Alice Gross: 'Now A Murder Investigation'

A murder investigation has been launched after police searching for missing teenager Alice Gross find a body in west London.

Detectives say there had been considerable efforts to conceal the human remains.

Scotland Yard Commander Graham McNulty said: “This is now a murder investigation.

“I would urge anyone who knows anything to come forward.”

More follows…

Source Article from https://uk.news.yahoo.com/alice-gross-now-murder-investigation-054952284.html

Alice Gross: 'Now A Murder Investigation'

Taliban bombs hit Afghan army vehicles, killing at least seven

KABUL (Reuters) – Two Taliban suicide bombers attacked an army bus and another army vehicle in the Afghan capital on Wednesday, killing at least seven people and wounding more than 15, the government said, a day after Afghanistan and the United States signed a long-delayed security agreement.

“An Afghan army bus and another car carrying Afghan army personnel were targeted by two suicide bombings,” deputy interior minister General Ayoub Salanghi said in a statement.

The Taliban, fighting to oust foreign forces and the U.S-backed government, claimed responsibility for the attacks in the east and west of Kabul.

“Double martyrdom attack has rocked #Kabul city this morning amid current year’s ongoing #Khaibar operation,” the Taliban said on Twitter, referring to their yearly summer fighting offensive.

The attack in the west of the city, close to Kabul university, was the more serious of the two. It destroyed the army bus and shattered shop windows. At least seven were killed, the defense ministry said.

“I was walking down the road when a huge explosion occurred. Right after the blast, I saw dust and smoke rising from the area and then I escaped,” said shopkeeper Sanaullah Khan.

Officials from Afghanistan and the United States on Tuesday signed a deal allowing American troops to stay in the country after the end of the year, filling a campaign promise by new President Ashraf Ghani.

(Reporting by Jessica Donati and Hamid Shalizi; Editing by Nick Macfie)

Taliban bombs hit Afghan army vehicles, killing at least seven

Hong Kong democracy protesters and officials mark uneasy National Day

By Donny Kwok and Irene Jay Liu

HONG KONG (Reuters) – Thousands of pro-democracy protesters thronged the streets of Hong Kong on Wednesday, some of them jeering National Day celebrations, as demonstrations spread to a new area of the city, ratcheting up pressure on its pro-Beijing government.

There was little sign of momentum flagging on the fifth day of the mass campaign, whose aim has been to occupy sections of the city and express fury at a Chinese decision to limit voters’ choices in a 2017 leadership election.

Many had feared police would use force to move crowds before Wednesday’s start to celebrations marking the anniversary of the Communist Party’s foundation of the People’s Republic of China in 1949. Those fears proved unfounded.

The crowds have brought large sections of the Asian financial hub to a standstill, disrupting businesses from banks to jewellers. Overnight thunderstorms failed to dampen spirits and the protesters woke to blue skies on Wednesday.

Riot police had used tear gas, pepper spray and baton charges at the weekend to try to quell the unrest but tensions have eased since then as both sides appeared prepared to wait it out, at least for now.

Protests spread from four main areas to Tsim Sha Tsui, a shopping area popular with mainland Chinese visitors. It would usually do roaring trade during the annual National Day holiday.

Underlining nervousness among some activists that provocation on National Day could spark violence, protest leaders urged crowds not to disturb the flag-raising ceremony on the Victoria Harbour waterfront on Wednesday morning.

Proceedings went ahead peacefully, although scores of students who ringed the ceremony at Bauhinia Square overlooking Hong Kong harbour booed as the national anthem was played.

A beaming Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, who was appointed by Beijing, shook hands with supporters waving the Chinese flag even as protesters who want him to stand down chanted: “We want real democracy”.

“We hope that all sectors of the community will work with the government in a peaceful, lawful, rational and pragmatic manner … and make a big step forward in our constitutional development,” Leung said in a speech.

The Hong Kong and Chinese flags billowed in the wind at the completion of the ceremony but one of the main protest groups said they marked the occasion “with a heavy heart”.

“We are not celebrating the 65th anniversary of China. With the present political turmoil in Hong Kong and the continued persecution of human rights activists in China, I think today is not a day for celebrations but rather a day of sadness,” said Oscar Lai, a spokesman for the student group Scholarism.

SOLIDARITY

Hundreds of demonstrators had gathered outside luxury stores and set up makeshift barricades from the early hours of Wednesday in anticipation of possible clashes. As in most parts of Hong Kong, the police presence was small.

Protesters have set up supply stations with water bottles, fruit, crackers, disposable raincoats, towels, goggles, face masks and tents.

M. Lau, a 56-year-old retiree, said he had taken to the streets of Hong Kong to protest in the 1980s and wanted to do so again in a show of solidarity with a movement that has been led by students as well as more established activists.

“Our parents and grandparents came to Hong Kong for freedom and the rule of law. This (protest) is to maintain our 160-year-old legal system for the next generation,” Lau said.

The protests are the worst in Hong Kong since China resumed its rule of the former British colony in 1997. They also represent one of the biggest political challenges for Beijing since it violently crushed pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Cracking down too hard could shake confidence in market-driven Hong Kong, which has a separate legal system from the rest of China. Not reacting firmly enough, however, could embolden dissidents on the mainland.

China rules Hong Kong under a “one country, two systems” formula that accords it some autonomy and freedoms not enjoyed in mainland China, with universal suffrage an eventual goal.

However, protesters reacted angrily when Beijing decreed on Aug. 31 that it would vet candidates wishing to run for Hong Kong’s leadership.

Leung has said Beijing would not back down in the face of protests and that Hong Kong police would be able to maintain security without help from People’s Liberation Army (PLA) troops from the mainland.

CENSORSHIP

Communist Party leaders in Beijing worry that calls for democracy could spread to the mainland, and have been aggressively censoring news and social media comments about the Hong Kong demonstrations.

Cybersecurity researchers in the United States said they had found a computer virus that spies on Apple Inc’s iOS operating system for iPhones and iPads that they believe is targeting the protesters in Hong Kong.

Researchers from Lacoon Mobile Security said the code used to control the server was written in Chinese by “really sophisticated guys”.

Hong Kong shares fell to a three-month low on Tuesday, registering their biggest monthly fall since May 2012. Markets are closed on Wednesday and Thursday for the holidays.

The city’s benchmark index <.HSI> has fallen 7.3 percent over the past month, and there are few indications that the protests are likely to end any time soon.

Mainland Chinese visiting Hong Kong had differing views on the demonstrations, being staged under the “Occupy” banner.

“For the first time in my life I feel close to politics,” said a 29-year-old tourist from Beijing surnamed Yu. “I believe something like this will happen in China one day.”

A woman surnamed Lin, from the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, however said the protesters’ demands for a democratic election were “disrespectful to the mainland”.

“Even though the government has brought a lot of development to Hong Kong, they don’t acknowledge this,” Lin said.

The outside world has looked on warily.

British finance chief George Osborne urged China to seek peace and said the former colony’s prosperity depended on freedom. Washington urged Hong Kong authorities “to exercise restraint and for protesters to express their views peacefully”.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will discuss the protests with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during talks in Washington on Wednesday, U.S. officials said.

(Additional reporting by Farah Master, Diana Chan, Twinnie Siu, Yimou Lee, Kinling Lo, Charlie Zhu, John Ruwitch, Clare Baldwin, Diana Chan and Anne Marie Roantree in HONG KONG and Jim Finkle in BOSTON; Writing by Paul Tait; Editing by Mark Bendeich)

Hong Kong democracy protesters and officials mark uneasy National Day

Asian shares slip, dollar near highs; HK unrest eyed

By Lisa Twaronite

TOKYO (Reuters) – Asian shares slumped on Wednesday as continued civil unrest in Hong Kong and a downbeat day on Wall Street sapped confidence, while the dollar index was close to a four-year high after marking its best quarterly gain in six years.

Trading in Asia was subdued with China closed for National Day and investors warily monitoring Hong Kong’s pro-democracy unrest, as thousands of protesters stepped up pressure on the city’s pro-Beijing government.

Chinese manufacturing data offered investors some relief, and helped put a floor under prices. The official Purchasing Managers’ Index was unchanged at 51.1 in September, slightly above market expectations, though the world’s second largest economy was not out of the woods yet.

“The economy still faces a degree of downward pressure,” Chen Zhongtao, an official at the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing, which helps to compile the PMI data, said in a statement.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan <.MIAPJ0000PUS> was down 0.4 percent, though Japan’s Nikkei stock average <.N225> erased early losses and ticked up 0.3 percent as the dollar broke above the 110-yen level for the first time since August 2008.

The Bank of Japan’s closely watched tankan survey of business sentiment released before the market opened showed big manufacturers’ confidence improved slightly in the latest quarter, but service-sector sentiment worsened, adding to evidence that a sales tax hike continues to weigh on the economy.

