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For those who puzzle over how supermodels stay so whippet thin, a former Vogue editor has lifted the lid on the horrific lengths some go to to maintain their wispy waistlines and cut-glass hipbones. Kirstie Clements, sensationally fired from her role as editor of Australian Vogue last May, has written a tell-all book about the fashion industry, claiming some models eat tissue paper to feel full, starve themselves for days on end, spend frequent stints on hospital drips, and are often so weak with hunger they struggle to keep their eyes open. As reported by Georgia Graham in the International Business Times, The Vogue Factor also explains that within the fashion world there is 'thin', and then there is 'Paris thin' - a term that describes the size of a model who has starved their already fragile body down two dress sizes in order to be cast in big oversea shows. Kirstie Clements' book, The Vogue Factor, is a tell-all expose of the fashion industry, and the lengths some models go to to stay thin . In her controversial tome, Clements says she once spent three days on a shoot with a model who didn't see her eat a single meal - and that on the final day she could barely stand or keep her eyes open. She also reveals how an Russian model once told her that her flat mate was a 'fit' model - a model whose body is used by top designers for clothes-fittings - and therefore spent lots of time on a drip. Clements spent 25 years at Australian Vogue - her book's subhead is 'from front desk to editor' - and steered the ship for 13 of them. Her departure was sudden - she was called to a meeting and dismissed, forced to clean her office and leave without bidding farewell to her staff - and she was replaced quickly by Edwina McCann, editor of Harper's Bazaar. Clements describes her sacking simply as a 'regime change' that was part and parcel of the dramatic Vogue narrative, but some critics believe the new book - her first - is her way of exacting revenge on the Rupert Murdoch-owned title. Samantha Cameron watches painfully-thin Chloe Memisevic walk for Erdem at London Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2011, left, and former Australian Vogue editor Kirstie Clements, right .
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The Vogue Factor, by Kirstie Clements, former editor of Australian Vogue .
Clements says models eat tissues to stay full and starve themselves for days .
She was fired in May 2012 after 25 years at the magazine .
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By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 16:58 EST, 18 June 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 03:30 EST, 19 June 2013 . Victim: Viloude Louis, 5, was found unconscious on the floor after she was brutally beaten . A 13-year-old boy has been arrested after allegedly using wrestling moves he had seen on television on his five-year-old half sister, who died from the brutal beating. Viloude Louis suffered broken ribs, internal bleeding and a . lacerated liver after Devalon Armstrong repeatedly slammed her on a bed, punched her in the stomach, jumped on her and struck her with his elbow several times, police said. Deputies say they received a 911 call . from the home in Terrytown, Louisiana on Sunday afternoon saying the girl had been found unconscious on the bathroom floor. Paramedics found the girl unresponsive and she . was pronounced dead a short time later. Armstrong was arrested on Tuesday after a coroner investigation found the girl died of multiple injuries, two days after the death, Jefferson Parish Sheriff's spokesman Col. John Fortunato said. Detectives initially spoke with the girl's mother, Adlourdes Desvallons, 39, and found out that the teenager had been babysitting while she went to the store, Fortunato told The Times-Picayune. Devalon told investigators the girl had a stomach ache and went upstairs to brush her teeth, and 30 minutes later he found her on the floor complaining her stomach still hurt, Fortunato said. Scene: The little girl suffered the beating in this Louisiana neighborhood while her half-brother babysat her . The teenager claimed he took the girl downstairs to the sofa and called 911 when he saw she was no longer breathing. Dispatchers told him to start CPR and paramedics arrived on the scene. The coroner's office said there did not appear to be any outward signs of injury and her death was left as unclassified, but on Monday, Devalon told detectives he had been practicing World Wrestling Entertainment-style moves on the girl, The Times-Picayune reported. He said that even when his little half sister said she was in pain, he continued to carry out the moves on her. Detectives added that he appeared to be enjoying talking about the assault. The Sheriff's office has now classified her death as a homicide and Devalon was arrested on suspicion of second-degree murder and is being held at a juvenile detention center. Violent: The boy said he used moves on his sister like those he had seen on World Wrestling Entertainment . A probable cause hearing began in the case in Jefferson Parish juvenile court on Tuesday but was stopped after a defense attorney raised the issue of whether Devalon is mentally competent. Psychiatrists will now need to evaluate and recommend whether or not he is able to participate in his own defense. A hearing for his competency is scheduled for next month.
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Viloude Louis was 'beaten by her half brother while their mother was out'
Devalon Armstrong 'repeated punched her in the stomach, jumped on her and slammed her on the bed as he copied WWE moves'
Death was initially ruled unclassified but he later admitted his role .
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By . Zoe Szathmary . A wounded 13-year-old girl and her dead baby sister were found in an Oregon hotel room Friday morning as police launched a desperate search for their mother, who is wanted in connection to the incident. The two children were found by housekeeping at Surfsand Resort in Cannon Beach, Oregonlive.com reported. Washington woman Jessica Smith, 40, may . be involved, Cannon Beach Police Chief Jason . Schermerhorn said. Authorities are looking for Jessica Smith, pictured . 'Housekeeping at the hotel had found a 13-year-old child that had critical cuts and a deceased infant,' Schermerhorn said in a release. The 13-year-old was flown to a hospital, he said. The police put out an appeal for anyone who may have seen Smith, who is believed to be traveling in a gold SUV. Smith may be in 'a Gold 2007 Chevy Suburban with WA license plate APX3141 associated with the incident,' Schermerhorn said. In a press conference Friday afternoon, Schermerhorn said both the baby and the 13-year-old are Smith's daughters. The girls' mother is a person of interest, he said - and it is not clear where she may be driving to. 'Our hearts go out to the family and it's always hard when there's children involved,' he said. Schermerhorn told reporters Smith checked into the Surfsand Resort on July 30, and the two girls were discovered Friday morning at 9:40am. There were no signs of forced entry into the hotel room, he said. Schermerhorn said he could not provide a . time of death for the baby girl. The 13-year-old girl went into surgery, . he told reporters. 'We don't know at this time what [weapons were used],' Schermerhorn said. KPTV reported 'Smith's husband filed to end their marriage on June 30. She then filed a restraining order against him on July 17.' Scene: The children were found at Surfsand Resort in Cannon Beach, Oregon, pictured . Smith may be in this 2007 Chevrolet Suburban. The SUV reportedly has Washington APX3141 plates .
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A wounded 13-year-old girl and her dead baby sister were found in an Oregon hotel room on Friday .
The two children were found at Surfsand Resort in Cannon Beach .
The girls' mother, 40-year-old Jessica Smith, has been deemed a person of interest by authorities .
Smith checked into the hotel July 30, and her children were found Friday morning at 9:40am, authorities said .
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By . Associated Press and Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 22:06 EST, 22 October 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 04:32 EST, 23 October 2012 . Moments after Jennifer Shedid had arrived home from school, a massive explosion shook her entire apartment block. Knife-like shards of glass from the windows of her 4th-floor Beirut apartment flew across the room, slashing the 10-year-old from head to toe. A neighbour helped her father carry Jennifer out of the rubble, before a soldier took the girl to an ambulance that sped off to the hospital. An image, published in newspapers around the world, showed the girl being carried out with deep head and face wounds and her sneakers soaked red with blood following Friday's bomb blast. But remarkably, after operations to remove the glass and repair her damaged veins, she survived. Survival: Jennifer Shedid, 10, recovers in hospital on Monday in Beirut, Lebanon, after the car bomb attack . Horrific injuries: A man carries Jennifer last Friday at the scene of the deadly explosion in Achrafiyeh, Beirut . Yesterday she was pictured in a . hospital with more than 300 stitches in her body, 90 of them in her face . and head while and about 50 more on her hands. Her head was shaved and . her face was swollen. Jennifer's 17-year-old sister . Jozianne, sitting in the lobby of the hospital, recounted the scene in . their home just after the blast struck. Jennifer was on the floor bleeding . while Jozianne said she was thrown by the power of the blast and landed . under a China cabinet where she suffered minor injuries. 'As I opened my eyes I saw that much . of the apartment was turned upside down,' she told reporters. 'I stood . up and started shouting "Jenny, Jenny" but no one answered. 'Then I found her next to a couch and . covered with debris that fell from the ceiling,' said Jozianne, who had . a bandage on her left brow from a glass injury. 'I screamed for help but no one . answered,' said Jozianne, wearing a cross around her neck. 'I carried . her and kept talking to her. I did not want her to go unconscious. She . was holding me saying: “Help me”.' Hope: Mrs Shedid, kisses her daughter Jennifer, who was seriously injured during the car bomb attack . Their father Richard was climbing the stairs to the apartment on his way . back from buying bread for the family when the car bomb struck on . Friday afternoon less than 20 meters away, shaking doors and shattering . his home. He grabbed his bleeding daughter from the arms of her older sister Jozianne and rushed her downstairs. 'As I carried her down the stairs, she was trembling and telling me, . "Please dad rescue me",' the father told The Associated Press on Monday. 'As we were in the ambulance, she was better but losing lots of blood,' said her father. The blast, which hit the Shedids' narrow residential street in Beirut's . predominantly Christian neighbourhood of Achrafieh, targeted Brigadier . General Wissam al-Hassan, a top intelligence official who was one of the . most powerful opponents of Syria in Lebanon. He was killed along with his bodyguard and a female civilian - a mother . of three. It has sparked angry accusations from Syria's opponents in . Lebanon that Damascus was behind the bombings. Jennifer was one of the dozens wounded in the blast. At her bedside: Richard Shedid (right), the father of Jennifer, visits his daughter in intensive care in Beirut . Helping hand: Jozianne (right), 17, the sister of Jennifer Shedid, is aided by her cousin Rita (left) in Beirut . On Monday, as she lay in her hospital bed she smiled faintly, even . managing to blow kisses to visiting reporters, calling out 'hi, hi.' Antoine Younan, the doctor leading the team treating Jennifer, showed . reporters on Monday a picture of the girl when she arrived at the . hospital. 'Her body was riddled with glass wounds,' he said. Younan said Jennifer is in stable condition. The veins of her right hands, severely damaged by the glass, are healing and she moved her fingers for the first time on Monday. She underwent operations to remove the shards repair her veins and stitch her wounds. Jennifer's mother Nisrin was at work on the other side of the city in the commercial neighbourhood of Hamra when she received a message on her phone about an explosion in her neighbourhood Achrafieh. She jumped into a taxi, but had to get out about a mile away because cars were kept away from the scene to clear the roads for ambulances. Caring: Nisrin Shedid (left), the mother of Shedid, visits her daughter's bedside in intensive care in Beirut . The mobile phone network was overloaded and she could not get through to her husband or children. But she did receive a call from her daughter's school that let her know she had arrived home in her school bus. She ran toward her apartment. ‘I wanted to be with the children so that they would not be afraid,’ she said. When she arrived at her street, security forces prevented her from reaching the building because the area was cordoned off for an investigation of the car bomb. Then she saw something that made her collapse. ‘As I looked at the street, I saw Jennifer's shoes covered with blood,’ Nisrin said. ‘I bit my tongue and fainted.’ She was treated by a paramedic. When she asked him about her daughters, he took her to Jozianne. ‘When I saw the blood on Jozianne's clothes, I knew that Jennifer's injuries were serious,’ Nisrin said. She then received a call from the hospital where Jennifer was being treated and headed over. A few hours after she arrived, Jennifer was taken out of the operating room and she saw her daughter wearing a green hospital gown. ‘I looked at her. My heart broke,’ the mother told journalists outside the Intensive Care Unit where Jennifer has been since Friday. Jennifer, a top student in her 5th grade class, loves drawing and taking pictures with the mobile phones of her parents and sister. She is no fan of science or maths but loves reading and sports. Her favourite cartoon is Tom and Jerry. On Sundays, she goes with her Maronite Christian family to church for prayers. On Monday, Jennifer opened her eyes from the latest operation and started communicating for the first time. ‘My happiness today is beyond explanation,’ said her mother Nisrin.
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Blast happened last Friday outside Jennifer Shedid's apartment in Beirut .
Their block was shaken and glass slashed 10-year-old from head to toe .
Father Richard grabbed bleeding daughter and neighbour helped carry her .
Dramatic pictures showed girl carried out with deep head and face wounds .
Blast targeted Anti-Syrian security official Brig. Gen. Wissam al-Hassan .
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Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers sent a personal heartfelt letter to a supporter whose grandfather had recently passed away. Rodgers sent his condolences on January 26 to Joe Nelson after the death of Liverpool fan and season ticket holder, Roy. The letter ends with the Liverpool manager's signature and 'You'll Never Walk Alone' in a classy gesture by the Barclays Premier League club. The letter sent to Liverpool supporter Joe Nelson after the death of his grandfather by Brendan Rodgers . Rodgers sent a personal heartfelt letter to a supporter whose grandfather had recently passed away . 'I am sorry to be writing to you under these extremely sad circumstances,' Rodgers began. 'On behalf of everyone at Liverpool Football Club, the directors, players and staff, I would like to offer our sincere condolences to you and your family following the loss of your granddad Roy. 'As one of our supporters and a season ticket holder for many years, Roy is part of our LFC family and always will be. 'Nothing we say will recompense your loss but I extend my deepest sympathies and I want you to know that all our thoughts are with you and your family at this sad time. 'With sincere feelings, Brendan Rodgers, LFC Manager. You'll Never Walk Alone.' It echoes Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger's letter to a widow three months ago after her husband passed away. The letter ends with his signature and 'You'll Never Walk Alone' in a classy gesture by Rodgers and the club . Rodgers sent his condolences in January to Joe Nelson after the death of Liverpool season ticket holder, Roy . Reds manager Rodgers pictured during Liverpool's training session at Melwood on Monday . 'Dear Joe, . 'I am sorry to be writing to you under these extremely sad circumstances. 'On behalf of everyone at Liverpool Football Club, the directors, players and staff, I would like to offer our sincere condolences to you and your family following the loss of your grandad Roy. 'As one of our supporters and a season ticket holder for many years, Roy is part of our LFC family and always will be. 'Nothing we say will recompense your loss but I extend my deepest sympathies and I want you to know that all our thoughts are with you and your family at this sad time. 'With sincere feelings, Brendan Rodgers, LFC Manager. You'll Never Walk Alone.'
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Liverpool manager Brendan Rodger sent his condolences to supporter Joe Nelson in January after the death of his grandfather Roy .
Roy was a Liverpool supporter and season ticket holder at Anfield .
The letter ends with Rodgers's signature and 'You'll Never Walk Alone'
'As one of our supporters and a season ticket holder for many years, Roy is part of our LFC family and always will be,' Rodgers writes .
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Tokyo (CNN) -- Japan has authorized passenger airlines to resume flights of Boeing 787 Dreamliners in the country starting Friday, authorities said. The move follows the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration's online posting Thursday of a directive outlining the modifications necessary for the Dreamliner to fly again after faulty battery systems grounded the aircraft earlier this year. The directive goes into effect upon publication Friday in the U.S. Federal Register. The Japanese transport ministry said All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines, the world's two largest Dreamliner operators, have already begun installing modified lithium ion batteries on their 787 jets. But it remains unclear precisely when the two airlines will resume scheduled passenger flights of the Boeing planes. Nearly 50 Dreamliners around the world have been grounded for more than three months, after two incidents on jets operated by the Japanese airlines called the battery systems into question. Last week, the FAA cleared Boeing to make fixes to the problematic battery system. Boeing said it was deploying teams to help the airlines install the redesigned system. The Dreamliner's use of lightweight composite materials to greatly improve fuel economy has made it a big seller in Asia and the Middle East, where long-haul flights account for much of an airline's business. Dreamliners inching toward the runway .
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The Japanese decision follows a directive from U.S. aviation authorities .
Japanese airlines, the biggest Dreamliner operators, are installing new batteries .
It remains unclear exactly when they will resume flights of the Boeing planes .
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fa51ccd412613f938e4e282cfddbcb8b811fafe1
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A Boston University student group is demanding the school cancel an upcoming Robin Thicke concert, complaining that the lyrics to the singer’s 2013 smash Blurred Lines are sexist. More than 1,600 people have signed an online petition started by members of Humanists of Boston University to get Thicke’s March 4 date at the school’s Agganis Arena cancelled. ‘Thicke’s hit song, Blurred Lines, celebrates having sex with women against their will,’ the group’s petition at change.org states. Scroll down to see video . A Boston University student group is demanding the school cancel an upcoming Robin Thicke concert, complaining that the lyrics to the singer's 2013 smash Blurred Lines are sexist . Number one: Despite controversy the Blurred Lines single topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart last year . ‘Lyrics such as, “I know you want it,” explicitly use non-consensual language. And while watching the extremely explicit video, the insinuations grow from subtle to explicit to obnoxious.’ ‘Clearly, Boston University has been a bedrock for feminism and ideologies of equality more generally. It is a dishonor to our feminist history to symbolically idolize Robin Thicke by allowing him to perform his misogynist music at our university,’ the petition adds. ‘We see this as a blatant form of reinforcing rape culture and sexism,’ Patrick Johnson, the organization’s president, told Fox. Blurred Lines was a massive hit song globally last summer for married-singer Thicke. 'Rapey': Robin Thicke's lyrics and video for new single Blurred Lines have outraged people everywhere but also provided him with his biggest ever hit . Members of Humanists of Boston University are trying to get Thicke's March 4 date at the school's Agganis Arena cancelled . The song - which he recorded with Pharrell and rapper T.I. - may have hit the number one spot on the . Billboards Hot 100 chart but it was also lambasted for its misogyny. The lyrics were accused of being 'rapey' and the controversial video featured woman prancing around wearing nothing but thongs, while the fully dressed male singers ogled then and sang 'I know you want it'. Thicke infamously performed his massive hit at the MTV Awards along with Miley Cyrus and during the Grammy Awards show in January. The song was a Grammy nominee. A university spokesman says it is unlikely the show would be canceled. He said Boston University had nothing to do with booking the show, one stop on a 16-show tour. An email to a Thicke spokeswoman was not immediately returned. Too risque: The unrated video for Blurred Lines was banned by YouTube for obvious nudity . The unrated version of the video was . banned from YouTube for the obvious nudity, while a censored version has drawn over 250million views. Other parts of the video feature T.I. brushing Emily Ratajkowski’s hair and a blonde woman lighting Robin's cigarette before he blows smoke in her face. In addition, silver balloons spell out 'Robin Thicke has a big d***' and verse three of the song's lyrics are: 'I'll give you something big enough to tear your a** in two.' Tricia Romano of The Daily Beast wrote a commentary enitled Robin Thicke’s Summer Anthem, Is Kind of Rapey. She wrote: 'The subject [of the song] . itself is enough to make some female music fans uncomfortable. The song . is about how a girl wants crazy wild sex but doesn’t say it - positing . that age-old problem where men think no means yes into a catchy, . hummable song.' Lisa Huynh of Feminist in LA first . slammed the song in April and wrote: 'Has anyone heard Robin Thicke's . new rape song? Basically, the majority of the song … has the R&B . singer murmuring ‘I know you want it’ over and over into a girl’s ear. Sexist: The video caused a stir because while Thicke and his fellow male performers, Pharrell and T.I., are dressed, the woman wear very little . In the nude: The women wear just thongs in the video, while the men remain fully clothed . 'Call me a cynic, but that phrase does not exactly encompass the notion of consent in sexual activity.' And Thicke's comments about the video didn't exactly help him to win back female fans. In an interview with May's GQ magazine he said: 'We . tried to do everything that was taboo - bestiality, drug injections, and everything that is completely . derogatory towards women.' 'What a pleasure it is to degrade a woman,' he continued. 'I’ve never gotten to do that before. I’ve always respected women.' The 36-year-old singer- who is . happily married to actress Paula Patton - tried to defend the song on . the basis that both Pharrell and T.I. are 'happily married with . children' and that because they are settled in their personal lives they . were both 'the perfect guys to make this.' Thicke previously said that director Diane Martel came up with the idea of using nude models. 'As long as it's fun and the girls are comfortable let's do something silly,' Thicke said. 'Let's take some chances.' Charming: Thicke has admitted that the inspiration for the single was being 'derogatory to women' Blatant misogyny: The video in large part is made up of the men ogling the scantily clad women while pulling or brushing their hair and whispering 'I know you want it' into their ears .
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A Boston University student group is demanding the school cancel an upcoming Robin Thicke concert .
They complain that the lyrics to the singer's 2013 smash hit Blurred Lines - 'I know you want it' - are sexist .
'We see this as a blatant form of reinforcing rape culture and sexism,’ said the organization's president .
The lyrics to Blurred Lines have been labeled 'rapey' and the controversial video featured scantily-clad models .
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Secret tapes: Carmen Segarra, a fired NY Fed regulator, recorded meetings which she claims show deferential officials failing to hold banks to account . A fired New York Fed regulator recorded hours of meetings which allegedly show how government supervisors were afraid to ask tough questions of the biggest banks on Wall St. Carmen Segarra, 41, was brought in by New York's banking watchdog in the wake of the financial crisis to tighten the government's grip on the major banks, and assigned to Goldman Sachs. And after encountering a culture of 'fear' and 'deference' to the finance giants at Goldman, Segarra explosively started recording meetings in which regulators offer softball questions to bankers, then congratulate themselves for standing up to them. The Big Short and Liar's Poker author Michael Lewis has dubbed the recordings the 'Ray Rice video of the financial sector.' Segarra was fired after just seven months working at Goldman for the Fed - which she says was because she refused to back down from a damning report on the bank's policies on conflicts of interest. The tapes, handed over to an investigation by ProPublica and This American Life, record meetings between where the Fed's live-in regulators do not press Goldman on parts of its dealings which they themselves admit are 'shady'. Recordings show Michael Silva, the Fed's top man at Goldman, gently raising an issue of potential regulatory lapse in a way that allows Goldman to skirt over it. A clause in a deal which Silva describes in the tapes before a meeting as 'legal but shady' seemed to require approval from the Fed - which had not been given. In the private meeting, Silva aims to 'put a big shot across their bow on that'. But in the meeting itself - after more than 45 minutes without mentioning it, he only mentions that it 'sounds like' the clause 'dropped out'. He is heard saying: 'Just to button up one point. I know the term sheet called for a notice to your regulator. The original term sheet also called for expression of non-objection - sounds like that dropped out at some point, or...?' Refused to toe the line: Segarra claims she was fired from the Fed because she refused to back down over a report which was critical of Goldman Sachs . Heart of Wall St: Segarra made the recordings during her seven-month tenure at Goldman Sachs before she was fired . Silva is later heard reflecting on the meeting, and says that by asking the question - and even having a meeting in the first place - the Fed has succeeded in making Goldman 'think twice'. He says: 'At a minimum, we made them, I guarantee they’ll think twice about the next one, because by putting them through their paces and having that large Fed crowd come in. You know we fussed at ‘em pretty good.' Soft questions: Michael Silva, the Fed's top man at Goldman, is recorded during the tapes . He considers sending a letter - which he acknowledges the bank may ignore - but it is unclear whether it was ever sent. Segarra's analysis of the situation is that it shows the Fed was in the grip of an irrational 'fear' of Goldman which led to them giving the bank an easy ride. She told the radio show: 'They were all sort of afraid of Goldman... What I was sort of seeing and experiencing was this level of deference to the banks. This level of fear.' She is asked whether the attitude amounts to 'regulatory capture' - a form of corruption when officials put the interests of those they are scrutinizing ahead of doing their job. Her response is: 'You know, if that isn't [it], I don't know what is.' Segarra also recorded interviews with her own superiors, in which she is told to adopt a less confrontational style in order to get taken seriously. Segarra filed a lawsuit against the Fed, claiming she was dismissed unfairly and demanded $7million in damages. But her case was struck down by a judge and is now undergoing an appeal. Goldman Sachs and the New York Federal Reserve declined to comment on the specifics of the deals and exchanges mentioned. But in a response to This American Life, the Fed said: 'The New York Fed categorically rejects the allegations being made about the integrity of its supervision of financial institutions. 'Afraid of Goldman': Segarra has now claimed that her recordings show a meek and deferential attitude from government regulators towards the banks they are supposed to be in charge of . On the issue of whether it is difficult for regulators to express concerns, the Fed said: 'Examiners are encouraged to speak up and escalate any concerns they may have regarding the New York Fed or institutions that we supervise. 'The New York Fed provides multiple venues and layers of recourse to help ensure that its employees freely express their views and concerns...' And on Segarra in particular, it said: 'The decision to terminate Ms Segarra's employment with the New York Fed was based entirely on performance grounds, not because she raised concerns as a member of an examination team about an institution.' Carmen Segarra's 46 hours of tapes record conversations between her and superiors at the Fed, as well as interactions between Goldman and its regulators. One of the earliest parts relates to a transaction between Goldman and Satander, a Spanish bank, designed to move shares to help them meet regulations in Europe. Mike Silva, the Fed's top man at Goldman,makes the following plan about how to put his concerns to the bank: . Silva: 'My own personal thinking right now is that we’re looking at a transaction that’s legal but shady. I want to put a big shot across their bow on that. Poking at it, maybe we find something even shadier than we already know. So let’s poke at this thing, let’s poke at it with our usual poker faces, you know. I’d like these guys to come away from this meeting confused as to what we think about it. I want to keep then nervous.' Others: OK. Silva: Does that make sense? Woman: Yeah yeah, it does. However, in the meeting, Silva does not make his point for more than 45 minutes. When he does, he says the following. Silva to Goldman bankers: 'Just to button up one point. I know the term sheet called for a notice to your regulator. 'The original term sheet also called for expression of non-objection - sounds like that dropped out at some point, or...?' Silva, who appears not to get a definitive answer, doesn't bring it up again. After the meeting, another Fed worker is recorded saying the following: . Fed worker: 'I would add to his comments in that I think we don’t want to discourage Goldman from disclosing these types of things in the future, and therefore maybe you know some comment that says don’t mistake our inquisitiveness, and our desire to understand more about the marketplace in general, as a criticism of you as a firm necessarily. 'Like I don’t want to, I don’t want to hit them on the bat with the head, and they say screw it we’re not gonna disclose it again, we don’t need to.' [Goldman are required by law to give the Fed any information they ask for] . Later Silva mentions his performance in the meeting, and says he thinks it will bring about change: . Silva: 'At a minimum, we made them, I guarantee they’ll think twice about the next one, because by putting them through their paces and having that large fed crowd come in. 'You know we fussed at ‘em pretty good.' Segarra also recorded her superior at the Fed - Johnathan Kim - giving her advice on her role, in which he tries to change her attitude. Kim: I want to manage your sort of career and expectations, right? I want you to be successful. Ok? There are –there's information that's coming in, there's opinions that are coming in. Right?... 'I’m never questioning about the knowledge base or the assessments or those things, it’s really about how you are perceived, right? So if there’s more a general sort of feedback that says that it’s not only one person, it’s not only two persons, but many more people who are perceiving that you’re –um, you have more sharper elbows, right. ' Or that you’re sort of breaking eggs. And obviously I don’t know what the right word is.' Two weeks before she was fired, Kim told Segarra the following: . Kim: 'Couple of things, ok, that I would suggest: Have a sense of humility, right? 'Because a lot of the things that you say, and this is the way you’re coming across,I think I know you well enough that that’s not what you’re saying, right? 'But if I were to be a new person, I would say Carmen, you’re very arrogant. Right?'
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Carmen Segarra, 41, made recordings while working for the Fed at Goldman .
Says her tapes show a culture of 'fear' and 'deference' towards bankers .
Senior regulator heard gently bringing up a potential lapse in meeting then trailing off - despite previously calling the deal 'shady'
In another meeting afterwards he congratulates himself and says bank will 'think twice' before trying to do the same thing again .
Segarra was fired after seven months on the job - and lost lawsuit over it .
Claimed she was kicked out for refusing to back down over critical report .
Michael Lewis: 'The Ray Rice video for the financial sector has arrived'
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Newtown, Connecticut (CNN) -- The center of Newtown couldn't be more decked out for the holidays. It seems like there are ribbons and wreaths for every lamppost and door. Lights sparkle from trees, and a big wood sign calls residents to the local firehouse to pick up even more holiday sprigs. That same firehouse is where parents ran in panic after receiving robocalls and texts about a shooting Friday at Sandy Hook Elementary School up the street. Now, the high spirits of the holidays have been darkened. Signs in storefronts have stopped declaring holiday cheer and are calling instead for prayer and mourning. The firehouse is ringed by first responders greeting members of the community coming to drop flowers and notes. A sign pointing to the entrance of the local grade school now marks the scene of a massacre of young children. A day that started like any other . Since the shooting, tears fall easily in this town, especially after police released the sober list of names of the dead. It was striking as much for the birth dates as for the length. The column "DOB" listed 20 born in the years 2005 and 2006. Then six names of female educators young and middle-aged. The 7th birthday of a little girl named Josephine Gay happened last week. Another named Charlotte Bacon would have turned 7 in February. Remembering the victims . "I don't think there are words," said a woman as she broke down in tears when she came to leave flowers for the dead. Her daughter also went to the elementary school. She had listened to the robocall about the shooter, feeling anything but calm. Like a lot of mothers in the area, she had been swept by panic wondering which school had an unfolding crime and whether her child might be among those injured or killed. Another woman, Miriam Espinoza, fell to the grass and wept when she saw the flowers around the elementary school sign post. She clutched her third-grader, recounting her later relief as she discovered her child was not among the victims. "But those other mamas," she said in Spanish, "how did they go forward?" It was as if an entire town suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. No one was left unmarked since those harrowing minutes Friday of sorting out who had and had not survived, and the many hours since of figuring out how close danger had touched their lives. Was their child OK? What about their neighbor's child or the teacher who once taught their teen? Laura Phelps and husband Nick have a first and third-grader at the school. They rushed to Sandy Hook Elementary to see if their children were among the injured or dead. "When we got our children and I saw my son's teacher, they were like ghosts, but they were incredibly composed; they were calm; they had their sheets with them checking off, making sure each child went with their parent," she said. "They did everything possible to keep our kids safe, and I wish I had known when I looked at their faces just to say thank you because I have my children." Teacher: 'I wanted to be the last thing they heard, not the gunfire' As mourners placed flowers for the dead, their friends could barely put together words. Alexander Galinsky walked with his head dipped as he thought of a friend who lost a son. "Last night we felt something unusual because they didn't respond on the phone calls, messages," he said of his friend. "Last night they basically called us and (there were) just a few words. (Their son is) not with us anymore." This family had come from England two years ago but quickly fit into a tightly knit community. Galinsky said he began considering them close friends almost overnight. "We cannot comprehend with our minds and our hearts," he said. Some parents' voices still rattled as they uttered that awful word "lockdown," something children practice with their teachers. It is a modern addition to a fall season of fire drills and other safety lessons for the littlest of schoolchildren. But the word shocked adults when it took on real-life meaning. Library clerk Mary Ann Jacob fell into the arms of her husband as she recounted hearing crackling over the school's public address system. "I thought they'd left it on so I just called the office to tell them we could hear them," she said. A member of the office staff told her about the shooter so she and some other staff hustled the kids into a storage closet. "We practice these lockdowns; we have to have several by a certain date," she said. She handed out pieces of paper and crayons to the cluster of 6-year-olds to keep them quiet. Latest developments . Jacob said the door was kept locked while the principal and other staff were in the halls fighting off an attack. They were so scared of what was unfolding that they didn't even open the door for police when they finally came knocking. "I made him show his badge," she said. The town's initial trauma has turned to mourning as churches opened their doors for counseling and services, and a vigil for one teacher drew hundreds. On Sunday, there were even more services as well as a planned visit by President Barack Obama, all as the investigation unfolds into how a day that began with promises of some first-graders building gingerbread houses after school had ended this way. One woman who came with flowers said she was there because she didn't know what else to do. Her friend could only offer this response: "I think it's coming to these memorials, I think it's being close from one family to another. And just being there. You know just hugs; I don't think there are any words." How you can help .
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Signs of holiday cheer replaced with calls for prayer and mourning .
Initial trauma turns to grief as Newtown families come together .
Parents begin to face the new reality in Newtown, Connecticut .
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A street robber shot dead a young woman who would not let go of her purse in Philadelphia last night. Recently graduated architect Amber Long, 26, died after she was shot in the chest by the gunman who stopped her and her mother as they walked in an upmarket area of the city. Miss Long was walking near her boyfriend's house with her mother, Stephanie Long, about 10.30pm Sunday in Northern Liberties, one of Philadelphia's trendiest neighborhoods. The two were walking back from nearby Center City back to get Amber's car, when they were approached by a man, who demanded money, according to CBS Local. Stephanie Long spoke about the incident on Monday, saying through tears that her daughter would not let go of a purse they had bought earlier in the day for just $14. The bandit opened fire on the keen dancer during a scuffle, shooting her in the middle of chest. Tragic: Stephanie Long (left) witnessed her daughter Amber Long (right) get shot in the chest during a robbery in Philadelphia on Sunday night. Amber died in hospital shortly after . Deceased: Amber Long, 26, has been described as 'extremely talented' and dreamed of being a certified architect. She was killed in a robbery on Sunday . Speaking to CBS Local about the death of her daughter, a grief-stricken Stephanie Long said the crime was 'senseless' A purse thief shot and killed a woman in front of her mother on Sunday night as they walked along a street in one of Philadelphia's trendiest neighborhoods, Northern Liberties. Here police are investigating the scene . 'She was extremely talented,' Mrs Long told CBS of her daughter. 'It was so senseless. We had bought that purse earlier that day for $14.' She wouldn't let go of it and he shot her. 'There was no reason. There was no point.' Mrs Long was not injured, but the thief made off with her bag. Long was rushed to Hahnemann University Hospital, where she was pronounced dead about 11.15pm. Investigators will review surveillance video from nearby buildings in the hope of identifying the shooter. Preliminary investigations suggest the man was white and wearing dark clothing. Police are still searching for the shooter involved in killing a woman during a robbery on Sunday night. They issued a $20,000 reward for information on the case . He is said to have gotten into a dark-colored Chevy Impala being driven by another man following the robbery. 'When . we have senseless crimes like this take place there's no reasoning . behind it,' said Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey. The city offered a $20,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in this case. Anyone with information should contact Philadelphia Police. Amber had written on her Linkedin page that her dream was to become a certified architect. 'The challenges in life feed into my ambition, and the research and hard work needed to turn those challenges into opportunities create the most gratifying experience of all,' she wrote on her profile. 'Fame can be overrated, however loving what you do is priceless.' It was the second shooting police responded to on Sunday night. Around the same time of the Northern Liberties shooting a teen was shot in the head and neck along the 3200 block of Kensington Avenue. The child was rushed to St. Christopher's Hospital for Children.
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Amber Long, 26, was walking car near her boyfriend's house with her mother, Stephanie Long, about 10.30pm Sunday .
They were on Front St in Northern Liberties when they were approached by a man demanding money .
Amber was shot in the middle of the chest and died in hospital .
Police have issued a $20,000 reward for help in finding the gunman .
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(CNN) -- A relaxing day at Southern California's famed Venice Beach took a deadly turn Sunday afternoon when a powerful lightning bolt struck the water, killing one person and injuring at least 13, emergency officials said. The sudden lightning strike at Venice Beach caused panic as people tried to get out of the water and off the beach. The Los Angeles County coroner's office confirmed one man in his 20s died at a local hospital after he was rescued from the beach. But it's too soon to say whether he died from "a lightning strike, drowning or being trampled by the crowd," according to John Kades with the coroner's office. "The day started out clear, but there were storms in the forecast for the region on Sunday," CNN meteorologist Sherri Pugh said of the isolated thunderstorms that swept through the Los Angeles area. The lightning hit the water and the beach at 2:51 p.m. PT (5:51 p.m. ET), according to spokeswoman Katherine Main of the Los Angeles Fire Department. Emergency responders assessed the condition of at least 13 victims -- all of whom were either in or near the water -- at the scene. Of those, seven adults and one teenager were transported to local hospitals. One was listed in serious conditions and six were listed in fair condition by late Sunday afternoon . The National Weather Service in Los Angeles tweeted around the time of the strike that "cloud to ground lightning" had been reported in nearby Marina del Rey and at the Los Angeles International Airport. Witnesses tweeted they saw a huge bolt of lightning strike the area, with one Twitter user describing an explosion that blew off nearby roof tiles. Lightning also struck Catalina Island on Sunday. Los Angeles County Sheriff Sgt. Robert Berardi said a man was hit by a lightning strike near a golf course. He was taken to a local hospital, treated and later released. Lightning fatalities are pretty rare in California. Between 1959 and 2012, 31 people died after they were struck by lightning, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. In comparison, there were 468 deaths from lightning strikes in Florida during the same time period, followed by 215 in Texas. The National Weather Service has compiled a list of lightning safety tips on its website. There is no safe place outside during a thunderstorm or when lightning strikes, the agency said. To reduce the risk of injury or even death during severe weather, people planning outdoor activities of any kind should have a safety plan. At the first clap of thunder, the weather service said anybody outdoors should run for shelter or for their vehicles and they should remain sheltered for at least 30 minutes after the last clap of thunder is heard. When visiting the beach, where there is limited shelter available for taking cover during a thunderstorm, the weather service advises people to run for their cars at the first sign of thunder or lightning in the distance. The agency also warns against taking cover under the beach picnic shelters. It says water, wet items, like ropes and metal objects, including fences and poles, are big dangers during lightning storms because water and metal are both great conductors of electrical currents. The weather service also offers these tips for minimizing the risk of getting struck by lightning: Avoid open fields and hilltops, stay away from tall, isolated trees or other tall objects, set up camps in lower lying areas and remember tents do not offer protection from lightning. There is also professional lightning detection equipment available that issues alerts when lightning is approaching an area. The weather service said it's a good investment for outdoors sports groups or other outside events. Lightning strikes in Colorado park kill 2 people in 2 days . Fire lieutenant resuscitated after lightning strike in Ohio . CNN's Joe Sutton contributed to this report.
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A man in his 20s was killed in a lightning strike at California's Venice Beach .
Emergency responders treated 13 people injured in the storm .
Thunderstorms were in the forecast before deadly lightning strike .
Fatalities from lightning strikes are rare in California .
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By . Bianca London . Back in March it was revealed that supermodel Kate Upton would be taking over the reigns from Katie Holmes as the face of Bobbi Brown. And the curvy Vogue cover girl is certainly pulling out all the stops to prove her worth as a model for the beauty giant. Kate, 22, was only unveiled as the face of the new Surf and Sand collection a few weeks ago but she's already back for round two. Now THAT's how you rock a red lip! Kate Upton, who was unveiled as the new face of Bobbi Brown in March, is fronting the Crazy for Colour campaign, a collection of 30 new lip color shades . Kate is fronting the Crazy for Colour campaign, a collection of 30 new lip color shades because, as Bobbi says, 'one lipstick is never enough'. Featuring both new and back-by-popular-demand shades, from nudes to brights; Kate shows off the new tones with the help of her perfect pout. Perfect pout: Kate seems to be excited about the collaboration, exclaiming to Bobbi, founder of the brand: 'You're such an inspiration and your products have been everywhere growing up' Behind the scenes: Kate seems to be wholeheartedly throwing herself into her role new for the beauty brand . Grand unveiling: Kate Upton was announced as the new . face of Bobbi Brown cosmetics in March and her new campaign for the Surf . and Sand collection has now been unveiled . Bobbi Brown announced Kate as its new . ambassador via Instagram in March writing: 'Proud to announce @KateUpton . as the new face of Bobbi Brown - a beautiful, confident, empowered . woman.' Miss Upton was chosen for the role by make-up artist . and founder Bobbi Brown herself, who reveals in a YouTube video that she . was looking for a 'confident' and 'independent' new . ambassador. Her latest muse appeared to be equally excited about the collaboration, exclaiming: 'You're such an inspiration and your products have been everywhere growing up. All smiles: Make-up mogul Bobbie Brown and Miss Upton appeared to have great fun working together . 'My mom always used them, we always used them.' Miss Upton is the second celebrity to work with Bobbi Brown, following on from actress Katie Holmes who signed a deal with the company in 2012. Kate, who . prefers the natural look on herself, opened up her make-up bag to . reveal how she gets that 'low maintenance' glow. She told MailOnline: 'I love Bobbi Brown mascara and moisturiser so . those are always in there. I also always use lip balm so I make sure I . have one with me wherever I go.' Describing . her own personal style, she said: 'I would describe it as a combination . of laid-back casual, sexy and sophisticated.' The . curvy Vogue cover girl, who is a mouthpiece for positive body image in . the industry, says that she's been enjoying some time in London and has been . squeezing in some sightseeing. She . is also a huge fan of one of Britain's favourite sports; tennis. 'Yeah, . I love tennis,' she said. 'My whole family enjoys the game. I wish I . could have made it to a match.' Former face: Actress Katie Holmes, 35, was the ambassador for Bobbi Brown for just over a year . Mother-of-three Bobbi Brown, 56, founded her eponymous beauty firm in 1991. Four years later she sold the business to Estee Lauder but to this day she maintains complete creative control. Talking about her newest recruit, Miss Upton, the New Jersey-based make-up mogul concluded: 'Kate came to the shoot without a stitch of makeup; she is the girl next door, really fresh and the epitome of all-American. 'She not only represents beauty - although I think all women are beautiful - but she has incredibly good energy. She is happy, she is strong, she is smart, she is open, and she is really versatile. 'She’s starting to act, she’s a model; she speaks eloquently about confidence and self-esteem, which is really important to me. I think she’ll be a great [role model] for young girls to look up to.'
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Kate, 22, is new face of Crazy for Colour collection .
Range is packed with 30 lip colour shades .
Kate replaces Katie Holmes, who was face of brand for a year .
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Prisoner: British rifleman Victor Gregg, 25, was being held in the city of Dresden along with hundreds of other men who had been sentenced to death . On 13 February 1945, British rifleman Victor Gregg, 25, was being held by Germans in a makeshift prison in the city of Dresden along with hundreds of other condemned men. He was taken there after being sentenced to death for burning down the soap factory where he had been sent to work as punishment for twice trying to escape his POW camp. Like the townspeople of Dresden, Gregg did not believe the city would be bombed. There was a widespread understanding that the Allies would preserve its cultural heritage, just as the Germans had refrained from attacking Oxford. But, as this powerful eyewitness account reveals, this was not to be the case. It begins in the makeshift prison after British bombers had started their air assault. Gregg and his friend Harry, who had also been sentenced to death after burning down the soap factory, were surrounded by the wails of desperate men trapped in the locked room. Tragically, Harry didn't survive Dresden. After the assault, Gregg, now 95, eventually walked to the advancing Russian lines and weeks later was flown back to Britain. Four incendiaries burst through the heavy glass roof, turning men into human torches. Nothing could be done to help them, it was impossible to extinguish the flames, and so the screaming of those who were being burned alive was added to the cries of others. The raid had been in progress for 30 minutes when a ‘blockbuster’ landed, blowing in the whole of the wall. (These thin-walled, massive missiles could demolish whole blocks with one explosion, hence the name). All I could remember was being thrown over to the far corner of the building, nearly 50 feet. The next thing I knew I was being covered in brickwork and rubble and everything went dark. When I came to, I realised the building was slowly collapsing. Wherever I turned, I was confronted by flames, smoke and dust – and all the time blocks of debris falling from the sky. There were about a dozen of us in our small group of survivors who were able to walk or stagger. In the town, there were other small groups moving between the heaps of rubble, dodging the flames which, without warning, shot out of gaps in the walls. The noise of the planes died down and people started to claw their way out of the huge mounds of rubble that an hour before had been their homes. Although the authorities had built huge concrete water towers, only a few of these had been filled with water – and these were to prove tragic. People climbed into them to escape the flames and found it impossible to climb back out. They were trapped in water which slowly boiled. Devastation: The once-beuatiful city of Dresden after the air raids. There was a widespread understanding that the Allies would preserve its cultural heritage, just as the Germans had refrained from attacking Oxford . We stumbled along the remains of a wide avenue. We were surrounded by fires and mountains of red hot wreckage. What saved me were the clogs - the wooden soles were so thick I could walk over the red hot cinders. Finally we found ourselves in open fields, next to a railway line. Reaching safety, we saw another group coming towards us from along the railway line. They were pulling and pushing a large cart full of picks, shovels, buckets, coils of rope and some cans of drinking water. The leader of the group selected those men whom he judged to be capable and fit – including myself - and marched us off, leaving the injured to fend for themselves. At first we came across people who had been caught out in the open and were still alive. By fixing bits of wood to our picks and shovels we turned them into stretchers to carry the injured. After two hours we returned to the railway, where we discovered reinforcements and a food wagon that had somehow been shunted in from God knows where. Then the sirens started their terrible wailing again and the people started to gather in small bunches, as if to shield each other from the onslaught. The new bombs were so big that it was possible to see them falling through the air. Raining down with this terror came more blockbusters – 10-tonners this time. Only five hundred yards of open land separated us from the heart of the first raid on the old part of the city and yet not one bomb landed on us. The second raid had been in progress for 15 minutes when the ground erupted in huge clouds of smoke and flame. Then came the enormous pull of the wind as air rushed in to replace the vacuum that had been caused by the blasts. Escape: After the assault, Gregg, left as a rifleman and right today, eventually walked to the advancing Russian lines and weeks later was flown back to Britain. The horrors he witnessed haunted him for years . Some 30 minutes later they had gone. Everything that could burn was alight - the metalled roadways were like burning rivers of bubbling and hissing tar and huge fragments of material were flying through the air. A small group tried to reach us by crossing what had once been a road, only to get themselves stuck in a bubbling mass of molten tar. One by one, they sank to the ground through sheer exhaustion and then died in a pyre of smoke and flame. People of all shapes, sizes and ages were slowly sucked into the vortex, then suddenly whisked into the pillars of smoke and fire, their hair and clothing alight. And as if the Devil himself decided the torment the people were suffering was insufficient, above the noise of the wind and the roar of the inferno around us came the agonised screams of the victims as they were roasted alive. It was these fiendish visions that brutalised my mind in later years. Destruction: Buildings in the city of Dresden were left as hollow shells by the relentless bombing. Gregg was able to escape the prison where he had been held and help search for survivors - and recover bodies . What saved us was that we were on open ground with oxygen to breathe and, since the fires were getting worse, we abandoned any idea of approaching the city centre for now. At dawn, we saw new gangs had arrived to fill up the craters and re-lay the track, and by mid-morning a small line of wagons was shunted alongside us. You had to hand it to the krauts, the first thing they think of is invariably their belly, and in the centre was a kitchen wagon, complete with hot soup, black bread and a 40-gallon drum of erzazt coffee. After eating, about 40 of us trudged into the smouldering embers edging the vast bonfire that still raged nearby. While other groups dug at the piles of masonry, clearing pathways we were to uncover the cellars. Powerful: Mr Gregg's account has been published in full as an ebook by Bloomsbury . But then the third raid started. Now it was the Americans. While their bombs were much less destructive than the British, many more were killed. When the raid ended, we continued to the cellars, prising them open with pickaxes and crowbars. Inside, we found the victims’ bodies, usually shrivelled to half their normal size. Children under the age of three or four had simply melted. But most of them looked as though they had died peacefully through lack of oxygen, losing conscious in the process. Even the hardest of us would flinch as we got nearer to where the centre of the firestorm had been and where fierce fires were still raging. Some of the corpses were so brittle that they crumbled into clouds of ash and dried flesh. Yet so methodical were Germans that we were ordered to stuff any identifiable parts of these corpses into sacks. The next day we were ordered to tackle a sector where there were chances of finding survivors alive, the news brought us fresh life to the gang. We set off for a small square where what had been grass was now a bed of ash at least four inches thick. Examination of one shelter revealed a tunnel leading to another shelter where the roof had collapsed. We later broke through and found four women and two girls huddled together and alive. Even the guards cheered themselves hoarse. It took an hour to get them to the surface but we all felt like heroes. But sadly, this was a solitary event, as we learned the next day. Trudging through the streets the next day, we came to the door of a communal shelter, which took all afternoon to prise open. With the first inch or so, there was a large hissing sound and the surrounding dust was sucked into the opening. As the gap widened so a terrible smell hit us. Slowly the horror inside became visible. There were no complete bodies, only bones and scorched articles of clothing matted together on the floor. There was no flesh visible – just a mass of solidified fat and bones swimming around, inches thick, on the floor. This is an edited extract from Dresden, A Survivor’s Story by Victor Gregg with Rick Stroud. Ebook Published by Bloomsbury Reader. For sale here in the UK and here in the US.
