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Tensions have been high in the Middle East since Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain severed diplomatic and transport ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorism. Doha denies the accusation. The ISIS threatened attacks in Saudi Arabia after the terror group claimed responsibility for assaults in Tehran that killed at least 17 people, Site Intelligence monitoring group reported on Friday. Suicide bombers and gunmen attacked the Iranian parliament and Ayatollah Khomeini's mausoleum in Tehran on Wednesday. Scores of people were also wounded. ISIS claimed responsibility and threatened more attacks against Iran's majority Shia population, seen by the hardline terrorists as heretics. In a video that appeared to have been recorded before the attack on Tehran, five masked fighters were shown threatening Shia in Iran as well as the Saudi Arabian government saying their turn "will come". "Allah permitting, this brigade will be the first of jihad in Iran, and we ask our brothers the Muslims to follow us, as the fire that was ignited will not be put out, Allah permitting," one of the masked terrorists said, according to SITE. At the end of the video, he sent a message to the Saudi government. "Know that after Iran, your turn will come. By Allah, we will strike you in your own homes... We are the agents of nobody. We obey Allah and His Messenger, and we are fighting for the sake of this religion, not for the sake of Iran or the Arabian Peninsula." ISIS, which controls territory in Syria and Iraq, had carried on attacks on Saudi security forces as well as deadly bombings and shootings that target the kingdom's Shia in the past. Iranian authorities said five of the attackers were Iranian nationals recruited by ISIS, while Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guards Corps blamed the assault on regional rival Saudi Arabia and has threatened revenge. Sunni Saudi Arabia denied any involvement in the attacks. On Friday, the U.S. embassy in Saudi Arabia issued a security notice to U.S. citizens recommending that they "exercise caution in places frequented by foreigners due to the continuing risk of terrorist attacks... across the Kingdom."

A Turkish newspaper reported on Thursday CIA director Gina Haspel signaled to Turkish officials last month that the agency had a recording of a call in which Saudi Arabia’s crown prince gave instructions to “silence” Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. There are plenty of reasons to be skeptical about this report, though such a thing is certainly possible. Nobody from the White House, the CIA, the Saudi government or even the Turkish government is offering a comment on it. (Of course, the fact that nobody is denying it either might fuel some suspicions.) The columnist who published the article, Abdulkadir Selvi, offers generalities, repeatedly writing “it is being said…” without mentioning who was doing the talking. And if we were actually listening to the Crown Prince’s phone calls, do you think the head of the CIA would confirm that to Turkey? Also worth noting is the fact that the newspaper is hardly independent. It’s only in operation because it’s a mouthpiece for Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He’s not only antagonistic toward Saudi Arabia but is rather peeved at Washington these days over our refusal to extradite Fethullah Gulen. It’s not unreasonable to suspect that Turkey might plant a story like this just to cause more mischief between the United States and Saudi Arabia. This entire story is already so strange that we can’t rule out anything at this point. But for the time being, I’ll wait until we at least get some sort of confirmation from one of the key players before we take this as fact.

Jake DeBrusk and Brad Marchand score two goals each as B's post third straight win. BOSTON -- It wasn’t over ‘til it was over, but when it finally was, two-goal nights from Jake DeBrusk and Brad Marchand were enough for the Bruins to hold off the relentless Flames on Thursday night at TD Garden, 6-4. The Bruins, who opened a four-game homestand with their third straight win, had leads of 4-2 and 5-3 in the third period, but the Flames closed within a goal both times. DeBrusk’s second of the night (13th of the season) made it 5-3 with 6:14 to play; Marchand’s second (15th this season) found an empty net with less than two minutes to play. Jaroslav Halak made 33 saves for the B’s, who were outshot, 37-27. Although coach Bruce Cassidy said in the morning that the Bruins’ habit of surrendering shorthanded goals (eight; tied for last in the NHL entering the game) had been a topic of discussion, they didn’t get the message. A two-man advantage covering 1:55, with another minor penalty tacked on, somehow turned into a 1-0 deficit at 7:46. Michael Frolik, caught tripping David Krejci at 5:39, stepped out of the box with teammate Elias Lindholm (double minor, high sticking, 5:44) still inside, followed teammate Mark Jankowski on a shorthanded rush and scored on a rebound when Jaroslav Halak mishandled Jankowski’s playable shot from the left circle. It was the Flames’ league-leading 13th shorthanded goal. The Bruins, who brought the NHL’s fourth-best power play into the game, at least managed to answer during Lindholm’s penalty, when second unit defenseman John Moore beat Mike Smith to the far side from the right circle at 9:02. The B’s took their first lead with 5:41 left in the period when Krejci, who missed the morning skate to be with his wife as she delivered a baby boy, snapped a shot from near the point that Jake DeBrusk tipped through Smith from the slot for his 12th goal of the season. The Bruins still had a one-goal lead by the end of the second, despite allowing an early goal and spending more than six minutes killing penalties. Calgary’s Johnny Gaudreau, who was denied by Halak on a first-period breakaway, got his second of the game near the one-minute mark. Halak trapped it on the goal line with his right skate blade, but the play wasn’t blown dead and Lindholm jammed it across the goal line at 1:05. The 2-2 tie lasted just 36 seconds, though: Torey Krug spotted Marchand coming out from behind the Flames’ net to Smith’s left, and hit him with a perfect slap-pass that Marchand steered home at 1:41 for his 14th goal of the season. The B’s weren’t able to add to the lead, however, because they took four straight penalties before the Flames were assessed another. The biggest challenge came when, 1:18 into dealing with DeBrusk’s high-sticking minor, the Bruins were caught with too many men on the ice, leaving them at a 3-on-5 disadvantage for 42 seconds. Zdeno Chara, defense partner Brandon Carlo and Patrice Bergeron killed that off, and the B’s were in the process of killing a Marchand minor when Lindholm interfered with Sean Kuraly at center ice with just seven seconds left in the second. That became a third-period power play during which David Pastrnak made it 4-2 after just 54 seconds.

The Bulldog Lowertown in St. Paul on Thursday, Nov. 15, 2012. Part of lowertown St. Paul on Thursday, Nov. 15, 2012. St. Paul’s Lowertown neighborhood is now considered one of the top “up and coming” neighborhoods in the country, according to a USA Today report. The paper’s “Experience America” travel page listed Lowertown alongside the likes of Detroit’s Midtown, New Orleans’ Freret Street, the Santa Fe Railyard and others as previously blighted neighborhoods undergoing a renaissance. Apparently, renaissance means hipsters. The paper cited a recent real-estate study that crowned Lowertown as the nation’s top hipster ZIP code as a contributing factor to its rebirth. The Lowertown ZIP code includes a “high proportion” of people between 25 and 34 years old who use public transportation and rent their housing, the report said. The writeup also includes mentions of Union Depot and its many trains, along with Mears Park, the open-year-round Farmers’ Market and outdoor music venues. Rebuilt and repurposed 19th-century buildings also add to its charm while Barrio, Heartland Restaurant and Farm Direct Market and The Bulldog pave the way for “Midwest modern” cuisine, the USA Today list said. “Watching a blighted area get a new lease on life can be awfully heartening,” the USA Today said of the 10 neighborhoods in its list.

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Sixteen Afghan civilians, including nine children, were shot dead in what witnesses described as a nighttime massacre on Sunday near a U.S. base in southern Afghanistan, and one U.S. soldier was in custody. While U.S. officials rushed to draw a line between the rogue shooting and the ongoing efforts of a U.S. force of around 90,000, the incident is sure to further inflame Afghan anger triggered when U.S. soldiers burned copies of the Koran at a NATO base. There were conflicting reports of how many shooters were involved, with U.S. officials asserting that a lone soldier was responsible, in contrast to witnesses’ accounts that several U.S. soldiers were present. The incident was one of the worst of its kind since the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. The U.S. Embassy in Kabul said anti-U.S. reprisals were possible following the killings, just as the Koran burning incident a few weeks earlier had touched off widespread anti-Western protests in which at least 30 people died. Neighbors and relatives of the dead said they had seen a group of U.S. soldiers arrive at their village in Kandahar’s Panjwayi district at about 2 a.m., enter homes and open fire. An Afghan man who said his children were killed in the shooting spree accused soldiers of later burning the bodies. Obama said he was deeply saddened. “This incident is tragic and shocking and does not represent the exceptional character of our military and the respect that the United States has for the people of Afghanistan,” Obama said in a statement. Afghan President Karzai condemned the rampage as “intentional murders” and demanded an explanation from the United States. His office said the dead included nine children and three women. Minister of Border and Tribal Affairs Asadullah Khalid said a U.S. soldier had burst into three homes near his base in the middle of the night, killing a total of 16 people including 11 people in the first house. The ISAF spokesman said the U.S. soldier “walked back to the base and turned himself into U.S. forces this morning,” adding there had been no military operations taking place in the area when the incident occurred. Panjwayi district is about 35 km (22 miles) west of the provincial capital Kandahar city. The district is considered the spiritual home of the Taliban and has been a hive of insurgent activity in recent years. “I saw that all 11 of my relatives were killed, including my children and grandchildren,” said a weeping Haji Samad, who said he had left his home a day earlier. “They (Americans) poured chemicals over their dead bodies and burned them,” Samad told Reuters at the scene. “They were all drunk and shooting all over the place,” said neighbor Agha Lala, who visited one of the homes where killings took place. The Afghan Taliban said it would take revenge for the deaths, in an emailed statement to media. ISAF Commander General John Allen promised a rapid investigation. Civilian casualties have been a major source of friction between Karzai’s Western-backed government and U.S.-led NATO forces in Afghanistan. NATO is preparing to hand over all security responsibilities to Afghans and all foreign combat troops are scheduled to leave by end-2014. NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the alliance remained firmly committed to its mission and said anyone responsible would be held accountable. The Koran burning and the violence that followed, including a spate of deadly attacks against U.S. soldiers, underscored the challenges that the West faces as it prepares to withdraw. Sunday’s attack may harden a growing consensus in Washington that, despite a troop surge, a war bill exceeding $500 billion over 10-1/2 years and almost 2,000 U.S. lives lost, prospects are dimming for what the United States can accomplish in Afghanistan. “These killings only serve to reinforce the mindset that the whole war is broken and that there’s little we can do about it beyond trying to cut our losses and leave,” said Joshua Foust, a security expert with the American Security Project.

Manchester United have been given a huge boost in their pursuit of Nicolas Otamendi. The centre-back has been tipped to leave Valencia for £36million this summer, and his agent has revealed that a move will happen if the Red Devils submit a formal offer. Eugenio Lopez told Cadena SER Valencia: "Nico wants to leave Valencia. Nico will do everything possible to get it, he will do everything possible to leave. Real Madrid have rejected the chance to sign Javier Hernandez on a permanent deal, according to Spanish paper Marca. The striker joined Los Blancos on a season-long loan last summer but has failed to impress Carlo Ancelotti during that time. Hernandez will now return to Old Trafford, but is not expected to form a part of Louis van Gaal's plans for the new campaign. Barcelona star Dani Alves has made a big announcement on his future. The right-back is out of contract in the summer and has been linked with a free transfer to United. However, Alves insists he won't make a decision until Barcelona's Champions League final against Juventus is done and dusted, adding: "I don't want anybody to influence my decisions. My future only depends on me."

Pressure placed on the Guardian newspaper by UK authorities to destroy documents represents a threat to freedom of expression, the right to information and protecting the independence of the media in the UK, Amnesty International said today. The Guardian has reported that the UK authorities repeatedly threatened the newspaper’s management with legal action and led to it being forced to destroy information it had received from the US whistleblower Edward Snowden. This information is about unlawful surveillance by the US and the UK governments which violates their citizens’ and other people’s right to privacy.“Insisting that the Guardian destroy information received from a whistleblower is a sinister turn of events,” said Tawanda Hondora, Deputy Director of Law and Policy at Amnesty International. “This is an example of the government trying to undermine press freedoms. It also seriously undermines the right of the public to know what governments do with their personal and private information. If confirmed, these actions expose the UK’s hypocrisy as it pushes for freedom of expression overseas.“The UK government must explain its actions and publicly affirm its commitment to the rule of law, freedom of expression and the independence of the media. They should initiate an inquiry into who ordered this action against the Guardian.” “Using strong-arm tactics to try to silence media outlets and reports that divulge information relating to Prism and other surveillance efforts, is clearly against the public interest." The Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger on Monday published allegations about the UK authorities’ actions over the past several months to pressure the newspaper to hand over or destroy evidence related to the government surveillance.

Season 2 of the acclaimed hacker drama Mr. Robot gets its premiere on Wednesday, July 1. In the spirit of the show, fans who prefer to stream the episode online will have a few options for doing so. Legally, of course. Slater won a Golden Globe award for his portrayal of the mysterious Mr. Robot in Season 1, while Malek received a nomination as well. Fans who have not yet caught up on the events of Season 1 can watch all 10 full episodes streaming for free online with an Amazon Prime subscription at this link. Earlier this year, Amazon Prime purchased exclusive rights to stream episodes of Mr. Robot, which means that Season 1 cannot be accessed via other services such as Netflix or Hulu. Viewers who missed Season 1 or just need a refresher course on the complex events and multiple plot twists the debut season contained. Those who just want to jump straight into Season 2 without committing to all 10 episodes of the first season can get a quick recap in the video below. But be warned — this video contains major spoilers for those who have not viewed the first season of Mr. Robot. The following video is a 30-minute documentary that explores the themes and social importance of Mr. Robot — the first TV drama specifically for and about the digital age. This video also contains spoilers, however. Finally, the following video is a sneak preview of the much-anticipated Mr. Robot Season 2, which may contain a few spoilers, but only the ones that the show’s creators want to fans to know. Mr. Robot was created by writer-director Sam Esmail, who, in addition to writing and serving as the “showrunner” of the drama, will now direct every episode of Season 2 — no small feat given that Season 2 will contain 12 episodes, up from 10 in the debut season. Season 1, which saw Eliot join forces with the underground, anarchist hacker group fSociety to pull off what could be a world-changing infiltration of major financial computer networks, left a multitude of unanswered questions and even to hint at what they are would be to reveal some serious spoilers from Season 1. Fans will just have to stream the Season 2 premiere online to find out how Mr. Robot plans to answer those questions. There are a few options to stream the Mr. Robot Season 2 premiere, ” unm4sk-pt1.tc,” online. The episode will stream on the USA Network site at this link as well as on mobile devices by downloading the official USA Network app. Non-cable subscribers can also stream the episode on Wednesday, July 13 via the Sling TV internet TV service, whose Sling Blue package costs $25 per month and carries 40 popular channels, including USA Network. But Sling TV also comes with a seven-day free trial, meaning that fans can stream the Season 2 Mr. Robot premiere legally for free by signing up at this link. Amazon.com, iTunes, and other download services will also offer the premiere, and the entire season, to stream online for $2.99 per episode or $19.99 for the entire season.

A Federal Police member flashes a victory sign during a battle with ISIS militants in the Mansour district of Mosul, Iraq, March 12, 2017. MOSUL, Iraq, (Reuters) - Iraqi government forces killed the Islamic State commander of Mosul's Old City on Tuesday as the battle for the militants' last stronghold in Iraq focused on a bridge crossing the Tigris river. As fighting intensified on Tuesday after the previous day's heavy rains, civilians streamed out of western neighborhoods recaptured by the government, cold and hungry but relieved to be free of the militants' grip. IS snipers were slowing the advance of Interior Ministry Rapid Response units on the Iron Bridge linking western and eastern Mosul but the elite forces were still inching forward, officers said. Government forces also pushed into areas of western Mosul, Islamic State's last redoubt in the city that has been the de facto capital of their self-declared caliphate. Federal police killed the military commander of the Old City, Abu Abdul Rahman al-Ansary, during operations to clear Bab al-Tob district, a federal police officer said. With many IS leaders having already retreated from Mosul, Ansary's death comes as blow to the militants as they defend their shrinking area of control street-by-street and house-by-house. Capturing the Iron Bridge would mean Iraqi forces hold three of the five bridges in Mosul that span the Tigris, all of which have been damaged by the militants and U.S.-led air strikes. The southernmost two have already been retaken. "We are still moving toward the Iron Bridge. We are taking out snipers hiding in the surrounding building, we are still pushing for the Iron Bridge," Brigadier General Mahdi Abbas Abdullah of the Rapid Response force told Reuters. Near the Mosul Museum, Iraq forces used armored vehicles and tanks to attack snipers pinning down troops clearing areas around the bridge. An air strike targeting one Islamic State position hit a building, engulfing nearby troops in smoke and dust. Since starting the offensive in October, Iraqi forces with U.S.-led coalition support have retaken eastern Mosul and about 30 percent of the west from the militants, who are outnumbered but fiercely defending their last stronghold in Iraq. For much of Tuesday, the troops were within 100m (330 feet) of the bridge. "It's very key for our forces to secure the riverside and prevent Daesh militants from turning around our advancing forces," a Rapid Response spokesman said in the morning, using an Arab acronym for Islamic State. They expected to gain control of the Iron Bridge and the nearby area by the end of the day, he said. "Seizing the bridge will help further tighten the noose around Daesh fighters entrenched inside the old city," he said. The boom of shelling and heavy machinegun fire could be heard from the center of Mosul and helicopter gunships strafed the ground from above on Tuesday morning. Amid the combat, a steady stream of refugees trudged out of the western districts, carrying suitcases, bottles of water and other possessions. Some pushed children and sick elderly relatives in handcarts and wheelbarrows. Soldiers packed them into trucks on the Mosul-Baghdad highway to be taken to processing areas. Most left in the dark early morning hours or after the army recaptured their neighborhoods. Food had been scarce, they said. "We fled at 5 a.m. (0200 GMT) after the army had arrived. There has been a lot of shelling by Daesh," said Hamid Hadi, a teacher. "Mostly we've been eating water mixed with tomatoes." Ashraf Ali, a nurse who escaped with his wife and two children, said mortar rounds were falling as they fled. They took advantage of the army retaking their district to get out. "Daesh wanted us to move to their areas but we escaped when the army arrived," he said. As many as 600,000 civilians are caught with the militants inside Mosul, which Iraqi forces have effectively sealed off from the remaining territory that Islamic State controls in Iraq and Syria. The Iraqi forces include army, special forces, Kurdish peshmerga and Shi'ite militias. More than 200,000 Mosul residents have been displaced since the start of the campaign in October. The Ministry of Immigration and Displacement said on Tuesday that in recent days, almost 13,000 displaced people from western Mosul had been received seeking assistance and temporary accommodation each day. "Whenever we advance there are more people coming out," said one Iraqi officer directing refugee transport. "There are more people on this side of the city and people are trying to leave because there is no food and no supplies in their area." Losing Mosul would be a major strike against Islamic State. It is by far the largest city the militants have held since their leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi proclaimed himself leader of a caliphate spanning Iraq and Syria from a mosque in Mosul in the summer of 2014.

I’m anxious. I wish that I could take a reprieve from politics and simply focus on the human suffering and human altruism on display in the affected areas. But, alas, I cannot. Politics keep creeping in. Politics keep occurring concurrently. Consider what this man is saying: He used the horror and anxious anticipation of a monster storm menacing millions of Americans – particularly in Houston whose population is 44 percent Hispanic – in a political calculation to get more ratings and more eyeballs on the fact that he was using the power of the presidency to forgive, and thereby condone, Arpaio’s racism. Why does Trump continue to do things that are so divisive and alienating to the majority of Americans? Why does he keep fueling the white-hot fire of his base to the exclusion of the other segments of the country? I have a theory: Trump and the people who either shield or support him are locked in a relationship of reciprocation, like a ball of snakes. Everyone is using everyone else. Establishment Republicans see him as a path to reversing the New Deal. Steve Bannon-ists see him as a path to the “deconstruction of the administrative state.” All Republicans, but particularly the religious right, see him as a securer of conservative Supreme Court justices. The blue-collar Trump voters view him as a last chance to breathe life into the dying dream that waning industries and government-supported white cultural assurances can be revived. And the white nationalists, white supremacists, racists and Nazis – to the degree that they can be separated from the others – see him as a tool of vengeance and as an instrument of their defense. Trump sees all these people who want to use him, and he’s using them right back. Trump made an industry out of selling conspicuous consumption. He sold the ideas that greed was good, luxury was aspirational and indulgence was innocent. Trump’s supporters see him as vector; he sees them as market. Marketing is how he has made his money and attained his infamy. That is why he is so obsessed with the media and crowds and polls (at least when he was doing well in them): He sees people, in his die-hard base at least, who have thoroughly bought into the product of Trumpism and he is doing everything to please them and make them repeat customers. But in addition, and perhaps more sinisterly, I think that Trump is raising an army, whether or not he would describe it as such, and whether or not those being involved recognize their own conscription. This is not a traditional army, but it is an army no less. And, when I say army, I’m not speaking solely of armed militia, although there is a staggering number of guns continuously being put into circulation. As the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action wrote in June: “Each month of Trump’s presidency has seen over two million firearm-related background checks. Only in 2016, when Americans faced losing their Second Amendment rights forever, did the FBI run more checks during a January to April period.” I’m also talking about the unarmed, but unwavering: the army of zombie zealots. How do you raise an army? You do that by dividing America into tribes and, as “president,” aligning yourself with the most extreme tribe, all the while promoting militarization among people who support you. You do it by worshipping military figures and talking in militaristic terms. You cozy up to police unions and encourage police brutality. You do this by defending armed white nationalists and Nazis in Charlottesville. You do this by pardoning Arpaio, a man who joked about an Arizona jail being a “concentration camp,” signaling to people that racist brutality is permissible. You also do this by attempting to reduce or marginalize populations of people opposed to you: Build a wall, return to failed drug policies that helped fuel mass incarceration, ban Muslims, curb even legal immigration, increase immigration arrests. And why raise this army? Again, I have a theory. Should something emerge from the Robert Mueller investigation – an investigation that is continuing unabated even as Harvey rages – that should implicate Trump and pose a threat to the continuation of his tenure, Trump wants to position any attempt to remove him as a political coup. His efforts to delegitimize the press are all part of this because one day the press may have to deliver ruinous news. In that scenario, Trump knows that the oligarchs and establishment Republicans would be quick to abandon him. Their support isn’t intrinsic; it’s transactional. But the base – the market – the ones with guns as well as those who are simply excited, the die-hards, the ones he keeps appealing to and applauding, will not forsake him. They see attacks on Trump as attacks on themselves. Trump is playing an endgame. In the best-case scenario, these die-hards are future customers; in the worst, they are future confederates. If these people should come to believe – as Trump would have them believe – that establishment systems have unfairly and conspiratorially acted to remove from office their last and only champion – another thing Trump would have them believe – what will they do? What would Trump’s army do if he were compelled to leave but refused to graciously comply?

CHARLESTON, SC (WCSC) - Anytime a former U.S. president passes away, despite our political beliefs, it’s sad, solemn and somber. George H.W. Bush lived to be 94 years old. He and John Adams are the only Presidents whose son was also elected to the nation’s highest office. He didn’t win re-election but may go down in history as one of the greatest one-term presidents. In just 48 months, President Bush’s biggest accomplishments were leading the peaceful end to the Cold War with the Soviet Union, quietly leading the efforts for a reunified Germany, and defeating Saddam Hussein in the Gulf War. And while many critics say going back on his promise of no new taxes and the independent candidate Ross Perot cost him re-election in 1992, many don’t remember that difficult decision led to a balanced budget and the beginning of lower interest rates. Maybe the most impressive part of his legacy is President Bush never looked for credit. He was known for kindness and a good heart. He instructed the Secret Service to turn off sirens and ordered his motorcade to come to a halt at stoplights. He would join the Secret Service in searching for midnight snacks in the White House kitchen. He sent thousands of hand-written thank you notes. President Bush often and publicly told his family he loved them. That love for family has ties to Charleston. He first met Barbara Pierce when she was a student at Ashley Hall. That meeting led to 73-years of marriage. The Lowcountry and the nation bids farewell to George H.W. Bush, the gentleman President.

Lieutenant Colonel George Washington Goethals saw the Panama Canal to its completion. From 1907 to 1914 he successfully oversaw the project that for almost 25 years had consumed millions of dollars and thousands of lives. He was called "the Genius of the Panama Canal." But Goethals felt unworthy of this title, saying that his predecessor, John F. Stevens, truly deserved it. John Stevens was appointed chief engineer of the Panama Canal Project in 1905 based on his accomplishments -- some might call them feats -- at James J. Hill's Great Northern Railway. The fearless Maine native helped Hill carry out his plan to expand his American rail lines west, and thus contribute to the white settlement of the Pacific Northwest. Native Americans had long described a traversable gap in the Rockies that white explorers had not yet found. In December 1889, aided by a Flathead Indian guide, Stevens walked the Marias Pass in Montana -- in 40-below weather, no less. What Lewis and Clark and countless others had tried, Stevens accomplished. The Marias Pass, the lowest crossing of the Rocky Mountains, allowed the Great Northern to expand through the Rockies without a tunnel. The following year, Stevens conquered another pass - now called the Stevens Pass -- in Washington's Cascade Mountains. President Theodore Roosevelt knew Stevens was the right man -- perhaps the only man -- to tackle the catastrophic Panama Canal Project. The Canal's "affairs [were] in a devil of a mess," TR said. The French had begun work on the canal in 1883 lacking experience in Panama's jungle terrain, and also lacking a blueprint. Unskilled excavation led to deadly landslides; outbreaks of malaria and yellow fever took hundreds of lives a week; and effort and money were wasted when railroad track was laid that didn't fit the gauges of the existing railroad. When the project changed hands, American workers didn't fare much better. Enter John Stevens. The foremost civil engineer of his day, Stevens stepped in when his predecessor abruptly quit, and he approached the project as a humanitarian effort, as well as an engineering one. With confidence and morale desperately low among the workers, one of Stevens' first actions was to introduce a food car, a haven of entertainment and much-needed sustenance for the men. In addition, Stevens parted company with most high-ranking officials by taking seriously the threat of yellow fever-carrying mosquitoes, and he insisted that workers be immunized against yellow fever (it was impossible, unfortunately, to immunize against malaria). The last case of yellow fever was reported on November 11, 1905, shortly after Stevens' arrival. His workers' welfare on the mend, Stevens drew up logical plans for the canal's construction. One of the first things he did was to call on 27-year-old Ralph Budd, a gifted manager who would go on to develop streamliner trains at the Burlington Railroad. Stevens had supervised Budd at the Rock Island Railroad in Kansas City, and he recruited him for the difficult job of building a railroad across the Panamanian isthmus. Engineering advances, including Stevens' successful push to build a loch system instead of a sea-level canal, were coupled with social ones. Like his Great Northern boss, Stevens built transportation infrastructure and new communities side by side. Lacking the advanced degrees of many of his colleagues, Stevens shunned any special treatment as an officer. The living quarters reserved for him -- palatial by camp standards -- remained empty as he bunked nearer to the workers. Straight-talking and cigar-chomping (a habit that earned him the nickname "Big Smoke"), he and politics didn't mix well. Signing on in 1905 "until he could predict success or failure according to his own judgment," Stevens resigned in 1907, the plans for further construction in place. After Panama, Stevens returned to the railroads, both at home and abroad. In 1917 he led Woodrow Wilson's American Advisory Committee of Railway Experts to Russia, designed to assist Russia's provisional government in improving the Trans-Siberian and Chinese Eastern Railways; and in 1919 he became president of the Inter-Allied Technical Board in Manchuria. Stevens retired in 1923, but for 20 years, until his death at age 90, he constantly received accolades for his contributions to engineering. Despite numerous honors, nothing ever compared to his send-off from the in-progress Panama Canal in 1907. One historian noted: "It was as if the people were honoring a man who had already built the Panama Canal."