The dollar added about 0.3 percent against the yen to 109.94, after rising to a six-year high of 110.09 yen earlier.

That helped lift the dollar index <.DXY>, by about 0.1 percent to 86.049, towards a four-year high of 86.218 touched overnight.

The euro skidded as low as $1.2571 on Tuesday after data showed cooling euro zone inflation, the culmination of a dismal month in which the currency slipped 3.82 percent – its biggest decline in over two years. It was last down about 0.2 percent on the day at $1.2613.

Data on Tuesday showed annual inflation cooled to 0.3 percent last month, well below the European Central Bank’s target of just under 2 percent, increasing speculation the bank will take more easing steps.

The Chinese data helped oil crawled off its overnight lows, but crude prices remained pressured by the dollar’s momentum. A stronger dollar raises the price of dollar-based commodities for holders of other currencies.

Brent crude added about 0.3 percent on the day to $94.97 a barrel, after marking a 16 percent loss for the quarter, the biggest in two years. U.S. crude added about 0.3 percent to $91.45 a barrel after shedding 12 percent for the quarter, also its biggest quarterly loss in two years, and posting its biggest daily decline since 2012.

The stronger dollar also took a toll on gold, which marked its first quarterly loss this year. Spot gold slipped about 0.2 percent to $1,206.03 an ounce.

(Additional reporting by Ian Chua in Sydney and Koh Gui Qing in Beijing; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)

Asian shares slip, dollar near highs; HK unrest eyed

‘Sons Of Anarchy’ Just Achieved ‘Game Of Thrones’ Levels Of Mayhem

by Josh Wigler


42 mins ago

WARNING: Spoilers Ahead!

“Henry Lin sends his regards.”

After weeks of assaults on the Lin Triad, August Marks, and basically anyone else careless enough to cross his path, Jax Teller finally suffered blowback right at home in Charming. Friends, colleagues, cops — you name it — were caught up in the crossfire between the Sons of Anarchy and their misguided revenge quest against the wrong enemy. Nothing, and no one, is safe anymore.

Here’s what went down:

A Charming War

Henry Lin promised that he would turn Charming into “a god damn killing field,” and he certainly delivered. Someone informed Lin that the Sons were responsible for the attack on their buyers back in “Toil and Till.” That someone remains a mystery, but come on — it’s totally Jury.

Whoever ratted, the results are clear: Lin’s men toss a grenade into Scoops and nearly wipe out every single key member of SAMCRO, as well as Charming’s new sheriff Althea Jarry, who already had one hell of a blood-soaked day on her hands. (More on that in a second.) They survive, but barely.

The women at Diosa are not so lucky. Lin sends a hit squad to SAMCRO and Nero’s joint venture and shoots the whole place up, killing escorts and patrons alike, including Jax’s former fling Colette. And at the docks in Stockton, all the weapons the Sons were guarding are gone, with recent recruit Orlin West killed in the process.

The massive retaliation against the Sons feels straight out of “Game of Thrones” season three; no spoilers beyond the words “Red” and “Wedding,” but fans of both shows get the picture. It was a merciless, remorseless takedown of everything the Sons stand for. It was, in a single word, devastating.

Your move, Jax.

Total Cop Out

As if Lin’s blowback wasn’t bad enough on its own, things were already going poorly for the Sons of Anarchy earlier in the day. Jax needed to meet up with the Aryan Brotherhood and deliver some “dog food” (aka “totally not dog food,” aka “heroin”), an attempt to keep their alliance strong in anticipation of the coming war.

Yeah… about that.

Charming police officers Marcus Cane and Candy Eglee are looking to find Jax and Chibs on an unrelated matter, and when they spot them on the road, they follow them to their meet with the Aryan Brotherhood. The AB are spooked when they see cops, and they open fire, killing Cane instantly, and filling Eglee with bullets as well.

The truce between SAMCRO and the AB is shaky at best at the moment; equally bad, Eglee’s still alive, but very badly injured. If she regains consciousness, she can place the Sons at the scene of the crime.

Not. Good.

Tig Goes to Venus

It says a lot that the happiest moment of the episode belonged to a gunshot victim. Remember those pastors the Sons killed back in the season premiere? One of them was August Marks’ partner in a housing development, but his recent disappearance (see: murder) has threatened the deal. The only other person that can push the deal through is the pastor’s wife, but she’s missing as well.

So, at the Niners’ request, the Sons track down the wife. But the mission goes wrong when the pastor’s stepson shoots Tig in the stomach, in an attempt to defend his mother from the Sons. It’s water under the bridge (and under a car) when everyone puts their guns down and starts talking, but still, there’s the not insignificant matter of Tig’s gut shot.

The Sons take Tig back to Scoops, and they call up Venus Van Damme, who helped the Sons find the pastor (he was a former client of hers), and has maintained an ongoing “friendship” with Tig since we saw her last. As she’s caring for Tig’s injuries, she soothes the smitten Son with her origin story.

“I was born a man,” she says, “but I believe my true genesis happened a bit later, when I was stirred by the gods of love and beauty, and transformed into an angel, whose sole purpose is to bring light to the shadows, and limber joy to all those lost souls who can no longer find it.”

Them’s kissing words. Tig and Venus finally seal the deal, locking lips in a loving embrace. Of course, seconds later, the Triad toss a grenade through Scoops’ window, interrupting the moment — but it was nice while it lasted!

Granny’s Got a Gun

Finally, let’s talk about the woman at the heart of all this horror: Gemma Morrow Teller. In lying to Jax about her role in Tara’s murder, she’s directly responsible for the war between SAMCRO and the Lin Triad, and the subsequent blood on the streets in Charming.

Gemma also aided in Jax’s beatdown of Mr. Hoss, the Diosa dirtbag from “Playing with Monsters,” which is why the Charming Police Department wanted to sit down with Jax and Chibs, leading to Cane’s death and Eglee’s severe injury. So, at least some of that blood is on her hands.

And it looks like Gemma’s far from finished with all the killing. On orders from District Attorney Tyne Patterson, an APB has been placed throughout Northern California for Juan Carlos “Juice” Ortiz. Cops and outlaws alike are now looking for Juice — and if they find him, they might find out what Gemma did to Tara.

So, Gemma’s looking to take matters into her own hands. She promises to personally drive Juice to her father’s house, but when she goes home to pack supplies, she packs a curious item: a handgun, equipped with a silencer. Looks like Gemma is finally ready to silence the one man who can definitively out her as Tara’s killer.

But there’s one thing Gemma hasn’t taken into account: Juice also has a silenced handgun in his possession. Will these guns go off as soon as next week? Looks likely.

What did you think of all the bloody mayhem on this week’s “Sons of Anarchy”?

Josh Wigler
@roundhoward

‘Sons Of Anarchy’ Just Achieved ‘Game Of Thrones’ Levels Of Mayhem

China's September official PMI steady at 51.1

BEIJING (Reuters) – Growth in China‘s manufacturing sector held up in September as large state factories benefitted from steady domestic demand, welcome news for investors a day after China cut mortgage rates for the first time since 2008 to lift its flagging economy.

The official Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) hovered at 51.1, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday, a touch ahead of forecasts for a 51.0 reading.

A PMI reading above 50 indicates growth on a monthly basis, and a reading below that points to contraction.

The survey suggested that demand for goods produced by large state-owned factories was stronger within China than in overseas markets.

The new orders sub-index, a proxy for foreign and domestic demand, stood at 52.2, down slightly from 52.5 in August but well above the 50-point mark that indicates growth on a monthly basis.

The new export orders sub-index, on the other hand, edged up to 50.2 to stand just a whisker above the 50-point boom-bust level.

Wednesday’s data may assure investors that the world’s second-biggest economy, which has stumbled this year, is not doing as badly as some feared. But at the same time, some analysts warned investors against thinking that growth had picked up markedly.

Profits at China’s industrial companies fell 0.6 percent in August from a year earlier, reversing from July’s 13.5 percent annual rise, the government said on Saturday.

“The economy still faces a degree of downward pressure,” Chen Zhongtao, an official at the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing, which helps to publish the PMI data, said in a statement.

Hurt by unsteady exports, a housing downturn and cooling investment growth, the world’s second-largest economy has wobbled this year, raising doubts about whether it can grow by around 7.5 percent in 2014 as targeted by Beijing or whether it may be at risk of a sharper slowdown.

To shore up growth, China cut mortgage rates and down payment levels for some home buyers on Tuesday for the first time since the 2008 global financial crisis, making one of its biggest moves this year to boost an economy increasingly threatened by the sagging housing market.

(Reporting by Koh Gui Qing; Editing by Kim Coghill)

China's September official PMI steady at 51.1

Japan Sept final manufacturing PMI eases to 51.7 from Aug 52.2

Japanese manufacturing activity expanded in September at a slightly slower pace than the previous month, in a sign that economic momentum is still faltering after a sales tax increase in April.