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Victor Gregg was held in Dresden prison after being sentenced to death .
25-year-old POW had burned down factory and twice tried to escape camp .
He witnessed first-hand the devastating assault on the German city .
In this powerful account, he recalls horrors that haunted him for decades .
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By . Nick Mcdermott and Michael Seamark . UPDATED: . 20:18 EST, 16 January 2012 . The editor of the Daily Mirror yesterday conceded its revelation about Sven Goran Eriksson’s affair with Ulrika Jonsson may have resulted from phone hacking. Speaking at the Leveson Inquiry into Press standards, Richard Wallace also admitted the interception of voicemail messages ‘might well have’ taken place at the tabloid – although not to his knowledge. He was the Mirror’s head of news when the story of Mr Eriksson’s affair with Miss Jonsson was published in 2002, and said the scoop had originated from a tip. Evidence: Richard Wallace arrives to give evidence to The Leveson Inquiry at The High Court, he conceded phone hacking may have occurred at the newspaper . Asked the source of the tip, he said: ‘I don’t recall the exact nature of it, it was from within the showbusiness department,’ before adding: ‘I can’t even recall who actually put the story forward.’ When asked if it may have been a result of phone hacking, Mr Wallace responded: ‘It’s possible, yes.’ Piers Morgan, who was editor of the paper at the time it published the story of the then England football manager’s affair, flatly denied intercepting Miss Jonsson’s messages in an earlier appearance at the inquiry. Mr Wallace, who became editor in 2004, said he was unaware of phone hacking taking place in his two decades as a journalist with the Trinity Mirror company. In December, Lord Justice Leveson heard evidence from a former Mirror business journalist, James Hipwell, who claimed to have witnessed repeated examples of phone hacking by reporters on the showbusiness desk during 2000, when Mr Wallace was the department’s editor. 'A possibility': Richard Wallace said a . story about Sven Goran Eriksson’s affair with Ulrika Jonsson in 2002 . 'may have come from phone hacking' Asked by David Barr, counsel to the inquiry, if he knew about voicemail interception at the paper, the editor replied: ‘Not to my knowledge.’ But when pressed if it may have occurred without his knowledge, Mr Wallace admitted: ‘It might well have.’ Sunday Mirror editor Tina Weaver told the hearing she was not aware of phone hacking at her newspaper, but added there was no guarantee it had not occurred. Earlier in the inquiry, Tony Blair’s former communications director Alastair Campbell claimed a story the Daily Mirror published about Cherie Blair’s pregnancy in 1999 might have been obtained from phone hacking. But Miss Weaver yesterday said the article had originated from public relations guru Max Clifford. Denial: During his evidence Piers Morgan, who was editor of the Daily Mirror when the Jonsson story ran, denied intercepting her messages . Mr Campbell had admitted he had ‘no evidence’ that journalists intercepted the voicemails of either Mrs Blair or her lifestyle consultant Carole Caplin, but queried the source of a number of articles about the former prime minister’s wife. The inquiry was told that Mr Morgan was dismissed from the editorship of the Daily Mirror in 2004 after he published fake photographs of British soldiers abusing Iraqis. Sly Bailey, the chief executive of Trinity Mirror, said he had made a catastrophic editorial error and ‘we lost a lot of readers as a result’. ‘The board lost confidence in him as editor and that is why we fired him,’ she added. Mrs Bailey, who runs five national titles and more than 140 regional papers, said she did not launch an inquiry into phone hacking because she had seen no evidence of it. ‘I don’t think the way to run a healthy organisation is to go around conducting investigations when there is no evidence to say that our journalists have hacked phones,’ Mrs Bailey insisted. The inquiry also heard that Mr Blair urged the Mirror to sack a journalist critical of the Government – but failed to get a response. Mr Wallace, invited to Downing Street shortly after becoming editor, said: ‘One of the first things he asked me was when I was going to sack one of my journalists who had been a consistent critic of the government and Mr Blair in particular.’ Sorry we are unable to accept comments for legal reasons.
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Richard Wallace admits it was 'possible' a story about Sven Goran Eriksson’s affair with Ulrika Jonsson in 2002 may have come from phone hacking .
Editor uses platform to apologise to Chris Jefferies for Mirror front pages following his wrongful arrest .
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(CNN) -- "New Moon," the latest film in "The Twilight Saga" is doing record business at the box office. In its opening weekend the film grossed $140.7 million -- more than any other film with an autumn release in history. The tales of teenage vampire love based on the best-selling books by Stephanie Meyer have wooed film-goers without having to resort to acres of flesh being on display. This distinct lack of on-screen sex runs contrary to the popular trend of portraying teenagers on screen as playing fast and loose with their virginity and affections. Love and the importance of relationships most definitely rule in "The Twilight Saga" and the formula is proving popular with audiences. Elizabeth Morowitz, Communications Professor at the University of Missouri and author of "Bitten By Twilight" thinks that this more sensitive approach is the key to the film's success. "A lot of people ask 'what's so appealing about the Twilight and why is it popular now?' and we think it's because of the relationships and the messages about love in Twilight. In a more conservative environment we've had this push for abstinence education, so we now have a media message that's more congruent with that. So perhaps some teens relate to it in that way," Morowitz told CNN's Katie Walmsley. The director of "New Moon" Chris Weitz says that sexual abstinence is central to the film's appeal. "It's not that they can't have sex, they choose not to and I think there's so much popular culture that's saying to young people: 'you'll be cool if you have sex' or 'it's important to be sexy' whereas this series really concentrates on matters of the heart and spirit and I think that's lovely," Weitz told CNN. A dashing male lead, in the shape of Robert Pattison doesn't hurt either when you're trying to attract a female teenage audience. But whatever the exact recipe for its undoubted success it looks like teenagers in the "Twilight" world don't like to bite off more than they can chew.
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"The Twilight Saga: New Moon" is breaking records at the box office .
Film contains plenty of sexual tension but no sex scenes .
Twilight Saga concentrates on matters of the heart and spirit says director Chris Weitz .
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His approval ratings are at an all time low, and there is no getting away from it for the President. An Oregon basketball crowd greeted Barack Obama and the first family with boos last night as they watched Oregon State take on the University of Maryland. It's a yearly ritual for the Obama family to . watch the Oregon State Beavers play a Washington-area team because Michelle's brother Craig Robinson coaches the men's team. And while some fans cheered for the . President as he took his seat, the leader of the free world put his . hands his ears amid competing boos. Scroll down for video . Blocking it all out: President Barack Obama puts his hands in his ears. He was greeted by boos from a basketball team in Oregon . Still smiling: Obama winks beside his daughter Sasha . His . approval ratings hit an all-time low last week as the continued . problems with the health care roll out have forced him to apologize once . again for his administration's mistakes. A . poll by Quinnipiac University revealed on Tuesday that 54 per cent of . Americans disapprove of President Obama's job performance while only 39 . per cent approve. His administration in being besieged by problems overt the implementation of his signature Affordable Care Act. The healthcare.gov website that is supposed to allow customers to choose the best healthcare plan for them has been beset by technigal glitches and only a tiny number of customers have actually been able to sign up. In addition, millions have Americans have had their health insurance policies withdrawn because they do not comply with the Act. That contradicts Obama's earlier oft repeated claim that 'If you like you health insurance, you can keep it'. The President apologised for the problems, saying: 'We fumbled the rollout on this health care law'.But he insisted that the butt-of-jokes website has 'gotten a lot better over the last few weeks' despite problems with 'information technology procurement' that are inherent in the federal government.Adding to the blow, the latest poll broke the results down into gender and age demographics, showing that every such group disapproves of the work the President is doing. Male and female voters, young and old, rich and poor, all have higher disapproval ratings than approval ratings for the second term president. Watch more on YouTube . Keeping in touch: Obama checks his mobile device as he and his family watch an NCAA men's basketball game between Oregon State and the University of Maryland at College Park . 'President Obama's job approval rating has fallen to the level of former President George W. Bush at the same period of his Presidency,' Quinnipiac University Polling Institute assistant director Tim Malloy said. These new figures show that his public perception continues to deteriorate as just two weeks ago he was at an earlier record low, with only 42 per cent approving in an October 30 poll. At the Comcast Center on Sunday a few students called out to first daughters Malia and Sasha. White House press secretary Jay Carney had announced the president's plans to take in the game on Friday. Obama is a consummate basketball fan and pick-up game player. The school's athletics department urged supporters to get to the arena 'as early as possible' for the 6pm start, due to the checks, sweeps and tests that had to be made by president's security. 'I'm sure there will be Secret . Service everywhere,' Terrapins forward John Auslander told The Washington Post. 'I'm . wondering where he's going to be sitting. Maybe courtside? Obama explains the finer points of the game to his daughter Sasha . Front-row seats: Obama (bottom left) speaks with his daughter Sasha as the Maryland crowd supports their team . High five! The president greets a boy as he arrives at the game on Sunday night . Enjoying the game: It's a yearly ritual for the Obama family to watch the Oregon State Beavers play a Washington-area team . 'It'll be . pretty cool playing a game and there's President Obama sitting there . watching,' the Maryland player added. Mark Turgeon, the Terps coach said 'I don't know what's happening. They don't tell us anything. I think it would be great. 'I think it would be pretty cool for everybody, for their team and for our team. Hopefully it'll make the teams play even harder than they were going to play.'
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Boos and jeers competed with more approving fans .
President's approval rating hit an all time low last week .
Just 39 per cent of Americans approve of his Presidency amid health care debacle .
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Princess Diana stayed there twice, it's a favourite with the New York Fashion Week set and every American president since Truman has visited the decadent tower building. New York's The Carlyle has been welcoming the world's power players for decades, including John.F. Kennedy and his wife Jackie and reams of kings and queens from Denmark, Greece, Spain and Sweden. Now the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are set to add their names to the hotel's prestigious visitor book, reportedly staying at the classically elegant venue for their three-day trip to the US next weekend. Scroll down for video . Upcoming trip: Kate and Will have reportedly planned to stay at The Carlyle in Manhattan's Upper East Side . Royal retreat: Every American president since Truman and many kings and queens have visited the hotel . From Sunday December 7 to Tuesday December 9 the royal duo have reportedly checked in to the hotel in the heart of the Manhattan's Upper East Side on Madison Avenue. But rather than presidents and head-of-states, the young couple may have taken their cue to book from rather closer to home, as both Prince William's father and late mother, Diana, have also visited The Carlyle. Princess Diana stayed there in December 1995 when she visited New York for the United Cerebral Palsy’s annual dinner and Prince Charles and Camilla also used the hotel when they stayed in the city in 2005. High profile guest: Princess Diana arrives at the Carlyle Hotel in New York 24 June 1997 . Landmark: View of 5th Avenue and the hotel's infamous tower from Central Park, New York . It's a wise choice, with fine architectural and a colourful history. Designed by the noted architectural firm Bien & Prince and named in honour of British essayist Thomas Carlyle, the hotel has been a landmark for decades. The 35-storey building, completed in 1930, describes itself as 'a timeless classic' with 188 rooms and suites and sweeping views of Central Park and New York. 'This New York luxury hotel showcases refined taste and creates a true Manhattan experience for sophisticated travellers' says the website. Art Deco: The 35-storey building completed in 1930 describes itself as 'a timeless classic' Sweeping views: Rates range from $675 (£431) for a Superior Room to $15,000 (£9,580) for a Empire Suite . As you might expect, the prices are not exactly rock bottom. They range from $675 (£431) per night for two people in a modest Superior Room with 400sq. ft. of space and either a king or two twin beds, to $15,000 (£9,580) per night for a stay in the Empire Suite, a spacious three-bedroom duplex with 2,600 sq. ft. of living space and a private art collection. While The Mirror reports the Empire Suite is not yet booked out during the royal stay, there's no doubt the young couple will have a more than comfortable time. Miranda Kerr (left), Naomi Campbell (centre) and Stacy Keibler (right) have both stayed at The Carlyle while in New York . All rooms come with Kiehl’s toiletries, bathrobes and 24 hour room service. Recent reviews describe 'elegant white blooms in Art Deco mirrored pots on antique mahogany tables' and 'doormen [who] doff their caps at you as you enter the building'. The hotel's Bemelmans Bar attracts art fans keen to see work by Ludwig Bemelmans, author of the Madeline children's books - the only commission of his work open to the public anywhere in the world. Starry: Other well known guests of the hotel include Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman and Victoria Beckham . Wood Allen arrives (left) to play clarinet at Carlyle and (right) Jacqueline Kennedy in 1961 during one stay . Starry guests flock there and regulars include Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Victoria Beckham and Leonardo DiCaprio. As Kate is four months pregnant it's likely she'll need some down time during the royal visit. Luckily, the Carlyle's spa is more than qualified to cope. They offer massages ($260/£165 for 90 minutes), facials (up to $375/£240), body scrubs, wraps, hammam treatments and waxing. Beautiful sounds: Every Monday Woody Allen plays live clarinet with a jazz band at Cafe Carlyle . Elegant: All rooms come with Kiehl’s toiletries, bathrobes and 24 hour room service . The hotel is also famous for jazz. Every Monday night paying guests (tickets cost from $135/£86) can watch Woody Allen play the clarinet live in the Cafe Carlyle with the the Eddy Davis New Orleans jazz band. The royal visit spans a Monday so who knows, they might be in the mood for a little ragtime rhythm. During their three day stay the Duke and Duchess are leaving 16-month-old Prince George behind as they attend a schedule including a black-tie do, an NBA basketball game and trips to see inner-city youth projects. The trip is expected to be Kate’s last overseas visit until she gives birth to the couple’s second child in April. However, William is expected to carry out a solo visit to China early next year to strengthen Britain’s relationship with the country. A royal spokesman declined to comment this morning on where the Duke and Duchess are staying in New York.
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Duke and Duchess reportedly planned to stay there during upcoming US visit .
Every American president since Truman has visited The Carlyle .
Built in 1930, the elegant hotel has 188 rooms and an Art Deco feel .
Woody Allen plays jazz live in the Cafe Carlyle every Monday .
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A 93-year-old man has been charged with 300,000 counts of accessory to murder for his role as an SS guard at Auschwitz concentration camp, prosecutors said today. A sergeant, Oskar Groening worked at the camp in German occupied Poland for two and a half years. Groening was charged with sorting the possessions of the inmates and collecting and tallying any money that was on them. A picture taken in January 1945 shows children in the Auschwitz concentration camp in Oswiecim . At least 1.1 million prisoners died at Auschwitz, around 90 per cent of them Jewish. In one period between May and June 1944, 425,000 Hungarian Jews went there and around 300,000 were immediately sent to the gas chambers. Hanoverian prosecutors said of Groening: "He helped the Nazi regime benefit economically, and supported the systematic killings." Groening's lawyer, Hans Holtermann, refused to comment on the charges. He was never punished after the war, a tribunal cleared him of involvement in 1948, but Groening who worked as the manager of a glass factory has openly talked about his time as a guard and said that he witnessed atrocities. The main gate of the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz I, near Oswiecim , Poland, which was liberated by the Russians in January 1945. Writing on the gate reads: Arbeit macht frei (Work sets you free - or work liberates) A group of SS officers gathered in front of a building at Solahutte, the SS retreat outside of Auschwitz, Poland. From left, Josef Kramer, Dr. Josef Mengele, Richard Baer, Karl Hoecker and an unknown officer . SS officers socialising in the grounds of their retreat, Solahutte outside of Auschwitz, Poland. From left, Dr Josef Mengele, Rudolf Hoess (the former Commandant of Auschwitz), Josef Kramer (Commandant of Birkenau), and an unknown officer . Nine years ago, he was interviewed by Der Spiegel and told the magazine of one incident when he heard a baby crying: "I saw another SS soldier grab the baby by the legs... He smashed the baby's head against the iron side of a truck until it was silent. ‘On one night in January 1943 I saw for the first time how the Jews were actually gassed. It was in a half-built farmyard near to the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp. A gas chamber was built there. The women's barracks in the Auschwitz concentration camp in Oswiecim . All that remains: A pile of shoes from prisoners at the Auschwitz museum near former death camp Auschwitz . 'There were more than 100 prisoners and soon there were panic-filled cries as they were herded into the chamber and the door was shut. 'Then a sergeant with a gas mask went to a hole in the wall and from a tin shook Zyklon B gas pellets inside. In that moment the cries of the people inside rose to a crescendo, a choir of madness. These cries I have ringing in my ears to this day. Members of the SS Helferinnen (female auxiliaries) and SS officer Karl Hoecker sit on a fence railing in Solahutte eating bowls of blueberries in Auschwitz . 'It was completely understood by all that the majority were going straight to the gas chamber, although some believed they were only going to be showered before going to work. Many Jews knew they were going to die.' 'I made an application for a transfer and at the end of October 1944 I was shipped to the Belgian Ardennes where I served with a fighting unit until capture.' Groening, who lives near the Lueneburg Heath in Lower Saxony, is one of around 30 former Auschwitz guards who federal investigators recommended last year that state prosecutors pursue charges against under a new precedent in German law. Reichsführer Heinrich Himmler was buried in an unmarked grave at Lueneburg Heath after his suicide in May 1945, following his capture by the British. Groening is the fourth case investigated by Hanoverian authorities — two have been abandoned because the suspects are unfit for trial, and one was closed when the suspect died. Herr Holtermann said, however, his client is in good health. Thomas Walther, who represents 20 Auschwitz victims and their families as co-plaintiffs in the case against Groening as allowed under German law, said it's their last chance "to participate in bringing justice to one of the SS men who had a part in the murder of their closest relatives." "Many of the co-plaintiffs are among the last survivors of Auschwitz.”
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Oskar Groening was originally cleared of war crimes in 1948 .
Groening was in charge of sorting inmates' possessions and money .
He worked at Auschwitz for two and a half years until his transfer to the Ardennes where he was taken prisoner .
Has spoken of the atrocities he witnessed at the concentration camp .
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By . Sophie Jane Evans . PUBLISHED: . 11:19 EST, 11 September 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 11:19 EST, 11 September 2013 . A mother tried frantically to revive her baby boy after finding him lying in blood-stained sheets in his cot at their Australian home, it is claimed. Casey Veal discovered the bloodied body of 11-month-old Zayden following a robbery at the house in Bendigo, Victoria, on June 15 last year. Her partner Mathew Tisell was in the bathroom at around 7am when he heard her desperate screams. Victim: 11-month-old Zayden Veal was found lying in blood-stained sheets in his cot. He died after suffering a heart attack and multiple injuries . 'I have never heard her scream like that in my life, it was pure terror', he told police. 'Zayden was black and blue and bloodied up. He was really cold, like a bag of peas.' Mr Tisell started to perform CPR on Zayden on the living room floor, while Ms Veal called 999, according to 9NEWS. 'I was screaming at her (the operator), 'Someone bashed my son',' said Ms Veal in a statement to police. She then took over her partner's CPR attempts in a frantic bid to save her baby. However, paramedics arrived and took Zayden to hospital, where he was declared dead after suffering a heart attack and multiple injuries. A North Bendigo man, Harley Hicks, has been charged with the murder of baby Zayden on June 15 last year. The 20-year-old was linked to the death by police because he is wanted for a spate of robberies in the Bendigo area, according to ABC News. Ms Veal has told a court in Victoria that, on the night of the alleged break-in, she did not think the front door was locked and that the dog she relied on to guard the house had been locked in the laundry room. She said she had woken up in her house, located in the suburb of Long Gully, to find the front and back doors open and the baby monitor unplugged. However, Mr Tissell told the court that the doors did not lock properly because of the couple's 'lazy landlord'. Hicks, who lost a bid to suppress his identity after receiving threats in prison, is alleged to have entered the . house armed with a baton and taken two . wallets and a pair of sunglasses. He is facing a committal hearing charged with aggravated burglary, theft and murder. Sorry we are unable to accept comments for legal reasons.
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Casey Veal found 11-month-old Zayden lying in blood-stained sheets in his cot after a robbery at their home in Bendigo, Australia .
She desperately tried to revive him with CPR, but he died after suffering a heart attack and multiple injuries .
Harley Hicks, 20, from North Bendigo, has been charged with aggravated burglary, theft and murder .
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By . Louise Boyle . PUBLISHED: . 17:33 EST, 18 December 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 00:33 EST, 19 December 2013 . Bernie Goetz, the 'subway vigilante' who shot four panhandling youths on a New York City train in 1984 is fighting low-level drug charges. Goetz was arrested in November on misdemeanor drug charges after police say he was nabbed in a sting selling $30 worth of pot to an undercover officer in Union Square Park, Manhattan. Manhattan prosecutors offered him 10 days of community service on Wednesday to resolve the case - which Goetz turned down. Bernie Goetz walks out after appearing in Manhattan criminal court on Wednesday where he said he would fight minor drug charges against him . The 65-year-old admitted on Wednesday outside court that he had the drugs but he says he is fighting the charges because he was coerced into taking money for the pot and because police are too aggressive. He asked the woman if she wanted to get high, then went back to his apartment, where he has lived for decades, and returned with marijuana, authorities said. He was arrested on charges of criminal sale of marijuana. In 1987, Goetz was cleared of attempted murder but convicted of weapons charges after the 1984 shooting of four black youths and spent 250 days in jail. He says the young men had sharpened screwdrivers and were trying to mug him. Goetz's actions prompted a debate over race relations and frustration with high crime rates of New York in the 1980s. With . New York in the grip of a violent crime epidemic, some hailed Goetz for . standing up to his potential attackers. Others saw him as a racist, who . had overstepped the boundaries of self-defense. Goetz ended up serving eight months in jail, but his legacy lasted much longer than his time in the big house. Courting controversy: Bernhard Goetz leaves Manhattan criminal court in New York today . The New York City subway carriage where Bernie Goetz shot four men in 1984 after he claimed they were going to mug him . He went on to become an activist for a tougher focus on crime, and he proceeded to run for mayor of the city in 2001 and the city's public advocate in 2005. Neither bid was successful, but Goetz traded in on his given nickname by opening an repair store called Vigilante Electronics. His case came back up in the press in December 2011 when one of the four men he shot killed himself in an apparent suicidal drug overdose on the 27th anniversary of the attack. James Ramseur was found dead in the Paradise Motor Inn in the Bronx. Ramseur was the youngest of four teens who surrounded Goetz on the 2 train on December 22, 1984. Believing the group was about to rob him, Goetz pulled out a .38 calibre revolver and fired, striking each of them once. Ramseur was shot in the chest, but survived. The other teenagers - Barry Allen, Troy Canty and Darrell Cabey - were also hospitalized and were not killed. Cabey was left paralyzed by the bullet that struck him. Bernhard Goetz, who shot four youths on a crowded New York subway because he felt he was about to be robbed, was cleared in 1987 of murder charges .
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Bernie Goetz, 64, appeared at court in Manhattan today where he turned down the offer of community service on misdemeanor drug charges .
Goetz shot four panhandling youths in 1984 on a subway train .
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Authorities in Miami believe there may be a link between a group who filmed a rap video bragging about murder and the recent shooting of a police officer. Officer Lino Diaz was shot twice while executing a search warrant on a North Miami Beach house early Friday morning. Police say the home bears a striking resemblance to the one that was used to film a rap video for NMB Stunnaz, in which the man waved around assault rifles, dumped shell casings on the ground, and pointed guns right at the camera. The suspected shooter, Elton Bandoo, was taken into custody Friday. It is unknown whether he is one of the men in the video. Scroll down for video . Officer Lino Diaz (left) was shot early Friday morning, and Elton Bandoo (right) was taken into custody for the shooting . Authorities believe there may be a link between a group who filmed a rap video bragging about murder, NMB Stnnuaz (above), and the shooting of Lino . Police do not know if this time is Bandoo was in the video NMB Stunnaz filmed in which they waved guns (above) According to the Miami Herald, Diaz was shot shortly after sunrise during an investigation with federal agents into unemployment fraud at the home. This as neighborhood children and their parents waited for the school bus just outside the home. Diaz, 47, a Special Response Team member, was shot in the arm and leg before being dragged to safety, never having even entered the home. A police negotiator later taken two individualist inside, including Bandoo, to step out of the home, as a SWAT team waited outside. The NBA Stunnaz video was shot in 2011 (above) Diaz was shot shortly after sunrise during an investigation with federal agents into unemployment fraud at the home (above) captured by WSVN . The NMB Stnunnaz video also features the two men dropping shell casings on the ground (above) Meanwhile, police had used the 2011 NMB Stunnaz rap video for Pull Out The Stick when preparing for the raid. 'We’re aware of that video and we used it as part of our planning,' said North Miami Beach police Major Kathy Katerman. 'We don’t know that for sure, if one of them [in the video] is the shooter. But the structure you see in the video appears very similar.' Officer Diaz was rushed to Jackson Memorial Hospital after being shot and is expected to make a full recovery and be released on Monday.
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Officer Lino Diaz was shot three times while executing a search warrant on a North Miami Beach home early Friday morning .
Police say the home was used by agroup called NMB Stunnaz to film a rap video where they waved around guns and bragged about murder .
The suspected shooter, Elton Bandoo, was taken into custody Friday .
It is unknown if he is one of the men in the video .
Officer Diaz was shot outside the home as children waited for the school bus nearby .
He is expected to make a full recovery and be released from the hospital Monday .
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A senior Labor frontbencher has broken ranks and says new anti-terror laws that allow journalists to be jailed for reporting on intelligence operations might have overstepped the mark. Tony Abbott's Parliament beefed up the domestic spy agency ASIO's powers earlier this month. Journalists will face 10 years in jail if they reveal details of intelligence operations. Labor frontbencher Anthony Albanese has spoken out saying new anti-terror laws that allow journalists to be jailed for reporting on intelligence operations might have overstepped the mark . Tony Abbott and Parliament beefed up Australia's terror laws this month . Mr Albanese has now hit out at the lack of scrutiny over the measures, describing the penalties on the media as draconian. The party's spokesperson on Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, said there was public interest in exposing errors of security agencies. 'You can be fully supportive of our engagement in the Middle East and still say we don't protect freedom by giving it up,' Mr Albanese told Sky News. Lobor backbencher Melissa Parke was the lone voice of dissent in Parliament when the new laws went through . 'I'm concerned about the rights of journalists.' Mr Albanese's concerns may be too little too late. Labor waved the bill through parliament, citing bipartisan support for national security, and backbencher Melissa Parke was the lone voice of dissent. Mr Albanese said he was speaking for himself and not Oppostion Leader Bill Shorten in his comments . Asked if Opposition Leader Bill Shorten shared his concerns about press freedom, Mr Albanese said: 'I'm speaking for myself. 'Sometimes things might have gone too far. If that is the case they should be wound back.' The second tranche of anti-terror laws cracking down on Australians who go overseas to fight alongside extremists will be debated in parliament in mid-October. 'We should be arguing for more scrutiny of these issues,' Mr Albanese said. Security agencies are trying to impose things that have been in their bottom drawer for a long time, he said.
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Mr Albanese says new anti-terror guidelines have 'overstepped' the mark which allow reporters to be jailed for reporting on intelligence operations .
Reporters can now face up to 10 years in jail if they break the new laws .
Parliament beefed up strengthen spy agency ASIO's powers this month .
The senior Labor frontbencher has described the new measures for the media as 'draconian'
He said: 'I am concerned for the rights of journalists'
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ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- The company name flashed and swirled around the darkened convention hall as the music began to pump. Before squeezing into Body Magic, a before-and-after volunteer is measured by Monica Bennett. "Money money money money, money! Money money money money, money!" A man dressed in designer duds strutted across the stage to the tune of The O'Jays' 1970s hit, now the theme song for "The Apprentice." "If you want to get paid, you've got to get up on your feet," he called out. "They say money doesn't grow on trees. Well, I've got a money tree in my backyard, and Ardyss planted it there!" With that the faithful rose and hollered, the applause crescendoed, and the smiles - and dreams - spread wide. See how the sales pitch works » . Few issues pique public interest more than opportunities to make money and achieve beauty. The estimated 3,000 people from around the country who streamed into the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta in early August were a testament to that. They came to rally around Ardyss International, a Las Vegas, Nevada-based direct sales company that makes a fortune off undergarments. Body Magic, the company's flagship girdle-and-corset combo, which retails for $140 plus tax and shipping, can "bring your butt back to high school fine," the man on stage announced. You can wear it and get thin, the claims go, or you can sell it and get rich. The company's other products include the Angel Bra, Panty Reshaper, undergarments for men, nutritional supplements and skin-care items. Think Mary Kay cosmetics. That's the kind of multilevel or network marketing model on which Ardyss is based. Distributors can make money through sales. But they can make even more from profit cuts and bonuses that float to the top if they recruit other distributors, who in turn recruit other distributors, and so on and so on. "I've only been involved for two months, and I have a check with a comma in it," said Robbyn Washington of Snellville, Georgia. While many such companies are legitimate, others smack of pyramid schemes, prompting legal disputes and investigations by consumer protection agencies such as the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC has no complaints about Ardyss International on file. But the Better Business Bureau, with which Ardyss is not accredited, has given the company an F rating, saying 16 complaints over the past 36 months have gone unanswered. An Ardyss executive and spokesman, Mike Potillo, told CNN the company wasn't aware of these complaints and would be in touch with the BBB to clear this up. As is the case with all multilevel marketing ventures, no matter what they're selling, experts say consumers and prospective distributors should proceed with caution. 'Say whatever you want' The Body Magic motto is emblazoned on T-shirts, pins and bumper stickers: "Drop 3 sizes in 10 minutes." Proponents say it can create hourglass curves, shaving off inches and weight permanently. "Every eight seconds a woman looks in the mirror and wants to be smaller," said Dorothy Cook, who's often credited for making the business, founded in Mexico, a multilevel marketing hit in the United States. "Once you wear it and take it off, you lose inches. Every woman must have one." Sonja King, 38, did not attend the convention but said she's worn her Body Magic about four days a week for the past two months. The Atlanta-area woman said she has seen results but wonders whether it's because she can barely eat when she wears it. "It's not comfortable," she said with a laugh. "But I had to go to a formal affair recently, and that Body Magic came in handy. I was slammin' in that dress!" Beyond looking good, distributors raved about improved posture, a claim that left chiropractor Robert Hayden uneasy. The Griffin, Georgia, man, who hadn't examined the garment, said he's seen the atrophied muscles of those who've relied too much on simple lumbar support belts. "The muscles that hold you erect will have no need to work," if worn with regularity, he said. "They'll go to mush." More striking, however, were the medical claims distributors made about Ardyss garments and Le' Vive, the company's top-selling nutritional product. They ascribed restored bladder control and diverted surgeries to Body Magic. One distributor lifted her blouse to reveal not only the über-girdle but also her Angel Bra, which she said can protect a woman from breast cancer. Many thanked Body Magic for putting their organs "back in place." The stories passed around of those saved by Le' Vive, a drink said to be rich in antioxidants, included tales about warding off diabetes and arthritis. But distributors also said a woman was cured of Bell's palsy. Another, they said, had Lupus, was given six months to live and is now in remission. And then there was the unnamed blind man who distributors claimed began to see. "Someone said that to you?" asked an audibly stunned Potillo, the Ardyss executive who oversees the American market. In a written response sent later, Potillo said the company "makes no health claims, medical claims or any type of claims on any of our products in any way. ... If someone has made a claim on one of our products, we have internal policies and procedures in place to deal with that." The issue of distributors saying what they shouldn't is one of the biggest challenges in multilevel or network marketing operations, said Peter Mingils, president of the Distributor Rights Association, a Texas-based nonprofit that works on behalf of multilevel marketers. "Even though you're an independent contractor, it doesn't mean you can say whatever you want," he said. It's this enthusiasm, however, that drives the company's success, said Clark Howard, the HLN money expert. "If people really believe in it themselves, and they go out and convince others, then that is in itself a legitimate multilevel" marketing business, he said. "If people are making false promises about a product or service, then that comes out in the wash." The hope, the dream . Antonio Díaz de León, the Ardyss founder and president, walked into the convention center where he and his family were treated like rock stars, eliciting gasps as cell phone cameras came out. In the past six months the business has grown by 600 percent and 100,000 active distributors, Díaz de León, a native of Mexico, said through a translator. "We've changed many lives," he said. "Families are getting financial freedom." In times of recession, interest in these kinds of business opportunities spikes, Howard, the HLN money expert, said. "It doesn't matter what the product is, what the service is, you always have the same thing: People talking about the hope, the dream and the money," he said. Dorothy Cook, draped in jewelry, wouldn't say how much she earns. At last count, though, she claimed she had nearly 80,000 distributors in her downline. Another "platinum president," the highest level that can be achieved in this business where everyone has a title, said thanks to her downline of 15,000 distributors, she is bringing home more than $55,000 a month. One can only only assume Cook, nicknamed "The Godmother," makes more. "All you have to do is get here, and God will do the rest," she told a group at the convention. But Potillo, of Ardyss, which includes about 140,000 active distributors, said it's not that easy and called Cook's earnings "an extraordinary experience, not the norm." Tempered with reality . To become a distributor, people are encouraged to buy a starter kit for $299. "If you have to borrow the money, do what it takes," Donna Bingham told a group that gathered recently in an Alpharetta, Georgia, home. "The only way [the business] doesn't work is if you don't work." That line of encouragement made law professor Stephen Calkins wary. "Anytime you're asked to part with hard-earned money in order to ask other people to part with hard-earned money, you should be very nervous," said Calkins of Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. He served for several years as the general counsel for the FTC during the Clinton Administration. Calkins suggested any prospective multilevel distributor consult tip sheets to analyze the credibility of a company first. The FTC has a consumer alert, as does the Direct Selling Association. Excitement about these opportunities needs to be tempered with reality, Howard said. While the "pep rally" may make people think they're all in line to make $20,000 a month, he said that's not how these businesses play out. "There will always be a small number of people who hit grand slam homeruns virtually every day. But most everybody else will make little or nothing, and usually many will actually lose," he said. "Don't believe it's paved in gold. There are a lot of speed bumps and a lot of dead ends."
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Company behind Body Magic booms amid claims of big money, smaller waistlines .
Multilevel marketing businesses draw interest and spur hope during recession .
Staying cautious and realistic is important for prospective distributors .
HLN money expert Clark Howard: "Don't believe it's paved in gold"
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Television and movie streaming juggernaut, Netflix, is believed be planning to launch in Australia next year, with two Netflix acquisitions executives travelling to Sydney next week to meet with Australian-based distributors. The low-cost streaming service, which provides users with unlimited access to a library of selected movies and television shows, was launched in the U.S. four years ago to great success, amassing 32 million subscribers in four years. Netflix is not available in Australia, though market sources estimate up to 200,000 Australians use the service via a VPN – software that makes a user's IP address appear as though it is located in the U.S. – paying the monthly subscription fee. Scroll down for video . Netflix, the online streaming service that produces House of Cards starring Kevin Spacey (pictured), is coming to Australia . Netflix began discussions in May about the Australian rights to movies and television series during the Los Angeles Screenings, Inside Film reported. The service is expected to launch in Australia and New Zealand in the first half of 2015 and to cost $10 per month. Foxtel's Presto service costs a $19.99 per month for 'all-you-can-eat' to new release movies and access to its back catalogue. Netflix has access to a large library of films and television series, as well as featuring acclaimed original series, such as House Of Cards, Orange Is The New Black and season four of Arrested Development. It is hoped that the arrival of Netflix on Australian shores might help curb high rates of illegal downloading in the country. Australia leads the world for illegal downloads of movies and television shows. It is estimated that 200,000 people currently use Netflix in Australia, using a VPN, which makes it appear as if the user's IP address is in the U.S. Pictured: Taylor Schilling (left) and Laura Prepon (centre) in Orange is the New Black . Netflix allows users access to movies and television shows, including Breaking Bad . The premiere of Game Of Thrones season four, which set a new piracy record, was downloaded illegally by more than 500,000 in the first 12 hours after it aired. Torrent Freak reported that 11.6 percent of these illegal downloads came from Australia, an achievement even more remarkable considering Australia's relatively small population. Several streaming companies are currently available in Australia, including Quickflix, Presto and Ezyflix, though none offer the same service at Netflix. Like Netflix, Quickflix allows users to access a library of film and television series, unlike Netflix it requires users to purchase recent releases individually, on top of their monthly fee. Presto offers unlimited access to its movie library for a monthly fee, like Netflix does, though at this stage does not allow users access to any television series. Ezyflix operates on a postage-based system, with users selecting DVDs that are then posted to them. For the same monthly fee that Netflix users pay for unlimited access to movies and television series, Ezyflix users can get four DVDs per month sent to them, with one movie out at a time. Netflix has received plaudits for its original series including Arrested Development season five (cast pictured), Orange Is The New Black and House Of Cards .
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Rumours Netflix ready for Australian launch next year .
Industry sources say the firm will charge users $10 per month .
An estimated 200,000 Australians already use the streaming service .
Australia has a number of other streaming and pay per view services .
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By . Michael Zennie and David Mccormack . PUBLISHED: . 14:14 EST, 3 April 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 16:39 EST, 3 April 2013 . A shocking new revelation has been uncovered in the infamous 31-year-old mystery surrounding the death of Hollywood actress Natalie Wood. Wood's body was found floating in the sea off Catalina Island, California on Nov 29, 1981. She had been staying on the yacht, the Splendour, along with husband Robert Wagner and their guest and fellow actor Christopher Walken. The new discovery is the latest in a series of revelations in the case over the past couple of years. Refusal: Robert Wagner (left) has refused requests by detectives to be interviewed as part of a fresh investigation into the death of his wife Natalie Wood (right) in 1981 . Christopher Walken was a guest of Natallie Wood and Robert Wagner on their yacht on the night that she drowned . Authorities reopened the case in 2011 . after the captain of the yacht, Dennis Davern, claimed he had originally . lied to the authorities and a new coroner's report published in January revealed that Wood sustained bruises to her face and other parts of her body before she went overboard and drowned. Now the National Enquirer claims to have uncovered documentation - an official lifeguard log - which suggests Wagner and Walken had engaged in a sexual act and that Wood may have walked in on them and set off the chain of events which lead to her untimely and still unexplained death. The note, which is torn and illegible in parts, reads 'also known Chris Walken and Robert Wagner were engaged in sexual activity in cab of boat... (illegible)...that Ms Woods found both of them together (illegible)...stated they took her away in a (illegible)...was the last time she was seen alive.' The Los Angeles County lifeguard, who worked with detectives on the case, told The Enquirer he made the notes on the log after detectives told him that it was a scenario that were considering as a possible motive for any crime that might have been committed on the boat. Party: Ms Wood, Mr Wagner and actor Christopher Walken were aboard the boat - along with captain Dennis Davern (right) when she disappeared and drowned . If legitimate, the documentation could help shed further light on the case which is remains a mystery 21 years after the tragedy occurred. Ms Woods death was initially ruled an accidental drowning, caused by her slipping and falling from the dinghy, but authorities reopened the case in 2011. Davern, who said he had originally lied to authorities, now claims Woods and Wagner had been fighting in the hours before her body was found. Neither Wagner nor Walken has ever been charged in connection with the case. In January a new coroner's report revealed that bruises found on the actress' face, wrists, knees, and ankles occurred before she went into the water - not, as the 1981 report had concluded, as she struggled to climb back aboard the yacht after falling over the side. Those bruises could have been 'non-accidental' and she could have been assaulted aboard the yacht, the medical examiner claimed. Beaten: Ms Wood, seen here in 1962, had bruises on her wrists, knees and ankles that were consistent with her being beaten, according to a new coroner's report released in January . The new coroner's report poked numerous holes in the original autopsy reporting and the ruling that her death has been accidental - however it stopped short of calling her death a homicide. Wagner's publicist, Alan Nierob, told MailOnline in January that he would not comment on the report. Los Angeles County sheriff's detectives reopened their investigation in 2011 after the captain of the yacht claimed that Wood's husband, Robert Wagner, was with her right up until she went overboard. Her death was ruled 'accidental' at the time, but in 2012, the coroner changed the ruling to 'undetermined.' The coroner's office said in the new report that it is not have enough evidence to rule on the manner in which Wood died. However, the report did pay special attention to the bruises found on Wood's body. 'The location of the bruises, the multiplicity of the bruises, lack of head trauma, or facial bruising support bruising having occurred prior to entry in the water,' the report stated. Fatal: This is the yacht Splendor that Ms Wood and Mr Wagner were aboard when the actress went overboard and drowned off Santa Catalina Island over Thanksgiving weekend in 1981 . Dangerous: Ms Wood reportedly could not swim. Her body was found floating in the water near Catalina Island hours after she went overboard . Tragic: New information released in the last couple of years has cast suspicion on the original finding that Ms Wood's death was accidental (pictured here with Mr Wagner) Confession: Dennis Davern, the skipper of the yacht, says he lied to police about what happened the night Wood drowned . 'Since there are unanswered questions . and limited additional evidence available for evaluation, it is opined . by this Medical Examiner that the manner of death should be left as . undetermined,' Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Lakshmanan Sathyavagiswaran . wrote in the report completed last June. Wagner has told investigators that . Wood, who could not swim, must have fallen in the water when she got up . to try to retie a dingy that had been knocking against the side of the . yacht. He is not considered a suspect by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office. Wood's body was found to have a blood . alcohol content of 0.14 percent, nearly twice the legal limit for . driving. She was also found to be under the influence of a motion . sickness medication and a painkiller, which likely increased her level . of intoxication. Her body was found floating off Catalina Island, near Los Angeles, several hours later. The . captain of the yacht, Dennis Davern, told '48 Hours' and the 'Today' show last year that he heard Mr Wagner and Ms Wood arguing the night of her disappearance and believed Mr Wagner was to blame for her death. He said that after Wood went to bed, he heard the fight continuing in her cabin, including sounds of a physical struggle. He also claimed that a fight had broken . out between Wagner and actor Christopher Walken, who was also aboard to . yacht. Mr Davern claims Wagner waited several hours after his wife disappeared to call authorities. Wood, 43, rose to stardom in 1947 playing little Susie, the girl who didn't believe in Santa Claus, in 'Miracle on 34th Street.' She later starred as Maria in 1961's 'West Side Story' and was nominated for an Oscar for her role opposite James Dean in 'Rebel Without a Cause.' Wagner, now 82, admitted he had a fight with his wife on the night of November 28, 1981, but said she was not in her cabin when he went to bed. He maintains he had nothing to do with her death, though said he feels personally responsible for not looking after her. However, Davern reportedly offered an alternate explanation for Wood's death. Lana Wood, the actress' young sister, claimed to author Suzanne Finstad that Davern called her and drunkenly confessed that Wagner allowed his wife to drown. 'He said it appeared to him as though (Wagner) shoved her away and she went overboard. Dennis panicked and (Wagner) said, "Leave her there. Teach her a lesson." Dennis said he was very panicky that he was sitting and (Wagner) kept drinking and kept drinking. ‘And he’d say, "Come on, let’s get her." And he said (Wagner) was in such a foul mood, at that point, that he then shut up and was waiting for when, when are they gonna go to her rescue, until all the sound stopped,’ Lana is heard telling Finstad in recordings make for her 2001 book Natasha: The Biography of Natalie Wood. Lana continues on to say that Davern did not think that Wagner meant for Wood to die but he did not ‘run to her aid.’ 'Even if he did not kill her, which is what I understand the guy’s saying, it was – you know, that it – it was an accident,' Lana said. In January investigators also revealed that Robert Wagner has declined to be interviewed for the latest inquiry. Detectives began re-investigating the case in November 2011. Investigators interviewed more than 100 people – including Mr Walken - but Mr Wagner refused and Sheriff's Lt. John Corina has said the actor's representatives have not given any reason for his silence. The setup: On November 28, 1981, the 60-foot yacht Splendor set out for Santa Catalina Island, a rocky island off the coast of California, 22 miles from Los Angeles. Aboard were Robert Wagner, Natalie Wood and the boat's skipper, Dennis Davern. The couple also brought Wood's newest costar, Christopher Walken, to celebrate their successful completion of filming for 'Brainstorm,' a science fiction thriller. Wood, Wagner and Walken departed the yacht and rode a dingy to shore, where they had dinner at Harbor Reef Resultant on the island. Waitresses reported that all three Hollywood actors drank heavily - mostly champagne - and were rude and boisterous. Witnesses say all three were very intoxicated about 10.15pm when they piloted the dingy back to the yacht, which was anchored offshore. Exactly what happened after the three returned to the boat remains a mystery. The tragedy: Wood's body was found floating in the water about a mile from the yacht about 8am on November 29 and the coroner determined that she had died of a combination of drowning and hypothermia. Her blood alcohol level at the time was . 0.14percent - nearly twice the legal limit for driving. She also had . motion sickness medication and painkillers in her system, which likely . increased her level of intoxication. The time of death is estimated at about midnight at on November 29. 'The fact that her stomach contained 500 cc of partially digested food material supports that opinion of that time of death being around midnight, especially given the information that dinner was consumed between 8 and 9pm,' according to the new report. However, Wood was not reported missing until 1.30am - fully 90 minutes after she went overboard, according to an interview with the manager of the restaurant on shore.
