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http://www.nbc.com/the-voice/artists/season-10/owen-danoff

http://web.archive.org/web/20160526212630id_/http://www.nbc.com:80/the-voice/artists/season-10/owen-danoff

Owen Danoff - NBC.com

Owen comes from a musical background - his father was in the group Starland Vocal Band, whose hit "Afternoon Delight" earned two Grammy Awards. His mother had a restaurant called Starland Cafe that hosted live music, which inspired Owen to pursue the music path. He currently lives in New York City with his girlfriend and is working on his music career.

Meet Owen Danoff on NBC.com.

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http://www.aol.com/article/2016/03/25/suspected-paris-bomb-maker-najim-laachraoui-was-brussels-attacke/21333563/

http://web.archive.org/web/20160527211453id_/http://www.aol.com:80/article/2016/03/25/suspected-paris-bomb-maker-najim-laachraoui-was-brussels-attacke/21333563/

Suspected Paris bomb-maker Najim Laachraoui was Brussels attacker

Before you go, we thought you'd like these... NANCY ING and ALEXANDER SMITH BRUSSELS — One of the suicide bombers who blew themselves up at Brussels airport was the suspected bomb-maker involved in November's Paris attacks, Belgian officials announced on Friday. The federal prosecutor confirmed that 24-year-old Najim Laachraoui was the bomber pictured on the left of a surveillance camera image captured before the twin blasts rocked the departures area on Tuesday. He was pushing a luggage trolley that contained a bomb hidden in a suitcase. Laachraoui is suspected of being the bomb-maker who supplied devices for the Paris attacks on Nov. 13. The prosecutor also confirmed Friday that Laachraoui's DNA was found on a suicide belt at the Bataclan music venue that was targeted by the terrorists along with an explosive device at the Stade du France. RELATED: Learn more about the Brussels attacks: Suspected Paris bomb-maker Najim Laachraoui was Brussels attacker People are evacuated from Brussels Airport, in Zaventem, on March 22, 2016. after at least 13 people have been killed by two explosions in the departure hall of Brussels Airport. / AFP / Belga / VIRGINIE LEFOUR / Belgium OUT (Photo credit should read VIRGINIE LEFOUR/AFP/Getty Images) In this image provided by the Belgian Federal Police in Brussels on Tuesday, March 22, 2016 of three men who are suspected of taking part in the attacks at Belgium's Zaventem Airport. The man at right is still being sought by the police and two others in the photo that the police issued were according to a the Belgian Prosecutors 'probably' suicide bombers. Bombs exploded at the Brussels airport and one of the city's metro stations Tuesday, killing and wounding scores of people, as a European capital was again locked down amid heightened security threats. (Belgian Federal Police via AP) In this image provided by the Belgian Federal Police in Brussels on Tuesday, March 22, 2016, a man who is suspected of taking part in the attacks at Belgium's Zaventem Airport and is being sought by police. Bombs exploded at the Brussels airport and one of the city's metro stations Tuesday, killing and wounding scores of people, as a European capital was again locked down amid heightened security threats. (Belgian Federal Police via AP) In this undated combination photo provided by the Belgian Federal Police in Brussels on Monday, March 21, 2016, suspect Najim Laachraoui is shown. Belgian prosecutors appealed to the public Monday for information about Laachraoui who allegedly traveled to Hungary in 2015 with the top suspect in the Paris attacks. The federal prosecutor's office said in a statement they are seeking information about 24-year-old Najim Laachraoui, who is said to have traveled to Syria in February 2013. It said Laachraoui was checked by guards at the Austria-Hungary border while driving in a Mercedes with Salah Abdeslam and one other person. (Belgian Federal Police via AP) #BREAKING: Two loud explosions at #Zaventem airport in #Brussels https://t.co/JFw9RGLjnh In this still image taken from video from RTL Belgium people receive treatment in the debris strewn terminal at Brussels Airport, in Brussels after explosions Tuesday, March 22, 2016. Authorities locked down the Belgian capital on Tuesday after explosions rocked the Brussels airport and subway system, killing a number of people and injuring many more. Belgium raised its terror alert to its highest level, diverting arriving planes and trains and ordering people to stay where they were. Airports across Europe tightened security. (RTL via AP) BELGIUM OUT TV OUT NO ARCHIVE In this still image taken from video from RTL Belgium people receive treatment in the debris strewn terminal at Brussels Airport, in Brussels after explosions Tuesday, March 22, 2016. Authorities locked down the Belgian capital on Tuesday after explosions rocked the Brussels airport and subway system, killing a number of people and injuring many more. Belgium raised its terror alert to its highest level, diverting arriving planes and trains and ordering people to stay where they were. Airports across Europe tightened security. (RTL via AP) BELGIUM OUT TV OUT NO ARCHIVE In this photo provided by Ralph Usbeck an unidentified traveller gets to his feet in a smoke filled terminal at Brussels Airport, in Brussels after explosions Tuesday, March 22, 2016. Authorities locked down the Belgian capital on Tuesday after explosions rocked the Brussels airport and subway system, killing a number of people and injuring many more. Belgium raised its terror alert to its highest level, diverting arriving planes and trains and ordering people to stay where they were. Airports across Europe tightened security. (Ralph Usbeck via AP) In this photo provided by Ralph Usbeck a police officers directs passengers in a smoke filled terminal at Brussels Airport, in Brussels after explosions Tuesday, March 22, 2016. Authorities locked down the Belgian capital on Tuesday after explosions rocked the Brussels airport and subway system, killing a number of people and injuring many more. Belgium raised its terror alert to its highest level, diverting arriving planes and trains and ordering people to stay where they were. Airports across Europe tightened security. (Ralph Usbeck via AP) This video footage captures the aftermath of the explosions at Zaventem airport, #Brussels https://t.co/wcsNygh91Y In this photo provided by Georgian Public Broadcaster and photographed by Ketevan Kardava, armed security personnel are seen in Brussels Airport in Brussels, Belgium, after explosions were heard Tuesday, March 22, 2016. A developing situation left a number dead in explosions that ripped through the departure hall at Brussels airport Tuesday, police said. All flights were canceled, arriving planes were being diverted and Belgium's terror alert level was raised to maximum, officials said. (Ketevan Kardava/ Georgian Public Broadcaster via AP) In this photo provided by Georgian Public Broadcaster and photographed by Ketevan Kardava two women wounded in Brussels Airport in Brussels, Belgium, after explosions were heard Tuesday, March 22, 2016. A developing situation left at least one person and possibly more dead in explosions that ripped through the departure hall at Brussels airport Tuesday, police said. All flights were canceled, arriving planes were being diverted and Belgium's terror alert level was raised to maximum, officials said. (Ketevan Kardava/ Georgian Public Broadcaster via AP) In this photo provided by Georgian Public Broadcaster and photographed by Ketevan Kardava a man is wounded in Brussels Airport in Brussels, Belgium, after explosions were heard Tuesday, March 22, 2016. A developing situation left at least one person and possibly more dead in explosions that ripped through the departure hall at Brussels airport Tuesday, police said. All flights were canceled, arriving planes were being diverted and Belgium's terror alert level was raised to maximum, officials said. (Ketevan Kardava/ Georgian Public Broadcaster via AP) This photo provided by Georgian Public Broadcaster and photographed by Ketevan Kardava, shows the scene in Brussels Airport in Brussels, Belgium, after explosions were heard Tuesday, March 22, 2016. A developing situation left a number dead in explosions that ripped through the departure hall at Brussels airport Tuesday, police said. All flights were canceled, arriving planes were being diverted and Belgium's terror alert level was raised to maximum, officials said. (Ketevan Kardava/ Georgian Public Broadcaster via AP) In this photo provided by Ralph Usbeck an unidentified traveller gets to his feet in a smoke filled terminal at Brussels Airport, in Brussels after explosions Tuesday, March 22, 2016. Authorities locked down the Belgian capital on Tuesday after explosions rocked the Brussels airport and subway system, killing a number of people and injuring many more. Belgium raised its terror alert to its highest level, diverting arriving planes and trains and ordering people to stay where they were. Airports across Europe tightened security. (Ralph Usbeck via AP) In this photo provided by Georgian Public Broadcaster and photographed by Ketevan Kardava a man is wounded in Brussels Airport in Brussels, Belgium, after explosions were heard Tuesday, March 22, 2016. A developing situation left at least one person and possibly more dead in explosions that ripped through the departure hall at Brussels airport Tuesday, police said. All flights were canceled, arriving planes were being diverted and Belgium's terror alert level was raised to maximum, officials said. (Ketevan Kardava/ Georgian Public Broadcaster via AP) In this photo provided by Georgian Public Broadcaster and photographed by Ketevan Kardava, an injured man lies on the floor in Brussels Airport in Brussels, Belgium, after explosions were heard Tuesday, March 22, 2016. A developing situation left a number dead in explosions that ripped through the departure hall at Brussels airport Tuesday, police said. All flights were canceled, arriving planes were being diverted and Belgium's terror alert level was raised to maximum, officials said. (Ketevan Kardava/ Georgian Public Broadcaster via AP) In this photo provided by Georgian Public Broadcaster and photographed by Ketevan Kardava a man is wounded in Brussels Airport in Brussels, Belgium, after explosions were heard Tuesday, March 22, 2016. A developing situation left a number dead in explosions that ripped through the departure hall at Brussels airport Tuesday, police said. All flights were canceled, arriving planes were being diverted and Belgium's terror alert level was raised to maximum, officials said. (Ketevan Kardava/ Georgian Public Broadcaster via AP) In this photo provided by Ralph Usbeck travellers stand in a smoke filled terminal at Brussels Airport, in Brussels after explosions Tuesday, March 22, 2016. Authorities locked down the Belgian capital on Tuesday after explosions rocked the Brussels airport and subway system, killing a number of people and injuring many more. Belgium raised its terror alert to its highest level, diverting arriving planes and trains and ordering people to stay where they were. Airports across Europe tightened security. (Ralph Usbeck via AP) Brussels aftermath video shows survivors huddled together, telling one another: "It's okay". https://t.co/3Y7lEXrrjP https://t.co/KdqFXR9Wft BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - MARCH 22: Passengers are evacuated from Zaventem Bruxelles International Airport after a terrorist attack on March 22, 2016 in Brussels, Belgium. At least 13 people are though to have been killed after Brussels airport was hit by two explosions whilst a Metro station was also targeted. The attacks come just days after a key suspect in the Paris attacks, Salah Abdeslam, was captured in Brussels. (Photo by Sylvain Lefevre/Getty Images) The blown out windows of Zaventem airport are seen after a deadly attack in Brussels, Belgium, Tuesday, March 22, 2016. Authorities in Europe have tightened security at airports, on subways, at the borders and on city streets after deadly attacks Tuesday on the Brussels airport and its subway system. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong) A private security guard helps a wounded women outside the Maalbeek metro station in Brussels on March 21, 2016 after a blast at this station located near the EU institutions. Belgian firefighters said at least 26 people had died after 'enormous' blasts rocked Brussels airport and a city metro station today, as Belgium raised its terror threat to the maximum level. / AFP / Michael VILLA (Photo credit should read MICHAEL VILLA/AFP/Getty Images) People react as they walk away from Brussels airport after explosions rocked the facility in Brussels, Belgium Tuesday March 22, 2016. Explosions rocked the Brussels airport and the subway system Tuesday, just days after the main suspect in the November Paris attacks was arrested in the city, police said. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert) In this photo provided by David Crunelle, an injured woman leaves the scene at Brussels airport, after explosions rocked the facility in Brussels, Belgium, Tuesday March 22, 2016. Authorities locked down the Belgian capital on Tuesday after explosions rocked the Brussels airport and subway system, killing at least 13 people and injuring many more. Belgium raised its terror alert to its highest level, diverting arriving planes and trains and ordering people to stay where they were. Airports across Europe tightened security. (David Crunelle via AP) NO SALES - NO ARCHIVES A picture taken on March 22, 2016 shows a Belgian police vehicle driving past passengers who are evacuating the Brussels Airport of Zaventem. At least 13 people were killed and 35 injured as twin blasts rocked the main terminal of Brussels airport on March 22, 2016, Belgian media quoted the federal prosecutor as saying. Officials were not immediately available to confirm the figure when contacted by AFP. The federal police earlier confirmed one death. / AFP / Belga / Jonas Roosens / Belgium OUT (Photo credit should read JONAS ROOSENS/AFP/Getty Images) People react as they walk away from Brussels airport after explosions rocked the facility in Brussels, Belgium Tuesday March 22, 2016. Explosions rocked the Brussels airport and the subway system Tuesday, just days after the main suspect in the November Paris attacks was arrested in the city, police said. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert) People react outside Brussels airport after explosions rocked the facility in Brussels, Belgium Tuesday March 22, 2016. Explosions rocked the Brussels airport and the subway system Tuesday, just days after the main suspect in the November Paris attacks was arrested in the city, police said. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert) People react as they walk away from Brussels airport after explosions rocked the facility in Brussels, Belgium Tuesday March 22, 2016. Explosions rocked the Brussels airport and the subway system Tuesday, just days after the main suspect in the November Paris attacks was arrested in the city, police said. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert) A picture taken on March 22, 2016 shows a Belgian police vehicle driving past passengers who are evacuating the Brussels Airport of Zaventem. At least 13 people were killed and 35 injured as twin blasts rocked the main terminal of Brussels airport on March 22, 2016, Belgian media quoted the federal prosecutor as saying. Officials were not immediately available to confirm the figure when contacted by AFP. The federal police earlier confirmed one death. / AFP / Belga / Jonas Roosens / Belgium OUT (Photo credit should read JONAS ROOSENS/AFP/Getty Images) In this image taken from TV people receive treatment as emergency services attend the scene after an explosion in a main metro station in Brussels on Tuesday, March 22, 2016. Explosions rocked the Brussels airport and the subway system Tuesday, killing at least 13 people and injuring many others just days after the main suspect in the November Paris attacks was arrested in the city, police said. (AP Photo) In this image taken from TV an armed member of the security forces stands guard as emergency services attend the scene after a explosion in a main metro station in Brussels on Tuesday, March 22, 2016. Explosions rocked the Brussels airport and the subway system Tuesday, killing a number of people and injuring many others just days after the main suspect in the November Paris attacks was arrested in the city, police said. (AP Photo) In this image made from video, emergency rescue workers stretcher an unidentified person at the site of an explosion at a metro station in Brussels, Belgium, March 22, 2016. Explosions rocked the Brussels airport and the subway system Tuesday, just days after the main suspect in the November Paris attacks was arrested in the city, police said.(APTN via AP) A picture taken on March 22, 2016 shows smoke rising from the Maalbeek underground, in Brussels, following a blast at the station close to the capital's European quarter. The Brussels metro service was being shut down on March 22, its operator said. The measure came after a rush-hour explosion at Maalbeek station with TV images showing black smoke pouring from the station entrance. / AFP / Belga / Seppe KNAPEN / Belgium OUT (Photo credit should read SEPPE KNAPEN/AFP/Getty Images) A security perimeter has been set, on March 22, 2016 near Maalbeek metro station in Brussels, after a blast at this station near the EU institutions caused deaths and injuries. AFP PHOTO / EMMANUEL DUNAND / AFP / EMMANUEL DUNAND (Photo credit should read EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images) BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - MARCH 22: Broken glass and blood is seen beside signage outside an entrance to Maelbeek metro station following todays attack on March 22, 2016 in Brussels, Belgium. At least 34 people are thought to have been killed after Brussels airport and a Metro station were targeted by explosions. The attacks come just days after a key suspect in the Paris attacks, Salah Abdeslam, was captured in Brussels. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images) BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - MARCH 22: Broken glass is seen outside an entrance to Maelbeek metro station following todays attack on March 22, 2016 in Brussels, Belgium. At least 34 people are thought to have been killed after Brussels airport and a Metro station were targeted by explosions. The attacks come just days after a key suspect in the Paris attacks, Salah Abdeslam, was captured in Brussels. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images) Policemen stand guard at the entrance of a security perimeter set near Maalbeek metro station, on March 22, 2016 in Brussels, after a blast at this station near the EU institutions caused deaths and injuries. AFP PHOTO / EMMANUEL DUNAND / AFP / EMMANUEL DUNAND (Photo credit should read EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images) Rescue teams evacuate wounded people outside the Maalbeek metro station in Brussels on March 22, 2016 after a blast at this station located near the EU institutions. Belgian firefighters said at least 26 people had died after 'enormous' blasts rocked Brussels airport and a city metro station today, as Belgium raised its terror threat to the maximum level. / AFP / - (Photo credit should read -/AFP/Getty Images) Passengers evacuated after blast at #Maalbeek metro station in #Brussels via @EurActiv https://t.co/O3W8C2rpPm https://t.co/XmIoeKfE9F In this photo provided by Evan Lamos passengers clamber from a metro carriage after explosions in Brussels Tuesday, March 22, 2016. Authorities locked down the Belgian capital on Tuesday after explosions rocked the Brussels airport and subway system, killing a number of people and injuring many more. Belgium raised its terror alert to its highest level, diverting arriving planes and trains and ordering people to stay where they were. Airports across Europe tightened security. (Evan Lamos via AP) In this photo provided by Evan Lamos passengers walk inside the metro system after explosions in Brussels Tuesday, March 22, 2016. Authorities locked down the Belgian capital on Tuesday after explosions rocked the Brussels airport and subway system, killing a number of people and injuring many more. Belgium raised its terror alert to its highest level, diverting arriving planes and trains and ordering people to stay where they were. Airports across Europe tightened security. (Evan Lamos via AP) In this image provided by Daniela Schwarzer, smoke is seen at Brussels airport in Brussels, Belgium, after explosions were heard Tuesday, March 22, 2016. (Daniela Schwarzer via AP) Smoke billows from the Zaventem Airport after a controlled explosion in Brussels, Tuesday, March 22, 2016. Bombs struck the Brussels airport and one of the city's metro stations Tuesday, killing and wounding dozens of people, as a European capital was again locked down amid heightened security threats. (AP Photo/Michel Spingler) People are evacuated from Brussels airport in Zaventem on March 22, 2016 following twin blasts. A string of explosions rocked Brussels airport and a city metro station, killing at least 21 people in apparently coordinated attacks, officials said. == BELGIUM OUT == / AFP / Belga / DIRK WAEM / Belgium OUT (Photo credit should read DIRK WAEM/AFP/Getty Images) A man with blood stains on his sweater leaves Brussels airport in Zaventem on March 22, 2016 following twin blasts. A string of explosions rocked Brussels airport and a city metro station, killing at least 21 people in apparently coordinated attacks, officials said. == BELGIUM OUT == / AFP / Belga / DIRK WAEM / Belgium OUT (Photo credit should read DIRK WAEM/AFP/Getty Images) Amateur footage shows scene at #Brussels airport after explosions (video: Bart van Meele) https://t.co/v29k9dvMiM People stand near Brussels airport after being evacuated following explosions that rocked the facility in Brussels, Belgium, Tuesday March 22, 2016. Authorities locked down the Belgian capital on Tuesday after explosions rocked the Brussels airport and subway system, killing a number of people and injuring many more. Belgium raised its terror alert to its highest level, diverting arriving planes and trains and ordering people to stay where they were. Airports across Europe tightened security. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert) Passengers are evacuated from Brussels airport, on March 22, 2016 in Zaventem, after at least 13 people were killed and 35 injured as twin blasts rocked the main terminal of Brussels airport.AFP PHOTO / JOHN THYS / AFP / JOHN THYS (Photo credit should read JOHN THYS/AFP/Getty Images) A victim is evacuated on a stretcher by emergency services after a explosion in a main metro station in Brussels on Tuesday, March 22, 2016. Explosions rocked the Brussels airport and the subway system Tuesday, killing at least 13 people and injuring many others just days after the main suspect in the November Paris attacks was arrested in the city, police said. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo) People comfort each other after being evacuated from Brussels airport, after explosions rocked the facility in Brussels, Belgium, Tuesday March 22, 2016. Authorities locked down the Belgian capital on Tuesday after explosions rocked the Brussels airport and subway system, killing at least 13 people and injuring many more. Belgium raised its terror alert to its highest level, diverting arriving planes and trains and ordering people to stay where they were. Airports across Europe tightened security. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert) A victim receives first aid by rescuers, on March 22, 2016 near Maalbeek metro station in Brussels, after a blast at this station near the EU institutions caused deaths and injuries. AFP PHOTO / EMMANUEL DUNAND / AFP / EMMANUEL DUNAND (Photo credit should read EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images) A woman is evacuated in an ambulance by emergency services after a explosion in a main metro station in Brussels on Tuesday, March 22, 2016. Explosions rocked the Brussels airport and the subway system Tuesday, killing at least 13 people and injuring many others just days after the main suspect in the November Paris attacks was arrested in the city, police said. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo) In this image taken from TV an injured person is evacuated as emergency services attend the scene after an explosion in a main metro station in Brussels on Tuesday, March 22, 2016. Explosions rocked the Brussels airport and the subway system Tuesday, killing a number of people and injuring many others just days after the main suspect in the November Paris attacks was arrested in the city, police said. (AP Photo) A woman is evacuated by emergency services after a explosion in a main metro station in Brussels on Tuesday, March 22, 2016. Explosions rocked the Brussels airport and the subway system Tuesday, killing at least 13 people and injuring many others just days after the main suspect in the November Paris attacks was arrested in the city, police said. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo) People react outside Brussels airport after explosions rocked the facility in Brussels, Belgium Tuesday March 22, 2016. Explosions rocked the Brussels airport and the subway system Tuesday, just days after the main suspect in the November Paris attacks was arrested in the city, police said. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert) A victim receives first aid by rescuers, on March 22, 2016 near Maalbeek metro station in Brussels, after a blast at this station near the EU institutions caused deaths and injuries. AFP PHOTO / EMMANUEL DUNAND / AFP / EMMANUEL DUNAND (Photo credit should read EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images) A truck carrying soldiers of the Belgian Army arrives after a explosion in a main metro station in Brussels on Tuesday, March 22, 2016. Explosions rocked the Brussels airport and the subway system Tuesday, killing at least 13 people and injuring many others just days after the main suspect in the November Paris attacks was arrested in the city, police said. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo) BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - MARCH 22 : Police officers stand guard around the Zaventem Airport after two explosions went off in Brussels, Belgium on March 22, 2016. (Photo by Dursun Aydemir/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - MARCH 22 : Police officers stand guard around the Zaventem Airport after two explosions went off in Brussels, Belgium on March 22, 2016. (Photo by Dursun Aydemir/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) A young girl looks out of the window of a bus after being evacuated from Brussels airport, after explosions rocked the facility in Brussels, Belgium, Tuesday March 22, 2016. Authorities locked down the Belgian capital on Tuesday after explosions rocked the Brussels airport and subway system, killing at least 13 people and injuring many more. Belgium raised its terror alert to its highest level, diverting arriving planes and trains and ordering people to stay where they were. Airports across Europe tightened security. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert) Passengers leave a gym where they took shelter after the explosions, near the Zaventem Airport in Brussels, Tuesday, March 22, 2016. Bombs struck the Brussels airport and one of the city's metro stations Tuesday, killing and wounding dozens of people, as a European capital was again locked down amid heightened security threats. (AP Photo/Michel Spingler) Passengers are gathered, on March 22, 2016 near Brussels airport in Zaventem, following its evacuation after at least 13 people were killed and 35 injured as twin blasts rocked the main terminal of Brussels airport.AFP PHOTO / JOHN THYS / AFP / JOHN THYS (Photo credit should read JOHN THYS/AFP/Getty Images) People react as they walk away from Brussels airport after explosions rocked the facility in Brussels, Belgium Tuesday March 22, 2016. Explosions rocked the Brussels airport and the subway system Tuesday, just days after the main suspect in the November Paris attacks was arrested in the city, police said. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert) In this photo provided by David Crunelle, injured people leave the scene at Brussels airport, after explosions rocked the facility in Brussels, Belgium, Tuesday March 22, 2016. Authorities locked down the Belgian capital on Tuesday after explosions rocked the Brussels airport and subway system, killing a number of people and injuring many more. Belgium raised its terror alert to its highest level, diverting arriving planes and trains and ordering people to stay where they were. Airports across Europe tightened security. (David Crunelle via AP) NO SALES - NO ARCHIVES BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - MARCH 22 : Police officers stand guard around the Zaventem Airport after two explosions went off in Brussels, Belgium on March 22, 2016. (Photo by Dursun Aydemir/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) Firefighters arrive at a security perimeter set in the Rue de la Loi near the Maalbeek subway station, in Brussels, on March 22, 2016, after an explosion killed around 10 people, according to spokesman of Brussels' fire brigade A string of explosions rocked Brussels airport and a city metro station on Tuesday, killing at least 13 people, according to media reports, as Belgium raised its terror threat to the maximum level. / AFP / Belga / LAURIE DIEFFEMBACQ / Belgium OUT (Photo credit should read LAURIE DIEFFEMBACQ/AFP/Getty Images) Passengers who were evacuated from the airport wait in Zaventem, on March 22, 2016, after a string of explosions rocked Brussels airport of Zaventem and a city metro station, killing at least 13 people, according to media reports, as Belgium raised its terror threat to the maximum level. / AFP / Belga / SEPPE KNAPEN / Belgium OUT (Photo credit should read SEPPE KNAPEN/AFP/Getty Images) BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - MARCH 22 : Police officers stand guard around the Zaventem Airport after two explosions went off in Brussels, Belgium on March 22, 2016. (Photo by Dursun Aydemir/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) People react outside Brussels airport after explosions rocked the facility in Brussels, Belgium Tuesday March 22, 2016. Explosions rocked the Brussels airport and the subway system Tuesday, just days after the main suspect in the November Paris attacks was arrested in the city, police said. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert) People are evacuated from Brussels Airport, in Zaventem, on March 22, 2016. after at least 13 people have been killed by two explosions in the departure hall of Brussels Airport. / AFP / Belga / VIRGINIE LEFOUR / Belgium OUT (Photo credit should read VIRGINIE LEFOUR/AFP/Getty Images) People stand near Brussels airport after being evacuated following explosions that rocked the facility in Brussels, Belgium, Tuesday March 22, 2016. Authorities locked down the Belgian capital on Tuesday after explosions rocked the Brussels airport and subway system, killing a number of people and injuring many more. Belgium raised its terror alert to its highest level, diverting arriving planes and trains and ordering people to stay where they were. Airports across Europe tightened security. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert) Passengers gather, on March 22, 2016 near Brussels airport in Zaventem , following its evacuation after at least 13 people were killed and 35 injured as twin blasts rocked the main terminal of Brussels airport.AFP PHOTO / JOHN THYS / AFP / JOHN THYS (Photo credit should read JOHN THYS/AFP/Getty Images) Passengers leave with their luggages, on March 22, 2016 near Brussels airport in Zaventem , following its evacuation after at least 13 people were killed and 35 injured as twin blasts rocked the main terminal of Brussels airport.AFP PHOTO / JOHN THYS / AFP / JOHN THYS (Photo credit should read JOHN THYS/AFP/Getty Images) BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - MARCH 22 : Police officers stand guard around the Zaventem Airport after two explosions went off in Brussels, Belgium on March 22, 2016. (Photo by Dursun Aydemir/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) A photo taken on March 22, 2016 shows Brussels Airport, in Zaventem, after two explosions rocked the main hall of the airport. At least 13 people have been killed after two explosions occured in the departure hall of Brussels Airport. Government sources speak of a terrorist attack. The terrorist threat level has been heightened to four across the country. / AFP / BELGA / DIRK WAEM / Belgium OUT (Photo credit should read DIRK WAEM/AFP/Getty Images) His DNA was also recovered at several safe houses in Belgium used by the cell. Laachraoui also used the false name Soufiane Kayal and was with suspected Paris attacker Salah Abdeslam in Hungary in Sept. 2015, according to the prosecutor. U.S. and Belgian intelligence sources previously told NBC News that Laachraoui was believed to be among the Brussels suicide bombers, but Friday was the first time his involvement in the attacks had been publicly acknowledged by officials. RELATED: Memorials to the Brussels victims Suspected Paris bomb-maker Najim Laachraoui was Brussels attacker People holding a banner reading "I am Brussels" behind flowers and candles to mourn for the victims at Place de la Bourse in the center of Brussels, Tuesday, March 22, 2016. Bombs exploded at the Brussels airport and one of the city's metro stations Tuesday, killing and wounding scores of people, as a European capital was again locked down amid heightened security threats. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner) Young women hold each other at a makeshift memorial in front of the stock exchange at the Place de la Bourse (Beursplein) in Brussels on March 22, 2016, following triple bomb attacks in the Belgian capital that killed about 35 people and left more than 200 people wounded. A series of explosions claimed by the Islamic State group ripped through Brussels airport and a metro train on March 22, killing around 35 people in the latest attacks to bring bloody carnage to the heart of Europe. AFP PHOTO / KENZO TRIBOUILLARD / AFP / KENZO TRIBOUILLARD (Photo credit should read KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP/Getty Images) People bring flowers and candles to mourn at the Place de la Bourse in the center of Brussels, Tuesday, March 22, 2016. Bombs exploded at the Brussels airport and one of the city's metro stations Tuesday, killing and wounding scores of people, as a European capital was again locked down amid heightened security threats. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner) BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - MARCH 22: People gather at Place de la Bourse in support of the victims after the terrorist attacks on March 22, 2016 in Brussels, Belgium. At least 31 people are thought to have been killed after Brussels airport and a Metro station were targeted by explosions. The attacks come just days after a key suspect in the Paris attacks, Salah Abdeslam, was captured in Brussels. (Photo by Aurelien Meunier/Getty Images) TOPSHOT - A photo taken on March 22, 2016 shows a sign peace made of candles in front of the Bourse of Brussels in tribute to the victims of Brussels following triple bomb attacks in the Belgian capital that killed about 35 people and left more than 200 people wounded. Belgium launched a huge manhunt on March 22 after a series of bombings claimed by the Islamic State group ripped through Brussels airport and a metro train, killing around 35 people in the latest attack to bring carnage to the heart of Europe. / AFP / BELGA / Aurore Belot / Belgium OUT (Photo credit should read AURORE BELOT/AFP/Getty Images) TOPSHOT - People light candles in tribute to victims at a makeshift memorial in front of the stock exchange at the Place de la Bourse (Beursplein) in Brussels on March 22, 2016, following triple bomb attacks in the Belgian capital that killed about 35 people and left more than 200 people wounded. A series of explosions claimed by the Islamic State group ripped through Brussels airport and a metro train on March 22, killing around 35 people in the latest attacks to bring bloody carnage to the heart of Europe. AFP PHOTO / KENZO TRIBOUILLARD / AFP / KENZO TRIBOUILLARD (Photo credit should read KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP/Getty Images) BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - MARCH 22: A young girl lights a candle at the Place de la Bourse following today's attacks on March 22, 2016 in Brussels, Belgium. At least 31 people are thought to have been killed after Brussels airport and a Metro station were targeted by explosions. The attacks come just days after a key suspect in the Paris attacks, Salah Abdeslam, was captured in Brussels. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images) TOPSHOT - People stand hand in hand in tribute to victims at a makeshift memorial in front of the stock exchange at the Place de la Bourse (Beursplein) in Brussels on March 22, 2016, following triple bomb attacks in the Belgian capital that killed about 35 people and left more than 200 people wounded. A series of explosions claimed by the Islamic State group ripped through Brussels airport and a metro train on March 22, killing around 35 people in the latest attacks to bring bloody carnage to the heart of Europe. AFP PHOTO / KENZO TRIBOUILLARD / AFP / KENZO TRIBOUILLARD (Photo credit should read KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP/Getty Images) BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - MARCH 22: People gather to leave tributes at the Place de la Bourse following today's attacks on March 22, 2016 in Brussels, Belgium. At least 31 people are thought to have been killed after Brussels airport and a Metro station were targeted by explosions. The attacks come just days after a key suspect in the Paris attacks, Salah Abdeslam, was captured in Brussels. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images) A message written on the ground reads 'Brussels is beautiful' next to flowers and candles following attacks in Brussels on March 22, 2016. Airlines cancelled hundreds of flights and European railways froze links with Brussels after a series of bomb blasts killed around 35 people in the city's airport and a metro train, sparking a broad security response. AFP PHOTO / KENZO TRIBOUILLARD / AFP / KENZO TRIBOUILLARD (Photo credit should read KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP/Getty Images) BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - MARCH 22: People gather at Place de la Bourse in support of the victims after the terrorist attacks on March 22, 2016 in Brussels, Belgium. At least 31 people are thought to have been killed after Brussels airport and a Metro station were targeted by explosions. The attacks come just days after a key suspect in the Paris attacks, Salah Abdeslam, was captured in Brussels. (Photo by Aurelien Meunier/Getty Images) BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - MARCH 22: People gather at Place de la Bourse in support of the victims after the terrorist attacks on March 22, 2016 in Brussels, Belgium. At least 31 people are thought to have been killed after Brussels airport and a Metro station were targeted by explosions. The attacks come just days after a key suspect in the Paris attacks, Salah Abdeslam, was captured in Brussels. (Photo by Aurelien Meunier/Getty Images) BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - MARCH 22: People gather at Place de la Bourse in support of the victims after the terrorist attacks on March 22, 2016 in Brussels, Belgium. At least 31 people are thought to have been killed after Brussels airport and a Metro station were targeted by explosions. The attacks come just days after a key suspect in the Paris attacks, Salah Abdeslam, was captured in Brussels. (Photo by Aurelien Meunier/Getty Images) BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - MARCH 22: People gather at Place de la Bourse in support of the victims after the terrorist attacks on March 22, 2016 in Brussels, Belgium. At least 31 people are thought to have been killed after Brussels airport and a Metro station were targeted by explosions. The attacks come just days after a key suspect in the Paris attacks, Salah Abdeslam, was captured in Brussels. (Photo by Aurelien Meunier/Getty Images) BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - MARCH 22: People gather at Place de la Bourse in support of the victims after the terrorist attacks on March 22, 2016 in Brussels, Belgium. At least 31 people are thought to have been killed after Brussels airport and a Metro station were targeted by explosions. The attacks come just days after a key suspect in the Paris attacks, Salah Abdeslam, was captured in Brussels. (Photo by Aurelien Meunier/Getty Images) BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - MARCH 22: People gather at Place de la Bourse in support of the victims after the terrorist attacks on March 22, 2016 in Brussels, Belgium. At least 31 people are thought to have been killed after Brussels airport and a Metro station were targeted by explosions. The attacks come just days after a key suspect in the Paris attacks, Salah Abdeslam, was captured in Brussels. (Photo by Aurelien Meunier/Getty Images) BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - MARCH 22: People gather at Place de la Bourse in support of the victims after the terrorist attacks on March 22, 2016 in Brussels, Belgium. At least 31 people are thought to have been killed after Brussels airport and a Metro station were targeted by explosions. The attacks come just days after a key suspect in the Paris attacks, Salah Abdeslam, was captured in Brussels. (Photo by Aurelien Meunier/Getty Images) BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - MARCH 22: People gather at Place de la Bourse in support of the victims after the terrorist attacks on March 22, 2016 in Brussels, Belgium. At least 31 people are thought to have been killed after Brussels airport and a Metro station were targeted by explosions. The attacks come just days after a key suspect in the Paris attacks, Salah Abdeslam, was captured in Brussels. (Photo by Aurelien Meunier/Getty Images) BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - MARCH 22: People gather at Place de la Bourse in support of the victims after the terrorist attacks on March 22, 2016 in Brussels, Belgium. At least 31 people are thought to have been killed after Brussels airport and a Metro station were targeted by explosions. The attacks come just days after a key suspect in the Paris attacks, Salah Abdeslam, was captured in Brussels. (Photo by Aurelien Meunier/Getty Images) BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - MARCH 22: People gather at Place de la Bourse in support of the victims after the terrorist attacks on March 22, 2016 in Brussels, Belgium. At least 31 people are thought to have been killed after Brussels airport and a Metro station were targeted by explosions. The attacks come just days after a key suspect in the Paris attacks, Salah Abdeslam, was captured in Brussels. (Photo by Aurelien Meunier/Getty Images) BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - MARCH 22: People gather at Place de la Bourse in support of the victims after the terrorist attacks on March 22, 2016 in Brussels, Belgium. At least 31 people are thought to have been killed after Brussels airport and a Metro station were targeted by explosions. The attacks come just days after a key suspect in the Paris attacks, Salah Abdeslam, was captured in Brussels. (Photo by Aurelien Meunier/Getty Images) BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - MARCH 22: People gather at Place de la Bourse in support of the victims after the terrorist attacks on March 22, 2016 in Brussels, Belgium. At least 31 people are thought to have been killed after Brussels airport and a Metro station were targeted by explosions. The attacks come just days after a key suspect in the Paris attacks, Salah Abdeslam, was captured in Brussels. (Photo by Aurelien Meunier/Getty Images) BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - MARCH 22: People gather at Place de la Bourse in support of the victims after the terrorist attacks on March 22, 2016 in Brussels, Belgium. At least 31 people are thought to have been killed after Brussels airport and a Metro station were targeted by explosions. The attacks come just days after a key suspect in the Paris attacks, Salah Abdeslam, was captured in Brussels. (Photo by Aurelien Meunier/Getty Images) People bring flowers and candles to mourn at the Place de la Bourse in the center of Brussels, Tuesday, March 22, 2016. Bombs exploded at the Brussels airport and one of the city's metro stations Tuesday, killing and wounding scores of people, as a European capital was again locked down amid heightened security threats. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner) BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - MARCH 22: People light candles at the Place de la Bourse following today's attacks on March 22, 2016 in Brussels, Belgium. At least 31 people are thought to have been killed after Brussels airport and a Metro station were targeted by explosions. The attacks come just days after a key suspect in the Paris attacks, Salah Abdeslam, was captured in Brussels. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images) BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - MARCH 22: People hold up a banner as a mark of solidarity at the Place de la Bourse following today's attacks on March 22, 2016 in Brussels, Belgium. At least 31 people are thought to have been killed after Brussels airport and a Metro station were targeted by explosions. The attacks come just days after a key suspect in the Paris attacks, Salah Abdeslam, was captured in Brussels. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images) BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - MARCH 22: Candles are lit at the Place de la Bourse following today's attacks on March 22, 2016 in Brussels, Belgium. At least 31 people are thought to have been killed after Brussels airport and a Metro station were targeted by explosions. The attacks come just days after a key suspect in the Paris attacks, Salah Abdeslam, was captured in Brussels. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images) People bring flowers and candles to mourn for the victims at Place de la Bourse in the center of Brussels, Tuesday, March 22, 2016. Bombs exploded at the Brussels airport and one of the city's metro stations Tuesday, killing and wounding scores of people, as a European capital was again locked down amid heightened security threats. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner) People mourn for the victims at Place de la Bourse in the center of Brussels, Tuesday, March 22, 2016. Bombs exploded at the Brussels airport and one of the city's metro stations Tuesday, killing and wounding scores of people, as a European capital was again locked down amid heightened security threats. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner) A placard reads 'Share your love' at a makeshift memorial following attacks in Brussels on March 22, 2016. Airlines cancelled hundreds of flights and European railways froze links with Brussels after a series of bomb blasts killed around 35 people in the city's airport and a metro train, sparking a broad security response. AFP PHOTO / KENZO TRIBOUILLARD / AFP / KENZO TRIBOUILLARD (Photo credit should read KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP/Getty Images) Writing on the asphalt reads "More stars in Brussel's heaven" at Place de la Bourse in the center of Brussels, where people write hundreds of messages on the ground to remember the victims of Tuesday's attack, Tuesday, March 22, 2016. Bombs exploded at the Brussels airport and one of the city's metro stations Tuesday, killing and wounding scores of people, as a European capital was again locked down amid heightened security threats. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner) A woman reads messages written on the ground at Place de la Bourse (Beursplein) following attacks in Brussels on March 22, 2016. Airlines cancelled hundreds of flights and European railways froze links with Brussels after a series of bomb blasts killed around 35 people in the city's airport and a metro train, sparking a broad security response. AFP PHOTO / KENZO TRIBOUILLARD / AFP / KENZO TRIBOUILLARD (Photo credit should read KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP/Getty Images) People walk over messages written on the ground at Place de la Bourse (Beursplein) following attacks in Brussels on March 22, 2016. Airlines cancelled hundreds of flights and European railways froze links with Brussels after a series of bomb blasts killed around 35 people in the city's airport and a metro train, sparking a broad security response. AFP PHOTO / KENZO TRIBOUILLARD / AFP / KENZO TRIBOUILLARD (Photo credit should read KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP/Getty Images) People leave candles and flowers in tribute to victims of triple bomb attacks in front of the stock exchange building in the city center of Brussels on March 22, 2016. A series of apparently coordinated explosions ripped through Brussels airport and a metro train, killing at least 26 people in the latest attacks to target Europe. / AFP / Belga / NICOLAS MAETERLINCK / Belgium OUT (Photo credit should read NICOLAS MAETERLINCK/AFP/Getty Images) People leave messages and flowers in tribute to victims of triple bomb attacks in front of the stock exchange building in the city center of Brussels on March 22, 2016. A series of apparently coordinated explosions ripped through Brussels airport and a metro train, killing at least 26 people in the latest attacks to target Europe. / AFP / Belga / NICOLAS MAETERLINCK / Belgium OUT (Photo credit should read NICOLAS MAETERLINCK/AFP/Getty Images) People gather around a makeshift memorial at Place de la Bourse (Beursplein) following attacks in Brussels on March 22, 2016. Airlines cancelled hundreds of flights and European railways froze links with Brussels after a series of bomb blasts killed around 35 people in the city's airport and a metro train, sparking a broad security response. AFP PHOTO / KENZO TRIBOUILLARD / AFP / KENZO TRIBOUILLARD (Photo credit should read KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP/Getty Images) A placard reads share your love next to flowers and candles laid on the ground following attacks in Brussels on March 22, 2016. Airlines cancelled hundreds of flights and European railways froze links with Brussels after a series of bomb blasts killed around 35 people in the city's airport and a metro train, sparking a broad security response. AFP PHOTO / KENZO TRIBOUILLARD / AFP / KENZO TRIBOUILLARD (Photo credit should read KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP/Getty Images) A man looks at flowers and messages outside the stock exchange in Brussels on Tuesday, March 22, 2016. Explosions, at least one likely caused by a suicide bomber, rocked the Brussels airport and subway system Tuesday, prompting a lockdown of the Belgian capital and heightened security across Europe. At least 26 people were reported dead. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert) A woman places candles in the shape of a heart outside the stock exchange in Brussels on Tuesday, March 22, 2016. Explosions, at least one likely caused by a suicide bomber, rocked the Brussels airport and subway system Tuesday, prompting a lockdown of the Belgian capital and heightened security across Europe. At least 26 people were reported dead. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert) Solidarity messages are written in chalk outside the stock exchange in Brussels on Tuesday, March 22, 2016. Explosions, at least one likely caused by a suicide bomber, rocked the Brussels airport and subway system Tuesday, prompting a lockdown of the Belgian capital and heightened security across Europe. At least 26 people were reported dead. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert) A heart in the colours of the Belgian flag is taped onto a bag as people gather around a makeshift memorial following attacks in Brussels on March 22, 2016. Airlines cancelled hundreds of flights and European railways froze links with Brussels after a series of bomb blasts killed around 35 people in the city's airport and a metro train, sparking a broad security response. AFP PHOTO / KENZO TRIBOUILLARD / AFP / KENZO TRIBOUILLARD (Photo credit should read KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP/Getty Images) People write messages on the ground at Place de la Bourse (Beursplein) following attacks in Brussels on March 22, 2016. Airlines cancelled hundreds of flights and European railways froze links with Brussels after a series of bomb blasts killed around 35 people in the city's airport and a metro train, sparking a broad security response. AFP PHOTO / KENZO TRIBOUILLARD / AFP / KENZO TRIBOUILLARD (Photo credit should read KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP/Getty Images) A man writes the word 'Peace' in different languages at Place de la Bourse (Beursplein) following attacks in Brussels on March 22, 2016. Airlines cancelled hundreds of flights and European railways froze links with Brussels after a series of bomb blasts killed around 35 people in the city's airport and a metro train, sparking a broad security response. AFP PHOTO / KENZO TRIBOUILLARD / AFP / KENZO TRIBOUILLARD (Photo credit should read KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP/Getty Images) Two people write solidarity messages in chalk outside the stock exchange in Brussels on Tuesday, March 22, 2016. Explosions, at least one likely caused by a suicide bomber, rocked the Brussels airport and subway system Tuesday, prompting a lockdown of the Belgian capital and heightened security across Europe. At least 26 people were reported dead. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert) A man walks by solidarity messages written in chalk outside the stock exchange in Brussels on Tuesday, March 22, 2016. Explosions, at least one likely caused by a suicide bomber, rocked the Brussels airport and subway system Tuesday, prompting a lockdown of the Belgian capital and heightened security across Europe. At least 26 people were reported dead. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert) A replica of the Manneken Pis statue stands at a makeshift memorial at Place de la Bourse (Beursplein) following attacks in Brussels on March 22, 2016. Airlines cancelled hundreds of flights and European railways froze links with Brussels after a series of bomb blasts killed around 35 people in the city's airport and a metro train, sparking a broad security response. AFP PHOTO / KENZO TRIBOUILLARD / AFP / KENZO TRIBOUILLARD (Photo credit should read KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP/Getty Images) People hold hands as they gather at a makeshift memorial at Place de la Bourse (Beursplein) following attacks in Brussels on March 22, 2016. Airlines cancelled hundreds of flights and European railways froze links with Brussels after a series of bomb blasts killed around 35 people in the city's airport and a metro train, sparking a broad security response. AFP PHOTO / KENZO TRIBOUILLARD / AFP / KENZO TRIBOUILLARD (Photo credit should read KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP/Getty Images) People hold hands as they gather at a makeshift memorial at Place de la Bourse (Beursplein) following attacks in Brussels on March 22, 2016. Airlines cancelled hundreds of flights and European railways froze links with Brussels after a series of bomb blasts killed around 35 people in the city's airport and a metro train, sparking a broad security response. AFP PHOTO / KENZO TRIBOUILLARD / AFP / KENZO TRIBOUILLARD (Photo credit should read KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP/Getty Images) People light candles at a makeshift memorial at Place de la Bourse (Beursplein) following attacks in Brussels on March 22, 2016. Airlines cancelled hundreds of flights and European railways froze links with Brussels after a series of bomb blasts killed around 35 people in the city's airport and a metro train, sparking a broad security response. AFP PHOTO / KENZO TRIBOUILLARD / AFP / KENZO TRIBOUILLARD (Photo credit should read KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP/Getty Images) A replica of the Manneken Pis statue is placed among candles at a makeshift memorial at Place de la Bourse (Beursplein) following attacks in Brussels on March 22, 2016. Airlines cancelled hundreds of flights and European railways froze links with Brussels after a series of bomb blasts killed around 35 people in the city's airport and a metro train, sparking a broad security response. AFP PHOTO / KENZO TRIBOUILLARD / AFP / KENZO TRIBOUILLARD (Photo credit should read KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP/Getty Images) BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - MARCH 22: People walk across slogans written on the ground in chalk saying 'Brussels, Belgium, Today' at Beursplein sqaure following todays attack on March 22, 2016 in Brussels, Belgium. At least 34 people are thought to have been killed after Brussels airport and the Metro station were targeted by explosions. The attacks come just days after a key suspect in the Paris attacks, Salah Abdeslam, was captured in Brussels. on March 22, 2016 in Brussels, Belgium. (Photo by Alexander Koerner/Getty Images) BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - MARCH 22: A painting is left as a tribute at the Place de la Bourse following today's attacks on March 22, 2016 in Brussels, Belgium. At least 31 people are thought to have been killed after Brussels airport and a Metro station were targeted by explosions. The attacks come just days after a key suspect in the Paris attacks, Salah Abdeslam, was captured in Brussels. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images) BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - MARCH 22: A message is written on a wall following today's attacks on March 22, 2016 in Brussels, Belgium. At least 31 people are thought to have been killed after Brussels airport and a Metro station were targeted by explosions. The attacks come just days after a key suspect in the Paris attacks, Salah Abdeslam, was captured in Brussels. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images) BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - MARCH 22: Flowers are placed into the mouth of a lion statue as people gather to leave tributes at the Place de la Bourse following today's attacks on March 22, 2016 in Brussels, Belgium. At least 31 people are thought to have been killed after Brussels airport and a Metro station were targeted by explosions. The attacks come just days after a key suspect in the Paris attacks, Salah Abdeslam, was captured in Brussels. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images) BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - MARCH 22: A candle is lit as people gather to leave tributes at the Place de la Bourse following today's attacks on March 22, 2016 in Brussels, Belgium. At least 31 people are thought to have been killed after Brussels airport and a Metro station were targeted by explosions. The attacks come just days after a key suspect in the Paris attacks, Salah Abdeslam, was captured in Brussels. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images) A man lights a candle next to the iconic statue of Manneken Pis outside the stock exchange in Brussels on Tuesday, March 22, 2016. Explosions, at least one likely caused by a suicide bomber, rocked the Brussels airport and subway system Tuesday, prompting a lockdown of the Belgian capital and heightened security across Europe. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert) A memorial to attack victims with a Belgian flag and flowers is set up outside the stock exchange in Brussels on Tuesday, March 22, 2016. Explosions, at least one likely caused by a suicide bomber, rocked the Brussels airport and subway system Tuesday, prompting a lockdown of the Belgian capital and heightened security across Europe. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert) More from NBC News: Is There Another Brussels Attacks Suspect? Brussels Suicide Bombers Were Brothers Brussels Terror Attacks Expose 'Soft Targets'

Officials announced Friday that one of the suicide bombers who blew themselves up at Brussels airport was the suspected bomb-maker in the Paris attacks.