The final Markit/JMMA Japan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) was a seasonally adjusted 51.7 in September, unchanged from a preliminary reading but lower than a final 52.2 in August.

Still, the index remained above the 50 threshold that separates expansion from contraction for the fourth straight month.

Factory output, consumer spending and real wages all fell in August, offering fresh signs the economy is reeling after an increase in the sales tax in April, government data showed on Tuesday.

(Reporting by Stanley White; Editing by Kim Coghill)

Japan Sept final manufacturing PMI eases to 51.7 from Aug 52.2

Afghan pact signed amid questions on Iraq pullout

WASHINGTON (AP) — After lengthy delays, U.S. and Afghan officials signed a security pact Tuesday to keep American troops in Afghanistan beyond year’s end, aiming to prevent the country from descending into the kind of chaos that has plagued Iraq following the Pentagon’s withdrawal.

While President Barack Obama has touted the Afghan accord as crucial to protecting progress in the fight against al-Qaida, he’s also insisted that had he reached a similar pact with Iraq, it would have done little to stop the rise of the Islamic State militants now wreaking havoc there and in neighboring Syria.

“The only difference would be we’d have a bunch of troops on the ground that would be vulnerable,” Obama said in August, shortly after authorizing airstrikes in Iraq. “And however many troops we had, we would have to now be reinforcing, I’d have to be protecting them, and we’d have a much bigger job.”

The president and his advisers have repeatedly said they were left with no choice but to withdraw from Iraq. Under an agreement signed by former President George W. Bush, U.S. troops had to leave by the end of 2011 unless an extension was signed.

Negotiations over the terms of a new deal collapsed when it became clear that Iraq’s parliament would not give American forces immunity from prosecution, as is typical of such agreements. Obama administration officials also rejected former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s offer to sign an executive order granting Americans immunity.

But White House critics, as well as some former administration officials, have suggested that Obama put his desire to end the Iraq war ahead of concerns about the security vacuum the U.S. might leave behind. The president has repeatedly heralded the withdrawal of American forces as the fulfillment of his campaign pledge to bring the unpopular war to a close.

Vali Nasr, who served as a State Department adviser during Obama’s first term, said, “The administration’s leaning was to say we’re going to leave, we really want to find all of the reason why we’re able to leave Iraq.” What’s happened to Iraq since then, he said, appears to have affected the way the administration views the necessity of staying in Afghanistan.

“There’s some motivation to avoid Afghanistan turning into a crisis of ISIS magnitude,” said Nasr, who is now dean of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. He referred to the Islamic State group by one of its many names.

Even before the rise of the Islamic State group, the White House showed enormous flexibility in trying to get the Afghan deal done. U.S. officials first warned their Afghan counterparts that if the security accord was not signed by the end of 2013, the Pentagon would have to start planning for a full withdrawal. But when the year ended, the White House moved back the deadline, saying Afghan President Hamid Karzai needed to sign off within weeks.

Karzai surprised U.S. officials by ultimately saying he would not sign the accord and would instead leave that task for his successor. But the results of the race to replace Karzai took months resolve, finally coming to a conclusion Monday with the swearing in of Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai as Afghanistan’s second elected president.

Ahmadzai signed the security agreement Tuesday, nearly one year after the White House’s initial deadline.

Republican House Speaker John Boehner cast the agreement as a key step in completing the U.S. mission in Afghanistan.

“This is what should have happened in Iraq, and it’s essential that the Obama administration does not repeat the same mistakes that it made there,” he said.

The agreement provides a legal framework for the United States to keep about 9,800 troops in Afghanistan to train, advise and assist that country’s national security forces after the current international combat mission ends Dec. 31. Obama announced earlier this year that he would cut the number of troops in half by the end of 2015 and leave only about 1,000 in a security office after the end of 2016, as his presidency comes to a close.

The Afghan government also is expected to sign an agreement this week with NATO that would outline the parameters for 4,000 to 5,000 additional international troops — mostly from Britain, Germany, Italy and Turkey — to stay in Afghanistan in noncombat roles after the end of this year.

U.S. military officials say al-Qaida is in “survival mode” in Afghanistan after 13 years of war, but that if all international forces left, the terrorist network would see it as a victory, regroup and again use the region to plan and conduct operations against the West.

Some White House critics have questioned whether Obama’s decision to publicly choreograph plans to withdraw troops in 2016 allows al-Qaida to simply wait the U.S. out.

“What good really is a (bilateral security agreement) that has an endpoint?” Republican Sen. John McCain said in an interview. “It’s almost pointless.”

Indeed, there are serious questions about the ability of the Afghan security forces to take on the militants, even with a residual U.S. force. While Obama has insisted the Afghan war will be over by the time he leaves the White House, the security agreement with Afghanistan does allow for U.S. troops to stay in the country for 10 more years.

“He would pay a tremendous political price,” Nora Bensahel, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, said of the prospect Obama could keep troops in Afghanistan beyond 2016. “But he has the option to pay that political price if he wants.”

___

Associated Press writer Rahim Faiez in Kabul, Afghanistan, contributed to this report.

___

Follow Julie Pace at https://twitter.com/jpaceDC

Afghan pact signed amid questions on Iraq pullout

'Business booming' for woman comics

The rise of stars including Sarah Millican and Miranda Hart has lead to a boom in ticket sales for female comics, according to an industry survey.

Shows by female comedians account for 14% of all comedy tickets sold, up from 2% in 2009 according to a report by the Ticketmaster agency.

Comedian Shappi Khorsandi said: “It’s great to see the surge in female comedians, stamping out the prejudice. We have still further to go though, I’d like to see more female comics enjoying the dominance that men do on the bigger stages.

“Perhaps we are not capturing the public’s imagination in the same way, but it is all changing for the better and we are well on the way to enjoying equal success with our comedy brothers.”

Research published in The State of Play: Comedy report revealed the power of television in making or breaking careers, with more than half (51%) of people who regularly attended comedy gigs saying they would only pay to see someone they had already seen on TV.

The survey, which questioned more than 2,000 people, also found that going to comedy gigs was a social experience, with more than half saying they went in groups of three or more.

It also found the art of heckling is disappearing, with only one in five (20%) saying it was acceptable to heckle and 3% admitting to doing it regularly.

'Business booming' for woman comics

Oprah Winfrey, Harry Belafonte honored by Harvard

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — Oprah Winfrey and performer-activist Harry Belafonte were among those honored at Harvard University on Tuesday at its annual celebration of African American culture.

The university’s Hutchins Center for African and African American Research presented its annual W.E.B. Du Bois Medals to eight people at the ceremony, also including British architect David Adjaye, civil rights hero U.S. Rep John Lewis, D-Ga.; “12 Years a Slave” director Steve McQueen, “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Scandal” creator Shonda Rhimes and movie producer Harvey Weinstein.

The medal has been awarded since 2000 and is Harvard’s highest honor in the field of African and African American Studies.

Winfrey also accepted a posthumous award for author and poet Maya Angelou, who she has called a mentor. The billionaire television host, producer and philanthropist said one of her fondest memories of Angelou, who died earlier this year, was sitting at her table and eating biscuits.

Rhimes, creator of hit shows with black female protagonists, said it shouldn’t be so unusual, in this day, to expect characters on television shows to “look like the rest of the world.” In a recent Associated Press interview about her new ABC show, “How To Get Away With Murder,” starring Viola Davis as a criminal lawyer and law professor, Rhimes said “Why did it take somebody black to talk about being black?”

Belafonte recalled his days in the civil rights movement with figures such as Martin Luther King Jr. and actor Paul Robeson.

Lewis, who was presented a Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2010 by President Barack Obama, was introduced Tuesday by Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick.

Introducing the other honorees were novelist Jamaica Kincaid, Harvard sociologist William Julius Wilson, Harvard President Drew Gilpin Faust, Harvard Graduate School of Design Dean Mohsen Mostafavi, and American Repertory Theater’s artistic director Diane Paulus.

Du Bois, a scholar who founded the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, was born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, and graduated from Harvard. Selections from his writings were read at the ceremony.

Oprah Winfrey, Harry Belafonte honored by Harvard

Fat Joe Opens Up About Struggling With Depression

by Adam Fleischer


39 mins ago

Losing a loved one can be a devastating ordeal in its own right. Losing three in a short span of time can be downright debilitating — and its an experience Fat Joe unfortunately knows firsthand.

“When [Big] Pun passed away, I went through depression,” the rapper said in an interview with Music Choice. “And I’m not just saying depression lightly — real depression. It was him, my sister and my grandfather at the same time, so I was going through so much and everybody doubted me.”