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A log has been uncovered that suggests Wagner and Walken were engaged in a sexual act when Wood walked in on them on the night she died .
Wood drowned, age 43, after going overboard her 60-foot yacht Splendor on November 29, 1981 .
Police and the coroner at the time ruled her death accidental .
Husband Robert Wagner, now 82, denies being involved in her death and has never been charged .
A new coroner's report released in January found she had bruises on her wrists, knees and ankles that could have been 'non accidental'
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Seoul, South Korea (CNN) -- An international medical group has cleared a South Korean biopharmaceutical company in the deaths of two patients following stem cell procedures in other countries. "It is not our conclusion that stem cells killed these patients," David Audley, the executive director of the International Cellular Medicine Society (ICMS), said in a news conference in Seoul Tuesday. The South Korean media reported last month that two patients who had received stem cell procedures in Japan and China had died, and cited allegations that RNL Bio had lured clients to clinics overseas to skirt domestic laws banning stem cell treatment. The ICMS refuted the charges, citing forensic evidence it had gathered from RNL Bio, medical records and interviews from Japan and China. "It is very important that we distinguish the words cause and correlation," said bioethicist Glenn McGee, who participated in the ICMS investigation. He explained that the dangers of the medical procedures undertaken in the treatments does not mean the stem cells used in the therapy are dangerous. The ICMS is the largest multinational group of physicians studying the use of adult stem cells and tracks the cases of about 700 patients around the world who receive treatment. Potential dangers cited in the media about carcinogenic cell growth pertain only to embryonic stem cells and is unrelated to the treatment with adult stem cells that is cited in the investigation, according to the group. No deaths have been reported in the cases registered with the society, according to Audley. The two patients from RNL were not registered with the ICMS, although the bio company does participate in patient registry with the group. In the first of the two cases, a 61-year-old man traveled to China for treatment with stem cells provided by RNL for diabetes and other ailments. He died two months later. His cause of death has not been determined, but it is "unlikely" the result of the stem cell procedure, according to the ICMS. The death of a 73-year-old former surgeon, who died on the same day he was treated in Japan, "was due to a pre-existing blood clot that traveled to the lungs, and may have been precipitated by the procedure used to infuse the stem cells, or less probably, from a clot formed by the cells," according to the ICMS findings published on the group's website. Stem cell banking is allowed in clinics such as RNL Bio, which specializes in extracting, cultivating and storing adult stem cells obtained from fatty tissue of patients. Patients are only able to receive treatment with these stored cells overseas, and RNL Bio regularly refers patients to clinics in other countries that are determined capable of using their stem cells. No financial exchanges are made for these referrals, according to Kim Ju-sun, the company's public relations director. The ICMS also concluded in its report that no financial transaction could be traced to RNL Bio from the clinics that conducted the stem cell treatments. Under South Korean regulations, stem cell treatments are not authorized and can only be used in clinical trials approved by the Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA). The KFDA and the Ministry of Welfare announced they will conduct an investigation into the potential dangers of unauthorized stem cell treatment in the country and create countermeasures, according to a statement from the KFDA.
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Two patients die following stem cell treatments in China and Japan .
An independent group says the deaths are not due to the treatments .
Such procedures are not permitted in South Korea .
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An American woman has been gang-raped by three men in India while hitchhiking back to a guest house, police announced today. The 30-year-old was picked up this morning by men in a truck and then attacked as she made her way home after visiting a friend. It comes just one day after it emerged a 21-year-old Irish charity worker was allegedly drugged and raped while volunteering with an aid agency in Kolkata. Scroll down for video . The woman was volunteering in Kolkata when she alleges she was drugged and raped after a party . They are the latest in a spate of . sexual assaults on foreign women in India that have led to safety . warnings and a drop in the number of female tourists travelling to the . country. The American woman said three men in the truck drove to a secluded spot in the northern Indian resort of Manali and raped her. She went to police to report the attack and Mr Singh said no arrests had yet been made. Authorities issued an alert for the three men and set up roadblocks to check any trucks leaving the town, he said. The Irish charity worker told police officers she was raped while semi-conscious after drinking a cup of tea following a birthday party on Saturday night. Indian police have arrested Indian businessman Sujoy Mitra, 35, and he has been remanded in custody until later this week. ‘We suspect the accused laced the tea with drugs and raped the Irish woman,’ police officer Subrata Dey said. Local media said Mitra brought the woman to his house in the Kalighat area of the city after a night out. He appeared in court in Alipore on Sunday for a preliminary hearing and denies the allegations. The number of high-profile rape cases in India have sparked passionate protests and seen a drop in the number of women tourists travelling to the country over safety fears . A lawyer for the accused, Dibyendu . Bhattachrya, told local media: ‘After accompanying him to his house, the . lady stayed with him for nearly two hours and even had breakfast. The . allegations are totally false and motivated. My client is a . teetotaller.’ The alleged . attacks are the latest cases of sexual assaults on foreign women in . India that have led to warnings about women travelling to the country. A spokesman for the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs said it was providing consular assistance to the woman. It is understood diplomatic staff were notified of the case at the weekend and officials from the embassy in New Delhi are dealing with it. IndiaToday reported that the woman had been in India working with an NGO based in Darjeeling. Tourists travelling to India have dropped by 25 per cent since the high-profile rape and murder of an Indian student in New Delhi. A woman takes part in a protest following the death of a student who was gang-raped in Delhi. The outcry led to tougher laws against sexual assaults . The number of women tourists has dropped by 35 per cent, a study found, following warnings about safety in the country. The Irish Department of Foreign Affairs has advised women going to India to exercise caution. Its website says women should not . travel alone and be careful when selecting accommodation, and as . recently as May 21 it updated information on the risks involved. It warns: 'Tourists have been the . victims of sexual assault in Agra, Goa, Delhi, Bangalore, Madyha Pradesh . and Rajasthan. Women travellers often receive unwanted attention in the . form of verbal and physical harassment. 'Women travellers should exercise caution when travelling in India.' A Swiss woman was gang-raped during a cycling holiday in central India with her husband in March. A South Korean tourist was allegedly drugged and raped in the same state in January by the son of the owner of a hotel where she was staying. Also in January, a British woman leaped from her hotel room balcony in Agra, where she was visiting the Taj Mahal, when she feared being sexually assaulted by a member of her hotel staff. The assaults come amid heightened concern about sexual assaults in India . that followed the fatal gang-rape of a young woman on a moving bus in . New Delhi in December. That rape sparked public protests demanding better protection for women. In response, the government passed a law increasing prison terms for . rape and providing for the death penalty in cases of rape that result in . death or leave the victim in a coma. It also made voyeurism, stalking, . acid attacks and the trafficking of women punishable under criminal law. Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.
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U.S. woman hitchhiking home in Manali when she was raped by three men .
Indian police have issued an alert for the truck driver and two passengers .
Irish woman told officers she was raped while semi-conscious after .
drinking cup of tea .
Police have arrested businessman Sujoy Mitra, 35, on suspicion of rape .
The Irish woman reported the alleged attack in Kolkata at the weekend .
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Brazil World Cup winner Ronaldo was left to wash the dishes at London's Hippodrome Casino on Tuesday, after losing a charity game of poker to tennis star Rafael Nadal. The duo battled it out on the PokerStars table for a whopping $50,000 and it was Nadal that emerged victorious with a donation for the Rafa Nadal foundation. To celebrate his victory, Nadal treated guests to a tapas banquet from his favourite Spanish restaurant, Cambio De Tercio. Former Brazil striker Ronaldo (above) was left to wash the dishes after losing a poker match with Rafael Nadal . Nadal (left) won a donation of $50,000 to the Rafa Nadal foundation after beating Ronaldo at the poker table . Nadal (right) served guests with a tapas feast from his favourite Spanish restaurant . But Ronaldo, who spearheaded the Brazil attack when they won the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea, was not left to enjoy his meal after being beaten by tennis legend Nadal. He had to wash the dishes up after the guests had eaten as a forefeit for losing the game. Nadal's tennis season ended early after requiring an appendix operation, which caused him to miss the ATP World Tour Finals in London. Ronaldo, meanwhile, has been demonstrating on his Instagram account that he is back in the gym and has not lost all of the athletic touch that made him one of the most feared strikers in Europe during his paying days.
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Spain's Rafael Nadal beat former Brazil striker Ronaldo in a game of poker .
Nadal walked away with $50,000 for his charity and served up a tapas feast .
Ronaldo was left to wash the dishes as a forefeit for losing to Nadal .
Click here to read why Ronaldo believes the Premier League is the perfect place for young Brazilian talent to develop .
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Dylan Adams, 26, the brother of murder suspect Zachary Adams was arrested on Wednesday after Tennessee Bureau of Investigation agents accused him of tampering with evidence tied to the Holly Bobo investigation . The brother of a man accused of kidnapping and killing a 20-year-old nursing student has been charged with tampering with evidence in the case. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said in a news release Thursday that on April 13, 2011, the day Holly Bobo disappeared in West Tennessee, 26-year-old John Dylan Adams of Decatur County disposed of items he knew could be evidence in the case. Adams is the brother of Zachary Adams. He was charged with murder in March and his family has property about 6 miles from where Bobo's remains were found by ginseng hunters this month. Another man, Jason Autry, faces the same charges as Zachary Adams. Both men have pleaded not guilty. The TBI said John Dylan Adams was in jail without bond. The brother of murder suspect Zachary Adams was arrested on Wednesday after Tennessee Bureau of Investigation agents accused him of tampering with evidence tied to the Holly Bobo investigation. TBI agents believe that on April 13, 2011, John Dylan Adams disposed of items he knew to be of evidentiary value to the case, according to the release. 'Our investigation is by no means complete with this arrest and with this charge,' Jodh DeVine said. 'We're continuing to follow leads, continuing to work evidence and continuing to do everything we can to bring justice for the family and friends of Holly Bobo.' District Attorney Matt Stowe said that the latest arrest is part of the ongoing effort to bring to justice everyone involved in Bobo's disappearance. 'Everything right now is part of our comprehensive plan to find everyone responsible in this case,' Stowe said. On April 2, Zach Adams was charged with coercion of a witness. The warrant in that incident states Zach Adams asked an unnamed inmate to 'Tell my brother he is the one who started this (expletive), and if he don't shut his mouth he will be in the hole beside her.' Adams is tentatively scheduled to appear in court in Decatur County at 9 a.m. on Monday. His . criminal history shows charges dating back to 2009 including several . drug violations as well as aggravated burglary and theft. Autry, 39, has been indicted with especially aggravated kidnapping and first-degree felony murder. He is already in prison serving a three-year sentence for aggravated assault. The . case about Miss Bobo's disappearance is still active. Prosecutors are . considering seeking the death penalty if they get a conviction in the . case. Scroll down for video . Loss: Nursing student Holly Bobo was seen being led from her Tennessee home in April 2011 . Jason . Wayne Autry, 39, has also been charged with especially aggravated . kidnapping and first-degree felony murder in Bobo’s case. Both he and Zachary Adams have pleaded not guilty. Brothers . Jeffrey Pearcy and Mark Pearcy were arrested in May and charged with . tampering with evidence and accessory after the fact, after a woman . named Sandra King told authorities that Jeffrey had showed her a cell . phone video of Bobo tied up and crying. New break: Police in Tennessee used DNA tests to determine the human remains belonged to the 20-year-old . Confirmed: The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said Monday night that remains of Holly Bobo were found on Sunday . In the wake of Miss Bobo's . disappearance her brother told police that he saw a man dressed in . camouflage leading her away into the woods. She had been preparing to go to class at nursing school on the morning of her disappearance. The . director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) said the Bobo . investigation has been the most expensive and exhaustive in TBI history, . and it's not over yet. Since . she disappeared, the small town of Parsons and surrounding areas in . West Tennessee tried to support the family, putting up pink ribbons on . lamp posts, mailboxes and storefronts. Miss Bobo was wearing a pink . shirt and carrying a pink purse before she disappeared. Two . men found a skull earlier this month Sunday not far from property owned by the family of . Zachary Adams, who has been charged with Bobo's kidnapping and murder. He has pleaded not guilty. The area near his family's property was searched in March. Another man facing murder and kidnapping charges, Jason Autry, also has pleaded not guilty. Recently . elected District Attorney Matt Stowe said his office was preparing to . seek a possible death penalty in the case. A decision is expected in . coming weeks, after he consults with the Bobo family, he said. 'The . evidence is voluminous,' Stowe said. 'We are going to make sure that . everyone who played a part in the heinous crime that has attacked the . peace and dignity of the state of Tennessee faces a consequence for . that.' In . May, brothers Jeffrey Pearcy and Mark Pearcy were both charged . with accessory after the fact and tampering with evidence. Like Autry and Adams, they have pleaded not guilty. Jeffrey Pearcy, left, and Mark Pearcy, right, have both been charged with accessory after the fact and tampering with evidence . TBI . director Mark Gwyn previously said the agency has sworn statements from . witnesses who claim to have seen Bobo alive with Autry and Adams after . she had been reported missing. Gwynn added that they also had physical evidence being analyzed at two crime laboratories, and several witnesses. 'We believe other individuals have knowledge, and possibly others have involvement,' Mr Gwyn told News Channel 5. 'They can expect us to be on their doorsteps very soon.' He . added: 'This is a case the TBI has been continuously working hard to . solve now for three years. It has not been easy but I do know truth will . prevail.' 'Anyone who had anything to do with Holly's disappearance will be brought to justice,' he added. Threats: Adams appears in court earlier this year over claims he threatened his brother, who is a witness in the case . Suspect: Jason Wayne Autry has been charged with the kidnap and murder of Holly Bobo . Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.
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Dylan Adams, 26, the brother of murder suspect Zachary Adams was arrested on Wednesday accused him of tampering with evidence tied to the Holly Bobo investigation .
The nursing student, 20, disappeared in 2011 from Parsons, Tennessee .
Her skull was found and identified last week - the first physical evidence .
Two other men have also been harged with murdering and kidnapping her .
Another man also allegedly tampered with evidence .
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By . Sara Nathan . PUBLISHED: . 11:28 EST, 13 February 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 06:04 EST, 14 February 2013 . Beyoncé bares all as she poses naked in her new documentary - just three weeks before giving birth to daughter Blue Ivy. Gently cradling her stomach, Beyoncé casts off any doubt that she faked her pregnancy as she recalls her fear of giving birth. Speaking at the premiere of her revealing HBO documentary, Life Is But a Dream - the title of which is taken from baby Blue's favourite song, Row, Row, Row Your Boat - Beyoncé said she hoped the film would provide inspiration for her little girl, who is given a starring role in the film. As she details a miscarriage and a fallout with her father, the 31-year-old singer said: 'I hope that she will see all of the beautiful times and all the tough times that led up to her being here. I’m hoping that … it can comfort her and inspire her in her life when she needs it.' SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO... Sheer daring: Beyonce displayed plenty of her decolletage in a . daring sheer floor length Elie Saab gown as she stepped onto the . red-carpet for the premiere of her documentary Life Is But a Dream on Tuesday night . Proud mama: Beyoncé with her newborn daughter Blue Ivy . The documentary even features footage taken from the hospital room as Beyoncé prepares to give birth, with the singer and her husband megastar rapper Jay-Z beaming with joy as her mother Tina Knowles calmly sets her daughter's hair in rollers. The star speaks out about her daughter in the March issue of Vogue, saying: 'She is my road dog, my homey, my best friend. I feel like I have something that has grounded me so much more.' And Blue makes a starring appearance in the documentary, which will air on Sunday at 9pm, as her mother cuddles her and shows her off to the camera. Beyoncé dismisses the rumors that she used a surrogate to have her daughter - who she reveals was unplanned - as 'the most ridiculous rumor I’ve ever had about me.' She adds that although she realises there are 'crazy celebrities' who do outlandish things for attention - she would never make light of having a child, adding: 'I respect mothers and women so much and to be able to experience bringing a child into the world – if you’re lucky and fortunate enough to experience that – I would never take that for granted.' She continues that having a miscarriage makes the topic even touchier, 'Especially after losing a child, the pain and trauma from that just makes it mean so much more to get an opportunity to bring a life into the world. 'It’s something you have to respect. There’s certain things you just shouldn’t play around with and a child, you don’t play around with that.' For the star, music was her salvation after suffering a miscarriage two years ago. She is heard singing 'the saddest song I've ever written', with the lyrics revealing: 'I guess love just wasn’t . enough for us to survive. I swear I swear I swear I tried. You took the . life right out of me. I’m so unlucky I can’t breathe. You took the life . right out of me. I’m longing for your heartbeat, heartbeat.' The autobiographical film takes a no-holds-barred look at Beyoncé using footage the star filmed on the video camera on her computer over the past three years. It also includes home movies of the Grammy-winning singer as a child with sister Solange - and her Destiny's Child bandmates as teenagers. Relaxing: Beyoncé shared an intimate moment between her and baby Blue, taken on holiday . Tragic: In her documentary, Beyonce opens up about her heartbreaking miscarriage for the first time . Speaking to Oprah Winfrey before the screening, she said: 'I really grew so much. This movie has really been my therapy. I’ve healed from so many wounds and I’ve been able to understand why some of the things I’ve been through, why I went through, so I feel really proud, and hopefully I can inspire other people.' 'I felt that after 16 years of being a public singer, people didn’t know who I was,' although she added: 'I will always keep certain things to myself because it’s only natural.' During the fascinating documentary, Beyoncé talks about firing her father Matthew Knowles as her manager in 2011. Matthew had been in charge of Destiny's Child - and helped launch Beyoncé's solo career, but the star says it was a tough but necessary decision, adding: 'I think one of the biggest reasons I decided it was time for me to manage myself because at some point you need your support system and you need your family. 'When you’re trying to have an everyday conversation with your family you have to talk about scheduling and you have to talk about your album and performing and touring. It’s just too stressful and it really affects your relationship....I wanted my dad.' Beyoncé adds the decision to sever her business ties with her father, who began preparing her for super stardom when she was a child, wasn’t easy, revealing: 'It was hard. I had to sacrifice my relationship with my dad. It was stressful, sad, difficult time, but I had to let go. When asked if she got her dad back, she says: 'I didn't get my dad back, but I had to let go.' However, as she cuddles Blue, Matthew is seen looking proudly on. Happy: Beyonce and husband Jay-Z attend the after party following the premiere of her HBO Documentary Film "Beyonce: Life Is But A Dream' in New York on Tuesday night . Baby's first picture: The singer even shares a sonogram that was taken while she was pregnant with Blue Ivy . However, after firing her father, Beyoncé says she realised quite how hard Matthew had worked - and how hard the music business was, adding: 'My father taught me so much about being a business woman and I’m . understanding him a lot now and I think I’ve realized that business and . being polite it doesn’t match. 'I mean, you can be fair, but . me being polite was not me being fair to myself. Now, I’m learning how . political things are and a lot of the crazy things he did were . necessary.' Shining star: Beyonce's Elie Saab silk gown was adorned with glittering sequins allowing . Queen B to literally light up the red-carpet . Racy: The pop star's attire featured a transparent panel at the chest and intricate detailing which just managed to cover her modesty . In touching moments, Beyoncé is seen toasting Jay-Z for his 37th birthday in 2006 at a dinner with his closest friends, telling him: 'You’ve . taught me so many things. 'You’ve given me so much in life and this is not enough. It’s not enough . I can give you. I just want you to be happy. And every year, I’m even . more in love with you and I want to spend everyday of my life with you. Happy birthday and I thank God for you every day.' The couple are captured on holiday and coo to each other as they sing along to Coldplay hit Yellow at a bar, written by their close friend Chris Martin. Power couple: Together Beyonce and Oprah are surely a force to be reckoned with . Talk to the hand! The ladies enjoyed a very animated discussion . It's a family affair: Beyoncé's mother Tina Knowles and sister Solange were at the premiere to support her . Although her husband was not at the screening in Manhattan, he joined his wife at the after party at Christie's on Tuesday night. Jay-Z first referenced the couple's miscarriage in Glory, a track recorded within days of Blue's birth in January 2012. Beyoncé suffered the loss several years before the birth of her daughter in January 2012. In the film, she says: 'About two years ago, I was pregnant for the first time. 'And I heard the heartbeat, which was the most beautiful music I ever heard in my life.' 'I picked out names,' she recalls. 'I envisioned what my child would look like.. I was feeling very maternal.' She lost the child in the early stages of her pregnancy. 'I flew back to New York to get my check up - and no heartbeat,' she says. 'Literally the week before I went to the doctor, everything was fine, but there was no heartbeat.' During the documentary, viewers will see the star talk about the moment she discovered she was pregnant after sending assistant Melissa to buy pregnancy tests - and how she tried to keep the pregnancy under wraps. She is seen rushing off to throw up while rehearsing for an ITV television special in the UK - and performing through her tiredness at the Billboard awards. Her two dates: Oprah on the carpet and Jay-Z for the after-party, nobody can see that Bey doesn't have friends in high places . On stage: Beyonce sat down with Oprah to discuss her new documentary . She says: 'Being pregnant was very much like falling in love. You are so open. You are so overjoyed.' The singer famously announced her . pregnancy by rubbing her tummy during a performance of Love On Top at . the MTV music awards in 2011 and it went on to become the most-tweeted . moments of the year. She tells the cameras that the baby . wants to introduce herself and is seen sharing a hug with Jay-Z moments . after coming off stage. In a previous clip, she says: 'People see celebrities and they have money and fame, but I'm a human being.' 'I cry, I get scared, I get nervous just like everyone else.' Her main man: The songstress attended the Grammys with her husband Jay-Z . Beyonce stripped bare: The singer shows a more human side in her HBO documentary . VIDEO Beyonce battles with how much to reveal about herself in upcoming documentary .
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Superstar details rift with father Matthew - admitting: 'I didn't get my dad back, I had to let go.'
She hits out at rumours she faked her pregnancy, saying: 'There's certain things you just shouldn't play around with, and a child, you don't play around with that.'
Baby Blue Ivy has a starring role in the film as Beyoncé dotes on her daughter .
Beyoncé and Jay-Z share a duet of Coldplay's Yellow - as she tells him: 'Every year, I'm more in love with you and I want to spend every day of my life with you.'
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By . Lydia Warren . Traumatised children and parents have described the horrifying scene at the Connecticut elementary school where a gunman opened fire on Friday morning, killing 20 children and six adults. Terror unfolded after a gunman, identified as 20-year-old Adam Lanza, opened fire in the principal's office before heading to the kindergarten classroom where his mother taught at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton at 9.35am. One man described how his younger sister first became aware of the shooting spree after she heard bullets and screams coming through the intercoms in the buildings. Fears: A woman waits to hear about her sister, a teacher, following a shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Children and parents have recounted the terrifying scene inside the buildings . Horror: Young children wait outside the school as police and paramedics swarm the area . 'It really started when she heard . gunshots and screams on the intercoms,' the unidentified relative told . MSNBC. 'She heard screams. They were hiding in a tiny closet all bundled . up. They were hearing screams and it was horrible.' When police arrived to lead them from the building, 'they were told to hold hands and close their eyes', he said. 'What was in there must have been very gruesome.' Children described hearing loud booms as . the gunman let out as many as 100 rounds and as their teachers ushered . them into corners away from his killing spree. They were locked . inside their classrooms until police came and evacuated them to a nearby . fire station. Images showed the traumatised, crying students hand-in-hand as they left the buildings. Horror: Crying children are led from the school where the gunman opened fire on Friday morning . Vivid: Children spoke about hearing 'booming' sounds as gunfire broke out across the school in Newtown . 'It was horrendous,' said parent . Brenda Lebinski, who rushed to the school where her daughter is in the . third grade. 'Everyone was in hysterics - parents, students. There were . kids coming out of the school bloodied. I don't know if they were shot, . but they were bloodied.' Fourth-grader Bear Nikitchyuk was going to his classroom when he heard someone kicking a door, USA Today reported. 'I looked behind me and all I saw was smoke and I smelled smoke,' he said. 'I heard shots fired. The second-grade teacher grabbed me and pulled me into her room.' VIDEO: Children and parents react to Connecticut shooting . Devastated: Families of victims grieve near Sandy Hook Elementary School after learning of the massacre . Pain: A young girl cries following a shooting that claimed scores of lives on Friday morning . Friday morning Adam Lanza leaves his Newtown home in his mother's car after 'shooting her dead' 9.30am Classes begin at Sandy Hook Elementary School . 9.35am First 911 calls that a shooting is underway; police arrive within minutes . 9.40am Shooting underway at the school's main office and a kindergarten class . 9.45am SWAT team arrives; checks building . 10am Reports of deaths begin to trickle out; Obama is briefed . 10.30am Police announce the shooter is dead; later revealed he died from a self-inflicted gun wound . 12.10pm First reports mistakenly naming killer as Ryan Lanza, 24 . 2.47pm President Obama orders flags to fly at half-staff . 1.08pm Reports that the death toll is at 27; at press conference, police say deaths include staff and students . 2pm Authorities announce a body was discovered at killer's Newtown home . 2.40pm Reports of investigation at Ryan Lanza's home in New Jersey; he writes on Facebook that he was not involved and is later led away for questioning . 3.17pm President Obama addresses the nation and struggles to contain his emotions . 5pm Adam Lanza is named as the shooter . One child leaving said there was shattered glass everywhere throughout the school, while another girl told WVIT the moment she heard gunfire break out. 'I was in the gym and I heard like seven loud . booms,' she said. 'And the gym teachers told us to go into the corner so we all . huddled. I kept hearing these booming noises. 'We all started crying so all the gym teachers told us to go . into the office where no one could find us. Then a police officer came in and told us to run outside.' A . boy told local stations: 'I was out in the hall when everybody heard . the bullets. They went into a panic.' Of his own response to the . gunfire, he could simply said: 'Woah.' 'I saw some of the bullets going down the hall and then a teacher pulled me into her classroom,' an eight-year-old student told CBS2. Another . student, a third-grader, told WTNH that she was sitting in her . classroom when police flooded the area after numerous reports of a . shooter. 'We saw police officers and we heard them on our roof and in our building,' the girl said. Some of the children were crying, and others complained they had a stomach ache, she said. Alexis Wasik, a third-grader at the . school, said she heard shots and saw her former nursery school teacher . being taken out of the building on a stretcher. 'We had to walk with a partner,' said eight-year-old Wasik. One father, Richard Wilford, spoke of . the horrifying moment he received a phone call telling him his son's . elementary school was under attack. Pain: A young boy is comforted outside the school where 22 children and seven adults lost their lives . Trauma: Parents pick-up terrified children from outside the school as police check every classroom . Concerns: Parents leave a staging area after being reunited with their children following the shooting . He said: 'This is an elementary . school. It's one of the better schools in the area. It was certainly a . shock to hear this had happened. 'What human being walks into an elementary school and starts shooting? That's just not normal. 'My . son said he heard loud noises. They were told to go into a corner of . the room. That's when they were recovered by the police. My son is safe. He doesn’t want to talk.' Of . receiving the call, he added: 'What do you feel in your heart? I cannot . try to explain it. There’s no words I can come up with that even come . close to describing the sheer terror when your son is trapped in a . situation of violence and there’s nothing you can do.' Declan Procaccini, whose daughter is in the third grade, said she was in a reading class when she and a teacher 'heard bangs'. Destroyed: A victim's relatives sob as they leave a firehouse staging area following the shooting . Sadness: A woman weeps as she arrives to pick up her children at the Sandy Hook Elementary School . The teacher locked her with another teacher into a bathroom and waited until police arrived to escort them out. 'My kids are already asking, "When is this going to happen again?" he said. 'It was only a week ago that we were talking about this type of situation, and I said the chances of it happening are one in a zillion at Sandy Hook. I was wrong about that.' There are preliminary reports that . the gunman shot dead his father at their home before heading to the . school, where his mother was a teacher. Her body was reportedly found at . her home. He then went . from classroom to classroom firing at students and teachers with a . .223-caliber rifle before turning the gun on himself. His brother, Ryan Lanza, is also being questioned by police but is not a suspect. Protection: State Police swoop on Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut . Comfort: People console each other outside the Sandy Hook Elementary School following the tragedy . 1. Virginia Tech - 32 dead plus the shooter . 16 April 2007, Blacksberg, Colorado . Student Seung Hui Cho, 23, killed two stuidents in a dorm . and then went through building of classrooms armed with two handguns, shooting . at random before killing himself. 2. University of Texas - 16 dead plus shooter . 1 August 1966, Austin, Texas . Former Marine sniper Charles Whitman, 25, armed with an . arsenal of weapons shot victims from the observation deck of the campus tower. 3. Columbine High School - 13 dead plus two shooters . 20 April 1999, Littleton, Colorado . Students Eric Harris, 18, and Dylan Klebold, 17, opened fire . outside the school killing students and one teacher before shooting themselves . in the library. 4. Red Lake High School - 9 dead plus shooter . 21 March 2005, Red Lake, Minnesota . Jeffrey Weise, 17, goes on a shooting spree at Red Lake High . School killing nine people, including his grandfather, before shooting himself. 5. University of Iowa - five dead plus shooter . 1 November 1991, University of Iowa . Gang Lu, 27, a graduate student from China killed five with . a .38-caliber revolver. He was apparently angry because his doctoral . dissertation had not been nominated for an academic award. 6. Amish schoolhouse massacre - six dead plus shooter . 2 October 2, 2006, Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania . Charles Carl Roberts IV, 32, executes five girls aged 7 to . 13 before killing himself in a small Amish schoolhouse . 7. Jonesboro, Arkansas - five dead . 24 March 1998, Jonesboro, Arkansas . Mitchell Johnson, 10, and Andrew Golden, 8, took seven guns . to school and pulled the fire alarm and shot students as they headed for the . exits. Four died plus a teacher. The pair were sent to a juvenile detention . center and released in 2005. 8. Cleveland Elementary School - five dead plus shooter . 17 January 1989, in Stockton, California . Patrick Edward Purdy entered a schoolyard and opened fire . with a semiautomatic rifle at Cleveland Elementary School. Five children died . and 30 others were wounded including one teacher. He then shot himself. 9. University of Arizona – three dead plus shooter . 28 October 2002, University of Arizona . Robert Flores, 40, a nursing student shot an instructor in . her office before entering a classroom and killing two more teachers before . committing suicide. 10. Kent State University – four dead . 4 May 1970, Kent State University in Ohio . National Guard troops killed four students who took part in . anti-war protests on the campus of Kent State University in Ohio.
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Children huddled in closets and teachers locked classrooms as gunman opened fire at Sandy Hook Elementary School on Friday morning .
Police told children to close their eyes to avoid seeing gruesome scene .
Parents recounted seeing bloodied children taken out from school .
20 children and six adults are believed to be dead .
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A third of Britons have admitted they can't delete people they dislike on Facebook - because they're too nosey or worried about the consequences of doing so. A survey has found the average number of friends on a person's Facebook is 287, yet just 10 per cent of people on these lists are friends the person likes and would want to spend time with socially. This has led to what the money-saving site has dubbed 'famicable Facebook friends', which stands for 'falsely amicable'. Research carried out by VoucherCodesPro.co.uk found that 34% of Brits have friends on Facebook they don't like and would avoid in real life. However, more than half admitted they can't delete these people because they want to keep tabs on what they're doing and a quarter are worried about the consequences of deleting them . More than half (58 per cent) said they keep people they didn't like as Facebook friends so they could still see their photos and statuses, and to find out what they are up to. Just less than half (47 per cent) keep family members and family of loved ones as friends because they feel they have to. While 36 per cent of people said they keep colleagues or former colleagues as friends in case they need to contact them in the future. Worryingly, 26 per cent admitted they can't delete these famicable friends because they wouldn't like to face the consequences of deleting them. Elsewhere, 17 per cent said they keep these friendships because being friends with them allows them to see what others are doing, such as their children or family. A total of 2,863 adults aged 18 and over with a . Facebook page were asked how many friends they currently have on the . social networking site. When . asked how many contacts on the site they would consider to be true . friends, and would regularly spend time with in a social capacity, . respondents stated an average of just 31. The participants were then asked if they were friends with anyone on their profile they disliked, and who they would go out of their way to avoid in real life. More than a third - 34 per cent - of people admitted this was the case and confessed they have an average of nine people on their Facebook page that match this criteria. More than half (58 per cent) said . they keep people they didn't like as Facebook friends so they could . still see their photos and statuses, and to find out what they are up . to. Just under half (47 per cent) keep family members and family of loved ones as friends because they feel they have to, the poll for VoucherCodesPro.co.uk, found. While 36 per cent of . people said they keep colleagues or former colleagues as friends in . case they need to contact them in the future. Worryingly, 26 per cent admitted they . can't delete these famicable friends because they wouldn't like to face . the consequences of deleting them. Just under half (47 per cent) keep family members as Facebook friends because they feel they have to, while 36 per cent of people admitted they keep colleagues, as well as former colleagues as friends in case they need to contact them in the future . Elsewhere, 17 per cent said they keep such friendships because being friends with them allows them to see . what others are doing, such as their children or family. George Charles, marketing director of . VoucherCodesPro, said: 'It seems with the results of this study, the old . saying about keeping your friends close, but your enemies even closer, . is definitely alive and well even in today’s society with our reliance . on the internet.' When asked if they had ever been involved in an argument that had taken place on Facebook, 22 per cent admitted that they had. When asked what had caused the row, ‘a vague status I thought had been aimed at me’ was the main cause in 28 per cent of cases. 'What with the extensive amount of information we are all now sharing on our social media pages, and the overwhelming need to see what everyone is up to, it really is no wonder that so many of the respondents in the study confessed that they have 'famicable facebook friends.,'' continued Charles.
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34% of Brits admitted they have Facebook friends they'd ignore in real life .
Just 10% of an average person's friends list are considered actual friends .
Over half said they are friends with people they don't like to be nosey .
While 26% were worried about the consequences of deleting certain people .
A fifth of participants admitted to having arguments on Facebook .
With 28% claiming the rows were caused by ambiguous or vague statuses .
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By . Emma Thomas . PUBLISHED: . 09:53 EST, 8 November 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 04:25 EST, 9 November 2013 . The King of Belgium says his £770,000 a year allowance, handed to him after he abdicated in July, is not enough to live on. But Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo said there would be no negotiations and the money paid to King Albert II would remain the same. 'The government is not going to change one comma' of the accord thrashed out earlier this year on annual payments to the royal family, he said. 'Not enough': King Albert II reportedly says his £770,000 a year allowance is not enough to live on . 'The government has no intention, directly or indirectly, to change anything at all in this important reform.' The prime minister, whom the king had singled out for praise in his abdication address, was responding to reports Albert II felt he had been short-changed, Yahoo news said. King Albert II 'says he has not been treated as he had hoped and that he now finds himself in difficulty.' Before he abdicated this year after a 20-year reign, the King was given a tax-free alloance of £933,000-a-year to pay for the upkeep of the entire royal household. After stepping down and allowing son Philippe to take the throne, the popular monarch was handed £770,000. No chance: Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo said there would be no negotiations and the money paid to King Albert II would remain the same . He was also provided with a team of ten aides but is still 'complaining bitterly about the annual payment' said a court correspondent from Le Soir. Associates, worried by his 'poor morale and recriminations,' are trying to help him, the paper said. Several options including the government paying for his official residence or the navy running his luxury yacht which is worth about £384,000. The monarchy is an important symbol of unity in a Belgium divided between the Flemish north and French-speaking south. Belgian sculptor Delphine Boel is also trying to be recognised as the natural daughter of Albert II. As king, Albert II enjoyed immunity from the law but since he abdicated he faces court action after Boel named him in a suit to establish her true father. Her mother is Baroness Sybille de Selys Longchamps who, according to a book released in 1999, had an affair with Albert in the 1960s before he became king.
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King of Belgium says his £770,000 a year allowance is not enough .
Options to save money include getting Navy to run his yacht .
He was given allowance and ten aides after abdication in July .
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(CNN) -- Best-selling author Malcolm Gladwell, no stranger to provocative opinions, is at it again. During a recent interview in Toronto, Gladwell said that people a half-century from now will revere Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates but will have no clear memory of his longtime tech rival, Apple chief Steve Jobs. "Of the great entrepreneurs of this era, people will have forgotten Steve Jobs. 'Who was Steve Jobs again?' But ... there will be statues of Bill Gates across the Third World," Gladwell said. "There's a reasonable shot that -- because of his money -- we will cure malaria." Of Gates, whose foundation has given more than $2 billion to causes around the world, Gladwell said: "I firmly believe that 50 years from now he will be remembered for his charitable work. No one will even remember what Microsoft is." Gladwell made the comments late last month during a public appearance at the Toronto Public Library. His remarks began drawing attention this week after the library posted a video clip of the interview online (the Gates-Jobs stuff starts around the 9:30 mark). Gladwell's popular nonfiction books include "Blink" and "The Tipping Point." His most recent book, "Outliers," attempts to explain what factors separate highly successful people from average ones. "We need to be clear when we venerate entrepreneurs what we are venerating," Gladwell said in Toronto. "They are not moral leaders. If they were moral leaders, they wouldn't be great businessmen." Gladwell did not elaborate on why he believes Jobs' legacy won't endure, although he made some unflattering comments about the late Apple co-founder, who died in October 2011. "Every single idea he ever had came from somebody else. And he would be the first to say this. He would also take credit for things. He was shameless. He was an extraordinarily brilliant businessman and entrepreneur. He was also a self-promoter on a level that we have rarely seen." Even so, Gladwell said he was fascinated by Walter Isaacson's recent biography of Jobs. For him, the most extraordinary moment in the book came near the end, when Jobs lay on his deathbed but refused to wear an oxygen mask because of its inelegant design. "To him it was like making him send his final e-mails using Windows," Gladwell said, to laughter from the audience. "A man has to draw the line somewhere, right?"
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Author Malcolm Gladwell: In time, "people will have forgotten Steve Jobs"
Gladwell: "There will be statues of Bill Gates across the Third World"
He made the comments during a recent public appearance at the Toronto Public Library .
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A Christian production company is waging battle against the upcoming 50 Shades of Grey movie adaption by releasing its own rival romance flick, Old Fashioned, in theaters on the same day, next Valentine's Day. 'A former frat boy and a free-spirited woman together attempt the impossible: an "old-fashioned" courtship in contemporary America,' reads the film's description on IMBd; and it looks set to be the very antithesis of all that 50 Shades of Grey stands for; sex, bondage, and domination. 'I wanted to tell a love story that . takes the idea of Godly romance seriously,' said Rik Swartzwelder, . writer, director and lead actor of the film, before squeezing in an apt . biblical reference: 'Opening the same weekend as Fifty Shades, there’s . definitely a David v. Goliath comparison.' Challengers: The Christian movie centers around 'a former frat boy (left) and a free-spirited woman (right) who together attempt the impossible, an "old-fashioned" courtship in contemporary America' To the contrary: 50 Shades of Grey tells the erotic story of Anastasia Steele, a college student played by Dakota Johnson (pictured) who is seduced by BDSM expert Christian Grey . 'We know we’re picking a fight here and that we’re more than a little outgunned,' Mr Swartzwelder writes on the movie's blog page. 'Oh well, it is what it is.' The actor-director will star opposite Elizabeth Roberts, an actress who has played the character of Marge Bernadi in Days of Our Lives, and this year, had a minor role in Bones. Although Mr Swartzwelder clearly seeks to appeal to die-hard Christians with his conservative tale, there seems to be room too for those who have perhaps swayed off the path of Godly righteousness. '[The story], without apology, explores the possibility of a higher standard in relationships; yet, is also fully aware of just how fragile we all are and doesn’t seek to heap guilt upon those of us that have made mistakes,' he explains . Coming soon: 'I wanted to tell a love story that takes the idea of Godly romance seriously,' says Rik Swartzwelder (right), the writer, director, and lead actor in the film, also starring Elizabeth Roberts (left) Going to head-to-head with the multimillion dollar blockbuster that is 50 Shades of Grey - which sees Dakota Johnson play the role of Anastasia Steele and hunky Calvin Klein model Jamie Dornan play Christian Grey - Mr Swartzwelder is comfortable being the underdog. 'We’re hopeful that there are others out there who desire more from love - and . the movies - than objectification or domination' 'They will have more screens, more money, more hype,' he correctly identifies. 'But we’re hopeful that we are not alone in our belief that there are others out there who desire more from love - and the movies - than objectification or domination.' The film is backed by Christian film finance firm Workting Title Agency and distributed by Freestyle, reports The Independent, and, according to co-president Mark Border will be: 'The first faith-based theatrical release to specifically target the underserved Christian singles audience.' Steamy: Christian Grey's character in 50 Shades of Grey is played by former Calvin Klein model Jamie Dornan (pictured) Big budget: 'They will have more screens, more money, more hype,' Mr Swartzwelder notes of his movie nemesis, pictured, a scene starring Dakota as Anastasia . Rivals: While the 50 Shades of Grey trailer (pictured) is so far the most-watched movie preview of 2014, Old Fashioned hopes to succeed in its mission as 'the first faith-based theatrical release to specifically target the underserved Christian singles audience' The same team also partnered on another faith-based movie which hit theaters in March, entitled God's Not Dead, which sees a devout Christian college freshman battle it out with his aggressively atheist philosophy professor in a quest to prove the existence of God. God's Not Dead was a roaring success and took more than $60million at box offices worldwide; made on a budget of only $2million. Leading film critics unanimously panned the movie however, labeling it 'sick,' 'ham-fisted,' 'angry,' and 'dismal.' Even if Old Fashioned does prove as lucrative as God's Not Dead, its unlikely to touch its nemesis. The 50 Shades of Grey trailer has already been watched on YouTube over 19 million times so far, making it the most-watched film preview of 2014.
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Both films will hit theaters next Valentine's Day .
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(CNN) -- "Less is more" has reigned at the beach and the neighborhood pool when it comes to swimwear ever since the popularization of the bikini in the 20th century. Two-piece bathing suits might dominate the landscape, but style editors and trend forecasters say the one-piece is the "fashion-forward" choice this season. "Most people are going to be in two-pieces. If you show up in a one-piece it's definitely a statement, and it's one of the most comfortable statements you could possibly make at the beach," said Connie Wang, style director of lifestyle website Refinery29. "It's a good thing for women that there are so many more options now that fulfill different desires of what you want to achieve at the beach." Variations on the one-piece and other swimwear trends will be on display at Miami Swim Week, where designers and buyers will gather this weekend for two major industry events: Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Swim and SwimShow. READ MORE: Caftans, your timeless summer wardrobe . Surf-inspired looks, such as rash vests and long-sleeved onesies for women, are expected to make strong showings, said Jane Boddy, head of womenswear at trend forecaster WGSN. On the flip side, ultra-feminine styles flaunting details rooted in the world of intimates -- ruffles, straps and peek-a-boo cutouts -- "are also key and on the cusp of big success," she said. The one-piece is the perfect canvas for showcasing both styles, whether you prefer ruffles and lace or animal prints. "The one-piece has become popular again because it reflects the best of both worlds. It looks back to the past with a retro slant, while also retaining a fresh, forward-looking style," Boddy said. "The development in cutting-edge design is the driving force behind the one-piece movement, as is the emergence of active sports in the apparel market," Boddy said. "We're beginning to see these looks filtering into swim, too, and that's exciting." While the bikini holds the undisputed title for the sexiest swimsuit option, let's not forget iconic moments for the one-piece such as Farrah Fawcett's ubiquitous red bathing suit poster and Bo Derek's emergence from the ocean in "10." More recently, when Kim Kardashian decided to show off her post-baby body on Instagram, she did it in a one-piece, proving that it is possible to flaunt a great body and get (slightly) more coverage at the same time. Jumpstarted by the "Mad Men"-inspired retro craze permeating all aspects of fashion, one-pieces are now easier than ever to find in a variety of styles, cuts and prints on the racks of department stores and high-end boutiques. READ MORE: What the late '60s really looked like . "Retro-fit swimsuits are flattering to a multitude of body types, but they also offer a whimsical take on swim and beach outfits," Refinery29's Connie Wang said. In recent years, the retro craze has given way to bathing suit styles inspired by the 1990s with an emphasis on high-cut legs, scoop necks and backs, think Pamela Anderson in "Baywatch" or "American Apparel." J.Crew pledged to reissue a discontinued scoop-back swimsuit after a New York magazine contributor penned an impassioned plea asking them to resurrect it. "People are valuing mobility and athleticism and actually being able to do stuff in the stuff you're wearing," Wang said. The modern version of the one-piece dates back to the 1980s, when the fitness craze contributed to an emphasis on sportiness, mobility and functionality in swimwear, said fashion historian Valerie Steele. At the same time, the "retro sexy" look of the 1950s and 1960s started coming back into style, after a period when two-pieces and unstructured one-pieces ruled swimwear. Developments in textiles allowed designers to create more flattering and functional styles, allowing bathing beauties to choose between "heightened eroticism or heightened athleticism," said Steele, director of the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. Since then, the one-piece never really went out of style, but the pendulum has swung back in its favor, she said. "We are in a one-piece moment." Caitlin Schmidt contributed to this report.
