore companies -- has shone a spotlight on the issue of tax avoidance and tax havens, causing widespread outrage. But the European Commission said it was working on these rules for months before the leak. "The Panama Papers have not changed our agenda, but I think that they have strengthened our determination to make sure that taxes are paid where profits are generated," Hill said. Meanwhile, offshore tax havens such as Bermuda and Panama aren't the only places in focus. European countries such as Ireland and Luxembourg have also come under fire for offering unusually favorable tax deals to some large global firms.

2016-04-13 00:04 Alanna Petroff money.cnn.com

85 White House says Zika is worse than previously thought A location-by-location breakdown of Tuesday’s terrorist attacks in Brussels. Republicans holding onto the dream of a last- minute, dark horse presidential nominee like House Speaker Paul Ryan or Mitt Romney may as well wake-up now — McClatchy Political Editor Steve "Buzz" Thomma and Monty Python explain why a little-known “eight-state” rule has essentially locked the nomination in for Donald Trump. She does not see a path to victory for John Kasich President Obama nominated Chief Judge Merrick Garland of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to the U. S. Supreme Court. He called Garland "one of America's sharpest legal minds. " Garland is Obama's pick to fill the vacant seat left after Justice Antonin Scalia died. Donald Trump answered questions in the CNN spin room after the Republican presidential debate at the University of Miami on March 10, 2016. He stated that he was confident that he would be the GOP's nominee for president and that he was satisfied with the tone of the debate. "I think the debate went very well and I think we're doing very well," said Trump. He added, "It was time that we had that tone...very substantive...a lot of people are saying it was a great debate. " The Roselle, Ill., Police Department posted this dashcam video to Facebook showing a cop pulling over a driver with a 15-foot tree stuck in the front grille of the car. The police department said in a post that the air bags were deployed in the car, and the driver with arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol. The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) is the ComicCon of conservative politics. Republicans of all ages, from all over America, come dressed in their best - or craziest - to hear panels of conservatism’s brightest minds. We went to CPAC and asked attendees two questions: what the best thing and the worst thing about a Trump presidency would be. In the Republican debate Thursday night, GOP candidates turned up the volume as they defended their capabilities to be the next president of the United States. The Fox News moderators continuously asked Donald Trump and Sens. Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz to not shout over each other. Gov. John Kasich sought to continue Mitt Romney’s work, painting Trump as unfit for office. Donald Trump is edging closer to securing the Republican nomination for president. Once he does, the first question will be who is his running mate - the person who will be vice president? Will the unconventional candidate suddenly turn conventional? (Natalie Fertig / McClatchy) Astronaut Scott Kelly will complete his 340-day mission on the International Space Station March 1, making it the longest any U. S. astronaut has spent in space. His #YearInSpace allows NASA researchers to study the physical and psychological challenges humans experience during extended spaceflight. BY: Nicole L. Cvetnic / McClatchy

2016-04-12 22:55 www.heraldonline.com

86 ABC7 Golden State Warriors Coverage Warriors Green to give tickets to 'underprivileged kid' for historic game Golden State Warriors All-Star forward Draymond Green wants to send a deserving family to Wednesday night's potential record breaking game at Oracle Arena.

2016-04-13 00:19 abc7news.com

87 Energy firms urged to slash prices as wholesale costs reach near-decade low UK gas and electricity wholesale prices have dropped to their lowest level in almost a decade, sparking calls for suppliers to cut bills by 10%. Prices have averaged at nine-year lows over the first quarter of this year, according to the ICIS Power Index, which analyses energy markets. Ben Wetherall, head of gas at ICIS, said: "UK gas demand was affected by a mild winter, but more gas-fired generation helped to keep prices stable. "Cheaper gas prices, the additional emissions costs for burning coal, and less wind generation than a year earlier all helped to boost demand. " Power prices fell less than gas as traditional generation was squeezed by more renewable capacity. Zoe Double, head of power at ICIS, said: "Some older coal-fired plants closed during Q1 2016, so with less flexible supply available to the market, market participants are reluctant to sell power for winter delivery at lower prices because of the risk of shortages. " Comparison website uSwitch called on suppliers to reduce standard tariffs by a further 10% in light of the new figures. Ann Robinson, director of consumer policy at uSwitch.com, said: "Today's figures prove, yet again, that consumers have been short-changed by token gesture price cuts. "Whilst any reduction is welcome, the fact remains that the average Big Six dual fuel bill has fallen a mere 5.7% since the start of last year. "Given record-low wholesale costs, suppliers must do the right thing and reduce standard tariffs by a further 10%. " Energy and Climate Change Secretary Amber Rudd wrote to energy firms in the middle of last year asking them to pass on a fall in wholesale costs to consumers. But recently announced price cuts by the Big Six, which all came into effect last month, are calculated to save customers on standard tariffs just £30 a year. Which? executive director Richard Lloyd said: " Customers will question why energy prices remain high and suppliers have only cut gas prices by a measly amount, when wholesale prices continue to fall. "The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) found that customers collectively are overpaying on their energy by £1.7 billion and our own research shows that customers could be saving up to £400 by moving away from the Big Six. " An Ofgem spokesman said: " With wholesale prices continuing to fall, energy suppliers need to justify their prices to you otherwise they risk losing your business. Increasingly, we are voting with our feet with switching up by 15% last year and over 40% of switchers moving to independent suppliers. "Ofgem is working with the CMA to further increase competition and will be looking to introduce the CMA's reforms as soon as possible. Help is available to get a better deal from www.goenergyshopping.co.uk and savings of over £200 are possible. " Energy UK, which represents suppliers, said: " Energy companies are bringing down their prices with cheaper tariffs launched almost every week. Since January 2014 the cheapest tariffs have fallen by around £200. There are now over 50 deals under £1,000 being offered by 37 suppliers operating in the market. "Wholesale prices make up less than half of the average bill and the majority of the rest falls outside suppliers' control so there will always be a difference between wholesale price falls and what customers actually pay. "Suppliers are also making it quicker and easier for customers to find the tariff right for them. Almost four million customers switched supplier in 2015 and, currently, around 400,000 households are signing up to new deals every month. " Amber Rudd said: "I've spoken to bosses at the Big Six to make crystal clear that the Government expects suppliers to pass on cost reductions to the families and businesses paying the bills. The cuts in tariffs by the Big Six are a good start but there's more to do. "This Government is playing its part - committing to take forward recommendations from the biggest ever investigation into the energy market and pushing ahead with plans so people can switch supplier within 24 hours. This will help keep bills as low as possible. "