The Bronx native recalls overhearing some of his closest friends saying that his musical career was finished around that same time. That motivated him to breathe new life into his work, and he credits Pun with giving him the foundation to be able to do that.

“Even though I discovered Big Pun, the truth is, he taught me how to make hit records,” Joe said. “He literally sat me down and said, ‘Yo, right about here, you gotta talk to the girls, Joe. Right about here we gotta keep it gangsta.’ He literally showed me.”

“Once he passed, I got used to the money, I got used to the fame, so I was like, ‘We gotta hit some home runs.’ So, we did the ‘We Thuggin’’ with R. Kelly, ‘What’s Love,’ we had the ‘My Lifestyle,’ it was a serious run.”

Of course, losing Pun hurt, but it sounds like the lessons Pun left behind sparked the second — and extremely successful — leg of Joe’s rap career.

Adam Fleischer

Fat Joe Opens Up About Struggling With Depression

Traveller from Liberia is first Ebola patient diagnosed in U.S.

By Julie Steenhuysen and Sharon Begley

(Reuters) – A man who flew from Liberia to Texas has become the first patient infected with the deadly Ebola virus to be diagnosed in the United States, health officials said on Tuesday, a sign the outbreak ravaging West Africa may spread globally.

The patient sought treatment six days after arriving in Texas on Sept. 20, Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), told reporters. He was admitted two days later to an isolation room at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas.

U.S. health officials and lawmakers have been bracing for the eventuality that a patient would arrive on U.S. shores undetected, testing the preparedness of the nation’s healthcare system. On Tuesday, Frieden and other health authorities said they were taking every step possible to ensure the virus did not spread widely.

“It is certainly possible someone who had contact with this individual could develop Ebola in the coming weeks,” Frieden told a news conference. “I have no doubt we will stop this in its tracks in the United States.”

Frieden said a handful of people, mostly family members, may have been exposed to the patient after he fell ill and that health authorities were tracking down anyone who might have had contact with the man. The emergency responders who transported the man to the hospital have been quarantined, according to a statement from Dallas city officials.

He said there was likely no threat to any airline passengers because the patient had no symptoms during his flight. Asked whether the patient was a U.S. citizen, Frieden described the person as a visitor to family in the country.

At least 3,091 people have died from Ebola in the worst outbreak on record that has been ravaging Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea in West Africa. More than 6,500 cases have been diagnosed, and the CDC has warned that the number of infections could rise to as many as 1.4 million people by early next year without a massive global intervention to contain the virus.

U.S. hospitals have treated, and released, three aid workers who were infected in Africa and flown back to the United States under strict medical supervision in a specially outfitted airplane.

A fourth person is being treated at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia and a fifth person who may have been exposed to the virus is under observation at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland.

President Barack Obama discussed the Dallas case with Frieden on Tuesday, the White House said.

GLOBAL SECURITY ISSUE

The Ebola outbreak has overwhelmed health systems in Africa, one of the world’s poorest regions, prompting the U.S. government and other nations to send funds, supplies and personnel to stop its spread.

The Dallas case “underscores that Ebola is a global and national security issue and that we need to double-down on our efforts to help West Africa get this outbreak under control,” Gerald Parker, vice president for Public Health Preparedness and Response at Texas A&M Health Science Center, said in an interview.

Frieden has said U.S. hospitals are well prepared to handle Ebola patients and has assured the public that the virus should not pose the same threat in the United States as it does in Africa.

“Americans need to remain calm and listen to the precautionary measures being suggested by the CDC,” said Senator Chris Coons, a Democrat from Delaware who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs.

“It was only a matter of time before an Ebola case would emerge here in the United States, but as we’re seeing in Dallas today, our public health system has the resources, capabilities, and knowledge to address and contain this virus quickly and safely.”

Ebola symptoms generally appear between two and 21 days after infection, meaning there is a significant window during which an infected person can escape detection, allowing them to travel. Symptoms include fever, vomiting and diarrhoea.

This outbreak has killed about 50 percent of its victims. In past outbreaks, fatality rates have been as high as 90 percent.

Frieden emphasized that Ebola cannot be spread through the air but only through contact with bodily fluids such as blood, diarrhoea and tears.

He said that CDC and other health officials were discussing whether to treat the Ebola patient with an experimental drug.

Stocks in Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corp and other small biotechnology companies working on Ebola therapies or vaccines rose on the news of the U.S. Ebola patient in after-hours trading.

(Reporting by Julie Steenhuysen in Chicago and Sharon Begley in New York; Additional reporting by Steve Holland in Washington and Lisa Maria Garza in Dallas; Editing by Michele Gershberg and Lisa Shumaker)

Traveller from Liberia is first Ebola patient diagnosed in U.S.

Nas Opens Up On ‘Time is Illmatic,’ But It Wasn’t Easy

by Rob Markman


1 hour ago

Nas chooses his words carefully, and it’s those choice words that shaped his classic debut, Illmatic, way back in 1994. In turn, it was Illmatic that shaped director One9 and writer Erik Parker’s new film “Time is Illmatic,” the critically acclaimed documentary that details the rise of one of hip-hop’s most celebrated poets.

The film debuted at the opening of the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City back in April, but opens in theaters in New York and Los Angeles on October 1 before hitting On Demand on October 3.

“I think it’s super-cool to tell your story if you have a lot of story to tell,” Nas told MTV News on Monday.

[ video unavailable on this device ]

Twenty years after his debut, it’s clear Nas has a story to tell — he’s released 12 solo albums and become one of the biggest names in all of music, working with everyone from Jay Z to Jennifer Lopez. But as open as he is with his lyrics, the usually guarded MC is often reluctant to speak outside of the booth.

“There was a distance at first, just a feel-out process,” admitted film director One9, who, along with Parker, began working on the film 10 years ago. “There was a point when he came by the studio and looked at old photos, old video, he looked at what we had on the wall, he felt our energy, that what we were bringing to it. We grew up in hip-hop, this wasn’t something that we were coming from the outside in and he felt a connection, a bond.”

Once Nas sensed the duo’s sincerity, there was a turning point, and his walls began to crumble.

“All we wanted to do was to tell the story of the making of Illmatic. That was 10 years ago, because at that time it hadn’t been done and Illmatic was so overlooked,” said Parker.

As the first-time filmmakers dove deeper into the rabbit hole, they found that “Time is Illmatic” is about more than just the 10-track classic; it’s an American story about a boy who rose from the projects to prominence.

“We decided to make a story that was bigger than just the guy in the booth who’s writing poetry,” Parker continued.

And with that level of commitment, Nas was all in, ready to tell his story. “I tell it through music, but people really enjoy to hear the truth behind the scenes,” he said. “The timing is just right.”

Rob Markman
@RobMarkman

Nas Opens Up On ‘Time is Illmatic,’ But It Wasn’t Easy

World's first microbe 'zoo' opens in Amsterdam

The world’s first “interactive microbe zoo” opened in Amsterdam on Tuesday, shining new light on the tiny creatures that make up two-thirds of all living matter and are vital for our planet’s future.

The 10-million-euro ($13 million) Micropia museum is next to Amsterdam’s Artis Royal Zoo, whose director came up with the idea of exposing an array of living microbes in a “micro-zoo” 12 years ago.

“Zoos have traditionally tended to show just a small part of nature, namely the larger animals,” Haig Balian told AFP.

“Today we want to display micro-nature,” said Balian, who believes the importance of microbes in our daily lives has been underestimated ever since Dutch scientist Antonie van Leeuwenhoek observed the microscopic creatures in the 17th century.

Microbes are often associated with illness, through viruses, bacteria, fungi and algae, but they are also essential for our survival and will play an increasingly important role in humanity and the planet’s future, Balian said.

“Microbes are everywhere. Therefore you need microbiologists who can work in every sector: in hospitals, food production, the oil industry and pharmaceuticals, for instance,” he said.

They are already used to produce biofuels, develop new type of antibiotics and improve crop yields.

Experiments have shown their future potential for everything from generating electricity to strengthening building foundations and curing cancer.

“If we leave the science of microbiology in the dark for just a few experts, interest in it will never develop,” Balian said.

“We want to show visitors how everything in nature is interconnected and how fundamentally microbes are part of that connection.”

Each adult human body carries around 1.5 kilos (3.3 pounds) of microbes, and we would die without them.

- Microbes on eyes, in kisses -

Much of the museum — which claims to be a world-first — looks like a laboratory, complete with rows of microscopes connected to giant television screens.

Visitors can look through a window at a real-life laboratory where different kinds of microbes are being reproduced in Petri dishes and test tubes.

Step into a lift and look up to see an animation of a camera zooming on someone’s eye, revealing the tiny mites that live on our eyelashes. The camera then zooms in on bacteria on the mite and finally on a virus on the bacteria.