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Style experts say the one-piece is the fashion-forward choice this season .
Swimwear trends will be on display this weekend at Miami Swim Week .
The one-piece is a perfect canvas for sporty and sexy styles .
The modern version of the one-piece dates back to 1980s, historian says .
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By . Sarah Griffiths . PUBLISHED: . 06:27 EST, 22 August 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 11:28 EST, 22 August 2013 . It has witnessed major weather events from hurricane Katrina in 2005 to icy Christmas blizzards that crippled the U.S. in 2009. But the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite 12 has finally stopped recording the weather patterns of the East Coast of the U.S. - after 3,788 days. To honour the decommissioning of the weather satellite, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in the U.S. has created a time-lapse video of all the weather events GOES-12 has witnessed in the last decade. Scroll down for video . Geostationary satellite GOES-12 captured this visible image of Hurricane Katrina on August 28, 2005. At that time, the storm was at Category 5 strength and projected to impact New Orleans . Due to thruster control issues, the satellite drifted south of the equator to spend its last three years studying the weather of South America, although it still managed to provide images of hurricane Sandy in October 2012. Launched in July 2001, the satellite lasted well beyond its . original operational design life of two years for on-orbit storage and . five years of actual operations to support forecasters and scientists in . NOAA’s National Weather Service, according to the organisisation. 'GOES-12 gave the Western Hemisphere many years of reliable data as the operational eastern GOES for accurate forecasts, from small storms to those of historic proportions,' said Mary Kicza, assistant administrator for NOAA’s Satellite and Information Service. The satellite started its service by monitoring weather across the U.S. East Coast and part of the Atlantic Ocean. In January 2010 GOES-12 captured a . powerful storm developing in the U.S. mid-west and in the coming days, two . blizzards hit the East Coast resulting in historic snowfall totals. In May 2010, when the geostationary satellite was no longer able to be maintained to meet the requirements of the National Weather Service, it was shifted to a new position, where it provided coverage of weather conditions affecting South America, including volcanic ash clouds, wildfires, and drought. To decommission GOES-12, the NOAA boosted the satellite further into orbit using its remaining fuel, before turning off the battery and transmitters. This manoeuvre was designed to reduce the chances of the satellite colliding with other operational spacecraft as well as lowering the risk of orbital debris and preventing the satellite from transmitting any signals that could interfere with any current or future spacecraft. On January 29, 2010, GOES-12 captured a powerful storm developing in the U.S. mid-west. In the coming days, two blizzards hit the East Coast resulting in historic snowfall totals. Engineers work on the GOES-M (GOES-12) satellite before launch. It provided weather imagery to support weather forecasting and severe storm tracking for the East Coast of the U.S for ten years . While GOES-12 is now silent, GOES-13, . which serves as the GOES East satellite for the U.S. and GOES-15, which . covers the West Coast, are both hovering 22,300 miles above the equator. Another back-up satellite, GOES-14, can be activated if the others fail. Ms Kicza said: 'The NOAA-NASA partnership is making steady progress toward developing and launching the more advanced GOES-R satellite series to position us into the future.' This satellite is expected to more than double the clarity of today’s . GOES imagery and provide more atmospheric observations by sending more images more frequently. Data from the GOES-R instruments will be used to create different products that will help meteorologists monitor the atmosphere, land, ocean and the sun. The satellites will also carry a new 'geostationary lightning mapper' that will provide a continuous surveillance of total lightning activity throughout the Americas and adjacent oceans for the first time, according to the NOAA. The organisation seeks to understand and predict changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun.
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The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has released a video to mark ten years of service by the GOES-12 satellite .
The satellite focused on the East Coast of the U.S. and witnessed weather events including hurricane Katrina and .
the Christmas blizzards of 2009 .
In the future, GOES-R will provide images that are twice as clear as the ones sent by GOES-12, which was decommissioned last week .
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Death: Gavin Bedford died after pipework collapsed on top of him at the Gerber plant in Llantrisant . A drinks firm has been ordered to pay an £80,000 fine over errors which led to the death of a promising young engineer. Gavin Bedford, 24, from Porthcawl was killed at a factory where the popular Innocent smoothie brand was made in Llantrisant, South Wales after he was struck by falling pipework. The talented surfer and cyclist was employed as an electro-mechanical engineer by the Gerber Juice Company, now trading as Refresco Gerber UK Ltd, when his life was cut short by the accident. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said the company pleaded guilty to a breach of health and safety laws at Newport Crown Court. After the hearing, his mum Anna told of her heartbreak as she paid tribute to her 'perfect son.' She said: 'It was as if Gavin was put on this earth to do such wonderful things, to help anybody that needed him. 'He . touched everyone he knew and he had thousands of friends. I am so proud . to have been Gavin's mother. The world is a poorer place without him.' Mr Bedford had been tasked with dismantling machinery at the plant in Llantrisant Business Park before Gerber moved operations to their headquarters in Bridgwater, Somerset. But as he removed a large metal overhead pipe it fell and landed on his head, causing extensive skull fractures and brain injuries. His injuries were not discovered until a supervisor returned 40 minutes after the accident, having said he was going to find an adjustable spanner. Mr Bedford was taken away in an ambulance but died three days later in the Royal Glamorgan Hospital. Perfect son: His mum Anna told of her heartbreak as she paid tribute to her perfect son . His dad Nigel, who had become seriously ill in the aftermath of his son's death, said: 'This type of work was obviously dangerous and Gerber should have looked after Gavin properly.' The company was ordered to pay an £80,000 fine at Newport Crown Court yesterday after admitting health and safety breaches that contributed to his death. They also agreed to pay £75,000 in costs outside court following their guilty plea, which came after an earlier court appearance. Judge Patrick Curran QC said no risk assessment or detailed plans for removing the pipework had been produced after it was overlooked during initial work. On top of this the supervisor tasked with overseeing the final stages of the operation was unqualified for demolition projects and had never been given any health and safety training relevant to the task in hand. Factory: Mr Bedford had an accident at this factory where the Innocent smoothie brand was made in Llantrisant . The large pipe should have been removed using scaffolding but despite an agreement that it would be put in place there was no formal instruction given. Instead, plans to pull down the pipe were made by removing bolts before pulling it away from its fixtures from below with ropes. Judge Curran said there had been a breakdown in communication and the lack of detailed plans for the work meant Gavin, as a keen, hard-working employee, took it upon himself to take down the last heavy metal pipe by himself. He added: 'That is why you plan.' But he recognised the firm had an otherwise untarnished health and safety record. Outside court the Health and Safety Executive's inspector Liam Osborne said there was a basic failure to plan, manage and monitor. He said: 'Any demolition or dismantling work must be set down in writing and strictly monitored, as the law requires. It is also basic common sense. 'If Gerber had given enough time at the beginning to think through what needed to be done, and how it should be done, then Gavin would still be here today.'
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Gavin Bedford, 24, died when he was struck by falling pipework .
His injuries were not discovered until 40 minutes after the accident .
His mum Anna paid tribute to her 'perfect son'
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(CNN) -- A deal designed to end months of anti-government protests in Yemen suffered a setback Sunday when embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh rejected the opposition signature, officials said Sunday. Saleh, who was due to sign the deal Sunday, refused to recognize the opposition signature on it from the day before. "President Saleh invited the JMP (opposition alliance) to sign the ... proposal at the presidential palace at 3 p.m. today. We hope the JMP accepts President Saleh's invitation," said Tareq Shami, a spokesman for Yemen's ruling party, the General People's Congress (GPC). He insisted that the demand is not a complication, but rather common sense. "Any agreement should never take place in closed-door meetings. This is commonly known and Saleh does not want to start the transition period in such a way," Shami said. Opposition officials rejected Saleh's proposal. "This is Saleh. His words are never trusted. No agreement is respected by him," said Mohammed Qahtan, a spokesman for the JMP. Yemen, a key al Qaeda battleground and U.S. ally, has been roiled by protests for most of the year amid the background of anti-government demonstrations across much of the Arab world.
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President Ali Abdullah Saleh wants the opposition to sign the agreement at the palace .
They refuse, saying he is not to be trusted .
Yemen, a key al Qaeda battleground, is a U.S. ally .
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New Labour's 24-hour drinking laws have left Britain 'awash' with cheap alcohol and plagued by late night violence, experts warned last night. Home Office figures reveal there are now a record number of trouble hotspots – with 208 neighbourhoods officially classified as being 'saturated' with problem pubs or bars. To the fury of medical experts, there is also a record number of supermarkets, petrol stations and convenience stores selling booze around the clock – fuelling harmful drinking. Scroll down for video . New Labour's 24-hour drinking laws, introduced in 2005, has left Britain 'awash' with cheap alcohol . The scale of Britain's drinking culture is laid bare by the Home Office's annual report on alcohol and late night refreshment licensing, slipped out shortly before Christmas . Adding to the misery inflicted on residents, the number of late night takeaway shops servicing the bars and off-licences has hit an all-time high of 87,000. The Tories had pledged to end the chaos caused by New Labour's licensing reforms, which occurred in 2005 in the face of fierce opposition from police and GPs, as well as a Daily Mail campaign. But the powers they gave town halls to limit opening hours in problem areas and make bars and clubs pay for extra policing have proved a spectacular flop. By the end of March this year, only one so-called late night levy had been introduced and there was not a single order to restrict early morning alcohol sales. Last night council leaders demanded a change to the rules – labelling the current powers 'unwieldy, bureaucratic, and extremely costly and time-consuming'. Health campaigners said one of the most devastating consequences of 24-hour drinking laws has been shops selling cheap alcohol all day and night. Of the 7,353 licences in force for round-the-clock opening, more than a quarter (2,065) were for supermarkets and convenience stores. Chief constables have since declared 24-hour drinking a failed 'experiment' which did not usher in the promised 'café culture' The total number of premises licensed to sell alcohol is stable at 204,300, as is the overall number of 24-hour drinking licences, which stands at 8,200 . Liver specialist Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, chairman of the Alcohol Health Alliance, said: 'We are awash with outlets selling cheap drink. I don't think actually the general public is in favour of this and I don't think they know what to do about it. It beggars belief you can buy a bottle of wine at a garage at 2am. 'The whole direction of policy is in deregulation, to make alcohol an ordinary product just like soap powder rather than realising it is a drug of dependence. The problem is supermarkets, convenience stores and petrol stations selling cheap drink.' The scale of Britain's drinking culture is laid bare by the Home Office's annual report on alcohol and late night refreshment licensing, slipped out shortly before Christmas. The total number of premises licensed to sell alcohol is stable at 204,300, as is the overall number of 24-hour drinking licences, which stands at 8,200. But the number of supermarkets and shops which never close is up by 5 per cent. There has also been an alarming 19 per cent spike in the amount of so-called cumulative impact zones – up from 175 a year ago. This means a town centre or neighbourhood is officially considered to be a trouble hotspot which is at 'saturation' point and cannot cope with new premises opening. Trouble in these areas ranges from fighting and litter to drug dealing, pick-pocketing and robbery. Many are now found in small, previously quiet towns which used to have few crimes of this nature. At the end of March 2007, when the licensing laws had been relaxed for just over a year, there were only 71 of these zones in the UK. To the fury of medical experts, there is also a record number of supermarkets, petrol stations and convenience stores selling booze around the clock – fuelling harmful drinking . Upon coming to office, the Conservatives promised to limit the worst impact of the change in the law with two new powers: late night levies which would see late-opening problem venues pay more for their licence, and early morning alcohol restriction orders, or EMROs. EMROs enable town halls to prohibit the sale of alcohol for a specified time period between midnight and 6am in the whole or part of their area. Yet, despite being launched amid great fanfare, there was not a single EMRO in force at the end of March this year. And at the end of that month there was just a single late night levy, which raised £300,000 from pub and bar owners in Newcastle; a city notorious for drunken late night scenes. Cllr Ann Lucas, chairman of the Local Government Association's Safer and Stronger Communities Board, said: 'Councils are being hamstrung by the current systems for implementing early morning restriction orders and late night levies, which are unwieldy, bureaucratic, and extremely costly and time-consuming. 'Local authorities are forced to hold numerous hearings, and call scores of witnesses as a result of multiple representations by the alcohol industry. However, residents – who do not have access to expensive lawyers – struggle to be heard because of the number and complexity of forms they must fill out. 'Late night levies must be introduced across councils' entire areas, which makes it extremely difficult to target them effectively.' Home Office figures reveal there are now a record number of trouble hotspots – with 208 neighbourhoods officially classified as being 'saturated' with problem pubs or bars . The Daily Mail – backed by senior police, ambulance staff and judges – opposed the 2005 relaxation of the licensing laws. Chief constables have since declared 24-hour drinking a failed 'experiment' which did not usher in the promised 'café culture'. Last year, the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) said the situation was so bad that private sector-run 'drunk tanks' should be introduced to care for the inebriated. Last night, Labour's shadow home office spokesman Diana Johnson said: 'Theresa May's record on alcohol is one of broken promises and failed policies.' Crime Prevention Minister Lynne Featherstone said: 'The Government is taking a range of action to address the £11billion a year that alcohol-fuelled crime and disorder costs England and Wales. 'We have given local areas more powers to deal with alcohol-related disorder, and I have recently written to local authorities and police and crime commissioners to remind them of these important measures. 'We have also lowered the evidence threshold for decision-making to make it easier for licensing authorities and the police to review, revoke or impose conditions on licences. 'Seven local authority areas have now decided to introduce a [late night] levy.'
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Home Office figures show shocking results of the 24-hour drinking laws .
Labour's laws, introduced in 2005, left Britain 'awash' with cheap booze .
Record number of supermarkets and shops selling booze round the clock .
Also number of takeaways servicing bars has hit all-time high of 87,000 .
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Take a look at these pictures and consider for a moment what these rather brutal looking metal contraptions might be. Are they power tools? Medieval torture devices? The world's first hairdryers? Archaic egg whisks? Nope, these are actually Victorian vibrators, a collection of vintage self-massagers currently on display at . Littledean Jail in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, a former house of correction, . police station and courthouse-turned-visitor attraction. And exhibits include Dr Macaura's Pulsocon Hand Crank Vibrator, which dates back to 1890 and resembles an old-fashioned egg whisk. This may look like an early hair dryer with different attachments, but it is actually a vintage 'self-massager', used by women as a vibrator in the late 19th and early 20th centuries . Dr. Macaura's Pulsocon Hand Crank (1890) Vibrator, which resembles an archaic egg whisk, is now on display at Littledean Jail, Forest of Dean, . According to Philip Larkin, sex began in 1963, between the end of the Lady Chatterley ban and the Beatles' first LP. But this collection of Victorian vibrators shows self-pleasuring has been going on for a whole lot longer than that. Littledean Jail owner and curator Andy Jones, 51, described the assortment of sex toys as 'a fascinating insight into women's pleasure during Victorian times'. The 'ACME' hand-held vibrator shows self-pleasuring has been going on for a whole lot longer than we originally believed . When compared to today's vibrators such as the pink plastic rampant rabbit, the ACME is certainly a lot less... girly . But despite its pleasurable connotations, the modern-style vibrator was actually invented by respectable Victorian doctors. 'Pelvic massage' was a common treatment for female hysteria during the Victorian era. However, doctors found the process of administering the massage by hand tiring and time-consuming, and so devised a device to do the job for them. Dr Joseph Mortimer Granville patented an electromechanical vibrator around 1880, a story told in the 2011 film Hysteria, featuring Maggie Gyllenhaal. Despite its pleasurable connotations, the modern-style vibrator was actually invented by respectable Victorian doctors . 'If you plug them in, the force is incredible. They're loud and some of them look like hairdryers' The vibrators come packed neatly in cases with a number of different attachments, and resembles an old-fashioned drill and its bits . While some of these contraptions now look like they belong more in a torture chamber than beneath the sheets, they serve as testament to the ingenuity of Victorian inventors. The sex toys also offer a fascinating insight into the supposedly 'prim and proper' Victorian world, in which some families would supposedly cover up table legs since they were seen as suggestive and risque. 'If you plug them in, the force is incredible,' Jones said. 'They're loud and some of them look like hairdryers. 'I would imagine it would have been quite a painful exercise, judging by what I've seen of them, like having a kango hammer pressed against your body.'
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Late 19th, early 20th century self-vibrators on display in Gloucestershire .
Were originally created by Victorian doctors to cure women of hysteria .
Female patients were treated with 'pelvic massage' using plug-in vibrators .
On display at .
Littledean Jail, former courthouse, in the Forest of Dean .
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It is the only all-European quarter-final of this World Cup and perhaps the most intriguing; two countries with three final appearances between them since 1998. France are building momentum from an unfancied position, Germany are stuttering a little among plenty of expectation. Each will play a variation on 4-3-3, with France fielding a more compact midfield and Germany a less-obvious centre-forward. But it will come down to how the players perform. Here is Sportsmail’s analysis of the probable starting line-ups. Scroll down to see the final score . Masters: Germany are looking to reach their fourth consecutive World Cup semi-final . Together: The French squad, who have surprised many, show their team spirit in training . Goalkeeper . Hugo Lloris (Tottenham Hotspur) - Age 27, Caps 61 . Captain has performed well and enhanced his reputation in Brazil. Some fine saves coupled with an alertness for danger. The extinguisher: Lloris has continued his fine form for Tottenham into the World Cup . Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich) - Age 28, Caps 49 . Operated more like a sweeper in the extra-time victory over Algeria and dominates his area. Can be rushed on kicks. Sweeper-keeper: Manuel Neuer let nothing get past him, or in front of him, in the win over Algeria . Verdict: Two goalkeepers magnetically repelled to their own goal-line, Neuer edges it by stature and big-match experience. VIDEO All Star XI: Manuel Neuer highlights . Right-back . Mathieu Debuchy (Newcastle United) - Age 28, Caps 24, Goals 2 . Arsene Wenger wants him to replace Bacary Sagna at Arsenal. He gets the nod for his nation in any case. Dependable and an attacking threat. Wanted man: Debuchy is being tracked by Arsenal as a replacement for Frenchman Bacary Sagna . Jerome Boateng (Bayern Munich) - Age 25, Caps 43 . Shifted to right-back by Philipp Lahm’s move to midfield, the position is not his best. Perfectly capable and good on the ball but looks odd. Odd ball: Boateng has had to fill in at right-back, and could be Germany's weak link in Rio . Verdict: Debuchy is playing in his preferred position and will be more comfortable than Boateng. Left-back . Patrice Evra (Manchester United) - Age 33, Caps 61 . Ageing limbs led to criticism at Manchester United but he has blossomed in Brazil, putting in shifts of pace and poise. Experience: Evra has shown he still has it in the locker in Brazil after some uneasy times at Old Trafford . Benedikt Howedes (Schalke) - Age 26, Caps 25, Goals 2 . Flexibility across the back-line gives Germany greater options and as club captain for Schalke offers leadership. Nothing spectacular. Solid: Benedikt Howedes has justified his selection at left-back during the World Cup . Verdict: Another position where a specialist looks a surer bet, while Evra also brings huge experience. Centre-back . Mamadou Sakho (Liverpool) - Age 24, Caps 22, Goals 2 . The man with the intense eyes and intense style has begun to show why Liverpool paid £18million for him. Athletic if a little erratic. Rebuilding reputation: Sakho (below) has shown why Liverpool splashed the cash on him last summer . Per Mertesacker (Arsenal) - Age 29, Caps 102, Goals 4 . Developed into a favourite at Arsenal and is a composed character on and off field. Towering presence while immobility made up for by anticipation. Cleared: Mertesacker was on the form of his life last season, and has brought his confidence to Brazil . Verdict: Mertesacker has an ability to organise that Sakho does not – could be key with malleable opposition attacks. Centre-back . Raphael Varane (Real Madrid) - Age 21, Caps 10 . Looks at ease on this stage for a 21-year-old. Silky smooth in possession and a threat from corners. Rock: Real Madrid centre-half Varane looks to have experience way beyond his years . Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund) - Age 25, Caps 33, Goals 3 . Brings blood and thunder from Borussia Dortmund and a high level of technical proficiency. Towering: Hummels (right) goes up for a challenge with USA's Jermaine Jones in the 1-0 group stage win . Verdict: Real Madrid’s Varane may be young but can become a great. He pips the elder man. Centre-midfield . Yohan Cabaye (PSG) - Age 28, Caps 33, Goals 3 . Has shone for France in deeper role, dictating play from in front of the back four and advancing to unleash trademark shots from range. Poise: PSG midfielder Cabaye has dropped deeper for France, and the team have benefited . Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich) - Age 30, Caps 110, Goals 5 . The Pep Guardiola experiment continues for the national team. Quite astonishing he can adapt so seamlessly to such a degree. Next up: Philipp Lahm applauds the fans after their narrow 2-1 win over Algeria . Verdict: A very close call. Lahm is the more established, even if newer to this position, and his wealth of knowledge vital. Centre-midfield . Blaise Matuidi (PSG) - Age 27, Caps 27, Goals 5 . Has enjoyed a real break-out moment this tournament. Gets France ticking at good tempo and performs essential defensive function too. Surrounded: Matuidi has shone both up and down the pitch during his four appearances . Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich) - Age 29, Caps 105, Goals 23 . Has seemed short of his best at the World Cup. At his peak a player who can drive on a team through desire and technique. Midfield man: Germany legend Bastian Schweinsteiger should earn his 106th cap on Friday . Verdict: Matuidi is quietly producing some excellent stuff, in a similar vein to Emmanuel Petit from 1998. Centre-midfield . Paul Pogba (Juventus) - Age 21, Caps 15, Goals 3 . Grows as each match goes by, dominating central areas with strength and finesse. May look like a gazelle but is hard as rhino. Central man: Pogba put in a magnificent midfield performance against Nigeria . Mesut Ozil (Arsenal) - Age 25, Caps 59, Goals 18 . Much like his debut Arsenal season, has sparkled at times and been subdued at others. Can turn a game with a flick of his boot. Hands aloft: Arsenal man Ozil scores his 18th goal for Germany in the 2-1 win over Algeria on Monday . Verdict: Ozil was once a 21-year-old taking the World Cup by storm, but this is Pogba’s time now. Right-wing . Mathieu Valbuena (Marseille) - Age 29, Caps 37, Goals 6 . The personification of a pocket rocket. Small in stature, big on impact. Provides a nimble outlet from defence to ease pressure and cutting edge too. Overjoyed: Valbuena (right) looks delighted as the French secured their place in the quarters . Toni Kroos (Bayern Munich) - Age 24, Caps 48, Goals 5 . Such an elegant player. Through the middle would be his preferred role but the interchangeable nature of this forward trio means he can influence matters. Eye on the prize: Kroos is concentrating on his international duty despite heavy rumours of a transfer . Verdict: Valbuena is in his pomp at this World Cup, and for this match looks a key player. Left-wing . Antoine Griezmann (Real Sociedad) - Age 23, Caps 8, Goals 3 . Surname sounds German, developed his football in Spain, but has emerged as the solution to France’s issue on the left. Very gifted. Winger: Real Sociedad star Griezmann is Les Bleus' answer on the left of midfield . Mario Gotze (Bayern Munich) - Age 22, Caps 33, Goals 10 . Has been one of Germany’s best players at this tournament and offers Thomas Muller support on the goal hunt. Agile and intelligent. Denied: Gotze sees his shot saved by Algeria goalkeeper Rais M'Bolhi during the last 16 game . Verdict: Similar players, both diminutive and excellent on the ball – Gotze edges because of his experience. Centre-forward . Karim Benzema (Real Madrid) - Age 26, Caps 70, Goals 24 . The required spike to France’s attack, has scored goals, created chances and come-of-age at a major international tournament. Up top: Benzema has three goals and two assists in his four appearances at this World Cup . Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich) - Age 24, Caps 53, Goals 21 . Nine World Cup goals in nine matches is some feat for a guy who nobody would recognise as an out-and-out striker. Drifts across the front and will shot on sight. I'm the man: Thomas Muller has scored four and assisted two goals in his four games so far . Verdict: So different, so difficult to compare. Muller is the ultimate scorer at this event though, so he wins out. Managers . Didier Deschamps - in charge since 2012 . Really impressive in his initial squad selection – omitting Samri Nasri for purposes of unity – and has continued during match. Able to rotate his players and tactics accordingly. In charge: Low (left) has been in charge for eight years, while Deschamps has seen a huge improvement . Joachim Low - in charge since 2006 . A master of this team, overseeing development from promise to fruition. Now the challenge is to adorn his work with a trophy. Verdict: A tie. Final score: France 6-5 Germany . VIDEO Team Profile: France highlights .
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European heavyweights meet in Rio on Friday, but how do they compare?
Germany, with Mesut Ozil, Thomas Muller and Manuel Neuer, are looking for their fourth straight World Cup semi-final .
Didier Deschamps France won the World Cup in 1998 and reached the final in 2006, and will call upon Paul Pogba and Karim Benzema to do so again .
The French have surprised a few during their four games, while Joachim Low's Germany are typically solid .
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(CNN) -- Missed it by that much! In a year that forecasters said there would be a few more hurricanes than normal, Humberto on Wednesday fell just a few hours short of setting a record for the latest first hurricane to form in the Atlantic Ocean. Normally, three hurricanes would have formed in the area by this time in hurricane season. All that it had to do was wait until after 8 a.m. ET, but alas, no. Three hours ahead of that mark, the National Hurricane Center in Miami dubbed it a legitimate storm with sustained winds of a 75 mph, the threshold for a hurricane. But it's not likely to cause much of a fuss. Early Wednesday, it was about 310 miles west-northwest of the Cape Verde Islands, off Africa's coast. It's expected to fizzle into a tropical storm over the weekend. Back in May, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Climate Prediction Center said higher-than-average water temperatures were expected to help yield a few more Atlantic hurricanes than usual. NOAA predicts above-normal Atlantic hurricane season . Between 13 and 20 named storms and seven to 11 hurricanes were predicted. Humberto is the eighth named storm of the year and, again, just the first hurricane. For the Atlantic Ocean, a normal season would produce 12 named storms, including six hurricanes and three major ones. There's still time, if you're rooting for more hurricanes. Hurricane season, which began on June 1, runs until November 30. CNN's Sean Morris contributed to this report.
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2013 was almost a record-setter for latest first hurricane formation .
Humberto formed in the far eastern Atlantic early Wednesday .
Forecasters predict an above-average year for Atlantic storms .
Hurricane season ends on November 30 .
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Brendan Rodgers admitted he was managing a fractured dressing room after Liverpool’s 3-0 defeat at a resurgent Manchester United. Wayne Rooney, Juan Mata and Robin van Persie inflicted Liverpool’s seventh defeat of the Barclays Premier League season to move within five points of Manchester City in second. Rodgers, who faces a tricky Capital One Cup quarter-final at Bournemouth on Wednesday, is struggling to find solutions after this latest defeat. Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers looks down after his side's 3-0 defeat at Old Trafford . Raheem Sterling shows frustration after another missed opportunity during the difficult defeat . The Liverpool manager said: ‘We have to recapture the team ethos. With the emphasis of the team, it is clear to me that we are searching to find solutions. ‘The players are working hard, the players have given everything, they are pressing and they are working. ‘In every dressing room there have always been been issues, but it is not something I discuss outside of the dressing room. The players are honest but we are not getting results. Rodgers says his players are honest, and will keep working hard to get results as the season goes on . Rodgers, who chose to field Sterling as his central striker, admitted there is tension in the dressing room . ‘I can’t fault the commitment of the players because they gave everything.’ Rodgers axed Belgian keeper Simon Mignolet and replaced him with Brad Jones for the trip to Old Trafford and also changed to a 3-4-3 system. It played straight into United’s hands and Louis van Gaal’s team, who have now won six games in a row, were 2-0 up at the break. Rodgers added: ‘Simon has been fine, I spoke to him after the Basle game in the Champions League and he understood it. 'Brad Jones didn’t have much to do and he’s ending up picking the ball out of the net three times. Brad Jones, who replaced Simon Mignolet in the Liverpool goal, had no chance with Juan Mata's header . Rodgers was upset with the second goal, which was clearly some way offside, but missed by the linesman . Rodgers pointed to David de Gea's excellent performance as one of the reasons for his side's defeat . ‘This will be for an indefinite period. In my first year Brad did well and sometimes coming out of the firing line can help. ‘I just felt after Basle game that there was a chance to make the decision.’ Rooney scored United’s first goal but their next, scored by Mata, should have been disallowed for offside. Van Persie wrapped it up for United after the break with a clinical strike. Despite the emphatic scoreline, United keeper David de Gea was man of the match for a string of excellent saves from Mario Balotelli and Raheem Sterling. Rodgers added: ‘We didn’t deserve to lose, but we need to be more clinical. ‘Their keeper got man of the match and that tells you everything. We created more chances against United than in the last five or six games but we are disappointed with the first and the third goal. ‘The second one was clearly offside. With the players we had we did the best we could.’ Van Gaal’s side are eight points behind Chelsea and are in third position in the Premier League after this convincing victory. Mario Balotelli and Sterling cut dejected figures as they get ready to kick-off after conceding at Old Trafford . David de Gea celebrates Rooney's goal moments after making the save from Sterling's point blank strike . The Manchester United keeper was man of the match, denying Liverpool with several superb saves . Balotelli came on as a second half substitute but failed to find the net again for the Reds . Despite their good form the Dutch coach refuses to accept that his team can challenge for the title in his first season in England. He added: ‘The most important match is always the next one. We are winning now, six matches in a row but we have to improve our style. ‘We can kill the game easily, but we must improve. Everyone is happy now - my cook is happy and my wife is happy because we beat Liverpool. ‘We have a way of playing that takes into account the qualities of the opponent and my staff are always looking for the way we can inflict pain on the opponent. Despite the comfortable victory, their sixth in a row, Louis van Gaal admitted United have to improve . VIDEO Van Gaal not concerned with title talk . ‘You need luck, but you can force the luck. That was not the case at the start of the season.’ Van Persie added: ‘The fans were absolutely brilliant from the start to the finish. They were our 12th man again. David was outstanding again. He was absolutely brilliant like he always is.’ United are dealing with another injury after Marcos Rojo pulled out on Saturday. Van Gaal refused to discuss the extent of the problem. Head here to Like MailOnline Sport's Facebook page.
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Liverpool lost 3-0 at Old Trafford, their seventh league defeat of the season .
Brendan Rodgers says his players have lost their 'team ethos'
Rodgers confirms keeper Simon Mignolet has been dropped 'indefinitely'
Liverpool boss claims 'we didn't deserve to lose' to Manchester United .
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Most of us remember the days when we could play football and ride our bikes in the street without too much fear of anything happening more ghastly than a grazed knee. But that's not the case for the growing number of children being brought up in cities and large towns. So a group of parents in Colchester have decided to adopt an idea that will see their road closed, cars driven out of the way and children will have free reign to play. They also hope closing the road to traffic . for two hours every week will help boost community spirit and give . children a safe place to play during the summer. Parents and children in Colchester react to the news that they can close their street for two hours to allow free play from August . Road closures during the Queen's Diamond Jubilee have seen an increase in the popularity of street parties. Naomi Fuller, communications co-ordinator for Playing Out, an organisation that helps communities with similar schemes, said that Bristol was the first city to adopt the idea. Ms Fuller said: 'The main aim behind it and the way it grew was based on active play, particularly for urban children that don't live near any green space. 'Bristol was the first local authority . to make it easy for residents to apply for regular road closures for . play and brought in a new policy to enable this to happen across the . city.' Some streets carry out road closures once a week while many others do it every two weeks or once a month. She added that the idea was beneficial to children's health and got neighbours together, helping gain a sense of community. Childminder Kim Barnetson said: 'It's not just about children playing out. It's about the community reclaiming their streets and using the area not only as something you drive through but somewhere you catch up with your neighbours.' The schemes are designed for children in urban areas who don't always have access to green space . Mrs Barnetson said families wanted to continue what they had started with their Diamond Jubilee street party last summer. She said: 'It was great to see the kids out in the street going up and down on their scooters. 'One of my neighbours put a little slip through the door about a scheme in Bristol and asked if it was something I would like to set up. 'I contacted the people in Bristol and they have been really helpful with the legal stuff. We spoke to Essex County Council and said we would like to pioneer the scheme. 'We're going to be guinea pigs and if it works we can encourage others to do it and if it doesn't then at least we have tried.' The scheme was first used in Bristol two and a half years ago. Mothers Alice Ferguson and Amy Rose wanted to get to know their neighbours better. Three years later there are more than 30 streets in Bristol and beyond replicating their Playing Out sessions . The first closure in King Stephen Road will take place next month. Residents of King Stephen Road will have to inform Essex County Council when they want to close the road in advance. They will then be able to shut it to cars for two hours. Residents will act as wardens at either end of the closure. They will instruct through traffic they cannot enter as well as letting through emergency vehicles. Many people living on the street have said they will move their cars for the closure, but it is not compulsory, and people can drive down the street as long as they are going at walking speed and guided by stewards .
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Streets closed to cars for children who don't have access to green space .
Organisers hope it will help boost community spirit among neighbours .
Similar schemes running across Bristol where idea was first mooted .
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Washington (CNN) -- President Barack Obama has invited congressional leaders from both parties to join him in a meeting to discuss what to do in the waning days of the current Congress, vowing Thursday that it will "not be just a photo-op." "I want us to talk substantively about how to move the American people's agenda forward," Obama said. The meeting is set for November 18, Obama said, following elections Tuesday in which his Democratic Party lost control of the House of Representatives and saw its Senate majority reduced. Current members of Congress keep their jobs until the end of the year in what's known as the "lame-duck" session. Obama said he wants the meeting to discuss the future of the Bush-era tax cuts that are scheduled to expire at the end of the year. Republicans and Democrats disagree about how to extend them. The president calls for extending the lower tax rates for income up to $200,000 a year for individuals or $250,000 a year for families. Income above those levels would be taxed at rates from the 1990s, before the tax cuts were enacted in 2001 and 2003. Most Republicans oppose letting anyone's tax rates go up, including the 2 percent of the population that earns income greater than the thresholds proposed by Obama. "We have to act in order to assure that middle-class families don't see a big tax spike because of how the Bush tax cuts have been structured," Obama said. "It is very important that we extend those middle-class tax cuts." The president said businesses also needed "certainty" about the future concerning tax rates. Republicans argue that the income levels in Obama's proposal would hit too many small business owners and harm job creation. Potential compromises under discussion would raise the income level for the tax cut extensions to $1 million, or temporarily extend all the tax cuts with time limits for higher income levels. Obama conceded Wednesday that his party had taken a "shellacking" from the voters the day before, and the Republican leader in the Senate has signaled that he wants to roll back what Obama's administration and the Democratic-controlled Congress have done instead of working with them to seek compromises on major issues. "For the past two years, Democrat lawmakers chose to ignore the American people, so on Tuesday the American people chose new lawmakers," Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, said in a speech Thursday to the Heritage Foundation. "The White House has a choice: They can change course, or they can double down on a vision of government that the American people have roundly rejected," McConnell said. In response, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Thursday that any consensus reached in talks between Obama the congressional Republicans would not give everyone what they wanted. Gibbs also said he expected the November 18 meeting to be just the start of discussions, saying: "I anticipate that this is the first of many." Obama used his brief statement after a Cabinet meeting to highlight his legislative priorities. He urged the upcoming lame-duck Congress to approve an arms control agreement with Russia, saying it is neither a Republican nor a Democratic issue. The Senate must approve international treaties for them to take effect. "We have negotiated with the Russians significant reductions in our nuclear arms" in the new START treaty, Obama said. That has given the United States leverage in seeking increased pressure against Iran's controversial nuclear program, Obama argued, because "people have seen that we are serious about taking our responsibilities when it comes to non-proliferation." Obama is also planning to meet newly elected governors from both parties, he said. He's invited them to the White House on December 2. The meeting will be a "terrific opportunity to hear from them ... about what they're seeing, what ideas they think Washington needs to be paying attention to," Obama said. "They've got very practical problems that they've got to solve," he said, praising their "common-sense approach that the American people are looking for right now." CNN's Richard Allen Greene and Tom Cohen contributed to this story.
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NEW: White House spokesman says he expects multiple meetings to occur .
Obama wants the Senate to approve an arms control treaty with Russia .
He'll meet leaders of the outgoing Congress in two weeks, he says .
The Bush tax cuts will be on the agenda .
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(CNN) -- For most of American history, the average farmer, shop owner or entrepreneur could live an entire life without getting anything from the federal government except mail service. But those days have gone the way of the Pony Express. Last year, the Wall Street Journal reported that 49% of the population lives in a household where at least one person gets some type of government benefit. The Heritage Foundation's annual Index of Dependence on Government tracks government spending and creates a weighted score adjusted for inflation of federal programs that contribute to dependency. It reports that in 2010, 67.3 million Americans received either Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Social Security, support for higher education or other assistance once considered to be the responsibility of individuals, families, neighborhoods, churches, and other civil society institutions -- an 8% increase from the year before. These people aren't necessarily dependent on government; many could live (even live well) without their Social Security check, Pell grant or crop subsidy. That's not the point. The problem is that Washington is building a culture of dependency, with ever-more people relying on an ever-growing federal government to give them cash or benefits. This is a growing and dangerous trend. The United States thrives because of a culture of opportunity that encourages work and disdains relying on handouts. The growth of the welfare state, a confusing alphabet soup of programs that are supposed to help low-income Americans make ends meet and do not include entitlements such as Social Security or Medicare, is turning us into a land where many expect, and see no stigma attached to, drawing regular financial support from the federal government. Opinion: Americans are not moochers . Consider means-tested social welfare programs. The federal government operates at least 69 programs that provide assistance deliberately and exclusively to poor and lower-income people. The benefits include cash, food, housing, medical care and social services. Yet when poverty expert Robert Rector, senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, examined these anti-poverty programs, he found that only two, the earned income tax credit and the additional child refundable credit, require recipients to actually work for their benefits. It had been three, but earlier this year, the Obama administration effectively set aside the most well-known welfare work requirements, those specifically written into the 1996 Temporary Assistance to Needy Families law. The Department of Health and Human Services announced that states could apply for a waiver of the law's clearly stated work requirements. Meanwhile, although spending on welfare has been cut in half since it was reformed in 1996, other federal spending on programs, such as food stamps, has soared year after year and decade after decade. Simply put, spending on social welfare programs has exploded. CNNMoney: The poor do have jobs . Under a culture of dependency, poverty becomes a trap, and recipients get stuck. Long-term welfare recipients lose work habits and job skills and miss out on the marketplace contacts that lead to job opportunities. That's a key reason the government should require welfare recipients to work as much as they can. What could be called "workfare" thus tends to increase long-term earnings among potential recipients. Another problem is that we simply can't afford all this spending. The national debt is at $16 trillion, more than the entire GDP of the United States last year. High as it is, that debt is about to soar. More than 78 million baby boomers are retiring onto Social Security and Medicare in the next 15 years or so. Under Obamacare, Medicaid is set to explode as well. Within just one generation, total federal spending could reach nearly 36% of GDP, and the Congressional Budget Office says debt held by the public could reach nearly 200% of GDP. That will crowd out virtually all other government spending, including national defense. Future Congresses could impose deep cuts in social welfare programs across the board or raise massive taxes to support these exploding programs. The results would be chaotic and unpredictable. News: Romney remarks: Plain truth or huge mistake? It doesn't have to be this way. We can reduce dependency on government and focus benefits on those who are truly needy. For example, by including work requirements and promoting marriage (being raised in a married family significantly reduces a child's chances of being in poverty), we'll help rekindle the American Dream for everyone. All poverty programs should be reviewed to make certain they're helping people instead of harming them. Social welfare programs should help people up, not hold them down. Follow CNN Opinion on Twitter. Join the conversation on Facebook. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Matthew Spalding.
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Matthew Spalding: U.S. social welfare programs are creating a vast culture of dependency .
He says the welfare state removes the stigma from taking government support .
He says longtime recipients lose work habits and jobs skills .
Spalding: The U.S. must require work for assistance and better target poverty programs .
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Mike Ashley may now hold the key to the power battle at Rangers after it was confirmed he has more than doubled his stake at Ibrox. A statement to the Stock Exchange revealed French bank BNP Paribas purchased 4.26 million shares from fund managers Hargreave Hale on behalf of the Newcastle United owner earlier this week. The £850,000 deal leaves Ashley with an 8.9 per cent stake in the club. He is currently limited to under 10 per cent via an agreement with the SFA but already has significant commercial influence at Ibrox through the retail contracts held by his Sports Direct firm. He also owns the naming rights to the stadium. Mike Ashley has increased his stake in Rangers to 8.92 per cent the Glasgow club have confirmed . There were suggestions last night that Ashley could now go further by pushing for an Extraordinary General Meeting to force a shake-up of the Ibrox board. The billionaire tycoon is perceived as being the main rival to Dave King and his allies in the struggle over Rangers’ long-term future and this latest development could yet prove significant. King has previously stated a willingness to invest up to £30million, but those funds would only be forthcoming in a new share issue that provided boardroom control. Ashley saw Newcastle lose 1-0 to Stoke City at the Britannia stadium in their recent encounter . Such a move would require the backing of 75 per cent of Rangers shareholders and substantially weaken the existing powerbase. While Ashley’s intentions are not yet clear, he has now upped his potential ability to contribute to any veto. His investment comes after last week’s confirmation that football board chairman Sandy Easdale – who has publically backed Ashley – holds voting rights over a 26.1 per cent stake. The Union of Fans have already urged Easdale not to oppose a new share issue that would open the door for King. Ashley declined to invest in the stop-gap £3.13m open offer Rangers held last month and the £850,000 he has now splashed out will not go to the club as he increased his stake via the market. The troubled Ibrox outfit are likely to experience another cash shortfall by the end of the year, with reports on Tyneside previously speculating that Ashley could consider offering a substantial loan to provide funding. Newcastle released a statement on September 12 insisting Ashley won't sell Newcastle at any price . The Londoner has become the second largest single shareholder in Rangers behind Laxey Partners but currently has limited scope to up his personal holding due to SFA guidelines on dual ownership. Any attempt to move beyond 10 per cent would have to go before the board of the governing body, backed by a detailed business case. However, his financial power and commercial contracts already establish him as a pivotal player even on his existing stake. Meanwhile, Rangers have accepted an SFA ban for Bilel Mohsni but will contest the suspension offered to Kris Boyd. Mohsni was cited by new compliance officer Tony McGlennan for appearing to strike Liam Fontaine during Monday night’s 3-1 defeat from Hibernian. The Tunisian centre-back will serve a total of three games under SFA rules as he was sent off during a pre-season friendly against Derby. Boyd was charged over a head-to-head confrontation with Jordan Forster but the Ibrox club have rejected the two-game ban put forward. His case will now go before a principal hearing next Thursday.
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Rangers confirm Mike Ashley has increased his stake to 8.92 per cent .
Ashley's MASH holdings Ltd confirmed as purchaser of four million shares .
Newcastle previously released a statement saying Ashley won't sell .
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By . Emma Reynolds . PUBLISHED: . 02:47 EST, 23 July 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 04:40 EST, 23 July 2012 . Silence: Jacqueline Cartner, 42, has accepted a confidential payout and signed a gagging order . A former Wren has been given a payout by the Ministry of Defence after claiming she suffered sexual discrimination in the Royal Navy. Chief Petty Officer Jacqueline Cartner, . 42, claimed she was passed over for promotion because she refused to . go to sea after rules were changed to allow women on warships. After two years of legal battles, CPO . Cartner, who served at HMS Collingwood in Fareham, Hants, has now accepted a confidential payout and signed a gagging . order. The MoD's move has killed off the threat of a legal precedent being set which may have led to dozens more lawsuits costing taxpayers millions of pounds. CPO Cartner chose to retain non-seagoing status when the rules were changed to allow women on warships in 1993. Around 70 per cent of Wrens opted for this status and were assured at the time that it would not harm their promotion prospects. CPO Cartner, who was made an MBE in 2001, felt she was the best candidate for promotion to warrant officer when she went before a promotion board in 2008 as the only female candidate. But she did not get the job and took the navy to an employment tribunal. That ruled the navy discriminated against her on two grounds - directly because she was a woman and indirectly because she had non-seagoing status. The navy appealed against the ruling in December 2010 but lost the part of the appeal relating to discrimination against her non-seagoing status. It did, however, win the right for a re-hearing of evidence that CPO Cartner was directly discriminated against by members of the navy's promotions board solely because she was a woman. HMS Collingwood where Chief Petty Officer Jacqueline Cartner was denied promotion because of her non-seagoing status . Fearing a potential wave of litigation from other ex-wrens, the MoD spent £126,000 fighting the rulings, but the case has now been dropped. A Royal Navy spokeswoman said: 'We are pleased this long-running case has now been concluded by mutual agreement. 'It has been a challenging time for both the MoD and Ms Cartner who gave many years of loyal and high quality service. 'We do wish Ms Cartner and her family well for the future.' Ms Cartner was unable to comment because of the confidentiality order she signed. The navy said it will now review the case to see if 'appropriate lessons' can be learned. Former navy Wren and employment law expert Sue Ball said: 'This looks like a good result for the MoD. 'Litigation is always a risky and uncertain process and if the MoD had gone back to the tribunal again and it went against them it would have set a case law precedent that could have caused them a problem.'