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http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2016/05/27/state-street-vice-chairman-phalen-retire/v8auRBT9U4hDUJz4hfvsOI/story.html

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State Street vice chairman Phalen to retire

State Street Corp. said its vice chairman, James S. Phalen, will retire at the end of the year, after almost 25 years at the company. Phalen, 65, is an executive vice president at the Boston-based custody bank and investment giant. He most recently has been head of regulatory initiatives and compliance. “Having worked across every facet of our business,” State Street spokeswoman Carolyn Cichon said in a statement, Phalen “has been a positive influence on our culture and the epitome of leadership. We look forward to continuing to work with him through the end of this year and wish him well in his retirement.” State Street has had a series of regulatory run-ins over the past several years, including allegations it overcharged clients for foreign exchange trading and other services. The news was announced after the close of trading Friday.

State Street Corp. said its vice chairman, James S. Phalen, will retire at the end of this year, after almost 25 years at the company.

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GM Just Sent Its First Chevy Bolt EV Down the Assembly Line

General Motors has begun pre-production of the Chevrolet Bolt EV, a notable milepost on the road towards producing a mass-market, all-electric car designed to compete with Tesla’s upcoming Model 3. The first Chevy Bolt was sent down an assembly line at a plant in Orion, Mich., the same factory that makes the Buick Verona and Chevy Sonic, according to Michelle Malcho, spokeswoman for GM’s Chevy cars unit. “For us, this shows movement,” Malcho tells Fortune. “We’re not just talking about it, we’re doing it. ” Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter. GM won’t start producing retail-ready versions of its all-electric Chevy Bolt until the end of this year. While pre-production versions of the Chevy Bolt are driveable, they can’t be sold to the public. Pre-production is a stage that allows engineers and factory workers to make sure parts fit, the manufacturing process works, and the dimensions on the car are right. For instance, workers might make sure the tool that installs the windshield works correctly, Malcho explains. The testing is critical because both the Buick Verona and the Chevy Sonic will be assembled on the same line. Traditionally, it takes between six to 12 months for a GM car to go from pre-production to full production, Malcho said. For the time being, GM released a teaser video and a few images on Tuesday to document the milestone. GM has moved particularly fast on the development of the Chevy Bolt EV, which will have a 200-mile range and cost around $37,500 before government clean energy incentives. The company took the Bolt EV from concept to production-ready in only 12 months—lightning speed for a major automaker. GM CEO and chairman Mary Barra introduced a production-version of the car in January at CES, the annual consumer electronics trade show in Las Vegas. In February, Barra followed up by unveiling a similar electric car, the Opel Ampera-e, for Europe. However, the auto maker’s portfolio is still dominated by gas-powered cars and trucks. Yet the manpower and investment being placed on the Chevy Bolt illustrates the company’s shift over the past several years towards electric and plug-in hybrid electric cars. Options have steadily ramped up in the past five years. In late 2010, the plug-in hybrid Chevy Volt hit the U.S. market. The Volt did see a drop in sales in 2015. Still, sales surged towards the end of the year with the streak continuing in to January and February thanks to demand for the next-generation 2016 Chevy Volt.

Retail production is on track to begin at the end of this year.

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Los Angeles Rams to be featured on HBO's Hard Knocks

The Rams have been busy over the past couple of months. After finishing last season with a 7-9 record, they have repeatedly made headlines during the offseason. While cutting talent, they have added cap space and future draft picks. The bigger news is that the Rams are returning to Los Angeles for the first time since 1994 after getting approved to relocate. Now it looks like the headlines have continued to arrive for coach Jeff Fisher's team. According to Entertainment Weekly, the Rams will be the latest team to be involved in HBO's hit series Hard Knocks. The series will look at the players and staff as they prepare for the new season ahead. Of course, the main storyline will be the team's re-transition back to Los Angeles. Last season, J.J. Watt and the Houston Texans were the "hosts" of the series. With various outcomes that can come out of this, it looks like the new season could be a hit for HBO. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, executive vice president of HBO Sports Peter Nelson explained his enthusiasm with the news. Nelson stated: We are thrilled that the 11th edition of HARD KNOCKS will spotlight a team from the NFC West Division for the first time. It's exciting to chronicle a franchise with so many compelling storylines, highlighted by the team's return to the Los Angeles market and the enormously warm reception the Rams are experiencing. Among the other storylines to take place will be the quarterback battle between Nick Foles, Case Keenum and Sean Mannion. The series will also get a taste of the young talent that the Rams have on the roster. Tavon Austin and AP Offensive Rookie of the Year Todd Gurley are just a few names worth mentioning. The latter may take Watt's spot from last year; the camera's main focus throughout its run. Rams COO Kevin Demoff also spoke about the news according to the Los Angeles Times. He stated: The Rams are proud to partner with NFL Films and HBO Sports to document the Rams' return to Los Angeles and the preparations for our upcoming season. HARD KNOCKS will give fans an in-depth look into our young team and provide us a unique opportunity to tell the story of this historic season." Hard Knocks will premiere on Tuesday, August 9th at 10pm. It should be a fun season to watch, especially if the Rams improve enough to make the playoffs. It worked for the Texans. Under the bright lights of Hollywood, the Rams will be ready for their close-up.

The Rams will be the latest team to be a part of the HBO series.

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13 most wished for items on Amazon right now

Before you go, we thought you'd like these... Did you know that Amazon tracks which products are most often added to 'Wishlists' and 'Registries'? The online retailer constantly updates this list to let customers know what items their fellow shoppers are keeping tabs on. It's a simple and helpful way to identify hot products and consumer trends, plus a great starting point for finding gift ideas for Easter, Mother's Day and upcoming birthdays. Similar to Amazon's best sellers, the 'Most Wished For' list is broken up by category, including toys and games, movies and TV, electronics, books, music and more. From the box office hits Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Deadpool to the Instagram-friendly giant inflatable donut raft, these are the items currently topping the list at the moment. Click through for the 13 most wished for items as of March 23: 13 most wished for items on Amazon right now No. 1 in Books: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling, $17.99 For more fun ideas, view this list of 17 awesome items you can buy on Amazon for under $10: 13 most wished for items on Amazon right now More on AOL.com: 30 items to avoid purchasing at Wal-Mart Costco is slowly ditching one major category 7 best selling motivational books on Amazon

Amazon's 'Most Wished For' list is a simple and helpful way to let customers know what items their fellow shoppers are keeping tabs on.

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http://web.archive.org/web/20160529010707id_/http://time.com:80/3633639/one-minute-workout-exercise/

Introducing the One-Minute Workout

We get it, you’re busy. But it turns out you don’t need very much time in the gym to improve your health. In fact, it might only take one—yes one—high intensity minute of exercise to do the trick. New research published in the journal PLOS One shows sedentary men and women who did one minute of intense, all-out exercise as part of a full 10-minute workout three times a week for six weeks improved their endurance and lowered their blood pressure. A total of 14 sedentary and overweight men and women agreed to have their muscles biopsied and their aerobic endurance and blood pressure and sugar levels measured by researchers at McMaster University in Ontario. Then, they hopped on stationary bikes and warmed up for two minutes. After the warmup, the participants biked as hard as they possibly could for three 20 second intervals followed by two minutes of slow pedaling. They ended with a three minute cool-down, adding up to a total of 10 minutes. They did this three times a week, coming out to 30 minutes of exercise a week. After six weeks, the participants were measured again, and the researchers discovered the they improved their endurance levels by about 12%, had better blood pressure levels, and improved muscle activity. The men in the group also had improved blood sugar levels. MORE: Short bursts of exercise are better than exercising nonstop This isn’t the first time researchers from McMaster University have touted the positive effects of short bursts of high-tensity exercise. Martin Gibala, the chairman of the department of kinesiology at McMaster University, has spent years studying the benefits of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and whether it’s equally beneficial as moderate exercise over a longer period. In fact, high intensity interval training has become somewhat of a mainstay in the fitness circuit, many also crediting Japanese researcher Izumi Tabata for coming up with the The Tabata Protocol: 20 seconds of intense work followed by 10 seconds of resting, repeated many times. The problem with high intensity intervals is that, well, it can suck. It’s truly hard to really get your body to that level of intensity, especially if you’re not in tip top shape. Even proponents of the seven-minute workout say: “Those seven minutes should be, in a word, unpleasant.” Critics of short spurt workouts—the seven-minute workout is a popular version—argue that while some exercise is better than no exercise, more is usually better and people who really need to exercise like the elderly and people who are overweight, might find it too difficult or even dangerous. That’s why the researchers decided to investigate just how short they could cut the workout to and still get some of the same health benefits, The New York Times reports. As it turns out, you really can gain a fitness advantage from a short period of time. People will gain more or less from the workout based on their starting level of fitness, and most exercise enthusiasts recommend mixing up your routine over doing the same workout everyday to avoid injuries and work different muscles. But if you hit snooze one too many times, rest assured you can still get in a quality workout in less time than you may think. Read next: 5 Fitness Trends to Try in 2015

You no longer have any excuses

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http://fortune.com/2016/04/25/cadillac-turnaround-timeline/

http://web.archive.org/web/20160529211657id_/http://fortune.com:80/2016/04/25/cadillac-turnaround-timeline/?

Cadillac Has a Timeline for Its Turnaround Plan

Cadillac, General Motors’ gm luxury brand, is targeting an 11% operating margin in 10 years, Cadillac president Johan de Nysschen said on Monday in an interview with Reuters, laying out a timeline for the long-term turnaround of the brand. “We’ve got about a 10-year runway to get this brand to where it is making the kind of overall contributions to General Motors profitability that Mary [GM global CEO Mary Barra] expects from it,” he said at the Beijing autoshow. He declined to give incremental contributions of Cadillac to GM profits before the 10-year mark. De Nysschen’s remarks reflect the broad leeway he has been given to reinvigorate the Cadillac brand after leaving Nissan’s Infiniti to take over leadership for the U.S. brand in 2014, including moving the brand’s headquarters from Detroit to posh offices in New York’s Soho. Cadillac has fallen behind German luxury competitors such as Volkswagen’s Audi and Daimler’s Mercedes in the U.S. market, also trailing them in China after a relatively late entry to the country. Cadillac is targeting 25% growth in China to sell more than 100,000 vehicles this year.

As it fights to compete with Audi and Mercedes

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http://fortune.com/2016/04/06/make-itunes-run-faster/

http://web.archive.org/web/20160529222526id_/http://fortune.com:80/2016/04/06/make-itunes-run-faster/

You Asked: How Can I Make iTunes Run Faster?

Like a gas tanker sliding down an icy highway into rush hour traffic, opening up iTunes can sometimes be a slow motion disaster for your computer. It typically begins innocently enough. Perhaps you opened an audio file on your desktop, plugged your iPhone in for a quick charge, or clicked on an App Store link on the Internet. Some 10 minutes later after your dock is done bouncing, your Genius playlists are all updated, and your album art all synced. It doesn’t have to be this way. Follow these four steps to stop the madness that is the iTunes launch sequence. Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter. If iTunes launches whenever you plug your iPhone or iPad into your computer for a simple battery boost, the software is configured for automatic syncing. To turn this off, click on “iTunes” in the menu bar, then “Preferences.” This opens up the program’s preference panel. Click on “Devices” and un-check the box next to “Prevent iPods, iPhones, and iPads from syncing automatically.” Just keep in mind that doing this means your device won’t back up automatically when you connect it to your computer. Setting your iPhone or iPad up with iCloud Backup is a great workaround for this. Break the Links to the Web If you’re a dedicated Mac user, there’s one Safari quirk so annoying it may drive you to switch browsers. If you come across a link to an App Store download while using Safari, the browser automatically launches iTunes so you can download it. The problem is, people haven’t used iTunes to download apps since 2007, so it’s a massive waste of time. Disable this legacy quirk with NoMoreiTunes, a Safari browser extension that throws the brakes on this crazy train before it leaves the station. How to Fix the iOS Update That Broke Your iPad Apple keeps a record of all your purchased songs, movies and apps, so there’s really no reason to keep it all on your computer. They’ll clog up your storage, slow down your download speeds, and make iTunes stall as you frantically try to quit it. Instead, just download your media when you want it. In iTunes preference panel, click on the “Store” icon at the top of the page. Then uncheck the boxes for the files you don’t use on your computer — like Apps, which only run on iOS devices anyway. If you haven’t joined the streaming revolution and still listen to your own music files, keep that box checked. But even movies and television shows are better off in the cloud than on your hard drive. If you do want to store your video locally, don’t select the “Download high-quality SD videos” button, unless you have a really old iPod that you use to watch the files with. Apple unveils the new Mac OS X: El Capitan Likewise, deselect “Automatically download album artwork” and “Share details about your library with Apple.” These are two functions that start hogging your computer’s resources as soon as iTunes opens. Another vestige of the time before streaming, Apple’s Genius feature was the company’s answer to Pandora. It analyzed the music files you owned and stored in iTunes and made playlists based on genres and musical characteristics. It also hogs your Mac’s memory and works up your processor for no very good reason. You can disable Genius by clicking on “Store” from the menu and selecting “Turn Genius Off.” However, it’s possible that you only see “Update Genius” instead. If that’s the case, you’re stuck with Genius on, because you’re either an Apple Music subscriber, iTunes Match user, or both. And even though you don’t use Genius, Apple won’t let you turn it off. More proof that iTunes is in dire need of an update.

Try these tricks to give the music app a speed boost.

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http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/patton-oswalt-facebook-response-bombing-viral-article-1.1317945

http://web.archive.org/web/20160530144815id_/http://www.nydailynews.com:80/entertainment/patton-oswalt-facebook-response-bombing-viral-article-1.1317945

Patton Oswalt’s Facebook response to bombing goes viral

After two explosions went off Monday at the finish line of the Boston Marathon killing three and injuring more than 140 people, millions have poured out their support and prayers for all the victims and families affected through social media. Comedian-actor Patton Oswalt, 44, posted a heartfelt response via Facebook resulting in a viral amount of shares shortly after. "I remember, when 9/11 went down, my reaction was, 'Well, I've had it with humanity," he recalled of the 2001 terrorist attack. "But I was wrong. I don't know what's going to be revealed to be behind all of this mayhem. One human insect or a poisonous mass of broken sociopaths," Oswalt, known as the voice of Remy in the 2007 animated film “Ratatouille” and for his role in the FX series "Justified," said of Monday's acts. "But here's what I DO know. If it's one person or a HUNDRED people, that number is not even a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a percent of the population on this planet. You watch the videos of the carnage and there are people running TOWARDS the destruction to help out." "So when you spot violence, or bigotry, or intolerance or fear or just garden-variety misogyny, hatred or ignorance, just look it in the eye and think, 'The good outnumber you, and we always will," he continued. As of Tuesday morning his words (**full post here**) have been shared close to 200,000 times.

After two explosions went off Monday at the finish line of the Boston Marathon millions have poured out their support.

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http://time.com/3880289/central-park-photos-of-the-jewel-of-manhattan-in-1961/

http://web.archive.org/web/20160530182133id_/http://time.com:80/3880289/central-park-photos-of-the-jewel-of-manhattan-in-1961/

Photos of the Jewel of Manhattan in 1961

New York’s Central Park has been around, in various incarnations, for more than 150 years. In that time it has been hailed as a masterpiece of landscape design; served as a punchline in jokes about muggings and violent crime; provided the setting for key scenes in books, plays and movies; and remains, for New Yorkers and for countless visitors to Gotham, one of the world’s urban wonders—840 acres of tree-lined paths, public plazas, open fields, gardens, ponds, lakes, bridges, arches, performance spaces, a castle on a hill, a quite charming zoo and, arguably, the world’s greatest museum. Here, LIFE.com celebrates Frederick Law Olmsted’s and Calvert Vaux’s best-loved and most-frequented creation with a series of photos from 1961. Liz Ronk, who edited this gallery, is the Photo Editor for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter @lizabethronk.

LIFE.com celebrates Frederick Law Olmsted's and Calvert Vaux's best-loved creation: New York City's Central Park.

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http://time.com/3608071/see-haunting-photos-of-the-sites-of-child-abuse/

http://web.archive.org/web/20160531033522id_/http://time.com:80/3608071/see-haunting-photos-of-the-sites-of-child-abuse/

See Haunting Photos of the Sites of Child Abuse

In a damning 2009 report, Ireland’s independently-run Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse – which spent nine years investigating thousands of allegations of abuse at religious-run institutions – spoke of a culture of “endemic sexual abuse” in the country’s Catholic boys’ schools and of the “deferential and submissive attitude” of the Irish state towards the religious orders who ran them. What emerged from the investigation, and from a separate Dublin-specific inquiry concluded the same year, was that institutional child abuse was widespread and that it had occurred not only in schools, but in many places where young people were in the care of religious orders. The commissions also revealed that very often when children reported the abuse, they were largely ignored and even punished, with many of the adult perpetrators being relocated to new parishes by church officials. The state, too, had willfully turned a blind eye. For victims like Andrew Madden – one of the first people in Ireland to have gone public about the molestation he suffered – much of the abuse happened in the living room of Father Ivan Payne’s ordinary looking house in the middle-class Dublin suburb of Glasnevin. Madden had worked weekend odd jobs for the priest, a common arrangement in many Irish towns, and like many children in the care of religious figures mentioned in the report, had been abused on a regular basis. It was the very ordinariness of both the context and the location in Madden’s case, and in many others, that struck photographer Kim Haughton as profoundly disturbing. This was molestation that was at once hidden and woven into the fabric of everyday life. Abuse that was, in effect, ignored while happening in plain sight. “So much of this happened in places like schools and churches, and in homes,” she tells TIME. “I consider these images of seemingly ordinary spaces as crime scenes — where the cruelest acts were carried out on vulnerable children; children that society had a responsibility to protect,” Haughton says. And so she embarked on In Plain Sight, a project in which the sites of these abuses became the subjects of her lens. Here, the work would not be merely illustrative of the sorts of places where abuse occurred, but photographs of the actual sites where victims were molested. We see a parochial house, a local shop and a swimming pool – places that, when taken at face value, seem unremarkable. To find the sites, she talked to abuse victims who were willing to share their stories and found out how and where the abuse occurred: “Finding people was a challenge but not as hard as listening to their experiences,” she says. “They endured so much. It is very difficult to drive away after somebody has shared profound life experiences with you.” When revisited with the knowledge of what happened at each location, Haughton’s work seems to permeate with an uneasy stillness, the images transforming from long-silent witnesses of horror into a haunting cartography of extreme suffering. A visible record of abuse that can never be – and should never be – forgotten. “The work, I hope, challenges us to confront these crimes in the context in which they happened,” Haughton adds, “everyday life.” Kim Haughton is an Irish photographer based in New York. Her work has appeared in TIME, Vanity Fair, Financial Times, Business Week and The Guardian, among others. Richard Conway is reporter/producer for LightBox.

The very ordinariness of both the context and the location of child abuse in Ireland struck photographer Kim Haughton as profoundly disturbing.

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http://time.com/3982847/princeton-review-top-party-schools/

http://web.archive.org/web/20160531045934id_/http://time.com:80/3982847/princeton-review-top-party-schools/

Princeton Review List

Princeton Review announced the top 10 party schools in America on Monday, one of more than 60 rankings in the 2016 version of its The Best 380 Colleges guide. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign leads this year’s list. Some online reviews give the school an A+ for party scene, touting “Tuesday wine nights,” while the area has been known for letting anyone age 19 and older in bars. Here is the full list: 1. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 2. University of Iowa 3. University of Wisconsin-Madison 4. Bucknell University 5. Syracuse University 6. University of California-Santa Barbara 7. West Virginia University 8. University of Georgia 9. Tulane University 10. Colgate University West Virginia University, the University of Iowa, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Syracuse are no strangers to this list, while Tulane graduates might be relieved to see the school is also ranked in the top 10 of Princeton Review’s newest list, “Students Most Engaged in Community Service.”

The University of Illinois is number 1 on the Princeton Review list

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http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20150408-amazing-images-reveal-new-macaque

http://web.archive.org/web/20160531071932id_/http://www.bbc.com:80/earth/story/20150408-amazing-images-reveal-new-macaque

Gorgeous images reveal new macaque

Amazing images taken mainly by camera traps reveal a previously unrecognised species of macaque living in Tibet’s forests. The photographs, also including some images from manually operated cameras, provide an intimate portrait of the cute primates – showing the monkeys grooming each other; foraging and tending to their young. The elusive monkey, which researchers have called the white-cheeked macaque (Macaca leucogenys), had previously been identified as the Assamese macaque (Macaca assamensis). But now researchers in China who took the images say the charismatic creature is a species in its own right. Their analysis of hundreds of photographs and recordings of the monkey is published in the American Journal of Primatology. “Using camera traps, we were just so lucky to capture some good photos of the white-cheeked macaque, which clearly showed characteristics of it and allowed us to claim it as a new species,” says corresponding author Dr Peng-Fei Fan from Dali University in the province of Yunnan, China. In total, the team took 738 photos from camera traps attached to trees, and with manual cameras, in Medog county in Tibet. The new species’ most distinctive morphological characteristic is its prominent white whiskers growing from its cheeks and chin, which inspired its new name. White-cheeked macaques get their whiskers as they approach adulthood. These hairs grow longer with age, covering the ears of mature macaques, and giving them a round facial appearance. Other distinguishing morphological features of the new species include thick hairs on its neck; a hairless, short tail, and round instead of arrow-shaped genitalia in males. Another distinctive characteristic is its odd, high-pitched alarm call. Research team member Cheng Li first noticed this unusual cry by chance back in 2012 when travelling in Medog county. But it wasn’t until he had set up 31 camera traps as part of a wildlife survey that he got a clear look at the monkeys. Infrared motion detectors triggered the cameras to take photos and a 15-second video when an animal passed by. On a separate trip, Dr Fan and colleague Chao Zhao had chanced upon the macaques by a river, and captured clear images of six individuals on ordinary cameras. Analysis of the images suggested the existence of a macaque distinguished from all other described species in the Macaca genus. “This discovery was a big surprise for all of us,” says Dr Fan. He adds that, although other scientists might have noticed differences between the Assamese macaque and the white-cheeked macaque, there has not been solid evidence for its existence until now. The photogenic white-whiskered monkey lives in diverse forest habitat, from tropical to high-altitude evergreen, broad-leaved and mixed broadleaf-conifer forest. But the new species is already threatened by habitat destruction. The team says its discovery highlights the need for more wildlife surveys and environmental protection in Tibet's forests. You can follow BBC Earth on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Images taken with camera traps reveal new macaque species in Tibet

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http://www.nydailynews.com/autos/auto-shows/new-york/new-york-auto-show-2017-mazda-mx-5-rf-article-1.2574471

http://web.archive.org/web/20160531090556id_/http://www.nydailynews.com:80/autos/auto-shows/new-york/new-york-auto-show-2017-mazda-mx-5-rf-article-1.2574471

New York Auto Show: 2017 Mazda MX-5 RF

If there's one thing Mazda fans clamor for as much as a new RX-7, it's an MX-5 Miata Coupe. At the 2016 New York Auto Show though, it seems those prayers may have been answered. FOLLOW DAILY NEWS AUTOS ON FACEBOOK. 'LIKE US HERE.' Meet the 2017 Mazda MX-5 Miata RF, or "retractable fastback." While we expected a retractable hardtop model of the newest generation of Miata, we didn't expect it to look this good. Employing a power-operated roof that slides the center roof piece away under the rear decklid - a la Porsche 911 Targa - the RF is able to maintain the coupe-like roofline we've been aching for while still offering that famous top-down fun. CHECK OUT THE REST OF OUR NEW YORK AUTO SHOW COVERAGE HERE. Mechanically, everything else is the same, including the 155-horsepower 4-cylinder under the hood, and the 6-speed manual transmission. There's an automatic available, but why even bother in a car like this? The MX-5 Miata is our favorite fun car of the year, and a (sort of) fixed roof makes it all the more appealing. Now just give us a real coupe - and maybe one with a turbocharger - and we'll never ask for anything again. We promise. Did you find this article helpful? If so, please share it using the "Join the Conversation" buttons below, and thank you for visiting Daily News Autos.

The 'RF' stands for 'retractable fastback,' but think of this as the targa Miata of your dreams.

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http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20150518-the-epic-history-of-rhinos

http://web.archive.org/web/20160531113211id_/http://www.bbc.com:80/earth/story/20150518-the-epic-history-of-rhinos

The story of rhinos and how they conquered the world

Let's go back in time 30 million years, long before modern humans appeared. Tropical forests were shrinking and grassy savannahs were spreading. These lush grasslands were home to creatures long since lost: giant rhinoceroses. Standing 5m tall at the shoulder and weighing up to 20 tonnes, the colossal Paraceratherium was the largest land mammal to ever live. Its skull alone was over 1m long and it had a much longer neck than today's rhinos, which helped the animal browse for leaves on tall trees. This monstrous creature roamed the open plains stretching from eastern Europe to what is now China. Paraceratherium, with its enormous body and vast range, illustrates how rhinos lived when they were at their peak. It is the high point of a rarely-told story that spans 50 million years. During that time rhinos have migrated across continents, faced prehistoric hyenas and giant crocodiles, and endured the frigid wilderness of the ice age. But their story begins soon after the extinction of the dinosaurs, in roasting tropical heat. Imagine a time when most of what is now Asia, Europe and North America was covered in dense forest. It was a very warm period in Earth's history, known as the Eocene. This biological epoch began 55 million years ago and ended 34 million years ago. It was then that rhinos first emerged. Rhinos belong to a group of animals called perissodactyls. These animals all have hooves, and crucially, they have an odd number of toes on their rear feet. Nobody is quite sure how perissodactyls evolved. A study published in 2014 suggested that they first appeared 55 million years ago in India, which at the time was not attached to Asia. What is clear is that the early perissodactyls were the ancestors of rhinos, as well as all modern horses, zebras and tapirs. The early rhinos that lived in the Eocene were quite different to today's. The Asian hyracodonts would eventually evolve into giants For example, amynodonts did not have horns and looked rather like modern tapirs – which look like pigs with unusually long limbs. One group of these, the metamynodons, were rather like modern hippos and spent a lot of time in water. Then there were the hyracodonts of North America, Europe and Asia. To our eyes they would barely look like rhinos at all, and instead seem to be bulky little horses. The Asian hyracodonts would eventually evolve into giants such as Paraceratherium. That evolutionary growth spurt took place in the next period of Earth's history, the Oligocene. It's not clear why Oligocene rhinos got so big. But it may have been a way of coping with the more open habitat, says Jerry Hooker of the Natural History Museum in London, UK. Despite being so large, Paraceratherium wasn't safe from predators As grasslands replaced forests, the rhinos had to travel further to find trees to feed on. They also had to make the most of food at the tops of trees, as there wasn't always much vegetation lower down. "Giraffes today are pretty successful in Africa, as are elephants which also can high-browse because of their size and their trunks," says Hooker. "They often travel huge distances to find food." For all its size, Paraceratherium had relatively slender legs and wasn't as bulky as a modern rhino. It also didn't have a horn, along with many Oligocene rhinos. What's more, despite being so large, Paraceratherium wasn't safe from predators. It and other huge prehistoric rhinos were hunted by gigantic crocodiles. Palaeontologist Pierre-Olivier Antoine of the University of Montpellier in France has found evidence of 10m-long crocodiles eating large rhinos. "In Pakistan we found many, many specimens," he says. "Bones of huge rhinos with the conical tooth prints of giant crocs." There are no giant rhinos today One such species, Crocodylus bugtiensis, is known from fossils found in Pakistan, where Paraceratherium once lived. It's not clear that the crocodiles would have been able to regularly prey on healthy adult rhinos. But they might have snatched young or ill prey when they ventured into water. Antoine has also found tooth prints, which he thinks were made by a Hemicyon: an extinct predator that looked like a cross between a dog and a bear. Clearly, even giant rhinos had plenty of predators to be wary of. There are no giant rhinos today. It's not clear why they disappeared, but they may have been out-competed by a newly-evolved rival: elephants. Elephants were "totally bad news," says Mikael Fortelius of the University of Helsinki in Finland. "They were just so much better at being super-large herbivores on land. They were more versatile and adaptable. The trunk is just such a marvel." This enclosed habitat might not have suited the large rhinos If elephants thrived and hampered rhinos' access to key food sources, that may well have spelled trouble for the giants, which needed to eat hundreds of kilos of vegetation every day. Hooker points out that the giants also never made it to Europe, which was more densely forested than the other continents. This enclosed habitat might not have suited the large rhinos, which were used to more open spaces, preventing them from expanding westwards. Still, even though they had shrunk a bit the rhinos were still very numerous. From 23 million years ago, Earth entered a new period called the Miocene. The planet cooled by as much as 4 °C. Rocks laid down in the Miocene contain an astounding range of rhino fossils, says Antoine. An excavation in Montréal-du-Gers in south-west France uncovered five rhino species all fossilised together "in one pond", he says. In total, the remains of over 100 individuals were recovered. Similarly, in the Bugti Hills of Pakistan he once found up to 9 species. Clearly, the planet was practically teeming with rhinos, and they came in all shapes and sizes. For example, Chilotherium was a truly hippo-like rhino. It had little tusks sticking out from its lower jaw and an outsized head. With a small skeleton to support this heavy head, it seems likely that Chilotherium buoyed itself in water. "I think there's decent evidence they are doing what hippos do elsewhere," says Fortelius. "They live in water, eating grass and other vegetation on the river banks." There were also rhinos called Diceratherium that had two horns, but not one in front of the other. Instead, they were beside each other on the rhino's nose. Furthermore, one of the most iconic of all rhinos has its roots in the Miocene. A group called Elasmotheriines evolved single horns on their heads, and as global temperatures continued to cool over the next few million years, they evolved into Elasmotherium. It was 3m tall, which is impressive but much smaller than Paraceratherium. However, its most striking feature was its huge horn. Rhino horns don't fossilise, though they are sometimes preserved in ice. No Elasmotherium horns have ever been discovered, but it is apparent from a base-like recess on the skull that a horn was once attached to it. Earth finally plunged into a full-scale ice age It's not clear exactly how large the horn was, and palaeontologists generally detest speculating about its exact length. Most, though, think it was enormous. It may have been more than 1m long. Elasmotherium appeared on the scene around 2.5 million years ago, at the beginning of the Pleistocene. After millions of years of cooling, Earth finally plunged into a full-scale ice age, and sheets of ice spread from the Arctic to cover much of Europe and North America. Faced with a frigid climate, rhinos evolved thick woolly coats. It's not clear if Elasmotherium was woolly, but plenty of other species were. The woolly rhinos may have had their origin in Tibet, before the ice age began. The period between the Miocene and the Pleistocene is known as the Pliocene. It lasted from 5 million years ago until 2.5 million years ago. At this time most of the world – with the exception of Antarctica – was relatively ice-free. But Tibet, because it is so high, was already iced up. Woolly rhinos could not cope with deep snow In 2011, a group of palaeontologists described the fossil of a primitive woolly rhino discovered in Tibet. That suggests woolly rhinos first evolved there, and then dispersed to the west when the Pleistocene ice ages began. Unlike many prehistoric rhinos, woolly rhinos would be quite recognisable to us. They had a large front horn and second, smaller horn, plus stocky legs and a bulky body. However, despite their thick coats, woolly rhinos could not have penetrated that deeply into the ice-covered regions. They could not cope with deep snow. We often picture "woolly" ice age animals surrounded by snow and ice. But they would not have been able to exist in such places, says Danielle Schreve of Royal Holloway, University of London in the UK. The woolly rhinos had a harder time than their Eocene and Oligocene ancestors "It's one of the things that may have contributed to their extinction," says Schreve. "Because they've got such a stocky and compact body with relatively short legs, they're not good at moving through deep snow, so they need relatively snow-free areas." Rather than plodding forlornly across ice sheets, then, woolly rhinos would have lived in an environment known as "mammoth steppe". The climate was cold and dry, but there were plenty of herbs and shrubs for them to eat. All in all, the woolly rhinos had a harder time than their Eocene and Oligocene ancestors. According to Schreve, the Pleistocene is when life became truly difficult for many rhino species. For one thing, towards the end of the Pleistocene the climate began fluctuating wildly. Temperatures rose and fell as much as 10 °C within a generation. For slow-breeding rhinos, dependent on stable food sources, these changes were disastrous. All of the bone is scored with tooth picks, scratches and punctures Predators were also a problem. Giant crocodiles didn't threaten European rhinos, but instead they were attacked by prehistoric hyenas. Schreve has found evidence of hyenas eating baby rhinos. These dog-like carnivores would even have crunched the bones of their prey to get as much nutrition as possible. "All of the bone is scored with tooth picks, scratches and punctures, so it was an important resource," says Schreve. "And yes, they seem to be taking and consuming adult rhinos as well." If that wasn't bad enough, woolly rhinos were probably being hunted by humans as well. Humans were probably the last straw, says Schreve. "You can probably lay some of the blame for extinction at their door, but really they're the final nail in the coffin," she says. The woolly rhinos had already "gone through millennia of rapid climate change that they were poorly suited to withstand." Despite all this, woolly rhinos clung on until just 10,000 years ago. In February 2015, it was reported that hunters in Siberia had stumbled upon a preserved baby woolly rhino of about this age. Unstable climates and human hunting put an end to many rhino species Oher species were also feeling the brunt of human hunting. A site in Boxgrove in the UK has fossil evidence of early humans butchering rhinos for meat between 90,000 and 700,000 years ago. In some cases, carnivores have bitten through marks in bones already made by human tools, says Schreve. That suggests rhinos were first hunted by humans, and their carcasses then scavenged by other animals. The combination of unstable climates and human hunting put an end to many rhino species. Until this happened, they were very common in Europe, along with other huge animals like elephants and mammoths. Such animals are now confined to Asia and Africa, if they even exist at all. Today, all the diverse rhinos have been reduced to just five species. They have all been heavily hunted, and in recent decades poached for their horns, so none of them is in a good way. Africa's white rhinos are divided into subspecies, northern and southern. While the southern subspecies is in fairly good shape, the northern one has been driven past the point of no return. There are only five left alive, and only one male. He is under constant armed guard to protect him from poachers, and has even had his horn removed to deter them. The other African species, the black rhinoceros, is critically endangered. There are thought to be seven or eight subspecies, of which three are already extinct and another is nearly gone. The smallest species is the Sumatran rhino, which unlike the other surviving species is slightly woolly. It is also critically endangered. One subspecies is represented by just three captive individuals. As well as the threat from poachers, rhinos are also hindered by their need to give birth in secluded, shrub-covered areas. Such places are becoming harder to find. Unlike other rhinos, Javan rhinos are sparing with their horns: only males have them. They are also critically endangered, being confined to a tiny area on the western tip of Java. There may be only 40 left. It's not all bad news, though. Indian rhinos are considered vulnerable, and while that's not ideal it is far better than critically endangered. They survive in northern India and southern Nepal. A recent count suggested that the Nepalese population had grown by 21% in four years. At least some of the rhino species could start to recover and grow their populations All sorts of ideas have been put forward for saving the remaining rhinos, but most experts agree that the best approach is also the hardest: nations working together to protect conservation sites and, crucially, to stop the illegal trade in rhino horns. That means stopping the poachers who kill the rhinos, but it also means tackling a vast network of organised crime that ships the horns to China and other Asian countries, and sells them at a huge mark-up. It will also be important to end the demand: at the moment, rhino horns are status symbols in China, so people pay lots of money for them. If this could be achieved, at least some of the rhino species could start to recover and grow their populations. It may well be too late for some of the species and subspecies, whose populations are now so small that they could never recover. But at least the black and Indian rhinos, surely, could be rescued. Still, we are a long way from the time when many species of rhino roamed the landscapes together, some of them towering over every other land animal. Whatever happens now, the age when rhinos ruled the world is gone.

Over the last 50 million years, rhinos have braved ice ages, prehistoric hyenas and giant crocodiles – and they were once the largest animals on land

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http://www.people.com/article/prince-healthy-drugs-dakota-jazz-club-employee-death

http://web.archive.org/web/20160531115704id_/http://www.people.com:80/article/prince-healthy-drugs-dakota-jazz-club-employee-death?

Former Dakota Jazz Club Employee Says Prince 'Looked Healthy' Days Before Death : People.com

By Rose Minutaglio and Char Adams 04/23/2016 AT 06:35 PM EDT took to one of his favorite music spots in Minnesota, the Dakota Jazz Club, and appeared no different from his usual confident, healthy, otherworldly self, according to one audience member. Deborah UpChurch, a former longtime employee at the jazz hotspot nestled in a Minneapolis mall, tells PEOPLE that the late music legend looked to be in good health when he went to the club on Tuesday to see "He didn't seem ill. He walked with the same pace that he normally struts. He has kind of a cadence and a tenor about himself," she says. "He looked healthy. He looked like Prince. Like a gentleman in a nightclub." estate outside Minneapolis on Thursday. The Midwest Medical Examiner's Office for the singer on Friday, but a cause of death has not been revealed. UpChurch says that Prince went to the club multiple times, sneaking in through the back door so he wouldn't be seen. "He came in before the show started; he enters through a back door. He moves around at his own will, it's kind of hard to describe," she says. "He sort of floats like a butterfly when he comes into the club." Although reports claimed that Prince was before his death, UpChurch, who says she worked as the club's business development manager for 10 years and happened to be in the crowd to see Wright on Tuesday, says that the "Purple Rain" singer "didn't do drugs." "He was positive and pure," she says. "I never saw him doing them." The icon's death came just one week after his private plane made an , and the star was rushed to an Illinois hospital but released three hours later. UpChurch says that, due to the incident, she "had a feeling" Prince's stop at the jazz club would be the last time she saw him. "It was just because of his stop in Illinois," she says. "That was precarious because he was a and to go to the doctor, the hospital, the transfusion – these kinds of things goes against their beliefs." She adds: "We knew he had to be in grave condition to go to a hospital."