Kevin Hunter has been fired as an executive producer on his estranged wife Wendy Williams' show, as the $215K Ferrari he bought for his baby mama is towed away, DailyMail.com can reveal. Williams decided she finally had enough of her philandering husband of nearly 22 years and served him divorce papers at her TV studio in Manhattan last Thursday. The 47-year-old was fired from the show and as Wendy's manager, a source on the show confirmed to DailyMail.com. The source also said Hunter had been given 48 hours to remove his belongings from their marital home in Livingston, New Jersey as she was seen apartment hunting in New York City on Tuesday. Wendy reached her tipping point after learning Hunter had been living the high life with his decade-long mistress Sharina Hudson, who gave birth last month, splurging on Rolls-Royces, Ferraris and gifting her with diamonds. Hunter released an apology on Tuesday admitting he was not 'proud of his recent actions' and was 'trying to right some wrongs' while taking 'full accountability' for what he had done. His groveling statement came after the flashy $215,000-plus gold Ferrari Portofino he gifted Hudson was seen being towed away - a day after Wendy hit him with the divorce papers. The source said: 'Kevin had expected to stay on at the show and as Wendy's manager. He ran the show with an iron fist, he was the guy who kept the vultures away. 'But when Wendy saw the photos of him and Sharina last week on the Daily Mail going out for dinner and her driving around in a Ferrari she was furious. 'That's what tipped her over the edge, she was like, "he's gotta go". She now wants him out of her life completely, she's given him 48 hours to clear his office and clear his belongings out of the house. A day after DailyMail.com published photos of the new Ferrari that Hunter gifted Hudson, it was loaded onto a truck and taken away. A Ferrari dealership from Greenwich, Connecticut, picked the golden car up, as two men who appear to be helpers for Hunter looked on. Hunter's statement on Tuesday read: '28 years ago I met an amazing woman: Wendy Williams. At the time, I didn't realize that she would not only become my wife, but would also change the face of entertainment and the world. 'I have dedicated most of our lives to the business empire that is Wendy Williams Hunter, a person that I truly love and respect unconditionally. I am not proud of my recent actions and take full accountability and apologize to my wife, my family and her amazing fans. I am going through a time of self-reflection and am trying to right some wrongs. 'No matter what the outcome is or what the future holds, we are still The Hunter Family and I will continue to work with and fully support my wife in this business and through any and all obstacles she may face living her new life of sobriety, while I also work on mine. On Monday, Wendy kicked off her Hot Topics segment by revealing she was just a few days away from moving out the sober living facility she has called home for the past few weeks, and is ready to start a new life for herself and her son Kevin Jr. - the son she shares with Hunter. DailyMail.com exclusively revealed in early March the TV host had been living in the sober home in Queens, New York, to battle an addiction to alcohol and prescription pills, her downward spiral sparked by learning Hunter was still seeing Hudson. Meanwhile, Hunter has been spending time with Hudson, who recently gave birth, at a hideaway in Edgewater, New Jersey. The two seem to be living the high life, going out for dinner dates and driving new luxury vehicles. Hunter was seen driving a new maroon convertible Rolls-Royce last Saturday to pick up Hudson and take her out to dinner, with the massage therapist proudly showing off her post baby pooch. The 33-year-old, whose hair was freshly curled, carried a $5,200 quilted Chanel purse while wearing a chunky diamond chain necklace and diamond studs. While Hunter treated his baby mama to a Ferrari, he seems to have also treated himself to new cars, including the luxury Rolls-Royce. Hudson was seen driving her new sports car last Monday, exiting the flashy vehicle in a $1,260 Thom Browne tracksuit that showed off her post-baby body. And Kevin has spared no expense on his own duds as well, seen one day in a $1,500 Fendi vest, $490 Fendi hat, $770 Fendi pants and $515 Fendi sunglasses. The couple have been hiding out in New Jersey weeks after Hudson was secreted away to Hahnemann University Hospital in Philadelphia to give birth in order to avoid media attention. Hunter has been seen at the secret hideaway chauffeuring Sharina around. Kevin was served with divorce papers from Wendy last Thursday morning at the TV studio, according to TMZ. Extra security was hired in case Kevin, known to have a temper, got enraged on set. But there were apparently no outbursts. The split will most likely be contested as Hunter is an executive producer on Williams' TV show and told Hudson that he couldn't afford to split from Wendy because she paid all the bills, a source previously told DailyMailTV. In New Jersey, parties can file fault or no-fault. Fault allows a judge to dock alimony based on the seriousness of the offense. Proving will not be hard for either side in this case. Reasons for fault include adultery, abandonment, physical or emotional abuse, and alcohol or drug abuse. Williams filing for divorce comes after DailyMailTV revealed she had been living in a sober living home in Queens, New York, being treated for addiction to booze and prescription drugs. Her downward spiral was sparked in December after she learned Hunter was still seeing Hudson, his mistress of more than a decade. Meanwhile, Williams seemed to be in good spirits on her morning show on Thursday. A source previously told DailyMailTV that Wendy was keeping her ring on during filming until she worked out what to do with Hunter, but was taking it off once outside of the studio. A recently resurfaced excerpt from Williams' memoir reveals that she vowed to leave her husband if another woman had his child. Wendy wrote in her 2001 memoir it would be one of the only things that would make her part ways from Hunter once and for all after revealing he'd already cheated on her earlier on in their relationship. Williams' marital problems are the root of cause of her addiction to booze and pills, kicking off last December when the star hired a private investigator to spy on Hunter who she suspected was still carrying on with Hudson, DailyMailTV revealed last month. In 2017, Hudson had been at the center of a DailyMail.com investigation that exposed her ten-year affair with Williams' husband. After being told the secret affair was still very much alive, the TV host confronted Hunter demanding to know why he was still seeing the 33-year-old qualified massage therapist. During the heated clash, it's believed Williams fell and hit her shoulder on the ground, suffering a hairline fracture. Devastated, Williams quickly plunged into a depression while recovering from the injury and began drinking heavily. During the time away from hosting her show, Williams' drinking - coupled with powerful pain medication - proved a potent cocktail. Williams, who has a history of drug addiction, became hooked. After returning from rehab in Florida, Williams began living in a sober home in Queens, which is situated above a barbershop in an unassuming red brick building in Long Island City. But when news broke that Hudson had given birth to a little girl in late March, she checked herself out of her sober living home and started drinking - eventually being found by her team who took her to the hospital to sober up. It's understood the star's sober coach, who had been with her 24 hours a day, raised the alarm. A studio source told DailyMail.com: 'She was in a bad way and disappeared from the studio after her show Monday. 'She went back to the sober house only to check herself out and decided to start drinking. They continued: 'Word got back to the studio and there was panic and concern, everyone was looking for her, no one knew whether there would be a show today. Although Hudson has made several ultimatums to Hunter, insisting he leave Williams so they can settle down and start a family together, Hunter told her he can't leave Wendy because she paid all the bills. 'Kevin is in love with Sharina but he told her he can't leave his wife, but the only reason he is still with Wendy is because he and Sharina can't take care of themselves - they need her money,' a source told DailyMailTV.

BEIJING (Reuters) - Suspected Chinese abuses in the region of Xinjiang should be addressed through engagement with the government, the new EU ambassador to China said on Friday, a contrast to the position of U.S. officials who are considering sanctions. Reports of mass detentions and strict surveillance of Muslim ethnic Uighur people in the far western region have sparked a growing international outcry. A U.N. rights panel said last month it had received credible reports that up to a million ethnic Uighurs may be held in extra-legal detention, and called for them to be freed. Chinese authorities have also set up thousands of police checkpoints across the region, and human rights advocates have decried martial law conditions and mass DNA collection. The new EU ambassador, Nicolas Chapuis, who took up his posting this week, told reporters the European Union had been taking note of reports on abuses in Xinjiang, and had raised the issue with China, but it needed facts. “The union’s stance is that we are working in the United Nations framework,” Chapuis said. “We believe in dialogue. We believe in engagement, and first of all, we need the facts,” he said, without elaborating. Hundreds of people have been killed in Xinjiang in recent years in unrest between members of the Uighur minority who call the region home and members of the ethnic Han Chinese majority. Beijing says Xinjiang faces a serious threat from Islamist militants and separatists. Officials deny mistreating Muslims there, instead saying they are putting some people through “vocational” style courses to prevent militancy spreading. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Manisha Singh told a congressional hearing on Thursday that Washington was weighing sanctions against Chinese senior officials and companies linked to allegations of human rights abuses there. But Chapuis said the European Union must engage with China if it wanted to be more than a “soft power”. “The strengthening of the EU-China relationship would show how the union would grow as a full power, not only as a soft power,” he said. Chapuis added that there was an “urgency” to strengthen EU-China relations in the context of the “triangulation” between the United States, China and the European Union. On the subject of global trade, he said it was normal for major trading partners to have some commercial friction, echoing a line used by Chinese officials to play down disputes. Amid an escalating U.S.-China trade war, Beijing has put pressure on the EU to stand with it against U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade policies, though the world’s largest trade bloc has largely rebuffed those efforts, and broadly agrees with the U.S. assessment of unfair Chinese trade practices. Nonetheless, Chinese state media has promoted the message that the EU is on China’s side, and some European officials have expressed concern that China is seeking to capitalize on divisions between Trump and U.S. allies in Europe.

THIS JOB OPENING IS ISSUED ON BEHALF OF THE UNITED NATIONS JOINT STAFF PENSION FUND (UNJSPF), NEW YORK. The UNJSPF is an inter-agency body established by the United Nations General Assembly and independent of the United Nations (UN). The applicable human resource procedures are governed by a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Pension Fund and the UN Secretariat. In accordance with the Regulations of the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund (UNJSPF) (the “Pension Fund”), the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) - Pension Benefits Administrator - performs the functions under the authority of the UNJSPF Board (the “Pension Board”). The Pension Fund pays benefits in 15 currencies to 78,000 beneficiaries who reside in 190 countries and services 127,000 participants who work in the 23 Member Organizations of the Pension Fund. The CEO is an appointed position under a five-year fixed term contract with the opportunity, upon Pension Board approval, for one additional five-year contract. The CEO reports to the Pension Board annually. The CEO is responsible for administering the Pension Fund servicing the stakeholders – participants, retirees, Pension Board members, and participating employers; and the observance, by all concerned, of the Pension Fund's Regulations, Rules and Pension Adjustment System. •Effectively collaborating with the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Investments, and the Office of Investment Management (OIM) which has responsibility for investment of Pension Fund assets. The CEO is also responsible for providing a range of administrative functions to ensure the smooth functioning of the Office of Investment Management . •Professionalism: Strong knowledge of pension funds and/or social security schemes. Excellent conceptual, analytical and innovative skills with knowledge in the administration of pension schemes and/or social security systems in the areas pertaining to pension operations (preferably in benefit entitlements and client servicing), finance; operations; actuarial and plan design studies; asset liability modelling; strategic planning and reporting; legal and compliance; and information management; knowledge of the UN system and UNJSPF. Shows pride in work and achievements; demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter; is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results; is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns; shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges; remains calm in stressful situations. •Accountability: Takes ownership of all responsibilities and honours commitments; delivers outputs for which one has responsibility within prescribed time, cost and quality standards; operates in compliance with organizational regulations and rules; supports subordinates; provides oversight and takes responsibility for delegated assignments; takes personal responsibility for own shortcomings and those of the work unit, where applicable. •Building Trust: Provides an environment in which others can talk and act without fear of repercussion; manages in a deliberate and predictable way; operates with transparency; has no hidden agenda; places confidences in colleagues, staff members and clients; gives proper credit to theirs; follows through on agreed upon actions; treats sensitive or confidential information appropriately. Advanced university degree in public or business administration, finance, economics, law or related fields. A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree. At least fifteen (15) years in executive or managerial positions in, on, or with a national or international pension fund or social security system or comparable professional experience is required. Proven management and leadership experience is required. Candidate must have a thorough knowledge of pension funds and/or social security schemes obtained through working experience, including substantive direct working experience and professional acumen in at least three of the primary pension fund management responsibilities (e.g. finance, operations, actuarial and plan design studies, asset-liability setting, strategic planning and reporting, and legal and compliance), as well as the interdisciplinary skills to manage these at an international level. Knowledge of the UN system and Pension Fund would be an asset. English and French are the working languages of the United Nations. For the post advertised, fluency in English is required. Knowledge of French is desirable. Knowledge of another UN official language is an advantage. Evaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise, which may be followed by competency-based interview. Short listed candidates may be requested to make a presentation to the Pension Board as part of the assessment/selection process. Net annual salary: $220, 062 plus other benefits. Please visit the International Civil Service Commission website at www.icsc.un.org and the UN website www.un.org/depts/OHRM/salaries_allowances/salary.htm for information on salaries and benefits. Please use the United Nations INSPIRA e-Recruitment website at https://careers.un.org/ to apply for this UNJSPF position. The system provides instructions and support for online application procedures.

MEXICO CITY (AP) � As Mexico struggled against the odds yesterday to contain a new flu that has killed as many as 68 and perhaps sickened more than 1,000, it was becoming clearer that the government hasn�t moved quickly enough to head off what the World Health Organization said has the potential to become a global epidemic. Flu pandemics occur whenever a new strain of the virus arises to which most people have no natural immunity. Experts believe they have been occurring since at least the 16th century. In the 20th century, there were three flu pandemics. Global health officials are watching the swine flu outbreaks to see whether they might spark the next one. ? 1918. The Spanish flu pandemic that started in 1918 was possibly the deadliest outbreak of all time. It was first identified in the United States but became known as the Spanish flu because it received more media attention in Spain than in other countries, which were censoring the press during World War I. The 1918 flu struck mostly healthy young adults. Experts estimate it killed 40 to 50 million people worldwide. ? 1957. The 1957 pandemic was known as the Asian flu and was first identified in China. There were two waves of illness during this pandemic; the first wave mostly hit children while the second mostly affected the elderly. It caused about 2 million deaths globally. ? 1968. The most recent pandemic, known as the Hong Kong flu, was the mildest of the three pandemics this century. It was first spotted in Hong Kong in 1968, and it spread globally over the next two years. The people most susceptible to the virus were the elderly. About 1 million people are estimated to have been killed by this pandemic. The World Health Organization said the outbreak has become a �public health emergency of international concern� and asked countries around the world to step up reporting and surveillance of the disease and implement a coordinated response to contain it. But Mexicans were dying for weeks at least before U.S. scientists identified the strain � a combination of swine, bird and human influenza to which people might have no immunity. Now, even controlling passengers at airports and bus stations might not keep it from spreading, epidemiologists say. The disease already has reached Texas, California and Kansas, and 24 new suspected cases were reported yesterday in Mexico City alone, where authorities suspended schools and all public events until further notice. More than 500 concerts, sporting events and other gatherings were canceled in the metropolis of 20 million. The Mexican government issued a decree authorizing President Felipe Calderon to invoke special powers letting the Department of Health isolate patients and inspect homes, travelers and baggage. Officials said the decree gives clear legal authority to health department workers who might otherwise face reprisals. Health workers and soldiers joined a broad effort at airports and bus stations to keep people with disease from traveling though or out of the city. But with confirmed swine flu cases in at least six states � and possibly as many as 14 � the efforts seemed unlikely to stop the spread of the disease. At Mexico City�s international airport, health workers passed out questionnaires seeking to identify passengers with flu symptoms. Surgical masks and brochures were handed out at bus and subway stations. The U.S. embassy in Mexico posted a message advising U.S. citizens to avoid large crowds, shaking hands, greeting people with a kiss or using the subway.

In 1890, a group of eight large New York City bakeries combined to form the New York Biscuit Company and built a giant six-story factory in West Chelsea. Eight years later, they merged with their competitor, Chicago's American Biscuit and Manufacturing to form an even larger conglomerate – the National Biscuit Company, but the factory and headquarters remained in Chelsea. In 1901, the National Biscuit Company put their abbreviated company name on a box of wafers for the first time – Nabisco. Soon, Nabisco became the company's official name. On April 2, 1912, the National Biscuit Company announced to their sales team that they were introducing three "highest class biscuits," in a grouping they called the "Trio." Two of the cookies, the Mother Goose Biscuit and Veronese Biscuit, didn't sell particularly well and quickly disappeared from the shelves. The third, the Oreo Biscuit, did. "Two beautifully embossed chocolate-flavored wafers with a rich cream filling," the Oreo Biscuit was sold in a yellow tin with a glass cover for approximately 30 cents a pound (about $7.13 today). While it went national in April, it was just a month before that the National Biscuit Company first registered the product with the US Patent and Trademark Office (registration number 0093009). It is commonly stated the given date of registration was March 6th, which is why that is National Oreo Day. However, a simple patent and trademark search reveals that oft-repeated date is incorrect. In fact, it was actually filed on March 14, 1912 and registered on August 12, 1913. So how did they come up with the idea of the Oreo? By using the time-honored business practice of stealing the idea from a competitor and then marketing it better than the original. You see, there was another popular creme-filled sandwich cookie that came before the Oreo, made by Sunshine Biscuits. Sunshine Biscuits was a company run by Joseph and Jacob Loose and John H. Wiles, the former of which were originally part of the great bakery conglomeration of 1898 (the one that formed into the National Biscuit Company). In any event, in 1908, four years before the Oreo, Sunshine debuted the upscale, and soon to be very popular, Hydrox biscuit, which the Oreo was a pretty blatant rip-off of, cream filling, embossing and all. Of course, Nabisco denies this is where the idea for the Oreo came from, but the evidence at hand strongly indicates otherwise. As for the name, there has never been a firm answer for why the National Biscuit Company chose "Oreo," though there are several theories. There is speculation that "Oreo" is derived from the French word for gold – "or," since the original packing was gold and the item was meant to be a "high-class" confectionery. It could also come from the Greek word for mountain or mound – "oros," since an Oreo is a "mountain" of a cookie. It has also been speculated that maybe it was named for the cookie itself, two "O" shape cookies sandwiching the cream, O-cream-O. The identity of the designer behind the distinctive emboss on top of each cookie – or what the emboss signifies – has also become part of the Oreo mystery. The first design was simple enough – with the name "Oreo" and a wreath at the edge. In 1924, the company augmented the original design to go with a 1921 name tweak – from "Oreo Biscuit" to "Oreo Sandwich." The 1924 design added a ring of laurels and two turtledoves. Twenty years later, in 1952, is when today's elaborate, beautiful, design first appeared. But what does the design signify, if anything? Historians believe the circle that encases the word "oreo" with antenna-type symbol on top was an early European symbol for quality. Cookie conspiracists believe that the antenna symbol is actually a Cross of Lorraine, a symbol identified with the famed Knights Templar. The "four-leaf clovers" that surround the name could be just that or it could be the cross pattee – a geometric pattern of four triangles radiating outwards that is also associated with the Knights Templar and the Freemasons. It's up to the individual what they want to believe, but this author thinks the Oreo cookie is a delicious Da Vinci Code style map leading to a treasure buried a thousand years ago… Or as I like to call it, the probable plot to National Treasure 3. Now, who designed the emboss? Evidence points to William Turnier. However, while Nabisco admits that a man by the name of William Turnier worked for them for fifty years, they deny that he developed the 1954 design. That said, his son and drawn proof indicate otherwise. Turnier joined the company in 1923, working in the mail room. He eventually worked his way up to the engineering department, helping make the dies that made the cookies, the industrial-sized cookie cutters as it were. So where's the evidence? In the home of Bill Turnier, William's son, perched on a wall is a framed 1952, line drawn blueprint of the modern Oreo design. (If you're curious, Why Blueprints are Blue) Underneath the blueprint, it is written "Drawn by W.A.Turnier 7-17-52," two years before the design would find itself on the Oreos sold in stores. Despite this evidence, the Kraft (who now owns Nabisco) Corporate Archives only says that Turnier was a "design engineer" and he received a Suggestion Award in 1972 for an idea "that increased the production of Nilla Wafers on company machinery by 13 percent." So can Bill shed any light on what his father was thinking when he seems to have drawn the design? Not really, though he did admit that the design, while beautiful and resembling more mysterious symbols, probably had nothing to do with the Knights Templar. His father wasn't a Mason either. As for the stuff between the intricately-designed cookies, the filling- it was made partially of lard – pig fat – until 1997. In 1994, Nabisco embarked on a nearly three year revamping process of the filling to take the lard out. In charge of this was Nabisco's principal scientist Sam Porcello, otherwise known as "Mr. Oreo." By that point, Porcello was already a cookie legend, holding five Oreo related patents, including Oreos encased in white and dark chocolate. By December 1997, the Oreo cookie was lard-free, but there was another problem – the lard had been replaced by partially hydrogenated vegetable oil; yes, the very much not good for you trans fats. As the Chicago Tribune put it, "Later, research showed that trans fat was even worse for the heart than lard." Finally, in January 2006, healthier (and more expensive) non-hydrogenated vegetable oil was put into Oreos instead. Today's filing is additionally made with loads of sugar and vanilla extract creating a cookie that still is delicious, but slightly better for you. Or, perhaps more aptly, less bad for you. Bill also says that his father created or tweaked other well-know Nabisco designs in his half century with the company, including tweaks on the Nutter-Butter, the Ritz Cracker, and a dog's favorite treat, the Milkbone. The basic Oreo cookie is 71 percent cookie, 29 percent cream filling. This post has been republished with permission from TodayIFoundOut.com. Image by Rob Boudon under Creative Commons license.

One of the first things teachers tell new writers is to sit down in the same place at the same time every day to write. It’s the ritual, a way of preparing to write that primes our minds and our bodies to do it. The repetitive steps of sitting down in our writing spot awakens our minds to the process ahead. Rituals — from how we stir cream into coffee and blow out birthday candles to wedding vows and funeral prayers — influence how we experience these moments of our lives. A ritual can be any set of actions and procedures, usually more than one and often repeated, that are performed in a meaningful or ceremonial way. The process can prompt people to feel a sense of control and calm, according to researchers, and may also boost our enjoyment of the moment. Psychologist Kathleen Vohs found that the simple act of lighting birthday candles and singing happy birthday can improve the taste of birthday cake and enhance our enjoyment of food. In one of her experiments the participants were given a chocolate bar. One group was asked to relax and then eat the bar at any time. The other was given a set of detailed instructions to follow before eating the candy. The group that went through the specific chocolate-eating routine actually enjoyed eating the candy more than the other group. The key, according to researchers, is in the deliberate participation of the task. Random movements didn’t add to the joy and spectators didn’t benefit by watching the ritual. Rituals cause us to savor and connect to our experiences. “They draw us in,” according to Vohs in the study published in the journal Psychological Science. I use rituals daily to draw me into my day and help me sustain a positive mindset. After a short morning ritual I feel greater clarity and calm. This sets the tone for the day. My routine is short and simple because I’m a slow starter and I need the morning to be simple. Then, I move into my gratitude list. Each morning I give thanks for three things. I mention different things each day and this keeps me looking for the good stuff throughout the day. With each item I say “thank you” and pause to let the feeling sink in. I intend to act with kindness and compassion. I intend to experience peace and calm today. I intend to focus my attention on writing today. This kind of intention becomes like a soundtrack for the day, something that brings my awareness back to what it is I want to experience. I find that when I’m acting with these good intentions, good things often follow as well. This three-step ritual of awakening, gratitude, and intention has proven a powerful way to create a successful day. Norton, M.I., Gino, F. (2014). Rituals alleviate grieving for loved ones, lovers, and lotteries. Journal of Experimental Psychology, Vol. 143(1), 266-272. Polly Campbell is a sought-after motivational speaker and the author of three books, How to Live an Awesome Life: How to live well, do good, be happy; >em>Imperfect Spirituality: Extraordinary Enlightenment for Ordinary People and How to Reach Enlightenment. She blogs at http://www.imperfectspirituality.com and writes regularly on personal development and wellness topics for national publications.

What time LJN PUNE EXP depart from लखनऊजं. Railway Station? लखनऊजं.पुणे जं. एक्सप्रेस (11408) departs from लखनऊजं. Railway Station at 06:30. How much time LJN PUNE EXP take to reach पुणे जं. Railway Station? लखनऊजं.पुणे जं. एक्सप्रेस reach on day 2 to पुणे जं. Railway Station. The arrival time of लखनऊजं.पुणे जं. एक्सप्रेस at पुणे जं. Railway Station is 11:05. Distance covered by लखनऊजं.पुणे जं. एक्सप्रेस? लखनऊजं.पुणे जं. एक्सप्रेस covers 1477 km to reach पुणे जं. Railway Station at average speed of 52 km/hr. लखनऊजं.पुणे जं. एक्सप्रेस passes through 17 stations.

Someone with adverse childhood experiences whose abuse and mental health problems weren’t properly considered by the courts should not be executed. Children are our future; what happens while they are young has life-long consequences. I recently retired after 45 years advocating in Tennessee for improving outcomes for children and families. The last several years focused on preventing adverse childhood experiences – ACEs – and mitigating their impact on children, families and society. Research on ACEs demonstrates childhood adversity leads to trauma and toxic stress that damage the developing brain. This can cause developmental damage, violence, substance abuse, and physical and mental health challenges. Gov. Bill Haslam and other state leaders launched Building Strong Brains Tennessee, an effort to establish Tennessee as a national model promoting culture change to prevent and mitigate ACEs and their impact, and to enhance long-term prosperity by improving outcomes for children. The original ACEs study identified 10 types of childhood trauma. Five are personal: physical, verbal or sexual abuse, and physical or emotional neglect. Five are caused by family dysfunction: parental substance abuse, mental illness, incarceration, domestic violence and the absence/loss of a parent. Each experience of trauma counts as one ACE. So, if before age 18, a child experiences physical abuse and a father in jail, his ACE score is two. Higher scores increase risk for poor mental and physical health outcomes (depression, addiction, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), and psychosocial outcomes (incarceration, job failure, lower education). Individuals who become violent often have experienced substantial trauma and have high ACE scores. ACEs are facts, not fate, so safe, stable, nurturing relationships and environments can reduce damage from significant childhood stressors. David Miller has been on Tennessee’s death row nearly 37 years and is scheduled for execution Dec. 6. As a child, David experienced chronic physical, sexual and emotional trauma, giving him an irregularly high ACE score. His biological father and mother both had mental illness; his mother sexually abused him for years. David’s stepfather beat him regularly, sometimes to unconsciousness. David repeatedly fled the abuse only to be returned home, where the beatings and sexual abuse continued. Later, he was sent to a boys’ school, another experience marked by rampant abuse and assaults. At age 14, David began experiencing seizures and episodes of losing contact with reality, attributable to his severe, chronic post-traumatic stress disorder. This condition led to the crime for which he was sentenced to death. David was dating Lee Standifer in Knoxville when she was murdered. According to court documents, he had significant memory lapses that night and couldn’t explain what happened. He did not dispute that he had killed Ms. Standifer, but only remembered hitting her with his fists. In his 1982 trial, the law did not allow a defense expert as it does today, so no expert testified about David’s diminished mental health. The law had changed by his resentencing in 1987, but his attorney failed to call an expert to testify about his brain damage and psychosis, factors juries often find warrant a sentence of life in prison instead of the death penalty. Though lay witnesses shared his history of abuse in his resentencing in 1987, Tennessee’s death penalty statute failed to let the jury weigh this as mitigation, a defect in Tennessee law since addressed. Today, jurors can consider any facts supporting a life sentence over a death sentence. Someone with a life-long history of ACEs whose abuse and mental health problems weren’t properly considered by the courts should not be executed. David Miller’s traumatic experiences should have been mitigating factors and would be if he were tried today. As we continue advocating for children today, we must also stand up for those who have been extensively victimized since childhood. In cases like David’s, execution is not the answer. Linda O'Neal is a retired child advocate.