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Tribunal ruled she was discriminated against when going for promotion .
Wrens who retained non-seagoing status after rules changed were assured it would not harm their prospects .
MoD spent £126,000 fighting the rulings, fearing litigation from other ex-Wrens .
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(CNN) -- "Birdman" flew high at the nominations for the 72nd Golden Globes. The film, starring Michael Keaton as a former superhero-playing actor trying to recharge his career with a Broadway play, was nominated for seven Golden Globes on Thursday morning, leading all films. "Birdman" was nominated for best comedy or musical, best actor in a comedy or musical (Keaton), best supporting actor (Edward Norton), best supporting actress (Emma Stone), best director (Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu), screenplay and score. Two films earned five Globe nominations: "Boyhood" and "The Imitation Game." Full list of nominations . The best drama nominees are "Boyhood," "Foxcatcher," "The Imitation Game," "Selma" and "The Theory of Everything." The best comedy or musical nominees are "Birdman," "Into the Woods," "The Grand Budapest Hotel," "St. Vincent" and "Pride." The Globes, put on by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, are one of the many tea leaves awards-season watchers examine in order to determine which way the wind is blowing for the big prize, the Oscars. It also makes for a dandy TV show, as the alcohol flows freely and the winners are usually fairly loose (and sometimes loose-lipped). Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, who have been highly praised for their sharp hosting of the show in recent years, will return again for the 2015 edition. Aniston looking strong . Some films were boosted by the Globes' division of films into dramas and comedy/musicals. "The Grand Budapest Hotel," director Wes Anderson's movie about a high-class European lodge between the world wars, was nominated for four Globes, including nods for best comedy or musical, director, star Ralph Fiennes and screenplay. "St. Vincent," starring Bill Murray as a curmudgeonly old man who takes charge of a 12-year-old boy, earned two nominations, for best comedy or musical and Murray's performance. And there were surprises. Jennifer Aniston is now looking like an Oscar contender, thanks to a nomination for best actress in a drama for "Cake." She was also nominated for a SAG Award on Wednesday. Julianne Moore picked up two nominations: one for her performance in the drama "Still Alice" and the other for best supporting actress in "Maps to the Stars." The latter, the new David Cronenberg movie, also earned Moore an honor at the Cannes Film Festival this year. "Selma" received nominations for best drama, actor (David Oyelowo), director (Ana DuVernay) and song ("Glory"). "Glory's" songwriters, Common and John Legend, were pleased with the attention. "We're Golden Globe nominated! @Common and I wrote 'Glory' for @AVAETC's beautiful @SelmaMovie. Now we're nominated for Best Original Song!" Legend exulted on Twitter. Other films fell short. "Interstellar," Christopher Nolan's polarizing film about a trip to the far reaches of the universe, received just one nomination, for Hans Zimmer's score. "Inherent Vice," the new film by much-lauded director Paul Thomas Anderson, also got just one nomination, for Joaquin Phoenix's lead performance. And "American Sniper," a Clint Eastwood film starring Bradley Cooper, came up with nothing, as did Angelina Jolie's "Unbroken." Several directors also found themselves squeezed off the list, including "Foxcatcher's" Bennett Miller, "The Imitation Game's" Morten Tyldum and "The Theory of Everything's" James Marsh. 'Fargo' tops TV shows . The Globes also go out to television shows. "Fargo" led all nominees with five nominations, followed by "True Detective" with four. "Jane the Virgin" received two. "Wow! Normally when your phone starts ringing that early in the morning, something bad happened. Honored," tweeted "Fargo's" Colin Hanks. With "Breaking Bad" now off the air, the drama race seemed open to some new candidates -- but only "The Affair," the Showtime series about a troubled extramarital relationship, squeaked in. The other nominees -- "Game of Thrones," "Downton Abbey," "The Good Wife" and "House of Cards" -- are familiar, though "Game of Thrones" hadn't made the cut since 2012. That was "Thrones' " only nomination, however. The comedy series nominations went to "Girls," "Orange Is the New Black," "Jane the Virgin," "Silicon Valley" and "Transparent." The latter marks Amazon's first Golden Globe nomination. Perhaps more surprising were the shows that came up empty. "Brooklyn Nine-Nine," last year's best comedy series winner, didn't get a single nomination. Neither did "Modern Family" or "The Big Bang Theory." "Scandal" was also left out entirely; not even its star, Kerry Washington, who received a nomination last year, nabbed a nomination. However, producer Shonda Rhimes' new show, "How to Get Away With Murder," earned a nomination for star Viola Davis. Not that "Scandal" star Joshua Malina minded. He puckishly thanked the Foreign Press Association for a nomination he didn't receive. "Thrilled to have been nominated for my first Golden Globe! Thanks, foreigners! #Scandal #Humbled #WhyArePeopleHumbledByAwards," he tweeted. The 72nd Golden Globes will air January 11 on NBC.
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"Birdman" picks up seven Golden Globe nominations .
"Boyhood," "Imitation Game" earn five .
Jennifer Aniston receives a nod .
The Globes will be hosted by Tina Fey, Amy Poehler .
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Crowded by sign-wielding supporters, former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich made what's expected to be his final speech before he heads to Colorado to start a 14-year prison sentence on a corruption conviction. "This is the hardest thing I've ever had to do," he told the crowd. "But this is the law and we follow the law." Blagojevich was convicted of corruption in June 2011 after a jury returned 17 guilty verdicts against him. Among other allegations, he was accused of trying to profit as he considered whom to appoint to take Barack Obama's open Senate seat. Blagojevich called his impending prison stint a "dark and hard journey," and said he should have been more humble. "We are so grateful and will never ever forget your kindness to us," he told the crowd, which occasionally chanted slogans such as "Free our Governor." His wife, Patti, remained cinched under his arm, squeezing back tears as the former governor spoke outside his Chicago home. "This, as bad as it is, is part of a long and hard journey that will only get worse before it gets better," Blagojevich said, telling his wife that he loved her. His prison stint begins Thursday. "Governor Blagojevich has always stood up and stood tall. He hasn't hid. And he has truly enjoyed being out in public. He never considered 'sneaking' out of Chicago and miss an opportunity to say goodbye," his spokesman Glenn Selig said earlier. "It's difficult to put into words the challenges he and his family now face. But he draws strength from the incredible support he continues to receive from the people of Illinois and beyond." Blagojevich's past statements have been noteworthy for their bluster, such as a defiant news conference in April 2010 when he called his accusers "liars" and "cowards" and directly challenged a prosecutor. Blagojevich also accused U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald of hiding taped evidence that would prove his innocence during that news conference. "I challenge Mr. Fitzgerald... Why don't you show up in court tomorrow and explain to everybody, explain to the whole world why you don't want the tapes that you made played in court?" Blagojevich said to reporters at the time. "I'll be in court tomorrow. I hope you're man enough to show up," he added, referring to Fitzgerald. Prosecutors said court-authorized wiretaps caught Blagojevich offering Obama's Senate seat in exchange for personal gain, including a job with a nonprofit or union organization, corporate board posts for his wife, campaign contributions or a post in Obama's administration. He expressed frustration, according to prosecutors, that Obama transition officials were "not willing to give me anything except appreciation." "I've got this thing and it's (expletive) golden, and, uh, uh, I'm just not giving it up for (expletive) nothing. I'm not gonna do it," prosecutors quoted Blagojevich as saying. Blagojevich also considered appointing himself to the post, mulling whether he might be better off being indicted as a senator rather than governor, and saying contacts he would make in the federal job would benefit him later, according to prosecutors. Aside from the charges of trying to sell the Senate seat, prosecutors also accused Blagojevich of using his position to obtain financial benefits for himself, his family and his campaign in exchange for jobs, contracts and appointments to state boards to supporters. They accused Blagojevich of accelerating the scheme in 2008 to accumulate funds before a new state ethics law would have limited his ability to raise money from people and companies that were doing business with the state. Despite months of professing his innocence in impromptu news conferences, on Twitter and even on Donald Trump's show "Celebrity Apprentice," the ousted Illinois governor did not take the stand in his own defense during his trial.
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Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich says goodbye .
"This is the hardest thing I've ever had to do," he tells crowd of supporters .
On Thursday he begins serving a 14-year sentence on a corruption conviction .
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It was sold as a property with 'incredible potential'.... which more or less means it's either ugly or needs a lot of fixing up. But that didn't stop a buyer forking out more than a million dollars for 24 Heller street in Brunswick, a modest and run down home in Melbourne's north. Rather worn and in need of a paint job on the outside, the Brunswick home also needs a bit of love and tender care... and some new carpet, on the inside. 24 Heller street Brunswick (pictured) sold for more than a million dollar at auction despite being rather run down . The Victorian period home has been in the same family since 1923 and was described by the real estate agents as having 'exciting prospects' The property is rather run down inside, with ripped and poor carpets, peeling paint on the walls, cracks and stains . The 'substantial Victorian period home' which has been in the same family since 1923 was sold at auction on Saturday for a whopping $1,101,000. Woodards real estate agents described the property as having 'exciting prospects' while selling it on it's great location before it went under the hammer. 'Surrounded by the enticing dimensions of a significant allotment, proximity to public transport, beautiful local parks and Brunswick's bustling Sydney road and Grantham street scene.' 'This property represents an incredible opportunity to comprehensively renovate and re-model the present day proportions or to pursue new home site scope.' The home has three to four 'generous' bedrooms, high ceilings, one bathroom and also one car parking space with a sizeable garage. The Brunswick home was on a 491 square metre property and sold for more than a million . 'Incredible potential' : 24 Heller street Brunswick sold at auction for more than a million despite being rather shabby inside and modest on the outside . 'A huge established north facing garden providing an ideal backdrop to a home' 24 Heller street Brunswick has three to four 'generous' bedrooms, one bathroom and a car parking space . 'Beyond, a huge established north facing garden providing an ideal backdrop to a home where Victorian design elements and delightful retro fixtures and fittings deliver considerable inspiration. The Brunswick property was one of many being sold by auction in a strong housing market in Melbourne. Australian Property Monitors listed 903 auctions for the Saturday in Melbourne, with 529 homes sold. The clearance rate was at 74% and the total number of sales got to almost $400 million. Propertydata.com.au reported that Melbourne’s auction numbers for the September quarter of 2014 have set a new all-time record, with around 8,165 held around the city in the past three months. This is 15 per cent higher than the same time last year. Bit shabby? This house in Brunswick was one of hundreds of houses up for auction on Saturday, with more than 500 homes sold in Melbourne . Run down : The kitchen at 24 Heller street Brunswick (pictured). But it didn't matter to the buyer who forked out more than a million for this three to four bedroom home . Woodards real estate agents described the property as having 'exciting prospects' while selling it on it's great location before it went under the hammer .
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24 Heller street, Brunswick sold at auction for $1,101,000 .
The substantial Victorian period home has 'exciting prospects'
Three to four bedroom, one bathroom, on car parking space .
903 auctions listed in Melbourne on Saturday .
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By . Hugo Gye . Last updated at 6:00 PM on 9th December 2011 . Surrounded by screaming rioters . and in the grip of a mob mentality, this was the moment a mother and . daughter were caught on camera preparing to take part looting which left . a shopkeeper with just 25p to his name. Clarice . Ali, 38, was filmed gesturing obscenely at a television camera seconds . before she and her 20-year-old daughter Chantelle Dixon-Ali stormed a . convenience store which was ripped apart in a single night of violence . during the London riots. In what . became one of the enduring images of the looting, grocer Siva Kandiah . was pictured in tears with only 25p left in his pocket after rioters . plundered his convenience store in Hackney, East London before setting . it ablaze on August 8. Part of the mob: Clarice Ali is seen making an obscene gesture to the camera while her daughter stands beside her, a blue scarf wrapped around her head . Jailed: Mother and daughter Clarice Ali (left) and Chantelle Dixon-Ali (right) were both given custodial sentences for . their part in the looting . Clarice . Ali was one of the raiders captured on CCTV breaking into Clarence . Convenience store, while her daughter Dixon-Ali could also be seen . emptying the shelves. The . 20-year-old kept her face . covered throughout the raid in a vain attempt to avoid detection. But . the shameless pair were caught after her mother pulled down her scarf . to swear at the camera as a masked mob of other suspected looters . swarmed around the store. The defiant gesture cost the mother and daughter team their liberty when they were jailed for violent disorder and burglary. The pair stood in the dock together as they were put behind bars at Wood Green Crown Court. Ali was jailed for two years while her daughter will be locked up in a young offenders' institution for 28 months. Looted: Ali and her daughter ransacked this shop in Hackney . Victim: Shiva Kandiah is pleased that justice has been done after his shop was torn apart in the rioting . Dixon-Ali and her mother, who live together in Dalston, were each charged with violent disorder and burglary on October 21. Ali admitted violent disorder, but denied the burglary charge, which was then dropped. Dixon-Ali admitted both charges. Shopkeeper . Siva Kandiah, who has renamed his store Siva's Shop, was devastated . when savage looters stole his entire stock and even took some of the . building's fittings and fixtures. But Mr Kandiah said today: 'I feel like justice has been done.' Detective Inspector Phil Langworthy, of Hackney Police's riot investigation unit, said he was pleased with the sentences. He warned: 'If you were involved in the disorder, then I encourage you to come forward before we come to you.' Siva Kandiah fled his home in . Tamil-controlled northern Sri Lanka in 1996 to escape a bloody civil war. Believing Britain was a country . where he could be safe and would be allowed to run a business, it was . this country he chose to build a new life for himself. He started out as a newsagent and . slowly expanded his business into a convenience shop, saying he . considered it an 'honour' to serve his new community. But in a cruel twist of irony, some of his customers were among the yobs who targeted his shop. The 39-year-old former refugee was horrified when he saw live news footage of his shop being attacked during the riots. He had boarded up the shop and gone . home to protect his wife and two daughters, aged six and two, after . gangs began to prowl through Hackney the day after the first outbreak of . violence in Tottenham. The former refuge was stunned to find that looters had smashed anything they could not steal including a bank cash machine. They took everything including . fixtures and fittings and shelving before setting the store ablaze, . leaving the devastated businessman with a £50,000 repair bill. But loyal customers rallied around . and launched the ‘Friends of Siva’ appeal fund, which raised more than . £30,000 to help Siva Kandiah return to business. His store in Hackney - now officially named Siva’s Shop - re-opened just one week after the riots.
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Clarice Ali caught on camera gesturing obscenely at camera before looting with her daughter .
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(CNN) -- Google opened an online music store and a free Web storage locker on Wednesday for listening to tracks from computers, tablets and phones, the company announced at a news conference in Los Angeles. The music store sells songs and albums for prices comparable to iTunes and Amazon MP3, but Google's catalog is smaller. The storefront can be found in the Android Market, an application and website where Google smartphone users can download apps. Songs purchased from the store are automatically uploaded to Google Music, a locker that can be accessed from an app coming to recent Android phones and tablets in the next few days, or from a website. They allow users to stream songs from their various devices. The Google locker service launched to a small group in May, and it opened to everyone in the United States on Wednesday. Google Music is free for storing as many as 20,000 songs. More than half of all smartphones sold worldwide in the last quarter run Google's Android software, according to market research firm Gartner. Google said more than 200 million devices have been activated. But in the music download market, Apple is king, selling more than half of all U.S. downloads through its iTunes Store, analysts say. Apple took steps to broaden its offering with the belated launch of iTunes Match on Monday. ITunes Match is similar to Google Music in that it allows customers to store their music catalogs, up to 25,000 songs, on Apple's servers and access them from their computers, iPhones and iPads. Match costs $25 per year. "At Google, digital music has become fundamental to many things we care very much about," Jamie Rosenberg, Google's director of content for Android, said onstage at the news conference. "Other cloud music services think you have to pay to listen to the music you own. We don't." ITunes Match has a technological leg up on Google because subscribers can upload their libraries much more quickly. That's thanks to Apple's deals with the music labels that allow it to provide customers with access to the high-quality versions of songs that iTunes sells. With Google Music or Amazon.com's Cloud Drive, users with a lot of music may have to wait several days for their entire catalogs to upload. The iTunes Store has about 20 million songs, whereas Google has 8 million. Google has signed deals with three of the big four record labels. Warner Music Group, the third largest, whose musicians include Death Cab for Cutie, the Grateful Dead, Muse and T-Pain, is a holdout. Even without Warner, Google said it will add 5 million songs over the next several months. Customers of T-Mobile USA's cellular network will be able to charge songs to their phone bills rather than setting up a Google account with a credit card. After buying a song through Google Music, customers can share the track on the Google+ social network. Not surprisingly, Google Music will not integrate with Facebook Music, the aggregation service that launched recently from Google's social-network rival. Google touted that, unlike other music stores, people who find songs through Google+ will be able to listen to each one in full for free one time before they buy. ITunes only provides 90-second previews. Google has also secured exclusive access to live records from popular bands including Coldplay and the Rolling Stones. Apple is still the only music-download store that has the Beatles.
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Google opens a digital music store, and prices are comparable to iTunes .
The company is also opening Google Music, the storage service, to everyone in the U.S.
Google Music will be free for storing as many as 20,000 songs per account .
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New York Giants team captain Victor Cruz suffered a hideous injury in last night's National Football League game and was taken to hospital. Cruz, the Giants star receiver was left writhing in agony on the ground when he tore his right knee tendon in the third quarter. The Giants team captain left the field in tears on a cart and was taken to a Philadelphia hospital. As he departed, he was surrounded by distressed players from both teams. He is expected to miss the remainder of the season. Victor Cruz lies on the ground clutching his knee after he tore the right knee tendon in a serious injury . Cruz left the field in tears after he suffered the sickening injury in the third quarter of last night's match . Cruz was put on to a cart and taken to a Philadelphia hospital - he is expected to miss the rest of the season . The team captain was watch on by his distressed team mates, who will now be without their star receiver . The injury is a huge blow for the Giants, as since 2011, Cruz has made the most touchdowns out of any wide receiver in the league. Cruz was in good spirits before last night's match . Cruz, 27, was also a Pro Bowl pick in 2012 and is known for his salsa dance after scoring touchdowns. The injury happened in the third quarter as Cruz leapt for a ball. As the ball tipped his hands, his right leg appeared to twist and he immediately grabbed for his knee while in mid air. The pass fell incomplete and Cruz crumpled to the ground in obvious pain. Giants Coach Tom Coughlin said: 'It's a huge loss. The players have a lot of respect for Victor. Everyone grieved. It wasn't a good scene. 'It was tough to say anything to him. I went there and patted him on the shoulder, but he was in some pain, and it wasn't a great opportunity, . 'Anything I would have said, he wouldn't have heard me.' Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul said: 'At the end of the day, we are praying for him (Cruz). Hopefully he gets well, and the next person has to step up.' A miserable night for the Giants was compounded by the final 27-0 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. In the third quarter of the match against the Eagles, Cruz leapt for a ball but his right leg twisted in the air . The pass fell incomplete and Cruz crumpled to the ground in obvious pain, clutching his right knee .
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Cruz, a Giants team captain, suffered the hideous injury last night .
It happened in the third quarter in the match against Philadelphia Eagles .
He jumped for a ball, his right leg twisted and he tore his right knee tendon .
The star receiver is expected to miss the remainder of the season .
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(CNN)Before you fly this holiday season, don't forget to remove your gun from your carry-on bag. Not remembering could get you in trouble. The U.S. Transportation Security Administration has seized a record 2,000 firearms from carry-on luggage this year, as of December 1. That's more than the TSA has ever seized in any other full year of its existence. And we still have another month to go. "The vast majority of passengers have no nefarious intent but forgot their firearm in their carry-on bag," TSA spokesman Ross Feinstein wrote in an email. Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport security has seized the most guns this year, with 109 guns as of December 1. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is in second place with 93 gun seizures, and Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport is in third place with 73 gun seizures. Forgetting can be costly. Passengers whose guns are spotted by TSA security during the screening process can be arrested by airport or local police and face criminal charges, and the TSA can impose civil penalties. And TSA Pre-check members can be temporarily or permanently banned from the expedited screening program. "It is a reminder that passengers should check their personal belongings before arriving at the TSA checkpoint, to ensure they do not have any prohibited items in their possession," Feinstein said. In 2013, the TSA seized 1,813 guns, up from 1,556 in 2012 and 1,320 seized in 2011. The agency seized 1,123 guns in 2010, 976 guns in 2009, 926 guns in 2008, 803 guns in 2007 and 821 guns in 2006. If you need your gun at your final destination, don't just drop it into your suitcase and check that bag to your mom's house. Go to www.tsa.gov to find the TSA rules to follow for checking firearms and other weapons. There are also state and local weapons laws that vary by jurisdiction. And it's not just about real guns. The TSA doesn't want you to attempt bring your firearm replicas, special gravy, cranberry sauce or super-special snow globes through passenger screening this December. Check them, ship them ahead of time or consider making your special sauce once you arrive. Pies and cakes can go through passenger screening but may be subject to secondary screening. And a horror for Santa-believing parents everywhere: Presents may be unwrapped. Crazy things Americans tried to take on planes in 2013 .
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The TSA says it has seized 2,000 guns this year .
Most people probably forget their guns are in carry-on bags .
Follow TSA rules for including your guns in checked luggage .
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A British marketing rep who was sacked by the Jamaican Tourist Board after an outburst on Facebook about her father's brutal murder on the Caribbean island has won her case for unfair dismissal. Zoe Bennett, 35, from Preston, Lancashire, made the comments after she discovered that Errol Bennett, 59, had bled to death after being attacked by machete-wielding intruders while on holiday. Weeks later, she was suspended due to 'comments on Facebook', which she says the board thought were 'detrimental to Jamaica'. She was finally dismissed by the board in December 2013. But Ms Bennett has now been awarded £19,000 in compensation from the Jamaican Tourist Board, after a hearing ruled it had been wrong to sack her. Zoe Bennett, 35, left, from Preston, Lancashire, has been awarded £19,000 from the Jamaican Tourist Board after being sacked for outbursts on Facebook when she discovered her father Errol, right, had been murdered . Speaking after her victory at the hearing in London, Zoe claimed it had been a 'personal vendetta'. The mother-of-three said: 'I'm delighted to win the case because I can now put it behind me and concentrate on getting justice for my dad. 'It was ludicrous right from the word go. I still can't believe what I did was seen as misconduct. I suppose they felt what I said was detrimental to Jamaica. 'The last few years have been terrible. My dad died in horrific circumstances, and then I've had all these problems at work, which I believe were actually a personal vendetta against me. 'I worked for the company for eight years and dedicated so much to them. All my hard years of work just feel like they've been wasted. I've been plagued by this for so long, I want to move forward now.' Ms Bennett had posted three separate messages on the social media site, one of which was on the day she found out her father had been killed. Retired Errol Snr, also from Preston, was attacked on December 17 while on a winter break at his villa in the parish of Hector's River on the east coast of Jamaica. The former upholsterer, who moved to Britain from Jamaica in 1967, suffered 15 separate injuries – including deep wounds to his head and torso. Errol Snr (centre), pictured with her brother Errol Jnr (left) and Ms Bennett (right) was attacked on December 17 while on a winter break at his villa in the parish of Hector's River on the east coast of Jamaica . After his death, Ms Bennett posted three separate messages on Facebook, one of which was written on the day she found out about her father and promised to 'avenge' his death . Ms Bennett, pictured here with her brother and father, was sacked from her position when she returned from Jamaica after identifying her father's body . In that post, Ms Bennett pledged to 'avenge' his death and said: 'The b******* have murdered my dad in Jamaica. My heartbeat, my life has gone.' In a second post, Ms Bennett criticised the Jamaican police for being 'slow in their uptake' on the investigation. She said: 'All I want is justice. But the police are slow on the uptake even though they have a witness statement.' And in the third she announced she was flying out to Jamaica even though her own life had been threatened, saying 'The b******* can try and kill me too – but f*** them. I will have my eyes open'. The single mother departed for Jamaica the next day, while on her scheduled Christmas holidays, to identify her father's body. The mother-of-three, pictured at her father's grave, said she is glad the tribunal is over so she can focus of getting justice for her father . But in a phone call to her regional director at the Jamaican Tourism Board on December 19, she was told that officials had seen the Facebook comments and she would be spoken to about them on her return. Then, on January 5, she received a letter from the tourist board telling her that she had been suspended due to 'comments on Facebook' and that it had launched an investigation. The board, which is based in the Jamaican High Commission in London, asked her to attend a disciplinary meeting on January 13, two days after her father's funeral in Preston. Ms Bennett, who worked for the company for eight years, believe she was sacked due to a 'personal vendetta' She had been told the disciplinary investigation will also cover 'breaches of confidence' after her suspension was reported in a local newspaper. Today, Ms Bennett told how the company cancelled her suspension in February 2012, but that she remained on sick leave until her maternity leave started on April 1 of that year. On April 1, 2013 she was due back to work. But when she requested phased return to work, Ms Bennett claims this request was never answered. She launched a grievance claim against the company, which was combined with the existing disciplinary hearing for her Facebook comments. On December 16, 2013 she was fired. She appealed in January 2014 but the appeal was refused. She attended a three-day Employment Tribunal hearing in London on September 29 where she was finally vindicated. She won claims of unfair dismissal and wrongful dismissal against the Tourist Board. Ms Bennett, who has three children - Charnai, 18, Aliyah, four, and two-year-old Krystal - said: 'I won a £19,000 payout from the Tourist Board. 'The figure was actually higher but I negotiated to take a lower payment if they agreed never to appeal the decision. 'I think that's the biggest relief for me because it's been hanging over me for so long that I didn't want to have to be scared it would rear its head again.' Speaking shortly after she was suspended, Zoe's brother Errol Jnr, had said: 'She has been devastated by this - what the Jamaican Tourist Board have done is disgusting. 'She has had so much to think about - but the Jamaican Tourist Board only seem interested in protecting the reputation of the country.' Her cousin Clifton Bennett, 33, was arrested nine months after the killing and, after several adjournments, is due to stand trial on November 25. MailOnline has contacted Jamaican Tourist Board for comment.
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Zoe Bennett, 35, from Preston, Lancs, wrote three comments on Facebook .
One was the day after she discovered her father Errol, 59, had been killed .
He bled to death on December 17, 2011 after being attacked at his villa .
She pledged to 'avenge' death saying: 'The b******* have murdered my dad'
She was suspended in January 2012 due to 'comments on Facebook'
Ms Bennett said the board felt her comments were 'detrimental to Jamaica'
Mother-of-two, who was sacked in December 2013, has now won £19,000 .
Said: 'I can now put it behind me and concentrate on getting justice for dad'
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By . Simon Cable . PUBLISHED: . 19:06 EST, 2 October 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 19:06 EST, 2 October 2013 . If anyone knows how hard it is to make a fortune, it’s former Dragons’ Den star Theo Paphitis, who clawed his way up from humble beginnings as a tea boy. Which is why the retail tycoon won’t be depriving his children of their multi-million pound inheritance, fearing they wouldn’t be able to cope without the luxury lifestyle he has given them. Paphitis, 54, who is worth £180million, said he disagrees with other millionaires such as his former co-star on the BBC2 show Duncan Bannatyne, who insist they won’t pass on their fortune to their children because it would ‘ruin’ them. Traditionalist: Dragon Theo Paphitis pictured with his wife Debbie, said he was a family man who would not be depriving children of their fortunes . Paphitis, who has five children with his wife Debbie, said that suddenly taking away their privileged lifestyles risked ‘driving them to places you don’t want them to go’. He said: ‘My view is very simple. I’m a traditionalist, a family man, I love my kids. I believe I have brought them up the right way. They are all very different, they have different drives, different ambitions. They are never going to be me. They are going to be themselves. Not so generous: BBC 2 co-star Duncan Bannatyne insists he won't pass on his fortune to his children . ‘We support each other and there is no reason why I shouldn’t support my children. I, on the other hand, had absolutely nothing, apart from the love of my parents. You make your kids what they are, so what do you do? ‘Do you not get them used to a lifestyle? What happens when they become 18 and they are used to a certain lifestyle and then you say, “I’m going to take it away?” ‘How do you know they are capable of coping with that? How do you know that’s not going to drive them somewhere to a place you don’t want them to go anywhere near because of it? You can’t do that.’ Paphitis, who used to ask contestants on Dragons’ Den, ‘Why should I spend my children’s inheritance on that?’ has three daughters and two sons, Dominic, 34, actress Zoe, 32, Alex, 26, and twins Holly and Annabelle, 17. The son of Greek Cypriot immigrants, Paphitis started work aged 15 as assistant to the tea boy at brokers Lloyd’s of London. Just seven years later he had set up his first business. He now owns hardware chain Robert Dyas, stationers Ryman and set up lingerie brand Boux Avenue two years ago. He is also the face of the Government’s auto-enrolment pension initiative. In 2009 Bannatyne said he will not leave a penny of his vast fortune to his children, claiming he will leave it to charity instead. He suggested it would ‘not be good for them’ to inherit such a large sum.
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The 54-year-old disagrees with millionaires who do not pass on wealth .
Fears his children would not be able to cope without luxury lifestyle .
Received nothing from his Greek Cypriot immigrant parents .
Asks contestants: ‘Why should I spend my children’s inheritance on that?’
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Peter Crouch used one word to describe his Cristiano Ronaldo-inspired celebration on Saturday: 'ImPECcable.' The Stoke striker tweeted his delight after scoring one of the goals in Stoke City's impressive 3-2 win against Arsenal, posting a picture comparing his body with the Real Madrid superstar's. Ronaldo himself would have been happy with his exploits, scoring a hat-trick at the Bernabeu as the La Liga giants beat Celta Vigo 3-0. VIDEO Scroll down to see Ronaldo free-styling for fun in Real Madrid training . Peter Crouch (left) tweeted a picture mimicking Cristiano Ronaldo's goal celebration after netting vs Arsenal . Crouch (centre) scored the opener in Stoke's 3-2 Premier League win against the Gunners on Saturday . But Crouch was keen to stress the all-round performance against the Gunners was one of Mark Hughes side's best. 'We had started well in previous games that I've been part off but that was a great start obviously,' he told Sky Sports. 'Three-nil up against Arsenal is an incredible first half for us and in the end it was a little bit backs to the wall but we managed to grind it out in the end.' Arsenal have beaten Stoke at the Britannia Stadium just once in the Premier League. Ronaldo's (right) topless celebration followed his penalty in Real's 4-1 Champions League final win in May .
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Stoke beat Arsenal 3-2 in their Premier League clash on Saturday .
Peter Crouch scored the opener for the hosts at the Britannia Stadium .
Crouch mimicked Real Madrid star Cristiano's Ronaldo's topless celebration against Atletico in last season's Champions League final win .
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By . Jonathan O'Callaghan for MailOnline . How old are Saturn's rings? That’s a question that has puzzled scientists for quite some time. Some believe that they came to be in the last few hundred million years due to the accumulation of material, possibly from a destroyed moon. But now evidence from the Cassini spacecraft suggests they have a much more ancient origin, coming into existence about 4.4 billion years ago. How and when Saturn's rings formed (Cassini image shown) has continuously puzzled scientists. Most say that if they had an ancient origin of about 4.4 billion years then they should be dirtier than they are now. However, new evidence says they can be that old - their just aren't many pollutants for them to accumulate . As reported by Nature News, scientists at the University of Colorado found the rings are very poor at accumulating material. Launch: 15 October 1997 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida . Dimensions: 22 feet (6.7 metres) high; 13.1 feet (4 meters) wide . Total weight: 5,712 kilograms (12,593 pounds) with fuel, Huygens probe, adapter, etc . Orbiter weight (unfueled): 2,125 kilograms (4,685 pounds) Power: 885 watts (633 watts at end of mission) from radioisotope thermoelectric generators . Distance traveled to reach Saturn: 2.2 billion miles (3.5 billion kilometres) Key instruments: Imaging radar, cosmic dust analyser, infrared mapping spectrometer . It had been thought that, if the rings were up to 4.4 billion years old, then they should have turned black as they collected particles from elsewhere in the solar system. However the scientists found the rate of accumulation was about 40 times lower than expected. This explains why they are so clean, despite their age. ‘If the pollution problem is not as severe, then the rings could last a lot longer before they turn black,’ Dr Phillip Nicholson, a planetary scientist at Cornell University told Nature. The research was presented by Dr Sascha Kempf, a space physicist at the University of Colorado. It was based on data collected by Nasa’s Cassini spacecraft, which is currently in orbit around Saturn. With his colleagues, Dr Kempf found that, over seven years, the rings had accumulated just 140 particles from elsewhere in the solar system. This rate of just 20 particles per year was 40 times less than expected, and suggests it is a lot less dusty out by Saturn than thought. Other theories for the formation of the rings include the possibility that a moon was ripped apart in the past few hundred million years, creating vast amounts of debris around the gas giant planet. Here shadows can be seen cast across the rings in this image from Cassini . Nasa's Cassini spacecraft (illustration shown) launched on 15 October 1997 and arrived in orbit around Saturn on 30 June 2004. During this time it has dramatically increased our knowledge of the planetary system, revealing vast bodies of liquid on the surface of Titan, giant storms on Saturn and much more . It also supports the theory that the rings are ancient - around 4.4 billion years. ‘The . rings can be three to ten times older than we used to think,’ said Dr . Larry Esposito, a planetary scientist at the University of Colorado . Boulder. One of the main pieces of evidence for Saturn’s rings being so old comes from the abundance of water-ice in their composition. The amount of water-ice is too much to have been brought to the rings by other means such as comets, suggesting they must have formed in the early solar system. However others believe they formed much more recently when a moon was gravitationally ripped apart, while some say an unknown recycling process may keep them looking fresh.
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Scientists at University of Colorado say rings could have an ancient origin .
It had been thought the cleanliness of the rings meant they formed recently .
But evidence shows that there just isn't much pollution for them to collect .
This means they could have formed up to 4.4 billion years ago .
Evidence for this comes from water-ice in the rings that must have formed in the early solar system .
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The CIA announced on Monday . that its inspector general, who investigated a dispute between . the agency and Congress regarding the handling of records of the . CIA's detention and interrogation activities, is resigning at the end of the month. The agency said in a statement that David Buckley, who had . served as the agency's internal watchdog for more than four . years, was leaving the agency to 'pursue an opportunity in the . private sector.' Officials said his departure was unrelated to politics or . anything he had investigated. Resigning: The CIA has announced that David Buckley, the agency's inspector general for more than four years, is stepping down at the end of the month . Buckley's office last July issued a report on a dispute . between the agency and the Senate Intelligence Committee. The . report found that some agency employees had 'acted in a manner . inconsistent' with an understanding between the CIA . It regarded five employees gaining access to a special computer network set up . to share documents about the agency's involvement in harsh . treatment of detained militants. Buckley's office sent a report on its investigation to the . Justice Department, which declined to open a full criminal . investigation into the matter. He was nominated for the position by President Barack Obama in August 2010. At the time he was a senior manager for Deloitte Consulting. It came after months of congressional frustration with the White House about not putting forth for a candidate for the job. Several candidates had been mentioned but none made the cut. John Helgerson, his predecessor, stepped down in March 2009 - leaving the position vacant for a year. Career: The man who investigated a dispute between the agency and Congress regarding the handling of records of the CIA's detention and interrogation activities is looking to go into the public sector .
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David Buckley is stepping aside to to pursue work in the private sector .
He has served as the agency's internal watchdog for more than four years .
Sent report on his investigation to Justice Department in July .
They declined to open a criminal probe into the matter .
Was nominated for the position by Barack Obama in August 2010 .
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By . James Nye . PUBLISHED: . 17:46 EST, 25 November 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 23:51 EST, 25 November 2013 . The cross-country custody battle between Olympic gold medalist Bode Miller and his ex-Sara McKenna became so bitter that the skier decided to change the name she gave their child at birth - without her permission. That is just one of the revelations to come out of the New York City Family Court over the past two weeks as proceedings started today that could ultimately swing custody back to 27-year-old McKenna. Despite McKenna registering her son under his father's given name, Samuel Bode Miller-McKenna, the champion skier pointedly got permission from a Californian court to add Nathaniel as his middle name and now calls him Nate, instead of Sam, his birth name. Custody battle: Olympic alpine skier Bode Miller arrives with his son at Manhattan's Family Court in New York, today as the child's mother Sara McKenna arrives too . Husband and wife: Olympic alpine skier Bode Miller arrives with his wife Morgan and his son at Manhattan's Family Court in New York, November 25, 2013 . Miller has been locked in a custody dispute with his former lover since their son was born in February - a child McKenna claims he tried to make her abort. Born to McKenna in New York, the boy, now nine-months-old was transferred back to the custody of Miller, 36, in California because a New York Family Court referee called her 'irresponsible' and 'reprehensible' for moving to Manhattan when she was seven months pregnant. Miller's attorney's successfully argued that McKenna left California to get a more sympathetic hearing for herself to gain custody. He asked her to return to California, but she refused. However, when the New York court found in his favor, Miller's son was returned to him in May. However, the ruling raised serious questions about the rights of mothers-to-be and on November 14, the New York Family Court overturned the May ruling and and will begin a re-examination of who will gain custody of the child. Indeed, women's rights advocates became enraged at the court's decision in May, calling it a threat to the rights of pregnant women to make decisions over their own lives - regardless of the rights of the father. Olympic skier Miller fathered the child with Sara McKenna after the couple met on a dating webisite . Loss: Bode Miller, with wife and volleyball star Morgan Beck. The couple had a miscarriage in January . 'Especially with current political pressures to recognize separate legal rights for fetuses, there will be increasing calls on the courts to fault a pregnant woman for moving, to restrain women from living their lives because they’re pregnant,' said Sarah E. Burns, the head of the Reproductive Justice Clinic at the New York University law school to the New York Times. McKenna, a former marine, had previously claimed that the skier had suggested she have an abortion. according to the New York Daily News. When she first told Miller of the pregnancy, he texted her: 'U are going to do this on your own.' The 36-year-old skier later pushed for joint custody, and a judge ruled that McKenna must return to California for the case, forcing her to give up her studies at Columbia University in New York. A family court referee at an earlier hearing had described McKenna as 'reprehensible' for moving to New York while pregnant. Fling: McKenna, left and right, dated Bode Miller for 3 . months in 2012 when she lived in San Diego . After a short fling with Miller, the former Marine had moved to New York to study at Columbia under the GI Bill. The 27-year-old has applied for temporary custody of the baby, which she named Samuel. She claimed that when the couple met through a dating website, Miller had said he wanted a large family with her. McKenna revealed the couple had sex only twice - and that Miller failed to use protection as he assumed she was ready to get pregnant, she said. 'You have to agree to have four of my babies,' Miller had texted McKenna, she told the New York Daily News. After they met in California, they went their separate ways, and she said he was reluctant to continue a relationship because he wanted a large family, and she did not. But a few weeks later, they arranged to meet in Florida - and a second tryst led to her becoming pregnant with Samuel. 'He never offered to use a condom,' McKenna said. 'He assumed I was ready to get pregnant.' While pregnant, she moved to New York - and Miller, who has five Olympic medals, married volleyball player Morgan Beck. Baby Bode: McKenna discovered she was pregnant after a short relationship with Miller . Beck and Miller married in October 2012 and announced they were expecting a child, but Beck had a miscarriage in January. Days after the devastating news, Miller filed court documents to gain joint custody of his son with McKenna. Miller sought to force a judge to get McKenna to move back to California, so he could have a relationship with the child. He also sought to have the boy's last name changed to Miller on his birth certificate. At a hearing earlier this year, the lawyer representing McKenna said it is too late for Miller to try to seek joint custody. 'If you look at the texts [messages] from Bode Miller to my client, he wanted nothing to do with the baby,' attorney Kenneth Eiges said. Her lawyer also defended his client's decision to live in New York saying it was 'her right'.
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Bode Miller and his ex-Sara McKenna appeared in court today in the latest round of their bitter custody battle over their nine-month-old son .
On November 14th court in New York overturned ruling saying child should live in California with Miller .
Sara McKenna dated Miller in San Diego for three months before becoming pregnant and moving to New York .
Gold-medal-winning skier changed the boys name from Sam to Nate without consulting the mother .
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Billy Jones knows Sunderland have blown the chance to put serious distance between them and the bottom three. The Black Cats drew 0-0 at Aston Villa on Sunday despite the hosts playing most of the second half with 10 men. Fabian Delph was sent off but Gus Poyet's side could not break them down, 48 hours after losing 3-1 to Hull. Sunderland's Billy Jones, seen here competing with Ron Vlaar (left) and Fabian Delph (right), knows his team passed up a golden opportunity to put daylight between themselves and the Premier League bottom three . Sunderland could only draw with Aston Villa on Sunday despite playing against 10 men in the second half . Sunderland only have a four-point cushion to the Premier League relegation zone . They are 14th in the Barclays Premier League, four points above the drop zone, and Jones knows they have missed an opportunity after their 1-0 derby win at Newcastle. 'It could easily have been two wins, and that would have made it three wins on the bounce after Newcastle,' said Jones, ahead of the New Year's Day trip to Manchester City. 'When Villa went down to 10 men, we saw how we need to improve in the final third - create more chances and take more chances. 'At times, we looked a bit vulnerable because we were so gung ho. 'But we feel it's two points lost. The gaffer knows how disappointed we are as a collective. Villa's Fabian Delph was sent off by referee Martin Atkinson but Sunderland failed to take advantage . Sunderland manager Gus Poyet would also have been frustrated with the two points dropped at Villa . 'I don't think he felt the need to rant and rave afterwards. It was just a general discussion.' Jones played against Hull and Villa after overcoming hamstring problems and feels the two games prove his injury woes are over. 'Every time it happens, and unfortunately for me it's happened a few times over the last year, there's always a big inquest,' the 27-year-old told the Sunderland Echo. 'You have a chat about it and you want to get to the bottom of it. 'One of the things (former club) West Brom had talked about was seeing this particular specialist. Villa goalkeeper Brad Guzan makes an important save from Sunderland's Connor Wickham . 'The Sunderland staff thought there was a need for it as well, and I had a number of injections into the nerve. 'In my eyes, it's worked to play two games in three days. 'To be honest, I knew personally that the last one was the worst one I had.'
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Billy Jones feels Sunderland dropped two precious points at Aston Villa .
The Black Cats could only manage a 0-0 draw against 10-man opponents .
Fabian Delph was sent off at Villa Park but Sunderland couldn't profit .
It leaves them just four points above the Premier League relegation zone .
Gus Poyet's team lost to Hull City on Boxing Day after beating Newcastle .
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(CNN) -- A U.S. plan to give new protection to polar bears was voted down Thursday at an international conference on endangered species. The American delegation at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) meeting in Bangkok, Thailand, had sought a ban on the international trade of polar bear parts. The ban was opposed by Canada, home to the world's largest population of polar bears, as well as Norway and Greenland. It failed with 38 votes for, 42 against and 46 abstentions. "Unfortunately, politics seem to have overtaken science," Dan Ashe, director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the head of the U.S. delegation to the Bangkok conference, said in a statement. Polar bears have been listed under Appendix II of the CITES accords, which applies to species that are not currently threatened with extinction but may face it without restrictions on the trade of their body parts. The U.S. had proposed moving polar bears to Appendix I, which applies to species threatened with extinction and effectively bans trade in their body parts. The U.S. says that shrinking Arctic ice habitat, a product of a warming climate, puts polar bear populations in a precarious position. Two-thirds of the world's polar bear populations could face local extinctions within 45 years due to habitat loss, the National Resources Defense Council says. "We are obviously disappointed that the CITES membership failed to give greater protection to polar bears by limiting permissible trade in polar bear pelts and other body parts," U.S. Deputy Secretary of the Interior David J. Hayes said in a statement. "We will continue to work with our partners to reduce the pressure that trade in polar bear parts puts on this iconic arctic species." Conservation groups were outraged at the vote. "It's a sad day for one of the world's most iconic creatures," Philip Mansbridge, CEO of Care for the Wild International, said in a statement. "The world once again had a chance to take action to safeguard polar bear populations and failed," Jeff Flocken, North American regional director of the International Fund for Animal Welfare, said in a statement. "Each passing year that this iconic species is not protected to the fullest, is another year closer to losing the polar bear forever." Canada, which has 16,000 of the 20,000 to 25,000 polar bears left in the wild, says polar bear populations are not threatened and the animal does not meet the Appendix 1 criteria. "The polar bear does not have a small wild population, it does not have a restricted area of distribution and no marked decline has been observed," Environment Canada says on its website. Canada also says polar bear parts coming from the country are taken in subsistence hunts, not by commercial operations. "Harvest quotas are based on principles of conservation and Aboriginal subsistence, and are not market driven; an Appendix I listing would have no conservation benefit," the website says. But the U.S. argued that parts from polar bears are traded among 70 countries and that trade encourages kills that, coupled with the habitat loss, put stress on populations that will cause them to shrink. About 800 polar bears are killed by subsistence hunters each year, the U.S. says. Hides can sell for $2,000 to as much as $12,000, the FWS says. "As polar bear hide prices have skyrocketed, more bears are being offered at auction, and hunting levels have increased," Ashe said in the statement. "Prices for polar bear pelts have doubled over the last few years, and the signs are that trade is increasing. All the evidence says that it is simply unsustainable so it is foolish and negligible of us to allow it to continue when polar bear numbers are diminishing," Mansbridge said. "It's terrible to think that we are postponing protecting such a magnificent animal so that hunters can continue to have their payday," he said. Hayes pledged that the U.S. wouldn't give up on trade restrictions. "We will continue to work with our partners to reduce the pressure that trade in polar bear parts puts on this iconic arctic species, even as we take on the longer term threat that climate change poses to polar bears," he said.