The former employee tells PEOPLE that Prince floated "like a butterfly" when he took to one of his favorite Minnesota music spots for the last time

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http://www.aol.com/article/2016/03/24/7-things-your-real-estate-agent-wants-you-to-know-but-will-neve/21333118/

http://web.archive.org/web/20160531184518id_/http://www.aol.com:80/article/2016/03/24/7-things-your-real-estate-agent-wants-you-to-know-but-will-neve/21333118/

7 things your real estate agent wants you to know (but will never tell you)

A home sale can feel like a one-sided process. Whether you're the buyer or the seller, it's hard to get feedback on what could be going wrong from the other side. (Do buyers really care about your bright yellow siding? Exactly how many other offers were on the table before yours was accepted?) If you've ever wished to be a fly on the wall during your own open house or listen in on the negotiation process, we have a treat for you. Here's a behind-the-scenes look at a few real estate truths, along with some actual real estate agent secrets. (Ready the popcorn, this is going to be good.) Many people believe that the real estate commission is always 6%, split 50/50 between the seller's agent and the buyer's agent (with a cut going to the brokerages involved). Although this is the case in many deals, it would be a violation of antitrust laws for real estate commissions to be fixed across the board. Each broker should independently set a price. And the seller can always negotiate this price before signing the listing agreement. Meanwhile, buyers don't need to concern themselves with this figure, since buyers don't pay real estate agents. Sellers pay agent commissions from the proceeds of the sale. So if you're a buyer, unless you've fallen in love with a FSBO home with owners who don't want to work with a buyer's agent, there really is no reason to go it alone — it won't cost you anything to engage the services of a real estate agent. View the 13 features homebuyers want the most: 7 things your real estate agent wants you to know (but will never tell you) 2. ENERGY STAR® appliances (90%) 4. ENERGY STAR® rating for whole home (88%) 5. ENERGY STAR® windows (87%) 8. Full bathroom on main level (83%) 9. Hardwood on main floor (82%) 10. Insulation higher than required by code (81%) 12. Table space for eating in kitchen (80%) If you have pets, most real estate agents probably have no qualms about letting you know when animal scent is detectable. But if your house has an unmistakable musty odor, smells like the fish you cooked last night, reeks of stinky garbage, or houses a fridge that would make you want to back away quickly, it's an awkward topic to bring up. Although an open box of baking soda can freshen up a smelly fridge, it's never a bad idea to throw out moldy food and wipe away those meat juice spills (ew). When you toss rotten food into your garbage can, besides changing the bag before buyers come over, put a sachet or tea bag in the bottom (you can make an easy sachet from baking soda placed in a coffee filter and then tied up). "Homeowners rarely notice their home's distinct aroma, but guests do," says David Kean, a Beverly Hills, CA, real estate agent. He suggests airing out your home every so often. And bonus for when you do: "It's also an opportunity to make sure your windows aren't sticking." There's nothing wrong with loving that your houses feels "lived in." But potential buyers probably won't think it's charming that you drape your gym socks on the bed. Once they spot a messy room, they might head for the door before looking around. Instead of suggesting that their clients pick up, many real estate agents clean a home for sale themselves, and they often do so on the sly. "It is up to the agent to tidy up before showings — hiding musty towels, diaper pails, litter boxes, dirty dishes, and even used underwear and socks," says Phyllis Pei, an agent with Douglas Elliman in New York, NY. Pei finds that because of the sensitivity of this issue, she often returns the property to its precleaned state after the showing. To get your listing, a real estate agent might tell you they can sell your house fast, and they might. But they can't really predict or control how fast your house will sell. "While it is true that an agent has to get certain basics correct in order to sell a home, once they do those things, the result is largely out of their hands," says Gary Lucido, president of Lucid Realty in Chicago, IL. What you can do before hiring an agent is ask how long it takes their listings on average to sell. Compare that with other area agents, and you'll eventually find a winner. A good negotiation leaves both sides feeling as if they've won and lost something. But when it comes down to the wire, one side might wish to one-up the other ... if they can. And this often happens with refrigerators. Why? Because this appliance often falls into a gray area regarding whether it stays in the home as part of the sale or goes with the seller. The best course of action is to specify in your purchase contract whether the refrigerator stays or goes. If you verbally change this, make sure the change is noted in the contract. Take what happened with Heather Witt Leikin, a Los Angeles, CA, real estate agent: "One time, I was the listing agent of an amazing architectural home that had a really old side-by-side refrigerator that looked out of place." The buyers said they would replace it, so the seller took it. The catch? The contract stated the fridge would go to the buyer, and Leikin did not get the change in writing. "The buyer's agent started screaming at me [upon finding] the fridge was gone. So the buyer's side demanded a $2,500 holdback (for a $250 fridge). The seller returned the refrigerator instead." Moral of the story: "Small issues can become big issues without compromise and clarity in the contracts." It's unethical to have your real estate agent show you homes or steer you from homes because of the predominance of a certain "race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, and the presence of children" in the neighborhood, according to the Fair Housing Act. So don't ask your agent about any of that. "I can't tell you legally who lives where or who is buying your house," says Mark Ferguson, real estate agent and creator of Invest Four More. "Even if I could, I would not." That said, if you're genuinely looking for intel on a neighborhood because you're new to the area and want to live in a family-friendly area versus a millennial hot spot, there are ways to research on your own. For one, just try driving around and frequenting local cafes, stores, and markets to get a feel for the vibe. Next, head to Trulia Maps do some research on school districts, crime rates, and local amenities, among other things. Before long, you'll learn how to tell if a neighborhood is a perfect fit for you — or not. A real estate agent can help you buy a house, but they can't make a deal happen if you aren't prepared financially. Remember, real estate agents aren't miracle workers. And it's not a real estate agent's responsibility to set your budgetary limitations. "Maintain your credit, save for closing costs, and look at what you can truly afford," says Chantay Bridges, a Los Angeles, CA, agent. RELATED: View the 10 best cities to buy a home instead of rent 7 things your real estate agent wants you to know (but will never tell you) More from Trulia: How Starbucks Can Help You Get A Deal On A House It's Broken, but Should You Call Your Landlord? 6 To-Dos Once You've Moved

While some brokers are completely upfront in the selling process, there are usually a few things going on behind the scenes you may not be aware of.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/27/arts/estelle-stewart-axton-85-a-founder-of-stax-records.html

http://web.archive.org/web/20160531201057id_/http://www.nytimes.com:80/2004/02/27/arts/estelle-stewart-axton-85-a-founder-of-stax-records.html?&_r=0

Estelle Stewart Axton, 85, A Founder of Stax Records

Estelle Stewart Axton, whose name put the ''Ax'' in Stax Records, the Memphis soul label she founded with her brother, died on Tuesday in Memphis. She was 85. She died at the St. Francis Nursing Home after a series of strokes, said Deanie Parker, the president and chief executive of Soulsville, the nonprofit corporation that runs the Stax Museum of American Soul Music and the Stax Music Academy. In the heyday of 1960's and 70's soul, Stax released hits by Otis Redding, Sam and Dave, Wilson Pickett, Isaac Hayes, Rufus Thomas and the Staple Singers, among many others. It was the second-best-selling soul label of its era, behind Motown Records. The Stax studio, in the former Capitol movie theater in Memphis, attracted young singers and songwriters, and was an integrated business in a largely segregated city. Ms. Axton and her brother, James Stewart, founders of the label, were white; most of their hitmakers were black; and the label's studio band, Booker T. and the MG's, was mixed. ''We never looked at color; we looked at people,'' Ms. Axton said last year. Stax got started as Satellite Records in 1957, when Mr. Stewart, a country fiddler who worked at a bank, began recording country songs in his wife's uncle's garage, but soon switched to rhythm-and-blues. His eldest sister, Estelle Stewart, who had married Everett Axton in 1941, became Mr. Stewart's partner in 1958 when she took out a second mortgage on her home to buy recording equipment. In 1960 they leased the abandoned theater, in a mixed neighborhood that was fast becoming an African-American ghetto, and made it the company's offices and recording studio. To generate income they installed a record store at the theater's old candy counter. The shop, Satellite Records, drew teenagers and became a place to recruit talent and a test market for their new releases. The first singers to record at the studio were Rufus Thomas and Carla Thomas, father and daughter, and their rhythm-and-blues song ''Cause I Love You'' became the label's first regional hit, followed by Carla Thomas's ''Gee Whiz.'' The label's third hit, ''Last Night,'' was an instrumental by the Mar-Keys, a group including Ms. Axton's son, Charles (nicknamed Packy) Axton, on saxophone. After ''Last Night'' was released, a Satellite Records label in California noticed the company. Mr. Stewart and Ms. Axton changed their label's name to Stax, from the first letters of Mr. Stewart and Ms. Axton's last names. The label began regularly releasing hits through the 1960's. Musicians called Ms. Axton Lady A., and in Rob Bowman's ''Soulsville U.S.A.: The Story of Stax Records'' (Schirmer Trade Books, 1997), the guitarist and songwriter Steve Cropper describes her as ''the heart and soul of that whole place.'' She nurtured songwriters, ran the record store and helped decide what Stax released, including, over her brother's initial opposition, Eddie Floyd's ''Knock on Wood.'' Although Stax was a musical powerhouse, it was a business debacle. After bad deals with major labels, the company went bankrupt in 1975. By then Ms. Axton was no longer with the company. In 1969, after disagreement about the label's direction, she quietly left the company in 1969, bought out by her brother and the label's president, Al Bell. Part of her settlement included $25,000 a year on the condition that she stay out of the recording business. Her son Charles became the head of Fretone Records, and in 1974 Ms. Axton took over. That label's big hit, in 1976, was the Rick Dees novelty song ''Disco Duck.'' Ms. Axton is survived by her sister, Mary Lucille McAlpin; her brother, Mr. Stewart; her daughter, Doris Axton Fredrick; three grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. Stax's headquarters was demolished in 1989, but last year a new building on the site, complete with a reproduction of the studio and a new Satellite Record Shop, opened as the Stax Museum of American Soul Music and the Stax Music Academy.

Estelle Stewart Axton, who co-founded Memphis soul label Stax Records with her brother, dies at age 85 (M)

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http://time.com/3988970/donald-trump-business/

http://web.archive.org/web/20160531231821id_/http://time.com:80/3988970/donald-trump-business/

16 Successful and Unsuccessful Business Ventures

Donald Trump promised to “take the brand of the United States and make it great again” when he threw his hat into a crowded ring of 2016 GOP presidential candidates. Trump has since consistently cited his credentials as businessman, as well as his (disputed) $10 billion fortune, when asked how, exactly, he would “Make America Great Again.” But it’s not just Trump’s immigration comments that are landing him in hot water; even his business deals have come under scrutiny, most recently in the August 7 GOP debate. The candidate deflected questions about how he plans to run America’s economy when his own companies have filed for bankruptcy multiple times. Here’s a closer look at some of his biggest success and failures in business. In 1988, Trump bought Eastern Air Shuttle, an airline service that ran hourly flights between Boston, NYC and DC for 27 years prior, for $365 million. He turned the airline, once a no frills operation, into a luxury experience, adding maple-wood veneer to the floor and gold-colored bathroom fixtures. The company never turned a profit and the high debt forced him to default on his loans. Ownership of the company was turned over to creditors. It ceased to exist in 1992. Trump unveiled his own vodka line in 2006 paired with the characteristic slogan “Success Distilled.” Advertising for the product claimed that the vodka would “demand the same respect and inspire the same awe as the international legacy and brand of Donald Trump himself.” Trump had high hopes for his liquor brand, predicting that the T&T (Trump and Tonic) would become the most ordered drink in the country and stating on Larry King Live that he got into the vodka business to outdo “his friends” at Grey Goose. The company stopped production in 2011, reportedly due to a lack of interest. Trump Entertainment Resorts, which is composed of three Trump-owned casinos, all in Atlantic City, filed for bankruptcy for the fourth time in 2014. Trump has distanced himself from the company, saying that besides the company having his name, he has “nothing to do with it,” despite the fact that he owned 28% of its stock. Trump launched a Monopoly-like board game in 1989, which was discontinued a year later due to lack of interest. He tried his hand at game making once again in 2005, when he launched an updated version tied to The Apprentice. It was also discontinued. Trump launched an eponymous magazine in 2007 that, in a press release announcing the publication’s arrival, was described as “[reflecting] the passions of its affluent readership by tapping into a rich cultural tapestry.” A year and a half after the launch, the magazine ceased publication. Donald Trump was featured on the June 2007 cover of the Sharper Image catalogue hunched over a platter of meat to kick off his line of premium steaks that he dubbed the “world’s greatest.” The company has since been discontinued—maybe it had something to do with the Trump Steakhouse in Las Vegas being closed down in 2012 for 51 health code violations, including serving five-month old duck. Trump launched this luxury travel search engine in 2006, only to shut it down a year later, despite being powered by booking giant Travelocity. In 2005, Trump opened the non-accredited, for-profit Trump University. In 2010, four students sued the university for “offering classes that amounted to extended ‘infomercials.’” Following the suit, the “university” changed its name to “The Trump Entrepreneur Initiative,” before ending operations one year later. In 2013, the New York Attorney General sued Trump and the “university” for $40 million for allegedly defrauding students. In 2006, Trump forayed further into the real estate industry, launching a mortgage company. The Donald had high hopes for the company, asking CNBC, “Who knows more about financing than me?” Trump Mortgage shut down within a year and a half, in part because Trump selected E.J. Ridings, a man who claimed to be a top executive at a prestigious investment bank but had actually only worked on Wall Street as a registered broker for six days, to run the company. Trump bought the former Commodore Hotel, which had fallen into relative disrepair, from Penn Central Railroad in 1974 and after six years of construction, the Grand Hyatt Hotel debuted. Smack dab in the heart of New York City, with the image of Grand Central reflected off its glass façade, the 34-story hotel is still booming business today. Trump broke ground on his now-famous 48-story Trump Tower in 1980. The luxury high-rise opened in 1983 and, with upscale restaurants and stores located in the mostly residential building, is still highly sought after real estate. Trump renovated Wollman Rink in 1986 after contacting Mayor Ed Koch and offering to complete the renovation for $3 million. He finished the project on time and $750,000 under budget. Wollman Rink remains a Central Park fixture with more than 5 million annual visitors. Trump purchased the building in 1995 for $1 million and renovated it for $35 million. Today, 40 Wall Street, one of the tallest office buildings in downtown New York, is worth over $500 million. After years of negotiations, Trump finally broke ground on Trump Place, the gargantuan housing development along the Hudson River. The development includes 25 acres of open space and 5,700 apartments housed in 18 residential buildings. The Apprentice premiered on NBC in 2004 to great ratings. Trump served as not only the host but also the executive producer, raking in $1 million per episode. The show was successful enough that it inspired a spinoff, The Celebrity Apprentice. Trump bought the former Chicago Sun-Times headquarters in 2005 for $73 million and converted it into the second tallest building in Chicago. It houses a hotel, condos, restaurants and shops, and was named Travel+Leisure’s best large city hotel in North America in 2010.

The many business lives of the GOP candidate

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http://fortune.com/2015/10/09/video-game-industry-strike/

http://web.archive.org/web/20160601013204id_/http://fortune.com:80/2015/10/09/video-game-industry-strike/

EA, Activision, Disney could face a video game industry strike

The video game industry could be about to face its first major labor action. Members of SAG-AFTRA voted almost unanimously to authorize a strike against video game publishers as the battle between voice actors and game publishers continues to escalate. At issue between the two parties is residual payments to voice actors in games that sell over 2 million copies—a threshold the union says classifies a game as a “blockbuster”. Game publishers, which include Electronic Arts, Activision, and Disney, have been stringently opposed to the proposal. The authorization does not mean the strike is guaranteed, but it does give the voice actors more leverage in their ongoing negotiations with publishers. An overwhelming 95.62% of eligible members voted in favor of the strike, according to the guild. (Voting on the authorization ended Oct. 6.) SAG-AFTRA voice actors have been without a contract since the beginning of the year, as both sides have worked on renegotiating what’s known as The Interactive Media Agreement. Bargaining sessions in February and June were unsuccessful, leading to the strike authorization vote. While performance bonuses/residuals are at the heart of the matter, the union also says it believes actors should get stunt pay for vocally stressful recording sessions and that stunt coordinators should be on hand during motion performance capture sessions. Video game publishers contacted by Fortune declined to comment on the matter. MORE: The video game industry is growing old, lazy, and boring While video games have increasingly become more cinematic in both their visual style and in the quality of acting, analysts say they believe that while quality voice acting certainly adds to the impact of a game, a strike likely wouldn’t have a big impact on sales. “I can’t think of one game that consumers have ever bought because of the voice actors,” says P.J. McNealy, CEO and founder of Digital World Research. “They certainly play a critical role in setting the tone and some of the drama for a game—such as the Master Chief’s voice in Halo—but people buy games for the action and the experience. And I think that’s what matters most to consumers.” To whip up public support among vocal core gamers, several voice actors, including actor and geek icon Wil Wheaton, took to social media in late September to raise awareness about the campaign with the “#PerformanceMatters” hashtag campaign. Orion Acaba, a voice actor with over 30 roles to his name, including “Apollo Justice” in Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney and “Crazy Dave” in the original Plants vs. Zombies, explained the situation for fans in a series of Tweets. “New wage contracts haven’t happened since the days of N64,” he wrote. “That was before voiceover was more quintessential in production of games. The hurdles are more complicated than one might think. … A game like Call of Duty will make millions upon millions, and the publisher will keep mostly all of it. The developers of that game might and probably get extra here and there, and that’s about it. Actors are given nothing after release. We are just trying to figure out a way to make everything a little bit more fair.” Sign up for Data Sheet, Fortune’s daily newsletter about the business of technology. For more Fortune coverage of video games, watch this video:

Members of SAG-AFTRA overwhelmingly authorized a strike action in a recent vote.

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http://fortune.com/2016/05/18/linkedin-data-breach-email-password/

http://web.archive.org/web/20160601023026id_/http://fortune.com:80/2016/05/18/linkedin-data-breach-email-password/

LinkedIn Data Breach: 117 Million Emails and Passwords Leaked

Remember LinkedIn’s 2012 data breach? A hacker stole 6.5 million encrypted passwords from the site and posted them to a Russian crime forum. Now it appears that data theft was just the tip of the iceberg. A Russian hacker, who goes by “Peace,” is selling 117 million email and password combinations on a dark web marketplace, Vice Motherboard reports. The going rate for the loot is five Bitcoins, or about $2,300. Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter. Motherboard said it received a portion of the data—about one million credentials—from Leaked Source, a paid search engine for hacked data that claims to have acquired a total of 167 million of the leaked login credentials. The news outlet verified that at least one of the hacked accounts is legitimate by confirming details with one of the victims. Cybersecurity researcher Troy Hunt, who runs the hacked data search engine HaveIBeenPwned.com, said he confirmed details with two other victims. He added that he doesn’t yet have a full set to upload to his database yet. Furthermore, I've only seen a small subset of data (~1M rows), I don't have a full set to load into @haveibeenpwned (yet…) — Troy Hunt (@troyhunt) May 18, 2016 A person who represents Leaked Source, which has been analyzing the stolen data, told Fortune in an email that 160 million of the compromised accounts have unique email addresses, while the remaining 7 million only include numerical userids and passwords. The spokesperson said that the site’s administrators do not have access to the 6.5 million credentials initially released in 2012, meaning they are unable to check whether they are included as part of the latest set. “We acquired the 167 million credentials for free from someone who got them from the Russians,” the Leaked Source rep told Fortune. “We have been asked not to reveal who they are or it would jeopardize their relationship with whomever provided it to them.” For more on LinkedIn, watch: Cory Scott, LinkedIn’s chief information security officer, published a post addressing the incident on the professional network’s official blog on Wednesday. “Yesterday, we became aware of an additional set of data that had just been released that claims to be email and hashed password combinations of more than 100 million LinkedIn members from that same theft in 2012,” Scott wrote. He mentioned that the company had required “all accounts we believed to be compromised” to reset their passwords in 2012, and that it recommended all other users else reset their passwords as well. “We are taking immediate steps to invalidate the passwords of the accounts impacted, and we will contact those members to reset their passwords,” he said. “We have no indication that this is as a result of a new security breach.” Scott added that the site had been encrypting and “salting”—or appending random data to the passwords before they’re encrypted to make them less crackable—”for several years.” Leaked Source noted, however, that the leaked passwords it had obtained were encrypted (with the SHA-1 hashing function), but lacked the “salting” security feature. Presumably, LinkedIn began “salting” their passwords after the 2012 incident. To stay protected, LinkedIn users should update their passwords on the site (and anywhere else they may have reused the same password online) and also implement two-factor authentication—a feature that sends a security code to a user’s phone upon login.

Much more than the 6.5 million originally thought.

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http://nypost.com/2015/08/02/what-men-dont-want-new-york-guys-flee-trainwreck-women/

http://web.archive.org/web/20160601111035id_/http://nypost.com:80/2015/08/02/what-men-dont-want-new-york-guys-flee-trainwreck-women/

New York guys flee ‘Trainwreck’ women

It’s the oldest piece of dating advice in the world: Everyone enjoys the life of the party, but no one wants to take her home. But is it still true in 2015? In her hit film “Trainwreck,” comedienne Amy Schumer plays a single Manhattan woman in her 30s who drinks, smokes, overeats, swears and behaves like a party girl. In the film’s first half, “Amy” (the character shares Schumer’s name), who writes for a crude men’s magazine, beds a series of notably attractive men, getting offered breakfast (and other forms of gratification) in bed and stumbling home drunk on the Staten Island Ferry. (As a single Manhattan woman, I couldn’t help but reflect that the character is lucky she doesn’t contract a disease, or get roughed up, given that she seems to know nothing about her paramours and recalls little the next morning.) After one montage ends with Amy bidding goodbye to her various conquests, she narrates, “The key is to never, ever let them sleep over.” The film has been billed as a story about a female commitmentphobe. But it seems more likely that, in a city in which many lovely, professionally accomplished and successful women complain of a lack of eligible men of comparable age, this character would have a hard time getting any successful, stable man to take her seriously enough to consider a relationship. Nevertheless, Amy’s hard drinking, smoking, swearing and promiscuity don’t stop a clean-cut, successful, attractive, philanthropic young sports surgeon, Dr. Aaron Conners (played by Bill Hader), from falling for her. But is it realistic that a responsible, hardworking New York City man would go for a “Trainwreck”? Almost to a man, single men interviewed at random in Manhattan watering holes and restaurants this week said “No.” “Amy Schumer comes across as a girl version of a frat guy; what guy finds that attractive?” said Rocco Hart, 29, who works in real estate and was hanging with friends at Bravest sports bar on Second Avenue. “I think she acts like a slob.” “No, I wouldn’t, because you want a girl who takes care of herself and carries herself in the right way,” said his friend Liran Dassa, 24, of Mill Basin, Brooklyn. Some indicated youthful exploits are fine but they wouldn’t want an older party girl. “A past is fine, but with where I’m going today, someone who is promiscuous and drunk all the time — I don’t have the patience for it,” said John Evangelista, 28, of Yonkers, who works in construction. “Once you get to a certain age, two or three years out of school, you can’t be a train wreck, it’s not attractive,” said Peter Bregartner, 29, who works as a banker and was eating dinner at RARE Steakhouse in Murray Hill. “I’d have higher standards for a woman I’d want to date.” “It probably wouldn’t last very long,” said Jonathan Weiss, 37, a contractor who lives in Washington Heights and was drinking at The Chester in the West Village. “The smoking alone would be a turnoff,” he added. “I’d date the sister. She was cuter and seemed more serious.” “ ‘Trainwreck’ describes almost every girlfriend I’ve had, but I’ve never taken them home to Mom,” said Ilya Bubel, 29, a lawyer. There were a couple of dissenters — though they included a qualification in their assessment. “My wife is a party girl with an education and a career and she can drink with the best of them,” said Josh Davenport, 30, an engineer from Saratoga Springs who was having dinner with friends at Duke’s in Murray Hill. “If I come home drunk, she won’t be like, ‘Oh you’re an animal.’ She’s more understanding.” “I prefer a woman with a past,” he said, adding, “But the key word is ‘past.’ ” “Trainwreck” isn’t intended to be a morality tale and could be fun for viewers who enjoy the edgy comedy Schumer offers on her hit Comedy Central show. But viewers — especially young, impressionable females — would be wise to recognize the romance in this romantic comedy for what it really is: a big fantasy. Heather Robinson is an independent journalist who lives in Manhattan and blogs at heatherrobinson.net.

It’s the oldest piece of dating advice in the world: Everyone enjoys the life of the party, but no one wants to take her home. But is it still true in 2015? In her hit film “Trainwreck,” comedienne…

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http://fortune.com/2016/05/09/employee-arrested-termination/

http://web.archive.org/web/20160601171312id_/http://fortune.com:80/2016/05/09/employee-arrested-termination/

Steps to Take When an Employee Gets Arrested

Practically Speaking is a weekly column that addresses your most pressing business dilemmas. The advice is the opinion of long-time business owner Gene Marks. Send your questions to [email protected]. One of my employees was arrested last week on charges of domestic violence. He was released on bail and showed up to work the next day. So far, I haven’t said anything. Should I? According to the National Coalition against Domestic Violence, every nine seconds a woman is assaulted or beaten in the U.S. and 1 in 3 women (and 1 in 4 men) have been victims of [some form of] physical violence by an intimate partner within their lifetime. The issue achieved national prominence in 2014 when a video showed football player Ray Rice hitting his spouse in an elevator. It’s serious and affects your company. So how do you handle this kind of situation internally? If you become aware that an employee is a victim of domestic violence then hopefully you have a policy. Many employers do. The policy should state that you do not discriminate against anyone who is a victim of such a crime and that the company offers some type of paid leave so that the victim can seek physical or psychological care, services from a support organization or counseling, legal assistance and can have the time off to potentially relocate or take other actions to protect her (or his) safety. Some states have their own laws concerning the victims of domestic violence so you should definitely consult an attorney. But what if it’s an accused offender? And he shows up to work the next day? What’s your policy? John Kasich’s campaign recently fired a staffer after he was arrested for domestic assault. That’s because his organization had a policy about behavior both on and off the job. You can do this too. But be careful – in many cases you can’t just automatically fire someone for this kind of behavior. In this country, people are still innocent until proven guilty and they’re entitled to due process. So just because someone is accused or even arrested for a crime doesn’t mean he did it, no matter the evidence. It’s within his right to come to work and unless you have a reason to fear for the safety of you or employees, you must give that person the opportunity to continue working. Some of my clients include paid time off even for offenders if they are seeking counseling or other support services to help them with their issues. Your job, as owner, is to make sure you have a safe and productive work environment and if you think the presence of a domestic violence offender, even if just accused, jeopardizes that environment, then you must make the employee aware and keep him under close watch. After a long interview process, we hired a great person for our customer service team. A few months later I found out that she lied on her job application and resume: she said she had a college degree but it turned out that she never completed it. I verified this with the college she attended. She’s been doing a good job for me. What do I do? Hey, what’s a few little fibs, right? Some pretty important execs, bureaucrats and coaches have done it, so why not? Lying on a job application or resume is serious stuff. Not having faith in someone’s integrity or honesty shakes the core of a business relationship. Not taking action could send a signal to others that you’re willing to accept dishonesty, regardless of the situation. However, it’s an imperfect world. If an employee had lied on an application about something that was critical for her job – a required certification, licensing, experience with a certain skill needed – then you would need to terminate. In fact, according to this blog, the cardinal sin of lying on a resume is falsifying educational accomplishments. If the employee is a senior executive in your company who lied on a resume, then I would also strongly consider termination. This is not something that credible leaders do. But a customer service rep? Someone who’s been doing a good job and doesn’t really require a college degree for her job? Assuming there are no other issues, I’d likely keep her. Of course, I’d have a private conversation with her, letting her know that I know about her indiscretion and giving her a chance to defend herself. But even assuming she has no defense, I’d lecture her, tell her how disappointed I am and watch her closely. But for the kind of job she’s doing, I wouldn’t terminate her.

An employee got arrested. Here's how you should proceed.

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http://www.nytimes.com/1984/12/09/books/the-english-secret-unveiled.html

http://web.archive.org/web/20160601212802id_/http://www.nytimes.com:80/1984/12/09/books/the-english-secret-unveiled.html?

THE ENGLISH SECRET UNVEILED

The Life of I. Compton-Burnett. By Hilary Spurling. Illustrated. 621 pp. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. $22.95. ''Biography,'' says Oscar Wilde, ''lends to death a new terror.'' And so it has often proved in the 20th century. The obsessively private are exposed no less than their publicity-seeking contemporaries; those whose measure of themselves has always been modest, if not prudent and realistic, must endure the posthumous examination of the most wayward quirks and crotchets, the most comical grotesqueries, given the imprimatur of the printed page and ''The Life Of'' stamped on a book's spine. William Faulkner, wishing for the briefest of epitaphs after his death (''He made the books and he died'') was the subject of one of the most massive biographies of our time. T. S. Eliot and W. H. Auden requested in vain that no books be written about them - a veritable goad to biographers, memoirists, and dramatists. Ivy Compton-Burnett, the subject of Hilary Spurling's voluminous, exhaustively researched book, ''Ivy: The Life of I. Compton-Burnett,'' made it clear that she wanted nothing known, let alone published, of her private life, especially her early family history (before approximately 1917, when her two youngest sisters committed a bizarre double suicide by way of Veronal). She was publicly so modest that praise of her books, made in her presence, pained her. ''I have had such an uneventful life that there is little to say,'' she stated many times. In the 1950's she became known in literary circles as ''the English Secret'' - though much speculation raged about her, very little was actually known. She never married, had no love affairs or children, kept no diary or journal, wrote surprisingly few letters throughout her long life , belonged to no political organizations, ventured no public pronouncements, wrote no literary criticism and was involved in no scandals, literary or otherwise. When she died at the age of 85, in 1969, her personal papers filled only half a shoebox - and were not very personal at that. By the time Ivy Compton-Burnett came to be spoken of as ''the English Secret,'' she had acquired a reputation as one of the most original writers of her time. Author of a series of highly stylized, idiosyncratic novels that are primarily dialogues - there were to be 19 in all, in addition to an early (and later repudiated) novel published in 1911 - Compton-Burnett was compared favorably to Jane Austen, Congreve, Aeschylus, Faulkner, Hemingway, and even Picasso. The book critic Cyril Connolly predicted that she would be the only contemporary writer to outlive the century; Raymond Mortimer, who as a young man reviewed her in Vogue early in her career, repeatedly praised her as a genius, ''the single most powerful force at work in the English novel in the generation following James Joyce and Virginia Woolf.'' And her work became the curious frame around which the French novelist Nathalie Sarraute erected her own theory of the nouveau roman , though it is unlikely that Ivy Compton-Burnett, with her conservative standards, would have admired Miss Sarraute's own fiction. Her books were never best sellers - postwar sales figures held steady at about 7,000 copies for each new novel - but she was consistently lauded by such disparate fellow writers as Graham Greene, Elizabeth Bowen, Mario Praz, V. S. Pritchett, Vita Sackville- West, and Rosamond Lehmann. Pamela Hansford Johnson spoke of her as a writer ''either to be left alone or made into an addiction'' - a judgment with which many readers might concur. It is a measure of Compton-Burnett's strong presence in England that a number Joyce Carol Oates is the author of ''Last Days,'' a story collection, and the forthcoming novel ''Solstice.'' of well-known younger writers - among them Muriel Spark, Iris Murdoch, and Henry Green - so clearly descend from her. Ivy Compton-Burnett's books will strike most American readers as quintessentially English: spare, decorticated, tightly constructed drawing-room comedies in which everyone (3-year-olds, 90-year-olds, butlers, governesses) speaks in finely honed language. They are unrelievedly arch, even campy, contrived dramas of domestic life in a fantasy England, circa 1885-1901, of country estates, down-at-the-heels gentility, family tyrants and hapless scheming victims enmeshed in plots of mock-tragic resonance - Aeschylus and Sophocles funnily reinvented by Oscar Wilde, perhaps. Informed too by a genial cynicism - antireligious, anti-''family'' - reminiscent of Samuel Butler, whose ''Note-Books'' made a powerful impression on Ivy in 1918, the novels are written to formula yet unfailingly inventive within the confines of the genre. They exhibit their kinship with one another openly, being given markedly similar titles - among them ''Pastors and Masters'' (1925), ''Brothers and Sisters'' (1929), ''Men and Wives'' (1931), ''Daughters and Sons'' (1937), ''Parents and Children'' (1941), ''Darkness and Day'' (1950), ''The Present and the Past'' (1953), ''Mother and Son'' (1955), ''A Father and His Fate'' (1957).

IVY The Life of I. Compton-Burnett. By Hilary Spurling. Illustrated. 621 pp. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. $22.95. ''Biography,'' says Oscar Wilde, ''lends to death a new terror.'' And so it has often proved in the 20th century. The obsessively private are exposed no less than their publicity-seeking contemporaries; those whose measure of themselves has always been modest, if not prudent and realistic, must endure the posthumous examination of the most wayward quirks and crotchets, the most comical grotesqueries, given the imprimatur of the printed page and ''The Life Of'' stamped on a book's spine. William Faulkner, wishing for the briefest of epitaphs after his death (''He made the books and he died'') was the subject of one of the most massive biographies of our time. T. S. Eliot and W. H. Auden requested in vain that no books be written about them - a veritable goad to biographers, memoirists, and dramatists.

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http://time.com/3646200/obama-applauds-release/

http://web.archive.org/web/20160602013211id_/http://time.com:80/3646200/obama-applauds-release/

Obama 'Applauds' Limited Release of 'The Interview'

In light of the news that The Interview will get a limited release on Christmas, the White House issued a statement saying that President Barack Obama “applauds” Sony’s move allowing the film to be seen. “The President applauds Sony’s decision to authorize screenings of the film. As the President made clear, we are a country that believes in free speech, and the right of artistic expression,” White House spokesman Eric Schultz said in a statement. “The decision made by Sony and participating theaters allows people to make their own choices about the film, and we welcome that outcome.” In a press conference Friday, Obama had said he believed Sony’s initial decision to cancel the release of the film was a “mistake.” This article originally appeared on EW.com

On Friday, Obama had called Sony’s initial decision to cancel the release of the film was a “mistake”

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http://www.aol.com/article/2010/03/05/cruise-ship-firsts-through-history/19390325/

http://web.archive.org/web/20160602153609id_/http://www.aol.com:80/article/2010/03/05/cruise-ship-firsts-through-history/19390325/

Cruise Ship Firsts Through History

First mega cruise ship, the Norway (Wikimedia Commons) Cruises as we know them today are really only about 50 years old, but the tradition goes back more then a hundred years when passengers started booking travel on mail ships crossing the Atlantic. These cargo vessels evolved into the grand ocean liners whose names we still remember: . Now the cruise lines are always competing to have the newest, the best, the biggest, and the most exciting ships at sea, morphing them into massive floating resorts where the onboard experience is just as important as the ports themselves, if not more. 10. 1840: First Transatlantic Cruise When Cunard started carrying mail across the Atlantic on steamships, the company didn't know it was starting a whole new industry. A record number of passengers lined up for the crossings from England to New York, not because the boats themselves were that spectacular but because they were faster than previous vessels. Those paying customers came to expect more creature comforts than the crew, of course, so the on-board amenities got an overhaul, including the addition of a cow to provide fresh milk. The first dedicated cruise ship set sail in 1900, but it was a short-lived experiment. Named for Kaiser Wilhelm II's daughter, the from Germany's HAPAG line cruised the West Indies and the Mediterranean. The was not actually a ship, but a grand yacht with 120 first class cabins plus a library and darkroom. At more than 407 feet, it was also longer than the Kaiser's own yacht, much to his irritation. The boat unfortunately ran aground in 1906. The first over-the-top luxury ship set off on its maiden voyage on April 10, 1912 with new features like a shipboard swimming pool, a la carte dining, a Parisian café, and a Turkish bath. Competition between the lines had become fierce, and the White Star Line sought to challenge Cunard, whose ships the held the record for fastest Atlantic crossings. The trumped them in size and lavish amenities (at least in first class), even featuring running hot water in some of its cabins. Of course, we all know how that ended. The modern cruise era was born when the first passenger jet took off from London heading to New York, causing a sharp decline in the popularity of Transatlantic cruising. Air travel was not only much faster, but also took on the glamour and prestige that had formerly been associated with ocean liners. Those now-passé ships weren't dry-docked though. They found a new purpose plying the Caribbean waters. This opened up a while new category of cruising, still one of the most popular today. The 1960s saw the founding of the first of the modern powerhouse cruise companies, bringing down prices through competition. Princess was born in 1965, offering the first short, reasonably priced cruises on its , which sailed from California and down along the Mexican coastline. Norwegian Cruise Line went into business in 1966 providing the first budget Caribbean cruises on its and soon became the first cruise company offering packages including low-cost airfare. The Royal Caribbean Cruise Line debuted with the 724-passenger in 1970. Finally, Carnival opened in 1972, instituting their "Fun Ships" and quickly becoming a behemoth, absorbing nearly a dozen other lines including Cunard, Holland America, and Seabourn. As kitschy as it seems today, brought the notion of cruising (previously perceived to be only for the elite) to the masses. Viewers ate up the hijinks that top stars of the day got into with the fictional passengers and crew on a Princess cruise and booked their own vacations with hopes of running into cruise director Julie or maybe even Charo. The cruising frenzy was further fueled in 1984 by Carnival's ads starring Kathie Lee Gifford, the first to appear on television. The '80s was the era of the size wars and the debut of the floating resorts. In 1980, Norwegian Cruise Lines introduced the first supership, the . NCL bought the former and spent $80 million converting it into a ship measuring in at 150 percent the size of its competition, capable of carrying 2,181 passengers and offering entertainment to rival Vegas shows. In 1988, Royal Caribbean's had a then-record-setting capacity of 2,350 passengers and was the first ship equipped with the now-ubiquitous multi-story atrium with glass elevators. The title "world's largest cruise ship" has continued to be passed from company to company ever since. Disney Cruise Line purchased the small Bahamian island of Gorda Cay and rechristened it Castaway Cay, spending more than a year expanding the beaches and installing a dock big enough for the line's megaships. They have been continually updating it ever since and in the summer of 2010 will debut a new waterslide platform, an expanded stingray habitat, and 20 new beach cabanas. And of course, this being Disney, the ship from the movies is moored offshore. Holland America, Princess, Norwegian, and Royal Caribbean all followed suit and snapped up their own private islands in the Bahamas. Royal Caribbean actually has a second island, Labadee, off the coast of Hispaniola. Royal Caribbean debuted the first shipboard ice-skating rink on the 3,114-passenger and ushered in the amenities war. Cruise lines continue to one-up each other with more and more outrageous forms of onboard entertainment like surf simulators and intricate waterslides. In 2003, Royal Caribbean was the first to add rock-climbing walls. In 2006, NCL installed bowling alleys on its . In 2008, Celebrity was the first to feature 15,00 square feet of lawn space on . Launched in late 2009, Royal Caribbean's became the biggest ship ever built with a capacity of 5,400 passengers, offering a zip-line, a park with outdoor cafes, the first onboard carousel in its Coney-Island inspired boardwalk, and performances of the Broadway show This will be another year for firsts. Nine lines are launching new ships (all ordered before the recession). NCL is debuting the , which will offer the first studio cabins for people traveling alone-without the onerous single-supplement fare add-on. The ship will also have the Epic Plunge (a 7-deck tube waterslide), 20 restaurants, and an Ice Bar made of, yes, ice. Seabourn will debut the , the largest masted sailing ship in the world. Cunard's will bring back the Art Deco décor of the grand old passenger ships of the 1920s to the 1940s. Princess, too, is returning to the nostalgia of the grand passenger lines, offering Bon Voyage parties. For four hours before the ship's departure, passengers can bring friends and family on board for a tour and lunch.

First mega cruise ship, the Norway (Wikimedia Commons) Cruises as we know them today are really only about 50 years old, but the tradition goes back more then a hundred years when pa engers

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http://time.com/3310033/6-things-organized-people-do/

http://web.archive.org/web/20160602154307id_/http://time.com:80/3310033/6-things-organized-people-do/?