2016-04-12 23:56 Press Association www.dailymail.co.uk

88 Cybersecurity – Risk Management Crashes the Boardroom “It is not the strongest that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change”. Charles Darwin Risk Management Is Now Top of the Board Agenda With business interruption, reputational damage and cybercrime being the top 3 concerns, they know they face highly resourceful criminals and law enforcement agencies that are overwhelmed by the scale of their task. Cybercrime everywhere is classified as a ‘Tier 1 Strategic Threat’, sitting alongside terrorism, international military crises and major natural disasters. The exponential rise of cybercrime and its global nature has created a virtual tsunami of risk. New laws seek to force businesses to raise their game. They come replete with revenue based fines and personal liability for those in control functions. Bilateral cross-border jurisdictional agreements are increasing - so best you know where your liability lies. The US is particularly aggressive about chasing foreign miscreants. Criminal convictions and jail time are now real possibilities for those who are negligent with data in their custody. The problem(s): Cybercriminals seek vulnerabilities and not just those in your technology. They work on risk/reward and follow the money. Language: Gobbledegook. A mystical language (e.g., endpoints and sockets for devices and connections) appears intended to confuse. Endless acronyms; BYOD, AFH, 3DES…. add to impenetrability. Use of language: ‘Cybersecurity’ when they mean ‘Information Security’ - this probably seems pernickety, but say ‘cyber’, think ONLY ‘cyber’ – which is what vendors want. Just remember, your threat begins long before you get anywhere near a computer. If a compromise occurs outside of your security perimeter, you may never know. Secrecy: Victims are desperate to avoid reputational damage so keep very quiet whenever they can. Frequently, law enforcement agencies are not informed of a breach. Maybe only 5% – 10% of breaches ever become public knowledge, masking the true scale of the problem and fuelling ignorance based complacency. Vendors: Cybersecurity vendors issue propaganda and then sell expensive ‘solutions’ into it. These solutions have often been developed with poor inherent security. Then they sell expensive fixes to patch the holes. A complex ecosystem has evolved around this merry-go-round. What their expensive sales force won’t tell you is that there is much that you can do to defend your data before you need to invest in expensive technical solutions. Too Small to be of Interest: Many companies will convince themselves they have nothing of value to hackers. Bad luck, ALL data has a value and ALL companies have something which will interest cybercriminals. NO business is too small to be of interest. The Rules Do Not Apply to Us: For now, regulators are focused on financial/critical infrastructure companies and new laws are primarily aimed at them. Nevertheless, up to 80% of data breaches in larger companies enter through vulnerabilities in their supply chain. Suppliers are a constant source of cyber infection. Regulated companies will pass these legal requirements on to their suppliers. What to do? In a recent survey, 2% of respondents said that they would sell their company’s data for as little as $10. At $1,000, 15% would. Criminals are offering $20,000 for Google employee logon credentials, we hear. Google invests much effort in its own security, but it is impossible to make any system totally impregnable. Impossible. Even for Google. The survey mentioned above suggests a reasonable possibility that one of Google’s c.20,000 workforce will sell. Success will buy the criminals a goldmine. $20k will look like an absolute bargain. Like cars and guns, computers are not intrinsically dangerous. Around 4 in 5 data breaches are initially caused by human error (or, occasionally, a malicious action by an (ex)employee). This is known as the ‘insider threat’. A well constructed governance regime, proactive management and a good education and training programme at the heart of any Information Security efforts will ensure a significant lowering of the general cyber risk and increase crisis management capability. In the process you will create many more trained eyes to work with your security staff. That has to be a good thing too. Then you can concentrate on creating a more robust and cost effective IT security solution. Any acquisition of potentially expensive technology will only be actioned in response to a genuine need. All the above should be guided by a comprehensive threat assessment involving all aspects of the risk (physical, cyber and governance). Strong governance will enable a Board to create a comprehensive ‘Information Security’ culture and process throughout the whole organisation. Think human, BEFORE you think cyber. Think security, NOT compliance. Think Be Cyber Sure www.becybersure.com