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U.S. wanted effective ban on trade of polar bear parts .
Plan voted down at endangered species conference, 42-38 .
Canada says hunting does not threaten bear populations .
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By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 12:01 EST, 26 November 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 12:45 EST, 26 November 2013 . Prosecutors today asked for Amanda Knox to be jailed for 30 years during a retrial into the murder of her former housemate Meredith Kercher in Italy. Knox is being judged in absentia for the 2007 murder of the British student as she has now returned to the U.S. Prosecutors at the trial also requested that her ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito be given 26 years, saying the punishment should be harsher for Knox because she initially accused someone else of the crime. Amanda Knox's (right) retrial for the murder of former housemate Meredith Kercher (left) has been done in absentia as she returned to the U.S. Italian prosecutors have called for a 26-year jail sentence for Raffaele Sollecito, right, and 30 years for Knox . Knox and Sollecito have already served four years in prison for the murder of Miss Kercher, who was found half-naked in a pool of blood on November 2, 2007 in the house she shared with Knox. The pair, who have always protested their innocence, were acquitted on appeal in 2011 but the supreme court earlier this year overturned that ruling, sending the case back to the appeals stage at a court in Florence. The retrial is expected to reach a verdict in January. Knox is now back in the U.S. and experts say it is highly unlikely that she could ever be extradited even if she is convicted and even if that conviction is upheld in another appeal to the supreme court. Rudy Guede, a local petty thief and drug . dealer, has been convicted separately and is serving a 16-year sentence . for the gruesome murder which shocked the university town of Perugia and . has divided opinions. Prosecutor Alessandro Crini told the . court today that the DNA evidence, which is highly disputed in the . case, showed that Sollecito and Knox had stabbed Kercher while Guede . sexually assaulted her. Prosecutor Alessandro Crini told Florence's Justice Palace that DNA evidence found on a kitchen knife prove Sollecito and Knox stabbed Miss Kercher to death . Crini . said he believed Knox had used a large kitchen knife that was later . found by investigators in Sollecito's home, pointing to faint DNA traces . of Kercher found on the blade and of Knox on the handle. He said the sexual element became 'marginal' as the drug-fuelled violence increased. 'They were trying to get rid of someone who had to be shut up,' Crini said. Knox during one interrogation accused Patrick Lumumba, the owner of a bar where she worked as a waitress, of being in the house at the time of the murder. But Crini said a phone wiretap had overheard Knox telling her mother that Lumumba was not there. 'What gave her the certainty if not the fact that she was there?' Crini asked, saying that the young woman's version of what happened had 'little credibility'. Meredith Kercher was killed at this house in Perugia, Italy, in November 2007 . Crini said Knox claimed she had returned to the house after sleeping at Sollecito's when Kercher was already dead but claimed she had not noticed anything and even showered in a bathroom dirty with Kercher's blood. He also said Knox's initial and later retracted statement to police that she had heard 'a scream and violence' in the house 'contained elements of truth'. 'Where do these elements come from if not having been directly involved in the incident?' he said. Crini also said that Sollecito's claim that he spent most of the evening at home on his computer was not backed up by analysis of the computer. Criticising the previous appeals court ruling that acquitted Knox and Sollecito, Crini said it had made the mistake of 'isolating' individual pieces of evidence without looking at the full picture. The supreme court had 'wiped out' that ruling, he said.
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Knox is being retried in absentia for murder of her former housemate in 2007 .
Prosecutors want Raffaele Sollecito to be given 26-year sentence .
British student Kercher was found dead in pool of blood at shared house .
Knox and Sollecito have already served .
four years in prison for her murder but were released on appeal .
Experts say unlikely Knox could be extradited from U.S. even is she was convicted .
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By . Simon Tomlinson . PUBLISHED: . 08:42 EST, 26 March 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 12:18 EST, 26 March 2013 . Bank account holders in Cyprus could be subjected to a weekly limit on cash withdrawals, it emerged today. Cypriot finance ministers have drafted a series of capital controls that also include export limits on euros, a ban on cashing cheques. Fixed-term deposits may also have to be held until maturity. Cash crisis: Cypriot finance ministers are considering weekly limits on withdrawals to curb a run on deposits . Earlier, the Central Bank governor said measures to avert a run on deposits after a painful EU rescue plan will be 'loose' but would apply to all banks on the island. Panicos Demetriades said they would be 'temporary' but would not say how long they would last. He said authorities were doing 'all they could' to ensure banks reopen on Thursday as announced late yesterday. The two banks at the centre of the financial crisis - Bank of Cyprus and Cyprus Popular Bank - are currently limiting ATM withdrawals to 100 euros a day. News of the limits on cash withdrawals, revealed by the BBC, came after the . Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) announced British pensions would not be paid into Cypriot bank accounts for the . foreseeable future and advised expats to open UK accounts. 'Watching brief': Pensions Minister Steve Webb (pictured) is advising British expats to either switch their payments to a UK account or open a new one after the Cyprus bailout targeted savings . Chancellor George Osborne also revealed the Treasury is working on a solution for the 13,000 UK customers of Cyprus Popular Bank, part of Laiki Bank, who could lose up to 40 per cent of their savings above the 100,000 euros (£85,000) cut-off limit. A spokeswoman for the DWP said a 'watching brief' is in place on the situation but . payments into Cypriot bank accounts will not resume when banks on the . island reopen - currently planned for Thursday. In a statement to MPs, Pensions Minister Steve Webb said the Government . is advising people to either switch their payments to a British account . they already have or to open a new one. About 6,000 of the 18,133 British expats on Cyprus use a British bank account already and so are not affected by the freeze. Mr Webb said: 'We are advising customers to change the bank account into . which payments are made, for example by nominating an alternative bank . account or the account of a 'trusted friend' which is permissible under . our current rules on benefit payment. 'This is a practical measure to ensure that payments reach our customers . promptly, and we are not advising these customers to close their . Cypriot bank accounts. 'Customers who do not currently have another bank account may wish to . open one. 'HM Treasury have also worked with Barclays to put in place a . process so that individuals can open a bank account quickly if they wish . to do so.' The freeze on benefit payments into Cypriot bank accounts was announced . by Treasury Minister Greg Clark last week amid reports that the . government in Cyprus was planning a levy on all accounts to fund a . bailout. The plan was rejected by the Cypriot parliament, but banks have been . closed since in a bid to avoid a run on the island's banks after a new . deal which will use savings over £85,000 to pay off struggling lenders. Run dry: A cleaner mops the forecourt of the empty laiki bank which is being wound down as part of bailout deal to use savings to pay off its debts . The . rescue package will wind down the largely state-owned Popular Bank of . Cyprus, also known as Laiki, and shift deposits below 100,000 euros to . the Bank of Cyprus to create a 'good bank'. Deposits above 100,000 euros in both . banks, which are not guaranteed under EU law, will be frozen and used to . resolve Laiki's debts and recapitalise Bank of Cyprus through a . deposit/equity conversion. Banks . have been closed since March 16 to avert a run on deposits as the . country's politicians struggled to come up with a plan that would raise . enough funds to qualify for an international bailout. All except the country's two largest . lenders had been due to open today after the country clinched an . 11th-hour deal with the 17-nation eurozone and the International . Monetary Fund. Hard times ahead: Cypriot students shout slogans during a protest against the bailout package outside the presidential palace in capital Nicosia . But last night the Central Bank said . that 'for the smooth functioning of the entire banking system, the . finance minister has decided, after a recommendation by the governor of . the Central Bank, that all banks remain shut up to and including . Wednesday'. ATMs have been functioning, but many . run quickly out of cash, and a daily withdrawal limit of 100 euros (£85) was imposed on the two largest lenders, Bank of Cyprus and Laiki. Mr Clark said the goal was to ensure that payments reached their intended recipients. Mr Webb said the Government will continue to monitor the situation closely and aims to minimise disruption for those affected.
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Ministers also considering euro export limit and ban on cashing cheques .
Dept for Work and Pensions keeping 'watching brief' on bail-out crisis .
Up to 12,000 British expats are thought to be affected by the freeze .
Pensions minister says cash can be paid into account of 'trusted friend'
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By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 09:10 EST, 25 May 2012 . - . UPDATED: . 14:35 EST, 25 May 2012 . Brave tornado survivor Stephanie Decker has danced on national television just two months after being told it would be a year before she could even walk again. The mother who lost parts of both legs while protecting her children in the March 2 tornadoes that ravaged Southern Indiana, walked out onto the Ellen DeGeneres show to cheers from the packed studio audience. Mrs Decker spoke about the challenges of her recovery but there was a lighter moment when DeGeneres asked her 'will you dance with me?' and the pair boogied to the Maroon 5 song Moves Like Jagger. Scroll down for video . Brave Stephanie Decker dances with Ellen DeGeneres on her TV show to the song Moves Like Jagger . In an emotional interview she told how she held on tightly to her children as the house fell down around her. 'It really was an instinctual thing. I looked out and saw weather I did not recognize and I knew that things were going to be bad. I just had that gut feeling.' 'My kids were playing on an iPad and playing on the middle of a mattress in the basement.' Mrs Decker, 37, lost one leg above the knee and the other foot protecting her 8-year-old son and 5-year-old daughter as the storm flattened their 'dream home' in Henryville, Indiana on March 3 . 'I took 'em and went to a part of the basement that I thought maybe would be safer and instantly windows started bust out of our home and I just wrapped them up in this blanket thinking debris may hurt them, tied 'em in it and just laid my entire body on them.' Mrs Decker, 37, lost one leg above the knee and the other foot protecting her 8-year-old son and 5-year-old daughter as the storm flattened their 'dream home' in Henryville, Indiana on March 3. Her selfless act, which saved her life and the lives of her two children, has inspired many. Stephanie Decker who lost parts of both legs while protecting her children in the March 2 tornadoes that ravaged Southern Indiana, told Ellen Degeneres about the challenges of her recovery . 'The pain was excruciating. It felt as if a blow torch on the lower half of you extremities. It was extremely painful but I just could not display that pain in front of those kids.' Her husband Joe and kids Dominic and Reese joined Stephanie on the program to talk about their ordeal. DeGeneres aired a video message from Justin Bieber who invited Reece and her family to see him in concert. 'I heard about what your family has been going through and what a huge help you have been to your mom. You are an amazing girl and have an amazing family,' Bieber said. 'Dream home': The Deckers had spent nine months building their home in Henryville, Louisiana . Ruins: The home was reduced to a pile of rubble by the 175 mph storm that flattened much of the town . Mrs Decker has spoken out previously, saying that she remembered how uncertain she was about the impending disaster that she filmed a message on her mobile phone to her husband, telling him she loved him. 'I assumed I was safe and I heard the roar like a train, and I heard it behind me, and I knew it was coming,' she told ABC News. 'And it was so loud that I knew that I needed to do something different. I knew staying put wasn't going to work.' Happy family: Stephanie was surrounded by her family at the hospital, including her husband Joe (left), son Dominic (center right) and Reese (right) A mother's love: As soon as the storm passed, Dominic, 8, ran to a neighbor's home for help . 'They were screaming, "Mommy, I can’t live without you! I don’t wanna die, please don’t let me die!" and I said, "you’re not going to die, we’re going to make it".' Then she realised she had been badly hurt, with her leg appearing as if it had been severed. She also suffered seven broken ribs and a punctured lung. 'I knew it was bad. If I didn't get help soon, I was going to bleed out,' she added to ABC News. Heroine: Stephanie Decker threw herself on her two young children to save them from the tornado that flattened their home. She has recounted the fearful moments from her hospital bed . Knowing his mother was hurt, it was Dominic's turn for bravery. He crawled out from under his mother and ran to a neighbor's house. 'After Dominic left, I realised I couldn't get out because I actually used the comforter I tied with them as a tourniquet. I knew I was cut,' she said. One neighbour, Brian Lovins, a Clark County Sheriff’s officer, used his belt to create a tighter tourniquet and drove her until he could flag down an ambulance, which took her to hospital. Fears: Mrs Decker was so worried she was going to die as a result of her injuries that she filmed a video on her mobile phone for her husband Joe, pictured, to tell him she loved him . Saved: Mrs Decker protected her two children, eight-year-old Dominic (L) and five-year-old Reese (R) Motherly: Mrs Decker, pictured with Dominic and her nephew, was saved when her son ran for help . Her husband, Joe Decker, tearfully said that the flattened house had been their dream home. His wife had said she always wanted to have the children's handprints imprinted in the foundation's cement, because 'we were never gonna leave here'. The small prints, with the 'Reese' and 'D' for Dominic, remain scrawled in the concrete. Mr Decker said: 'What I told her was: "You’re alive and you get to see your kids grow up".' The home, which was partly built by Mr Decker and his wife's father, is now completely destroyed, with a bathtub 200 feet away in a nearby field. Gone: The house 'took about nine months to build and about four seconds' to fall, Mrs Decker said . Remaining strong: The children's hand prints can still be seen in the home's foundations . Henryville was nearly entirely flattened by a series of tornadoes that ravaged the South and Midwest on Friday March 3, killing 39 and leaving thousands homeless. The Decker’s inspirational story is one of the few from that fateful day, which saw deaths in Alabama, Georgia. Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio, with Indiana and Kentucky particularly hard hit, with 13 and 21 lives lost respectively. Destruction: The Decker family home was just one of the hundreds destroyed by tornadoes in Indiana. Damage can be seen in nearby Marysville which was entirely wiped off the map by the severe weather .
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Stephanie Decker, 37, told children: 'You're not going to die. We'll make it'
Lost one leg, the other foot, suffered seven broken ribs and punctured lung .
Occurred in Henryville, Indiana, which suffered extensive damage .
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Brooklyn is the least-affordable housing market in America, where residents would need to spend 98 per cent of the average income to buy a median-priced home of $615,000. One in five U.S. housing markets are now less affordable than they were more than a decade ago, according to a recent study, and Brooklyn is the the most unaffordable, followed by San Francisco and Manhatten. According to a study of 475 countires by RealtyTrac through October, 98 areas weren't as affordable compared with the average level for the period starting in January 2000 . Brooklyn, pictured above, is the least-affordable housing market in America, where residents would need to spent 98 per cent of the average income to buy a median-priced home of $615,000 . Investors and foreign buyers are being blamed for the price-rise which has kept residents in rental properties where costs have also been rising. The median rent in Brooklyn was $2,858 in October, up almost 6 per cent from a year earlier. Bloomberg reports that prices in 20 U.S. cities climbed 4.9 per cent in the year through September while values gained 25 per cent since their February 2012 crash. Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac said incomes had not grown 'nearly as fast as home prices'. He said the 'disconnected' had been driven by buyers who were not 'as constrained by income', resulting in homes now being out of reach for traditional buyers. Los Angeles and Orange County in California and the Houston, Dallas and Boston regions are among the 98 areas where homes were now less affordable. Manhatten was the second most unaffordable place to buy, though New Yorkers being priced out of the area were being blamed for driving up prices in Brooklyn . Just last month a renovated 1890s townhouse in Brooklyn's Park Slope section sold for $10.78 million - a record for the neighborhood and Brooklyn's third-most-expensive purchase . To calculate affordability, RealtyTrac worked out what the median household income needed to make a monthly payment on a median-priced home. They also factored in a 10 per cent down deposit and put the mortgage over a 30-year period. Just 12 per cent of the countries studied have a higher median home price than the peak of the 2005-2008 property bubble. In Brooklyn, the median sale price climbed to a record $587,515 in the third quarter, as New Yorkers priced out of Manhattan looked for affordable homes there. Just last month a renovated 1890s townhouse in the Park Slope section sold for $10.78 million - a record for the neighborhood and Brooklyn's third-most-expensive purchase. Of all the counties analyzed by RealtyTrac, buying a median-priced home in October required on average 26 per cent of the median income. During the housing bubble it required 41 per cent in each of the country.
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Brooklyn is the most unafforable market, followed by Manhattan .
New Yorkers priced out of Manhattan are said to be driving up prices .
As are investors and foreign buyers, as residents continue to rent .
In October the median rent in Brooklyn was $2,858, up 6 per cent on 2013 .
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Actor Dennis Quaid told lawmakers Wednesday how his newborn twins came close to death after an overdose of blood-thinning medication, the fault of a drug company that did not recall easily confused bottles despite previous problems, he said. Actor Dennis Quaid says that what is happening in the nation's courts "is no fiction." The incident occurred last year at a Los Angeles, California, hospital, Quaid told members of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. In The actor also said the "infants nearly died because of a drug company's failure to put safety first." The panel's hearing focused on the issue of "pre-emption," under which FDA approval guarantees immunity for drug companies against state lawsuits, because federal law supersedes state law. The Supreme Court is mulling the issue in a Vermont case. Oral arguments are expected in early October. "I am in the entertainment industry, but what happened to us, and what is happening in the courts of our country, is no fiction," Quaid said in a statement prepared for members of the House panel. "It is all too real. That is why I have decided to speak out and do something." Watch Quaid say "Baxter's negligence was an accident waiting to happen" » . The actor's actual statement was abridged, as he and other witnesses were given a five-minute time limit on remarks. Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-California, said, "This is exactly the wrong time for the FDA to say, 'Trust us.' As a result of chronic underfunding and weak leadership, FDA's ability to protect the public is plummeting." He said the agency has believed that state liability helped the agency regulate drugs and devices but has changed its stance under the Bush administration. In response to Quaid's testimony, the company that made the drugs involved -- Baxter Healthcare -- issued a statement saying human error was to blame, noting that the finding was supported by the California Department of Public Health. In November, Quaid's 12-day-old twins, Thomas Boone and Zoe Grace, were undergoing intravenous antibiotic treatment for a staph infection at Los Angeles' Cedars-Sinai Hospital. According to standard procedure, nurses were supposed to clean the infants' IV lines with Hep-Lock, a drug containing a very small dose of the blood thinner heparin, to allow the lines to flow freely. However, instead of the 10 units of heparin they were supposed to receive, the twins received 10,000 units, 1,000 times the prescribed amount. The babies survived, apparently with no permanent injury, Quaid told members of Congress, although no one knows whether they will show any long-term effects. The actor grew emotional as he recalled a 41-hour ordeal in which his infants' blood was the consistency of water and their bodies bore bruises from internal bleeding. "It made me feel that they had survived for a reason ... that maybe they were going to change the world in a little way," he said. In researching the incident, Quaid told lawmakers he found that the bottles of 10-unit Hep-Lock and 10,000-unit heparin were "virtually indistinguishable." Both drugs are manufactured by Baxter Healthcare. He also learned that the labels' similarity led to an overdose of infants at an Indianapolis, Indiana, hospital in 2006. Three babies died and three were injured. Four months after that incident, he said, Baxter sent a warning to hospitals regarding the potential for mistakes. Seven months after that, Baxter received permission to change the labels. However, Quaid said, Baxter failed to recall the previous bottles that were in hospitals. "They recall automobiles; they recall toasters; they even recall dog food," Quaid said. "Although mistakes did occur at Cedars, the overdosing of our twins was a chain of events of human error -- and the first link in that chain was Baxter." Baxter, meanwhile, said in its statement that its heparin vials "have been used safely more than 100,000 times a day, a fact that contradicts the implication that two of the company's vials are indistinguishable. "The two hospitals where tragic errors occurred with Baxter's heparin products reported that these were isolated events resulting from a system failure in the hospital along with human and procedural errors, such as not reading the label." Quaid and his wife, Kimberly, have filed suit against Baxter in state court. The drug company has filed a motion to dismiss the case, relying on the pre-emption argument, Quaid said. Baxter spokeswoman Erin Gardner said in the statement that the company did not recall the vials because the medication errors were not related to the safety or efficacy of the product, and "Baxter's vials, even before the label enhancement, were better differentiated than other heparin products on the market." The company said it contacted the Quaids' attorney in March to ask whether the couple would partner with them and medication safety experts on a program aimed at reducing medication errors but had not received a response. "Baxter is hopeful that it can resolve this litigation and partner together with the Quaids for the beneffit of clinicians and patients rather than continue to litigate this matter in the courts," the statement said.
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Actor testifies before House committee on newborn twins' brush with death .
The newborns were given 1,000 times the normal dose of a blood thinner .
Quaid says pharmaceutical companies must be held accountable through lawsuits .
Baxter Healthcare said the incident resulted from human error .
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Editor's Note: In our Behind the Scenes series, CNN correspondents share their experiences in covering news and analyze the stories behind events. John Blake, who helped write the CNN.com special report "Black in America," is author of the 2004 book "Children of the Movement," which profiles the children of the civil rights movement's leading figures and of segregationists. Martin Luther King III, second from left, says he yearned for his father's advice while he was growing up. (CNN) -- The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was a civil rights icon, but for one man, he's something else: the father he barely remembers. King's eldest son, Martin Luther King III, was 11 years old when his father was assassinated. His family broke the news to him by saying: "Daddy is going to go home to live with God." King's memories of his father are now fragmentary: kissing him when he returned from his frequent travels, tossing a softball, riding a bicycle with him. He learned to accept his loss, but there were moments when it hurt. "When I was growing up and I wanted to talk to my father to get advice, and no one was there, it hit then," he said. "It hit me when my mom would say, 'Your father would be so proud of you today.' That was painful." Most people know how the civil rights movement changed the nation. I had another question: How did it change the families of the movement's biggest leaders -- and the families of their segregationist foes? The stories I heard from people like King helped me answer that question. King was one of 23 "children of the movement" I talked to over a two-year period starting in 2002. I wanted to know what they could tell me about their parents that didn't make it into the history books. What were they doing with their own lives? What happened to the movement's leaders after April 4, 1968? King, as expected, talked about the pressures of being the son of a civil rights icon. What surprised me, though, was that so many other children of these famous leaders had a far different problem -- they didn't know that their parents were famous civil rights leaders. Malcolm X's daughter, Ilyasah Shabazz, comes to mind. When she first attended college in upstate New York, she became a campus celebrity. Her classmates gathered around her and asked her to share stories about her father. She had none to share, though. Shabazz knew that her father was a civil rights activist, but her family never talked in detail about that side of him. She actually had to take a history class and buy "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" to learn more about her father. The children of other important movement leaders would tell similar stories. One woman said she didn't know her father was a civil rights hero until she ended up studying him in social studies class. One learned that his father was important when he saw him flee from a mob in a civil rights documentary. "He was just a father," Stokely Carmichael's son, Bokar Ture, said when I asked why he didn't know that his father -- who coined the term "black power" -- was a symbol of black militancy. "He never told me what he did, really. He just told me what was good to do: 'Work for your people.' " I wondered why this was happening. Then some movement scholars helped me understand. The problem was me. I had not understood how brutal the movement was. I saw it as a Disney movie -- people marching in the sunshine, King speaking, and victory. But it was war. Many of these front-line activists lived under the constant threat of death. Several lost friends. Some were tortured in jail. Several were disowned by their families. Their memories were too painful to share with their children. Yet their reticence put their children in a bind. After they became adults, strangers would approach them and ask: "How are you going to fulfill your parent's legacy?" How could they answer when they didn't even know what that legacy was? These activists faced another emotional hurdle besides their painful memories. How do you top being part of a history-making movement? Many of them experienced a massive emotional letdown after their time in the movement. The Rev. James Zwerg gave the movement one of its most unforgettable images. A photographer snapped a shot of him after he was almost beaten to death by a mob at an Alabama bus station. Zwerg was part of an interracial group of college students who attempted to integrate interstate bus travel during the "Freedom Rides." But Zwerg struggled to find his way after that photo made him famous. He entered therapy and even contemplated suicide. He could never find a cause that made him feel so alive. "It's a tremendous downer," he said. "You look for it everywhere. I've never experienced it since." The difficulties their parents experienced had another unexpected effect on their children: It turned some away from activism. There's no retirement plan for civil rights activists. No health benefits. A few movement leaders found ways to parlay their experiences into political careers, but many of them struggled financially. Their children grew up with the sense that their parents had given too much and received too little in return. They weren't going to make that mistake. The son of Andrew Young, King's close aide and the former mayor of Atlanta, Georgia, was one such person. Andrew "Bo" Young III scoffed at the idea of becoming a politician or activist. He's an entrepreneur who wants to be a millionaire. When I asked him about integration, he was interested in only one kind: "I want to integrate the money." The biggest surprise came from the children of the segregationists. They seemed to experience the least amount of conflict over the lives of their parents. Each of them said their fathers weren't racists and were great politicians. The daughter of George Wallace -- the Alabama governor who once boasted that segregation would last forever -- said her father had to be a segregationist to get elected. "It wasn't that he hated blacks," Peggy Wallace told me. "He treated everybody ... who cooked and cleaned for us at the Governor's Mansion like his own family. I saw it and swear to it. He would never mistreat one of them." My favorite moment during these interviews, though, came when someone shared a question with me. I was talking to Ericka Abram, the daughter of Elaine Brown, the only woman to lead the Black Panther Party. She talked about growing up surrounded by armed men in black leather jackets and having a bodyguard accompany her at all times -- even when she went to the ice cream truck. Despite the danger, she marvels at the idealism of her mother and Panther leaders. They were going to try to change the world, even if it meant dying for their cause -- and many did, she said. She, like so many children of the movement, now wonders if their parents' pain was worth it. "If you've been told all your whole life that you were born for revolution," she asked me, "what do you do with your life when the revolution never comes?"
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Martin Luther King III: It was painful to hear mom say dad would be proud .
Families were never the same, according to some children of movement .
Civil rights leaders were traumatized by struggle .
Some children of segregationist leaders remain proud of their parents .
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When Gary James went to see his Jack Russell in the front garden, he panicked after realising it had escaped through an open gate. The father-of-three frantically searched for his beloved dog, but his neighbour, Gavin Juliette, quickly informed them the pet already been found - trapped in the engine of his car. The 42-year-old had driven 12 miles in his Audi A4 from Ordsall to Swinton in Greater Manchester to pick up his mother-in-law while the dog, called Betty Boop, was stuck under the bonnet. Stuck: The Jack Russell, called Betty Boop, was wedged between the pipework under the bonnet of the Audi A4 . Panic: Gary James, 33, went to search for the dog when he realised he had left the garden gate open . It had managed to find a plastic shelf to sit on for the duration of the journey, but became wedged in the pipework. After Mr Juliette heard barking coming from his car, he called over Mr James for help. The pair took apart the engine as the cowering dog stared back at them, and they managed to rescue it virtually unscathed. Mr James said: 'We just couldn’t believe what had happened and it was even harder to believe how she'd survived. 'It’s a good job Gavin wasn’t going to Blackpool or he’d have probably ended up with a hot dog. 'When I first saw her in there I thought she was bound to be injured or badly burned - but, apart from being covered in oil and a bit shaky, she was fine. 'Now she’s completely back to normal and playing with the children as if nothing happened. I’ll definitely be keeping the front gate locked from now on.' Help: He had to take apart the car's engine when he noticed his beloved dog was trapped in pipework under the bonet . Safe: Mr James, a cleaning manager, managed to retrieve the dog virtually unscathed . Mr Juliette, who made the trip with his wife and son, said: 'All we could hear when we got back was this yapping. 'We thought it was coming from the garden but then I put my ear to the bonnet. 'I opened it and the little fella was just there glaring back at me, I couldn’t believe it. 'It’s not the smallest dog and I still can’t quite work out how it managed to get itself there. It’s absolutely bizarre. 'I still don’t get how it survived, with the heat in there and the fan spinning, but I’m just glad for Gary and his family it was a happy ending.'
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Dog called Betty Boop escaped when owner left garden gate open .
Gary James, 33, from Salford, Greater Manchester, went out to find pet .
Neighbour Gavin Juliette said the dog had got stuck in his car engine .
Had travelled 12 miles to pick up his mother-in-law while animal was stuck .
Pair had to take apart the engine to free the dog from under bonnet .
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By . Daily Mail Reporter . Released: Steven Powell, 63, has been released from prison following a 2-year sentence . Steven Powell, the father-in-law of missing Utah woman Susan Powell, has been released from prison after serving more than two years for voyeurism charges. Powell, 63, left the Tacoma, Washington prison on Sunday after serving 30 months for taking photographs of two girls, aged 8 and 10, from his house while they were in their bathroom in a neighboring home. His release comes amid claims that he has information about his missing daughter-in-law, who vanished in 2009 and whom relatives believe was killed by her husband, Josh Powell. But Josh Powell never faced charges in the case and in 2012, he tried to murder his sons, Charles, 7, and Braden, 5, with a hatchet before setting alight to the home, killing them and himself. Steven Powell's estranged daughter, . Jennifer Graves, said she believes her father has information about . Susan's disappearance. She told KSL she was not happy about his release. 'I . knew it was coming and that it was going to be today,' Graves said. 'It had to come, so I’m not particularly . pleased about it, but it had to come,' Graves said. 'He shows no remorse, no intention . of changing his ways and improving himself.' Where is she? Susan Powell, pictured with her two sons, vanished in 2009 and relatives and investigators believed she was killed by her husband, but he was never charged in the case . She added: 'I . don’t really want him back in my life at this point because I think he . was responsible, or at least knows about Susan’s disappearance.' Powell will be on probation for 30 months, required to wear a GPS locator and attend a sex-offender treatment program, KSL reported. He plans to live in Tacoma, according to the corrections facility. Deseret News reported that the two girls victimized by Powell were awarded a $1.8million settlement as part of a civil suit. After . that December ruling, the judge ordered the Pierce County Sheriff's . Office to sell off the home since it is Powell's largest non-exempt . asset - a ruling he has been fighting. Obsessed: Relatives have also said they think Steven Powell, pictured, has information about Susan's disappearance. His journal entries revealed that he was obsessed with her . Steven Powell's exploits gained national attention after his son Josh killed his own two sons in 2012. Until then, Josh Powell had been the focus of the investigation into his missing wife, Susan. Susan Powell disappeared from her home in December 2009 and her body has never been found. He had a sexual obsession with Susan Powell that was thoroughly documented in journals seized by police. In passages from 17 spiral notebooks written over more than ten years, he wrote of his sexual fantasies about Susan, how he believed she loved him too and hopes they would be together. Killer: Josh Powell tried to kill his two young sons with a hatchet in 2012 before burning down their home . Scene: The father and sons were overcome by the smoke and flames at their Washington home . He wrote: 'She is an amazing woman. I hope I am right, that she is in love with me, but of course there is the problem of her being married to my son. The fact is, I can hardly control myself when it comes to her.' He admitted 'looking at her naked body under the bathroom door (using a mirror)' though recognized this was a 'sick' thing to do. But there is no hint that he or his son Josh had anything to do with her disappearance and he made mention of the possibility she ran off with another man - which is what Josh Powell told police. Following her disappearance, authorities found blood in the family home and a hand-written note in which Susan Powell expressed fear about her husband hurting her.
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Steven Powell, the father of Josh Powell who killed his sons in a house explosion, was released from a Washington prison on Sunday .
Powell, 63, was charged with taking naked pictures of girls living next door .
His grandsons were killed in 2012 by their father Josh and their mother - his daughter-in-law Susan - went missing in 2009 .
Family members believe Steven Powell - who was obsessed with Susan - knows more about her disappearance than he has previously said .
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For any Italians that harboured ambitions as a child of one day pulling on the famous red strip of Leyton Orient, the dream could be edging closer to reality. The east London club is the subject of a TV show on the continent in which footballers compete against one another to win a professional contract at Brisbane Road. The Leyton Orient Show follows the players as they train at the club's training ground and play in trial games at the stadium. Leyton Orient are the subject of a reality TV show in Italy where players compete for contract at club . The show airs on Italian TV channel Agon on prime time on Thursday nights . Orient owner Francesco Becchetti set up the programme and also owns the Agon Channel in Itlay . The reality show airs on prime time Italian TV on Thursday nights and was the idea of club owner Francesco Becchetti, who also owns the Agon Channel that the programme appears on. 'It's a great success, especially for the amount of people that are watching Leyton Orient,' Becchetti told BBC News. 'People are talking about Leyton Orient. People are talking about this talent show and the opportunity we are giving young Italians to come to London to live this great experience, with regards to both the city and British football.' Italian businessman Becchetti acquired Leyton Orient last summer and had grand plans for the League One club with former owner Barry Hearn declaring that Premier League neighbours West Ham 'should be petrified' of the Italian. Becchetti took ownership of the club after they missed out on promotion to Championship by the narrowest of margins following a penalty shootout defeat by Rotherham in the play-off final. The show follows the players as they train at Orient's training ground and play trial matches at Brisbane Road . Orient are currently bottom of League One after they were beaten in the play-off final last season . Fast-forward nine months and Orient are rock bottom of the third tier but Becchetti does not agree that the reality TV has been a distraction to their campaign. 'I think that it is wrong to think that if they (Leyton Orient) are bottom of the league now there is something wrong with it. The reason they are doing not so well is because we are starting a new era and I think that with all the investment, when you start something new, you have to wait a little bit of time. But with the club fighting relegation supporters are less convinced about the merits of the show. Tom Davies from the Leyton Orient Fans' Trust said: 'As the results have gotten worse I think it is something that people have latched on to as something that sums up where we're going wrong really. People are using the word circus and saying this is a joke club.'
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Italian's are competing against each other to win contract at Leyton Orient .
Club owner Francesco Becchetti also owns TV channel show airs on .
Becchetti says it is a great success because of the exposure club is getting .
Fans are not so sure as Orient struggle at the bottom of League One .
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(CNN) -- The action on the pitch at the World Cup has been sensational -- but one man is engineering plenty of eye-catching scenes off it too. The wild touchline antics of Mexico coach Miguel Herrera have fans the world over willing his team to score, just so they can revel in his reaction. During Monday's 3-1 win over Croatia, which secured Mexico's place in the last 16, Herrera was his usual firecracker self on the sidelines. Now social media is awash with clips of Herrera hugging his players, screaming at the officials or rolling around the floor celebrating a goal. "Miguel Herrera reactions are the best reactions ever," said one on Twitter. "Miguel Herrera on the sidelines should be a Broadway show. I'd watch for years straight," said another. Herrera has had plenty to shout about too. The 46-year-old took charge of the national team in October last year, with Mexico having struggled in their qualification group. He guided Mexico through a playoff with New Zealand to secure a berth in Brazil and has transformed it into a confident, well organized unit. After beating Cameroon in its opening match thanks to Oribe Peralta's goal, it held hosts Brazil to a 0-0 draw in its second clash. But Mexico exploded into life on Monday, putting three goals past Croatia, each strike prompting an even more exuberant reaction from its coach. After one goal Herrera was even bundled to the floor by defender Paul Aguilar, picking himself up in time for a leaping hug with goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa. "That is one of the happiest days of my life," Herrera later told reporters at a press conference. "It was a hard fight, but my team pulled through. We felt as if we were playing at home in Mexico. "We overcame the first hurdle. We're happy. We're going to celebrate tonight but tomorrow we have to start thinking of our match with the Netherlands." Should Mexico make it past the Dutch, who thumped defending champions Spain 5-1 in their opening match, one can only imagine the new heights Herrera's histrionics will reach.
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Mexico coach Miguel Herrera becoming known for his touchline histrionics .
Herrera celebrates wildly with his players and remonstrates with referee .
Mexico through to last 16 after finishing second behind Brazil in Group A .
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By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 14:47 EST, 6 September 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 16:34 EST, 6 September 2013 . Infant human remains discovered in the rafters of an Ohio garage are likely that of a 19-month-old girl last seen alive in June inside a house on the same property, police said Friday. Investigators said they found the remains Thursday inside a computer box that was behind other containers and piles of trash in the detached garage in Toledo. An autopsy will be conducted later in the day Friday, and other forensic tests were scheduled over the weekend to determine if the remains are of Elaina Steinfurth, said Toledo Police Chief Derrick Diggs. Missing: Elaina Steinfurth, 18 months old, was last seen alive June 1, and now police say they may have found her remains stashed inside a computer box . Gruesome discovery: Officers searching a garage at 704 Federal Street in Toledo found a box in the rafters that contained infant remains . ‘We found what we believe may be baby Elaina,’ he said. The home and the garage belong to the family of a man who had been dating the girl's mother.Both the mother, Angela Steinfurth, 25, and her now-estranged boyfriend, Steven King II, 23, have been arrested and charged with obstruction of justice. No charges have been filed since the remains were discovered. Miss Steinfurth and her two daughters stayed with King at his family's home June 1, investigators said. The girl's father, TJ Steinfurth, 25, went to the residence to pick up his two daughters at around 2pm the next day, but only Elaina's 4-year-old sister, Kylee, could be found. Investigators have said Miss Steinfurth knew Elaina had been seriously injured and didn't seek medical help. They would not say what type of injuries the toddler had or who caused them. Caretakers: Elaina's mother, Angela Steinfurth (left), and her then-boyfriend, Steven King II (right), have been charged with obstruction of justice in the toddler's disappearance . Helpless: Police believe Miss Steinfurth knew Elaina (pictured) had been injured and didn't seek medical attention . Angela Steinfurth has been in jail since mid-June. King was charged in July with lying to investigators about the child's disappearance. He told reporters after his arrest that he is innocent. Authorities, including the FBI, have scoured nearby homes, vacant buildings and the Maumee River near downtown Toledo for any sign of Elaina over the past three months. Volunteers also have looked through neighborhoods and parks. Estranged dad: TJ Steinfurth, pictured here with Elaina, arrived at the house of Angela's boyfriend June 2 to pick up the toddler and her sister, but the girl was nowhere to be found . From the beginning, the investigation into Elaina's disappearance has been rife with rumors and speculations. Police have chased down numerous leads, including tips from two psychics who claimed that the girl's body was in a Jerusalem Township field crying, 'Mommy.' In another twist, a woman who claimed to be Angela Steinfurth's cellmate claimed that the 25-year-old mother told her in confidence that King had wrapped Elaina's body in a blanket and tossed it into the river. Officers searched both the home at at 704 Federal Street and the garage in the days after Elaina disappeared, but did not get to the rafters. During a press conference Friday, police explained that they did not bring in cadaver dogs to search the property because it was overflowing with junk, according to First Coast News. They went to back to the home just after 3.15pm Thursday armed with a search warrant and removed the box with the remains, just hours after Mr King appeared in court at a hearing where his trial date was scheduled. Tensions were high on Federal Street, where neighbors and friends have been holding vigils since Elaina's disappearance. Police had to be called in to break up a fight that was sparked by speculations over the contents of the box removed from the garage. Several women were heard yelling at each other, 'An eye for an eye,' The Toledo Blade reported. Jailhouse rumors: A woman claiming to be Miss Steinfurth's cellmate claimed that the 25-year-old had confided in her that her boyfriend threw Elaina's body into a river . Angela Steinfurth's stepfather, Richard Schiewe, said the box was not in the garage the day after the little girl was reported missing. He said he went into the garage with police when they searched the building. ‘That body was not in the rafters,’ he said Friday. ‘Somebody went and got that body and put it in there.’
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Elaina Steinfurth, 18 months old, went missing June 1 while staying with family of her mother's boyfriend .
Computer box containing infant human remains found in rafters of detached garage in Toledo, Ohio .
Elaina's mother, Angela Steinfurth, and her ex-boyfriend, Steven King II, charged with obstruction of justice .
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(CNN) -- It began with the self-immolation of an unemployed college graduate in Tunisia. Now, newfound people power in the Middle East and North Africa is spreading fast. Bolstered by the toppling of Hosni Mubarak in Egypt, popular uprising has now taken root in a part of the world where it has not been a part of the trajectory of change. On Tuesday, the birthday of the Prophet Mohammed, parts of the Muslim world were on fire, the people clamoring for change. Fierce demonstrations erupted in Bahrain, where people have organized themselves through social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter, the same forums used by their Egyptian and Tunisian counterparts. Human rights activists said Bahrainis initially demanded reform, but some are now calling for the removal of the royal family. In Yemen, pro- and anti-government protesters clashed for a fifth day in the capital city of Sanaa. "This is against the Yemeni constitution, and people have the right to peacefully protest," said human rights activist Abdel Rahman Barman. And, as Cairo's Tahrir Square slowly emptied, Tehran's Azadi Square swelled with people. Both names mean freedom and despite a security crackdown, tens of thousands of demonstrators marched in the Iranian capital Monday. Algeria, Jordan and Syria have also been a part of the domino effect. "We really are facing a tsunami in Arab politics," said Bruce Riedel, senior fellow for foreign policy at Brookings' Saban Center for Middle East Policy. "I don't think there is any country -- except the very small and very rich and oil-rich countries like Qatar and Abu Dhabi -- that is immune," Riedel said. "All of these countries have the potential for unrest in a way they've never had it before." If only Mohammed Bouazizi, the 26-year-old unemployed man who was beaten by police and then set himself on fire, had lived to see what he began. But Bouazizi died in January, a catalyst for the events that unfolded rapidly after his death. Tunisian dictator Zine El Abedine Ben Ali fell on January 14 and fled the country. Just days later, Egyptians began massing at Tahrir Square. After 18 short days, Mubarak was gone, as abruptly as he had risen to power three decades ago. "The yearning for change has been there for at least a decade, if not more, but it took the events in Tunisia and now Egypt to break the barrier of fear that people had," Riedel said. "Fear that the army would shoot them, fear that the army would crack down on them. What it did was it broke that barrier of fear." The region -- where people are divided between fabulously wealthy "haves" and desperately poor "have-nots," a region split between those who can and those who cannot participate in government -- sits like a tinderbox, ready to explode. "There's a common thread there," said David Pollock, senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. "Yes, they do want freedom in the sense of not national independence -- they have that -- but freedom from oppressive internal security, authoritarian political controls and the freedom to participate in a more democratic government," he said. There are also economic concerns. "People are very upset, and in many cases I think with good reason, about poverty and unemployment," Pollock said. Aaron Miller, a Middle East expert at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, said the divide between the "cans" and the "cannots" is, in some ways, more dangerous than the gap between rich and poor. These are no peasant revolts, Miller said. The people on the streets include huge numbers of under- and unemployed people, "sometimes affluent individuals who feel humiliated and powerless." "That's one of the driving psychological factors that powered Egypt's uprising," Miller said. There is also a vast generational gap that some governments may not be able to bridge, said Ken Gude, managing director for national security at the Center for American Progress. "Most of these entrenched regimes throughout the region are governed by an old elite establishment that has grown more and more out of touch with the younger generations of its population," Gude said. "Consequently, we're seeing -- perhaps sparked by what transpired in Egypt and Tunisia -- a stronger push among those younger generations for greater influence and a larger political voice in their country." The potential for uprisings exists in those places where all the gaps are widest, though it's impossible to predict whether other dictators or entrenched regimes will fall as they did in Tunisia and Egypt. Beyond the overarching commonalities, each nation faces specific challenges. Yemen must deal with regional and tribal rivalries. Bahrain faces simmering tension between Sunnis, who form the ruling class, and Shiites, who form a slight majority. Pollock said Saudi Arabia, too, could possibly see unrest, but probably on a small scale. And in Syria, "people are just too scared, too intimidated" by Bashar al-Assad's iron hand. Algeria, he said, also bears watching because it shares many of Egypt's underlying issues of high numbers of young people, unemployment, corruption and a leadership that has been in power for a while. Other countries, like Morocco, have been "surprisingly quiet," Pollock said. In Morocco, the king has only been around for a decade, and Pollock said perhaps people are still willing to give him a chance. There have also been some "safety valves," such as a parliament. The United Arab Emirates, Pollock said, is a wealthy nation that can afford to take care of its citizens, if necessary, in pretty lavish style. And about 75% of the people are guest workers from other nations "who don't have any rights at all," Pollock said. And then there is Iran. It's no stranger to mass demonstrations -- the Islamic regime itself came to power through revolution. But the regime has already shown the world that it will not hesitate to suppress street demonstrations and the opposition there has not yet been able to coalesce around common goals, said Karim Sajadpour, a fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. The other problem in Iran, Sajadpour said, is that the international media have been banned from covering the demonstrations. The world cannot see what is happening in Azadi Square as they did in Tahrir Square. But Pollock predicted protests will continue in Iran. "We saw yesterday that despite the most severe kind of internal repression, you had thousands of demonstrators out on the streets, and that's the tip of the iceberg," Pollock said. "I think this probably foreshadows a long period of cat-and-mouse games continuing between the opposition and the regime at kind of a simmer." Pollock did not see another government's ouster on the horizon. "But it's important to note that after Tunisia it took a while, it took a few weeks for the protests to really start gathering steam in Egypt," he said. "Right now, we're just a few days after Mubarak was finally tossed out in Egypt. It's too soon to be very confident about where this might go next." It's hard to say what will happen next, but almost every observer agrees that this part of the world will never be the same. Miller, of the Woodrow Wilson center, quoted Dorothy in the "Wizard of Oz" to put events in perspective. "We're not in Kansas anymore," he said. The United States and its allies, he added, need to understand that. "This is a transformative event in Middle East politics," Miller said. Enough, perhaps, to change dark perceptions of a region mired in extremism and bloodshed. Two powerful messages are echoing through the region, he said. To al Qaeda, the protesters have said: Change does not have to occur through an adherence to radical ideology or violence. And to autocrats and dictators: "You better start looking in the mirror and making changes or you're going to be looking in the rear view mirror," Miller said. Those "footsteps" you hear are "coming for you." CNN's Ashley Hayes, Sarah Aarthun and Alan Silverleib contributed to this report.