6 Things the Most Organized People Do Every Day

Your life is busy. Work/life balance is a challenge. You feel like you’re spreading yourself so thin that you’re starting to disappear. Most of us feel that way. But not all of us. The most organized people don’t. As NYT bestselling author and neuroscientist Daniel J. Levitin explains, the VIP’s he’s met don’t seem scattered and frantic. They’re calm, cool and “in the moment”, not juggling nine things and worried about being done by 7PM. It’s not hard to figure out why: they have help — aides and assistants to take care of these things so the VIP can be “in the moment.” Via The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload: In the course of my work as a scientific researcher, I’ve had the chance to meet governors, cabinet members, music celebrities, and the heads of Fortune 500 companies. Their skills and accomplishments vary, but as a group, one thing is remarkably constant. I’ve repeatedly been struck by how liberating it is for them not to have to worry about whether there is someplace else they need to be, or someone else they need to be talking to. They take their time, make eye contact, relax, and are really there with whomever they’re talking to. They don’t have to worry if there is someone more important they should be talking to at that moment because their staff— their external attentional filters— have already determined for them that this is the best way they should be using their time. Must be nice since you and I have to multitask and cut things short to try and get everything done, stressing the whole time. But here’s the thing: You can be like that too. And it doesn’t require a staff of 10. So who is your assistant? You are. Then who’s the VIP? You are. (Yes, I am actively encouraging you to develop a split personality.) With enough planning ahead of time, you can make sure you’re as calm and organized as the President of the United States. (For more on what the most productive people do, click here.) We just need to get a few systems in place ahead of time. What’s the first step? The President of the United States is not desperately trying to remember his to-do list. He has outsourced to his staff all the things that come next so he can focus 100% on what’s in front of him. No, you don’t have a group of aides but there’s still a key principle you can use: Get it out of your head. Via The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload: Shift the burden of organizing from our brains to the external world… Writing them down gets them out of your head, clearing your brain of the clutter that is interfering with being able to focus on what you want to focus on. Everything you’re worried about, every to-do, every concern gets written down in one place. One. Not scattered across a notepad at home, your iPad in the office, your email inbox, sticky notes on your monitor, and your unreliable memory. That scattering makes you wonder if you’ve forgotten something — and research shows it produces anxiety. So get it out of your head and on one list. Afterwards, Getting Things Done author David Allen says break it up into 4 categories: Once you have those 4 lists you know what you actually need to do and it’s all in one place. Just having that list is a big step toward VIP cool. Why does this work? There’s some neuroscience behind it. Writing things down deactivates “rehearsal loops.” Via The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload: When we have something on our minds that is important— especially a To Do item— we’re afraid we’ll forget it, so our brain rehearses it, tossing it around and around in circles in something that cognitive psychologists actually refer to as the rehearsal loop, a network of brain regions that ties together the frontal cortex just behind your eyeballs and the hippocampus in the center of your brain… The problem is that it works too well, keeping items in rehearsal until we attend to them. Writing them down gives both implicit and explicit permission to the rehearsal loop to let them go, to relax its neural circuits so that we can focus on something else. Research shows that when you leave things unfinished and worry, it actually makes you stupid. Solution? Write it all down. (For more on how the great geniuses of history leverage notebooks, click here.) So you got all the to-do’s out of your brain and onto a list. You know what can be delegated, deferred and dropped — and what you actually need to do. Now how do you get through the day like a calm VIP? The President of the United States doesn’t check his watch. He’s scheduled down to the minute and aides tell him when it’s time to go. You may not have assistants but any smartphone has alarms and reminders. Via The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload: Time management also requires structuring your future with reminders. That is, one of the secrets to managing time in the present is to anticipate future needs so that you’re not left scrambling and playing catch-up all the time. Ironically, your phone probably interrupts you with unimportant texts, emails, and status updates — but not about the key priorities for your day. Few of us have our calendar so organized ahead of time that we can let it dictate all our actions moment to moment. What’s the key? Alarms don’t work with to-do lists. As Cal Newport recommends, assign every to-do a block of time on your calendar. Then you can gauge how much you can actually get done: Scheduling forces you to confront the reality of how much time you actually have and how long things will take. Now that you look at the whole picture you’re able to get something productive out of every free hour you have in your workday. You not only squeeze more work in but you’re able to put work into places where you can do it best. You’re less likely to procrastinate when an activity has an assigned block of time, because the decision was already made. And once it has a time block, you can be the VIP. Alarms allow your mind to be calm knowing you’ll be reminded about the next thing. (For more on the schedule successful people follow every day, click here.) I know what some of you are thinking: But I get interrupted. I get distracted. But there’s a way to deal with interruptions — even if you don’t have a Secret Service detail to keep people out of your office. Every morning the President gets a top secret document with everything he needs to know from the agencies beneath him. What’s key isn’t what the document contains, it’s what it doesn’t contain: 50 status updates, 100 tweets, 10 cat pictures and 1000 unimportant emails. He can focus on what matters because he isn’t distracted by what doesn’t. Meanwhile, you probably feel overwhelmed by information. Via The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload: Today, our attentional filters easily become overwhelmed. Successful people— or people who can afford it— employ layers of people whose job it is to narrow the attentional filter. That is, corporate heads, political leaders, spoiled movie stars, and others whose time and attention are especially valuable have a staff of people around them who are effectively extensions of their own brains, replicating and refining the functions of the prefrontal cortex’s attentional filter. “I have information overload!”, you scream. But as technology visionary Clay Shirky says, “It’s not information overload; it’s filter failure.” Your attention is limited and valuable. You need less information. You need good filters. Via The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload: Our brains do have the ability to process the information we take in, but at a cost: We can have trouble separating the trivial from the important, and all this information processing makes us tired. Neurons are living cells with a metabolism; they need oxygen and glucose to survive and when they’ve been working hard, we experience fatigue… A good low-tech solution is to hide for part of the day. I’m as serious as a heart attack. Go where people cannot reach you and get solid work done. That’s not an option for everyone. I get it. No problem. But people who feel technology has left them overloaded with information are using it wrong. Use technology like a DVR to time-shift your communications. People should reach you when you want them to, not when they want to. Handle all communications in specified “batches“: a set time when you check email, voicemail, etc. Some people say, “I can’t do that.” But you probably can do it more than you think, especially early and late in the day. Maybe your boss wants you ridiculously responsive. Fine. Set up an email filter so only the boss’s emails get through immediately. Via The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload: …you can set up e-mail filters in most e-mail programs and phones, designating certain people whose mail you want to get through to you right away, while other mail just accumulates in your inbox until you have time to deal with it. And for people who really can’t be away from e-mail, another effective trick is to set up a special, private e-mail account and give that address only to those few people who need to be able to reach you right away, and check your other accounts only at designated times. (For more on how to achieve work/life balance, click here.) So you’ve got reminders and filters and you’re not running around worried anymore. But when you sit down to work you realize there is still just too much to do. How can you keep calm when there are so many decisions to make? The President doesn’t make little decisions. The thousands of people working under him handle those so only the big stuff bubbles up to his agenda. But given you don’t have thousands of people working under you (or maybe any for that matter) you handle every decision, business and personal. As I’ve said before, “You can do anything once you stop trying to do everything.” Be a perfectionist about it all and you’ll have a nervous breakdown. Save your limited decision-making power for the things that matter. Everything else should be “satisficed.” What is satisficing? It’s the art of quickly picking the option that is “good enough.” And research shows it’s the path to productivity — and happiness. Via The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload: Recent research in social psychology has shown that happy people are not people who have more; rather, they are people who are happy with what they already have. Happy people engage in satisficing all of the time, even if they don’t know it. Warren Buffett can be seen as embracing satisficing to an extreme— one of the richest men in the world, he lives in Omaha, a block from the highway, in the same modest home he has lived in for fifty years… But Buffett does not satisfice with his investment strategies; satisficing is a tool for not wasting time on things that are not your highest priority. For your high-priority endeavors, the old-fashioned pursuit of excellence remains the right strategy. Will this decision result in you losing your job? No? Then opt for the “good enough” solution and focus on what matters most. (For more on what the most successful people all have in common, click here.) Your boss’s priorities change midday. More stuff keeps getting added to your list. How can this not throw a monkeywrench into your well-laid plan? When changes come up for the Commander-in-Chief he shifts seamlessly because his aides have already revised the day’s plans. So he stays calm. You can stay cool too, but it requires a little bit more effort. New things will come in, priorities will change and you need to process and adapt. Always have your notebook ready to capture new ideas and to-do’s. And throughout the day you need moments of triage and “active sorting” where you restructure the list from your big brain dump. Via The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload: “Your brain needs to engage on some consistent basis with all of your commitments and activities,” Allen says. “You must be assured that you are doing what you need to be doing, and that it’s OK to be not doing what you’re not doing. If it’s on your mind, then your mind isn’t clear. Anything you consider unfinished in any way must be captured in a trusted system outside your mind…” That trusted system is to write it down. Once you update your list, apply the Eisenhower Matrix. When you know which category everything fits into, you can attack the list in a prioritized way. (For more on how Navy SEALs, Astronauts and Samurai make good decisions, click here.) Okay, you are master of your schedule, your mind is empty and you’re ready to focus… Now what? Ever seen a picture of the President’s desk? Does it have piles of papers and 1000 random post-its? No. Research shows a desk that looks like the aftermath of a natural disaster saps your ability to concentrate. You don’t need to be a neat-freak but when it’s time for you to stop planning and be the VIP, have a separate work area designed for focus. Via The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload: One way to exploit the hippocampus’s natural style of memory storage is to create different work spaces for the different kinds of work we do. But we use the same computer screen for balancing our checkbook, responding to e-mails from our boss, making online purchases, watching videos of cats playing the piano, storing photos of our loved ones, listening to our favorite music, paying bills, and reading the daily news. It’s no wonder we can’t remember everything— the brain simply wasn’t designed to have so much information in one place… The neurologist and writer Oliver Sacks goes one further: If you’re working on two completely separate projects, dedicate one desk or table or section of the house for each. Just stepping into a different space hits the reset button on your brain and allows for more productive and creative thinking. According to productivity guru Tim Ferriss, focus is just the product of removing distractions. So you want your VIP work area to have what the VIP needs. And nothing else. Via The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload: A germane finding in cognitive psychology for gaining that control is to make visible the things you need regularly, and hide things that you don’t. I can hear the whining already: But I don’t have two offices! I barely have one! This isn’t about real estate, it’s about mental space. Your desk can be where you plan, but the VIP works on the couch. Or your desktop computer is for preparation, but the VIP works on your iPad (which deliberately lacks apps for Facebook, Twitter, etc.) When it’s time for VIP work you want everything you need to get the job done — and nothing else. Your immediate environment should make what you need to do easy and what you don’t need to do hard. (For more tricks successful people use to make themselves great, click here.) So how do we pull all this together? The steps to being as organized and calm as the Commander-in-Chief: You used to need a secretary vigilantly monitoring the phone all day… then came answering machines and voicemail. Technology has come a long way since then and with some planning you can use it to keep your cool and accomplish great things. It’s hard at first. And, yes, you’ll stumble. You’ll need to tweak and customize. But with time you’ll evolve a personal system that works. And you’ll learn the lesson that every VIP knows: The trickiest thing to learn to manage is yourself. But once you can handle that, you can handle anything. Join over 100,000 readers. Get a free weekly update via email here. 6 Things The Most Productive People Do Every Day 8 Things The World’s Most Successful People All Have In Common How To Achieve Work-Life Balance In 5 Steps This piece originally appeared on Barking Up the Wrong Tree. Read next: How to Have the Most Organized Year of Your Life Listen to the most important stories of the day.

Your attention is limited and valuable. You need less information. You need good filters

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http://time.com/3585541/veronica-lake-movie-star-hollywood-rebel-sex-zombie/

http://web.archive.org/web/20160602154326id_/http://time.com:80/3585541/veronica-lake-movie-star-hollywood-rebel-sex-zombie/

Movie Star, Hollywood Rebel, 'Sex Zombie'

Veronica Lake, a femme fatale icon of 1940s Hollywood noir, was born Constance Frances Marie Ockelman on Nov. 14, 1922, in Brooklyn, New York. Small in stature — she was less than five feet tall — the platinum blonde with the distinctive peek-a-boo haircut was a huge screen presence and box-office staple during the war years. Often paired with Alan Ladd (at just 5′ 6″, Ladd was another famously short movie star), Lake brought to the screen an air of mystery, contained sensuality and quiet wit that lit up the screen. But, as she herself said, she just wasn’t cut out to be a movie star — at least not as Hollywood in the Forties envisioned that role — and her later life was marked by broken marriages, addiction and illness. Lake herself, meanwhile, was always self-deprecating when it come not only to her stardom, but her acting chops. “You could put all the talent I had into your left eye and still not suffer from impaired vision,” she reportedly said of her film career, while also once claiming that she was not a sex symbol, but a “sex zombie.” “That really names me properly,” she once said. “I never took that [sex goddess] stuff seriously.” Moviegoers, on the other hand, were drawn to Lake’s films in droves, attracted, in large part, by the enigmatic mix of playful eroticism and aloofness that defined many of her best performances and biggest hits — dramas like The Blue Dahlia and The Glass Key and Preston Sturges’ classic comedy, Sullivan’s Travels. Lake largely disappeared from the big screen after the 1940s, working mainly in TV and on the stage in the 1950s and ’60s. Mental illness and alcohol took their toll. She was married four times and had four children, but when she died in Burlington, Vt., from hepatitis and kidney injury at just 50 years old in July 1973, only one of her kids and none of her exes bothered to attend her memorial service in New York. (She was, later in life, notoriously prickly and by all accounts was neither a loyal spouse nor an especially good mother.) For a while there in the 1940s, however, Veronica Lake — “sex zombie” or not — was the sort of star that Hollywood doesn’t seem to produce anymore. Smoldering. Inscrutable. Suspicious of her own fame, yet somehow innately, deeply alluring. Her influence, four decades after her death, is still felt. (Kim Basinger’s Oscar-winning turn in L.A. Confidential, of course, was as a prostitute coiffed and dressed to resemble Lake, while none other than Jessica Rabbit was something of a red-haired, more voluptuous Veronica.) Lake’s life was not destined for a storybook ending, but she left behind at least a few films — and created a unique persona — that endure. In the long history of the movies, how many stars can honestly say the same? [See all of LIFE’s galleries] [Read EW’s review of the 1942 Lake comedy, I Married a Witch]

Her life was not destined for a storybook ending, but Veronica Lake left behind at least a few films -- and a unique persona -- that endure.

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http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/gossip/terrence-howard-alleges-physical-abuse-headspace-scary-article-1.1446044

http://web.archive.org/web/20160602190719id_/http://www.nydailynews.com:80/entertainment/gossip/terrence-howard-alleges-physical-abuse-headspace-scary-article-1.1446044

Terrence Howard also choked and punched me during relationship, alleges ex

An ex-girlfriend who called the cops on Terrence Howard during a violent fight last year says she's not surprised by his ex-wife's new blockbuster claims of abuse. Pennsylvania resident May Seng Yang says she first met the Oscar-nominated actor, who's now appearing in Lee Daniels' No. 1 flick "The Butler," when he was separated from this first wife and dining with his kids at a local pizzeria. She says things quickly turned sexual, and they continued seeing each other even after his 2010 marriage to Michelle Ghent Howard. The 40-year-old brunette beauty shared email and text messages with the Daily News backing up her claim. Michelle, 36, now has a restraining order against Terrence based on claims he "sucker punched" and choked her in a Costa Rica vacation home during a failed reconciliation in July. The ex-wife filed new court paperwork last week claiming the "Hustle & Flow" actor physically abused her in Toronto and threatened a murder-suicide with an X-Acto blade just two weeks before their divorce was finalized on May 6 in Los Angeles. Terrence has denied ever laying a finger on Michelle and said in his own court filing that her allegations are a vengeful attempt to "ruin" his career. "I believe Michelle. I've seen the same behavior firsthand. He's very likable, but when he gets in a certain headspace, it's scary," Yang told the News Tuesday. "He didn't have these tendencies when I first met him, but in the last five years, he's progressed to dangerous behavior," she said, explaining that he was devastated by his beloved mom's 2008 cancer death and became "depressed" over the loss. "He would say he wished he could just stop breathing," she said. Yang's relationship with Terrence took a dark turn on May 6, 2012, when she dropped by his Pennsylvania house unannounced. He had called her to say he was in town, Yang claimed, but when she knocked on his door, he was there with Erica Taylor, an actress he publicly dated after Michelle filed for divorce. Yang said she was having a "calm" conversation with Taylor when Terrence lost his temper, choked her, pushed her to the ground and punched her in her left eye. She said she ran to a neighbor's house and called 911, but when cops arrived, Terrence claimed she was the aggressor and had a visible scratch on his face. Yang denied scratching the actor but was taken into custody after Taylor sided with Terrence, she said. Attempts to reach Terrence's lawyers were not immediately successful. In her most recent filing first obtained by the News, Michelle said Terrence's Toronto meltdown came after she confronted him over a half dozen phone numbers for women and a 17-year-old girl she found in one of his bags. She said he threw her computer out a window, physically assaulted her and put an X-Acto blade to his wrist before purportedly proclaiming, "I'm just thinking if I should kill you first before killing me." Lengthy text messages attributed to Terrence and included with the filing allege the actor compared himself to Satan and threatened "vengeance upon Humanity for all the wrongs ever done to me!" Another alleged message from the week following the X-Acto incident suggested ongoing suicidal thoughts. "I have never felt so low as I do now and wish that I wasn't such a coward and that I had the courage to finish what should have been accomplished in the abortion clinic 44 years ago," the message attributed to Terrence reads. "I don't deserve to live anymore and you never deserved any of this..I'm so sorry!"

An ex-girlfriend who called the cops on Terrence Howard during a violent fight last year says she's not surprised by his ex-wife's new blockbuster claims of abuse.

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http://www.theguardian.com/society/commentisfree/2016/mar/04/jeremy-corbyn-sex-trade-left-women-exploitation

http://web.archive.org/web/20160603034630id_/http://www.theguardian.com:80/society/commentisfree/2016/mar/04/jeremy-corbyn-sex-trade-left-women-exploitation

Jeremy Corbyn’s views on the sex trade sum up the male left’s betrayal of women

Yet again the males on the left have let women down, while kidding themselves that they are being progressive. Jeremy Corbyn has said, during a talk at Goldsmiths University, that he is in favour of decriminalising the sex trade. “Let’s do things a bit differently and in a more civilised way,” he said. But there is nothing civilised about legitimising one of the most exploitative industries on the planet. It is apt that Corbyn made his admission at Goldsmiths. Any feminist in support of criminalising sex-buyers is instantly accused by members of Goldsmiths’ feminist society of hating prostituted women, or “whorephobia”, as it is known. This twist of logic is quite something considering the law that criminalises demand also decriminalises those selling sex. Related: Criminalise the sex buyers, not the prostitutes | Catherine Bennett I cannot believe that Corbyn is so misinformed as to see the blanket decriminalisation of the sex trade as necessary to uphold the human rights and safety of those selling sex. In Sweden, the first country to introduce the sex-buyer law in 1999, not one prostituted woman has been murdered by a pimp or sex-buyer since then. In New Zealand, where the sex trade was decriminalised in 2003, there have been five murders. What decriminalisation actually means is that control is taken away from the criminal justice agencies and given to local authorities. Under this model, pimps become managers, and brothel owners are business entrepreneurs. The only difference between decriminalisation and legalisation is that under legalisation the state becomes the official pimp by making certain aspects of the trade legal. This way it can collect taxes and impose compulsory health checks on prostituted women – something the great feminist abolitionist Josephine Butler campaigned against in the 19th century. Many on the left believe any criminalisation of the industry stigmatises those who sell sex, and that the selling of sex should be regarded as a job like any other. But there is a growing body of research showing that in Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Nevada and the Netherlands, where prostitution has been legalised or decriminalised, there is an increase in demand, which in turn has led to an increase in people coerced into prostitution. Such regimes lead to an increase in the legal as well as the illegal sex trade. In researching my forthcoming book on the international sex trade, I have spoken to a number of women currently and formerly involved in the sex trade in New Zealand, the country hailed as nirvana since the disaster of legalisation in Holland became public. One interviewee began working in a New Zealand brothel just after she turned 18, prior to decriminalisation. I asked her what decriminalisation had changed. “I don’t think it made any difference,” she said, “because the boss still does everything really dodgy, and I think that’s how he did it when it was illegal.” The idea that pimps and other exploiters would suddenly turn into considerate employers who pay taxes and abide by the law simply because they are no longer technically criminals is ridiculous. The sex workers’ rights lobby that has targeted Labour with its propaganda on the benefits of decriminalisation minimises and denies harm. The only harm it is prepared to acknowledge is caused, according to this logic, by feminists and police officers. One sex workers’ rights activist recently claimed in her blog: “No sex worker I know reports clients as being the biggest problem … It’s always the rescuers, the police and the state that do them the most harm.” What utter rubbish. While police brutality is prevalent towards women in prostitution in a number of countries, the rapes, homicides and violence from pimps and punters is well documented. In the UK alone, there have been 153 murders of prostituted women since 1990 – none committed by feminist abolitionists or police. Why the left supports the rights of pimps and brothel owners is a mystery. It is akin to supporting tobacco industry profiteers in order to destigmatise smokers. Corbyn and his colleagues would do well to listen to survivors of the sex trade before taking such an uninformed line on the best way to regulate prostitution. As Rachel Moran, sex trade survivor and author of Paid For, remarked: “Males of the left defy every principle they purport to stand for when they contort their own political values to view women’s bodies as commercial products subject to purchase in free market economics. No other social group is treated this way by the men of the left. “It is only women who are deemed so worthless as to be denigrated with this indignity, and it is only women whose equal human status is so unthinkable as to motivate them to turn their backs on their own politics.”

Calls for decriminalisation are misjudged. Pimps and other exploiters will not become good citizens just because they’re no longer on the wrong side of the law

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http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2011/may/06/top-10-brooklyn-shopping

http://web.archive.org/web/20160603040245id_/http://www.theguardian.com:80/travel/2011/may/06/top-10-brooklyn-shopping

10 of the best shops in Brooklyn, New York

Nothing represents Brooklyn's do-it-yourself spirit and obsessive love of all things vintage like this market, where vendors from around the borough and beyond sell crafts, antiques, and artisanal specialty foods. April through November, the Flea is an outdoor affair, crowded with hungover hipsters and sunburned toddlers enjoying pupusas (Salvadoran stuffed tortillas) and locavore popsicles. On Saturdays, it takes place on a lot in Fort Greene (176 Lafayette Ave), while on Sundays it camps out on the Williamsburg waterfront (27 North 6th St). Once the weather turns cold, from Thanksgiving through March, the action moves indoors to the lobby of One Hanson, a spectacular landmarked building also known as the Williamsburg Savings Bank. The historic location adds a certain grandeur; you can practically feel the local pride reverberating off the vaulted ceilings.• brooklynflea.com This frilly, girly clothing store is so warm and friendly that sometimes it feels like a sleepover party – ladies, you might want to leave your male companions outside (or send them to Alter down the block). Dresses tend to run at around $70 and come in various flavors of sexy and sweet; tops, some with flirty ruffles and some with daring cut-outs, fall in the $40-to-$65 range. Shoes and jewelry also run under $100, so it's easy to walk out with an entire party outfit. In fact, it might be wise to make sure you've got hot evening plans before you even walk in. • 150 Franklin Street, +1 718 389 4049, dalaganyc.com The most adorable shop in Greenpoint, and possibly the entire five boroughs, Fred Flare appeals to the squealing six-year-old in each of us with candy-colored gifts and perky, shockingly inexpensive womenswear. Want a pencil case shaped like a hot dog? It's only $9! A harmonica necklace charm that plays music? A bargain at $12! Trendy mint green headphones? Well, those are $68, but they're also from high-quality audio brand UrbanEars. The shop is the only brick-and-mortar location for Fred Flare, which has built a cult following with its cuteness-obsessed website. Skip the neon-lit Times Square stores hawking "I Heart NY" shirts; this is a much better place to find presents for the folks back home.• 131 Meserole Ave, fredflare.com A welcome antidote to New York's many precious, carefully curated consignment shops, Beacon's Closet is a massive warehouse of pre-worn clothing. Merchandise ranges from vintage Diane von Furstenberg to timeless denim from Wrangler and Levi's to two-year-old H&M, all of it hip enough to survive an inspection by the store's highly discerning buyers. They can afford to be picky – Beacon's is set smack in the middle of the most fashion-obsessed neighborhood in Brooklyn, which means stylists and other industry insiders unload here. Prices wouldn't necessarily pass for "thrift" anywhere else in the country, but you can expect to pay less here than you would at Topshop or Urban Outfitters.• 88 N 11th Street, +1 718 486 0816, beaconscloset.com If the collection of shops at 218 Bedford is Williamsburg's answer to a mall, then Dijital Fix is its version of Best Buy. But because this is Brooklyn, the gadgets here are sleek and unusual. Bestsellers include Danish headphones and a portable turntable that comes packaged in its own case with built-in speakers. Photographers will geek out over the range of cameras, while Luddites should find plenty to admire among the minimalist Field Notes notebooks. And nobody can resist the EcoSpheres, fully contained self-sustaining ecosystems in which tiny shrimp gambol among seaweed in a dome the size of a paperweight.• 218 Bedford Ave, +1 800 670 8941, dijitalfix.com The Brooklyn Kitchen offers toys for all types of gourmands, from experts who regularly butcher their own meat to casual foodies who just want to read a nice chef memoir while someone else does the cooking. The atmosphere and the merchandise are equally no-nonsense and user-friendly: Look for homey linens, heavy-duty cookware like Le Creuset pots, and high-design kitchen gifts such as silicon oven mitts and steamers. DIY-ers love the in-store classes like "Grow What You Eat, Eat What You Grow" and "Introduction to Homebrewing," while carnivores love the fact that the shop shares its big, industrial space with The Meat Hook, a decidedly non-vegetarian specialty foods shop.• 100 Frost St, +1 718 389 2982, thebrooklynkitchen.com Like Oak without the attitude, Alter is a mini-chain specializing in cool clothes for cool kids. It's a trek from the subway to their original Greenpoint shops – one for men and one for women – but the young, trendy, and broke are willing to make the pilgrimage to shop for affordable, hard-to-find indie brands and repurposed vintage. Accessories are also a big draw, especially the sustainably-produced Osborn shoes and the insanely cheap sunglasses. The newer Williamsburg shop, in a still-gentrifying neighborhood several stops past the area's Bedford Avenue center, stocks the same merchandise but caters to both men and women. Bonus: It's only a few blocks from Motorino, which has some of the best pizza currently available in New York City.• 407 Graham Ave, + 1 718 609 0203, alterbrooklyn.blogspot.com Women in leafy brownstone Brooklyn have perfected a certain laid-back, quirky-casual look – think of local resident Michelle Williams, with her pixie haircut and geek-chic oxfords. Dear Fieldbinder has zeroed in on that look with laser-like precision, offering a complete wardrobe for the young creative-professional types who populate the neighborhood. The dresses come from up-and-coming labels ranging from the sweetly retro Lauren Moffatt to the sophisticated, menswear-inspired Won Hundred, while the shoes are sourced from cool-kid brands like Marais USA and F-Troupe. And unlike in so many Manhattan shops, the salespeople don't turn into ice queens when you ask questions – instead, they're downright chatty. Taken as a whole, the effect is fashion-forward but never pretentious. • 198 Smith Street, +1 718 852 3620, dearfieldbinder.com Mostly-menswear shop Epaulet has hit on the perfect combination for couples shopping together: give the guys a range of well-tailored basics to sample, and keep the ladies occupied with a tightly-edited collection of shoes. The owners, themselves a married couple, are obsessed with sustainable production, though never at the expense of style. Ask about the provenance of a chambray shirt or a pair of house-label jeans, and you're liable to wind up getting a mini-lesson on American fashion history disguised as a funny story about the road trip they took to the factory. For girls, the shop does carry a small range of tops, dresses, and jackets, but the real focus is on Epaulet-brand clogs and footwear from such crunchy-but-trendy brands as Melissa and Toms. • 231 Smith St, +1 718 522 3800, epauletshop.com Hidden in quiet, industrial Red Hook, this tiny shop focusses on antique jewelry. Owner Russell Whitmore has an eye for period pieces that appeal to contemporary sensibilities, like Victorian mourning brooches and Art Deco engagement rings – many a hipster marriage proposal has its genesis here. Red Hook as a whole is worth a day trip – it's the least gentrified corner of south Brooklyn, meaning quirky local businesses can afford to thrive amid the waterfront grit. The Van Brunt shopping strip offers crafts, vintage, and highly acclaimed eating and drinking options, and the Fairway supermarket has marvelous views of the Statue of Liberty, but Erie Basin is where you're most likely to find something you'll want to take home. • 388 Van Brunt Street, +1 718 554 6147, eriebasin.com

Racked.com editor Elizabeth Grinspan rounds up the best shops in Brooklyn, New York

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http://www.people.com/article/mark-cuban-donald-trump-not-billionaire

http://web.archive.org/web/20160603143719id_/http://www.people.com/article/mark-cuban-donald-trump-not-billionaire

Mark Cuban Questions If Donald Trump Is Actually a Billionaire : People.com

06/02/2016 AT 02:25 PM EDT in danger of losing his "billionaire businessman" prefix? , the media mogul best known for that he questions whether or not Trump is actually a billionaire because of the GOP nominee's "I know what I'm good at, and I know what I'm not good at. I'm not so sure Donald knows what he's not good at," the 57-year-old said, noting that Trump's skills include licensing his name. "He's good at that. Whether or not that's made him a billionaire, I don't know. He's not transparent enough for us to actually know." Cuban cited Trump's real estate business as successful, but found little value in his : "You're not gonna make big bucks, no matter what," he said of the brand. "He just doesn't have the ability to say no if someone's going to write him a check," Cuban added. "And I think that's a huge problem." He also charged that he's wealthier than Trump – and said he's willing to bet on it. "The reason I know is when you file your federal election campaign reports, you have to list all your cash and liquid securities and bonds – you have to list them one by one," Cuban said. "So we know without any question that as of May 27, Donald doesn't have more than $165 million in cash and securities and bonds. And trust me, I've got a lot of more than that in cash, securities, and bonds." , Cuban is worth $3.2 billion. Early in his career, Cuban sold his system integration and software resale company for $6 million. He now owns Landmark Theatres, film distributor Magnolia Pictures, co-founded AXS Tv and invests in startup companies. He purchased a majority stake in the Dallas Mavericks for $280 million in 2000, according to Cuban previously told PEOPLE Now that he doesn't care if Trump gets mad at him. "I put him in his place a thousand times, I can do it a thousand times more," he charged, adding that Trump needs to "start diving in on learning the facts behind the issues."

"He's not transparent enough for us to actually know," Mark Cuban told 77 WABC's Bernie and Sid of Donald Trump's reluctance to release his tax returns

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http://www.aol.com/article/2016/03/29/benson-star-james-noble-dies-at-94/21335103/

http://web.archive.org/web/20160604043847id_/http://www.aol.com:80/article/2016/03/29/benson-star-james-noble-dies-at-94/21335103/

'Benson' star James Noble dies at 94

James Noble, an actor best known to TV viewers of the '80s — and those who caught the reruns on Nick at Nite and TV Land — as bumbling governor Eugene X. Gatling, died Monday in Connecticut, according to the New York Times. Noble was 94. He starred opposite Robert Guillaume in Benson, a sitcom named after Guillaume's character that ran on ABC from 1979 to 1986. The show followed Benson DuBois — a character that originated on ABC's Soap — as he left the wacky Tate family to work as the "head of household affairs" for Noble's Gatling, the governor of an unnamed state. (A sign of the times: Though Benson began the series as a glorified domestic, he ended it by running against Gatling in a gubernatorial election. Benson was canceled before it could reveal which man would emerge victorious.) See photos from throughout James Noble's career: 'Benson' star James Noble dies at 94 UNITED STATES - JULY 17: BENSON - Gallery - Season One - 7/17/79 Robert Guillaume, Inga Swenson, James Noble, Caroline McWilliams and Missy Gold (Photo by ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images) UNITED STATES - JULY 17: BENSON - Gallery - Season - 7/17/79 Robert Guillaume, Inga Swenson, James Noble, Caroline McWilliams and Missy Gold (Photo by ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images) UNITED STATES - AUGUST 13: BENSON - 'Don't Quote Me' - Season One - 8/13/79 A bad remark about a senator gets aired and governor's administration is in trouble. A search ensues for the source of the leak., Lewis J. Stadlen, Caroline McWilliams, Robert Guillaume, Missy Gold, James Noble (Photo by ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images) UNITED STATES - AUGUST 22: BENSON - 'The Layoff' Season One - Episode Six, James Noble (as Governor Eugene Xavier Gatling) and Missy Gold (as Katherine 'Katie' Olivia Gatling). (Photo by ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images) UNITED STATES - AUGUST 22: BENSON - 'The Layoff' - Season One - 8/22/79 After Governor Gatling (James Noble) embarks on a budget-cutting campaign, he advises his staff that he will also reduce his own costs. Benson must decide which staff members to lay off. Katie resents Benson when he selects the sweet woman who lightens up everyone's day. (Photo by ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images) UNITED STATES - SEPTEMBER 13: BENSON - pilot - Season One - 9/13/79, In this spin-off from the ABC series 'Soap', Robert Guillaume (bottom center) continued in the role as Benson to run the household of Jessica Tate's widowed cousin, Governor James Gatling (played by James Noble, top center). The household included, clockwise from top right, the German housekeeper Gretchen Kraus (played by Inga Swenson), Katie Gatling (Missy Gold), the governor's daughter, and Marcy Hill (Caroline McWilliams), the governor's secretary. David Hedison starred in the pilot episode (his only appearance) as John Taylor., (Photo by ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images) UNITED STATES - SEPTEMBER 13: BENSON - gallery - Season One - 9/13/79, In this spin-off from the ABC series 'Soap', Robert Guillaume (left) continued in the role as Benson to run the household of Jessica Tate's widowed cousin, Governor James Gatling (James Noble). The household included Katie Gatling (Missy Gold), the governor's daughter. , (Photo by ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images) UNITED STATES - SEPTEMBER 13: BENSON - pilot - Season One - 9/13/79, In this spin-off from the ABC series 'Soap', Robert Guillaume (left) continued in the role as Benson to run the household of Jessica Tate's widowed cousin, Governor James Gatling (James Noble). Caroline McWilliams played Marcy Hill, the governor's secretary. , (Photo by ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images) UNITED STATES - SEPTEMBER 13: BENSON - gallery - Season One - 9/13/79, In this spin-off from the ABC series 'Soap', Robert Guillaume continued in the role as Benson to run the household of Jessica Tate's widowed cousin, Governor James Gatling (James Noble). , (Photo by ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images) UNITED STATES - SEPTEMBER 20: BENSON - 'Trust Me' - Season One - 9/20/79, Benson (Robert Guillaume, right) prepared to resign after Katie (Missy Gold) snuck away to a rock concert over Governor Gatling's (James Noble) objections., (Photo by ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images) UNITED STATES - SEPTEMBER 27: BENSON - 'The President's Double' - Season One - 9/27/79, Benson (Robert Guillaume) impersonated an African president after the diplomat's life was threatened before Governor Gatling's (James Noble) reception., (Photo by ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images) UNITED STATES - OCTOBER 10: BENSON - 'One Strike You're Out' - Season One - 10/10/79 The domestic workers demand more money and Benson (Robert Guillaume) promises to oblige. But Governor Gatling (James Noble) declines Benson's intervention. So a strike ensues, threatening a high-level dinner. Benson creatively manages the dinner so as to reveal what disaster would arise without the help., Robert Guillaume, James Noble (Photo by ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images) UNITED STATES - OCTOBER 29: BENSON - 'Snowbound' - Season One - 10/29/79 Governor Gatling (James Noble) wants the staff to join him on his retreat to a snow cottage. Benson (Robert Guillaume) agrees when he learns that Kraus will not attend. Later Kraus changes her mind and Benson has to live with it. To make matters worse, the staff gets snowed in. (Photo by ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images) UNITED STATES - OCTOBER 29: BENSON - 'Snowbound' - Season One - 10/29/79 Governor Gatling (James Noble) wants the staff to join him on his retreat to a snow cottage. Benson agrees when he learns that Kraus will not attend. Later Kraus changes her mind and Benson has to live with it. To make matters worse, the staff gets snowed in. (Photo by ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images) UNITED STATES - OCTOBER 10: BENSON - 'One Strike You're Out' - Season One - 10/10/79 The domestic workers demand more money and Benson (Robert Guillaume) promises to oblige. But Governor Gatling (James Noble) declines Benson's intervention. So a strike ensues, threatening a high-level dinner. Benson creatively manages the dinner so as to reveal what disaster would arise without the help., Robert Guillaume, James Noble, Caroline McWilliams (Photo by ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images) UNITED STATES - OCTOBER 29: BENSON - 'Snowbound' - Season One - 10/29/79 Governor Gatling (James Noble) wants the staff to join him on his retreat to a snow cottage. Benson agrees when he learns that Kraus will not attend. Later Kraus changes her mind and Benson has to live with it. To make matters worse, the staff gets snowed in. (Photo by ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images) UNITED STATES - OCTOBER 30: BENSON - 'Jessica' - Season One - Episode Eight - October 30, 1979 Katherine Helmond (as Jessica Tate) and James Noble (as Governor Eugene Xavier Gatling) (Photo by ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images) UNITED STATES - NOVEMBER 22: BENSON - 'Don't Quote Me' - Season One - 11/22/79, The governor's administration was in trouble after a bad remark about a senator aired., Pictured: James Noble (Governor Gatling), Robert Guillaume (Benson), Caroline McWilliams (Marcy ) and Lewis J. Stadien (John Taylor)., (Photo by ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images) UNITED STATES - JANUARY 16: BENSON - 'The Kraus Affair' - Season One - Episode 17 - January 16, 1980 James Noble, Inga Swenson (Photo by ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images) UNITED STATES - NOVEMBER 19: BENSON - 'Taylor's Bid' - Season One - 11/19/79 Taylor decides to his position as advisor in order to run for a public office. The Governor then discovers his dependence on Taylor., Robert Guillaume, James Noble, Lewis J. Stadlen (Photo by ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images) UNITED STATES - APRIL 04: BENSON - 'The Army Wants You' - Season One - Episode 23 - April 4, 1980 James Noble, Robert Guillaume (Photo by ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images) UNITED STATES - MARCH 18: BENSON - 'Takin' It to the Streets' - 3/18/80 Wanting to know how the 'little people' really feel about politics and their real needs, Governor Gatling and Benson visit a mangy bar to talk to the constituents but land in trouble when a man picks a fight with Gatling at the bar, not knowing who he is., Missy Gold, James Noble (Photo by ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images) UNITED STATES - FEBRUARY 13: BENSON - 'Old Man Gatling' - Season One - 2/13/80 The Governor's loudmouth father comes to visit and wreaks havoc among the staff. Benson then gets so fed up with the arrogance and the idea of the father breathing down his son's back that he traps him in the kitchen. Benson supervises him until the Governor's speech is over., Robert Guillaume, James Noble, Missy Gold (Photo by ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images) UNITED STATES - APRIL 04: BENSON - 'The Army Wants You' - Season One - 4/4/80 Benson (Robert Guillaume) becomes suspicious during an evaluation. A confusion about records from the Korean War leads to concerns about Benson's loyalties., James Noble, Robert Guillaume (Photo by ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images) UNITED STATES - OCTOBER 26: BENSON - 'The Election' - Season Six - 10/26/84, Benson (Robert Guillaume) celebrated his election as Lt. Governor with Mrs. Cassidy (Billie Bird), Governor Gatling (James Noble), Kraus (Inga Swenson), Katie (Missy Gold) and Clayton (Rene Auberjonois, blocked) after a benefactor saved his campaign., (Photo by ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images) Noble, a Texas native, was born in 1922. He turned to acting after serving in the Navy during World War II, beginning his television career by appearing on the sort of programs Soap parodied — The Edge of Night, The Brighter Day, As the World Turns. A student of famed acting teacher Lee Strasberg, Noble had a prolific stage career as well, appearing in four Broadway shows, including 1776. Noble's wife, actress Carolyn Coates, died in 2005. They are survived by their daughter, Jessica Katherine Noble Cowan. RELATED: Celebrities we lost in 2015:

James Noble, an actor best known to TV viewers of the '80s died Monday in Connecticut, according to the New York Times. Noble was 94.

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http://www.aol.com/article/2015/02/06/pets-tax-deductions/21138458/

http://web.archive.org/web/20160604064607id_/http://www.aol.com:80/article/2015/02/06/pets-tax-deductions/21138458/?

How Your Pet Can Dig Up a Tax Deduction

Americans love their pets, and they aren't afraid to open up their wallets to take care of them. Americans spent close to $60 billion on pet expenses during 2014, according to estimates from the American Pet Products Association. Between food, veterinary care and other supplies, it's easy for costs to add up. As the dog days of tax season approach, one question that many people have is whether there's any way they can get any sort of tax break for their pet expenses. As outlandish as it might sound, there actually some perfectly legal tax deductions you can claim from what you spend on your pets. Before turning to those deductions, let's first take a look at what you The most obvious tax break that might tempt you is the personal exemption for dependents, which on your 2014 return will give you a reduction of $3,950 on your taxable income. Certainly, your dogs, cats or other pets rely on you for their survival. But the Internal Revenue Service takes the view that only human dependents can qualify for the valuable personal exemption. Several other similarly enticing deductions also don't work. Veterinary care might cost you as much as a doctor's visit for yourself, but you're not allowed to deduct those vet charges as medical expenses on your tax return. Similarly, if you're traveling on business, you can't write off the costs of boarding your dog in a kennel as a travel expense. Even if pets aren't the perfect tax breaks in all situations, there are limited circumstances in which you might be able to deduct some of their expenses. Here are a few: Pet medical care isn't deductible, but if need a guide animal for your health, the expenses of keeping that animal become eligible medical expenses. Those costs include food, veterinary care, grooming and other expenses that the guide animal needs to give you assistance. In addition, therapy animals can also qualify, as long as you've received a medical diagnosis for a condition for which you need the animal. Keep in mind, though, that you'll need to overcome the special threshold for deducting medical expenses -- 10 percent of adjusted gross income for those under age 65 -- before you can deduct guide-animal costs. The IRS has allowed taxpayers to deduct expenses for guard animals protecting business property. Watchdogs are prime candidates for this deduction, as long as the dog is of an appropriate breed and you can document your expenses and the amount of time the dog spends on guard duty. If you move, you can deduct special expenses of moving your pets as long as the overall move qualifies for moving-expense deductions generally. Typically, the move has to be for work purposes, and your new job has to be at least 50 miles further away from your previous home than your old job was. If you qualify, the deduction is available even if you don't itemize, although a special form is necessary to claim the deduction. Many animal shelters are nonprofit organizations, so if you agree to provide a pet a foster home, you might be able to write off some of your expenses as charitable donations. In addition to pet food, vet bills, and supplies, you can also get a modest write-off for vehicle mileage. However, be sure to keep good records and get an acknowledgement of your work from the shelter in question, or else the IRS might challenge your claim. Some pet owners are able to turn their love of animals into a moneymaking profession. Whether it's racing horses, showing dogs or breeding animals of all sorts, you might be able to count some or all of your pet expenses against the income they generate. A lot rides on whether you're considered to have a business or merely a hobby. Hobby losses are deductible only to the extent you have gains, and you have to treat hobby losses as a miscellaneous deduction, which can limit the amount you can actually claim. The hurdle for establishing a legitimate business is higher, but you may be able to deduct all of your expenses for a business, even if it results in a net loss. Every situation is different, and you should work with a tax professional before claiming any of these expenses in your own specific case. Nevertheless, if any of these situations applies to you, you might be able to turn your pet into a nice tax break come April.

Tax write-offs for pets seem farfetched, but there are some circumstances in which they're perfectly legal. Find out about them here.

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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/news/9113394/Killing-babies-no-different-from-abortion-experts-say.html

http://web.archive.org/web/20160604103643id_/http://www.telegraph.co.uk:80/news/health/news/9113394/Killing-babies-no-different-from-abortion-experts-say.html

Killing babies no different from abortion, experts say

“We take ‘person’ to mean an individual who is capable of attributing to her own existence some (at least) basic value such that being deprived of this existence represents a loss to her.” As such they argued it was “not possible to damage a newborn by preventing her from developing the potentiality to become a person in the morally relevant sense”. The authors therefore concluded that “what we call ‘after-birth abortion’ (killing a newborn) should be permissible in all the cases where abortion is, including cases where the newborn is not disabled”. They also argued that parents should be able to have the baby killed if it turned out to be disabled without their knowing before birth, for example citing that “only the 64 per cent of Down’s syndrome cases” in Europe are diagnosed by prenatal testing. Once such children were born there was “no choice for the parents but to keep the child”, they wrote. “To bring up such children might be an unbearable burden on the family and on society as a whole, when the state economically provides for their care.” However, they did not argue that some baby killings were more justifiable than others – their fundamental point was that, morally, there was no difference to abortion as already practised. They preferred to use the phrase “after-birth abortion” rather than “infanticide” to “emphasise that the moral status of the individual killed is comparable with that of a fetus”. Both Minerva and Giubilini know Prof Savulescu through Oxford. Minerva was a research associate at the Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics until last June, when she moved to the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics at Melbourne University. Giubilini, a former visiting student at Cambridge University, gave a talk in January at the Oxford Martin School – where Prof Savulescu is also a director – titled 'What is the problem with euthanasia?' He too has gone on to Melbourne, although to the city’s Monash University. Prof Savulescu worked at both univerisities before moving to Oxford in 2002. Defending the decision to publish in a British Medical Journal blog, Prof Savulescu, said that arguments in favour of killing newborns were “largely not new”. What Minerva and Giubilini did was apply these arguments “in consideration of maternal and family interests”. While accepting that many people would disagree with their arguments, he wrote: “The goal of the Journal of Medical Ethics is not to present the Truth or promote some one moral view. It is to present well reasoned argument based on widely accepted premises.” Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, he added: “This “debate” has been an example of “witch ethics” - a group of people know who the witch is and seek to burn her. It is one of the most dangerous human tendencies we have. It leads to lynching and genocide. Rather than argue and engage, there is a drive is to silence and, in the extreme, kill, based on their own moral certainty. That is not the sort of society we should live in.” He said the journal would consider publishing an article positing that, if there was no moral difference between abortion and killing newborns, then abortion too should be illegal. Dr Trevor Stammers, director of medical ethics at St Mary's University College, said: "If a mother does smother her child with a blanket, we say 'it's doesn't matter, she can get another one,' is that what we want to happen? "What these young colleagues are spelling out is what we would be the inevitable end point of a road that ethical philosophers in the States and Australia have all been treading for a long time and there is certainly nothing new." Referring to the term "after-birth abortion", Dr Stammers added: "This is just verbal manipulation that is not philosophy. I might refer to abortion henceforth as antenatal infanticide."

Parents should be allowed to have their newborn babies killed because they are “morally irrelevant” and ending their lives is no different to abortion, a group of medical ethicists linked to Oxford University has argued.

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http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2016/06/02/federal-regulators-look-severely-curb-payday-lending/zjyNQkPOkT4GmthObcOKRM/story.html

http://web.archive.org/web/20160604124059id_/http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2016/06/02/federal-regulators-look-severely-curb-payday-lending/zjyNQkPOkT4GmthObcOKRM/story.html

Federal regulators look to severely curb payday lending

NEW YORK — Federal regulators proposed a significant clampdown on payday lenders and other high interest loans on Thursday, the first nationwide attempt to address an industry widely thought of as taking advantage of the poor and desperate. The proposals, if enacted intact, are likely to cause a nationwide contraction and restructuring of the $38 billion payday loan industry. Consumers desperate to borrow money quickly to cover an unexpected expense might have an avenue they once used now closed, since mainstream banks generally don’t provide these kinds of low-dollar, short-term loans. Payday lending is often thought of as an exploitive, deceptive industry that traps desperate borrowers in cycles of debt that can last for months. Roughly half of all states ban payday lending outright or have caps on how much payday lenders can charge in interest, which often carry annual rates north of 300 percent. Last month Google announced it would ban ads for payday loans, saying the industry creates ‘‘misleading or harmful products.’’ The loans are used widely, partly because many Americans do not have enough savings to cover an emergency, as seen in a poll released last month by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Roughly 12 million Americans take out a payday loan each year, according to The Pew Charitable Trusts, which has done extensive research on the industry. The average borrower takes out eight loans of $375 each per year, spending $520 on interest. John Charette, 47, of Yarmouth, Maine, said the payday loan outfits can be helpful for people like him, who’s divorced and has bad credit. He used RepubliCash in Portland to get a $250 loan to update the expired registration on his car, knowing a police citation would be even more expensive. ‘‘It’s going to fill in the gap,’’ Charette said, noting that he’s unable to get a credit card. ‘‘It’s another avenue for credit because I simply don’t have it.’’ The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s proposed regulations seek to tackle common complaints about the payday lending industry. The proposal would also be the first nationwide regulation of the payday lending industry, which had largely been left to the states to regulate. The bureau is proposing that lenders must conduct what’s known as a ‘‘full-payment test.’’ Because most payday loans are required to be paid in full when they come due, usually two weeks to a month after the money is borrowed, the bureau wants lenders to prove that borrowers are able to repay that money without having to renew the loan repeatedly. There would also be restrictions on the number of times a borrower can renew the loan. The bureau would require that lenders give additional warnings before they attempt to debit a borrower’s bank account, and also restrict the number of times they can attempt to debit the account. The aim is to lower the frequency of overdraft fees that are common with people who take out payday loans. ‘‘Too many borrowers seeking a short-term cash fix are saddled with loans they cannot afford and sink into long-term debt,’’ Richard Cordray, director of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, said in a prepared statement. Cordray compared the situation to getting into a taxi for a crosstown ride and finding oneself stuck on a ‘‘ruinously expensive’’ trip across the country. He said the proposal would aim to ‘‘prevent lenders from succeeding by setting up borrowers to fail.’’ Payday lenders would have to give borrowers at least three days’ notice before debiting their account. In a study published last year, the bureau found that payday borrowers were charged on average $185 in overdraft fees and bank penalties caused by payday lenders attempting to debit the borrower’s account. The agency’s plan is likely to face stiff opposition from lobbyists from the payday lending industry and auto-title lending industry, as well as opposition from members of Congress. ‘‘The CFPB’s proposed rule presents a staggering blow to consumers as it will cut off access to credit for millions of Americans who use small-dollar loans to manage a budget shortfall or unexpected expense,’’ said Dennis Shaul, CEO of the Community Financial Services Association of America, which is a trade group for the payday lending industry. The agency is seeking comments from interested parties and the general public on the proposals before final regulations are issued. Comments are due by Sept. 14. The final rules are likely to go into effect early next year.

