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US Investigates 'Specific and Credible' Terror Threat Ahead of 9/11 Anniversary

(Sep 8, 2011 7:07 PM CDT) The FBI, CIA, and police are attempting to track down a trio of men they believe arrived in the US last month to launch a terror attack on the anniversary of 9/11. The men, who officials believe were sent by al-Qaeda boss Ayman al-Zawahiri, are suspected of plotting a car bomb attack in New York or Washington, officials said at a Manhattan press conference late yesterday. Zawahiri vowed earlier this year to seek revenge for the killing of Osama bin Laden. Details of the suspect attack followed earlier official reports of intelligence concerning an upcoming attack involving credible, specific information that has not yet been confirmed. Sources told ABC News that investigators believe at least one of the men may be a US citizen, and that two of them may have some kind of official US documentation, such as green cards. Their identities are not known but investigators are poring through the names of individuals who entered the US in the last few weeks, likely from the tribal areas of Pakistan. Though information has not been confirmed, we live in a world world where we must take these threats seriously and we certainly will, vowed New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The FBI and Homeland Security has issued a bulletin with the information to some 18,000 law enforcement agencies in the US.

44 Tech Leaders Want to Let VW Off the Hook —Kind Of

(Dec 22, 2015 5:40 PM) More than 40 technology leaders have proposed a radical solution for how Volkswagen can fix its emissions-test-cheating vehicles: don't. Instead Quartz reports the 44 signers—including Tesla's Elon Musk—of a letter sent to the California Air Resources Board on Thursday suggest putting all the money and resources that would have gone toward fixing diesel cars already on the road toward speeding up production of emissions-less electric vehicles. Cure the air, not the cars, they write in the letter. Earlier this year, Volkswagen found itself in hot water when it was revealed it had installed software to cheat emissions tests in nearly 500,000 diesel cars sold in the US, the Wall Street Journal reports. Quartz reports regulators have ordered Volkswagen to fix all emissions-test-cheating vehicles currently on the road. In their letter, Musk and the other signers argue it's no longer worth it from a financial or performance standpoint to keep trying to make diesel cleaner, and many owners won't get the fix anyway. According to the Journal, they argue putting that money—as well as money from potential fines—toward electric cars and new zero-emission plants and technologies would reduce pollution 10 times what fixing the individual cars would. They also point out zero-emission cars have no way to cheat emissions tests, Quartz reports. Neither Volkswagen nor CARB have responded directly to the letter, with a CARB spokesperson telling the Journal only that their focus has and will continue to be cleaning the air and advancing the cleanest vehicle and fuel technologies.

18-Year-Old Plans to Marry Her Long-Lost Father

(Jan 16, 2015 6:35 AM) It's been established that reuniting with long-lost relatives can and does result in Genetic Sexual Attraction, a term coined in the 1980s. In fact, some have estimated that elements of sexual attraction occur in as many as half the cases of estranged loved ones who meet as adults. Still, it's widely considered taboo, and even more so when the attraction is between a father and daughter, reports New York magazine. As the woman who coined the phrase GSA told the Guardian in 2003, That group tends to stay very silent. It's still regarded as dangerously close to abuse, even though it is no different from other forms of GSA. But one such unnamed couple living in the Great Lakes region is now making news after the teen daughter talked at length with the magazine about reuniting with her father—whom she hadn't seen since she was about 5—12 years later and finding herself instantly attracted to him. The daughter says they have been dating for nearly two years—since she lost her virginity to her father just days after reuniting with him—and that they plan to marry, if unofficially, and move to New Jersey, where she says adult incest is legal. She says that she and her father, who conceived her on prom night when he was 18, plan to have a large family and that she's not worried about their kids having genetic problems because that happens when there’s years of inbreeding, like with the royal family. She adds that incest has been around as long as humans have and everybody just needs to deal with it. Full interview here. In 2010 Wired reported on a study that found, as the lead researcher put it, people appear to be drawn to others who resemble their kin or themselves ; he speculated that incest taboos exist to counter this primitive tendency. (In August, a Brazilian woman learned she had married her brother.)

European Unemployment at Record 11.3%

(Aug 31, 2012 9:36 AM CDT) You think America's 8.3% unemployment rate is bad? Try living in the eurozone. The 17-country bloc saw 88,000 more people join the ranks of the jobless in July, meaning its unemployment rate held steady at its record high of 11.3% and bringing the total number of unemployed to 18 million, the AP reports. The numbers were especially eye-popping in Spain and Greece, which saw their unemployment rates swell to 25.1% and 23.1%, respectively. For reference, last year Greece's figure was 16.8%. The high unemployment is caused both by punishing government spending cuts, which have slashed public sector jobs, and by uncertainty in the financial markets, which has discouraged hiring. And it's probably going to get worse. Job measures are pointing to further falls in employment, one economist says. The eurozone unemployment rate looks set to rise further.

100 Retweets, 'and I'll Shoot Someone'

(Mar 14, 2014 12:17 PM CDT) A really bad joke (we hope) on Twitter has landed a Los Angeles man in jail. Police arrested 20-year-old Dakkari McAnuff on suspicion of making criminal threats after he allegedly promised to shoot a random stranger in exchange for 100 retweets. Police say McAnuff posted multiple photos on Twitter showing a rifle pointed out a window toward the street, along with the caption, 100 RTs and I'll shoot someone walking, reports KTLA. (His Twitter account is down, but LAist has a cached version of one such tweet via local news.) Police tracked the account to McAnuff and arrested him at his home. The gun turned out to be an air rifle, reports the Los Angeles Times.

4-Year-Old Decapitated in Front of Her Mother

(Mar 29, 2016 8:03 AM CDT) A nearly unthinkable killing unfolded on the streets of Taipei, Taiwan, on Monday, when a man beheaded a 4-year-old girl in full view of her mother. It appears to have been a random attack, and the 33-year-old suspect has a history of mental issues, reports the Taipei Times. The victim has been identified only by her surname, Liu, and by her nickname, Little Lightbulb, or Little Lantern. She and her mom were on their way to a subway station to meet her grandfather and two siblings for lunch when the attack occurred. The girl was on a bike ahead of her mother, and she was struggling to get up on the sidewalk when the man approached her. The girl's mother assumed he was going to help, but then he began attacking the girl with a cleaver. The mother and bystanders ran to the spot but were unable to pull him away in time. I never thought this society was so dangerous, said the girl's mother. I will never see her again, and she will never see her brother and sister again. Police arrested Wang Ching-yu, who had previously sought treatment for mental illness after fights with his family and has drug-related arrests on his record, reports AFP. His father describes the unemployed man as mentally unstable, reports the South China Morning Post. A mob of people confronted Wang as police were escorting him from a local precinct with shouts of kill him, forcing officers to return him inside. In the wake of the attack, lawmakers promised to consider legislation ensuring the death penalty for those who kill children, or at least life in prison if mental illness is involved.

Rare Meningitis Outbreak Leaves 2 Dead

(Oct 1, 2012 3:51 PM CDT) A rare outbreak of fungal meningitis has killed two Tennesseans and infected 11 more, prompting an investigation by state health officials and the CDC, the Tennesseean reports. So far, those infected have one thing in common: injections of epidural steroids at a Nashville hospital this summer. The procedure—usually given to relieve pain—also seems to have infected a patient in another state with meningitis. Officials have responded by recalling the injections and closing the Outpatient Neurosurgery Center at St. Thomas Hospital in Nashville. They've also examined 737 other patients who had the same injection there. Meanwhile, experts are trying to create an ideal treatment for the patients, who are suffering from symptoms like headaches, slurred speech, numbness, and fever. The earlier people are identified and treatment begins the better outcome they’re likely to have, says an official.

Actress June Havoc Dead at 97

(Mar 29, 2010 5:59 PM CDT) June Havoc, the film and theater actress who gained fame as a child vaudeville star and the younger sister of Gypsy Rose Lee, died yesterday. The inspiration for the Baby June character in the Broadway musical and movie Gypsy, Havoc was believed to be 97. To accommodate local child labor laws while on the road performing, her mother, the archetypal stage mother Rose Thompson Hovick, had five birth certificates for her, the New York Times reports. Though outshone by her fictional doppelganger, Havoc enjoyed a long career, shining in the original production of Pal Joey on Broadway and as the Jewish secretary passing as a Christian in the Gregory Peck film Gentleman's Agreement. In her late 60s, she played Miss Hannigan in the original Broadway production of Annie. She retired in 1990 after a stint on General Hospital.

Pentagon: 7 Out 10 Youths Not Fit for Service

(Jun 30, 2014 3:05 AM CDT) The Pentagon says that if all 34 million Americans aged 17 to 24 tried to join the military, it would reject more than two-thirds of them for being fat, uneducated, felonious, on drugs, or for assorted other reasons—even before it got around to weeding out the ones with neck tattoos. The quality of people willing to serve has been declining rapidly, complains the commanding general of US Army Recruiting Command, which estimates that 71% of today's young people would fail to qualify for service, not including those turned down because of tattoos, ear gauges, or other cosmetic issues. Around a quarter of high school graduates don't have the basic math and reading skills needed to pass the Armed Forces Qualification Test, the military says, but the biggest reason for disqualification is obesity. In the past, a drill sergeant could literally run the weight off a soldier as part of the regular training program, a retired major tells the Wall Street Journal, but now, people who are 50 pounds or more overweight turn up at recruiting offices. Military recruiters, aided by enlistment bonuses, have still been meeting their targets in recent years, even though the general in charge of recruiting estimates that only 1% of American youth are both eligible and inclined to have a conversation with us.

44 Slain While Praying in Nigeria

(Aug 12, 2013 3:31 PM CDT) Suspected Islamic militants wearing army fatigues gunned down 44 people praying at a mosque in northeast Nigeria, while another 12 civilians died in an apparently simultaneous attack nearby, security agents said today. The attacks were the latest in a slew of violence blamed on religious extremists in this West African oil producer, where the radical Boko Haram group, which wants to oust the government and impose Islamic law, poses the greatest security threat in years. It was not immediately clear why this particular mosque—located in Konduga town, some 22 miles outside Maiduguri, the capital of Nigeria's Borno state—was targeted, but Boko Haram has in the past attacked mosques whose clerics have spoken out against religious extremism. The group also has attacked Christians outside churches and teachers and schoolchildren, as well as government and military targets. The news came as journalists received a video featuring Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau, who gloats over recent attacks, threatens more, and even says his group is now strong enough to go after the United States.

Penny Costs 2 Cents to Make, Mint Stumped on Fix

(Dec 20, 2012 11:39 AM) A penny costs more than two cents and a nickel costs more than 11 cents to make and distribute. The Mint is trying to figure out how to produce coins more cheaply without sparing our change's quality and durability, or altering its size and appearance—and its initial findings aren't too encouraging. A 400-page report presented last week to Congress outlines nearly two years of trials conducted at the Mint in Philadelphia, where a variety of metal recipes were put through their paces in the massive facility's high-speed coin-making machinery. The test stampings were then examined for color, finish, resistance to wear and corrosion, hardness, and magnetic properties. Evaluations of 29 different alloys concluded that none met the ideal list of attributes. The Treasury Department concluded that additional study was needed before it could endorse any changes, and more test runs with different alloys are likely in the coming year. Neat tidbit: When testing possible new metal combinations, the Mint uses nonsense dies, images that don't exist on legal tender ... and a bonneted Martha Washington is apparently a favorite subject. (In other penny-saving news, could Congress do away with the dollar bill?)