(Newser) – A national poll showed Donald Trump slightly ahead of Hillary Clinton on Tuesday, though, as Nate Silver points out at FiveThirtyEight, cherry-picking polls isn't necessarily indicative of an overall trend: Per the FiveThirtyEight model that analyzed a whole slew of surveys, Clinton appears to still be in the lead by about 3 or 4 percentage points nationwide—a slicing in half of the lead she enjoyed in mid-October. But it's the Electoral College numbers that have Silver declaring Trump as "no longer really a long shot," though he remains the "underdog." In the site's polls-only model, Trump has a 30% chance (as of this posting) of emerging the electoral vote victor, or 31% if you go by the polls-plus model, which includes economic and historical data. And Silver notes even though some are skeptical Trump can nab the needed 270 electoral votes, there are ways in which he could win. If Hillary can win the election, then maybe Anthony Wiener still has a shot at being mayor of New York!! Crazy stuff, America. That a person like Trump has a significant shot at the Oval Office, then God save us all. The electoral college renders democrat voters in red states meaningless. The same thing is true for republican voters in blues states. Voting for President is a waste of time when only a handful of states ultimately determine the election. In these states voter fraud is a major contributor to the process, which will affect DJT more than HRC. It's the electoral college that screwed AlGore and it needs to be reworked to make the process meaningful to legal voters.

Current and former intelligence officials say it is standard practice to suspend a clearance pending the outcome of an investigation. Yet in the case of Cheryl Mills, Clinton’s former chief of staff at the State Department, two letters indicate this practice is not being followed — even as the Clinton email system remains the subject of an FBI investigation. A second letter dated Feb. 18, 2016, from the State Department’s assistant secretary for legislative affairs, Julia Frifield, provided additional details to Grassley about the “administrative error.” It, too, confirmed Mills maintained the top secret clearance. Hillary tasked Mills with researching through government records more than two years ago, long before the existence of the e-mail server became known. Mills had left State when Hillary did, about eleven months prior to this designation, but her clearances would not necessarily have been closed out with her departure. One might think that her access to certain programs would and should have been curtailed — especially the “special access programs” that ended up in the Hillary e-mail system. Those are so closely held that they’re more eyes-only than Top Secret. Dan Maguire, a former strategic planner with Africom who has 46 years combined service, told Fox News his current and former colleagues are deeply concerned a double standard is at play. The other interpretation here may be that the State Department isn’t going to budge in its defense of their operation during the Clinton years. They have almost entirely argued that the issues in the classified-information spillage have more to do with disputes over the necessity of classifying the data at all — although they backed off from that when the SAP data was found, deciding that even a redacted version of the e-mails was too dangerous for release in 29 cases. State might be keeping Mills’ clearance in place to give the impression that there’s nothing to see here, and people should just move along. It’s also possible — although it seems unlikely — that the FBI has told them that Mills won’t be a target in the probe. That would be curious, to say the least, since the FBI does not rule out potential targets until the investigation concludes. Any way one cuts it, though, this is a very odd development under the circumstances, and Grassley should start asking for some explanations. Minutes before the new set of emails was posted on the State Department website Friday, the House Select Committee on Benghazi announced that the agency just handed over more than 1,600 additional pages of Libya-related records — a disclosure that comes about four months after Clinton took the stand to testify. In a court filing earlier this month, State said officials originally overlooked the records because they didn’t realize some of the documents had been “retired” to State archives, but Benghazi Committee Republicans took it as what they’ve called ongoing stonewalling from the administration. “The administration still has not turned over records this committee requested nearly a year ago,” the GOP-controlled panel tweeted. It’s interesting that State buried that release with the final tranche of Hillary’s e-mails, eh? In October, Hillary and the White House both argued that the select committee was just a rehash of other investigations, but State keeps somehow finding material they’ve never released before on the subject. That seems like the same pattern of denial that State used for FOIA demands during and after Hillary’s tenure as Secretary of State, does it not?

Three tell-tale signs that it's spring in Baltimore: The birds come back to town -- both the little chirping kind that hang out in the trees and the kind that hang out at Camden Yards. Daffodils and tulips push their way up to the earth's surface, unfold in a glorious pageant of color -- then freeze and die from a late, freak cold snap. And the Johns Hopkins University holds its annual spring fair. For 27 years, Hopkins has opened up its Homewood campus to the people of Baltimore, offering three days of fun and entertainment, and almost all of it for free. This Friday, Saturday and Sunday you can enjoy live music, arts and crafts, an antique car show, plenty of kiddie rides and games and a few fun, oddball attractions like sumo wrestling. The theme of this year's event is "Odyssey," which will incorporate a little bit of Ancient Greece into the fair. So fairgoers can also participate in the Greco-Roman challenge sporting events or try some gladiator jousting. The fair is entirely organized and run by Hopkins undergraduate students and is billed as the largest student-run festival in the country. "We expect 150,000 people to come to the fair over all three days," said sophomore Katie Rieder, publicity co-chair for the event. "For me, it's going to be so awesome to see so many people come to our campus and enjoy themselves. We have all been working hard on getting this together in between everything else like studying and classes." "The main reason we do this is because we want to give something back to Baltimore," said Larry Liang, a senior at Hopkins who is in charge of booking musical entertainment for this year's fair. "This is our way to thank the whole community." Although the spirit of the fair has not changed in 27 years, the music has changed a little this year, Liang said. "It's not all college, alternative pop music," he said. "I'm pretty excited about the musical lineup this year." This year, music lovers can still hear local rock bands in the 98 Rock Beer Garden, but they can also hear swing bands, steel drum bands, ska music, blues performers and DJs spinning trip-hop sounds. For newcomers to the fair, such as D.C.-based ska band Checkered Cabs, it's a great opportunity for new people to hear their music. "We're more of a club band, but we attract a college-aged crowd," said Sean Hissey, drummer for the band. "Ska has a reputation of being this underground thing, but in reality, ska has been around since the '50s. It has generations and waves. It was in, out, came back and left, now it's back again and will hopefully stay around." For bands like Mambo Combo, who have performed at the fair more times than they can remember, the spring event is sort of a homecoming, especially for guitarist and keyboardist Bob Friedman, who graduated from Hopkins in 1969 with a degree in psychology. "They keep asking us to come back every year," Friedman said. "We're a fun group, and people like to dance to us." The group's Sunday afternoon performance outside of Shriver Hall will be a welcome change for the band, Friedman saaid. "We've been in smoky clubs all winter, this will be our first chance to play outside. . . . We're looking forward to it." But the biggest musical act to come to the fair this year is national recording group Letters to Cleo, who kick off the fair a little bit early with a show tonight at 8 p.m. in Shriver Hall. Tickets are $10 and are available by calling TicketMaster at 410-481-SEAT. Some tickets may be available at the door if the show is not sold out. Most know the band from its debut album, "Aurora Gory Alice," and the song "Here and Now," which was played over and over on the closing credits of the TV show "Melrose Place" during the Billy loves Allison era. The exposure was great for the band, but it was sort of a double-edged sword, said Kay Hanley, lead singer of the Boston-based quintet. "If it wasn't for that, I'd probably still be waiting tables . . . but I have ruined any chance of having any indie credit." The band never set out to be on "Melrose Place," but when it signed with its record label, the group asked to be on a compilation album of songs for the show. "We were like Track 9, right after Dinosaur Jr. I thought it was very cool." While on tour, the band found out that its song was being played over the credits to the show. "I thought it was kick," Hanley said. But later, the group was criticized for supposedly orchestrating a huge self-promotion. "I assure you we went into the whole thing very innocently. . . . It's really upsetting to be constantly defending your motives." While some people haven't heard from the band since "Here and Now," Letters to Cleo has stayed very busy. The group released a second album after "Aurora Gory Alice" and has been "touring constantly," Hanley said. "We toured for like three years straight. . . . We all got burned out. I didn't have a creative cell in my brain." Everyone in the group decided to take time off to relax. "I did absolutely nothing," Hanley said. Well, she did get married and witnessed her sister give birth, a "totally amazing experience," Hanley said. After the break, the group was "fresh as daisies" to get back to work and record their third album, "Go!", which was released in October. Now it's back to touring. "We're doing colleges all this month," Hanley said. "This is the time of year when you can do them; they're fun, and it pays a lot of bills." Although "Go!" has had mostly good reviews by critics and, according to Hanley, has "some of the best songs" she has ever written, the album has not had much airplay outside of their local area. "The album is dead," Hanley said. No matter to Letters to Cleo. The band will keep on making music, Hanley said. "A band like ours doesn't always fit on the radio. . . . Putting out albums and touring is a way of generating a fan base for us." As for the future, expect a fourth album next fall and some Lilith Fair tour dates this summer, Hanley said. "Whatever we do as a band, we do purely for ourselves." Where: Johns Hopkins University Homewood Campus, 3400 N. Charles St. Tickets: Free for parking and most events. Letters to Cleo performance at 8 p.m. today in Shriver Hall costs $10, $8 for Hopkins students. Tickets sold through Ticketmaster at 410-481-SEAT. Here is just a sampling of area events to mark the arrival of spring. Look in the Family calendar of LIVE for more events in the future. Fifth Annual Spring Launch. A celebration of ecology and history of the Chesapeake Bay at the Riverwalk in Solomons. Sponsored by Solomons Business Association. Noon-6 p.m. tomorrow, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Sunday. For more information and schedules, call 410-326-6027. Spring walk. A 2 1/2-mile leisure walk to awaken the senses that normally lie dormant and a "smart heart" lunch to follow. Sponsored by Sinking Springs Herb Farm, 234 Belair Shore Road, Elkton. The walk will be held from 10 a.m. to noon and from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. April 18 with the "smart heart" lunch from noon to 1 p.m. $5 for the walk, and $20 for the walk and lunch. Call 410-398-5566. Spring arts weekend. Artists will open their studios to display their work for sale. Sponsored by the Mill Centre Association in conjunction with School 33 Art Center's Open Studio Weekend from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the Mill Centre, 3000 Chestnut Ave. and Falls Road. Call 410-467-4911. Spring fair. Craft demonstrations, children's activities, pony rides, door prizes, entertainment and food. Sponsored by Americana Arts and Crafts Promotions at the Howard County Fairgrounds. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. For admission price and directions, call 301-701-2346. Spring Antiques and Collectibles Street Fest. 40 antiques and collectibles dealers will set up with antique cars along downtown streets in Havre de Grace. Sponsored by the Antique Association of Havre de Grace. The dealers will be set up on Washington Street and Franklin Street, and antique cars will line Pennington Avenue. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. April 24. Call 410-939-5290 or 410-939-4882. Towson Gardens Day. 12th annual event sponsored by the Towson Development Corp. 10 a.m.-3 p.m. April 23 at Towson Court House Fountain Plaza and West Pennsylvania and Baltimore avenues, Towson. Rain date April 24. Free. Call 410-825-2211. Maryland Hunt Cup. 102nd running on April 25. 4 p.m. race time; 3:30 p.m. roads closed to traffic at Worthington Farms, Tufton Avenue, Glyndon. $30 parking fee. Parking passes must be purchased before race day. No admission available on race date. Passes sold at the Wine Merchant, John Brown's Shawan Store, Butler Store and Valley Motors, or send check and SASE to Maryland Hunt Cup Association, 3021 Black Rock Road, Glyndon, Md. 21071. Luncheon reservations available through the Maryland Historical Society, 410-685-3750. Call 410-472-4453. 1998 Spring Craft Fair. A juried event where all items sold are handmade by the vendor. Held at Downs Park, Pasadena. 10 a.m.-3 p.m. April 25. Call 410-222-6230. Spring festival. Seventh annual event sponsored by Anne Arundel County Fair Inc. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. April 25-26 at the fairgrounds, Route 178, Generals Highway, Crownsville. Free admission. Call 410-923-3400. Bolton Hill spring festival and parade. Sponsored by the Mount Royal Improvement Association and Maryland Institute, College of Art. Noon to 3:30 p.m. May 2 at Mount Royal Recreation Center, 120 W. Mosher St. Parade starts at noon. Call 410-523-3159 or 410-728-2745. Salisbury Dogwood Festival. 16th annual event sponsored by the Salisbury Area Chamber of Commerce. Block party Friday at Riverwalk Park. Carnival rides at Division Street and Circle Avenue, Salisbury. May 1-3. For more details and hours, call 410-749-0144. Towsontown Spring Festival. A festival in the heart of Towson with over 400 exhibitors, five stages with entertainment, crafts and ethnic food. Sponsored by the Towson Business Association. The festival will surround the Towson courthouse in the heart of Towson. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. May 2 and 1 p.m.-6 p.m. May 3. Free admission. $2 all-day parking available. Call 410-825-1144. May Fair at Woodend. Sponsored by the Washington Revels and the Audubon Naturalist Society. 10:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. May 3 at Woodend mansion, 8940 Jones Mill Road, Chevy Chase. $6; $2 children under 12. Call 301-652-9188 or 202-364-8744. 28th Annual Montpelier Spring Festival. A family cultural arts celebration with entertainment, dance and food. Join the South Laurel Recreation Council volunteers who are celebrating 28 years of service to the community. Noon to 6 p.m. May 3 at the Montpelier Mansion Grounds on Route 197 at Montpelier Drive in South Laurel. Free admission. Call 301-776-2805 (English), 301-445-2335 (Spanish) or 310-445-4512 (TTY). Women's Civic League 81st Flower Mart. Entertainment, lemon sticks, crafts, plants and more. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. May 6. Rain date May 7. Free admission. Call 410-837-5424. Sixth annual herb festival. A festival centered on the ways herbs were used by both Colonial and Native Americans. Sponsored by Piney Run Park near Sykesville in southern Carroll County. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. May 9. Admission is $5 a car. Call 410-795-3274. Marlborough Day 1998. A festival to promote the town of Upper Marlboro and Prince George's County. Sponsored by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission in the historic town of Upper Marlboro. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on May 9. Spring May Day celebration. A spring fair with the traditional Maypole dance, relay races, crafts, face painting, hay rides and games. Sponsored by the Fifth District Elementary School, at 3724 Mount Carmel Road just west of Falls Road. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. May 9. Free admission. Call 410-887-1726 or 410-887-1727. Spring open house at Government House. Governor's residence Annapolis will be open to the public 1 p.m.-4 p.m. May 9. In nearby Lawyers Mall, a Spring Fling Festival with performing and visual arts workshops will take place 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Both events are free and open to the public. Call 410-974-3531. Darlington's fourth annual spring craft fair. Sponsored by the Darlington Elementary School PTA at 2119 Shuresville Road. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. June 6. Table rent for vendors $20. Call 410-638-3700 or 410-836-7069.

The hijacking of an EgyptAir aircraft to Cyprus recalls a previous era when hijackings were a regular occurrence. Tuesday's hijacking of an Egyptair aircraft on a domestic flight from Alexandria to Cairo took the world by surprise in part because, particularly since the September 11th attacks in the United States in 2001, security on passenger flights around the world has been substantially increased. The 1960s and 1970s saw a large number of hijackings carried out by Palestinian terrorist groups. El Al Israel Airlines quickly developed a reputation for its stringent airline safety. The first and last successful hijacking of an El Al aircraft took place in 1968. On July 23, 1968, El Al flight 426, en route from Rome to Tel Aviv, was hijacked and flown to Algeria. Originally scheduled to depart Rome on the afternoon of July 22, engine problems delayed the flight's departure and in the end, there were only 38 passengers on board – seven of them El Al employees or their family members – in addition to a crew of 10. Shortly after takeoff, two of the three hijackers burst into the cockpit with guns. The hijackers were members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, which had been founded in 1967 by George Habash. The plane landed in Algiers, Algeria, where the aircraft and its passengers became captives of Algerian officials, starting a more than month-long ordeal for many of the passengers and crew. The 23 non-Israeli passengers were released first. On July 27, the 10 remaining women, passengers, crew, as well as three children, were set free. But the remaining 12 Israeli men (seven crew and five passengers, two of them airline employees) remained prisoners of the Algerian government until September 1, more than 40 days later. They were released following an international aviation boycott of Algeria and the release by Israel of 16 Palestinian prisoners. One set of hijackings that captured particular attention around the world was the plot by members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine to commandeer five planes, four bound for New York and one for London. On September 6, the hijackers, who demanded the release of Palestinians in Israeli jails, managed to take control of three planes and force them to land at Dawson's Field, a remote former British airstrip in Jordan. The planes were operated by TWA, Swissair and BOAC, the predecessor to British Airways. A fourth plane, a Pan Am aircraft, was flown to Cairo and blown up after the passengers disembarked. The fifth aircraft was an El Al flight from Tel Aviv to New York with a stop in Amsterdam. The two hijackers, a Nicaraguan American man and a Palestinian woman, Leila Khaled, attempted to take over the plane after it took off from Amsterdam. The El Al pilot refused to accede to the demands of the hijackers. The male hijacker was shot by an onboard sky marshal and later died of his injuries while Khaled was overpowered. The plane landed at Heathrow airport in London. Norman Shanks, a former director of airport security at Heathrow, told the New York Times that following the coordinated series of hijackings, the international aviation community took action to prevent hijackings. A flight operated by the Belgian airlines Sabena from Vienna to Tel Aviv and piloted by a British-Jewish pilot, Reginald Levy, was taken over by four members of the Palestinian Black September movement. At their direction, Levy landed the plane at Lod airport near Tel Aviv, now known as Ben-Gurion International Airport. The hijackers reportedly separated Jewish from non-Jewish passengers, and when the aircraft landed demanded the release of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel or the plane would be blown up. The following day, a commando team from the IDF's elite Sayeret Matkal unit approached the aircraft disguised as aviation technicians. They killed the two male hijackers and captured the two female hijackers. In an exchange of gunfire, a woman passenger was hit and later died of her wounds. The commando raid was commanded by Ehud Barak, who was later to become prime minister of Israel. One of the other commandos, who was wounded in the operation, was Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's current prime minister. The Entebbe hijacking saga began on June 27, 1976, when two members of the Popular Front for Palestine and two from Germany's Baader-Meinhof Gang, hijacked an Air France plane on a flight from Tel Aviv to Paris, with a stop in Athens, to Entebbe airport in Uganda. It arrived in Uganda the next day after a stop in Libya. The hijackers boarded the plane in Athens. They were joined by reinforcements in Uganda and the Ugandan dictator at the time, Idi Amin, expressed support for the hijacking. On July 1, some of the passengers were released but about 100 remained, including all the Israelis and the members of the crew. The hijackers set a deadline by which their demands, the release of prisoners in Israel and elsewhere, would be met or they would kill the passengers. The hijackers' plans were foiled early on July 4, when a daring Israeli commando team that had landed at the airport rescued most of the passengers. The commando unit commander, Yonatan Netanyahu, the brother of Israel's current prime minister, was killed in the operation, as were three hostages and all of the hijackers. A fourth passenger, Dora Bloch, who had been removed from the airport and taken to a Ugandan hospital prior to the rescue mission, was reportedly shot and killed by Ugandan forces.

Teresa Noyola had a goal and an assist in Thursday's win over Portland. Photo by Jim Shorin/stanfordphoto.com. The Stanford women's soccer team may have a five-game winning streak against Santa Clara, but the Broncos have pretty much owned the top-ranked Cardinal over the years. Santa Clara hasn't won since 2006, but the Broncos are good enough to give Stanford all it can handle. Stanford, which beat host Portland, 2-0, on Thursday night, visits Santa Clara on Sunday night in a featured matchup at venerable Buck Shaw Stadium at 8 p.m. Palo Alto grad Teresa Noyola scored late in the first half to give Stanford its lead. Kristy Zurmuhlen added a second-half goal, with an assist from Noyola. The Cardinal (7-0-1) moved into the top spot in the national rankings this week. Santa Clara (3-0-4) is currently ranked 18th. The Broncos have allowed a total of five goals on the season while Stanford is tied for eighth in the nation in scoring with 3.29 goals per game. Castilleja grad Lindsay Taylor leads Stanford with six goals and two assists for 14 points. She's the reigning National Player of the Week and the Pac-12 Player of the Week after helping the Cardinal beat Notre Dame in come-from-behind fashion last weekend. The Cardinal has spread its scoring around this season, with Noyola recording five goals and freshman Chioma Ubogagu adding four. Six other players have scored at least once through eight games. Stanford is close to being at full strength. Sophomore goalkeeper Emily Oliver was back in the net after a close encounter of the worst kind with the post last Friday. Aly Gleason made her first career start and recorded a shutout in a 2-0 win over 15th-ranked UC Irvine on Sunday. Defender Kendall Romine continues to be bothered by injuries, though Madeleine Thompson has been effective in her place. Romine was able to play against the Pilots. Defender Rachel Quon and midfielder Mariah Nogueira returned from injuries to play last weekend. Versatile Courtney Verloo, who is on the Hermann Trophy watch list, has yet to play this season. Research by collegesoccer360.com has revealed that Stanford's senior class has the highest four-year record (76-4-4, .929) among any Division I school through last weekend. Portland is third on that list. Stanford's seniors are: defender Camille Levin, Noyola, Taylor and midfielder Kristy Zurmuhlen. Fourth-ranked Stanford (1-0) gets its season going in earnest this weekend at the NorCal tournament at Pacific in Stockton. The Cardinal meets nationally ranked St. Francis College on Saturday morning and will play either the host Tigers or Santa Clara later in the day. Stanford opened its season, officially, with a 16-0 drubbing of NAIA power Fresno Pacific, its first shutout since at least 1994, at the UC Irvine Invitational two weeks ago. The three other matches against Division I schools were declared scrimmages. Fifth-year senior driver Sam Finlayson scored twice against the Sunbirds in his first game in four years. Second-ranked Stanford (6-1) looks to get back on track Friday night when Pac-12 newcomer Utah pays a visit to Maples Pavilion for a 7 p.m. first serve. The Cardinal lost at top-ranked California in four sets on Tuesday night, its third straight defeat to the Bears, who reached last year's national championship match and shared the Pac-10 title with Stanford. The Cardinal hit a season-low .103 against California, which is coached by Palo Alto grad Rich Feller, the reigning National Coach of the Year. Stanford sophomore outside hitter Rachel Williams has emerged from the wings to establish herself as an All-American candidate. She leads the team with 136 kills (5.04 per set) and is hitting .250 overall. She's also one of the top defensive players on the court, averaging 2.85 digs per game. The Cardinal has relied heavily on its defense to date. Eight Cardinal players have achieved double figures in digs, and six of them have at least 49 through seven matches. Despite the low hitting percentage against the Bears, Stanford still maintains a .218 to .150 edge in that department over their opponents overall. Junior setter Karissa Cook is also showing her skills after sharing the position the previous two years. She averages 10.81 assists per set, has four service aces and a team-high 94 digs. Stanford hosts Colorado on Saturday night, also at 7 p.m. Stanford (1-4) hosts USF (1-4) in a nonconference match on Saturday night at 7 p.m. The Cardinal split two matches at home, as part of the Cal Legacy Classic, last weekend, beating nationally-ranked Kentucky, 3-1, and dropping a 1-0 decision to Lehigh. Stanford has won the last three matches against the Dons, all by a 1-0 margin. USF continues to lead the all-time series, 15-14-5. The Cardinal has been outscored 8-3 this season, with Dersu Abolfathi, JJ Koval and Adam Jahn each scoring once. Drew Hutchins and Jason Dodson have shared goaltending duties. No. 9 Stanford (5-1) opens the NorPac Conference season Saturday at Pacific in Stockton with a four-match winning streak intact. Kelsey Harbin became the second Cardinal freshman to earn weekly honors from the NorPac, joining Alex McCawley, after she was named a Defensive Player of the Week for helping Stanford to a pair of home victories over the weekend. Stanford beat No. 19 Indiana, 4-2, on Friday and No. 18 Northeastern, 3-2, on Sunday. The lone loss was at No. 4 Connecticut. Stanford vaulted seven spots in this week's Kookaburra/NFHCA National Coaches poll. It's the highest national ranking for Stanford since Sept. 22, 1987, when the Cardinal checked in at No. 6 following a 4-1 start. Stanford, ranked 12th in the Golf World/Nike Golf preseason coaches' poll, opens its fall schedule on Friday at the Olympia Fields/Fighting Illini Invitational against an impressive field that includes 10 Top-25 teams. "We're really looking forward to the event," Stanford coach Conrad Ray said. "It's a world-class course and the greens are fast and pretty difficult. It's a beautiful time of year in Chicago and the field is one of the strongest we'll see all year and we're excited to compete. We want to get off to a good start and we're ready to go." Stanford held a four-round qualifying event last week and will send Andrew Yun, Steven Kearney, Cameron Wilson, and freshmen Patrick Grimes (from Menlo School) and Patrick Rodgers to the event. Stanford begins its fall schedule on Monday at the Washington State Cougar Cup with visions of competing for the Pac-12 championship. The Cardinal, which recorded eight top-10 finishes last season, The Cardinal returns four of its top five stroke-average leaders including All-Pac-10 second-team selection Kristina Wong and All-Pac-10 honorable mention Sally Watson. "They provide amazing stability, strong leadership and power at the top," Stanford coach Caroline O'Connor said. "To have them as the core knowing that they still have two years left, we're in a good place." Wong posted five consecutive top-10 finishes highlighted by a second-place tie at the Arizona Wildcat Invitational. Watson recorded five top-20 finishes, including four during a five-event run near the end of the season. Head coach John Rittman has signed a new five-year contract, which took effect on Sept. 1, 2011, the University announced Thursday. Rittman, who enters his 16th season at Stanford in 2011-12, will be under contract with Stanford through the 2016 softball season. Under Rittman, Stanford holds a 641-294-3 (.685) record in 15 seasons. Additionally, the Cardinal has recorded 14 consecutive winning seasons, made 14 straight NCAA appearances, notched 12 40-win seasons and produced at least one All-American in each of the last 14 years. Ken Shibuya, an assistant with Stanford since 2006, has been named associate head coach of the program. Shibuya has been a key figure in the Cardinal's rise to prominence and its 2010 NCAA championship. "The dedication to the program and knowledge he brings is very much deserving of being associate head coach," Stanford head coach John Kosty said. "The title is very deserving." This summer, Shibuya was the head coach of the U.S. youth national team that finished third at the Pan American Cup (under 19) in Mexicali, Mexico, on July 16.