It is the first nationwide attempt to address an industry widely thought of as taking advantage of the poor and desperate.

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http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-comcast-cable-box-replacement-0106-biz-20160105-story.html

http://web.archive.org/web/20160604135321id_/http://www.chicagotribune.com:80/business/ct-comcast-cable-box-replacement-0106-biz-20160105-story.html

Chicago Comcast customers may lose HD service without new cable boxes

Thousands of Comcast customers in Chicago may lose their high-definition channels this week unless they trade in their old cable boxes. The cable giant is upgrading its video network to allocate more bandwidth for Internet services, and older-generation boxes are not compatible with the new technology, the company said Tuesday. Chicago customers who needed to exchange their boxes were notified beginning in early fall through letters, email, TV alerts and automated phone calls, said Amanda Vallejo, a Comcast spokeswoman. The network upgrade is expected to be completed within the city as soon as Wednesday, meaning customers with outdated boxes will no longer receive access to some high-definition channels. "The vast majority of customers have taken action to exchange their equipment, and we only have a few thousand left," Vallejo said. Comcast declined to say how many Chicago customers needed to swap their boxes. For customers who need to replace their boxes, self-install kits will be shipped for free or may be exchanged at Comcast retail locations, Vallejo said. Customers who opt for a visit from the cable guy to switch out the equipment will be charged a one-time $50 fee. The initial letter informed customers that one or more boxes may need replacement and urged them to respond quickly to avoid service disruption, but it did not include a specific deadline. To see whether a box needs to be replaced, customers can tune each of their televisions to channel 1995 and follow the on-screen instructions to verify compatibility and order a replacement box. The obsolete cable box models are: DCH3416, DCT6200, DCH3200, DCT6412, DCT3416, DCT6416, DCH6416, DCT5100, DCH6200, DCT3412 and DCT6208. Customers on the X1 platform do not need to change equipment. Smaller Comcast digital adapters are compatible with the new format. The Chicago area is among the first markets in the U.S. to transition to Comcast's HD Enhanced program, with work beginning in the suburbs this week. Initial notification has been sent to all affected suburban customers and the process is expected to take several months to complete, Vallejo said. The upgrade converts Comcast's high-definition signal to the smaller MPEG-4 format, freeing up bandwidth that can be reallocated to allow for faster Internet service. That is an increasingly important offering for Comcast and other pay TV providers as video viewing shifts online. More pay-TV viewers are cutting the cable cord as Internet video streaming services continue to gain traction. Nearly 4.9 million U.S. households dropped pay-TV services last year, according to eMarketer. The research company said that 1 in 5 households will not subscribe to cable or satellite TV by 2018. In addition to faster Internet speeds, the upgrade will allow Comcast to offer more HD programming options, including ultra-high definition content, as well as additional cloud-based TV services, Vallejo said.

Thousands of Comcast customers in Chicago may lose their high-definition channels this week unless they trade in their old cable boxes.

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http://www.nbc.com/chicago-fire/episode-guide/season-4/short-and-fat/409

http://web.archive.org/web/20160604204332id_/http://www.nbc.com:80/chicago-fire/episode-guide/season-4/short-and-fat/409

Short and Fat | Episodes | Chicago Fire | NBC

After Boden's (Eamonn Walker) recent arrest, Riddle makes Patterson (Brian White) the new chief at 51. A video of Dawson (Monica Raymund) exchanging heated words with a bystander goes viral, and is traced back to Roger Maddox, the real estate developer and focus of the arson case. Dawson is the latest target of Maddox's smear campaign - which now includes Boden, as well as Duffy and Suzie from Arson. Severide's (Taylor Kinney) lawyer friend, Jamie, has a change of heart and provides him with a tip to the location of Boden's mystery accuser. With the help of Chicago P.D. and the Intelligence unit, the mystery woman is found, and she confesses to falsifying the claims against Boden. Maddox, confronted with the evidence, cops a plea and all charges against Boden are dropped. Patterson, having seen 51 rally around Boden, decides on a transfer to a different firehouse, and Boden is reinstated as chief. Severide is also reinstated as a lieutenant. Chili (Dora Madison) and Borrelli (Steven R. McQueen) are busted by Patterson, after he catches the two of them in the firehouse shower. In one of Patterson's last moves as chief, he tells Cruz (Joe Minoso) that his friend Freddie is no longer welcome at 51. Herrmann (David Eigenberg) then offers Freddie a job as a busboy at Molly's. In a shocking cliffhanger, Freddie stabs Herrmann after he feels insulted. Herrmann collapses, and Freddie flees into the night.

Patterson replaces Boden as chief; Dawson becomes a target of the conspiracy; an act of violence will change 51 forever.

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http://www.tmz.com/2013/03/07/michael-jordan-marriage-certificate-engaged-wedding/

http://web.archive.org/web/20160605003533id_/http://www.tmz.com:80/2013/03/07/michael-jordan-marriage-certificate-engaged-wedding/

Michael Jordan Applies for Marriage Certificate ... Going for ANOTHER Ring

's gettin' serious about settling down ... TMZ has learned the NBA icon applied for a marriage certificate in Florida this morning in preparation for his April wedding. MJ and his longtime GF were spotted at the counter at the courthouse in Palm Beach County, FL ... and a court spokesperson confirmed the couple had filled out the paperwork. Jordan and Prieto are reportedly set to get hitched on April 27. The move seems to be proof that Prieto isn't fazed by the paternity lawsuit MJ is facing in Georgia ... filed by a woman who claims the NBA legend fathered her 16-year-old son while he was still married to Juanita Vanoy. So far, Jordan's rep hasn't commented on the lawsuit.

Michael Jordan's gettin' serious about settling down ... TMZ has learned the NBA icon applied for a marriage certificate in Florida this morning in…

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http://www.tmz.com/2013/07/06/spencer-clawson-big-brother-racism/

http://web.archive.org/web/20160605003538id_/http://www.tmz.com:80/2013/07/06/spencer-clawson-big-brother-racism/

'Big Brother' Houseguest Spencer Clawson -- Slammed by Day Job Employer

r" houseguest is on the outs with their employer ... this time it's , whose company is already laying the groundwork to hand him his walking papers. Clawson has been captured on "BB" cams calling one houseguest "Kermit the F**" and praising Hitler as a gifted speaker. Clawson serves as a railroad conductor for Union Pacific, who released on their website saying, "The values represented by Spencer Clawson's comments during the Big Brother show do not at all align with Union Pacific's values." They continued, "Mr. Clawson is on unpaid leave of absence while participating on Big Brother. Union Pacific does not condone his comments." They ended their statement by saying they are "acting in accordance with Collective Bargaining Agreement terms regarding Mr. Clawson" ... which sounds like they are setting the stage to fire his ass first chance they get. have already lost gigs due to their racist comments on the show.

Another "Big Brother" houseguest is on the outs with their employer ... this time it's Spencer Clawson, whose company is already laying the groundwork to…

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http://nypost.com/2016/02/29/how-joe-johnson-decided-coming-to-heat-was-the-best-thing-to-do/

http://web.archive.org/web/20160605041653id_/http://nypost.com:80/2016/02/29/how-joe-johnson-decided-coming-to-heat-was-the-best-thing-to-do/

Why Joe Johnson decided coming to Heat was ‘best thing to do’

When Joe Johnson arrived in Brooklyn for the 2012-13 season, expectations went wild. With Deron Williams, the Nets had a backcourt to carry them to the playoffs and beyond. “Honestly, I don’t think much about the disappointments so to speak,” said Johnson, who had to flee Brooklyn via buyout and sign with the Heat on Saturday in order to keep his playoff streak intact. “I do remember a lot of the good times and those are the things that are going to stick with me.” Johnson was the hub of attention for the Heat prior to starting and scoring 12 points versus the Knicks at the Garden on Sunday. Johnson, a seven-time All Star, is a career 17.0 point scorer and 44.1 percent shooter. He left $3 million on the table, accepted a buyout and signed with Miami. “For me, this is my 15th season so if I had a chance to get out and get a chance to play with a playoff contending team, obviously I looked into it, talked to my agent and family and we all came to an agreement that was the best thing to do,” said Johnson, who averaged 14.7 for the Nets this season. “That is what we came up with.” Johnson had options. LeBron James did everything but drive from Cleveland and escort him back there. Atlanta wanted him. The Knicks? Not so much, obviously because of Johnson’s age, 34, and playoffs now desire. “His name did not come up, no,” interim coach Kurt Rambis said. But his name came up all over the Heat’s war room and locker room. “I had a connection with a lot of guys here,” Johnson said, naming Dwyane Wade, Amar’e Stoudemire and Udonis Haslem. “Guys I’ve been in contact with. Not just throughout this process but over the years and I just felt it was right. It was the decision I went with.” And the Heat were downright ecstatic. Johnson is not only a quality player, but he also serves as a mental aid for a team rocked by the possible loss of Chris Bosh for the season. “We’re really excited about this,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “We’ve had some adversity the last few weeks. And then to be able to acquire a player of Joe’s class, somebody that we feel fits our personality, our DNA, our culture, and to get him at this time of the year and where he’s actually been playing his best basketball the last month, we feel terrific about it. “From a culture standpoint, personality standpoint, we think he fits in very well with our organization, with our players, his skill set, being a two-way player, we think fits. We have the ultimate respect for him,” Spoelstra added noting that in past playoff series, the Heat had an “anybody but” Johnson attitude about who would take the shots. Johnson can now look ahead. After the whole Brooklyn experiment crashed and burned, — made even worse by the additions of Kevin Garnet and Paul Pierce when the Nets traded their future for Boston’s past and came up horribly empty — Johnson felt it was best to move on for another run at the playoffs.on during a year where the Nets changed the coach and general manager. And they lost. Lots. “I had some great times [with the Nets]. Obviously, from the first year I go here with Avery to Tony Brown,” said Johnson, who claimed he cleared waivers at 5 p.m. and had a deal in place a 5:01 p.m. Saturday. “I had some great times. Obviously, we had our ups and downs but I think the good outweighed the bad for me.” “The changing of the GM and coach, it’s pretty tough but not really. I’ve been through quite a few coaches in my career in Brooklyn so it was kind of second nature for me. But just losing, us playing hard and losing was probably the toughest.”

When Joe Johnson arrived in Brooklyn for the 2012-13 season, expectations went wild. With Deron Williams, the Nets had a backcourt to carry them to the playoffs and beyond. Oops. “Honestly, I don’t…

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http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/05/technology/06POGUE-EMAIL.html

http://web.archive.org/web/20160605084755id_/http://www.nytimes.com:80/2006/04/05/technology/06POGUE-EMAIL.html?_r=0

The Follow-Up Edition

Welcome to "Postscripts," the newsletter for people who love follow-ups! That's right: it's all P.S.'s, all the time. Let no reader query go unanswered! Q: Yesterday, The Times published your big article about the hack that lets you install Windows XP onto a Macintosh. Is that what Apple announced yesterday? A: Nope. That's just a freaky coincidence. Apple's Boot Camp (its Windows-on-Mac installation kit) was an independent, top-secret project that it's been working on since January. Actually, there are now THREE different ways to run Windows XP on a Macintosh (and that's not even counting the old, slow emulator known as Virtual PC). I reviewed the hacky method here. I'll be reviewing the other two in next week's Times column. Q: Oh, excellent. Can't wait for that one to slide into my In box. Lots of people think that this e-newsletter is "my column." In fact, though, I write TWO columns each Thursday. The one you're reading now is sent by e-mail. The other column, on a different topic, appears in the printed paper. At the bottom of this e-column each week, though, you'll find a link to the newspaper column, so you can read both if you want to. Q: Last week in the paper, you reviewed the SpamCube. Who'd pay $150 for a hardware anti-spam device, when you can get free anti-spam software? A: As noted in the column, a hardware gadget has certain advantages. For example, it protects a bunch of computers at once and it doesn't slow down the computer. Still, about 100 readers wrote to express their happiness with all kinds of software-based antispam products. By far the most often-cited anti-spam product was Cloudmark Desktop (http://www.cloudmark.com), available for Outlook and Outlook Express for Windows. Customers raved about its accuracy, although it's not free. Many others wrote to recommend Mozilla Thunderbird, a free e-mail program with a terrific built-in spam filter. (http://www.mozilla.com/thunderbird, for Mac or Windows.) The built-in spam filter of Google's free Gmail service got lots of votes, too. Other individual recommendations of free Windows antispam programs: SpamBayes (http://spambayes.sourceforge.net); K9 (http://www.keir.net/k9.html); and Spamihilator (http://www.spamihilator.com). Q: So what do you use for spam protection? A: Funny you should mention that. Ever since my Outlook database meltdown last fall, I've been using Microsoft Entourage on the Mac as my main e-mail program. I've been relying on its built-in spam filters, supplemented by dozens of message rules I'd concocted myself. It was a terrible solution. I was drowning in spam. About 85 percent of my mail was spam. So last week, following still more reader tips, I downloaded and installed Spam Sieve ($25 from http://c-command.com). The setup is none too friendly, involving a bunch of sub-installations that I suspect would intimidate the average technophobe. But once it's installed--holy cow. Spam Sieve is just incredibly, amazingly accurate; my In box is clean, baby, clean! Once or twice a day, I take a look at my Junk Mail folder and literally grin with glee. There they are, all together, stewing in their own sleazy juices: all the ads for Viagra and Cialis; all the stupid phony phishing e-mails from eBay, PayPal and Chase Bank; all the foreign-language spam; all the messages that contain nothing but a big pasted graphic ad for pills; and on and on. And in about 2,000 spam messages flagged so far, I've encountered not a single legitimate message flagged as spam. Now THAT is a great feature. What amazes me most is how this program even manages to identify the spam that's disguised to look like a real e-mail message, containing either text like "Howdy Frank! How's it going?" or the gibberish intended to confuse spam fitlers: "Probe shortening award, a chipper tavern to intend hundred imply of crick parchment interrupt. String bean brew empathy." Ah, poetry! Q: How could software identify those normal-sounding messages as spam? A: I asked the programmer, Michael Tsai, by e-mail. I found his response to be an intriguing look into the minds of spammers: "First, most spam messages have some kind of spammy component, however buried; otherwise there would be no point in sending the message. So the general idea is to ignore the neutral text and zero in on the parts that either look like spam or look like your normal mail. "Second, spammers don't send messages the way normal people do, so the headers often contain information revealing that the message is spammy. "Lastly, the incoherent sentences. Often, the idea is to fool simpler Bayesian filters by including lots of seemingly innocuous words. While the vocabulary isn't overtly spammy, it is statistically different from that of your good mail, and the software can recognize that. This is one area where it helps that SpamSieve is a filter for individuals. The spammers are at a disadvantage because they know what the 'average' person's good mail looks like, but not yours in particular." The bottom line: The spammers are winning in sheer volume. But this week, I'm buoyed by new optimism that the modern anti-spam tools are up to the challenge.

Welcome to "Postscripts," the newsletter for people who love follow-ups. Let no reader query go unanswered!

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http://time.com/3819153/cheetah-pit-cleveland-metroparks-zoo-child/

http://web.archive.org/web/20160605190926id_/http://time.com:80/3819153/cheetah-pit-cleveland-metroparks-zoo-child/

Toddler Falls in Cheetah Pit, Parents Reportedly Dangle Him Over Rail

A 2-year-old fell into a cheetah exhibit at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo on Saturday after his parents reportedly held him over the railing. “Unfortunately we have a number of eyewitness accounts that point to the strong likelihood that the child was dangled over the railing,” the zoo’s executive director, Dr. Christopher Kuhar, told an ABC affiliate. A fire department official said the mother was seen holding two children at the time of the accident. The zoo is considering filing child endangerment charges against the parents, CNN reports. While the toddler suffered leg injuries following the 10- to 12-foot fall, the cheetahs made no attempt to come in contact with either the boy or parents, who entered the cheetah pit after he fell. “I think they were just curious as to what was going on and why somebody was in the pen with them because it’s not every day that somebody is just in the pen with them,” zoo visitor Terra Lurie told a local NBC affiliate. Read next: Watch Live Video of the Newborn Giraffe at the Dallas Zoo Listen to the most important stories of the day.

The zoo is considering pressing charges for child endangerment

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http://www.tmz.com/2014/07/08/kourtney-kardashian-scott-disick-pastor-video

http://web.archive.org/web/20160605234542id_/http://www.tmz.com:80/2014/07/08/kourtney-kardashian-scott-disick-pastor-video

Scott Disick & Kourtney Kardashian Relationship Counseling... From Kim's Pastor

are hanging out with the pastor who officiated over 's wedding, so it's not a big leap to assume Kourtney and Scott are following suit ... but that leap would leave you hanging. Sources closely connected to the family tell us ... is actually counseling Kourtney and Scott over their relationship problems. The handsome pastor was out with the couple Monday night in the Meatpacking District in NYC ... everyone was mum, but we're told Scott's partying has become a serious issue in the relationship and that's why Wilkerson is now a visible presence. Things have reached a critical mass ... Kourtney is pregnant with baby #3 and of their house recently because she's

Kourtney Kardashian and Scott Disick are hanging out with the pastor who officiated over Kim and Kanye's wedding, so it's not a big leap to assume…

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http://fortune.com/2016/03/31/citi-bank-staffing-uber-moment/

http://web.archive.org/web/20160606023154id_/http://fortune.com:80/2016/03/31/citi-bank-staffing-uber-moment/

Citi Says the Banking Industry Is About to Have Its 'Uber Moment'

It’s really not a good time to work in a bank branch. Bank automation and competition from “FinTech” companies are set to land with a serious thud. The new Global Perspectives & Solutions (GPS) report from Citigroup c says that U.S. bank staffing will dive 30% between 2015 and 2025, from 2.6 million to 1.8 million. (It’s already down from a pre-crisis peak of 2.9 million.) And things are even tougher in Europe, where bank branch employment is expected to drop from 2.9 million to 1.8 million. According to Citi, as more transactions are automated and done on mobile phones, bank staff will be shifted from performing transactions to advisory roles. But the question is whether banks will able to do that fast enough, and whether that move will save them. New firms like OnDeck ondk , Coinbase, Lending Club lc , and Square sq have begun to gnaw away at many of the activities that might have brought consumers and small business owners into bank branches. American and European banks are now—like taxi drivers a few years ago—facing what the report calls their “Uber moment.” “In the U.S. and Europe, only a very small fraction of the current consumer banking wallet has been disrupted by FinTech so far. However, this is likely to rise,” the report says. “An open question remains as to whether incumbent banks in the U.S. and Europe can embrace innovation, not just talk about Blockchain and hack-a-thons, before FinTech competitors gain scale and distribution.” FinTech companies are going after banks’ most profitable services. Citi says that personal and small and medium enterprise (SME) banking accounts for about half of the banking industry’s profits, and over 70% of the FinTech investments have gone into those segments. Other countries have passed their “Uber moment” tipping point. According to Citi, China is the world’s peer-to-peer lending leader, at $66.9 billion. FinTech companies there also have as many customers as do traditional banks, the report says. Not everybody is confident that U.S. and European banks can evolve. “In my view only a few [incumbent banks] will have the courage and decisiveness to win in this new field,” Antony Jenkins, the former CEO of Barclays, said in a recent speech in London. “I predict that the number of branches and people employed in the financial services sector may decline by as much as 50% over the next 10 years, and even in a less harsh scenario I expect a decline of at least 20%.”

As bank staff lose their jobs.

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http://time.com/3932769/jk-rowling-harry-potter/

http://web.archive.org/web/20160607232544id_/http://time.com:80/3932769/jk-rowling-harry-potter/

J.K. Rowling New Harry Potter Stories

J.K. Rowling has recently received some criticism for releasing new stories about Harry Potter and the Wizarding World on her Twitter account and her fan site Pottermore. Some argue that the extra information about the series illustrates its shortcomings as a whole. Others say it takes away from readers’ imaginations for the story. I get it. Maybe we don’t need to be privy to her plans for Draco Malfoy’s 35th birthday. But many are forgetting that Rowling promised us just this when she announced Pottermore in 2011. No author could’ve asked for a more wonderful, diverse and loyal readership. I’m thrilled to say that I am now in a position to give you something unique. An online reading experience unlike every other. It’s the same story, with a few crucial additions, the most important one is you. Just as the experience of reading requires that the imaginations of the author and reader work together to create the story, so Pottermore will be built, in part, by you, the reader. I’ll be joining in too because I will be sharing additional information I’ve been hoarding for years about the world of Harry Potter. At first many fans weren’t so keen on the idea. Her biggest, most exciting revelation on the site didn’t come until 2014, when she posted a new story written as a gossip column from Rita Skeeter in the Daily Prophet straight from the Quidditch World Cup. We learned about a new scar for Harry, Ron’s thinning hair, and Luna Lovegood’s children. Fans freaked out, and the site crashed. I printed the story out and read it on my lunch break, a smile on my face as if I were 11 again, reading the books and drinking cream soda that I pretended was Butterbeer. Some wonder if Rowling’s recent increase in new content could have something to do with the impending release of the film spinoff Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, for which Rowling is writing the screenplay and has tweeted about regularly. Even if it is, who cares? She’s been knee-deep in the Wizarding World since she created it, now probably more since working on the screenplay, so why not let her have fun with it and bring us along for the ride? Where she’s succeeded flawlessly, intentionally or not, is in giving fans like me who grew up with Harry something we can relate to as we get older. Now, as our Facebook accounts are flooded with baby pictures, the members of Dumbledore’s Army have their own children. We learn that Aunt Petunia didn’t want Lily Potter to be a bridesmaid at her wedding, right as many of us are dealing with wedding drama of our own. Rowling tweets to confirm LGBT wizards are welcome at Hogwarts just as the transgender movement takes center stage. She reveals that Hermione didn’t take her husband Ron’s last name right when some of us are considering doing the same. We learn that Rowling never understood the readers who romanticized Draco Malfoy, something we can associate with now that many of us, too, have dated the bad guys. Of course we might have laughed at some of this or found it interesting at the time the books were released, but the fact that it arrives years later, like an unexpected letter delivered by owl, gives us more time to process and ponder the meaning Rowling put behind so many of her characters and themes. John Green, the author of The Fault In Our Stars, has been quite vocal on leaving Fault where he left it in the book. Posting to Tumblr in 2014, he wrote: “I have never said anything about what might happen before or after what’s depicted in the book. I finished writing it, for better or for worse, and it now belongs to you.” I respect Green’s decision. But Rowling hasn’t revealed imperative, plot-changing information since the release of the seventh novel, Deathly Hallows. Instead, she has given us the kind of thoughtful details that make the series that much more meaningful to her biggest fans. At the premiere for the final film in the series, Rowling, alongside a teary Emma Watson, Rupert Grint and Daniel Radcliffe, said what all Harry Potter fans wanted to hear: “The stories we love best do live in us forever. Whether you come back by page or by the big screen, Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home.” And that’s why we all loved Hogwarts so much, isn’t it? Just as it was Harry’s place to escape the Dursleys, to find magic, to meet the friends who’d become his family, to discover his own power—both magical and mental—it was also ours to grow up with, to imagine, to question, to find our own selves. And even now, 18 years after the first book hit the shelves, Harry Potter isn’t going away. The story still belongs to us. She’s revealing this information for us. And with it, she reels us back into the depths of our imaginations as she always did with each new book release. The fact that it’s causing a bit of trouble only means one thing: Mischief Managed.

In defense of J.K. Rowling and the story that lived

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http://www.tmz.com/2014/10/16/lance-armstrong-girlfriend-kissing-beach-picnic-photos

http://web.archive.org/web/20160608014213id_/http://www.tmz.com:80/2014/10/16/lance-armstrong-girlfriend-kissing-beach-picnic-photos

Lance Armstrong -- My Baby Mama's Ripped ... And Looks Damn Good in a Bikini

image makeover continues ... now with more bikini photos!!! The disgraced cyclist was out in Miami Beach this week with his longtime GF -- who also happens to the mother of 2 of his 5 children. Anna looks damn good ... and in the pics, she's all over Lance -- suggesting that if a hot chick with a hardbody can forgive the guy, maybe we can all move on too. Then again ... he did cost us 7 frickin' titles!!!

The Lance Armstrong image makeover continues ... now with more bikini photos!!!The disgraced cyclist was out in Miami Beach this week with his longtime GF…

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http://time.com/3649394/sony-hack-inside-job-north-korea/

http://web.archive.org/web/20160608063408id_/http://time.com:80/3649394/sony-hack-inside-job-north-korea/

New Research Blames Insiders Not North Korea

A leading cyber security firm says it has evidence that contradicts the government’s allegation that North Korea was behind the debilitating cyber attacks against Sony Pictures. Researchers from the firm Norse told Security Ledger, an independent security news website, that they believe that a group of six individuals orchestrated the hack, including at least one former employee who was laid off in company-wide restructuring in May. The latest allegations add to growing skepticism over the FBI’s assertion — reiterated by President Barack Obama — that linked North Korea to the attack, which the country has denied. A recent linguistic analysis cited in the New York Times found that the hackers’ language in threats against Sony was written by a native Russian speaker and not a native Korean speaker. “For every clue that seems to point to the involvement of the DPRK, there are others that point in other directions, as well,” the Security Ledger reports. Read more at the Security Ledger.

Growing evidence suggests it was not North Korea.

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http://fortune.com/2016/01/25/procrastination-slacking-off-work/

http://web.archive.org/web/20160609030929id_/http://fortune.com:80/2016/01/25/procrastination-slacking-off-work/

Procrastination: Here's Why You're Slacking Off at Work

Americans spend more time at work than citizens of other wealthy countries. But many of us are not actually working when we’re on the clock. According to a study published on Monday by the National Bureau of Economic Research—which cites the American Time Use Survey—the average American spends about 34 minutes of their time at work not actually working. Half of this time is spent eating, though it’s up to the individual respondent whether or not he considers a lunch break taken outside of the office part of the official workday. When you remove from the sample the folks who claim to not do any slacking off at work whatsoever, that figure rises to just over 50 minutes of loafing per day. Individual results vary, however, with “a tiny fraction of respondents even reporting not working the entire time on the job.” The economists who published the paper (Michael Burda, Kaie Genadek, and Daniel Hamermersh) weren’t interested in determining how much time Americans spent at work not working. Instead, they wanted to determine which outside factors might lead workers to slack off more, or less, on the job. They found that the longer a person’s work week is, the greater the chance that the given worker will spend time at the office not working, up until a 43-hour work week. Beyond 43 hours, the incidence of slacking off actually decreases. This makes sense if you believe there are a lot of undemanding jobs that still require workers to be present in the office 40 hours per week. Jobs that require more than 43 hours of work per week are probably actually demanding in terms of hours needed to get the job done, and the long hours are about more than just giving the appearance that you are working hard. The broader state of the economy also affects how much we slack off at work. During times of high unemployment, the economists found that workers who may otherwise be major loafers slack off less at work, suggesting that these particular workers are more afraid of losing their job when the economy is weak. But when you look at the overall population, the data shows that non-work time actually increases along with the unemployment rate. This underscores a fact that’s often ignored by the financial press: the first response of employers to poor economic conditions is not to start firing people. As the authors write: Firms face variable and imperfectly forecastable demand for their products…. In an economic downturn which is perceived as temporary, it is easy to show that a layoff, even if temporary, is an inferior choice to maintaining employment, possibly even at standard hours. This behavior is often referred to as labor hoarding. In this case, firms assign workers to “unproductive” tasks such as cleaning, maintenance, painting, etc. or even tolerate more worker-initiated non-work. In other words, you may be more comfortable slacking off at work today, when the unemployment rate is at 5% versus in 2009, when it was almost double that. But there is probably more work for you to do too.

Even though you have more to do.

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http://fortune.com/2015/11/11/angies-list-acquisition-offer-iac/

http://web.archive.org/web/20160609034128id_/http://fortune.com:80/2015/11/11/angies-list-acquisition-offer-iac/

IAC/InterActiveCorp makes unsolicited bid for Angie's List

(Reuters) – Barry Diller’s IAC/InterActiveCorp made an unsolicited bid to buy Angie’s List for about $512 million in cash, nearly a month after an activist investor urged the reviews website operator to explore strategic alternatives. IAC’s $8.75 per share offer represents a premium of 10.5% to Angie’s stock’s closing price on Wednesday. Shares of Angie’s List, which operates a website that allows users to review local businesses, were trading at $8.88 after market, indicating that investors were expecting a better offer. IAC, which owns Investopedia, video-sharing website Vimeo and mobile dating app Tinder, said it was taking its offer public after failing to develop “meaningful dialogue” with Angie’s List for “many months”. IAC IACI said it was also willing to consider a combination of Angie’s List with its HomeAdvisor business through a tax-free stock-for-stock exchange. Angie’s List ANGI confirmed IAC’s takeover proposal, but asked its shareholders not to take action at this time. TCS Capital Management, which revealed last month it owned about 9% of Angie’s List, had urged the company to combine with an industry player such as HomeAdvisor. HomeAdvisor is an online marketplace for matching consumers with pre-screened home services professionals in the United States, as well as in France and the Netherlands. Angie’s List has been losing market share and subscribers as it charges customers membership fees to access reviews and ratings on its site that Yelp YELP , TripAdvisor and others provide for free. The company is also facing new competition from the Google unit of Alphabet GOOG and Amazon.com AMZN , as well as upstarts such as Thumbtack. Angie’s List, which named a former Best Buy executive as its CEO in September, has been shifting from its origins as an online review site to a marketplace that helps customers find everything from chimney sweepers to plumbers. Up to Wednesday’s close, the company’s stock had risen about 37% since TCS Capital disclosed the stake. BofA Merrill Lynch is financial adviser to Angie’s List, while Sidley Austin is providing legal advise. For morea about acquisitions, watch this Fortune video:

Barry's Diller's Internet company, IAC/InterActiveCorp wants to buy the online directory and review site Angie's List.

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http://fortune.com/2016/05/04/tesla-faraday/

http://web.archive.org/web/20160609040858id_/http://fortune.com:80/2016/05/04/tesla-faraday/?

Tesla Was Close to Being Named Faraday

At one point in the early life of electric car company Tesla, the company could have been named “Faraday,” revealed Tesla CEO Elon Musk during an interview at an energy industry conference at the Tesla factory in Fremont, Calif. on Wednesday. The name “Faraday” refers to Michael Faraday, the scientist who invented the electric motor. Musk said “Faraday” would have been his second choice for a name. Instead, the company was named after Nikola Tesla, the inventor and electrical engineer. The second-choice name will ring a bell with electric car industry watchers. Ironically, “Faraday Future” is now the name of a new electric car startup and competitor to Tesla TSLA . Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter. Faraday Future is backed by a billionaire Chinese tech entrepreneur and is planning on making an electric sedan, among other electric cars, at a factory under construction in Nevada. That’s the same state where Tesla is building its massive battery factory. While there’s been considerable skepticism about the Los Angeles-based Faraday Future, the company’s investors have pledged $1 billion to build the factory. The company could be focused on selling electric cars to consumers in China, where the market is particularly difficult to break into and where Tesla has struggled. Musk and his team during the early days of the car company were originally name-shopping because Musk said they didn’t own the trademark for Tesla. Instead, “a dude in Sacramento,” did, quipped Musk. The genesis for the creation of Tesla was a lunch in 2003 between Musk and Tesla’s CTO JB Straubel, who was working on batteries and electric cars at Stanford University. Straubel mentioned a company called AC Propulsion, based in Southern California, which was making a prototype electric sports car. For more on Tesla, watch: Musk and Straubel met with the company a short time later. Tesla’s first car the Roadster used some of the technology in AC Propulsion’s electric sports car called the “tzero.” Musk noted during the interview on Wednesday, “They [AC Propulsion] deserve a lot of credit for Tesla.” Musk became CEO of Tesla in 2008 after he put in millions of dollars—or “all his money” as he put it— to save the company, which was on the brink of financial collapse. When you put all of your chips on the table “you have to play the hand yourself,” Musk remarked, explaining to the audience on Wednesday why he took over as CEO.

Silicon Valley's electric car darling could have had another name.

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http://fortune.com/2016/02/28/indian-point-nuclear/

http://web.archive.org/web/20160609044203id_/http://fortune.com:80/2016/02/28/indian-point-nuclear/

Indian Point Leak Turns Into Political Battle Over Nuclear Energy

There is a big standoff in the Empire State over nuclear energy. The Indian Point nuclear power plant in Buchanan, N.Y., a town of 2,260 people located an hour’s drive of New York City, leaked “alarming levels” of radioactive contaminant into nearby groundwater, according to a new statement from New York governor Andrew Cuomo. Of three monitoring wells that reported elevated levels, “one well’s radioactivity increasing nearly 65,000%,” though the contamination remains isolated and poses no hazard to nearby residents, he says. The facility’s operator, Entergy ETR , says the elevated tritium concentrations found in groundwater near the plant were likely from a temporary system established and dismantled in January 2016. In other words, there’s no ongoing leak. Meanwhile the concentrations, “far below federal reporting requirements,” have “no health or safety consequences,” it says. Cuomo’s hard stance is nothing new. As of November of last year, the governor’s office actively opposed the continuing operation of Indian Point, and Cuomo earlier this month called for a full investigation of the facility by state environment and health officials. Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter. Critics points out that the latest flareup adds to a mounting list of recent problems at Indian Point. Proponents insist that such issues are not unusual with consideration to peer facilities. Leaks of radioactive material have been found at as many as 75% of U.S. nuclear plants, though none involved concentrations that posed a health threat. The risk of a disaster at any one nuclear plant is small, though residents who live near them have been wary in the wake of high-profile incidents at Three-Mile Island in Pennsylvania (1979), Chernobyl in Ukraine (1986), and Fukushima Daiichi in Japan (2011). Stanford researchers estimate that the 2011 Fukushima disaster may directly cause about 300 deaths worldwide, though estimates of economic losses range from $250 billion to $500 billion, stemming largely from the removal of 159,128 people from a zone the size of Connecticut—land that will be uninhabitable for centuries. No deaths have been attributed to the commercial operation of U.S. nuclear power plants in more than 50 years. Still, some residents are understandably wary: Indian Point sits due north of the largest metropolitan area in the U.S., with real estate prices to match. During the Fukushima meltdown, the Japanese government established a 20 kilometer (12 mile) evacuation zone around the reactor—but the U.S. embassy recommended that Americans leave areas within 50 miles. Any meltdown at Indian Point, however unlikely, could lead to the evacuation of New York City. For more on energy, watch: Closing Indian Point would put New York and the United States in line with a sharp global move away from nuclear power following 2011’s meltdown at Japan’s Fukushima Daichi reactor. Japan shut down all of its nuclear plants after the disaster, and only began tentatively restarting a handful in 2015. Countries including France and Germany have moved to similar phase-outs, with Germany in 2011 pledging to phase out all nuclear power by 2022. Austria and Spain have stopped all construction on new nuclear plants. The U.S. had not constructed a new nuclear power plant in nearly 20 years when, in October of 2015, a plant in Tennessee was given the go-ahead. For more, read: French Giant Veolia To Buy Nuclear Waste Cleanup Startup Kurion The decision to abandon nuclear energy isn’t as easy as it appears. Nuclear energy still makes up nearly 20% of the total U.S. energy supply. There are a handful of startups eying the future of nuclear technology and aiming towards smaller, safer reactors, but such innovations have yet to make a major dent on the U.S. energy economy. And though tenewable energy sources such as wind and solar have experienced double-digit annual growth, they have not yet proven enough to offset domestic reliance on nuclear energy. Editor’s Note, March 3, 2016: The original version of this article did not meet Fortune’s editorial standards. The copy, including the headline, has been revised to more accurately reflect the situation at hand.

A war of words over New York's Indian Point facility.

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http://nypost.com/2016/05/01/why-is-the-government-out-to-destroy-vaping/

http://web.archive.org/web/20160609052656id_/http://nypost.com:80/2016/05/01/why-is-the-government-out-to-destroy-vaping/

Why is the government out to destroy vaping?

If a new delivery-room procedure reduced deaths of mothers during labor by 95%, CNN and “60 Minutes” would do special hour-long tributes and the new technique would quickly become mandatory. If a new safety gadget inside automobiles were demonstrated to reduced fatalities by 95%, it would be talked up as a miracle of the age and be installed in every car. And yet, years ago along came a device that reduces harm from smoking by 95%. The reaction has been silence at times, outright suppression at others. There have been plenty of lies to accompany this bizarre smear campaign. If smokers switched to e-cigarettes, it would “prevent almost all of the harm from smoking,” Britain’s Royal College of Physicians stated this week, highlighting growing evidence in favor of e-cigarette use, or vaping. The RCP says it is “unlikely” that vaping is even 5% as dangerous as smoking — and may be substantially safer than that. Instead of pretending vaping is nearly as dangerous as smoking, the RCP said, we should do the opposite: Tell the truth. If regulation “makes e-cigarettes less easily accessible, less palatable or acceptable, more expensive, less consumer friendly or pharmacologically less effective, or inhibits innovation and development of new and improved products, then it causes harm by perpetuating smoking.” The Royal College of Physicians has a distinguished history when it comes to reporting on smoking: In 1962, two years before the US surgeon general officially linked smoking to disease for the first time, the RCP issued a much more robust warning. And yet US authorities are taking extreme, hysterical and often ludicrous steps to stamp out vaping, massively overstating the harm it does, speculating wildly on unproven potential risks from trace amounts of chemicals involved and banning vaping indoors, outdoors and even in outdoor public spaces such as parks. In 2014, the FDA published a proposed rule that would have effectively banned vaping, though a congressional amendment passed last week could reverse that. The Mayo Clinic and the Centers for Disease Control are among the outfits that have falsely claimed vaping is as dangerous as cigarettes. In the International Journal of Drug policy, professors Lynn Kozlowski of SUNY Buffalo and David Sweanor of the University of Ottawa slammed the “information quarantine” about the relative safety of e-cigarettes, which they blamed on “emotionally charged moral reactions.” The blackout is working: a Reuters survey last year found that only 35% of the public understood that e-cigarettes are safer than smoking. Does vaping lead to smoking, though? “They’re not a gateway in, and they might be accelerating the gateway out,” David B. Abrams, executive director of the anti-tobacco Schroeder Institute, told The New York Times. The RCP says it is “unlikely” that vaping is even 5% as dangerous as smoking — and may be substantially safer than that. The wise public-health campaign to reduce smoking — take a bow, Mike Bloomberg — has spilled over into an irrational attack on e-cigarettes. The likelihood that vaping is almost completely safe causes rage among progressives and the regulatory state they largely control. They pretend to care about saving lives, when in fact their primary concern is punishing their enemies. Progressives hate tobacco companies and they hate tobacco smokers. By extension, progressives resent and despise life-improving technology if it appears to reward their avowed enemies. There is, for instance, abundant evidence that fracking is less risky than other forms of fossil-fuel extraction in longtime use, and yet few words cause foam to appear on the rageful progressive mouth as quickly as the word fracking. The finding that vaping is probably at least 95% safer than smoking marks a stunning, landmark moment in the history of public health. Nicotine addiction has traditionally been the single greatest preventable cause of death in the United States. And yet now nicotine has effectively been 19/20ths disarmed. We should celebrate this news. It should be shouted across the land. Yet just this week a Times report on the controversy barely slipped in a reference to that startling and wonderful figure, in the second-to-last paragraph of the story on the British policy, and called the finding an “assertion.” Virtually every day the Times declares that a medical report has “found” something or other, but this considered estimate by a major public-health institution using reams of data is relegated to being an “assertion.” Few loathe smoking as much as I do. Cigarettes killed my father, after gradually destroying his quality of life over an agonizing period of many years’ suffering. Unlike progressives and bureaucrats, however, I don’t loathe smokers. Some people simply cannot quit. Where is the compassion for the single largest group of addicts in the country? Why are we determined to hide the truth from those who simply can’t get through the day without nicotine? For them, e-cigarettes could mean the difference between life and death.

If a new delivery-room procedure reduced deaths of mothers during labor by 95%, CNN and “60 Minutes” would do special hour-long tributes and the new technique would quickly become mandatory. If a n…

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http://web.archive.org/web/20160609100428id_/http://fortune.com:80/2016/05/12/cameron-uk-corruption-offshore-summit/

Some Leaders Just Did (a Little Bit) More Than Talk About Corruption

A global crackdown on corruption. The mere words are enough to make the heart sink. They conjure up, at best, images of inept and leaden-footed regulators closing old loopholes half as fast as financiers and lawyers exploit new ones, in a great game of legal whack-a-mole; at worst, it’s those who trumpet their virtue most loudly that are most guilty. At U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron’s grandly-titled Global Anti-Corruption Summit Thursday, the room was predictably full of earnest frowns and the air thick with well-meaning declarations. The host sternly called it “the cancer at the heart of so many of the world’s problems,” while Christine Lagarde, the International Monetary Fund’s managing director, detailed in an essay a new study that put the annual cost of corruption to the world’s economy at between $1.5 and $2 trillion–roughly 2% of the world’s gross domestic product. The ways in which corruption saps growth are many, said the IMF: it weakens the state’s ability to raise revenue, increases the cost of public procurement, raises the market cost of borrowing for any company perceived to be in a ‘corrupt’ jurisdiction, and makes government over-reliant on using the central bank to create the money that government fails to raise, creating a bias towards inflation. “If you are pro-growth, you must be against corruption,” Lagarde warned solemnly in a message to the summit. Some skepticism is allowable: Cameron has only recently been pressured into admitting his past use of offshore investment vehicles, while Lagarde is due to stand trial for “negligent” stewardship of public money while Finance Minister of France (the essence of the accusation is that she turned a blind eye to a big payoff to a businessman who was promising to support her boss Nicolas Sarkozy in the next election campaign). Both Cameron and Lagarde deny any wrongdoing. But Cameron’s summit has produced a bit more than words. Under pressure to lead by example after the embarrassment of the Panama Papers, he has announced plans for new legislation that will stop off shores laundering money through the notorious London real estate market. The U.K. is setting up a public register where companies that own property will be required to disclose their beneficial owners (that is, the ultimate owner rather than the offshore-based shell company on the deeds of title). A similar register will be set up for companies that seek business contracts with the government. In a separate move, the U.K. is also looking at making its banks legally liable for the AML violations of their employees, in an effort to make them take their responsibilities more seriously. The NGO Transparency International last year published research that showed how the U.K’s real estate market–in particular, London’s–had become a magnet for corrupt funds: at least 122 billion pounds’ ($176 billion) worth of property was held through offshore companies in jurisdictions with high levels of secrecy in 2014, it said. “Anonymous companies are the getaway car for the corrupt, for criminals and for terrorists,” Martin Tisné, a U.K. government adviser at investment firm Omidyar, told the BBC Thursday. “If you steal a hundred pounds, you can put it under your mattress, if you steal ten million pounds, what do you do? You set up an anonymous company and buy a house in Notting Hill.” Another 12 countries declared their intention to introduce similar registers Thursday. These included Nigeria, where the problem of graft in public contracting has been endemic for decades. Cameron had, embarrassingly, been caught on camera telling Queen Elizabeth earlier in the week that Nigeria, and Afghanistan (whose president Ghani was also attending the summit) were ‘two of the most corrupt countries in the world.” Transparency International was among those who seemed reasonably impressed. “The real issue of how corruption works — secrecy — is being tackled,” its chairman José Ugaz said in a statement. “More governments have committed to ensuring that information is made public making it harder for the corrupt to hide their illicit wealth. But we will need to see the laws in place and enacted before we can claim any victories.” A large part of the remaining problem remains ultimately in Cameron’s backyard. Many of the world’s offshore financial centers, from Gibraltar to the Cayman Islands, are the remote remnants of the British Empire, and offshore finance is their only real export service. Neither the Cayman Islands nor the British Virgin Islands were at the summit (The Daily Telegraph reported that they weren’t invited for fear of causing Cameron embarrassment). There are also mutterings at the behavior of the U.S., where states such as Delaware and Nevada still allow a high degree of confidentiality to companies and investors. The U.S. has also refused so far to sign up to an initiative backed by the G-20 to clamp down on tax evasion by making the tax authorities of every country automatically share relevant information with their peers (yesterday, the OECD announced that Panama and a handful of other recalcitrant offshore jurisdictions had finally signed up to it).