Soul Pioneer Solomon Burke Dead at 70

(Oct 10, 2010 5:52 AM CDT) The so-called king of rock and soul, Solomon Burke, has died at the age of 70 at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, apparently soon after his LA flight arrived. The cause of death is unknown. Burke rose to prominence in the '60s when he penned Everybody Needs Somebody to Love, recorded the hit Cry to Me for Dirty Dancing, was a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, and had won a Grammy as recently as 2002, reports the AP. Solomon still toured extensively, and was due to perform in Amsterdam. It's like turning back the hands of time instantly, he writes on his website. We can be in the middle of singing something from my recent Like A Fire album, and they'll call out Stupidity from 1957 and we're back 50 years! Burke is survived by a whopping 21 children, 90 grandchildren, and 19 great-grandchildren. Loving people, he recently said, is what I do.

2 Bombings Kill 24 Near Afghan Defense Ministry

(Sep 5, 2016 10:00 AM CDT) Twin bombings near the Afghan Defense Ministry have killed at least 24 people, including two security force generals, in an attack claimed by the Taliban, the AP reports. A Public Health Ministry spokesman says another 91 people were wounded in Monday's attack in central Kabul; Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi says a district police chief and five other police officers were among those killed. A Defense Ministry spokesman, who says the second bombing was caused by a suicide attacker who struck the area of the first blast after security forces gathered there, adds the attack took place as ministry employees were leaving their offices for the day. A senior police investigator says the suicide attacker was wearing a military uniform. Dozens of ambulances raced to the scene after the blasts, and security forces blocked off roads leading to the area. A 34-year-old witness describes the scene of chaos he witnessed. The second explosion was so strong, and many people, including security officials, were killed and wounded, he says. President Ashraf Ghani condemned the attack in a statement, saying, The enemies of Afghanistan have lost their ability to fight the Security and Defense Forces of the country and thus attack highways, cities, mosques, schools, and common people. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid says his group had carried out the attack. The insurgents have been fighting to overthrow the US-backed government for 15 years, and they frequently target Afghan security forces. (A video of a US mom held captive in Afghanistan recently emerged.)

6 People Have Now Accused Yoga Guru of Rape, Assault

(Feb 24, 2015 11:18 AM) Bikram Choudhury, founder of the Bikram style of yoga practiced in sweltering heat, has been a controversial figure for years—but there are now six civil lawsuits that accuse him of rape or assault, the most recent one filed earlier this month, and his yoga empire is divided as a result. Sarah Baughn filed the first complaint two years ago, her allegations of sexual harassment and assault at 2005 training classes hitting the Bikram world like an earthquake, as the New York Times puts it. But more followed, causing some formerly devoted followers to ditch their guru while others have blinders on and remain loyal, says Baughn, now 29. Some studio owners have gotten rid of the name Bikram, but simultaneously, new Bikram studios have continued to open. Baughn's case goes to trial in August. Another case involving a former student who says Choudhury raped her during a 2010 teacher-training will be allowed to move forward, after an LA judge this month cleared challenges from Choudhury's lawyers. And on Feb. 13, Canadian Jill Lawler filed a lawsuit also accusing Choudhury of rape at a 2010 teacher-training. She was 18 at the time, and says that Choudhury praised her during the training in Las Vegas, and that he first started groping her while she massaged him for hours. Afraid to say anything and feeling she had to complete the course, she says she continued on after an apology from Choudhury, but weeks later, Choudhury allegedly sexually assaulted her in his hotel room—and multiple times thereafter, up until February 2013, the lawsuit says. Choudhury denies all allegations.

Eli Lilly to Pay $1.4B, Plead Guilty in Marketing Scheme

(Jan 15, 2009 3:50 PM) Eli Lilly will plead guilty to a federal misdemeanor and pay $1.42 billion to settle investigations into its marketing of an anti-schizophrenia drug, Reuters reports. The company promoted Zyprexa to the elderly as an anti-dementia pharmaceutical, though studies questioned its effectiveness in treating Alzheimer’s. Eli Lilly had an army of 2,000 sales representatives engaged in nothing but off-label marketing, a US attorney says. The company will pay $615 million to settle a criminal probe and about $800 million to settle civil investigations, and will plead guilty to advertising the drug for unapproved conditions. In 1999-2001, Eli Lilly marketed Zyprexa to nursing homes and doctors, but schizophrenia is rare in the elderly and the drug can cause weight gain.

Ex-Model Makes History With $97M Divorce Settlement

(Jul 9, 2016 2:31 PM CDT) Former model Christina Estrada made history Friday when she received a stunning $97 million divorce settlement from a British court, the Telegraph reports. And even that was less than half what she was asking. The settlement includes cash and assets from her ex, Saudi businessman Walid Juffali, and is the largest in English history. This is what I am accustomed to, the Guardian quotes Estrada as telling the judge. It is difficult to convey the extraordinary level of luxury and opulence we were fortunate enough to enjoy. Estrada's initial request included annual payments of $152,000 for handbags, $780,000 for renting private jets, $107,000 for cocktail dresses, and more. The court says the final settlement meets Estrada's reasonable needs. Estrada, a US citizen, says she knows how all this is perceived in the wider world. Having grown up in a middle-class family … I am fully aware that the spectacular life Walid and I led was immensely fortunate and rarefied, the Guardian quotes the former model as saying in a statement. In 2012, Juffali secretly married a 25-year-old model with whom he started a family (Islamic law allows Muslim men to have multiple spouses). Two years later, he divorced Estrada, again without her knowledge. Estrada's lawyers had argued Juffali is worth $10 billion, but the 61-year-old businessman, who is currently being treated for terminal cancer, claims it's more like $147 million, the New York Daily News reports. (A US divorce settlement dwarfs the amount involved here.)

Kidnappers Demand $10K Ransom for 14-Year-Old Girl

(Sep 18, 2013 7:18 AM CDT) The family of an abducted 14-year-old Georgia girl has received a ransom demand from her kidnappers, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Ayvani Hope Perez's family is trying to raise the $10,000 demanded by the two men who originally broke into their home early yesterday looking for jewelry and money. Police say the family did not know the men before the home invasion; an anonymous law enforcement official confirmed the rare ransom demand. Sources tell WSB-TV that authorities have been in contact with the suspects. My brother doesn’t have a clue. He doesn’t have any money like that, says Ayvani's aunt, who took her brother to the El Paso, Texas, airport so he could fly to Clayton County to be with Maria Perez, his ex-wife and Ayvani's mother. Maria Perez was hospitalized yesterday after several fainting spells. Police have been receiving numerous tips, an officer says, and the FBI is aiding in the search.

Toyota Snowed Regulators to Save $100M

(Feb 22, 2010 2:33 AM) For Toyota's president the timing couldn't be worse. The day before Akio Toyoda prepares to testify before congress on his safety-riddled products, an internal memo has surfaced in which the firm touts its savings by getting regulators to agree to a cheap but ineffective recall. The 2009 document claims Toyota saved over $100 million by framing the issue of sudden acceleration in several models as a problem with the size of the floor mats. Toyota released a statement saying that one internal presentation does not accurately represent its commitment to safety, Reuters reports. But the memo reflects Toyota's slow, reluctant response to a widespread and dangerous safety hazard, said an official with the Department of Transportation.

Weed Potency Hits 30-Year High

(Jun 12, 2008 8:11 AM CDT) Today's marijuana is the strongest crop since the heyday of Cheech and Chong, a new study finds. University researchers who analyzed seized samples dating back to the '70s found the level of active ingredient THC hit an average of 9.6% last year, up almost 1% from the year before and more than double the 4% recorded for 1983, the AP reports. The rise in potency, attributed to new growing techniques, has health officials worried. The  director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which funded the study, warned that the stronger weed could trigger changes in the brain leading to addiction and mental illness. A professor who serves as an adviser to a pro-marijuana group said that the danger was overstated, as users tend to adjust to stronger marijuana by smoking less of it.

Russian Jet Passed Within 1K Yards of US Warship

(Apr 14, 2014 11:43 AM CDT) A Russian fighter jet made multiple, close-range passes near an American warship in the Black Sea for more than 90 minutes Saturday amid escalating tensions in the region, a US military official said today. In the first public account of the incident, the official said the Russian Fencer flew within 1,000 yards of the USS Donald Cook, a Navy destroyer, at about 500 feet above sea level. Ship commanders considered the actions provocative and in violation of international agreements, prompting the ship to issue several radio queries and warnings. The fighter appeared to be unarmed and never was in danger of coming in contact with the ship, said the official, and the passes, which occurred in the early evening there, ended without incident. The USS Donald Cook has been conducting routine operations in international waters east of Romania. The ship, which carries helicopters, was deployed to the Black Sea on Thursday, in the wake of the Russian military takeover of Ukraine's Crimea region and ongoing unrest there. The official also said that a Russian Navy ship, a frigate, has been shadowing the US warship, remaining within visual distance but not close enough to be unsafe. Ukraine's acting President Oleksandr Turchynov today called for the deployment of United Nations peacekeeping troops in the east of the country, where pro-Russian insurgents have occupied buildings in nearly 10 cities, and EU foreign ministers are meeting today to consider additional sanctions against Russian officials.

Cops Quickly Recover Stolen $50M Van Gogh

(Aug 21, 2010 4:21 PM CDT) A $50 million painting by Vincent van Gogh has gone missing from a museum in Cairo, and it's not the first time. Police in Egypt have put airports and seaports on alert for the artwork, which goes by Poppy Flowers or Vase With Flowers. It's not clear how thieves got it, but the AP notes that it was stolen once before in 1978. Authorities didn't get it back for two years, when it turned up in Kuwait. And, cue the intrigue music, Egyptian authorities never made clear what happened to those original thieves.

We'll Know if Palin's Running in 67 Days

(Aug 26, 2011 11:24 AM CDT) It may seem like the will-she-or-won’t-she speculation surrounding Sarah Palin will never end, but take heart: There are some deadlines even Palin must adhere to, Molly Ball of Politico points out. Palin absolutely must make up her mind by Oct. 31—that’s the deadline to get on the primary ballot in Florida. The deadline for South Carolina is the next day, and New Hampshire and Illinois follow shortly thereafter. It isn’t inconceivable that somebody could get into the race as late as the first or second week in October and manage to get it all done, says one lawyer who handled ballot-access issues for Bill Clinton and others. But any later than that would be essentially impossible.

Google CFO Gets $70M for Leaving Wall St.