2016-04-12 16:47 Liam Young www.newstatesman.com

89 Study finds cooking oils helping cut cholesterol do not lower heart disease risk Cooking oils and spreads rich in a type of polyunsaturated fat help lower cholesterol but do nothing to cut the risk of heart disease or death compared with eating butter, a study suggests. While people may experience lowered cholesterol levels, this does not translate to improved survival or lower risk of heart disease, experts said. In fact, people with the greatest reduction in blood cholesterol appear to have a higher, rather than lower, risk of death. The US team, including researchers from the prestigious National Institutes of Health in Maryland, said the findings suggest there has been an "over-estimation of the benefits of replacing saturated fat with vegetable oils" that are rich in linoleic acid (a type of omega 6 polunsaturated fat). Omega 6 polyunsaturated fat has long been regarded as key to helping lower the risk of heart disease and is found in a range of cooking oils such as corn, sunflower, grape seed, rapeseed, poppyseed, corn and sesame oils, as well as nuts and seeds. It is also found in some spreads, such as Flora, made by Unilever. Across the world, health experts urge people to replace saturated fats with small amounts of other, more healthy fats, including oils rich in linoleic acid. In the US, the American Heart Association recommends that at least 5% to 10% of food calories come from omega 6 fatty acids. In the new study, experts analysed several trials, including the Minnesota Coronary Experiment (MCE), which followed 9,423 participants from state mental hospitals and a nursing home. During the trial, one group of people replaced their saturated fat intake with linoleic acid from corn oil and corn oil polyunsaturated margarine. This compared with the control group, where people had diets high in saturated fat, including butter and common margarines. The team found that while those on corn oil had a "significant reduction" in cholesterol levels, they experienced a higher rate of death. There was also "no evidence of benefit" in terms of heart disease or risk of heart attack. Previously, the same team has examined unpublished data from a similar trial - the Sydney Diet Heart Study - and also found that the risk of death from heart disease was higher in those who replaced saturated fat with vegetable oil rich in linoleic acid. They have now reviewed and analysed the results of all similar trials and failed to find any reduction in death from heart disease or other causes. Writing in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), they concluded: "Available evidence from randomised controlled trials shows that replacement of saturated fat in the diet with linoleic acid effectively lowers serum cholesterol but does not support the hypothesis that this translates to a lower risk of death from coronary heart disease or all causes. " In an editorial, Lennert Veerman, senior lecturer at the University of Queensland, said: "The benefits of choosing polyunsaturated fat over saturated fat seem a little less certain than we thought. " Jeremy Pearson, associate medical director at the British Heart Foundation (BHF), said: "We know that having too much cholesterol in your blood can increase your risk of cardiovascular disease, including heart attack and stroke, which is why managing our cholesterol level is crucial. "This is an interesting study which shows that decreasing your intake of saturated fat can have a positive impact in helping lower cholesterol. "However, more research and longer studies are needed to assess whether or not eating less saturated fat can reduce your risk of cardiovascular death. " Caroline Jary, director of spreads at Unilever, which makes Flora, said: "Overwhelming evidence gathered over the past five decades confirms that reducing intake of animal fats such as from bacon and butter, and replacing them with oils and fats from plants, like those found in our spreads, contribute significantly to heart health. "Influential bodies including Public Health England, Heart UK and the British Heart Foundation all agree that eating too much saturated fat can raise cholesterol levels, which increases the risk of heart disease. "There is good evidence that swapping to unsaturated fat helps to reduce cholesterol in the blood. "Unilever follows health recommendations from all over the world advocating to reduce the intake of saturated fats and replace them with monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, including both omega 3 and omega 6, more commonly known as good fats. " Dr Alison Tedstone, chief nutritionist at Public Health England, said: "The evidence shows that eating too much saturated fat raises your cholesterol levels, increasing your risk of heart disease. We are all eating too much saturated fat; 15% more than the maximum recommended amount. This can mean too many calories leading to weight gain and obesity. "The authors call for an in-depth review of the latest evidence on saturated fats and health and the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) is doing just that. SACN will publish a draft report in 2017. "