How to stay on track, get ahead, study abroad or pursue a special interest. Enroll in any of UB's summer sessions to study here — or anywhere in the world — and earn credit. Summer session offers more than 2,000 courses, online or on campus. Make the most of your summer. Registration opens March 11. Find information about tuition and fees, billing dates, financial aid and more. Explore study abroad and experiential learning opportunities. Embrace summer in Buffalo! From Canalside concerts and art festivals to kayaking, biking and more, summer is one of the best times to be here. Come and see where UBThisSummer can take you.

(JTA) — Education Secretary Betsy DeVos visited two yeshiva high schools in New York this week, amid allegations that such schools fail to provide an appropriate secular education. “Secretary DeVos made these historic visits to better understand Jewish education, a unique and time-honored tradition, within the diversity of the American educational tapestry,” said Rabbi Abba Cohen of the ultra-Orthodox organization Agudath Israel of America, which pressed for the visits. “In these schools, she saw commitment, innovation, inclusion, and values. Hopefully, also, the Secretary has gained a greater appreciation of why Jewish education means nothing less than ‘continuity and survival’ to us… and why we sacrifice so much to provide it to our children.” Cohen said Thursday in an email to JTA. DeVos visited the Manhattan School for Girls on Tuesday and on Wednesday visited Yeshiva Darchei Torah, a preschool through high school yeshiva for boys. The secretary’s visit comes as New York City’s Department of Edcuation investigates whether Hasidic schools provide an adequate secular education to their students. The investigation was launched in response to allegations by former students of such schools that the city and state failed them and that they were not prepared for life or employment in the outside world. The two schools that DeVos visited do have tracks that prepare students for higher education. Their students also take the state Regents exam, which measures their readiness for higher education, but critics say they are not typical of many yeshivas. The New York State budget approved last month included a provision that eases oversight of nonpublic schools, allowing haredi, or ultra-Orthodox yeshivas leeway in complying with state law requiring private schools to offer students instruction that is “at least substantially equivalent” to that offered in public schools. State Sen. Simcha Felder, a Democrat who represents several haredi neighborhoods in Brooklyn, had threatened to withhold key support for the budget without the provision. The New York Times reported that enrollment in Orthodox Jewish schools in New York is steadily rising. There were at least 52,000 children enrolled in Hasidic schools in New York City in 2013, the newspaper reported, citing figures from the Avi Chai Foundation, and 28,500 in other yeshiva day schools. DeVos has not yet visited a New York public school, and was criticized by the city’s Department of Education for skipping public schools on this trip.

As Airbnb adds more features to court business users, a smaller startup has raised some funding to challenge it in the $18 billion business travel market. 2nd Address, an Airbnb-style platform for business travellers looking for home rentals that extend beyond 30 days — as an alternative to staying in hotels — is announcing funding of $10 million from GV (formerly Google Ventures) and Foundation Capital, along with Amicus and Pierre Lamond. The startup says it will be investing the money to improve its technology as well as expand to more cities. Its current footprint covers the Bay Area, Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago and Washington, DC — where it claims that a property on its platform typically comes in about 40 percent cheaper on a per-night basis compared to a business or extended stay hotel — and the plan is to extend that to 17 more markets in 2019. Scale will be the name of the game for the startup, which today works with just 650 hosts covering some 3,200 listings. Customers that have already signed on as users include the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Google, SAP, Deloitte, KLM and Stanford and Northwestern University. 2nd Address has raised $42 million to date, with a portion of that dating back to when it was a rentals platform called HomeSuite. HomeSuite focused on providing a quick way to find and secure short-term rentals for people moving to new cities and interested in trying out different neighborhoods before committing to a housing arrangement longer-term. The original pitch was that HomeSuite handled all the paperwork and other painful processes to make it easy both to list a place and to rent it. Aimed at people who stay between 30 days and nine months, Tam — who took over as CEO after founder David Adams stepped away from the role — said a lot of business travellers are looking for something more when staying in a city for an extended period, with the option of a kitchen, more living space and other personalised home effects beyond what you get in a typical business hotel or extended-stay suite. At the same time, 2nd Address saw an opportunity to target hosts, as well. That’s on top of the work that needs to be done to tidy up and maintain a property when guests are staying for as little as one or two nights. “And of course you can have a large variety of guests, from those who are well-behaved to those who are not,” he added. That “variability,” he said, “has come to a head” for some hosts who are looking for more predictable guests staying for longer than a night or two. “They would rather take a business traveller staying for a whole month any day,” he said. But 2nd Address is not the only company that has identified the opportunity to provide an Airbnb-style platform catering to business users and those who want to host them. Chief among its competitors is Airbnb itself. As it inches closer to an IPO, Airbnb has been working on diversifying and expanding its operations, and part of that has been to expand Airbnb for Work, which targets business users. In January, Airbnb made its latest move in that area by acquiring Gaest, a startup from Denmark that lets people book rooms, homes and other venues for meetings and off-sites. It has also tailored the wider Airbnb experience for Airbnb for Work in other ways, offering team-building experiences, a searchable database of homes and boutique hotels meeting criteria like “homes for family relocation,” “work-ready homes” and “homes verified for comfort.” Within this, it guarantees a specific check-list of amenities in the accommodations that match many of the standards of typical business hotels and might be a cut above the a typical basic Airbnb property. So far, the higher-margin Airbnb for Work has had an impact: last August Airbnb said business bookings accounted for 15 percent of all its business. But even putting Airbnb to one side, there are a number of other competitors also providing platforms for hosts to list apartments aimed at business users, as well as corporate travel people to rent them. Sonder has raised more than $130 million to build out a network of its own apartments that provide experiences on par with hotels (but with a personalised apartment feel); Domio has also been targeting urban visitors (and also raising funding to do it). Meanwhile in Europe there are also several startups also vying to tackle the same market. They include MagicStay and AtHomeHotel out of France and Homelike from Germany, which has also been attracting the attention of VCs from the Valley. But despite all of this, Tam and his investors believe that 2nd Address still has an advantage over the rest of the field. On the topic of Airbnb, the claim is that providing properties to both consumer and business users, using the same backend, can be problematic. Investors additionally think that while 2nd Address is benefiting from the overall opportunity, it also has unique and better technology. “We saw an acute shortage of vendors for monthly stays overall, but specifically also for business people,” said Paul Holland, a general partner at Foundation. “2nd Address not only proved the concept but are in a perfect position to take the market. Yes, rising tides lift all boats, including Airbnb, but it’s a very large opportunity.” He added that some of 2nd Address’s (unnamed) competitors are even using its backend and listings to power their own efforts. On the tech front, 2nd Address plans to add more tools for hosts to help with home management, and beyond that planning for how they tailor properties in the future. Specifically, it sees an opportunity in providing analytics and business intelligence around guest preferences in terms of locations, pricing, detailing the interiors and more. It’s also planning to add more integrations with the tools that corporates are using to book travel today. These include not just platforms like Concur for searching and booking places, but reporting and billing services to manage aspects beyond the actual stay.

And both have deals for you. Surprise! Taylor turns five today and is offering $5 hoagies. Photograph by Stacy Zarin-Goldberg. Unlike selfish humans, restaurants tend to celebrate birthdays by giving other people presents—and both Taylor Gourmet and DGS Delicatessen are commemorating their “births” this week with dining deals. First up, Taylor marks its fifth year of existence by offering diners $5 regular-size hoagies Wednesday through Sunday at all locations. The five options are all new to the menu, including the Pearl Street (roast turkey, Brie, and sundried tomato pesto), the Packer Ave (roast pork, garlicky spinach, and provolone), and the vegetarian Cheltenham Ave (roasted tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and onion-balsamic spread). Younger eatery DGS marks its first anniversary on Saturday with a three-course prime rib dinner for $30. The homey meal includes a house salad with caraway dressing, a 12-ounce prime rib platter filled with potato latkes, garlic spinach, and horseradish sauce, and chocolate cake for dessert. Unless you’re going really old-school and washing that down with a tall glass of milk, take advantage of drink specials such as an $8 rye Manhattan, $5 Port City brews, or a celebratory $25 bottle of Poema cava.

Reply to post: But will there be a bonus in 2018? But will there be a bonus in 2018? Tough on the employees. Thoroughly deserved by the management team.

A 36-year-old man is being charged with three felonies, including transmission of HIV, after Oak Park police said he bit a male officer’s thumb and broke the skin, police said today. Javier G. Flores, of the 400 block of South Maple Avenue, Oak Park, was arrested by police Friday outside Old Navy, 417 N. Harlem Ave., and has been charged with criminal transmission of HIV, aggravated battery of a police officer and retail theft. The department expects the officer to be safe from contracting the disease.

Join the fun! Pick up Monday's Inde for a new cartoon and try to make us laugh. Bragging rights go to Susan Kaser of Massillon this week for her caption: "I'm pretty sure we have enough complete idiots online already." Read more entries below. "Great, thanks for the sledge hammer!" "Are regular idiots welcome too?" "Scuse me sir, but do you know who I can call or where I might go to get me some of that thar computer learning? "Oh yeah, well if they slid your brain down a razor blade, it would be like a B.B. rolling down a four lane highway." "I just finished the course and still feel like an idiot for paying the price they charged!" "Honestly, my wife signed me up for your class." "My husband says all the complete idiots are in politics but he'll guarantee I'm 85 percent idiot and the last teachers I've been to will back me up as soon as they get out of therapy."

Federal prosecutors announced on Tuesday that a grand jury in Scranton has indicted five people on charges they conspired to distribute three types of drugs in Schuylkill County and elsewhere in Northeast Pennsylvania. The charges could mean a life sentence for each alleged conspirator. On Dec. 11, 2018, the grand jury indicted Amanda Boyle, 36, of Sweet Valley, Rudolph Ford, 30, of Olyphant, Adam Holcomb, 35, of Shickshinny, and Francheska Quinones, 26, and William Terron, 35, both of Reading, for conspiring to distribute cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine. The indictment was unsealed after the arrest of the five. U.S. Attorney David J. Freed said the indictment alleges that the five conspired to distribute more than 500 grams of cocaine, more than 100 grams of heroin and more than 500 grams of meth between January 2017 and the present in Schuylkill, Luzerne and Lackawanna counties. Freed noted that 100 grams of heroin represents approximately 4,000 individuals doses of the drug. The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the Pennsylvania State Police, the state attorney general’s office, the Kingston Police Department and the Luzerne County Drug Task Force all investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert J. O’Hara is prosecuting. Each defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of life in prison and a $10,000,000 fine, according to Freed. Federal prosecutors brought the case as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, which brings together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make those neighborhoods safer. As part of that program, the U.S. Department of Justice has directed all U.S. Attorney’s offices to work with all levels of law enforcement and various communities to reduce violent crime.

The L.A. County Board of Supervisors will vote July 17 on whether to put a new property tax on the ballot to pay for capturing and cleaning up stormwater. The proposed parcel tax would cost property owners 2.5 cents per square foot of “impermeable” surface. That’s a building, a driveway, a parking lot, a concrete patio and any other surface on the property that fails to allow rainwater to percolate into the ground. To determine the tax liability of each property owner, the county has already used satellite imagery and sophisticated technology to examine each parcel and calculate the impermeable surface area. The new tax would burden homeowners and also the owners of commercial property, including retail stores, office buildings, manufacturing facilities and apartment buildings. It will be one more thing that raises the cost of living. The county estimates that the tax would raise $300 million per year for the L.A. County Flood Control District to distribute for stormwater capture and clean-up, as well as drought “education,” workforce training, and job assistance for the homeless. Stormwater cleanup costs are driven by the Los Angeles Regional Water Board’s uniquely tough requirements for L.A. County’s MS4 (municipal separate storm sewer system) permit. It’s estimated that compliance will cost the county and the cities in it $20 billion over 20 years. By all accounts, this is utterly unaffordable. Before imposing a tax that barely begins to cover it, county officials should demand that the Water Board justify the singular demands on L.A. County. Captured stormwater in L.A. County already provides enough water for 1 million households. The county says collecting every additional drop, if that was even possible, might provide water for another 2 million of the county’s 10 million residents. But at what cost? Southern Californians are already paying for Metropolitan Water District’s plan to fund most of the Delta tunnels project. L.A. County residents and businesses should not be forced to pay higher water rates and higher taxes, too, especially if this new tax will only spread money around to begin a lot of projects that will require even higher taxes to complete. The Board of Supervisors should rethink this proposal.

There is no better way to proclaim your lack of spiritual and philosophical depth than by, two decades after the fall of communism, disclosing that you're Marxist. Yet this is precisely what Buddhist spiritual leader the Dalai Lama did during a speech before 150 Chinese students at the University of Minnesota this month. Journalist Tsering Namgyal reports on the story at Religion Dispatches, writing, "'as far as socio-political beliefs are concerned, I consider myself a Marxist.' 'But not a Leninist,' he [the Lama] clarified." Well, that's a relief. Those Leninists can really kill ya'. Marxists will just murder you. This isn't the first time the Lama indicated that his soul is as red as the robes he wears. During a lecture in NYC on May 19, the Tibetan leader credited "capitalism" with bringing new freedoms to China but then said, "Still I am a Marxist"; he then explained that Marxism has "moral ethics, whereas capitalism is only how to make profits." That's some deep thinking right there. Now, I have the word "capitalism" in quotation marks because it was originated by a communist, and we shouldn't allow enemies of the good to define the vocabulary of the debate. I prefer to call the mostly free market in question a "natural economy," as it is what naturally occurs when people are afforded economic freedom; they will buy, produce, sell and compete. In contrast, communism (in the real world, not in the stateless utopia of textbook fantasies) requires a large, intrusive, freedom-squelching government to micromanage people's endeavors and quash the yearnings of man's spirit. And because the Natural Economy does allow people the most freedom practical (we still must have courts to enforce contracts, for instance), it is infinitely morally superior to Marxism. Having said this, the Natural Economy doesn't have "moral ethics"; it just is. It is, again, what naturally occurs when man is permitted to spread his wings. And it will be as moral as the average people who operate within it. In contrast, Marxism will be as immoral as the worst people who operate within it. This is because, while the Natural Economy is governed by those hundreds of millions of consumer votes called the market, communism is ruled by the unscrupulous few who can claw their way to the top in an inevitably corrupt political system. But while Marxism is morally inferior, it cannot be said to have "moral ethics" any more than the Natural Economy does — not in the true sense of the term. This is because it is atheistic. And a belief in morality — "morality" properly understood, that is — correlates to a belief in God. Why? Because what we call "morality" can originate with only one of two possible sources: Man or something outside of him. If it's something outside of and infinitely superior to him (i.e., God) — if "Absolute Truth" exists, in other words — then we can say that morality has an existence unto itself and is, therefore, real. But what if, as wanting Greek philosopher Protagoras said, "Man is the measure of all things"? Then morality doesn't really exist; the word is then just a confusing redundancy, a water-muddying term that we apply to what is nothing but man's consensus tastes. After all, we wouldn't say that chocolate ice cream was "bad" or "wrong" and vanilla "good" or "right" simply because we found out that the greater mass of humanity preferred the latter, would we? Yet is it any more logical to proclaim murder bad or wrong if the only basis for doing so is that the vast majority of the world prefers that we not kill in a way labeled unjust? If, as with ice cream, our attitude toward murder is just a matter of man's collective preference, then it lies in the same realm: taste. This is, by the way, what people of faith mean when they equate atheism with amorality. Secularists such as Christopher Hitchens take umbrage at this, but they misunderstand the concepts involved; no one is saying that an atheist cannot act morally — only that atheism cannot, logically, involve "morality." The Tibetan leader answered that the [sic] Marx was not against religion or religious philosophy per se but against religious institutions that were allied, during Marx's time, with the European ruling class. He also provided an interesting anecdote about his experience with Mao. He said that Mao had felt that the Dalai Lama's mind was very logical, implying that Buddhist education and training help sharpens [sic] the mind. He said he met with Mao several times, and that once, during a meeting in Beijing, the Chinese leader called him in and announced: "Your mind is scientific!" — an assessment that was followed by the famous line, "religion is poison." Well, I guess that with the Lama, flattery will get you everywhere. I've never heard the above interpretation of Marx before, and I very much doubt that he was a man of even private faith and non-institutionalized religion. Regardless, one of the most important points about Marx is never made: He was most likely what we would today call mentally ill. Note that he was notorious for not washing, and this is not uncommon for people who manifest crippling depression and other psychological/spiritual problems. And would it be surprising if Marx had been thus afflicted? "There is a fine line between genius and insanity," they say, and Marx was a classic case of a brilliant mind that was twisted enough to conjure up a truly batty theory. As for the Lama's mind, it doesn't seem as if he has to worry much about a slight misstep landing him in insanity's realm. A few years ago he was asked if he took exception to a highly sexualized image on a magazine cover, and he dodged the question politician-like, saying (I'm paraphrasing), "This world isn't real, anyway." Then why is he concerned about what the Chinese are doing in Tibet? What does it matter if the Chicomms oppress its people and quash its culture? Hey, if the Lama and some fellow Buddhist monks are hauled off to a Chinese concentration camp, they can just mediate on how it's all an illusion. The real illusion is the Lama's image. A man of authentic faith seeks Truth and doesn't deny reality, either the moral variety or the physical ("Am I a man who dreamt he was a worm or a worm dreaming he is a man?!"). The reality here, though, is that the Dalai Lama is, like Gandhi (about whom I recently wrote), just another overrated Eastern spiritual leader whom elites glom onto because he is quite liberal and not Western. He should stick to playing golf with Bill Murray on the bag.

(Reuters) - Honeywell International Inc (HON.N) said on Friday it is relocating its global corporate headquarters to Charlotte, North Carolina, which is closer to several of the U.S. industrial conglomerate’s businesses in the Southeast of the United States. The company, which makes everything from aircraft engines to catalysts used in petroleum refining, is currently based in Morris Plains, New Jersey. Honeywell will also relocate the headquarters of its safety and productivity solutions (SPS) business unit to Charlotte from Fort Mill, South Carolina. The SPS unit makes supply chain and warehouse automation equipment, software and personal protection equipment, especially footwear designed for workers. “Charlotte is a top-10 destination city in the U.S. that will readily enable us to recruit and retain the world-class talent we will need over the long term,” Chief Executive Officer Darius Adamczyk said. Honeywell will relocate about 150 to 200 New Jersey-based senior management positions and about 100 South Carolina-based employees to Charlotte between now and September 2019, the company said. The company plans to gradually add about 500 corporate and SPS employees to the Charlotte location over the next five years, taking the total employment to about 750 at the new location by the end of 2024. About 1,000 Honeywell employees will remain within the company’s six locations in New Jersey.

For 40 years, OOIDA's Board of Directors has convened twice a year at the organization's headquarters in Grain Valley, MO, to conduct business and frame the agenda for the coming year. Board members also discuss the concerns voiced by the membership and decide which of those the Association will take to a target-issue level. During the spring meeting in April, board members heard reports, set strategies, re-elected two officers, seated five newly elected alternate directors and approved a longtime employee to a high-level executive position. It also accepted a surprise – and sizable – scholarship donation from a mystery guest from the past. OOIDA’s proposed safety agenda grabbed a top spot, specifically driver training, safe truck parking availability and cab crashworthiness. A special guest from the Federal Highway Administration in Washington, DC, agreed that the Association’s input is vital to developing solutions to issues that are critical elements to safety – specifically truck parking. “I am appreciative of the time that the executive board afforded FHWA to discuss the truck parking activities that have been undertaken and to discuss those that are planned,” FHWA’s Tom Kearney said after the meeting. Kearney is the freight operations program director for FHWA. He spent a day at OOIDA headquarters during the meeting and spoke at length to the board. Kearney is the manager of the administration’s truck parking program and has been charged with the congressionally mandated Jason’s Law survey. Spencer – with the DC staff’s Ben Siegrist and Ryan Bowley – reported to the board on key legislation that is on OOIDA’s radar and provided an update on issues – speed limiters, truck size and weight, sleep apnea, HOS, Mexican trucks – that are high on the Association’s priority list. President Johnston advised the board on the Association’s litigation activities, including several old cases and a few new ones. Johnston reported appeals in both OOIDA v. C.R. England and OOIDA v. Comerica Bank. OOIDA and named plaintiffs have filed suit against Pacific Financial Registry. Watch for details on that lawsuit in the July issue. The Association has a number of regulatory-related lawsuits pending against FMCSA. The most recent suit was filed in December 2012. The Association contends the agency is setting “de facto” regulation on fatigued driving using performance-based standards – something the agency has said it cannot regulate in the past. Another lawsuit filed last year pertains to the agency’s DataQ challenge. DataQs are the process in which motor carriers can theoretically correct bad inspection data used in the Pre-Employment Screening program. That data is the same data that is used by Compliance, Safety, Accountability or CSA. In both the fatigue enforcement and DataQ lawsuits the agency has filed motions to dismiss and the Association has opposed both motions. The Association intervened in the hours-of-service lawsuit currently pending in the U.S. District Court for the DC Circuit. The case was argued in March and a decision is pending. In the meantime, the regulations will go into effect July 1. OOIDA is also financially backing and providing legal assistance to OOIDA Member Gene Michaud’s constitutional challenge of speed limiters in Ontario, Canada, Johnston reported. The Ontario Court dismissed the charges against Michaud. The court ruled that the Ontario law violated Michaud’s rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, specifically the right to security of the person. That ruling has been appealed, and the appeal will be heard later this year. Johnston also reported to the board that OOIDA’s Washington, DC, counsel is preparing to file two more lawsuits that will be announced soon. The Association’s regulatory affairs are currently managed by Spencer, Rod Nofziger, a special committee of regulatory experts from the Business Assistance Department, and Land Line Managing Editor Jami Jones. They tag-teamed to give the board additional regulatory updates. Jones reported that the final rule on a drug and alcohol clearinghouse is now at the Office of Management and Budget for review. The Medical Examiners Registry created by a final rule issued a year ago will be mandatory in the summer of 2013. The proposed rule will automatically link medical certifications to state licensing agencies. Jones also reported that in the fall of 2013 MAP-21’s broker reform requirements will begin going into effect. She also gave status updates for the requirement of electronic stability control systems on heavy trucks in the next four years. NHTSA’s final rule is expected to be published in the spring of next year and will cover new vehicles only. Jones updated the board on Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA), currently being audited by the Government Accountability Office and the DOT Inspector General. She said the focus of the audit is on methodology and any “tie” to safety. She said Congress is still very much focused on CSA – mostly in the U.S. House – and that there’s likely to be a hearing before the end of the year.

Anthony Bourdain was on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon last night to promote his new book Medium Raw (the true follow-up to Kitchen Confidential), and was asked about a new graphic novel he is working on. Bourdain responded, of course, as only he could. "We're working on a ultra-violent food-based sort of graphic novel for Vertigo, about homicidal food nerds slaughtering each other over culinary arcania." Bourdain admitted to being a big collector of comics as a kid, prompting Fallon to ask "Do you still have your collection?" Bourdain's answer was not a surprise to those familiar with his books. "Boy, it all comes back to drugs, doesn't it? I sold them at a low point in the 80s. God, I really regret that decade, let me tell you." The graphic novel, which he is working on with novelist Joel Rose for DC Comics/Vertigo, will be titled Get Jiro!

As more and more phone makers abandon the headphone jack, there are still a handful of great phones being sold that have the audio port. This is especially useful if you want to keep your wired headphones to listen to calls and music. These are CNET’s picks for four of the best phones that still offer a dedicated headphone connection. The good: The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is a big, beautiful phone with top-tier specs including a massive battery and internal storage that starts at 128GB. The new S Pen doubles as a wireless remote for taking long-distance selfies. And it still accommodates headphones without a dongle. The bottom line: The ultrapricey Note 9 is one of the year’s best phones. But unless you’re in dire need of an upgrade, the smart move is to wait for what the next iPhone, Pixel and even Galaxy S10 bring. The good: The LG V30 almost has it all: a great camera, speedy processor, huge OLED screen, excellent battery life, waterproofing, wireless charging, microSD storage and the best headphone jack on a phone. The bad: Ergonomic quirks can make the V30 awkward to hold. You may miss some shots due to slow camera autofocus. Carrier-specific versions come with annoying bloatware and logos. The bottom line: The LG V30 is a rock-solid alternative to Samsung’s Galaxy S8 Plus and the Google Pixel 2 XL. If it fits your hands and your photographic needs, you won’t be disappointed. The good: The OnePlus 6 is blazing fast, shoots amazing portrait mode photos, has a polished refined design, still has a headphone jack and costs much less than other flagship phones. The bad: It lacks waterproofing and wireless charging, and it has a shorter battery life than the OnePlus 5T. In the US, the phone doesn’t work on CDMA carriers like Verizon and Sprint. The bottom line: The OnePlus 6 is an excellent phone and gives you many of the features of more costly flagship phones. The good: The Motorola Moto G6 has a near-stock version of Android Oreo, good dual-rear cameras, fast charging, its own headphone connection and a sleek design. And it’s amazingly affordable.

LEDBETTER - Tyler Phillips won the professional division of this year's West Kentucky Open Sunday at Drake Creek Golf Club. Phillips, of Clarksville, TN, followed up his 68 on Saturday with a final round 69 to win by three shots over defending champion Rick Cochran III, of Paducah (72-68). Seth Arthur, of Metropolis (70-73) and Greg Stewart, of Benton, IL (73-70) finished tied for third. Gabe Wheeler, of Sikeston, MO (69-70) beat Paducah's Josh Rhodes (65-74) in a one-hole playoff to win the amateur division for the second year in a row. Drake Stepter, of Paducah (70-70) finished third.

Under construction at 664 North Michigan Avenue, the former site of the Terra Museum of American Art, The Residences at the Ritz-Carlton give every indication that they will indeed be, well, ritzy. Flying buttresses, carved panels, and a crown of lighted art glass will adorn the exterior of the 40-story building, which was designed by the architect Lucien Lagrange with an eye toward the art moderne look of the 1930s. The 88 condos, with interiors by Darcy Bonner, will feature large windows and wide-plank floors, as well as such modern features as a portable control panel for the audio and security systems. On the tenth floor—the “club level,” staffed by a crew of 12—residents will be able to enjoy a common screening room, the grand salon, a fitness center, a spa, a dining room, wine storage, and other amenities. At presstime, 49 units remained for sale in The Residences at the Ritz-Carlton. Prices start at $1.45 million for a 1,398-square-foot one-bedroom condo, and go up to $13.044 million for a 6,500-square-foot penthouse with views in four directions. Rubloff’s Jane Shawkey is managing sales in the building, which should be ready for its first residents in the fall of 2010.