(Mar 27, 2015 2:48 AM CDT) If Google paid its employees in gold, Ruth Porat would be getting more than 3,500 pounds of it for leaving Morgan Stanley to join the company. Instead, she's getting more than $70 million in stock bonuses and cash to become Google's new chief financial officer, reports the Wall Street Journal, which notes that the $30 million the native Californian will receive this year alone is more than her old boss on Wall Street makes, unless he got a significant raise from his 2013 earnings of $18 million. According to Google, Porat will receive $650,000 in base pay this year, a $5 million signing bonus, and a $25 million stock grant, which will be followed by a $40 million stock grant next year. Porat's move is part of what Forbes describes as an apparent brain drain from Wall Street to Silicon Valley, with the moves westward helped by the tech giants' large stockpiles of compensation options, which can be used to pay bonuses without the same scrutiny Wall Street firms receive. Google investors appear to believe Porat is worth the money: Shares jumped 2% this week after her hiring was announced, and investors hope she can bring a more disciplined approach to expenses to the company, according to the Journal. (In completely different Google news, the company might be planning a high-tech deodorant.)

Week After Everest Horror, 150 Begin Final Ascent

(May 25, 2012 6:35 AM CDT) The deaths of four people in a Mount Everest traffic jam last weekend haven't stopped a new crowd from pushing toward the peak. More than 150 people plan to attempt to reach the top this weekend, and already today, a number of climbers have made it, an official tells the AP. The AP notes that there have been no reports of trouble thus far, and weather conditions continue to be favorable. This is the last chance for climbers to attempt to reach the summit. If they can't, then there is not going to be another opportunity this season, the official notes. The climbing season normally runs from late March to the first week in June, but this year the season's first clear conditions were only last weekend.

Welcome to 10/10/10

(Oct 10, 2010 8:57 AM CDT) So it's October 10, 2010, aka 10/10/10, and what's the big deal about it? Wedding bells are ringing more than usual, reports LiveScience, as couples hop on the novelty wagon today. And much like with 09/09/09 and 08/08/08, the Chinese regard today as an especially auspicious day—perhaps moreso because the number 10 represents a state of completion or perfection. And over at Gather.com, Nick Falana notes the binary implications of the day: 101010 (base two (binary)) equals 42 (base ten). And, as we all know, 42 is the answer to life, the universe, and everything as asserted by Douglas Adams in the book Life, The Universe, And Everything. So TODAY = 10/10/10 = 42 = THE ANSWER to life, the universe, and everything. Whew. Who knew?

FBI Offers $25K Reward for Missing NH Girl

(Jul 30, 2011 12:46 PM CDT) The FBI says it isn't giving up the search for 11-year-old Celina Cass of New Hampshire, who hasn't been since Monday night. The agency offered a $25,000 reward today, on top of a $5,000 reward offered by a private citizen, for information leading to the girl, reports CNN. We are still aggressively, aggressively searching and hoping to bring Celina Cass home, said an FBI official. Celina's family says they last saw her in her room Monday night using the computer. Friends have set up a Facebook page here.

Lifeguard, 61, Fired After Rejecting Speedo

(Aug 18, 2011 3:31 PM CDT) It’s a swim suit: A 61-year-old lifeguard is taking New York state to court over his bathing trunks. Roy Lester says he was fired for refusing to don a Speedo for a yearly swim test, the New York Daily News reports. He preferred to wear a less revealing bathing suit. I wore a Speedo when I was in my 20s, he says. But come on. There should be a law prohibiting anyone over the age of 50 from wearing a Speedo. He argues that the Long Island beach where he worked was using the rule to shed its older lifeguards—though 80% of them are over 40, he estimates. They were just trying to get rid of the older guys. To me the whole key to being a good lifeguard is experience. An older guy sees a save before anyone else. You know the water. Indeed, I could have passed that test —a 100-yard swim in less than 75 seconds— in dungarees. (Click to see a photo of Lester in non-Speedo trunks.)

Obama Declares Major Disaster Area as Sandy Kills 16

(Oct 30, 2012 4:58 AM CDT) Superstorm Sandy is slowly moving inland, leaving a trail of devastation across the Northeast even as President Obama quickly declared major disaster areas in New York and New Jersey. The storm has killed at least 16 people in seven states, adding to the 69 people it killed in the Caribbean. More than 6 million people in 13 states and DC are without power and transportation has been paralyzed across a huge area.

2 Dead as Russian Jet Loses Engines, Crash Lands

(Dec 4, 2010 8:33 AM) A Russian jet that lost two engines at 30,000 feet lost its remaining engine as it crash-landed outside Moscow today, killing two people and injuring another 40, reports the AP. The cause of engine failure was unclear, officials said. The Dagestan Airlines Tu-154 is the same model that crashed in Russia in April, killing Polish President Lech Kaczynski and everyone aboard. Aeroflot recently retired all its Tu-154s over safety concerns, and the jet, a standard for small Russian airlines, has been banned for excessive noise from Europe.

17 Burned Bodies Found in Cartel-Plagued Sinaloa

(Nov 24, 2011 5:38 AM) Attacks in Sinaloa, the home state of Mexico's most powerful drug cartel, left 24 people dead and 17 of the victims' bodies were found burned in two pickup trucks. Neighbors called police after seeing a pickup truck on fire early yesterday in the state capital Culiacan; investigators found 12 bodies in the back of the truck, some of them handcuffed and wearing bulletproof vests. Minutes after the first fire was reported, authorities received another call about a truck burning behind a store. Police found four bodies inside that vehicle. All the victims had been shot. Hours later, Mexico's federal Interior Department issued a statement saying it energetically condemned the killings, and placed the number of dead in the two vehicles at 17. Also yesterday in Sinaloa, four men were shot to death in the town of Mocorito and another three were killed in the town of Guamuchil. Sinaloa is the cradle of the powerful Sinaloa cartel, led by Mexico's most wanted fugitive, Joaquin El Chapo Guzman. Authorities are trying to determine if some of yesterday's victims were part of a group of nine people, including three police officers, who were kidnapped in the town of Angostura on Monday.

H1N1: Worst is Yet to Come

(May 4, 2009 4:26 AM CDT) Britain's health minister has cautioned doctors to prepare for a much stronger version of the H1N1 virus to surface this autumn, the Telegraph reports. With 985 cases confirmed in 20 countries so far, the World Health Organization is also countering Mexico’s optimism that the virus is on the wane with a warning that it could rebound in an even nastier form, CNN reports. In 1918 the Spanish flu showed a surge in the spring, and then disappeared in the summer months, only to return in the autumn of 1918 with a vengeance, warned a WHO spokesman. It eventually killed up to 50 million people.

Iraq Suicide Attacks Kill at Least 48

(Jul 18, 2010 9:25 AM CDT) Twin suicide bombings killed 48 people today, including dozens from a government-backed, anti-al-Qaeda militia who were lined up to get their paychecks near a military base southwest of Baghdad, Iraqi officials said. The bombings were the deadliest in a series of attacks across Iraq today aimed at the Sons of Iraq, a Sunni group also known as Sahwa that works with government forces to fight al-Qaeda. The attacks highlighted the stiff challenges the country faces as the US scales back its forces in Iraq. The first attack this morning killed at least 45 people and wounded more than 40. In the second attack, a suspected militant stormed a Sahwa headquarters near the Syrian border and opened fire. Sahwa fighters returned fire, wounding the attacker, who then blew himself up as they gathered around him, killing three fighters and wounding six others. In a third attack, gunmen in a speeding car opened fire on a Sahwa checkpoint about 35 miles south of Baghdad, wounding one. The Sahwa fighters have played a key role in the reduction of violence in Iraq since they first rose up against their former al-Qaeda allies in late 2006.

FDNY 'Hero' Killed Seeking Victims 19 Floors Up

(Jul 6, 2014 8:32 AM CDT) The Fire Department of New York is mourning the death of a lieutenant who became trapped while looking for victims in a public-housing high-rise blaze, the first to die in the line of duty in more than two years. Lt. Gordon Ambelas died yesterday after suffering multiple injuries while on the 19th floor of the 21-story building in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, officials said. We lost a real hero tonight and our hearts are heavy, Mayor Bill de Blasio said of the 14-year veteran of the force. I ask every New Yorker to keep the lieutenant in their prayers. Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro told reporters that Ambelas sustained multiple injuries after he went into an apartment on fire to look for victims. He was found unconscious inside of the apartment and was removed by fellow firefighters, de Blasio said. Ambelas went into the apartment to search for life and did not come out, and by the time his brother firefighters found him, it was too late for him, Nigro said. Ambelas, a 40-year-old married father of two daughters from Staten Island, was honored last month for helping to save a 7-year-old boy. Ambelas said at the time that the incident shows that FDNY members are always ready to help others. It was great teamwork all around.

Why Are We Bailing Out Car 1.0?

(Dec 10, 2008 12:30 PM) In the modern global economy, Thomas Friedman has a simple rule: Whatever can be done, will be done, and if you’re not the one doing it, someone else is. Detroit’s automakers aren’t exploring new business models, so other companies are. When one of them clicks, this bailout will be remembered as pouring billions into the CD business on the eve of the birth of the iPod. Much as Steve Jobs grasped the shifting music paradigm, a San Francisco-based company called Better Place wants to shift the mobility paradigm to one similar to a cell phone carrier. Customers lease cars like phones, then pay Better Place to access its network of charging stations. Don’t expect this kind of innovation out of Detroit, which is producing some cars with worse mileage than the Model-T. They’re Car 1.0. Let’s look for 2.0.

Boko Haram Seizes Another 20 Girls

(Jun 10, 2014 1:18 AM CDT) The Nigerian government is certain to face yet more tough questions after suspected Boko Haram militants seized another 20 girls and young women just a few miles from where they kidnapped hundreds of schoolgirls in April. The leader of a vigilante group set up to resist the Islamic militants says gunmen arrived at a nomadic settlement in Nigeria's northeast late last week and forced young girls into a truck, the Guardian reports. The vigilantes say government forces were nowhere to be seen during the attack and they have nothing but homemade rifles against Boko Haram's machine guns and rocket launchers. A few of the girls seized in April have escaped, but nearly 300 are still missing. Boko Haram raids on villages in the region last week are believed to have killed hundreds and despite the government's promise to protect the region and insistence that the military has performed valiantly, the militants appear to be operating unchecked. These people have a free hand to do whatever they want, the director of the advocacy group Center for Democracy and Development tells the Wall Street Journal. It's just that simple.

Dow Gains 47 in Light Trading

(Dec 26, 2008 3:29 PM) Stocks edged higher today on very thin post-holiday trading volume, with energy firms seeing a boost from crude-oil prices that broke a 4-day losing streak, MarketWatch reports. The Dow gained 47.07 to close at 8,515.55. The Nasdaq climbed 5.34, settling at 1,530.24, and the S&P 500 added 7.38 to close at 872.80. A retail report estimated that December sales fell 8% from last year. Oil climbed $2.36, to $37.90 a barrel, after losing 33% for the month. Exxon rose 1.9%. General Motors gained 12.6% after the Fed voted on Christmas Eve to allow its financing arm, GMAC, to transform into a bank holding company in order to access bailout funds.