2016-04-12 23:55 Press Association www.dailymail.co.uk

90 Using data to predict arrest rates of NFL draft picks The final lap has begun. The NFL draft is less than three weeks away, and for the most part, teams have solid evaluations and a good idea of when players will be drafted. Decisions are made and priorities are settled. These last harried days are consumed with double- and triple-checking some of the most difficult assessments: How to judge players who have encountered off-the-field trouble or otherwise shown a concerning character trait. This spring, teams must judge Eastern Kentucky pass rusher Noah Spence , who was banned from the Big Ten because of extensive drug use. They must decide if the can trust Ole Miss defensive lineman Robert Nkemdiche , who has a marijuana possession charge and a drunken fall from a hotel balcony on his record. Absent an alternative, teams are doing what they always do. They're interviewing the players, speaking to past coaches, combing through public records and making subjective judgments. But what if there were another way to project future behavior? Could a data set serve as a predictive tool if filtered properly and analysed appropriately? A group of college professors and researchers has studied that question as part of a paper on off-duty deviance in professional settings. Their peer-reviewed work was published this month in the Journal of Applied Psychology. There were two NFL draft-related results. First, that between 2001 and 2012, players with publicly-documented pre-draft arrests were nearly twice as likely to be arrested after reaching the NFL than those who had not been arrested. The second, which is perhaps less obvious and more valuable, was that there was a small but clear correlation between arrests and Wonderlic tests scores. Players who scored below the mean in the researchers' sample were also about twice as likely to be arrested in the NFL as those who scored above it. "The effects are relatively small," said author Brian Hoffman, an associate professor and chair of the industrial-organizational program at the University of Georgia. "But it's important here because when making multimillion-dollar decisions, a small effect can be very meaningful. A player's getting a four-game suspension can be a big deal, competitively and financially. " Not all NFL decision-makers embrace this type of data, in part because it provides probabilities rather than absolutes. But shrewd general managers would be wise to incorporate these findings into their evaluations. It won't give them any more certainty than traditional methods of homework and due diligence, but it could help confirm or give them reason to question their subjective conclusions. "If I were a decision-maker, I wouldn't view getting into trouble as a zero-sum game," Hoffman said. "You check off that they've been in trouble and know what that has meant for others on a percentage basis. And then there's a factor that would make the likelihood a little worse: If they score lower on the Wonderlic. Really, that tells you there's even more work to do there. " Louis Riddick, an ESPN analyst who spent 12 years evaluating personnel for the Washington Redskins and Philadelphia Eagles , accepted the premise of the study while offering some important caveats. "It does reinforce some of the things that common sense would lead you to believe," Riddick said. "That someone who has not made good choices in the past and doesn't understand the connection between actions, decisions and consequences is someone you want to be worried about. " But, Riddick said, what the NFL draft pool really needs is a shift in the way teams handle draft picks. Rather than attempting to project troublemakers, NFL teams would be better served by emphasizing post-draft development. "Everyone is looking for ways to predict future performance," Riddick said, "whether it is through three-cone tests, shuttle drills or anything else. Then they assume that these guys have it figured out once you get them, and they don't. That's where the focus should be, helping them be better people and players, rather than hiring a psychologist to tell you which players are more or less likely to get arrested. "Because the reality is, you just don't know, and you can't know when it comes to human nature. It's so hard. You can talk to everyone, from the friends to the coaches to the gas-station attendants, and so many times you're literally just holding on and hoping you've done your best evaluation. Human development off the field is something that is lagging in this league and has to be ramped up and taken more seriously. " There are some cases, of course, when the data simply confirms the obvious. By most accounts, NFL teams have scaled back their expectations for Nkemdiche. Although he is a top-five talent, "it's hard to get somebody to say something really positive about Nkemdiche right now," ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay said earlier this spring. Ultimately, Nkemdiche will join a team that is fully aware of the risks he brings. But what about the more complicated cases? The numbers in this study are not overwhelming, and they account only for documented arrests and not other character issues such as missing meetings, insubordination or failed NCAA drug tests. What can the data tell us? Consider Spence as an example. The Big Ten banned him for failed drug tests while he was at Ohio State, and after he transferred to Eastern Kentucky, he was also arrested last May on the relatively minor charge of alcohol intoxication in a public place. Spence has said he "got caught up in the college lifestyle" and, like every prospect in his position, insists his problems are behind him. The research tells us that players with his history during the sample period had a 21.9 percent chance of getting arrested in the NFL. Players who weren't arrested in college had a 13.1 percent chance of legal trouble in the NFL, according to the calculations of co-author Brian Lyons, an associate professor at Elon University. Wonderlic results remain confidential in most cases, but the researchers secured scores from the 2002 and 2003 drafts after they were inadvertently posted on a public website. For that period, they found a mean grade of 21.7 on a scale of 1 to 50. Approximately 18 percent of the players who scored below the mean were arrested in the NFL, while 9.5 percent of those who scored above it were arrested. It's fair to debate the extent of the numbers' relevance, but Hoffman said that the results were not out of line with those of other industries. "More generally," Hoffman said, "we find a relationship outside the NFL between intelligence and arrests as well. Intelligence is associated with impulsivity and foresight to extrapolate the implications. Those who have more intelligence have more self-control, are more cognizant of the consequence of actions and more likely to abstain. I'm not sure that's what is going with NFL players, but many of the crimes we see are crimes of impulse rather than premeditation -- you get mad and punch someone. In that context, this has some relevance. " If you're looking for a foolproof way to identify future NFL troublemakers, you won't find it here -- or anywhere. But as the chart compiled by ESPN research specialist Vince Masi shows, the NFL is skewing younger for reasons that are both obvious (the rookie pay scale) and ominous (concerns about future health). The impact, both on the field and through any absence, that draft choices can have on NFL teams has never been greater.

2016-04-12 23:47 Kevin Seifert espn.go.com

91 Tributes pour in for Joao Carvalho after MMA fighter dies following Dublin bout Conor McGregor's coach John Kavanagh has sent his condolences to Joao Carvalho's family after the MMA fighter died following a bout in Dublin on Saturday. The Portuguese welterweight passed away on Monday after suffering a third- round technical knockout defeat to Charlie Ward, a team-mate of UFC featherweight champion McGregor, at a Total Extreme Fighting event in the Irish capital. Kavanagh, who was in Ward's corner for the fight, said in a statement on his Facebook page: "It is with heavy hearts that we mourn the passing of Portuguese fighter Joao Carvalho. "On Saturday, April 9, the fighter suffered a medical issue following his three round TKO stoppage loss at a Total Extreme Fighting (TEF) Championship event at the National Stadium in Dublin Ireland. "Our condolences and thoughts, though, are with Joao's family and friends and we kindly ask everyone to respect their privacy at this time. " The 28-year-old was rushed to Beaumont Hospital 20 minutes after the contest as medical staff followed safety protocols. Carvalho underwent brain surgery immediately after the contest and stayed in critical condition for 48 hours but a statement from his Vito Nobrega team confirmed his death. "It is with great sorrow and sadness that we write these words, that the death of the athlete Joao Carvalho happened after 48 hours in critical condition," the statement read. CEO of TEF, Cesar Silva said: "We extend our most sincere condolences to the family of Joao Carvalho and his teammates in Team Nobrega. "Our thoughts and prayers are with them. We'd also like to thank all sports fans for their concern and support. We will give whatever support we can to Joao's family. "