The app offers an ad free experience and gets rid of the hated algorithmic timeline. In April of 2016, Instagram announced that it would be changing how its timeline would work. Instead of of being presented in the order they were posted, the app would use an algorithm to determine which posts they thought would appeal most to the user. Since then, many users have been frustrated, calling for Instagram to change back to the reverse chronological feed. In the past week, many of those users have posted invitations for their followers to find them on an app called Vero. The app, released in 2015, allows users to see their timeline chronologically, and has no plans to include advertising. In a few days, Vero shot to number one in the iOS app store. Nicholas Deleon is a senior reporter with Consumer Reports. Nicholas said that for companies that depend on advertising, an algorithmic feed is almost inevitable. "These apps are not making money unless you're in the app scrolling through your feed and passing through ads. The grand theory behind these algorithmic timelines is that they're showing you content they think you'll like. And if you like what you see, you're more likely to stay inside and not switch away to check your email or listen to music or do something else on your phone." Nicholas Deleon is a senior reporter at Consumer Reports. (Twitter)What allows Vero to keep the chronological feed is that they say they plan to make Vero a paid app. "If their business structure is not aligned in a way that they need to maximize the amount of time that you spend inside the app," Nicholas said," that may mean that they don't necessarily need to switch to an algorithmic timeline." Vero is not the first social media company to challenge the big brands, like Facebook and Twitter. A few years ago, Ello tried to take on Facebook, before rebranding as a network for artists. The app Mastodon has presented itself as an alternative to Twitter since its release in 2016, but has so fair failed to get wide adoption. Whether or not Vero has a chance to replace Instagram is hard to tell. "They've definitely gotten a lot of interest in the last couple days," Nicholas said. "They've added hundreds of thousands of users. So there's definitely interest in the short term, but whether or not that turns into long term success... it's social media. It's a fickle mistress, so we'll see."

Oscar-nominated BlacKkKlansman co-writers Charlie Wachtel and David Rabinowitz are teaming with Gunpoweder & Sky to develop Madness, a TV drama series set in the world of college basketball. The series will follow the corrupt inner workings of a prestigious college basketball program through the eyes of its new assistant coach. Producers said that with a House of Cards feel, Madness reveals the repercussions the team must face after their head coach makes a bad deal. The project joins Gunpowder & Sky’s TV development slate that includes Shirmp, with Zelda Williams adapting her short film. The studio also recently partnered with Tigerlily Productions to develop a new comedy series, Assets. Wachtel & Rabinowitz wrote the script for Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlanman along with Kevin Willmot & Lee. The drama about the real-life exploits of a black Colorado Springs police detective who infiltrated the Klu Klux Klan in the early 1970s is up for Best Adapted Screenplay among its six total Oscar noms including Best Picture and Lee’s first Best Director nom.

Can You Keep a Secret? is based on Sophie Kinsella’s 4-million-copy New York Times bestseller and centers on Emma Corrigan (Daddario), who spills her secrets to a handsome stranger sitting next to her on a turbulent plane ride. That guy happens to be Jack Harper (Hoechlin), the young and elusive CEO at Emma’s workplace. And Jack knows every single humiliating detail about Emma… . Elise Duran is directing Peter Hutchings’ adaptation. BCDF’s Claude Dal Farra, Brice Dal Farra and Brian Keady of BCDF Pictures are producing. Daddario and Charles Miller are executive producing. Embankment Films is selling international territories. Hoechlin was recently seen as the co-lead of The Domestics for MGM and is next up playing Joe Weider, a co-pioneer of American fitness who discovered Arnold Schwarzenegger, in George Gallo’s Bigger. His previous credits include Fifty Shades Freed, Richard Linklater’s Everybody Wants Some and MTV’s Teen Wolf. He is repped by UTA, Management 360, and Morris Yorn Barnes Levine Krintzman Rubenstein Kohner & Gellman. BCDF is repped by Sheri Jeffrey at Hogan Lovells.

it is definitely a big supportive factor for the currency." Reserve that it was not considering further monetary stimulus. The euro slid further against the U.S. dollar after U.S. "consistent with the U.S. economy continuing to generate jobs." reflected by overnight index swaps. expected and with that offering support to the Canadian dollar," dollar at exactly $1.00 in one, three and six months from now. C$0.988 versus the U.S. dollar. cents to yield 2.138 percent.

We welcome you to Beaverton Infiniti. We strive to have shoppers experience only the best at our dealership. As you browse through our site, you will see the wide selection of new and used vehicles available as well as the numerous specials and services offered. We also invite you to stop by our dealership or call our friendly staff with any questions you may have! Beaverton Infiniti, is proud to stand out from the rest. We have test drives which can be brought to your home or office for convenience. We also offer an in home purchase program and two years basic maintenance on all new Infiniti's purchased. Our factory trained technicians are available to provide you with genuine Infiniti parts and loaner cars if necessary. We not only provide a complimentary Infiniti personal assistant, we also have complimentary pick-up and delivery for major services. At Beaverton Infiniti, we understand waiting around for your car to be serviced can be a hassle which is why we have a licensed massages therapist and a manicurist ready to pamper you while you wait. We want your experience at Beaverton Infiniti to be a pleasant one. In addition to everything offered, our oil changes now include a complimentary tire rotation, car wash, vacuum cleaning, 29 point inspection and factory recall check. What are you waiting for? Come down to Beaverton Infiniti, our Infiniti dealer near Lake Oswego or call us today! Visit Beaverton INFINITI to experience our full lineup of INFINITI Luxury Cars, Crossovers and SUVs. We have a large selection of new cars, Certified Pre-Owned, service, parts, and financing. Located in Portland this INFINITI retail store is located at 9500 SW Canyon Rd. Posted on June 07, 2016. Brought to you by localcom. Posted on June 07, 2016. Brought to you by botw. Posted by Lisa H. on April 19, 2016. Brought to you by yahoolocal. Posted by Wally H. on April 16, 2016. Brought to you by yahoolocal. Posted on August 24, 2016. Brought to you by localstack.

Even the most innovative consumer products can have a hard time securing funding—or even knowing where to look. Not all startups are created equal. For one, not every fledgling small business or early stage startup is a tech company. In fact, many in today’s marketplace are not tech-centered but consumer product-focused. Unfortunately, much of the common wisdom about starting and growing a startup is geared toward companies with a tech angle: apps, customer solutions, social media tools, cloud companies. Even the most innovative consumer products can have a hard time securing funding—or even knowing where to look. Tech startups have an efficient and secure fundraising landscape in Silicon Valley and on Wall Street. There are hundreds of VC firms rushing to invest in tech, ready to invest tens of billions of dollars. It’s a great time to be a thought leader with a disruptive technology company! But for non-tech companies with consumer products to bring to market, it’s much harder to find funding sources, whether they are institutional, individual, or even angel groups. That's unfortunate, because consumer product companies are an interesting investment. Why do I invest in consumer products? I’ve written before about investing in consumer packaged goods, and here, it’s the same simple answer: returns are more predictable. According to Cambridge Associates, from 1997-2011 (the latest year available) in US Private Equity investments, consumer/retail funds have never had a negative year. The low IRR for investments made in a given year is just over 5%, and the high is 36%—considerably more range bound than technology, which moves from -7.4% in one year to over 100% in another. Tech startups often hire a handful of engineers and burn through a pile of cash in pursuit of a terrific but often untested idea. If you’re an investor, that means you likely have to pay out more up front and hope for extremely big payouts later. It means you probably have more losing investments for every win. That mythical unicorn in tech investing—the single company, like Facebook or Twitter, that will pay billions on your initial investment—doesn’t exist in consumer products, and that's not a bad thing. Some investors fund companies with a tested product-market fit because, as the Kauffman Foundation’s Angel Investment Performance Project demonstrated, consumer products investors earn an average of 3.6 times their investment in an average of 4.4 years. In addition to these characteristics, many investors will want to wait for companies to demonstrate a product-market fit. That means the product should actually be on the market, and founders should be able to demonstrate demand for it. In consumer products, the data on sell-through and door expansion can be a critical factor for early investors. It is important to remember these investments are risky, illiquid, long-term investments, but for those investors that put in the time on diligence, and look at quality deal flow, I believe that for the average private investor, early stage consumer may be a better place to spend your time than technology.

During the La Jolla Village Merchants Association’s (LJVMA) May 14 meeting at the Cuvier Club, the group received an update on the La Plaza La Jolla shopping complex construction, discussed a program to use volunteers to clean the streets of La Jolla and learned about several new businesses that have opened in the Village (see photos). Responding to questions about the La Plaza La Jolla boutique shopping complex being developed at the corner of Wall Street and Girard Avenue, Jon Williams, CEO of Davlyn Investments — which purchased the property at auction in 2012 — said none of La Plaza’s tenants would likely open before January 2015, at the earliest (the project was originally slated to open in December of 2013). The building was left mostly vacant after Jack’s La Jolla restaurant and nightclub complex closed there in 2009. Williams said recent delays in Dempsey Construction’s remodel of the roughly 17,000-square-foot, three-level building are due to challenges with its infrastructure. Williams declined to state which retailers have confirmed to lease space in La Plaza. “Timing is extremely important, as you know,” he said. “You don’t want to announce too early. “It’s not a matter of if, but when we open … and who we open with,” he added. Williams did say a third-level restaurant tenant is eager to announce their involvement. “I would be surprised if, within a month, they haven’t already announced,” he said. LJVMA board members voted to write a letter to the City of San Diego recommending that the city waive its usual moratorium on summertime construction for La Plaza, so that work on the project can continue posthaste. Williams said, noting that exterior stuccoing will begin in the next month. LJVMA Executive Director Sheila Fortune announced that the LJVMA will receive $46,900 in Economic Development and Tourism Support (EDTS) grant funding from the city for fiscal year 2014-2015 (the merchants group applied for $70,000). The money will be distributed to the organization on a quarterly basis. Fortune noted that the city’s new bike-sharing program proposes 14 rental kiosks in La Jolla that will mostly be located on sidewalks or within street parking spaces. LJVMA board President Claude-Anthony Marengo said he is not in favor of the program taking away street parking. He said bike kiosks would be better located in street spaces painted yellow or red, if the city’s traffic and engineering departments would agree to it. LJVMA board members are still grappling with how to ascertain which businesses have paid for a city-issued business tax certificate (formerly business license), a portion of which funds the LJVMA’s efforts to boost business in the Village. Fortune said LJVMA’s fact-finding mission has other San Diego business improvement district groups conducting their own inventories to regain lost funds. “We’re even looking at getting a grant for some college students this summer to help us canvas all of our businesses so we can really get a handle on this, because there’s a lot of money that is not being collected or distributed,” Fortune said. The information will be reported to the city treasurer’s office, which will seek payment from non-compliant businesses. “We’re operating on shoestrings when we could do so much more,” Marengo added of the lost revenue, which he said the LJVMA could use to hire a person to oversee cleaning the streets of the Village, and to take inventory of items that need to be addressed, such as maintenance of the LJVMA’s donor benches and plants and trees in the common area. Fortune said she has reached out to an organization that offers employment to adults with developmental challenges to “possibly do some sidewalk cleanup.” The volunteers would wear a vest identifying their affiliation with the LJVMA. Bidding opened for businesses wishing to procure one of 60 spots on the LJVMA’s Monopoly-style “La JollaOpoly” board game, which will raise money for the merchants group and its efforts. About 1,500 copies of the game are being produced, and will be available for sale at the La Jolla Village Information Center at 1162 Prospect St. and at Village businesses by the start of the summer tourist season. Bids will be accepted until Friday, May 30. The game will include a variety of business categories, so that it is not all dominated by one type of business, Fortune said.

Gov. Gary Herbert's Medicaid plan faces a make-or-break vote in the state Senate this week, possibly as early as Tuesday. The Republican governor's plan is an alternative to expanding the state-federal program as envisioned under President Barack Obama's health care law. After months of negotiating with federal officials, Herbert came away with an agreement to enroll thousands of poor Utah residents in private health plans and require them to help pay costs. It mirrors similar proposals from other Republican governors pushing for a way to expand health coverage under the federal law while keeping it palatable to their right-leaning Legislatures. This week, Utah's GOP-controlled Senate will have to square Herbert's plan with a competing proposal from Ogden Republican Sen. Allen Christensen. Christensen's bill, also scheduled for debate this week, would cost the state less and cover fewer people, but leave millions of federal dollars on the table. A similar plan is pending in Utah's House. If the governor's office can usher Herbert's plan through the Legislature, it will return to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for final approval and then get the program up and running. To allay lawmaker concerns about the state's ability to fund Herbert's plan, the governor's office announced last week that it was scaling back the three-year program to run for two years. Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox, the governor's key broker with lawmakers on the issue, said the pared-back plan allows the state to pay for the program without raising taxes. Cox said the two-year program will give the state time to study what's working, and by 2017, a new administration will be in the White House that could offer different options to the states. Herbert's plan includes plenty of other elements designed to appeal to Utah's GOP-dominated Legislature. Participants pay some of their costs and can be enrolled in a job search and job training program. Last year, several Republican lawmakers said they wouldn't support the plan without the ability to revoke coverage for unemployed people who refuse to get a job. Herbert originally sought a work requirement for participants, but the Obama administration would not approve the idea. Instead, Utah can automatically enroll people in the job program as long as it lets them opt out penalty-free. To make up for the watered-down deal, Herbert's office has said the state might consider cutting state-controlled benefits to those who refuse to participate in the job program, including taking away their driver's licenses. "It was brought up as an option several months ago, and it hasn't gone anywhere from there," Cox said Monday. The idea has been dormant since lawmaker concerns have shifted from whether Medicaid participants will be working to whether the state can pay for the program in the long term. Cox said the state could revisit the driver's license idea once the Medicaid program launches.

The top automotive stories of the day - Honda Motorcycles and Scooter India has launched the X-Blade in India and we have all the details with regards to price and features. Volkswagen has launched the Polo Pace and Vento Sport in India, both of which are special edition models. We have the feature list and the price for you. Range Rover will be launching the Evoque convertible in India and we tell you about the launch date and the expected price.

You will love this handsome home with two enclosed porches. Newly updated this house is move in ready with vinyl wood flooring in the living room and kitchen and new carpeting in bedrooms. Situated in a spacious yard the two car garage provides for parking and storage. A new stove will be installed prior to closing.

On Washington’s trendy H Street corridor, the just-built Lucille Condominium boasts a classic-meets-contemporary facade of old-school red bricks and sleek, squared-off balconies. Inside, the mixture of influences continues in the Art Deco-ish penny tile bathroom floors, the bungalow-style five-panel wood doors, and the kitchens with Shaker-inspired shiny black cabinets and gleaming brass hardware. Thanks to websites, blogs, Pinterest boards, Instagram feeds and television shows, everyday home-dwellers have access to countless decor ideas. A decade ago, only design-world savants and Moroccans were plopping Morocco’s graphic black-on-white Beni Ourain wool rugs on their floors. Now, with even big-box stores getting into design, you can buy knockoffs at Target, and the hashtag #beniourain has been used 31,000 times (and counting) on Instagram. But it’s anyone’s guess how long the fad will last. “Remember how popular sponge painting was in the 1990s, and how chevron was on ­everything in the early 2000s?” says Needham, Mass., interior ­designer Dina Holland, whose popular Instagram account @pleasehatethesethings showcases regrettable interior trends and choices. So, how do keep your pad from looking dated just a few years after you put in a new powder room, replace the great room sofa or hang up groovy-again wallpaper in your foyer? Here are seven tips from designers. “I try to avoid anything that is too ornamental, too loud or that’s been all over social media,” says Bethesda interior designer Marika Meyer. “There’s a point at which, if everyone is doing one thing — strong geometric tile, ikat fabric — you might consider going with something completely different that’ll look unique and individual.” Meyer, for example, recently helped a client install a new kitchen with lacquered, turquoise blue cabinets. “They’re bold and fun, and it’s not something you see everywhere,” Meyer says. And, she says, it will last longer since it doesn’t hew to a particular trend. Clean lines and neutral colors, while not the stuff of Instagram likes, will probably outlast current obsessions such as patterned cement tiles and benches upholstered with ratty sheepskins. Design pros preach that the backbones of your home — floors, walls and major furniture — should skew toward simplicity. In a decade, that swoop-armed Pottery Barn sofa might feel more tired than a low-slung, squared-off midcentury modern couch. Holland says she sometimes gets pushback from clients when she presents a design proposal with neutral base elements. “They’ll sometimes say, ‘That’s boring,’ but I emphasize that the way to do these trends — macramé, a bold pattern — is in a pillow or a small area rug,” she says. It’s akin to shelling out for the little black designer dress you’ll wear forever, then dolling it up with this season’s necklace and shoes. Some pared-down ideas — popular white subway tiles, white kitchen cabinets and Eames chairs — might seem trendy, especially to folks who don’t have deep design knowledge. “But if something keeps coming around again and again, like black-and-white bathrooms, I’d say it’s classic,” says S2’s Simon. Interiors and exteriors can also feel more timeless when they stay somewhat true to the original era of the property, especially if it’s a historic one. “In an old house, I like to keep some of the details and honor them,” Sachs says. That could mean retaining and re-staining the oak moldings and paneling in a Craftsman bungalow, or remodeling the bathrooms of a 1920s rowhouse with simple, black-and-white subway tile — nodding to what might have been there during the Jazz Age. “And I wouldn’t put a bunch of dark wood, Queen Anne furniture in a 1950s ranch house,” Kahoe says. An ideal blend? A look that considers the house’s architecture and roots along with whatever HGTV’s “Property Brothers” are installing this ­season.

Did I miss something, or did Trump use his power under the National Emergencies Act to declare this week to be Crazy Week? Because there sure does seem to be an extra helping of crazy going on, and it’s only Wednesday! • The college admission scandal is just too delicious to be believed. It couldn’t happen to a nicer bunch of hypocritical, liberal-run institutions. One aspect of the scandal is clear: if you are kinda, sorta rich but not Wall Street/Goldman Sachs rich, you can’t afford to buy your kid’s admission to an elite school the old-fashioned way—by donating a building. The unofficial over-under amount seems to be about $10 million. But if you’re only Hollywood rich, you can try the “side door” with a $500,000 bribe to a sports coach. In other words, the old back door for the super-rich will remain untouched, while the striving semi-rich will go to jail for the sin of cutting out USC’s development department. (Aside: Scandal seems to be USC’s leading specialty these days.) But not to worry: America’s elite colleges will go on talking about their commitment to equality, diversity, merit, and fairness, which are all revealed to be synonyms of liberal hypocrisy. All campus laundry rooms are to supply laundry detergent and softener on a consistent basis for all students, faculty and staff. I imagine the omission of bleach is on purpose, because Klan robes and white sheets and such. Idea: Georgia-Pacific makes fabric softener. They should donate copious amounts to the Sarah Lawrence laundry rooms. And then sit back and wait to see what happens when the Sarah Lawrence student body finds out that Georgia-Pacific is a Koch brothers company. A study published Monday in the journal PNAS adds a new twist to the pollution problem by looking at consumption. While we tend to think of factories or power plants as the source of pollution, those polluters wouldn’t exist without consumer demand for their products. The researchers found that air pollution is disproportionately caused by white Americans’ consumption of goods and services, but disproportionately inhaled by black and Hispanic Americans. There are so many things stupidly wrong with this whole story that I don’t even know where to begin. First, this study, and many others like it, anchor their alarm on the supposed fact that particulate pollution causes about 42,000 premature deaths in the U.S. every year. Though the EPA relies on this figure, the epidemiology behind it is very weak. But without this scary statistic, a lot of regulations would fail even the most generous cost-benefit test. Second, particulate levels have been falling fast for the last 25 years, and will continue to fall in the future. Most studies such as this one are relying on obsolete data. What this means is that most black and Hispanic Americans, even in the places that still have the highest air pollution levels like the Los Angeles basin, are breathing air today that is lower in ambient pollution than white people inhaled 20 years ago. Don’t expect NPR or anyone else to put it in perspective this way. They’ve got an agenda and a narrative that needs to be kept up.

Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart are becoming more and more casual about their relationship. They were spotted, without the usual posse, on a movie date in Squamish, British Columbia earlier in the week. Moviegoers who spotted Rob and Kristen Tweeted about their encounter. Click the photo to see it full size, plus a bonus photo! The film stars Amanda Seyfried, but of likely greater interest to Rob and Kristen is the fact that Catherine Hardwicke directed. Hardwicke helmed the first “Twilight” movie that brought Rob and Kristen together and vaulted the two to international fame. Unfortunately, “Red Riding Hood” has been widely panned by critics and was a flop at the box office during its debut last weekend. The film, a dark take on the children’s fairytale, opened at No. 3 with $14.1 million in box office gross. The fan, who also Tweeted a photo of Rob with fans, had a less than warm impression of Stewart. “[Kristen’s] personality and body language is much like [her character] Bella,” she Tweeted. She also noticed that Rob and Kristen were keeping their distance. “do i think they just enjoy each others company? i don’t really know. both were giving each other their space,” she observed. Rob recently finished shooting “Water for Elephants” with Reese Witherspoon and Christolph Waltz. Kristen recently wrapped shooting on “On the Road,” a movie based on the iconic book by Jack Kerouac that helped launch the ’50s Beat Generation. Separately, UK singer Adele gave a recent interview in which she talked about Rob. Check it out below.

One of the most talked about and controversial outings from Ubisoft in the Assassin's Creed franchise has to be Assassin's Creed: Unity. The game was hailed as a gorgeous but broken gameplay experience. Well, Ubisoft finally explained exactly what went wrong. We fell again into this trap of working a lot on the tech, and not allowing enough [time for] the teams to create the content to create something new. In the end, that's the way I see it. We created the perfect conditions for the perfect storm. We had a game that was wonderful in terms of art, but that was not renewing enough of the experience. Guesdon compared Assassin's Creed: Unity to the original Assassin's Creed that came out in 2007. Jean explained that both games put the tech before the content, and that both games suffered from the problem of the team trying to bring tech to life as opposed to giving gamers a very thorough gameplay experience. Development on Unity started back in 2011 and the game was finished in 2014, a year after the Xbox One and PS4 released. It was also the first exclusive eighth-gen outing for the Assassin's Creed franchise, following up on the previous year's cross-gen outing of Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag. Despite having a three year development cycle, Guesdon notes that focusing on the "low" level tech blinded the team from focusing on content-driven gameplay. It does make sense in a way given that most people admit that Assassin's Creed: Unity is one of the best looking games from eighth gen and that the design of France is both densely realized and artistically captivating. Unfortunately, a lot of the exploration and navigation was impeded by graphical glitches, frame-rate issues and performance roadblocks; many of these problems persisted for well after six months of the game's release. Ubisoft decided to change the way design approaches were made for the games that followed, with Assassin's Creed: Syndicate being more content-focused, while Assassin's Creed: Origins was themed around player-choice and an overhaul of the combat system, which was mirrored after games like Dark Souls and Dragon's Dogma. What's interesting is that Assassin's Creed: Unity was about putting tech before gameplay, and it didn't quite pay off due to some hiccups that the team should have fixed before it was released. Perhaps if it had six months of extra development time it could have released as an instant classic instead of developing a reputation of a rushed and buggy game. These days people use Assassin's Creed: Unity as an example of a game that didn't bake in the oven long enough. It's a real shame, because it is true that it does a fine job of visually capturing the French Revolution unlike any other game before it.

Owls head coach Carlos Carvalhal has reignited the row over Barry Bannan’s red card call, criticising Football League officials for not giving his side more decisions. Influential midfielder Bannan has been forced to sit-out their last three matches following his controversial sending off at Nottingham Forest. Wednesday appealed the decision, but the Football Association decided against overturning the call. What has added to Carvalhal’s frustration is that the FA have rescinded West Ham United midfielder Cheikhou Kouyate’s dismissal against Crystal Palace last Saturday. Kouyate was given his marching orders following a challenge on Dwight Gayle but is now available for their up-and-coming clash with Arsenal. “West Ham’s appeal was considered and they were successful,” said Carvalhal. “If you compare the situation with Barry’s, I think it is similar. Scotland international Bannan is expected to be restored to Wednesday’s starting line-up when they travel to Bristol City this weekend. Carvalhal said: “Barry is an important player to us and everyone was a little concerned what would happen in the three games without him. We gave a strong answer, winning the three games he missed. We are happy that Barry is coming back. But our team, during the season, can win without most players.

WASHINGTON — Homelessness is up for the second year in a row. That is no surprise to me. I spent the last few days in New York City, where it seems the homeless are as numerous as the tourists. They are everywhere. Not that they are not numerous in our nation’s capital, too. I returned to Washington by the train, and there are areas of Union Station that are as populated with homeless people as the nearby shelter. The scenes are appalling. What can be done? The homeless have been one of the country’s vexed problems since the 1980s, when the left became concerned about them — all the more so to give the Reagan administration another social problem to be blamed for. But the truth is that the homeless have always been the left’s problem and the left’s clients. Homelessness occurs mainly in big cities, those glistening jewels of Democratic government. Some 25 percent of the homeless in America today live in just two cities, New York and Los Angeles. Read up on homelessness and within a few paragraphs, you will find yourselves confronted by statistics on the lack of affordable rental homes, or the lack of affordable homes, or the underfunding of our welfare programs — all to be provided by government. To which I would respond that we have spent over a trillion dollars on welfare since the 1960s when then-President Lyndon Johnson launched his War on Poverty, and we now have about as many people living under the poverty level as when we began. All that has changed is the amount of money going to the impoverished. Yet the majority of articles I have read on poverty complained that we do not do enough to keep people from becoming homeless. New York City increased services to the homeless to $172 million this year, much of it on improved security and living conditions in the city shelters. Yet homelessness in New York increased by 2.8 percent, and, if recent history is to be our guide, it is going to increase by more next year. Then perhaps the Democrats will increase their spending by another $172 million, possibly by $200 million. That is the way homelessness spending has been going since the days when we used the terms “hobos” and “skid rows” to describe what was a minor urban problem. Now it is a major problem, and frankly, I do not think spending money on the homeless is the way to cope with the problem. Homelessness is caused by people living radically disorganized lives. The disorganization is caused by alcohol and drug addiction. It is caused by a multitude of pathologies that are never addressed by the social worker, or at least rarely addressed. Ask a social worker, if you can find one who has the time to answer your question. Most are very busy and overworked on problems that are, for the most part, impossible to solve. In the meantime, many of the same people who paved the way for homelessness are busy legalizing marijuana — and, who knows, maybe cocaine and heroin next. In other words, they are paving the way to make sure that radically disorganized lives become still more disorganized. Moreover, those who are intent on legalizing drugs are paving the way for still more people to participate in the misery of the homeless. The path to the future is not well-lit, but one thing is clear: If urban government continues as it has since the days when the homeless replaced the “hobo” and “skid row,” the homeless population will only grow. R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr. is founder and editor in chief of The American Spectator.