22 Fans Crushed at Ivory Coast World Cup Qualifier

(Mar 30, 2009 1:37 AM CDT) At least 22 people were killed and 132 wounded in a stampede yesterday at a packed Ivory Coast soccer match, the Telegraph reports. The panic was sparked as fans without tickets broke down a stadium wall and poured inside. Victims were treated just yards away as Ivory Coast beat Malawi 5 to 0 in the World Cup qualifier.

Scientist Who Cloned Dolly Dead at 58

(Oct 12, 2012 8:42 AM CDT) A British cell biologist central to the cloning of the first adult mammal died at his home in England last Friday, aged 58. Keith Campbell and colleague Ian Wilmut announced their success with cloning Dolly the sheep in 1997, achieving what experts had believed impossible—and sparking a major ethical debate over the possibility of cloning humans. Campbell himself was deeply opposed to the idea, the New York Times notes in its obituary for the scientist. Why would anyone want to clone, anyway? It’s far too expensive and a lot less fun than the original method, he once said. Campbell, who taught at the University of Nottingham beginning in 1999, saw cloning as a means to foster animals capable of creating medications or organs that humans could use. He had a lifelong interest in animals. While Wilmut was listed as the lead author of the research behind Dolly, he says Campbell was responsible for 66% of the project. Indeed, it was Campbell's idea to attempt to revert specialized adult cells into undifferentiated forms, making the endeavor possible. Campbell's cause of death hasn't been publicized.

Last 12-Month Stretch Warmest on Record

(May 9, 2012 2:26 AM CDT) It's getting hot out there. The 12-month period from May 2011 to April 2012 was the warmest since records began in 1895, according to the NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center. The year-long stretch was 0.1°F warmer than the previous record-setter, November 1999-October 2000, and was 2.8°F warmer than the average May-April period over the last century, reports the Washington Post. NOAA scientists say that because last May was abnormally cool, the 12-month record will probably be broken as soon as next month. The NOAA's April climate report found temperature records being broken around the country, with the US as a whole recording its third-warmest April, and no fewer than 332 locations hitting their warmest April temperature on record. The big story moving forward, the agency's lead researcher tells MSNBC, could be lack of precipitation and the development of drought going into summer and the agricultural growing season. Some of the regions we are keeping an eye on: the Southeast, the Southern Rockies and Southern Plains, and the Northeast.

White House: Jobs Won't Be Back Until 2017

(Sep 2, 2011 6:56 AM CDT) If you’re waiting for the economy to get back to normal, the White House has a message for you: Don’t hold your breath. The White House budget office released its midyear economic forecast yesterday, and it wasn’t pretty, predicting that unemployment will remain at 9% next year, and won’t return to the more comfortable 5% range until 2017, the New York Times reports. The numbers are roughly in line with private sector estimates, but represent an acknowledgment of one of Obama’s reelection challenges and act as fuel for his push for new spending and tax cuts to bolster growth. Today will bring a more concrete indicator of actual conditions, however, in the form of the Labor Department’s August jobs report. Economists are only expecting about 60,000 new jobs to have been added—below the 150,000 the US needs just to keep up with population growth. (Update: Bad news.)

Avatar Rakes In $1B

(Jan 4, 2010 4:43 AM) Cutting-edge techie-dream movie Avatar has netted $1 billion in ticket sales in record time as holiday film goers spent another weekend packing theaters. Avatar raked in $63.8 million over the New Year's weekend to boost it over the billion-dollar milestone in just 17 days. Sherlock Holmes, Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, It's Complicated and The Blind Side rounded out the top five movies of the weekend.

Dear Top 1%: Payback Is a ...

(Apr 6, 2011 1:55 PM CDT) Revolution is raging in the Middle East, in societies that all have one thing in common: 1% or less of their population controls the lion’s share of the wealth. As we gaze out at the popular fervor in the streets, one question to ask ourselves is this: When will it come to America? asks former World Bank chief economist Joseph Stiglitz in Vanity Fair. Because it’s no use pretending America isn’t the same kind of society. Our wealthiest 1% have unlimited political power. What’s more, they've used that power to the detriment of the other 99%. The middle class has seen its income fall, unemployment is staggeringly high for the young, and we have less upward class mobility than most European countries. In the long run this is bad for the economy. The top 1% may have it all but there is one thing that money doesn’t seem to have bought: an understanding that their fate is bound up with how the other 99% live, Stiglitz writes. Throughout history, this is something that the top 1% eventually do learn. Too late.

Whitney's Comeback Album Out Sept. 1

(Jun 4, 2009 1:33 PM CDT) Whitney Houston is releasing an album Sept. 1, and she's getting a little comeback help from today's R&B/hip-hop kings. The untitled Arista record is rumored to include collaborations with will.i.am, Sean Garett, and Akon, Billboard reports. During the run-up to the big release—her last effort was 2002's Just Whitney—selected tracks will preview on WhitneyHouston.com.

Calif. Gets $4B as Feds Turn on Stimulus Tap

(Apr 17, 2009 5:34 PM CDT) Education Secretary Arne Duncan today released nearly $4 billion to California, the first state to benefit from a special fund for states that was created by the economic stimulus law. The fund will replenish state budgets that have been cut or threatened because of the recession. Most of the money is intended for schools, since education accounts for a big share of state spending. President Obama promises it will rescue hundreds of thousands of teaching jobs. More states are expected to receive money from the fund in the coming days. In California, state officials had initially said they could use the money to fill budget holes. But the state's congressional delegation pressed Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to distribute the money directly to school districts.

Gunmen Raid Mediterranean Beach Resort, Kill 37

(Jun 26, 2015 8:56 AM CDT) A young man unfurled an umbrella and pulled out a Kalashnikov, opening fire on European sunbathers and killing at least 37 at a Tunisian beach resort—one of three deadly attacks today from Europe to the Middle East that followed a call to violence by ISIS extremists. The killings in the Tunisian resort of Sousse happened at about the same time as a bombing at a Shiite mosque in Kuwait and an attack on a US-owned factory in France that included a beheading. It was unclear if the violence was linked but it came days after the ISIS militants urged their followers to make Ramadan a month of calamities for the nonbelievers. In all, at least 63 people were killed. Sousse, some 90 miles from Tunis, is a popular resort for both Tunisians and Europeans. Gary Pine, a British tourist, describes his experience with today's attack to Sky News. He says he and his family were on the beach and thought fire crackers were being set off. There was a mass exodus off the beach, he says, noting that his son said he had seen someone get shot on the beach. Pine said guests at his hotel were first told to lock themselves in their rooms and later to gather in the lobby. Tunisia has been battered by attacks by militants, most recently in March when two Tunisians coming from Libya killed 22 people at the national museum.

Democracy Corps Poll: "Obama is socialist" by 55%

(NoneDate) Writing in the New Republic, William Galston unveils the results of a most recent Democracy Corps poll taken on the public's perception of President Obama. The left-leaning polling firm, headed by James Carville and Stan Greenberg, found that 55% of those questioned agreed that Obama is a socialist, versus 39% who do not. By a similar margin, those polled don't believe he has realistic solutions to the country's problems. Further bad news for the president include a 51% disapproval rate and majority perception that he's disconnected from the responders' values. This spells bad news for Democrats in the November elections, from which, Galston believes, they can't recover before the midterms. Read the full article.

Charlie Hunnam Splits With 50 Shades

(Oct 13, 2013 10:28 AM CDT) Maybe the mournful howls about the 50 Shades of Grey cast were in fact heeded, because Charlie Hunnam will no longer portray Christian Grey in the movie version of the naughty EL James trilogy, reports People. The official reason behind the switch is not so much Twitter haters, as Hunnam’s immersive TV schedule, which is not allowing him time to adequately prepare for the role of Christian Grey, as per a Universal Pictures statement. But a search for the new Grey is on; People says it's unknown whether this will push back filming, which was set to begin next month. Paging Matt Bomer?

18th-Century Chateau Razed 'By Mistake'

(Dec 5, 2012 2:22 PM) Residents of a sleepy French village in Bordeaux have been left dumbfounded after discovering their local 18th-century chateau was completely bulldozed by mistake. The mayor's office in Yvrac said today that workers who were hired to renovate the grand 140,000-sqaure-foot estate in November and raze a small building mixed up them up. The Chateau de Bellevue was Yvrac's pride and joy, a former owner says. The whole village is in shock. How can this construction firm make such as mistake? The chateau's current owner, Russian businessman Dmitry Stroskin, was away and returned home to discover his beloved chateau—which had boasted a grand hall that could seat some 200 people—was nothing but rubble.

Boston Station Won't Air Leno at 10PM

(Apr 3, 2009 8:07 AM CDT) NBC’s Boston affiliate is refusing to air Jay Leno’s 10pm talk show when it begins in September, the Boston Globe reports. Though the station owner claims that a unique agreement with NBC allows this option, a network president called the move a flagrant violation of their contract and threatened to strip the station of its affiliation. In Leno’s place would be a local news show that the station believes would draw better ratings. We feel we have a real opportunity with running the news at 10pm, said the owner. We don't think the Leno show is going to be effective in primetime. It will be very adverse to our finances.

China Buys 7.4M Acres of Ukraine

(Sep 23, 2013 7:27 PM CDT) As demand for food grows in China—and farmland shrinks—the country has signed a deal with Ukraine that will eventually see it plowing into 3 million hectares (that's about 7.4 million acres) of the Ukrainian farmland. China will initially receive 100,000 hectares—an area about the size of Hong Kong—and increasingly acquire more over the next 50 years, the South China Morning Post reports. Quartz notes that 3 million hectares is 5% of Ukraine's total land, and 9% of its arable farmland. The total area China will eventually be farming is roughly the size of Massachusetts or Belgium. The land will be used mainly for growing crops and raising pigs, the Post reports, then the produce will be sold to two Chinese state-owned grain companies at favorable prices. The price tag on the deal is unknown, though a local newspaper reported last month that it would be more than $2.6 billion—a unprecedented foreign investment for Ukraine's agricultural industry. China already has about two million hectares of overseas farmland, according to an agricultural researcher in Beijing, but Ukraine will eventually be home to its largest farm project abroad. (Click for the unusual story of a much, much smaller land purchase.)

Fed Dished $3T in Aid to Foreign Banks

(Dec 2, 2010 2:45 AM) The beneficiaries of the Federal Reserve's $3.3 trillion in emergency programs during the financial crisis aren't names you'd expect to see: Foreign banks including UBS and Barclays ranked among the biggest borrowers under the Commercial Paper Funding Facility, sparking more debate over the central bank's role, Bloomberg reports. A helping hand also went to companies that most wouldn't link to Wall Street, according to some 21,000 loan records released yesterday: With credit frozen, the Fed also purchased commercial paper from the likes of GE, Verizon, and Harley-Davidson. The Fed notes that none of the emergency programs have lost money, but that hasn't done much to appease critics. Has the Federal Reserve become the central bank of the world? asked Bernie Sanders, the independent senator from Vermont who authored the part of the financial reform law that required the Fed to disclose the transactions. We’re talking about huge sums of money going to bail out large foreign banks.