New transparency rules will shine a light on a business that doesn't like it

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http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/miley-cyrus-leads-mtv-vma-red-carpet-circus-article-1.2342725

http://web.archive.org/web/20160609114718id_/http://www.nydailynews.com:80/entertainment/miley-cyrus-leads-mtv-vma-red-carpet-circus-article-1.2342725

Miley Cyrus leads the MTV VMA red carpet circus

MTV got rocked by the Miley circus. The hardest-twerking woman in showbiz hosted the MTV Video Music Awards in a parade of Jeremy Scott pieces that resembled DIY projects on drugs. "I expected it to be a clown show, and she did not disappoint," said Tom Fitzgerald, cofounder of the Tom + Lorenzo fashion and lifestyle blog. "She showed up looking like an S&M disco-ball 'Barbarella.'" KANYE'S SPEECH, MINAJ'S BEED WITH HOST MILEY CYRUS DOMINATES MTV VMAS Miley Cyrus walked the Technicolor-striped carpet before the awards show on Sunday in a custom metallic Versace piece that looked like a crotch chandelier held up with buckled suspenders. That was just a taste of the insanity to come. She then took the stage in a series of looks that included a shower curtain with strategically-placed dots, a bolero made of daisies over a sequined jumpsuit, and a pair of half-lidded eyeballs with feathery lashes covering her breasts. Then, of course, there was the rainbow-striped rectangle, or the bralette shaped like a pair of half-lidded eyes with feathery pink lashes. VMAS TOP FIVE SHOW MOMENTS "Her outfits are so crazy and wild," marveled celebrity stylist Phillip Bloch. "Trying to keep up with them is like going on a 1960s hallucinogenic trip, and I love her for having the balls to wear them." Cyrus knows how to give an audience want it wants, and the other singers and starlets at this year's VMAs also couldn't resist playing a familiar tune with their runway looks. Taylor Swift kept up her recent sisterhood shtick by arriving with most of her "Bad Blood" squad, including Selena Gomez in a black long-sleeved Calvin Klein metallic knit, Lily Aldridge in a black plunging Alexandre Vauthier gown and Cara Delevingne in a Saint Laurent star dress. NICKI MINAJ AND TAYLOR SWIFT SQUASH THEIR BAD BLOOD AND PERFORM TOGETHER AT VMAS But unlike her costars' chic looks, Swift's glittery Ashish crop top and pants fell flat, even when paired with Christian Louboutins. Nicki Minaj rocks her golden Labourjoisie gown, but Britney Spears looks pinched in her own mini. "It looked like houndstooth pajamas," said Fitzgerald. "I give her credit for wearing something wacky, for her, but I just thought it looked ugly." The rest of her "Bad Blood" crew did a better job, including a glowing Gigi Hadid in a yellow Emilia Wickstead dress, Karlie Kloss in an orange Louis Vuitton resort gown, Martha Hunt in a black glittery Georges Chakra and Hailee Steinfeld in a white Stella McCartney jumpsuit. Nicki Minaj flaunted her "Anaconda" assets with a figure-hugging metallic gold sheer gown with pearl accents from Labourjoisie reportedly worth $15,000. It was so tight that she needed help getting up the stage to accept her Best Hip-Hop Video award. "She looked very pretty in that see-through buttastic gown," says Fitzgerald. "It was very sexy and glamorous." Bloch noted that the glamorous gown was shades of fellow bootylicious babes Beyonce and Jennifer Lopez. Speaking of blasts from the past, Pharrell Williams and his date Helen Lasichanh wore matching double denim outfits that were shades of Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake at the 2001 VMAs, and Katy Perry and Riff Raff last year. But Spears made a major misstep with her gold Labourjoisie mini dress on Sunday night, which was too short and too tight for former pop star. "Wearing a dress two sizes too small does not bring you back to 10 years ago," said Bloch. "It just looked painful, especially with how her boobs were squished in there." Speaking of painful, Kim Kardashian brought the baby-on-board Kimsanity back with an unflattering khaki Balmain dress that did nothing for the expecting mom's expanding figure, while husband Kanye West accepted his Video Vanguard Award - and announced his future campaign for president - wearing a pair of sweats. "You could argue it was his night, so he gets to determine how he dresses," said Fitzgerald. "This is what you expect to get from Kim and Kanye." Other movers and shakers included Amber Rose making a statement in a Jeremy Scott bodysuit emblazoned with misogynistic slurs ahead of her Oct. 3 "Slutwalk" against sexual violence, and Justin Bieber making a statement by swooping his signature blond hair to the side. ON A MOBILE DEVICE? WATCH THE VIDEO HERE.

MTV got rocked by the Miley circus.The hardest-twerking woman in showbiz hosted the MTV VMAs in a parade of DIY projects on drugs.

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http://www.nydailynews.com/autos/auto-shows/6-best-supercars-2016-geneva-auto-show-article-1.2550854

http://web.archive.org/web/20160609182521id_/http://www.nydailynews.com:80/autos/auto-shows/6-best-supercars-2016-geneva-auto-show-article-1.2550854

6 best supercars from the 2016 Geneva Auto Show

You may not know much about Switzerland other than chocolate and holey cheese, but you also may have heard of their lucrative banking industry. Bearing that in mind, it’s no surprise that the annual Geneva Motor Show, one of the biggest and oldest in the world, is chock full of supercars and super luxury rides, from the well-known to the obscure. FOLLOW THE DAILY NEWS AUTOS ON FACEBOOK. ‘LIKE’ US HERE! We sifted through the masses for you to find our six favorites from the show, and compiled them for you here. Agree or disagree with us, there’s no denying that these are some spectacular automobiles. Well, obviously. The Veyron made waves throughout the automotive and luxury worlds when it launched over 10 years ago for its ludicrous speed, overt opulence, and eye-popping price tag. Now, the eagerly-awaited successor is here, and looks even better than its legendary forebear. The stunning French blue and Navy paint job is the one we’d have every time, and a quad-turbo, 16-cylinder power plant mounted mid ship puts out an unheard-of 1,478-horsepower. If that’s not enough to get your engine revving, we don’t know what is. The Regera went largely under the radar in Geneva this year, if only because it was overshadowed by the Bugatti… and possibly because you may have never heard of the Swedish hypercar maker. But powered by a groundbreaking hybrid drivetrain that does away with a transmission altogether in favor of a direct drive system, the Regera has the guts for more than 260-mph, and could give the Bugatti a run for the fastest car crown. Yes, we concede that this new Aston Martin looks suspiciously like the last one… or six… but that doesn’t make it anything but absolutely drop dead gorgeous. The DB11 is the unsung hero of this Geneva show, because while it doesn’t boast a world-beating engine or base price, it does signal bigger and better things for the British Brand. An all-new twin-turbo V-12 underpins this beauty, and could be the start of a movement that saves Aston Martin. At least we really, really hope so. Would any “best supercars” list be complete without a Raging Bull? We didn’t think so either. The Centenario is Lamborghini’s super-exclusive 100th birthday present to itself, and it’s as completely insane as any Lambo should be. With a $1.9 million base price and an extremely limited production run, this is the cream of the crop in the world of collectible Italian cars. In fact, every single example has already been spoken for. Sorry Mr. car-crazy new money tech billionaire! This six-passenger limo is almost as long as its name, but dear lord is it opulent. Mulliner is Bentley’s in-house customization outfit, and they’ve given the full treatment to the brand’s most luxurious sedan. Fitted with fine leather, wood, and a groundbreaking “smart glass” divider that switches from opaque to clear with the touch of a button, the Mulliner is the only way to get around for the super, mega-elite. We’ll take one in black, please. It may seem like you’ve seen this car before, but make no mistake, this McLaren has a completely new attitude. The 570GT is a more relaxed version of the 570S sports car, and it’s by far the supercar that we’d live with every day. With an achingly-cool side-hinged rear hatch and gorgeous leather throughout, you may even forget for a minute that you’re driving a car with 562-horsepower. That is, until you put your foot down and feel your eyes hit the back of your head, at least. Did you find this article helpful? If so, please share it using the "Join the Conversation" buttons below, and thank you for visiting Daily News Autos.

Geneva is a hub for the wealthy, so it’s no surprise supercars are the stars. Here are our 6 favorites from this year’s show.

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http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/movies/damon-new-bourne-movie-set-post-snowden-world-article-1.2340626

http://web.archive.org/web/20160609182706id_/http://www.nydailynews.com:80/entertainment/movies/damon-new-bourne-movie-set-post-snowden-world-article-1.2340626

Damon: New 'Bourne' movie set 'in a post-Snowden world'

"Bourne" franchise star Matt Damon leaked some classified information about his upcoming fourth go-round as the amnesiac spy. The 44-year-old actor told Buzzfeed News that the Paul Greengrass-directed movie, which starts filming next week, is inspired by the aftermath of Eric Snowden's whistle-blowing. "Without giving too much of it away, it's Bourne through an austerity-riddled Europe and in a post-Snowden world," Damon said. "It seems like enough has changed, you know? There are all these kinds of arguments about spying and civil liberties and the nature of democracy." Hollywood has shown a fascination with the Snowden saga, which was chronicled in the Academy-Award winning documentary, "Citizenfour." A hero to many liberals and libertarians and a traitor to conservatives, the former NSA computer programmer fled the United States in 2013 after dumping classified proof that the U.S. government had been spying on its own citizens. The fugitive is the subject of an upcoming biopic, "Snowden," starring Joseph Gordon Levitt and directed by Oliver Stone. Damon is returning to reprise his most famous role which he exited after 2007's "The Bourne Ultimatum," along with Greengrass. The pair left the franchise when Universal Studios tried to fast-track a fourth Bourne movie into production before a script was written. In the absence of Damon, Jeremy Renner was tapped for a spin-off movie — 2012's "Bourne Legacy" — playing a different agent, Aaron Cross, who's hunted by the same sinister government forces as the first three films in the franchise. Damon, though, came in from the cold when Greengrass agreed to return to the director's chair. "We always looked at those movies as really about the Bush presidency, and so we kind of had to wait for the world to change," Damon told BuzzFeed News about the long delay. "What does the character have to say (now)?" The new "Bourne" movie, which co-stars Tomme Lee Jones, Alicia Vikander, Julia Stiles and Viggo Mortensen, is scheduled to hit theaters on July 29, 2016.

"Bourne" franchise star Matt Damon leaked some classified information about his upcoming fourth go-around as the amnesiac spy.

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http://www.aol.com/article/2016/02/03/photo-goes-viral-after-cincinnati-police-find-toddler-alone-in-the-cold/21307314/

http://web.archive.org/web/20160610025736id_/http://www.aol.com:80/article/2016/02/03/photo-goes-viral-after-cincinnati-police-find-toddler-alone-in-the-cold/21307314/

Photo goes viral after Cincinnati police find toddler alone in the cold

Before you go, we thought you'd like these... CINCINNATI (WLWT) -- It's just a picture, but this one is raising the image of police. It all begins with two officers who got on the floor in full uniform just to play with a kid in Cincinnati. The opportunity for police to show a lighter side came after a serious problem. Photo goes viral after Cincinnati police find toddler alone in the cold The 2-year-old baby was found wandering alone in the dark near an apartment complex. Freezing temperatures and the baby didn't have shoes or a jacket. A good Samaritan who saw the child called 911 and that's when police arrived. "I felt so bad for him when I arrived," police officer Jamie Landrum said. "It was cold outside and I had my jacket on and all of this gear on and I was still cold ... and he didn't have anything near to what I had on." After searching the apartment complex, police couldn't find the parents so they took the baby back to Cincinnati's police department district 3. Officer Landrum made a stop at the store to buy the baby necessities out of her own pocket. The mother showed up at the police station three hours later. Tanisha Caldwell was arrested charged with child endangering. After what began with a child lost, alone and scared ... a disturbing picture, but the one that came from the ordeal was just the opposite. More from AOL.com: The FBI's most violent cities in each state Dallas reports first case of sexual transmission of Zika virus There's been another subway slashing, this time in Brooklyn

The image of Cincinnati Police got a lift on Tuesday when a picture of an officer playing with a child hit social media.

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http://web.archive.org/web/20160610113203id_/http://www.people.com:80/article/zika-olympics-facts-concern

Zika and the 2016 Rio Olympics : People.com

Zika virus is spread by the bite of an infected Aedes mosquito 06/07/2016 AT 05:10 PM EDT that Rio de Janeiro is ready for the 2016 Olympics, global concern over the outbreak of the has spectators and athletes wondering whether the Games should be moved to a new location – or if they should even be held at all. Here is the latest on international reactions to Zika and precautions countries are taking to protect their athletes at the Games. The Australian Olympic team will be provided with "Zika-proof" condoms as a way to fight off the virus this summer. The Dual Protect VivaGel condoms are "the world's only antiviral condom," according to manufacturer Starpharma Holdings Ltd. "Given sexual transmission of Zika virus is of increasing importance, the potent activity of Starpharma's VivaGel against Zika could prove very significant," chief executive officer Dr. Jackie Fairley said in a press release. Australian Athletes Are Bringing Zika-Proof #Condoms to The #2016 #SummerOlympics https://t.co/oKRioptahR pic.twitter.com/60dQYChTMR South Korea is also taking measures to ensure their athletes don't contract the virus – with custom "anti-Zika" uniforms. Team members will wear tracksuits infused with insect repellant to keep mosquitos at bay. At the August 5 opening ceremony, they will sport long pants and blazers in order to protect their skin from bites. #SouthKorea has unveiled #Zika-proof uniforms and they are awesome! via @ABC https://t.co/t0zr3qf03Z pic.twitter.com/dzVI3uidZi Olympic anchors and Team USA hopefuls have varying reactions to the growing Zika threat in Brazil. , announced that she will not travel to Rio. "You’ll have to go to beach volleyball without me," she said. Cyclist was the first American athlete to withdraw his name from Olympic consideration. "She has a baby in her belly, I don't want to talk any chances," Garderen told of his pregnant wife. Chicago Bulls player Pau Gasol also expressed concern over Zika. "I'm thinking (about whether or not to go). Just like every athlete, or any other person considering going to Rio should be thinking about it," Gasol told the .@gabrielledoug on Zika: "I don’t care about no stupid bugs" #RoadToRio https://t.co/TVPqg4vdqg pic.twitter.com/xKpOvSsy4f , say they aren't letting the looming threat of the mosquito-borne illness stand in their way of Olympic gold. "It's the Olympics. Mosquitos? Like, whatever. I'm going. This is my shot. I don't care about no stupid bugs," she World Health Organization Director General Margaret Chan said the organization sent top scientists four times to examine the Zika situation in Brazil (and to determine whether the Games should be cancelled) in a letter released on June 3, according to AP. "Given the current level of international concern, I have decided to ask members of the Zika Emergency Committee to examine the risks of holding the Olympic Summer Games as currently scheduled," she wrote. Last month around 200 international scientific experts joined together to sign an open document requesting the Games be moved from Rio "in the name of public health." CDC director Dr. Tom Frieden has said there is "no public health reason" to cancel the Olympics though. "We're working closely with the ISOC and Brazilian health authorities, and will update our guidance if needed," Frieden said in response to the letter from officials, according to Olympic officials say 67 percent of tickets to the Games have been sold, which is significantly less than what was sold at this time in 2012. But organizers aren't too worried. "Here in Brazil we have the culture to buy the tickets vey close to the event. We've sold more than expected at this point. In Brazil, we're going to sell many more tickets a month ahead, or four or five days before the event," ticket director Donovan Ferretti told . There are around 2 million tickets still left – with six million having been sold already. USA Swimming moved their Olympic training camp from Puerto Rico to Atlanta in May over Zika concerns. National team director Frank Busch reportedly sent a letter to athletes and coaches explaining the reason for the move. "As part of our preparations for the Olympic Games this summer, we have been closely monitoring the current situation with the Zika virus," Busch wrote, according to the . The training camp, which takes place in late July, will now be held at Georgia Tech aquatic center. "The health and safety of our athletes is USA Swimming's primary priority and responsibility," USA swimming spokesman Scott Leightman said.

Growing concerns over Zika have officials debating whether or not to move the Olympic Games

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http://www.tmz.com/2009/08/24/victims-ex-im-happy-that-ryan-killed-himself

http://web.archive.org/web/20160610113949id_/http://www.tmz.com:80/2009/08/24/victims-ex-im-happy-that-ryan-killed-himself

Victim's Ex -- 'Happy' that Ryan Killed Himself

on the night before she was murdered -- went on the ' show this morning and said, , was on as well and talked about how his death helps bring some sense of closure. Jenkins was found yesterday evening in a Canadian motel -- he was hanging by his belt when motel workers found his body.

Robert Hasman -- the ex-boyfriend who Jasmine Fiore was texting on the night before she was murdered -- went on the 'Today' show this morning and said, "I…

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http://www.people.com/article/muhammad-ali-funeral-ticket-scalpers

http://web.archive.org/web/20160610155335id_/http://www.people.com/article/muhammad-ali-funeral-ticket-scalpers

Muhammad Ali Funeral Tickets Being Scalped on Craigslist : People.com

06/09/2016 AT 08:40 AM EDT 's family has blasted scalpers who are profiting off free tickets to the boxer's memorial service in his hometown of Louisville. Shortly after the family released 15,000 free tickets to the , they began springing up on Craigslist for up to $100 each. One post included a photo of five tickets to the memorial service. It read, "Ali tickets for trade of things valuable. What you got." Touts cash in on Muhammad Ali funeral by offering free tickets for sale https://t.co/a2W31Bxgk3 pic.twitter.com/qJvRz15YcW "It is deplorable that some people are trying to profit off of the solemn service as we celebrate the life of Muhammad Ali," Ali family spokesman Bob Gunnell told the Gunnell warned that officials were looking into the scalping, a crime punishable by a fine of up to $250 in Louisville. "I hope that those buying tickets or trying to buy tickets would stop those efforts by not purchasing," Gunnell continued. "Muhammad Ali wanted this to be a free event, an event that was open to all." Many of the Craigslist posts were flagged and removed from the site by Wednesday afternoon. By Thursday, several posts on Craigslist encouraged fans not to buy tickets to the services. "The family of Muhammad Ali would rather see those seats sit empty rather than know some black-hearted w---- profited from his death and disrespected his final wishes," last week after a 32-year battle with Parkinson's disease at the age of 74. Former President Bill Clinton, Billy Crystal and Bryant Gumbel are expected to give eulogies at the Friday services in Ali's hometown.

Scalpers are attempting to profit off the legendary athlete's death by selling tickets that were given out for free

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http://fortune.com/2016/06/07/british-remain-support-ahead-polls/

http://web.archive.org/web/20160610223135id_/http://fortune.com:80/2016/06/07/british-remain-support-ahead-polls/?

British Support for Remaining in the EU Is Narrowly Ahead

Britons narrowly favor remaining in the European Union according to two polls published in Tuesday’s newspapers, in contrast to surveys released on Monday which showed the campaign for Brexit ahead. Support for remaining in the EU had a one-point lead in both an online YouGov survey published for The Times newspaper and an ORB telephone poll of those definite to vote conducted for The Daily Telegraph. Britons will vote on June 23 on whether to remain part of the EU, a choice with far-reaching consequences for politics, the economy, defense and diplomacy but divergent polls have made it difficult to predict the outcome. The ‘Remain’ campaign rose by 2 percentage points to 43% in the YouGov survey, overtaking the ‘Leave’ side which fell to 42% in a poll of 2,001 adults conducted on June 5 and 6. In an ORB telephone poll released on Monday, support for remaining in the bloc fell but held a one-point lead over those wishing to leave the EU, smaller than the five-point difference in the pollster’s previous survey published on May 30. Telephone polls have generally shown “remain” ahead by a comfortable margin while online polls have pointed to a tighter race that “leave” could win making it difficult to predict the outcome of the referendum. Two online polls published on Monday by pollsters YouGov and ICM showed a swing towards “Out” as both campaigns seek to win over undecided voters with warnings over the economy and immigration. Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Lynton Crosby, the political strategist behind Prime Minister David Cameron’s election victory, said that ‘Remain’ had improved its overall performance according to ORB but when the findings were weighted according to the likelihood to vote, ‘Leave’ was catching up. “The clear trend over the course of ORB’s polls for the Daily Telegraph shows that Leave campaign has a turnout advantage over the Remain campaign,” he said.

In 2 polls published Tuesday.

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http://fortune.com/2016/06/06/power-sheet-june-6-2016/

http://web.archive.org/web/20160611021641id_/http://fortune.com:80/2016/06/06/power-sheet-june-6-2016/

Power Sheet - June 6, 2016

The Fortune 500 isn’t a group; it’s a place. Think of it as a 500-story office building with a company on each floor. The building is always full, but the tenants change from year to year. And since we assign companies to floors based on annual revenue, most of the companies that stay in the building have to move to new floors every year. With that image in mind, a look at the brand new Fortune 500 – published today! – reveals important trends in the U.S. economy. Our building’s tenants, America’s 500 largest companies by revenue, took in about a half-trillion dollars less revenue in 2015 than last year’s tenants did in 2014, and profits were less by about $100 billion, even though the U.S. and global economies were bigger. Total profits were 7% of sales, continuing a profit margin decline from the record 8.9% reached in 2013. And further declines seem likely. The 500’s profit margin has averaged 5.7% over the past 20 years, and I see no reason to expect a secular shift to higher margins. On the contrary, in an increasingly friction-free economy with information costs and transaction costs going to zero, maintaining margins may grow even more challenging. A related trend: Even though this year’s 500 are in the aggregate smaller and less profitable than last year’s, they’re employing about a million more people. A welcome sign of job growth? Yes, maybe, and no. Yes, because more people working is generally a good thing. Maybe, because we don’t know where those people are; companies report employment worldwide, so the net additions could be anywhere. No, because less revenue and more workers means lower productivity, which is not a scenario for higher pay; the 500’s revenue per employee was $430,000, the lowest since 2011. Looking more closely at the individual tenants of the 500 building brings a useful reminder of how company fortunes wax and wane and wax again. A truly fascinating graphic shows how energy companies were the No. 1 contributor to the 500’s profits just four years ago, but now they’re in last place, at No. 21, after reporting combined losses of $44 billion. By contrast, financial companies were near the bottom (No. 17) in 2009, but this year they’re No. 1, and three of the four most profitable companies in the 500 are financial firms – J.P. Morgan Chase, Berkshire Hathaway, and Wells Fargo. But none of those three is the most profitable of them all. The winner by a mile is Apple, which earned a staggering $53.4 billion last year, the largest profit of any company ever. The second-biggest earner, J.P. Morgan Chase, earned less than half that much, $24.4 billion. Recalling the waxing-and-waning notion, what’s ahead? In April, Apple reported its first year-over-year revenue decline since 2003. Apple, like the energy business and the financial industry and the 500 as a whole, may well continue its long-term upward trajectory. But as all of them have shown and will certainly show again, that road is never smooth. You can share Power Sheet with friends and followers here.

Power Sheet - June 6, 2016

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http://fortune.com/2016/06/08/leadership-unpopular-decisions/

http://web.archive.org/web/20160611123314id_/http://fortune.com:80/2016/06/08/leadership-unpopular-decisions/?

Here's the Right Way to Make Unpopular Decisions

When Air France’s leaders last fall announced a plan to cut 2,900 jobs, 3% of the total, they knew the move would be unpopular. But maybe they misjudged how unpopular. Later that day dozens of workers stormed a company conference room and ripped the shirts off top executives, some of whom desperately clambered bare-chested over a chain-link fence to escape the mob. Contrast that disaster with events at Twitter twtr at that same time. Newly installed CEO Jack Dorsey, a founder, said he would have to cut 335 jobs, 8% of the total. He also announced he was giving one-third of his own Twitter stock, worth $200 million, to the employee equity pool. No riots ensued, and the cuts became yesterday’s news. The art of doing the unpopular lies in striking a balance, and mastering that art may become a necessity for more business leaders this year. Ominously, U.S. companies have cut more jobs so far in 2016 than at the same point in any year since 2009, says outplacement firm Challenger Gray & Christmas, and as markets stagnate, investors are getting impatient for more profits. Massively unpopular decisions can paralyze a business, yet fear of displeasing constituents must never get in the way of doing what must be done. The most successful leaders solve the conundrum in three ways. When Dropbox CEO Drew Houston canceled or reduced several employee perks earlier this year, he salved the wound by admitting management’s failings, such as commissioning an expensive statue of the company’s symbol, a panda. He also asked employees to “spot other ways for Dropbox to save” and share them with management. Jack Welch was deeply unpopular in his early years as General Electric’s ge CEO in the 1980s, when he cut more than 100,000 jobs. Yet he embraced employees through his celebrated Workout sessions, where staff presented ideas for eliminating pointless tasks. Whole Foods wfm co-founder and co-CEO John Mackey pays himself $1 a year, so his prosperity rises and falls with the company’s stock. When poor performance forces him to make unpopular decisions, employees and investors know he’s suffering too. For more on leadership, watch this Fortune video: 3. Remember that people want to be led. Even when followers are unhappy, they’re willing to tolerate unpopular decisions that are part of a strong, clear plan that they understand. Lou ­Gerstner, the outsider CEO who rescued IBM ibm in the 1990s, needed years to win over employees and some investors. But they gave him a chance because they realized that only bold action could restore the company to greatness. The good news is that poor decisions can often be fixed. Air France’s leaders realized they had tipped the unpopularity balance too far and reduced the planned cuts by two-thirds. The stock is since up 16%. Check out the new Fortune 500 at fortune.com/fortune500 for company profiles, financial data, stock quotes, CEO videos, interactive graphics, breaking news, and more. A version of this article appears in the June 15, 2016 issue of Fortune with the headline “The Art of Doing the Unpopular.”

How to keep your team on your side, even in difficult times.

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http://fortune.com/2015/07/22/starbucks-lyft-partner-coffee/

http://web.archive.org/web/20160611231714id_/http://fortune.com:80/2015/07/22/starbucks-lyft-partner-coffee/

Starbucks and Lyft partner to give rewards to drivers and riders

Car rides and coffee go together like… ride-hailing company Lyft and coffee empire Starbucks. The two companies on Wednesday announced a partnership that lets Lyft drivers and passengers earn My Starbucks Rewards loyalty points that can be redeemed for food and drinks at Starbucks stores. Lyft drivers will also be able to sign up as gold status members in the program. The partnership pairs Starbuck SBUX , the 44-year-old coffee chain that dominates its industry, with a tech upstart that is a distant second in its field. Lyft, founded three years ago, is battling rival Uber. With this partnership, Lyft is trying to differentiate itself and help build loyalty. Retaining drivers is a critical front in the riding hailing wars. Both Lyft and Uber have used aggressive tactics to poach each other’s drivers through big cash rewards. Simple things like letting passengers tip their drivers through the app with Starbucks “stars,” or points, can help drivers feel more appreciated by Lyft. With that said, Uber has forged several of its own partnerships including one that lets Capital One credit card holders get $25 in free ice cream delivered to their doorstep this week. Another with Spotify lets passengers in certain cars play disc jokey on the car stereo from their smartphones. As part of the partnership with Lyft, Starbucks said it will also “explore” ways to provide transportation for Starbucks employees to and from work in one test market, although it didn’t provide additional details. Lyft has already entered the work transportation market, however, with the launch last year of a program for employers to provide credits to their employees for work-related rides.

The more Lyft passengers ride, the more Starbucks points they earn.

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http://fortune.com/2015/08/18/siri-911-saved-life/

http://web.archive.org/web/20160611231740id_/http://fortune.com:80/2015/08/18/siri-911-saved-life/

iPhone's Siri Called 911 and Saved This Man's Life

Sam Ray, an 18-year-old from Tennessee, told NBC that he is “thankful to be alive” after Siri saved his life by calling 911. While trying to make repairs underneath his truck, a jack collapsed, causing Ray to be crushed by the vehicle. He was home alone and in an area in which he likely wouldn’t have been seen or heard by anyone until it was too late. But luckily, as the pressure from the 5,000 pounds crushed him, Siri activated on his iPhone, and he was able to command it to call 911. Christina Lee, the Rutherford County dispatcher Ray was connected to, told NBC that Ray was yelling out his address, which was the “best thing he could have done” because the cellphone signal can only lead dispatchers to a general location. Ray incurred fairly severe injuries including broken ribs, a bruised kidney, cuts, a concussion, and several burns. Chief of trauma and surgical care at Vanderbilt University, Rick Miller, said that Ray was lucky and injuries like his could sometimes be fatal.

Sam Ray was being crushed by his truck when Siri came to the rescue.

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http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Dramatic-swing-in-Bay-Area-temperatures-on-the-way-7632184.php

http://web.archive.org/web/20160611232154id_/http://www.sfgate.com:80/bayarea/article/Dramatic-swing-in-Bay-Area-temperatures-on-the-way-7632184.php

Dramatic swing in Bay Area temperatures on the way

Photo: Liz Hafalia, The Chronicle Warm weather is on the horizon yet again Wednesday throughout the Bay Area, but temperatures are expected to plunge leading into the weekend, according to forecasters. Warm weather is on the horizon yet again Wednesday throughout the Bay Area, but temperatures are expected to plunge leading into the weekend, according to forecasters. In this file photo, a woman jogs around Lake Merritt in Oakland. In this file photo, a woman jogs around Lake Merritt in Oakland. In this file photo, hundreds of people flocked to Dolores Park in San Francisco. In this file photo, hundreds of people flocked to Dolores Park in San Francisco. A woman cooled her toes in a fountain in front of the California Academy of Sciences Tuesday May 13, 2014 in San Francisco, Calif. Hot weather returned to the Bay Area and visitors to Golden Gate park did their best to stay cool. A woman cooled her toes in a fountain in front of the California Academy of Sciences Tuesday May 13, 2014 in San Francisco, Calif. Hot weather returned to the Bay Area and visitors to Golden Gate park did their hotweather008_mac.jpg sTeve Spague of San Francisco, enjoys the fantastic weather today playing guitar and soaking up the sunshine at Yerba Buena Gardens. Record breaking hot weather continues throughout the Bay Area. event on 3/16/04 in San Francisco Michael Macor / San Francisco Chronicle hotweather008_mac.jpg sTeve Spague of San Francisco, enjoys the fantastic weather today playing guitar and soaking up the sunshine at Yerba Buena Gardens. Record breaking hot weather continues throughout the Dramatic swing in Bay Area temperatures on the way Warm weather in the Bay Area should continue throughout Wednesday before a cooling trend sends temperatures plunging 10 to 20 degrees throughout the region later this week, forecasters said Wednesday. On Wednesday, hot weather seen earlier this week will continue with temperatures approaching 90 degrees in parts of the North Bay and inland East Bay, said Suzanne Sims, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Monterey. In San Francisco, temperatures are predicted to hover around 70 degrees on Wednesday. By Friday and into the weekend, however, conditions will significantly cool down with temperatures dipping throughout the Bay Area. Rain could also be on the horizon in the North Bay as there’s a chance of precipitation throughout the weekend, Sims said. Hamed Aleaziz is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: [email protected] Twitter: haleaziz

Warm weather in the Bay Area should continue throughout Wednesday before a cooling trend sends temperatures plunging 10 to 20 degrees throughout the region later this week, forecasters said Wednesday. On Wednesday, hot weather seen earlier this week will continue with temperatures approaching 90 degrees in parts of the North Bay and inland East Bay, said Suzanne Sims, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Monterey. Hamed Aleaziz is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer.

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http://fortune.com/2015/07/02/intel-renee-james/

http://web.archive.org/web/20160612010936id_/http://fortune.com:80/2015/07/02/intel-renee-james/

Intel president Renee James leaves to take CEO job elsewhere

Renee James, is ceding her title as president of Intel to pursue a CEO job somewhere else. This is interesting given James’ long tenure at the chip giant and the fact that she’s spearheading an effort to bring more women into engineering and tech roles at the company. James joined Intel in 1987 as a product manager for the cash-cow 386 chip line and worked her way up the ladder to executive vice president of software and services before being named president in May, 2013 the same day Intel INTC installed Brian Krzanich, another company long-timer, as CEO, replacing Paul Otellini. She will stay at Intel through January, the company said in a statement. James and Krzanich thus became Intel’s “two-in-a-box” leadership team. At the time of their appointments she told Oregon Live: “I work for Brian but the rest of the company works for Brian and I. We put the strategy together as a team.” James, who served for four years as technical assistant to Intel’s famed CEO Andy Grove, had been considered by some to be a contender to take the CEO slot at that time, although most of her experience at Intel to that point had been in software. When the CEO transition came, James did not yet have the requisite hardware experience to run Intel, according to Patrick Moorhead, president and principal analyst at research firm Moor Insights & Strategy. “Software is important but if you don’t have hardware or fab experience, it’s tough. When the company’s single largest expense—in multiple billions of dollars—is in fab, you need to know about developing and selling hardware and you need some time in the seat for a while. And I think Intel was giving her that.” Intel itself is navigating a tricky transition. It recently announced plans for layoffs, amid weaker PC sales projections for the coming year as consumers increasingly turn to mobile gadgets as their primary devices. Intel has also failed to build a compelling chip for the upcoming wave of battery-powered connected devices that are proliferating in the so-called Internet of things. This leaves Intel focused on buying startups such as Basis or Recon as part of its wearables strategy, and it doubling down on the data center market where the information from these connected devices will be hosted. Intel is pushing hard to embed its newest chips in the massive data centers running the world’s cloud operations. Last year, it announced a chip designed to run Amazon Web Services computing instances, for example. It also agreed to purchase Altera, a custom-chip maker, for $16.7 billion last month. Moorhead thinks that James already has an outside CEO job locked up, to be announced later. One thing is certain, people will be watching where James, who ranked 21st on Fortune’s Most Powerful Women in Business list last year, ends up. Stacey Higginbotham contributed to this story.

Many thought Renee James would be Intel's next CEO. Such will not be the case, as she leaves the chip giant for the top job somewhere else.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/07/nyregion/07blaine.html

http://web.archive.org/web/20160612214619id_/http://www.nytimes.com:80/2006/05/07/nyregion/07blaine.html

Water, Water for a Week, Nor Anything to Eat

It is as if someone packed up the Coney Island of a century ago and sent it on a time-traveling subway up to Lincoln Center. For there, now, is David Blaine, the modern-day Houdini whose latest feat involves living for seven days in an eight-foot sphere of water in the reflected majesty of the Metropolitan Opera house and the site's other august performance halls. Michael Nagle for The New York Times David Blaine is surfacing tomorrow and then plunging back into a sphere filled with water in an attempt to beat a record for holding one's breath underwater. Mr. Blaine, whose previous stunts include encasing himself in a block of ice for 62 hours, standing atop an 80-foot pole for 35 hours and burying himself in a plexiglass coffin for seven days without food or water, seems to love nothing more than making a spectacle of himself. Since about 1 p.m. on Monday, he has been living underwater and breathing through an air tube, taking in only Gatorade and other liquid nutrients. Already pruny but otherwise in decent health, Mr. Blaine is scheduled to stay in his aquarium until about 9:30 p.m. on Monday, when he will be taken from the water, locked in chains and placed back in the tank. Then he will simultaneously try to escape from the chains and break the world record for holding one's breath, currently 8 minutes and 58 seconds. All of it, on live television, as part of a two-hour ABC special. If the performance seems a bit out of character for the environs of Plácido Domingo, Yo-Yo Ma and Suzanne Farrell, Mr. Blaine's feat could also be said to explore the boundaries of art and commerce, encompassing the culture's obsession with reality television while experimenting with the limits of human achievement. For a society growing tired of celebrities eating bugs and aspiring actors playing mind games with one another on a deserted island, Mr. Blaine's placidly floating figure elevates spectacle to a sort of performance art. "No one would analogize what David Blaine does to what occurs on our stages," said Reynold Levy, the president of Lincoln Center. "But the emotions he evokes, the feelings he has engendered, are universal. He is doing to New Yorkers what almost no one can. He's stopping them in their tracks. I look at their faces, and I see complete wonder and bewilderment." Ann Sheridan, a Manhattan resident who took in Mr. Blaine's watery world about 10 p.m. on Thursday with several friends, drew comparisons to the public art project by Christo and Jeanne-Claude that swaddled Central Park in sheets of saffron last year. "It's like 'The Gates,' " she said. "Nobody understood what 'The Gates' meant, but everybody went and saw them." That is what New Yorkers and others are doing, and in droves. Each of the past few nights, thousands of people have stood and gawked, many lining up to walk past the elevated sphere on one of two viewing ramps. There they snap pictures with cellphones, wave to Mr. Blaine and touch the glass, usually evoking similar responses from Mr. Blaine's bubbling, ghostly presence. Some of the witnesses are nonplussed. "I don't understand what it's all about," said Irwin Hersh, 83, who came from North Woodmere, N.Y., on Thursday to take in the New York City Ballet with his wife, Norma, and who could not resist standing in line for a close-up view. (Mrs. Hersh declined, explaining, "I don't like to stare at other people.") Mr. Hersh concluded: "I don't know if it's art. The fact that someone is doing this is strange. It seems to make everybody feel good. But why is this being sanctioned by Lincoln Center?" Mr. Levy explained that space was rented on Josie Robertson Plaza to Mr. Blaine's production company to draw attention to Lincoln Center, whose outdoor space is frequently used for festivals, dances and other activities at the same time that performances are scheduled for indoor halls. The event is being staged by Mr. Blaine's production company, which will produce a DVD of the stunt and sold ABC a license to broadcast it. This will be the fifth such special featuring Mr. Blaine's stunts that ABC has televised since May 1997. "These specials always rate well for us," said Andrea Wong, an executive vice president for alternative programming, specials and late night at ABC. The most popular, the "Frozen in Time" ice stunt in November 2000, drew an audience of 15.9 million viewers. The most recent, "David Blaine: Vertigo," drew a smaller audience, 8.9 million viewers, in May 2002. Both shows drew well among young male viewers, an elusive and valued part of the television audience. How much Mr. Blaine makes for his stunts is unclear, and his handlers would not discuss it. But one media buyer said ABC was asking $120,000 for a 30-second commercial during the special, a respectable figure for nonregular programming on a Monday night. Assuming about 15 minutes of commercials per hour, that would generate revenues of more than $7 million. People involved in the production said the special was costing more than $1 million to produce. Given that ABC has come back to Mr. Blaine for the fifth time, it is probably safe to assume that his shows make some money. In April Mr. Blaine bought a $1.67 million apartment in TriBeCa.

David Blaine, the modern-day Houdini, seems to love nothing more than making a spectacle of himself.

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http://fortune.com/2016/06/07/raceahead-june-7-2016/

http://web.archive.org/web/20160613013707id_/http://fortune.com:80/2016/06/07/raceahead-june-7-2016/

raceAhead: June 7, 2016

Summer time is no picnic for low income kids of color in the U.S. There are 50 million public school students in America and, on average, they lose between one and three months of learning every summer. Educators and social scientists call it the “the summer slide.” The inefficiencies are startling. “We invest $10-12,000 per child during the school year, then walk away for two to three months,” says Matthew Boulay author and founder of the National Summer Learning Association. The loss to taxpayers is upwards of $60 billion. “We let 20% of their academic growth be lost over the summer. And we do that summer after summer.” But the price is particularly steep for kids in poorer neighborhoods, whose parents and caretakers often work long hours and can’t afford a summer program. This leaves these children permanently behind. “When you start with an expectation that a child is not going to be able to perform, you respond to the child with disproportionate punishment,” says Jim Shelton, the former Deputy Secretary of Education who now leads the education efforts for Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan’s philanthropy and investments. Once they fall behind, they tend to get shunted into remedial classes or drift away. Unsupervised time in the summer leads to a host of obvious problems, but one is particularly tragic: Kids are going hungry. Some one in six kids typically qualify for free or reduced lunch programs, says Boulay. They often can’t find or don’t have access to a similar program in the summer. What’s really troubling, says Richard Berlin, is that no public policy has emerged to deal with this problem. Berlin runs a successful summer and year-round program called Harlem RBI that serves 1,700 kids a year. “The private sector has really led here, both private foundations and corporate America,” he says, investing in and influencing smart, local programs and encouraging employees to volunteer their time. Summer programs tend to be less structured, less formal, more fun, and ripe for innovation. “They’re more experiential,” he says, with an emphasis on soft skills and exposure to the larger world. And older kids can come back and work as counselors, all the way through college. “Youth unemployment is also an issue in this community.” After all, it was a beautiful summer day in Ferguson when an underemployed Michael Brown was shot, just days away from attending community college. But putting the moral issues aside, Berlin says, “If you want to create the next generation workforce, you can’t leave 15% to 20% of their year uncovered.” It’s a problem that’s ripe for smart corporate thinking. Umpqua Bank, the largest community bank on the West Coast, has made stopping the summer slide the centerpiece of its employee voluntarism efforts, allowing employees to direct grants to innovative programs and giving up to 40 hours off to spend time with kids doing cool stuff. “Similar programs nationally [have] average participation of approximately 30%,” Umpqua’s Eve Callahan told me by email. “At Umpqua, our average associate participation each year is 70%.”

raceAhead: June 7, 2016

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http://time.com/2946226/heres-the-schedule-very-successful-people-follow-every-day/

http://web.archive.org/web/20160613044537id_/http://time.com:80/2946226/heres-the-schedule-very-successful-people-follow-every-day/?