Early in its three-year collaboration with Pivotal, Ford's is already increasing its investment, for reasons that go to the heart of the automaker's long-term strategy. Ford CEO Mark Fields introducing FordPass. Image source: Ford Motor Company. Based on a glance at the headlines, some investors could be forgiven if their immediate reaction to Ford Motor Co.'s (NYSE:F) $182.2 million investment in a cloud-based company named Pivotal, was to roll their eyes. It could be forgiven because some – hopefully, only a few – will assume that it took its stake in San Francisco-based Pivotal as a PR play after its cross-town rivals recently announced big moves of their own. In case you missed it, Fiat Chrysler inked a partnership with Alphabet's Google unit to advance their goals on self-driving cars, and a few weeks ago, General Motors made a splashy acquisition of Cruise Automotive. But, Ford and Pivotal already have a history, and this is a strategic move that fits neatly into Ford's plan to become more than just an auto manufacturer. Late last year, Ford announced it would be teaming up with Pivotal in an attempt to give the automaker innovative software capabilities; its three-year collaboration deal with Pivotal was aimed to help expand Ford's digital evolution in coordination with its many smart mobility projects. With FordPass, advance parking for events is simple. Image source: Ford Motor Company. One of the projects that came from the collaboration was FordPass, an innovative platform for consumers that will offer services such as remote access to vehicles through a smartphone app, as well as mobility solutions to help customers engage in car sharing, and find and pay for parking. Apparently, Ford liked the results it was seeing, and believed additional investment into the partnership would bring incremental results on its path to becoming more than just an automaker – a plan that could one day unlock value for investors by forcing the market value Ford at a higher forward P/E multiple than its current 6.2. "Expanding our business to be both an auto and mobility company requires leading-edge software expertise to deliver outstanding customer experiences," said Mark Fields, Ford president and CEO, in a press release. "Investing in Pivotal builds on our current strengths in software development," said Marcy Klevorn, Ford vice president and CIO, who will join the board of directors at Pivotal, in a press release. "We plan to quickly add new state-of-the-art software engineering capabilities across the Ford enterprise." Strategic moves like these will become much more frequent in the automotive industry. It's been nothing short of amazing how quickly technology has consumed not only vehicles' interior infotainment systems, but their core functionality – consider that the all-new F-150 has more than 150 million lines of software code, compared to a typical smartphone's 12 million lines. Software is even at the heart of Ford's highly successful EcoBoost engine technology, which will play an increasingly important role for the company as emissions standards continue to increase. In fact, Ford has 275 patents on its EcoBoost technology with another 200 pending -- a majority of them covering aspects of software controls and calibration, according to Ford. Ford's investment in Pivotal was anything but an attempt to make a splashy tech investment for PR reasons; this was always a part of Ford's goal to help change how the world moves, and to extend itself into new arenas -- all of which is great news for investors, as well as the automotive industry as a whole.

BUDAPEST, Hungary — Hungary’s prime minister has repeated his claims that the leadership of the European Union wants to create a “European empire” which would subjugate the continent’s nation-states. Viktor Orban, speaking Tuesday during commemorations of a brief 1956 anti-Soviet revolution, called on voters to reject globalism and support “the culture of patriotism” in the 2019 European Parliament elections. Since 2015, Orban has made increasingly strict anti-immigration policies his principal political focus, which helped his Fidesz party win a third consecutive two-thirds majority in April’s elections.

In the Negev Desert town of Sderot, Israel, Qassam rockets struck just a few hundred yards from the UN’s chief human rights representative during her visit. Having just arrived from a visit to Beit Hanun in Gaza, where she loudly and roundly condemned Israeli attacks, her car was met by angry Israelis as it made its way to the nearby site of the rocket strikes. In the Qassam attack, one Israeli was critically injured with shrapnel wounds to the head and a second rocket started a fire at a factory. The evacuated workers were outside as the UN representative’s motorcade pulled up to observe. Angered by what many Israelis deem a pervasive anti-Semitic UN approach, as Arbour made her way to Sderot, she was met with a less than warm reception by local residents of what is increasingly becoming described as a ghost town. Residents of Sderot have been relocating elsewhere due to the onslaught of Palestinian Qassam rockets. More than 25 rockets are reported to have been launched from Gaza into Israel in the Monday overnight alone. But, when the rockets landed during her visit, the ‘less than warm reception’ turned to visible anger, as some Israelis began to pelt her car with stones and chant slogans. The rockets were fired by Hamas’ Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, who said that they did not know Arbour would be in Sderot at the time. Certainly had they known, Hamas would not have fired within eyeshot of their recently departed perceived defender. Though not directly from her, Arbour’s accompanying UN spokesman, Christopher Gunness, said that Arbour had pressed the Palestinian Authority sternly in meetings with Mahmoud Abbas regarding the launching of the Qassam rockets on Israeli towns. He said also that “The position of the High Commissioner is that Qassam rockets are illegal under international law” because of their inaccuracy. Shortly after the Qassam attack on the civilians of Sderot, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights did not condemn the attack with the conviction displayed in Beit Hanun. Instead, Arbour expressed sympathy for the family of the critically wounded Israeli saying, “I want to … say how much I share their sense of hopelessness and vulnerability and frustration at being so exposed.” But the reaction of the Israelis in Sderot indicates that they are not interested in sympathy or being anointed by the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights as victims. Israelis are frustrated and angry that they are forced to accept building reinforced student dormitories in Sderot in defense from the relentless Qassam attacks. This growing and increasingly vocal anger and frustration contributed to the recent decision to send the IDF into Beit Hanun in attempts to quell the attacks. It is also the source of the angry reception the UN’s High Commissioner on Human Rights received in Sderot as she loudly condemned Israeli action as “massive violations” of human rights, while seemingly left to a spokesman to define the Qassam rockets as illegal weapons, saying nothing of the actions taken by terrorists intentionally targeting civilians with them.

Washington State University and a Seattle-based biotech firm are suing each other over the right to grow and sell the highly anticipated Cosmic Crisp apple variety, which is expected to appear on store shelves early next year. The legal dispute will determine whether Phytelligence – a company founded by a WSU professor that is partly owned by the university – can use its “cutting-edge science” to grow Cosmic Crisp buds and sell them to commercial apple producers. But with millions of trees already planted across the state, the outcome of the dueling lawsuits seems unlikely to affect consumer availability of the Cosmic Crisp, a flavor-packed hybrid of the Honeycrisp and Enterprise varieties. Brandt said the Cosmic Crisp has the potential to displace other popular varieties in Washington’s $2.4 billion apple industry, which accounts for roughly 70 percent of U.S. production. And he said no other variety has been introduced to the market so rapidly. Producers typically plant new apples a little at a time to test consumer demand, but the Cosmic Crisp, which is said to have excellent sweetness and a remarkable shelf life, promises to be a hit. WSU researcher Bruce Barritt began developing the Cosmic Crisp about two decades ago. Until 2012, the year he filed for a patent, the tree was known only as WA 38. WSU professor Amit Dhingra founded Phytelligence in 2011 to commercialize a method of growing trees from tissue cultures rather than soil, which enables them to reach maturity and bear fruit in less time. Dhingra remains a WSU professor and the company’s chief science officer. In 2012, Phytelligence entered into a “propagation agreement” with the university that allowed the company to cultivate WA 38 plants for research purposes. The agreement did not grant Phytelligence rights to the trademarked name Cosmic Crisp, but it did include an “option to participate as a provider and/or seller” once the apple went to market. In February, Phytelligence filed suit in King County Superior Court, claiming the university had violated the agreement by refusing to issue a commercial license. WSU responded last month, claiming Phytelligence had not met clear requirements for obtaining a license and alleging the company had illegally sold 135,000 Cosmic Crisp trees to a grower near Yakima. The university also filed a patent-infringement claim in federal court. Phil Weiler, WSU’s vice president for marketing and communications, said the university must protect the “significant financial investment” it has made to develop the Cosmic Crisp by ensuring that no one grows the apple without proper licensing and quality-control measures in place. “The investments made by growers over the past two decades is at risk as well,” Weiler said. WSU claims it terminated its agreement with Phytelligence after the company handed over sales orders and invoices showing it sold 135,000 Cosmic Crisp trees to Evans Fruit Co. in April 2016. The university also demanded that Phytelligence destroy any Cosmic Crisp plant materials in its possession. Phytelligence has refused to do so. “We are not going to destroy the material because we feel it’s within our rights to get the license,” said Ken Hunt, the company’s CEO. “We don’t own land, so we used ground over at Evans, in large part because we thought we’d be using some of those buds to service their order,” he said. But he insisted the move did not violate Phytelligence’s agreement with WSU or the university’s patent. Hunt said Phytelligence has refunded payments to Evans Fruit, and the Cosmic Crisp budwood is back in Phytelligence’s possession. As for the company’s efforts to obtain a license, Hunt said WSU required Phytelligence to become a member of the Northwest Nursery Improvement Institute, a nonprofit association of tree fruit nurseries, but the university would not provide clear requirements for doing so. NNII has the authority to license its members to grow the Cosmic Crisp. Hunt suggested Phytelligence faced pushback because the company’s scientific approach can generate apples more quickly than the traditional nurseries, but Weiler, the WSU spokesman, said he was not aware of such competitive concerns. Weiler said several other companies managed to obtain commercial licenses without a problem. “For whatever reason, (Phytelligence) chose not to follow the path that was laid out in the agreement,” he said. This is not the first time a WSU-bred apple has been the subject of litigation. The university also went to court with a Yakima fruit company that had been selling the WA 2 variety under the brand name Crimson Delight. The apple was recently rebranded as Sunrise Magic. In any case, Weiler said, apple lovers should brace themselves for the Cosmic Crisp. Not only is it sweet and tangy, it can retain its flavor and texture for up to a year in storage, and it’s slow to brown after being sliced, he said.

Publicly and formally recognize each deserving person. A faculty member should be recognized when he or she performs in an outstanding way. The chair should take the lead in making sure that the person\'s achievement does not go unrecognized or unnoticed. The chair can organize a breakfast or lunch to honor this person\'s success. He can make an announcement at a department or schoolwide meeting. The important thing is to recognize this person and her achievement in a public forum. The posting below looks at \"twenty leadership traits that chairs can use to help facilitate a more collegial department\". It is from Chapter 3 Strategies for Promoting Collegiality, in the book, Facilitating a Collegial Department in Higher Education: Strategies for Success by Robert E. Cipriano. Published by Jossey-Bass, A Wiley Imprint, 989 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94103-1741-www.josseybass.com. Copyright © 2011 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission. • Emphasize consensus. Chairs should work tirelessly to gain buy-in from members of their department. This enhances a sense of empowerment as well as the fact that encouraging more ideas and suggestions-delivered in a respectful and civil manner-is a basic tent of institutions of higher education. • Share power. Chairs should not be power-hungry and driven by their egos. They should reach out to the faculty members and obtain their thoughts and ideas. Faculty members should recognize that the chair makes decisions predicated on the needs of the department, not personal gain. • Consult with all faculty members. Chairs should not be perceived as listening only to one or two faculty members. When people are listened to, and their ideas are allowed to be articulated, they are empowered. • Develop and implement shared responsibilities. Chairs should be aware that all faculty members must share the workload. Resist giving most of the work to a small minority of the faculty-even if they are not tenured! There should be equity in committee assignments, number of advisees, and so on. • De-emphasize status differences. Chairs should help to ensure that senior-ranking professors and first-year faculty members are accorded the same respect. Institutions of higher education are infamous for heightening status differences. Quality departments must refrain from this position. • Individuals should interact as equals. Chairs must set the tone and be certain that all people in the department are treated as equals. The chair must model the behavior she expects from faculty members, students, and professional staff. • Engage in generational and gender equity. Chairs should ensure that more seasoned faculty and women and minorities are respected and listened to. The composition of faculty is changing and chairs need to recognize this. • Celebrate. Chairs should celebrate, publicly and privately, the achievements of each faculty member: awarding of tenure, promotion in rank, writing a grant, writing an article for publication, obtaining a grant or contract, awarded the \"best\" researcher or teacher or advisor honor, and so on. • Maintain frequent and consistent interaction with colleagues. Hold weekly, regularly scheduled staff meetings. The chairs who interact with their staff mainly through e-mails are doing themselves and the department a disservice. • Establish a climate of tolerating differences. Higher education is rather infamously noted for harboring people who display idiosyncratic behavior. Department climate should encourage a dissimilarity and variation in ideas and thoughts by faculty members. • Focus on the behavior not the person. In the discussions that become heated, as well as normal exchanges between and among faculty members and the chair, it is the behavior that should be carefully scrutinized rather than the person. • Be constructive and informative. The chair is in a position to be more informed than faculty members regarding important changes underway at the college or university. The chair should present as much of this information as logic would dictate so that faculty members are spared the insidious rumors that often accompany impending changes. The chair should communicate what he knows to the faculty in a positive, practical, and useful way. • Link individuals to the larger context. If a person makes an ill-advised uncivil comment one time, it should not be blown out of proportion as representing a declaration that this is her usual behavior. We all have bad days. However, if this becomes a noticeable occurrence it must be dealt with, and swiftly. • Do not be defensive: \"I'm not being defensive, damn it!\" It is human nature that when one starts a sentence with the phrase \"Don't be defensive, but ...\" the immediate response is to declare that you are not! Try not to start off a conversation with this expression. • Publicly and formally recognize each deserving person. A faculty member should be recognized when he or she performs in an outstanding way. The chair should take the lead in making sure that the person's achievement does not go unrecognized or unnoticed. The chair can organize a breakfast or lunch to honor this person's success. He can make an announcement at a department or schoolwide meeting. The important thing is to recognize this person and her achievement in a public forum. • Clarify performance expectations. The chair should meet individually with each faculty member at the start of each semester and discuss performance expectations. The expectations will be somewhat different and unique for each faculty member, based on where each faculty member is in his or her career. Of course, a tenured full professor will have a different set of goals and expectations than a nontenured assistant professor. This will enable chairs to get to know their faculty members, obtain information on their dreams and aspirations, and mentor the faculty members in specific ways. • Be consistent. Chairs should behave in a consistent manner so that faculty members, students, and professional staff are secure in their interaction with the chair. This behavior can serve as a reliability check to ensure that the chair is not behaving sporadically from day to day. Each person in the department should be noticeably comfortable in daily relations with the chair. • Keep accurate, specific, and up-to-date records. The chair should keep records of communications he has, especially those that are contentious. He should record the time and day of the conversation and the outcome. The records should be kept in a secure place and labeled properly for easy reference. • Do not show favoritism. Even the perception that the chair is favoring one faculty person over another sets in motion needless conflict. Faculty members have elephantine memories! Chairs should be ever-vigilant in not making the \"favoritism game\" into a self-fulfilling prophecy. I have always shared the decisions that I have made with all of the members in the department. For example, Jim was supported in attending a national conference, while Ellen's request was denied. The reason that I shared was that Jim was presenting a keynote address at the conference. Also, Ellen was requesting to go to the conference and only attend the sessions. Jim's keynote presentation brought acclaim to the department and the university. Morning classes usually being at 8:00 AM. Faculty members do not want to teach the eight o'clock class. The decision I made was to rotate the faculty so that we all (myself included) taught the 8:00 AM class every fifth semester. • Resist the temptation to get even and punish a faculty member (even if he is a mean-spirited son-of-a-sea cook). Chairs must personally defend against placing a faculty member in a dark, windowless, asbestos-filled office in the basement of the maintenance building. Although this may provide the chair with a warm and fuzzy feeling, she should refrain from actually doing this or similar acts (it is okay, however, to think it). Punishing this person makes the chair seem petty and vindictive in the eyes of other faculty members, students, and staff. Also, it only serves to set this person up as a victim. Faculty members do have an innate tendency to relate to victims, which could serve to ostracize the chair and significantly diminish her effectiveness as a leader. Higgerson, M. L. Communication Skills for Department Chairs. Bolton, MA: Anker Publishing, 1996.

Forest defenders: Ed Hill, Fiona York and Kristin Godby from Goongerah Environment Centre. The Andrews government has spent years investigating claims of unlawful logging against its state-owned timber company without enforcing any penalties. Documents reveal Victoria's environment department is currently probing 27 alleged forest breaches against VicForests, reported by the community between January 2016 and December 2017 - including multiple claims involving rainforests, where timber harvesting is prohibited. At least four of those cases relate to coupes in East Gippsland, where logging activities allegedly took place in or around rainforest areas without establishing protective buffers that are required under the Code of Practice for Timber Production. And in one of those cases, an entire section of rainforest was found within VicForests’ proposed harvest area before environmental lawyers obtained a Supreme Court injunction to stop the process. Rainforest that was at risk of being logged in East Gippsland. All four cases were first reported two years ago, with tender documents revealing that the department had sought to contract independent experts to examine each alleged breach “and provide expert advice that may be used in a court of law''. But when The Sunday Age asked for the findings this week, the department simply said they were still being investigated by compliance officers. It is understood no regulatory action has been taken and not one prosecution has been sought so far. While VicForests says it is meeting its obligations to log responsibly, critics argue the lack of enforcement is an example of the government’s reluctance to crack down on the powerful timber industry. The highly-guarded and often lengthy nature of investigations has also raised questions about the department’s role as a regulator that is meant to be at arms’ length from the state’s logging entity. Orange tapes within protected rainforest marking the route of the bulldozer in the 'Bellman" coupe, East Gippland. With nine months until the Victorian election, forestry policy is likely to become increasingly sensitive for the Andrews government, which came to office partly on a platform to protect the environment. A central plank of this plan was to create a Great Forest National Park, which would establish 355,000 hectares of newly-protected forest stretching from Kinglake to Mount Baw Baw and back to Eildon. Goongerah Environment Centre spokesman Ed Hill, whose organisation reported rainforest breaches, said that instead of meeting its commitment Labor had allowed VicForest to “run amok” while the department’s “impotent approach to enforcing the laws is leading to senseless and unlawful destruction by loggers''. But Environment Minister Lily D’Ambrosio rejected claims of inaction, insisting that the government’s record in forest protection was “second to none”. Concerns about timber regulation come almost two weeks after protesters blockaded a VicForests logging operation in an area of the Strathbogie Ranges found to have Victoria’s highest documented density of Greater Glider – a native possum that the minister last year listed as an endangered species. It is not the first time harvesting has occurred in an area known to have threatened or iconic wildlife, however: last year, as revealed by The Sunday Age, a dead koala was found between logged trees in the Acheron Valley - after the government ignored advice from its own scientific committee for greater protection measures. VicForests apologised at the time, admitting its procedures had failed. But in relation to its latest plans in the Strathbogies, the company says it had considered the environmental values and had agreed to use a “significantly low intensity harvesting method” that would only remove about 50 per cent of the trees in the planned area.

For more than 150 years, messages of joy, sorrow and success came in signature yellow envelopes hand delivered by a courier. Now the Western Union telegram is officially a thing of the past. The company formed in April 1856 to exploit the hot technology of the telegraph to send cross-country messages in less than a day. It is now focusing its attention on money transfers and other financial services, and delivered its final telegram on Friday. "The decision was a hard decision because we're fully aware of our heritage," Victor Chayet, a company spokesman said Wednesday. "But it's the final transition from a communications company to a financial services company." Several telegraph companies that eventually combined to become Western Union were founded in 1851. Western Union built its first transcontinental telegraph line in 1861. "At the time it was as incredible and astonishing as the computer when it first came out," said Tom Noel, a history professor at the University of Colorado at Denver. "For people who could barely understand it, here you had the magic of the electric force traveling by wire across the country." In 1994, Western Union Financial Services was acquired by First Financial Management Corp., which First Data Corp. bought for $7 billion the following year. Last week, First Data said it would spin Western Union off as a separate company. Telegrams reached their peak popularity in the 1920s and 1930s when it was cheaper to send a telegram than to place a long distance telephone call. People would save money by using the word "stop" instead of periods to end sentences because punctuation was extra while the four character word was free. Telegrams were used to announce the first flight in 1903 and the start of World War I. During World War II, the sight of a Western Union courier was feared because the War Department, the precursor to the Department of Defense, used the company to notify families of the death of their loved ones serving in the military, Chayet said. With long distance rates dropping and different technologies for communicating evolving — including the internet — Western Union phased out couriers in the late 1960s and early 1970s. By last year, only 20,000 telegrams were sent at about $10 a message, mostly from companies using the service for formal notifications, Chayet said. Last week, the last 10 telegrams included birthday wishes, condolences on the death of a loved one, notification of an emergency and several people trying to be the last to send a telegram. "Recent generations didn't receive telegrams and didn't know you could send them," Chayet said. Samuel Morse, inventor of the Morse code, sent the first telegram from Washington to Baltimore on May 26, 1844, to his partner Alfred Vail to usher in the telegram era that displaced the Pony Express. It read "WHAT HATH GOD WROUGHT?" "If he only knew," Chayet said of the myriad choices today, which includes text message on cell phones, the internet and virtually free long-distance calling rates. "It definitely was an anachronism," Noel said. "It's amazing it survived this long."

Marco Stiepermann’s car washing skills might give him the edge over his Norwich City rivals. Stiepermann was forced to clean head coach Daniel Farke’s car at Colney this week after losing a player forfeit on the ‘wheel of fortune’. Farke revealed on Friday he was bemused by his compatriot’s request to borrow his car keys but joked he needed to get back in his good books after firing blanks in the 3-2 Championship win over Bristol City. City head to Millwall on Saturday and Stiepermann has done his chances of featuring at the Den no harm. “A clinical performance from Marco Stiepermann. I was a little surprised it was labelled as a fine. It should be an honour for him or at least a chance to make up for not scoring in the last game,” said Farke. “We have a lot of midfield players who want to play so he used his chance to be in my thoughts. “It was their idea to have this wheel of fortune to either double the fine or someone else has to be pay it. “To clean the car of the boss was a surprise to me that it would be an option on the wheel. “I like it to be honest. Stiepi came in and asked for the keys of my car. Farke admitted times have changed since he was a player. “All jokes aside, in my generation as a player pretty often the head coach used fear and players had to be scared to feel the pressure to bring a perfect performance,” he said. “My feeling is totally the opposite. “When you feel comfortable and settled in your surroundings and feel good in the dressing room it helps to be there with your best performance. “If you ask me, I wouldn’t need to have any fines. I hated as a player when the head coach would say I am about discipline, strictness and being on time. For me, that is nonsense. We are working in professional football. “That should be a given. I never heard a head coach talking about being ill-disciplined or being late.

CAROLINA BEACH, N.C. — Bakers are responding to the dangerous “Tide Pod challenge” with sweet and savory irreverence. Wake N Bake Donuts in Carolina Beach, North Carolina, and Kansas-based Hurts Donut have both made pastries decorated to look like the laundry detergent pods, which are at the center of a dangerous social media trend. The “Tide Pod challenge” has gained attention in recent weeks as a social media-fueled trend in which teenagers eat single-load laundry detergent packets and post videos. Hurts Donut introduced its offering in Wichita on Jan. 17, according to the Wichita Eagle. A New York City pizzeria even launched “Pied Pods,” offering rolls stuffed with cheese and pepperoni and topped with dyed cheese made to look like a detergent pod. Commenters on social media have had a mixed response. Some think the businesses are being irresponsible because the real detergent is dangerous to consume, while others think the pastries are funny. The American Association of Poison Control Centers warned of a spike in teenagers eating the laundry product, which it says can cause seizures, respiratory arrest and even death. Poison control centers said they handled 39 cases of intentional misuse among 13- to 19-year-olds in the first 15 days of the year, compared to about 50 for all of last year. The maker of Tide Pods, Procter & Gamble, said it’s working with social media companies to remove videos of people biting into the detergent.

Equity, opportunity and innovation are the values the Cincinnati Public Schools Board of Education has demonstrated our commitment to in this budget. The ever-quotable former Vice President Joe Biden once said, "Don't tell me what you value, show me your budget, and I'll tell you what you value." The Cincinnati Public Schools Board of Education recently passed a $609 million budget for next school year, during which the district projects 35,544 students will attend one of our 63 schools. It’s easy to look at a budget and just see a bunch of numbers. But the real story of the CPS budget is how we are stewarding taxpayers’ dollars effectively and efficiently to ensure equitable access to a world-class education, unleashing the potential that lies inside every student. We’re providing innovative educational opportunities for our students, from preschool to high school graduation. Thanks in part to the taxpayer-supported Cincinnati Preschool Promise, over 1,500 Cincinnati 3- and 4-year-olds are getting a strong foundation at a CPS preschool. We’re enhancing parent choice at our neighborhood elementary schools by investing $3.6 million to create innovative academic programs as part of our Vision 2020 initiative. Providing high-quality, culturally relevant and responsive curricula for all students regardless of what school they attend is another crucial aspect of ensuring equity across CPS. The school board is investing more than $11.8 million in My Tomorrow, our initiative to ensure all students graduate prepared and with a plan to pursue their chosen pathway: enrolled in higher education; enlisted in the military particularly the Service Academies; and ultimately employed in a rewarding career. CPS is growing, and we’re meeting demand by opening more schools. CPS will open the Clifton Area Neighborhood School at the site of the former Clifton School during this school year, and we recently announced the purchase of the former Mercy High School on the West Side. All of these investments drive student achievement, investing in the academic and extra-curricular activities that will ensure that our students are prepared for life beyond CPS as dedicated citizens and part of Cincinnati’s talented workforce. There are other significant details in the CPS budget. For instance, it covers transportation and other special services for over 11,000 charter, parochial and private school students – CPS spends over $10.4 million dollars on transportation for these students alone. About $44 million of the CPS budget passes through the district to charter schools, private schools and parochial schools, including approximately $23 million of funding for EdChoice vouchers – money that appears in the CPS budget, but does not support CPS students in any manner. When you add that up, CPS loses out on over $105 million of your tax dollars meant to support academic outcomes and provide services to our nearly 36,000 students. Nonetheless, we are meeting the challenges of growing enrollment and an ever-evolving educational environment with the creation of a new Strategic Planning and Engagement Committee. This group will look to the horizon and help CPS better plan for the opportunities ahead in the next five years, 10 years and following decades. We’re also working with our legislative delegation to ensure more fairness and equity in state funding so CPS is not as heavily reliant on local taxpayers. Equity, opportunity and innovation are the values we’ve demonstrated our commitment to in this budget. By investing in these priorities, Cincinnati Public Schools is ensuring our students are prepared for life. Ryan Messer is chair of the Cincinnati Public Schools Board of Education Finance Committee. He writes on behalf of the Board of Education.

The Replacements announced a month-long 'Back by Unpopular Demand' tour for April and May. The Replacements‘ unlikely reunion will stretch into 2015 as Paul Westerberg, Tommy Stinson and company have plotted a 13-date month-long Back By Unpopular Demand tour kicking off April 9th at Seattle’s Paramount Theatre. The band will also spend two nights at Chicago’s Rivera Theatre at the end of April before continuing towards their leg-ending concert at Philadelphia’s Festival Pier on May 9th. So far, the Replacements have not announced a New York date or any gigs south of Washington, D.C. In December, the Replacements released their first original song since their 2012 reunion, a 24-minute jazz improvisation called “Poke Me in My Cage.” While the track was light years away from the ‘Mats’ classics Let It Be and Tim, it still showcased their unbridled energy and inimitable approach to rock. While the Replacements told Rolling Stone that they were considering recording a new album – Westerberg even said that one song was titled “Are You In It for the Money?,” a nod to the reason behind the out-of-nowhere reunion – the band haven’t revealed any further details about their first LP since 1990’s All Shook Down.