Visitors can watch microbes reproduce under a 3D-microscope, especially designed and built for Micropia, or see a giant scale model of the Ebola virus that’s ravaging west Africa.

A microbe scanner will instantly tell how many microbes live on a visitor’s body and where.

Bolder visitors can try the “Kiss-o-Meter” and be told how many microbes are being transferred as a couple kisses.

“Did you know that, for instance, there are 700 species of microbes living in your mouth? Or 80 kinds of fungi on your heel?” Balian asked with a smile.

“A visit to Micropia will forever change the way you see the world,” said Balian.

World's first microbe 'zoo' opens in Amsterdam

DJ Neil Fox bailed over sex claims

DJ Neil Fox has been bailed after he was arrested over alleged sex offences against two women.

The 53-year-old Magic presenter, known as Doctor Fox, was questioned at a police station in central London yesterday.

Scotland Yard did not name the broadcaster, but said o fficers from Westminster had arrested a 53-year-old man following four allegations of sexual assault against two women.

“Three of the allegations are historic, one from earlier this year,” the statement said.

“The man was arrested at a business address in W1 and taken to a central London police station. Officers subsequently searched addresses in SW6 and the Littlehampton area of West Sussex.

“The man has now been bailed to return on a date in early December pending further inquiries.”

A spokesman for Bauer Media confirmed Fox, presenter of the Magic Radio breakfast show, had been arrested.

He said the presenter would be off air from today ” to enable him to devote his full attention to dealing with these matters”.

The spokesman added: “All other aspects of his contract will remain unchanged while matters are resolved. We can make no further comment at this stage.”

His arrest is not part of high profile sex crime investigation Operation Yewtree.

Source Article from https://uk.news.yahoo.com/dj-neil-fox-bailed-over-sex-claims-231347435.html

DJ Neil Fox bailed over sex claims

Rousseff takes lead in Brazil election poll

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has opened a lead over her top rival in their election race.

A survey by the Datafolha polling group released Tuesday night says 49 percent of voters would cast ballots for Rousseff in a second-round runoff ballot with rival Marina Silva. Silva is backed by 41 percent. A month ago Silva led Rousseff 50-to-40.

The poll says Silva’s support in this Sunday’s first-round election has slipped to 25 percent. That’s five percentage points ahead of third-place Aecio Neves, but the gap between the two is narrowing.

A runoff vote on Oct. 26 is required if no candidate wins an outright majority this Sunday.

Datafolha interviewed 7,520 voters Monday and Tuesday across Brazil. The poll has a margin of error of two percentage points.

Rousseff takes lead in Brazil election poll

Review panel: Wis. rep likely broke House rules

WASHINGTON (AP) — A congressional review panel said there is “substantial reason to believe” that veteran Rep. Tom Petri of Wisconsin violated House rules by acting on behalf of two companies in which he owned significant amounts of stock, according to a report released Tuesday.

The independent Office of Congressional Ethics said Petri advocated for Oshkosh Corp. and the Manitowoc Co. despite owning at least $250,000 worth of Oshkosh stock and at least $100,000 worth of stock in Manitowoc. Both companies are based in Wisconsin.

Petri, a Republican who is retiring after 18 terms in the House, denied wrongdoing and said he routinely sought and took advice from the House Ethics Committee regarding his stock ownership. The committee approved his actions on each of those occasions, Petri said.

“Apparently, seeking advice, getting advice and following advice from the Ethics Committee is not good enough,” Petri said in a statement.

Petri said the Office of Congressional Ethics seems intent on “imposing arbitrary new standards and rules” on actions he took years ago. “All members of the House are at risk by the creation and application of standards and rules that have no basis in law,” he said.

The OCE is an outside organization that can refer cases to the Ethics Committee. The ethics committee said Tuesday it is continuing its investigation of Petri.

In its report, the OCE faulted Petri for pressing colleagues to help the Oshkosh Co. retain a $3 billion Pentagon contract to make tactical vehicles for the military. Separately, Petri worked with Manitowoc as it applied for an environmental exemption from the Obama administration regarding diesel engines used in cranes built by the company.

The Oshkosh case dates to 2009, when Petri and other members of the Wisconsin delegation pushed the Pentagon to move forward on a $3 billion contract awarded to Oshkosh to make tactical vehicles. The Government Accountability Office had upheld a protest by a losing bidder, and lawmakers in Texas were urging the Pentagon to support that company.

Petri said his actions on behalf of Oshkosh were not related to his stock ownership, but were an effort to help a major employer in his district. His office consulted with ethics committee staff before acting, Petri said.

But the review panel said in its report that on at least one occasion, advice from the ethics committee “appears to have been based on incomplete or inaccurate information.”

Petri did not consult the ethics committee before calling the Secretary of the Army in December 2009, the report said, nor did he disclose his stock ownership to the Army secretary.

Army Secretary John McHugh told the panel he considered Petri’s call routine and said knowing about Petri’s stock ownership would not have affected his decision. Oshkosh retained the contract in 2010 after the Army reevaluated the proposals.

The review panel also said Petri did not consult the ethics committee before helping Manitowoc in its dealings with the Environmental Protection Agency. The company received an exemption from the EPA in 2012, an outcome that a Manitowoc executive said could not have happened without Petri’s support, the report said.

The ethics committee’s jurisdiction over Petri ends when he leaves office in early January.

Review panel: Wis. rep likely broke House rules

Now There’s A Sexual Consent Law To Make It Clear That Only ‘Yes’ Actually Means ‘Yes’

by Nadeska Alexis


29 mins ago

Common sense actually isn’t as common as you might think, and when common sense errors get tangled with legal matters, things get extra sticky. Thankfully, California lawmakers have taken a big step to prevent unnecessary ambiguity in sexual assault cases, with the new ‘Yes Means Yes’ Law.

California Governor Jerry Brown has enacted a new law that clearly states that in any debate over sexual consent, the simple “no means no” standard won’t cut it anymore.

Thanks to this outdated guideline, there’s been plenty of confusion and wiggle room in sexual assault cases, where a perpetrator can claim that a victim consented because he or she did not explicitly say “no.” But now, unless there’s a “yes” involved, that perpetrator is clearly in the wrong.

To learn about rape culture and what you can do to combat it, head over to Look Different.

“Lack of protest or resistance does not mean consent, nor does silence mean consent,” the law reads, according to NPR. “Affirmative consent must be ongoing throughout a sexual activity and can be revoked at any time.”

With this new law, California becomes the first state to clearly define the parameters of consent. Lawmakers in Cali are hoping this will change the way universities deal with issues of rape and assault on campus, by making them clarify that “affirmative consent” does not count if a person is not conscious, or is under the influence of alcohol or drugs. State-funded colleges will legally be required to update policies pertaining to sexual assault and domestic violence cases.

Related: What’s It Like To Become A Mattress-Carrying Voice For Rape Survivors? We Asked

(image via NYMag)

California Senator Kevin De León, who initially introduced the bill, has been very outspoken about the issue. “The State of California will not allow schools to sweep rape cases under the rug,” he said. “We’ve shifted the conversation regarding sexual assault to one of prevention, justice, and healing.”

This problem clearly spreads far beyond college campuses as well. Recently, musician Cee Lo came under fire for making some controversial comments about how consent applies in sexual assault cases — so teens aren’t the only ones who need a lesson on “yes means yes.”

And now, there’s even an app to make sure that all parties involved understand the rules of consent.

“If you or someone you know has been affected by sexual violence, call the 24-hour National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (1-800-656-4673), or visit Rainn.org.”

Nadeska Alexis
@neweryork

Now There’s A Sexual Consent Law To Make It Clear That Only ‘Yes’ Actually Means ‘Yes’

Flashback: Bob Dylan Sings 'I Shall Be Released' With Elvis Costello

By Andy Greene |

September 30, 2014

By the spring of 1995 Bob Dylan had been on the road for a solid eight years, and even though the general public and the media were barely paying attention, his shows were starting to get really, really good.

Related

Trying to pinpoint the exact reason why this happened is a fool’s errand, but a new book by his former road manager reveals that he quit drinking the previous year. That might explain why he played with greater focus and passion, dragging out songs from all corners of his catalog like “If You See Her, Say Hello,” “Man In The Long Black Coat” and “Jokerman.”

The tour touched down in Europe in early March, spreading out all over the continent before heading to the U.K. for a run of shows with barely any days off. On the 30th, he played London’s Brixton Academy and things went pretty smoothly until he called an audible with “I Believe In You,” but guitarist John Jackson misheard him and began playing “I Don’t Believe You.” The band recovered from the understandable misstep fairly quickly. 

For the final encore of “I Shall Be Released,” Elvis Costello came out to play guitar and share the vocals. The next night, things got crazier when Costello came back for the same song, but brought Carole King and Chrissie Hynde with him to provide backup vocals. A little over a week later, Van Morrison joined Dylan at a show in Dublin on his 1990 hit “Real Real Gone” before Costello came back out for yet another rendition of “I Shall Be Released.”