2016-04-12 23:39 Press Association www.dailymail.co.uk

92 Panel urges Chicago police to acknowledge racism CHICAGO (AP) — A task force Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel established to look into police practices says the department must acknowledge its racist past and overhaul the way it handles excessive force allegations, as City Council members neared a final vote on Emanuel's hand-picked choice for chief — an African American who has spent 27 years on the force. In a draft executive summary obtained by the Chicago Tribune, the Task Force on Police Accountability recommended replacing the independent review authority that currently investigates misconduct with a better system to identify problem officers. It also suggests creating the post of deputy chief of diversity and inclusion. Delores Robinson, a spokeswoman for the task force, said the final version will be a little different from the draft executive summary but declined to elaborate. The draft became public as the Chicago City Council's Committee on Public Safety recommended a change in the municipal code so that Emanuel can name Interim Superintendent Eddie Johnson the next superintendent instead of picking from a list of finalists given to him by the city's police board. The committee also was considering whether to recommend Johnson for the job, and a final vote from the full council was expected Wednesday. Emanuel announced the creation of the task force at the same time he fired police Superintendent Garry McCarthy in the wake of public protests over the 2014 shooting by a white police officer of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald. A video of the shooting, released last year, contradicted police accounts that he was threatening officers before he was shot. "Reform is possible if there is a will and a commitment," according to the draft summary, which added that past and present conditions have left residents totally alienated from the police. "And while many individuals and entities have a role to play, the change must start with (the Chicago Police Department). CPD cannot begin to build trust, repair what is broken and tattered unless — from the top leadership on down — it faces these hard truths, acknowledges what it has done at the individual and institutional levels and earnestly reaches out with respect," the task force states. Some council members urged for Johnson to be appointed as quickly as possible because of the city's violent crime problem. They dismissed the suggestion by one alderman that changing — even temporarily — a process that has been in place for more than a half century would be a troubling and perhaps dangerous precedent. "We don't have time to play," Alderman Walter Burnett Jr. said during Tuesday's debate. "People are dying in our wards. " Johnson is seen as a popular choice as an African American and a 27-year department veteran. His rise within the force stands in stark contrast with the previous two superintendents, McCarthy and Jody Weis, both of whom are white and came from other law enforcement agencies. While community leaders, aldermen and members of the department have praised Johnson, Emanuel came under fire for pushing to change the code rather than follow the normal procedures. "The mayor didn't like the outcome and disregarded the process," Alderman Scott Waguespack said Tuesday before the meeting. "We understand the mayor wants this person to carry through on his policies but there is also time to do it the right way. " Alderman Proco Joe Moreno called Johnson a "fantastic pick" while agreeing that the way the mayor and council are pushing him for the job might cause some to think the selection process is "another inside Chicago deal. " "In this case you want someone in there who can tackle the problems from day one, and the process we had failed us," he said. ___ This story has been corrected to reflect the alderman's last name is spelled Waguespack, not Waguespak

2016-04-12 23:39 Associated Press www.dailymail.co.uk

93 Tickets for Leicester's final home game on sale for almost £8,000 each Tickets for Leicester's final home game of the season against Everton are on sale for almost £8,000 online as fans react with disappointment after missing out. Remaining tickets for the visit of the Toffees on May 7- where the Foxes could win the Barclays Premier League title - sold out in 90 minutes on Monday. Claudio Ranieri's side need three wins from their final five games to seal a stunning title success after being 5000/1 outsiders at the start of the season. Season tickets sold out last May with the club setting a cap of 23,000 in the 32,500 capacity King Power Stadium. Leicester also have tiered memberships available - with Family and Gold holders getting first priority on home tickets, with Silver and City members next in line - but membership does not guarantee a ticket. After the match sold out, one online retailer was selling single tickets for £7,869.14 on Tuesday morning. "Demand was higher for City's final home match and penultimate league fixture of an extraordinary campaign, with the vast majority of Gold and Family Fox Members able to secure their seat," said a club spokesman. "The unauthorised sale of football tickets is a criminal offence under UK law. Leicester City Football Club will take action against any ticket touting or any attempt to resell tickets for above their face value. "We encourage all supporters to report any such activity to the Club. " Supporters' club chairman Cliff Ginnetta also said fans were aware of the situation at the start of the season and while he sympathised with those who missed out, he believes the club are not to blame. "It was made clear at the start of the season, we had a meeting with the football club and they explained to everyone about everything. It was always going to be tight," he told Press Association Sport. "I can understand people getting upset now but it's supply and demand and the demand is full. There are people I have known for years and last year they were taking the mick and saying they weren't going to pay to see them because they're rubbish and now they want a ticket. "It'll be the same people if the Tigers get to the (rugby European Cup) final. "It's not only been the camaraderie with the staff and the players, it's been with the fans since we were in League One. That has swept the club along and there's a real hardcore of fans and the club have been loyal to them. " But some supporters, on the club's official Facebook page, have complained about being unable to get a ticket for the potentially historic match. Phillip Goodchild wrote: "Gutted. You would have thought paying £40 per season would get you a ticket. The club should have capped the memberships at the beginning of the season. " Adie Wheat said: "Gutted.been all season.1968 my first game never miss a season.silver member cant get a ticket for the most important game winning the league. " David Lea added: "Very bad when they are on ticket sites at anything from £495 to £5000. Who's giving the touts these tickets? What's the point of being a gold/silver member? I'd like to hear the clubs views on this. "