11 Artists Accused of Stealing Music

(Apr 28, 2013 3:34 PM CDT) Even such a legendary band as the Beatles once found itself in a copyright infringement mess, when the band was accused of pilfering the beat and lyrics for Come Together from a Chuck Berry song. Huffington Post rounds up 11 musicians who have been accused of stealing parts of songs from other musicians. Check out a sampling in the gallery, or click for the complete list.

Postal Service Suffers Record $15.9B Loss

(Nov 16, 2012 1:43 AM) The struggling US Postal Service has posted a record loss of $15.9 billion for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30. The agency defaulted this year on $11.1 billion in health benefits for retirees, and it's suffering as first-class mail, its top source of revenue, falls off, the Wall Street Journal reports. The USPS could run out of cash in a year if lawmakers don't do something, officials say. (But it thinks it will have enough cash to make it til next fall thanks to record volumes of election-theme material and an expected 20% revenue bump due to holiday shipping. If Congress fails to act, there could be postal slowdowns or shutdowns that would have catastrophic consequences —not just for the Postal Service itself, but for businesses that depend on it, says the head of an advocacy group.

7 Minutes of Danger in Mars Quest

(May 23, 2008 2:52 AM CDT) The latest NASA mission searching for signs of life on Mars comes to a heart-pounding climax Sunday as the Phoenix Lander attempts to touch down at the red planet's pole in a hunt for water. The lander must perform complex maneuvers in which the whole mission is at risk for a full 7 minutes, reports the Christian Science Monitor. Once the lander—a 900-pound jam-packed chemistry lab—has safely touched down, it will excavate 20 inches beneath the surface searching for ice that may reveal whether Mars could have once supported life. The polar regions are where we can understand recent processes, recent climate change and potential habitability, said the mission’s lead investigator.

Egyptian Art Minister Busted in $50M Van Gogh Theft

(Aug 24, 2010 5:20 AM CDT) The Egyptian government's head of fine arts has been arrested and accused of negligence in the theft of a $50 million Van Gogh painting. The work, known as Poppy Flowers or Vase With Flowers, was stolen from a Cairo museum during the day over the weekend. None of the alarms and only seven of the museum's 43 cameras were working, the BBC reports. Several other culture ministry officials have also been detained and at least nine others have been barred from traveling abroad while the investigation continues. The painting—which Egyptian authorities mistakenly said had been recovered soon after its theft—is still missing and security forces have stepped up searches at the country's air and sea ports.

'Lady of the Cells' Dead at 103

(Dec 31, 2012 9:21 AM) Italy has lost a truly fascinating centenarian. Nobel Prize winner Rita Levi-Montalcini died at her home yesterday at age 103, leading Rome's mayor to declare the scientist's death a loss for all of humanity. It may not be much of an exaggeration: The so-called Lady of the Cells faced many obstacles, reports the AP: a father who believed women should not study (she ultimately obtained a degree in medicine and surgery), a Fascist regime (Levi-Montalcini lost her neurobiology job in 1938 when Jews were banned from major professions), and the Nazis, whose 1943 invasion of Italy forced her family to flee to Florence and live underground. But the petite woman's determination was formidable: In the face of the Fascist regime she studied chicken embryos in a makeshift lab in her bedroom. She chose not to marry or have a family—without hesitation or regret, she once said—fearing doing so would weaken her independence. She claimed to sleep no more than three hours a night, and worked well into her final years. That effort produced contributions that were just as formidable. Levi-Montalcini shared the Nobel medicine prize in 1986 with American biochemist Stanley Cohen for their groundbreaking cellular research. Her research increased the understanding of many conditions, including tumors, developmental malformations, and senile dementia.

iPhone 5 Coming in September

(Apr 20, 2011 7:55 AM CDT) The next generation of the iPhone is coming, but not until September, sources tell Reuters. News recently surfaced that Apple probably won't announce its newest phone in June as it normally does; now it looks like production of the new iPhone will begin in July or August and the device will start shipping in September. It is expected to look similar to the iPhone 4, but include a faster processor. Mashable notes that other rumored upgrades to the iPhone 5—if in fact, writes Stan Schroeder, that's what Apple is calling it—include a better camera and bigger screen. Click to see when the white iPhone 4 will be available.

Oscars Double Best-Picture Nominees, to 10

(Jun 24, 2009 2:50 PM CDT) Next year’s Academy Awards will feature 10 contenders for Best Picture, up from five, the Los Angeles Times reports, a return to how the show ran in 1932-43. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences is returning to some of its earlier roots, when a wider field competed for the top award, its academy president says. The move is going to allow Academy voters to recognize and include some of the fantastic movies that often show up in the other Oscar categories, but have been squeezed out of the race for the top prize, Sid Ganis added. The move comes after the Emmys expanded many of its categories from five to six nominations.

Calif. Reaches Deal for $15 Minimum Wage

(Mar 29, 2016 12:03 AM CDT) California legislators and labor unions have reached a tentative agreement that will take the state's minimum wage to $15 an hour, a move that would make for the largest statewide minimum in the nation by far. Everyone's been operating in good faith and we hope to get it through the Legislature, Democratic state Sen. Mark Leno tells the AP. Gov. Jerry Brown sent the proposal to the Legislature on Monday, and it could be back on his desk as soon as Thursday. Under the proposal, the minimum wage would rise gradually, reaching $15 by 2022. After that, wages would rise with inflation, though in tough economic times the governor could delay increases. The minimum wage in California and Massachusetts is already $10 an hour, topped only by $10.50 in Washington, DC. I'm hoping that what happens in California will not stay in California, but spread all across the country, Brown told reporters at the state Capitol, per the Los Angeles Times. It's a matter of economic justice. It makes sense. If the Legislature approves a minimum-wage package, it would avoid taking the issue to the ballot. One union-backed initiative has already qualified for the ballot, and a second, competing measure is also trying to qualify. (Los Angeles already plans to raise the minimum wage to $15 by 2020.)

Trader's $400M Loss Behind Merrill's London 'Irregularity'

(Mar 6, 2009 3:40 PM) A rogue Merrill Lynch trader appears to have posted some $400 million in undisclosed losses in recent months, the Financial Times reports, covering his tracks with the irregularity the firm’s London branch is currently investigating. Alexis Stenfors, now suspended, reported $120 million in gains in 2008’s fourth quarter to cover for significant losses, the Times of London adds. Merrill, now owned by Bank of America, says it believes the risks surrounding possible losses are under control. A lawyer for Stenfors told the New York Times yesterday that the matter was a misunderstanding and that his client was cooperating with investigators.

Baseball Will Add Two Wild-Card Teams to the Playoffs in 2012 or 2013

(Nov 17, 2011 5:39 PM) That soul-crushing loss by the Red Sox on the last game of the season this year might have been just another game had this been in effect a little earlier: Major League Baseball is adding two-wild card teams to the playoffs, maybe next year but by 2013 at the latest, reports USA Today. That means a total of 10 teams will qualify. Another change announced by commissioner Bud Selig: Houston will switch to the American League in 2013, giving the AL and NL 15 teams apiece. Click for more.

14 Confirmed Dead, 176 Missing in Wash. Mudslide

(Mar 25, 2014 12:27 AM CDT) The number of people missing or unaccounted for after a mudslide that wiped out a riverside neighborhood in Washington state has soared to 176 from 108, with 14 now confirmed dead. The chief of Snohomish County's Department of Emergency Management says the list is still vague and he is sure the final number of victims will be lower, though area residents say they know entire families that are still missing, the Seattle Times reports. Others on the missing list include repairmen who were out on jobs and a group of girls who were at a slumber party. Firefighters, police officers, heavy equipment, and even a hovercraft are being used in the search effort, and rescuers say they still hold out hope of finding people alive, NBC reports. In some places, searchers have been sinking in the mud, which can measure up to 20 feet deep. One volunteer firefighter says many tragic stories from the scene remain to be told. It's much worse than everyone’s been saying, he says. The slide is about a mile wide. Entire neighborhoods are just gone. When the slide hit the river, it was like a tsunami.

Stolen Motorcycle Found, 46 Years Later

(Nov 5, 2013 4:50 PM) Authorities say a Nebraska man is getting his motorcycle back—46 years after it was stolen from his backyard. US Customs and Border Protection say the black and blue 1953 Triumph Tiger 100 was recovered last week at the Port of Los Angeles. It was on its way to Japan, with its value listed as $9,000. The bike was reported stolen in February 1967. It was worth $300 then and wasn't insured. The California Highway Patrol will return the bike to its original owner, who is now in his 70s and still lives in Omaha. His name was not released.

Phillies Up 2-0 on Brewers

(Oct 2, 2008 10:46 PM CDT) Shane Victorino's grand slam off a weary C.C. Sabathia blasted the Phillies to a 5-2 win over the Brewers and a 2-0 lead in the NL championship series, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports. The Brewers, who only managed three hits, will put Dave Bush on the mound tomorrow when Milwaukee sees its first postseason game since 1982.

Inside the Battle Over Girls, 4, Switched at Birth

(Nov 26, 2014 8:27 AM) On a day in 2010, two South African mothers each gave birth to a girl at a Johannesburg-area hospital—but they unknowingly took the other's child home after nurses mistakenly switched them. The error came to light last year, when one of the mothers sued her former partner for child support. A DNA test done as part of the claim revealed the girl wasn't the man's baby—nor was she the woman's daughter. Now, one woman wants her biological child back; the other doesn't want to switch. The decision will be up to the North Gauteng High Court, and Reuters reports that a court-appointed expert today sided with the mother who wants to keep the child she's been raising for four years. As Reuters explains, the court requested that the University of Pretoria's Centre for Child Law make a recommendation as to what would be best for the children, as South African law gives that a good deal of weight. After interviewing the mothers and fathers and clinically assessing the girls, the center's director advised that the children should stay with the parents who have raised them and should also be permitted to have contact with their biological parents. The girls have already met their biological mothers, who have attended counseling sessions together. But the Guardian in May reported that after one mother became unhappy with the process she found a lawyer to take her case. Says the lawyer, She said there are resemblances to herself. She conveyed to me that it was traumatic. No date has been set regarding a final determination. Reuters earlier reported that the hospital has given no explanation for the mix-up. (A wild switched-at-birth case surfaced in Japan last year.)

China Welcomes 2013's 1st Panda Cubs

(Jun 23, 2013 8:19 AM CDT) China has two little bundles of giant panda joy on the ground, twin cubs who were born yesterday to Haizi at the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in Sichuan province. One cub is female, notes the AP, and weighs in at a not-so-hefty 2.79 ounces. Mama bear is still hanging onto her sibling; the two were born 10 minutes apart. Pandas are notoriously horrible at procreation, though China's breeding programs enjoy some success.