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Protests erupted in Iran, Yemen and Bahrain this week .
The ousters of dictators in Tunisia and Egypt have inspired people, say analysts .
It's hard to predict if other governments will fall .
But the region will never be the same, analysts agree .
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The FDA warns consumers to look out for products that contain two ingredients: benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid . By . Associated Press . Federal health officials are warning consumers who use popular anti-acne treatments about rare but potentially deadly allergic reactions that can cause swelling of the face and difficulty breathing. The Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday the problems have been reported with gels, face washes, pads and other products that contain two ingredients: benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid. But the agency says it's unclear whether those ingredients trigger the reactions or whether some other combination of ingredients is to blame. Potential problems: The FDA warns that rare but serious allergic reactions could develop when using face washes that contain benzoyl peroxide and salicylic acid [Note: The FDA did NOT mention specific products by name] . The over-the-counter treatments are sold as Proactiv, Neutrogena, MaxClarity, Oxy, Aveeno and other brands. For now the agency wants consumers to stop using the products immediately if they experience tightness of the throat, breathing problems, light-headedness or swelling of the eyes, face or lips. Users can test their sensitivity to a new treatment by dabbing a small amount on their skin for three days. If they don't experience a reaction the product can generally be used safely as directed. An FDA analysis uncovered 131 reports of serious allergic reactions with topical acne drugs over the last 44 years. Playing it safe: The FDA says that consumers should be wary of ingredients included in face washes, gels, and pads by popular brands including Aveeno (left) and Proactiv (right) [Note: The FDA did not mention specific products by name] . None of the cases were fatal, but 44 percent of people had to be hospitalized. Most of the problems emerged within 24 hours of first using the treatment. Regulators stressed that these hypersensitivity reactions are much more serious than rashes and irritations often seen with skin products. 'There is currently no mention of the possibility of these very . severe allergic reactions on the product labels,' says Mona Khurana, . M.D., a medical officer at FDA. 'It’s important that consumers know . about them, and that they know what to do if they occur.' Consumers . can find out if an OTC topical acne product contains benzoyl peroxide . or salicylic acid by looking at the Active Ingredient(s) section of the . Drug Facts label on the product package.
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The FDA warns consumers to look out for products that contain two ingredients: benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid .
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Cricket's corruption crisis took a new twist on Monday when former New Zealand star Chris Cairns was alleged to be the man at the centre of the latest fixing scandal. The 43-year-old former Notts all-rounder strongly denied reports that he had made illicit approaches to Lou Vincent and Brendon McCullum. Cairns was last night named as the fixer by the authoritative New Zealand Herald but he told Fairfax Media: ‘Former cricketer Lou Vincent and current New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum have made a range of allegations against a cricketer dubbed Player X. Denial: Former New Zealand cricketer Chris Cairns says he is not the match-fixer 'Player X' Front foot defence: Cairns denies approaching New Zealand players . ‘It is well known that the ICC/ACSU . has been investigating allegations of corruption and my name has been . linked by others to these allegations. I am being asked whether I am . Player X. ‘These allegations against me are a complete lie.’ As . revealed exclusively on Friday by Ed Hawkins in Sportsmail, Vincent . said he began fixing in 2008 on behalf of a world-famous former . international. On Monday this newspaper also revealed that McCullum said . he was approached twice by a player he regarded as his ‘hero’. Cairns . said Vincent was ‘in a desperate position’ and insisted: ‘I have never . approached Brendon, or anyone else, about match- fixing or any other . improper activity.’ Uncovered: New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum was approached to fix matches . Shockwaves: The New Zealand batsman said he was approached by a cricket 'hero' Cairns, . who sued former IPL chief Lalit Modi for £90,000 in 2012 after Modi . tweeted about the Kiwi’s alleged involvement with fixing, went on: ‘I . have been to court to demonstrate conclusively that I am not a . match-fixer before. 'I will have no hesitation in doing so again. I . believe there are dark forces at play. These forces have long arms, deep . pockets and great influence.’ New . Zealand Cricket chief executive David White said he knew the name of . the player alleged to have approached Vincent and McCullum, but said: ‘I . can’t confirm it as it could jeopardise further investigations.’ Whistleblower: New Zealand's Lou Vincent claims that spot fixing took place in domestic games in England . Cairns . played 62 Tests for New Zealand between 1989 and 2004, scoring 3,320 . runs at an average of 33.5 and taking 218 wickets at 29. A hard-hitting all-rounder, he held the world record for most sixes in Tests with 87, a mark since bettered by Adam Gilchrist. Cairns . played for Notts from 1989 to 1996, returning in 2003. But that did not . prevent him embarrassing his Trent Bridge colleague Chris Read, whom he . infamously bowled between his legs with a looping slower ball in the . 1999 Lord’s Test. Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.
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New Zealand Herald named Cairns as the fixer .
Former New Zealand star Cairns released a statement denying he was 'Player X' referred to by Lou Vincent and Brendan McCullum .
Cairns says he believes it's being alleged that he is 'Player X'
If that's the case, he says that it's a 'complete lie'
He says 'there are dark forces at play' with regards to match-fixing .
Vincent said he began fixing in 2008 on behalf of a famous former international .
McCullum said he was asked to engage in spot-fixing by a player he considered a 'hero'
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BILOXI, Mississippi (CNN) -- It's been almost three years since Hurricane Katrina cut a merciless path of destruction across the U.S. Gulf Coast, killing more than 1,800 people and displacing tens of thousands more. Cameron Sinclair on site in Biloxi, Mississippi -- one of many rebuilding projects that Architecture for Humanity is overseeing. The coastal resort of Biloxi was among the hardest hit; hurricane-force winds leveled homes, stripped branches from trees and created a trail of devastation that rendered the popular Casino town virtually uninhabitable. Three years on, homes are still being rebuilt to house people who were forced to seek shelter wherever they could. For some, that's meant spending years living in cramped conditions in caravans until they could afford to rebuild. Cameron Sinclair, Co-founder of Architecture for Humanity, is leading a project to rehouse residents of Biloxi affected by the storm. On July 9, he'll be taking part in a Principal Voices debate on Design for Good: How can clever design conserve precious resources and lead to a greener way of life? CNN caught up with Cameron Sinclair in Biloxi and started by asking him what the difference is between design and design for good? Cameron Sinclair: Design is about creating spaces for people to enjoy and of course, creating moments where you elevate the spirit, but design for good is figuring out a program that not only creates better spaces, but creates jobs, creates new industry and really kind of raises the conversation about how we rebuild. CNN: How many countries are you working in and what are you doing? CS: We are currently in about 26 countries and we have around about 4000 volunteer architects and designers globally. We are working on a whole range of projects whether it be bringing health services into remote Nepal or working on a chocolate factory in the Amazon which is actually a conservation project, or doing low income housing in Cape town, South Africa, so we're pretty global in our reach. CNN: You have worked all over the world, Iran, Africa, and Asia. When you think of people's living conditions, are you surprised that Americans don't realize how tough people have it in their own country? Have you seen things in the U.S., for example, that are worse than in so-called developing countries? CS: Yeah, I mean people find it kind of shocking when I talk about this. You know, there are places in rural America, especially in places like the reservations, we've done a lot of work with Hopi and Navajo and we're about to start work with the Iroquois where I look at the housing stock and it is far worse then I've seen in somewhere like South Africa or you know, in Ghana. You know, Americans are unbelievably open, welcoming and helpful, they donate to everybody. But quite often we don't look at the reality of our own lives. The fact that we have a crumbling school system, that our healthcare in this country is just diabolical, the support for nurses and teachers is just out of control and I look at all these facilities that are happening in the U.S. and I begin to question. This is supposed to be the most powerful place in the world but we can't build a decent school for our kids so you know there is a reality check that needs to happen. CNN: When you look at the big picture of the problems the world is facing, what solutions can you see that cities and their designs can offer when it comes to global issues such as global warming? CS: What worries me the most is you have all these global issues that are out there, whether its lack of education or lack of healthcare or climate change, and people think they are separate compartmentalized issues, but they're all interweaved so that when we're working on structures, we're thinking about how can we make the building energy efficient. How can we make the design open, allowing access to everybody so that you're hitting on all these things. We're working in neighborhoods where sustainability is a matter of life or death for people so climate change is an issue for us, but we may not be putting solar panels on the side of the building we just may be looking at creating a way of getting clean water into the village and that mechanism is important. CNN: How vital is sustainability? CS: It's very vital. I mean, we've never pushed ourselves as a green organization. We've never done that kind of branding, you know, of great green buildings but all our architects and all our designers in the field realize that they have to have an element of sustainability because communities can't maintain things they can't afford and if its not sustainable both materialistic and also financially then the building will be underutilized so it's a waste of everybody's time. If you build something that is out of the reach of the community, then they can't own it. There's no empowerment in taking over that structure. CNN: How do you see your role in all of this? CS: The main thing is, I'm not the architect on this. We have architecture firms in a 100 countries right now, who are working on projects and as a way, we're working as a bridge, so architecture humanity bridges that kind of leg between the community, the design and the funding, so we have to bring in all the funding. We have to make sure that we have the legal and financial constraints in place and understood that the designers are committed to the process so in a way we're acting as that mediator between all those different stake holders. CNN: I'm curious how on a personal level it has impacted your life, I mean you came out of college or university and basically went straight into this. It is your life in a way. CS: Yeah, no. I mean, this really has become my life and a lot of other people that work with me, it's their life but we haven't become financially rich but we've become rich in many other ways. Just in the last month some of the communities that we have sat down and had dinner with and talked about their lives and the things their hopeful about is incredibly inspiring. It's what keeps us going. CNN: So it's not a job, is it? CS: No, I don't think anyone could live if they just had a job. A career is a job you love, right? That's what a career should be. If you're in a job that you hate, you should quit. That's the way I look at it. I'm in a job that I love so I'm going to make it my career. Do you have a question for our panelists? If so, click on the "Sound Off" box below or fill out the form on www.cnn.com/pv.
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Cameron Sinclair is taking part in Principles Voices debate on July 9 .
Sinclair helping rebuild Biloxi three years after it was ravaged by Hurricane Katrina .
Architecture for Humanity operates in 26 countries and has about 4000 volunteers .
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JOE AND MARILYN: LEGENDS IN LOVE by C. David Heymann (Simon & Schuster, £17.99) The undulating Marilyn Monroe may or may not have been a daffy comic actress of offbeat genius — what C. David Heymann calls her ‘soft simplicity’ could equally have been the consequence of drugs, rather than talent. But what is beyond dispute is that she had terrible taste in men, illogically believing that, if a chap slapped her around, this ‘confirmed for her just how much he cared about her’. ‘I can’t remember the names of three-quarters of the men I slept with,’ Marilyn once said — though she never forgot Albert Einstein, because he managed to give her the slip. Voice coaches, wig makers, casting agents, Sinatra, Brando, and numerous Kennedys: it was a catholic list. Marilyn Monroe with second husband Joe DiMaggio, a controlling and uncaring brute who drove her to overdosing on powerful sedatives . The ill-fated pair arriving at a theatre together in 1955. Their marriage broke down after just two years. ‘Hollywood,’ Marilyn quickly learned, ‘wasn’t a place where an ambitious starlet could afford to be a prude.’ Maybe not, but a dip into the actress’s past suggests that what she hopelessly sought was a father figure — ‘paternalistic guidance’. Marilyn had needed considerable strength of character to survive an upbringing that involved suicide, illegitimacy, incest and schizophrenia. Her mother was in the State Asylum, where she remained until 1967, five years after her daughter’s death. Marilyn herself was sent to the Los Angeles Orphans Home. ‘Nobody ever treated Marilyn like a real daughter,’ says Heymann. ‘Nobody had ever held her. No one kissed her. Nobody.’ Not with genuine warmth and affection, anyway. Enter Joe DiMaggio, 12 years her senior. He had been star centre-fielder for the New York Yankees, baseball’s greatest living legend, who’d won nine World Series championships and was the holder of a 56-consecutive-game hitting streak. He seemed a solid sort, who’d ‘combat Marilyn’s shortcomings and frailties’. But he was also a colossal bore, as sports heroes tend to be. He once went to the Metropolitan Museum and came out saying, ‘art bores me to tears’. He now did nothing but drink, watch TV and chain-smoke. Joe and Marilyn pictured arriving in New York from Tampa, Florida in 1961. The former baseball player disliked Marilyn wearing what he deemed to be provocative clothing. Marilyn met him in 1952, and they were married two years later. She made the mistake of imagining his taciturnity masked fascinating depths. ‘If his remoteness somehow annoyed her, it also served to pique her interest,’ says Heymann, who is as unconvinced as I am about DiMaggio’s psychological enigma. After a fashion, the couple did have something in common — Marilyn was mobbed by fans and reasoned that ‘movie stars aren’t born, they’re created. Publicity is part of the manufacturing process’. DiMaggio, in his turn, had also known adulation. He almost grew wistful as he recalled the atmosphere in the stadium, ‘having millions of people look at you with love and excitement while you stand alone getting ready to do something’. Joe DiMaggio was the star centre-fielder for the New York Yankees and loved the attention that fame brought him . Here may be the place to mention another thing that drew Marilyn to him: ‘Joe’s biggest bat isn’t the one he used at the plate,’ she told Truman Capote. DiMaggio was the son of a crab fisherman from San Francisco. He dropped out of school in 1930 to play baseball, and was known as ‘the Walloping Wop’. He’d been married before, to a singer called Dorothy Olson. If only Marilyn had found out more about this episode. DiMaggio had grown to hate Dorothy for ‘playing the effervescent hostess to family and friends’, and begrudged her any personality of her own. A woman, to his Neanderthal way of thinking, had to cook, clean, run errands, ‘be his sex partner when he wasn’t in bed with someone else. It didn’t seem to occur to him that Dorothy might have her own needs’. They were divorced in 1944 on the ground of his ‘cruel indifference’. History repeated itself with Marilyn. Joe would scream at her if she wore a swimsuit — accusing her of looking like a whore. To him, women were always housewives or whores, nothing in between. He insisted Marilyn wore dresses with high necklines, and wanted to prevent her from appearing in films ‘that exploited her sexuality’. He expected clauses in her contracts to that effect, and demanded ‘an active voice in choosing her roles’. DiMaggio read and screened Marilyn’s fan mail and didn’t like it when she had to kiss the leading man. He tried to control her and, of all the people in the world, she was the one you couldn’t control — certainly not by force. The tragedy is that, just at the very moment Marilyn was emerging as ‘a shot in the arm for Hollywood’ and world cinema, her boorish husband was intent on compelling and browbeating her to ‘quit making movies to start a family, have babies’. DiMaggio had violent tantrums: ‘He made such a racket and screamed so loudly that guests in a nearby room called the front desk.’ Marilyn Monroe's coffin is brought out at her funeral. The iconic beauty died of a sedative overdose . Marilyn would appear in the morning with her face swollen and her eyes red. ‘Joe kept her up all night, every night, yelling and screaming at her. He’d become an erupting volcano, spewing out lava and ash.’ Enraged because ‘his bride had surpassed him in popularity and renown’, DiMaggio did his best to destroy Marilyn as an artist. She began showing up late, upsetting the director and producers. ‘She started taking sedatives. . . she became addicted and began drinking, and the combination of alcohol and pharmaceuticals screwed her up.’ She couldn’t remember lines ‘or if she did, she’d slur them’. She would collapse, develop bronchial ailments. Delays cost studios a small fortune. What DiMaggio saw as ‘the sanctity of a domestic partnership’ was thoroughly abusive, despite the romantic nonsense of telegrams, champagne and florists delivering a bouquet of roses twice a day when he was trying to patch things up. Marilyn Monroe in her prime (left) and Joe DiMaggio's first wife, actress Dorothy Wilson (right) His cycles of jealous paranoia and possessiveness didn’t stop when they got divorced after only 286 days, in October 1954. DiMaggio stalked and intimidated Marilyn, even breaking into her apartment — or what he thought was hers. A distraught Mrs Florence Kotz filed a suit against him for ‘attempted burglary’. Marilyn went on to marry Arthur Miller in 1956 — another disaster. Heymann calls the playwright ‘cold-hearted, dispassionate, intellectually pretentious, cheap and afraid to give of himself. He had no sense of humour’. Marilyn inadvertently killed herself in 1962 when she forgot how many pills she’d taken, so took some more for good measure. There were enough Nembutal sedatives in her cabinet ‘to have killed a herd of cattle’. DiMaggio, who’d driven her to drug-taking in the first place, died of lung cancer in 1999. In his later years, he kept company with a mannequin of Marilyn, complete with ‘an almost indecent authenticity to the breasts and other erogenous zones’, which he’d designed and had manufactured for $10,000. He finally had the wife he always wanted — a silent and obedient rubber doll. Order at www.mailbookshop.co.uk, p&p is free for a limited time only.
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He tried to control her career, read all her fan mail and hated her kissing other men in films .
He was known for violent tantrums and tried to break into her house .
Marilyn Monroe became dependent on sedatives and died of an overdose .
DiMaggio saw women as sex objects and had already been through a divorce because of his 'cruel indifference'
The New York Yankees star was 12 years older than Marilyn Monroe .
As a baseball player he craved the limelight but disliked Marilyn's fame .
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Washington (CNN) -- Republican Rep. Cory Gardner has won the race for Colorado's U.S. Senate seat, defeating incumbent Sen. Mark Udall, according to a CNN projection. The state, which voted for President Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012, is a significant pickup for Republicans. This election cycle saw more than $100 million spent on TV ads for both candidates. Polling from recent weeks showed Gardner holding a slight lead against the incumbent senator, even though most fell within the margin of error. Udall spent much of the race trying to define Gardner as too conservative for Colorado. The one-term senator slammed Gardner repeatedly for co-sponsoring a "personhood" bill. Yet his effort to get women to turnout quickly backfired after Gardner softened his opposition to birth control restrictions. Udall's "war on women" strategy was one reason the Denver Post chose to endorse Gardner, just six years after they backed Udall. The newspaper's editorial board justified their endorsement noting that Udall "devoted a shocking amount of energy and money" on a campaign meant "to frighten voters rather than inspire them." View the full results .
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Rep. Cory Gardner unseated incumbent Sen. Mark Udall .
Udall was widely panned for running a one-issue race by focusing on women's issues .
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(CNN)Goodbye, Stephen Colbert. We hardly knew you. In fact, that was the idea, wasn't it? Colbert -- the pugnacious, "nation"-inspiring champion -- hosted his last "Colbert Report" on Comedy Central Thursday night. About six months from now, he will take a new role as host of CBS' "Late Show." It will be like Superman changing into Clark Kent -- or, perhaps, into Kal-El. For the Colbert we've been watching bears only a tangential resemblance to the real thing. The real Colbert, as revealed in profiles in the New Yorker and The New York Times, is a modest family man, a devout Catholic with three children who's "extremely normal," one of his neighbors said. The Colbert of the "Colbert Report" is bombastic and ironic, equal parts Bill O'Reilly (who's referred to as "Papa Bear" on the show) and David Letterman, the man the real Colbert is replacing. Nevertheless, it's worth noting that bombast and irony have paid off handsomely for the onetime "Daily Show" correspondent and "Strangers with Candy" actor. In some ways, he has become the power he's ridiculed. Without Colbert, we wouldn't have a word for what's now called "truthiness," the concept that if you feel it in your gut, it must be true. (It was Merriam-Webster's word of the year in 2006: the power of Stephen at work.) We wouldn't "Know a District" and the sometimes humorless people who are elected to them. And we wouldn't understand how to turn the other cheek to Internet activists who wanted to #cancelColbert. Colbert 'Late Show' staying in New York . Yes, occasionally the Colbert alter ego pushed boundaries a little fiercely. When he was the featured entertainer at the 2006 White House Correspondents Dinner, his scathing jokes about President Bush, the Bush administration and the news media -- delivered with all mere feet away -- hit close to home. (So close, in fact, that the entertainment for the 2007 dinner was provided by the much safer Rich Little.) And then there was the Colbert super PAC, Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow. Colbert thought it would show the absurdity of campaign finance laws. It did -- but mainly because both Democrats and Republicans were willing to go along with it. Anything for money, it seems. It's a funhouse mirror that Colbert's partner in crime, Jon Stewart, has willingly supported. Both have found comedy gold through mockery, but if Stewart is the exasperated uncle, Colbert has been the mischievous nephew. By questioning reality through a character, Colbert has actually shown how absurd real reality often is. Obama fills in for Stephen Colbert . No wonder he'll be missed. Who else can symbolize America with a Ben & Jerry's ice cream flavor, a NASA device and a minor league hockey mascot? Colbert IS the Real America. Even President Obama paid tribute. Occasionally he's shown us who he is underneath the character, of course. He answered a Reddit AMA very much as himself, and took the time to be a grown man for a Rookie magazine feature. He may be that guy when his "Late Show" stint begins. But we don't know who the new Colbert will be. Will he be full of smarm, like a Martin Short parody? A puckish intellectual, a la Dick Cavett? A rollicking Steve Allen type? Whatever he is, he's said he's leaving the "Colbert Report's" Colbert behind. Colbert's time slot will be well-cared for, thanks to Larry Wilmore and the "Nightly Show," which will follow Stewart's "Daily Show" starting January 19. But his impact may never be equaled. Surprisingly, Colbert was worried that the character wouldn't sustain. As he told The New York Times, "I thought topical stuff had an ephemeral quality -- it would be meaningless in a week. I wanted my character to be eternal." No worries there, Stephen Colbert. We'll always remember. Opinion: Goodbye, 'Stephen Colbert'?
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Stephen Colbert wraps up "The Colbert Report" Thursday night .
Colbert's blustering "Stephen Colbert" character has made him famous .
Real Colbert is a soft-spoken family man .
Colbert will take over for David Letterman in 2015 .
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(CNN) -- The man accused of opening fire at a Colorado movie theater wanted to study "the primary source of all things, our own minds," according to a personal statement he submitted as part of a graduate studies application. The application included the statement, professional references and test scores. It offered new details into the background of James Holmes, 24, the man charged with killing 12 people and wounding 58 others at an Aurora multiplex. The documents were released Friday by the University of Illinois, where Holmes applied to the neuroscience department before opting to attend the University of Colorado. The application, part of 176 pages released by the university, was first obtained by The News-Gazette in Champaign, Illinois. While the documents do little to answer questions about the alleged suspect's possible motive in the July 20 shooting during a showing of the Batman movie at the Century 16 multiplex, they offer new insight into Holmes as a student and his aspirations to study the human brain. In the statement, Holmes wrote that he has long been "fascinated by the complexities of long lost thought seemingly arising out of nowhere into stream of awareness. "These fascinations likely stemmed from my interest in puzzles and paradoxes as an adolescent and continued through my curiosity in academic research," he wrote in the statement submitted in early 2011. He titled his resume "aspiring scientist." Holmes was described as taking "an active role in his education, and brings a great amount of intellectual and emotional maturity into the classroom," according to a letter of reference that appeared to be from one of his former professors. Media urge unsealing of documents in Colorado shooting case . As part of his graduate studies application, Holmes submitted a photo of himself offering a piece of straw to a llama. The move caught the attention of Samuel Beshers, the university's neuroscience program coordinator, who pointed Holmes application to a colleague in an e-mail. "You can't miss the llama," Beshers wrote. One staff member, whose name was redacted from the documents, took to referring to Holmes as "the llama" in communication with others at the university. "Do you have any of llama's travel details for next week?" one e-mail said. According to e-mails released by the University of Illinois, Holmes visited the Urbana-Champaign campus in March 2011 and met with professors, research assistants and Beshers while touring the facilities. The documents released by the university were heavily redacted, with nearly all names, addresses, locations and, in some cases, dates removed. Also redacted was a character assessment by a member of the university staff. Overall, the documents show that the faculty at the University of Illinois appeared to be taken with Holmes, offering him admission, a $22,660 stipend , and a tuition and fee waiver. University of Colorado to review how it handled shooting suspect . In a brief e-mail, Holmes declined the offer without giving an explanation: "Thank you for offering me a position in the Neuroscience Program at UIUC but unfortunately I will not be accepting your offer for admission. My apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused." Holmes appears to have been accepted for admission, about the same time, to the University of Colorado's neuroscience program at the Anschutz campus in Aurora. The University of Colorado has declined a request to release Holmes' records, citing a judge's order that sealed documents in the case. Holmes withdrew from the neuroscience program in June, a month before the shooting, though gave no reason for his withdrawal, said Jacque Montgomery, a spokeswoman for the University of Colorado. Colorado authorities have declined to comment on a possible motive, citing a judge's order that sealed the court record in the case. More than a dozen news organizations, including CNN, have asked the presiding judge to unseal the full record. The events in Colorado also appear to have affected the faculty at the University of Illinois. In an e-mail dated July 23, days after Holmes was identified as the alleged movie theater shooter, Beshers wrote an e-mail to a colleague saying "we (the program and esp. students) need to ponder this and maybe have a discussion about it." While Beshers did not want to announce the university's connection to Holmes on its website, he wrote "at the same time there's no point in try to hide it, or hide from it." He suggested meeting at a local restaurant and bar "where we could have a beer and talk amongst ourselves then maybe we could announce a gathering for anyone interested." It's not clear whether the gathering occurred. Beshers did not immediately return a telephone call from CNN early Saturday seeking comment. Complete coverage of the Aurora theater shooting . CNN's Greg Morrison contributed to this report.
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The University of Illinois releases James Holmes' application for admission .
Documents released include his personal statement and resume .
His resume is titled "aspiring scientist"
Holmes also submits a picture of himself standing next to a llama .
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Angel di Maria made his Manchester United debut at Premier League opponents Burnley on Saturday following his £60million transfer from Real Madrid - and we watched his every move. The Argentina star's arrival to Old Trafford is highly anticipated following a string of impressive displays last season in Spain where he played an integral part in Real's Copa del Rey and Champions League triumphs. With the 26-year-old making his Red Devils bow, Louis van Gaal was be hoping for an early return on his investment. Scroll down below for a minute-by-minute assessment of Di Maria's performance at Turf Moor. VIDEO Scroll down to watch Angel di Maria's career highlights . In the spotlight: Angel di Maria will make his Manchester United debut at Burnley on Saturday . In the zone: Di Maria has been named in the starting line-up by boss Louis van Gaal . 5 mins - Di Maria has his first touch as a Manchester United player - running at the Burnley midfield before over-hitting a through ball into the path of Wayne Rooney. The United fans chant 'Argentina! Argentina!' in honour of their £60m signing. 12 mins - Wins his first free-kick in the Premier League after being fouled by former United player David Jones. Into the fire: Di Maria (centre) walks out onto the pitch as a Manchester United player for the first time . Close attention: Di Maria (centre) is surrounded by Burnley players as he's on the ball . Welcome to England: Di Maria (bottom) wins his first Premier League free-kick after 12 mins . 14 mins - Di Maria shows his first bit of quality - spraying a 40-yard pass right into the path of Robin van Persie who sees his shot saved by Tom Heaton. 19 mins - The Argentine runs down the left wing doing a one-two with Van Persie, flicking the ball to the Dutchman, before crossing to Juan Mata who fails to get in a shot at goal from 10 yards out. 26 mins - Di Maria's poor first touch sets up Jones who hits a blistering volley that David de Gea tips over for a corner. Ping: Di Maria almosts assisted after 14 minutes when he played a delightful 40-yard pass to Robin van Persie . Getting stuck in: Di Maria (right) tackles Dean Marney (left) for the ball in midfield . 29 mins - Di Maria, again, pings a lovely 25-yard pass,this time into the path of Rooney who lays it off to Van Persie who fails to get a shot away. VIEW FROM IAN LADYMAN AT TURF MOOR - United have grown in to the game and Di Maria’s role is already proving interesting. Nominally, he is playing centrally just in front of Darren Fletcher but has done most of his good work drifting out to the left side to try and hurt Burnley from there. The understanding with his team-mates is not necessarily quite there yet but he has shown enough already to illustrate how dangerous he can be. From their point of view, Burnley need to keep pushing at the soft centre of United’s defence. There do still seem to be mistakes there…. 39 mins - Midfielder shows his pace breezing past two players before finding Mata with another pass. Role reversal: Di Maria (top) is dispossesed by Marney (bottom) in the first-half on Saturday . Impressive start: Di Maria came into the game more as it wore it on . HALF-TIME BURNLEY 0-0 MANCHESTER UNITED - Van Gaal will be pleased with the first 45 minutes of his £60m acquisition. The 26-year-old looks busy in midfield and played the pass of the match so far when he put Van Persie through on goal. 48 mins - Argentine wins his second free-kick after being hauled down by Danny Ings. 51 mins - Over hits a pass down the line meant for Ashley Young that goes out for a goal-kick. Speed king: Di Maria showed his pace and trickery in spells before being substituted . 52 mins - Di Maria has his first shot in a United shirt. The Argentine is played through by Rooney on the overlap and sees his drive blocked by Kieran Trippier. 58 mins - 26-year-old shows his blistering pace out-muscling and out-sprinting Trippier down the left flank before his ricocheted cross found Rooney. His mishit effort fell back to Van Persie who sees his deflected left-footed volley cleared off the line by Dean Marney. 64 mins - Di Maria goes down - to the anxiety of United staff, players and fans - but thankfully for them it's just with a bout of cramp. 69 mins - Di Maria's afternoon is over after he is replaced by Anderson. Impressive viewing: Louis van Gaal (third left) will have been pleased with Di Maria's debut at Turf Moor .
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Angel di Maria made his Manchester United debut at Burnley .
Di Maria was named in Louis van Gaal's starting line-up for the game .
26-year-old created pass of the match for Robin van Persie after 14 minutes .
Former Real Madrid man showed glimpses of his undoubted quality .
Argentina international was taken off after 69 minutes .
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By . Tara Brady . Mark Simmonds said Scotland Yard had flagged up 14 'serious' offices by people with diplomatic immunity . Two Saudi diplomats have avoided drink-drive charges in the UK because they have diplomatic immunity. However, anyone caught drink-driving in Saudi's capital Riyadh would face 800 lashes. Mark Simmonds, a Foreign Office minister, said Scotland Yard's diplomatic protection group had flagged up 14 'serious and significant' offences last year by people with diplomatic immunity. A Pakistani diplomat is alleged to have committed a domestic rape while under the protection of diplomatic immunity, the Foreign Office said. Mr Simmonds noted the alleged offence in the annual report on serious offences alleged against foreign diplomats and emphasised the Foreign Office seeks to have immunity waived in serious cases. The Foreign Office defines serious offences as those which would carry a sentence of more than 12 months if a conviction was secured. The rape allegation was among 14 offences alleged against foreign diplomats, which also included a child abduction by a Pakistani diplomat, claims of actual bodily harm against a Cameroon and a Zambian diplomat, and a sexual assault alleged against a Zambian diplomat. There were six drink-driving claims made - two against Saudi diplomats and one each against officials from Belarus, Macedonia, Kuwait and Zambia. Saudi Arabia which enforces Islamic law has a strict ban on alcohol. In 2002 a British businessman was sentenced to 800 lashes, jailed for eight years and fined £400,000 after being convicted of running an establishment which sold alcohol. Prince Saud bin Abdulaziz bin Nasir al-Saud, who is a member of the Saudi royal family, was jailed in 2010 for murdering his manservant in a London hotel. A Saudi man rides his bike in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where anyone caught drink-driving faces 800 lashes . However, he was allowed to return to Riyadh after only serving three years of his life sentence following a transfer agreement with the Saudi government. The two diplomats accused of drink-driving have not been named but it has been said they will punished by the royal family's enforcers. In a written statement to MPs, Mr Simmonds said: 'Some 21,500 people are entitled to diplomatic immunity in the United Kingdom and the majority of diplomats abide by UK law. The number of alleged serious crimes committed by members of the diplomatic community in the UK is proportionately low. 'Under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 1961, those entitled to immunity are expected to obey the law. The FCO does not tolerate foreign diplomats breaking the law. 'We take all allegations of illegal activity seriously. When instances of alleged criminal conduct are brought to our attention by the police, we ask the relevant foreign government to waive diplomatic immunity where appropriate. 'For the most serious offences, and when a relevant waiver has not been granted, we seek the immediate withdrawal of the diplomat.' Among the other allegations was one count of driving a vehicle reported as lost or stolen and without insurance, against a Sierra Leone official, one of driving while under the influence of alcohol and without insurance, against a diplomat from El Salvador, and one public order offence claimed against a diplomat from Kuwait.
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Mark Simmonds, a Foreign Office minister, released a statement yesterday .
The Saudi pair among officials who have committed 14 serious offences but escaped prosecution because they have diplomatic immunity .
A Pakistani diplomat is alleged to have committed a domestic rape .
Foreign Office asks for immunity to be waived in serious cases .
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By . Steve Hopkins . Two lovestruck pensioners have finally exchanged vows - 42 years after they got engaged. David Barker and Daphne Thorp from Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, spent the past four decades waiting for the perfect moment to marry. Despite getting engaged just four weeks after they met at a dance in 1972, Mr Barker said the couple simply 'didn't want to rush' into married life. Intimate ceremony: David Barker and Daphne Thorp during their ceremony at Huddersfield Town Hall, which happened 42 years after they first got engaged . Flashback: Mr Barker and Mrs Thorp pose for a picture together soon after they met at a dance in 1972 . You may kiss the bride: Mr Barker and Mrs Thorp formalise their nuptials with a kiss . After Mrs Thorp had a heart attack last year the couple decided not to wait any longer, and despite her engagement ring not fitting anymore, they tied the knot yesterday. Mrs Thorp said: 'I suddenly realised I wasn’t getting any younger. I thought, ''I’m not going to live another 40 years, let’s just do it now,'' and I’m glad I did.' The ceremony, which coincided with Mrs Thorp's 82nd birthday, was held at Huddersfield Town Hall before a reception took place at her daughter Susan’s cafe in nearby village Slaithwaite. Mrs Thorpe said her wedding day was 'perfect'. With this ring I thee wed: Mr Barker takes his wife's hand during the ceremony . It's official: Mr Barker signs the wedding register with his new wife who he has 'always loved and always will' She said: 'Everything I had hoped for and more. 'It was a brilliant day and luckily the good weather has lasted.' Mrs Thorpe, who has two children from her previous marriage, added: 'I’m so excited to spend the rest of my life with the man of my dreams.' Young love: Mrs Thorp and Mr Barker in the early days of their now four decade romance . Life partners: Mrs Thorp said she was 'so excited to spend the rest of my life with the man of my dreams' The wedding, attending by about 30 people, was in stark contrast to Mrs Thorpe's first one which she said took place in a church 60 years ago, 'it was interesting to see how traditions have changed since then'. Before the big day, Mr Barker spoke of his unconditional love for Mrs Thorpe. 'She’s fantastic - a great woman and I don’t know what I would do without her. I’ve always loved her and always will.' And told of the night she picked him out from a crowd: 'I remember the night we met. I was at my local dance hall while Daphne was taking a beginner’s class upstairs. They were all told to go and find a partner and make them dance with them. Outdoor adventure: The happy couple enjoying the great outdoors together in the 1980s . Holding on: Thirty-odd years later the couple are still holding hands and are very much in love as they become a married couple at last and set off on a honeymoon in North Yorkshire . 'She came and picked me while I was standing at the bar, all I could think at the time was she was gorgeous. 'We danced together and we’ve been together ever since. She’d been nagging me we ought to get engaged and we’ve just never found the right time - we didn’t want to rush.' Mr Barker originally popped the question on his birthday, when he took his now retired post office wife to a restaurant and got down on one knee. The retired rail worker said: 'She was screaming across the restaurant ''We’re getting married!''' The couple will go on a short honeymoon in North Yorkshire before returning to married life.
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David Barker asked his wife to marry him after just four weeks in 1972 .
But then they waited 42 years to tie the knot in a Huddersfield ceremony .
The wedding eventually took place on Daphne Thorp's 82nd birthday .
She can't wait to spend the rest of her life with the 'man of my dreams'
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By . Associated Press . PUBLISHED: . 17:36 EST, 10 June 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 17:46 EST, 10 June 2013 . Lululemon is on the hunt for a new CEO. The yoga clothing company that made . headlines earlier this year for its see-through pants snafu said Monday . that CEO Christine Day will step down as head of the company after a . successor is named. Day has held the CEO spot for more than five years. CEO Christine Day: She insists her departure is entirely her decision and unrelated to the problem with the black luon, the fabric from which the transparent pants were made . Scandal: Lululemon CEO Christine Day is stepping down after a costly, offensive scandal in which her company failed to do what it does best: make workout pants that people feel comfortable in . Yoga clothing retailer Lululemon just reported earnings and although the numbers weren't bad the shares tanked after the CEO announced she will step down dipping to $72 a share from $82 . Lululemon Athletica Inc. shares dropped nearly 14 percent in after-hours trading following the news. The time is right to bring in a new . CEO to drive the next phase of Lululemon's growth, Day said in a . statement, given that the company has laid plans for the next five years . and crafted a vision for the next 10. Day will continue to lead the . company while the board searches for a new CEO. The Canadian company made the . announcement as it reported a slight increase in its fiscal . first-quarter profit on higher revenue. Lululemon earned $47.3 million, or 32 . cents per share, for the quarter that ended May 5. That's compared with . $46.6 million, or 32 cents per share, in the first quarter last year. Costly: Lululemon pulled its Luon pants from stores over the weekend in March after the company determined that the pants' fabric was too sheer and revealing . Revenue increased 21 percent to $345.8 million from 285.7 million. That beat market expectations for the . quarter. Analysts, on average, were anticipating earnings of 30 cents . per share on revenue of $341.4 million, according to FactSet. Its revenue from stores open at least . a year increased 7 percent. This is considered a key indicator of . financial performance for retailers, because it strips away the impact . of recently opened or closed locations. Lululemon said the past quarter has . been one of the most important in its history, as it coped with the . fallout from pulling a line of its black yoga pants in March for being . too sheer. The company ended having to pull its Luon pants from . stores over the weekend of March 16 and 17, after the company determined . that the pants' fabric was too sheer and revealing. Career: Day has been the head of luxury yoga-wear maker Lululemon since 2008. Before that, she worked as an executive at Starbucks . At . the time, the company said on its website that it first began to . understand the extent of the problem on March 11, as part of its weekly . call with store managers, who voiced worries about sheerness. The company blamed the see-through . nature on a style change and production problems. It hired a new team to . oversee the making of the pants. The company previously said it anticipated losing $57 million to $67 million because of the pants issue. Dropping faster than their leggings: Shares fell nearly 14% in after-hours trading once the announcement had been made . Day said it was able to get the . product back into stores within 90 days of having pulled it, all while . keeping customers happy with the brand. Lululemon's performance does not seem . to be hampered by the issue. The company forecast fiscal second-quarter . earnings between 33 and 35 cents per share on revenue between $340 . million and $345 million. Analysts, on average, were forecasting . earnings of 33 cents per share, on revenue of $329.6 million. For the full fiscal year, the company . said it expects to earn between $1.96 and $2.01 per share, on revenue . between $1.65 billion to $1.66 billion. Analysts were predicting earnings of $2 per share for the year on revenue of $1.65 billion. Lululemon also said that it plans to . delist its stock from the Toronto Stock Exchange on June 24, saying that . the minimal trading volume there didn't make it worth the cost of . maintaining both that listing and its stock on the NASDAQ exchange. Its . shares will continue to trade on the NASDAQ. Shares of Lululemon fell $11.38 to . $70.80 in after-hours trading as the management change overshadowed the . otherwise strong quarter and forecasts. The stock closed the regular session at $82.28, up about 8 percent since the start of the year.
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Christine Day has been CEO for five and a half years .
Now is 'right time to bring in a CEO who will drive the next phase,' she says .
Shares fell almost 14% in the hours after the announcement .
Vancouver-based company is one of fastest-growing retailers in recent years .
Company lost up to $67 million after it made its pants too sheer .
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Washington (CNN) -- At the end of another long and confusing day of political wrangling over extending the payroll tax cut, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi asked a question on everybody's mind. "The public has to be concerned and wondering why on Earth are we not getting a payroll tax cut when everybody says they're for it?" Pelosi, D-California, said at a news conference Tuesday. The answer involves the usual suspects of partisan divide in Congress and the politics of a coming election year. This time, though, there is another factor: disarray among congressional Republicans that has led to a public rift between GOP members of the House and Senate. On Tuesday, House Republicans pushed their call for further negotiations on a one-year extension of the payroll tax cut. They ridiculed a Senate plan for a two-month extension as irresponsible and unworkable, saying it would create uncertainty by failing to resolve the issue past February. However, the Senate agreement was negotiated by Democratic and Republican leaders and received strong GOP support in passing on an 89-10 vote. In effect, the criticism by House Republicans was directed at their Senate party brethren as well as Democrats, adding another twist to the reasons for the impasse. Rep. Mike Conaway, R-Texas, spoke with disdain on the House floor Tuesday about what he repeatedly referred to the "wisdom of the Senate" and asked his House colleagues to "look what the Senate did," calling the two-month extension plan "really irresponsible on all levels." Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, also took issue with the Senate plan, saying he had asked Senate leaders to send the House a proposal but when it arrived, "the House disagreed with it." Boehner's problem is that he initially urged his House colleagues to back the Senate measure, according to a GOP source who spoke of what happened in a conference call of the Republican House caucus Saturday. While Boehner referred to the Senate measure approved that day as the best deal the House would get, his top deputy -- House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Virginia -- opposed it and urged the caucus to reject it, the source said. Boehner disputed that characterization of the caucus meeting, saying Tuesday he let Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell know of his disapproval of a short-term extension as the Senate negotiation approached finality. "I expressed my displeasure in once again taking the convenient route and not doing the people's work," said Boehner, who now leads the House Republican opposition to the Senate plan. Democrats have seized on the Republican disunity, noting that GOP leaders have blocked votes in both the House and Senate on payroll tax proposals backed by their party. "If we do not have a payroll tax cut, it's because the Republicans in the House of Representatives have chosen to paint themselves in a different place than Republicans in the country and Republicans in the United States Senate," Pelosi noted Tuesday. While House Republicans say they support a one-year extension of the payroll tax cut, the fact that they refuse to pass the Senate measure that would provide a two-month extension and more time to negotiate shows they have a different agenda, she said. 'Whatever they say is irrelevant," Pelosi said of House Republicans. "What they do is what's important, and what they're doing is not giving a payroll tax cut to 160 million Americans." President Barack Obama joined the Democratic chorus, noting that Senate leaders from both parties had agreed to the short-term extension in order to guarantee that taxes don't increase for working Americans while negotiations continue early next year on the one-year extension that House Republicans say they support. "What they're really holding out for is to wring concessions from Democrats on issues that have nothing to do with the payroll tax cut," Obama said of House Republicans. Another problem for Republicans is that they have blocked votes in both chambers on payroll tax-cut proposals they crafted or endorsed. House Republicans pushed through a bill extending the lower rate enacted last year through 2012, but tacked on other provisions opposed by Democrats and some GOP senators. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, was against holding a Senate vote on the House plan, apparently because he knew it would fail. On Monday night, House Republican leaders ruled out a direct up-and-down vote on the Senate's two-month extension of the payroll tax cut. Instead, the House on Tuesday passed a procedural resolution that expressed disagreement with the Senate plan and called for a conference committee made up of members of both chambers to negotiate a compromise. Obama and House Democrats called for a direct vote on the Senate plan, with Pelosi saying the refusal by GOP leaders to bring it up showed they feared enough Republican members would join the Democratic minority to pass it. To CNN Senior Political Analyst David Gergen, Republicans have been "outmaneuvered" on the issue. Obama and the Democrats have "put the Republicans in the House into a position where they look like they are clearly obstructing," Gergen said. The unresolved dispute continued to pit Republican versus Republican on Tuesday. Five mostly moderate Republican senators have called for the House to support the Senate's two-month extension. One of them, Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts, issued a statement after Tuesday's House vote that said House Republicans "would rather continue playing politics than find solutions." "Their actions will hurt American families and be detrimental to our fragile economy," said Brown, who is facing a stiff re-election challenge in heavily Democratic Massachusetts next year. "We are Americans first; now is not the time for drawing lines in the sand." Veteran Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who voted for the Senate's proposal, told CNN that the reality of the issue is that the payroll tax cut must be extended to help out Americans still struggling in the economic recovery. "It is harming the Republican Party," McCain said of the continuing impasse. "It is harming the view, if it's possible any more, of the American people about Congress."
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House Republicans criticize Senate payroll tax plan negotiated by GOP leaders .
Some senators call on the GOP-led House to pass the Senate proposal .
Gergen: Republicans have been outmaneuvered .
Sen. McCain says the impasse is hurting the Republican Party .
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Nicklas Bendtner may have struggled to find the back of the net for Wolfsburg, but the controversial Dane scored a spectacular scissor kick in training with the national side. The 26-year-old joined the German club in the summer and has failed to score in his first five outings for his new side, but the inconsistent forward reinforced his self-belief with a magnificent effort on the training ground. International team-mate Uffe Bech swings in a cross for the former Arsenal man to finish acrobatically. As the Denmark team trains at Nordsjaelland's facilities, Uffe Bech crosses the ball for Nicklas Bendtner . Bendtner finally left the Gunners after nine years in north London, and Wolfsburg fans will be hoping his latest exploits will be a sign of things to come after a difficult start in the Bundesliga. Denmark are training at Superliga side FC Nordsjaelland's facilities ahead of their European Championships qualifiers against Albania and Portugal. Morten Olsen's side will be hoping they can stamp their authority on the group after the disappointment of missing out on the World Cup in Brazil. The former Arsenal striker leaps acrobatically to connect with Bech's cross during training . Bendtner's effort is perfectly timed, unlike many of his efforts for new club Wolfsburg . Bendtner left Arsenal after nine years in the summer, but has so far failed to score for his new side .