2016-04-12 23:38 Press Association www.dailymail.co.uk

94 West Ham boss Slaven Bilic wary of possible Wayne Rooney return Slaven Bilic is hoping Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney does not make his long-awaited comeback against West Ham on Wednesday after labelling the striker the best England player of his era. Rooney, 30, is in contention to play some part of United's FA Cup quarter-final replay against the Hammers at Upton Park having played an hour for the Under-21 side on Monday. The United and England skipper has been missing with a knee injury since a 2-1 defeat at Sunderland on February 13 but manager Louis van Gaal hinted he could be involved in the cup tie. Rooney, like the Red Devils as a whole, has struggled this season and has scored just seven Barclays Premier League goals - seeing his starting berth for England brought into question given the goalscoring form of both Jamie Vardy and Harry Kane. United sit fifth in the table - four points adrift of Manchester City in fourth spot - and were beaten 3-0 at Tottenham on Sunday. They return to London as underdogs against a West Ham side looking to win their final ever cup tie at Upton Park ahead of their summer move to the Olympic Stadium. But Irons boss Bilic is a big fan of Rooney and insists he would be happy to see England's all-time leading goalscorer sit out the contest altogether. Asked if Rooney had a point to prove given his lack of goals, Bilic replied: "I don't know about that. "To be fair I am a massive Rooney fan. Since he stepped on the pitch in an Everton shirt. He is for me - I don't know, I can't talk about Jimmy Greaves or Bobby Charlton or Bobby Moore or any of them - let's say my football era, Rooney is the best English player. "I would rather him not play, put it that way. 100 per cent, 70 per cent fit, I would rather him watch the game. "He played last night, him and Phil Jones. I don't know. On one hand, most of the teams on a good run, they don't change the team a lot. "Now because they lost 3-0 we really don't know who's going to play, is it going to be Rooney from the start, is it going to be (Marouane) Fellaini, is it going to be (Ander) Herrera? Is he going to change a lot or stick to the team? "We don't know. So it makes it harder for us. But we aren't going to change the team because of them. " West Ham sit just a point and a place behind Wednesday's visitors in the Premier League table and still have to face Van Gaal's side in what is scheduled to be the last- ever competitive fixture at Upton Park when they meet in the league next month. United's season has been a forgettable one so far - but Bilic knows they can turn on the style at the drop of a hat and that a Wembley semi-final date with Everton on April 23 is anything but a given. When asked if United had lost their fear factor, the Croatian said: "Yes, but they can get that fear factor back during the game. "To get it back on paper you need a good run, you need five games, you need big wins against big clubs, to get it back before the game. "But during the game, they can get it back like this. And they have done it so far. What worries me a little bit is that every time they were there, they got a result. Whether against Liverpool at the beginning of the season, or against Arsenal, every time. "So make no mistake. We know that. Of course we are not going to make our players be afraid of them, no. But respect them. "We know who is coming. They are capable, of course they are capable. They have played hundreds of games like we are going to face tomorrow night, those players. "

2016-04-12 23:37 Press Association www.dailymail.co.uk

95 David Cameron under pressure to take in 3,000 unaccompanied child refugees David Cameron is facing renewed pressure for the UK to take in 3,000 unaccompanied child refugees in Europe amid claims he is failing to deal with the "humanitarian crisis of our generation". The Home Office should look to the European Union for extra funds to help local authorities support youngsters seeking sanctuary, the Liberal Democrats said. Ministers should also speed up the time it takes to find foster carers for young refugees and do more to help re-unite them with their families, according to the party. The Prime Minister has insisted that Britain should concentrate on re-settling orphans from the camps in the region rather than those who had made the crossing to Europe. But Lib Dem leader Tim Farron warned that taking in 3,000 unaccompanied children who face risk of exploitation is the "least" the UK can do. He said: "Even conservative estimates suggest there are 30,000 unaccompanied children in Europe. They face risks from smugglers and others who would exploit them, and at least 10,000 children disappeared after arriving in Europe. Hoping this problem will just go away is not enough. "Britain has a proud history in stepping up and playing our part in confronting crises. This is the humanitarian crisis of our generation and David Cameron and his Government are failing to live up to our proud tradition. "This report sets out how the UK can play our part by offering a home and a future to 3,000 unaccompanied child refugees. This is the least we can do. It is a first step, but it is an important one. The Government should now act and move to offer sanctuary to these children as soon as possible. "

2016-04-12 23:37 Press Association www.dailymail.co.uk

96 Karen Carney's late winner sends England Women top of Euro 2017 qualifying group England Women moved top of their Euro 2017 qualification group after Karen Carney's late winner sealed a 1-0 victory over Bosnia- Herzegovina. The Lionesses dominated large spells of the contest in Zenica but it was only Carney's strike four minutes from time which ensured the visitors went home with another valuable three points. The triumph saw England climb to the top of Group Seven, two points clear of Belgium and three ahead of Serbia. All eight pool winners go through to next summer's final tournament in Holland, as well as seven runners- up. Mark Sampson's side are now fourth in the FIFA world rankings after their impressive showing at last year's World Cup, but their hopes of progressing to the next major tournament were dented by a 1-1 draw against Belgium last Friday. Jill Scott rescued a point with an 84th- minute equaliser on that occasion and there was another late show again as Carney hit the crossbar before volleying home the rebound to break Bosnian hearts. It was no less than England deserved, having dominated the match with 21 shots to their opponents' five and 13 corners to the opposition's none. Notts County defender Alex Greenwood had earlier gone close to breaking the deadlock, but her well-struck free-kick was pushed onto the bar, while Scott and Jordan Nobbs also forced good saves from Bosnia-Herzegovina's busy goalkeeper Almina Hodzic, before Carney finally found a way through. It meant England remained unbeaten after their opening four qualifiers, having also beaten Bosnia-Herzegovina in the reverse game and Estonia. Their next pair of fixtures come against Serbia in June, the first taking place at Adams Park in Wycombe before a return match in Stara Pazova three days later.