We’ve already gotten a little taste of what the film adaptation of Jeff VanderMeer’s 2014 book Annihilation with the film’s teaser, but now the full trailer is here. All I can say is, never has an old house covered in colorful flowers looked so terrifying! In the trailer we get a fuller picture of the novel’s mysterious “Area X,” replete with pretty, psychedelic foliage and snaggletoothed monsters that will surely destroy you. Natalie Portman leads as a biologist who enters the area (tapered off in the movie by an almost rainbow, oil-slick gooey border) to find her missing husband (Oscar Isaac). And she takes along a crew of female scientists played by a literal dream team: Gina Rodriguez, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tessa Tompson, and Swedish actress Tuva Novotny. And if all of that wasn’t enough to get you to the theater, the project is driven by dystopian screenwriter Alex Garland of 28 Days Later and Never Let Me Go, who directed his first film with Ex Machina. So if there’s anyone who can accurately bring VanderMeer’s futuristic nightmare to the screen, it’s no doubt him.

Djokovic, who ended a 54-week title drought with his 13th Grand Slam crown at Wimbledon, will play the winner of a night match between five-time US Open champion Federer and John Millman. Novak Djokovic did his part to set up a blockbuster quarter-final clash with Roger Federer at the US Open on Monday with a 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 victory over unseeded Joao Sousa. Should 20-time major winner Federer get through against the 55th-ranked Australian, he’ll set up his earliest Grand Slam meeting with Djokovic since 2007, when Federer beat the Serb star to reach the Australian Open quarter-finals. Djokovic, whose 3-3 record against Federer at Flushing Meadows includes victories over the Swiss great in the 2011 and 2015 finals, said he was relieved to get past 68th-ranked Sousa in straight sets as temperatures soared again. “Very happy to get this one done in straight sets,” said Djokovic, who left the court for a lengthy toilet break after the second set and departed again for evaluation during a medical timeout early in the third before returning to wrap things up in exactly two hours. Sousa, who got past 12th-seeded Pablo Carreno Busta and No. 17 Luca Pouille to become the first Portugese man to reach a Grand Slam last 16, was “not happy” at Djokovic’s first lengthy absence from the court, although he acknowledged there was no rule limiting time of a comfort break. More damaging may have been his ire at the chair umpire’s refusal to allow a line call challenge in the seventh game of the final set on grounds he gestured too late. Distracted, he was broken at love in the next game and Djokovic served out the match without fuss. “It was much more difficult than the score indicated,” said Djokovic, who said he struggled with a “couple of things” during the match but that the heat “was the adversity today”. “You can’t do anything but try to be tough and survive, find a way to win,” he said. Kei Nishikori, runner-up in 2014, was also pleased to get through in three sets in blazing sunshine on Louis Armstrong Stadium. After racing through the first two sets against Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber he dropped his serve while serving for the match at 5-4 in the third, but managed to prevail 6-3, 6-2, 7-5. Nishikori will fight for a semi-final berth against Croatian Marin Cilic, who beat him in the 2014 final. That remains Nishikori’s best Grand Slam showing. After reaching a career-high fourth in the world in 2015 he slid down the rankings as a wrist injury sidelined him for six months, keeping him out of last year’s US Open and this year’s Australian Open. Seventh-seeded Cilic, who needed eight match points in a five-set marathon against Australian teenager Alex de Minaur spilled into Sunday morning survived some tense moments to get past 10th-ranked Belgian David Goffin 7-6 (8/6), 6-2, 6-4. Goffin served for the first set at 5-4 before Cilic went on to win the tiebreaker. From there things got easier, Cilic saying that Goffin confided after the match he had a shoulder problem. But Cilic still needed a third match point to clinch it.

Nora Keller, of Marlboro, formerly of Piscataway, N.J., passed away peacefully on July 29, 2007 at Ferncliff Nursing Home in Rhineback, N.Y. The daughter of the late Patrick and Mary (Dockery) Cassidy, Nora was born on November 26, 1926 in Brooklyn, N.Y. Survivors include her son William and his wife Barbara; two grandchildren Bridget and Albert; three great-grandchildren, Brittinie, Billie & Bridgain all of Piscataway, N.J.; her loving daughter, Gail Van Amburgh and her husband William; cherished grandchildren, Honora Alison and William (Buddy) Van Amburgh all of Marlboro; her sister Mary (Pat) Kronner and her husband Walter and her sister Rita Truesdell all of Marlboro; and numerous nieces & nephews. She was predeceased by her husband William Leo and son Joseph Keller. Nora was employed for a number of years as a switchboard operator for Harris Steel & Unilever of NJ. Visitation will be at The DiDonato Funeral Home, 1290 Rt 9W, Marlboro on Tuesday July 31st from 4-8 p.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated in St. Mary's Church on Wednesday at 10 a.m. Interment to follow at Cedar Hill Cemetery, Newburgh. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Alzheimers Assoc. or to the charity of ones choice. Funeral Arrangements have been entrusted to Carl J. DiDonato and Lawrence M. Cavazza of The DiDonato Funeral Service, Inc.

Shimla, Jan 14 (IANS) It was a bright sunny day in Himachal Pradesh on Monday, with temperatures remaining below the freezing point in many places in the state after three days of continuous snow and rain, a weather official said here. Rain and snow are likely to continue in the state till Tuesday, the Met Department official told IANS. Keylong, the headquarters of Lahaul-Spiti district, was the coldest at a minus 12 degrees Celsius. It saw mild snow. Kalpa, around 250 km from here, recorded a low of minus 8.2 degrees Celsius. Temperature was 1 degree Celsius in Shimla and 2.8 degrees in Dharamsala. Manali, which recorded a low of minus 5 degrees Celsius, saw two cm of snow. The road link to towns in upper Shimla, which were cut off following the snow, was restored by Sunday evening, the official said. The snowy landscape in Shimla largely melted but will stay in its nearby spots such as Kufri, Chail, Fagu and Narkanda for two-three days.

Taiwan’s presidential and legislative elections are taking place against a backdrop of a struggling economy marred by near-zero growth, stagnant wages and rising prices, a new report by the the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission said. The economy is also suffering from the looming threat of an energy shortage, low domestic investment and overdependence on China, and the economic problems are expected to be deciding factors in the elections, said the report, titled Taiwan’s Economy Amid Political Transition. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) have shifted the focus of their campaigns away from the traditional question of Taiwan’s sovereignty, it concluded. The report, prepared by commission staff and aimed at members of the US Congress, said that economic issues will now determine the election results. It said that DPP presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) generally advocates improving Taiwan’s domestic economy by expanding social welfare benefits, raising the minimum wage and promoting local sources of innovation. However, KMT candidate Eric Chu (朱立倫) seeks to prioritize Taiwan’s external economic relations, advocating further trade liberalization — especially with China — as a means of supporting export-led growth, it said. “Stagnant wages, combined with unemployment in Taiwan’s largely high-skilled workforce, weak entrepreneurial innovation and low inbound investment, explain why Taiwan is in a period of slowing economic growth,” the report said. “The severity of these domestic economic problems may explain why DPP candidate Tsai has maintained a strong lead in election polls,” it added. Taiwan’s export-oriented economy has become dependent on China and vulnerable to fluctuations in Beijing’s economy, “contributing to a growth rate that has slowed to nearly zero,” the report said. Further economic cooperation with a wider range of partners could help Taiwan diversify its export markets, identify solutions to its energy shortage and attract much needed inbound foreign direct investment, it said. With Tsai generally expected to win the election, the report names five economists who will “likely take on prominent roles” in her administration. US-trained economist Lin Chuan (林全), president of the DPP’s think tank, the New Frontier Foundation, would advocate for a comprehensive growth strategy that includes stimulating innovation, financial sector reform and diversification of free-trade partners, it said. Another US-trained economist, Hu Sheng-cheng (胡勝正), is also expected to win a leading position in a Tsai administration. Hu believes Taiwan’s economy has become too reliant on exports, saying that Taiwan should diversify by linking its high-tech sectors with more traditional industries, such as precision machinery, the report said. Others named by the report as likely top advisers are finance expert Shih Jun-ji (施俊吉); Taiwan Institute of Economic Research vice president Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫); and Taiwan Think Tank chairman Chen Po-chih (陳博志). This story has been viewed 5744 times.

He was born in the Brownsville neighborhood of Brooklyn. His father was a traveling salesman. His mother worked in a chocolate factory. My father had to quit school in the ninth grade. He sold ice cream in a movie theater, balloons, and worked in a leather factory. He went into the Army during World War II. He was stationed in the U.S. and read at every opportunity. His first vote was for a Communist. After 1945 he got married and started to work for a hardware store under the banner of District 65 United Auto Workers union. A trade unionist for 30 years, he was never late for work. He demonstrated in 1944 to demand that the Allies open up the second front. He was at a concert by Paul Robeson in Peekskill, N.Y., which was attacked by a fascist mob. He collected signatures for Adlai Stevenson for president during the 1950s. He rallied against the Vietnam War. I remember accompanying him to a few such rallies. The FBI knocked on our family’s door, but fortunately he didn’t go to jail. He was a good dancer. He used to take us children with my mother Rose to Coney Island Beach. That was a good beach with the soothing ocean. He was a loving father and husband. He loved the feeling of music, especially the song “Brother can you spare a dime?” He never learned how to drive a car, but he could ride a bicycle. I think of him often. There are those among us Americans who want the total abolition of war and not just particular wars. Many Quakers and other good religious citizens traditionally antiwar feel it is time to renew the idea of perpetual peace, which the Bible says is meant to be — this noble and honorable goal. War and peace questions should not be decided by governments or politicians but by the entire people who have the most to lose in the final analysis. The world’s resources are finite and war is very wasteful and upsets the balance of nature. War distorts science, keeping higher benefits from millions. Your paper, People’s Weekly World, is helping lead to reasonable answers. Good luck to your continuing publishing. Thank you for your beautiful story about Nancy Mendenhall. (Review of “Orchards of Eden: White Bluffs on the Columbia, 1907-1943” PWW 6/3-9) Keep on. Stay well. For 35 years I have been associated with this newspaper. I distributed it to shipyard workers on strike against John and Joe Pew — now Kerr-McGee — when the newspaper was called The Daily Worker. It was a four-page tabloid then. In all those years I’ve seen things go up and down, I’ve seen the paper change too — from a daily to a weekly back to a daily and now a weekly. I’ve seen its name change a few times. But it is my great pleasure to say that I am so proud of this newspaper and how it is today. The newspaper has grown and surpassed all the previous editions. I’ve been particularly impressed with Dan Margolis’ articles, which have been excellent and authoritative. Then I see his photo in the paper and he’s a good looking guy! So many new things in the paper that are exciting, especially the reports about young people and the YCL. Last week I distributed about 35 papers in a local grocery store with the “$5.15 an hour won’t cut it” headline and people just grabbed them up. I told them it was the “Father’s Day” edition. I give $1,000 out of my Social Security check to this newspaper and ask people to subscribe and give. John Gilman is a highly-decorated WWII veteran and a peace activist. I’m a teacher in Los Angeles and am interested in establishing contact with any organization involved in teacher delegations to Cuba. Editor’s note: If any reader has information on education delegations to Cuba please e-mail it to [email protected]. It will be passed on and published in the Letters to the Editor column. Re: Sudan and Darfur (PWW 6/10-16). I understand as little (or nothing) about the cause(s) of the tragedies as I did before reading your double-page spread stating that “the problem is political.” The Communist Party leader and author merely states a conclusion in his first paragraph — I could not find a political analysis of the basic causes — only a call for a “dialogue” leading to a “peaceful and political” solution and what that solution would be like. There is a fleeting mention of oil, and the possibility of other resources in Darfur. But no facts and no analysis of the forces — domestic, foreign, class. And if “political,” what are the political issues and what are the material bases from which they arise?

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and environmentalists praised legislation aimed at ensuring closing the San Juan Generating Station near Farmington. The 83-page Energy Transition Act would allow PNM to recover investments by selling bonds to be paid off with a new fee for customers. The state Public Regulation Commission would have final say over key elements of the plan. House Republican Whip Rod Montoya of Farmington opposes Senate Bill 489. SANTA FE – Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and several environmentalist groups on Thursday praised legislation aimed at ensuring the shuttering of the coal-burning San Juan Generating Station near Farmington and establishing ambitious targets for pushing New Mexico toward more reliance on renewable energy sources. The bill is intended to soften the financial hit both to the community surrounding the aging power plant and to Public Service Company of New Mexico, the state's largest utility and majority owner of the plant, which is a major source of employment in Northwestern New Mexico. State Sen. Jacob Candelaria, D-Albuquerque, on Thursday introduced the 83-page Energy Transition Act, which proposes to allow PNM to recover investments through selling bonds that would be paid off with a new "energy transition" charge for customers. It also seeks to provide funds to assist and retrain workers who lose jobs from the shutdown and sets a 2030 deadline for investor-owned utilities and rural electric co-ops in the state to derive 50 percent of their power from renewable sources such as solar and wind energy. "The bill lays out the road map that will lead New Mexico from a fossil fuel-based economy to a green economy," Candelaria said in an interview. "And keeping with the governor's promise during the campaign, this bill lays out an aggressive 50 percent portfolio standard by 2030, then by 2045 puts New Mexico on the path to 80 percent renewable portfolio standard, which would make New Mexico the leader in the nation." The state Public Regulation Commission would have final say over key elements of the plan, such as the proposed fees. The governor called the bill a "robust package." Candelaria last year sponsored a bill that also was aimed at allowing PNM to recoup its losses on the San Juan plant. That bill was shot down in a Senate committee. Among those supporting the bill are such groups as the Sierra Club, Conservation Voters New Mexico, Western Resource Advocates and San Juan Citizens Alliance. Also signing on are the New Mexico Building and Construction Trades Council and progressive political groups including ProgressNow New Mexico and the Center for Civic Policy. Steve Michel of Western Resource Advocates said the bill "provides a path for New Mexico to move away from fossil fuels, calling for zero carbon emissions by 2045. That's a really big deal." A PNM spokesman said in a statement: "Our new governor, the sponsors of this bill, and PNM recognizes that these are changing times. We all agree that our environmental and economic future for all New Mexicans is at stake. The Energy Transition Act takes PNM out of our comfort zone, and challenges PNM to take bold action during this historic and unprecedented time in this global energy transition." Asked whether the utility is backing the bill despite it being out of the company's "comfort zone," spokesman Ray Sandoval declined to comment. But at least one Farmington legislator who backed last year's version of the bill, House Republican Whip Rod Montoya, definitely is not on board with Senate Bill 489. "Under the governor's plan, nearly 1,500 displaced workers will have to compete for less than 50 permanent renewable jobs," Montoya said through a spokesman. "Fifty renewable jobs will not replace over $20 million in local revenue, not to mention another $30 million to state government. This plan shows a callous disregard for workers and their families." There also is potential opposition from New Energy Economy, a Santa Fe-based clean-energy group that fought hard against last year's bill. That group is taking a wait-and-see stance. Mariel Nanasi, executive director of New Energy Economy, said her group is still reviewing the bill, "but if it includes a 100 percent bailout for PNM, New Mexicans have spoken and they're emphatically opposed. Why should all the lost earnings, cleanup costs and worker severance issues be paid by ratepayers without PNM contributing a penny to their bad business decisions?" Candelaria said his bill recognizes that a transition to a "green economy" is going to be difficult for a lot of communities that have relied upon extractive and fossil-based industries. He said the proposal provides funds for economic redevelopment for the Four Corners region, including "tens of millions of dollars" to "protect and transition workers" who lose their jobs. Besides the inclusion of the renewable portfolio standards, Candelaria said the new bill differs from his 2018 legislation in that it doesn't say anything about ownership of replacement energy sources. "Last year's bill said that the replacement energy would be owned by PNM," he said. SB 489 would mandate that any replacement energy sources be located in the Central Consolidated School District in the Farmington area, which, Candelaria said, would mitigate the loss of property tax revenue to schools. The bill has been assigned to two Senate committees: Conservation, and Corporations and Transportation.

BlackBerry has decided not to renew T-Mobile's license to sell its products. A promotion that went awry last month has led BlackBerry to cut ties with T-Mobile after numerous years of working together. BlackBerry on Wednesday announced that it will not renew T-Mobile's license to sell its products when it expires April 25. T-Mobile offended the Canadian phone maker in February when it messaged its BlackBerry users with an offer to switch to the iPhone 5s for $0 down. The Seattle carrier tried to make amends with a second promotion, offering BlackBerry users $200 in credit when they traded in their device for any new T-Mobile phone. The move was a success for T-Mobile -- numerous users participated in the trade-in -- but it further embarrassed BlackBerry. Reports surfaced that most of the customers who traded in their BlackBerrys had switched to other devices. BlackBerry said it is now working with other carrier partners to help any of its customers find alternatives for T-Mobile's services if they wish. It also assured existing BlackBerry and T-Mobile customers that they will not be affected by Wednesday's announcement. “We are deeply grateful to our loyal BlackBerry customers and will do everything in our power to provide continued support with your existing carrier or ensure a smooth transition to our other carrier partners," Chen said. T-Mobile could not be reached for comment.

Germany's population just hit a record high - so what does this mean? There are more people living in Germany than ever before, largely thanks to immigration. Here's an explanation of what the new numbers mean. Germany's population reached 82.8 million at the end of 2016, according to government estimates. That's around 600,000 more than the previous year - an increase equivalent to the population of Leipzig - and almost 300,000 more than the previous record year, 15 years ago in 2002. But without immigration - both of refugees and EU nationals - the population would have shrunk. So what do the statistics tell us? How many people moved to Germany? According to the statistics, over the past year at least 750,000 more people moved to Germany than emigrated from the country. In 2015, this figure was even higher, at around 1.1 million. How accurate is this figure? The immigration statistics aren't exact, experts warn. The 2011 census proved this: the official count showed that around one million fewer foreigners were living in Germany as had been thought. There are a few reasons for this, for example the fact that many immigrants do not inform authorities when they return home or move to another country, while others end up being registered twice. What's more, many refugees who arrived in Germany during the 2015 migration influx were only officially registered in 2016. According to Sebastian Klüsener, an expert at the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, the actual number of people who moved to Germany in 2016 is likely to be several tens of thousands lower than the official figure. Where do the immigrants come from? The 2016 statistics don't show this precisely. But experts agree that as well as refugees from war-zones and crisis-hit areas, economic immigrants from East Europe and other EU countries play an important role in Germany's population growth. "EU migration was more significant than refugee migration in 2016," said Thomas Liebig from the OECD. What about births and deaths? Each year, more people die in Germany than are born there, meaning the population would shrink if it weren't for immigration. The so-called 'birth deficit' is estimated at between 150,000 and 190,000. "The number of newborns rose slightly in 2016 compared with the previous year, and the number of deaths has risen to roughly the same level as in the previous year," explains statistician Reinhold Zahn. How can the 'birth deficit' be tackled? The number of women of child-bearing age in Germany is currently lower than the number of elderly people, meaning that even if these women were to have more children, it would be tough to compensate for the number of deaths. Herbert Brücker of the Institute for Employment Research noted that: "Migration also increases birth rates," not because immigrants have a particularly high number of children, but because they are generally young. Immigrants from the EU usually come to Germany to look for work. "Labor migration helps us to cope with demographic change," says Brücker. "The public budgets, the pension insurance systems, for example, are a good thing, as is the fact that we do not have to go into the population shrinkage." What are the prospects for 2017? It's hard to say. For one thing, it's impossible to predict how Brexit will affect European migration. "This could go in both directions," says Liebig from the OECD. "The labor market is still receptive," Holger Bonin, of the Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), emphasizes. The economist also believes that fewer refugees will arrive in Germany over the coming year.

Manufacturing giant Foxconn has said it will make a major investment in artificial intelligence-based R&D as it looks for new business growth opportunities in a cooling global smartphone market, Nikkei reports. “We will at least invest some 10 billion New Taiwan dollars ($342M) over five years to recruit top talent and deploy artificial intelligence applications in all the manufacturing sites,” said chairman Terry Gou. Gou added that the ambition is to become “a global innovative AI platform rather than just a manufacturing company”. Data put out this week by Strategy Analytics records a 9 per cent fall in global smartphone shipments in Q4 2017 — the biggest such drop in smartphone history — which the analyst blames on the floor falling out of the smartphone market in China. “The shrinkage in global smartphone shipments was caused by a collapse in the huge China market, where demand fell 16 percent annually due to longer replacement rates, fewer operator subsidies and a general lack of wow models,” noted Strategy Analytics’ Linda Sui in a statement. On a full-year basis, the analysts records global smartphone shipments growing 1 percent — topping 1.5 billion units for the first time. But there’s little doubt the smartphone growth engine that’s fed manufacturing giants like Foxconn for so long is winding down. This week, for example, Apple — Foxconn’s largest customer — reported a dip in iPhone sales for the holiday quarter. Though Cupertino still managed to carve out more revenue (thanks to that $1k iPhone X price-tag). But those kind of creative pricing opportunities aren’t on the table for electronics assemblers. So it’s all about utilizing technology to do more for less. According to Nikkei, Foxconn intends to recruit up to 100 top AI experts globally. It also said it will recruit thousands of less experienced developers to work on building applications that use machine learning and deep learning technologies. Embedding sensors into production line equipment to capture data to feed AI-fueled automation development is a key part of the AI R&D plan, with Foxconn saying earlier that it wants to offer advanced manufacturing experiences and services — eyeing competing with the likes of General Electric and Cisco. The company has also been working with Andrew Ng’s new AI startup Landing.ai — which is itself focused on plugging AI into industries that haven’t yet tapping into the tech’s transformative benefits, with a first focus on manufacturing — since July. And Gou confirmed the startup will be a key partner as Foxconn works towards its own AI-fueled transformation — using tech brought in via Landing.ai to help transform the manufacturing process, and identify and predict defects. Quite what such AI-powered transformation might mean for the jobs of hundreds of thousands of humans currently employed by Foxconn on assembly line tasks is less clear. But it looks like those workers will be helping to train AI models that could end up replacing their labor via automation.

Forget tin cans and strings. These days, kids can call each other with their voice-activated wristphones. The gadget is called the Tinitell. The Swedish team behind it calls it the “world's smallest wearable phone designed for kids” and has raised $104,829 for it on Kickstarter — beating its $100,000 goal with 21 days to go. Kids can make a phone call by simply pressing down the big button in the middle and calling out a name, like "Dad.” Tinitell can also accept phone calls and forward calls to smartphones outfitted with a special app. To mitigate the creepy factor, Tinitell lets parents set who is allowed to call the phone. Plus it has GPS for tracking your kid, a much more convenient and less humiliating alternative to the child leash. Right now it's only available through pre-order via a pledge on Kickstarter. With a suggested retail price of $179, parents will be glad to know it is supposedly water-proof and sandbox-proof. Tinitell is not the first wearable smartphone for kids. FiLIP also lets parents talk to and track their kids, using a touchscreen instead of voice recognition. (It can also accept text messages). Sadly, the retail price won't include voice plans. Tinitell recommends pre-paid plans, just in case Timmy is tempted to spend hours on the phone talking about Spider-Man. While it's mainly being marketed to kids, the company noted that Tinitell could "appeal to grown-ups seeking a basic wristphone for rugged outdoor activities." Remember to add that to your list, lumberjacks: leather boots, ax and a child-sized, aqua-colored wristband.

Harry Patch, who was the last surviving British soldier to have fought in World War One, paid for the memorial himself. A memorial stone dedicated to Britain’s last survivor of the World War One trenches has gone missing from a plinth in Belgium. Harry Patch, who died in 2009 aged 111, was the last surviving British soldier to have fought in the conflict and paid for the memorial stone himself. Mr Patch, from Somerset, was present at the unveiling in 2008 at Langemarck, which is six miles from Ypres where hundreds of thousands of soldiers were killed. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) said it was “outraged” at the theft and welcomed a funding appeal to replace the memorial. “After looking on our files, I can confirm that Harry paid for the stone for the memorial and the CWGC engraved it at our main operational facility in France at no cost,” said a spokeswoman. “It was our privilege and honour to do so. Although a private memorial and not a CWGC ‘official’ site maintained by us, the memorial was still an important and well visited location on the former Western Front. “It beggars belief that someone would take a memorial to a man who typified the service and sacrifice of millions of young men during the First World War. Whomever has done so should be deeply ashamed of themselves. A crowdfunding appeal to replace the stone has reached its target of 1,500 euros in less than five hours. The missing memorial was spotted by members of the RAF Air Cadets visiting the western Flanders region from Somerset. Nick Tolson, chairman of the 914 (Glastonbury and Street) Squadron, said his wife Alison, who is officer-in-charge of the Squadron, had travelled to Belgium with a dozen cadets. “Alison promised Harry face-to-face that she would look after the memorial,” Mr Tolson told the BBC. “It marked the point where he crossed the Steenbeek brook in 1917 where three men were killed and Harry was injured before the attack on Langemarck. Criminal barristers have threatened to take action in the coming weeks over a pay row with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) by walking out of trials or refusing to take on new work. A man who has run every single London Marathon hopes to finish “in one piece” on Sunday after breaking his arm in a fall during last year’s race.

I stuck with my S4 as it's a very good phone and the S5 was not a compelling upgrade proposition. S5 is a good phone but only for people moving from, say, S3 type devices or lower. Sticking Cyanogenmod on the S4 has magically given it towards 50% extra battery life, too, so yeah, bloat-averse here, too, though Cyanogenmod does feel a bit basic in some screens by comparison.

Dilara Bolat, 11, and Shanikka Pena, 11, get ready for Christmas with Christmas Craft. Happy: Proud as punch about their catch in the first week of LARP. Tasty treats: Tatura Primary School students Dakota Hamilton, 12, and Megan Phillingham, 12, cook up a storm. Tirrim Warne, 11, Saxon Parker, 10, Matthew Lyons, 9, and Annabelle Geale, 9, test out their fitness. Sarah Saffron, 12, mixes up the vegies. Brandon Steele tries his hand at fishing. Tatura Primary School’s Leisure and Recreational Pursuits program kicked off on Friday, October 23 giving years 3 to 6 students the choice of 11 activities to participate in for the afternoon. Becoming a tradition for the school, principal Susanne Gill said the parents and students looked forward to ‘‘LARP’’. She said students could choose from a variety of activities including badminton, table tennis, cooking or boot camp. ‘‘We’ve got a real range which includes craft, indoor activities and physical activities, so we’ve got some children doing Christmas craft, we’ve got some doing a writing workshop, we’ve got origami and then the other activities that are off site are tennis, golf, bowls and fishing,’’ Ms Gill said. The program runs for three weeks for an hour and a half each Friday. Ms Gill said children would be experiencing some of the activities for the first time. ‘‘I think for a lot of them the golf would be pretty new and fishing, some of them have got all the gear and for others it’s for the first time,’’ she said. Tatura Primary School students refer to LARP as the ‘‘highlight of the year’’. Nearly 200 locals have flocked to Tatura’s Cussen Park to learn about bats. The Lions Club of Tatura is doing its part in raising funds for the Good Friday Appeal. The gloves were on and community members were out doing their best to keep Tatura tidy.