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Nicklas Bendtner scores scissor kick in training .
Denmark squad at Nordsjaelland ahead of Euro 2016 qualifiers .
Bendtner has struggled for Wolfsburg this season .
Danish striker left Arsenal this summer after nine years at the club .
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Comedian, journalist and disability advocate Stella Young has died aged 32. Young died on Saturday evening, according to a statement released by her family. 'With great sadness we acknowledge the passing of Stella Young, our much loved and irreplaceable daughter and sister. Stella passed away on Saturday evening, unexpectedly, but in no pain,' the statement said. Her family said they will hold a private funeral, followed by a public event in Melbourne. Scroll down for video . Comedian, journalist and disability advocate Stella Young died on Saturday evening aged 32 . In a statement Ms Young's family said she passed away unexpectedly but in no pain . In a statement ABC managing director Mark Scott said Ms Young was an unforgettable communicator and a passionate advocate. 'Stella helped us understand disability issues by sharing with a raw honesty about her own life and forcing us to reconsider how we think about disability and create an environment where those with disability can best get on with their own lives,' Mr Scott said. 'She took great delight in challenging conventional wisdom and lazy thinking. 'It is so hard to believe we have all lost Stella at such a young age. She was so talented, so widely loved and respected.' Just a few weeks ago, Ms Young vowed to do all she could to meet her 80-year-old self. But the comedian, writer and high-profile disability activist was painfully aware she might not make it. ABC managing director Mark Scott said Ms Young was an unforgettable communicator and a passionate advocate . She was described as taking great delight in challenging 'conventional wisdom' and 'lazy thinking' 'I can't tell you for certain that you and I will ever meet,' she said in a letter to her octogenarian self, published in the book Women Of Letters. 'Perhaps that thing I always say flippantly, usually with a third glass of wine in my hand - that I'm here for a good time not a long time - perhaps that's true. 'But on my path to reach you, I promise to grab every opportunity with both hands, to say yes as often as I can, to take risks, to scare myself stupid, and to have a s***load of fun.' Three days before she died, the comedian, journalist and activist was still busy trying to change people's perceptions of disability. Ms Young was the headliner at the NSW government's comedy cabaret night No Offence, But! in Sydney last Wednesday to celebrate international day for people with disabilities. Ms Young is being remembered for the way she confronted stereotypes, especially during a TEDx talk she gave in Sydney in April. In her address, Ms Young hit out at able-bodied people who use disabled people as 'inspiration porn' to motivate themselves. The comedian said the lie that living with a disability makes you inspirational is a 'great injustice' and actually makes life harder for disabled people . 'I've lost count of the number of times that I've been approached by strangers wanting to tell me that they think I'm brave or inspirational. They were just kind of congratulating me for managing to get up in the morning and remember by own name,' she said. The comedian and writer said the lie that living with a disability makes you inspirational is a 'great injustice' and actually makes life harder for disabled people. 'Lots of disabled people have said that they've always felt like this and never been able to put their finger on why it makes them feel uncomfortable,' Ms Young told Daily Mail Australia following her talk this year. 'Almost as many have disagreed and that's fine! We're a wildly diverse mob.' Young was born in Stawell, Victoria in 1982 with Osteogenesis imperfecta, a genetic condition that causes bones to break easily. She set out as a teenager to change the world, auditing businesses in Stawell's main street for their accessibility. At 17 she 'came out' as a disabled woman and started calling herself a 'crip' - 'a word that makes me feel strong and powerful', she explained. Ms Young made her start as a journalist on community television station Channel 31 and most recently worked for ABC Radio and TV. Ms Young was born with the condition Osteogenesis imperfecta, also known as brittle bone disease . She was the founding editor of the ABC's Ramp Up website dedicated to news, opinion and discussion about disability. The website launched in 2010 but was shut down this year after its funding was cut in the Federal Budget. Ms Young stayed working with the ABC as regular contributor to The Drum, online, radio and television. She was a two-time state finalist in the Melbourne International Comedy Festival's Raw Comedy competition. Her debut show Tales from the Crip won the Best Newcomer Award at the 2014 Melbourne International Comedy Festival, and she was preparing to tour it nationally and to the Soho Theatre in London in 2015. Ms Young was a member of the Victorian Disability Advisory Council, Ministerial Advisory Council for the Department of Victorian communities and Women With Disabilities Victoria. She recently toured the United States at the request of the US government, who saw her as a future world leader on disability and other issues. Fellow comedians, columnists and disability advocates including Josh Thomas, Charlie Pickering, Kurt Fearnley and Adam Spencer have led the outpouring of tributes to Ms Young on Twitter.
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Stella Young died on Saturday evening, her family said in a statement .
The well-known comedian, journalist and disability advocate died aged 32 .
She has been remembered for taking great delight in challenging 'conventional wisdom' and 'lazy thinking' about disability .
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Female doctors provide a better quality of care than their male counterparts, according to a new study. Canadian research found that female GPs tended to spend longer with patients, were more likely to prescribe recommended medication and referred more patients for further examinations. However, it also revealed that male doctors were more 'productive' as they treated more patients. University of Montreal research found that female GPs tended to spend longer with patients, were more likely to prescribe recommended medication and referred more patients for further examinations, compared with their male counterparts . The research, which was carried out in Canada and compared 870 general practitioners, found the differences between men and women medics were greater among older doctors. Scientists from the University of Montreal studied the records of doctors based in Quebec, 46 per cent of whom were women. They focused on the doctors' procedures on elderly diabetic patients to see if they were in line with the recommendations of the Canadian Diabetes Association, which provides clear guidelines for clinical treatment of the disease. Lead study author Valerie Martel said: 'Women had significantly higher scores in terms of compliance with practice guidelines. 'They were more likely than men to prescribe recommended medications and to plan required examinations.' The association says patients aged 65 and over with diabetes must undergo an eye exam every two years and receive three . prescriptions for specific drugs, including statins. It also recommends patients . undergo a complete medical examination annually. The research examined doctors' procedures on elderly diabetic patients to see if they were in line with . the recommendations of the Canadian Diabetes Association, which provides clear guidelines for clinical treatment of the disease . The study found that among middle-aged doctors, 75 per cent of women ensured their patients had an eye examination compared to 70 per cent of men, while more women prescribed recommended medications compared to male doctors. A total of 68 per cent of female GPs prescribed statins compared to 64 per cent of male doctors. Patients were also more likely to undergo a complete examination if the doctor was a woman - with 39 per cent completing the examination - rather than a man, at 33 per cent. However, when it came to the number of patients that a doctor had seen, male GPs were found to be more 'productive', reporting nearly 1,000 more procedures per year compared to their female counterparts. Ms Martel, who carried out the research for the Department of Health Administration, said: 'My theory was that differences between male and female practices have diminished over time. 'It seemed to me that more and more men are taking time with their patients at the expense of productivity, and more and more women tend to increase their number of procedures. 'The younger the doctors, the less significant the differences.' The study found that among middle-aged doctors, 75 per cent of women ensured their patients had an eye examination (pictured) compared to 70 per cent of men, while more women prescribed recommended medications compared to male doctors . Professor Regis Blais of the Department of Health Administration, who was also involved in the study, said it confirms that women doctors spend more time with patients. 'People might assume that women doctors spend more time with their patients, but it is difficult to observe in a scientific study - but this study does just that.' He argues that this does not necessarily make female doctors less productive than male doctors who see more patients. Professor Blais said: 'Doctors who take the time to explain problems to their patients may avoid these patients returning after a month because they are worried about a detail. 'More productive physicians may not be the ones we think.' Recent figures from the General Medical Council show that three out of five young doctors on British hospital wards and in GP surgeries are now women. Women made up 61 per cent of doctors under 30 last year and 46 per cent of those aged 30 to 50. However, men remain dominant in the oldest age group, with women comprising less than a third of doctors over 50.
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A University of Montreal study found female GPs tended to spend longer with .
patients and prescribed more recommended medication than men .
However, male GPs reported carrying out 1,000 more procedures a year than their female counterparts .
The researchers found the differences between male and female medics were greater among older doctors .
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By . Jaya Narain, James Tozer And Nazia Parveen . PUBLISHED: . 08:19 EST, 22 January 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 19:37 EST, 22 January 2013 . A deadly batch of super-strength ecstasy known as ‘Dr Death’ is suspected to be behind a spate of tragic deaths among young partygoers. Five people have died in the last month – three last weekend just hours after they apparently took the drug. The first was 20-year-old Charlotte Woodiwiss, a promising student in the final year of an art degree. Her body was found on December 22 in a flat in the picture-postcard town of Chapel-en-le-Frith in Derbyshire. As her funeral was held there yesterday, tributes from friends were piling up on a Facebook tribute page. Warning: Charlotte Woodiwiss, who died in Derbyshire last month after apparently taking the drug. Her uncle has issued a warning to young people to think before they use such pills . Jordan Chambers, 19, from Wigan, left, who died on Sunday and Gareth Ashton, 28, right, who died on Monday. It is thought they both took contaminated ecstasy tablets . Beside them was an emotional message from Charlotte’s uncle, warning teenagers of the perils of taking illegal party drugs. Dr Death, often shaped like Love . Hearts sweets and also called Pink Ecstasy, has the chemical name PMMA. It is thought to be behind a wave of hospital admissions with nine . people being rushed in for treatment in the last week. It is sold to clubbers for as little . as £3 a pill and dealers claim it offers a similar high to ecstasy . (MDMA) but it is around five times as strong and causes a dangerous rise . in body temperature. The effects also take longer to act than ecstasy causing some users to take pill after pill, leading to fatal doses. Earlier this month PMMA was linked to . the deaths of eight revellers in Canada and there have been other deaths . in Eire, Norway and Denmark. The five suspected UK victims – . Charlotte and four men – all died within a 60-mile radius in Manchester, . Liverpool and Derbyshire. Charlotte was a student at Macclesfield . College in Cheshire. On her Facebook page, 40-year-old Matt Woodiwiss . wrote: ‘I’m Charlotte’s uncle and am absolutely devastated by my . family’s loss. Our beautiful girl gone far too early. I am heartened by . the fact that so many of you have commented but let this tragic sequence . of events teach you a few things. Charlotte Woodiwiss, 20, from Chapel-le-Frith and Dale Yates, 18, from Buxton, both of whom died in December, sparking police to issue a warning of the perils of using pink 'ecstasy' ‘Think long and hard about how you . live your lives, about which group of people you hang about with and . about who influences you. It’s all very well writing a few “nice” things . on a FB wall but if you carry on living your lives as so many of you . are then – as much as it seems like a laugh at the moment – you are . running the risk of your families being torn apart with grief like mine . is. ‘So, by all means quote the poems and . write the testimonials, but don’t let our little girl’s tragic death be . in vain. Some of you have the chance to be shining stars whilst still . here, and believe me that is far better than being one in death. ‘So remember Charlotte with happiness, . remember her vitality, carry on loving her as some of you did, and most . of all learn from this as that is the best testament that you can give . to my beautiful niece.’ The second victim was 18-year-old Dale Yates, who died in a flat in the neighbouring town of Buxton on December 23. His father Lawrence Beever, 40, said: . ‘So many kids take these recreational drugs but they just don’t know . what’s in them. They go out to parties, they see their friends taking . them, so they have some too, and they don’t realise they’re playing . Russian roulette. These pills are deadly, and whoever made them needs to . be caught and locked up.’ Mr Beever, who is separated from . Dale’s mother, Carol, said his son was ‘just a really lovely, likeable . lad’ who hoped to follow him into the offshore oil and gas industry. In the wake of the deaths, police made . 11 arrests in a series of raids in Derbyshire and warned recreational . users of the dangers of using Pink Ecstasy. Then last weekend three men . died after taking similar drugs within the space of 24 hours. Gareth . Ashton, 28, a plasterer from Wigan, suffered an adverse reaction after . he apparently took the drug and began sweating profusely. He went out . into his girlfriend’s freezing garden to cool down and collapsed from . a massive heart attack. Friends paid tribute to Jordan Chambers, pictured, saying he was 'such a nice lad' who will be 'truly missed' Paramedics were called and he was taken to . hospital but suffered another heart attack and died later the same . night. His girlfriend, Catherine Fulton, 29, . revealed that their ten-day-old daughter, Millie Mai, had died of a . chest infection a year ago. She said: ‘It was the one year . anniversary since her death on January 16 and then four days later . Gareth had gone too. Christmas was hard because it was without Millie . and we should have had her there. But Gareth was my rock and I wouldn’t . have been able to get over her death without Gareth. This has come as a . massive shock not least because he wasn’t a drug abuser. I’d tell other . people just not to do drugs. It ruins the people who are left behind and . we have to pick up the pieces. I want this to make people think twice . and I hope this opens their eyes to other people’s grief.’ Jordan Chambers, 19, also from Wigan, became the second fatality of the weekend after taking the lethal drug . A 26-year-old football fan from . Glasgow, whose name has not been released, also died on Sunday after . collapsing at a guesthouse in Liverpool having taken the ecstasy style . drug following a football match at Anfield. Yesterday police in Greater Manchester . confirmed that toxicology tests were taking place and that they are . liaising with other forces. They have arrested two men, aged 33 and 34, . on suspicion of supplying a controlled drug. What the contaminated tablets could look like: Pink coloured ecstasy tablets in a heart shape which can be lethal .
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Charlotte Woodiwiss' uncle Matt urged her friends to 'learn' from her death .
Police have not ruled out a link between her death and that of four others all believed to have taken super-strong drug and lived in a 60 mile radius .
Two men died in the Greater Manchester area on Sunday and Monday .
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By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 17:56 EST, 12 December 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 04:49 EST, 13 December 2013 . If you want to be among Britain’s best educated, you’d think that Oxford or Cambridge were the ideal places to find them. However, yesterday the brainiest place in the country was named as the South-West London borough of Wandsworth. According to the Office for National Statistics, 54 per cent of people living there have a university degree. King Georges Park in Wandsworth: According to a new study the area has more graduates in its population than any other area in Britain . Although it has one of the lowest GCSE pass rates and one of the lowest life expectancy rates in the capital, it has been given a boost by young professionals flocking there for its low rents. By contrast, 42.6 per cent of those living in Oxford and 47 per cent of those in Cambridge have a degree. For decades, Wandsworth was the only place in the country that didn’t charge council tax and now its 300,000 residents still enjoy the lowest rate. A Wandsworth street: 54 per cent of people living in the borough have a degree . Wandsworth, London's largest borough by area, was a well-known slum before it was cleared in the late 20th Century. The borough is also home to Wandsworth Prison, a category B mens institution which has the capacity to house over 1,000 inmates. The second brainiest borough is more affluent Kensington and Chelsea, where 53 per cent of adults have a degree. More than half of adults in Camden and Kingston also have a degree, but university-cities Cambridge and Oxford only house 47 per cent and 42.6 per cent graduate populations.
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Graduates flock to borough because of low London rents .
However the area has low life expectancy and GCSE pass rates .
Residents also enjoy low council tax bills in Wandsworth .
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A man from Sierra Leone has been charged with brokering a uranium deal intended for Iran, federal officials revealed today. Patrick Campbell, 33, was arrested on Wednesday at JFK Airport in New York after traveling to the U.S. via Paris from Sierra Leone with a sample of uranium hidden in the soles of his shoes and in his luggage. Campbell was arrested after being caught in a federal undercover operation where he had agreed to sell Homeland Security . agents 1000 tons of yellowcake uranium to be supplied to Iran. Smuggling: Patrick Campbell, 33, was arrested on Wednesday at JFK Airport in New York after being caught in a sting trying tAo broker a uranium deal intended for Iran . When it is processed, yellowcake uranium can be used in nuclear weapons. The U.S. bans the supply of such material to country's such as Iran which are outspoken about their nuclear ambitions. According to the Smoking Gun, Campbell told an undercover agent that he had connections to a Sierra Leone firm that deals in uranium and precious minerals. When he was arrested, Campbell had an onward ticket for Miami. The 33-year-old made his initial court appearance on Thursday at U.S. District Court in Brooklyn. According to the criminal complaint filed . in the Southern District of Florida, Campbell brokered the supply of . goods he knew were destined for supply to Iran. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations office conducted the investigation over 15 months. It's not known if he has an attorney. If convicted, Campbell faces up to 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine. Seized: Campbell, from Sierra Leone, was arrested at JFK with uranium in his shoe and luggage .
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Patrick Campbell, 33, was arrested on Wednesday at JFK Airport .
He has been the subject of 15-month sting operation by Homeland Security .
Yellowcake uranium can be processed to make nuclear weapons .
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By . Chris Wheeler for the Daily Mail . Follow @@ChrisWheelerDM . Bacary Sagna has hit back at suggestions from Arsene Wenger that he was tapped up by Manchester City before quitting Arsenal to join the Premier League champions this summer. The France full-back left as a free agent after seven years at the Emirates, with Wenger claiming last week that the deal with City had been agreed ‘a long time ago’. But Sagna, 31, has defended his honesty and denied that the move was motivated by money. ‘I know exactly what happened, everyone knows,’ he said. ‘I’m not a tricky person. I’m very professional. Red to blue: France international Bacary Sagna swapped Arsenal for Manchester City earlier this summer . Summer signings: Sagna moved to the Etihad Stadium along with his fellow countryman Eliaquim Mangala . ‘All I will say is that I was at Arsenal for a number of a years. I have always been straight. I have always given the maximum, even when I came back from injury and was not fully fit, I always played. I don’t know why he said this. ‘I have been fair because I’ve respected my contract. I spent six years on the same contract and never went to the boss’ office to ask for more, but that’s life. ‘It’s not about the money. Can you find one player in Europe who stayed six years on the same contract? That’s what I did and I never asked for anything.’ Arsenal fans taunted Sagna during their team’s 3-0 win over City in the Community Shield at Wembley last weekend, even though he was not playing for his new club. The two teams meet again at the Emirates on September 13 and Sagna says he is prepared for more abuse after following in the footsteps of Samir Nasri, Gael Clichy, Emmanuel Adebayor and Kolo Toure since the Abu Dhabi takeover of City in 2008. Disappointment: Arsene Wenger lost yet another first-team star to Premier League rivals Man City . Bad reception: Samir Nasri was booed by the Arsenal fans during the Community Shield at Wembley Stadium . ‘It won’t hurt me,’ he said. ‘I’m ready to expect anything now. ‘It’s not easy to read some comments on social networks. I know it’s only a small minority and not all the Arsenal fans, but it’s still not easy to read it because I feel I gave everything. ‘If I was the first one then okay, but I don’t know what to think. Every time a player leaves they seem to get abuse. There are so many on social networks but that doesn’t represent the whole Arsenal family. ‘Of course, I had a great moment with Arsenal. That will stay with me for the rest of my life, but my team is City now, it is not Arsenal. ‘To me, I made the right choice and I’m very happy to be here, no matter what they think. I’m not the first one to leave their club and I won’t be the last one. ‘I’m looking at my personal life now and I want to fight, get in the team and give the maximum. I don’t look at the negatives.’ Emotional exit: Wenger decided to give right-back Sagna a kiss following Arsenal's FA Cup triumph . Teary-eyed: Sagna wipes his eyes after he plays his last game for the Gunners against Hull City . Sagna was in tears after Arsenal lifted the FA Cup at Wembley last season as he won his first trophy in English football in his last game for the club. But the former Auxerre defender insisted that the decision to leave had already been made some time earlier, and he has never had any second thoughts. ‘(Leaving) was very emotional,’ he added. ‘It was not an easy move, but for me it was a personal choice and the right time to do it. ‘Luckily I won a trophy in my very last game. I was very glad and it was a very emotional day for me because I had spent so many years trying to win a trophy. To me we had the potential to win trophies, but we only won one. ‘At the beginning of the season, I knew we had to have a really great season. I wish we had won the league, but we didn’t. At least we won the FA Cup. ‘I knew I had to come (to City), no matter what happened. I had already made my mind up. I wanted to change. I wanted to boost my career. I’m 31 now and it was time to move.’ Bacary Sagna was speaking at the club’s CityLive event to launch the new season.
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Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger believes Bacary Sagna was tapped up .
However Sagna has downplayed claims he was approached by City .
The Frenchman has revealed he stayed on the same contract for six years during his time at Arsenal .
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By . Emily Crane . It took just 20 minutes to turn this street in NSW's Blue Mountains into a graveyard of ash and rubble when an inferno tore through nine months ago. Buena Vista Road in Winmalee, 80km west of Sydney, lost 42 homes when the worst fires in the state's history destroyed everything in its path. But the burnt out blocks that once resembled something 'from a war-torn country' have now been transformed into construction sites as families pick up the pieces and start to rebuild their homes and lives. Scroll down for video . Christie Daschke and her husband Jake are rebuilding their home after they lost everything when fire tore through their Blue Mountains street nine months ago . Blue Mountains Council has received 143 development-related applications for bushfire affected homes since fires swept through Winmalee, Springwood and Yellow Rock on October 17, 2013. The cost of the rebuild is already at roughly $44.26 million after 185 houses were destroyed and a further 132 were damaged. At least 10 houses are now under construction in Buena Vista Road – the street visited by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge during the royal tour in April. Alan Seaman built his house when he and his wife Jocelyn moved to Winmalee 42 years ago and now, at 72 years of age, he is building their family home for a second time. Alan Seaman built his house when he and his wife Jocelyn moved to Winmalee 42 years ago and now, at 72 years of age, he is building their family home for a second time . 'We raised our family of three boys here,' Ms Seaman told Daily Mail Australia. 'We were the second house in the street back then and Alan built it virtually himself. So there was no question about it, we were going to rebuild. 'Alan would never let just anyone build our home, so he's doing it again with the help of our son.' Mr Seaman is slowly starting to rebuild and while the couple have tried to remain optimistic, the reality of their loss is still hard to deal with. Buena Vista Road in Winmalee, 80km west of Sydney, lost 42 homes when the fires hit on October 17, 2013 . Many families were left with nothing when the fire tore through and the cost of the rebuild across the Blue Mountains is already at roughly $44.26 million . 'It was a two-storey house but when we came back after the fires it was flat. We're only building a single-storey with four bedrooms this time,' Ms Seaman said. 'I just can't get excited about it, if I can be honest. I can see things being done but I just can't visualise it.' Christie and Jake Daschke were newlyweds when they moved into 71 Buena Vista Road seven years ago - they too lost everything. 'Seeing that image of the house burnt is just always in my mind,' Ms Daschke, 28, said tearfully. Alan and Jocelyn Seaman were the second house to be built on Buena Vista Road 40 years ago but they lost everything when the fires hit . The Seaman's raised their three boys in the two-storey, six bedroom house that once stood at 45 Buena Vista Road . 72-year-old Mr Seaman, a builder by trade, started rebuilding his home one month ago . While the Seaman's have tried to remain optimistic, the reality of their loss is still hard to deal with . 'I thought the house would still be there but burnt. I just stood there and cried. It was really, really horrible. 'I expected to say “There's the kitchen, there's the lounge room” but the windows had actually melted and there was just a metre of brick at the base of the house left. 'Once it was cleared, it was a bit of relief but also sadness that everything we had owned together was gone.' The Daschkes, who are expecting their first baby in December, are now expanding their once small three-bedroom home to accommodate their growing family. Christie Daschke, 28, was a newlywed when she moved into 71 Buena Vista Road with her husband Jake seven years ago . The Daschkes once lived in this small three-bedroom home. They lost everything they owned in the fires except for their dog Mia who Jake managed to rescue at the last minute . This was all that was left of the Daschke's house when they returned the morning after the fires . Ms Daschke said she felt relieved when the remains of their house were eventually cleared away, but sad that everything she and her husband owned together was gone . 'Both of us decided because we'd started there when we got married and everything we had there, we just couldn't leave. It felt like we had to go back,' she said. The rebuild has been expensive for the young couple who only managed to save their dog Mia when the fires hit. 'I had packed a suitcase with some photos and things like that in it after the fire at Yellow Rock (5km away) a few weeks before,' she said. 'But (the suitcase) was still sitting there two weeks later so I packed it all away. 'There was no warning with this fire. It took 20 minutes to wipe out the street.' This aerial shot shows how the fire destroyed six houses in a row on Buena Vista Road. They were among the 185 demolished across the Blue Mountains . The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, pictured here with NSW Rural Fire Services Superintendent David Jones, visited the street to see the devastation firsthand during their royal tour of Australia in April . Blue Mountains Council has received 143 development-related applications for bushfire affected homes since fires swept through . Adrian, Jenni, Jorga and Zak Harrison hope to move back into their home at 37 Buena Vista Road by October – exactly a year on from when their house burnt down. 'Initially there was no question about it, we were going to rebuild, we were staying, we weren't going anywhere,' Mr Harrison said. 'But it's been pretty tough these first few months. It was hard watching the builders clear but once it was done there was a sense of relief that we could start again. It was too hard to go back and see the house as it was when it burnt down.' Wayne Parker is only just going ahead with rebuilding his home of 29 years at 49 Buena Vista Road now . Mr Parker was in Sydney when the fire levelled his house and he watched it all unfold on the news . Mr Harrison said while he was happy to rebuild, his wife said proof that they've made the right decision will come when they move back in and see if the nervous tension and fear of it all happening again fades. 'We will have other bushfires in the valley behind us but I don't think we'll have one as bad as what we did that day,' he said. 'This fire was a freak of nature. The devastation was just unbelievable and walking through the street was like walking through some war torn country.' Wayne Parker is only just going ahead with rebuilding his home now. Fran Elston's home was saved in the fires but 10 of the properties around her were demolished. She erected this sign in her front yard almost immediately after the fires . 'I moved in in 1985 so I've lived there a lifetime. It was a tough decision to rebuild. If it hadn't been for the Salvation Army, I wouldn't have been able to afford it,' he said. 'I had nothing left when the fire hits expect for my outdoor garden setting on the back deck. There wasn't even any ash because everything had vaporised – that's how intense the fire was.' Mr Parker was in Sydney when the fire levelled his house and he watched it all unfold on the news. 'I had sort of prepared myself for what had happened. I stopped at the hardware store before I came back to buy rakes, shovels, gloves and things to sift through the rubble,' he said. 'But when I drove in and saw the house, I just put it all back in the car and returned it. There was no point, there was nothing left.'
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Buena Vista Road in Winmalee lost 42 homes in the Blue Mountains bushfires on October 17, 2013 .
At least 10 houses are now under construction in the street with 143 development applications lodged with Blue Mountains Council .
185 houses were destroyed across Winmalee, Springwood and Yellow Rock and a further 132 were damaged .
Blue Mountains Council says cost of rebuild is already at $44.26 million .
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Just before 11am on a crisp March morning, 30 men and women from one of England’s most fashionable hunts gathered near Dorchester. Resplendent in their distinctive ‘True Blue’ livery, Dorset’s Cattistock Hunt members passed around the stirrup cup for the traditional toast before the huntsman blew his horn and the riders cantered off, following their yelping hounds. At the fore was the hunt’s joint master, the Honourable Mrs Charlotte Townshend. Known affectionately to her friends as Blot, Mrs Townshend is rightly proud of the hunt’s 254-year history. In the past both Viscountess Galway and Lady Teresa Agnew have been masters, and today its 250 members include entrepreneur Johnnie Boden, who is vice-president of its pony club. The Cattistock Hunt, one of the richest in the country, has long been a target for anti-hunt protesters determined to prove it flouts hunting laws . On that damp morning of March 11, huntsman Will Bryer decided to take the hunt through picturesque Hardy country on to land west of Weymouth, above the famous Jurassic Coast, where – in keeping with hunting laws – a scented trail had been laid earlier for the hounds to follow. But what none of those riding that morning could have known was that the day’s events would threaten to become a cause celebre, which is now the subject of a court battle. The Cattistock Hunt, one of the richest in the country, has long been a target for anti-hunt protesters determined to prove it flouts hunting laws and that, instead of ensuring the hounds follow the trail, the Cattistock willingly allows them to chase foxes whose scent they pick up. And in this pursuit, the anti-hunt campaigners have a willing partner: the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Many in the hunting fraternity believe that the court case, in which a member of the Cattistock is accused of a single count of breaching the hunting ban by pursuing a wild mammal with hounds, is the result of collusion between the activists and a partisan RSPCA. They are convinced that the charity has become an increasingly politicised lobby, bent on pursuing an obsessive and costly vendetta against England’s hunting elite. As one insider observed: ‘The lunatics are running the asylum. The RSPCA has become indoctrinated in an animal-rights philosophy, and that is its downfall. ‘The charity is a massive institution with 1,400 employees and an income of more than £120 million, and yet it is run by a board of 21 trustees, few with experience of running a business, and some who are, frankly, staunch animal-rights activists.’ It has even been suggested that, abetted by animal-rights activists, the RSPCA has been targeting well-heeled hunting communities in a cynical bid to raise its profile. Tthe Honourable Mrs Charlotte Townshend has been singled out as someone who represents everything the activists despise about Britain’s hunting history . Many, too, are concerned that the charity is ‘wasting’ too much of its fortune – made up mostly from donations and legacies – chasing minor misdemeanours. The Mail on Sunday reported in October that the RSPCA had spent £22.5 million on prosecutions in two years, and today we can reveal that the charity has been forced to take out an overdraft facility with its bank, Coutts, for the first time in its 190-year history. The Cattistock case epitomises the battle for the soul of the British countryside. So far as the hunters are concerned, they have today become the hunted – followed and filmed by a battery of anti-hunt activists including Dorset hunt saboteurs, the anti-hunt group Protect Our Wild Animals, and monitors for the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW). They hand over yards of footage to the RSPCA in the hope that it will provide evidence upon which the charity can press charges. In the dock is Will Bryer, Mrs Townshend’s fellow huntmaster. Mr Bryer has pleaded not guilty at Weymouth Magistrates’ Court to breaching the hunting ban and will mount a vigorous defence when the case comes to trial in the spring. His solicitor, Jamie Foster, insists Mr Bryer is innocent. ‘He will vigorously contest what appears to be an extremely weak case,’ he says. ‘I am very surprised it has made it this far.’ The prosecution’s case will hinge on footage filmed as the hunt passed the picturesque village of Langton Herring. Taken with a hand-held camera by Kevin Hill, from the IFAW, it was subsequently passed to the RSPCA rather than to the police or the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). It is said to depict Mr Bryer allowing two hounds to chase a fox, allegedly in breach of the Hunting Act 2004. The IFAW has been delighted by the prosecution. Its members and fellow activists have long disliked the Cattistock Hunt, seeing it as symbolic of hunting’s aristocratic past. As one anti-hunt activist explains: ‘It is run along feudal lines. Landowners and farmers are encouraged to give permission for the hunt to make use of their land – there might, for example, be the offer of the loan of some farm equipment you especially need.’ Mrs Townshend has been singled out as someone who represents everything the activists despise about Britain’s hunting history. A committed wildlife conservationist, Mrs Townshend has already been targeted by animal-rights activists, who mistakenly believed she supported trials for the Government’s badger cull and would allow one to take place on her Dorset estate. She was forced to make a ‘painful decision’ to step down as patron of the Dorset Wildlife Trust, fearing that the work of the charity, founded by her grandfather more than half a century ago, would be compromised by her continued presence. Activists inundated the DWT’s Facebook and Twitter pages with abusive messages. It became a systematic campaign eventually linked to the discovery of ‘suspicious figures’ hanging around Mrs Townshend’s home. Security had to be stepped up after a picture of the house was published on Stop The Cull’s website with the words ‘Badger killer Charlotte Townshend’ written, graffiti-style, in bright red. As for the court case, it is understood that even Kevin Hill, who shot the footage, is privately doubtful that Mr Bryer will be convicted. He has admitted to friends that the film was taken from some distance and identification will be disputed. Whatever the outcome, the case will once again turn the spotlight on the close relationship between the RSPCA and the animal- rights movements. During the autumn, an independent report by Stephen Wooler, a former chief inspector of the Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate, recommended that the charity should pass on any evidence of law-breaking to either the police or CPS. Since then, the charity has indicated that in future it will abide by the Wooler recommendations. The case, however, calls that commitment into question. Why, for example, is the RSPCA mounting this prosecution and not the police? Tim Bonner, director of campaigns for the Countryside Alliance, said: ‘It clearly cannot make an objective decision. We believe this decision involving Cattistock has a blatant political element to it. ‘The Cattistock has been harassed by employees of animal-rights organisations carrying out covert surveillance for almost ten years and, until now, there has not been a single prosecution, let alone a conviction.’ He believes the Cattistock has no case to answer. ‘We have every confidence that Cattistock was operating entirely legally on the day in question and we don’t believe the evidence justifies the prosecution,’ he says. Even Graham Forsyth, an anti-hunt supporter who regularly monitors hunts and reports his finding to the charity, admits that the Cattistock Hunt is well organised. ‘I would say it is one of the better managed and more disciplined hunts, despite some of the incidents recorded against it in the past,’ he says. ‘Generally speaking, if Charlotte and her husband are out riding, things tend to be calmer because they tolerate us – although they ignore us – and try to ensure none of the others gets involved either.’ So why is the RSPCA so keen to prosecute Mr Bryer? Its official explanation is that ‘there is a public interest in bringing such a prosecution’. A charity spokesman added: ‘We look closely at whether the quality of the evidence meets the usual tests too. We take our enforcement role seriously.’ Protest: An anti-hunt campaigner holds up his banner in 2005 after The Hunting Act was passed . But one animal-rights supporter with knowledge of the case believes much of it is a face-saving exercise. ‘The RSPCA was very keen to run this one up the flagpole in the wake of the Wooler report to prove it was still a force to be reckoned with,’ he said. ‘But we’re not confident it will go the distance and if it does, we don’t think it will result in a conviction. ‘Proving identification is incredibly difficult at the best of times. And this isn’t the best evidence. They know that. But they think there is a chance.’ Certainly, as a charity the RSPCA is under pressure to explain its prosecutions policy. And internally it is riven with disagreements between the old guard, who fear donations will dry up if it becomes too political, and hardline activists. Although the charity, whose patron is the Queen, remains one of the wealthiest in the UK, with investment assets of £82 million, much of this cash is thought to be tied up in long-term deals. One person involved in animal rescue said: ‘I have been told the past three months have been like a white-knuckle ride in making payments and that the RSPCA has had to go to the bank and agree an overdraft for the first time.’ In a statement, the RSPCA confirmed it had made ‘contingency plans to ensure efficient cash flow’ and had negotiated an overdraft, but insisted: ‘We have not used this facility and do not foresee any reason to use it at this present time.’ For the Cattistock Hunt it was business as usual for the Boxing Day meet. ‘They are quietly confident that Mr Bryer will be acquitted eventually,’ says one local landowner. ‘If the court has any sense, the case will be thrown out. That is the thinking around here.’ Additional reporting: Valerie Elliott .
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Honourable Mrs Charlotte Townshend is master of Dorset’s Cattistock Hunt .
Group, one of UK's richest, has long been targeted by anti-hunt protesters .
They are now involved in court battle with animal rights group and RSPCA .
RSPCA spent £22.5 million on animal welfare prosecutions in two years .
A previous version of this article stated that actor Martin Clunes was a supporter of the Hunt and his daughter was a member of the Hunt Pony Club. Mr Clunes has asked us to clarify that he does not support this or any other hunt.
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Free wi-fi access will be available to rail passengers across England and Wales within two years, David Cameron announced yesterday. He said it was 'vital' that commuters could work online while travelling after warnings that too many operators are 'stuck in the analogue age'. A major extension of on-board wireless internet connections is set to be rolled out to most lines by 2017. Whitehall will release £50million towards the cost of the project – with the money coming from the huge fine paid by rail bosses for delays to services. Prime Minister David Cameron, working on a train last week, said it was 'vital' for people to be able to get online while travelling . The cash will benefit travellers with operators that offer either no or limited wi-fi including Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern, Southeastern, Chiltern and Arriva Trains Wales. Firms that do offer wi-fi but charge for it will have to set out how they would provide the service for free when they renew franchises – a move that could save commuters up to £360 a year. Rail minister Claire Perry said yesterday: 'Free wi-fi is a priority for many as being able to keep up with work, connect with friends or even check the latest journey information online helps make rail travel more productive.' Mr Cameron announced the proposals after being asked by MP Maria Miller at Prime Minister's Questions what he would do for commuters 'increasingly frustrated that our trains are stuck in the analogue age' with internet access 'difficult and very limited'. The Prime Minister said: 'It is vital for businesses and for individuals to be able to access wi-fi, do their work and make other contacts while they are on trains. 'I am pleased to announce plans that will see the rollout of free Wi-Fi on trains across the UK from 2017.' He said: 'The Government will invest nearly £50 million to ensure that rail passengers are better connected. 'Passengers that make over 500 million journeys every year with the four rail operators, TSGN, Southeastern, Chiltern, Arriva Trains Wales, will all benefit from this investment.' Chiltern trains are among those set to benefit from the investment announced today . Mr Cameron made the announcement in response to a question from former culture secretary Maria Miller, who said passengers were 'increasingly frustrated our trains are stuck in the analogue age'. Of the operators that provide the service, East Coast trains offers 15 minutes for free, and then charges £4.95 an hour or £9.95 for 24 hours. East Midlands Trains charges £4 a journey or £300 a year for regular commuters. Virgin Trains charges £4 an hour, or up to £30 a month – equal to £360 for a year. Under the new plans, the 20 per cent of services with wi-fi will rise to about 70 per cent by 2017. The cost will come from the £53.1million fine that the Office for Rail Regulation ordered Network Rail to pay last year for missing punctuality targets. Cash will go towards the track-side cables and transmitters needed to provide wi-fi. David Sidebottom, of the watchdog Passenger Focus, said: 'Passengers expect to be able to use free and reliable wi-fi... and they have told us that this is a top priority for improving their journey.' The Department for Transport said: 'Where there is no new franchise agreement due in the next two years, almost £50million of funding will be released from the Department for Transport to ensure Wi-Fi is available on selected services from 2017'. It added: 'Some operators have already installed equipment to provide improved mobile coverage on-board their trains, or are in the process of doing so. 'By targeting the investment at franchises that would otherwise have no immediate plans to introduce Wi-Fi, the government is ensuring that as many passengers as possible benefit.' Travellers on Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern, Southeastern, Chiltern and Arriva Trains Wales services should be able to access free wi-fi from 2017 . The £47.8million funding is money that Network Rail has been required to return to the government for missing punctuality targets set by the watchdog Office of Rail Regulation. It is the first time such money has been reinvested into improvements targeted at passengers, said the Department for Transport. But Manuel Cortes, leader of the TSSA rail union questioned why taxpayers' cash was being used to fund the wi-fi: 'You don't get the taxpayer funding free wi-fi in Starbucks or Costa Coffee. The rail companies should be paying for it out of their profits.' He added; At least passengers will be able to surf the net to find out why the train they are on is running late or overcrowded' Of the £53.1 million total penalty against Network Rail, some £5.3 million has been allocated to the Scottish Government, in line with the proportion of the penalty paid by Network Rail for late trains running in Scotland. Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander said: 'As someone who regularly travels from the North of Scotland around the country, I appreciate the value of fast, cheap internet connections on trains for both leisure and business travellers. ' A spokesman for the Rail Delivery Group, which represents Network Rail and train operators, said: 'It is good news that even more rail passengers will be able to benefit from Wi-Fi on their train. 'Rail plays a crucial role in keeping people connected to friends, family and jobs and the wider rollout of Wi-Fi on the rail network will mean people can make even better use of their time on the train.'
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Prime Minister announces £50million plan to invest in web access on trains .
Funding will come from fines against rail companies for poor punctuality .
Free wi-fi access will cover most lines including Thameslink and Chiltern .
David Cameron said it was 'vital' train commuters were able to work online .
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Most of us have been surprised at least once by our phone or internet bill after spending more time on our devices than usual or using them abroad. But spare a thought for John Gibson, who picked up a bill for $11,000 after his two grandchildren watched five films via Netflix on his laptop on holiday. Mr Gibson, of Saskatchewan, Canada, took his son and grandchildren to Phoenix, Arizona, where they incurred huge data roaming charges. Scroll down for video . Oops: John Gibson's grandchildren, Jayden and Sawyer, pictured, watched films through Netflix while roaming on a laptop with a mobile stick . Shocked: Canadian John Gibson could not believe his eyes when he received a whopping phone bill from communications provider SaskTel . ‘Small children like to watch movies,’ Mr Gibson told CBC News. ‘They'd watch a movie in the afternoon and I saw them doing it. ‘The kids were getting bored,’ his son Jason Gibson added. ‘So we decided to watch Netflix on my air-card on my laptop.’ The children watched films including . Shrek, Spider-Man and Curious George, but had no idea they were racking . up astonishing roaming bills. Communications provider SaskTel has U.S. roaming charges of $6/MB and the films took up about 400MB . each, reported the Estevan Mercury. Big bill: Jason Gibson, John's son, said his children were getting 'bored' on holiday in Phoenix, Arizona, so they watched some films on his laptop . Shrek movie night: Children, Jayden and Sawyer, watched some of their favourite films via Netflix while on vacation in Arizona . The grandchildren, Jayden and Sawyer, . watched the films on a laptop with a mobile stick. But Jason Gibson did . not know about the roaming charges. John Gibson first received the bill . for $10,668.38 and called SaskTel to sort it out. They agreed to knock . off $9,600, reported CBC News. ‘Old guys like me just aren't up to . speed on technology and what these things are capable of doing (without) you even realising,’ John Gibson told CBC News. Videos on demand: The film library proved to be expensive entertainment for the family who ran up a huge bill through their mobile phone provider (file picture) John Gibson said he will pay the remaining $1,000 balance from January and will take the whole experience as a ‘lesson learned’. 'Old guys like me just aren't up to speed on technology and what these things are capable of doing' John Gibson . ‘It's an excellent little trap,’ John Gibson told the Estevan Mercury. (But) they were pretty good about it. I . told her what happened.’ He said the average person in his . hometown of Weyburn, Saskatchewan, would need a big loan to pay off the . original bill from SaskTel. On-demand service Netflix has more than 23 million members who stream films worldwide and charges around $7.99 per month. See video here .
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Canadian John Gibson took grandchildren to Arizona .
Huge bill from data roaming on laptop's mobile stick .
They watched Shrek, Spider-Man and Curious George .
SaskTel agree to make him pay just $1,000 of balance .
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By . Fiona Macrae Science Correspondent . The dream of creating ethically sound stem cells on a large scale to combat diseases from Alzheimer’s to cancer is closer to being realised. Scientists say they have found a way to produce stem cells that overcome the issues relating to the death of the embryos. And the method for cultivating large quantities of cells involves no animal products or human cells that could introduce contaminants, the Swedish researchers say in the journal Nature Communications. The dream of being able to use stem cells as a repair kit for diseases from Alzheimer's to cancer is now a step closer to being realised . Stem . cells – ‘master cells’ capable of turning into other cell types – are . widely seen as a repair kit for the body. Embryonic stem cells, plucked . from embryos in the first days of life, are the most versatile and so . offer the most promise. Stem cells – ‘master cells’ capable of turning into other cell types – are widely seen as a repair kit for the body. Embryonic stem cells, plucked from embryos in the first days of life, are the most versatile and so offer the most promise. However, their use is mired in controversy, because they have to be extracted in such large numbers that the embryo dies. But researchers from Stockholm’s Karolinska Institute say they have found a way of safely removing a single, precious stem cell. The method is already used in IVF treatments and so it is known that the remainder of the embryo can still turn into a baby. Their . use is controversial because they have to be extracted in such large . numbers that the embryo dies. But researchers from Stockholm’s . Karolinska Institute say they have found a way of safely removing a . single, precious stem cell. The method is already used in IVF and so it is known that the remainder of the embryo can still become a baby. Researcher . Karl Tryggvason said: ‘We know the embryo can survive the removal of a . single cell. This makes a huge ethical difference.’ Just . as importantly, the Swedes have also worked out how to make the lone . cell grow and multiply, using a lab-made version of a protein that is . found in the embryo. British . experts said the breakthrough would be welcomed but cautioned that the . removal of even a single cell from a fledgling embryo is not without . risk. Professor Trggvason said: ‘Using this technology, the supply of human embryonic stem cells is no longer a problem. ‘It will be possible to establish a bank where stem cells can be matched by tissue type, which is important for avoiding transplants being rejected.’ Another possibility is a single stem cell could be removed from an embryo before IVF treatment and then used to generate tailor-made treatments should that baby become ill later in life. British experts said the breakthrough . would be welcomed by those battling devastating diseases but cautioned . that the removal of even a single cell from a fledgling embryo is not . without risk. Scientists think their discovery could eventually lead to cures for diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease . Dagan Wells, an Oxford University IVF expert, said: ‘A method capable of providing a reliable supply of stem cells, without harming human embryos, could prove to be a wonderful advance. ‘The method is a promising development, although it probably won’t entirely eliminate ethical issues. ‘It is true that a single cell can be removed from very early embryos, but the procedure does carry a small risk that the embryos will not survive. ‘Despite these limitations, the research seems to be on the right track and will undoubtedly be welcomed by patients affected by a wide variety of crippling diseases.’
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Swedish scientists say they have written the recipe for making ethically acceptable, highly versatile stem cells in large numbers .
The embryonic stem cells could be banked .
and turned into treatments for patients who need to replace .
diseased, damaged and worn out body parts .
Previously, taking stem cells from embryos resulted in the embryo's death but scientists can now remove just one stem cell meaning the baby survives .
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