2016-04-12 23:37 Press Association www.dailymail.co.uk

97 97 U2's Bono lobbies US Senate for 'Marshall Plan' in the Middle East WASHINGTON -U2 lead singer Bono appealed to Congress on Tuesday for a "Marshall Plan" to provide aid to the Middle East much like the massive relief the United States provided to rebuild Europe and counter extremism after World War Two. "When aid is structured properly, with a focus on fighting poverty and improving governance, it could just be the best bulwark we have against the extremism of our age," the rock star and anti- poverty campaigner testified to the Senate Appropriations subcommittee that oversees foreign aid. Bono urged US lawmakers to act quickly to counteract "an existential crisis" in Europe, with nationalist parties rising in several countries and even Britain considering leaving the European Union. The hearing took place as lawmakers put the final touches on a new spending plan that may include steep international aid cuts. But Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, the panel's chairman, has called for a multibillion- dollar aid program to address the crisis in the Middle East and deal with millions of refugees fleeing violence in Syria, Iraq and other countries. Backers of the plan say defeating Islamic State and other militant groups, and preventing the rise of new ones, will require humanitarian aid and economic development. "I'm a pretty hawkish fellow, but I learned a long time ago ... that you are not going to win this war by killing terrorists," Graham said. "We have a moment now that we haven't had in decades" in terms of political attention to the issue, said Kelly Clements, deputy high commissioner of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Graham will have a difficult time getting support for a Middle East aid program from his fellow Republicans, who tend to be skeptical about international organizations like the United Nations and generally want tight controls on government spending. At the hearing, Republican senators expressed concern about being effective for the American taxpayer and roles for partnerships with private companies. Bono, who co-founded the international advocacy group ONE, has lobbied in world capitals for causes including debt relief, alleviating poverty and fighting AIDS. He offered one novel suggestion for countering extremism. "Don't laugh," Bono said, suggesting that the Senate "send in" comedians Amy Schumer, Chris Rock and Sacha Baron Cohen to counteract the militants' violent message. "If you laugh at them when they're goose-stepping down the street, then it takes away their power," he said.

2016-04-12 23:36 Patricia Zengerle www.jpost.com

98 98 Hailey Baldwin hits the shops with pal Kylie Jenner She's been focused on expanding her cosmetics empire - recently adding lip gloss and new matte shades. So on Tuesday Kylie Jenner was likely glad to have a girls' day out with pal Hailey Baldwin, 19, as they were spotted hitting Barneys New York in Beverly Hills. The 18-year-old mogul and her model friend turned heads as they made their way inside for a bit of retail therapy. Scroll down for video Hailey put her ample assets on display in a deeply plunging navy blue bralette, which also highlighted her toned stomach. She coupled that with a pair of drawstring, light grey sweatpants that were embellished with zippered pockets along the sides and tapered at the ankle. Her long blonde tresses were styled straight and she accessorized with a collection of silver rings that coordinated with a shiny, silver wristwatch. The daughter of actor Stephen Baldwin had a small, black hairtie on one wrist, and added a bright pop of color to her look with red lipstick. Kylie, meanwhile, covered up in a loose-fitting, khaki Von Dutch jacket, worn over a fitted, white T-shirt. The brand was made popular in the early 2000s, particularly by celebrities such as Ashton Kutcher and Lindsay Lohan wearing its trucker hats. The Keeping Up with the Kardashians star coupled the revived fashion with a pair of skintight, black leggings. The Kylie Lip Kit creator also sported a pair of black Converse sneakers, accessorizing her look with a large, black leather bag. She wore her long, black dresses in a center part, and styled in bold curls that cascaded over her shoulders. Kylie hid her eyes behind a pair of over-sized black sunglasses, and showed off a bright pink lipstick for the outing. The teenaged entrepreneur also took to Instagram to show off her look, posting a selfie in front of a mirror that she captioned: 'girls room.'