The Barbican’s vision is arts without boundaries and it delivers this through world-class arts and learning accessible for everyone. The Barbican presents innovative and groundbreaking new work across the arts and a pioneering creative learning and engagement programme jointly with the Guildhall School of Music & Drama. The Barbican inspires people to discover and love the arts through free arts events, and programmes such as Young Barbican. We innovate with outstanding artists and performers to create an international programme that crosses art forms. We also celebrate the artists of today and invest in those of tomorrow through learning programmes, from projects in schools to every stage of an artists’ career. We are currently looking to recruit a Trusts & Foundations Manager to join a thriving Development department. We want someone to act as champion for Trust and Foundations fundraising across the Barbican by maintaining strong cross-departmental relationships, who is also able to contribute and develop the Barbican’s Trusts & Foundations fundraising strategy and lead on its delivery. You will have a substantial and proven track record of raising money from trusts, foundations and other grant makers as well as statutory funders. Your enthusiasm and passion for the arts will be matched by your ability to successfully identify, secure and steward major gifts across a range of projects and programme areas. You will be skilled at writing compelling proposals and reports, managing budgets, working to deadlines and communicating effectively with colleagues, grant makers and senior volunteers. 1st stage interviews will be conducted w/c 01 April 2019. Late applications will not be accepted. Alternatively, please contact the Corporate HR on 020 7332 3978 (24hr answerphone) quoting reference BC796. A minicom service for the hearing impaired is available on 020 7332 3732.

There's nothing like a commissioned world premiere to make a chamber concert feel like an out-of-the-ordinary event - unless it's a performing ensemble brought together expressly for the occasion. Both were in play during Saturday's largely alluring program presented in Herbst Theatre by Chamber Music San Francisco. The performers were three renowned soloists - clarinetist Richard Stoltzman, cellist Lynn Harrell and pianist Robert Levin - joining forces on a more or less ad hoc basis. And the evening's centerpiece was Yehudi Wyner's melodious "Trio 2009," written last year for this ensemble. It certainly sounded like a musical tribute to these particular players, mining the group's ability to blend lyrical strains into a unified yet distinct musical texture. Running 15 minutes in a single span, Wyner's piece proved an amiable and often lovely creation. If the results aren't especially dramatic, that was surely by intent. Rather, the motivating spirit here is one of free-form fantasy, as the piece unfolds in an unpredictable but gently shifting series of episodes. Wyner's melodic invention is the main vehicle for the proceedings, and his tunes are shapely, inviting affairs, often backlit by delicate tremolo accompaniments. For contrast, the piano occasionally urges the other two instruments into brisk, dry-eyed flurries that sound like toned-down Prokofiev. The performers' mutual sympathy and unanimity of purpose gave the piece a lovely veneer, and continued to yield benefits after intermission. The second half of the program was devoted to a first-rate account of Brahms' A-Minor Trio, Op. 114. This was a performance as notable for its refined elegance - especially in the two slow movements that form the center of the piece - as for its deftly balanced fervor. The rhythmic propulsion of the outer movements, shaped by Levin's strong but never strident quarterbacking from the piano, was beautifully matched by the limpid, long-breathed phrases of the Adagio. Both the Wyner and the Brahms found the performers at their best, and in fact it was hard to avoid the suspicion that those pieces had monopolized all the available rehearsal time. The evening's two opening selections - Bach's C-Major Cello Suite and Schumann's "Fantasiestücke" for clarinet and piano - got careless, throwaway performances that made them sound like last-minute filler. Stoltzman-Harrell-Levin Trio: Program repeats. 7:30 p.m. Mon. Oshman Family Jewish Community Center, Palo Alto. Tickets: $60. Call (415) 392-4400 or go to www.chambermusicsf.org.

The rally, which was announced last month as scheduled to take place on January 11, was cancelled 'because of the current situation in Paris,' Holland4Israel group wrote. Citing security concerns, organizers of a pro-Israel rally in Amsterdam cancelled the event after meeting with police and city officials. The rally, which was announced last month as scheduled to take place on January 11, was cancelled “because of the current situation in Paris and in coordination with the police, the municipality and security,” members of the Holland4Israel group wrote Friday on their Facebook page. On Friday, several people were killed when an Islamist took over a kosher supermarket in eastern Paris. Police killed him when they moved in to free more than 20 hostages who survived the attack. Two men who are believed to have been his accomplices were also killed at the same time in another takeover operation by police at a printing shop north of Paris, where they had been holding one hostage. The two men, brothers Cherif and Said Kouachi, are believed to have killed 12 people on Wednesday at the offices of the Charlie Hebdo weekly, which ran numerous cartoons lampooning Islam. “Currently, safety cannot be guaranteed and we, as an organization, do not wish to see you putting yourselves in danger,” the organizers of the rally from the organization Holland4Israel wrote. Anti-Semitic attacks have increased in the Netherlands since July, when Israel went to war against Hamas in Gaza over the organization’s repeated targeting of civilians with rockets. In September, Dutch police reportedly advised the City of The Hague against allowing the erection of a sukkah at a small Jewish-owned housing project that is surrounded by a heavily-Muslim neighborhood.

Mr. Akihisa Mizuno has been serving as Chairman of the Board and Representative Director of Chubu Electric Power Company, Incorporated since June 2015. He is also working for TOYOTA INDUSTRIES CORPORATION. He joined the Company in April 1978. His previous titles include Executive President, Executive Vice President, Chief Director of Business Strategies, Senior Managing Executive Officer and Managing Executive Officer in the Company. He obtained his Master's degree of Civil Engineering from The University of Tokyo in March 1978. Mr. Satoru Katsuno has been serving as President, Executive President and Representative Director in Chubu Electric Power Company, Incorporated since June 2015. He is also serving as Chairman in The Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan. He joined the Company in April 1977. His previous titles include Senior Managing Executive Officer, Managing Executive Officer, Executive Vice President, Director of Engineering Work, Chief Director of Business Strategy, Manager of Okasaki Office, Manager of Tokyo Office and Director of Facility and Investment Planning Group in the Company. He obtained his Bachelor's degree of Electrical Engineering from Keio University in March 1977. Mr. Akinori Kataoka has been serving as Executive Vice President and Representative Director in Chubu Electric Power Company, Incorporated since April 1, 2017. He joined the Company in April 1981. His previous titles include Executive Officer, Director of Accounting and Manager of Mie Office in the Company. Mr. Chiyoji Kurata has been serving as Executive Vice President, Chief Director of Nuclear Power and Representative Director in Chubu Electric Power Company, Incorporated since April 1, 2017. He joined the Company in April 1980. His previous titles include Executive Officer and Manager of Hamaoka Area Business Center in the Company. Mr. Yoshinori Masuda has been serving as Executive Vice President, Chief Director of Corporate and Representative Director in Chubu Electric Power Company, Incorporated since April 1, 2018. He joined the Company in April 1979. His previous titles include Director of Information Communication Business Group, Executive Officer, Chief Director of Business Strategy and Senior Managing Executive Officer in the Company. Mr. Kingo Hayashi has been serving as Senior Managing Executive Officer, President of Marketing Company and Director in Chubu Electric Power Company, Incorporated since June 27, 2018. He is also serving as President and Representative Director in Nagoya City Energy Co., Ltd. as well as Director in TOENEC CORPORATION. He joined the Company in April 1984. His previous titles include Executive Officer, President of Tokyo Office, Director of Main Customer Unit, Director of Business Strategy Group and Director of Sales in Nagano Office in the Company. He obtained his LLB from Kyoto University in March 1984. Mr. Yaoji Ichikawa has been serving as Senior Managing Executive Officer, President of Electric Power Network Company and Director in Chubu Electric Power Company, Incorporated since June 27, 2018. He joined the Company in April 1984. His previous titles include Executive Officer, Manager of Okazaki Office, Director of Technology, Director of Electronic Communication and Vice President of Electric Power Network Company in the Company. He obtained his Master's degree in Electrical Engineering from Keio University in March 1984. Mr. Hiromu Masuda has been serving as Senior Managing Executive Officer, Manager of Hamaoka Nuclear Power General Business Center and Director in Chubu Electric Power Company, Incorporated since June 28, 2017. He joined the Company in April 1982. His previous titles include Executive Officer and Director of Nuclear Energy in Main Nuclear Energy Unit in the Company. Mr. Taisuke Misawa has been serving as Senior Managing Executive Officer and Director in Chubu Electric Power Company, Incorporated since June 28, 2017. He joined the Company in April 1981. His previous titles include Executive Officer, Manager of Gifu Office and Director of Human Resources in the Company. Mr. Takayuki Hashimoto has been serving as Independent Director in Chubu Electric Power Company, Incorporated since June 2016. He is also serving as Independent Director in KAGOME CO,. Ltd. and Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corporation, as well as working for IHI Corporation and IBM Japan, Ltd. Ms. Naoko Nemoto has been serving as Independent Director of Chubu Electric Power Company, Incorporated since June 2016. She is also serving as Independent Director in Concordia Financial Group, Ltd. as well as working for Asian Development Bank Institute. She used to work for Bank of Japan and another company.

A judge has ruled Broward County's supervisor of elections violated state law and must hand over records from Tuesday's vote by 7 p.m. today. The decision is in reaction to a lawsuit filed Thursday by Gov. Rick Scott's Senate campaign and the National Republican Senatorial Committee against Brenda Snipes. CBS Miami reports the judge said Snipes must “allow immediate” viewing and copying of records that have been requested. An attorney for Snipes, Eugene Pettis, told CBS Miami that Snipes “never told them she wouldn’t provide the information.” Snipe’s attorney noted that the records request was made just 26 hours before and that the focus should be on counting the vote. Scott has accused "unethical liberals" of trying to steal the election. Scott led the initial counts from Tuesday's election, but -- in the days since -- the gap between him and incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson has narrowed sharply to the point a state-mandated recount would be necessary. On Friday, Nelson's campaign filed a lawsuit against Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner over mail-in ballots and the counting process.

Sept 19 (Reuters) - The chief executive of British American Tobacco Nicandro Durante is preparing to step down in the wake of a sector-wide share price decline prompted by investor concerns over slowing sales growth, Sky News reported on Wednesday. Durante is expected to leave the company at some point in the next year and likely to be replaced by an internal candidate, Sky News said, citing sources. The precise timing of an announcement about the succession plan is unclear and one source told Sky it may not be imminent. Jack Bowles, BAT’s chief operating officer, is regarded as the frontrunner to be the company’s new boss, although the chief marketing officer, Andrew Gray, is also rumoured to have been a contender for the role, Sky said. British American Tobacco was not immediately available for comment outside business hours.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - Police in North Carolina have accused a man in the shooting death of a 71-year-old woman. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police say in a news release that multiple charges have been filed against 50-year-old Tomka Antonio McDowell, including first-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. McDowell was arrested Friday for the death of Santa Rodena Acevedo, who along with a second person were found shot inside a home on Wednesday. Acevedo was pronounced dead at the scene while the other person was hospitalized. Police have released no additional details in the case. McDowell’s status was unknown Friday afternoon.

Mandya Ramesh is a popular Actor. Latest movies in which Mandya Ramesh has acted are Yajamana, Kanasugara, Raama Dhanya, Nemoda Boolya and Uppina Kagada. Showing photos of "Mandya Ramesh"

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Scientists haven't rendered a verdict on whether coffee is good or bad for you but a California judge has. He says coffee sellers in the state should have to post cancer warnings. The culprit is a chemical produced in the bean roasting process that is a known carcinogen and has been at the heart of an eight-year legal struggle between a tiny nonprofit group and Big Coffee. The Council for Education and Research on Toxics wanted the coffee industry to remove acrylamide from its processing - like potato chip makers did when it sued them years ago - or disclose the danger in ominous warning signs or labels. The industry, led by Starbucks Corp., said the level of the chemical in coffee isn't harmful and any risks are outweighed by benefits. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Elihu Berle said Wednesday that the coffee makers hadn't presented the proper grounds at trial to prevail. The suit was brought against Starbucks and 90 companies under a controversial law passed by California voters in 1986 that has been credited with culling cancer-causing chemicals from myriad products and also criticized for leading to quick settlement shakedowns. "This lawsuit has made a mockery of Prop. 65, has confused consumers, and does nothing to improve public health," said William Murray, president and CEO of the National Coffee Association, who added that coffee had been shown to be a healthy beverage. In 2016, the cancer agency of the World Health Organization moved coffee off its "possible carcinogen" list. Coffee companies have said it's not feasible to remove acrylamide from their product without ruining the flavor. "I firmly believe if the potato chip industry can do it, so can the coffee industry," Metzger said. "A warning won't be that effective because it's an addictive product." Customers at shops that post warnings are often unaware or unconcerned about them. Afternoon coffee drinkers at a Los Angeles Starbucks said they might look into the warning or give coffee drinking a second thought after the ruling, but the cup of joe was likely to win out. The defendants have a couple weeks to challenge the ruling before it is final and could seek relief from an appellate court. If the ruling stands, it could come with a stiff financial penalty and could rattle consumers beyond state lines. The judge can set another phase of trial to consider potential civil penalties up to $2,500 per person exposed each day over eight years. That could be an astronomical sum in a state with close to 40 million residents, though such a massive fine is unlikely. California's outsized market could make it difficult to tailor packaging with warning labels specifically to stores in the state. That means out-of-state coffee drinkers could also take their coffee with a cancer warning. Cream and sugar would still be optional.

If you can't find figs, layer the cream and the crunch here onto whichever fruits are in season. We happen to have a line on super-fresh figs – from the elementary school down the street from us. If you don't know any third-graders tending to some fig trees, however, layer the cream and the crunch here onto whichever fruits are in season; apples and pears now, berries later. You might even play with the mascarpone and toasted pine nuts in savory applications: Dollop cheese onto steak off the grill and finish with nuts. Or toss the mascarpone into hot pasta and garnish with the nuts for crunch. Or char some radicchio, toss it with some chopped figs or berries and dress it all with the mascarpone and pine nuts for a delicious salad. 1. Swirl a couple tablespoons of olive oil into a saute pan. Remove the top fronds and the bottom knot from the fennel. Halve lengthwise and then thinly slice the fennel. Add to the saute pan. 2. Cook the fennel over medium-high heat until it is tender and caramelized; remove from the heat and let cool. 3. Transfer the cooled fennel to a food processor with the mascarpone and a pinch of salt. Blend until a fine consistency. Wrap and refrigerate until you are ready to serve. 4. Next, add the pine nuts to a dry saute pan, add the pine nuts. Turn to medium-high heat and toast the nuts. When they start to turn golden brown, toss with the zest and juice of the lemon. Season with salt and cook until the lemon juice is absorbed and the nuts are toasty. 5. To assemble, remove the top stem from the figs, halve them and plate cut-side up. Spoon or pipe the cheese on top of the figs and finish with a garnish of toasted pine nuts.

Online photos show Scott Brown before and after his weight-loss program. It was not the sight of their former senator bare-chested that shocked Scott Brown’s Facebook followers. They were used to that. It was the sales pitch accompanying the before-and-after photos of his physique, crediting his recent, dramatic weight loss to a commercial nutrition and fitness plan. Brown’s testament to the merits of AdvoCare’s “24-day challenge” was met with so many guffaws that within two hours, he posted another note, saying he is not a paid spokesman for the supplement company. What he didn’t explain is that he’s a salesman. Scott Brown isn’t the first politician-turned-pitchman, and he won’t be the last. Here are some other famous faces who leveraged their political careers to sell products and services. On Thursday, an AdvoCare spokeswoman confirmed that the former US senator is one of the company’s 580,000 independent distributors. Another reporter, writing for The Daily Beast, tried to contact Brown about his involvement and received a sales pitch in reply; she could save 20 to 40 percent off AdvoCare products if she, too, became a distributor, Brown told her. Loyalists asserted Brown was merely spreading the word about a product that had helped him get in shape — what was wrong with promoting fitness? some asked — while others attacked him for trying to sell “snake oil” and suggested he eat organic instead. When he lost his Senate seat to Elizabeth Warren in 2013, Brown got back on a more traditional path for politicians: He returned to work as a lawyer for a high-powered Boston firm, got paid for speaking engagements, and set his sights on his next political conquest. He even got a gig as a contributor to Fox News, earning him $136,000 between campaigns. But this latest gambit, which follows his move to New Hampshire and his unsuccessful 2014 bid for Senate, is seen by some as unbearably unglamorous, even for a guy who appealed to voters as an Everyman. Many were surprised Brown made such a detour from politics, where he has remained active on the periphery. Brown returned to Fox News as a contributor; last week, he authored a fund-raising e-mail for the New Hampshire Republican Party to benefit Senator Kelly Ayotte. Still, Brown’s options have become limited by the political landscape in his new state, said Dante Scala, associate professor of political science at the University of New Hampshire. Brown last year lost the Senate race to the Democratic incumbent, Jeanne Shaheen. With Ayotte running for reelection to the other seat, he is locked out of Senate contention for years to come. To run for governor or the state Senate, Brown would have to live in New Hampshire for seven years, under the state’s election law, making him ineligible for those offices until at least 2020. In joining AdvoCare, Brown enlisted with a multi-level marketer whose success relies on recruitment of new salespeople. The company has been targeted in several high-profile lawsuits in recent years. In one, AdvoCare was ordered to pay $1.8 million for canceling its distribution deal with a couple who had recruited more than 1,000 people and brought in $50 million in sales. The couple claimed they were cut for being too successful. AdvoCare also settled a suit with Olympic swimmer Jessica Hardy, who blamed her disqualification from the 2008 Olympics on an AdvoCare energy drink that she contended was contaminated by a performance-enhancing drug. Brown, a basketball player in his youth who became an avid bicyclist and competitive triathlete, has long been known as a fitness enthusiast. But in his Facebook post, he said his wife and a friend had been goading him to get him in better shape and that his son-in-law turned him on to AdvoCare. Its “24-Day Challenge” uses an herbal cleanse, probiotics, Omega-3 fatty acids, sugar-free energy drinks, and meal-replacement shakes. Brown said AdvoCare helped him lose 42 pounds and made him “extremely competitive” in triathlons. He even posted his e-mail address, inviting people to contact him. It wasn’t the first time Brown was faulted for promoting an unorthodox medical treatment. Last year, after he rented out his e-mail list, thousands of his followers got messages listing “5 Signs You’ll Get Alzheimer’s Disease” and a doctor’s warnings about flu vaccines and fluoridated water. It also wasn’t the first time the public has seen more of Brown than expected. His youthful work as a model and a naked 1982 photo shoot as Cosmopolitan’s “America’s Sexiest Man” became familiar fodder for critics during his campaigns. Last year, he appeared shirtless on the front page of the New Hampshire Union Leader before a wintry plunge into the ocean for charity. But what made some cringe recently was not Brown’s undated “before” picture, which showed him looking uncharacteristically bloated on a beach in Jamaica, but his seeming transformation from a would-be statesman to salesman. Plenty of politicians before Brown have lent their famous names to commercial advertisements, Scala noted. Bob Dole promoted Viagra. Fred Thompson, the former US senator, presidential candidate, and actor, advertised reverse mortgages for American Advisors Group. Former speaker of the House Thomas P. “Tip” O’Neill appeared in a Miller Lite TV ad and stepped out of a suitcase on spots for Quality Inns hotels.

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Orlando Sentinel columnist Scott Maxwell talks to FOX 35 about the round of vetoes done by Gov. Rick Scott. Rick Scott took a wrecking ball to the state budget this week. He swung it one way and dashed UCF's dreams for a downtown campus. He swung it the other and took out the concert hall at the arts center. He swung it once more and destroyed all sorts of pet projects for legislators. My initial reaction was to applaud. While legislators were whining, I thought: Good for you, governor. I loathed the secret, late-night spending spree legislators staged to end the session. And if Rick Scott was going to take a principled stand against wasteful spending, I would cheer him on. One upside to Rick Scott's broad and sweeping vetoes is that it shines a painfully clear light on just how useless many lobbyists are. Cities and counties are forever wasting taxpayer dollars on outside lobbyists who claim to know how to work the system better than anyone else. But then I started digging into the projects he vetoed — and the ones he did not. And once you start looking closely, you see that this wasn't about principle. It was about politics. And spite. And indifference. Scott cut money for the disabled, the homeless and veterans who bravely served this country. He also cut money for the critically ill. Specifically, Scott vetoed $9.5 million for the Florida Association of Free and Charitable Clinics. These are doctors and nurses — many of them volunteers — who provide health care to the people who otherwise wouldn't get it. In Orange County, we're talking about groups such as Shepherd's Hope and Grace Medical Home, where single parents, the working poor and the newly unemployed are on waiting lists for care. These free clinics raise gobs of private funding through donations but have also received help from the state. Yes, Florida has funded them before ... under Rick Scott. But this time, Scott vetoed the money. "Unconscionable" is the word Grace Medical Home Director Stephanie Garris used to describe the action. I'm prone to agree, especially since Scott also led the charge to deny federal coverage to 800,000 Floridians. These aren't the actions of a fiscal conservative. Or a caring human being. I still applaud some of Scott's vetoes, especially pork projects such as the $2 million that lawmakers had earmarked for a private, high-dollar sports-training school in Bradenton. I can even understand why he vetoed some projects I like, including money for Orlando's performing-arts center. It's a wonderful project for our community. But that's who should pay for it: our community. Still, other deserving projects got cut — including $15 million for the University of Central Florida. It's the State University System. Of course the state should be funding it. Scott claimed UCF hadn't cleared all the proper hurdles. It was an odd claim for a man who approved the creation of an entire new university — Florida Polytechnic — in 2012 after the State University System said he should not. Put simply: Scott plays favorites. In 2012, he wanted to reward friendly legislators in Polk County. So we got Florida Polytechnic. This year, he wanted to stick it to Orlando Sen. Andy Gardiner, who had challenged him on health care. So UCF got whacked. Scott picked projects based on politics rather than merits. Need more proof? Scott vetoed $2 million Gardiner wanted to improve water quality in a Winter Park creek system. But he approved $2 million to protect a waterfront golf course in the district of House Speaker Steve Crisafulli, Scott's accomplice in opposing health-care expansion. Even hard-core conservatives who used to support Scott have given up pretending his budget is crafted on sound policy or what's best for the state. Listen, I understand politics. But rewarding your cronies with a little pork is one thing. Tanking programs that help veterans, the disabled and the sick ... that's just twisted. And killing projects that would actually help our education system and economy, simply to make a petty political point .... well, that's our governor.

NASHUA, N.H. — When Gov. Rick Perry of Texas finished up a round-table discussion Wednesday at a manufacturing company here, one man was so impressed that he leapt from his seat, offering the governor high praise. Mr. Perry — who once mused about Texas seceding from the country he now wishes to run — has never been known for his moderation. But voters in New Hampshire on Wednesday expecting to meet the man with a blustery confidence and down-home twang were greeted with a far more subdued and measured campaigner, one who stayed mostly on message about getting “America working again” and refused to answer questions from reporters. New Hampshire in recent primaries has not necessarily been kind to Southern Republicans, with former Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, the winner of the Iowa caucuses, losing here to Senator John McCain of Arizona in 2008, and Mr. McCain beating George W. Bush, then the governor of Texas, in 2000. Perhaps with that in mind, and with the furor over his Federal Reserve remarks still making headlines, Mr. Perry was less strident here on Wednesday than he had been since joining the campaign over the weekend. At his two campaign stops in the state Wednesday, Mr. Perry did indeed seem to be watching what he said, offering up a less free-wheeling and off-the-cuff presence. At the business round-table, he followed the example of Mitt Romney, going around the room and asking for questions and comments, and he spoke in a voice so soft and level that reporters had to huddle around the table, leaning their microphones in to pick up his comments. And at the Politics and Eggs breakfast, many of his usual applause lines were met with only tepid applause, if that. But Mr. Perry said Wednesday that carrying out programs to reduce carbon emissions would cost “billions if not trillions of dollars.” He acknowledged that “yes, our climate has changed,” but he accused scientists of manipulating the data and was skeptical that human behavior was the cause. “I don’t think from my perspective that I want America to be engaged in spending that much money on still a scientific theory that has not been proven and from my perspective is more and more being put into question,” he said. Mr. Perry’s answer did not sit well with Mr. Rubens. “He’s a very impressive candidate, but he was factually wrong on the earth’s climate,” Mr. Rubens said. So, one reporter cheekily asked, is he just the strong silent type? “Strong,” Mr. Perry said, offering just the one word.

ON or OFF: Which non-league football fixtures have fallen victim to the ‘Beast from the East’? Matlock Town's Causeway Lane under a blanket of snow. Pic by Steven Greenhough. This Saturday’s non-league football fixtures have been obliterated by the recent snow fall across the country.

Unitarian Universalists Fellowship of Chico is set to perform a service entitled: “Evangelism Gets a Bad Rap.” It’s not what Unitarian Universalists do. Or is it? This service takes another look at why UU is important and how to better serve the community. Rev. Bryan Plude will lead the worship service, with Margaret Aumann leading the music and Sarah Donnelly at piano. The church is located at 1289 Filbert Ave. in Chico. The service starts at 10:30 a.m. Sunday.

The Alabama Senate on Tuesday approved a bill aiming to stop sheriffs from pocketing excess food funds. The legislation, sponsored by Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, passed 31-0. It would end the current practice of providing funds to feed prisoners directly to sheriffs, and put it in a new Prisoner Feeding Fund. Money in the fund could only go to feeding prisoners. Some excess money at the end of a fiscal year could go to equipment and operations, but not salaries. The bill also increases the current daily food allowance from $1.75 a day to $2.25 per day, with an annual adjustment each year starting in 2021. Orr’s legislation, if passed by the House and signed by Gov. Kay Ivey, would end a longstanding and controversial practice. Under current law, sheriffs can keep excess funds over the cost of feeding prisoners. Former Morgan County Sheriff Greg Bartlett retained more than $200,000 over three years while giving prisoners meals that led many to lose weight. Bartlett earned the nickname “Sheriff Corndog” after feeding inmates corndogs twice a day for a time, and was jailed briefly by a federal judge in 2009. Last year, al.com reported Etowah County Sheriff Todd Entrekin collected $750,000 from food provisions over three years. Entrekin owned several houses, including a $740,000 beach house. He was defeated in a GOP primary last June. The Southern Center for Human Rights and Alabama Appleseed have also investigated conditions in state jails. Carla Crowder, executive director of Alabama Appleseed, said in a phone interview Tuesday that identified problems in at least three counties. "There were multiple inmates who talked about losing weight while they were being held in custody, being served rotten food, (and) there were local nonprofits in communities that would donate food," Crowder said. "There were sheriffs taking in donated food to feed inmates while they were keeping money for that purpose … It was seriously inhumane conditions." Orr said he heard from other places in the state. “I had individuals contacting me from around the state saying they had to literally cook meals and take them to the jail to ensure their son or grandson was adequately fed,” Orr said after the vote. Crowder said the $1.75 per day was insufficient to feed prisoners and they would have been happy with a number above the $2.25 per day, though she was happy to see annual adjustments in the bill. "This is certainly a strong step and it looks like a long-term solution," she said.

Messenger spacecraft orbits 100km from planet's surface to send back data, a decade after launch of ambitious mission. Ten years ago, NASA launched its most ambitious mission yet - to explore the mysteries of Mercury. The spacecraft Messenger is now orbiting less than 100km from the surface and is sending back information. It promises to give scientists new insight into the evolution of the solar system. Al Jazeera's Tom Ackerman reports from Laurel, Maryland.