The song was originally written during the Basement Tapes sessions in 1967, appearing the following year on The Band’s debut album Music from Big Pink with lead vocals by Richard Manuel. It’s become one of Dylan’s most enduring post-accident songs, wrapping up too many all-star charity concerts to even count. Dylan has played it over 500 times, but it’s been completely absent since a one-off in Poland back in June of 2008.

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Flashback: Bob Dylan Sings 'I Shall Be Released' With Elvis Costello

Netflix 'Crouching Tiger' deal incurs wrath of theatre chains

(Reuters) – U.S. theatre chain Regal Entertainment Group said it would not show the sequel to “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” in any of its IMAX theatres, objecting to a move by IMAX and Netflix to side step a normal theatre release.

The sequel to the Oscar-winning movie will be premiered on Aug. 28 on Netflix Inc’s online streaming service and simultaneously in select global IMAX theatres, Netflix and IMAX Corp said earlier on Tuesday.

“While a home video release may be simultaneously performing in certain IMAX locations, at Regal we will not participate in an experiment where you can see the same product on screens varying from three stories tall to 3” wide on a smart phone,” Russ Nunley, a spokesman for Regal Entertainment said in a statement.

Regal has 86 IMAX theatres spread across the United States.

A number of reports said Regal’s rival, Cinemark Holdings Inc, would also not show the martial arts movie in its theatres.

Netflix is jointly producing the movie “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: The Green Legend” with Weinstein Co, marking the online video service company’s entry into feature film production.

The movie will be the first of several others to premiere at the same time on Netflix as well as in IMAX theatres, the companies said.

The film is a sequel to Ang Lee’s martial arts epic released in 2000 and is directed by martial arts choreographer Yuen Wo-Ping.

Regal’s shares closed marginally down at $19.88 on the New York Stock Exchange. Netflix’s shares closed marginally up at $451.18 on the Nasdaq.

(Reporting by Anya George Tharakan and Rishika Sadam in Bangalore; Editing by Feroze Jamal and Sriraj Kalluvila)

Netflix 'Crouching Tiger' deal incurs wrath of theatre chains

Kenny Smith, family to appear on TBS reality show

NEW YORK (AP) — Former NBA star Kenny Smith and his family will appear on a reality show on TBS in the spring.

The 49-year-old Smith is a basketball analyst for Turner, TBS’s parent company. The network said Tuesday it had ordered six episodes of “The Smiths.”

The show will follow Smith, his wife and five children between the ages of 2 and 20.

Smith played nine seasons in the NBA for Detroit, Houston, Sacramento and Atlanta. The guard won back-to-back championships with the Rockets in 1994 and ’95.

His wife, actress Gwendolyn Osborne-Smith, appears on “The Price Is Right.”

Kenny Smith, family to appear on TBS reality show

Amal Alamuddin earns high-fashion accolades as Clooney's bride

By Piya Sinha-Roy

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – With the help of Oscar de la Renta, Stella McCartney, Giambattista Valli and Dolce & Gabbana, human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin vaulted into the top echelons of Hollywood fashion with her stylish Italian wedding to actor George Clooney.

Alamuddin, 36, showcased several outfits during her whirlwind wedding weekend in Venice, picking British, American and Italian designers and channelling golden age Hollywood glamour.

The piece de resistance was an off-the-shoulder tulle and Chantilly lace wedding gown, revealed on Tuesday by fashion magazine Vogue and custom-made by New York-based de la Renta.

“George and I wanted a wedding that was romantic and elegant, and I can’t imagine anyone more able than Oscar to capture this mood in a dress,” the British-Lebanese bride told Vogue.

The magazine renowned for anointing fashion royalty and whose editor Anna Wintour attended the nuptials, noted “she stands resplendent in her dress.”

De la Renta, who is known for his romantic feminine creations, also supplied Alamuddin’s post-wedding dress, which the magazine described as a “festive, Gatsby-style party frock.” Clooney wore a custom black tuxedo by Giorgio Armani.

Oscar-winning Clooney, 53, one of Hollywood’s most famous bachelors, and Alamuddin’s wedding has drawn comparisons to that of Kate Middleton and Britain’s Prince William in April 2011.

Middleton, now the Duchess of Cambridge, has become a style icon for her chic ensembles often incorporating high fashion and high street retail, earning a place in Vanity Fair’s annual best dressed lists over the past few years.

Hordes of photographers followed the couple in speedboats on the Venetian canals throughout the weekend as they hosted several events attended by celebrities such as Cindy Crawford, Bill Murray and Matt Damon.

The lawyer changed up her look for her civil wedding ceremony on Monday, swapping a dress for a chic white trouser and top set offset with black trim by British designer McCartney. The outfit drew on effortless coastal fashion, a theme she embraced as she arrived in Venice in a black and white maxi Dolce & Gabbana dress.

As the newlyweds jetted through Venice in a speedboat named ‘Amore,’ the new Mrs Clooney selected a short, bell-skirted dress embroidered with floral motifs by Italian designer Giambattista Valli, showcasing her long legs.

She also opted for a blood red Alexander McQueen gown with a dramatic train for her pre-wedding rehearsal dinner, various fashion sites reported.

(Reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Mary Milliken and Andrew Hay)

Amal Alamuddin earns high-fashion accolades as Clooney's bride

Microsoft names next operating system 'Windows 10'

By Bill Rigby

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Microsoft Corp announced its ‘Windows 10′ operating system on Tuesday to replace the largely unpopular Windows 8, skipping a number to mark a leap towards unifying the way people work on tablets, phones and traditional computers.

The next version of Microsoft’s flagship product, which still runs the vast majority of personal computers and is used by 1.5 billion people worldwide, is aimed at recapturing the lucrative business market, which generally ignored the new-look Windows 8.

Windows 10 will be “our greatest enterprise platform ever,” said Terry Myerson, Microsoft’s head of operating systems, at an event in San Francisco. Only 20 percent of organizations migrated to Windows 8, which was released two years ago, according to tech research firm Forrester.

He said Windows 10, long known by the project name ‘Threshold’ internally, represented a new type of system for the company, as it seeks to unify computing as mobile devices proliferate. The name represented that leap, he said.

“Windows 10 adapts to the devices customers are using, from Xbox to PCs and phones to tablets and tiny gadgets,” said Myerson.

Microsoft faces an uphill struggle in reigniting excitement about Windows. With the rise of Apple Inc‘s iPhone and iPad, and Google Inc’s Android devices, Windows no longer plays a central role in many people’s on-screen lives.

From a virtual monopoly on personal computing 10 years ago, Windows now runs only about 14 percent of devices, according to research firm Gartner.

Reaction to the news was cautious.

“It’s a bold statement for Microsoft to make,” said Daniel Ives, an analyst at FBR Capital Markets. “So far there’s not as much meat on the bone as we would have wanted, although it’s still very early days.”

An early version of the software, demonstrated on stage by Microsoft executive Joe Belfiore, showed two modes, one optimised for touch-controlled tablets, and one for PCs with mice and keyboard. Users can switch between the two depending on the device.

Myerson did not say how or when the new Windows would be rolled out. A technical preview can be downloaded from Microsoft’s website, starting Wednesday, for users to try out.

There has been speculation that Microsoft, which still makes a huge profit from Windows, might give away future versions to an audience that has become used to free upgrades on mobile software from Apple and Google.

Myerson said his team toyed with the idea of calling the new product Windows One to emphasise the unity of all the companies’ products, but noted that name had already been used.

(Reporting by Bill Rigby; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli and Richard Chang)

Microsoft names next operating system 'Windows 10'

Tory Talk: Playing Bingo With Cameron's Lingo

The long-term economic plan – if David Cameron‘s said it once, he’s said it a thousand times.

And if he has his way, he’ll say it a thousand times more. Maybe in the Prime Minister’s speech to conference.

So what other key words and phrases might he use in his address to the Tory gathering in Birmingham?

:: Labour‘s Great Recession

Laying the blame for the economic crash at Labour’s door has been a constant feature of this Parliament.

Even Labour strategists admit this has been effective and damaging. So no reason for David Cameron to abandon a successful strategy.

:: We’re all in this together

A favourite slogan of the early years of this Government, does the Prime Minister still believe it?

:: Hard-working taxpayers

Hard-working families; hard-working people… this year it seems it’s hard-working taxpayers that is in vogue. I’m not sure why.

:: Purring

Self-deprecation is a favourite politician’s tool, but making light of his recent right Royal indiscretion might be a step too far for the PM.

:: Global race

Another Cameron slogan that has been done to death and then some.

Journalists groan when he brings it up, though the Prime Minister’s enthusiasm for this clunky metaphor shows no sign of waning.