2016-04-12 23:30 Kayla Caldwell www.dailymail.co.uk

99 SARAH VINE on the agonising truth about those beauty disasters Spring, and a young woman’s fancy turns to. . . why, depilation of course. For with the finer weather comes the prospect of bare legs, and with that the resumption of the never-ending battle with hairs in unsightly places. This week, author Marian Keyes gave an audience at the Oxford Literary Festival an account of her own fight with the fuzz. The novelist, self-confessed owner of ‘the hairiest legs in Ireland’, revealed how she almost overdosed on anaesthetic following laser hair removal. In the agonising aftermath, she bought a tube of anaesthetic cream from a ‘dodgy’ internet site, slathered her legs in it and wrapped the lot in clingfilm. She became euphoric, then a little delirious and, she says, narrowly avoided anaesthesia toxicity, something that can lead to seizures and even death. Nevertheless, she professed herself ‘delighted’ with the results. Which just goes to show: there are no limits to the crazy things women will do in the name of beauty. I recall one friend telling me of a session of ‘needling’, a treatment whereby a rolling pin studded with lots of tiny needles is moved backwards and forwards over the face in a bid to rejuvenate the skin. The process left her wincing in agony, with skin the colour of a tomato, eyes watering and the visage of a sunburnt alcoholic. Another, before an early summer holiday, had just had a spray tan when the phone rang. It was her father’s nursing home. He had taken a turn for the worse. Panicking, she leapt in her car and drove down the motorway to be at his bedside. Occasionally he would regain consciousness, and they would exchange a few tender words. Once, he fixed her with a gimlet eye. ‘Tell me just one thing,’ he rasped. ‘Why in God’s name are you that strange colour?’ In the turmoil, she’d forgotten the tan was still developing, leaving her the colour of creosote — save for white streaks on her cheeks where tears had washed away the lotion. I, too, have suffered my fair share of vanity-related mishaps. I had a ‘hydro’ facial in anticipation of an important event. Salt water jets were aimed at my face to exfoliate and massage to bring out my ‘natural radiance’. In a few hours, I glowed like a thermo- nuclear reactor and developed a painful rash that could be tamed only by copious amounts of hydrocortisone creams. I’ve endured weeks in surgical bandages in a (futile) attempt to banish leg veins, had the fat on my stomach frozen (mildly successful, moderately painful, seriously disgusting) and allowed perfect strangers to apply hot wax to my nether regions in the pursuit of poolside perfection. There is absolutely no logic whatsoever to this behaviour. With rare exceptions, none of this stuff makes any real difference, not in the long term, at least — and certainly not as far as the alleged benefactors, the menfolk, are concerned. Truth is, we cannot blame the patriarchy for this one. When it comes to punishing beauty regimens, women are our own worst enemies. Which is why, to be serious for one second, regulation in this sector is so vital — and so overdue. General Medical Council guidelines issued this week could see doctors struck off for offering two-for-one deals on cosmetic procedures, from Botox to breast implants. But they don’t go far enough. Because when it comes to things such as laser hair removal, doctors are not the problem. It’s under-qualified or poorly trained beauty therapists, often with nothing more than a weekend diploma to their name, who account for the majority of mishaps. If even perfectly intelligent, award-winning novelists like Marian Keyes can come a cropper, it would seem a clampdown is long-overdue. Either that — or expect similar hair-raising incidents in the future. Bully from Brussels To ALL those Radio 4 listeners left scratching their heads over the transformation of The Archers from an everyday story of rural folk to The Shining with cows, I think I may have an explanation. It’s stealth propaganda for the Government’s pro-EU campaign. Seriously, think about it. Rob is actually Brussels. Helen is Britain. Over the course of several years, Rob/Brussels has slowly, stealthily but surely, been undermining Helen/ Britain’s independence. He’s been taking away her freedoms. Telling her she would never survive without him. Undermining her sense of self. Taking over the shop. Questioning her sanity. After a great deal of soul-searching, she finally plucks up the courage to leave. And what happens? Disaster. Rob hospitalised, Helen in the dock. And all for what? Because she tried to put an end to her abusive relationship. The subversive message is loud and clear: better to stay and put up with the pain than to go it alone and risk it all. Pass me that knife, will you, please? Prince Harry tells the BBC he thinks of the Queen more as a boss than a granny. In our house — as, I suspect, in many others — granny is both: not only the undisputed boss, but also reigning monarch. As it should be. Scarred by porn The case of four young men wrongly accused of rape at Gloucester Crown Court offers many unpleasant truths about modern Britain, not least the fact anyone accused of a sex crime can have their reputation destroyed while their alleged victim remains anonymous whatever the outcome. But what’s really striking is that these young people — students at the Royal Agricultural University in Cirencester — went to a party, got steaming drunk and ended up having a mini-orgy which they filmed and shared on social media. As though any of that were normal. Where does such depravity come from? Simple: online porn. Young adults have grown up exposed to the kind of hardcore material previously sought out only by a tiny, warped minority. By the time they reach secondary school, most children, by accident or because of peer pressure, will have viewed hardcore porn. The results are only now becoming plain to see. Last year, a survey found 12 per cent of 11 to 13-year-olds admitted to ‘making or having been part of a sexually explicit video’. And as the lines between sex and pornography become ever more blurred, so, too, will the ones between consent and rape. Most people who work in the real world - i.e. the one NOT funded by the British taxpayer - long ago gave up on the idea of expense accounts. Not so at the BBC, where the concept of supper expenses being reduced from £16 to £10 is deemed worthy of a strike ballot. There’s austerity and there’s public sector austerity. The two are not the same thing at all.

2016-04-12 23:30 Sarah Vine www.dailymail.co.uk

100 100 IMF's Furusawa warns of limits to further BOJ rate cuts By Leika Kihara WASHINGTON, April 12 (Reuters) - The Bank of Japan still has tools left to expand monetary stimulus further but must bear in mind that there are limits to how much it can deepen negative interest rates, a senior International Monetary Fund official said on Tuesday. Mitsuhiro Furusawa, the IMF's deputy managing director, also said he does not see recent yen rises as deviating sharply from the fund's existing assessment that yen moves were "broadly in line with fundamentals. " "All I can say is that there's a consensus among nations that authorities can take necessary action against rapid and disorderly exchange-rate moves," he told Reuters, when asked whether recent yen rises are sharp enough to justify unilateral yen-selling intervention by Japanese authorities. (Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Eric Meijer)

2016-04-12 23:27 Reuters www.dailymail.co.uk

Total 100 articles. Created at 2016-04-13 06:02