Here’s the Schedule Very Successful People Follow Every Day

All too often, productivity tips are a dime a dozen. Some even conflict with each other. What we need is a system. What schedule do the pros use? What system does science say allows us to be most productive? What’s key is feeling in control and making sure your energy levels are matched to the importance of the task at hand. Let’s assemble the expert ideas and research we’ve covered into a more cohesive schedule you can apply to your day. How do you do that? You may want to get your calendar out. We’ve got some changes to make. Laura Vanderkam studied the schedules of high-achievers. What did she find? They rise early. Almost all have a morning ritual. You need to wake up before the insanity starts. Before demands are made on you. Before your goals for the day have competition. If you want to achieve work-life balance you need to determine what is important and focus on that. (And research shows goals make you happier.) Having concrete goals was correlated with huge increases in confidence and feelings of control. Via The 100 Simple Secrets of Successful People: People who construct their goals in concrete terms are 50 percent more likely to feel confident they will attain their goals and 32 percent more likely to feel in control of their lives. – Howatt 1999 As I’ve discussed before, the second part of your morning ritual is about mood. That feeling of control is what produces grit and makes people persist. Via The 100 Simple Secrets of Successful People: Research comparing students of similar ability finds that the distinguishing feature between those who maintain a strong work ethic in their studies and those who give up is a sense of control. Those who express a sense of control receive scores that are a full letter grade higher than those who do not. – Mendoza 1999 (For more on morning rituals, click here.) You’ve got your goal and you’re in control. Cool. But what about when you get to work? I recommend you find somewhere to hide. Here’s why… Many people arrive at the office and immediately get busy with email and meetings, leaving real work for later in the day… Rookie error. Research shows that 2.5 to 4 hours after waking is when your brain is sharpest. You want to waste that on a conference call or a staff meeting? Studies show that alertness and memory, the ability to think clearly and to learn, can vary by between 15 and 30 percent over the course of a day. Most of us are sharpest some two and a half to four hours after waking. When I interviewed willpower expert Roy Baumeister, what did he have to say?Early morning is also when you’re most disciplined: The longer people have been awake, the more self-control problems happen. Most things go bad in the evening. Diets are broken at the evening snack, not at breakfast or in the middle of the morning. Impulsive crimes are mostly committed after midnight. But does this really work? In studies of geniuses, most did their best work early in the day. “But why did you say I need to hide somewhere?” Because distractions make you stupid. These days it’s hard to do much real work at work. Jason Fried explains the modern workplace is an endless stream of interruptions. (Short on time? Watch the first 5 minutes): Can’t do the work of your choice when the day starts? Get in early or work from home before you head into the office. (For more on using your peak hours right, click here.) So you’re making progress on the thing that matters. But you can’t sprint for miles. What do you do when your brain gets tired? Afternoon brain fog. We’ve all felt it. Why does this happen? Working too hard? Food coma? Often it’s just our natural circadian rhythm: First, take a break. Get a snack or a power nap if you can. What you need next is a mini-version of your morning ritual. Review your goals and the progress you’ve made this morning. Harvard research shows nothing is more motivating than progress. Appreciating how far they’ve come is what very persistent people do. Via The 100 Simple Secrets of Successful People: Comparing people who tend to give up easily with people who tend to carry on, even through difficult challenges, researchers find that persistent people spend twice as much time thinking, not about what has to be done, but about what they have already accomplished, the fact that the task is doable, and that they are capable of it. – Sparrow 1998 (For more on fighting procrastination, click here.) You got a break, reviewed your goals and achievements, and now you’re ready to work again. What do you focus on now? When energy is high, that’s when you want to focus on creative, challenging work. When energy is low, do busy work. Scott Adams, creator of “Dilbert“, makes comics in the morning. By the afternoon, his brain is fuzzy and he shifts his objectives. Via How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: One of the most important tricks for maximizing your productivity involves matching your mental state to the task… At 6:00 A.M. I’m a creator, and by 2:00 P.M. I’m a copier… It’s the perfect match of my energy level with a mindless task. And research shows the afternoon really is the best time for meetings —specifically, 3PM. Need to power through some busy work but you can’t muster the willpower? This is when distraction can benefit you. When tasks are dull and you’re feeling distractable, friends can make you more productive — even if they’re not helping. Via Friendfluence: The Surprising Ways Friends Make Us Who We Are: Just having friends nearby can push you toward productivity. “There’s a concept in ADHD treatment called the ‘body double,’ ” says David Nowell, Ph.D., a clinical neuropsychologist from Worcester, Massachusetts. “Distractable people get more done when there is someone else there, even if he isn’t coaching or assisting them.” If you’re facing a task that is dull or difficult, such as cleaning out your closets or pulling together your receipts for tax time, get a friend to be your body double. (For more on how to work smarter, not harder, click here.) So the work day is over. Is that it? Nope. There’s an optimal way to handle your schedule after the sun goes down too. Though successful people do work long hours, the greats almost all take the evening off to recharge. Before dinner, Tim Ferriss recommends writing down your big goal for tomorrow. This will get your mind off work and allow you to relax. What does research say can help you chill out? Hint: don’t trust your instincts. The things we frequently choose to reduce stress are often the least effective. What does work? Seeing friends and active hobbies. What doesn’t? More passive activities like TV, video games and eating. Via The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do To Get More of It: According to the American Psychological Association, the most effective stress-relief strategies are exercising or playing sports, praying or attending a religious service, reading, listening to music, spending time with friends or family, getting a massage, going outside for a walk, meditating or doing yoga, and spending time with a creative hobby. (The least effective strategies are gambling, shopping, smoking, drinking, eating, playing video games, surfing the Internet, and watching TV or movies for more than two hours.) Past that, get to bed. Studies of world class performers show they have boundless energy, so get those zzz’s to be one of them. No, you can’t cheat yourself on sleep and not see negative effects. What does brain research tell us about cutting corners at bedtime? You’re basically making yourself stupid: The bottom line is that sleep loss means mind loss. Sleep loss cripples thinking, in just about every way you can measure thinking. Sleep loss hurts attention, executive function, immediate memory, working memory, mood, quantitative skills, logical reasoning ability, general math knowledge. (For how to make your weekends awesome, click here.) So how do we bring this all together to be more successful? Here’s what a successful schedule looks like: Sadly, we can’t all dictate our own schedule. That’s why there are no specific times listed above. But we can all opt to do some things before or after others. Stop focusing on just getting lots of random things done to pretend you’re making progress. All moments in your day are not equal, and all tasks are not of equal importance. Knowing the best time to get the right things done is key. What will this schedule do for you? Well, when the day ends you’restill going to find that you didn’t get everything done. But that won’t bother you much because you did the things that mattered, and did them well. (If you want a nice PDF of this schedule, join my weekly update here. I’ll be sending one out with next week’s update.) Join 45K+ readers. Get a free weekly update via email here. 6 Things The Most Productive People Do Every Day How To Achieve Work-Life Balance In 5 Steps 8 Things The World’s Most Successful People All Have In Common This piece originally appeared on Barking Up the Wrong Tree. Read next: How You Can Function on Less Than 6 Hours of Sleep Listen to the most important stories of the day.

What schedule do the pros use?

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http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/oct/06/import-of-new-fast-and-furious-shotgun-sidesteps-year-long-federal-ban

http://web.archive.org/web/20160613075620id_/http://www.theguardian.com:80/australia-news/2015/oct/06/import-of-new-fast-and-furious-shotgun-sidesteps-year-long-federal-ban

Import of new 'fast and furious' Adler 110 shotgun sidesteps year-long federal ban

A new version of a controversial “fast and furious” shotgun is being imported into Australia, sidestepping a year-long federal ban imposed while governments considered claims the gun-type seriously undermines post-Port Arthur gun control laws. The Turnbull government now says the ban only applied to guns that could rapid-fire more than five rounds. The new version of the banned gun fires five. Australia’s gun laws have been praised internationally – most recently by the US president, Barack Obama, after the latest mass shooting in Oregon – but the domestic gun-control lobby is warning they are being eroded by technical advances in weaponry and by state government concessions. One big technical advance has been in “lever action” shotguns, which the gun control lobby says are now very similar to rapid-fire pump action shotguns. Related: John Howard says erosion of Australia's gun safety laws would be 'huge mistake' In July – as orders for a new Adler 110 lever action shotgun were pouring into a Brisbane gun retailer – the former prime minister Tony Abbott said imports of the weapon would be banned for at least six months. A month later, after an angry backlash from gun owners and some self-confessed “blackmail” in the Senate by David Leyonhjelm – who bargained with his vote on unrelated asylum-seeker legislation – the Coalition said the import ban would be lifted after 12 months. At the time the Adler lever action shotgun being imported was capable of firing seven shots in rapid succession, something Gun Control Australia says gave it similar fire power to pump action shotguns, and would have been available in most states under the most common and least restrictive gun licence. The National Firearms Agreement clinched in the wake of the Port Arthur massacre restricted shotguns to a small group of shooters, primarily farmers. But last month the same Brisbane retailer began offering a slightly modified version – one that fires five 12-gauge cartridges, rather than seven. A spokeswoman for the justice minister, Michael Keenan, confirmed the new gun was not covered by the ban, which she said applied only to shotguns with a magazine capacity of more than five rounds. Lever action shotguns have never been previously categorised by the number of shots they can fire but the spokeswoman said “lever action shotguns with a magazine capacity of five rounds or less are category A” which means they are generally available to Australia’s 700,000 licensed recreational shooters. Related: After 20 years, Australia's gun control debate is igniting once again According to Gun Control Australia’s vice-president, Roland Browne, making the Adler available as a “category A” firearm “would ... completely undermine the national firearms agreement. It puts rapid-fire shotguns in the hands of the general community, which is exactly what the agreement was designed to avoid”. And the GCA president, Sam Lee, said whether the gun could fire five or seven cartridges made no difference because it was “the new lever action technology that causes alarm”. The 12-month ban was intended to allow time for the review by state and federal governments into whether lever action shotguns should only be available under the highly restrictive C and D gun ownership categories. In its submission to the review of the National Firearms Agreement, set up after the Sydney siege last year, GCA argues that if the Adler is imported as a category A firearm, available to everyone with a gun licence, “it will have a devastating impact on Australia’s strong gun laws and pull Australia back to the pre-Port Arthur days”. It cites gun enthusiasts themselves as saying the Adler is a “game-changer” and it “comes as close as possible to being a pump action shotgun without being a pump action”. But in its preliminary submission to the review, the Sporting Shooters Association said it was incorrect to claim a lever action shotgun was “verging” on being a pump action gun. “A firearm cannot ‘verge’ on being a particular type of firearm; it either is, or it is not. Its mechanism defines the firearm; it cannot ‘sort of’ be like another,” the submission says. It also rejects the conclusion that the post-Port Arthur gun laws have lowered Australia’s levels of gun crime. “It is clear that public safety is almost always threatened by the unlicensed person with the unregistered firearm in the rare case where firearms are involved,” it says, and claims the national firearms agreement “has also been found to have no large effects on reducing firearm homicide or suicide rates”. Related: Spare me this sanctimonious Australian self-congratulation after US gun massacres | Jason Wilson The National party is also deeply concerned about any new gun ownership restrictions and the review poses an early test of the new prime minister Malcolm Turnbull’s relationship with his Coalition partners. Commonwealth and state ministers and attorney generals will consider the review’s findings in November and make recommendations to the prime minister and premiers before a council of Australian governments meeting early next year.

Government now says ban only applied to guns that could rapid-fire more than five rounds, and modified version of Adler 110 lever-action shotgun fires five

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http://www.aol.com/article/2014/06/09/rare-mono-mono-twins-to-celebrate-fathers-day-at-home/20908923/

http://web.archive.org/web/20160613113458id_/http://www.aol.com:80/article/2014/06/09/rare-mono-mono-twins-to-celebrate-fathers-day-at-home/20908923/

Rare 'Mono Mono' Twins To Celebrate Father's Day At Home

Rare 'Mono Mono' Twins To Celebrate Father's Day At Home CINCINNATI (AP) -- A set of rare "mono mono" twins photographed holding hands moments after they were born are home in time for Father's Day. Jenna and Jillian Thistlethwaite were born at 33 weeks on May 9 sharing an amniotic sac and placenta at Akron General Medical Center in Ohio. Jenna was born at 4 pounds, 2 ounces, with Jillian following less than a minute later at 3 pounds, 13 ounces. A photo showing the twins holding hands moments after they were born went viral. The twins spent nearly a month in the hospital's neonatal intensive care unit gaining weight and getting stronger. At nearly 6 pounds now, they were cleared to be released from the hospital on Saturday and went home with their parents and their big brother, 15-month-old Jaxon. Their parents, Sarah and Bill Thistlethwaite, had been splitting their time at home with Jaxon and at the hospital 40 minutes away with the twins. "It's just nice to have everyone under the same roof," Sarah Thistlethwaite told The Associated Press. "It was really stressful - you want to pay attention to the little one at home and you just gave birth to two little babies. It was a pull and a tear as to where to go." The twins' rare birth condition is called monoamnioitic, or "mono mono." Doctors say they occur in about one of every 10,000 pregnancies. Thistlethwaite, a 32-year-old eighth-grade teacher, said she's already noticed a unique bond between the twins. "When I try to feed them on the feeding pillow, they gradually migrate toward each other," she said. "And when I lay them on the floor, they scoot toward each other. It's pretty cool to see them doing." She said her mother, grandparents and her husband's grandparents all came to their house Saturday night to welcome the little ones. The family spent Sunday trying to relax and enjoy each other. "We were so excited and kept thanking God we made it to that point," she said. "Having them here is amazing, but having them here so healthy when they were premature, it's absolutely phenomenal." Thistlethwaite said she's grateful that her and her husband's biggest worry now is telling the twins apart. She plans to solve that problem with pink nail polish for one and purple for the other. A second pair of mono mono twins born at Akron General the week after Jenna and Jillian, both girls, are still at the hospital and doing well, hospital spokeswoman Amy Kilgore said. "All four girls are progressing as hoped, if not even better than hoped," she said.

%Slideshow-192903% CINCINNATI (AP) -- A set of rare "mono mono" twins photographed holding hands moments after they were born are home in time for Father's Day. Jenna and Jillian Thi

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http://fortune.com/2016/04/05/terrabrands-algae/

http://web.archive.org/web/20160613134813id_/http://fortune.com:80/2016/04/05/terrabrands-algae/

TerraBrands Brings Algae-Based Health Food to the Forefront

TerraVia and VMG Partners are coming together in a new venture they’re calling TerraBrands. The two entities are working to bring algae to the mainstream market in food, pet, and wellness products. They plan to invest in and acquire already established, lower middle-market companies that they can build on using TerraVia’s suite of algae-based ingredients and VMG’s capital and experience with consumer brands. TerraVia has also brought founder and former CEO of Popchips, Keith Belling, on board to leverage his brand-building expertise. The partnership between TerraVia and VMG is fitting considering the latter’s company portfolio, which includes other health-focused brands like Justin’s, which is known for its nut butters, and Health Warrior, the creator of the Chia Bar. “We, in our business and our portfolio companies, are spending a tremendous amount of time thinking about how to bring better, more nutritionally available ingredients to food products,” Kara Cissell-Roell, managing director of VMG partners, told Fortune. “Algae is one of those ‘mothers of all nutrition.'” This can almost be taken in a literal sense as many plants derive from algae, and it has a nutrition profile superior to a lot of other so-called “superfoods” on the market. It supposedly has more omegas than chia, more protein than spinach, more fiber than kale, and less saturated fat than olive oil. TerraVia recently changed its name from Solazyme szym , a company that was known for making biofuels using algae oil. With petroleum-based oils priced low these days, the company could no longer compete in that arena. Its stock reached a high of around $27 in 2011, and has since fallen dramatically by about $25. With what Cissell-Roell says is a “massive opportunity” in the plant-based protein market, TerraBrands is likely a shot at turning that around. Though the company has been focused on biofuels since its inception 13 years ago, Belling says that it began to realize the potential in the food sector in the last 8 or 10 years. In the past nine months, before making the official change from Solazyme to TerraVia, it saw a handful of early adopters incorporate some of its algae products into their foods, including Enjoy Life brownie mix and Califia Farms coffee creamers. The company changed its name to TerraVia to better fit its new focus. “Terra” means earth and “Via” means path or journey. Together, as Belling explains, they refer to “a path to a healthier food system that’s better for people and better for the planet.” As has been previously reported by Fortune, it will be interesting to see whether or not consumers will be open to the idea of eating algae. When people hear algae they think of pond scum, but at least it isn’t the strangest food product to hit the market. According to Cissell-Roell, TerraVia’s algae products—which include various oils and powders—have a neutral taste profile and a palatable base, making it the perfect ingredient to replicate certain foods. She claims that they “taste and feel and act like incredibly close replicas” so much so that you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. TerraVia’s products are made in fermentation tanks, which Belling said is comparable to the way beer is brewed. However, Cissell-Roell stressed that the algae’s molecular composition is never altered and the result isn’t some kind of “frankenfood”—a likely dig at soy, which happens to be genetically modified. The plant-based trend is “not just a trend, it’s a reality right now, and it’s continuing to accelerate,” according to Belling. There are a growing number of products and brands turning to algae as an alternative ingredient, and TerraVia is coming in at the forefront of that movement.

Using a surprising ingredient.

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http://fortune.com/2016/05/02/gold-price-high/

http://web.archive.org/web/20160613135652id_/http://fortune.com:80/2016/05/02/gold-price-high/

Here's Why Gold Just Hit a 15-Month High

Gold rose to a fresh 15-month high on Monday, closing in on the $1,300 resistance level as fresh weakness in the dollar lent support, but moves were muted in holiday-thinned trade. Many Asian markets and London were closed on Monday for national holidays, dampening momentum in the precious metal, which posted its biggest weekly rally since early February last week, up more than 5%. That was chiefly driven by weakness in the dollar, which posted its worst week since 2008 versus the Japanese yen after the Bank of Japan unexpectedly opted against further monetary easing. The U.S. unit stayed on the back foot on Monday. Spot gold was up 0.4% at $1,299.31 an ounce at 0935 GMT, off an earlier peak of $1,299.90, its highest since January last year. “The dollar was the reason behind the spike up (last week), and we broke all the important levels on the upside,” Afshin Nabavi, head of trading at MKS said. “$1,285 was a huge number, and we got through $1,290 pretty easily. $1,300 is going to be a very important one, so we shouldn’t go through that easily.” “The dollar is very weak, especially against the yen, and the white metals all look very healthy, so maybe on the back of that gold may get a bit of a follow through,” he said. “We should have a bit of back and forth between $1,290 and $1,300, but I think we’re heading for new numbers on the upside.” European shares were down 0.1%, while the dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, fell for a sixth session to hit an eight-month low. Data on Friday showed hedge funds and money managers cut their net long position in gold futures and options in the week to last Tuesday. “Even though net long positions in gold were reduced slightly in the week to 26 April, we believe that speculative financial investors have been driving the gold price up significantly of late,” Commerzbank said in a note. U.S. gold futures for June delivery were up $11.10 an ounce at $1,301.60. Silver was flat at $17.81 an ounce. The gold/silver ratio, which measures the number of silver ounces needed to buy an ounce of gold, steadied at 72.9, off Friday’s 6-1/2-month low of 72.2. Platinum was up 0.2% at $1,076.10 an ounce, while palladium was down 0.1% at $624.10 an ounce.

The U.S. dollar is weak.

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http://fortune.com/2015/12/16/hoverboard-swagway-lawsuit/

http://web.archive.org/web/20160613142929id_/http://fortune.com:80/2015/12/16/hoverboard-swagway-lawsuit/

Swagway Sued After Hoverboard Allegedly Burst Into Flames

The PR crisis surrounding one of the holiday’s hottest gifts has turned into a legal crisis. Michael Brown of Chappaqua, NY, has filed suit against ‘hoverboard’ manufacturer Swagway and sports retailer Modell’s, after the self-balancing scooter he bought from the companies as a Chanukkah gift for his children allegedly burst into flames, destroying the board and damaging part of his home. Brown says that despite manufacturer claims the hoverboard was made from the finest materials, Swagway failed to warn him and other buyers about possible combustion issues. Modell’s, he says, did not take the proper steps to ensure the product was safe. The case is seeking class action status. According to the complaint, Brown removed the Swagway Board from its box the evening of Dec. 6. After just 30 minutes the battery indicator showed the system was almost out of power. He plugged it into the wall, he says, but after 45 minutes of charging it burst into flames, which lighted the packaging materials. The fire was substantial enough, says the suit, that the family had to call the fire department. Neither Swagway nor Modell’s immediately responded to requests for comment about the suit. Fortune will update this story if either party does so. “The Swagway Hoverboard was inherently defectively designed or manufactured so as to cause it to not to be safe and fit for the purposes for which it was intended to be used and not to be free from defect,” says the complaint, which was filed in U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Indiana. Brown contends that Indiana-based Swagway and Modell’s, which is based in New York and sold the product online, engaged in unfair and deceptive trade practices. He’s seeking injunctive relief and unspecified compensatory damages. The suit follows hoverboard bans by all major airlines. Many retailers have also said they will not sell the products this holiday season, despite a swell of media coverage of them last month in online and television gift guides. “In actuality, the Swagway Hoverboard is unsafe for its intended use inasmuch as it is defective and presents a material likelihood that it will self-combust or short-circuit while charging, leading to fire and/other damage,” said the filing. While Swagway did not immediately respond to Fortune’s phone call or email, it has alluded to the controversy about reports of spontaneously combusting hoverboards on its Website. “We can’t speak for other brands but for Swagway, as safety is a top priority, we take the extra measure to use parts like UL listed adapters and top quality Samsung or LG lithium-ion batteries,” the company said. “Swagway not only adheres to government regulations, but we exceed them for added assurance. … We can’t stress enough how the caliber of the components used can make an impact in the overall safety of these boards. For this reason, we don’t ever compromise when it comes to using the highest quality parts.” Many of Swagway’s hoverboards are sold out “for an indeterminate amount of time,” according to the Website. And the retailer is warning people who may still want to buy one to expect delays. Michael Brown v Swagway Complaint

New Yorker files suit after Chanukkah gift allegedly explodes.

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http://fortune.com/2016/03/07/bbva-holvi-fintech/

http://web.archive.org/web/20160613153533id_/http://fortune.com:80/2016/03/07/bbva-holvi-fintech/

Spanish Banking Group BBVA Just Snapped Up A Finnish Fintech Startup

The Spanish banking group BBVA bbva has bought Holvi, a Finnish financial technology startup that provides online banking and financial planning services for small businesses. It said the purchase, along with others in recent years, would help it transform into a more digitally savvy banking group. Helsinki-based Holvi pitches itself as a bank for “makers and doers” — it allows entrepreneurs and teams to set up business accounts in a few minutes, and offers services such as invoicing, receipt-scanning and bookkeeping. It’s also preparing to launch a MasterCard ma card in April. Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter. BBVA said Monday that Holvi, the price for which it did not disclose, will continue to run as a standalone business. “They use digital to bring a new approach to small business banking, where services essential to a business’ future such as invoicing are built into their core offer,” BBVA new digital businesses chief Teppo Paavola said. Last year, BBVA took a 29.5% stake in U.K.-based mobile-only bank Atom, and the year before that it bought the U.S. banking service Simple (which is quite similar to Holvi, only it’s for U.S. rather than European customers and focuses on consumers rather than businesses). In an email to its users, Holvi said it was now “supercharged with more knowledge, more resources and more ambition.” The company said it would remain in Finland, but “might start having more paella during our lunches.” For more on financial technology watch our video.

The Spanish group has bought Finland's Holvi, which provides entrepreneurs and freelancers with accounts and accounting tools.

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http://fortune.com/2016/06/10/steph-curry-under-armour-chef/

http://web.archive.org/web/20160614132415id_/http://fortune.com:80/2016/06/10/steph-curry-under-armour-chef/

Internet Mocks Steph Curry Under Armour Shoes "Chef" With Memes

A new colorway of Stephen Curry’s signature Under Armour ua sneakers have set social media ablaze, mostly with dad jokes. The Curry Two ‘Chef’ comes in an all-white, kitchen-appropriate colorway. It is also appropriate for things like lounging on the couch, backyard barbecues, walking to the store, mid-day naps and playing basketball. Will Steph wear these in the Finals? Will your dad relive his glory days in the driveway anytime soon? We’ve collected some of the better internet reactions.

Hey, at least they look comfy.

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http://time.com/3916596/top-small-business-ceos/

http://web.archive.org/web/20160614231324id_/http://time.com:80/3916596/top-small-business-ceos/

These Are the Top-Rated Small Business CEOs

Job-hunter web site Glassdoor put out its third annual Employees’ Choice Awards today. They rank the top-rated CEOs in the country, based on votes by their own employees. Among the top-ranked CEOs of large companies (those with 1,000 or more employees) were big names such as Google’s Larry Page, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, and Tim Cook of Apple. But the survey also honored CEOs of small and medium-sized companies (those with fewer than 1,000 employees), and Fortune readers may recognize quite a few of the names on that list. The top six small-business CEOs, all with a 98% approval rating, were: Frank Williams of Evolent Health (founded in 2011, based in Virginia); Tobias Dengel of WillowTree (an app development company that’s been around since 2007); Renaud Laplanche of LendingClub; Greg Penske of Penske Motor Group (see Fortune‘s recent profile of Penske’s father Roger); David Durand of Best Version Media (a publishing company that owns 250 magazines); and Scott Smith of OneGuard, which offers home warranties. Rounding out the top 10 are Kevin Hartz, cofounder and CEO of Eventbrite (a ticket marketplace and tech “unicorn”); John Dowd of the New Jersey travel agency Sundance Vacations; Darius Mirshahzadeh of Endeavor America Loan Services; and Brian Halligan, CEO of Boston-area marketing company HubSpot, which went public last year.

The top-rated small business CEOs, according to their employees

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http://fortune.com/2015/09/17/cellphone-unlimited-data/

http://web.archive.org/web/20160615020119id_/http://fortune.com:80/2015/09/17/cellphone-unlimited-data/

Here's why cell carriers freak out when you use your unlimited data

In a story almost as old as unlimited mobile data plans, there has been a fight over those who provide the plans and those who actually test the boundaries on what unlimited use actually means. This week AT&T said it would only start throttling users on its unlimited plans when they reached about 22 GB per month, as opposed to 5 GB per month, in response to a Federal Communication Commission fine. Last month T-Mobile CEO John Legere accused customers of “stealing data” by using their data plans on their smartphones as a Wi-Fi hot spot (also known as tethering). Users of T-Mobile’s network can do this up until they hit 7 GB gigabytes of data on their $80 a month plan, but after that point, they need to buy more. What Legere was accusing these users of doing was basically going around T-Mobile’s software barriers and using their phones as a Wi-Fi hot spot beyond those limits, and using T-Mobile’s data network to provide connectivity to devices outside of the smartphone. This is such a problem for carriers because with larger screens and faster processors a laptop can consume three times more bandwidth as a smartphone (or more). If someone on T-Mobile’s network tethers he will gobble far more data than even a heavy smartphone user. That’s why carriers have those limits in place, and why carriers like Verizon didn’t even allow tethering early in the flush of unlimited data plans. The T-Mobile story brought attention back to tethering, a practice that has been around for at least a decade if not longer. Late last week the Wall Street Journal wrote a story discussing some of the apps that people on T-Mobile’s network used to tether their phones, such as TetherMe or CarrierCrack. The story included a sympathetic figure who tethered because he lived in a rural area lacking access to high-quality wireline broadband. That dearth of quality internet access is why the FCC is pushing for mobile broadband to be added to its broadband competition report. It’s also why consumers groups are up in arms about the fact that, as Verizon and AT&T pull out of serving rural areas with copper telephone lines, they are also pulling out of serving rural areas with copper-based DSL broadband. Entire swathes of the country will be left behind when it comes to decent broadband speeds. But wireless providers can’t actually pick up the slack in many cases because costs and physics won’t let them. Legere can let people use unlimited data on their smartphones because he understands the limits of those devices and how much data they can actually funnel. Once people turn that phone into a hot spot, however, all bets are off, and using 300 GB or a terabyte of data really can play havoc with a carrier’s network and costs. This is a battle that breaks out every few years between savvy mobile users who want access to data wherever they are, and mobile operators who are providing faster and faster mobile broadband networks while also charging relatively high prices for that connectivity, or blocking services that they perceive to compete with their own. Caught in between are consumers and developers who don’t necessarily understand the economics of carrier networks and who don’t trust the carriers to avoid meddling with the ecosystem to their own advantage. When it comes to cellular networks, every carrier is limited by the licensed airwaves over which it can send data. When the FCC conducts auctions for spectrum carriers spend billions buying airwaves. They will spend billions more placing base stations and equipment tuned to that frequency to send data around the country. Building a wireless network isn’t cheap. But that’s not the main problem. The real challenge is physics. Carriers are bound by Shannon’s Law, which dictates how many bits of information can be crammed into a single hertz of spectrum. The goal with every wireless technology evolution from 3G to 4G is to get more and more bits per hertz, and so far, LTE, the current generation wireless technology, is as economical as it gets. However, LTE has achieved about all the efficiency is can, which means that all carriers can do is allocate more spectrum to the network if their users require more bits. In short, carriers are running the most efficient car they have, so now all they can do is buy more gas. There are some short-term solutions to this problem, such as allocating more base stations and using different antenna arrays on those base stations to optimize network capacity, but in the end cellular networks are limited by the capacity of the airwaves. That’s why carriers pay so much money for their spectrum. The demand for data rises and falls depending on the time of day and place. Those rural folks sucking down massive gigabytes of data in the middle of the night may not be causing significant problems for AT&T and Verizon, but for a smaller carrier like T-Mobile it actually can add up. Even if those customers don’t cause problems on the wireless side, they can cause expenses where the bits transition from T-Mobile’s cellular network and go back onto a wireline network to get to the Internet. T-mobile doesn’t own a large wireline network, and in rural areas especially it has to pay a network operator (in some cases Verizon or AT&T) for access to the Internet. If a bunch of users are using a few hundred or a thousand gigabytes of data, those costs can add up quickly. That means that when John Legere freaks out over customers using terabytes of data on the network, he’s freaking out because it’s costing him a lot more to run those bits over cellular. Not only that, when those bits do eventually hit the wireline network that’s also costing him a lot. As for AT&T and Verizon, they too have to deal with the laws of physics and the cost of spectrum. That’s why offloading to Wi-Fi has become so popular in recent years. Subscribe to Data Sheet, Fortune’s daily newsletter on the business of technology.

It's a mixture of physics and economics, but mostly physics.

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‘Faux-cest’ is the hottest new thing in porn - and women love it

For the uninitiated, a film with the title “Family Play Date” could be identified as a harmless, wholesome household flick. But in fact, this title — along with a growing number of other films — is part of a growing pornography trend known as “faux-cest.” The niche genre involves actors pretending to be in sexual relationships with their co-stars, who are acting as their blood relations. The fictionalized narratives typically see actors role-play in daddy-daughter relationships, cousins kissing or even siblings having sex. While the trend has reportedly become one of the industry’s “hottest and most controversial genres,” it is women and couples who are driving the popularity. ‘Porn’s job has always been to show what is taboo, but we’ve kind of gotten to the point where we’ve run out of taboos.’ Actor Ashley Fires, who has been working in the porn industry since 2003, is just one adult star who has decided to specialize and feature in films based around incest. In an interview with Vice, Fires revealed that since the start of 2016, she has released 17 of these “faux-cest” films, and they make up a substantial portion of her earnings. “My fans only want to see me as Mommy,” says Fires, who at 34 has switched from daughter-sister to mother roles. “I am Mommy and only Mommy.” Some of the titles that Fires has been involved in include “Mommy Made Me Do It” and “Little Sister Has to Do The Unthinkable.” While there’s no single agreement on why the fictionalized incest genre has become a trend, Jeff Dillon, VP of business development at GameLink, told Refinery 29 that “family role play” has become especially popular. “‘Family role play,’ as we call it, is one of our top sellers for couples and women,” he said. According to Dillon, the interest in the fictionalized incest genre has grown by 1,000 percent since 2011, with a 178 percent spike in consumption in 2014 alone. The reason as to why the fetish is enjoyed remains in question, but some industry professionals believe women tend to take an interest because they prefer porn with a narrative — such as romance or erotica. “Women like the story,” Dillon said. “[In faux-cest] you have to have some background to show who these people are and how they’re, well, related to each other.” While psychologist and sex therapist Georgina Whelan said the storyline theory was a “social stereotype,” she said some women do respond to a narrative because they “want the dynamics of interpersonal relationships.” “Women sexuality is complex, fluid and influenced by interpersonal and social constructs,” Whelan told news.com.au. “Some women use fantasies to enhance sexual response and others do not, some need a storyline and want the dynamics of interpersonal relationships and others just focus on their physical sensation.” Other anonymous fans of the pornographic style say that “faux-cest” is “enticing because the sexual practice it depicts is so deeply off-limits, both legally and culturally.” “Porn’s job has always been to show what is taboo, but we’ve kind of gotten to the point where we’ve run out of taboos,” Kelly Shibari, a porn performer and Penthouse model, added in her interview with Refinery 29. “Once something becomes mainstream, people don’t go looking for it in the underground anymore because it’s so easy to find. What’s left in the list of taboos that we can still legally do? Incest. It’s re-creation of taboo fantasy scenarios, which is what porn is.” HBO’s “Game of Thrones” has been questioned as a typical program that has started to desensitize viewers to inter-family relationships. For those not tuned into the madness that is “GoT,” here’s a little insight into one rather squeamish relationship between two of the main characters — Cersei Lannister and her twin brother, Jamie. “Jaime and I are more than brother and sister, we shared a womb, came into this world together, we belong together,” character Cersei said in Season 1 of the series. Whelan said mainstream media can “normalize a practice and reduce stigma, shame and judgment.” But she admitted that for a show such as “GoT” to influence one’s fantasy, viewers would need to be exposed to the scenes on a continuous basis. “Taboo content increases sexual desire in many people,” Whelan said. “For ‘Game of Thrones’ to increase incest fantasies in people, individuals would have to repeatedly watch the incest image over and over again and have positive reinforcement, because there has to be reinforcement and repetition for a fantasy to stick.” According to Dr. Justin Lehmiller, a sex educator and research psychologist at Harvard University, the emergence of the internet, and the concept of the “gross-out” theory, has been a huge boon for fetishists. This means that concepts and ideas you’d normally find repulsive may be ignored or less monstrous during intimacy. “When you’re in a high state of sexual arousal, your disgust impulse weakens,” Lehmiller told Shape magazine. “It’s almost like a heightened state of arousal changes your perception of the world.” Whelan said that while “faux-cest” isn’t new, the internet provides the ability for similar-minded people to connect around the world, and give quick and easy access for those so inclined. “Understanding that many people fantasize about incest can normalize a fantasy, reduce shame and allow people to enjoy a fantasy,” she said. “This is achieved by reducing barriers to disclosure because of the anonymity of the internet … the ability to connect with minority populations worldwide … and through easy and quick access to specific sexual interests.” ‘The truth of the matter is that people are buying [faux-cest], whether they want to admit that it’s sexy or not.’ While humans have engaged in, and been intrigued by, incest for hundreds of decades, it’s the “medium that is new” and creating a stir. “Nancy Friday in her 1973 book ‘My Secret Garden’ reported common female fantasies — which included incest fantasy,” Whelan said. “The 1974 book ‘Flowers In The Attic’ sold over 40 million copies and was made into a movie. The central theme was incest.” “Research shows that it’s some of the best-selling content,” award-winning “faux-cest” writer and director Jacky St. James concludes. “The truth of the matter is that people are buying it, whether they want to admit that it’s sexy or not.” Check out Hollywood’s strange obsession with incest: This article originally appeared on News.com.au.

For the uninitiated, a film with the title “Family Play Date” could be identified as a harmless, wholesome household flick. But in fact, this title — along with a growing number of othe…

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Whole grains can help you live longer, Harvard study finds

Maybe next time buy the whole-grain spaghetti noodles. Eating whole grains can help you live longer, according to a new analysis from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health that included results from 12 published studies and health information from more than 786,000 participants. While the whole grain movement has been afoot for years, this is the first analysis of this type linking whole grains to mortality risk, said Qi Sun, assistant professor in the school's department of nutrition and senior author of the study. People who ate 70 grams of whole grains per day, compared with those who ate little or no whole grains, had lower risk of premature death, according to the Harvard analysis. Whole grains also lowered the risk for cancer and cardiovascular disease, the study found. But Sun also cautioned that a healthy life requires more than just whole grains. "Whole grains should be considered part of a healthy diet and lifestyle," Sun said Monday. "They should not be considered a magic food, or a magic bullet, for increasing longevity." Particularly in processed foods, refined grains — milled grains stripped of their bran and germ — have been used to extend shelf life. Food companies often fortify those grains by adding lost nutrients back in, hence the term "enriched grains." But unrefined whole grains are better sources of fiber and other important nutrients, such as magnesium, potassium and selenium, according to the Mayo Clinic website. In recent years, major food companies have scrambled to meet increased demand for food considered to be healthier, often through acquisitions, but sometimes through changing existing products or launching new ones. Kraft Heinz, which is co-headquartered in Chicago, revamped its line of Smart Ones pasta meals to include pasta made with whole wheat flour in 2014. The company also sells a version of its Kraft macaroni and cheese that's "made with 50 percent whole grain." In 2012, Deerfield-based Mondelez International, perhaps best known for products like Oreo cookies and Ritz crackers, launched its belVita Breakfast Biscuits in the U.S.; each four-biscuit package contains 18 to 20 grams of whole grains. By 2020, Mondelez plans to increase the use of whole grains in products by 25 percent. Similarly, Chicago-based Quaker Oats launched its Breakfast Flats earlier this year, with one serving, or three bars, containing 18 grams of whole grains. And ConAgra Foods, which is moving its headquarters to Chicago from Omaha, Neb., this month, has recently unveiled whole-grain products like Healthy Choice Simply Cafe Steamers and P.F. Chang's Steamed Brown Rice. "It's a good thing if food companies are making more products with whole grains. ... I think they're probably responding to increased demand," Sun said. The Harvard study supports current U.S. dietary guidelines that recommend at least 3 daily servings — or 48 grams — of whole grains to "improve long-term health and prevent premature death," Sun said. While not technically a whole grain, quinoa (it's more like a grass seed) is nutritionally comparable to a whole grain, Sun said. Oatmeal and brown rice also are good alternatives to refined carbohydrates, he said.

Maybe next time buy the whole-grain spaghetti noodles.

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http://web.archive.org/web/20160616170515id_/https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2016/06/14/bay-state-biotechs-cut-nearly-jobs-after-drug-development-setbacks/0qCa467YIPSuX4akT6vlHN/story.html

Bay State biotechs cut nearly 70 jobs after drug development setbacks

A pair of Massachusetts biotech companies said Tuesday they would eliminate a total of nearly 70 jobs after suffering reverses in their key drug programs. Shares of Infinity Pharmaceuticals Inc. plunged 69 percent after the 15-year-old Cambridge company said results of a mid-stage clinical study of its duvelisib blood cancer drug fell short of expectations.Infinity said it eliminated 46 research jobs, or 21 percent of its workforce. Chiasma Inc. said it pared a third of its 70 employees. The cuts follow the company’s April announcement that the Food and Drug Administration had rejected its experimental drug Mycapssa to treat a pituitary gland growth disorder. The setbacks underscore the high-risk nature of drug development, a key sector of the Massachusetts economy, even at a time of broad scientific advances. Only about 11 percent of clinical trials succeeded from 2012 to 2014, according to consulting firm McKinsey & Co. Infinity had high hopes for duvelisib, which treats a form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The company is also testing the experimental drug in a late-stage study of patients with another blood cancer, chronic lymphocytic leukemia. It is expected to report clinical data from that trial in the second half of this year. But Tuesday’s trial results put in question a partnership with AbbVie Inc., the North Chicago, Ill., drug maker that recently opened a Cambridge research site. The two companies paused a separate clinical trial on which they’ve collaborated using duvelisib and an AbbVie cancer drug in combination as they reassess their alliance. Infinity chief executive Adelene Perkins said in an interview that the company’s cutback was “heartbreaking,” but she said Infinity isn’t ready to abandon its drug candidate. “It’s still our hope that we could file for regulatory approval with this data,” she said. But first, she said, the company will consult with the FDA “to determine our next steps.” She said Infinity’s clinical trial met its top goal, called an endpoint, in showing an overall response in non-Hodgkin lymphoma patients. But it remained unclear if the benefits of the drug represented enough of an improvement over existing blood cancer drugs to justify filing for approval. Chiasma, which recently moved its headquarters to Waltham from Newton, sustained a 63 percent drop in its stock after the FDA rejection in April. The company at the time said it didn’t plan to cut its workforce, which includes 45 people in the United States and 25 at a research site in Israel. But on Tuesday it disclosed a restructuring plan that would eliminate jobs, including its entire sales and marketing organization, to focus on continued development of Mycapssa. The company didn’t specify whether all of the cuts will be in Waltham, its commercial base, and a spokeswoman said chief executive Mark Leuchtenberger wouldn’t discuss the move. Chiasma’s shares fell 8.2 percent Tuesday to $2.57. “We believe this reduction in staffing and spending is the appropriate action to preserve shareholder value at this time since it is unlikely we will be able to commercially launch Mycapssa in the near term,” Leuchtenberger said in a company statement.

A pair of Massachusetts biotech companies Tuesday said they would eliminate a total of nearly 70 jobs after suffering reverses in their lead drug programs.

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http://www.tmz.com/2010/09/28/tiffany-brissette-vicki-small-wonder-grown-up-adult-photo-gallery

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Vicki from "Small Wonder": 'Memba Her?!

is best known for playing robo-kid in the '80s television show " was back on set today to resume filming on " in London -- where we got a closer look what it takes to get him to look like Depp arrived on set with his hair down, wearing jeans, a t-shirt and a plaid shirt -- but then re-emerged with his hair in braids ... which were then covered up with a wig. Check out Depp's crazy transformation -- plus zoom in on some secret set shots! Wearing a full face, "Seinfeld"s puffy shirt, a naughty schoolgirl mini, lacy stockings and a pair of post-apocalyptic knee-high pirate boots, glam country darling made her way to a fashion show in Milan on Monday. episode airs tonight -- and we're getting some serious flashbacks from one of the new promo photos released from the episode. mirrors Brit's infamous 2001 " " look, complete with gold boots, blue shorts, green top and, of course, that giant python snake. Click to gallery to see more -- including Morris in the red " " catsuit and the nude " Check out the sneak peek of Morris and co-star has been reunited with her favorite accessory ... her SCRAM bracelet. As we first reported, part of the conditions of is that she has to wear the bracelet again. Third time's a charm ( Give the following photos some extra special attention -- 'cause there are some super sneaky differences just waiting to be spotted! which glam gal's face got a gnarly celebrity scramblin'?

Tiffany Brissette is best known for playing robo-kid Vicki in the '80s television show "Small Wonder." Guess what she looks like now! Johnny Depp Gets…

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PEOPLE Cover Shows All 49 Victims : People.com

06/14/2016 AT 12:35 PM EDT PEOPLE is paying tribute to the 49 victims of at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando – showing their faces on the cover. The victims came from all walks of life, expecting a night out in a place known for its inclusive spirit. The night ended in terror – in United States history. (For a complete list of the victims, with tributes, , who shared fond memories of lives cut tragically short and harrowing memories of the horrible scene. Akyra Murray, 18, was a star student-athlete who graduated third in her class and was preparing to go off to college to play basketball. Her mother, Natalie Murray, received a call from Akyra at 2:12 a.m. "She was hollering, 'Mom, I've been shot! Please help me, I'm bleeding bad,' " Natalie tells PEOPLE. "I'm like, 'Baby, just apply pressure, Mommy's on the way.' And she says, 'He's got a gun,' and then she was screaming and we got disconnected. It was our last conversation." PEOPLE reporters also spoke with survivors of the attack, giving a peek into the heroism that emerged in the midst of tragedy. Josh McGill, a 26-year-old nursing student, ran out of the club after hearing shots but soon encountered a bloodied victim walking toward him. "He said, 'I think I got shot, man.' He was shot in both arms. I used my shirt to tie up one arm and used his shirt to wrap the other. Then he said something about his back. I look and there's more blood," McGill tells PEOPLE. A police officer asked McGill to help save the man by applying pressure to the wounds he sustained in his back. "I had to squeeze him as hard as possible," says McGill. "I was basically bear-hugging him. The cop told me to keep him awake. We said a quick prayer together. I remember him mumbling, 'Amen.' "

PEOPLE shares stories of the victims and of the harrowing scene

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http://www.tmz.com/2016/03/14/michael-jackson-sony-atv-purchased

http://web.archive.org/web/20160616230312id_/http://www.tmz.com:80/2016/03/14/michael-jackson-sony-atv-purchased

Michael Jackson Bought Out of Sony Publishing Co. for $750 MILLION!!

Hard to imagine Michael Jackson's Estate getting even richer, but it just happened -- Sony is forking over $750 MILLION to buy out MJ's share of Sony/ATVMusic Publishing. Sony Corp. announced the deal to take over Jackson's 50% stake in the joint venture that was launched in 1995 -- and owns copyrights for some of the biggest recordings in history. For instance, Sony/ATV controls "New York, New York," "Jailhouse Rock," "I Heard it Through the Grapevine," "All You Need Is Love" and "The Mission Impossible Theme." The estate will keep all songs written by Michael ... and a bunch of others by other artists which he purchased during his lifetime. The sale is expected to be finalized by the end of this month. It's a remarkable deal struck by Estate executors John Branca and John McClain -- especially when you consider MJ bought the ATV catalog for $41.5 million in 1985. Not to mention, the fact MJ was far from financially flush when he died. Three-quarters of a BILLION in one fell swoop. Don't it make you wanna scream?

Hard to imagine Michael Jackson's Estate getting even richer, but it just happened -- Sony is forking over $750 MILLION to buy out MJ's share of…

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Do Successful CEOs Sleep Less Than Everyone Else?