10 Celebs Who Needed Interventions

(Nov 23, 2013 8:58 AM) Radar rounds up a list of stars who have faced intervention attempts from family members and friends. In some cases, they went to rehab and got cleaned up—but other cases had a tragic ending. Check out a sampling of 10 of them in the gallery or the full list here.

Apple Sued in China Over War Film From the 1990s

(Jul 2, 2016 10:20 AM CDT) Apple is being sued by a subsidiary of China's broadcasting regulator over a propaganda film more than 20 years old, the AP reports. A Beijing court says the case has been brought by a production center that alleges that Apple has infringed its exclusive online rights to broadcast a film that depicts Chinese fighting against Japanese soldiers in northern China in the early 1930s. The plaintiff is also suing the developer and operator of the Youku HD app available on Apple's App Store that it says enabled users to watch the film and caused it huge economic losses, according to the Beijing Haidian District People's Court. The court says it has accepted the case brought by Movie Satellite Channel Program Production Center that comes under the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film, and Television. The plaintiff alleges that Apple has infringed its exclusive online rights to broadcast Xuebo dixiao, which loosely translates as Bloody Fight with the Fierce Enemy and was first shown in 1994. The production center is also suing Heyi Information and Technology (Beijing) Company Ltd., which developed and operated the Youku HD app, the court said in an online statement Thursday. The app is sold by Youku.com, according to information on Apple's iTunes site. The Youku site is one of China's best known movie and TV program streaming sites and is owned by Youku Tudou Inc. The plaintiff wants the two companies to immediately stop broadcasting the film and is seeking compensation of $7,500 plus its reasonable expenditure of $3,000 in attempting to stop the infringement of its rights, the court said.

Race Covered More Than Past 4 Combined

(Jan 3, 2008 12:52 PM) The nightly network newscasts allotted more minutes to the presidential campaign in 2007 than they did in the pre-election years of 2003, 1999, 1995 and 1991—combined. The big three stations have all seen anchor changes since the last round, but Politico divines other reasons for the rise in airtime. There’s no incumbent running, several hopefuls qualify as celebrities, and Obama and Clinton are groundbreaking candidates. NBC’s Brian Williams said the spike in candidate facetime has forced a level of inspection, introspection, and scrutiny that I have never seen before —and added he was glad not to be running for the office himself. ABC’s George Stephanopoulos dismissed talk of election overkill: I just think we’re giving it the attention it deserves.

96.7% of Homes Have TVs, 1st Drop in 20 Years

(May 3, 2011 12:30 PM CDT) The rocky economy and an upswing in Internet viewing contribute to a surprising new statistic: In America, 96.7% of households have a television set—down from 98.9% previously. It's the first such drop in two decades, the New York Times notes. The Nielsen Company, which collected the data, notes that some low-income households likely cannot afford new digital sets or antennas. In addition, some young people are opting not to purchase a TV when they move out on their own, instead watching shows and movies on the Internet. For that reason, Nielsen may start including Internet viewers in its number of television households, which the company uses to determine ratings, but says it will not redefine the term without input from its clients. A similar decline in TV-owning homes occurred after a recession in 1992, and Nielsen notes the trend was reversed when the economy recovered.

Here's Samsung's 'Ultra HD' TV for ... $20K

(Jan 8, 2013 3:44 PM) Samsung has revealed a TV to make your HDTV look old-hat. At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the tech giant is displaying its 85-inch Ultra HD TV, which analysts expect will run you a mere $20,000 when it ships later this year. Ultra HD—likely the future of television, notes USA Today—offers four times the pixel count of a 1080p HDTV. According to a Samsung exec, its new model is a statement piece, featuring a quad-core processor and a Smart Hub interface. The Smart Hub is made up of panels that show what's on right now, your own photos, apps like Netflix, and social media feeds. It works with a touch panel remote and voice commands, and if you've got other Samsung devices, they can work together, perhaps allowing you to control your air conditioner via the TV. My initial impression of Samsung's new Smart Hub is positive, though, as always, you can't really judge these things until you use it outside the boundaries of a trade show, writes Edward C. Baig.

John Paul Who? Record 6M Turn Out for Francis

(Jan 18, 2015 6:11 AM) A record 6 million people poured into Manila's rain-soaked streets and its biggest park today as Pope Francis ended his Asian pilgrimage with an appeal for Filipinos to protect their young from sin and vice so they can become missionaries of the faith. The Vatican received the figure officially from local authorities and said it was a record, surpassing the 5 million who turned out for St. John Paul II's final Mass in the same park in 1995. Francis dedicated the final homily of his weeklong Asian trip to children. It was a reflection of the importance that the Vatican places on Asia as one of the few places where Catholic numbers are growing—and on the Philippines as the region's largest Catholic nation. We need to see each child as a gift to be welcomed, cherished and protected, Francis said in his homily. And we need to care for our young people, not allowing them to be robbed of hope and condemned to a life on the streets. Francis made a triumphant entry into Rizal Park riding a popemobile, wearing the same cheap, plastic yellow rain poncho handed out to masses during his visit to the typhoon-hit city of Tacloban a day earlier. The crowd—a sea of colorful rain ponchos spread out across 148 acres of parkland—erupted in shrieks of joy when he drove by. Earlier today, Francis drew a huge crowd to Manila's Catholic university, where he spoke off the cuff in his native Spanish to respond to 12-year-old Glyzelle Palomar, who wept as she asked Francis why children suffer so much. Why is God allowing something like this to happen, even to innocent children? asked Glyzelle, a child rescued from the street. And why are there so few who are helping us? A visibly moved Francis said he had no answer. Only when we are able to cry are we able to come close to responding to your question, he said. Those who are discarded cry. But those who are living a life that is more or less without need, we don't know how to cry.

DNA Links Ex-Police Tech to 1984 Beach Murder

(Oct 24, 2014 6:45 AM CDT) San Diego police have named two suspects in a teen girl's cold-case murder, including a former San Diego Police Department criminologist. DNA evidence found in November 2012 led police to Ronald Clyde Tatro and Kevin Charles Brown—though as of Tuesday, both men are dead. Claire Hough, 14, was found strangled with sand pushed into her mouth at Torrey Pines State Beach on Aug. 24, 1984, the Los Angeles Times reports. One of her breasts had been cut off. Brown, who processed evidence for the force from 1982 to 2002 but was not assigned to any part of the murder investigation, knew he was a person of interest, FOX 5 reports. The 62-year-old was found dead in a state park on Tuesday, and his death has been ruled a suicide. Tatro was 67 when he died in a 2011 boating accident in Tennessee. Officers had been building a case against Brown over the last two years and were planning an arrest, NBC San Diego reports. I can only surmise that was part of the reason he killed himself, a police rep says. Authorities aren't saying what kind of DNA evidence led them to the suspects, how the two men knew each other, or their relationship to the victim. The Rhode Island teen had been visiting her grandparents at the time of her death; it's unclear why she went to the beach that night. Police continue to investigate a similar killing at the same beach in August 1978. The body of Barbara Nantais, 15, was found beaten and strangled, with one breast cut. Police say there's no evidence to link the murders. We are not treating them as related cases, a rep tells the AP. (A TV show helped bring about an arrest in a 1997 murder.)

Rep. Sean Duffy: I'm Struggling on $174K a Year

(Mar 30, 2011 7:49 AM CDT) Wisconsin Republican Sean Duffy is taking some heat from liberal blogs like Think Progress over an exchange at a town hall meeting last week, in which he assured constituents that his $174,000 salary wasn't all that great. A constituent told Duffy that his wife, a teacher, was being asked to take a pay cut, and asked how much Duffy made, and if he'd take a cut. In reply, Duffy spent several minutes complaining about his federal benefits, which he says don't even compare to the gold plated ones he earned as a Wisconsin DA. Duffy then revealed his $174,000 salary, adding, I didn't vote on that. The constituent sputtered, that's three times—that's three of my family's—that's three times what I make. Duffy reiterated that he didn't vote for that salary, but added, I guarantee that I have more debt than all of you. ... I still pay my mortgage. I drive a used minivan. If you think I'm living high off the hog, I've got one paycheck. So I struggle to pay my bills right now. Of course, if mortgage payments are so weighing on Duffy, Think Progress recommends he sell his second home.

Wild-Card Ravens Edge Titans 13-10

(Jan 10, 2009 7:09 PM) As grudge matches go, this was worthy of the WWE, the AP reports. The Baltimore Ravens survived 13-10 against the Tennessee Titans today thanks to Matt Stover's 43-yard field goal with 53 seconds remaining. Two teams with an extreme dislike for each other never stopped pounding it out in the wind and rain. The difference: Baltimore forced three turnovers and never gave away the ball. And when Joe Flacco led a 51-yard drive in the dying minutes to set up Stover's winning kick, the Ravens (13-5) were headed to the AFC championship game. Led by the first rookie quarterback to win two playoff games, the Ravens will play at Pittsburgh or San Diego next week for the right to go to the Super Bowl.

VIP Tickets to Diddy's Grammy Party: $50K

(Jan 27, 2012 10:16 AM) The hottest Grammys after-party must be the one Diddy is hosting, because tickets cost as much as $50,000. The black tie event will be held at the Playboy Mansion, and for $50,000 you'll get two cabanas with free bottle service and 15 female model attendants for up to 20 people—in addition to dinner and an open bar, of course. Can't quite afford 50 grand? The cheapest ticket will only set you back $1,500, TMZ reports.

One Reason Cardinals May Have Picked a 76-Year-Old

(Mar 14, 2013 12:13 PM CDT) Jorge Bergoglio wasn't on many short lists to be the next pope partly because he's 76, which puts him among the 10 oldest pontiffs upon election, writes Nate Silver in the New York Times. Veering away from politics, Silver pokes around papal history and notes that the others in the top 10 served an average of five years. It's not a bad bet, then, that Pope Francis will serve somewhere around seven years, which happens to be the historical average for popes, writes Silver. That may be one reason they chose him. Another is that the average age of the voting cardinals is 72, which means many will likely get another chance to pick a pope before the cutoff age of 80. As for the concern that picking a 76-year-old raises the risk he will serve beyond his physical and mental abilities, Benedict's stunning decision to step down probably eased those fears. It is plausible that the resignation of Benedict XVI—which conventional wisdom held might tilt the cardinals toward electing a younger pope—in fact enabled them to choose an older one, writes Silver. Click for Silver's full column.

Dow Ends Day Down 217

(May 11, 2016 3:16 PM CDT) Stocks closed solidly lower as Macy's led a rout in retail stocks, the AP reports. The department store slashed its profit forecast Wednesday after reporting a steep drop in earnings. Macy's dropped 15% and other retailers also lost ground. Office Depot plunged 40% and Staples lost 18% after a judge blocked their merger. In other company news, Electronic Arts jumped 14% and Blue Buffalo Pet Products rose 8% after beating estimates. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 217 points, or 1.2%, to 17,711. The Standard & Poor's 500 index gave up 19 points, or 1%, to 2,064. The Nasdaq composite index slipped 49 points, or 1%, to 4,760.