:: Big society

A slogan that used to be central to the Cameron brand, now it has been airbrushed from history.

:: Mark Reckless

It might be that the Prime Minister is too grand to demean himself with a personal assault on his erstwhile colleague.

But Tories are enjoying taking potshots at UKIP leader Nigel Farage’s newest recruit and a bit of rabble-rousing could lift the hall.

:: Ed Miliband forgetting the deficit

You can be sure David Cameron won’t let the Labour leader forget his error last week.

Source Article from https://uk.news.yahoo.com/tory-talk-playing-bingo-camerons-lingo-202727395.html

Tory Talk: Playing Bingo With Cameron's Lingo

Olympic swimming champ Phelps arrested on drunken driving charge

By Steve Ginsburg

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – American swimmer Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time, was arrested for drunken driving early on Tuesday after speeding and then crossing the double-lane lines inside a Baltimore tunnel, police said.

Phelps, 29, was clocked by radar around 1:40 a.m. travelling 84 miles per hour (135 kph) in a 45-mph (72-kph) zone, police said. The 18-time Olympic gold medallist was booked and released.

Phelps, who has won 22 Olympic medals and appears to be eyeing a spot on the U.S. team for the 2016 Olympics, was “unable to perform satisfactorily a series of standard field sobriety tests,” authorities said.

Police said an officer followed Phelps’s 2014 Land Rover onto northbound Interstate 95, through the Fort McHenry Tunnel under Baltimore Harbor, and pulled him over just beyond the tunnel’s toll plaza.

The Baltimore-area native was cooperative “throughout the process,” the Maryland Transportation Authority Police said in a statement.

Representatives for Phelps could not be immediately reached for comment.

The drunken-driving arrest was the second for Phelps, who has spent most his life working feverishly in the pool but admits he likes to have a good time outside of practice and competition.

Emerging recently from a two-year retirement, Phelps first tested the comeback waters in April at a low-key meet in Phoenix and his progress has been steady rather than his usual impressive.

Phelps was charged in Maryland in 2004 for drunken driving when he was 19. He pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of driving while impaired in exchange for 18 months’ probation.

“I recognise the seriousness of the mistake I made,” he told the judge in 2004. “It is wrong to drink when you’re under age. It’s wrong to drive when you’ve had anything to drink, no matter how old you are.”

In 2009, British tabloids published a photo of Phelps smoking from a marijuana pipe while at a party at the University of South Carolina.

“I promise my fans and the public it will not happen again,” Phelps said at the time.

(Reporting by Steve Ginsburg; Editing by Mary Milliken and Peter Cooney)

Olympic swimming champ Phelps arrested on drunken driving charge

Behold, The Most Cringeworthy Moments From MTV’s ‘Are You The One?’ Reunion

by Jordana Ossad


20 mins ago

Well, that got a little awkward.

The original “Are You the One?” crew gathered for a baby shower to fete parents-to-be Amber and Ethan on last night’s “Special Delivery” reunion episode. But despite plenty of liquor, the aww-worthy moment when the happy couple found out the sex of their wee one and the absence of the always stressful match-up ceremonies, the event still featured some cringeworthy moments between a few exes, past hookup buddies and former roommates.

Here are just a few of the uncomfortable interactions between the $1 million winners:

Related: ‘Are You The One?’ Flashback! Relive The Boom Boom Room’s Greatest Hits

Simone’s social media diss

[ video unavailable on this device ]

Let’s just say the outspoken former castie wasn’t too pleased that Amber and Ethan unfollowed her on “the ‘Gram.” Simone fired back and let both of them have it — and even admitted that she didn’t “like” any of their bump pics.

John’s roast speech

[ video unavailable on this device ]

Who didn’t get singled out by the jokester during his controversial toast? Umm, cheers, folks…

Adam and Ryan’s fallout

[ video unavailable on this device ]

The duo tried to live together outside of the Hawaiian mansion, but they didn’t need a truth booth to figure out that they weren’t a match as roommates. As Ryan so eloquently pointed out, their bromance has “faded.”

Adam and Brittany’s makeout

The blue-eyed hunk delivered a move that his buddy taught him: throwing a lady — in this case, Britt — on top of the bar…

…and then sharing a passionate kiss. “It’s game over from there,” Adam spilled. But that’s about all the “animalistic” pair did on the physical side — and the brunette beauty ended up with Ryan when the weekend was over.

Jacy’s Big (Apple) announcement

[ video unavailable on this device ]

Shortly after the feisty Puerto Rican made a beeline for Scali at the bar, she blasted him for not calling her once the show ended. Then she dropped a bombshell: she’s relocating to New York — aka Scali’s turf. Although she made it clear that she wasn’t moving to be closer to him, it seems like this perfect match might see more of each other in the not-so-distant future — especially since the smooth-talker admitted he’d eventually like to settle down.

Chris and Shanley’s chat

[ video unavailable on this device ]

The very off-again couple tried their best to avoid each other but ultimately failed: After a night of drinking, they had it out when an emotional Shanley let Chris have it for blasting her on social media. After some back and forth, he finally apologized and the duo hugged it out. But it’s still safe to say these two won’t be — as Chris T loves to say — “chillin” anytime soon.

Which moment takes the awkward cake? Take our poll, sound off in the comments and be sure to watch the Season 2 premiere of “Are You the One?” on Monday at 10/9c!

Jordana Ossad

Behold, The Most Cringeworthy Moments From MTV’s ‘Are You The One?’ Reunion

Are You Handling Your Breakup Like An Adult? A Quiz For The Recently Dumped

by Marty Beckerman


25 mins ago

“Let’s just be friends.”

Those four words sting, no doubt about it, but getting dumped can actually be a good thing. You’ll learn (and fix) some of your worst flaws; you’ll learn (and avoid) personality types you’re incompatible with; and you’ll learn (yeah, right) that you can walk away from rejection without acting like a complete jackass.

Unfortunately, though, heartbreak doesn’t always lead to the most rational decisions. It’s perilously easy to make a tense situation far more dramatic than it needs to be. So, before you do anything impulsive — especially on social media — take this quiz to discover whether you’re thinking about this breakup with a clear head…or, y’know, not thinking at all.

Marty Beckerman
@martybeckerman

Are You Handling Your Breakup Like An Adult? A Quiz For The Recently Dumped

Alan Henning's Wife In Desperate Plea To IS

The wife of Alan Henning, the British aid convoy volunteer being held hostage by Islamic State, has renewed calls for his release.

In her first televised interview since he was captured, Barbara Henning said her family was “dreadfully concerned” for Mr Henning’s safety after he appeared in an IS video on September 13.

Last week, Mrs Henning revealed she had received an audio message from her husband pleading for his life.

She also said she had been told that a Sharia court had found him innocent of being a spy.

In today’s emotional appeal, Mrs Henning said: “I have a further message for Islamic State: We’ve not abandoned Alan and we continue in our attempts to communicate with you.

“We have had no contact from Islamic State holding him other than an audio file of him pleading for his life.

“Muslims across the globe continue to question Islamic State over Alan’s fate.

“Their position regarding his statement is unequivocal. He is innocent.

“Some say wrong time, wrong place. Alan was volunteering with his Muslim friends to help the people of Syria. He was in the right place during the right time.

“We are at a loss why those leading Islamic State cannot open their hearts and minds to the truth about Alan’s humanitarian motives for going to Syria and why they continue to ignore the verdicts of their own justice system.

“Surely those who wish to be known as a state will act in a statesmanlike way by showing mercy and providing clemency.

“Alan, we miss you and we’re dreadfully concerned for your safety.

“But we are given so much hope by the outcry across the world as to your imprisonment.

“We ask Islamic State: Please release him. We want him back home.”

The 47-year-old former taxi driver, originally from Eccles in Greater Manchester, was captured by militants last December while delivering aid in Syria.

Since then family, friends and colleagues have made repeated calls for him to be released.

In a previous statement, Mrs Henning described her husband as a “peaceful, selfless man” who left his job to deliver aid in Syria.

Her appeal comes after another British hostage, John Cantlie, appeared in a third IS video on Tuesday where he condemned President Obama for the use of airstrikes on militants in Syria and Iraq.

Mr Cantlie was kidnapped at the same time as US journalist James Foley nearly two years ago.

Source Article from https://uk.news.yahoo.com/wifes-desperate-plea-alan-hennings-release-154926986.html

Alan Henning's Wife In Desperate Plea To IS

Putin visits Kazakhstan after remarks cause alarm

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Kazakhstan on Tuesday to stress the need for close ties between the two countries, a month after he caused alarm in the former Soviet republic by seeming to question its future as an independent state.

During a meeting with President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Putin said Russia and Kazakhstan were “connected historically and today by a thousand threads, which unite us and help us develop, supporting each other.”