Is Donald Trump superhuman? Or is he depressed, cranky, and making poor judgments? Or is he fibbing? The issue arises because in last week’s Republican debate he mentioned that he sleeps just three to four hours a night. He’s been saying this for years. The day after the debate he claimed to be operating on only 90 minutes of sleep. In evaluating his statements, we’re faced with the three alternatives mentioned above, based on the latest research. And while investigating Donald Trump’s sleep habits may rank low on your to-do list, the issue matters because inadequate sleep is more harmful than most of us realize – and many successful leaders claim, like Trump, to get by on suspiciously little sleep. PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi tells me she sleeps about four hours a night. Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne reportedly sleeps the same amount, as does Martha Stewart; Herb Kelleher reportedly slept four hours while running Southwest Airlines, and Margaret Thatcher did the same as British prime minister. Xerox CEO Ursula Burns tells me she sleeps about five hours, which is how much Bill Clinton reportedly slept as president. And they’re all slackers compared with fashion designer Tom Ford, who reportedly sleeps three hours a night and attributes his success to his energy rather than talent. Who could blame aspiring leaders for emulating such an impressive group? Yet emulating them could be dangerous, and the danger increases at this time of year, with its focus on meeting annual goals, budgeting, and evaluating employees. For most leaders and up-and-comers, the holidays don’t mean less work; they mean more work and less time in which to do it. You already know that sleep deprivation is really, really bad for you, but it’s even worse than you think. To summarize, it makes you stupid, depressed, dangerous, unhealthy, and more likely to die. So the question of how much sleep you need is extremely important, and research published just last month is actually somewhat encouraging; it suggests that you don’t need quite as much as you’ve been told. Studying three groups of hunter-gatherers untouched by the modern world, UCLA scientists found they sleep only six to seven hours a night. But that’s still more than all those high achievers cited above. So are they all lying? My guess is they’re not – not even Trump. Researchers find that a tiny proportion of people, 1% to 3%, can get along fine on four hours or less. Imagine the advantage these so-called short sleepers hold in competitive careers. It makes sense that they’d be heavily over-represented among successful leaders. Just acknowledge that you’re almost certainly not one of them. (I’m definitely not.) And if you’re not, then trying to be one of them will hurt you, not help you. Take the advice of Arianna Huffington, who has become an evangelist on this topic. Get all the sleep you need. And then, as she says, “sleep your way to the top!” Sign up for Power Sheet, Fortune’s daily morning newsletter on leaders and leadership.

Inadequate sleep is more harmful than most of us realize.

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Middlebury Group Gives Sexual Assault Survivors a Safe Place to Tell Their Stories

Years before a rape at Stanford University sparked outrage, a group of students on the other side of the country had been raising awareness about sexual violence by offering survivors a safe place to share their stories. In the Stanford case, a former college swimmer received just six months in jail for sexually assaulting an unconscious woman after a frat party last year. The light sentence, plus a powerful impact statement written by the survivor that's gone viral, have prompted calls for the judge to resign. According to members of the "It Happens Here" project, which was launched in 2011 to help students of Vermont's Middlebury College anonymously share personal experiences of sexual assault, rape and interpersonal violence, survivors of such attacks rarely get to have their voices heard. Special section: Get tips and advice about college at College Game Plan "A lot of people are speaking about the Stanford survivor, but ultimately that person first got to speak for themselves and that is not something that often happens in judicial processes or in criminal court cases," IHH organizer Maddie Orcutt told NBC News. The group wants to change that. It has collected more than 80 heart-wrenching stories: Some are posted on the group's website, and others are read publicly at events held on campus and at other colleges. According to a White House taskforce, one in five women is sexually assaulted in college. Through telling their stories, IHH hopes to highlight the prevalence and severity of sexual violence on campuses. "There's basically no class, no social situation where you do not have a survivor in it because that's how prevalent this is nowadays. I think the magnitude of the problem is overwhelming," Orcutt said. Related: Drink Spiking at College May Be More Common Than Thought The website features deeply personal and graphic accounts of assaults, such as one student recalling her attacker telling her to not "even bother trying to report this." "You're too drunk - nobody is going to take it seriously,'" she wrote she was told. IHH has branched out to help students at four other campuses, and hopes to spread to more colleges nationally. "Dealing with this problem is going to take some sustained and creative problem-solving, and I think one of the ways we can do that is through really hearing survivors," Orcutt said.

The "It Happens Here" project was launched in 2011 to help students anonymously share personal experiences of sexual assault, rape and violence.

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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/03/23/europe-is-now--drowning-under-the-cost-of-welfare-bills/

http://web.archive.org/web/20160617120101id_/http://www.telegraph.co.uk:80/business/2016/03/23/europe-is-now--drowning-under-the-cost-of-welfare-bills/

Europe is now drowning under the cost of welfare bills

According to Eurostat, the total cost of welfare across the EU now amounts to 19.5pc of total GDP, compared with 17.5pc as recently as 2006. If you restrict that to the eurozone countries, the total rises to 20.5pc. In Denmark and France it is now close on 25pc. For all that the Left complains about austerity in this country, our total spending on social protection is only slightly below the European average at 16.5pc of GDP. In controversial areas such as disability benefits, where the Government has now abandoned some modest cuts, we are in line with the EU average, spending 2.8pc of GDP. (Our welfare bill is only less than average because a fantastic performance on job creation means we spend just 0.2pc of GDP on unemployment, compared with a eurozone average of 1.8pc, and 2pc in a country such as France). Overall, in almost every country, it is going up. With ageing populations, that is hardly likely to decrease – poverty-stricken Greece is now spending 15pc of GDP on pensions, and Italy 14pc. Europe is literally drowning under the cost of its welfare bills. At the same time, spending on the things that might make the economy more productive is actually going down. Take infrastructure. Total spending on that across the EU has dropped to 2.7pc of GDP. The three biggest countries in the eurozone – Germany, France and Italy – have reduced their infrastructure spending by between 15pc and 20pc over the past decade.

When she isn’t shipping in more Syrian refugees, or trying to find new ways to destroy the Greek economy, the German Chancellor Angela Merkel is fond of quoting an alarming statistic:

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http://web.archive.org/web/20160617135447id_/http://www.9news.com.au/world/2016/06/17/05/21/man-detained-over-uk-mp-killing-a-loner

UK MP killer suspect 'backed racists'

The suspect arrested after the murder of British Labour MP Jo Cox had supported white supremacist groups in the United States and South Africa, reports say. The US-based Southern Poverty Law Centre said it had documents showing that 52-year-old Tommy Mair had supported the National Alliance (NA), a US neo-Nazi group, and bought a manual from the group in 1999 that "included instructions on how to build a pistol." The law centre said it had seen invoices showing that Mair sent some $US620 to the NA's publishing arm, National Vanguard Books. Scottish-born Mair had also supported an online publication of the right-wing extremist Springbok Club, which has defended South Africa's former apartheid regime, British media including The Daily Telegraph and The Independent reported. The Independent quoted an email sent a decade ago by the Springbok Club's online magazine, the Springbok Cyber Newsletter, describing Mair as "one of the earliest subscribers and supporters of SA Patriot", a magazine published by the South African pro-apartheid group, the White Rhino Club. Cox's murder prompted Britain's two largest political parties to urge all members of parliament to contact police to review their personal security on Friday. "The main concern is around public events and surgeries [one-on-one constituent meetings]," James Berry, a Conservative member of parliament, told Sky News. "The tragedy here is that Jo was brutally murdered after her constituency surgery, trying to do her democratic duty," Berry said. "That's a big concern for all MPs." The Times reported that police in Cox's West Yorkshire constituency had reviewed her security in the last three months after she "faced a string of security threats" and received threatening messages. There was no known link between the threats and Mair, the newspaper said. Cox, 41, was stabbed and shot as she was meeting constituents at a local library in Birstall, West Yorkshire. The attack came one week before Britain holds an in-out referendum on its EU membership. Cox supported the Remain side, which, like the rival Leave camp, suspended its campaigning following her murder.

A man arrested following the fatal shooting of British Labour MP Jo Cox has been described by neighbours as a "loner".

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http://web.archive.org/web/20160617202723id_/http://time.com:80/3741085/net-neutrality-republicans-president/

Why 2016 Republicans Oppose Net Neutrality

Republican voters overwhelmingly like net neutrality. The likely GOP candidates for president do not. According to a raft of recent national polls, Republican voters approve of government action to ensure that Internet service providers treat all web content the same. A November 2014 University of Delaware survey, for example, found that 85% of Republicans (and 81% of Democrats) were opposed to allowing ISPs to charge web companies a fee to deliver their content to customers more quickly—an arrangement they call “Internet fast lanes.” Yet five likely Republican presidential contenders have come out against net neutrality in no uncertain terms. Last fall, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz referred to the Federal Communications Commision’s proposed net neutrality rules as “Obamacare for the Internet,” while Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul has called them a “direct attack on the freedom of information.” Last weekend, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, the frontrunner for the Republican presidential race in 2016, said the FCC’s plan to ensure net neutrality was “one of the craziest ideas I’ve ever heard.” So what gives? There are basically three explanations, and which one you prefer depends a lot on how you view the messy business of politics. 1) It’s All About Obama. Some people think the reason is simply partisan polarization. President Obama championed net neutrality and nudged the FCC to take action, therefore Republican politicians are going to oppose it. That’s just politics, especially in a presidential campaign season. This issue is particularly vulnerable to political grandstanding because it’s so confusing. Pollsters have found that Republican voters often say they don’t like “net neutrality,” but they say they like it when the issue is explained instead. According to one poll by the Internet Freedom Business Alliance and Vox Populi, 83% of “very conservative” voters thought the government should take action to ensure that cable companies aren’t allowed to “monopolize the Internet” by charging some companies more to access customers. But taking that position as a presidential candidate means wasting a lot of time out on the hustings explaining the issue and opening yourself up to easy attacks from your rivals. 2) It’s All About Campaign Donations. Some people think the reason is all about the money. Cable and telecom companies, after all, oppose net neutrality and pour tens of millions of dollars every year on politicians’ campaign coffers, PACs and philanthropic projects and spend tens of millions more on lobbyists and letters and advertisements on the subject. To name one example, Comcast spent more on lobbying members of Congress in 2012 than any other company in the entire country, except Northrop Grumman, the defense contractor that makes the B-2 bomber. But those contributions go pretty equally to Republicans and Democrats, and there’s a counterbalance from tech companies such as Google, Amazon and Netflix that are spending gobs of money, sometimes on the same politicians. 3) It’s the Means, Not the Ends. Some people think this is just about how the fight for net neutrality went down. The way the FCC’s new rules came out in the end was not most people’s first choice. Not Obama’s. Not Hillary Clinton’s. Not even Netflix CFO David Wells, whose company was instrumental in lobbying the FCC. That’s because the FCC’s new rules give the federal government much more power over the broadband industry than it really needs to effectively ensure net neutrality. For example, under these rules, the government could theoretically regulate how much Comcast or Verizon can charge you for an Internet connection. The FCC has promised not to use those those powers, but the idea that it could gives many Republicans the willies. Politics is often the art of finding the second-best solution. In this case, the FCC was forced into claiming the broader authority after industry lawsuits threw out earlier attempts to ensure net neutrality through less expansive powers. But that means it’s vulnerable to criticism from Republicans who think it overreached.

Here are three explanations.

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http://web.archive.org/web/20160618001817id_/http://www.cbsnews.com:80/media/natural-cold-and-flu-remedies-what-works/

Natural cold and flu remedies: What works?

Green tea (Camellia sinensis) contains polyphenols, potent plant antioxidants which are believed to give green tea its immune-boosting effects, Graham explained. Graham said to maximize benefits and minimize bitterness, use just-below-boiling water and steep green tea no more than a minute or two. A little lemon and honey can also help blunt the bitterness. Don't add milk, because the proteins will bind to the polyphenols, making them ineffective, he said. Also, teas made from demulcent herbs, like slippery elm bark (Ulmus rubra), marshmallow root (Althea officinalis), and licorice root (Glycyrrhiza glabra ) are traditionally used to soothe sore throats. A 2003 National Institutes of Medicine study of 60 adults showed demulcent herbs significantly improved symptoms of pharyngitis compared with placebo.

From Vitamin C to Neti-Pots, experts weigh in on what nature-made cures can help cure your illness

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http://fortune.com/2015/10/07/draftkings-fanduel-scandal-timeline/

http://web.archive.org/web/20160618005126id_/http://fortune.com:80/2015/10/07/draftkings-fanduel-scandal-timeline/

See a Full Timeline of the DraftKings/FanDuel Data Scandal

DraftKings and FanDuel, the two leading “daily fantasy sports” sites, were already plenty controversial before a new scandal brought them under even harsher scrutiny from regulators and the media. This week, a DraftKings employee won big money on FanDuel. Ethan Haskell, a self-avowed “grinder” who wins money frequently in fantasy sports, placed second in FanDuel’s NFL Sunday Millions contest, winning $350,000. After a big New York Times story, there have been heated reactions from users, from partners like ESPN, and now from the New York Attorney General’s office, which has launched a probe. As you follow this saga, here’s a handy timeline of everything that has happened thus far. September 27: On A Sunday, before the day’s NFL games had started, DraftKings employee Ethan Haskell (who has previously worked at fantasy sports site RotoGrinders) accidentally posted the ownership data for the weekly DraftKings Millionaire Maker contest on the DraftKings blog. A commenter at RotoGrinders posted the link in a forum and called it “a big leak.” Haskell himself took to the same forum to respond: “This was published in error… I’ve fixed the error and we’ll be putting checks in place to make sure it doesn’t happen again… I was the only person with this data and as a DK employee, am not allowed to play on site. 100% my fault and I apologize.” The issue, of course, is that although DraftKings employees were not allowed to compete for money on DraftKings, they were allowed to compete on FanDuel, and vice-versa. (The two sites have now temporarily changed that rule and banned employees of each from using the other.) October 4: FanDuel’s NFL Sunday Millions contest wraps up when Sunday’s NFL games end; Haskell places second overall and wins $350,000. Click here to see his winning lineup, under the username haskele, which included a balance of popular players and under-the-radar picks. If Haskell had access to DraftKings ownership data before selecting his lineup in the FanDuel contest—as the Times reported, it would have given him the competitive advantage of knowing which NFL players were likely to not be selected by many users in the FanDuel contest, since the two sites function so similarly. October 5: DraftKings and FanDuel release a joint statement on the incident, posted both to the DraftKings and theFanDuel website: Nothing is more important to DraftKings and FanDuel than the integrity of the games we offer to our customers. Both companies have strong policies in place to ensure that employees do not misuse any information at their disposal and strictly limit access to company data to only those employees who require it to do their jobs. Employees with access to this data are rigorously monitored by internal fraud control teams, and we have no evidence that anyone has misused it. However, we continue to review our internal controls to ensure they are as strong as they can be. We also plan to work with the entire fantasy sports industry on this specific issue so that fans everywhere can continue to enjoy and trust the games they love. (It’s worth noting that for whatever reason, FanDuel’s version contained an extra clause at the beginning that was not in the DraftKings version: “While there has been recent attention on industry employees playing on FanDuel and DraftKings,” the first sentence started.) October 5: The Times trumpeted its story as a major, breaking scoop—complete with an NYT mobile alert—under the headline “Scandal erupts in unregulated world of fantasy sports.” While the data leak had happened the previous week, it had not been widely noticed until the Times story. DraftKings confirmed to the Times that Haskell released the ownership data by mistake, but categorically denies that he saw the data before selecting his FanDuel lineup. DraftKings and FanDuel, both billion-dollar tech “unicorns,” have been acquiring users like crazy (but spending like crazy on advertisements to do so) and the marketing blitz had already prompted many to wonder whether their daily “contests” constitute gambling. The answer is that at a federal level, they’re okay for now, under the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006; at a state level, 45 states allow them as “games of skill” while five states disagree. October 5: DraftKings, late on Monday night, released a second statement that addressed the growing firestorm head on, insisting that FanDuel lineups locked before Haskell had seen the ownership data that would have helped him. The statement also called into question the Times story, which hinged on the idea that Haskell did see the DraftKings data before choosing his FanDuel lineup: There has been some confusion regarding a recent piece of data that was inadvertently posted on DraftKings’ blog containing information about players and fantasy games. Some reports are mischaracterizing the situation and implying that there was wrongdoing. We want to set the record straight. For the last several days, DraftKings has been conducting a thorough investigation, including examining records of internal communications and access to our database, interviewing our employees, and sharing information regarding the incident with FanDuel. The evidence clearly shows that the employee in question did not receive the data on player utilization until 1:40 p.m. ET on Sunday, September 27. Lineups on FanDuel locked at 1:00 p.m. that day, at which point this employee (along with every other person playing in a FanDuel contest) could no longer edit his player selections. This clearly demonstrates that this employee could not possibly have used the information in question to make decisions about his FanDuel lineup. Again, there is no evidence that any information was used to create an unfair advantage, and any insinuations to the contrary are factually incorrect. October 6: DraftKings and FanDuel release a new statement in tandem with the Fantasy Sports Trade Association, a group founded in 1999 to represent the interests of this growing industry: The Fantasy Sports Trade Association (FSTA), DraftKings and FanDuel have always understood that nothing is more important than the integrity of the games we offer to fans. For that reason, the FSTA has included in its charter that member companies must restrict employee access to and use of competitive data for play on other sites. At this time, there is no evidence that any employee or company has violated these rules. That said, the inadvertent release of non-public data by a fantasy operator employee has sparked a conversation among fantasy sports players about the extent to which industry employees should be able participate in fantasy sports contests on competitor sites. We’ve heard from users that they would appreciate more clarity about the rules for this issue. In the interim, while the industry works to develop and release a more detailed policy, DraftKings and FanDuel have decided to prohibit employees from participating in online fantasy sports contests for money. October 6: ESPN announces it is yanking all DraftKings sponsored segments. However: it used the term “temporarily,” and it is not pulling DraftKings and FanDuel advertisements, which are running so frequently on the network that at times viewers are seeing back-to-back ads for the two sites. So, what this means: ads will continue, but for now, you won’t hear hosts say things like, “You’re watching NFL Insiders, sponsored by DraftKings.” It also means that while ESPN isn’t ready to back away from these sites (it has a lucrative long-term marketing deal with DraftKings that becomes exclusive in January), the network is jarred by the current negative attention. October 6: NY Attorney General’s office sends letters to Robins and Eccles, launching an inquiry into DraftKings and FanDuel. In letters sent by his office to DraftKings CEO Jason Robins and FanDuel CEO Nigel Eccles, he requested the names of the employees that collect user data—the data that Haskell inadvertently released last week—and records, from the past year, of any money won by employees of each on the rival site. The 2-page letters include 9 different bullet points requesting responses or specific information. “The integrity of FanDuel… and its policies and practices are matters of concern to the public, particularly to the many customers who put money at risk on your site,” the FanDuel letter says. Other lawmakers had already recently requested inquiries into these companies. In early September, Frank Pallone, a U.S. Democratic congressman from New Jersey, called for a hearing on the legality of fantasy sports. Days later, Massachusetts attorney general Maura Healey said her agency was also looking at the legal issues. That shows pressure from both sides: Pallone has advocated legal sports betting in his state; Healey is a vocal opponent of gambling. October 7: DraftKings CEO Jason Robins appears live on ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” and host Bob Ley grills him on a number of issues. Robins acknowledges that employees having access to ownership data and playing on either site is not fair, but insists, again, that Haskell did not, in this case, see the data before setting his FanDuel lineup. Robins called the Times story “bad reporting.” He also told Ley, “We are committed to having a completely transparent and open environment” so that users know the playing field on both sites is “fair.” Robins added that DraftKings has engaged San Francisco law firm Greenberg Traurig to investigate and produce a report that DraftKings will make public. October 8: DraftKings CEO Jason Robins gives a candid interview to Fortune in which he answers questions about the scandal and what the company will do to correct its problems. Read it here. October 8: A Kentucky man filed a class action lawsuit in Manhattan court accusing both DraftKings and FanDuel of negligence and fraud. October 9: DraftKings cofounders Jason Robins, Matt Kalish and Paul Liberman send the following email to all registered DraftKings users: As the three co-founders of DraftKings, we want to speak to you directly about what has been going on. We know that you play DraftKings because it’s fun and because it gives you a chance to showcase your skills against millions of other fans, and we know that you cannot do that without a level playing field. The fairness and integrity of our contests has been at the heart of everything we have built since we started the company three and a half years ago. Over the past week, questions have arisen around an employee of ours who won a significant prize on a competitor’s site. While our internal investigation has reflected absolutely no wrongdoing on his part, this has still pushed us to reevaluate our processes. Long before this happened, the wheels were in motion for an external review of our policies and procedures. Given the pace of our growth, we felt that an audit was critical to ensure the security of our platform, so we hired an external law firm experienced with these issues to conduct a full review. But that is not enough. In addition to this audit, we have put in place a set of core measures that we believe are central to this process: We expanded our existing policy prohibiting DraftKings employees from playing on our site to prohibit participation in any public daily fantasy sports contests for money. We also will prohibit employees from any other Daily Fantasy Sports contest operator from participating in games on DraftKings. We are actively reviewing our organizational structure and will add resources to ensure compliance with all recommendations stemming from internal and external findings. We are working with multiple third parties to strengthen all internal policies and procedures. The events of the past week have caused us to take a broader look and to ask those both here and externally to widen the scope of their analysis of our business. We are aware that there is room for growth, regardless of the strength of our current platform. We will work tirelessly to improve all aspects of our customer experience, which is every bit as important to us as the effort we put into our product. You will no doubt continue to hear from the media about both DraftKings and the industry. It is our prerogative to keep driving that conversation ourselves. We will work to respond to your concerns in complete transparency and to inform you of the steps we are taking to inspire your full trust. Please know how grateful we are for the passion and loyalty you have shown DraftKings throughout our history and especially over the past week. You remain our greatest priority. October 14: The Wall Street Journal reported that the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Justice, has launched an inquiry into the daily fantasy sports industry. It began by contacting DraftKings users to ask about their experiences using the site. October 15: The Nevada Gaming Control Board rules that daily fantasy sports platforms constitute gambling, and thus need a gambling operator’s license to offer service in the state; it orders these companies to cease and desist unless and until they get licensed. DraftKings and FanDuel are not legal in Nevada. Fortune will no longer update this timeline, as this particular scandal appears to have concluded. That is: the legal scrutiny of DraftKings and FanDuel continues, and has only gotten louder, but it no longer centers on, or has much to do with, the issue of “insider play.” Now, government agencies and lawmakers in various states are reviewing whether daily fantasy sports contests constitute illegal gambling or not. While the fuss sparked by Ethan Haskell certainly brought extra negative attention, it is now somewhat resolved. Did this scandal matter? Our writers are somewhat split. Dan Primack believes this scandal really mattered, because it will hurt the companies’ ability to attract new users; I believe this particular scandal won’t matter that much—Haskell’s success only reinforces the argument that these games do require skill. For more background on these two companies, read: Are DraftKings and FanDuel legal? The significance of NFL players appearing in DraftKings ads FanDuel vs. DraftKings: Which is bigger?

After all the hue and cry, the New York Attorney General is investigating both companies.

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http://nypost.com/2016/05/31/desperate-hillary-bolting-nj-to-stave-off-surging-sanders/

http://web.archive.org/web/20160618040840id_/http://nypost.com:80/2016/05/31/desperate-hillary-bolting-nj-to-stave-off-surging-sanders/

Clinton bolts for California to stave off Sanders

Hillary Clinton, who had little to smile about as she marched in her hometown’s Memorial Day parade, is so desperate to stave off a humiliating loss to Bernie Sanders in California that she is ditching a planned stop in New Jersey to stretch out her Golden State trip this week. Clinton leads Sanders in California, but only by a measly 2 points, 46 percent to 44 percent, the Public Policy Institute of California found Thursday in the race’s most recent poll. Although her delegate lead is all but insurmountable, a loss in the nation’s most populous state could slow Clinton’s momentum, following a State Department report that slammed her use of a private ­email server as secretary of state. Meanwhile, Sanders has ramped up his campaign in the Golden State ahead of its primary next Tuesday, hoping to pull off an upset victory that would theoretically keep his campaign alive. With 475 delegates at stake in California, Sanders has said he aims to secure as many as possible to make the case at July’s Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia that he would be the stronger general-election candidate. Voters in New Jersey and four other states vote that day. A victory in California would also help Sanders argue that his far-left platform appeals to a diverse bloc of voters. Clinton’s campaign announced Monday that an “organizing event” planned for Thursday at Mercer County Community College in West Windsor, NJ, was canceled due to a “scheduling” change. She will still appear at a fundraiser with Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) in New Jersey and another with former Attorney General Eric Holder in Manhattan on Tuesday, followed by a rally at Rutgers University in Newark on Wednesday. Details of her California appearances were not immediately released, but it was expected that Clinton would crisscross the state for five straight days to try to seal the deal with voters. In her only public appearance Monday, Clinton marched in a Memorial Day parade in Chappaqua, Westchester County, with husband Bill Clinton and Gov. Andrew Cuomo. The crowd cheered, and many waved Clinton campaign signs. The Clintons have marched in the parade before, and resident Kelly Aidekman said she viewed them “as if they were any other neighbors” in the affluent suburb. One local wasn’t so neighborly. John Nadler held a sign supporting Donald Trump, saying he wanted “to let people know that there’s more than one choice.” Sanders, meanwhile, campaigned Monday in Oakland, Calif., stopping at Allen Temple, a historic black church. He was joined by actor Danny Glover. “She’s getting very nervous lately,” Sanders said. “I don’t wanna add to her anxiety. “So . . . don’t tell her: We’re going to win here in California.” At one point, four people rushed the stage and were taken into custody by the Secret Service before they could reach Sanders. It is not clear what they wanted. Sanders, who has criticized Clinton’s support for the Iraq war, also took to Twitter to push his pacifist politics on Memorial Day. “We must never take lightly the decision to send our sons and daughters to battle, and it must always be the last resort,” read one tweet. “We must go beyond fine speeches if we’re serious about protecting the needs of veterans. They’ve protected us. Now we must protect them,” another read. And he slammed Clinton for what he called her lack of support for financially devastated Puerto Rico. “As has happened many times before, Secretary Clinton has changed her mind and is inching closer to positions I have taken,” he said. “But what she says only days before Election Day in Puerto Rico is too little, too late.” Clinton supported a House bill establishing a control board that would have the power to impose austerity measures to ease Puerto Rico’s $70 billion debt. She has softened her position as the island’s June 5 primary approaches. North and South Dakota, Montana, New Mexico and New Jersey will also hold primaries June 7.

Hillary Clinton, who had little to smile about as she marched in her hometown’s Memorial Day parade, is so desperate to stave off a humiliating loss to Bernie Sanders in California that she is ditc…

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10 reasons to hate Google

How can this company, asks Brian S Hall, complain about anti-competitive behavior? The open letter by Google’s GOOG chief legal counsel attacking Apple AAPL and Microsoft MSFT and calling for government intervention (see here) has unleashed a flood of outraged responses, but none quite so full throated as the one posted by Brian S Hall on his Smartphone Wars blog. “If you have a monopoly business and generate monopoly profits and take those monopoly profits to another industry and *gave away* what your competitors (must) charge for, which led you to quickly capture the *dominant* market share, would you… If you don’t get the “whine like a bitch” reference, read Brian Drummond’s letter on Google’s official blog. If you have trouble seeing Google as a monopoly — and if you only knew Google from its lightning-fast search engine or its marvelous maps, you might — Hall is happy to enumerate. He lists 10 instances of Google (“a company that innovates at nothing,” he says) using its dominant position in one business to enter new markets and destroy existing businesses — a textbook definition of illegal monopolistic behavior. Below: Hall’s 10 examples, verbatim. He could go on, and he does. It’s a classic Brian S Hall rant. NOTE: Business Insider has reposted Hall’s item in full, but not before removing some of its pungency by replacing the word “pussy” throughout with “[lame].” The piece is better in the original form, which you can get here.

How can this company, asks Brian S Hall, complain about anti-competitive behavior? The open letter by Google's chief legal counsel attacking Apple and Microsoft and calling for government intervention (see here) has unleashed a flood of outraged responses, but none quite so full throated as the one posted by Brian S Hall on his Smartphone Wars…

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12 terrific New England inns

Forget Victorian froufrou: This is luxury in a log cabin. Rooms feature rustic, nature-themed decor. Some have fireplaces, two-person whirlpools, and steam showers. Situated in the heart of the White Mountains, this romantic retreat is for outdoor enthusiasts, with hiking, skiing, snowmobiling, and even dog sledding available nearby. Soak your tired muscles in the outdoor hot tub or enjoy time around the fire pit. Some rooms offer glorious views of Mount Washington. 3249 Main Street, 603-869-2189, bearmountainlodge.net Guests checking in late afternoon will likely be greeted by the aroma of something sweet baking in the oven for afternoon tea, which, depending on the time of year, is served on the wide and inviting front porch or in the library before a roaring fire. The Birchwood is acclaimed for its breakfasts, and each morning begins with gourmet dishes made from fresh local ingredients. Less than a mile from Tanglewood and in close proximity to several arts festivals, this is a great home base in the summer. 7 Hubbard Street, 413-637-2600, birchwood-inn.com If you truly want to get far, far away from it all, Blair Hill is the place to go. High on a hill overlooking Moosehead Lake, the inn offers take-your-breath-away beauty and sumptuous guest rooms decorated in a tranquil palette. After a hearty breakfast featuring regional offerings such as Spicy Maine Crab Cakes “Eggs Benedict” With Lemon Aioli, you’ll be fortified for a guided Moose Safari canoe adventure, a mountain hike, or cruise on the lake. In-room spa services are available. Visit in the spring, summer, or fall — the whole area hunkers down and hibernates in winter. 351 Lily Bay Road, 207-695-0224, blairhill.com Innkeepers Rick Litchfield and Bev Davis of Captain Lord Mansion in Kennebunkport. After 37 years of innkeeping, Bev Davis and Rick Litchfield know exactly how to take care of their guests. Every room at the Captain Lord has a fireplace, and the bathrooms feature heated marble floors. There’s even an on-site spa if you need a little more pampering. With beaches just minutes away, historic sites, great restaurants, shopping, and the occasional Bush Sr. sighting, the inn is only 1½ hours from Boston but a vacation world away. Perhaps the best recommendation can be found in the inn’s Memory Garden, where guests who have stayed 10 or more times have had their names engraved on pavers. There are more than 800! 6 Pleasant Street, 207-967-3141, captainlord.com Enter a world of Victorian elegance in this restored 1876 mansion, steps away from the famed oceanside Cliff Walk that offers a backyard glimpse of the ritzy mansions of the Gilded Age. Opulent guest rooms all have fireplaces, half have whirlpool tubs, and one, St. George’s Suite, features a Carrara marble bathroom with spa shower. In former resident artist Beatrice Turner’s room, her hand-painted flowers and butterflies still adorn the door. Mixed Berry Cheesecake French Toast is a fittingly decadent breakfast, and the wine and hors d’oeuvres reception offered daily in the formal drawing room is a refined and lovely touch. 2 Seaview Avenue, 401-847-1811, cliffsideinn.com Innkeepers and booking services can offer tips for a happy stay — even if communal dining isn’t your thing. Escape to this laid-back Cape Cod inn and you’ll feel like it’s your own beach house. Innkeepers Nancy Hunter-Young and Rick Kowarek provide everything you could want for a day at Sandy Neck Beach (less than 2 miles away), from boogie boards and coolers to beach chairs and umbrellas. Enjoy a soak in the outdoor hot tub, sip coffee in the early morning quiet on the big screened porch, or relax with a good book in an Adirondack chair next to a beautiful hydrangea. The inn has five rooms, including a suite, all with private baths and oversize marble showers. 591 Main Street, 508-362-8418, honeysucklehill.com History buffs will appreciate this inn, which was once the home of Edward Isham, law partner of Robert Todd Lincoln (son of President Lincoln). In fact, you can see Robert Lincoln’s signature in the inn’s guestbook. Modern-day activities such as shopping, skiing, and enjoying the arts are among the area’s attractions. All of the inn’s rooms have whirlpool tubs for two, and most feature fireplaces. Beautiful outdoor areas, including gardens and a gazebo, invite guests to sit with a glass of wine or cup of coffee and just breathe. 1842 Main Street, 802-362-1163, ormsbyhill.com The wonderful thing about the Inn at Weston . . . actually, it’s hard to pick just one. This beautiful old home’s rooms are furnished with antiques, and several have fireplaces and whirlpool tubs. Local art hangs on the walls; the gourmet dinners change seasonally and are served in a dining room where a charming piano man takes requests. The delicious breakfasts that innkeeper Linda Aldrich makes are filled with local ingredients. Man’s best friend is welcome here, too. In fact, dog host Lexi greets everyone with a friendly wag. 630 Main Street, Route 100, 802-824-6789, innweston.com The relaxing begins at Jacob Hill Inn the moment you check in and are greeted with a glass of wine. The exquisite rooms of this former hunt club offer guests the kind of pampering its elite members of the past — Vanderbilts, Firestones, Grosvenors — might have been accustomed to. If you’re in the Water Fire Grand Suite, with its wood-burning fireplace, two-person whirlpool tub, and glassed-in sitting area, you may not want to leave your room, but you should. On the grounds you’ll find a pool and tennis courts, and you’re just 10 minutes from the center of Providence, with its shops, restaurants, galleries, and shows. 120 Jacob Street, 508-336-9165, inn-providence-ri.com A pleasing study in contrasts awaits guests at Martin Hill. Gardens with more than 25 varieties of perennials encircle the inn, with paths that meander and sweet spots to stop and smell the roses. Yet a short walk takes you to the seaport city’s hip downtown, where there’s always plenty going on. Likewise, the rooms preserve the antique appointments appropriate to their 200-year-old heritage, but modern amenities like refrigerators and high-definition televisions are cleverly concealed within. Breakfast favorites include the Tomato Pesto Strata and the Teacup Mousse. 404 Islington Street, 603-436-2287, martinhillinn.com This 18th-century inn has lots of history and lots of stories. Ask innkeeper Leslie Mulcahy to tell you about the rooms named Mary’s Wish and Molly’s Promise. Many of the rooms have working fireplaces and spa showers, and the common areas are cozy, comfortable, and stocked with habit-forming Stave puzzles. Kingdom Trails is close by for mountain bikers and — in the winter — cross-country skiers. 48 Lower Waterford Road, 802-748-5168, rabbithillinn.com You might think you’re staying on your own private boat at this dockside bed-and-breakfast. Steamboat boasts Mystic’s only waterfront accommodations; all but one room has a river view, and several have wood-burning fireplaces. Step out the front door and right into quaint downtown Mystic, with its myriad shops, restaurants, and galleries. The famed Mystic Seaport museum is also a short walk away. Summer is prime time here, but each season has something to offer. After Thanksgiving, Mystic dons its holiday finery and you can enjoy a Christmas stroll and boat parade. 73 Steamboat Wharf, 860-536-8300, steamboatinnmystic.com

On the sea, in the mountains, or somewhere in between, each features a range of amenities — and a distinct vibe.

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http://fortune.com/2016/01/01/startup-cities-better-than-silicon-valley/

http://web.archive.org/web/20160619082308id_/http://fortune.com:80/2016/01/01/startup-cities-better-than-silicon-valley/

5 Startup Cities Better Than Silicon Valley

The Entrepreneur Insider network is an online community where the most thoughtful and influential people in America’s startup scene contribute answers to timely questions about entrepreneurship and careers. Today’s answer to the question “How important is it for startups to be in Silicon Valley?” is written by Mitali Rakhit, founder and CEO of Globelist. As the founder of an early-stage startup, you should be aiming to set up shop near Sand Hill Road as soon as you identify a business problem and choose your cofounder, right? With an acceptance into a competitive accelerator program in hand, you are surely poised for success and ready to claim your title as the next unicorn. Or is there a greater chance for a bust than you might otherwise presume? It is true that with the abundance of funding and proximity to thousands of other startups, Silicon Valley initially looks very attractive to most first-time founders. However, once an understanding of some of the costs falls into place, most people begin to realize there are better alternatives. Silicon Valley is expensive. Everything from funding (giving up 30 to 35% of your equity in a seed round is common) to housing, food, and infrastructure command a premium in the marketplace. Nearby San Francisco is a bubble with a population that doesn’t necessarily reflect the needs of the masses. You might end up finding early adopters for your product in the city and then scale to middle America, only to find that your blockbuster app can no longer grow its user base. See also: Why You Should Consider Keeping Your Business Close to Home The environment is also extremely competitive. Being in Silicon Valley means that you are inside the ring with the best of the best, and you will need to be that much better to stand out with your offering in order to succeed. The real question is: Will you be able to do it faster than everyone else around you and before you run out of money? So what’s the alternative? Well, the good news is that there are many great options—both within the U.S. and abroad—to start your startup without losing half of the pie before you gallop out of the starting gate. Here are five solid options: This is a modern city with access to $40,000 in equity-free grants and a residence visa via Start-Up Chile, according to Start-Up Chile director Sebastian Vidal. He says trust is of paramount importance in the business environment here, lending to a strong economy and more transparency in agreements, especially when compared to the rest of Latin America. Several tech giants such as Google GOOG and Microsoft MSFT have acquired startups based in the Boulder area. The city is also one of the most productive metro areas in the U.S. based on GDP, and there is a large university population from which new companies can source talent, according to Business Insider. 3. Dubai, United Arab Emirates Home to AstroLabs, the first Google tech hub in the Middle East and North Africa Region, Dubai is one of the fastest–growing startup cities. Ladies will find themselves in good company here, as the region boasts one of the highest rates of female tech entrepreneurs in the world at 35% (compared to 10% globally). The low tax rate for corporations and individuals also makes the city attractive for startups. With a low cost of living and proximity to several Fortune 500 companies, Omaha has dubbed itself “Silicon Prairie,” according to CNN Money. There is also a Nebraska Advantage tax-incentive structure that makes starting up cost-friendly for small businesses. Finding mentors here should also be a much more accessible feat. You might even land Warren Buffett. The world’s second-largest population, with over 1 billion residents, calls India home. A burgeoning middle class will provide a massive market for tech entrepreneurs in the upcoming decades. In addition, access to low-cost technical talent and several international VCs, such as Sequoia and Accel, that have set up regional offices make Bangalore a great option for startups. You’ll get much more bang for your buck in one of these destinations compared to Silicon Valley—you can grow into a lean success in the next five years. You’ll also build a great international network of colleagues and get to take that semester abroad you might’ve missed out on in college. Not following the crowd to the Bay Area may be the best choice you ever make. Mitali Rakhit is the founder and CEO of Globelist, providing distribution and marketing in fashion and beauty. She is also the founder of The Brown Girl Boss, a resource for current and aspiring South Asian Female Entrepreneurs. She is currently based in New York but will be opening offices in Dubai and Singapore to build out her businesses in the GCC and Southeast Asia. Read all responses to the Entrepreneur Insider question: How important is it for startups to be in Silicon Valley? Why Silicon Valley Will Never Guarantee Success by Steven N. Kaplan, professor of entrepreneurship and finance at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. The One Thing That Separates Startup Winners From Losers by Gene Wang, cofounder and CEO of People Power. Here’s What Can Happen When a Startup Stays out of Silicon Valley by Karl Martin, founder and CTO of Nymi. The Surprising Way Entrepreneurs Can Recruit Better Talent by Stephen Lake, cofounder and CEO of Thalmic Labs. Why it’s Time to Stop Blaming Investors by Peter Thomson, marketing director of SeedInvest. Focusing on This Won’t Guarantee Success by Michael Maven, founder of Carter & Kingsley. This City Could Be Better for Entrepreneurs Than Silicon Valley by Simon Berg, CEO of Ceros. What Entrepreneurs Can Learn From Steve Jobs About Silicon Valley by Andrew Filev, founder and CEO of Wrike. What This CEO Wants You to Know About Billion-Dollar Companies by Gavin Stewart, co-founder and CEO of NavaFit. What Entrepreneurs Get Wrong About Funding by Linda Darragh, professor of entrepreneurial practice at Northwestern University. The Key to Launching a Successful Startup by Josh Kaplan, director of properties and ventures at United Entertainment Group. The Secret to Any Startup’s Success by William Vanderbloemen, founder and CEO of Vanderbloemen Search Group. The One Myth Keeping Entrepreneurs From Success by Craig Morantz, CEO of Kira Talent. The One Thing That Can Drag Your Company Down by Suneera Madhani, founder and CEO of Fattmerchant. The One Thing More Important Than Being in Silicon Valley by Mollie Spilman, chief revenue officer at Criteo. The Biggest Downside of Moving to Silicon Valley by Allison Berliner, founder and CEO of Cataluv. What Virgin Mobile’s Cofounder Wants You to Know About Silicon Valley by Amol Sarva, cofoundera of Virgin Mobile USA and developer of East of East. The Silicon Valley Myth: Proof Your Startup Can Thrive Elsewhere by Fayez Mohamood, cofounder and CEO of Bluecore.

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http://fortune.com/2015/10/14/uber-driver-app-data-leak/

http://web.archive.org/web/20160619121555id_/http://fortune.com:80/2015/10/14/uber-driver-app-data-leak/

Drivers Licenses and Social Security Numbers Leaked By Uber

Uber released a new mobile app for its drivers on Tuesday, and also exposed some of their information accidentally. According to a report from Motherboard, an Uber driver spotted the bug while uploading a document on Tuesday to the driver web portal. The site loaded hundreds of other drivers’ documents and information including drivers license scans, Social Security numbers and tax forms. The driver, who remains anonymous, reported the bug to Uber, which told Motherboard it fixed within 30 minutes of being alerted of it. “We were notified about a bug impacting a fraction of our U.S. drivers earlier this afternoon,“ an Uber spokesperson told Motherboard. “We’d like to thank the driver who drew it to our attention and apologize to those drivers whose information may have been affected. Their security is incredibly important to Uber and we will follow up with them directly.” Uber said the leak affected 674 drivers in the U.S. This isn’t the first time Uber data has been exposed. As Motherboard notes, Uber recently fixed a security issue that let hackers maintain control of compromised accounts even after the passenger changed their passwords. Uber has also filed a lawsuit related to a data breach in 2014 that exposed more than 50,000 drivers’ information.

Uber quickly fixed it but 674 drivers were affected.

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http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/gossip/o-agree-kardashian-paternity-test-khloe-visits-article-1.2676500

http://web.archive.org/web/20160619183551id_/http://www.nydailynews.com:80/entertainment/gossip/o-agree-kardashian-paternity-test-khloe-visits-article-1.2676500

O.J. will agree to Kardashian paternity test if Khloe visits him

O.J. Simpson would reportedly take a paternity test to see if Khloe Kardashian is his daughter, but there's one catch: The reality star would need to visit him in prison. The former football star, a close friend of late lawyer Robert Kardashian, will consent to a mouth swab but wants the "Kocktails with Khloe" starlet to "show him a little respect" and stop by the Lovelock Correctional Center in Nevada, according to the Daily Mail Online. The website cites Jeffrey Felix, a former Lovelock prison guard who claims the facility has given permission for the test, as its source. Felix also penned a book about Simpson called "Guarding the Juice." "He wants to talk to her about some other things too, but more importantly like her he wants to know if she is his daughter," Felix said. Khloe Kardashian paternity claim: O.J. Simpson 'could be' her father In the new documentary "The Man Who Saved O.J. Simpson," Felix claimed the 31-year-old Kardashian had begged Simpson to put the paternity question to rest with a test. Kardashian is the third of four children born to Robert Kardashian, who died of esophageal cancer in 2003, and Kris Jenner, who divorced him in 1991. The reality star set off ceaseless rumors after speculating on a 2009 episode of "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" that she might be adopted — and even swabbed her mom's mouth for a DNA test. They continued to fend off gossip over Kardashian's paternity, particularly after Robert Kardashian's ex-wives Jan Ashley and Ellen Kardashian, who he married after divorcing Jenner, suggested in a 2012 Star Magazine story that she wasn't a member of the famous family. Khloe Kardashian got first taste of racism during O.J. trial "The audacity you have to mention my father's name like this! Should be ashamed of urself! I let a lot of things slide but this one is really low," Kardashian, then married to Lamar Odom, tweeted at the time. "YOU ARE DISGUSTING! (yes you know who YOU are)." Jenner later chimed in during a "Good Morning America" interview, calling the theory "crap" and telling its promoters to "get a life." "I was there, right. I gave birth, I know who the dad was. Everything’s good. We’re all good," the momager said. The ex-NFL star was famously acquitted of the murder of ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman in the 1995 "Trial of the Century," during which Robert Kardashian served as a member of Simpson's legal dream team. Jenner, who has admitted she wasn’t faithful to the trial lawyer during their marriage, was a close friend of Brown Simpson. Simpson is currently serving a 33-year sentence on armed robbery and kidnapping charges stemming from a 2008 Las Vegas hotel-room altercation. He could be eligible for parole in 2017. A rep for Kardashian and attorney for Simpson have not yet returned the Daily News' requests for comment.

O.J. Simpson would reportedly take a paternity test to see if Khloe Kardashian is his daughter, but there's one condition.

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