15 Bodies Dumped at Mexico Gas Station

(Jan 10, 2012 3:53 AM) The drug war appears to be heating up again in Mexican President Felipe Calderon's home state. Some 15 semi-naked bodies were found in a pile outside a gas station in Zitacuaro, Michoacan state, the BBC reports. All of the victims were male and three were minors. Police say threatening messages were left next to the bodies, which showed signs of torture. The state had been relatively peaceful after police killed the boss of La Familia cartel in December 2010, but the remnants of that cartel are now at war with an offshoot calling itself the Knights Templar, reports the Los Angeles Times. The Times notes that in less troubled times, Zitacuaro was primarily known for tourists who would gather to watch the annual migration of monarch butterflies.

Atheists Pan Sign Honoring 9/11 Firefighters

(Jun 22, 2011 10:05 AM CDT) A street sign in Brooklyn honoring seven firefighters who died on 9/11 has gotten the thumbs down from a New York atheist group, reports the Village Voice. The problem? The sign ceremonially renames Richards Street Seven in Heaven Way, and the NYC Atheists say that any reference to heaven on a government sign violates the separation of church and state. The problem with the sign is that you're assuming that you know what they felt deep down, says the group's president, who tells Fox News Radio that he might sue if it isn't removed. You're assuming they even believed in heaven. The attacks on 9-11 were an attack on America, adds the president of American Atheists, who has called for the sign to be taken down. They were an attack on our Constitution and breaking that Constitution to honor these firefighters is the wrong thing to do. But some city officials are peeved about the timing of the controversy. I think it’s a little late in the process for someone to be bringing this up now, says one. And a rep for one city councilmember tells Gothamist, The seven heroes have long been known as the 'Seven in Heaven.' It is the way the community and their families chose to remember them. So if that is their desire then we are happy to continue to remember them in the way that their family and fellow firefighters prefer to call them.

Actor Could Get 10 Years for Using Prop Gun Without Permit

(Mar 23, 2016 6:25 PM CDT) An actor who played a bit part in an independent gangster film is facing 10 years in state prison because he used a prop pellet gun without a state gun permit, the AP reports. Carlo Goias was charged under New Jersey's strict gun law, which requires permits for firearms, including the airsoft gun Goias used while filming a car chase scene. Goias rejected a plea deal offer Tuesday that could have sent him to jail for less than a year. He faces up to a decade behind bars because of prior felony convictions that prosecutors say include theft and burglary. I was shooting a movie—I wasn't committing a crime intentionally, Goias says. Robert De Niro doesn't ask Marty Scorsese if he has gun permits. We're actors. That's for the production company to worry about. When he was arrested, Goias was playing the body guard of a drug dealer in the unfinished film Vendetta Games. The car chase scene was shot in a residential neighborhood, prompting several neighbors to call 911. I pretended to shoot out the window; they were going to dub in the sound later, Goias says. We get back, and within a couple of minutes we're surrounded by cop cars. Goias said he spent four days in jail as friends and family raised $10,000 for bail. Goias' defense attorney says his client is innocent based on his intent, which was to act in a movie, not commit a crime. Some state lawmakers say Goias' case highlights the need for New Jersey to change its gun laws. (These 23 actors have served time in prison.)

ObamaCare to Add $340B to Deficit: Study

(Apr 10, 2012 7:41 AM CDT) The Affordable Care Act isn't going to reduce the deficit as the Congressional Budget Office claims; it's going to expand it by more than $340 billion, according to a new study by Charles Balhous, the GOP trustee for Medicare. Balhous argues that traditional budget math double counts $575 billion in Medicare savings, using it to both reinforce the Medicare trust fund and offset an expansion of Medicaid and insurance subsidies, the Washington Post explains. The White House dismissed Balhous' analysis, saying it departed from accounting rules used for four decades to measure budget impact. Opponents of reform are using 'new math,' one official said. But the CBO and Medicare actuaries have acknowledged the double-counting issue as legitimate. This isn't just a persnickety point, Balhous argues. If Medicare were going insolvent in 2016, you'd better believe right now there would be more pressure on lawmakers to do something.

Paul Ryan's Election as Speaker Unique in 2 Ways

(Oct 29, 2015 10:28 AM CDT) He gets the gavel: Paul Ryan captured enough House votes Thursday to become the chamber's next speaker. In a slow-moving roll call that mixed politics with pageantry, 236 lawmakers called out the Wisconsin Republican's name as their pick for the job. That assured that Ryan will become speaker, presiding over a chamber that has been awash in tumult ever since defiant conservatives hounded John Boehner into announcing his resignation last month. A sign of the tumult: Ryan is the first speaker elected in the midst of a congressional term since 1989, notes the New York Times. One other way his election is unique: At 45, Ryan is the youngest speaker since 1869, when 39-year-old Maine Rep. James Blaine took the job. Before the vote, Boehner bade farewell to his colleagues after a quarter-century House career, including the last five as speaker. I leave with no regrets, no burdens, said Boehner in a 10-minute speech. If anything, I leave the way I started, just a regular guy, humbled by the chance to do a big job. Boehner, a regular crier, got a standing ovation from members of both parties before he even started speaking when he pulled out a box of tissues. As the vote then proceeded, most of the hard-liners—including members of the rebellious House Freedom Caucus—backed Ryan. Yet a handful voted for others, underscoring that future tensions between them and the House's next leader could not be discounted. Tomorrow, we are turning the page, Ryan said, per the Washington Post. Our party lost its vision, and we are going to replace it with a vision. (Ryan has a new name to go with his new title.)

Colombia Ushers in Ceasefire That Was 50 Years in Coming

(Aug 29, 2016 11:17 AM CDT) The stroke of 12:01am on Monday brought a nascent peace to Colombia that was more than a half-century in the making. A bloody war between Bogota and the FARC rebels claimed more than 220,000 lives, reports the AP, but never again will parents be burying their sons and daughters killed in the war, said FARC leader Rodrigo Londono. He announced the ceasefire on Sunday from Havana, where the peace agreement was hammered out over the course of four years. All rivalries and grudges will remain in the past. FARC leaders are expected to ratify the deal next month; a national referendum will come on Oct. 2 and is expected to pass. FARC then has six months from the deal's signing to disarm; in return it will hold at least five seats in each of the two houses of congress for the next decade. (Meanwhile, Colombian peace could be bad news for American partiers.)

BP May Have to Pony Up $14B for Oil Spill

(Jan 19, 2015 12:00 PM) The $4.5 billion criminal penalty that BP had to pay for the catastrophic Deepwater Horizon oil spill was pretty hefty, but a New Orleans judge may be about to triple that fine. Nearly five years after the disaster that dumped hundreds of millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico and killed 11 workers, Judge Carl Barbier is mulling details of the federal case against the oil company to assess a fine, which may reach a maximum amount of $13.7 billion, the Guardian reports. This next phase of the case against BP was reached after Barbier's September ruling that the spill was due to BP's reckless conduct, as well as his decision on Thursday that although 4 million barrels streamed into the Gulf, BP should only be held responsible for 3.19 million barrels thanks to its cleanup efforts, saving the company billions of dollars, the New York Times reports. Barbier's numbers are much lower than the government's estimate of nearly 5 million barrels of oil that flooded the Gulf, but still higher than BP's claim of 3.26 million barrels (2.45 million after cleanup), the Times notes. Each barrel carries a maximum Clean Water Act fine of $4,300, so the government's estimate could have meant an $18 billion penalty. Barbier indicated that differing data from both sides were voluminous, dense, highly technical, and conflicting, per the Times. There is no way to know with precision how much oil discharged into the Gulf of Mexico, he wrote. Although the Justice Department and BP are reviewing last week's ruling (with BP lawyers arguing that dropping oil prices should factor into the fine, the Wall Street Journal adds), an ex-prosecutor for environmental crimes tells the Times that the decision was a major victory for BP.

Meet Marcelas Owens, 11, Health Reform Activist

(Mar 23, 2010 12:50 PM CDT) That little boy standing at President Obama’s right hand as he signed health care reform legislation into law is, somewhat improbably, one of the nation’s preeminent reform advocates. Marcelas Owens, 11, has been sharing the story of his mother since she died in 2007, uninsured and unable to afford treatment for pulmonary hypertension, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports. I'm signing it for 11-year-old Marcelas Owens, Obama said of the bill. In her memory he has told her story across America so that no other children would have to go through what his family has experienced, the president continued as Marcelas looked on. The White House website describes the Seattle fifth-grader as a nationally recognized spokesperson for health care reform, according the Seattle Times. It's tough not having my mom around, he said after the signing. But she's been with me in spirit every time I talk. I hope I've made her proud.

Blasts Kill at Least 48 in India

(Oct 30, 2008 6:40 AM CDT) A series of coordinated blasts tore through India's volatile northeast today, killing at least 48 people, wounding more than 300 and setting police on a frantic search for any unexploded bombs, officials said.The largest bomb exploded near the office of the Assam state's top official, leaving bodies and mangled cars and motorcycles strewn across the road. It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the blasts that went off within minutes of each other, but the region is plagued by dozens of militant separatist groups. Five blasts hit the state capital, Gauhati, killing 25, while 11 were killed in Kokrajhar district and 12 more died in the town of Barpeta. Later, dozens of people angry over the blasts took to the streets of Gauhati, stoning vehicles and torching at least two fire engines. Police imposed a curfew on the city and shut down roads leading in and out of the area.

49ers Coach Singletary Drops Trou to Motivate Team

(Oct 30, 2008 5:12 PM CDT) In the annals of coaches' motivational stunts, it might not rank with win one for the gipper, but the 49ers' Mike Singletary sure caught his players' attention. With his team trailing 20-3 at halftime last week, Singletary—in his first game as a coach—dropped his pants in the locker room and pointed to his behind to illustrate the players' effort, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Alas, the 49ers still lost, 34-14. I used my pants to illustrate that we were getting our tails whipped on Sunday and how humiliating that should feel for all of us, Singletary blogged on the team website. I needed to do something to dramatize my point; there were other ways I could have done it but I think this got the message across.

Burglars Swipe $5M in Art, Jewels—From Private Home

(Aug 7, 2013 11:59 AM CDT) Another multimillion-dollar heist is in the news, but this one involves a private home. Police in ritzy Rancho Sante Fe near San Diego say thieves made off with $5 million worth of art and jewelry from the estate, reports the Union-Tribune and Fox 5 San Diego. The loot includes a Monet print, a Picasso print, several other paintings, gold and diamond jewelry, and pricey sculptures. Police are keeping an eye out for the items to be surface on the black market, but so far no luck.