Speaking to young Russians in late August, Putin said Kazakhstan had only become a state under Nazarbayev.

“The Kazakhs had never had statehood,” Putin said at the time. “He created it. In this sense he is a unique person for the former Soviet space and for Kazakhstan, too.”

His remarks were interpreted as suggesting that Kazakhstan’s independence might not survive Nazarbayev, who is 74 and has been president since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Putin went on to say that most people in Kazakhstan wanted closer relations with Russia and to remain part of the “big Russian world.”

Russia justified its annexation of the Crimean Peninsula and support for separatists in eastern Ukraine by saying it has a responsibility to protect ethnic Russians outside Russia. Like Ukraine, Kazakhstan has a large ethnic Russian population.

Putin and Nazarbayev had been counting on Ukraine joining the Eurasian Economic Union, a counterweight to the European Union that they are forming together with Belarus. These plans were spoiled when Ukraine’s former pro-Moscow president was ousted in February and the new government decided to sign an economic and political cooperation agreement with the EU instead.

The Ukraine conflict has strained ties between Putin and Nazarbayev, while trade between their two countries has dropped significantly, largely because of the damage caused to the Russian economy by Western sanctions.

Shortly before Putin’s remarks in August, Nazarbayev insisted that Kazakhstan wasn’t giving up its independence in joining the Russia-centered economic union. He also didn’t go along with Moscow in banning food imports from the EU, U.S. and other countries that have imposed sanctions on Russia because of its actions in Ukraine.

Putin visits Kazakhstan after remarks cause alarm

Walgreen posts 4Q loss on Alliance Boots charge

Walgreen booked a $239 million loss in its fiscal fourth quarter after swallowing a huge accounting charge from its Alliance Boots acquisition, but the drugstore chain’s results still met Wall Street expectations.

Walgreen Co. said Tuesday that it recorded a non-cash loss of $866 million in the quarter that ended Aug. 31 because it decided to exercise early its option to buy the remaining stake in Alliance Boots that it did not already own.

The Deerfield, Illinois, company bought a 45 percent stake in the Swiss health and beauty retailer in 2012. It had until next year to decide whether to buy the rest of Alliance Boots, which runs the largest drugstore chain in the United Kingdom.

But the company said last month that it had decided to complete that deal. Walgreen spokesman Michael Polzin said that because the company exercised that option early, it had to remove its value from its books. That led to the non-cash charge.

Overall, Walgreen lost $239 million, or 25 cents per share, in the quarter. That compares to a gain of $657 million, or 69 cents per share, in the same period last year. Adjusted earnings, which exclude the Alliance Boots charge, totaled 74 cents per share.

That matched analyst expectations, according to Zacks Investment Research.

Walgreen’s revenue rose more than 6 percent to about $19.1 billion, while analysts expected $19.02 billion.

Walgreen runs the nation’s largest drugstore chain, with more than 8,200 locations. It said sales from its established stores climbed more than 5 percent in the quarter. That’s an important measurement for retailers because it leaves out the impact of recently opened or closed locations.

But Walgreen executives cautioned Tuesday that the company is dealing with lower reimbursement for prescriptions as well as rising prices for generic drugs. That cuts into the profitability of those drugs if the reimbursement that the company receives doesn’t keep up with the price increases.

“We are realistic about the headwinds we face for the year,” CEO Greg Wasson said, adding that Walgreen also is dealing with a “cautious consumer.”

Walgreen wrapped up a rough quarter Aug. 31 in which its stock price tumbled 16 percent while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 4 percent. Much of that drop came in early August after Walgreen lowered a forecast for earnings it expects after combining with Alliance Boots.

It also announced that it would not pursue an overseas reorganization with Alliance Boots that could have trimmed its U.S. taxes. The drugstore chain said it wasn’t sure such a move would pass IRS scrutiny, and it acknowledged feeling pressure to not pursue the move known as an inversion. Several politicians had scolded the company, which draws nearly all its revenue from U.S. stores, for even considering it.

Walgreen Co. shares slipped 54 cents to $59.06 in midday trading Tuesday while broader trading indexes rose slightly. The stock price had climbed almost 4 percent so far this year, as of Monday’s market close.

Walgreen posts 4Q loss on Alliance Boots charge

Secret Service head takes onus for WH breach

WASHINGTON (AP) — Facing blistering criticism from Congress, Secret Service Director Julia Pierson acknowledged on Tuesday the agency failed in executing its plan to protect the White House when a man with a knife entered the mansion and ran through half the ground floor before being subdued.

“It’s unacceptable,” Pierson told lawmakers, promising a review of how the storied but blemished agency carries out its mission of protecting the president and how it failed to intercept the intruder much earlier.

“I’ll make sure that it does not happen again,” she said, declaring that she took full responsibility for the failures.

Pierson disclosed that there have been six fence-jumpers this year alone, including one just eight days before Army veteran Omar J. Gonzalez scaled the fence on Sept. 19.

Pierson appeared Tuesday before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

“The fact is the system broke down,” declared committee chairman Darrell Issa. “An intruder walked in the front door of the White House, and that is unacceptable.”

Not only that, he said, but the intruder penetrated at least five rings of security protecting what is supposed to be one of the world’s most secure properties.

“How on earth did it happen?” he asked. “This failure … has tested the trust of the American people in the Secret Service, a trust we clearly depend on to protect the president.”

Lawmakers from both parties were aghast, too, about a four-day delay in 2011 before the Secret Service realized a man had fired a high-powered rifle at the White House.

The Washington Post reported on the weekend that some Secret Service officers believed immediately that shots had been fired into the mansion but they were “largely ignored” or afraid to challenge their bosses’ conclusions that the shooting was not directed at the White House.

Such breaches, combined with recurring reports of misbehavior within the agency, cause “many people to ask whether there is a much broader problem with the Secret Service,” said Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, top Democrat on the committee.

Members of Congress briefed by the agency apparently weren’t told of the full extent of the breaches. Details emerged only later.

Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, said Monday night that whistleblowers told the committee that the recent intruder ran through the White House, into the East Room and near the doors to the Green Room before being apprehended. They also reported to lawmakers that accused intruder Gonzalez made it past a guard stationed inside the White House, Chaffetz said.

On the way to the East Room, the intruder would have passed a stairwell that leads to the first family’s residence.

“I’m worried that over the last several years, security has gotten worse — not better,” Chaffetz said.

Pierson said Tuesday that the front door to the White House now locks automatically in a security breach. She said that on Sept. 19 a Secret Service guard was attempting to lock one of the doors manually when the intruder knocked the agent down.

In the hours after the Sept. 19 fence-jumper incident, Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan told The Associated Press that Gonzalez had been apprehended just inside the North Portico doors of the White House. The agency also said that night the Army veteran had been unarmed — an assertion that was revealed to be false the next day, when officials acknowledged Gonzalez had a knife with him when he was apprehended.

Senate Judiciary Committee staffers who were briefed about the investigation by the administration a week after the incident were never told how far Gonzalez made it into the building, according to a congressional official who wasn’t authorized to discuss the investigation and requested anonymity. The official said the committee later was told that the suspect had, indeed, made it far beyond the front door.

Chaffetz said the committee’s request for a briefing from the Secret Service on the incident was denied, a response he called “disappointing and frustrating.”

Pierson’s predecessor, Mark J. Sullivan, apologized to lawmakers in 2012 after details emerged of a night of debauchery involving 13 Secret Service agents and officers in advance of the president’s arrival at a summit in Colombia. Sullivan retired about 10 months later.

Details of how far Gonzalez got into the White House were disclosed Monday.

Citing multiple unnamed sources, The Washington Post reported that Gonzalez ran past the guard at the front door, past the staircase leading up to the Obamas’ living quarters and into the East Room, which is about halfway across the first floor of the building. Gonzalez was eventually “tackled” by a counter-assault agent, the Post said.

Getting so far into the building would have required Gonzalez to dash through the main entrance hall, turn a corner, then run through the center hallway halfway across the first floor of the building, which spans 168 feet in total, according to the White House Historical Association.

Since the incident, the White House has treaded carefully. Although White House spokesman Josh Earnest acknowledged the president was “obviously concerned” about the intrusion, he expressed confidence in the Secret Service as recently as Monday.

It would be untenable for any president, not just Obama, to pointedly criticize the men and women who put themselves at risk to protect his life and family. That inherent conflict of interest means Congress, not the executive branch, is the most effective oversight authority for the Secret Service, its agents and officers.

“The president and the first lady, like all parents, are concerned about the safety of their children, but the president and first lady also have confidence in the men and women of the Secret Service to do a very important job,” Earnest said.

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On Twitter follow Alicia A. Caldwell at www.twitter.com/acaldwellap and Josh Lederman at https://twitter.com/joshledermanAP

Secret Service head takes onus for WH breach