New Zealand the 13th Country to OK Gay Marriage

(Apr 17, 2013 6:21 AM CDT) New Zealand today became the first country in the Asia-Pacific region to legalize gay marriage, the AP reports. Globally, it is the thirteenth country to do so. Lawmakers in Parliament voted 77 to 44 in favor of the bill, and hundreds of onlookers immediately started singing a New Zealand anthem in an indigenous language to celebrate. The other countries where same-sex marriage is legal: the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Canada, South Africa, Norway, Sweden, Portugal, Iceland, Argentina, Denmark, and soon, Uruguay.

3 in 4 Voters Expect Obama Nomination: Poll

(Feb 25, 2008 6:03 PM) A whopping three in four US voters say the Democrats will pick Barack Obama as presidential nominee, according to a USA Today/Gallup poll released today. Expectations for the Illinois senator beat the poll's error margin for the first time and even bested John McCain's numbers over Mike Huckabee: Only 61% of those polled said McCain would nab the GOP nomination. About half of surveyed Democrats preferred Obama as nominee; 39% said they liked Clinton. Asked about election day, voters were nearly divided, giving McCain a 1% edge over Obama and 4% margin over Clinton. A weekend Gallup poll posted different numbers, reporting that Democratic voters preferred Obama to Clinton by 47% to 45%.

For 2M Jobless, Benefits Set to Dry Up

(Nov 18, 2013 2:00 AM) Some 1.3 million Americans could lose their unemployment benefits at the end of the year, with another 850,000 seeing benefits expire in March 2014 if Congress doesn't extend an emergency plan that ends Dec. 31. And though congressional Democrats and the White House are urging an extension, it's not looking likely, the New York Times reports. With Congress adjourning in two weeks, it remains unable to agree on a budget, and negotiators are focused on sequestration cuts. A deal to adjust or replace those cuts wouldn't be likely to include a jobless benefit extension, the Times notes. Renewal of the program through 2014 would add some $25 billion to the $250 billion it has cost so far. But without an extension, a total of 4.8 million could lose benefits by the end of next year, says top White House economic adviser Gene Sperling: Historically, there has not been a time where the unemployment rate has been this high where you have not extended it. Currently, some 4.1 million Americans have been unemployed for at least six months, reports the Washington Post, which has details of the program. John Boehner's stance on the White House's call for renewal: If and when they offer details, we'll take a look, an aide tells Reuters.

Thailand's 88-Year-Old King 'Not Stable' After Hospitalization

(Oct 10, 2016 7:41 PM CDT) Despite years of political instability in Thailand, one thing has remained constant in the country's government for more than 70 years: the monarchy, led by beloved King Bhumibol Adulyadej. The king's visage adorns Thailand's money, posters of him hang everywhere, and a tribute to him plays before every movie shown in theaters. But the king has been in poor health for a long time, and now he has failed to stabilize after a medical procedure on Saturday, NPR reports. The 88-year-old's kidneys are reportedly not functioning properly, the AP reports. The issue of succession is a tricky one, as the crown prince isn't as well respected as his father. Thailand's royalty is protected by very stringent anti-defamation laws, which make it illegal to speak ill of the king or the royal family. This generally hasn't been an issue, as the current king is well-loved and has been around as long as most people can remember. But the looming specter of a transition has clearly spooked the country, as the Thai stock market dropped nearly 3% on Monday, and the Thai baht also fell to a 2-month low against the US dollar, according to Sky News.

Thrones Fan? HBO Has a $30K Chair for You

(Jun 10, 2012 9:42 AM CDT) The real Iron Throne, from George RR Martin's Game of Thrones books, was forged from 1,000 swords of Aegon the Conqueror's defeated enemies, and, being full of sharp edges, it was quite dangerous to sit on. Now HBO is offering a life-size replica of the Iron Throne, 7 feet tall and 350 pounds—and at $30,000, the biggest danger it poses is to your wallet, reports the Huffington Post. Oh, and shipping costs another $1,800. Or you could just buy some Game of Thrones coffee mugs for $14.99. (Yes, we know the series is supposed to be called A Song of Fire and Ice. Blame HBO for the name change).

Buyers Lose $32 Million as Trump's Baja Bet Folds

(Mar 7, 2009 8:29 AM) Donald Trump lost some very big fans when his  luxury hotel-condo plan in Mexico collapsed, leaving little more than a hole in the ground and investors out of $32.2 million in deposits, the AP reports. Trump and his children heavily promoted the resort on the northern tip of Mexico's Baja California coast. He sold 188 units for $122 million the first day they went on a sale at a lavish event in a downtown San Diego hotel in December 2006. One buyer has sued Trump, and more lawsuits are likely. Buyers were told Trump wasn’t an investor in a letter saying a construction loan had fallen through, but Ivanka Trump had told the AP her dad was boss of the project. The letter cited a clause allowing deposits to be spent. If Donald Trump was behind it, it was going to work, said a woman who put down $250,000 for a place.

Guy Visits All 13 Disney Parks, Turns 'Disneyphile'

(Nov 28, 2014 3:28 PM) Brooks Barnes once thought only the zip-a-dee-doo-deranged made an effort to visit all 13 Disney amusement parks around the globe. Hired to report on Disney in 2007, however, he began visiting several of the parks on business. Soon, a burning curiosity made him visit the full set as only the hardest of the hard-core Disneyphiles have done, he writes at the New York Times. He ate Disney-shaped dim sum in Hong Kong, discovered chocolate Toy Story-themed mochi dumplings in Tokyo, and learned the Disney castle in Paris is the most extravagant. He admits, I am now a full-fledged member of this obsessive Mickey Mouse Club. For some, the compulsion to visit all Disney parks may lie in the human fascination with collecting. These people, like all travelers, are collecting experiences, a cultural studies professor explains, though some probably really do just love the experience that Disney offers. Barnes found that far from monolithic, the company’s theme park empire is full of quirky surprises. Perhaps the desire to discover them all helps explain why attendance at all parks climbed 5% from 2012 to 132.6 million in 2013. Barnes did note one similarity between all the parks, though. There were smiley people enjoying one another's company and, for a few hours at least, forgetting the pressures of the outside world. Click for the full piece.

Rove, Kochs Square Off for Heart of GOP in 2012

(Oct 10, 2011 9:34 AM CDT) Two of the most powerful and moneyed groups in conservative politics could be working at odds with each other during the 2012 election, leading some Republicans to worry about the GOP’s chances to take both the Senate and the White House. On one side is Karl Rove’s network, formed with fellow GOP operative Ed Gillespie; on the other, the operatives of the Koch brothers. The two groups came together for the 2010 election, but their relationship appears to be weakening, Politico reports. The first sign came this summer, when groups in the Rove-Gillespie network supported increasing the debt ceiling while Americans for Prosperity, a Koch-backed group, opposed it. Now, the two groups have launched dueling efforts to court Hispanic voters as well as competing voter databases. Ideological differences have always been apparent—the Koch groups are more concerned with the free market and don’t mind going after Republicans at times, while those in the Rove-Gillespie network are focused on electing Republicans for Republicans’ sake, says one strategist. Nevertheless, they put those differences aside to run a highly-coordinated campaign last year, but insiders say that alliance may not hold for 2012. Koch intimates downplay the situation. Overall, that competition results in a better work product and better results than a single authoritarian decision, says one. Another adds that sometimes their priorities aren’t aligned with groups in the Rove-Gillespie network, but that doesn’t make it a rivalry.

Girl, 15, Hires CEO to Run Her Babysitting Company

(Mar 2, 2015 8:30 AM) The Baby-Sitters Club has nothing on Noa Mintz. The 15-year-old New York City girl started Nannies by Noa in August 2012, and the New York Post figures a conservative estimate of $375,000 in revenue (without specifying a timeframe). CNN Money notes that as an 8th-grader, Noa was devoting 40 hours a week to her company. And so in July she hired a CEO to ease her excruciating hours dealing with hundreds of emails per day, she explains to the Post. That CEO, 26-year-old Allison Johnson, says that while it was a little bit of a challenge at first taking directions from a then-14-year-old, she's impressed with Noa's work ethic. She'll get back to me during study hall. She can't shut off. Nannies by Noa, which matches up families with babysitters and full-time nannies, was hatched when Noa, then a 6th-grader, realized she was always unhappy with her own caregivers and figured there had to be a better way. For what you’re paying, your kids should be more stimulated, she says, explaining that her company works with engaged nannies who don't sit on the side at the playgrounds on their phones. Those nannies go through an intense interview process—one 37-year-old tells the Post she had no idea she was being interviewed by a teen, and was intimidated. Today, the company has 190 clients; they pay a fee of $5 per hour for babysitters or 15% of a nanny's gross salary (typically $50,000 to $80,000). Noa did need some help: Her dad is the registered owner of the business, and filed the LLC on her behalf since she's a minor. But telling people I'm in high school now, it’s more reassuring, I think, than saying I’m a middle schooler, she says. As for her goals, she tells ABC News, I want to become the nation's leading child care agency. (This 15-year-old's invention could save Alzheimer's patients' lives.)

How the 2 Sydney Siege Victims Died

(Jan 29, 2015 8:43 AM) Gunman Man Haron Monis killed one of the two Sydney siege victims execution-style; the other was the victim of ricocheting bullets fired by police who stormed the cafe after witnessing Tori Johnson's murder. The details came at the opening day of the inquest into last month's siege at the Lindt cafe, reports Australia's ABC News. Monis reportedly forced Johnson to kneel, and after a short lapse of time Mr Monis simply shot him without further notice or warning in the back of the head, per a lawyer assisting the coroner. A police marksman witnessed the shot, which Jeremy Gormly says likely killed Johnson instantly, and called it in. That resulted in an immediate order to force entry of the cafe. Katrina Dawson was killed as police moved in, by fragments from a police bullet or bullets that ricocheted off of other surfaces. The New York Times reports that one of the six fragments pierced a major blood vessel; the 38-year-old lost consciousness soon after, per Gormly. Though Monis fired off three shots as police moved in, none struck a person. At least 13 bullets or bullet fragments hit Monis. Though the forensics of Dawson's death had been aired, the Times notes this is the first official statement on whose bullets killed the victims. ABC News reports that there has been some public criticism about the rifle (M4A1 carbine) used by police, with a former member of the country's military counter-terrorism unit describing the heavy bullets as overly likely to ricochet.

Calif. Can't Settle Budget; Guv Will Begin 20K Layoffs

(Feb 17, 2009 6:37 AM) California’s legislature couldn’t agree on a budget by the time it adjourned last night, so even as legislators trudge back to negotiate this morning, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will begin proceedings to lay off 20,000 government workers and halt the 275 state-funded public works projects still in action, the Los Angeles Times reports. The governor had delayed the layoffs in hopes that lawmakers could settle on a budget, but Democrats couldn’t get the two-thirds majority needed to pass a plan. Other state projects were halted in November; the remaining ones, which cost $3.8 billion, were continued due to the cost of stopping or resuming them or because of public-safety concerns. They include earthquake-proofing Los Angeles roads and bridges. Democrats haven’t been able to find the three required GOP votes in the state senate to pass the budget; Republicans remain firmly opposed to raising taxes. Legislators will meet again today, the AP reports.